Cardeno C.'s Blog, page 81
November 10, 2015
Things We're Thankful For, the dog edition from Sean, Julia and BA
So, Sean, Julia and I have a lot in common.
Lots.
Tons.
But one of the cutest things we have in common?
Dogs.
Sadie, Sonny, Bacon, Sparky, Gizzy — we love our dogs, each other’s dogs, my mom’s dogs. So, we’re all about being thankful this month? Today, we’re grateful for our fuzzy beasts.
Sleeping fuzzy beasts.
Stretched out fuzzy beasts.
Curled up sexy beasts.
Fuzzy beasts in sweaters.
Fuzzy little beasts.
Wallowing fuzzy beasts.
Fuzzy beasts in the sunshine.
Fuzzy beasts in the sunroom.
Beasts in rainbow wings.
You can find us on Twitter at @seanmichael09, @juliatalbot and @batortuga. Sean’s website is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.comJulia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.comBA’s is http://www.batortuga.com Facebook:Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWritesJulia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthorBA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga
November 9, 2015
Recipe: Chocolate & Peanut Butter Brownies by Cardeno C.
Happy Monday! Today I have a sweet, yummy recipe to share. A couple of weeks ago, I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw Cherri H. post a link to a brownie recipe. Dinner was in the oven so I was really hungry and I clicked. When I shared my "after" pictures, Jayden Brooks suggested I blog the recipe so here we are. (Thanks, Jayden!)The blogger called the brownies "Buckeye Brownies" and she probably explained the reason why in the blog, but I'll be honest here and tell you that I was not patient enough to read it so I scrolled all the way to the end for the recipe. Also, I've decided to rename the brownies "Chocolate & Peanut Butter Brownies" for three reasons.
First, that name doesn't require an explanation so we have no recipe delay when using it. Second, the name very accurately describes the brownies and as someone who spends hours writing a blurb to accurately describe my books, I feel like the item description should match the item. Third, and possibly the most important reason, my high school geography teacher went to Ohio State and he was a huge fan so when we did our test on countries, states, and capitals, we got extra credit if we put "Buckeyes" after "Ohio". My memory of those horrible memorization tests is much clearer than my memory of where anything is but so help me to this day, when someone says "Ohio" I think "Buckeyes". It's Pavlov's fricken' dogs and associating anything with it will end in bad memories. These brownies deserve better.Now that I've written a too-long intro after commenting about too long intros, here's the recipe.
Ingredients
Brownies: 1 Box of Brownie MixPeanut Butter Cream:½ Cup Unsalted Butter, softened but not melted1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter2½ cups Powdered Sugar1 tsp Vanilla Extract2 TBSP Milk1 pinch SaltGlaze:1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips¼ cup Creamy Peanut ButterInstructionsBrownies: Bake per box directions. Size Tip: I used a deep glass pan (square) for this because the metal one I normally use for brownies gets full with just the brownies and this recipe requires room at the top for more yummy goodness. (Bonus: The glass pan is a pyrex storage pan so there's a handy lid good for storing leftover brownies.) Next time I make these, I'm going to try a 9 by 12 glass pan (lasagna pan) in order to spread these out and make them thinner.No Patience Tip: These brownies are supposed to cool before the next step but I was rushing toward the finish line so I wanted to do expedited cooling. The freezer is an obvious way to make that happen but putting a hot pan in my freezer seemed fatal for my ice cream so I came up with an alternative. I filled a glass 9x12 pan with ice and put the brownie pan on top of the ice right out of the oven. I then walked my puppy and by the time I returned, the brownies were cool enough to go into the freezer (still in the ice/water filled 9x12 pan). About five minutes in the freezer and I was good to go.Peanut Butter Cream: (I made this while the brownies baked.)Beat butter and peanut butter with an electric mixer until fully integrated. Add powdered sugar a bit at a time so it doesn't poof all over your kitchen. (Note: I wasn't patient enough for that so there was some poofing in my kitchen.) Beat in vanilla, milk, and salt until creamy.Spread the PB cream evenly over the cooled brownies being careful not to get brownie crumbs mixed into it.Glaze: (I made these while the brownies were in the freezer.)Melt the chocolate chips & peanut butter together and stir until smooth. I used a double boiler but I suspect the microwave method would work if you were super duper careful. Cool the chocolate/peanut butter mixture for a few minutes and then pour over the PB cream. Smooth the glaze evenly using a rubber spatula.Chill the brownies. (The recipe said an hour. I did about five to ten minutes in the freezer.)
Mmm, mmm, good!Have a terrific week and happy baking!
CCwww.cardenoc.com
November 7, 2015
Taking Care of Authors by Renae Kaye
Last week I had a discussion with a close friend. She has three children, and each was born via caesarean. During the third operation, she was told that her uterus was dangerously thin. A thin uterus is dangerous because of the risk of rupture in subsequent pregnancies, and medical professionals usually advise not to have any more children. It had been discussed with her prior to the birth, and she had opted, that should it be the case, she would have her tubes tied.
She would’ve loved another baby, but loves the kids she has.
Last week her period was late. Only a woman who has had an unexpectedly late period can describe the horror that you feel at that. There is the uncertainty of what is going on with your own body, but then there is the “what am I going to do?” debate that takes up every minute of your day.
The chances of her being pregnant are astronomical – but there is that chance.
My friend’s husband told her that he would want her to have an abortion, but she was torn. She so much wanted another baby. At that stage she was still thinking with her emotions over a cute cuddly baby, rather than all the other ramifications.
Now, to make my stance clear, I’m pro-choice. I’m not pro-abortion or anti-abortion, I’m pro-CHOICE. A woman should have the right to choose for herself what is best. I would prefer that no abortion be performed, and I think as a society we should more widely accept adoption, but I’m a realist who understands that sometimes bad things need to happen to stop catastrophic events.
My friend sat there, shaking at the thought of harming a baby that she didn’t even know if she was pregnant with. I told her that she would need to go through the pros and cons with a doctor before deciding on a course of action, but if it was me, I would follow medical advice. If it was risking her own life to have a baby, she was risking making her husband a widower and leaving him with three small children to raise without a mother.
My friend asked me if I would come with her if she decided to have an abortion. I told her of course. She knows I don’t judge. And I believe in taking care of the caregiver before the one in need.
Now THAT is a challenging statement.
It was something I learned from when my father was battling terminal illness. My mother was the caregiver, and we needed to look after her, because she was looking after Dad. If Mum went down, then they both would.
How many of you reading this blog post are parents? How many times have you gone without so that your kids could have something? I know that I always give myself the driest looking piece of meat so that the kids get the better bit.
I’m not advocating stopping that activity, but more on an over-reaching scale.
In our household, the family revolves around my direction. As I tell the kids, I’m the boss! **wink** I hold the reins, keeping the horses on the straight and narrow, pulling the stagecoach along its track. If my husband falls ill, we limp onward, maybe a little slower, and at times I have to jump off and push, but we still journey forward. However, if I fall ill, the horses bolt and run away, smashing the coach against the rocks, and wandering off course. We rely on two things – firstly that I’m not ill for too long, and secondly that I can pull us back on course when I’m well again.
