Wrote three pages on my cowboy book yesterday. Whoo! Hey, it's a start.
Mary tackles the age-old plotters vs. pantsers question over on Romance Magicians.
Great advice from Stef Feagan.
More later, I hope!
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Monday, August 06, 2007
Consider This a Public Service
If you own a Sony RDR-GX330 DVD recorder, and plan to attach it to your cable box and your TV for recording and viewing pleasure, please do not follow the directions in the manual. Also, do not follow the directions shown on the Sony support site, either. Because neither actually, y'know, works.
Here's what you need:
2 coaxial cables
1 audio/visual cable (the one with the yellow, red and white prongs)
Hook the coaxial cable from the wall into the cable box. Then, take one of your two loose coaxial cables and run it from the "out" area of the cable box to the "in" area of the DVD recorder. Take the second coaxial cable and run it from the "out" part of the DVD recorder to the only coaxial cable port on the TV.
Second, take your audio visual cable and hook it from the "out" area of the DVD recorder (do not hook it to the "in" area, even though the way that it's set up would make that seem the more likely place to put the cords). Hook the other ends in the "in" part of the Television's audio/visual ports. Match the colors, of course.
Your DVD recorder should now work.
You'll thank me for this if you ever buy one.
Here's what you need:
2 coaxial cables
1 audio/visual cable (the one with the yellow, red and white prongs)
Hook the coaxial cable from the wall into the cable box. Then, take one of your two loose coaxial cables and run it from the "out" area of the cable box to the "in" area of the DVD recorder. Take the second coaxial cable and run it from the "out" part of the DVD recorder to the only coaxial cable port on the TV.
Second, take your audio visual cable and hook it from the "out" area of the DVD recorder (do not hook it to the "in" area, even though the way that it's set up would make that seem the more likely place to put the cords). Hook the other ends in the "in" part of the Television's audio/visual ports. Match the colors, of course.
Your DVD recorder should now work.
You'll thank me for this if you ever buy one.
Oughta Be in Pictures
I'm not sure why more romance novels don't get made into films, especially for women-focused networks like Lifetime and WE. There have been a few movies I've seen and enjoyed that were based on romance novels, such as Another Woman (based on a Margot Dalton Superromance) and Straight From the Heart (based on a Harper Monogram romance by Pamela Wallace). And others I've seen that played out exactly like a category romance might--The Hired Heart, for instance, could easily have been a Harlequin American or maybe even a Superromance.
What I'm wondering is why television and movies haven't realized that Intrigues are tailor-made for the movies? A nice mix of action/mystery and romance, bigger than life heroes, heroines and situations, lots of suspense, romantic tension and great pacing--sounds like just what the viewing audience is asking for more of to me.
What I'm wondering is why television and movies haven't realized that Intrigues are tailor-made for the movies? A nice mix of action/mystery and romance, bigger than life heroes, heroines and situations, lots of suspense, romantic tension and great pacing--sounds like just what the viewing audience is asking for more of to me.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
What You May Not Know About Me...
Or "I was desperate for a blog topic."
With the help of YouTube, here's a little about me you may not know.
I like fishing. My favorite fish to catch are bream (bluegill and other sunfish) and crappie.
My favorite sport is baseball. My favorite team is the Atlanta Braves.
I love Alabama football, and this was one of the most exciting moments in memory for me. As was this.
I attended Samford University. I wasn't, alas, in the way cool A Capella Choir. Nor did I run for student office.
I was in the marching band in high school. I played flute and baritone. I was not, however, in the band in the video. Our band had about 39 members, including the dance team and the color guard.
I know, I know, more than you wanted to know.
With the help of YouTube, here's a little about me you may not know.
I like fishing. My favorite fish to catch are bream (bluegill and other sunfish) and crappie.
My favorite sport is baseball. My favorite team is the Atlanta Braves.
I love Alabama football, and this was one of the most exciting moments in memory for me. As was this.
I attended Samford University. I wasn't, alas, in the way cool A Capella Choir. Nor did I run for student office.
I was in the marching band in high school. I played flute and baritone. I was not, however, in the band in the video. Our band had about 39 members, including the dance team and the color guard.
I know, I know, more than you wanted to know.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
How Bad Can You Go?
