Ann Stephens's Blog, page 7

Madness and Mash ups

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Cover via Amazon

In the world of romance writing, a mash up is the juxtaposition of two or more (preferably quite different) genres.  Probably the best known example is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. While both zombies and vampires are popular ingredients in mash ups, I discovered that with a little imagination, there are a lot of possible tropes and genre combinations out there. I've thought of a few myself. (This is what happens when I get distracted.)

Having the Shapeshifter's Baby: A graduate student handles her unexpected pregnancy calmly until she gives birth to a bundle of joy with fur and retractable claws.

SEALs and Sensibility: The proper Miss Elizabth FitzDashland and her sisters experience a severe shock when a commando unit parachutes into their garden party.

Courting the Alien Debutante: The Duke of Broodley, known rake and secret agent, has a new assignment: get to know the  green-skinned beauty from Orion-5 who has taken Victorian London by storm, and discover the secret of her mysterious weapon, the 'phaser'.

The Preacher and the Airship Pilot: A missionary faces danger while flying to a new post on another continent. Not only has an assassain's guild targeted him, he is far too tempted by Victoria Smith-Smythe-Smith, his transport's unconventional captain.

Knitting for Three: A yarn shop owner is attracted to both her handyman landlord and his free-wheeling best friend…until they tell her she doesn't have to choose between them.

Are there any romance combinations you've enjoyed or would like to see?

Tagged: goofing off, mash up, Postaweek 2011, Pride and Prejudice & Zombies, romance

Advice to New Mothers: Victorian Style

With Mother's Day coming up in many countries around the world, this historical romance writer thinks it might be interesting to take a look at motherhood during the Victorian era.  Strip away the sentimental gauze which covers the 19th century and you'll find some alarming advice given to new moms.

A young bride could go from complete ignorance about sex to motherhood within the first year of her marriage. And in an age where widespread knowledge of contraception did not exist (and providing it was often a crime), the average middle class Englishwoman would give birth four more times over the course of her life. (Provided she did not die of puerperal fever or the effects of a complicated birth.) Then, as now, advice books to help her through the process of raising a family abounded.

However, attitudes differed from our day. For one thing, women were not encouraged to follow their own mothers' advice or their own common sense. The (mostly male) writers of books on 'the management of children' urged their readers to defer to "the superior wisdom of medical experts."  While the possession of a functional uterus does not automatically make a woman a good mother, some of the 'wisdom' offered is astounding. In a bad way.

New mothers who wanted to breastfeed were discouraged.  Even where the occasional doctor might acknowledge some advantage to the practice, nursing for longer than three months interfered with a woman's perceived duty to her husband and household.  Also, advice books opined that breast milk was not nearly as nutritious as 'pap' — a concoction of bread soaked in water and sweetened with sugar. (And they wondered why so many infants didn't survive to their first birthday!)

In the ideal painted by experts of that time, mothers did not spend excessive amounts of time with their babies and young children.  Instead a nurse, nursemaid, or nanny provided most of the care, with the mother in a supervisory role.  The old maxim is "Children should be seen and not heard." While that is still an excellent piece of advice, especially when we take our kids out in public, in some families in the 19th century, children were barely even seen. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were considered model parents for visiting their two oldest children once a day.  Their younger children got much shorter shrift, as the Queen noted in a letter that she scarcely saw them more than once every three months.  While I believe that children are small wild animals that need to be trained in at least the appearance of civilized behavior before we let them loose on the rest of the world, this is extreme even for me.

So is the Victorian concept of proper food for growing children.  Meals were to be plain. Highly flavored food might arouse passions (especially dangerous in girls)! Fruits and vegetables were suspect, and even fresh bread and butter might lead young people astray. Mrs. Beeton suggests day old bread is good enough for the schoolroom. Jam was considered inappropriate for children.  One young woman only tasted marmalade for the first time after her marriage!

What about you? Would you have enjoyed raising children or growing up in this era?