But what if it was a protracted illness? What if it was something more than a cold? What if it was something long lasting and debilitating like a mental illness?
As the mother, I have multiple roles in my family. I’m the one who keeps up with the kids’ school schedule, their friends, the extended family, the pets, the daily housekeeping, the bills, the groceries, the budget, etc. I keep the dentist appointments and decide whether we need more red meat in our diet. I’m the one who makes sure the kids go to the library and have done their homework. I remember when to worm the cats, if it’s the day to put out the bins, if it’s time to do a load of washing, and if we can afford to have takeaway tonight.
I’m the caregiver. I take care of everyone else. But who takes care of me? I must watch out for myself and make decisions on how much is too much. Because, if I don’t take care of me and I go under, then we all falter.
The point of this blog, is that authors need to take the same care. Writing is a very isolated job. Most of us are self-starters. We don’t have agents to egg us on to write the next best seller, accountants to keep track of our money, publicists to market our stuff, and a manager to watch over it all. We’re pretty much a one-horse show. I’m not talking about those who self-publish versus those who traditionally publish. I’m talking about the oomph to write a novel, finish it, tidy it up, and do something with it – all without (guaranteed) reward.
These days we have social media to put us in touch with our readers and other authors, but it’s still a very lonely business. We rely on ourselves a lot. And a by-product of this, is that we have to rely on ourselves to check if we’re okay.
I’ve been in the authoring business a VERY SHORT time. I’ve only been writing not even three years, and published only 18 months. I’ve met a lot of authors on social media in that time. And I’ve seen a lot of authors go down.
Some drown in the avalanche of responsibilities and disappear until the thaw. Others brave the storm of bad reviews and get swept away. We’ve recently seen the mudslinging and resultant mudslide of the Laura Harner situation. Her excuse for plagiarism seemed to be “I wanted more and didn’t think anyone would notice.” One of our favourite authors has declared she’s hanging up her paddles. And yet another one has disappeared from contact.
There are so many pitfalls, and the author needs to watch for them. My take on the world of writing is this: slow and steady wins. An author that brings out two novels a year, rides at their own pace, and doesn’t get overwhelmed, will still be bringing out two novels a year in three years time. An author who makes a huge splash with four novels, rides the huge wave, gets the glory, will probably hit with a bang and slide under the waves. (Don’t concentrate on the numbers I’m using in this analogy, because each person writes at their own pace. The point is, the author who takes care of themselves survives. The author that creates the tsunami washes out.)
Take care of the caregiver before the one in need.
It’s like when you’re flying on a plane, they tell you that if there’s an emergency and the oxygen masks come down, put your own mask on before helping others. When you’re an author, you are the caregiver. You are the provider of stories. The readers are the ones in need of stories. If you don’t take care of yourself, then you don’t write, and the reader “starves” and you’ve killed two people.
If you are an author, and you’re reading my blog, my advice is to take two minutes to check yourself right now. Are you okay? Are you stressed? Have you taken on too much? Are you pushing yourself too much? Do you need to slow down?
If you are a reader, and you’re reading my blog, my advice is to wait. Have patience. We all love our favourite author, but if your choice was to have two more of their novels right now and never have another after that, or to have twenty more novels over the next ten years, what would you prefer?
I see a lot of Facebook posts out there to “show your favourite author your love.” Readers respond by telling their love, tagging their author and saying thanks. I adore that concept (and wow to everyone who tags me). But another way to show your love is compliment without pressure.
Consider these two sentences:
“I loved your new book. When’s the next one coming out?”OR“I loved your new book. I can’t wait for the next one.”
Translated, they say: “Great job, but give me more” and “Great job, and when you release the next, I promise to buy.”
When a reader says the first to me, I adoretheir enthusiasm. Believe me – I cannot help but be grateful. (Thank you thank you). But it puts the pressure on. Granted, most authors have already started writing, if not finished the next one, but if it’s not ready to go, we feel we’ve let the reader down. And as an author, that’s the last thing we want to do. We want to make you happy. We want to make you laugh. Sometimes we want to make you ugly-cry, but hopefully not at the end of the book. But we live to make the readers happy. Because we care. We’re the caregivers.
But let us take care of them. Because without the author, there will be no stories. And how sad would the world be then. (Insert ugly-cry here).
So next time you see an author struggling, how about a bit of encouragement for them? "Hi, Author! No hurry on the next novel. I'm happy to buy it when it's ready. I won't forget you, never fear. I love you, Author. I want you to be happy and write me books. I'd rather read a great novel than a rushed one. From your adoring reader, Me."
How to contact Renae:Email: renaekaye@iinet.net.auWebsite: www.renaekaye.weebly.comFB: www.facebook.com/renae.kaye.9 Twitter: @renaekkaye
She would’ve loved another baby, but loves the kids she has.
Last week her period was late. Only a woman who has had an unexpectedly late period can describe the horror that you feel at that. There is the uncertainty of what is going on with your own body, but then there is the “what am I going to do?” debate that takes up every minute of your day.
The chances of her being pregnant are astronomical – but there is that chance.
My friend’s husband told her that he would want her to have an abortion, but she was torn. She so much wanted another baby. At that stage she was still thinking with her emotions over a cute cuddly baby, rather than all the other ramifications.
Now, to make my stance clear, I’m pro-choice. I’m not pro-abortion or anti-abortion, I’m pro-CHOICE. A woman should have the right to choose for herself what is best. I would prefer that no abortion be performed, and I think as a society we should more widely accept adoption, but I’m a realist who understands that sometimes bad things need to happen to stop catastrophic events.My friend sat there, shaking at the thought of harming a baby that she didn’t even know if she was pregnant with. I told her that she would need to go through the pros and cons with a doctor before deciding on a course of action, but if it was me, I would follow medical advice. If it was risking her own life to have a baby, she was risking making her husband a widower and leaving him with three small children to raise without a mother.
My friend asked me if I would come with her if she decided to have an abortion. I told her of course. She knows I don’t judge. And I believe in taking care of the caregiver before the one in need.
Now THAT is a challenging statement.
It was something I learned from when my father was battling terminal illness. My mother was the caregiver, and we needed to look after her, because she was looking after Dad. If Mum went down, then they both would.
How many of you reading this blog post are parents? How many times have you gone without so that your kids could have something? I know that I always give myself the driest looking piece of meat so that the kids get the better bit.
I’m not advocating stopping that activity, but more on an over-reaching scale.
In our household, the family revolves around my direction. As I tell the kids, I’m the boss! **wink** I hold the reins, keeping the horses on the straight and narrow, pulling the stagecoach along its track. If my husband falls ill, we limp onward, maybe a little slower, and at times I have to jump off and push, but we still journey forward. However, if I fall ill, the horses bolt and run away, smashing the coach against the rocks, and wandering off course. We rely on two things – firstly that I’m not ill for too long, and secondly that I can pull us back on course when I’m well again.
