lara confidential

Transcription

lara confidential

LARA CONFIDENTIAL
The Newsletter of the Los Angeles Romance Authors Chapter of RWA®
Presidential Prattle 1
"Promoting Excellence in Romantic Fiction Through Education and Community Service"
Editor’s Talk... 3
PRESIDENTIAL PRATTLE
"UNITED WE GROW"
Hot Off the Keyboard 5
Say Hello to LARA
Member...D'Anne Avner 7
November Meeting Notes:
“An Exercise in Sensuality”
with Eden Bradley 8
I
December Meeting Notes:
“First Sales” 9
How amazing it is to finally be the person I was meant to be. This is a
job, make no mistake. This is the most personal, brain-melting, nervewracking, and blissfully rewarding job I’ve ever had. But it’s a job. It’s a
business.
Beginning The New Year
Right 11
How To Start a Book? Let Me
Count The Ways… 12
I’m still learning to run this business. There’s so much we don’t know
going into this. Who knew we had to do anything other than write a good
book? The rest came as a bit of a shock early on in my career. But whatever
else I have to do— revisions and edits, organize my receipts for taxes, pull
out my hair to meet deadlines, the pressure to come up with new ideas,
promotions—it’s all worth it. Because this is by far the best job I’ve ever
had.
Building Your Characters'
Fatal Flaws 14
Who Am I? 16
IN THIS ISSUE
Short Tales:
"May I Have This Dance?" 18
Brand Y.O.U. 20
’ve worked as a secretary, a nanny, a wedding planner, a jewelry buyer,
a stylist for rock bands, and had a few other jobs that are too dull to
mention. But who I am, as it turns out, is a writer.
Another part of this job, and just as necessary for me as the writing,
organizational process and promotions, is being of service to my community of writers. That’s what being President of LARA is about for me:
giving back some of the incredible support and invaluable direction I’ve
received from other writers over the years. I’m so fortunate to be where I
am in my career and I know I wouldn’t be here without my community
of writers. LARA has been an enormous part of that since I joined in
January 2004.
My hopes for LARA this year are to see our members learn and grow as
writers, to reach their career goals, and for all of us to work together to
make for a better, stronger chapter, and to support one another along the
way.
1
Los Angeles Romance Authors
We’ve been having a lot of fun recently with the LARA
BIAW (now known as the SPEW Crew). I want to bring that
cont. on
same positive energy, sense of unity and fun to the
chapter.
Nov
/ Dec 2006/Volume
7
pg 3
Writing is hard enough and although it’s a serious business,
Chapter #25
1 1
December 07/January 08
Editors, LARA Confidential
c/o Tai Shan Jackson
15030 Ventura Blvd, #509
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
For inquiries regarding article
submissions, or to request reprint
permission, please contact:
President: Eden Bradley
Executive Vice President:
Genella deGrey
Vice President in Charge of Programming:
Irena RafaPetrovich
Rafa-Petrovich
Vice President In Charge of Membership:
Caro Kinkead
Vice Pr
esident of W
ays and Means:
President
Ways
Lynne Marshall
The editor can also be reached by
e-mail at the following address:
[email protected]
Vice President in Charge of Public
Relations: Sabrina Brayden
Treasur
er: Dana Belfry
easurer:
If you wish to receive the LARA
Confidential in hard copy instead
of accessing it online, please send
your name and mailing address to:
[email protected]
Newsletter co-Editors: Christine Ashworth
and T
ai Shan Jackson
Tai
Secretary: Kim Winklhofer
PAN Liaison: Mollie Molay
PRO Liaison: Jodi Gottlieb
Sunday, February 17th (third
Sunday)
Linda O. Johnston presents
Hooks, Crooks and Romance
Books.
Next meeting:
Past President: Sandra Kleinschmitt
Website and Listserv Div
a:
Diva:
Sabrina Brayden
c/o T
ai Shan Jackson
Tai
15030 V
entura Blvd., #509
Ventura
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403
LARA Confidential is published bimonthly
by Los Angeles Romance Authors, Chapter
25 of RWA®.
LARA Confidential welcomes input from
all LARA members for requests, original or
reprinted articles, ideas, suggestions, and comments. All contributors retain copyright to
their original works. This is your newsletter,
and it should meet your needs.
Please send comments, suggestions, and
article ideas to the Newsletter Editor at
[email protected].
All views and opinions expressed in the LARA Confidential do not necessarily reflect the acceptance or endorse2 the LARA Board, or RWA® at large, and it is further
ment of those views and opinions by the LARA membership,
assumed that authors have obtained all requisite copyright and/or reprint permissions.
2
(continued from page 1)
we have to maintain our joy in the
process. And we can’t do it alone.
Networking with other writers
has been invaluable in helping me
get through the inevitable rejections, deadline stress, and that sense
of isolation which comes from
spending ten or twelve hours a day
sitting at my desk. That’s part of
what LARA is here for, and there
are endless opportunities at our
meetings: joining the critique
group, the SPEW Crew, or volunteering in a variety of capacities.
This year I want to encourage our
members to volunteer a little of
their time for LARA. Clipboards
will be passed around at meetings,
and there’s no better way to get to
know your fellow LARA members
than to participate on a committee or help out at meetings or special events. Our chapter is only as
strong as our members make it!
A huge thank you to our outgoing board for keeping our chapter going throughout 2007! I am
honored to be able to serve the
members of LARA in the coming
year, and appreciate the opportunity.
I also want to thank our 2008
board:
Our Vice President and my
right hand, Genella deGrey, our
Treasurer, Dana Belfry, and our
Secretary, Kim Winklhofer. Thank
you to Tai Shan Jackson and Christine Ashworth, co-Editors of
LARA’s award-winning newsletter.
Thanks also to the following:
Membership, Caro Kinkead, Ways
and Means, Lynne Marshall, PRO
Liaison, Jodi Gottlieb, and PAN
Liaison and long time LARA member, Mollie Molay. Thanks also to
Sandra Kleinschmitt, who transitions to the position of Past-President. And I can’t forget our VP of
Programming, Irena RafaPetrovich, who is putting together
one of our most exciting yearly
workshops ever for 2008 and our
amazing new Webmistress, Sabrina
Brayden!
I also want to thank our nonboard members who have volunteered their time: our Milestone’s
person Jennifer Haymore, and our
continuing Librarian Kate Fink.
Also to Rae Shapiro, who is continuing with the Opportunity
Drawings, and our hospitality volunteer this year, Christine London.
Last but not least is Dana Belfry,
who will be cheering on the LARA
Spew Crew (formerly Book in a
Week).
If any of you have an idea, a suggestion, or an opinion, I hope you’ll
come to me with your thoughts or
concerns. LARA is a group of intelligent, talented people, and I
want to hear from you! I want you
all to feel as much a part of LARA
as our board members, to work
together as a unified group, to support each other through the hard
times, and to celebrate our victories together.
Here’s to a successful year for
LARA!
Eden Bradley is
president of Los
Angeles Romance
Authors.
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3
Editor’s Talk...
Beginnings
When I
think about
the New
Ye a r, I a l ways think
of a blank
page. Beginnings. A
Christine
fresh start.