Tagged: Child-rearing, Family, Mother's Day, Victorian era

Stages of Character Love

I am shamelessly fickle. My relationships with my main characters go through several stages. The first is infatuation, when this fabulous new person presents him- or herself in my mind, and I'm thinking about all the neat things that he or she could do and be. It's a rush of excitement and, well, not exactly lust, since we are speaking of fictional entities here — but desire and hope. As in I want to write about these characters and I hope I can sustain their development through an entire book.

The second part of the Infatuation Stage is when I pull out my character worksheet to write down concrete details.  This is one of my favorite parts of writing! Does he have blue eyes to die for or big brown bedroom eyes? Is she tall and lanky or short and curvy? I tend to develop my hero and heroine at the same time, but that's just me. As long as the writer gets to know the characters intimately, how she does it doesn't matter.  There are a lot of questions to answer: Who is his best friend or closest confidant? Does she get along with her family? And what do they want more than anything else in the entire universe? Why can't they get that thing/situation/person? What choices are they willing to make to get their Heart's Desire?

Of course, this process can lead to dimmed enthusiasm about the characters as I go off into tangents about how their traits are going to affect the choices the characters make.  Must he have his large smelly dog with him all the time? What if she's allergic? Did they even have allergies in the Victorian era? How did they treat them? And her hobby is needlework? Really? That's not nearly as exciting as say, sword-fighting. But where would a well-bred female learn to fence? For that matter, where would a not-s0-well bred female learn to fence?

In case you haven't noticed, I am the kind of person who makes mountains out of molehills.  Fortunately, in the fictional world, there are these nifty things called 'erasers'. Give me a few minutes and I can come up with a better hobby for her (probably not needlework or sword-fighting), and she won't be allergic to his dog, either. (Although she may not particularly enjoy the dog's trail of hair and mud.)

Suppose I get out of the Infatuation Stage and I'm still willing to make a commitment to these characters? Then I have to sit down and really think about what's they're going to do over the course of the manuscript. This is the long haul. I'm going spend hours at a time, for months, with this couple. I will lay awake nights because a scene isn't quite right, or because their story needs more conflict, or I've lost sight of their goals. But I'm in the Commitment Stage, by golly! I will stick it out through multiple drafts!

Sadly, this leads to the Break-Up Stage. By the time I finish writing a book, I am fed up with both the hero and heroine. All I've done for weeks is deal with their problems.  (Okay, I invented their problems, but that's beside the point!) I feel suffocated because their needs are taking up so much of my time and energy. I secretly want to see other characters. For a writer this is the dangerous time of rushed endings. I've learned the hard way that the characters must be allowed to finish their own stories out.

At last, at last, the final sentence is written and I can put this couple out of my thoughts for awhile. I can move on, to the next couple that has caught my mind's eye. And the cycle begins again…

Tagged: Characters, Postaweek 2011, Writing, writing routine

Nom, Nom, Nom: Some of the 2011 RITA Finalists

This isn't breaking news, but I'm especially excited about this year's RITA nominations. This award recognizes outstanding romance books and novellas from the previous year, and the awards are given out at the annual Romance Writers of America convention.

This year, I actually know two of the finalists! Cheryl St. John is nominated in the Romantic Novella category for 'Mountain Rose', from the anthology  To be a Mother. And Mary Connealy's Doctor in Petticoats is nominated for Inspirational Romance.

Second, some of my favorite books of last year are in the running. Below are the categories I'll be watching most closely. Check out this link to the Romance Writers of America website for the complete list of 2011 finalists. Which books would you like to win?

2011 RITA Finalists for Historical Romance

Countess of Scandal by Laurel McKee (Forever; Alex Logan, editor)
The Forbidden Rose by Joanne Bourne (Berkley Trade; Wendy McCurdy, editor)
His at Night by Sherry Thomas (Bantam Books; Caitlin Alexander, editor)
A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James (Avon Books; Carrie Feron, editor)
Last Night's Scandal by Loretta Chase (Avon; May Chen, editor)
A Little Bit Wild by Victoria Dahl (Zebra Books; John Scognamiglio, editor)
One Wicked Sin by Nicola Cornick (HQN Books; Kimberley Young, editor)
Open Country by Kaki Warner (Berkley Trade; Wendy McCurdy, editor)

