Megan Trennett's Blog, page 16

Romance: It's not all lace and muscles. Sometimes it's Hanes and stretch marks

I write romance novels. There, I said it. Not like it's a huge mystery, it's how I'm essentially branded, and will remain branded for the rest of my writing career I imagine. But had you had asked me six years ago if I wrote romance novels and I would have laughed in your face, wondering how one would possibly assume the girl with the thick black eye make-up and a constant playlist of Hard Rock and Metal (my favorite kind of  music) could possibly write a romance.

I was a fantasy writer, and sometimes I still sit in my desk chair, listening to music that stirs images of epic battles, glinting swords, and heroes of magic with tortured souls. I long to go back to those days where the worlds were molded and carved out by my imagination, and the characters were so oddly detailed that I have to sketch them out.

So how did I switch? Well, it started with a sub plot. The last fantasy book(s) I finished writing had a little bit of a love triangle in it. And by a little bit, I mean it was the secondary plot right next to the soul eating demon. Then came the futuristic, Romeo and Juliet-ish war story. Follow that with a couple of failed fantasy tale starts, and I came upon 'Heart Pulled to Pieces.'

Now, as I wrote this book, I felt really, really dirty about it. Why? Because I had this thing in my head, this idea of what a romance novel was. I saw the shirtless, insanely buff men, reaching out or holding on to the bosom bearing women who always have their eyes closed mid-sigh.  They were cheesy, bodice rippers filled with corny phrases and lots of ridiculous lusty moments. And if that wasn't enough to make me sit back and look at what I was doing, it was the stigma of romance writing many writers have in the community.

I got over it pretty quick though. Mostly because I avoid cheese as much as possible (though there is a lot of cheese in romance, and sometimes it's like trying to scrap it off of warm nachos.), I also like to throw in a lot of comedy in the form of dry humor and sarcastic observations. Plus, I prefer my protagonist's love interest flawed, with some personality flaw or habit that would be that 'he would be perfect except for' thing. I also like to have her more of an everyday girl, chubby and short, eats her emotions, tall and thin, so shy she can barely speak to people, and the thing she considers sexy is a new pair of cotton briefs.

I learned that, hey, sometimes that first kiss is not perfect but a screw up. That the guy can sometimes be the biggest moron she knows, and there are better choices, but she still can't help but fall for him. That maybe to the heroine, the perfect body is riddled with stretch marks and tattoos. The story can be real, and still leave your heart racing without it being overly corny. And it can be fun to write, so much so that they can be the longest books you've ever written, and after the last sentence you still want to keep going.

And you can do it while listening to hard rock or metal. Actually, I haven't figured out how to do that yet, but I'm getting there.

Hi, I'm Megan, and you scare me.

I've been pondering for a couple of weeks whether or not I should attend a Writer's group. I've managed to locate an English speaking on in my new home, and saw that it was very easy to get to from where I lived. It stated to be laid back, open, and encouraging. This was all fantastic with the exception of one thing:

People terrify me.

I'm a painfully shy human being, and I always have been. When I first moved to Halifax and started my new position in the Copy Centre, it took me almost a full year before I really spoke to anyone about anything besides work. When I transferred, this time taking the position of a leader/boss, I hid behind that persona. It was, after all, the perfect excuse to NOT socialize. Of course, after a while I opened up, but not much.

So, needless to say, since hitting the "Yes" button for the RSVP I've been shaking. I now have to go out into the world, seek out people whom I've never met, and sit with them to talk shop. I have to interact with real people, not just images on a computer screen with blog posts or tweets attached to them. How people get up, leave their home offices, and go to conferences I will never understand. To those people, I think you are the bravest souls in all of creation.

Because, hey, you can walk up to someone and talk to them. Me? I'll be the short one at the back looking like I'm trying to sink into the wall. Which is probably what I'll be at this writer's meeting tomorrow. Let's hope not.

30 days and 50, 000 words

I'm excited to say that I have enrolled in National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). What that means is from November 1st to 30th I will be dedicating my writing time to a 50 000 word piece written from scratch, with a goal to have it finished by the end of the month.

I stumbled upon it while snooping through twitter, seeing other writers' profiles in hopes to follow them and learn something (sadly, I'm not sure who I actually learned about this from). After seeing one aspiring writer had the "winner" badge of honor beside an excerpt from her story I decided to learn about it.