Ashworth,
Every Januco-Editor
ary is ripe
with possibilities, with the days
of the year ahead stringing like
pearls on a necklace, all fresh,
shiny and new.
After being on the Board from
2003 to 2005, the past two years
I’d stepped back from LARA,
overwhelmed with a new job and
family obligations. I’ve learned a
few lessons, eaten some humble
pie, and got stuck, frustrated
with my writing, with myself. I
took some classes, readjusted my
thinking, and just when I’d kickstarted my writing again, I lost
my mother. That ultimately gave
me the impetus to finish and
submit my sixth novel. I’ve also
found myself lonely, away from
LARA and the support so freely
given here. So when I was approached about co-editing the
LARA Confidential, I didn’t
hesitate to jump at the offer.
(Thanks, Lynne!) I’ve always res p e c t e d Ta i Sh a n
Jackson, and knew
we’d make a solid
cont. on
team for the newspg 4
letter.
postponing your journey for a
while. The start of a new year offers the promise of new beginnings, opportunities to
start anew, to
wash away the
past and start
fresh.
Join us this month as we talk
about beginnings: from the significance of setting writing goals
or starting the writing process by
beginning with characterization,
discussing how some LARA
members start their process, and
finally, how one member began
to realize who she truly is.
Creating
the type of
newsletter that
informs, enlightens, and
helps to guide
you on your
writer’s journey can be difficult to accomplish without help, since
life, in fact,
does go on.
So my beginning to the New
Year is to come back to LARA
with a grateful heart and an eager energy, to give LARA the best
newsletter we possibly can. Tai
Shan and I will be sharing responsibility and hopefully will be
able to provide you, once again,
with a monthly newsletter.
May 2008 bring you clarity,
consistency, and success in whatever part of the writer’s journey
you may be on.
Tai Shan Jackson, co-Editor
I echo the
sentiments of
my co-editor;
life can kick
you in the
teeth a little,
As mentioned by Christine,
our goal is to return to monthly
publication. When I had sole editor and layout duties in 2006 it
was a Herculean task made difficult, and then impossible, by the
illness and subsequent passing of
my mother.
Our brilliant 2007 editor,
Brenda Scott Royce, decided after her first issue that she would
publish every other month (smart
move!) Frankly, I thought that
might have been a good way to
go this year as well, but in addition to taking on co-editor duties, Christine is eager to learn the
software program I use so that
over the next few months we can
‘tag team’ the process when life
rears its ugly head.
The gauntlet
4
has been thrown. I am gingerly
picking it up.
4
Hot Off the Keyboard
(Last minute news from
the grapevine)
Jennifer Haymore sold her
untitled Regency Historical to
Grand Central Publishing, at auction, in a three book deal.
MILEST
ONES
MILESTONES
Melissa Jarvis Prieto had two
requests for fulls for her ms Agent
and a Gentleman from
Sourcebooks and Ellora’s Cave/
Cerridwen Press
GOOD NEWS
Join us in congratulating the following LARA members who received good news!
Fronnie Lewis writing as F.
Leegh Lewis sold her first novel,
L.A. Love, an action/adventure
romance, to Tiger Publications.
Carol Ericson sold her story
Sex and the Single Pearl to eRed
Sage; it has a tentative August
2008 release date.
Nicole Coady sold her first
novel, a romantic suspense called
Moonlight on Diamonds, to The
Wild Rose Press.
Dawn Halliday sold her contemporary romance, 10 Days in
Paradise, to Samhain publishing.
It will be released in e-book in
April 2008 and in print in early
2009. She also sold a short story
to Ellora’s Cave, Midnight Seduction, which will be released in December, 2008 as part of the Ellora’s
Cavemen Anthology. Dawn also
sold her novel Highland Obsession as part of a two book deal
with NAL Signet Eclipse.
Chi Nguyen finished her first
manuscript, queried and submitted the full to an editor at
Kensington and received her first
rejection. She’s going to apply
for PRO status soon.
Jax Cassidy’s publisher requested two more novellas and a
single title. She also signed with
The Michael Zanuck Agency.
Their goal is to have her stories,
including her paranormal romance Ghosthunter adapted for
television.
Carol Ericson received a request for a full of her single title
romantic comedy from The Prospect Agency, and received a rejection from The Bradford Agency.
Genella deGrey completed a
35,000 word erotic historical entitled Unmasked which she targeted for Red Sage, and she sent
Looking for a critique group?
LARA’s got one! Get the
scoop from LARA member
Rae Shapiro, at
[email protected].
5
5
it off to them. She completed a
second novella, Love Divine, also
targeted for Red Sage. She also
received a very nice, handwritten
rejection from The Bradford
Agency for her historical/paranormal single title, Remember Me.
Kim Winklhofer submitted
two stories to Women’s World
magazine.
CONTEST NEWS
Janie Emaus reports that she's
a finalist in the Linda Howard
Award of Excellence Contest in
the Unique Genre.
Robert L. Hecker’s mystery/
thriller/romance novel Murder By
Proxy has been selected as a finalist
in its category in the prestigious
EPPIE awards contest. Also, his
musical Honestly Abe has been accepted for the Academy of New Musical
cont. on
Theatre’s New Voices
pg 6
of 2008 contest.
<
Ly n n e M a r s h a l l i s a
CataRomance Reviewer’s Choice
award winner for her Mills &
Boone Medical, Her LA Knight.
Monthly meetings
Meetings of the Los
Angeles Romance Authors
Eden Bradley’s novel The
Dark Garden is a Romantic
Times Reviewer’s Choice nominee for best Erotic Romance.
OTHER GOOD NEWS
More good news for Robert
L. Hecker; a community theatre
in Fullerton has selected his latest stage play Borderline for its
premier production next spring.
Also,Eden Bradley’s Harlequin Spice Briefs story, Soul
Strangers, was released through
eharlequin.com.
TJ Bennett reports that
Romantictimes.com has invited
her to participate in their “exclusive Author Spotlight area” on
their new website. She’ll be featured in the spotlight March
2008 in anticipation of her April
release of The Legacy, a historical romance set in Reformation
Germany.
Ly n n e M a r s h a l l ’s b o o k
Single Dad, Nurse Bride has been
spotted in bookstores across
America as a trial run/limited release for the UK’s Mills and
Boon’s Medical Romance line in
the States.
Fronnie Lewis’s workshop
proposal has been accepted for
the Romance Writers of America
28th Annual National Confer-
are held at the Barnes and
Noble in Encino, usually
"An angel gets her wings."
Jax receives a wand, crown, and
wings for writing over 100 pages
for December's "SPEW" challenge.
on the third Sunday of the
month. Guests are
welcome to attend one
ence in San Francisco this July.
Her workshop is called Romancing the Internet: Simple Ways to
Boot-up Your Writing Career by
Blogging.
meeting for free. Coffee
Bettie Sharpe’s first sale, a futuristic erotic paranormal novella
called Like a Thief in the Night
was released by Samhain on Tuesday, January 15 as one of the
Strangers in the Night anthology.
10:30 a.m. For more
Coffee & Conversation at the
Buena Vista Branch of the
Burbank Library presents Romance is in the air...and in the
book! Several of our LARA authors, Dayle Dermatis, Lynne
Marshall, D'Anne Avner, Christ i n e L o n d o n , Ja x C a s s i d y,
Genella deGray, and Sandra Lee
Robinson will be participating in
the February 23rd panel, beginning at 2:00 pm.
and chat begin at 10 a.m.