2011 Finalists for Inspirational Romance

A Convenient Wife by Anna Schmidt (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical; Tina James, editor)
Doctor in Petticoats by Mary Connealy (Barbour Publishing; Rebecca Germany, editor)
Finding Her Way Home by Linda Goodnight (Steeple Hill Love Inspired; Allison Lyons, editor)
In Harm's Way by Irene Hannon (Revell; Jennifer Leep, editor)
Maid to Match by Deeanne Gist (Bethany House Publishers; David Long and Julie Klassen, editors)
Shades of Morning by Marlo M. Schalesky (WaterBrook Multnomah; Shannon Marchese, editor)
The Wedding Garden by Linda Goodnight (Steeple Hill Love Inspired; Allison Lyons, editor)
Whisper on the Wind by Maureen Lang (Tyndale House Publishers; Stephanie Broene, editor)


Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander (Bethany House Publishers; Karen Schurrer and Charlene Patterson, editors)

2011 Finalists for Historical Regency Romance

His Christmas Pleasure by Cathy Maxwell (Avon Books; Lucia Macro, editor)
The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig (Dutton; Erika Imranyi, editor)
Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean (Avon Books; Carrie Feron, editor)
Provocative in Pearls by Madeline Hunter (Jove; Wendy McCurdy, editor)
To Surrender to a Rogue by Cara Elliott (Forever; Frances Jalet-Miller, editor)
Twice Tempted by a Rogue by Tessa Dare (Ballantine Books; Kate Collins, editor)


When Harry Met Molly by Kieran Kramer (St. Martin's Press; Jennifer Enderlin, editor)
The Wicked Wyckerly by Patricia Rice (NAL/Signet; Ellen Edwards, editor)

2011 Finalists for Romance Novella

"Blame It on the Blizzard" by Jennifer Greene in Baby, It's Cold Outside  (Harlequin; Marsha Zinberg, editor)
"A Dundee Christmas" by Brenda Novak in That Christmas Feeling (Harlequin Superromance; Paula Eykelhof, editor)
"Friendly Fire" by Jill Shalvis in Born on the 4th of July (Harlequin Blaze; Brenda Chin, editor)
"Love Me to Death" by Maggie Shayne in Heart of Darkness (HQN Books; Leslie Wainger, editor)
"Mistletoe Magic" by Sandra Hyatt in Under the Millionaire's Mistletoe (Silhouette Desire; Krista Stroever, editor)
"Mountain Rose" by Cheryl St. John in To Be a Mother (Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical; Patience Smith, editor)
"Shifting Sea" by Virginia Kantra in Burning Up (Berkley Sensation; Cindy Hwang, editor)


"The Wrong Brother" by Maureen Child in Under the Millionaire's Mistletoe (Silhouette Desire; Krista Stroever, editor)

Related Articles

The RITA Reading Challenge 2011 (smartbitchestrashybooks.com)


Tagged: Cheryl St. John, Mary Connealy, Postaweek 2011, romance novels, Romance Writers of America, Sarah MacLean

The Ironies of Publication

As my previous post mentioned, I spent last weekend with over 80 other writers at Mahoney State Park in Nebraska. Speakers Mary Colgan of Chronicle Books, agent Terry Burns, and best-selling author Alex Kava all gave excellent presentations — I took pages of notes to mull over. And my first-ever workshop on critiques, Dishing it out & Taking It, seemed to go over well. As a bonus, I met my fellow Authors by Moonlight blogger, Sherry James, face to face after working with her online for like, four years.

The best thing I learned came from both Mary and Alex. Both of them still have to carve out time for editing and writing, respectively. I'm not sure which is more ironic: That editors have to make time to edit and a best-selling author has to make time to write, or that this is the best thing one can learn.

When you're an aspiring writer, the focus is on writing a polished manuscript that gets you an agent and a sale. When you're published, you still have to produce polished manuscripts, but your writing is now a product in the publishing business. Editors need to envision a manuscript's market — its pool of potential readers — before they acquire it. They are not motivated by any more greed than the rest of us. They have bills to pay too. A product that doesn't sell isn't going to do the publisher or the author any good.

