Shewanda Pugh's Blog: The Wandering Mind of a Romance Writer, page 2

The Forbidden Romance

"Maybe, Deena likes to think, it happened the day her white mother killed her black father. Or maybe, it was always a part of them, like DNA gone bad. Whatever the case, Deena knows that her family would never approve, hell, never acknowledge her fast-growing love for Takumi. And had he never made love to her that way, in that unraveling, soul-searching sort of way, she could ve done the same. But love s a devil that way."
~ Crimson Footprints

That still gives me chills. A hundred times over, in fact. I mean, c'mon. Who doesn't find forbidden love delicious? You may say, "Shewanda. Really--(You may call me Shewanda, yes, it's perfectly acceptable)--Shewanda, it's 2012. People love who they want, when they want." And my answer to you would be a resounding, "sometimes. Lots of the time. But definitely not always."

I'm sure we can all think of examples, especially in an eastern world that may or may not be especially far from your reality. But truly, forbidden love is all around us--in that guy you're not too keen to bringing home to dad, in that girl who dresses just a little too racy for mom. So many seem to hesitate at the notion of forbidden love, as if it's some unrealistic concept. I dare say, those are the folks that are being unrealistic.

Research?

Some people hate it. Some people hide behind it. Others think that "write what you know" means that no author should have a necessity for research, otherwise they've violated a basic tenet. So, what is the big deal with research? Do writers need it? Do readers notice? The answer is a big fat yes-no-maybe so.

Up front I should give a disclaimer. I am a researcher. I research what I don't know and verify what I do know. Such is the life of a paranoid writer. One of my greatest fears is the reader who mulls over a descriptive passage and says "that makes no sense. If you turn right on Biscayne Boulevard and right on East Flager, you'd be traveling away from Bayfront Park not TO it!"
I kid you not. Zero sense of direction, an overdose of skepticism, and an innate need to be right make for one hell of a researcher. But is all that research necessary?
Yes. Maybe. Maybe not.

Take my novel, Crimson Footprints, for example. Most people see the Japanese American hero and ask about the amount of research necessary to develop him. My answer is quite a bit. But the same amount of research went into formulating my biracial heroine. Yes, she's raised by an African American family, and yes, I'm African American, however, I don't think myself the definitive expert on the subject. Maybe an example is needed.

I believe that I have a firm grasp of soul food, that bad-for-you comfort food that is part and parcel of the Black and/or Southern tradition. However, my experiences didn't extend to the history of various foods, so I needed research to supplement that. But that was a personal goal, based on what I saw as but one purpose of my novel: to share my culture with others. Were that not a goal of the novel, then I suppose such research wouldn't have been necessary.
So, is research necessary?

Yes, no, maybe so.

Interview with Ian Healy

About Ian Healy

Ian Thomas Healy is a prolific writer who dabbles in an endless assortment of speculative genres. His superhero novel Deep Six: A Just Cause Novel was a Top 100 Semi-finalist in the 2008 Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award and he's the creator of the Writing Better Action Through Cinematic Techniques workshop, which helps writers to improve their action scenes.
His goal is to become as integral to the genre of superhero fiction as William Gibson was to cyberpunk and Anne Rice was to urban fantasy. The first book in his Just Cause Universe series, JUST CAUSE, is available now from New Babel Books. Be sure to drop in and check out his blog.


You write speculative fiction. Isn’t it really just sci-fi?

No. Technically all fiction is speculative, as in the creation of original storylines. However, as far as genre goes, I prefer the term speculative to sci-fi because sci-fi is a broad genre that encompasses many different and unrelated sub-genres, such as cyberpunk, steampunk, space opera, science fantasy, and yes, even science fiction. Science fiction is a limiting term, but speculative can cover all of those, plus all of the fantasy and horror subgenres as well.

What can be found in every Ian Thomas Healy book?

I like to think I'm pretty good at writing action sequences. If a book calls for one, I make sure it's memorable. I also have a good sense of dialogue and conveying characters' personalities through it. And I also think I'm pretty funny. Even in the most serious of novels, I try to inject a little humor now and then. Five years of writing daily humorous webcomics has been a real boon for developing a sense of comic timing in writing.