General meeting starts at
information,
www.lararwa.com
Address:
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
16461 Ventura Blvd.
Encino, CA 91436
(818) 380-1636
Cross-street: Hayvenhurst
Compiled by LARA
member Jennifer
Haymore, who is
6
thrilled
with her recent three book deal.
6
Say Hello to LARA Member...D'Anne Avner
and Judith McNaught. And of course, my
very first romances by Kathleen
Woodiwiss. They all combine action, deep
emotion, and usually great suspense and
they make it look easy.
Have you published anything?
Not yet. Wait… does the LARA Confidential count? <g>
What one thing about yourself would people
be surprised to know
What type of books do you read?
I usually read contemporary romance, but
I like the occasional paranormal. I like
historicals, but find the language creeps
into my writing, so I save those for when
I’m in-between books.
What do you write?
I write contemporary romantic adventures. I concentrate on the romance and
use the adventures to bring my characters
closer together or rip them apart. (Whatever I need at the time!) Split second decision-making can define a character so I
like to show their growth during and after
panic times and how it affects their relationship.
How (when) did you get into writing?
I started writing in 2000. I was laid up
from an accident on the tennis court and
had a very vivid dream. Since I couldn’t
get around and couldn’t stop talking about
my dream, my husband said, “Just write
it down.” Three weeks and four hundred
and fifty hand-written pages later, I had
my first novel. I discovered RWA and
LARA in 2001 and my husband signed
me up as a Mother’s Day gift. Best thing
he ever did! (Besides marry me!)
Who are your favorite authors (romance or
otherwise) and why?
(My friends are rolling their eyes because
they know what’s coming!) I’m a huge fan
of Suzanne Brockmann, Linda Howard
(Funny you mentioned horseback riding.)
Growing up, I barrel raced for a couple of
summers in Texas. I was the Tide Lady for
almost two years in the late 90s. Oop.
That was two things!
What do you do in your non-writing life?
Along with being a mother, I work in television – sitcoms to be specific. Usually, I’m
hired as a dialog coach and help the actors
learn their lines. But I also work as a standin which means I rehearse with the main
cast of the show when the actor I stand-in
for isn’t available.
What is something you know a lot about?
Show business. (And I know enough to
know that I won’t ever be able to predict
it!)
straight and narrow and for their unending support.
Describe your writing routine.
I usually write at night. I gave up television about 6 years ago because I was working full time and nighttime was my only
time to write. (My brain doesn’t function
in the morning!) Depending on where I
am in a book, I might work anywhere from
two to four hours. I shoot for five pages.
But it all depends on my work schedule
at the day job. If I work a twelve hour day
on the set, chances are I’ll be too zonked
to write at night. On the other hand, I’ve
been known to pump out handwritten
pages on the set during down time, so it
all varies on the day job.
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Just keep at it. The more you write the
better you get. Keep submitting until you
wear the suckers down.
Where do you typically find your inspiration?
The authors I mentioned above. I am constantly re-reading their books and learning.
What genre do you write in? Do you cross
over to other genres? Is it harder or easier to
stay in one genre?
At the moment, I wish I knew more about
politics. I tend to feel very uniformed when
it comes time to elect a new president. (I
tend to be a little bit informed on a lot of
topics, but not greatly informed on most.)
I’ve created my own genre of romantic
adventure, which might explain my inability to get published. LOL. I don’t write
anything else. This seems to be all that
comes out of me. Occasionally I have a
hint of paranormal in the form of dreams
or psychic ability, but not that often. I
like to mix love and adventure and see how
my characters manage to make it all work
out in the end.
What is your birth date?
Who has influenced you in your writing?
I was born September 13th and I’ve been
35 eight times. (It helps my husband remember how old I am if I stay one age.)
Suzanne Brockmann told me to write
what I write and not let outside forces
decide my voice. I try to remember that.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Do you have a website or a blog?
I owe a great deal of gratitude to my critique partners for keeping me on the
Yes. www.danneavner.com.
What is something you wish you knew more
about?
7
7
November Meeting
Notes: “An Exercise in
Sensuality” with Eden
Bradley
© 2008, Brenda Scott
Royce
And we did.
of time spent with her grandmother.
During the course of the workshop, Bradley passed around a series
of items for audience members to
sniff, taste, or handle. We ran our fingers over fur, embroidered silk, sandpaper, a scrub brush, and a stone,
noting how the sensation is different
on our fingertips versus the back of
the wrist. We inhaled the scent of rose
petals, coffee beans, cinnamon sticks,
Multi-published
erotica author Eden
Bradley led members
through “An Exercise
in Sensuality” at the
November meeting
of Los Angeles Romance Authors. Getting in touch with
each of your five
senses, Bradley explained, will help you
create mood, enhance
setting,
deepen character,
and draw in your
reader.
“Imagine living a
life devoid of senses,”
she says. “It would be
very one-dimensional. The same goes
for your writing.” To
truly engage a reader, you want that
person to experience the story through
sight, smell, touch, taste, and sound.
While children are very much in
touch with the tactile world, we tend
to become more detached from it as
we mature. But to write about fully
developed, multi-dimensional characters, we need to not just consider
how to mechanically move them from
point A to point B, but to also explore what they are experiencing during that journey. In other words, we
need to literally take time to stop and
smell the roses.
Being in tune with your senses is
only the first step. Next, you have to
be able to express those sensations
through language. Word choice is
crucial. “Make a thesaurus your best
friend,” Bradley advises. Developing
your voice is an ongoing process. As
you pay more attention to your
physical surroundings and your reactions to sensual stimuli, you will
become more comfortable putting
those sensations
into words.
Once you’ve
tapped into this
sensual side of
your writing, you
may be tempted to
try to describe every detail of a scene
in luscious detail.
Bradley cautions
writers not to
overdo it. Too
much of a good
thing can turn off
readers and distract from your
plot.
and rubbing alcohol, and tasted chiliinfused chocolate. We looked at a series of photographs and listened to a
variety of music, from opera to hard
rock to the sound of rainfall.
The hands-on exercises reminded
us that different scents, sounds, textures, and images can evoke powerful
emotions—and that our individual
reactions are shaped by our own life
histories. For example, the smell of
rubbing alcohol conjured memories of
8 one member, while
a hospital stay for
for another it was a pleasant reminder
8
While reading
is a visual medium, your ultimate goal is to engage all of your
readers’ senses. Doing so will give
your emotional moments maximum
impact, and make your love scenes
sizzle.
Brenda Scott
Royce is the
Director
of
Publications
for the Los
Angeles Zoo,
and author of
two novels,
Monkey Love
and Monkey
Star.
December Meeting
Notes: “First Sales”
ments Intrigue was looking for,
Carol went home motivated and finished her manuscript, then titled
“Adios Means Goodbye.”
© 2008, Brenda Scott
Royce
Then the stalking began. “There
were about three contests I entered
where Allison was a final judge,” says
Carol. She finaled in the
CONNections contest, sponsored
by Connecticut Romance Authors,
and on New Year’s Eve received an
e-mail stating that she won the Romantic Suspense category and that
Lyons had requested the full manuscript. After submitting the manu-
The December meeting of the
Los Angeles Romance Authors is
always reserved for LARA members
with romance-related “First Sales.”
