C. Margery Kempe's Blog: Lady Smut, page 214

Are Villains Evil?

This past week I went to a great writing workshop about creating a novel. I know, that sounds vague but the truth is I took so much away from this workshop that it may take a couple blogs for me to dissect it all. Today I want to start with villains.

I asked the question "are villains evil?" in my title. Many would say yes. If I looked the word up in the dictionary, it tells me that a villain is an evil character.  In writing, I've learned that not all villains are necessarily evil. In fact, villains that have a motivation with which your readers can sympathize, make even more dynamic characters. They make your protagonist a better person and the really great villains become unforgettable characters.

I'm going to use the movie Law Abiding Citizen as an example. Gerard Butler plays Clyde Shelton, a man who watches one of his family's murderers walk away after a plea bargain. In the beginning, the audience is very sympathetic to Clyde's hunger for justice. You could pretty much say, we're cheering him on. But then he continues killing and killing and killing. And with each step into the red zone, the audience questions whether this time he's gone "too far."

The truth is it's all too far but Clyde is ex-military and he's out to prove a point. This movie fascinates in that the villain was our good guy and district attorney Nick Rice (played by Jamie Foxx) was somewhat of our slime ball who cut the right man out of justice. Or the wrong man, depending on which way you look at it. Basically, he created a monster. Either way, Clyde Shelton is not an easy man to forget.

So, what makes a good villain? A lot of things actually. The more conflict the better, but here are a few other points to keep in mind:

1)      A villain must be stronger than your protagonist at the beginning.  Your main character must grow to defeat that villain whether that villain is a real person or an intangible emotion.

2)      Great villains develop from emotion and physical challenges to your main characters.

3)      Villains with a good reason to be the way they are (usually bad) will appeal more to your readers' sympathies (Just like Clyde up above) and create more conflict in the story and for your readers.

4)      Make your villains realistic. They should run into the same kind of obstacles your other characters do. They shouldn't have unlimited power and they shouldn't just conveniently pop up when you need them.

5)      Good villains are similar to your protagonist in some way. In Law Abiding Citizen, Clyde Shelton was just a father trying to protect his family (those he loved). By the end, Jamie Foxx is exactly that.

In summary, you should love your villains as much as your other characters, maybe even more so because a good villain makes a good protagonist.  Food for thought next time you're designing your villain. Hope this helps and happy writing.

Filed under: Characters, Emotions, Toni Kelly, Writing Topics

East Coast Time Zone

I realized that I did not have to set my time for the post as it is 9:56 here in California and that means it is after midnight on the East Coast. I have had one insane week after the other and I am ready for some calm, peaceful days to float my way.

The old saying when it rains it pours is true. However, it rarely rains in Southern California, but dissapointment is pouring down on me nonetheless in buckets.

I must stay positive, right? I must not let the blues get me! I cannot let the decisions of others influence my day to day mental well being.

WHat is anotehr set-back, but just anotehr setback? It is an opportunity waiting to happen. There is a ight at the end of this tunnel and I will not believe it is a train heading right for me. It is instead, a beacon of hope and once I get there, I will find the lush green grass of fiction novels, and states I once lived in. I will overcome and succeed in something, and posting on my day is just a start!

Watch out world! Cara is gearing up to do something spectacular! Now to plot…

Filed under: romance

Mason's weekly Paranormal-Scope.

As you know, I'm not qualified in any way to read neither stars nor planets. But, I'm linked into the paranormal in the world.

The week ahead for:

Aries

You are the top zombie in the land!

Taurus

Wisdom is never out of favor but a talking head can be… Yikes!

Gemini

You are the master of your universe.

Cancer

You need to figure out what to feed the hungry vampires outside your house or you'll be dinner.

Leo

It might be time for a trip to an alternate reality.

Virgo

Are you locked up in a basket over a pit of genetically altered sharks? Maybe it's time for new friends.

Libra

Body parts are flying, vamps are turning to dusk, and you are saving the world. Again!

Scorpio

Trying to explain e=mc sq to minions is like asking for a lobotomy. Don't do it.

Sagittarius

It's an evil fend party and you aren't the human piñata.

Capricorn

Were you probed? Again…?

Aquarius

You got space so invite the fends in.

Pisces

At times you gotta put your foot down even when it's going to end the world.

Mason

a.c.Mason

Darkness ♀♂ Desires

www.acmason.com

Filed under: a.c. Mason, Mason's Paranormal-Scope

Call for Stories: A Garden of Earthly Delights

Call for stories for

A Garden of Earthly Delights: Pagan Tales of Erotic Love

DEADLINE JUNE 21

We are looking for erotic romance short stories (3-8K) that meet the following criteria:

1) They are stories, i.e. narratives with conflict that resolve in a HEA or HFN ending and show some level of intimate eroticism.

2) They must reflect an identifiable pagan/Wiccan/heathen tradition in the characters and their motivations.

3) The stories must be romantic, forging or re-forging loving relationships while unfolding a narrative with some sense of suspense.

