Selecting a Headshot or Mugshot

My publisher asked for a picture of me promotional purposes. Apparently, a picture of my dog isn't good enough though she is cuter and more memorable. Oh, well.

I've never thought of myself as photogenic and never had dreams of being a runway model. Getting in front of a camera for any reason is not my favorite thing to do. I'm the family photographer.

Today, I took out the spackle and bright paint to make repairs to my face. Hubby took the pictures for me in burst mode. What a sweatheart. A few times we got to laughing so hard, the pictures came out blurry. Lesson learned, next time use a tripod.

Maybe when my kid no longer plays expensive ice hockey we will be able to afford simple luxuries like professional photography and food.

Please help me select a headshot. I picked these four as the best of the lot. "None of the above" is also an acceptable answer. And if you are wondering, yes, I always do look somewhat like a shaggy dog.

1. Stargazer

2. Almost weeping.

3. A bit serious

4. No, really?

I'll keep you posted.

Kate Walker's 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance

Kate Walker has over 40 titles published with Harlequin, contemporary around 55K words. Because this is what she writes successfully, the entire book sways toward her personal writing process.

Most of the book is pretty basic “need to know” for someone who is thinking about writing romance but has never attempted the genre before. That would not be me. Each chapter ends with suggested exercises that makes this into a workbook. Here's the high points.

• A romance is about the emotional journey - because the destination (the happy ending) is guaranteed.

Walker has an organic, character-based process very similar to my approach, which may account for the familiarity of the information she presented. We both start with the characters, interview them, get to know them, have their history understood before creating the plot. She has a character worksheet in her book that I am going to try out.

Putting characters in a book is like matchmaking two people you know really well. Their story should naturally evolve. or be told by the characters, without much effort if you do know them well. (Easier said than done!)

She does not use the standard 3 act play formula. Instead she uses a simpler design:
Hero + Heroine + conflict + getting to know you + the black moment + resolution + happy ending

• She suggest the story should be written like a sexual experience: interest to arousal to passion to emotional climax.
• She believes that the external conflict should always resolve before the internal conflict.
• The black moment should be a rearing up of the external conflict, thought resolved, that stirs up the internal conflict of the characters and the final resolution of the internal conflict puts at rest the external conflict for good.

To illustrate the black moment: if the external conflict is “the secret baby,” a common plot for Harlequin where the reunited couple has to deal with a child conceived in the past that the hero doesn't know about, then the black moment should surround the baby. Possible black moments for this common plot:

• He decides he wants her and the baby, but she interprets his behavior as him only wanting the baby and being resigned to having her around, too.
• He not only decides he wants her and the baby, but he wants more children. She interprets that all he really wants is a broodmare.

 Other points she makes about her process:

• Dual black moment endings are acceptable.
• 60% meaningful dialogue (mature, that moves the story forward) – 40% narrative
• Don't use dialogue tags like whisper or shouted. Instead, use “business” that show the character's mood (body/face language) -- the action and the pace of the action -- and dialogue that supports the whisper or the shout.
• The H/H should be passionate about everything they do and say.
• No matter how much emotion you have in the story, add more.
• The plot should look like a series of Ws, where the characters take two steps forward and one step back until they reach the destination.

The modern heroine:

• is neither passive nor aggressive
• wants to pleasure as much as be pleasured
• is sympathetic, not pathetic

The modern hero:

• can be aggressive but not abusive
• must take responsibility for contraception
• must show personal and moral integrity
• can be either an alpha or a beta male (she explains both)

Walker writes about the importance of knowing the Who, When, Where, What and How and Why.

• Who: hero and heroine (she doesn't do many side characters, says it takes away from the main romance which is the focus)
• When: era, season, when in the character's life in relation to traumatic past events, age of characters or maturity level, when in relation to the “point of crisis” what is also called the inciting incident.
• Where: setting (geographical location, buildings, apartments)
• What and How: the plot
• Why: the motivation of the characters, every scene should have a purpose and be able to answer the why: why do they act as they do, why do they fall in love.

She showed one synopsis without the “why” and a revised one with the “why.” Since writing synopsis is a chore that I struggle with, this bit alone should help with my future synopsis writing and was worth the price of the book.

 
Her best quote:

•  “Love is not only blind but the complete opposite. It sees things in other people that no one else can find.”

Like I said, most of this I already knew. I'm not seeking to write 55K word contemporary stories so I didn't find what I really hoped to find. I'll keep looking.