At the 2007 year-end meeting, four
members spoke about their path to
publication. Filled
with heartbreak,
humor, torture, and
stalking, these remarkable journeys
may even rival the
books that brought
these authors success
in 2007.
After completing the requested
changes—and another lengthy
wait—the manuscript sold. It was
published under a new title, The
Stranger and I, in December 2007.
She subsequently sold another book
to Intrigue with a tentative release
date of August 2008.
Dawn Halliday sold Honeymoon
Castaways to Samhain in January. It
was released as an e-book in July
2007 and will be out in book form
in April. Her second Samhain release, 10 Days in Paradise, is due
out in April. She sold two books to
Ellora’s
Cave,
Devil’s Pearl, due
out in Februar y,
and Sins of the
Night (for their Torrid Tarot line), releasing in April.
Parental torture
prompted Dawn’s
initial attempts at
Carol Ericson
writing. As a young
sold The Stranger
girl, she spent a few
and I to Harlequin
years sailing around
Intrigue. It was a
the world with her
December 2007 refamily. Life at sea
lease. Writing as
kept her from atMia Varana, she sold
tending school,
a novella, “Virgin in
and her mother was
the Amazon,” to
intent on developRed Sage for volume
ing her daughter’s
21 of their Secrets
creative side. “She
anthology series.
wanted to get me
The volume was also
Evie Byrne, Dawn Halliday, Carol Ericson, and Trish Albright share
involved in drama
released in Decemtheir rollicking path to publication.
and art and writber.
ing,” Dawn recalls.
“So she forced me to write a book a
Carol admits to stalking Harlescript, she waited an interminable
day, when I was seven. I used to cry.
quin Intrigue editor Allison Lyons
eight months before receiving an
‘I don’t know what to write; I don’t
through the contest circuit. She had
ominously large package from the
have any ideas.’ It was torture.”
begun writing romantic suspense,
editor. “I didn’t want to open it,”
targeting the Intrigue line. At the
she recalls, “because I knew that a
Surprisingly, this coerced creativ2005 RWA Conference in Reno, she
full manuscript back meant a rejecity didn’t sour Dawn
attended a workshop at which Lyons
tion.” To her surprise, instead of a
on writing altogether.
and some Intrigue authors discussed
rejection, it was9 a request for revicont. on
When her family depacing in romantic suspense. After
sions.
pg 10
cided to put down
hearing firsthand about the ele-
9
stakes in Hawaii, she turned to writing as a refuge from the awkwardness of socializing with kids her own
age. Once she started writing, she
never stopped.
At age 15, Dawn started writing a historical novel. Eighteen years
later, she finished it. In between,
she went to college and graduate
school, got married, and had three
children.
Dawn joined LARA in 2006 and
began “churning out” romance novels. She wrote Honeymoon Castaways
with Ellora’s Cave’s Naughty Nuptials line in mind, but when the
publisher changed their criteria, the
story no longer fit the mold. So she
submitted it to Samhain, where it
was promptly accepted. Meanwhile, she had submitted Devil’s
Pearl to Ellora’s Cave and was told,
“Your hero is awful, he’s a jerk, we
hate him!” But the editor left the
door open for a revision, and Dawn
quickly followed through, resulting
in the novel’s sale.
Dawn spoke about landing an
agent (the Irene Goodman Agency)
and the angst of wondering when/
if she would sell to a New York
publisher. A few days later, her
agent sold her Regency historical,
Tangled Hearts, to Grand Central
Publishing in a three-book deal.
Evie Byrne sold Dante’s Inferno
to Samhain in August 2007. It is
due out in June 2008.
Evie found inspiration at a
LARA meeting. In January 2006
Red Sage authors (and LARA members) Leigh Court and Jane Thompson spoke about erotic romance,
which Evie didn’t even realize existed as a genre. “I was really thrilled
by that idea,” she says, adding that
on the way home she had a classic
moment of inspiration. The resulting story unfolded very quickly. An
early draft was revised when her critique partner proclaimed her hero
to be less-than-likeable.
Dante’s Inferno, an 18 th -century
erotic romance set in Venice, was
written specifically with Red Sage
in mind. Evie submitted it with high
hopes of acceptance and instant acclaim (she says, tongue-in-cheek).
But after four months, she’d heard
nothing. A follow-up e-mail revealed
that the manuscript had actually
been rejected a few weeks after it was
received, but the SASE had been lost
in the mail. Four months of waiting
had been wasted.
Kensington Brava requested the
full manuscript, but Evie gave up
after waiting more than a year for a
response. One lesson she’s learned:
“Everything in publishing is glacially slow.”
Success ultimately came circuitously, through a contest. She entered Dante’s Inferno in the Stroke
of Midnight contest sponsored by
the Passionate Ink chapter of RWA.
One of the judges was so intrigued
by the story that she asked when it
was going to be published so she
could read the ending. When Evie
responded that it might never be
published, the generous author offered to submit it to her editor at
Samhain (which was closed to new
submissions at the time). The editor acquired that book and Evie’s
follow-up submission. Both books
are scheduled for release in 2008.
Evie says of her journey to publication: “It all comes down to connections, timing, and luck.”
Trish Albright
1 0 sold Siren’s Song
to Dorchester in July 2007 in a two-
10
book deal. It is due out in July
2008.
Trish attributes her recent success to prayer, but persistence certainly played a part, along with a
great sense of humor. After hitting
a personal low point in June 2007
(a failed relationship and frustration over not being published), she
went off to the RWA Conference in
Dallas feeling like she was out of the
writing game. Even though she was
a Golden Heart nominee (for the
second year in a row), she’d been
struggling to find an agent for three
years and was running on empty.
“It’s so hard to keep that momentum,” she explains. “Your life gets
so busy. You’re so tired all the time.
You can only maintain that for so
long.”
What happened at conference almost sounds like a fairy tale. Trish
got a message from Dorchester editor Leah Hultenschmidt, who
claimed she’d been frantically tying to reach her. After first dialing
a wrong number, Trish returned the
call. She didn’t rush to meet with
the editor because she wanted to
practice her pitch. Besides, she figured it would probably lead to another rejection, anyway.
Over coffee the next day,
Hultenschmidt praised Trish’s book
extensively, ending with the words,
“You have an offer from Dorchester.
Do you have an agent, or would you
like to talk numbers now?”
Stunned, Trish asked for time to
think. She hastened her agent
search, signing with Meredith
Bernstein, who negotiated a “wonderful” contract for The Captain’s
Ring (now Siren’s Song) and a second book.
Congratulations to these authors
and all our other members’ successes during 2007.
This article first appeared in the
January ‘08 issue of Inklings, the
newsletter of Romance Writers Ink
(Tulsa, OK). It is used with permission.
look back at the end of the year
and say “Wow – look what I did”
(or, in my case, “sheesh – where
did the year go, I meant to
do...”).
Beginning The New
Year Right
By the fourth or fifth article,
I realized that something was
missing from every one of them.
