C. Margery Kempe's Blog: Lady Smut, page 217

Fun Day Friday: What's Fun?

No skydiving this week but my fun last week got me thinking about fun in general and how it can be different for everyone.  My definition of fun ranges with my moods, from adventurous to simply relaxing. I thought I'd share a few pictures of what I believe fun looks like. Feel free to let it inspire you.

 Take a look at this first picture, sailing. Can you picture it? Feel it? What does it feel like to you? Maybe the wind in your hair, a salty taste on your tongue, licks of water hitting your face. Man, I can almost feel myself there. Whether this is your idea of fun or not, you can use the picture to help brainstorm and recreate the image in your readers' minds. Good practice if you've never tried it before. Go on, give it a try.

Fun doesn't always need to be fast paced and adventurous. You know what I mean. Many of us are writers and readers which means we can often be found cozied up somewhere enjoying a nice cup of tea or coffee or chocolate (maybe lemonade or ice tea for the summers). What's it like in your sanctuary? Do you like music or perhaps you prefer peace and quiet. Maybe you work better in a bookstore amongst other writers and readers. This next picture show my idea of cozy fun. The plush velvet (or so I imagine) of the chair, the crackle of the fire and a small cup of Twining's Blackcurrant tea. Mmmm! Add a few pieces of chocolate and sugar cookies and I'm in my winter sanctuary.

This next and final picture was an earned fun. I first started running in high school when I didn't make the basketball team my freshman year. Angry and determined, I vowed to make the team the next year; however, I had always done some form of sport and still felt a loss at what to do for my freshman year. So I joined the track team…and hated it. Despite my strong distaste for running, I stuck with it (after all, it was some kind of sport) and brought my mile time from eight-and-a-half minutes to six minutes within four weeks. That year we seemed to have endless snowdays and many of our practices were soon spent shoveling the track. Meet after meet was canceled and before I knew it, the season was over. Needless to say, I made the basketball team the next year but I never forgot running and the running I hated that season became a passion of mine after that season. I began to appreciate the rush of air over my face and the soothing rhythm of my sneakers hitting the track.

In summary, fun is different for everyone and the truth is you never know what may or may not be fun until you try it. Sometimes that does require stepping out of your comfort zone but it may be worth it and if not, at least you can say you tried it.

What about you all, what is your idea of fun?

Filed under: Toni Kelly, What inspires you?, Writer's Life

Luxuriating in Words

Recently I realized that when you're writing and really on a roll, a great scene can be like a bubble bath. There's the preparation of the bath with the perfect fragrant soap, the towels, the wash cloth and/or loufa and the steamy hot water filling the tub with bubbles. That's the research that you enjoyed, collected, and rolled it happily around in your mind.

Now to get into the steamy hot water. Put the feet in first, and as you lower yourself and the heat touches you one part of you at a time–ahhhhhh! Every part of you relaxes in the steamy hot water, the bubbles like silk kissing your skin. Here are the parts of a scene–the setup, the implementation–step by step, and the dreamy results. Funny, how this can also be used for writing love scenes. LOL

Then there's the reprecussions, ripples in the water. Something happens because your character is in the bath. Rub that soft soap all over. You don't know how this scene will eventually affect the character, other than leaving the bath with pruney fingers and toes.

What happens? Options! Does someone join her in the bath? Does she lure someone to the water?

Now it's your turn to luxuriate with words.

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

Filed under: A Writing Sirloin Tip, Characters, Settings, Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampire books, vampires, What inspires you?, Writer's Life, Writing Topics

Minor Details… Are They Really?

I recently took a promotion that made me a people manager versus an individual contributor. I say 'people manager' because that's what I feel I currently do. One day, I hope to say I am a people leader—quite a big difference between the two, at least in my book. Only time will tell.

Anyway, in my new role, I've come to notice that there are a great many of us who quite simply miss the details. I include myself in this group although admittedly after a very humiliating experience (which I might share another day) in my past, I've gotten much better. And you, what's that? 'Not me' you say? Of course not. Many of us writers would like to believe we pay attention to the details because we all know how in reading agents' and publishers' blogs we completely shy away from the horror tales.

Oh you know what I'm talking about. Those lists that agents and publishers put out that mention things that annoy them—many of those things being stuff they specifically warn us not to do in either their blogs or submission criteria. So what happens? Well, quite simply we miss the details.

I'd like to say I've never had one of those embarrassing things happen to me, but I'm not that fortunate. The one thing I can say is that I learn from my mistakes and that alone can be a huge deal. There's hope for me yet.

So here are my thoughts on making their (agents and publishers) lives and ours, a bit easier. Do your research. This is a business so research is a given if you want to follow directions and make an impression. Next, slow down. A rushed job can many times be a botched job. Even the little errors add up if they are plentiful. Lastly, pay attention. When submitting material, don't miss the small details, they sometimes make all the difference in an industry where you need every inch you can to move head and stand out.