I'll keep you posted.

Fire and Ice - The One-Line Pitch

I completed the AIS (Author Information Sheet) for Moongypsy Press and emailed it. Pretty soon, I should have the cover art and ISBN number to start plastering where ever I can. Until then, I thought I'd show my process for writing the one-lines and blurbs. Today, the One-Line Pitch.

Condensing a 100K novel down to a single sentence is not an easy task. One-lines are harder to write than a synopsis - and I hate writing synopsis. Though I'm still waiting for approval from the publisher on my selections, I thought I'd show my process.

When you read the TV guide for a show, that description is the one-line pitch (or premise). In one sentence, the entire story should be there showing the Who, Where, What, Why and When. Leave the How as the contents of the story.

I start by listing the components.

For the characters, I search for labels that will give character insight. In a romance there are two Whos. In Fire and Ice, the pair have conflicting goals and are opposite in many ways.

• Rosche is a Drakond, a judge, a warrior and a Noble tribe leader who has a heat control problem ignited by emotions so his personality is cold.
•  Sarica is a Din, a recent academy graduate, a city dweller whose father died leaving her with a debt she can't pay. The law makes her an indentured servant until she earns her freedom. She has the ability to generate cold by using her emotions. She has a fiery personality.

Where: Planet Majien of the Five Worlds.

When: doesn't matter for this story since we are on another planet. If this took place on Earth, the era would be important - past, present or future. Mentioning the season might be important for Holiday stories. This isn't one of those so I don't need to add this information.

Why: He needs her to use her gift to control his. She needs to answer Fate's call to find Almona City.

The Whats are the conflict, premise and plot. I picked these highlights.

• Rosche is in love with Sarica and wants her as his wife. He buys her servitude. He plans to keep her forever.
• Sarica fears (and desires) Rosche and will do whatever she must to attain her freedom to find Almona City.

That is way too many words for a one-line (but are juicy bits for the back of the book blurb). The object then is to simplify. Pick the most important details to form one sentence. I condensed to this:

• Where: On planet Majien of the Five Worlds (goes to sub-genre or audience - very important.)
• Who: a judge and an indentured servant, or a warrior and a scholar, or a Drakond and a Din, or cold-tempered man and a woman with a fiery personality, a heat generator and a cold generator (I could make a huge list here of their differences, but you get the point).
• What: He wants her love; she wants her freedom
• Why: the why here takes too long to explain - all about what a Gifted Anom is and how their gifts work and interact. I'm going to use that in the blurb, not the on-line.

Now that I am closer, it's time to start building the sentence.

• On Majien of the Five Worlds, a Noble wants the love of his indentured servant who will do anything to attain her freedom.

Closer but I need to paint the whole story because the above is a standard romance plot (Boy wants girl but girl wants something else). What makes this story different? Time to add descriptive adjectives.

• On Majien of the Five Worlds, a Drakond Noble struggles to win the heart of his tenacious Din indentured servant, who fights him in the attempt to attain her freedom which makes his life unpredictable.

Closer but this can be further condensed by using descriptive words and trying to show the characters instead of telling about them. This is my final selection for the one-line pitch (the editor may suggest changes).

• On Majien of the Five Worlds, a callous Drakond Noble struggles to win the heart of his Din indentured servant, whose exploits to gain her freedom disrupt his impeccable lifestyle.

I hope this process will help you write your one-line pitch. Some people suggest this be done before the novel is written. My muse isn't that organized.

I'll keep you posted.

Moongypsy Press to Publish the Five Worlds Series

I feel like I've grown wings! I hope so, because I'm going to need the extra mobility to achieve my massive to-do list! Now the real fun begins, with whole new learning curve to climb.


“Fire and Ice” will be the first release in spring/summer, my debut novel. Now that I have something interesting to talk about, I will be sharing what I learn about the publishing process with Moongypsey Press.

After the deal was done, I was sent an AIS, the Author Information Sheet contains the following to-do list.

1. General Information – title, series name, author name, pen name, word count, page count, genre and heat level.
2. Cover Art Information – describe the main characters, the setting, mood and tone.
3. A small, one line tag/hook/blurt for the front cover
4. Brief Synopsis that includes the beginning, middle and ending.
5. Author's Bio
6. List of other titles with the same publisher
7. Dedication, acknowledgements
8. Brief tag/hook
9. Back of the book blurb (brief)
10. Excerpt
11. Reviews
12. Personal Marketing Plan

Fortunately, due to my failed attempt to self-publish The Tool series (failure for me means “A Huge Learning Experience” because I only really fail when I give up trying.) I have many of these items ready or understand the concept, having spent so much time on research and practice with The Tool.

