Angela Addams's Blog, page 17

Guest Post: Author Steve McHugh

I'd like to introduce my friend, Steve McHugh...a fellow writer who I've come to know through my writing group, the OWG (Rebels Rule! Woo!)

Steve has a new book out called Crimes Against Magic and he's here today to talk a little bit about writing those dreaded sex scenes. Enjoy :-)

Although a massive generalisation, it’s very quickly become apparent to me that women write better sex scenes then men. I can think of, at a push, three male writers who write excellent sex scenes in their books. I can think of at least a dozen women, right off the top of my head who do the same.
Now, of course there are women who can’t write sex scenes either, but even so, the odds are firmly in the female court.
So, it was with a little trepidation that it became apparent that my first book, Crimes Against Magic, was going to have sex in it. This was a problem for one reason. My sex scenes were dreadful. They read a little bit like an educational sex talk given by a teacher for whom the word ‘sex’ should never leave their mouth. They were dry, dull and quite frankly about as sexy as wet cardboard.
So, I tried spicing them up a bit and found a new problem. They now sounded like a porn film. All I needed to do was add a handlebar moustache and have the main character come to check on the woman’s boiler, fridge, cooker, pluming and I’d have had a career in writing truly terrible sex scenes. It’s something to think about if this whole ‘published author’ thing doesn’t work out.
So I needed to re-work it again. And this time I found some good advice. Apparently, I’m pretty good at writing action scenes. So, why not try writing a sex scene in the same way? Everyone writes action scenes in their own way, but I tend to map out where everyone is and what they’re doing, or going to be doing.
Applying it to a sex scene was actually straight forward. Instead of several people all in the same place I only had to deal with two (although, your mileage may vary). So, I wrote it as if it were an action scene, or a fight. Once I had the backbone for it, I found it much easier to go through it and make it ‘sexier’, but having that base was necessary for me.
Since that first time, I’ve found it much easier to switch into ‘sex scene mode’ for writing and can usually manage it without the need for the clinical part first. I’m never going to write the greatest sex scenes of all time, but I hope I’m no longer in the same bracket as some of the truly terrible ones.

Steve McHugh is the author of Crimes Against Magic. An urban fantasy set in modern day London with Historical flashbacks to early fifteenth century France.
Avaliable from : Amazon.com 
Amazon.co.uk  Blog - http://stevejmchugh.wordpress.com

Books, Books, Books!

So, here you are, folks...this is the staircase leading up to my "writing loft" (that I never use for writing). Notice the pile of books I have there...it's dangerous going, let me tell you. I've tripped on numerous occasions...and it's nothing compared to the hundreds of books of have in the loft. My husband calls these the ugly books...you see, he collects leather bound books --la dee da (I love you, hehehe ;-) and claims that mine are not fit for public viewing. He also jokes (but not really) that the weight of all of my books in the loft will one day bring the whole house down. We live in a century home (1895ish) so this is not a joke I like...especially with all of the creaking that happens at night when the house settles. Despite the fact that he bought me an ereader last year, I still gravitate toward the "ugly" books and worse, even though I will loan them out (some but not all) I insist on getting them back. I loath giving up my books permanently. I have mentally catalogued any books that I've lost (have not been returned) and will NOT loan to those book thieves again.

I, Angela Addams, am a book hoarder. I am.

I love the smell of books...yes, I am the kind of person who cracks a book open just to inhale the book smell. I love the feel of books...I have been caught caressing my books. I love the look of them...even my husband's clunky leather bound ones that get the honoured spots on the "nice" shelves in his office. I love them. Book stores excite me, embarrassingly so.

This is not an I hate e-books rant...I'm an e-book author, for goodness sake...and I love my e-reader as well...(I can hoard loads more books on my Kobo...LOADS). But I thought, in the face of this e-book revolution, that I'd give a shout out to the lowly little paperback (hardcover, trade, whatever) and confess my undying love for all of the books I house in my attic.

My Sweetest Dream

I overheard a conversation the other day that got me thinking. It was a conversation about some Oprah book...something about a Secret...something about the power of positive thinking...I'm sure many of you know what I'm talking about. I haven't read the book, but I understand enough about the principle to get by.

Now, I tend to be a glass is half empty kind of gal...some might say pessimist...realist...whatever...when I focus on myself, I usually veer toward the negative. I can be the biggest cheerleader for everyone else but deep down, for me, I'm usually expecting the worse...it's hard to be disappointed in people that way. Not great, I know.