But what if it was a protracted illness? What if it was something more than a cold? What if it was something long lasting and debilitating like a mental illness?
As the mother, I have multiple roles in my family. I’m the one who keeps up with the kids’ school schedule, their friends, the extended family, the pets, the daily housekeeping, the bills, the groceries, the budget, etc. I keep the dentist appointments and decide whether we need more red meat in our diet. I’m the one who makes sure the kids go to the library and have done their homework. I remember when to worm the cats, if it’s the day to put out the bins, if it’s time to do a load of washing, and if we can afford to have takeaway tonight.
I’m the caregiver. I take care of everyone else. But who takes care of me? I must watch out for myself and make decisions on how much is too much. Because, if I don’t take care of me and I go under, then we all falter.
The point of this blog, is that authors need to take the same care. Writing is a very isolated job. Most of us are self-starters. We don’t have agents to egg us on to write the next best seller, accountants to keep track of our money, publicists to market our stuff, and a manager to watch over it all. We’re pretty much a one-horse show. I’m not talking about those who self-publish versus those who traditionally publish. I’m talking about the oomph to write a novel, finish it, tidy it up, and do something with it – all without (guaranteed) reward.
These days we have social media to put us in touch with our readers and other authors, but it’s still a very lonely business. We rely on ourselves a lot. And a by-product of this, is that we have to rely on ourselves to check if we’re okay.
I’ve been in the authoring business a VERY SHORT time. I’ve only been writing not even three years, and published only 18 months. I’ve met a lot of authors on social media in that time. And I’ve seen a lot of authors go down.
Some drown in the avalanche of responsibilities and disappear until the thaw. Others brave the storm of bad reviews and get swept away. We’ve recently seen the mudslinging and resultant mudslide of the Laura Harner situation. Her excuse for plagiarism seemed to be “I wanted more and didn’t think anyone would notice.” One of our favourite authors has declared she’s hanging up her paddles. And yet another one has disappeared from contact.
There are so many pitfalls, and the author needs to watch for them. My take on the world of writing is this: slow and steady wins. An author that brings out two novels a year, rides at their own pace, and doesn’t get overwhelmed, will still be bringing out two novels a year in three years time. An author who makes a huge splash with four novels, rides the huge wave, gets the glory, will probably hit with a bang and slide under the waves. (Don’t concentrate on the numbers I’m using in this analogy, because each person writes at their own pace. The point is, the author who takes care of themselves survives. The author that creates the tsunami washes out.)
Take care of the caregiver before the one in need.
It’s like when you’re flying on a plane, they tell you that if there’s an emergency and the oxygen masks come down, put your own mask on before helping others. When you’re an author, you are the caregiver. You are the provider of stories. The readers are the ones in need of stories. If you don’t take care of yourself, then you don’t write, and the reader “starves” and you’ve killed two people.
If you are an author, and you’re reading my blog, my advice is to take two minutes to check yourself right now. Are you okay? Are you stressed? Have you taken on too much? Are you pushing yourself too much? Do you need to slow down?
If you are a reader, and you’re reading my blog, my advice is to wait. Have patience. We all love our favourite author, but if your choice was to have two more of their novels right now and never have another after that, or to have twenty more novels over the next ten years, what would you prefer?
I see a lot of Facebook posts out there to “show your favourite author your love.” Readers respond by telling their love, tagging their author and saying thanks. I adore that concept (and wow to everyone who tags me). But another way to show your love is compliment without pressure.
Consider these two sentences:
“I loved your new book. When’s the next one coming out?”OR“I loved your new book. I can’t wait for the next one.”
Translated, they say: “Great job, but give me more” and “Great job, and when you release the next, I promise to buy.”
When a reader says the first to me, I adoretheir enthusiasm. Believe me – I cannot help but be grateful. (Thank you thank you). But it puts the pressure on. Granted, most authors have already started writing, if not finished the next one, but if it’s not ready to go, we feel we’ve let the reader down. And as an author, that’s the last thing we want to do. We want to make you happy. We want to make you laugh. Sometimes we want to make you ugly-cry, but hopefully not at the end of the book. But we live to make the readers happy. Because we care. We’re the caregivers.But let us take care of them. Because without the author, there will be no stories. And how sad would the world be then. (Insert ugly-cry here).
So next time you see an author struggling, how about a bit of encouragement for them? "Hi, Author! No hurry on the next novel. I'm happy to buy it when it's ready. I won't forget you, never fear. I love you, Author. I want you to be happy and write me books. I'd rather read a great novel than a rushed one. From your adoring reader, Me."
How to contact Renae:Email: renaekaye@iinet.net.auWebsite: www.renaekaye.weebly.comFB: www.facebook.com/renae.kaye.9 Twitter: @renaekkaye
November 6, 2015
Series or Stand Alone by Felice Stevens
When I was strictly a reader, I preferred to read series; nothing drew me more into a book than becoming emotionally invested with the characters. And, if I was lucky enough to discover the author well into the series, I often found myself sprawled out on my sofa, binge-reading for a weekend.
There are many wonderful stand-alone books, don't get me wrong. But something always felt a bit sad at the end of their story. I wanted more; more about their lives, perhaps more about a secondary character who I found interesting but the author didn't see fit to indulge me to write a story for them.
Then I began to write on my own and lo and behold, my first book, Rescued, was a stand alone. And although people did ask for a book about John, the bartender, I instead, found myself caught up in the story playing in my head, the stories of three foster brothers. And that was the genesis of the Hell and Back series.
One day I hope to go back and write John's story and revisit the guys from Rescued. But so far, I have other books calling to me and they all seem to tie into one another. So, in other words, more series. And the stories intersect, so we may see people from the Memories series pop up in my other series, The Breakfast Club.
What do you like to read? Are you satisfied with a stand alone and are happy when the story ends, or do you like to see the stories of the characters continue on?
There are many wonderful stand-alone books, don't get me wrong. But something always felt a bit sad at the end of their story. I wanted more; more about their lives, perhaps more about a secondary character who I found interesting but the author didn't see fit to indulge me to write a story for them.
Then I began to write on my own and lo and behold, my first book, Rescued, was a stand alone. And although people did ask for a book about John, the bartender, I instead, found myself caught up in the story playing in my head, the stories of three foster brothers. And that was the genesis of the Hell and Back series.
One day I hope to go back and write John's story and revisit the guys from Rescued. But so far, I have other books calling to me and they all seem to tie into one another. So, in other words, more series. And the stories intersect, so we may see people from the Memories series pop up in my other series, The Breakfast Club.
What do you like to read? Are you satisfied with a stand alone and are happy when the story ends, or do you like to see the stories of the characters continue on?
November 4, 2015
When the muse is in the zone by Riley Hart
I decided to try and do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year. For those of you who don't know, the goal is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. I've never done NaNo before. I signed up one year but didn't nothing with it. I'm determined this year though. My husband is working again (he had 2.5 years off and I LOVED it. It's what I wanted), and that made it a lot easier for me to get things done. With him working that means I won't get much writing done over Christmas vacation or any of the other days the kids aren't in school. The last half of December and the first part of January are going to be tough for me, so NaNo is coming at the perfect time. I was going to get busy on that manuscript I've been trying to work on for a loooong time now.
