Daisy Harris's Blog, page 38
July 2, 2011
RWA Roundup
So much to say about RWA National Conference this past week. So here's a quick run-down.
The Picks:
Museum of Sex with Tiffany Reisz, Alyssa Lynn Palmer, Monica Kaye and Andrew Shaffer. I cannot imagine a funnier group of people or a better field trip. What's more, I got a cute little "I
Cassandra Carr's corset at the Passionate Ink Party. Made of awesome!
My lovely roommate, Taylor Lunsford– who put up with my coming in late, oversharing, and borrowing everything from her Coca Cola to her deodorant.
Finally meeting my critique partner, Danica Avet, in person. She's as much fun one on one as she is online!
Kelli Collins, editor-in-chief at Ellora's Cave– she's really one of my favorite people at these conferences. She's smart, wry, down-to-earth. She's like my dark side. Love her.
Meeting my editor at Ellora's Cave, Grace Bradley! What a sweetheart! Not only is she a great editor, but she's uber-nice in person. So glad we got a chance to touch base. Gosh, between her and Kelly, I soooooo wish I could get to Romanticon this year!
Taking a limo with the crowd from Ravenous Nights! (Oh, and Chinese with Lori Perkins after.)
Ach! Too much more to mention…so on to the pans.
The Pans:
WTF was that noise going on above the Atrium at 11:30 pm on Thursday night?!?!
Why, oh why, did the Atrium Lounge turn on the lights and kick us out at 1am Friday? I was having a blast! City that never sleeps, my right tit!
Elevators.
Blisters.
Not enough hours in the day!
What about you? What was your favorite part of nationals? Least favorite? How are your feet?
June 29, 2011
Home, Sweet Home: The Power of Repetition in Storytelling
Last night I watched an awesome, awesome movie. My perception may be exaggerated given I had insomnia and viewed it from 3 to 5 am, but still– I enjoyed the film enough that at the end I wanted to start watching it all over again from the beginning.
To me, that's the mark of a great movie, or book, or song, or story, the immediate desire to hear it again.
The movie: Hot Tub Time Machine. The reason: Home, Sweet Home.
All writers know about three act structure, and most understand the concept of repetition. Readers are like little kids– we like elements in a story to repeat again and again until the character gets it right. Like in the Three Little Pigs. The pigs get three chances to defeat the Big Bad Wolf, and every time the wolf comes to the door, he says his same little villainous monologue. Heck, "little pig, little pig, let me in" may be the most famous line of literature in history.
Well, in Hot Tub Time Machine, the repeating element was the Motley Crüe song Home Sweet Home. In the first act of the movie, we see Rob Corddry drunk and possibly trying to kill himself while bellowing the power ballad. At the black moment, we see him again, this time on a roof, but still drinking and miserable, still singing the same song.
(Spoiler Alert! Turn back now if you haven't seen the movie.)
Then at the end, when he's finally won the day, he's on a frickin' stage, in the frickin' video, rockin' out as the friction' lead singer of frickin' Motley Crüe.
It. Was. So. Awesome. Not just because Motley Crüe totally rocked and that song is a classic, but because the repetition was so perfect! At the end of the movie, I wanted to grow out some giant hair, wear fingerless gloves, and hop right up on stage with Rob. I wanted to howl with him in victory. His story comes gloriously, unabashedly, over-the-topedly full-circle. And that's what we all want for a hero– to return home the man he was born to be.
What are your thoughts? Where has repetition in a movie or book really worked for you? Have you ever seen it fall flat?
See the video here, BTW. It's hi-larious!
June 27, 2011
Reading Friday 8 pm!
Join me Friday night at 8 pm at Happy Endings Lounge on Broome Street, NYC for drinks and a reading from my latest story, Lust After Death.
Zombies! Alcohol! Door Prizes! Fun!
Plus, you get to see me stammer through a steamy scene. I may even have to say "cock" out loud. 
Hope to see you there!
Daisy
June 22, 2011
And the Winner is…
Debbie! Congrats, lady! I sent you an email.
Thanks to all who entered!
June 17, 2011
Spring in to Summer Blog Giveaway Hop!!!! Enter to Win!!
Hi guys!
Time for the Coffee & Romance Spring into Summer Blog Giveaway Hop! Leave a comment below for a chance to win your choice of two prizes:
1. Mercury Rising- my latest release. A male-male, god-mortal erotic romance.
or…
2. An advance copy of Lust After Death, my upcoming release. A zombie marriage of convenience story.
*Note: You won't receive this for a month or so, since it's not through final edits yet.*
To enter, answer the following question: What's your favorite paranormal or futuristic species? (Or just leave a comment. That works too!)
June 15, 2011
These Romans Are Crazy!
If you follow me on Twitter, FB, and the rest, you may already know of my fascination with Asterix the Gaul. The series by Goscinny and Underzo was one of my favorite reading materials as a kid. Asterix was a "shrewd, cunning, little warrior" in ancient Gaul who defended his village against the Roman invaders. Identifying as I did (and still do) with Asterix, I've developed a sharp and knee-jerk dislike for all things Roman.