When I sought a publisher for this series, I was forced to write much of the AIS information. So if you wonder why you have to do all that stuff to satisfy an agent or a publisher, well now you know. It is not wasted time.

The back of the book blurb is the pitch for query letters. Synopsis are normally required for submission with the pitch. Over a year ago, I wrote my author's bio when I was trying to get reviewers to read Shadow Nexus – without success. The other items I can pull from the book or write quickly.

Filling out the AIS left me with another to-do list: My Personal Marketing Plan. Plus I was given yet another to-do list by the publisher to begin the "buzz." More on those as I move forward.

I'll keep you posted.

Romance Books Read in 2010

These are most of the full length romance novels I read in 2010. I try to get the free stories on Amazon Kindle for my laptop. Many times I like the free one so much, I purchase other stories by the same author.  There are too many titles here to write reviews so those with an * are favorites.

The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe
Not Without Her Family by Beth Andrews
The Immortals: The Gathering by Beth Andrews
The Immortals: The Reckoning by Jennifer Ashley
The Immortals: The Redeeming by Jennifer Ashley
Colters' Wife by Maya Banks
Possessed by the Highlander by Terri Brisbin
Surrender to the Highlander by Terri Brisbin
Taming the Highlander by Terri Brisbin
Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Heir by Grace Burrows
The Earl's Untouched Bride by Annie Burrows
My Christmas Wish by Ember Case
Baby Bonanza by Maureen Child
Lonestar Sanctuary by Colleen Coble
The Unmasking of Lady Lovelace by Nicola Cornick
His Conquest by Diana J. Cosby
Divorced, Desperate and Dating by Christie Craig
Crime Scene at Cardwell Ranch by B. J. Daniels
Eternal Hunter by Cynthia Eden
Dark Descent by Christine Feehan
Dark Dream by Christine Feehan
Magic on the Wind by Christine Feehan
The Bride's Baby by Liz Fielding
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
The Billionaire's Fake Engagement by Robyn Grady
Nothing but Scandle by Allegra Gray
Her Reluctant Bodyguard by Jennette Green
Homespun Bride by Jillian Hart
Kiss Me Deadly by Michele Hauf
Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb
Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb
The Ice Princess by Elizabeth Hoyt
Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson
One Unashamed Night by Sophia James
Winter's Passage by Julie Kagawa
Shadow Bound by Erin Kellison
Heated Rush by Leslie Kelly
Slow Hands by Leslie Kelly
Mastering the Marquess by Vanessa Kelly
Enchanting the Lady by Kathryne Kennedy
*Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Highland Dragon by Kimberly Killion
A Loving a Scoundrel by Johanna Lindsey
Highlander Unchained by Monica Mccarty
*Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning
*Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning
*The Dark Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
*Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning
*Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning
*Faefever by Karen Marie Moning
*The Highlander's Touch by Karen Marie Moning
*The Immortal Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
*Kiss of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
*Spell of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
*To Tame a Highland Warrior by Karen Marie Moning
The Immortals: The Awakening by Joy Nash
The Immortals: The Crossing by Joy Nash
Marked by Elisabeth Naughton
The Wrong Husband by Ruth Ann Nordin
Secrets of a Duchess by Kaitlin O'Riley
*Heart Choice by Robin Owens
Heart Dance by Robin Owens
Heart Duel by Robin Owens
Heart Fate by Robin Owens
Heart Quest by Robin Owens
*Heart Thief by Robin Owens
*Heartmate by Robin Owens
The Immortals: The Haunting Robin T Popp
The Immortals: The Darkening by Robin T Popp
Loving a Lost Lord by Mary Jo Putney
A Little Magic by Nora Roberts
Spellbound by Nora Roberts
*Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson
Cry Sanctuary by Moira Rogers
A Compromised Lady by Elizabeth Rolls
The Dutiful Rake by Elizabeth Rolls
His Lady Mistress by Elizabeth Rolls
Lord Baybrooks Penniless Wife by Elizabeth Rolls
*The Darkest Lie by Gena Showalter
*The Darkest Passionate by Gena Showalter
*The Darkest Prison by Gena Showalter
*The Darkest Whisper by Gena Showalter
*The Darkest Fire by Gena Showalter
*The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter
*The Darkest Kiss by Gena Showalter
*The Darkest Pleasure by Gena Showalter
Heart of the Dragon by Gena Showalter
Jewel of Atlantis by Gena Showalter
The Nymph King by Gena Showalter
Sin's Daughter by Eve Silver
Desiring the Highlander by Michele Sinclair
The Highlander's Bride by Michele Sinclair
To Wed a Highlander by Michele Sinclair
The Wild's Call by Jeri Smith-Ready
Forbidden: The Sacrifice by Samantha Somersby
Only You by Deborah Brace Staley
Dancing in the Moonlight by RaeAnne Thayne
My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent
One a Cowboy by Linda Warren
Speed Dating by Nancy Warren
Her Irish Warrior by Michelle Willingham
In the Warrior's Bed by Mary Wine
To Conquer a Highlander by Mary Wine
The Virgin's Price by Cathy Williams
The Virgin's Proposal by Cathy Williams
His Virgin Secretary by Cathy Williams
One Hot Texan by Cathy Williams
The Innocent Virgin by Cathy Williams
Undecover Virgin by Cathy Williams
A Single Demand by Cathy Williams
Craving Beauty by Cathy Williams
The Millionaire's Virgin Mistress by Cathy Williams