Um...nope.
Let me rephrase. It's not that I'm not writing. I am. I'm writing like crazy, to be honest, but I'm not working on the book I planned to finish. I've struggled with that book and I can't put my finger on why, and now I've been hit with a bright, shiny NEW idea that I can't stop thinking about. It's a constant flame that won't go out and as I'm writing this blog post on Wednesday evening I've clocked in nearly 15,000 words on the book since starting it on Sunday.
My muse is totally in the zone and I can do nothing except follow her along for the ride.
It's a pretty incredible feeling, to be honest.
If there's one thing I've learned since I started writing is that I can't force a book that's not ready to be written. I'd be doing myself, my characters, their story AND my readers a disservice by doing that.
So, while it's not the book I originally told everyone I'd be working on next, I hope you'll all love this new story even more.
Um...nope.
Let me rephrase. It's not that I'm not writing. I am. I'm writing like crazy, to be honest, but I'm not working on the book I planned to finish. I've struggled with that book and I can't put my finger on why, and now I've been hit with a bright, shiny NEW idea that I can't stop thinking about. It's a constant flame that won't go out and as I'm writing this blog post on Wednesday evening I've clocked in nearly 15,000 words on the book since starting it on Sunday.
My muse is totally in the zone and I can do nothing except follow her along for the ride.
It's a pretty incredible feeling, to be honest.
If there's one thing I've learned since I started writing is that I can't force a book that's not ready to be written. I'd be doing myself, my characters, their story AND my readers a disservice by doing that.
So, while it's not the book I originally told everyone I'd be working on next, I hope you'll all love this new story even more.
Do We Do That????? - From Andrew Grey
Dear Andrew
Seen from the other side of the pond, some things I often read in romance are really strange. For example, when a guy goes on a date and wants to look really good, he puts on a silk shirt. I've been around quite a bit, but never saw one of them – or maybe I did, but it was plain white and hidden under a suit. Along the same line, do you really wear a tuxedo to go to the theater or to a restaurant? Here, except for a highly formal ceremony, it would be considered overdressed.Another thing is big strong cowboys drinking milk with their meals or two guys in a fancy restaurant drinking milk with their tenderloin? To me, that's just weird. Well, I guess there are thing you find puzzling in Europe.
Kindest regards,Madeleine
Dear Madeleine
Oh my goodness. You hit on a good one. There are many things in romance novels which do not reflect real life. They are put there for dramatic effect and to try to give the reader a sense of how the character is feeling. I have an extensive wardrobe and I don't own a silk shirt. I have owned one in my life. But a character in a novel may put on a silk shirt to show how excited or special he thinks the evening will be. Its the authors way of helping to convey that specialness.
As for a tuxedo. I own one and I do not wear it to go to the theater or a restaurant in general. It is over dressing. However i have worn my tuxedo out for an evening when I was with ladies who were dressed in evening wear. I have also work my tux at my wedding and other more formal affairs. Or at a convention when I want to be noticed in a crowd. Put on the tux for the evening and you get noticed. But to answer your question directly, in the US, men we do not go around wearing tuxedos all the time. However as an author I have dressed my characters in tuxedos for an evening out because its an incredibly special night and they are celebrating or want to show their partner what they mean to them.
As for drinking mil, I really can't help you with that one much. I can say that I don't see a lot of adults ordering milk in restaurants. I think its another of those licenses authors use to try to convey a mindset for feeling rather than reflect real life. In this country, milk is considered wholesome.
As a recap, in books of any kind, clothes and behavior often are used to try to get a glimpse of character insight or feeling. With visual media sometimes its easier because other senses are directly involved, but with the written word, the author has to use the tools at their disposal.
Hugs and loveAndrew
Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author. The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture. I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.
So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net. This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost. I will answer one question a week.
Please remember this is meant to be all in fun. (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.) So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.
Visit Andrew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks and you can join Andrew's fan group All The Way With Andrew Grey.
Follow him on Twitter: @andrewgreybooks
Visit Andrew's web site: www,andrewgreybooks.com
Seen from the other side of the pond, some things I often read in romance are really strange. For example, when a guy goes on a date and wants to look really good, he puts on a silk shirt. I've been around quite a bit, but never saw one of them – or maybe I did, but it was plain white and hidden under a suit. Along the same line, do you really wear a tuxedo to go to the theater or to a restaurant? Here, except for a highly formal ceremony, it would be considered overdressed.Another thing is big strong cowboys drinking milk with their meals or two guys in a fancy restaurant drinking milk with their tenderloin? To me, that's just weird. Well, I guess there are thing you find puzzling in Europe.
Kindest regards,Madeleine
Dear Madeleine
Oh my goodness. You hit on a good one. There are many things in romance novels which do not reflect real life. They are put there for dramatic effect and to try to give the reader a sense of how the character is feeling. I have an extensive wardrobe and I don't own a silk shirt. I have owned one in my life. But a character in a novel may put on a silk shirt to show how excited or special he thinks the evening will be. Its the authors way of helping to convey that specialness.
As for a tuxedo. I own one and I do not wear it to go to the theater or a restaurant in general. It is over dressing. However i have worn my tuxedo out for an evening when I was with ladies who were dressed in evening wear. I have also work my tux at my wedding and other more formal affairs. Or at a convention when I want to be noticed in a crowd. Put on the tux for the evening and you get noticed. But to answer your question directly, in the US, men we do not go around wearing tuxedos all the time. However as an author I have dressed my characters in tuxedos for an evening out because its an incredibly special night and they are celebrating or want to show their partner what they mean to them.
As for drinking mil, I really can't help you with that one much. I can say that I don't see a lot of adults ordering milk in restaurants. I think its another of those licenses authors use to try to convey a mindset for feeling rather than reflect real life. In this country, milk is considered wholesome.
As a recap, in books of any kind, clothes and behavior often are used to try to get a glimpse of character insight or feeling. With visual media sometimes its easier because other senses are directly involved, but with the written word, the author has to use the tools at their disposal.
Hugs and loveAndrew
Ask Andrew is your chance to ask questions of a gay romance author. The questions can be about the writing process in general, writing sex scenes, gay men, sex, characters in romance, characters having sex... okay you probably get the picture. I promise to answer your questions as frankly and with as much humor as I possibly can.So if you have a question, please send it to andrewgreybooks@comcast.net. This is different from my usual email so your questions don't get lost. I will answer one question a week.
Please remember this is meant to be all in fun. (I was going to say good, clean fun, but who wants that.) So send me your questions and let's see what mischief we can get into.
Visit Andrew on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrewgreybooks and you can join Andrew's fan group All The Way With Andrew Grey.
Follow him on Twitter: @andrewgreybooks
Visit Andrew's web site: www,andrewgreybooks.com
November 3, 2015
Cold Weather Q&A with BA Tortuga, Julia Talbot and Sean Michael
With Halloween over and it still being a few weeks before Thanksgiving, we thought we'd do a cold-weather Q&A today.