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

Shameless Self Promotion

Charlotte retreats to her grandparent's house in North Carolina for some much needed inner reflection and life planning. The person she thinks will be a distraction, even a Temporary One, ends up becoming a revelation in and out of the bedroom.

Tyler is an active duty officer in the Marine Corps. The war has left scars on his mind and his body. He wasn't expecting anyone, especially a distracted redhead, to penetrate his defenses and steal his heart. With another deployment on the horizon he doesn't have time to second guess his instincts.

Tyler and Charlotte both have to learn that sometimes a Temporary One is meant to last.

 

BUY at PASSION IN PRINT

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 need some you time on Krypton.

Taurus

You are getting messages from the other side so listen up.

Gemini

You've got limited resources, but are preparing for a fight with the big bad get creative.

Cancer

Even the Phoenix likes to rest in comfort.

Leo

You're connected with the universe.

Virgo

Have an at home with all the sexy otherworldly beings in your hood.

Libra

Touchy, touchy don't burst into a flame.

Scorpio

Use your third eye to feel your way through the week.

Sagittarius

A shift in how you see reality changes your outlook.

Capricorn

You're tied up but not in a dungeon of your choosing. Hold on tight and plan your escape.

Aquarius

It's a cosmic whirlwind without the yum factor to it.

Pisces

You are a god of love. Are you going to give your new powers a whirl?

Mason

a.c.Mason

Darkness ♀♂ Desires

www.acmason.com

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

Shut Up and Write

From Rome

by C. Margery Kempe

There's all kinds of writing advice out there: magazines, websites, books, groups. They tell you how to manage your time, how to develop your characters, how to plot your novel — and that's not to mention the newest trend, telling you how to market your writing once it's out there and coordinate all your social media outlets.

All of these are great ways to avoid what you should be doing:

WRITING

I remember a friend (a reader not a writer) saying once, "Writer really whinge a lot." Yes; yes, we do. To each other via email, on Facebook and Twitter now and even occasionally, in person. To be fair, there's a lot to whinge about. The long hours, the low pay, the constant criticism (especially if it comes from your own head). But it's also a way of avoiding the real work.

So just write.

Jane Friedman pointed to a terrific article by Anne Allen about Three Questions to Ask Before Jumping on the Indie Publishing Bandwagon. While a lot of people see the leap as by-passing the slow dinosaur of traditional publishing, Allen warns that skipping that process has a price: all those rejections are often deserved. It takes time to build skills and often that story is not as good as you think it is. You're misled by seeing it all in your head quite clearly; your words may not have captured enough of that mental movie to translate it into someone else's head. If you don't get an editor telling you, "no, it's not there yet" and jump to self publishing, then you will get readers or worse reviewers who tell you the same thing — not in a private email, but out there on the web for all to see. Or not: because it's not criticism that grinds down most writers, but facing daily the supreme indifference of the universe. What if you publish a book and no one cares?

What Allen also makes clear is how much extra work is involved in self-publishing. I faint dead away at the mere thought of coding a manuscript for umpteen different kinds of ebook formats. Not just because it sounds tedious and fiddly, but once again that's time not spent writing. Never forget the very best thing to sell your writing is your writing. While people dream of having that huge bestseller the first time out of the gate, most "overnight sensations" in any field have laid the groundwork already with a lot of hard work. Because if you do have a book that makes a big splash, you want there to be other things for readers to buy.

So I'm going to take my own advice now, and shut up and write. You do it, too.

Filed under: C. Margery Kempe, erotic romance, historical romance, inspiration, Kit Marlowe, medieval, Promotion, romance, Romance News, What inspires you?, Writer's Life, Writing Topics

Saturday Surprise: Interview with a Contest

Hi Everyone,

Surprise:  I'm at http://mariposacruz.blogspot.com/2011/04/interview-with-susan-hanniford-crowley.html  with an interview and a contest.  I'm talking about shapeshifters today.  To enter the contest, you must go on that blog and tell me what you'd like to shift into. 

See you there.  Now to  go back to Vampire David, scroll down. 

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

Filed under: Characters, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, romance novels, Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampire books, vampires

Dear Vampire David: Lifemates–How Can You Tell?

First an announcement:  Susan has a surprise but she has to wait for an email before she can announce it.  Watch for a second blog post tomorrow. 

Now on to our regularly scheduled program. 

Dear David,

How do you know if the person you meet is your lifemate?

Emily

Dear Emily,

That's a hard question.  It depends on you.  Humans have the worst time of it, though I do know of some humans who are in fact lifemates.  Usually a tip off is if that person cares more for you than themselves.  They watch over you in a loving way.  They are considerate of your feelings and really get to know you. 