This is an eclectic mix of romance genres: historical, fantasy and contemporary. Some are adventures. Some are pure relationships. Some are magical. I prefer the stories that are a good mix of all three.

Why do I read so much? Research. I used to read and not know why I enjoyed/disliked the stories. That has changed. I now read with a writer's eye.I read about the techniques of writing women's fiction and read published books to identify those techniques in action.

If only I could write as fast as I read.

I'll keep you posted.

The Fourth Wall in Writing

I found the site Fiction Factor (www.fictionfactor.com) with useful articles and tips on writing, as well as publishing and the writing business. I've read quite a bit from that site and one point in one article has firmly stuck with me. I never thought about it before and it's one of the mistakes I'm guilty of.

• I break the fourth wall.

In theater, a physical stage has three sides but four walls. Three of the sides contain scenery and props. The forth contains the audience. One of the first things I was taught in high school acting was the importance of maintaining the integrity of the forth wall. The audience knows what happens on the stage isn't real life and they come prepared to suspend their disbelief.

• Breaking through the forth wall reminds them of reality. It rips them out of the fantasy being performed and breaks the emotional connection.

Any time a sentence breaks the emotional connection or suspension of disbelief, the forth wall has been broken. The audience backs away. Do that enough times, they walk out. The audience wants to participate in the emotional banquet offered. Well crafted sentences feed that desire to the reader. Poorly crafted sentences shatter the forth wall.

• Maintaining the integrity of the point of view is the first place thing to look for. 3rd person omnipotent is my favorite. This point of view comes directly from the character's head – thoughts, feelings emotions and actions of self and others described from one set of eyes. That means you can't suddenly know the thoughts, feelings and emotions of the other characters (unless you set up your character as a talented empathic with mind reading capabilities). Events must be described from the perspective of one set of eyes.

Okay, I got that one down. I know how to switch characters as needed to show more than one side of the action – by starting a new section that lets the reader know the POV has changed. I hate when writers switch point of view every paragraph. It is too jolting. Especially if the writer has to use two paragraphs for one character. I lose track of whose head I'm supposed to be in. This breaks the forth wall. That's why I hate it and stop reading. I've seen this in quite a few promising works on Authonomy. I could not get into the story and stay there. I didn't know why before. But now I do.

• In collage I was taught that when I write a letter or paper, it is automatically assumed that the information contained within is my personal opinion. I got marked down any time I used phrases like “I believe...”, “In my opinion...” “I know...” “I realized...” “I think...” “I feel...” Strange enough, in nonfiction, this breaks the forth wall.

In fiction, 3rd person POV, phrases like the above: “He believed...” “She thought...” “He realized...” “She knew...” “He felt...” do the same. This is my biggest blunder. I fall out of the character's head as a writer forcing the reader to do the same. Do this enough times and the forth wall shatters. The reader puts the book down and never picks it up again.

I'm certain there are other writing mistakes I make that break the forth wall. A good editor most likely can pick out these sentences better than I can. But now that I know what to look for, I'm actively trying to stamp these out. When writing I need to stay completely inside the characters head, never pull back no matter how emotion rich the scene.