What's your favorite cold-weather meal?
Julia: lasagna! spaghetti and meat sauce! bread! All those things that heat up the house in the summertime.
BA: chili :D
Sean: roast beef with crispy on the outside roast potatoes, brussels sprouts with bacon, and cooked carrots.
What's your favorite cold-weather drink?
Julia: Coffee and hot chocolate mixed together.
BA: Coffee. Coffee is my standard 'favorite drink'. BA + Coffee = <3
Sean: White Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream from Second Cup
What's your favorite cold-weather accessory?
Julia: my moose hat!!
BA: fuzzy socks. I love fuzzy socks.
Sean: my Dr. Seuss thing one red and blue hat
What's your favorite cold-weather writing plot device?
Julia: stranded together in the snow or the whole "flight was cancelled" trope
BA: FREEZE RAY!
Sean: getting snowed in
What's your favorite cold-weather holiday?
Julia: Halloween
BA: My birthday!
Sean: well, I do adore both Christmas and Halloween, but I get to visit BA and Julia at Thanksgiving, so I'd have to go with that.
What's your favorite cold-weather indoor activity?
Julia: snuggling in front of the fire
BA: cuddling with the wife, the puppers and a good book.
Sean: sitting inside with my white hot chocolate, writing about hot dudes
What's your favorite cold-weather outdoor activity?
Julia: Building snowpenises.
BA: snowmobiling. I love to go fast.
Sean: walking in a snowfall - so peaceful, beautiful and quiet
What's your favorite thing about cold weather?
Julia: getting inside.
BA: the fact that spring will eventually show up
Sean: snow!!
What's your favorite cold-weather movie?
Julia: White Christmas
BA: The Shining
Sean: The Day After Tomorrow (it's a terrible movie and I love it)
Do you have any books featuring cold weather?
Julia: The Moonlight Mountain series (Chosen Wolf and Found Vampire) by my alter ego Minerva Howe both feature a ton of snow. O.o
BA: If Wishes Were Horses (coming out Friday from Dreamspinner Press in the Boys in the Band anthology) is set at Christmas and A Christmas Wren is a lost-in-a-snowstorm trope book.
Sean: First Steps is set in the winter in Alaska. Several of the Chess books take place in the winter in Toronto. Some of the Shibari Auction House books are set in winter. Among others. Lot of others. You see I like winter a lot, so...
We wish you a wonderful November full of warm nights with your favorite books!
You can find us on Twitter at @seanmichael09, @juliatalbot and @batortuga.
Sean’s website is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com
Julia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.com
BA’s is http://www.batortuga.com
Facebook:
Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites
Julia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthor
BA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga
Sean
smut fixes everything
where the naughty boys come and play
What's your favorite cold-weather meal?
Julia: lasagna! spaghetti and meat sauce! bread! All those things that heat up the house in the summertime.
BA: chili :D
Sean: roast beef with crispy on the outside roast potatoes, brussels sprouts with bacon, and cooked carrots.
What's your favorite cold-weather drink?
Julia: Coffee and hot chocolate mixed together.
BA: Coffee. Coffee is my standard 'favorite drink'. BA + Coffee = <3
Sean: White Hot Chocolate with Whipped Cream from Second Cup
What's your favorite cold-weather accessory?
Julia: my moose hat!!
BA: fuzzy socks. I love fuzzy socks.
Sean: my Dr. Seuss thing one red and blue hat
What's your favorite cold-weather writing plot device?
Julia: stranded together in the snow or the whole "flight was cancelled" trope
BA: FREEZE RAY!
Sean: getting snowed in
What's your favorite cold-weather holiday?
Julia: Halloween
BA: My birthday!
Sean: well, I do adore both Christmas and Halloween, but I get to visit BA and Julia at Thanksgiving, so I'd have to go with that.
What's your favorite cold-weather indoor activity?
Julia: snuggling in front of the fire
BA: cuddling with the wife, the puppers and a good book.
Sean: sitting inside with my white hot chocolate, writing about hot dudes
What's your favorite cold-weather outdoor activity?
Julia: Building snowpenises.
BA: snowmobiling. I love to go fast.
Sean: walking in a snowfall - so peaceful, beautiful and quiet
What's your favorite thing about cold weather?
Julia: getting inside.
BA: the fact that spring will eventually show up
Sean: snow!!
What's your favorite cold-weather movie?
Julia: White Christmas
BA: The Shining
Sean: The Day After Tomorrow (it's a terrible movie and I love it)
Do you have any books featuring cold weather?
Julia: The Moonlight Mountain series (Chosen Wolf and Found Vampire) by my alter ego Minerva Howe both feature a ton of snow. O.o
BA: If Wishes Were Horses (coming out Friday from Dreamspinner Press in the Boys in the Band anthology) is set at Christmas and A Christmas Wren is a lost-in-a-snowstorm trope book.
Sean: First Steps is set in the winter in Alaska. Several of the Chess books take place in the winter in Toronto. Some of the Shibari Auction House books are set in winter. Among others. Lot of others. You see I like winter a lot, so...
We wish you a wonderful November full of warm nights with your favorite books!
You can find us on Twitter at @seanmichael09, @juliatalbot and @batortuga.
Sean’s website is http://www.seanmichaelwrites.com
Julia’s is http://www.juliatalbot.com
BA’s is http://www.batortuga.com
Facebook:
Sean -- https://www.facebook.com/SeanMichaelWrites
Julia -- https://www.facebook.com/juliatalbotauthor
BA -- https://www.facebook.com/batortuga
Sean
smut fixes everything
where the naughty boys come and play
November 2, 2015
Writing Happy by Cardeno C.
One of my goals as a writer is to write different types of stories and different types of characters so my readers get something new with each book. Of course, I’m still me so there’s a certain amount of consistency in storytelling, word usage, and sentence construction that's bound to come through. The other thing that I believe (hope) spans all of my stories is the core of my characters. My characters have a strong sense of self.
I’ve posted before about unashamedly writing happy romance. I’m proud when I hear people say my books are fluffy or smexy or low angst because I’m in this gig to make people feel good and hopeful and warm. But the reason for my low-angst snuggly stories isn’t the stories themselves, it’s the characters in them. Said another way, my stories tend to weigh in low on the drama scale because my characters weigh in high on the sense of self scale.
What do I mean by a strong sense of self? Life throws up roadblocks and impediments to everyone. Some people get way more than their fair share and some get lucky with only a minimal amount. The people I’m most drawn to in life are those who navigate the world with thoughtfulness and positivity. They don’t wallow when something goes wrong; they pick themselves up and work through it. They don’t spend their time focusing on all the bad but instead they focus on finding contentment. Those people have an inner strength, an inner optimism, an inner drive, that carries them through the bad times in a way that makes the bad less pronounced.
