Rain Trueax's Blog, page 49
December 7, 2012
Series writing and a mystery
Recently we watched a film on Netflix which I had come across while looking through their offerings. I didn't know anything about it but as soon as it began I remembered something. One for the Money was based on a book by the author Janet Evanovich, whose books I had seen around and remembered as a successful author but was vague on what she wrote.
The film was kind of cute as it starred the lovely Kathleen Heigl who is always a pleasure to watch. The other characters (two hunky kind of heroes) were not as well known to me other than Debbie Reynolds as her grandmother and Sherri Shepherd who played a secondary character, Lulu, but is better known for being on The View.
As soon as I heard the name of the bounty hunter heroine, Stephanie Plum, I figured that this book, written in 1994, was intended to be part of a series. Some research after the film told me that Evanovich has written now 19 books with Plum as her heroine. Her last one landed instantly at the top of the NY Times bestseller list. She's obviously doing something right.
Not for me. I won't be buying the books and wouldn't likely watch another movie based on them; but when I see something like this, as a writer, I always wonder what that writer did right. What made it work for so many people? Can I learn from what she did to maybe write something that would likewise appeal to more readers? These stories are mystery/adventures not romances even though there is male female interaction-- and the torsos on those male heroes-- oh my.
What I think works is the family relationships, that this heroine seems like an ordinary woman (even if more beautiful than the average) who can then do these daring things, seeing her succeed, and the humor (although the grandmother shooting the holiday dinner turkey didn't seem funny to me). The stories are based in Trenton, New Jersey, where there is a tight family and also the broader community of which the heroine is part (and from which Evanovich also has come).
Janet Evanovich was a romance writer who decided she liked better the action part of her stories than the sexy parts. She had a reputation as a romance writer and to jump genres takes some toughness. She did serious research into what it would take to be a bounty hunter, weapons, cases, the investigations, etc. She uses that in her books as well as the family interactions and the attraction Plum has with either of those two hunky heroes.
I looked at the reader reviews for her last book, the one that was an instant best seller, and some of the readers who had stuck with her are getting tired of the same old same old. It's not easy to turn out almost twenty books without finding some repetition. In that length of time, stringing out the reader for which man the heroine will choose (if either) sounds a little like Matt and Miss Kitty from the old Gunsmoke TV series. Haven't we gotten past that and why can't Plum figure out who she really wants-- if either? Doesn't that smack of some heroine immaturity as well as hanging the readers out there?
As I thought about the plot in One for the Money, which I am assuming is the plot in its book, I felt it had a lot of phoniness. Through naivete or dumbness, Plum is constantly nearly getting killed and some fluke saves her or in steps one of the heroes to fix whatever she goofed up. I simply cannot get into such a book and can't imagine spending months writing about such a woman. She is the romance heroine in the worst way but without the romance-- sex does NOT equal romance.
What I wondered was Stephanie Plum Janet Evanovich's alter ego? It's not the life Evanovich lives but it's not unusual for authors to relate to one of their characters-- especially if you are going to live with that fictional character for nearly twenty years.
In my own books, the most I have linked together are three (loosely and without the same hero or heroines in each), but I can see the merit of creating such a series as it's a ready made audience for your next book. Except-- how you avoid being bored with it? Maybe when the heroine is you living this alternate lifestyle?
Anyway, I liked the film better than the critics but won't be reading the book to figure out more of how she has gained such popularity-- unless I can get it used at Bookman's when I am next in Tucson. I don't think I could do her kind of story; but since this blog is intended to encourage other writers who might have the potential to write such a series, it's something to think about. Series writing can be the way to go for building a readership and clearly Evanovich has done something right in hers; but I've said often and repeat again-- a writer can only write what is in them. And when you have to spend months or even years with these characters, it's important readers will like them but even more that you do.
The film was kind of cute as it starred the lovely Kathleen Heigl who is always a pleasure to watch. The other characters (two hunky kind of heroes) were not as well known to me other than Debbie Reynolds as her grandmother and Sherri Shepherd who played a secondary character, Lulu, but is better known for being on The View.
As soon as I heard the name of the bounty hunter heroine, Stephanie Plum, I figured that this book, written in 1994, was intended to be part of a series. Some research after the film told me that Evanovich has written now 19 books with Plum as her heroine. Her last one landed instantly at the top of the NY Times bestseller list. She's obviously doing something right.
Not for me. I won't be buying the books and wouldn't likely watch another movie based on them; but when I see something like this, as a writer, I always wonder what that writer did right. What made it work for so many people? Can I learn from what she did to maybe write something that would likewise appeal to more readers? These stories are mystery/adventures not romances even though there is male female interaction-- and the torsos on those male heroes-- oh my.
What I think works is the family relationships, that this heroine seems like an ordinary woman (even if more beautiful than the average) who can then do these daring things, seeing her succeed, and the humor (although the grandmother shooting the holiday dinner turkey didn't seem funny to me). The stories are based in Trenton, New Jersey, where there is a tight family and also the broader community of which the heroine is part (and from which Evanovich also has come).
Janet Evanovich was a romance writer who decided she liked better the action part of her stories than the sexy parts. She had a reputation as a romance writer and to jump genres takes some toughness. She did serious research into what it would take to be a bounty hunter, weapons, cases, the investigations, etc. She uses that in her books as well as the family interactions and the attraction Plum has with either of those two hunky heroes.
I looked at the reader reviews for her last book, the one that was an instant best seller, and some of the readers who had stuck with her are getting tired of the same old same old. It's not easy to turn out almost twenty books without finding some repetition. In that length of time, stringing out the reader for which man the heroine will choose (if either) sounds a little like Matt and Miss Kitty from the old Gunsmoke TV series. Haven't we gotten past that and why can't Plum figure out who she really wants-- if either? Doesn't that smack of some heroine immaturity as well as hanging the readers out there?
