We Love Lisa Kleypas discussion
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Across a Moonlit Sea, by Marsha Canham
message 151:
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Lisa Kay
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Apr 21, 2011 03:23PM
Christine, But people have marked it as a western. Maybe the location changes?
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Annie wrote: "Lisa Kay & Christine S - Her Robin Hood series is one of my favorites.
[bookcover:..."Annie, I think the series looks good. I am going to have to patch my holes.
Well, I finished this last night, so y'all need to catch up! I also picked up a few more of her books when I ordered this one - think I'll be heading on land and away from pirates for a spell.
Robin Hood Series? Count me in! I can't wait!As for this book, man, I didn't get to do hardly any reading last weekend or this week! If it wasn't for audio books at work, I'd be lost! Anyway, on pg 167 and I believe they are going to hook up! Not sure yet, but crossing my fingers! Plan on getting some major reading done tonight and this weekend, hopefully finishing this book so I can start the Robin Hood series!
Lisa Kay! $4.48 on BWB for
!And I loved that father-daughter talk and that crazy (view spoiler)
So what's this? Are we planning another buddy read?:-D
Melanie, I don't have a bio at the back of the book! What did it say about the (view spoiler)?Looks like we could do another buddy read.
LOL! I thought is was when I read the scene! LOL! Good to know!And quit tempting me with BWB, you vixen you, I have a mortage to make.
But that book looks so lonely sitting there all by itself - which is why I need to say away! I would buy some friends for it to travel with. LOL!
Oh dear! I but
in my cart, along with
. I better not press click until I check my bank balance!
Trust me, this is experience speaking: the longer you wait to order a book, the more companions you'll see fit to add to it! I'd just press click and be done with it.. put yourself out of your misery, lol.. you know you're going to buy it anyway!! :-p
Melanie! You are sooooooooooooo bad!
But I'm good at being bad:-D Anyhow, I'm also right, and you know it!:-p
Okay, you Enabler you, I bought them. But just those two! I'm being good. LOL!
Lisa Kay wrote: "LOL! I thought is was when I read the scene! LOL! Good to know!And quite tempting me with BWB, you vixen you, I have a mortage to make.
But that book looks so lonely sitting there all by it..."
Interesting- my husband is a sailor.
Mshj- lucky you! but be careful, lol!
Just peeking in again...didn't want to come before it was time *s*...but I have to say...Straight For the Heart is not strictly a western. It's definitely more antebellum, and as far as I'm concerned, the price the publisher is asking is highway robbery. I'm trying to get the rights back to it so I can publish it myself at the much more reasonable price of $2.99 like my other backlist books. Please, ladies, please don't buy it at that inflated price *s*Tiptoeing out again....
Marsha, Thanks. Good to know; I changed my bookshelf from "romance-western" to "romance-antebellum". I bought the book used and am looking forward to reading it; thought that is not my favorite era - so sad. Guess that is a question we can say is asked and answered: Are older books going to be available in ebook format?
I am done! Just posted my review. When do we get pick Ms. Marsha's brain? lol!
Shell's Bells, Do you have some questions formed already? You can PM them to Melanie and me. Thanks!
Wrote to Ms Canham the other day (when I got your PM back, Lisa Kay), still waiting on an answer, but y'all will be the first to know when is good for Ms Canham!
Melanie...sorry, I didn't get any messages or mail from you. I've had my grandchildren wreaking chaos in my house since Thursday, but they leave today and I should be clear for any time this week, if you'd like me to pop in to answer questions or join a discussion *s*Marsha
Marsha wrote: "Melanie...sorry, I didn't get any messages or mail from you. I've had my grandchildren wreaking chaos in my house since Thursday, but they leave today and I should be clear for any time this week,..."Oh dear! I'm so sorry (marshacanham@yahoo.com, right?)I sent it on the 22nd, but will PM you a copy of what I wrote.
