Jennifer Bray-Weber's Blog, page 96

MuseTracks Guest – Lana Williams – Got Passion?

Hot damn! Today, MuseTracks is hosting award-winning historical author and workshop presenter Lana Williams.  Join us in welcoming Lana as she offers us insight into author passion and gives us a little taste of her newly released medieval romance.

Take it away, Lana!

Thank you, MuseTracks, for having me today! I’m giving away a Kindle e-book of my debut release, A VOW TO KEEP, a medieval romance, to one commenter, so please leave me a note!

If you’ve been writing for very long, you’ve probably heard that persistence and perseverance are your friends. Without these qualities, it is difficult to succeed at writing, or any other goal for that matter. Sometimes our goals and dreams are so big, it’s difficult to believe they could ever come true

But I’ve realized a certain kind of magic occurs when you passionately believe in something, when you put that persistence and perseverance to work for you.

Our subconscious starts working toward that goal even when we don’t realize it, noodling around the possibilities, trying to find a path for us.  We find ourselves making choices throughout the day that automatically align us with our dream, sometimes unknowingly.  Thinking about our dream, visualizing that seemingly impossible end result, makes us feel good, so we do it even more.

Then the universe steps in to help, providing us with a chance meeting with just the right opportunity to move us even closer to our goal.  And as we draw nearer and we start to realize that all these things are lining up to provide us with a direct route, our enthusiasm generates more action.  The snowball effect at work!

As writers, I think believing passionately in something is a particular gift we have.  We believe in our stories and characters enough to spend six to nine months or more to bring them to life. And sometimes we don’t know if anyone other than a critique partner or our moms will read them.

So take that ability and use it to help you reach your dream!  Whatever your goal is–maybe writing a book, hitting the NYT Bestseller List, or living healthier–believe in it passionately, with energy, and you’ll be amazed at the results.

Share with us what your goal is and how you keep the passion for it moving you forward.  For me, I am thrilled to have finally achieved one of my goals–publication! A VOW TO KEEP is a medieval romance set in thirteenth century England, and is the first book of the Vengeance Trilogy.

Here’s some information on it:

Revenge was all he lived for…until he met her.

Sir Royce de Bremont has spent his entire life plotting revenge against his traitorous uncle. Kidnapping the man’s bride-to-be brings Royce one step closer to fulfilling his vow of vengeance.

Lady Alyna of Montvue has no desire to marry nor to become a pawn in a game of vengeance. Her only wish is to find a safe place to raise the orphan gifted with second sight she vowed to protect.

The beautiful lady and her precocious son make Royce long for a family of his own, yet until he reclaims his birthright, he has little to offer them. Alyna soon realizes this bold knight has captured her heart but fears she’s merely part of his plan for revenge. As passions rise, Royce must choose vengeance or love.

Excerpt:

More than anything, Royce wanted to comfort her, to lift the sadness and uncertainty from her face. Again, the strand of hair at her cheek teased him, and he could resist the urge no longer. With a slow movement, he gently eased the lock behind her ear. The moonlight emphasized the elegant lines of her face, hollowing her cheeks and lighting her eyes. She looked up at him with such a sweet, earnest expression.

What was a man to do but…

Kiss her.

Slowly. Passionately. Waiting for her to withdraw and demand he stop. But no protest left her lips, only a soft moan that heightened his desire. He kept the kiss light, not wanting to frighten her away, needing more than anything for her to stay right where she was, in his arms.

The longer he held her, and the longer he kissed her, the more he realized it was not enough. He ached for her touch, to feel her softness against him. He pulled her closer and molded her body to his.

As though she read his thoughts, her arms reached up to his shoulders, their warmth burning through his tunic. She deepened the kiss and tentatively twined her fingers into his hair. Shivers of longing rolled down his spine.

Never had a woman affected him like this. But never had a woman been so wrong for him. A landless knight set on vengeance was a terrible match for a lady. Royce knew this could go no further, not here, not ever. He had to let her go.

In just a moment.

After he had one more taste of her. He would hold her a bit longer, because this would be the last time he did. The memory of this kiss would have to sustain him in the lonely nights to come for he feared he’d never feel like this again.