I had been feeling guilty because I've been trying to keep up with sales of Her Scottish Groom and wondering if my WIP's concept is simply fresh and unique or if it's gone too far from its basic trope and won't sell to anyone. This weekend demonstrated that there is more to a successful book than a well-written story. Learning more about the workings of a successful publishing house from Mary, and about the demands the market can place on a writer from Alex, I feel empowered, not discouraged. It is a challenge to balance the needs of the marketplace against the needs of the writer-as-craftsman/artist, but people are doing it. So can I. So can you.

Tagged: Alex Kava, Authors by Moonlight, Chronicle Books, Editors, Postaweek 2011, Sherry James, Writing

The Joy of Risk

I avoid danger. The rush of adrenaline that spurs on race car drivers, test pilots and emergency room nurses leaves me wanting to lay down until the shaking stops. You will not find me parachuting out of a plane or driving at excessive speed unless it is literally a matter of life or death.

Yet I have learned to value risk. We all have fears that should be faced. Not because facing a fear eliminates it. I've dealt with bugs, tornadoes, high places, and public criticism more than once in my life, and they still make me flinch. But I have learned that my fears of those things should not rule my life. Phobias owe nothing to reason, but we can still control our reactions to them. Facing a fear teaches us that in nearly every case, we can manage it. The key is to recognize the fear, acknowledge it, and prepare for it as best you can. Once I realized this, I found it possible to handle more situations that intimidated me.

I actually took pleasure in the prospect of a challenge. My skin got thicker. Believe me, stress is still a huge part of my life. But like fear, it is manageable. This weekend, for example, the Nebraska Writers Guild has invited me to conduct a short workshop. This is totally new territory, and it makes me want to breathe into a paper bag at moments. What if I make a fool of myself? What if I can't answer all the questions? What if everybody there is smarter than me?

Still, it's a chance to grow my speaking skills. I could learn something about writing. I could meet some really cool people. It's worth the risk.

Tagged: Fear, Nebraska Writers Guild, Phobia, Workshop

Unplugged

I've had computer issues lately. Not the kind where you push the 'on' button and nothing happens, which is one of the worst sensations a writer can experience. (That happened to me last summer. I about had a seizure.) This is the kind where, for some reason, I have to force myself to the screen and keyboard. I don't want to check emails, update my Facebook status or tweet. Dust settles on my last post here.

Maybe it's a reaction to spending a lot of time online in February and March guest blogging or sending in posts related to the release of Her Scottish Groom. Don't think for a moment that I didn't enjoy the attention and contact with romance readers! This is not something that I get to do that often, and I am thankful for every single opportunity to write a post and respond to comments. I appreciate the kindness of other blog owners and their readers, and it seems to have generated interest in my latest release. The Kindle edition of Her Scottish Groom is selling steadily enough to range from 99 up to 65 on Amazon's Kindle Store Historical Romance Top 100 list for the last 10 days or so.

(I know, it changes hourly and it's not selling thousands of copies or downloads. But it's the first list I've ever made, darn it!)

Anyway, Life is Good and there's no real excuse for disappearing from my online haunts. Still, I've resisted logging into anything but my Pandora stations for the last two weeks. I outlined two presentations for a couple of unexpected speaking engagements. I worked on my WIP, but in longhand on notebook paper. The page count is shaky, because I've also free-associated two potential series into very rough descriptions on paper. (If I carried smelling salts, I'd take a deep whiff at this point — do I really want to get involved with an entire series?? Never mind two!) It's too early to tell if they'll come to fruition, but the chance to let my mind wander felt sort of like a vacation.

Writing is a huge part of my life, but not its entirety. Time spent away from the computer means that my house is a lot cleaner. This is good because clutter seems to block me mentally. (In view of how much I dislike housework, this realization disconcerts me greatly.) My family got muffins for breakfast and  I've had lunch with my dad, chatted with my mom more often and helped my youngest host her friends for their pre-prom hair/makeup/dressing ritual.

So if anyone missed me while I was gone, thank you for the thoughts. I'm back, balanced, and ready to take on the world again. And I have the clean underwear to prove it.