4) They must also intersect significantly with pagan lifestyle, belief system or worldview, showing sexuality as a natural and crucial part of life, perhaps integrating a ritualistic component (a hieros gamos or other spiritual union, or some kind of blessing) or a communion with god/goddess or other sacred being, or embodying the central beliefs of the tradition in the choices made. Settings may be historical or contemporary.

To submit, send an email to cmkempe@gmail.com with:

Full name and pen name (if applicable)

Email address

Website/blog/Facebook/Twitter links

Title of the story

Word count

Manuscripts should be in RTF format, with your surname and story title as the document name, 1.5 spaced, and in Book Antiqua 12 pt serif font. When needed, please italicize rather than underline for emphasis.

We have a publisher interested and expect this to be a royalty-paying anthology in ebook format. You will be expected to help promote the volume upon publication by mentioning it on your social media outlets. Feel free to email with any questions you may have.

Peg Aloi, Byron Ballard and C. Margery Kempe

Filed under: C. Margery Kempe, erotic romance, fantasy romance, historical romance, inspiration, Kit Marlowe, medieval, mythology romance, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, Romance News, urban fantasy, Warrior women, What inspires you?, Writing Topics

Vampire David Hilliard Visits

I waited for David, as I usually do regarding his paranormal advice column and I received nothing by email from him. I went out kickboxing and when I came home I found him typing on my computer in my downstairs office.

"Hi. I wasn't expecting to see you."

"I hope you don't mind. I was just writing you a note. I had no idea how long it takes for you to kickbox."

I must have made a face. I think David was inferring that I was uncommonly slow in my martial arts. I've noticed that regardless of longevity, vampires don't tend to have a lot of patience.

"I need you to be in New York tomorrow."

"I'm going to Fiction Fest at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in North Haven, Connecticut. I'm going to enjoy the day and from 4:30-6 pm, I'm part of the public booksigning."

"Will you come after that?"

"What's so important?"

"We need you as Ambassador Lily Snow. The vampires of London have sent a delegation, and they will await your arrival to make your presentation."

"Okay, wait for me here. We'll leave as soon as I get back." I sat down in the other chair facing David. "Are there any royals among them?"

David laughed. "I'm not telling. You'll just have to come to find out."

Then he left without another word and without leaving a column. What's going on in Manhattan? I'll let you know when I do.

–Lily A Snow, Ambassador and Historian of the Arnhem Society

Susan Hanniford Crowley

Filed under: Adventures of Lily A. Snow, paranormal, paranormal romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley, urban fantasy, vampire books, vampires

Friday the 13th Mason style

I know a lot of you out there are freaking for nothing. Sure you can rhyme off a long list of things that went wrong to prove why you don't trust the day. But I can show you a bunch of other days stuff didn't go so well either.

What I want to know from you is what do you want on focusing on in life? Life isn't about the big wins. Though there are those that would try and have you believe that. Life is about the small victories that get you to the finish line. It's about those times you fell and go yourself back up. It's about those times others told you that you couldn't and you prove them wrong.

If you want to focus your attention on the stuff that goes wrong be my guess. I'm not going to stop you. I don't have time. I'm busy working on the next thing that's making my life go right.

Happy Friday the 13th. I hope you see all the things that are going right for you.

I've a lot of happiness around me. I have a wonderful family. I'm surrounded by authors that love what they do.

Three of my books came out this year. I've another one coming in September.

I'll be making an announcement soon about an exciting project I've been working on. As if I'm not busy enough I took on an entirely new project.

Toni did a great job keeping you all entertained and on track while I was away.

Mason

a.c. Mason

Darkness ♀♂ Desires

www.acmason.com

Filed under: a.c. Mason, Hodgepodge day!, Mason Friday

Writer's Care: To Write Well, Take Care of Yourself

This is for writers and anyone speeding through their lives and missing the best parts.

You are important.  Now is the  time to take care of you.  Slow down.  Our society moves very fast.  Two years ago I was doing everything a woman could do and doing it at blazing hot lightspeed.  What happens when you don't take care of yourself and speed through your life, you get ill.  You also miss some of the best research you could ever get for your books.  You miss moments of playing with a kitten or watching a child sleep.  You can't get back those deeply personal moments that define us as human beings.  Now is the time to slow down and enjoy them. 

Many years back I was the director for a conference.  Everything hinged on me, everyone asked questions of me, and I was supposed to have all the answers.  I was wired when I went to bed the night before.  Then I woke up around 5 in the morning and went to lay on the sofa in the living room.  The big windows face the east, and as I lay there trying to think of every detail of the conference, the sun rose.  The light blinked on the hill.  Then gold streamers filtered through the trees, and my heart beating like a race horse slowed.  My thoughts stilled, and that sunrise, every line of light reaching out in every direction became permanently engraved in my being.  It changed the way I worked with people at  the conference.  It made it better.

When we take our time with life to enjoy it, it makes everything we do better.  Our writing becomes richer, fuller, more tangible for the reader.  Take a moment now and enjoy.