Her soft whimper was nearly his undoing, nearly more than he could take. Releasing her mouth, he leaned his forehead against hers and took a deep breath to rein in the desire pulsing through him.

Hell’s teeth. What was he doing? This woman was his lord’s granddaughter. Why the thought didn’t force him to release her with great haste was beyond him. It mattered not that she was already a mother, a woman experienced in the ways of the world. She was not his to take and never would be.

With great effort, he set her away from him. “My apologies, my lady. That was a mistake.”

“Excuse me?” Her confusion overrode the desire lingering in her eyes.

Royce felt his resolve weaken and took a step back to shore his defenses. “That was an error.”

Alyna stiffened, obviously affronted at his words, just as he’d intended. “What do you mean?”

He turned away. Another moment of looking at her, and he’d draw her back into his arms.

“If you don’t find me attractive, then why did you kiss me?”

Surprised, Royce spun back toward her. Not find her attractive? How could she think that? His need for her strained his chausses. But a closer look at her vulnerable expression confirmed the beautiful Lady Alyna didn’t realize how desirable she was.

Don’t forget–one lucky reader who comments on my blog will be randomly selected to win a Kindle e-book of my debut release, A VOW TO KEEP. And no worries if you don’t have a Kindle. They offer a free app for your computer, iPad or smart phone. Good luck, and remember, stay focused on your dream!

Available exclusively through the KDP Select program as an e-book or paperback on Amazon:  http://tinyurl.com/bwtodu6

Links/websites:  www.lanawilliams.net (author website), www.thrivingwriters.com (blog)

Could Marketing Crash The Book Market?

The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction.  By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.  ~Mark Twain

 

Marketing. (AAGGHHHH!!!!!! …as she runs screaming out of the room.)

As authors we have to continually keep our eyes on that ball. Besides providing great content between the covers of a book, we now have to be masters of the business world as well. Sheesh- sometimes it feels overwhelming.

 

I have an interesting question that I will ask in just a minute.

 

There’s no getting around the business side of writing. There just isn’t. Let’s say you’ve published your book, you’ve blogged, you’ve Face Booked, you’ve had a book launch, you’ve done all the things you know how to do and your sales are still moving along at a sluggish pace. Many authors will offer their books for free on Amazon and other sites. While doing that, you can also contact sites such as www.indiebookslist.com, www.pixelofink.com, www.freebooksy.com, www.bargainbookhunter.com, www.flurriesofwords.blogspot.com, www.freebookdude.com, and www.snickslist.com. These types of sites will be happy to email or tweet your book to their followers which can run into the thousands. There are tons of sites out there to help you, too many to list them all here. I’ve heard of one author who offered is book on Amazon’s KDP Select, ran it through as many of these sites as he could (with no other promotion) and he ended up with over 4000 free downloads. This sounds pretty terrific!

 

Another interesting idea is to use something called Wattpad. I had never heard of it, but it could be a great place to start building a readership, get feedback, and build excitement for your next bit of work. It’s like a giant high school literary magazine where people can put up their work and there are tons of readers there. This site is most often accessed by smart phones where short stories, novels, poetry, and fan fiction are read voraciously. Many writers reveal their stories chapter by chapter so the readers anticipate new developments and can often be found asking the writer for plot shifts or new characters! If you think this is just another site among the millions out there, think again. Wattpad gets 9 million unique visitors a month! I think that qualifies as a good site to build a readership.

 

So here’s my question. With this fairly proven method of offering your work for free as a marketing tool, are we training a whole generation to expect free books?

 

What does that mean for a writer? Dale Brown, who is a very successful author, just offered his books for $1.99. That’s not free, but it is pretty cheap. My husband bought ten books at once. While that’s a win win for both my husband and Dale Brown, Peter will now think twice before spending a chunk of change on a new book. If he waits long enough it will go on sale or be offered for free.