Tagged: Family, Her Scottish Groom, Historical romance, Mental break, Postaweek 2011, writing routine

Blogging at Authors by Moonlight!

An Irish invasion of Canada? From Buffalo, New York??? Yup, it happened. Read about it today at Authors by Moonlight.

Cover Me! at My Book Addiction

Today I'm guest blogging at My Book Addiction and More! The subject is book covers and what makes them work — or an Epic Fail. I'm also giving away a signed copy of Her Scottish Groom, so come on by.

Tagged: Free book!, Her Scottish Groom, My Book Addiction, romance novels, To be Seduced

Shrove Tuesday, or the Festival of Pancakes

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Image via Wikipedia

I don't have a problem with Mardi Gras. Between the fact that New Orleans is American and my mother-in-law is French, why not celebrate it? Laissez les bons temps rouler and all that. But the most recent immigrant up my family tree is my great-grandfather from Yorkshire, England. Between that and my lifelong membership in the Episcopal church, when I grew up, Mardi Gras took a back seat to Shrove Tuesday.

By now, you may be asking yourself "What the %*#* is a shrove?" I did for years. It is neither a specialized pan nor a gardening tool. 'Shrove' comes from 'to shrive', which in the Middle Ages meant to confess one's sins to a priest and gain absolution. One would not wish to die, or enter the holy season of Lent, unshriven.

However, let's talk about the traditional food served on Shrove Tuesday: Pancakes. Like the fried foods associated with Mardi Gras, Carnival and Fasching, pancakes used up fats, eggs, milk and sugar, all traditionally forbidden during the Lenten fast. They have been around in some form since at least the 15th century, when legend has it that a housewife in Olney, Buckinghamshire got so caught up in making them that she nearly missed getting to church. In her haste, she ran to the church, pan and cooking pancake in hand.  Olney commemorates her with an annual pancake race, held since 1445. Several other towns in Great Britain have their own pancake races, but only Olney (say that 10 times fast) competes internationally, with the residents of Liberal, Kansas.

I'm not sure how good a pancake tastes after being flipped several times in chilly air. My own requirements for the golden brown delicacies include being hot out of the pan. I eat mine with butter and maple syrup — real maple syrup, not the corn syrup substitutes so popular these days — and preferably accompanied by bacon or sausage.  I'm not ashamed to use the fast recipe on the side of the Bisquick box, but if I'm feeling really ambitious, I will make use the following recipe, from my trusty Joy of Cooking, 1975 edition:

Pancakes, Griddle Cakes or Batter Cakes

Sift before measuring: 1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour

Resift with: 1 teaspoon salt, 3 Tablespoons sugar, 1 3/4 teaspoons double-acting  baking powder

Combine: 1 or 2 slightly beaten whole eggs, 3 Tablespoons melted butter, 1 to 1 1/4 cups of milk

Mix the liquid ingredients quickly into the dry ingredients. Heat the griddle and test it by sprinkling a few drops of cold water onto the hot surface. If the water puddles before evaporating, it's not hot enough. If it sizzles away immediately, it's too hot. You want the water drops to bounce and dance around on the pan before you pour in the batter.

Pour the batter on the properly heated surface, then wait for bubbles to form on the upper surface. (Note: this is the upper surface of the middle of the pancake.) This should take 2 to 3 minutes max. Before the bubbles break, flip the pancake only once. The second side takes only half as much time to cook.

I like to serve mine hot from the pan, with any of the following: Butter and maple syrup, powdered sugar and fruit or jam, sugar and cinnamon.

I understand that Scarborough, Yorkshire has a half day holiday on Shrove Tuesday. (Anyone from Scarborough around to confirm or deny that?) And Ashborne in Derbyshire celebrates the day with the Royal Shrovetide Football Match, played over two days. It sounds more like a mob playing rugby than anything else, but I will admit to not knowing the fine points of the game. But what I want to know is: Do they have pancakes?

Do you celebrate Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Carnival or Fasching? If so, what special activities or foods make the day special for you?

Tagged: Lent, Pancake, Postaweek 2011, recipe, ShroveTuesday