As I thought about the plot in One for the Money, which I am assuming is the plot in its book, I felt it had a lot of phoniness. Through naivete or dumbness, Plum is constantly nearly getting killed and some fluke saves her or in steps one of the heroes to fix whatever she goofed up. I simply cannot get into such a book and can't imagine spending months writing about such a woman. She is the romance heroine in the worst way but without the romance-- sex does NOT equal romance.
What I wondered was Stephanie Plum Janet Evanovich's alter ego? It's not the life Evanovich lives but it's not unusual for authors to relate to one of their characters-- especially if you are going to live with that fictional character for nearly twenty years.
In my own books, the most I have linked together are three (loosely and without the same hero or heroines in each), but I can see the merit of creating such a series as it's a ready made audience for your next book. Except-- how you avoid being bored with it? Maybe when the heroine is you living this alternate lifestyle?
Anyway, I liked the film better than the critics but won't be reading the book to figure out more of how she has gained such popularity-- unless I can get it used at Bookman's when I am next in Tucson. I don't think I could do her kind of story; but since this blog is intended to encourage other writers who might have the potential to write such a series, it's something to think about. Series writing can be the way to go for building a readership and clearly Evanovich has done something right in hers; but I've said often and repeat again-- a writer can only write what is in them. And when you have to spend months or even years with these characters, it's important readers will like them but even more that you do.
December 5, 2012
sexiest man alive-- or not
Anybody who reads or has read romances knows this-- they are about the men as much as the women-- gorgeous, strong, awesome men. They are the kind of man that a woman will turn and look after he passes. Even if the hero is ugly (he is in one of my books) the heroine sees him as beautiful and he projects power to all around him. Always these men are sexy. They might be Cary Grant or Clark Gable, maybe Edward Pattinson or Brad Pitt but rugged or smooth, young or mature, one way or another they are gorgeous-- at least in her eyes.
Every year People puts out an issue where they name the sexiest man alive. Naturally they never get it right. How can you narrow it down to one sexiest man alive? Not possible. Last year they picked the wrong Ryan. This year they improved but still didn't get it right.
Okay, I get it because I did enjoy Channing Tatum in Magic Mike. What-- you thought I'd be too old to see that film? How about buy it? I knew I'd need to see it more than once-- for research purposes obviously *smiling*. Cute he is, but he's not the sexiest man alive. In fact after their choice from last year, I am wondering if they don't choose safe over sexy. (Romance novel heroes are rarely safe.)
What does it take to be sexy to a woman? Well I can't speak for all women but I think Channing Tatum is on the young side. I love a sense of humor and glint in the eye. Cannot beat that glint in the eye-- you know the one that says they know something you would like to know. Intelligence or commonsense is high up there also. But at the top of my list is sense of humor. Gorgeous is good but sense of humor is what makes it all work.
Anyway reading on who they did pick this time as well as who they should have, I came across the following as to who it should have been in 2010. I not only agreed but also realized that I am missing a lot by never watching regular TV. I think I'll bookmark this advertisement-- never know when I might need to do some er research...
Every year People puts out an issue where they name the sexiest man alive. Naturally they never get it right. How can you narrow it down to one sexiest man alive? Not possible. Last year they picked the wrong Ryan. This year they improved but still didn't get it right.
Okay, I get it because I did enjoy Channing Tatum in Magic Mike. What-- you thought I'd be too old to see that film? How about buy it? I knew I'd need to see it more than once-- for research purposes obviously *smiling*. Cute he is, but he's not the sexiest man alive. In fact after their choice from last year, I am wondering if they don't choose safe over sexy. (Romance novel heroes are rarely safe.)
What does it take to be sexy to a woman? Well I can't speak for all women but I think Channing Tatum is on the young side. I love a sense of humor and glint in the eye. Cannot beat that glint in the eye-- you know the one that says they know something you would like to know. Intelligence or commonsense is high up there also. But at the top of my list is sense of humor. Gorgeous is good but sense of humor is what makes it all work.
Anyway reading on who they did pick this time as well as who they should have, I came across the following as to who it should have been in 2010. I not only agreed but also realized that I am missing a lot by never watching regular TV. I think I'll bookmark this advertisement-- never know when I might need to do some er research...
December 3, 2012
innocence and the process
A year ago last December I put out my first book on Kindle. I was beginning a process that I knew little about even though I'd been writing full length manuscripts nearly all of my life. I had very few expectations for how ePublishing would go, but I had decided to do it. Now I'd say I was naive and really innocent about the marketing process, about what I'd be doing, about what was required. I can't say I know it all now. I keep learning.
When I watch the video at the bottom linked below, it makes me a little teary as I think of the covers that first depicted my stories. I still love them even though readers did not. They were mine and as mine I never saw them as they would seem to others.
My books and I have come a long way since then. The characters have stayed true to their stories. They still have that same energy that I think these first covers depicted. I am still proud of these stories, the ones that did well and the ones not so well. Each is all I can make them be. I've changed what I can to meet the needs of a buying public but I have held true to what I saw as my reason for writing.
They are stories of love, the kind of love that fights to make it work, that stays the distance. It's about new love and that which has been lost only to be rediscovered. The stories are about lovers, who against all odds, struggle to solve problems that stand in their way. Always there is adventure and danger as a part of the plot.
My original covers are still true to my heart even though they are all gone now to be followed by covers that are good too-- just less innocent perhaps-- as am I.