 

Reviewers Behaving Badly

Song of the Day: Breakdown by Tantric

A few weeks ago, Stacey did an excellent post on reviews and good manners—the niceness epidemic and the disappearance of hard-line critics. Well, now, it’s my turn to touch on the subject of morphing manners that our society is undergoing in the virtual world.

Authors, reviewers, readers, we are all likely guilty of showering undue praise on our writing peers and favorite authors. Though I can see how too many rainbows and smiley faces might tilt scales, I think it’s safe to say, for the most part, we want to elevate, or perhaps kick start, one another’s success. We’re pretty awesome that way. For the most part. Yes, it bears repeating. For all the hearts and glitter, there will always be a peer, contest judge, reviewer, or reader who thinks you are better off scraping muck from long-forgotten sewers than writing one more single word.

And that is okay.

The problem lies when common courtesy is completely ignored.

As chance would have it, I have just the example. A recent review of one of my books was brought to my attention. And let me say, my jaw dropped at the sucker punch I’d received.

ATTENTION! I want to make it absolutely clear this post is not to lambaste this reviewer or defend myself against her evaluation of me and my writing style. She certainly has the right to relay the unspeakable torture I put her through when she read my story.

It is the way she chose to voice her opinion that I take exception to.

When writing an “honest” criticism, there is no need to call someone’s work garbage. Or write a paragraph on how cheesy the book is, comparing it to a can of cheez wiz. Or mention not how it was bad, but how bad, bad, bad, bad, bad it was. Or that the book was written entirely from words found in a thesaurus. And I’m fairly certain it might be added insult to start and end a review praising and/or suggesting another author. None of this is constructive and comes across as a personal attack. Shame, really.

I’m not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. As authors, we accept this as fact. I’ve had a couple of tear-wrenching, thumb-sucking, fetal-position reviews. But these reviewers didn’t resort to petty ugliness. Their assessments were tactful and professional.

Unfortunately, this review has been ‘helpful’ to others, choosing to forgo reading my book, 19 others, in fact. No problem. That is their choice. Obviously they’re not tea drinkers. For me, I would never choose a book based on a review displaying such disrespect. I look at the reviews as a whole, read the blurb, take advantage of the “look inside” feature and read the first few pages before I make that decision. But, hey, that’s just me.

The problem here isn’t that the book received a one star “because 0 wasn’t an option”. It is the sheer disregard of civil social behavior. There is a difference between being honest and being rude, sometimes even abusive. I’m not alone in this. All authors have undergone such treatment. Unique to authors, we occasionally hear about manipulated rankings and sabotaged reviews, and how these responses, actions, and manners can adversely affect people. To some, it may even be considered a type of cyber-bullying.

As I have said, this post is not to snub the reviewer. Giving the benefit of doubt, there is a chance this person didn’t realize just how flippant they came across. So everyone take this as a friendly PSA. If you feel compelled enough to write a bad review, by all means be honest. But ask yourself if your scrutiny is helpful or simply mean-spirited.

Does having a bit of anonymity excuse people from practicing common courtesy? Don’t we have a responsibility to treat others with respect? Shouldn’t we be accountable for our words even in criticism? Didn’t our mammas teach us better?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

MuseTracks Link of the Week – Just Unfollow

Do you Twitter?

Need a way to manage your followers?

Just Unfollow is a tool that allows you to see who you follow on Twitter, who follows you, who has unfollowed you, who you follow but is an inactive Twtiter user, and more. Just Unfollow gives you the option to either unfollow or follow back. You can whitelist Twitter users (a list of non-followers you do not want to unfollow) or black list (followers do not not want to follow). Another feature includes copying followers of any Twitter user to your own follow list.  You can even Friend Check your Twitter relationship with any Twitter user.

It’s a handy way to keep your Twitter account clean, especially is you are looking to downsize.

www.justunfollow.com

 

 

Could Writing Be Killing You?

“I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.”  Marilyn Monroe

Last week, I wrote about good manners were killing good writing. This week I’d like to look at the fact that our shared profession/passion is killing us! I know that sounds draconian, but unfortunately it’s true.