Other things that can be found in every Ian Thomas Healy book: adjectives. Lots of 'em. I loves 'em.

You’ve come up with some pretty eye crossing shit. There’s a virgin stripper in Hope and Undead Elvis, aliens and anal probes in The Milkman, and hockey playing vampires in Blood on the Ice. You've also toyed with, or managed to include, a bit of romance in some of your work. What’s on deck next?

The epic steampunk adventure The Oilman's Daughter, coauthored with Allison M. Dickson, is going to my agent as soon as she returns from Book Expo America. My werewolf/vampire/superhero novel Rooftops is in the final presubmission readthrough now, and it will go to another agent at the same agency for his consideration. I have a humorous send-up of space opera, starring an aging male porn star who gets mixed up in an interstellar war, called STARF*CKER, with my editor now. Later this year, I hope to have unmothballed a couple of older manuscripts edited and available online. And last but not least, I'm looking for a possible publisher to take on the next Just Cause novel, The Archmage.

What’s your take on the post-Hunger Games dystopian craze?

I'm not really keen on reading about kids killing other kids. I didn't like the idea in Lord of the Flies back in junior high and I don't like it any better now. I do like a good post-apocalypse tale, and even wrote one called Hope and Undead Elvis. I believe that fiction trends reflect societal trends, and all you have to do is look at what the current generation of high school graduates is facing: a world where they can't afford to go to college, and aren't guaranteed jobs even if they do. They can't get the jobs high school students traditionally get because those positions are being filled by unemployed college graduates and folks laid off from the jobs for which they trained due to the economic downturn. What do these kids really have to look forward to? In their eyes, the dystopia isn't the future, it's now. The reason they're keen to read about it is that the characters in these stories often have the ability to change their world, often for the better, or at least to improve their own little corner of it. If you can't change your own hopeless situation, it's kind of nice to read about someone who can and perhaps be inspired to chase your own dream.

Tell us about Local Hero Press, as well as any other contests, or worthy news.
Local Hero Press is my own, private publishing imprint under which I am releasing exclusive ebook editions not available from Amazon or other retailers, as well as specialty print editions. It's another way to brand myself. All Local Hero Press books are Ian Thomas Healy books, and with that recognizable logo gracing the cover of each one, it adds to my brand. In the Local Hero Press store, I'm selling signed ebooks. Curious about that? You should go check them out. Also, if I'm going to get print editions into any bookstores, it helps to have a unique publisher's name on them.

Finally, add anything else you think important.

I'd like two Chicago-style dogs, a side of green chili cheese fries, and a large iced tea to go, please.

Midnight in Paris

So, I just got around to seeing Midnight in Paris the other day. For those of you who don't know, it's a romantic comedy directed by Woody Allen and starring Owen Wilson. In it, Wilson stars as a screenwriter vacationing in Paris who gets transported to the 1920s each night to party with his artistic heroes. He rubs shoulders with Earnest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso and tons of other notables. And the premise got me to thinking. If an antique car pulled up to transport me to my literary heroes, where would I go and who would be there?
Of course, on first thinking it, I run into a myriad of problems. The people I adore most occupy different times and places, how could I possibly choose between one and the other? But then I realize, there’s but one place for me, truly: Old Harlem.
Imagine it for a moment. Poetry nights with Langston Hughes on the mic, discussing folklore with Zora Neale Hurston, picking the brain of W.E.B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey, or A. Phillip Randolph. Imagine crowding in to the Cotton Club, Apollo Theatre, or some other hot spot for legends like Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong or Josephine Baker. And in the face of all that, it seems to me, that the Harlem Renaissance is where I’d want to be.
How about you?

My Book Wish List

Here are the books I wish I had, plan to buy, or hope to receive as a gift. Feel free to comment on any perceived trends, curiosities, or surprises found within. Do they seem like the books of an interracial romance novelist? Or, as some fans have pointed out to me, do you wish I’d stop calling myself a romance novelist altogether? I’ve been told it’s a disservice to my work, though I suspect it’s perhaps a slight misnomer. In any regard, here is my current wish list. Share yours!
1. Rules for Virgins by Amy Tan
2. Nanjing Requiem by Ha Jin
3. War Trash by Ha Jin
4. Home, Toni Morrison
5. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
6. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
7. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
8. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
9. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
10. UR by Stephen King
11. Appalachee Red by Raymond Andrews
12. The Other Woman by Eric Jerome Dickey
13. A Mercy by Toni Morrison
14. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
15. The Coffin Quilt: The Feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys by Ann Rinaldi
Feel free to suggest books you think should be added.