When I read characters like that, I see the world as they see it and their outlook is bright. They are not the sum of their worst experiences or mistakes. They may have struggled, but they’re not damaged. The characters who recognize their own worth and navigate life like they deserve to find happiness and are valuable and strong enough to keep it are the people I choose to write because I believe we can all be those people. We all deserve to like ourselves and find happiness and I hope seeing characters who do that on the page will help readers believe they can do it for themselves. I also hope the act of reading about those characters will make readers feel good because life is short and we should grasp joy in every way we can.
Occasionally I see a blog post or a social media post or an article implying that a book is more worthwhile or more intellectually challenging or more complex if it focuses on pain or drama or loss. They imply that a story that’s happy and light in its core is less meaningful, less insightful, less deep, less difficult to write. I see those things and I smile at how very wrong they are because you know what? It’s easy to find the sadness in life.
Teenage angst is called that because as youths, most of us don’t have the tools to get past the angst and struggle so we get stuck in it and all we see is the sadness. And as adults, we can fall prey to the same thing. We only have to pick up any newspaper to realize there are horrors and struggles at every turn. Conversely, happiness and optimism aren’t easy to find. In fact, I sometimes think escaping the turmoil and finding joy is the greatest life struggle we face.
The challenge in our short time on this rock isn’t figuring out how to see the problems, the injustices, the ways in which people are knocked down. The challenge is knowing those things exist, but still seeing the beauty and possibility in the world around us and in ourselves. Writing a book with a core of joy and contentment that can transcend the page and land in the reader's gut and heart is by no means simple, but my goal as a writer is to give readers characters who see the hope and beauty in life so we can witness the world through their eyes and remember that we too can find our happiness. If that’s not deep, meaningful, and worthwhile, I’m not sure what is.
CC
www.cardenoc.com
I’ve posted before about unashamedly writing happy romance. I’m proud when I hear people say my books are fluffy or smexy or low angst because I’m in this gig to make people feel good and hopeful and warm. But the reason for my low-angst snuggly stories isn’t the stories themselves, it’s the characters in them. Said another way, my stories tend to weigh in low on the drama scale because my characters weigh in high on the sense of self scale.
What do I mean by a strong sense of self? Life throws up roadblocks and impediments to everyone. Some people get way more than their fair share and some get lucky with only a minimal amount. The people I’m most drawn to in life are those who navigate the world with thoughtfulness and positivity. They don’t wallow when something goes wrong; they pick themselves up and work through it. They don’t spend their time focusing on all the bad but instead they focus on finding contentment. Those people have an inner strength, an inner optimism, an inner drive, that carries them through the bad times in a way that makes the bad less pronounced.
When I read characters like that, I see the world as they see it and their outlook is bright. They are not the sum of their worst experiences or mistakes. They may have struggled, but they’re not damaged. The characters who recognize their own worth and navigate life like they deserve to find happiness and are valuable and strong enough to keep it are the people I choose to write because I believe we can all be those people. We all deserve to like ourselves and find happiness and I hope seeing characters who do that on the page will help readers believe they can do it for themselves. I also hope the act of reading about those characters will make readers feel good because life is short and we should grasp joy in every way we can.
Occasionally I see a blog post or a social media post or an article implying that a book is more worthwhile or more intellectually challenging or more complex if it focuses on pain or drama or loss. They imply that a story that’s happy and light in its core is less meaningful, less insightful, less deep, less difficult to write. I see those things and I smile at how very wrong they are because you know what? It’s easy to find the sadness in life.
Teenage angst is called that because as youths, most of us don’t have the tools to get past the angst and struggle so we get stuck in it and all we see is the sadness. And as adults, we can fall prey to the same thing. We only have to pick up any newspaper to realize there are horrors and struggles at every turn. Conversely, happiness and optimism aren’t easy to find. In fact, I sometimes think escaping the turmoil and finding joy is the greatest life struggle we face.
The challenge in our short time on this rock isn’t figuring out how to see the problems, the injustices, the ways in which people are knocked down. The challenge is knowing those things exist, but still seeing the beauty and possibility in the world around us and in ourselves. Writing a book with a core of joy and contentment that can transcend the page and land in the reader's gut and heart is by no means simple, but my goal as a writer is to give readers characters who see the hope and beauty in life so we can witness the world through their eyes and remember that we too can find our happiness. If that’s not deep, meaningful, and worthwhile, I’m not sure what is.
CC
www.cardenoc.com
October 31, 2015
Why do people look down their noses at M/M? by Renae Kaye
I’m reading a book at the moment. While that is odd enough in itself it’s not the topic of this blog. (You may be asking why I don’t get a lot of time to read anymore. Let me just say I’ve been asking God for an extra two hours per day for a while now, and he’s not delivering. 24 hours in a day is just not cutting it for me anymore).
The topic of this blog is why people look down their noses at M/M. (Stemming from this article http://cdanews.com/2015/10/plagiarism-accusations-lead-to-taking-aim-at-gay-romance-writers/)
Let me take a step back. Once upon a time (ha – author joke there) I used to read M/F romance like it was the thing that kept me alive. Maybe it was. For a couple of hours a day I could escape into a different world and not be in my crappy life. I read a lot of different subgenres, but it was always romance. I did Vikings, Vampires and Victorian. I did erotic and neurotic. I did shorter reads and longer reads. And I used to “hide” what I read, because people would laugh at me. At work and on the bus going to work, I would pull out my “intellectual reads” such as Jane Austen because I believe that we should at least try and read these classics once in our lifetime. However I left the ones with titles such as “The Virgin Bridegroom” and “Mistress to the Boss” on the bedside drawers.
Some people would see my love of reading and try to engage me, saying, “Have you read [insert the latest blockbuster here]?” My stock answer to them was, “If it doesn’t have a picture of two people kissing on the front, I don’t read it.”
Not strictly true, but they got the point and usually wandered off to find a “more intelligent” person for a literary conversation.
Non-romantic stories usually didn’t hold my interest. And to a certain degree, that is still true.
Nowadays I read mostly M/M, but because there are so many M/M books out there I want to read, I never stray. Why read something I’m only half-hearted about when there are so many great books in M/M to experience?
So when I say I am 71% into a book that is not M/M, you can take it as a WOW moment. It is The Martian by Andy Weir. It’s recently been released as a major film starring Matt Damon, but the film looked so great in the previews, I just really needed the WHOLE story. Not just the bits Hollywood decided to leave in.
(If you haven’t heard of the story, basic plot is that NASA astronaut Mark is stranded on Mars after his team think he is dead. Now he has to figure out how to survive Mars long enough for them to rescue him.)
I’m a little nervous about finishing the book, because I know that someone will die (someone always dies in these types of novels, which is why I stick to romance with their sappy endings) but I’m really enjoying the experience. Reading a well written novel is always a good experience.
Which brings me to the inspiration of my blog. Some 7 days ago I bought The Martian on Amazon. As I was checking it out, I happened to notice this book had over 20,000 ratings. It was a wow-what-if moment for me. I’m an author. Andy Weir is an author. We both write books – but he has 20,000 ratings on his book. My top is 71 ratings. Wow, what if I could get 20,000 ratings on one of my books?
Extrapolating out, I had a rough estimate of how many books I think he may have sold. Wow.