Each year I try to find an area to improve myself and this year has been devoted to taking my life back. After several difficult years, I felt like I had lost myself to the sorrow, frustration, and the sheer overwhelming enormity of daily trials. I lost my way in remembering how lovely my life truly is. So this was it. This was my year.

I knew I was in trouble when I couldn’t stand to look at myself in the mirror. Einstein didn’t need to tell me that my coping drug of choice had been food. The results were there in graphic detail. I also found my feet swelling. I was tired most of the time and the blues were never far away. All of my academia told me that the core of my bloated self was a feeling of loss of control. What could I do to get it back?

I’d start with the most visible sign- my body. I have lost 37.2lbs. I celebrate that, but more importantly, I’ve learned a few startling facts along the way.

Did you know: 1.The average person sits for 9 hours a day.

2.This is detrimental even if you exercise consistently.

3.Women who sit for more than 6 hours a day have a 37% higher risk for early death than those who sit less. (Regardless of how often they exercise.)

4.Getting cozy in the chair causes the electrical activity in your legs to drop dramatically.

5.Calorie burn drops to one per minute.

6.Enzymes that help dissolve fat drops 90%.

7.After 2hrs. good cholesterol drops 20%, insulin resistance drops 24% and risk of diabetes rises.

8.Lean people sit, on average, 150 minutes less than obese people. This adds up to an extra 350 calories burned in a day.

 

Ok. That was shocking to me. I had no idea what I was doing to my body or my psyche. (There have been several studies linking depression to inactivity.) I was also shocked by the average number of hours spent in a chair. I equated being tired at the end of the day with being active….uhhhh, no.

After getting over another wave of depression because I read those (#$*) facts, I got started. I have to tell you that I hate exercising- always have, always will. I started with subtle, easy to manage changes. For instance, when I’m at the computer, I now set an alarm every hour. When it dings, I get up and do stretching exercises, drink a glass of water and try to walk around for a few minutes. I fold a load of laundry, make my bed etc. A side benefit is I’m far more productive around the house as well. If you are at work, try seeing what you can do in 5 minutes.

My whole life has been spent figuring out ways to be more efficient. I’ve had to unlearn that. Instead of placing a pile of stuff at the bottom of the stairs and making the jaunt up once a day, I now walk up anytime I have an item. I make multiple trips from the car to the kitchen with grocery bags instead of pretending I’m a pack mule and taking everything at once. I wear a pedometer and make sure I get in 12,000 steps a day. (Don’t faint, it’s easier than it sounds.)

I’ve learned that while I’m in the chair mulling over plot points, I can be active. My favorite movement is called chair lifts- place your hands down on the seat and lift your butt off the chair. Do 3 sets of 10 or so to build upper body strength and figure out what your hero should be doing! I also do navel squeezes which consists of lifting your feet off the floor about 2 inches and contract your navel toward your spine. Again with the sets and reps- this will help tone your abs and quads. I actually worked out a problem of how my characters would react while on a boat and an earthquake happens directly beneath them doing this.

Is this rocket science? No. Will it improve the quality of your life? Absolutely. Exercising my control over my body and life has made a huge impact. (Pun totally intended!) Take baby steps toward a happier and healthier you.

 

Hump Day Kick Start – Red Wine Edition

Song of the week: Red, Red Wine by UB40

Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or just a visual treat.

Used with permission by Arm Chair Psychologist

I’m going a little risque today. Okay, so I’m not venturing far from what those of you who follow me expect. None the less,  I personally find photos such as these enticing. And with the rise of interest in light bondage due to the wildly popular (humorously so, IMHO) Fifty Shades series, I bet there are many out there that find this picture mildly titillating. If not, *shrug* move along.

And so, my clever friends, tell me about this couple. Who are they? What’s in the glass? Is it really wine? Or something more sinister? Is he a vampire initiating his lover slowly into erotic blood lust?  Is she dying and he’s giving her life saving ambrosia? Is she a willing participant in a love play scenario? Is he? Maybe they’re just a kinky couple celebrating their anniversary.

I’d love to hear your take!

Oh…and here’s a quick Public Service Announcement. My book Blood And Treasure is free today and tomorrow on Amazon.