Not one covered what I would
consider as step one: That you
should stop and think about
what is most important to you or
what you truly want to accomplish. After all, what good are
goals if they don’t get you where
you really want to be?
© 2008, Deanna Ponder
Two Thousand Eight is said
to be the year of the Rat. A year
for new beginnings.
What is this a good year to
begin?
I’ve read several articles on
goal setting in the last week or
so. A good subject for the start
of a new year. Most reviewed
how to set goals that stand a
chance of being measured,
tracked and accomplished. So, if
you’re dedicated enough, you can
Don’t get me wrong. Goals are
good - they help most writers stay
focused. And I agree with most
everything I read. Goals should
be measurable and time-bound;
break larger goals into smaller
chunks; follow up on your goals
and reward yourself for accomplishments. But I firmly believe
you will fail before you begin if
you haven’t done some serious
soul searching before writing the
first one down. Is your first draft
of 2008 goals aimed at working
on that story you came up with
after a night of hitting the pepperoni pizza and merlot a little
too hard? Or the story that
sounded like it would fit with
what Publisher X was looking for
last week? Or do your new goals
involve finishing the “story of
your heart?” You know, the one
that haunts your soul, even
though you pushed aside because
you read somewhere that particular genre wasn’t the “hot” thing
this year.
Will you be happier finishing
up three stories or articles that
can be cranked out quickly,
blindly following a formula you
learned at some seminar but that
you don’t have to put your heart
into? Or would you rather slave
your way through the one story
that won’t let you go, where you
fall completely in love with your
characters and then weep when
you realize their story has ended?
Is it quantity over quality? Do
you set the same goals year after
year with no real passion for the
accomplishment? Is the path
you’re headed down the one you
really want to be on? Or is it
time to take a closer look?
Whatever it is, I hope each of
you begins and ends this year
with goals that are meaningful to
you.
11
11
How To Start a
Book? Let Me
Count The Ways…
© 2008, Christine Ashworth
There are as many different
ways to begin writing a book as
there are ways to fall in love.
There’s the dive-right-in approach from the pantsers, there’s
the character sheets and timelines
from the plotters, and then
there’s the wisp of an idea that
comes to you from a snippet of
a song or a phrase of a conversation overheard. There’s also insomnia and red wine…but I’ll
talk about myself at the end of
this article.
I asked a few of our published
writers how they start writing
their novels, and here are their
responses.
L y n n e
Marshall begins with characterization.
“Somewhere
toward the end
of whatever current book I’m
working on, I begin to see shadows of new characters. Over the
next few days, the hazy forms
drift closer and start to take
shape. A name will pop into my
head. A fragment of backstory
will plant itself in my brain. I’ll
begin to “see” the characters and
create their defining moment in
life. Then, I introduce them and
see where it all leads.”
Kate Willoughby starts with
“what-if.” “With my novella, Losing It (Liquid Silver, 2005) I was
in line at the
DMV with some
time on my
hands. Yeah, big
surprise. Anyway,
I got to thinking,
what if a really
cute guy overheard you say something really
embarrassing about your sex life,
and decided to do something
about it? Hence, in the opening
scene of the book, Charlotte discusses her virginity with her sister, unknowingly within earshot
of hunky hero, Ben.
Another time, I was making
friendship bracelets and found
out that people sometimes make
wishes on the hope that the wish
will come true when the bracelet
falls off. So the three novellas in
my Ellora’s Cave Be-Wished series
focus on three friends who do
just that, while on vacation in
Mexico.”
Fo r Sh a n n o n
Donnelly, it’s all
about the people.
“Beginning
a
book—gosh, it can
begin anywhere.
In a song, a movie
you don’t quite like where you
start thinking ‘if only they’d...’ or
I’ve had a couple come from a
dream so vivid I had to write it
down and then it kind of took
off from there. Or it can just be
the book you keep looking for in
the store that no one writes for
12
you. The beginnings
are the fun
part, where anything’s possible—
12
unfortunately, not all ideas are
strong enough to get past the first
few chapters (I never trust that a
book is a real book until there’s
at least five chapters, since some
poor ideas run out of steam at
about three).
But I do like best to start in
the middle of a scene—with
something already going on and
action and movement in place.
That’s always a more interesting
hook for me—and if I’m not interested I sure as heck can’t hope
to interest a reader. And, then,
yes, the story builds from characters -from who is this person
and why are they here, to what
is it they need and want and
fear. That, however, is just me. I
always want to know about the
people.”
Eden Bradley
doesn’t have just
one way to start
a book. “My
ideas come from
different places,
and it’s still really a mystery to
me. I’ve had a story idea come
from hearing a song, and two I’ve
had very detailed dreams about,
but for the most part, the ideas
sort of magically appear. My
ideas come to me at the oddest
times. I get them a lot in the
shower and while I’m driving,
probably because my mind isn’t
actively engaged in something
else-a little scary that it happens
while I’m driving!
One of the best
times for ideas is
when I’m just dropping off to sleep at
cont. on
pg 13
night, or when I first wake up in
the morning and haven’t opened
my eyes yet. Again, I think it’s
because my mind is in that relaxed state, where I’m not distracted by anything.
I sometimes start with a character who needs to be written,
then create a story around them.
Other times, I get the idea for a
premise and then create characters for it. Once or twice I’ve
even thought of the title first, or
even just the opening scene. My
process doesn’t seem to have any
pattern. Everything is very
loosely structured until I actually
get down to the writing part.
For me, my latest novel had
its seeds in a 3am, feeling-sorryfor-myself, wine-swilling fling
with my laptop computer in the
kitchen. I wrote almost ten pages,
of which very little ended up in
the finished product. But it gave
me the beginning of a story, a
strong female character, and an
appreciation for insomnia. I let
those ten pages sit for almost a
year, and another year gave me
time to shape it into a novel.
All in all, I agree with Eden.
However you work, whichever
route you take to begin your
novel, it ends up being magical.
Christine
Ashworth is coeditor of the
LARA Confidential.
I also brainstorm my ideas
with a handful of trusted fellow
writer friends, but that’s only
after the initial idea has formed.
I love hearing input from other
creative minds. That always gets
my own brain going. One comment from someone can spark a
whole string of ideas about
whatever story I’m working on.
I think as writers, we’re the
stop-and-smell-the-roses people,
and that’s how we draw inspiration from such a variety of
sources. Our minds tune into
what for others might be nothing more than undercurrents or
background. All it takes is one
remark from someone—a friend,
a stranger—catching a song lyric,
or even watching a cloudy sky,
and suddenly this world appears
in our heads. It’s magical.”
Fill your paper with
the breathings of your
heart...
13
13
~William Wordsworth ~
This article first appeared in the
March 2007 issue of The Desert
Rose, newsletter of the Desert Rose
chapter of Romance Writers of
America. It is reprinted with permission.
Building Your Characters' Fatal Flaws
© 2007, Laurie Schnebly
Campbell
Writers are always seeking new
tools and techniques for creating
plausible characters with fascinating
flaws. Romance writers usually don’t
want those flaws to be fatal, but we
want flaws that are realistic enough
to create conflict between likeable
characters…and also within them.
One great tool is enneagrams, a
personality system used by counselors and personnel managers to identify the nine types: Perfectionist,
Nurturer, Achiever, Romantic, Observer, Skeptic, Adventurer, Leader,
and Peacemaker.
make things right, they get angry at
themselves (or at whomever was
wrong.)