This conversation I overheard got me thinking about my sweetest dream as writer...I desperately desire to hold my own book in my hand one day...like a paperback...(or hardcover) copy of my own written word. My journey toward this dream has been a slow one and at times (especially lately) I've gotten pretty disheartened, despite the progress I've made. I've seen so many of my writer friends get their own books in print...tucked back my jealousy at seeing their hands curled around those precious copies...all the while longing for it to happen to me.

I'm not one to buy into pseudo-psychology mumbo jumbo...I don't read self-help books or "secret" Oprah picks...but I will tell you something...that conversation reminded me that sometimes you've got to take a chance and put yourself out there...sometimes you've got to give yourself over to the positive side.

So...I've got this dream to hold a printed copy of my own book in my hand one day and from this moment on that is the only reality I am thinking of.

 It. Is. Going. To. Happen.

 I promise you that.

The Unlikely Romance Writer

It's kind of ironic that I've found such passion for writing about love and romance considering that I'm one of the least romantic people around. That's right, it's confession time --Angela Addams does not do romance in real life...all that corny, lovey-dovey, hearts and flowers crap makes me want to barf...seriously...my husband has it easy...I don't like flowers (they just die and make a mess anyway), I'm not big into remembering anniversaries and whatnot, Valentine's Day? Yeah, not really a big deal to me (other than for the kids)...I don't insist on over the top public displays of affection (I mean, I like holding hands and stuff ;-) but some couples...well, let's just say no one wants to or needs to see that kind of thing ;-P )

So why do I write in a genre that centres around such things?

I write about passion and lust and magnetism...and that I believe in. That I've felt. I write about characters who find their soul mates, their best friend, their other half...I write about the real stuff...the fights, the down and dirty, the need and want and desire. In my stories the love is there --it's obvious, it's perfect in and of itself...but I make my characters work for it. I do that because in real life love and relationships are things you have to work at -hearts and flowers are not going to fix everything all the time --Valentine's Day...it only comes once a year.

I might cringe and gag when I see or read over the top romantic nonsense but only because, to me, that isn't the real thing...that's smoke and mirrors and fantasy. When I write an erotic romance I write it with the real thing in mind --two people, drawn together, unable to stay apart who have to work to make it work. Two people who cherish each other. That's what romance is to me. That's the real thing.

Author Interview with J. Thorn

I'd like to introduce J. Thorn --he graciously offered his expertise a while back when I was struggling with some music industry info --straight from the source is always the best kind of research to do, in my opinion, and J stepped up with some vital tid bits. So I thought you'd all like to meet my new rock star buddy --who also happens to be a writer ;-)


1) While reading your collection of short stories, I often found myself thinking about how lyrical your words were –given your background as a musician, in what way do you think that influences your writing?

I approach storytelling and songwriting (in Threefold Law) the same way. My Twitter bio starts with "crafting stories" and those two words say it all. Some people use a canvas and others use a hunk of clay. I happen to do it with song and prose. If the work does not flow, it's hard to connect to the reader or listener.

2) What kind of writer are you? Do you plot your stories out? Do you have a particular routine?

I am a writer that thrives on the unknown. I don't plot my stories. In fact, I rarely know what they're going to be about until I start writing. I am the first reader and if I'm not entertained I can't expect anyone else to be. A good friend of mine said it's like those "pick your own adventure" books you read as a kid and I think that sums up the excitement of channeling the story instead of forcing it into an outline. I will admit that somewhere towards the end of the first draft I'll identify events that should propel the story to a logical end, but that's as close to plotting as I get. I have some quirky exercises I use throughout the process of writing a novel and most of those ideas I gleaned from Stephen King's "On Writing". But for me, committing to 1500-2000 words a day is critical to writing a novel. Butt in chair; no excuses.

3) How long have you been writing for?

I've been writing all my life. I started writing fiction about three years ago. Burden of Conquest was my first novel. I was reading piles of epic fantasy at the time and I had an itch for a world that didn't necessarily involve dragons and orcs, so I created it. The trilogy is a 175,000 word monster. I'm too stubborn to ease into anything.

4) Why did you decide to go with self-publishing?

I was spending more time querying agents than I was writing. I'm a restless soul and I don't think I'd have the patience to see my writing move like a snail through the traditional publishing hoops. I'm always open to representation but I think I've blacklisted myself by self-pubbing with Amazon.


5) I found that your collection was quite an assortment of genres ranging from psychologically horrifying to mystical and introspective, where does your inspiration come from?

I wrote most of the short stories in Tales From a North Shore in a condensed time frame, a point when I wasn't sure what my niche was going to be. I think I've landed in the psych horror/paranormal camp and that's probably where my newer works will end up. I get inspired by simple ideas and situations, most of which have to do with the unexplainable. I like coming up with those explanations. (In case you missed it, I did a review of this collection a couple of weeks ago)

6) What are your goals for the future? Where do you want your writing to take you?

