Liz Flaherty's Blog, page 158

Challenge

Let's face it. Sometimes, love makes absolutely no sense. So why does it have to in a book? I've read reviews that were negative because readers couldn't figure out why the hero and heroine fell in love. Real life is strange. But fiction isn't supposed to be. That's not my opinion. I think the stranger the story, the better. People fall in love for all sorts of reasons. But it all usually starts off with what is pleasing to the eye.

Think about your hero/heroine's first meeting. Their gazes me...

Today, I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything

So far this summer I've done a good job of staying on top of things - I've turned in copy edits on 2 books, drafted another - well, almost, I should finish within the next week. Ish. Assuming I can beat the procrastination. I attended RWA and learned and TON (and had a ton of fun with author friends new and old). Went on a family vacation pre-RWA, have a family reunion this weekend that I'm almost prepared for. Still, there comes a time every day when his song could be my theme song:



I always...

Love A Wedding!

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What is it about weddings that brings out the love? Not only with the happy couple, but everywhere you look?
Anyone who follows me on Facebook knows that my nephew and his longtime girlfriend got married this past Saturday night. They truly are a beautiful couple, not only in looks, and they are both stunning, but they “get” each other. They like the same things, enjoy each other’s company. I foresee them sharing a long, happy marriage.
 
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Another love to celebrate is that for my pop....

What's it like, writing a book?

"What's it like," someone asked me, "writing a book?"

Well, no, no one really asked me that, but I wish they would, because I have the perfect, absolutely right answer.

Writing a book is, on a much, much smaller scale, like having a baby. No, not the physical having part, although plotting and labor pains have a great deal in common--I'm talking about the part where you look at this tiny, messy, unfinished thing and wonder how on earth you could ever love something that much.

And they grow,...

Your Name is... WTH?

I once wrote a blog about why you should never give your hero or heroine a horrible name. Like Elmer or Beulah. Today, I want to talk about something different. Hard to pronounce or how-the-hell-do-you-pronounce-that names.


Anyone whose read my books or critiqued my stories know I have a habit of hanging weird names on my characters. Especially my heroines. For example, my Dreamers heroine is Somiar. Not so weird to me, until I was invited to a book club discussing the book. Everyone pronounce...

Brave Passion

 This past weekend, I attended the Willamette Writer’s Conference. And while there was a lot of learning, I heard two messages that resonated deeply.


Write bravely and edit meekly.
This was said by one Benjamin Gorman. And what he meant—or at least what I got out of what he said—Is that your first draft is for writing with careless abandon. Just get it down. Be brave by letting the words flow without sensor.
The time to be meek is in your edit—that’s when your wild tangents are to be tamed...

The Waiting Game...

I don't know why, but I always thought that once I was published the waiting part of this crazy writer's life would ease up. Hand to God, I really thought waiting would be...easier. I knew it would never go away completely and honestly I don't want it to. Waiting has taught me a lot.

But I'd like it to be easier to wait. I'd like the waiting to not decimate my fingernails or send me to the penguin bowl looking for another hit of chocolate.

This week my very first SuperRomance - which comes out...

Sharon Cullen His Saving Grace

Please welcome my friend, Sharon Cullen to the Wranglers today! She loves Kid Rock almost as much as I do. Ahem. Isn't this a stunning cover?


COVER REVEAL FOR HIS SAVING GRACE:
 
On sale date: December 30, 2014 
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BLURB:
 
Perfect for fans of Mary Balogh, Sharon Cullen’s captivating novel tells the deeply emotional tale of two devoted lovers facing the ravages of war.
 
For months now, Lady Grace Ashworth has mourned the death of her beloved husband—until the day a very-much-a...

It was the best of times...

It was a weird week. Not a bad one. Not really. But weird.

I had a couple of gloomy days. They always scare me. Am I depressed again? Do I need Zoloft again? Am I never going to be happy again?

I had a book rejected. It was an R & R and--okay, I admit it--I thought it would be accepted, or at least more revisions suggested. But it was rejected in the nicest possible way by one of my favorite-ever editors. I wanted to work with her again, but in all honesty, the publisher's going one way and...

Can We Talk?

As I write this, I have to stop every few seconds to fan myself. The air is on full blast, and I'm sitting here with sweat running down my back, and a hand held fan. Pictured fans are the ones I keep at home. I keep one in the car. My air conditioner went out for the second time this summer. ACK!!! I keep two at work, one for a co-worker who has the same problem. Personal summers have become a way of life.

I've never written a female character over the age of thirty-five. Why? Because right no...