I'm going back to rewrite my stories and search out this infraction. Dreamsayer should be relatively clean though I could be wrong. Without a doubt, Shadow Nexus needs a full reread for this foe-pah alone.

The draft I'm working on for Whisper Walkers contained a few instances in the emotionally saturated areas of the story so far. Is this because I don't fully understand the emotions I'm trying to describe? Or have I pushed myself out of my comfort zone? If the first case, I need to do more research. If the second... I don't know...

I'll keep you posted.

The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning

Ever read a series of books and while engrossed find yourself saying, “I want to write a story like this!” That's how I feel about this series of books. Bummer is, the last book in the series won't be released until Jan 18, 2011. It may take months for me to stop trying to write the ending myself based on the clues she's left in the other books.

The Fever series is like Harry Potter for grownups. Definitely not for kids. Definitely for people who like to read. I hope writing this will get the story out of my head and allow me to write my own stories until the final book is released.

Every Fever book ends in a cliffhanger, each darker as the books progress. I hate that when the series is long. I didn't pay attention to the release date on the fifth book. I understand why many readers prefer to wait until all the books in the series are available before buying the first one.

The story is written in 1st person, told by MacKayla Lane, Mac for short. I normally don't like this point of view. But Moning has changed my perspective. I like 1st person omnipotent if it is well written. She did an outstanding job. I'm not certain what book put me off of this perspective. I do know she has shown me the art of prose and good story telling. I'm reading the types of books I want to write. This series is a primary example.

I won't go into a ton of detail because I tend to give away spoilers. Moning has created a world within our world in Ireland with the Fae or Faeries. But these are not little Tinker Bells. They are aliens, basically, large, some ugly, some beautiful, with super powers who have been living alongside humans for a very long time.

Every character has personal, secret motives for why they do what they do. I really like the way that is done. They are all looking for a mystical book and Mac is the only one with the super powers to find it. So she is wooed by heroes and villains alike as they try to persuade her onto their side. Even the foulest of the foul sends her flowers! When that doesn't work he gets mean.

The main hero (and romantic interest) is a complex Jerico Barrons who has a secret reason for getting his hands on the mystical book. At the end Book 4, his secret is somewhat uncovered as part of the cliffhanger. It both took me by surprise and yet didnt'. Very sneaky of her...

Make certain you read these in order:
1) Darkfever
2) Bloodfever
3) Faefever
4) Dreamfever
5) Shadowfever.

Mac, who learns to fight and use her buried powers along the way, survives quite a bit of bad stuff including torture and rape. But Moning handles this well and I didn't feel offended, she didn't push me too far, letting me know of the events while protecting me from brutal reality and the horror. I mention these events for those readers who are sensitive to brutality.

This series is about good versus evil where evil is shown by really evil deeds and good is a vast pallet of grays. No white hats on any of the characters so don't look for that.

What really urks me is I know now that The Tool series has the potential to be a story like this. In order to do that I need to rewrite, butcher and hack the thing to shreds. I played it too safe with the characters in the first book keeping the main characters from physical and emotional harm. I introduced the good and evil elements too slowly with the main evil character not even named yet. Brent has super powers he is unaware of and untrained to use that he doesn't know about until the end of the first book. I keep too many secrets without enough hints for the reader to help understand Emily's motives or the angst she feels for Brent.

After I finish Whisper Walkers – hopefully the fully fleshed draft will be done this week – I will put some thought work into how to change Shadow Nexus - oh, hell, the whole series! - change how Brent and Emily meet, change how I introduce the Good and Evil characters, maybe switch points of view between Brent and Emily and give the readers a better clue of what is going on in both of their heads.

This is tough though because Emily knows so much more than Brent and she doesn't think like a human. She has secrets she needs to keep from Brent as she slowly discovers the reasons for her very existence. Instead of starting the book at the very beginning of their relationship, I can start in the middle and add little bits of the past, make their adventures more dangerous, quit playing it safe. Let Brent get a cut or a bruise or broken bone a little more often.

That means pulling the book from publication. Few people have read it so I don't think anyone will notice.

Then I will chop the book up into 70,000-90,000 or so word chunks to make as many books as I need to tell the entire story. There was one chapter I really wanted to include in the first book but removed due to the word count. I can put that back in! To make readers happy, I'll try to release all of the books at the same time instead of over a five year period!
 
I'll keep you posted.