Covers from August 2011
The water is wide, I can't get oer Neither have I wings to fly... Give me a boat that can carry two...and both shall row, my love and I
It's what love is all about. It's why I think romances matter. Sometimes these kinds of feelings are pure fantasy for us but dreams that never become reality are not wrong. They become part of the energy that keeps us going.
Last week I watched The Magic of Belle Isle. At one point the hero, who is crippled, imagines in a dream that he is waltzing with the woman he knows he can never have in reality-- certainly not that way. Later the heroine speaks of that waltz that never really was. How did she feel it? It was the energy. I think that kind of waltz is what romance novels are about.
photo is of one of my sculptures
December 2, 2012
potpourri
Although, as a blog writer, I pretty nearly always write ahead of where I am, I thought I'd throw in a few stream of consciousness entries just because I can. Since my life is a mix of this and that, stream of consciousness comes out for me like potpourri without a big emphasis on one thing mattering more than another.
Wrestling with marketing is still one of my big issues as I have definitely decided not to put out the historical romances until I have a better idea of how to build a platform that gets them seen.
It's rather like when we sell lambs or steers. We cannot keep going with ranching until we find somewhere to sell the offspring. It's not the fun part of ranching but it is a necessity.
Last week 22 of our lambs went out to one buyer and it looks like a good fit for the buyer and us. They will be butchered as needed and sold to a specialty market. I hate selling lambs or steers because we give them this good life right up until that day comes. Now if we can kill on the place, which we manage more easily with the beef, I am happiest. They live good until the end. and the end is quick and merciful. At any rate, it's all part of ranch life.
The heavy rains have interfered with a lot of our plans. There is talk that this winter might be like this-- lots of gray, rainy days. It seems we are in a have and have not situation right now. It's dry and arid or it's tropical. This is kind of tropical as the air temp is pretty warm. Warm enough that at night we sleep with the french doors open.
I had a fascinating dream which I still have been trying to interpret but this is a time when my dreams seem not only intense but I retain parts of them when I wake. In this one I was like me but a slimmer and probably younger me. When someone came around I could either show them this me-- more like the one i used to be-- or a nude very muscular man who was also me. When I wondered in the dream why I was slimmer, the answer was dipping in the water. (While that might sound good, it's not as what kind of water could do that-- microbes? worms? acidic? No water that made you slim sounds safe to me. Is that too practical?)
What I think the dream likely represented-- the male/female part-- was the yin and yang of us, how we are both masculine and feminine. We have parts of us we choose to show to different people at different times. Very few see all of us.
But it might've been also because I write and as we write characters, we do go inside their heads. They then show various aspects of themselves to those they come across and the writer decides which part. When I am writing, I write both the beautiful woman and the handsome man. I am both of them in some ways and have to draw their characters out of myself. It might make me more aware of this in myself. Anyway it's one thought.
Somehow I threw out a muscle alongside my hip and the end result of that has been some pain, some trying to figure out how to restrengthen everything. Physically it makes me more aware of my age than I often am. It also reminds me I have not been as religious in exercising as I should be. Dare I mention also that physically I want to eat all the time, snack on this or that. It's as though it's a compensation for that weather outside, for my own frustration over not figuring out the marketing of books, over the hip not feeling right, and over the realities of ranch life. I need to get some healthier snacks around here as the ones I am choosing right now are anything but. Like I really needed more weight.... not.
Otherwise this is a bit of a waiting time for us as we have plans but weather is interfering. I certainly won't put up photos of outside my door right now as it's dreary out there but these are a few I drew out of my files.
Wrestling with marketing is still one of my big issues as I have definitely decided not to put out the historical romances until I have a better idea of how to build a platform that gets them seen.
It's rather like when we sell lambs or steers. We cannot keep going with ranching until we find somewhere to sell the offspring. It's not the fun part of ranching but it is a necessity.
Last week 22 of our lambs went out to one buyer and it looks like a good fit for the buyer and us. They will be butchered as needed and sold to a specialty market. I hate selling lambs or steers because we give them this good life right up until that day comes. Now if we can kill on the place, which we manage more easily with the beef, I am happiest. They live good until the end. and the end is quick and merciful. At any rate, it's all part of ranch life.
The heavy rains have interfered with a lot of our plans. There is talk that this winter might be like this-- lots of gray, rainy days. It seems we are in a have and have not situation right now. It's dry and arid or it's tropical. This is kind of tropical as the air temp is pretty warm. Warm enough that at night we sleep with the french doors open.
I had a fascinating dream which I still have been trying to interpret but this is a time when my dreams seem not only intense but I retain parts of them when I wake. In this one I was like me but a slimmer and probably younger me. When someone came around I could either show them this me-- more like the one i used to be-- or a nude very muscular man who was also me. When I wondered in the dream why I was slimmer, the answer was dipping in the water. (While that might sound good, it's not as what kind of water could do that-- microbes? worms? acidic? No water that made you slim sounds safe to me. Is that too practical?)
What I think the dream likely represented-- the male/female part-- was the yin and yang of us, how we are both masculine and feminine. We have parts of us we choose to show to different people at different times. Very few see all of us.
But it might've been also because I write and as we write characters, we do go inside their heads. They then show various aspects of themselves to those they come across and the writer decides which part. When I am writing, I write both the beautiful woman and the handsome man. I am both of them in some ways and have to draw their characters out of myself. It might make me more aware of this in myself. Anyway it's one thought.