Mary at The Bandwagon has a post about bad boys. This is actually a topic I've been thinking about a bit, thanks to my current interest in Days of Our Lives, which features two current bad guys with layers. And when I say bad, I'm not just talking about some guy on a motorcycle who gets the occasional slap on the wrist from The Man. One of the bad boys in question has raped a woman, shot a man, tormented another man and generally screwed with the minds of the entire town. The other bad boy is running a smuggling ring that may or may not include white slavery and is currently verbally and physically abusive to his young, naive girlfriend, whom he's working diligently to alienate from her family. Both of them are intriguing creatures, one more than the other, and there's much message board debate about whether one or the both of them are redeemable.
Soaps notoriously reform their bad guys (rapists Todd from One Life to Live and Jack from Days of Our Lives, former drug runner and paid thug Steve from Days of Our Lives) and they often manage to make it work because they have months and years to build and establish the path to redemption.
But what about novels? Mary asks the question, on her blog, about what books people have read in which a real bad guy was believably redeemed. My question is even harder, I think. Within the confines of a category-length book, have you ever read a true bad guy who gets redeemed by the end of the book?
I have my doubts. First, category books are short, and it's hard to build a believable redemption story within 260 manuscript pages. Also, category readers are pretty picky. They like their heroes heroic from the get go, from what I hear.
There's a story idea I'm playing featuring a hero who was once a con man. He's semi-reformed already before the story starts, but he's not a true hero at the beginning because he still tends to avoid putting himself in a position to have to help other people until someone calls in an old debt he has yet to pay. I'm a little worried about how to try to sell my editor on it. I mean, I know that my hero will find within himself what it takes to finish his road to redemption, but I'm not sure it's going to be immediately evident to my editor or the reader. There'll be signs, but they'll be weak signs, at first, until he finds his inner hero when he's put in the position to protect the heroine and himself from unexpected danger.
What do you think? Will the picky readers who read category books have the patience to let me tell my bad boy's story and help him find his inner hero?
Soaps notoriously reform their bad guys (rapists Todd from One Life to Live and Jack from Days of Our Lives, former drug runner and paid thug Steve from Days of Our Lives) and they often manage to make it work because they have months and years to build and establish the path to redemption.
But what about novels? Mary asks the question, on her blog, about what books people have read in which a real bad guy was believably redeemed. My question is even harder, I think. Within the confines of a category-length book, have you ever read a true bad guy who gets redeemed by the end of the book?
I have my doubts. First, category books are short, and it's hard to build a believable redemption story within 260 manuscript pages. Also, category readers are pretty picky. They like their heroes heroic from the get go, from what I hear.
There's a story idea I'm playing featuring a hero who was once a con man. He's semi-reformed already before the story starts, but he's not a true hero at the beginning because he still tends to avoid putting himself in a position to have to help other people until someone calls in an old debt he has yet to pay. I'm a little worried about how to try to sell my editor on it. I mean, I know that my hero will find within himself what it takes to finish his road to redemption, but I'm not sure it's going to be immediately evident to my editor or the reader. There'll be signs, but they'll be weak signs, at first, until he finds his inner hero when he's put in the position to protect the heroine and himself from unexpected danger.
What do you think? Will the picky readers who read category books have the patience to let me tell my bad boy's story and help him find his inner hero?
Friday, August 03, 2007
Linda Howard Award of Excellence Contest
The 2008 Linda Howard Award of Excellence
PERMISSION TO FORWARD GRANTED AND APPRECIATED
Seven reasons to enter the Linda Howard Award of Excellence Contest for unpublished writers.
7. One of the few contests that only charge $25 for a 25 page printed entry. That’s 50 cents a page for at least two critiques.
6. A discretionary judge is used if the two experienced PRO or published judges’ scores are so far apart you can run a 1956 Chevy between them.
5. You don’t have to send in a synopsis, unless you’re a finalist. Well worth writing that *&#% synopsis then.
4. NEW for 2008 - You can send your entry via snail mail or electronically to the contest coordinators.
3. NEW for 2008 - The finalists will receive their critiques/scores back to revise and return to coordinators before sending to final round editors.
2. Your precious partials will be sent to GREAT editors for final rankings. Hopefully they will request your fulls. Last year, we had SIX fulls requested.
1. My goodness! It’s Linda Howard, folks! She’s awesome and the contest named in her honor is awesome! How wonderful would it be to have an engraved bookmark that reads"2008 Winner of the Linda Howard of Excellence" to show all your friends?