Yes, I admit that the first thought in my brain was “How much money would that bring me?” but it was followed be a few other thoughts like “What would it be like to have that many people read the words you’ve written?” and “Wouldn’t it be great if that many people read the genre of M/M and enjoyed it?” and “Wouldn’t it be great if that many people were secure enough about LGBT that they would pick up a M/M book?”
I settled down to read The Martian and have been enjoying myself ever since. But there is one thing that bothers me. This is hard to say, Andy, so forgive me if you’re reading this and you have a delicate ego.
I don’t think the writing in this book is any better or worse than the stuff in M/M.
Oh, I know that people have different tastes in books, and genre accounts for a lot, but when I think of all the people out there in the world that look down their noses at the genres of M/M and Romance because “Really? That is just fluff” I get angry.
Why do people sneer at M/M?
What if I said, “I don’t think there is any racism in the world, because I walk down the street in my white skin and don’t see it happening”? I would be crucified if I said that. What if I denied that child marriage existed or that slavery was still happening, because I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes?I can’t make a statement on how a black person feels about racism, because I’m not black. I’ve never lived in my life as a black person. I’ve never experienced it.
The same with those who comment about the romance genre without experiencing it for themselves. Unless you have read extensively through the genre, you cannot make a comment.
Oh, they say, but I did pick up that book and read it once, and it was rubbish.
I once went to a party where there was a black man, and the police didn’t raid the house for drugs while I was there. Does that mean that police never raid the houses where black people are?I know that most of my readers will agree with this, so I am preaching to the converted, but how about you implement it in your life? How many of you proudly declare at dinner, “Oh, I read this great book last night, let me tell you about it”? There is a lot of sneering going on, and we (ie the readers of romance) are cowering in shame. Why? What is wrong with romance?
So let’s take another step back and analyse the problem from another point of view. Let us assume that the quality of writing within romance and non-romance is equal. (Yes – it’s a giant leap for the doubter out there, but as I said, you haven’t extensively researched the genre so you can’t comment.)
Now let us also assume some gender dynamics. Research as well as anecdotal evidence points to the fact that near 100% of readers of romance are women. So by putting down all romance novels, you are poo-pooing women readers. So we could assume it has something to do with gender. However, just because (near) 100% of romance readers are women, it doesn’t mean 100% of women are romance readers. There are plenty of romance-haters and people who are vocally anti-romance and are of the female gender. Therefore, I have to conclude it is not solely based on gender dynamics.
So if it’s not the quality of writing, and if it’s not the quality of the reader, what is left? The story itself.
Which is where I had my slight epiphany.
People hate other people being happy.
In Australia, we have something we call the Tall PoppySyndrome. Basically it is the need to tear down any successful person and reduce them to a common level. People don’t want others successful if they are not. I think this is the same thing. How dare two fictional characters have a happy life? How dare they have hot sex and their dreams come true? That’s not real life .
Yes. There are a whole bunch of haters out there who can’t stand for anyone else – fictional or not – to be happy. They might call themselves realists – or perhaps they’re pessimists. Whatever they are, they don’t want happy stories and they don’t want people to be happy reading the stories. They want people to die. They want crime and blood, or they want wars and guns, or they want families ripped apart with cheating spouses. And for goodness sake, do not give them that kissing stuff at the end with everyone living happily ever after!
That’s not real life, they cry again as they cling to their latest alien-takes-over-the-world best seller. That’s not real life, they cry again as James Bond executes a perfect high-speed car chase manoeuvre while firing his laser pistol with perfect accuracy.
And then if you happen to mention that you read gay romance the level of hysteria is upped a notch.
Hell, no. You can’t have the gays having a happy life! Jeez – all gays are meant to be miserable and die alone from some sexually transmitted disease. Or if not, then they’re supposed to be hit by a train and everyone will nod and say, “Yes, he deserved it. After all, he was gay.”
It’s like “well, perhaps” you are allowed to have the happy ending in life – but only if you look like Cameron Diaz or that-Channing-dude-who-stripped-in-that-movie. But only beautiful and well deserving people deserve HEAs. All the ugly people need to be blown up, blown away or eaten by a rogue dinosaur.
Yes. The haters of romance out there are not satisfied until they see the bad guys dead, and the good guys deader.
Well, boo-hiss. This little author, sitting in a tiny corner of the Earth, who is currently listening to her washing machine constantly beep at her saying the load is done, and the (lovely, beautiful) rain fall down, says boo-hiss. If you don’t like a happy ending, then go and hug your “and the world blew up, the end” book and leave those who want to be happy alone.
And Andy Weir, if you’re still reading this? I love the book – I hope he doesn’t get deader in the end.
(Edit: it’s now some hours later and I’ve finished the book. I hate you Andy Weir. You CANNOT end the story there! You simply cannot. It’s not logical. Seriously. I hate you. Can you just write one more chapter for me? PLEASE?)
(Second edit: THIS is why romance writers rock. Because they give you the ending to books and don’t leave you hanging.)
How to contact Renae:Email: renaekaye@iinet.net.auWebsite: www.renaekaye.weebly.comFB: www.facebook.com/renae.kaye.9 Twitter: @renaekkaye
The topic of this blog is why people look down their noses at M/M. (Stemming from this article http://cdanews.com/2015/10/plagiarism-accusations-lead-to-taking-aim-at-gay-romance-writers/)
Let me take a step back. Once upon a time (ha – author joke there) I used to read M/F romance like it was the thing that kept me alive. Maybe it was. For a couple of hours a day I could escape into a different world and not be in my crappy life. I read a lot of different subgenres, but it was always romance. I did Vikings, Vampires and Victorian. I did erotic and neurotic. I did shorter reads and longer reads. And I used to “hide” what I read, because people would laugh at me. At work and on the bus going to work, I would pull out my “intellectual reads” such as Jane Austen because I believe that we should at least try and read these classics once in our lifetime. However I left the ones with titles such as “The Virgin Bridegroom” and “Mistress to the Boss” on the bedside drawers.Some people would see my love of reading and try to engage me, saying, “Have you read [insert the latest blockbuster here]?” My stock answer to them was, “If it doesn’t have a picture of two people kissing on the front, I don’t read it.”
Not strictly true, but they got the point and usually wandered off to find a “more intelligent” person for a literary conversation.
Non-romantic stories usually didn’t hold my interest. And to a certain degree, that is still true.
Nowadays I read mostly M/M, but because there are so many M/M books out there I want to read, I never stray. Why read something I’m only half-hearted about when there are so many great books in M/M to experience?
So when I say I am 71% into a book that is not M/M, you can take it as a WOW moment. It is The Martian by Andy Weir. It’s recently been released as a major film starring Matt Damon, but the film looked so great in the previews, I just really needed the WHOLE story. Not just the bits Hollywood decided to leave in.
(If you haven’t heard of the story, basic plot is that NASA astronaut Mark is stranded on Mars after his team think he is dead. Now he has to figure out how to survive Mars long enough for them to rescue him.)