I think the Easter holiday probably delayed a few us us with our reading.Thanks for checking in Marsha! I LOVED this book, don't know why I gave it 4 stars the 1st time I read it (guess I wasn't thinking straight, lol), it is determinately deserving of 5 stars this time around! I think I'll start with your Robin Hood series next, can't wait! :)
Melanie... I pm'd you with my question. :)
Christine S. wrote: "Melanie... I pm'd you with my question. :) "Gotcha:-)
Melanie, I sent you a question too! I'll try to come up with another; my problem is I want it to be unique. Impossible!
I keep peeking and checking, but no emails. Perhaps if you just post your questions here, we'd have a better chance of connecting? *s*
Hi Marsha! Not sure why Melanie's emails aren't getting to you. Anyway, here's my comment & question...One of the things I love about this book are the amazing characters and the rich & brawdy pirate lingo. How do you come up with all the wonderful dialog & do you do anything special to prepare yourself to think like a pirate? ☺
Hey everyone!Ms Canham is free tomorrow afternoon if this works for all of you!
I'm free tomorrow afternoon, Melanie. I will have to check b/c I am not receiving e-mails from this thread!! Typical GR week-end problem. :-(Melanie, can you e-mail everyone?
Lisa Kay wrote: "Melanie, can you e-mail everyone?"Done!
Hello ladies!
Ms Canham will be answering questions hereon Sunday, May 1st, in the afternoon (EST). It would be great if you could each get a question ready and post it on the thread (in bold, please)! Hope to see all of you here tomorrow!! X, Mel
One of the things I love about this book are the amazing characters and the rich & brawdy pirate lingo. How do you come up with all the wonderful dialog & do you do anything special to prepare yourself to think like a pirate?
LOL I never thought about *thinking like a pirate* but I guess I do try to put myself into every character in every frame. To be perfectly honest, the *pirate speak* was based on *Newfie speak*. I had a great neighbour who came from Newfoundland and when he was enjoying a beer or two, his accent became really thick, his sentences became more colourful, and it always made me think of a pirate. So, thank you John Simmons. His recounting of a battle with a "hant-ill" (ant hill) remains vivid with me to this day LOL
Thought I would pop in ahead of time and answer some of the questions Melanie sent me *g*Did your reasoning for naming Simon’s ship Virago have anything to do with the translation of this word to Italian in which it means termagant? And therefore, as termagant originally was "Trivagante", meaning 'thrice wandering', a reference to the moon, because of the Islamic use of crescent moon imagery?
Wow...that would have been far too much deep thinking for me to come up with that reason. I actually named Simon's ship Virago simply because I had heard the word in reference to a free-spirited, outspoken woman, and thought the name would suit the ship.
About how long do you spend researching the time period and historical facts about a story before you begin to write a book. Or do you do your research as you go along?It really depends on the time period and the setting and how deeply involved the characters are going to be in an historical event. For the Scotland Trilogy, for example, the research took the better part of a full year. I knew I was in trouble from the outset when I started looking into what is usually one of the less stressful aspects of creating a character: the name. Augh. First thing I discovered about Scotland is that you don't just pull a name out of a hat. There are clans within clans and all of them are highly territorial, so putting a Cameron on the wrong side of a stream in Campbell land would have sent the book flying against the wall.
Pirates are easier, of course, but there was still a lot research involved with the Armada, with the ships at Cadiz, with Francis Drake, and just with the general descriptions and working parts of a frigate. A little known fact about me, having written several swashbuckling sea adventures, is that I get seasick if I stay in a hot tub too long LOL. So I basically knew nothing about tall ships before setting out to write my first pirate book, which was Bound by the Heart. I grew braver with The Wind and the Sea, putting about 90% of the action on board ship, so with AAMS, I was comfortable enough with the terminology to tighten the *script* even more and have it all take place at sea. That did require reading a lot of dry naval manuals and using little paper cutouts of ships to plot the battles and tactics, but I'm such a huge pirate fan myself, it was just plain FUN. With the sequel, The Iron Rose, I divided the time again on land vs at sea, and for the third book in the Dante trilogy, The Following Sea, I'm still torn dealing with how much to put on board the ship and how much on land.
