Who am I?

Today I'm posting from the RT Booklover's convention in Dallas, Texas. In the past couple of days I've danced at a number of parties, dressed in costumes, and attended several seminars on independent publishing. In general I've had a great time.

I've also introduced myself to a number of people I've never met before, which means I try to tell people who I am. They know I'm a writer because my badge says "published author" and I hand out promo cards that mention what books I've written. But is that all I am?

I am also:

A software engineer who works at a large company in Silicon Valley.

A wife and mother of two children who are now grown up.

An avid gamer who plays social games with people all over the world, many of whom are much younger than I am.

I love movies, good television, and books. Lots of books in lots of genres as I am a very wide reader. 

And that is only a part of who I am. I put a lot of me in all my books. My characters have been known to watch movies (albeit on a "holovid" rather than a DVD) and they make things that I have made myself. They play games and garden... I even have one character who is a romance author.

So that who I am. 

Who are you?

Cheers,

Janet Miller/Cricket Starr

The End of Summer

In a town with year-round school, this week saw the end of summer vacation. When I had children at home, this was such a hectic time; clothes shopping, backpacks, lunch boxes, school supplies. With the deterioration of our school budgets, we also added tissues, paper towels, and paper for the classroom.

For everything, there is a time and a season, and my days of room mother, field trip chaperone, classroom helper, scout leader, etc. are done.

Just like cycles in your life, your writing can go through cycles. Very active thousand word days and then a week of nothing. Just you staring at the white screen and blinking cursor. A week when your writing sings and days you just know it sucks and no one can tell you any differently.

Like a raft on a stream, learn to go with the flow. Busy days may mean little writing, but lots of errands today could free up the rest of the week for writing. A slow day of little words on paper could be your muse brainstorming the next big scene. A frantic day with 20 kindergartners at the zoo will make you appreciate the four free, precious hours you have tomorrow.

Don't waste your writing time wishing you had more, use every minute you do have. Waiting for the pasta water to boil. In the carpool lane at school. Over your morning coffee. Stretch every moment.

Don’t waste your time with your significant other, children, or grandchildren, enjoy every moment, savor them, store them up for when you are knee-deep in revisions, not getting a scene right, or sure your GMC is non-existent. Those are the moments you drag out those happy thoughts and rejoice on ALL your blessings.

One Flaw In Women

I thought of all the wonderful writers in the FTH group and how appropriate this verse fits. I do not know who the author is.

One Flaw In Women
Women have strengths that amaze men

They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
but they hold happiness, love and joy.
They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy and laugh when they are nervous.
They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.
They don't take "no" for an answer
when they believe there is a better solution.
They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel
and cheer when their friends get awards.
They are happy when they hear about a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member,
yet they are strong when they think there is no strength left.
They know that a hug and a kiss can heal a broken heart.
Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you to show how much they care about you.
The heart of a woman is what makes the world keep turning.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,
IT IS THAT THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Posted by Jaclyn DiBona

So you want to write a series…

Whether with another writer, a group of writers, or just your very own special series just for you (well, and your readers!), there are certain things you must be prepared to do. World building is a must – whether you’re working by yourself or with others. Your first consideration should be continuity. What time period will you be writing in? If you’re working with other writers, you must decide on what commonalities your works are going to have – are you going to set all your stories in the same town, in the same hotel or restaurant, or nightclub? Are your characters going to interact with the characters of the other stories? If so, you have to come to some understanding of the other author’s writing process and figure out how your characters are going to interact and how often.

You need to track when a character mentions parents, hometowns, siblings, etc. A series is really a type of soap opera when you think about it. Characters in the same place who may or may not interact with one another. An interesting example of a crossover is J.R. Ward's new Covenant series. In the first book, a character from her previous series makes an appearance. It's subtle and you have to have read the first series (Black Dagger Brotherhood) to get the reference. But trust me, if you have readers who have read the other books, they will notice when the heroine of your fifth book is the sister of the hero of the first book who said in book one he only had brothers.

