Cait Miller's Blog: Sizzling Scribes Blog, page 8

Waking Up

This post is just a tad late. . .okay, really late. I have been running around with my daughters getting them ready for their dance recital this weekend and I feel like all I do is drive. Someday, I'm going to have a voice recognition thingy that will post my blogs as I say them in the car.

Of course, that could lead to some interesting posts. . .I do tend to get a little cranky when the people in front of me don't go as fast as I think they should. Okay, blogging from the car is probably a very bad idea.

This week my first new book in 4 years is out. WAKING UP is a very short story that I hope gives people an escape from their day, and maybe a little zip to their nights. I came up with the story after listening to the song WAKING UP IN VEGAS by Katy Perry. (In the car, again. If I could write while driving, I'd have a ton of books written!)

I've never been to Vegas, but I've had quite a few bad mornings waking up in New Orleans. In fact, there is one scene in the story that comes from direct experience. (Unfortunately, it's not the one where she wakes up next to a really hot guy.)

I wanted this story to be fun, sexy, and quick so that readers who are running around with schedules like mine could read it in one sitting and still get to sleep at a decent hour. (I can't be the only one who stays up way too late saying "just one more chapter")

If anyone reads WAKING UP and wants to comment, I'd love to hear what you have to say. Message me on Facebook (Arianna Hart) or Tweet to me on Twitter (@AriannaHart212).

And if you discover a way to drive and write at the same time, let me know!

Life Goes On

I love my dad. I suppose I’ve always taken it for granted that he will always be there if I need him. In March this year my dad had a heart attack. Such a mild term for something that affects your life in such a profound way. The medical professionals seemed unperturbed. They ran their tests, arranged a follow up appointment, gave him a bagful of medicines and sent him on his way with the possibility of surgery looming in the future. But my family’s world, my world was changed forever. It suddenly made me realise that I could lose him. That not only am I getting older but so are my parents and they won’t be here forever. It’s a frightening thought.

Life went on but I was living on my nerves, stomach churning with every twinge of angina my dad had. Terrified that the next one would be ‘the big one’. Eventually I managed to put it to the back of my mind and things started to get back to normal. Fate is an evil bitch. She likes to let you relax before she messes with you. As it happened that was at midnight 2 and a half weeks ago. I was just about to go to bed when my world crashed down again. As a midwife I have some medical knowledge and usually know what to do in a crisis. It all goes out the window when it’s someone you love though. A blue light ambulance later my dad was back in the hospital.

The docs ran their tests again and scratched their heads over why my dad was still alive, let alone feeling fairly well. 2 arteries to his heart were blocked. I chewed my nails and antacids for a week while they scheduled him for surgery. Then for another 2 and a half hours over a procedure that was supposed to take 40 minutes. Next day my dad was home. It all seems like a bit of an anticlimax. I am VERY happy to say everything was a success but I’m still having a hard time believing it’s all over. It’s a good problem to have and I’ve learned a valuable lesson.

Hold your family close, take nothing for granted.

Doing it

Readers, when you read a romance, do you ever picture someone you know at the hero or heroine? What about you writers - ever base a hero/heroine on a real-life person? I've admitted there are pieces of me in every heroine I write, but what I haven't admitted until now is that my heroes are often people I know, have met, or would like to meet someday.

Yep, the physical appearances of ALL my heroes are based on real-life people. I just find it easier to describe what they look like when I have a real model before me. Much like a painter uses a person as inspiration for his/her work, so do I. Friends, relatives, even celebrities find their doppelgangers in my stories. 
Phillip Townshend, for example (Secret Submission, Submission Revealed and Services Rendered), is a dead-ringer in looks for my own wonderful husband. Jim in Hooked could double for Richard Gere. My current work-in-progress (still unnamed - augh!) uses Hugh Jackman as a model. And the magnificent Dom in Sahara Heat , which releases this week, looks suspiciously like a friend of mine.
Yet the personalities of each character are uniquely their own. Each hero might have trace elements of personality from this person or that, but mostly the guy gets his own due. He stands on his own and owes nothing to nobody. He is his own person who knows what he wants and who he wants it from. And we love him for it.
So what about it? Do you put the image of a real-life person into your head when you read or write?
Play safe, Diana

How Much is Too Much?

It isn't easy for a new author trying to make a name for herself or himself. There is a lot of competition out there for readers' hard-earned money. And now with self-publishing becoming so popular where anyone can upload a book, it's even harder for an author to make those much-desired sales.
Which leads me to the topic of promotion. Authors will try whatever it takes to get noticed. It might be ads, blogging, requesting reviews. They might hand out cute little trinkets at conventions, something to hopefully make you remember them the next time you go shopping for books.
And then there's Facebook and Twitter. I doubt if there are many authors who don't have at least one of these accounts. I have both, but don't post much. I'm a full-time author, which means I'm home in front of my computer the biggest majority of my time. That doesn't leave a lot of chances to do something exciting, something I think is worth sharing with the people who friend or follow me.
Because I don't look at Twitter every day, certain tweets will jump out at me when I do sign in to my account. I see tweets from some authors that say the same thing over and over. I have to admit seeing the same authors posting the same tweets about their books gets old. I'm so sick of seeing the titles of those books, there's no way I'd ever buy them. I doubt if that's the result the authors want to get with their promotion.
I've always heard a person needs to hear or read something at least six times before s/he remembers it. Do you believe that? Should an author keep pushing the same type of promo in the hopes of finding new readers? Or is that same promo driving away the readers s/he already has?
How much is too much?
Lynn