Sometimes you can identify your
character’s type — or your own —
just by reading the names. Other
times a quiz makes it easier, and you
can find such a quiz at
www.enneagraminstitute.com or in
Believable Characters: Creating with
Enneagrams (see bio).
Type Two, the Nurturer, loves to
take care of people. They live to
serve, they want to be needed, and
they take pride in feeling essential to
those around them. Watching a character overcome that flaw, nurturing
from the strength of love rather than
the weakness of pride, is a wonderful finale.
In any case, each personality type
has its own heroic strengths and its
own, not necessarily, fatal flaws.
Those flaws provide plenty of internal and external conflict as the book
unfolds, but you can see how the
characters will overcome each one to
achieve a happy ending.
Strengths & Flaws
Type One, the Perfectionist, views
things in black and white, good or
evil, and strives to be right and do
right at all times. They have very high
standards for themselves…and for the
rest of the world. Anytime they can’t
Type Three, the Achiever, does
things beautifully or not at all. Their
image is always shining, they always
look great and successful and competent and charming...so people enjoy being around them. Their perfect façade is based on deception, not
only in front of the world but themselves as well.
Type Four, the Romantic, is
known for big emotions. These
people love drama and tragedy and
falling in love — anything that involves huge, vast, sweeping emotions. They’re great at offering empathy and sharing feelings wholeheartedly, but envy others whose
lives seem fuller and richer than
theirs.
Type Five, the Observer, would
rather be behind a book than out
there involved in the world. They
love to analyze, study, figure things
out, and they’re downright greedy
when it comes to privacy and personal space. Learning to let others in
is their greatest challenge, and it
makes for intriguing conflict.
14
14
Type Six, the Skeptic, is always aware of
possible dangers. Not
only to themselves,
cont. on
pg 15
It’s when those
strengths are
taken to extremes ... that
they become
fascinating
flaws.
but also to the people they love.
They’re prepared for the worst, good
at dispelling worry with a keen sense
of humor, and determined to stand
up against whatever they fear most
— which is quite a long list.
Type Seven, the Adventurer,
loves trying new things and new
ideas and new experiences. They’re
not inclined to settle for just one of
anything, but they’re always up for
something new and exciting and fun.
It adds up to gluttony, which can be
overcome once they realize the joy
of commitment.
Type Eight, the Leader, is good
at getting things and people lined up,
looking out for anyone who deserves
their fierce protection. They’re selfconfident natural leaders with a lust
for power — they can’t see any reason
to compromise when they know what
needs doing and how to get it done.
Type Nine, the Peacemaker,
doesn’t like picking sides. (Not even
chocolate or vanilla.) They’d rather
keep things relaxed and comfortable,
avoiding any conflict at all. This
makes them great mediators, and
also contributes to their habit of
sloth…taking things easy rather than
taking a stand.
Just from those descriptions, you
might have a pretty good idea of
what type someone, such as your
friend Chris, is. But enneagram tradition says that nobody can determine Chris’s type except Chris. As
writers, though, we get a special exception — we can make our characters be any types we like!
Extra Dimensions
Enneagrams offer plenty of room
for expansion beyond the basic nine
types. For instance, if we suspect that
Sherlock Holmes and Emily
Dickinson are both Type Fives, we
can still appreciate the differences
between Sherlock and Emily…and
any other Type Fives we know.
Those differences are partly because we’re all shaped by things besides just our enneagram type, but
another part is the enneagram “subtypes.” Everyone leans toward one of
the three: Self-Preservation, Intimacy,
and Society.
We’ve all experienced each of those
subtypes. Self-preservation is when
we’re holed up studying for the final
exam, focused solely on our own concern. Intimacy is when we’re having
lunch with a friend, enjoying in-depth
one-to-one contact. And society is when
we’re with a bunch of fellow writers or
church members or football fans, wanting the best for our entire group.
Another reason for differences,
even within the same type, is that each
one takes on traits of four other types
— those on either
1 5 side of it and two
others as well.
15
Using Each Type
People sometimes ask, “Which
type is best?” But there isn’t any
“best” one, since they all have different strengths. It’s when those
strengths are taken to extremes, like
two sides of the same coin, that they
become fascinating flaws.
I’ve discovered in enneagram
workshops that authors tend to be
more comfortable writing characters
who share their own type. But what
makes creating different characters
easier is that we all have some of each
type inside us. We’ve all stood up for
what’s right, taken care of someone,
worked at looking good, felt deep
passion, studied intensely, taken precautions, enjoyed something new, issued directions, and kept the peace.
That lets us tap into the feelings,
motivations, and style of people in
all nine types.
And it lets us appreciate the natural, built-in conflict between any
characters we create, no matter how
wonderful and thoughtful and
friendly and intelligent and courageous they might be. That’s the
beauty of using enneagrams for reallife and fictional people…because
understanding is always a great thing!
Laurie’s new book (Believable Characters: Creating with Enneagrams)
offers 250 pages of detail on each
type’s strengths, challenges and relationships with other types, along
with story-building examples of how
to capitalize on their unique traits
when creating internal and external conflict. It’s available for $17.95
(includes U.S. shipping) by emailing
[email protected].
Who Am I?
© 2008, Robin Bielman
Looking back, I’ve always been a
writer. Always wanted to put pen to
paper, words to screen. But I never
called myself a writer. Instead, I
would tell people what I did, not
what I was. It’s taken me a long time,
and loads of reflection ) to figure out
that writing has always been a part
of me.
Let’s start at the beginning. Write a paper
or find the sum of the
square root of fortyseven divided by three.
I’ll let you do the
math. My high school
English
teachers
sparked my imagination. Made me forget
my dream of being a
marine biologist since
I was in the second
grade. Short stories,
book reports, persuasive essays. I embraced
them all.
College found me majoring in
communications (with a minor in biology). What can I say? I love fish. I
happily wrote term paper after term
paper, avoiding tests in favor of point
of view. Upon graduation, the bright
lights of Hollywood beckoned.
Being a southern California girl, I
knew I wanted to get into the entertainment industry. I love the movies.
What do you do? I was asked. I work
for Corsair Pictures. Translation - I read
screenplays and write up a synopsis
with a yay or nay recommendation. I
was blissfully happy doing this. On
the side, I started taking screenwriting
classes, convinced I was going to write
the next Thelma & Louise. I also had
a desire to write film reviews, give my
own thumbs up or thumbs down,
share my views with the world.
When Corsair closed their doors a
year later, I bopped on over to MGM/
UA. Bigger company. Bigger movies.
Bigger egos. I so did not fit in. After
six months, I gave my two weeks notice.
They’re around somewhere. The
several screenplays I started, but never
finished. I never got to write reviews,
Yep, that was my answer. I’m
thinking I’m revealing a lot about
myself right now. No one will accuse
me of tooting my own horn. But I
wasn’t even offering a whistle. Sure
my family knew more details. Close
friends, too. Not once, however, did
I ever declare myself a Writer to anyone. Even myself.