The French Riviera! In all seriousness, I'd like to sell enough books to make a modest living. I don't need much from the material world to be happy. Sharing my craft with others is really important to me as well. I believe the publishing revolution ignited by Amazon provides the best chance at making all of that happen. And world domination. That's a goal of mine as well.

Wow -- I seem to know quite a lot of people striving for world domination --good luck to you ;-)

Links:

Official page/blog - http://www.jthorn.net/
Amazon author page - http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004ZVF3MK
Twitter - @JThorn_
Threefold Law - http://www.threefoldlaw.com/

Check out The Seventh Seal --Haven't read this one yet but plan too!

The One and Only Book Review

Okay, so I don't normally do book reviews on my blog, but I recently read a collection of short stories by a new writer friend of mine and just had to share.



Tales From a North Shore (Volume 1) by J. Thorn is a selection of some pretty awesome stories. From the psychologically horrific, to introspective, to paranormal and downright spiritual (in a cool way), Thorn manages to dabble expertly in all. His words are lyrical...seriously...as I was reading I could hear a soundtrack for each story. In fact, Thorn has recorded a reading of one of his stories from this collection here (the background music is none other than NIN...my favourite band--click on the Hearts of Ochre vid ;-)

This is an author to keep an eye on, folks...his voice will pull you in and enthral you. I highly recommend checking him out...and checking back in here cause in a couple of weeks I'll be interviewing Thorn, an interview that will have you equally as enthralled.

A Review and a Winner!

This is going to be short and sweet as I am drowning in work and exhausted beyond belief. Going back to work has been a joy (yes, I'm being sarcastic...pity me)

Okay, first, I've got a great review up at Bea's Book Nook...love this one in particular because I got a fantastically emotional response out of Bea, that means my characters got to her.

And, as promised, I have drawn a winner for an e-copy of Going the Distance from last week's comments...and that lucky person is...Anne Michaud! Congratulations, Anne!

That's it for this week --I'm going to be posting every two weeks for the time being until I can get a better handle on things at the day job.

Breaking Through the Blocks

The other day (okay more like for days) I was having some major "issues" with my current wip. I had an idea of where I wanted to go but the plot was causing me problems. It was frustrating because unlike some writers who are blessed with the ability to just sit down and write, I need some kind of outline. It doesn't have to be very detailed but it does have to give me a plot point breakdown so I know where I'm going. I didn't have that for this particular wip and every time I sat down to write I'd eventually hit a roadblock. It was not good.

So in total hair-pulling frustration, while I was sitting fretting about making my word quota for the week, I suddenly had an idea. I decided to list the problems I was having with the plot. In point form, some phrases, some questions, I listed all of the "issues" that were preventing me from moving forward. It looked something like this: But if he does that, what about this…and this character doesn't have a purpose but needs to, and why did you mention that if you're not going to use it?

It was a start and it felt awesome to purge. Once I got the problems down I started to brainstorm using a kind of stream of consciousness approach – you know, just rambling on with whatever came to mind as I worked through the problem. Well, in a matter of minutes I had a series of plot points worked out from the roadblock all the way to the end! It was marvelous!

In the past, when I've had a problem with a ms, I sleep on it and let my unconscious mind work it out…this time that wasn't happening –I think the issues were too complicated to sort through in my sleep. This technique worked really well and I'll definitely use it again. Keep in mind, I've only used it once and had success, who knows what may happen next time. Either way, I got through the blockage and have been pounding out the words ever since!

I've got another e-copy of Going the Distance to give away! All you have to do is comment here (and leave a way for me to contact you) and you'll be entered to win! I'll randomly draw a winner next week.

Hunting Vampires with Puppy Power: Guest Post with Julie Campbell

Angie, thank you so much for having me here today.

I've been asked a few times, why a dog? Well, why not? Okay, they're not quite the traditional vampire hunter but when a Border Collie stares at you with that sheep-herding eye, you know it… and I suspect a vampire would too.

Part of why I picked a dog is because of why I wrote the first Doc story. A fellow author was having a flash contest on her forum and she happens to be a huge dog fan. The prompt was involving vampires. At the time, I'd never had much luck writing flash fiction, but she encouraged me to give it a try anyway. I said I would if inspiration struck. Then one day I was out playing with my Border Collie. She stared at the ball in my hand with her 'eye' and, well, inspiration struck. The story was so popular (it won both that round and the grand prize round) that I decided to keep up with the series. Not to mention how much fun it is to write from a dog's perspective – but that's a different blog post.