If you happen to be at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in North Haven, Connecticut, on Saturday, May 14th, there were still some open spots last I looked for Connecticut Fiction Fest 2011.  Registration opens at 7:30 am.  Check the website to make sure registration is still available.  http://toniandrews.com/FictionFest.htm

4:30-6 pm is the booksigning which is open to the public.  I will be signing.  Perhaps I'll see you there.  In the meantime, take care of yourself.

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

Filed under: Susan Hanniford Crowley, Writer's Life, Writers Conferences

Wisdom of the Ages

The other night, my critique partner and I had an interesting conversation about… (drum roll please) gray hairs. Yes you read that right, I wrote gray hairs. Wasn't the most productive of critique sessions in the moment as we mainly focused on why gray hairs were so unruly and why each day we seem to be fighting a losing battle of their invasion.

Either way, the talk got me thinking about all the wisdom that comes with gray hair (as long as it's not too premature), especially when it comes to writing. Sometimes it easy to get caught up in the day to day of writing and it's hard to see that you're growing.  Well here are a few reminders. Some you may have already reached, others may be up ahead.

 1)      You can now laugh at those first draft attempts at a story because they tell instead of show and skip povs like there's no tomorrow.

2)      You no longer have a plethora of words like that, just, feel, knew, she, her, him and a bunch of other pronouns, riddled into your manuscript.

3)      Your characters are beginning to have distinct voices on paper and not only in your head.

4)      It doesn't take you a week to write a few pages.

5)      You've found a writing rhythm and writing is now like a second nature.

6)      You now make time to write and don't only write when you have time.

7)      Many times, you can read your first draft without cringing.

8)      You have a first draft (and a second, third, fourth, fifth, etc.) and you're okay with that.

9)      You know how to structure a scene.

10)   You know that GMC is not a car brand but stands for Goal, Motivation and Conflict. 

Okay, so the point of all this? The point is to let you know you should enjoy those gray hairs. They don't always bring grief, but in fact can mean a more accomplished, wiser and maybe published writer. If you haven't already, you'll soon learn that time is a writer's best friend.

Filed under: Toni Kelly, Writer's Life, Writing Topics

Mason's weekly Paranormal-Scope

As you know, I'm not qualified in any way to read neither stars nor planets. But, I'm linked into the paranormal in the world.

The week ahead for:

Aries

Those genetically linked to you will fry your brain waves.

Taurus

You'll be a telepathic referee.

Gemini

Make all your to does like levels of video game getting to the end will be more fun.

Cancer

You can see through walls the ones people put up to hide behind.

Leo

You'll be hunted by those from cemeteries you've traveled.

Virgo

You are going to go paranormal straightjacket crazy.

Libra

It's all out mayhem.

Scorpio

You are like a demi God don't leave a path of destruction.

Sagittarius

You'll need to put in double karmic vibes but you always do. So what's new? It will pay off.

Capricorn

Like a ghost freight train you got to keep on track to get to the station.

Aquarius

It's like a bad karma dump.

Pisces

You have cartoon birds singing and hearts and butterflies dancing around you.

Mason

a.c.Mason

Darkness ♀♂ Desires

www.acmason.com

Filed under: a.c. Mason, Mason's Paranormal-Scope

New Release: Dragger Ella

by C. Margery Kempe

I've got a new release from Noble Romance tomorrow: Dragger Ella is another fairy tale romance set in the exotic world of –

Connecticut?!

Yep, I know that you usually expect exotic or historical settings, or at least London, but no, this time around I'm setting a story in the hot rod culture of New England. It's called "Kustom Kulture" and I am grateful to my pal Johnny 10X for acting as consultant on the tale. My publisher Jill loved it so much she asked whether I might want to set a longer story in the same world. Well, I like to please my publisher so I'm definitely brainstorming!

I suppose this grew out of the Cinderella idea and my own life growing up in Michigan. My dad has a '56 Corvette that was once owned by his boss at the gas station where he worked before he got a job at Oldsmobile. This was back in the day when they used to drag race at night on the south side of town. My dad claims he only watched

He always wanted that Corvette but it was a long time before he could talk his boss into selling it. When he finally did, my dad was so proud of that car. We used to joke that he had pictures in his wallet of the car but not us kids. My mom sewed them matching jackets the same color as the car (two-toned copper and cream).

My characters Ella and her best pal Jeri meet a guy named J.D. the first time she takes the Cherry Bomb out dragging. She calls him a "hot rod heartthrob" with his leather jacket and glossy black Elvis hair. Dead sexy! The direct inspiration was the Road Agent's Hot Rod & Rockabilly Rumble, that a bunch of my friends in Connecticut go to. They have some great bands to dance to, people in awesome retro looks and of course, lots of really gorgeous cars. Check it out — and look for Dragger Ella tomorrow! It's part of Noble's new YA romance line.

Filed under: C. Margery Kempe, contemporary romance, erotic romance, inspiration, Kit Marlowe, New Release, Noble Romance, Recommended Books, romance, Settings, What inspires you?, Writer's Life, Writing Topics, YA