If you’re doing your own series, there’s still plenty of world building that must be done. You have to decide on the “rules” of your world and then stick to them or the readers WILL call you out on that. Want to write a vampire story with a twist? Better use that twist but don’t forget what it is! Want to set all your stories in the same town? Don’t move any building from one story to the other unless it’s part of your plot to have disappearing buildings or blow something up!

One thing to do to preserve continuity is to have a character from a past book do a cameo in another book. This will do two things at the very least. It anchors your new book in your world. Plus if someone is reading out of order (and we all do that at some point), it will alert them to past books hopefully encouraging them to pick up some backlist.

Series shouldn't try to reinvent a wheel that was created in the first book. That's why a bible is important. No, not that Bible. In this case a bible refers to important story pieces that you need to remember.

In our Lusting Wild series, we have a several groups of shifters. Our bible includes listing who is in which Pack. For instance there's the Compound Pack who cause quite a bit of trouble in Changing Times and Changing Hearts, books one and two in the Lusting Wild series. But by book three, Changing Focus, the Compound Pack has shifted (you should pardon the pun) towards a more law-abiding pack although they still have one or two control issues that the hero of Changing Focus, has to deal with.

When you are writing a series, you really want to make sure that you provide enough clues for the next character's story as well. We recently got a comment on our publisher's page regarding a supporting character from book three. The reader was hoping his story would be next. We have good news for that reader. Gareth's story is definitely one we will be working on. Book three also re-introduced a were-leopard lawyer character who had a small role in book one and a minor character from book two, a member of the Compound pack, who is a wolf as well as a lawyer. The interaction between them intrigued us enough to start plotting their romance as well.

Currently, we are working with a group of fellow Ellora's Cave authors on a new multiple-author series. This particular series will have only two common elements-a phone number and a private club. The stories will be contemporary erotica with a BDSM twist. We have all worked on the concept and common characters as well as shared our synopses for each of the books. The next step is putting a proposal together to pitch to The Powers That Be aka our Editor-In-Chief. Our hope is that she will like the series idea enough to give it the thumbs up. Then we have to write the books individually. The process will be the same in that we have to submit them to an editor, but because they will tie into one another, we plan to have a group marketing effort.

A good example of this type of multi-author series is the Crimson City series. Authors Liz Maverick, Marjorie Liu, Jade Lee, Patti O'Shea and Carolyn Jewell all wrote manuscripts within this world. Their paranormal world featured a cast of races that allowed the authors to delve into their favorites while pulling in cameos from other characters in other books. It was so well-done that there is a rumor that Crimson City may be making a comeback.

So do you read series? If you do, what do you like best about them? Do you catch small mistakes from a secondary character's emerald green eyes suddenly becoming ice blue in the fourth book? Why do you read series? Do you prefer single titles to series? Considering all of this will help you become a better series writer if that is your goal.

Dreams really do come true.

Sometimes we hold our dreams close, deep in our hearts, and wish with all our might for them to come true. For writers, getting published is our biggest dream. One I got to realize this week.

I've been offered a publishing contract and my manuscript will become a book. It still seems unreal no matter how many times I say it in my head, to my friends, or on a blog.

As I was reading the email with the good news a small part of me was whispering; now what do you dream of? Because, although we dream often and dream big, a little part inside worries it will never come true. I've been dreaming, and hoping, and working since I was 20 years old to publish a book. I won't tell you how many years that is. LOL

So, this wonderful editor sends me a wonderful email and in just a few short words makes all my dreams come true. I wish I could hug her and I hope she realizes what her note meant to me.

So, when one dream comes true what do you dream of next?

Jill James
http://www.jilljameswrites.com/

My Love of Romance

Since the day my mother gave me my first book, The Lady and the Cowboy by Diana Palmer, I’ve been reading romance. I fell in love with romance and happy endings. I’ve been told that I have my head in the clouds. So be it. It’s a nice place to be. Not realistic, but nice.
One book turned into three turned into too many to count, and I was hooked. Now, I buy anywhere from eight to ten romance books a month. Barnes and Nobel loves me.