For vampires it's a bit easier.  A vampire feels warm to the touch to his or her beloved.  Of course, the human or vampire mate has to say something.  To a vampire, all human feel warm. 

For shapeshifters, they know their lifemate on sight.  While his is handy, it requires a lot of patience on their parts in order to woe and convince their lifemates.

Some say it's in the touch.  While others swear it's in the kiss.   For everyone, it's a little different.  Even though we all can agree that finding one's life mate  is magic.

David

Vampire David Hilliard

Susan Hanniford Crowley

P.S. If you have a question or pronlem, send it to NightsofPassionBlog@gmail.com

Filed under: Characters, Dear David, paranormal, paranormal romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampire books, vampires

Fun Day Friday – Skydiving

Okay, so a twist on the fun this Friday. I thought I'd share with you all what I did this weekend (although I'm sure you can guess by the pictures).  For any of you who find skydiving interesting or have thought of trying it before, I can only say, "Go for it!"

Skydiving is by far one of the most incredible adrenaline rushes that I've had. As we sat in the plane, climbing higher and higher, I had the lucky spot of sitting next to the open door. My first thought up there was that it was so incredibly peaceful. My next thought was that if I were to slip out the door, I had no parachute on me (when you go tandem the instructor wear's the chute) and I was not yet hooked up to my instructor. No worries, this was quickly followed up by a logical thought that if I fell out, someone would have to dive really fast to catch me (or so I hoped—truth was I didn't want to dwell on that too much).

Still, I would go again in a heartbeat. The freefall was so fast and windy that I felt like it was over in the blink of an eye (50-60 seconds to be exact). And after that, it was smooth sailing with the wind, floating a few thousand feet above the ground. The quiet is eerie and amazing at the same time. My most prominent thought as we steered our way to the ground, was that this event was ending way too soon and I could completely understand why people would skydive for a living. My thought as I write this article is that adrenaline rush events like skydiving would be great tools for writer's block. They tend to give a bit of perspective on life in general.

Thought to leave you with: Whatever you're doing  (work or play), have fun, make it count.

Filed under: Toni Kelly, Writer's Life

Romantic Rants and Ravings

Life moves fast, and I'm blessed (there's no other word for it) to have the honey that I'm married to. You know you have it all, when you're under the weather and the man brings home not only the prescription the doctor called in but a new surge protector for my laptop (the right kind) and gummy bears. That's love.

As I said, life is moving fast, and I'm trying to take it at my pace–which is healthier for me. I'm getting computer glasses for my eyes. Yay! I average about 14 hours a day on the computer. It's about time I took care of my eyes.

Great and fun things are happening. I'm going to do a booksigning at FictionFest. I just got the word that Love's Immortal Pantheon IV is coming out in print! YAY! Poseidon's Catch is in that one, so for those that love print–that's a book to hug in bed and have great dreams. As soon as I can, I will be setting up that link on my website. I'll have to order some author's copies to take with me to FictionFest. I was expecting it in July, so this is a surprise.  There's still seats, if you want to go to the best, practical writers' conference that actually teaches writing.  Here's the link: http://toniandrews.com/FictionFest.htm   It takes place in the North Haven, CT, Holiday Inn Conference Center on Saturday, May 14th.  I.  If you are a writer, the price is affordable and it's a great addition to your education that can be practically used.

Another scrumpious convention is Authors After Dark,  http://www.authorsafterdark.net/

Actually on April 30, I will be visiting the Authors After Dark Blog http://authorsafterdark.blogspot.com/ to tell folks about the parties, free books, free stuff, educational and entertaining parties and workshop, great parties–oh, I said parties twice.  My bad!  Also what's spectacular about Authors After Dark this year will be that Nights of Passion Blog crew is showing up in force–Cara North, C. Margery Kempe, a.c. Mason, and me.  There's still seats for readers, visit http://www.authorsafterdark.net/   When you register, be sure to put that Susan Hanniford Crowley referred you.  Also when you get there, be sure to walk up to me and say, "I love Nights of Passion Blog!"  I will give you a small gift.  I'm so thrilled to be going. 

So I am on the mend.  I'm busy on two projects now.  I'm working on Max's book, and convincing him that patience is a virtue even for a vampire though I have to tell you that vampires are not patient.  I'm also working on a very sexy tale for the Greek God Apollo.  Why?  Because a reviewer mentioned they would like me to write a book about him.  (He had a supporting role in Poseidon's Catch.)   So now Apollo is on the prowl for love being distracted by lust.  Bad, bad boy!

Finally if everything goes well, I will be on Saturday's Shifters Saturday with an interview.  I'll have the link up on Saturday for poeple to drop by and comment or enter the contest.

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

Filed under: mythology romance, paranormal, paranormal romance, Readers Conference, romance, Romance News, romance novels, RWA, Susan Hanniford Crowley, Writers Conferences