Crimson Footprints, New Cover Revealed

Delphine Publications has released the new cover for Crimson Footprints. With it, a new release date of June 2012 for the eBook and July 17, 2012 for the print edition. It's available for pre-order right now.
So...what's new with it?
The story is identical, except for a few corrections stemming the previous glitch with the first edition of the eBook. But, there is one major change. Chapter One of the sequel is being included! Trust me, you will not want to miss this, as it begins with one helluva bang. Stay tuned!

P.S. For those of you who are new to Crimson Footprints, here's the rundown:
When an insecure, bi-racial woman begins a cloak-and-dagger love affair with a Japanese American man, she is intent on keeping her bigoted family in the dark—albeit with devastating consequences. On the night of her brother’s murder, Deena Hammond stumbles upon Takumi Tanaka, lost and on the wrong end of a .32. After rescuing him from the certain fate driving through the hood in a Ferrari will bring, a sweet kind of friendship begins. A balm for her grief. Maybe, Deena likes to think, it happened the day her white mother killed her black father. Or maybe, it was always a part of them, like DNA gone bad. Whatever the case, Deena knows that her family would never approve, hell, never acknowledge her fast-growing love for Takumi. And had he never made love to her that way, in that unraveling, soul-searching sort of way, she could’ve done the same. But love’s a devil that way. So, their game begins. One where they hide what they are from everyone. Anyone. And Tak understands this—for now. After all, Deena’s career hinges on the favor of her mentor and boss, his hard-ass of a father. And the Hammond family is already stretched thin with grief. Yet, each step Deena takes toward family and career brings her closer to an acceptance she’s never had. And away from him.

Crimson Footprints Finds A New Home

Recently, I made the decision to go from being independently published to joining forces with a publishing house. For an author who's also a full-time freelancer, full-time mom, and full-time wife, teaming up with established publishing queen Tamika Newhouse was an obvious move. Delphine Publications has released scores of hits, and after extensive talks with Tamika, I got the distinction impression that she not only understood what it was I was trying to do with Crimson Footprints but that she respected that work. From there, the move to sign with Delphine was a given.
For a few short weeks, Crimson Footprints will be unavailable in print and ebook format. Currently, we expected a publication date early in the summer of 2012. When the novel is released, it will have a new cover. When that happens, I'll invite both old fans and potential ones to share their thoughts on the new look for Crimson Footprints.

Crimson Footprints, Amazon Prime Available Free

Here's a short blog post just to let you know that my debut novel, Crimson Footprints, will be available free on Amazon from January 25, 2012- January 26, 2012. This offer extends to Amazon Prime members, otherwise you can purchase it for $2.99.

Some of you might be saying that you don't have a Prime account, don't need one or shouldn't get one just to reap the benefits of free books. But I beg to differ. I have a Prime account and I paid absolutely zilch for it. How did I do it? Well, for those parents and other caregivers out there Amazon has a program called Amazon Mom. With free enrollment and the purchase of an item for a child or the household, you get free membership in Prime. What counts as a qualifying purchase is pretty liberal and I find myself renewing my Prime account with more qualifying purchases without effort. A toy here, diapers there, etc. all with free shipping. Who wouldn't want the XYZ's the family needs anyway delivered direct to the door? And better still, who wouldn't want to reap the benefits of free book promotions and library borrowing through Prime as an added bonus? So yeah, order what you need on the Internet and spend that extra free time on your fanny reading. Now, that's the life.

O.K. Enough of the shameless plugging. Grab an Amazon Mom account with free Prime today and Crimson Footprints tonight. Happy reading!

Just What the Heck is Women's Fiction

The term “women’s fiction” is broad and encompasses a wide range of work. Among its breadth are romance novels, so-called “chick lit” and many works otherwise thought mainstream. What they all have in common is that they are deemed “marketable to women.”