I also have a habit of doing the basic research then starting the book and leaving large gaps that say: "put battle here" so that I have the general picture for the scene in place, but all the details need to be filled in afterward. I do the same for clothing and room descriptions "put description here" or "elaborate on this" or "check this fact". Sometimes I miss one or two of those post-its and some errors slide through, but thankfully there haven't been too too many of those *g*
Marsha wrote: "Wow...that would have been far too much deep thinking for me to come up with that reason."Thank you, Marsha, for letting me know. LOL! And here I thought you were deep as the ocean. Too, too funny.
Marsha wrote: "...require reading a lot of dry naval manuals and using little paper cutouts of ships to plot the battles and tactics..."LOL! I thought you might have done so, as your terms are technically correct (my husband listens to audiobooks with naval battles in them). It flavors the book with such authenticity. Love the idea of paper cutouts. Cute!
I know I am such a visual person; I would have to do the same thing. Sometimes I’ve been known to (obsessively) draw something when reading a book and just know that the author didn’t “map” the scene out correctly. It was a pleasure to read your book!
Question for Marsha:Do you have the same editor for all your books? If not, when you get to be as well-known and author as you are, do you have any say in picking your editor?
Marsha wrote: "That did require reading a lot of dry naval manuals and using little paper cutouts of ships to plot the battles and tactics, but I'm such a huge pirate fan myself, it was just plain FUN...Lol.. Paper cutouts? that's great!
Welcome Marsha! Thanks again for stopping by!
If you don't mind, I'm really interested in your writing process! Your books are so vivid and researched!
Do you write from the Prologue to the Epilogue in order, or do you skip around a bit writing the scenes as they come? Do you have writing blocks, or periods where you give yourself a break from the characters?
Do you have a structure you follow? What I mean, is do you know how you want the entire storyline to go and then write around that?
Oh, and do you do your research all at once before starting the book, or interrupt your writing to do research?
I hope I'm not overstepping any reader/writer bonds here by asking these questions! For all I know, you're magicians and therefore don't reveal your secrets:-D
Do you have the same editor for all your books? If not, when you get to be as well-known and author as you are, do you have any say in picking your editor?*snort* I WISH I could pick my editors. I've had...*thinking*...six or seven different editors. Some were terrific. Maggie MacLaren, Malle Vallik, and Marjorie Braman come instantly to mind. And I've a couple of real duds, one who shall go by the moniker Dragon Lady, the other by Frog Lady. I don't work well with editors who tell me: "good book but I could have written it so much better" That was the Frog Lady and the only time I refused to write another book for the publisher as long as she was my editor.
Most of time it does no good to argue with editors. For a brief insight into what happens, check out my blog under Forty F**king Flowers http://marshacanham.wordpress.com/201...
Okay, so this is three questions and I'll answer them separately Do you write from the Prologue to the Epilogue in order, or do you skip around a bit writing the scenes as they come?
I skip around a lot in the beginning. Sometimes I'll think of a scene I want (usually a love scene *s*) and I'll write it then think of everything the characters need to do to reach that scene.
Sometimes the whole idea for a book will come from a single scene. In Through A Dark Mist, for example, I had a recurring dream from the time I was about 16 until one of my editors listened to me recount it (we were having lunch at the time) and told me I should write it down. I did and it became the prologue for TADM. I didn't touch a word of it from the time I initially wrote it down to the moment I typed THE END on the mss and sent it in.
Do you have writing blocks, or periods where you give yourself a break from the characters?
If I have written an extremely intense scene, such as the battlefield scene at Culloden in The Blood of Roses, I need to take a break, yes. For some scenes, I've grown so close to the characters from trying to get inside their heads to act and react the way they would, that it's almost physically draining...and certainly emotionally draining...especially if I decide the story needs them to be wounded or even killed. When Jonas Spence caught that cannon ball...augh. Yes, I took a few days away from writing entirely.
Do you have a structure you follow? What I mean, is do you know how you want the entire storyline to go and then write around that?
I never have a clue where it's going. I don't work from outlines, never plot out the story. I start with a scene, a meeting between characters or maybe an event...then let it fly from there and where the story or the characters take me...that's where we go *g*. I've always thought that if *I* knew where the story was going and what was going to happen, the reader would know. To a certain extent, I'm sure everyone knows how a romance ends...but then...thinking of Pride of Lions, for instance...do they? *G*
Oh, and do you do your research all at once before starting the book, or interrupt your writing to do research?