I’m a little nervous about finishing the book, because I know that someone will die (someone always dies in these types of novels, which is why I stick to romance with their sappy endings) but I’m really enjoying the experience. Reading a well written novel is always a good experience.
Which brings me to the inspiration of my blog. Some 7 days ago I bought The Martian on Amazon. As I was checking it out, I happened to notice this book had over 20,000 ratings. It was a wow-what-if moment for me. I’m an author. Andy Weir is an author. We both write books – but he has 20,000 ratings on his book. My top is 71 ratings. Wow, what if I could get 20,000 ratings on one of my books?Extrapolating out, I had a rough estimate of how many books I think he may have sold. Wow.
Yes, I admit that the first thought in my brain was “How much money would that bring me?” but it was followed be a few other thoughts like “What would it be like to have that many people read the words you’ve written?” and “Wouldn’t it be great if that many people read the genre of M/M and enjoyed it?” and “Wouldn’t it be great if that many people were secure enough about LGBT that they would pick up a M/M book?”
I settled down to read The Martian and have been enjoying myself ever since. But there is one thing that bothers me. This is hard to say, Andy, so forgive me if you’re reading this and you have a delicate ego.
I don’t think the writing in this book is any better or worse than the stuff in M/M.
Oh, I know that people have different tastes in books, and genre accounts for a lot, but when I think of all the people out there in the world that look down their noses at the genres of M/M and Romance because “Really? That is just fluff” I get angry.
Why do people sneer at M/M?
What if I said, “I don’t think there is any racism in the world, because I walk down the street in my white skin and don’t see it happening”? I would be crucified if I said that. What if I denied that child marriage existed or that slavery was still happening, because I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes?I can’t make a statement on how a black person feels about racism, because I’m not black. I’ve never lived in my life as a black person. I’ve never experienced it.
The same with those who comment about the romance genre without experiencing it for themselves. Unless you have read extensively through the genre, you cannot make a comment.
Oh, they say, but I did pick up that book and read it once, and it was rubbish.
I once went to a party where there was a black man, and the police didn’t raid the house for drugs while I was there. Does that mean that police never raid the houses where black people are?I know that most of my readers will agree with this, so I am preaching to the converted, but how about you implement it in your life? How many of you proudly declare at dinner, “Oh, I read this great book last night, let me tell you about it”? There is a lot of sneering going on, and we (ie the readers of romance) are cowering in shame. Why? What is wrong with romance?
So let’s take another step back and analyse the problem from another point of view. Let us assume that the quality of writing within romance and non-romance is equal. (Yes – it’s a giant leap for the doubter out there, but as I said, you haven’t extensively researched the genre so you can’t comment.)
Now let us also assume some gender dynamics. Research as well as anecdotal evidence points to the fact that near 100% of readers of romance are women. So by putting down all romance novels, you are poo-pooing women readers. So we could assume it has something to do with gender. However, just because (near) 100% of romance readers are women, it doesn’t mean 100% of women are romance readers. There are plenty of romance-haters and people who are vocally anti-romance and are of the female gender. Therefore, I have to conclude it is not solely based on gender dynamics.
So if it’s not the quality of writing, and if it’s not the quality of the reader, what is left? The story itself.
Which is where I had my slight epiphany.
People hate other people being happy.
In Australia, we have something we call the Tall PoppySyndrome. Basically it is the need to tear down any successful person and reduce them to a common level. People don’t want others successful if they are not. I think this is the same thing. How dare two fictional characters have a happy life? How dare they have hot sex and their dreams come true? That’s not real life .
Yes. There are a whole bunch of haters out there who can’t stand for anyone else – fictional or not – to be happy. They might call themselves realists – or perhaps they’re pessimists. Whatever they are, they don’t want happy stories and they don’t want people to be happy reading the stories. They want people to die. They want crime and blood, or they want wars and guns, or they want families ripped apart with cheating spouses. And for goodness sake, do not give them that kissing stuff at the end with everyone living happily ever after!
That’s not real life, they cry again as they cling to their latest alien-takes-over-the-world best seller. That’s not real life, they cry again as James Bond executes a perfect high-speed car chase manoeuvre while firing his laser pistol with perfect accuracy.
And then if you happen to mention that you read gay romance the level of hysteria is upped a notch.
Hell, no. You can’t have the gays having a happy life! Jeez – all gays are meant to be miserable and die alone from some sexually transmitted disease. Or if not, then they’re supposed to be hit by a train and everyone will nod and say, “Yes, he deserved it. After all, he was gay.”
It’s like “well, perhaps” you are allowed to have the happy ending in life – but only if you look like Cameron Diaz or that-Channing-dude-who-stripped-in-that-movie. But only beautiful and well deserving people deserve HEAs. All the ugly people need to be blown up, blown away or eaten by a rogue dinosaur.
Yes. The haters of romance out there are not satisfied until they see the bad guys dead, and the good guys deader.
Well, boo-hiss. This little author, sitting in a tiny corner of the Earth, who is currently listening to her washing machine constantly beep at her saying the load is done, and the (lovely, beautiful) rain fall down, says boo-hiss. If you don’t like a happy ending, then go and hug your “and the world blew up, the end” book and leave those who want to be happy alone.
And Andy Weir, if you’re still reading this? I love the book – I hope he doesn’t get deader in the end.
(Edit: it’s now some hours later and I’ve finished the book. I hate you Andy Weir. You CANNOT end the story there! You simply cannot. It’s not logical. Seriously. I hate you. Can you just write one more chapter for me? PLEASE?)
(Second edit: THIS is why romance writers rock. Because they give you the ending to books and don’t leave you hanging.)
How to contact Renae:Email: renaekaye@iinet.net.auWebsite: www.renaekaye.weebly.comFB: www.facebook.com/renae.kaye.9 Twitter: @renaekkaye
October 29, 2015
It's All About the Goodies by Felice Stevens
I'll admit it. I'm a secret Halloween candy stealer. When my kids were little, it was only natural not to let them eat their horde of sugary deliciousness at once; they were allowed to pick out a few pieces per night, until I was lucky enough that they eventually they grew tired of the same miniature candy, or ran out of the candy they liked.
The fun part for them, like it was for me when I was young, was coming home after the trick-or-treating and dumping all the candy on the floor and doing trades with my brother. I don't like nuts in my candy and he didn't like gummies (weirdo), so we would swap. By day three I was flying high and my insides felt as though they were coated in sugar.
I grew up in a neighborhood full of old Victorian homes and we knew all our neighbors. In those days we didn't go with a parent; we went in a huge mass of kids. We knew who we could get the unwrapped treats from and who would be good to give us extra candy. At my house we'd make treat bags and my mom would hand them out, all the while yelling at my father to stop sneaking the chocolate. She was definitely the Candy Police.
So what were my favorites? I loves the little Milky Way bars and would stick them in the freezer. I also loved M&M's (not peanut), and the Hershey's miniatures, especially the Special Dark. In non-chocolate-related candy, I loved blow-pops (no jokes please), Skittles and and anything chewy. Bonomo Turkish Taffy and fruit jells were also a favorite.
So what were your favorite Halloween candy treats growing up?