Link Of The Week

I want to send prayers to all of our friends and family along the Gulf coast that will be affected by Isaac. Hugs to all of you!

In light of that, Jenn found this tid bit of writing humor. Nathan Bransford posted this and it’s guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. My daughter is at college, right in the path of the storm, and I laughed so hard I spewed hot tea all over my desk! Yes, it’s that funny.

Enjoy.    …and thanks Jenn for finding this!

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2012/08/the-publishing-process-in-gif-form.html

MuseTracks guest – Nancy Lee Badger – Much Ado About Reserach

We’ve another special guest here at MuseTracks.  Historical and Contemporary Romance author Nancy Lee Badger gives us a look into weaving research and folklore into writing.

Pull up a toadstool, will ya, and have a listen. Oh, and if you leave a comment, you could win an e-copy of one of Nancy’s books. (read below)

MUCH ADO ABOUT RESEARCH by Nancy Lee Badger

When a writer sits down to write a historical romance or, in my case a romance that includes time travel, research rears its ugly head. Research can be tedious, or it can be fun. When you feel strongly about a story plot, but lack the knowledge to enrich your plot, location, or characters then research is your friend.

Myths, often considered an aspect of folklore, was something I wanted to add to my story, MY HONORABLE HIGHLANDER. Since I had used the folklore surrounding the Loch Ness monster in another book, DRAGON IN THE MIST, I found myself returning to the many volumes of books in my home office. The internet is also helpful, as are friends. I belong to many writers groups and asking for help came easy.

My belief in the supernatural makes writing easy. In my latest Scottish time travel series, I included light-hearted and not-very-dedicated witches; a revenge-filled ancient sorcerer; war-loving Highlanders, castles, battles, kidnappings…I could go on, but I would rather you read the book. LOL!

A writer can use folklore and folk tales to explain mysterious events. Once Christianity became widespread, mythological creatures, such as the “Fairies”, faded away, but make great characters. Scotland has a rich Celtic History going back over 2,000 years, at a time when superstition was rife and where unusual events were ‘explained’ by legends and whimsical stories. It is therefore not surprising that Scotland has an extensive heritage of myths and folklore.

Many objects, including castles, have accumulated their share of myths and legends. I researched castles of the area (specifically Wick, on the eastern cliffs overlooking the North Sea) to create the fictional keep of the Keith clan: Castle Ruadh. Yes, I even researched the Scottish dialect to find out the Gaelic word for ‘RED’. The cliffs in Wick are comprised of red sandstone. Hence, the name Ruadh.

Legends grow from real events as well, and the lines are blurred between real and myth. A recent article making the rounds reports that a Scottish fisherman just took a photo of the Loch Ness Monster. Even Girl Scout troops around the world call their youngest recruits ‘Brownies’ after helpful creatures that do good deeds.

My research has taught me that myths and folk tales live on because people need to believe in them. Weaving in a tale or two into my stories was possible due to research. Have at it!

Here is some information about my two books, mentioned above:

DRAGON IN THE MIST is a 2012 Readers Choice Award Winner http://bit.ly/GHcofk

BOOK BLURB

Life without love is not worth living.

Nessía of the Loch has lived beneath the murky water of Loch Ness since ancient times. The pain of loneliness manifests in anger so strong, the entire valley shakes with earthquakes. In 1816, a Faerie queen pleads for her to cease the tremors and rewards Nessía with a human form. To stay human, she must find love. When the man she believes she loves casts her aside, Nessía responds to the betrayal by cursing the men of the MacDonald clan with the inability to keep a woman’s love. Only an act of true selflessness will break the curse.

After centuries pass, Nessía again searches for love. When Rory Hawthorn, an American scientist, arrives under the pretext of researching the earthquakes but in reality to research his MacDonald heritage and the curse, she believes she has found the perfect mate.

Amid stolen kisses, another earthquake, a steamy night of passion, and a broken heart, Nessía returns to the murky depths of the loch. When Rory dives in to follow her, he meets the green, scaly Loch Ness Monster. Assuming Nessía is in danger, he is intent on killing the monster and saving the woman he loves.