Somehow I threw out a muscle alongside my hip and the end result of that has been some pain, some trying to figure out how to restrengthen everything. Physically it makes me more aware of my age than I often am. It also reminds me I have not been as religious in exercising as I should be. Dare I mention also that physically I want to eat all the time, snack on this or that. It's as though it's a compensation for that weather outside, for my own frustration over not figuring out the marketing of books, over the hip not feeling right, and over the realities of ranch life. I need to get some healthier snacks around here as the ones I am choosing right now are anything but. Like I really needed more weight.... not.
Otherwise this is a bit of a waiting time for us as we have plans but weather is interfering. I certainly won't put up photos of outside my door right now as it's dreary out there but these are a few I drew out of my files.
November 30, 2012
politics in my books
Although I think all of my books express a life view which can be thought of as political, I only have a couple where politics is a plot element along with the romance. An example is Sky Daughter which delves into politics and the paranormal. When I began writing it, I debated whether it would have a real mystical aspect. I could have written the whole story without it. We can do a lot of imagining something is there when it's not. But what about when it is? I liked that approach better and so it became.
The political side to Sky Daughter is when a small, mountain community is being taken over by a fascist type group. Talk radio is the tool to convince the citizens that they are about to be invaded by the United Nations. A local radio personality becomes a dominating influence. The man uses fear of the 'other' presenting himself as their chance for safety as he builds his power.
My demagogue is modeled after those I have heard when traveling through the area where the story is set. While they are simply spouting off on the radio, this guy has a bigger plan. When I listened to the spiel and heard the fear in the callers, an idea for a book began to germinate. I began writing it in 2002. I don't define what year the story is set as this kind of thing has happened again and again in history. I consider the issue, of such ideologues who seek power, to be timeless which is the best way to use political thinking in a romance.
My heroine has come to to her grandfather's mountain home to emotionally recover from a series of losses. For awhile she's oblivious to what is happening and then she begins to see a difference in the people, how they are being influenced to fear the outside world as they are trained to defend their world. The brainwashing techniques use fear and a sense of patriotism to build up their paranoia.
The hero is Jewish, born to a Jewish mother, Puerto Rican father and has seen such abuses in the past but he finds something up in the mountains that he hadn't seen before. Besides the political power grab, there is a religious aspect as wicca is part of the story. I don't have my witches flying on broomsticks, but they do have a concept of how power can be used. At first my heroine is edgy at what she is learning about her deceased grandmother until she comes to realize the world is not as she thought.
When I wrote this story, I knew the condemnation of right wing political thinking would turn off some readers, but I also knew that the region where I was placing the action was actually seeing some of this-- if not taken as far as I did in the story.
Likely a writer does lose some potential readers when they add a political element which might please some but will turn off others. For me part of writing is being able to project ideas that I believe are part of a healthy life and I like to use my characters and their situations, when possible, to illustrate those truths. The way the heroine learns to combat the unknown is something we can all learn to do-- even when we don't have a monster to combat.
The political side to Sky Daughter is when a small, mountain community is being taken over by a fascist type group. Talk radio is the tool to convince the citizens that they are about to be invaded by the United Nations. A local radio personality becomes a dominating influence. The man uses fear of the 'other' presenting himself as their chance for safety as he builds his power.
My demagogue is modeled after those I have heard when traveling through the area where the story is set. While they are simply spouting off on the radio, this guy has a bigger plan. When I listened to the spiel and heard the fear in the callers, an idea for a book began to germinate. I began writing it in 2002. I don't define what year the story is set as this kind of thing has happened again and again in history. I consider the issue, of such ideologues who seek power, to be timeless which is the best way to use political thinking in a romance.
My heroine has come to to her grandfather's mountain home to emotionally recover from a series of losses. For awhile she's oblivious to what is happening and then she begins to see a difference in the people, how they are being influenced to fear the outside world as they are trained to defend their world. The brainwashing techniques use fear and a sense of patriotism to build up their paranoia.
The hero is Jewish, born to a Jewish mother, Puerto Rican father and has seen such abuses in the past but he finds something up in the mountains that he hadn't seen before. Besides the political power grab, there is a religious aspect as wicca is part of the story. I don't have my witches flying on broomsticks, but they do have a concept of how power can be used. At first my heroine is edgy at what she is learning about her deceased grandmother until she comes to realize the world is not as she thought.
When I wrote this story, I knew the condemnation of right wing political thinking would turn off some readers, but I also knew that the region where I was placing the action was actually seeing some of this-- if not taken as far as I did in the story.
Likely a writer does lose some potential readers when they add a political element which might please some but will turn off others. For me part of writing is being able to project ideas that I believe are part of a healthy life and I like to use my characters and their situations, when possible, to illustrate those truths. The way the heroine learns to combat the unknown is something we can all learn to do-- even when we don't have a monster to combat.
November 28, 2012
Politics and the romance novel
Here's an issue you don't see discussed much for romance novels-- how politics influence or should influence the stories. In many romances, maybe most, there isn't any political element. And by this, I don't mean partisan but conservative versus liberal, exploring how far government should go, where does it have a right to intervene, etc etc.? They stick to love with some barrier between the couple. Some of the finest romances though, like those of Jane Austen, very much have a political aspect woven into the plot-- sometimes very subtly.
Probably a lot of writers, who aren't writing say an espionage novel, try to avoid a political bent because of its potential to turn off half the readers from the get go. In contemporary romance novels (there is a little more of it in historical romances but not a lot) having a political aspect is in my experience rare. Oh there is the lesson that love is worth what it costs, that doing right is the right thing, helping others is good, sometimes a religious one, standing up to bad guys is necessary at some point, but contemporary stories about deeper governing issues, not so much.