Good news! You don't have to be a professional to enter, and there are no fees, so if you feel up to the task of writing a 50 000 word story in one month, check out the site.

Now, I do have a few ideas as to what I would like this little gem to be about. In code (to not spoil the people reading this who haven't read all my first or second drafts) I'm debating on either doing a book on Si, or Mund Sky. If you have a preference, leave a comment, and I'll count them as votes towards my final decision.

But maybe I should concentrate on finishing my current project first…

On Sale at Smashwords

Hey all! Just wanted to let you know for the month of July "Heart Pulled to Pieces" will be on sale at Smashwords. Now you can get my debut e-book for 50% off.  Just use coupon code SSW50  at the check out, and it will bring the price down to $1.49. You can visit my e-book page for the synopsis. It's available for e-readers and pdf download.

It's good to be back!

I finally have internet in my new place in good ol' Montreal. It's beautiful here, just so you know. I've never seen so many beautiful buildings in one place. It's also really, really hot. At least, hot compared to what I'm used to. But, heat aside, the scenery is very inspiring

So I get to start my new adventure of working from home and doing what I love. Let's hope it works out, eh?

Parting is such sweet sorrow…

I am very luck, I get to quit my retail job (thanks to my wonderful husband) and focus on being a novelist full-time. With this, of course comes saying goodbye. Now, one may say "well, you can just visit them." Yes, I could, but I'm also moving.

Today was not my last day, but it's in three days, and the 'farewells' are starting to come. For instance, today was the last day I got to work with my 'top boss.' Tomorrow will be my last with the 'second in command' and it's starting to hit home that this is the end. No more day job, no more seeing these people, most who I call friend (and a small handful, I'll admit, I won't be sad if I never see them again), no more scheduled everyday norm. It scares me. It thrills me. It saddens me.  

I'll keep you posted as to what of the three I end up being by the end of the week.

Season Finale Night!!!!!!!!

I love Thursday Night Television, huge fan. My favorite shows (in actual order) The Mentalist, The Big Bang Theory, and Grey's Anatomy make their way through the air waves to my television screen and fill me with bliss (maybe not Grey's that much anymore, but that's a different story). So, needless to say, I love that all of them are having their season finales tonight because that means it's a bunch of heart pumping, jaw dropping, OMG why isn't it the fall yet, TV greatness.  Well, I must go, Patrick Jane is on the case, and it's EXCITING!!

Boxes are more fun when they're forts

So I have to start packing. Why you ask? Because I've known I'm moving for about a month now, and even though I still have 3 weeks left before we must leave, I know I have to start. I just don't want to. I dislike packing, because I have this fear that I will pack something away that I may soon need, or miss, or maybe wasn't mine (it could happen).

I would rather do dishes. Which I should do, because there are a lot of them.

So off I go! To the land of the kitchen where dishes roam near the sink and infested with food stuffs. OK, that sounded gross, but so did residue, smears, left overs, etc….

Writer's block is a serious condition…

 

So my Best Friend and I sat down for our weekly coffee get together where we chatted about all the usual stuff, husbands, work, and of course our writing. She's being published in a University English course as well as online later this year in the fantasy genre. We're also doing a collaboration, but don't get too excited about that as it will be a bit before it's done.

Anyway, one of the things that came up was dealing with stress on deadlines, and coming to a stalemate of some form. In other words, a form of writer's block. Exhaustion can make you just not want to do anything, hold up your ideas, and essentially tell your Muse to screw off for a bit.

Never Fun.

So she asked what it was I did to work out my writer's block. Most good writer's would say free-fall, do a flash piece, and sometimes that might work for me. But, as I told her, I like to zone out, listen to tunes, and play mindless mouse clicking games. I also like to get into my characters mind, think really effing hard about the book, usually while showering or taking a bath. I mean, come on, doesn't mankind always do their best thinking in the bathroom? It's like all the great ideas where conceived while surrounded by water filled porcelain and ceramic.

But now I'm curious, how do other people break their writer's block?

From 309 000 something to…..

32 727. That's what I woke up to this morning. My ritual of checking my best sellers ranking is as habitual as checking my sales in my day job. So I was a little shocked when I went to Amazon this morning and saw my placement. Very shocked.

It's no where near the top 100. If I crack that, I may all out pass out.

Will keep the world posted.