I had a job. I did it. The fact that
the company I worked for was small
and the programming I wrote and
produced aired on KEYT not ABC,
might account for
my modesty. Deep
down, I didn’t feel
worthy. I was
happy. I loved my
work. Loved the responsibility.
Loved
goodbye.
but friends and family asked for my
take on every new release. Unemployment didn’t last long, thankfully. I got
a job with a local production company.
No longer was I low man on the
totem pole. I was writing commercials, PSA’s, ½ hour programming,
program segments and corporate videos. I was producing and editing them
too. The majority of my writing concerned the medical and automotive
fields. I was out in the field, I was in
the edit bay, I was timing my prose
with a stopwatch. I called the shots
and it was great.
6 I work for a local
What do you1do?
production company.
16
saying
With the birth
of my first son, I became a full-time
mom. A serious illness (mine not his)
sidelined me for the
first nine months of
his life. Writing,
working again, was the last thing on
my mind. Then when he turned two,
I turned to pen and paper. This time,
I was going to be the next Judith
Viorst.
A few picture books and rejections
later, I decided to try freelancing.
Okay, so here’s where I technically
called myself a freelance writer, but I
still didn’t feel it. Not down deep. I
must have had some passion in me,
some confidence, though, because I
decided to write, produce and direct
a pilot for a kids cooking show that I
hoped would nab me a spot on Nickelodeon or The Food
Network.
cont. on
No such luck.
pg 17
writers. The nagging feeling that had
been in the back of my mind for
years, the feeling that one day I
wanted to write a novel, bubbled to
the surface.
Are you seeing a pattern here? I’d
write. I’d try new things. I’d head in
a new direction. One thing’s for sure.
I’m stubborn and persistent. But
more about that later…
So here I am trying my hand at
something that excites me more than
any other writing has. I’m sorry it
took so long to figure out what I truly
wanted to write about. I wish I’d
known this back in my twenties when
writing screenplays and picture books
finagled their way into my dreams.
After the birth of my second son,
I felt like I hit freelance success when
I landed an ongoing job with the largest on-line directory for planning
weddings, parties and special events.
The job was perfect! I’d hosted more
parties, from bridal showers to Halloween bashes, than the average person and knew I could come up with
unique themes and ideas for them.
You name it, I wrote about it. No
holiday or special occasion was left
untouched. Well, I didn’t write about
Groundhog Day, but I don’t think
Punxsutawney Phil will mind. When
there were no more parties left to write
about, the company still called me
periodically to write about this or
that.
One such call would forever
change my life. (I hope you’re still
with me. It has taken me a while to
get here.)
Their website was starting a new
category where they wanted brides,
bridesmaids, and mothers of the
bride to write in with emotional wedding stories. These letters weren’t
about the party itself, but the feelings surrounding the big event. To get
it started, they asked me to write
some letters. I think I did twenty or
twenty-five. The owner of the company always liked to push the romance envelope, so he wanted the
letters to sizzle.
When I’d finished the letters and
emailed them, another writer at the
company emailed me back and said,
“Have you ever thought about writing a romance novel? Because if you
haven’t, you should.”
[Insert light bulb over my head
here.]
Along with my runaway thoughts,
my whole body woke up to the notion that maybe that’s exactly what I
should do. There was only one problem. I’d never read romance novels. I
was a mystery and suspense kind of
girl. And to be honest, I wasn’t an avid
reader. But when I thought about my
favorite books – Janet Evanovich’s
Stephanie Plum series at the top of
the list – I realized it wasn’t the plot
that intrigued me, it was the
Stephanie/Morelli/Ranger dynamic
that I liked best.
Likewise, it was the romance in
movies and television that made me
pause. Relationships, not so much the
story, captured my attention. So sitting down and thinking about what
it was I really found myself drawn to,
I came up with one thing: love.
A friend loaned me Carly Phillips’
The Bachelor and I loved it. I read the
next two books in her series. Then I
read everything else she’d written. I
visited her website (http://
w w w . c a r l y1p7 h i l l i p s . c o m /
about_nook.php), where she gave an
abundance of information to aspiring
17
Now the voices in my head are
leading me down a path I want to
stay on. I’ve learned that for many
the journey is long, but I’ve got a lot
to learn so I’m in no hurry. I’m stubborn and persistent and those two
qualities should lend themselves well.
At least that’s what I hear.
Every day that I get to sit down
with my characters and write is a great
day. If I’m the only one that gets to
meet them, then so be it. Because
now, writing regularly, talking with
authors, blogging with writing professionals, being around an incredibly
supportive group of people, I feel like
I can now say, without hesitation…
I am a writer.
R o b i n
Bielman is
busy working on her
first single
title contemporary romance. Her
numerology
forecast for 2008: “You’ll shine! Your
creativity is at an all time
high…using your talents could bring
serious recognition this year.” Keep
your fingers crossed. Please visit her
at www.robinbielman.com.
Shor
ales:
Shortt T
Tales:
"Ma
y I Ha
"May
Havve
This Dance?"
© 2008, T J Benne
tt
Bennett
“Ouch!” Jake grabbed his
back as a spasm caught him midstep. He let go of Eva, his dance
instructor, bringing the samba
move she’d been teaching him to
an abrupt halt. Reaching out for
the dancer’s barre in front of the
mirrored walls, he gripped it with
a white-knuckled hold.
Eva followed him, the expression on her normally serene face
now one of concern. “You okay?”
She patted his shoulder, her
brown eyes wide.
doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about football.” Eva
crossed her arms, her eyes twinkling. “You’re lean and fast on
your feet. It makes sense. As it
happens, I was a cheerleader in
college.”
He leaned against the barre
with a grin. “Yeah? I bet you’ve
still got your pom-poms, don’t
you?”
She blushed. Her pink cheeks
made her look even prettier than
she already was. She cleared her
throat and changed the subject.
“I think your muscles might be
too tight for the samba. In fact,
maybe we should quit for the
day.”
She turned to go, clearly embarrassed.
Jake tried to un-kink his back
without grimacing too much.
“Yeah, no problem. Just an old
football injury. It acts up sometimes when I get tense.”
After a slight hesitation, Eva
stepped into his embrace. It felt
right, as though she belonged
there.
She looked him over. “Defensive back, right? Which position?”
He nodded. “Liz and her
fiancé, Rob, have waited a long
time for this day. When she was
in that car accident two years
ago, I told her she had to be okay
because I intended to dance with
her at her wedding. She made it
through rehab and physical
therapy like a champ. I can make
it through this.” He rubbed his
hands together. “Let’s go at it
again.”
“I’m sure.” He took up his
position opposite her, his arms
extended.
“College.” The pain ebbed.
Jake managed a smile. “But that
was ten years ago.”
“Hey, just because I’m a girl
Eva turned back and considered him. “This is really important to you, isn’t it?”
Eva gazed at him in admirat i o n . “ Wow. W h a t a g re a t
brother. Well, if you’re sure
you’re all right...”
“You played football?” She
rubbed his back with strong fingers, helping him work out the
spasm. “Professional or college?”
He lifted an eyebrow in surprise. “Cornerback. How’d you
guess?”
He put a hand out to stop her.
Not only didn’t he want their
time together to end, he had an
even more important reason to
keep trying. “No, I’m sorry. Really, I’m fine. I want to be ready
for the wedding in three days. I
promised my sister.” The pain
had faded to a dull throb. He’d
played hurt plenty of times in
college. For the sake of his sister
Liz, he could stand this, too.