Should there be or is the very nature of a romance novel to find one place you can forget about all that? To some point, I can agree with that. Probably the last thing any romance reader wants is preaching a political doctrine when they came for a good plot, set of characters, and a connection to their own lives for the emotions generated by the reading.
Except, when you consider the difficult issues our world faces, it seems to me at least some romance writers might give some thought to inserting plot elements into their stories that do explore what is good or not on a political scale. Not a party or candidate (which would be outdated all too fast) but what should we want from government? How accountable to us should it be? When does it become a problem? etc. etc. which obviously would be seen differently whether one is a right or left wing oriented writer.
I'll write more on this an example from one of my own books; but for now, take some time and watch this video. It's an interview with Jeremy Scahill as he discusses what I consider a very powerful moral issue for today (I got it from a blog called Hattie's Web). When I see something like this, I think now how could I explore this subject with one of my books? My next blog here will discuss an example of one of my books with a political theme within it.
Probably a lot of writers, who aren't writing say an espionage novel, try to avoid a political bent because of its potential to turn off half the readers from the get go. In contemporary romance novels (there is a little more of it in historical romances but not a lot) having a political aspect is in my experience rare. Oh there is the lesson that love is worth what it costs, that doing right is the right thing, helping others is good, sometimes a religious one, standing up to bad guys is necessary at some point, but contemporary stories about deeper governing issues, not so much.
Should there be or is the very nature of a romance novel to find one place you can forget about all that? To some point, I can agree with that. Probably the last thing any romance reader wants is preaching a political doctrine when they came for a good plot, set of characters, and a connection to their own lives for the emotions generated by the reading.
Except, when you consider the difficult issues our world faces, it seems to me at least some romance writers might give some thought to inserting plot elements into their stories that do explore what is good or not on a political scale. Not a party or candidate (which would be outdated all too fast) but what should we want from government? How accountable to us should it be? When does it become a problem? etc. etc. which obviously would be seen differently whether one is a right or left wing oriented writer.
I'll write more on this an example from one of my own books; but for now, take some time and watch this video. It's an interview with Jeremy Scahill as he discusses what I consider a very powerful moral issue for today (I got it from a blog called Hattie's Web). When I see something like this, I think now how could I explore this subject with one of my books? My next blog here will discuss an example of one of my books with a political theme within it.
November 26, 2012
sexuality and the romance novel
purchased CanStock photoAre romance novels pornographic? They don't have to but many do describe sexuality between a man and woman (romances today are sometimes between same sex couples). Whenever one describes sexuality does it become pornography?
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.I could go on but won't. Obviously most know those words as from the Bible and no romance novel is any flowerier and most not much more sexual. Some have tried to desexualize those words by saying it's about humans and god... except clearly if you read them, there is no way that's a possible interpretation. It's a man and woman and makes very clear that sex is about pleasure. So are romance novels. Yes, some are more explicit than others but they all make the point that sexuality between a man and a woman is a good thing. They can even improve sexual relationships between couples as guilt is taken away and pleasure is left.
A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
I sat under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.
My beloved is mine, and I am his; he feedeth among the lilies.
Romance novels are mythic stories set often in modern times. They are imaginary and meant to depict the powerful energy there can be between a male and a female. She looks at him across the room and the way he carries himself, the words he's saying maybe to a shopkeeper, they stir her juices. That is just the nature of romantic love. It inspires. It encourages. It dreams.
In the film Magic of Belle Isle, Morgan Freeman's character is crippled. His beautiful, much younger neighbor, a single mom,Virginia Madsen, isn't really possible for him to have nor could he possibly dance with her and yet one night he dreams of their dance to a waltz. It is so real that later she surprises him when she speaks of their dance-- it was all about the energy. That is what a romance novel does when it's at the top of its game.
Romance novels don't encourage people to run off in search of that dream. It gives them the energy to make the most of what they have right where they are. Energy is what we take within and use various ways to improve our lives. Romance novels can give us
inspirationdreamsimaginationlead to playsmiles
laughter energizing andexciting
I won't claim they all do this but it's the goal of every romance author I know-- including me.
November 23, 2012
free for the week-end
Beginning Friday and going through the week-end, I am putting my contemporary western, From Here to There, onto a free period at Amazon Kindle It has been free before but I gave it three days this time because it won't be free again as it goes out of Select the middle of December.
People sometimes ask writers from where their stories have come. Often I couldn't really say because I've had so many inspirations, but this one came out of my own life, my dreams, and the influences that began very early on my character. Like most kids, I read children's books, then teen books, which there weren't nearly as many back then, before I moved into the adult section. The books I loved most then were the westerns and in particular those by the author Zane Grey.
painting of Zane Grey at Kohl's Ranch Lodge on the Mogollan Rim, Arizona
It's surprising how many female authors of romantic westerns were influenced by Grey or maybe it shouldn't be. He wrote about the West he knew, wrote about it beautifully and with a romantic flair. His heroes were strong men and his heroines, if they didn't begin strong, they became it. Always the land is at the center of his stories. Grey wrote about the West he knew and loved. I'll write more about him some other time.
My story, From Here to There, is about the land, those who work it, and the mythology of the west as well as its reality. The following is a snippet from the book where my eastern hero, Phillip is beginning to get a feel for what working on a ranch means:
**************
Phillip rubbed his hand over his bristly jaw, reluctantly forgoing shaving. He dressed quickly in old jeans and cotton shirt. Pulling on his boots, he looked up to see Curly was already back with a truck which had probably been pale blue. It was now mostly rust colored. Dents covered fenders and bed, and the engine seemed to die a lingering death when Curly stepped on the brake in front of the bunkhouse.