The absentminded writer

As writers we try to kid ourselves that we remember everything from plot to character eye color. NOT! I can't tell you how many times I've read through the chapter I've written and find I can't even keep the name spelled the same the whole way through. Sad isn't it? You'd think that the constant use of the computer, the hand-eye coordination that's associated with typing and the fact that the story and the characters originated in my head would help keep me from forgetting the details. For me it doesn't work that way. And as for the coordination skills... those don't exist either. Just ask my Jazzercise instructor when I'm doing the miss-step in the back of the class.Authors are normal people. We can't remember everything. At least I can't. I have to keep a file on my computer when I'm writing that list every detail from the way the name is spelled to the eye color of a character. I also keep a detailed list of facts for the book so I don't change it by the end of the book. We don't want the character coming from Kansas at the start of the book and then returning home to Iowa by the end of the book. A reader will take note of the mistake and won't hesitate to let you know. It's their job to help keep you straight you know. LOLI've begun to notice that I can't even keep the home life details straight. Maybe I should keep an open file on that part of my life as well. Do you think it would work? I could label a file for each of the aspects of my home life. One titled (PIA) for the hubby. One titled (PIA2) for the 18 year old daughter who can't seem to find the direction she wants to go in and is driving me off the deep end of the pier. She's getting a tattoo this month and shared the wonderful (not) news with me. Her father is gonna flip but that's a whole other issue. I've gotten where I look forward to going to work to get out of the war zone between them. Can't wait to go to RT next week. Looking forward to seeing Cait Miller and relaxing.I think I'll stop rambling now. Maybe next week I'll pop on and add a blog about RT and upload pics as I go.Thanks for listening.Tara

Packing Light?

In two weeks time I leave for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Chicago. I know I'm a little early but I am having a weeklong side-trip to New Orleans before flying on up to the Windy City. My mind is full of the possibilities of travel what will I do, where will I go and above all, what will the weather be like? This leaves me with a problem… two different climates. Packing might be an issue…

Having said that, packing is ALWAYS a problem for me.

How do you light packers do it? Part of my problem is that I am a planner, seriously, lists and schedules are my thing. I am not physically capable of leaving things to chance. I get cold sweats just thinking about it. I will have to pack for hot and cool plus stuff for the RT Con and any other eventuality that comes to me meantime. I have dresses, shorts and jeans and costumes and swag to think about. Then there's medication, migraine, asthma, allergies….then there were those times when I got tonsillitis so maybe I should bring antibiotics… Shoes! Sneakers, walking shoes, heels sandals to wear with those dresses and shorts. Jewellery, gotta be blinged out. Also toiletries cos I have my favourite brands of everything and god knows I can't leave those at home. Electronics, of course those all have to be in my carry on with the jewellery. Netbook, ereader (thank GOD for the ereader cos books were another packing issue), camera, phone and all the assorted chargers. There's no WAY I can fit all that in one 20kg bag! I say it again, how do you people manage to pack light?

What a week!

I'm late posting because I've been ill. But I'm feeling much better now and today my email brought me something worth celebrating!

You have perhaps read of PayPal's recent decision to stop allowing its services to be used by companies that sell certain kinds of erotica. If the companies did not censor their offerings, PayPal would no longer do business with them. 
Further information then came out that PayPal's change in their Terms of Service (TOS) was actually dictated to them by the credit card companies and banks who decided THEY didn't want to have dealings with certain kinds of erotica. It was the financial institutions who put PayPal in the middle and PayPal made a decision based on their own best business interests.
Enter Mark Coker of Smashwords. In my blog post on this earlier last week, I said that, "If I were an artist, I'd draw him as a knight standing before a pile of books, wielding a sword of words against bankers and investment firms who stand ready with lit matches."
Today I'd adapt that picture to one of him beating back the bankers and investment firms, the wind of his sword blowing out their matches because today, PayPal reversed it's decision. They will NOT be a part of censorship of legal fiction in any way.
Does that mean PayPal has put its own business in jeopardy because its standing up for what it has come to understand is right? You betcha. In Mark's words (from his public letter sent today): "This is a big, bold move by PayPal. It represents a watershed decision that protects the rights of writers to write, publish and distribute legal fiction. It also protects the rights of readers to purchase and enjoy all fiction in the privacy of their own imagination. It clarifies and rationalizes the role of financial services providers and pulls them out of the business of censoring legal fiction."
So here's me beating the drum and recommending to all of you who purchase ebooks: Go to Smashwords. Visit the site and look at the offerings. Many of the Scribes have books there for sale, but so do thousands of other writers. Support this wonderful company that went to bat for our right to read what we want without censorship from Those Who Know Better. You won't be sorry...and you'll help send a message that solidifies PayPal's decision that they did the right thing.
Diana