Southern Magic, the Birmingham Chapter of Romance Writers of America®, is pleased to announce its 3rd Annual Linda Howard Award of Excellence contest for unpublished writers.
Enter: Up to first twenty-five pages
Fee: $20-$25 (a $2 fee will apply to electronic entries paid by PayPal)
Deadline: Postmarked on or before October 27, 2007
Eligibility: RWA Published (see rules) & Unpublished Authors
Judges: Published, PRO, all trained or experienced in judging
Top Prize: Engraved Bookmark and winners will be announced in the RWR.
Categories/final judges:
Series Short/Long Contemporary: Susan Litman, Editor, Silhouette
Single Title: Selina McLemore, Editor, Grand Central Publishers (formerly Warner)
Suspense: Lauren McKenna, Senior Editor, Pocket
Historical: Alicia Condon, VP, Editorial Director, Dorchester
Unique Genres: Selena James, Executive Editor, Kensington
For entry form, score sheet, and rules, visit our website at http://www.southernmagic.org/, or send email to carlaswafford@charter.net
PERMISSION TO FORWARD GRANTED AND APPRECIATED
Seven reasons to enter the Linda Howard Award of Excellence Contest for unpublished writers.
7. One of the few contests that only charge $25 for a 25 page printed entry. That’s 50 cents a page for at least two critiques.
6. A discretionary judge is used if the two experienced PRO or published judges’ scores are so far apart you can run a 1956 Chevy between them.
5. You don’t have to send in a synopsis, unless you’re a finalist. Well worth writing that *&#% synopsis then.
4. NEW for 2008 - You can send your entry via snail mail or electronically to the contest coordinators.
3. NEW for 2008 - The finalists will receive their critiques/scores back to revise and return to coordinators before sending to final round editors.
2. Your precious partials will be sent to GREAT editors for final rankings. Hopefully they will request your fulls. Last year, we had SIX fulls requested.
1. My goodness! It’s Linda Howard, folks! She’s awesome and the contest named in her honor is awesome! How wonderful would it be to have an engraved bookmark that reads"2008 Winner of the Linda Howard of Excellence" to show all your friends?
Southern Magic, the Birmingham Chapter of Romance Writers of America®, is pleased to announce its 3rd Annual Linda Howard Award of Excellence contest for unpublished writers.
Enter: Up to first twenty-five pages
Fee: $20-$25 (a $2 fee will apply to electronic entries paid by PayPal)
Deadline: Postmarked on or before October 27, 2007
Eligibility: RWA Published (see rules) & Unpublished Authors
Judges: Published, PRO, all trained or experienced in judging
Top Prize: Engraved Bookmark and winners will be announced in the RWR.
Categories/final judges:
Series Short/Long Contemporary: Susan Litman, Editor, Silhouette
Single Title: Selina McLemore, Editor, Grand Central Publishers (formerly Warner)
Suspense: Lauren McKenna, Senior Editor, Pocket
Historical: Alicia Condon, VP, Editorial Director, Dorchester
Unique Genres: Selena James, Executive Editor, Kensington
For entry form, score sheet, and rules, visit our website at http://www.southernmagic.org/, or send email to carlaswafford@charter.net
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Harlequin Profits Up
Always glad to read stuff like this.
A lot of friends—and my mother and brother—ask me why I'm not pushing harder to write for single title. My answer is, when I get a single title idea, I'll write it. But meanwhile, I can make more money writing for category. Especially for Intrigue, which is a strong-selling line for Harlequin.
Eventually, I might make more per book for a single title, but at this point in my career? Category is more bang for the buck.
Does that sound cynical and mercenery? Oh well...
A lot of friends—and my mother and brother—ask me why I'm not pushing harder to write for single title. My answer is, when I get a single title idea, I'll write it. But meanwhile, I can make more money writing for category. Especially for Intrigue, which is a strong-selling line for Harlequin.
Eventually, I might make more per book for a single title, but at this point in my career? Category is more bang for the buck.
Does that sound cynical and mercenery? Oh well...
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
The Blog Days of Summer Begin!
Well, it's August first, and I promised myself I'd try to blog every day this month, just to see if I could do it. I can't promise scintillating ponderings on the meaning of life or anything, but maybe I can rustle up some cool links or something.
So we'll start with this. That's my book as it's being marketed in Australia by Mills & Boon. It's a two-in-one thing, coupled with my friend Deb Webb's book Colby vs. Colby, which I'm glad about, because Deb's a good seller.