Outside, as he looked at the truck more carefully, he saw that there was a missing door on the passenger side. Maybe this truck wasn’t more likely to keep going than the even older one down by the barn. He wondered how far the near antique was capable of being driven before it became a permanent part of some junk pile, and if he was driving it when that happened, would he get the blame?
Curly climbed out the cab. "Everything you need's in back." He pointed to a reel of barbed wire, clips, tools,and metal posts. From his back pocket, Curly extracted a pair of cutting pliers. "You ever do fence afore?" he asked as he put them with the other tools.
"No, but how much can there be to it?" Phillip asked yawning and reaching for his cigarettes.
"Not a whole hell of a lot," Curly said with another sly grin. "You ever use a posthole driver?" The answer was obvious, but Phillip shook his head anyway as he lit the cigarette. Curly showed him roughly how the piece of modified pipe worked, then added, "Just make sure you tighten 'er up afore you call 'er done. Leave that wire loose, and you might as well of saved yourself the trouble of driving up there." He pointed to an odd metal tool in the bed of the truck. "Ever use one of those?"
"No."
Curly snickered. "Bout what I figured. You're a dude, ain't you." It was not a question but a statement.
"What gave me away?" Phillip asked sarcastically.
"Heck, if you ain't a dude, you oughta to sue your face for damages and get a verdict," Curly cracked, chuckling and slapping his bony knee.
"Very good," Phillip retorted dryly. "You think that one up all by yourself?"
Curly snorted. "Wished I had."
"So, if you didn't, where's your source of great Western lore? Maybe I can get in on some of these one-liners." Or at least look up their meanings.
"Tell you the truth, I changed a word or two, made it fit better, but I got most of it from one of the greatest Western writers ever was."
"Louis L'Amour?" Phillip guessed, naming the only Western author whose name he knew.
"No, dangnabit. Ain't him. He was an upstart, come along later. Not that he weren't a great writer, but I'm talking about William MacLeod Raine."
"Never heard of him." Curly's mouth dropped. "Never heard of him! Dangnabit, that ain't possible." Phillip only smiled. Curly shook his head with disgust. "I got near every book he wrote. He was a ranger hisself. Wrote about the Old West just about the time it was all ending, but that man... he knew his people, knew the men, the country. Maybe he did kind of sissify up the gushy parts, so's to appeal to the ladies, but he wrote dang good stories."
Phillip snorted. Another unrealistic Westerner, dreaming of a past that was dead and gone--and a good thing too. He smoked a moment. "Isn't there anybody out here who doesn't either listen to country-western music or read Western fairy tales?"
"Wal, I don't know why there'd be. Them books was writ about country like this, about men coming in and fighting the Injuns, building ranches, drivin' off rustlers." He shook his head, a look of regret in his eyes. "Ain't never going to see the likes of them days again."
Rather than to say it was a good thing, that the pioneer West had offered a lot of hardships as well as adventurous times, Phillip said, "You know the pulp writers didn't always portray the west the way it really was. A lot of it was made up for Easterners."
Curly sneered. "If even half of it was so, it'd be enough to make a man wish he'd been there. Man could make his fortune in those days." He looked slyly at Phillip. "Shoot men who got uppity with him."
"Or end up on boot hill himself," Phillip said under his breath.
"What'd you say?"
"Not much." He smiled. A wisely unspoken question was how cowboys got any work done if they were constantly reading stories of the old West. Instead he commented, "I wonder if the Indians around here like those Western books so much as you cowboys."
"I've seen plenty of them reading 'em. Like take old John Eagle. He can answer most any question about anything Zane Grey ever wrote. He knows all the books, the characters. You ask it and he's got the answer practically afore you got the question out of your mouth."
Phillip's question didn't pertain so much to why the man might read Zane Grey, whoever he was, but more as to why he'd take the time to learn so much about it.
Curly shook his head. "I'll tell you this. Men were men in those days."
"What are they today?" Phillip asked with a humorless grin. This was one question to which he already knew Curly's answer.
"Soft. Don't know how to hammer in a nail straight, ain't never broke a horse, can't work more'n an hour without getting blisters on their soft hands." He sneered derogatorily toward Phillip's own long fingered hands. "I'll tell you this. My pap, he could've still worked rings around any young whippersnapper twenty or thirty years old." He looked derogatorily up at Phillip as he added, "Even when he was seventy."
"Interesting. How'd he ever get work done, if he was always talking about the West?" Phillip asked sardonically.
****************
Phillip has a lot to learn but the westerners who think they know all about men like him, they find out a thing or two also. Toughness isn't just found on a ranch. I did a trailer for it but then added a second filled with images that inspired the book-- both from my own life and my imagination. Check out the blurb for more info and remember-- From Here to There free November 23, 24 and 25, 2012.
People sometimes ask writers from where their stories have come. Often I couldn't really say because I've had so many inspirations, but this one came out of my own life, my dreams, and the influences that began very early on my character. Like most kids, I read children's books, then teen books, which there weren't nearly as many back then, before I moved into the adult section. The books I loved most then were the westerns and in particular those by the author Zane Grey.
painting of Zane Grey at Kohl's Ranch Lodge on the Mogollan Rim, ArizonaIt's surprising how many female authors of romantic westerns were influenced by Grey or maybe it shouldn't be. He wrote about the West he knew, wrote about it beautifully and with a romantic flair. His heroes were strong men and his heroines, if they didn't begin strong, they became it. Always the land is at the center of his stories. Grey wrote about the West he knew and loved. I'll write more about him some other time.