I do the basic, general research in the beginning. For instance, for AAMS, I needed to know about the Spanish Armada, where the fleet was based, how much work was being done in Cadiz, what the harbor looked like, what armaments would have been at Simon and Drake's disposal and how much damage they could do in a sneak attack. For the other little details, like describing the ship's cabin, I stick in a post-it that says "describe this" and just keep writing. The first draft is usually bare bones with a lot of post-it notes. By the time the mss is finished, it's about three times the length of the first draft, with all the little post-its fleshed out. I've discovered it saves a lot of mental time and space if I don't have to break my flow of writing to worry about what the characters are wearing or eating or how many lead balls go into a cannister of grape-shot.
Marsha, Your website is too funny! LOL! The "I Facebooked Your Mother" tee-shirt was a hoot! Do you remember what month Forty F**king Flowers was written? I'm trying to find it.
I edited the post above and put the link it, but I think it was September, 2010
Too bad I missed the Q&A!
If anyone wants to leave questions I'll pop by now and then and answer them *s*. Thanks for the buddy read, and I hope you'll try another of my swashbucklers *s*M
Marsha,Thank you for answering my questions, well, all of ours, actually! Love your blog, BTW!!
And speaking for myself, I know I'm going to read more swashbucling/Highlander/medieval heroes, lol.. I think I just bought your whole backlist:-D
Marsha wrote: "LOL I never thought about *thinking like a pirate* but I guess I do try to put myself into every character in every frame. To be perfectly honest, the *pirate speak* was based on *Newfie speak*. I had a great neighbour who came from Newfoundland and when he was enjoying a beer or two, his accent became really thick, his sentences became more colourful, and it always made me think of a pirate. So, thank you John Simmons. His recounting of a battle with a "hant-ill" (ant hill) remains vivid with me to this day LOL"
Well, I'd like to thank John Simmons too! You must be a pirate at heart, because you sure do have a way with *pirate speak*, lol!
Love your Forty F**king Flowers story & Under the Desert Moon, it's a favorite of mine... but I do prefer the horse cover!
I plan on moving on to the forests next with your Robin Hood series. After that I've got to read the Highlands series. I've heard so many good things about it & it's on several "If you like Outlander, you'll also like..." lists.
Thanks so much for stopping by! ☺
Marsha, I absolutely, positively loved the Forty F**king Flowers article on your blog. I was trying to increase the zoom to see those infamous flowers better; then I wondered if
I
had that cover or the slick blue cover with the stallion in silhouette. I dug through my box from BWB and lo and behold...I have the FFF cover! FOFLMAO! I guess I'll have to look at it as a collector’s issue. Maybe I'll print the blog article and tuck it inside. ☺ Thanks for stopping by our little group!
P.S. For those of you who are looking for this bookcover, it is really rare; you won't even find it under "other editions" here are on GR! I had to borrow the image from MC to paste it here. So don't get frustrated.
Thanks for stopping by Marsha!! I really enjoyed AAMS, but I have to say that my heart was stolen by The Wind & the Sea... hands down, best pirate romance I've ever read. My plans are to read The Pride of Lions next. :D
Hi Marsha! I just wanted to say, first, thanks for stopping by and answering our questions (I was napping during the initial part!). I have to admit I liked AAMS well enough, but I am definitely looking forward to trying the Robin Hood series! I did LOVE your descriptions, and think the way you write is brillant! I love it when an author 'paints a scene' with words, and your scenes were excellent! Does it come naturally to you as part of your gift, or is that something you work at to create the images? My favorite scene in the whole book was in the last battle scene with the combustible, 'fanned across the decks, rippling blue and gold and red in the darkness, running along the planks and spilling blue fingers between the broken boards.' Poetry in battle! Loved it!
Does it come naturally to you as part of your gift, or is that something you work at to create the images?Honestly, I close my eyes, try to picture the scene the way it would play on a big screen, then try to describe it. I guess the poetry part just flows from the eyeballs to the fingertips *s*
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