Now, of course Asterix was an allegory. Many have argued that it's not about ancient Gaul and Roman invaders, but about France and it's determination not to succumb to the influences of outside cultures. This may or may not be true…precisely, but Asterix is undoubtedly a "French" comic. The villagers crack bawdy, earthy, and sometimes slapstick, jokes. They feast and flirt. They're tied to land and community, and have a strong, "suck it up," mentality.
Asterix and Obelix also observe the world in a particularly French way. Asterix, on the one hand, aims for understanding and diplomacy. Obelix, however, thinks everyone else is a little nuts, and chooses just to sock them. They win the day more often by smarts than by force. And most often, Asterix channels his enemies' conceit and foibles into a tool for Gaulish gain.
Roman orgies, Swiss banks, Germanic pride, wars in the middle east– all worked as fodder for Goscinny and Underzo and their devilish quills. Written primarily in the 1950s and 60s, the series captured the imagination of a generation of European children. And a few in the US as well. Oh, and there's a Parc Astérix right outside Paris.
Every book I've written borrows from Asterix in some way. In my Ocean Shifters series, my mere were underdogs, keeping the sea dragon colonists at bay. In Mercury Rising, the gods Mercury and Vesta chafe against the prudery of the Pantheon. And in my upcoming stein/zombie series, my steins are the underdogs– fighting for freedom and self-determinacy in a predominantly "lifer" world.
More often than not, my characters have moments in the story when they think, "These Romans are crazy!" It's the battle cry of those who've turned frustration into humor, of the character who knows he's at odds with society, and doesn't care. It's a commentary on the absurdities of the ruling class– prudery paired with decadence, thrift with opulence, earnestness with corruption. You're so right, Obelix. I agree wholeheartedy, "Ils sont fou, ces romains! Bien sûr."
June 13, 2011
Mermaids!
According to USA Today, even Stephanie Meyers is writing mermaids nowadays. Apparently, a huge mermaid craze had been gaining momentum right as I'd almost forgotten I ever wrote mermaid stories.
So, um…yeah. I write mermaid smut. Or at least, wrote. It's a trilogy: Mere Temptation, Mere Passion, and Shark Bait.
It's good smut, promise. With lots of ocean-y fun, pirates, dragons, sharks, mad scientists, and even a vampire. All good things! Plus, my books have a lot more sex than anything Stephanie Meyers would pen.
Check 'em out!
June 10, 2011
New Cover LUST!!
Love is too weak a word to describe how I feel about my latest cover. I want to take a bath with it and bask in the sunshine of its awesomeness. I'm totally going to print it out on glossy paper and frame it (or at the very least, but my husband to.)
LOVE! LUST! ZOMBIES!!!
June 9, 2011
Studdenstein Update (with Barbies)
Too lazy to blog again. Watch me play with Barbies and Bratz dolls. Nekkid! (The dolls, not me!)
June 6, 2011
IPad for Writers: The Review, Part Two
See the Shiny?
About ten months back, I got an iPad. I wrote a review of my experience, with emphasis on how I used my iPad as a writer. So the indomitable Ian Sandusky challenged me (at the time) to write another review in 6 months to a year, after the initial shiny wore off.So here it is…
I did revert to using a laptop. For quite a while, actually. However, now I'm back to using my iPad for the bulk of my writing. I think the issue was, it took me a while to figure out how to make the iPad work for me.
Most of the authors I know who write on the iPad use an external keyboard. I started out doing that, but hated hauling around a keyboard everywhere. Oddly, when I got back into using my iPad for drafting, I ditched the keyboard and started writing directly on the touchscreen.
On the touchscreen? Yes! Believe it or not! Apparently, I appreciate portability more than a full keyboard. Who knew?
Nowadays I'm doing most of my blogging from my iPad, and writing all my first drafts on it. I also do character sketches, outlines, etc. For a while there, I was a scrivener fan and loved outlining and writing in that program, but I'm not as into scrivener of late. I dunno– I can't tell whether the program isn't my favorite, or whether I just like to change things up and use different platforms at different times.
My favorite feature of the iPad is the same now as it was in the beginning– that you can only use one app at a time. As a social networking addict, I really benefit from not having the option of checking my email and twitter while I'm writing. Sure, I can close pages and check twitter on my iPad. But I can't be doing both at the same time. However much the touch-type keyboard slows me down, I still write faster overall on an iPad because I'm not multitasking.
How fast? Well, in the last couple days I've written 2000 words in about an hour and fifteen minutes. That's a pretty decent word count for me, and I doubt I could write any faster on my MacBook. It's all about real-life results. While I theoretically might be able to type faster in a laptop, I don't. I surf the interwebz, get drawn into Twitter drama, check my email.
So the verdict almost a year later: the iPad is my main writing tool. I still use a laptop for edits because of the track-changes option. I still use a laptop for Tweetdeck, busy social networking, and promotional stuff where I'm gonna want to cut and paste a lot.
But I write on an iPad. For now at least.