My story, From Here to There, is about the land, those who work it, and the mythology of the west as well as its reality. The following is a snippet from the book where my eastern hero, Phillip is beginning to get a feel for what working on a ranch means:
**************
Phillip rubbed his hand over his bristly jaw, reluctantly forgoing shaving. He dressed quickly in old jeans and cotton shirt. Pulling on his boots, he looked up to see Curly was already back with a truck which had probably been pale blue. It was now mostly rust colored. Dents covered fenders and bed, and the engine seemed to die a lingering death when Curly stepped on the brake in front of the bunkhouse.
Outside, as he looked at the truck more carefully, he saw that there was a missing door on the passenger side. Maybe this truck wasn’t more likely to keep going than the even older one down by the barn. He wondered how far the near antique was capable of being driven before it became a permanent part of some junk pile, and if he was driving it when that happened, would he get the blame?
Curly climbed out the cab. "Everything you need's in back." He pointed to a reel of barbed wire, clips, tools,and metal posts. From his back pocket, Curly extracted a pair of cutting pliers. "You ever do fence afore?" he asked as he put them with the other tools.
"No, but how much can there be to it?" Phillip asked yawning and reaching for his cigarettes.
"Not a whole hell of a lot," Curly said with another sly grin. "You ever use a posthole driver?" The answer was obvious, but Phillip shook his head anyway as he lit the cigarette. Curly showed him roughly how the piece of modified pipe worked, then added, "Just make sure you tighten 'er up afore you call 'er done. Leave that wire loose, and you might as well of saved yourself the trouble of driving up there." He pointed to an odd metal tool in the bed of the truck. "Ever use one of those?"
"No."
Curly snickered. "Bout what I figured. You're a dude, ain't you." It was not a question but a statement.
"What gave me away?" Phillip asked sarcastically.
"Heck, if you ain't a dude, you oughta to sue your face for damages and get a verdict," Curly cracked, chuckling and slapping his bony knee.
"Very good," Phillip retorted dryly. "You think that one up all by yourself?"
Curly snorted. "Wished I had."
"So, if you didn't, where's your source of great Western lore? Maybe I can get in on some of these one-liners." Or at least look up their meanings.
"Tell you the truth, I changed a word or two, made it fit better, but I got most of it from one of the greatest Western writers ever was."
"Louis L'Amour?" Phillip guessed, naming the only Western author whose name he knew.
"No, dangnabit. Ain't him. He was an upstart, come along later. Not that he weren't a great writer, but I'm talking about William MacLeod Raine."
"Never heard of him." Curly's mouth dropped. "Never heard of him! Dangnabit, that ain't possible." Phillip only smiled. Curly shook his head with disgust. "I got near every book he wrote. He was a ranger hisself. Wrote about the Old West just about the time it was all ending, but that man... he knew his people, knew the men, the country. Maybe he did kind of sissify up the gushy parts, so's to appeal to the ladies, but he wrote dang good stories."
Phillip snorted. Another unrealistic Westerner, dreaming of a past that was dead and gone--and a good thing too. He smoked a moment. "Isn't there anybody out here who doesn't either listen to country-western music or read Western fairy tales?"
"Wal, I don't know why there'd be. Them books was writ about country like this, about men coming in and fighting the Injuns, building ranches, drivin' off rustlers." He shook his head, a look of regret in his eyes. "Ain't never going to see the likes of them days again."
Rather than to say it was a good thing, that the pioneer West had offered a lot of hardships as well as adventurous times, Phillip said, "You know the pulp writers didn't always portray the west the way it really was. A lot of it was made up for Easterners."
Curly sneered. "If even half of it was so, it'd be enough to make a man wish he'd been there. Man could make his fortune in those days." He looked slyly at Phillip. "Shoot men who got uppity with him."
"Or end up on boot hill himself," Phillip said under his breath.
"What'd you say?"
"Not much." He smiled. A wisely unspoken question was how cowboys got any work done if they were constantly reading stories of the old West. Instead he commented, "I wonder if the Indians around here like those Western books so much as you cowboys."
"I've seen plenty of them reading 'em. Like take old John Eagle. He can answer most any question about anything Zane Grey ever wrote. He knows all the books, the characters. You ask it and he's got the answer practically afore you got the question out of your mouth."
Phillip's question didn't pertain so much to why the man might read Zane Grey, whoever he was, but more as to why he'd take the time to learn so much about it.
Curly shook his head. "I'll tell you this. Men were men in those days."
"What are they today?" Phillip asked with a humorless grin. This was one question to which he already knew Curly's answer.
"Soft. Don't know how to hammer in a nail straight, ain't never broke a horse, can't work more'n an hour without getting blisters on their soft hands." He sneered derogatorily toward Phillip's own long fingered hands. "I'll tell you this. My pap, he could've still worked rings around any young whippersnapper twenty or thirty years old." He looked derogatorily up at Phillip as he added, "Even when he was seventy."
"Interesting. How'd he ever get work done, if he was always talking about the West?" Phillip asked sardonically.
****************
Phillip has a lot to learn but the westerners who think they know all about men like him, they find out a thing or two also. Toughness isn't just found on a ranch. I did a trailer for it but then added a second filled with images that inspired the book-- both from my own life and my imagination. Check out the blurb for more info and remember-- From Here to There free November 23, 24 and 25, 2012.
November 20, 2012
Editing or promoting
Rainy Day Romances Recently on the Amazon Forums, the question was asked-- what is most important-- editing or promoting? Actually I thought it's like so many such questions-- why does there have to be an either/or? Both are important. One comes first but without the other, who will see that perfect editing job?One writer said their readers would do their promoting by word of mouth. Now that's a nifty idea but how often do we tell someone else about all the books we are reading? I've certainly read a few books based purely on word of mouth-- sometimes regretfully. Most of what I read I stumble across one way or another.