If you think about it, dog's make great vampire hunters. They don't really stand out in a crowd, so a human trying to blend in won't look odd walking a dog. He would look odd walking a big hunting cat, or a wolf, or something else, but not a dog. They are super loyal to their humans and super trainable. You can teach a dog to track a human in the forest, or even in urban settings, so why can't they track something that has such an obviously different smell. Police dogs are trained to attack on command, so why not vampire-hunting dogs? Different breeds would likely have different styles of assisting their humans. Border Collies use their 'eye,' other breeds would likely attack, or chase – like a Grey Hound – or lick them to death, oh wait. LOL. I don't believe all dog breeds would make good vampire hunters – but certainly breeds traditionally used to hunt or work could be trained to track and possibly even help kill vampires. Dogs also love to have a job. What better job than keeping humans safe?

It's man's best friend vs. his worst enemy.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy some of Doc's stories free on my website

Or check out his new novella.

Bio:
Julie writes fantasy novels. When she's not out riding her horse, she can usually be found sitting in front of her computer with a cat on her lap and her dog at her side. You can find out more at www.writerjacampbell.com

Links!

Amazon

Amazon UK

Amazon UK ebook

What a great post! Thanks Julie!

As promised, I've randomly drawn a winner for an e-copy of Going the Distance and that lucky person is...Kyla Holt! Yay! Congratulations, Kyla!

Thick Skin

You've heard the phrase I'm sure, "Gotta grow some thicker skin..." or something to that effect. In the writerly world, growing thicker skin is directly connected to being critiqued, whether it be by fellow writers, readers or fans. It's an easy enough phrase to spit out, "I've got to grow some thicker skin and stop being such a baby!" but it's damn hard, no, impossible, to just do on command.

In my experience, there are a few phases of "being" that a writer must go through or experience in order to work on developing that thick skin.

Phase one: I've been a part of an awesome writing group for a little over a year and a half now. Before that I'd get crits from well-meaning family members who, although they plead otherwise, really are just biased ego-strokers. Ego-strokers are good and they do serve a purpose. We need those people to point out our talent and stoke our passion for the craft. They are the teachers, the friends, the family members who may not be "experts" in the field but have the sense enough to recognize when someone "has it." The ego-strokers are a great bunch, we like them, they're safe, but if we want to grow as writers then we must leave the nest and venture out to see what the world thinks of our writing. Scary, I know, but absolutely necessary.

Phase two: Finding a CP (crit partner) and or writing group is the next, very necessary step in growing that thick skin. These people are the ledge-talkers...the ones who you trust to talk you off the ledge when you're ready to jump. We ALL want to jump/give up/burn our computers/etc at some point. These people not only offer support but they're good critiquers. They tell it like it is, don't sugar coat and offer constructive feedback that you can actually use. They are there to cheer you on not tear you down. That's not to say you won't disagree with their feedback at times but that's the great thing about putting yourself out there (in a trusted environment) you can take what you will use and toss the rest. The important thing is opening yourself up to being honest with yourself, your work, your strengths and weaknesses and ACCEPTING that one person's opinion is subjective and really, it's your story in the end.

Phase three: Finding a mentor. This is typically a person who is further along in their writing career than you are. Someone who you respect and aspire to be like with regards to writing ability, work ethic, ambition, success, whatever. What has really surprised me the most about this industry is how many mentors are out there, wonderful writers who are willing to offer their support, their time, their opinions just to help a novice writer out. I've had the very fortunate experience of being critiqued twice by an author whom I greatly respect. I've also been critiqued by writers who are further along in their careers and can offer me much needed insight and perspective on my writing. I can't begin to thank these writers for how much they've helped me grow and even if I felt the sting (and I mean STING) of their critiques, it was a necessary trial to undergo on my journey towards becoming a better writer. So if you're lucky enough to find someone who is willing to help you, just know that they wouldn't be doing it if they didn't truly want to help you succeed. Yes, there really are people like that out there.

Growing a thicker skin takes time, it takes honesty with oneself, it takes acceptance, and it usually comes with experience. It's a necessary journey that all writers must venture even if it does hurt like hell at times. Trust me when I say with time it does get easier and you do become less sensitive to the criticism.

I just want to add one thing. I am very leery of anonymous posting and critting...I feel very strongly that if you can't put your name to your opinion then you shouldn't be sharing that opinion and that goes for writing especially. There are, unfortunately, souls out there who are tremendously jealous of anyone who they perceive has more talent or is further along than you are and will use their anonymity to destroy a writer's ego (and we all know how fragile that ego can be). So if you are desperate for critique, enter the public posting forums with extreme caution, a bad experience there can very easily leave your confidence shattered beyond repair.

I've got another e-copy of Going the Distance to give away. All you have to do is leave a comment and a way to contact you and I'll draw a winner next week this time!