When I decided to write my first romance novel, I wrote to Isabel Swift at Harlequin/Silhouette for advice. She recommended I join RWA and the New England Chapter for help. I met a great group of published authors and authors on the way. I served as their treasurer for four years, and handed out roses to those whose books just got published. A heady feeling.
I needed help critiquing my finished manuscript and discovered the From The Heart Critique Group. I learned from trial and error. I had trouble with POV. Some editors only allow one POV per chapter others no more than three. Mona Risk told me to put my hero in blue and my heroine in pink. It worked like a charm.

It isn’t easy to write a great romance. It’s a lot of sweat, tears and frustration. Rejection comes hard, but as a famous author once told me, “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
I’ve learned how to critique other manuscripts, to learn the difference between telling and showing, to limit adverbs, avoid passive sentences, to delete words that don’t move the work ahead, and watch the POV. In return, it has helped me to see where I needed help.

I’ve judged contests for many RWA chapters and just finished my third year judging the Golden Heart. As a judge, I highlight the author’s errors and give phrases where it is due. I never slash in red, as it’s their baby and I know how it feels.
In one contest, the contestant liked my critique and asked if I’d do her whole manuscript. I agreed, and Jenn and I have become fast friends. I’m working on her second. I’m happy to say that a lot of books I’ve had the pleasure to help critique have been published.

I’ve written three books and have five chapters done on my fourth. I’ve entered many contests with all three of my books. One is now on an editor’s desk. No promises, but I live in hope. I have eight trophies hanging on my wall here in my computer room. It’s a great feeling.

I was green as grass while attending my first convention. I talked with an author for about an hour. Neither of us gave our names. After lunch, the guest speaker was introduced, the same woman I’d spoken to earlier. I stared as she smiled at me, and I clapped as Nora Roberts took the podium. We laughed as she autographed one of my favorite books from her MacGregor series. When I said my spelling was atrocious, she remarked, tongue in cheek, “That’s what spell check is for.” She’s a marvelous woman and a phenomenal author with a great sense of humor.

You meet a lot of interesting people when you do research. Some are impressed and some are skeptical. I needed museum quality security for one of my books and called a certain company. When I asked for information, the man said I wouldn’t be able to understand their intricate workings. Needless to say, I had to bite my tongue not to snap, chauvinist.
I politely asked if he thought an M.I.T engineer could understand his intricate workings. He apologized and sent the information out the next day. After I read the article, I called back and asked if I could put two sections together and make it work. He said my engineer background showed. I asked his boss if I could use their company’s name in my book. He answered, if I had written it in good taste. I read him the page and a half that concerned his company, and he not only gave me permission, but asked for a signed autograph copy when the book came out.
My husband berated me for lying to the man. What lie? I didn’t say I was the M.I.T engineer. The engineer is living with me. See how you can twist words to suit you. Semantics, my darling husband grumbled.

Another time, I visited my hometown and went to the police station to acquire information on drugs in and around the harbor. The lieutenant kept avoiding most of my questions. When he asked how I was smuggling the cocaine in my book, I told him, and his brows arched. He responded with a simple. “Oh-h?” I could see his brain whirling and expected to be detained.
I figured I wasn’t going to learn much more, so I left and headed for my parents home. As I drove into my parent’s driveway, a police cruiser passed me and turned around. My father opened the front door and waved to the policeman, who waved back. Dad asked what I did to have a police escort home. When I told him, he laughed so hard he had to sit. When he stopped laughing, he said, “I’d love to be there when Charlie goes back and tells them whose daughter you are.” This started his laughing all over again.

So you see, writing has its serious side and its laughable side. You just have to learn to roll with the punches.
So, we keep writing and hoping for that lucky day when an editor says: “We’ll sign a contract.”

Posted by Jaclyn DiBona