18
18
She smiled. “Okay, but why
don’t we try the steps you learned
for the waltz instead?”
Jake nodded and
cont. on
pg 19
began to count the steps in his
head while Eva swayed with him,
humming the song to which they
practiced the waltz. She smelled
nice, like an exotic flower. Her
perfume went with her whole
“dancer” look: the dark hair swept
back into a bun, the swan-like
neck, the slender yet strong body.
Even though he seemed to have
a mental block against dancing,
she’d hung in with him for the
past few weeks. He had to admire her for that.
He never got tired of watchi n g h e r m ov e . To o b a d h e
couldn’t match her grace on the
dance floor. He didn’t understand why. He was usually selfconfident, but whenever Eva was
around, he’d forget where to put
his feet.
Right on cue, he stepped on
her toes.
“Ow-ow!” she yelped.
“Sorry,” he muttered, and
started over.
After the third time of him
smashing her dancing shoes with
his size thirteen’s, she stepped
back.
“Maybe we’re going about this
the wrong way.” She thought for
a moment. “I’ve got it! One of
the reasons you’re struggling is
that your thinking is all wrong.”
He scratched his head. “My
thinking?”
“Yes. You’re treating this like
it’s a root canal or something.
Dancing is just like any other
sport. You have to get in a zone.
” She turned to face the room,
swinging her arms wide. “Picture
this as a big football field. No
matter what the offense does, you
have to be ready.” She turned
back to him. “ Tr y to focus.
When the opponent, or in this
case me, comes at you, be ready
no matter what. You take charge.
Make the offense do what you
want them to do. In other
words,” she said with a wink,
“you da man.”
He laughed. Yeah, he wished
he was “da man” all right: her
man. “So I shouldn’t worry so
much about ‘doing’ the steps. I
should just take charge and lead
the way. Got it.”
Eva stepped back into his
arms. They swung into the waltz,
and everything just clicked. Jake
relaxed his muscles and the moves
started to flow as though they
were born to dance together. For
the first time since they started
the lessons, dancing felt good.
Eva felt good, too. He held
her a little closer than the waltz
strictly allowed, but she didn’t
seem to mind at all. She closed
her eyes and tilted her head a little
to the side, her face soft and
dreamy, still humming the music under her breath.
Without thinking about it,
Jake leaned towards her. His lips
nearly touched hers before he
stopped himself. She must have
sensed him, because her eyes
opened wide and she pulled back
1 9 look on her face.
with a surprised
19
“Sorry.” He could have kicked
himself. “I guess I was still in
that zone.”
She blushed again. “Well. It
appears I haven’t changed much
since college.”
He quizzed her with a look.
“Meaning...?”
“Apparently cornerbacks with
fast moves are still my type.” She
bit her lip, holding back a smile.
He laughed, relieved he hadn’t
offended her. “So, are you doing
anything Saturday? I’d hate to try
my first waltz at my sister’s wedding without my favorite partner.”
Ti l t i n g h e r f a c e u p , s h e
beamed. “I’ll even promise to
leave my pom-poms at home.”
His lips quirked. “Well, let’s
not be hasty...”
She sputtered with laughter
and mock-punched him in the
arm. He dodged her, and pulling
her close, spun her around the
room in a joyful arc. It was a
good thing he had finally learned
to dance, because he had a feeling Eva was going to keep him
on his toes for a long time to
come.
Look for TJ
Bennett's first historical romance,
The Legacy, in April
2008. For appearances and other information, check her website at
www.tjbennett.com.
Brand Y.O.U.
© 2008, Kate Fink
It’s never too early to work on your
career and marketing plan.
I hear those brain cogs churning,
“Marketing plan? Kate, aren’t you
pre-pub?” Yep. And I’m gonna stay
that way unless I implement a conscious strategy: increase my odds of
publication by strutting my marketable appeal.
Getting published is going to take
more than a phenomenal finished
manuscript. Does Ms. Editor see a
guideline-complying story to fill a
production slot, or an Author
Brand—a visibility machine that only
needs to insert current title here. Are
you publicizing your next book or
Y-O-U? If you market yourself instead of each title, you develop the
loyal following. And that translates
into multiple sales!
You want your name indelibly
imprinted in a reader’s mind, not
your book title. We write. Marketing is on the lower end of our fun
spectrum, and we need efficient ways
to get those book runs to sell through
so we can write more books. That is
by brand marketing, Vanna. (You
don’t even need her last name to
know who I’m talking about. You
can bet Vanna had a plan.)
There is only one opening at Hot
Titles Inc. for unpublished authors;
and both Clueless-Cleo and Marketing-Savvy Suzie have mind-bending
manuscripts sitting on Editor Ellen’s
desk...how will Ellen choose who gets
the opportunity of a lifetime?
Suzie not only has a game plan,
she has confidence. She’s just taking
the next leg-up on her ladder to success. Poor Cleo doesn’t even know
where the next rung is. Suzie doesn’t
know how many steps she’s going to
have to take; but it really doesn’t matter because she’s got a game plan. (And
now a website.) Suzie only has to put
one foot after the other. She’s a selfpromotion Godzilla. If Plan A doesn’t
work, she has the safety net of Plans
B, C...Plan XXX—because Suzie’s always thinking about it. And Cleo’s
thinking, “Man, it would have been
great if I’d packed some flares. And
maybe a snack.”
You be Ellen: Which writer do you
choose? Who’s got staying power? The
faster readership-building potential?
Who has a spotlight career, not a onebook flash? And the bottom line: who
will generate the most profit in the
Tape
history of the House? (By the way,
guess who has already planned how
to sell through the first printing and
isn’t even published yet? Uh-huh, our
girl, Suzie.)
While getting a jump on your next
WIP is good, a marketing plan is better. And just so we’re clear: Avoidance is not an option. Will all your
budding ideas apply when you get
The Call? Will everything roll out as
planned? No. But what if 60% does?
You’re a marketing genius! And the
other 40%? Hey, we’re creatives. We
take miasma and form the amazing.
Stop dodging and roll up your
sleeves. You’ve got your future to map
and I can see it’s a bright one.
Title
10
Breaking In, Out, or Up
25
Query Letter: Ticket to a First Sale
30
Ask the Insiders: In-House and Independent Publicists
31
Playing Hardball: Publishing as Blood Sport
38
The Tightwad Gazette Approach to Self-Promotion
41
Surviving the Brink and Beyond
72
The Care and Feeding of Editors
81
The Promotional Nanny Diaries
105
Career Building, Before and After the First Sale
115
Standing Out from the Pack: Secrets to Killer Promotion
122
Selling Your Book: The Marketing/PR Connection
124
Divine Secrets of the Newly Published ...or What I Wish
I’d Known
(Conference tapes can be reserved by logging on to the Members Only
Section of the LARA website. Click on “Conference Library” and follow the
instructions on how to access the list of titles. Email Kate with your selections—up to five tapes—to reserve in advance of the next chapter meeting.
Kate
2 0 is the tape librarian for the Los Angeles Romance Authors
and writes contemporary romance.
20

lara confidential

Transcription

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