It's a given that if the books are not well edited, it won't matter how much you promote. Or... is it? The Fifty Shades of Grey books are not particularly well-edited or well-written and yet millions of copies have sold (I bought them to see what the heck the excitement was about), and a movie will be made from them. I can think of others like that. So, poorly edited but wisely promoted can sell if they have that certain something-- whatever that is.
I work hard on editing, making my stories tell the story I had in mind, but accept that they aren't necessarily going to appeal to all readers even in their genre. Writing and editing go hand in hand and you can't have one without the other.
come up with an ideathink where it's going write
stir imagination
write
reconsider retrench write
use dreams
write finish give it a breakeditedit againwait at least a monthedit againready itlook at it one more time
Editing is a lot of work. I learned a lot about it from years in school as well as spending some serious money working with a professional consulting writer, whose credentials were the books she'd edited which had sold well.
Basically, editing is about grammar and learning how to make the words take the reader where the writer wants. Bad writing, not caught by good editing leaves for confused reading and betrays the story.
Promoting is harder for me and probably a lot of creative people. Some of my difficulty is that I don't quite fit the niches-- and never did. I literally don't know how to be sure my books will be seen by those most likely to enjoy them. How do you learn such? You keep trying and working at it.
There is some chance my titles will be found on a search engine which is why I have this blog in my name. To add to that possibility, I've added a new blog as a way to reach a few more of the search engine readers.
The new blog, Rainy Day Romances, will be just about the books with no how-to-do-it part, nothing about me beyond what the profile says. It will be a simple approach to what romances are about-- I hope with an easy way to find mine. It will be open to reviews of romances that others have read or written. Besides promoting my books, it'll be about the genre and why it has value.
As happens so often with promotional ideas-- I'm winging it. Will it work? who knows? I know a lot more about editing than I do promoting.
Image on top is part of one I purchased the rights to use. In one form or another, it'll be on the cover of the second in my Oregon historical romance series-- assuming I figure out this promoting business. I truly do feel there is no reason to bring out more books before I have a way to get them seen by those most apt to consider buying them. I have a feeling there is a way, and I will find it :).
November 18, 2012
cooking and creativity
My philosophy on creativity is that it involves a lot more than the so-called fine arts. I see it in many arenas of life; one in particular is cooking. I am not a particularly creative cook. I cook basic meals and don't experiment a lot. I admire gourmet cooks who know all the spices and the latest vegetable combinations. As part of that admiration, I've had several of my heroines be gifted cooks. I find it fun to write about cooking.
Now given that, I have something I am proud of regarding cooking-- my pies. I am good at pie crusts. I have always felt it takes a light hand to turn out a good pie crust. Too much mixing, too much working with it and a tough crust is the result. It has a lot in common with good writing or painting.
In particular I am currently proud of a pie crust I just turned out for a family week-end. I made two apple pies using our own apples which meant no spray. The one with regular flour came out fine but nothing unusual. But because one of our family is gluten free, I've been interested in gluten free recipes. I wasn't too sure how you'd ever do a good gluten free pie crust as gluten free flours are different. Well I made one last week, and it was not only good but it was the easiest pie dough I have ever worked.
Bob's Red Millwww.bobsredmill.comEasy-as-pie-crust (gluten free)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. GlutenFree All Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. (stick) margarine
4 to 6 TB. cold milk
Combine flour and salt, cut in margarine with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle milk, one T at a time while blending until all ingredients are moist. Using wax paper, place dough on one sheet, flatten with palm, place another sheet over top and roll out to desired size. Remove top sheet, invert into pie pan.
If baking crust alone-- 15-20 minutes 400 F. With filling-- 400º F for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350º for 40 minutes.
I doubled those ingredients and used it with my favorite apple pie recipe (always I like extra dough more than barely enough). I did sprinkle a bit of sugar over the crust before baking since I was unsure about the flavor of the gluten free flour but next time I'd not bother with that. The crust was tender, flavorful. I have never had a pie crust work so easily and think for our own pies, even though we don't need gluten free, I would go this route again. Next time though I'll give real butter a try.
Now given that, I have something I am proud of regarding cooking-- my pies. I am good at pie crusts. I have always felt it takes a light hand to turn out a good pie crust. Too much mixing, too much working with it and a tough crust is the result. It has a lot in common with good writing or painting.
In particular I am currently proud of a pie crust I just turned out for a family week-end. I made two apple pies using our own apples which meant no spray. The one with regular flour came out fine but nothing unusual. But because one of our family is gluten free, I've been interested in gluten free recipes. I wasn't too sure how you'd ever do a good gluten free pie crust as gluten free flours are different. Well I made one last week, and it was not only good but it was the easiest pie dough I have ever worked.
Bob's Red Millwww.bobsredmill.comEasy-as-pie-crust (gluten free)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. GlutenFree All Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. (stick) margarine
4 to 6 TB. cold milk
Combine flour and salt, cut in margarine with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle milk, one T at a time while blending until all ingredients are moist. Using wax paper, place dough on one sheet, flatten with palm, place another sheet over top and roll out to desired size. Remove top sheet, invert into pie pan.
If baking crust alone-- 15-20 minutes 400 F. With filling-- 400º F for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350º for 40 minutes.
I doubled those ingredients and used it with my favorite apple pie recipe (always I like extra dough more than barely enough). I did sprinkle a bit of sugar over the crust before baking since I was unsure about the flavor of the gluten free flour but next time I'd not bother with that. The crust was tender, flavorful. I have never had a pie crust work so easily and think for our own pies, even though we don't need gluten free, I would go this route again. Next time though I'll give real butter a try.