And finally, congratulations to my friend and Southern Magic chaptermate Christy Reece for selling her first three books in a three-book deal to Ballantine!
So we'll start with this. That's my book as it's being marketed in Australia by Mills & Boon. It's a two-in-one thing, coupled with my friend Deb Webb's book Colby vs. Colby, which I'm glad about, because Deb's a good seller.
And finally, congratulations to my friend and Southern Magic chaptermate Christy Reece for selling her first three books in a three-book deal to Ballantine!
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Taramul Interzis
My first book, FORBIDDEN TERRITORY, is now out in Romania. In Romanian.
And I love the cover!
And I love the cover!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Like Wading Through Cold Molasses
That's what writing feels like right now. It's so much better when I'm in the zone. I've got to proposals to work up, and I really want them both ready before the end of August. Earlier if possible.
But I do not want to send out three chapters and a synopsis while I'm feeling doubts about whether I can finish them on deadline. Argggh. I'm having such a crisis of faith.
But I'll slog through. I always do.
Meanwhile, to make myself feel better, how about a pretty picture? I'm a sucker for guys who are unconventionally attractive. One of my current favorites is Blake Berris, who's young enough to be my son, but we just won't think about that.
But I do not want to send out three chapters and a synopsis while I'm feeling doubts about whether I can finish them on deadline. Argggh. I'm having such a crisis of faith.
But I'll slog through. I always do.
Meanwhile, to make myself feel better, how about a pretty picture? I'm a sucker for guys who are unconventionally attractive. One of my current favorites is Blake Berris, who's young enough to be my son, but we just won't think about that.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Casting Call
It's that time again. Time to cast the hero of my new project. The working title is TARGET: JANE DOE and the hero is a Wyoming sheriff looking for a woman he believes was involved in his brother's murder. But when he finds her, she claims to have no memory of her life before she showed up in the little town of Trinity, Idaho, half-frozen and disoriented. When someone tries to kill them both, the hero, Mitch, is forced to face the fact that his prime suspect may actually be the innocent target of a ruthless killer.
I'm not yet set on Mitch's looks, although I do tend to prefer dark-haired men to blonds. He's in his mid-thirties, lean and a bit taciturn. Very smart, very capable, a real stand-up cowboy of a guy--but bitter when it come to women, thanks to a broken marriage.
So, any suggestions?
I'm not yet set on Mitch's looks, although I do tend to prefer dark-haired men to blonds. He's in his mid-thirties, lean and a bit taciturn. Very smart, very capable, a real stand-up cowboy of a guy--but bitter when it come to women, thanks to a broken marriage.
So, any suggestions?
Saturday, July 21, 2007
The Blog Days of Summer
Yes, I know this is my fourth post in two days. Am I running a fever? Some of you are probably thinking about calling Mulder and Scully to check and see if I've been abducted by aliens and replaced by a pod!Paula.
But I really am trying to be a more conscientious blogger, just to get myself into better work habits. And yes, I do consider the blog to be work-related, since it's about my writing and my books. And okay, also about my weird dreams, my pets and my TV viewing habits, but mostly about my books.
So as a test, I'm going to try to post at least once a day every day in August. I'm calling it the Blog Days of Summer, and I hope you'll try to stop by once in a while to see what I'm talking about and maybe join in the conversation. I can't promise it'll always be about books and writing (in fact, I can promise you it won't), but I'm going to try to keep it entertaining.
But I really am trying to be a more conscientious blogger, just to get myself into better work habits. And yes, I do consider the blog to be work-related, since it's about my writing and my books. And okay, also about my weird dreams, my pets and my TV viewing habits, but mostly about my books.
So as a test, I'm going to try to post at least once a day every day in August. I'm calling it the Blog Days of Summer, and I hope you'll try to stop by once in a while to see what I'm talking about and maybe join in the conversation. I can't promise it'll always be about books and writing (in fact, I can promise you it won't), but I'm going to try to keep it entertaining.
Jane and the Slushpile
An experiment in England yields predictable results.
This Guardian story makes a big deal out of editors sending out form rejection letters to a writer who queried with lightly revised versions of some of Jane Austen's novels. But this article fails to understand how rejection letters work. They assume, without much evidence to back up the assumption, that the failure of editors to address the fairly obvious plagiarism proves that the editors not only didn't recognize Jane Austen's writing but found it unpublishable.