Sexist language aside, women’s fiction is often described in muddled, near incoherent fashion by an industry who oft-times seems as confused by what constitutes the genre as those who actually seek the answer. “Books marketable to women” is a definition so vague and borderline offensive as to be deemed worthy of dismissal. Yet, it is the description most often relied upon. On FindmeanAuthor.com, women’s fiction is described as able to “touch the reader in ways other fiction cannot. Relationship stories, generational sagas, love stories and women's commercial fiction must touch on subjects women can relate to in their real lives. Put another way: Women's fiction taps into the hopes, fears, dreams and even secret fantasies of women today.” Agent Scott Eagan states that women’s fiction must “follow the female journey and learn what it takes to be a female.” This is the most concise and approachable definition I’ve found to date.

Since women’s fiction encompasses a range of specialties, it runs the gamut from superficial to sobering. Romance novels have been around for a few hundred years. Samuel Richardson’s Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded was an early romance considered a breakthrough on two fronts. One, romance was the primary force of the story. Two, said story was told from the view of a female protagonist. Richardson would pave the way for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and publishers Mills and Boon and Harlequin, which succeeded in marketing romance to the masses. Romance novels, while largely criticized as fluff and thoughtless fiction, or, at times referred to as “bodice rippers” are the bread and butter of publishers. According to Romance Writer’s of America, romance is and continues to be the largest producer of book sales in the industry. Not only did romance fiction generate $1.358 billion in sales in 2010, but also it remained the largest share of the consumer market at 13.4 percent. The following is a breakdown of sub-genre’s the organization claims under the umbrella of romance and the associated sales:

Romance Subgenres Published in 2011

Romance fiction: $1.358 billion in estimated revenue for 2010
Religion/inspirational: $759 million
Mystery: $682 million
Science fiction/fantasy: $559 million
Classic literary fiction: $455 million

More information on this phenomenon can be found here.
The category known as “chick-lit” was ushered in with Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary in 1996. Traits of the work include a light-hearted approach to the issues of modern woman and, according to Suzanne Ferris, author of In the Classroom or In the Bedroom, “often feature a career-driven heroine, an obsession with appearance, and a passion for shopping.” As a monster unto itself, chick-lit is a major enterprise, with television shows and movies like Sex in the City garnering a tidal wave of fans.

Chick-lit and romance aside, the rest of women’s fiction is a conglomerate of paths, ideas and works all deemed to be “marketable to women.” Each deals with the female experience—whether that be how she relates to her mother/sister/husband or children, or, in any context in the outside world. It cannot be stressed enough how broad and all encompassing this definition is, thereby defying any all-inclusive definition altogether. Many of the literary world’s best known authors write women’s fiction, imcluding Amy Tan, Sue Monk Kidd, Lisa See and Jodi Piccoult, leading us all to beg the question of just “what the heck is women’s fiction,” once again. For a novel that finds itself women's fiction and romance (circular argument, I suppose), check out my debut, Crimson Footprints, today.

The Writer's Cardinal Sin

I once made the worst writer's mistake known to man. Far worse than a simple grammatical error, head hop, or issue of formatting--I committed the writer's cardinal sin.

I was boring.

For some writers, there are other, more egregious errors--but for the reader, this is simply unforgivable. Nothing equates it, except perhaps sheer goobledygook on a page.

Thankfully, my instance was eons ago, in a graduate level wirting course headed by Brenda Serotte, author of "The Fortune Teller's Kiss. For those of you who have ever had the unequivocal pleasure of meeting the Bronx diva, her belligerent scrolling of "BORING" across the front of my paper in firey red will come as no surprise. Since then, I've implemented a a rather effective checklist to ensure that I never bore the melanin off a reader again.

1. Does this scene move the story towards its eventual goal or climax?
2. Could this scene stand alone as an interesting read?
3. Does something happen at the end of every chapter, upon which the reader is forced to think "I need to see what happens next?"
4. Are my characters behaving naturally? Am I driving them or are they driving me? Ideally, I prefer to keep a loose goal in mind and allow the characters to surprise me with the story.
And finally, the most important question of all:
5. Am I bored yet? Because if I'm bored, then the reader has already closed the book.