Genre: Contemporary Scottish Paranormal

Amazon:  http://amzn.to/pKlkG6

Barnes & Noble:   http://bit.ly/qyKTtH

All Romance EBooks:  http://bit.ly/JNyYRP

MY HONORABLE HIGHLANDER Book Blurb

Bumbling present day herbalist, Haven MacKay, gets more than she bargains for when her love spell goes awry, is cast back in time, and meets her true love — Laird Kirkwall Gunn.

Kirk’s plans go slightly off course when he falls in love with a woman wandering through the Scottish Highlands. After all, he has pledged to marry another, from an enemy clan, in order to end a century-old feud.

Book #1 of the Highland Games Through Time Series

Genre:  Scottish Time Travel

Ebook at Amazon: http://amzn.to/Knot6H and Barnes & Noble  http://bit.ly/K4TqzH

Print book at Amazon http://amzn.to/NRNOJq  and Barnes & Noble http://bit.ly/OHkXqM

Find out more about Nancy Lee Badger here:

Website  http://nancyleebadger.com

Blog  http://nancyleebadger.blogpsot.com

Twitter @NLBadger

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/nancy.l.badger

CONTEST: Leave a comment and one winner will be chosen to win an e-copy of their choice of DRAGON IN THE MIST or MY HONORABLE HIGHLANDER!

Good Manners May Kill Good Writing

 You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you.  And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke.  ~Arthur Polotnik

Manners make the world go round.

Imagine how many fewer world crises there would be if the people in power would simply remember their manners. Imagine a political race where opponents focus on applicable content and not resort to abysmal mud-slinging. They are the poster children for bad manners and we lose opportunities to listen to any real debate on real issues. (This happens worldwide and not just here in the United States, so don’t think I’m singling out our race to the big vote in November.)

Merriam Webster defines manners as “social conduct or rules of conduct as shown in the prevalent customs”. Manners are no longer only applied to real life situations but to our virtual world as well. Being writers we live an awfully big part of our lives in this world. Prevalent customs are still being formed as these new neighborhoods and villages continue to evolve. There are distinct differences between this world and the one of brick and mortar. I was surprised to have some of these distinctions pointed out to me this week and the possible backlash it may have on writers.

A blog that I like to follow, The Passive Voice, offered a rebuttal to another article written by Jacob Silverman entitled “Against Enthusiasm”. Mr. Silverman has taken the stance that honest criticism in the literary world is a dying thing and we are not any better for its demise. Passive guy vehemently argues that point. Being the polite, mild mannered person that I believe myself to be, I was quite surprised at being able to see both sides, but leaning towards Jacob Silverman.

Mr. Silverman believes that we are in the middle of an epidemic of niceness in this new online book culture. He cites an example of an author who has her first book coming out soon, but already has a loyal following on Twitter running into the thousands. The author is funny, delightful and engaging in this arena of social media. Because of that, she is retweeted, liked, and plus 1ed. (I don’t even know how to write plus oned!) A well known literary website follows her and has already picked her book for their monthly book club without ever having read a single word!

So far I’m congratulating the author on being a brilliant and personable marketer, then I come to his point. What if you are a reviewer or critic and you are part of this vast web of writers and fans? Are you willing to honestly critique the author’s work after watching her life unfold for the last year or so? What if you had been the recipient of some of her attention? What if she had praised you or had mentioned you with affection in a tweet? How honest will you be? He goes on to state that if you spend any time on Twitter or wading through blogs, you will drown in the “relentless enthusiasm that might have you believing all books are wonderful and that every writer is every other writer’s biggest fan.” Mr. Silverman believes that it is shallow, untrue, and will create an atmosphere where writers are more admired for their personal biographies or how they manage social media rather than standing on their own merits of being a good writer.

 

This made me stop and think.