Read an Ebook Week

It's the perfect time to fill up all those Kindles and Nooks and Kobos and Sony Readers and settle in for a day (or two or three) of reading. The Scribes have lots of books to help you fill up those ereaders. Check out all our pretty book covers on our website.
Two of my self-published books are on sale at Smashwords. Normally $1.99, you can buy Anything Goes or Panties Optional this week for only 99¢. Just use coupon code REW50 when you check out. (My other book available at Smashwords, What Are Friends For?, is already 99¢.)
Whether you buy one of my books or one of the other Scribes' books, curl up in your comfy chair and escape for a few hours into our world.
Happy reading!Lynn

Influential Underwear

Usually when I write, I have revelations about characters or actions but recently I had a revelation about underwear.

My current story (just days from sending to my editor) involves a pair of crimson panties. They appear at various times in the story. My heroine likes to wear sexy red panties under her police uniform. It gives her an extra boost of confidence when she's working with the male officers.

After I wrote it, it made me think: how much influence does my underwear have on my attitude?

I'll state now, I go for comfort, not style, almost every time. If I have to spend the day readjusting my bra or tugging on my undies, I'm going to be irritated. But I usually try to get something that's at least pretty.

Recently, I was desperate for underwear and ended up purchasing what can only be called "Granny Panties." Every time I put them on, even though no else is likely to see them, I feel frumpy and bland. I'd throw them away but I'm also a terrible shopper so I need them in my undie rotation right now. But they are always my last choice. And I sigh whenever I see them. Strange how something most people never see influences behavior.

There's probably some comment on the sexual nature of our society in there but that's not something I can figure out right now.

And just a note, I watch movies and TV shows and whenever a woman is seen in her underwear, it's always sexy and it always matches! I can't believe that's real life--does everyone wear sexy bras and thongs under their work clothes? That's got to be some male costume designer's dream right? Who does that? And even when I do wear sexy, they don't match. I don't have time for those kinds of complications.

So, no wicked revelations today, just thinking about foundations in writing. (Get it? Foundations? I'm hilarious. I know)

Memories Of That Special One

Today in northern Minnesota, the sun is shining and it's hard to believe it's just a little past the middle of February! It's supposed to be COLD here, not nice to enough to sit out on the deck in sweats with no jacket. But I'm glad it's nice. I'm glad I had a chance to sit in the sun and reflect on this special day.

For all you animal lovers out there, today is my beautiful yellow lab's birthday. And you know exactly what I'm talking about if you're fortunate enough to have had that one special dog in your life time, one that you just can't forget. I'm sad thinking about her, yet grateful for all the years she graced us with her human-like antics. You know, I'm thinking I've written about her before but she was just that great of a dog that she deserves a second go around.

You see, we had to make the decision for Ms. Kaydee to say goodbye to us four years ago. She was twelve and I know if it wouldn't have been for cancer, we most likely would have had her around for another three or four years. As terrible as this sounds, I remember waking up every morning for six months before her death and actually hoping I'd find her passed and at peace. I did not want to have to make that life/death call in regard to another living spirit, one that I loved so much.

What a clown she was! Not a day ever passed that she didn't make me laugh. My kids grew up with Kaydee and their fondest memories are times spent with that dog. We have a big yard out here in the country and summer days were spent playing baseball or swimming. My two sons would take the positions of pitcher and catcher and my daughter would be at bat. And there out at the end of the yard would sit Kaydee, playing outfielder. Oh, she knew her position well and took it seriously! The ball would get smacked to the outfield and she'd be there to retrieve and run it back to the pitcher. Dropping it, she'd race back out and assume her position! Not a bird or squirrel could gain her attention. Not when there was a serious baseball game in progress.

We laugh now how swimming as a group was a bit of a problem. That dog loved the water but hated if someone was splashing around. To her it meant one of the kids, or my husband or I, were in danger of drowning. Someone always had to sit and hold her collar or risk actually being drowned when she hit the water at a hundred miles an hour, swam out, grabbed your arm and dragged you back to shore. Kaydee was NOT happy until everyone was safely lined up in the sand and a headcount was taken.

Kaydee was an avid hunter like my husband. They spent a lot of time walking fields, in search of pheasant and grouse. What a great partner she was for him. When she was five and in her hunting prime, she tore all the ligaments in her knee. So we put out the bucks for her to have surgery and she then became my live-in couch potato, a new career that suited her well! Well couch potato or office manager. I still miss having her lay at my feet when I'm working in my office.

So, that fateful time that all dog lovers fear, finally came. I knew I had to make the decision. She was having a difficult time breathing. She fell down the steps three separate times in a week. It was a struggle for her to get up on her own. Being 105 pounds, she wasn't easy to lift. I guess having to make that horrible decision is a form of absolute love, however. I didn't want her hurting anymore. I didn't want her looking with longing out the window…

So I'm sitting here in my office, not quite alone, because she's still here with me in my heart. My memories are happy ones. Thanks, Kaydee. And Happy Birthday. I miss you!