 

He goes on to say that social media, which seems to be built largely on those retweets, likes, favorites etc., is akin to being a part of a worldwide slumber party. Anyone who doesn’t want to be on board the sugar train may be marked as unlikable or worse (gasp) unfollowable. So why is that positivity so bad? I like to be complemented. I like that my writing world is a warm fuzzy place to be. When I get published, I’d like my friends to toot my horn just like I’ve done for them. I don’t think anyone reading this blog would say differently. However, the constant applause makes it harder to hear any kind of dissent. While painful to hear, it is that voce of dissent that pushes us to be better and to make for a more “vibrant, useful literary culture”.

Passive Guy completely disagrees with this view point that was also shared by Dwight Garner in the Times. PG pulled a quote, “What we need more of, now that newspaper book sections are shrinking and vanishing like glaciers, are excellent and authoritative and punishing critics- perceptive enough to single out the voices that matter for legitimate praise, abusive enough to remind us that not everyone gets, or deserves, a gold star.” Passive Guy believes this sounds like the strap wielding father who tells the kids they’re being beaten for their own good. He goes on to point out that this is the absolute menace of criticism- that it represents a hierarchy that lords over the unruly artists.

 

I understand and agree with his viewpoint as well.

 

As with most issues in life, the loudest voices are often those on both sides of the extreme. I believe cutting someone’s work to the bone is not necessary. I also think living in a world where only sweet fairies give kisses isn’t reality either. I think good, honest, constructive criticism is necessary (although painful, I’m the first to admit). This is what pushes us to dig deeper and write better because we all want to be praised. We all want people to find value in our work.

If we only have positive feedback, I would suggest two things. One- much of what you hear if a lie or a colored truth. Two- we believe the compliments and become complacent. What do you think?

 

 

Innuendo – What Are You Suggesting?

Song of the Day: Afterlife by Avenged Sevenfold (one of my favorites)

I’m a master at many tongues. Well, no, not really. I’m pretty fluent in English, though. Thank goodness, as it’s my native language. I got “Southern” down right well, too. But I’m also pretty good at innuendo.

Innuendo finds its way in my everyday speech. It’s what we bona fide flirts, and obliviously some of the Hump Day Kick Start followers, do.  And, honestly, when used properly, makes any conversation with friends good for a laugh.

It comes as no surprise that innuendo finds its way into my writing, too. Here’s a snippet of one of my favorite exchanges in my pirate romance A KISS IN THE WIND.

I’ll show you my dinghy if you’ll show me yours.

“I harbor much more than bitterness, sweet lady.” Blade closed the gap between them. “Would you care to find out just what I harbor? Or where?”

His crude remark did not appall Marisol like she imagined he intended. Living among a ship full of scum counting down the days until they would make the next port so that they could prig a cheap blouse, she had heard it all.

“I’m uninterested in the docking habits of a draughty dinghy.”

 His deep laugh lengthened the cut of his dimples. “’Tis a shame, I’d say. Wherever I drop anchor, my man-o’-war is usually well received in berth.”

Here’s another favorite dance of innuendo from THE SIREN’S SONG.

“I won’t change my mind,” Drake said. “For your safety, I won’t.”

Gilly’s hands fell away and her eyes dipped to his bandolier. He sensed a

Wouldn’t want anyone to go into a Hump Day Kick Start withdrawal

change within her. Her sadness, it seemed to evaporate, or perhaps shift into something resembling determination. She ran a finger over the leather straps holding one of his flintlocks close to his chest.

“Well Captain Drake, at least give me a few more hours. I’ve a quarry to pursue.”

He smiled in spite of himself. Yes, determination, a hunter stalking prey. She’d come a long way from the timid mouse he fished out of the sea.

“I’m prepared to do battle.” She pinned him with an impassioned grin.

“Battle will be risky,” he said, gazing at her mouth. “Your blood will race, your heart will pound, and you will be left sweaty and breathless. Though the outcome may leave you rich, you will yearn for more, and more I cannot give.”

“We shall see.” She hooked her finger under the brace and tugged. He willingly let her lead him to the edge of the bed. “Should my strategy fail, the loss will be worth the pursuit.”

“This I won’t deny.”

Oh, those pirates. Such bad boys.

What’s your favorite innuendo scene? It can be from a book, a manuscript, a movie, a song, doesn’t matter. I’d love to hear it.