I'm sure there may have been one or two who didn't recognize the stories, but I wouldn't be surprised if most did and dealt with the plagiarism the way most busy editors deal with any project they know they can't pursue, for whatever reason--they sent out a form rejection letter. And I'm not sure that Jane's stories could get sold as written now because the language conventions of the early 1800s are not the language conventions of the present. At the very least, she would be heavily edited.
So, in the end, the results of the experiment prove very little of what it sought to prove about modern publishing.
This Guardian story makes a big deal out of editors sending out form rejection letters to a writer who queried with lightly revised versions of some of Jane Austen's novels. But this article fails to understand how rejection letters work. They assume, without much evidence to back up the assumption, that the failure of editors to address the fairly obvious plagiarism proves that the editors not only didn't recognize Jane Austen's writing but found it unpublishable.
I'm sure there may have been one or two who didn't recognize the stories, but I wouldn't be surprised if most did and dealt with the plagiarism the way most busy editors deal with any project they know they can't pursue, for whatever reason--they sent out a form rejection letter. And I'm not sure that Jane's stories could get sold as written now because the language conventions of the early 1800s are not the language conventions of the present. At the very least, she would be heavily edited.
So, in the end, the results of the experiment prove very little of what it sought to prove about modern publishing.
Self-Promotion and the Introvert
I don't think I'm very good at self-promotion, which is bad. Because writing for Harlequin as I do, I'm pretty much stuck with promoting myself, because there's not a whole lot that Harlequin does to promote its lesser authors. We're thrown out among the sharks to sink or swim. (In Harlequin's defense, I think that's true of most new authors at most publishing houses).
I read a quote from someone who went to the RWA conference and sat in on an Agent panel. The gist of the quote was that authors should spend 3 to 10 hours a week self-promoting online. My question is--if I spend that much time self-promoting, when am I going to write? I work full time, for pete's sake, outside of my writing career. Yikes.
My self-promotion consists of this blog and my website, putting my books in the sig line of my email, occasional (far too occasional) posts on eHarlequin (also with my books in my sig line) and just basic word of mouth. The last two books, I bought bookmarks, but the problem with that is, by the time I get the cover art, I have only a month or so to get the bookmarks done and start distributing them before the book is out. And with category books, it's only in the store about a month, if that, before it's removed from the shelves to make room for more books.
I'm not at all comfortable with public speaking. I never have been, and I don't anticipate becoming so after all these years, so I don't think I can go the "give a presentation at a writer's conference" or "try to get on a local TV morning show" route. Just can't go there.
So what do I do? Keeping in mind that I'm a total INTJ (Myers-Briggs) introvert who has a terrible time asking for anything for myself or bragging on myself, what positive steps can I take to get my name and my book titles out there where people know about me? Steps that won't cost me an arm and a leg, mind you, because I'm nowhere near wealthy from my book profits at this point. ;) Anybody have any cool ideas?
I read a quote from someone who went to the RWA conference and sat in on an Agent panel. The gist of the quote was that authors should spend 3 to 10 hours a week self-promoting online. My question is--if I spend that much time self-promoting, when am I going to write? I work full time, for pete's sake, outside of my writing career. Yikes.
My self-promotion consists of this blog and my website, putting my books in the sig line of my email, occasional (far too occasional) posts on eHarlequin (also with my books in my sig line) and just basic word of mouth. The last two books, I bought bookmarks, but the problem with that is, by the time I get the cover art, I have only a month or so to get the bookmarks done and start distributing them before the book is out. And with category books, it's only in the store about a month, if that, before it's removed from the shelves to make room for more books.
I'm not at all comfortable with public speaking. I never have been, and I don't anticipate becoming so after all these years, so I don't think I can go the "give a presentation at a writer's conference" or "try to get on a local TV morning show" route. Just can't go there.
So what do I do? Keeping in mind that I'm a total INTJ (Myers-Briggs) introvert who has a terrible time asking for anything for myself or bragging on myself, what positive steps can I take to get my name and my book titles out there where people know about me? Steps that won't cost me an arm and a leg, mind you, because I'm nowhere near wealthy from my book profits at this point. ;) Anybody have any cool ideas?
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Amazon.com and Reviews
First, even though the book is no longer at most book stores, you can still purchase Forbidden Temptation through online sellers like Amazon.com.
And speaking of Amazon.com, if you've read Forbidden Temptation or Forbidden Territory and liked them, please take time to write up something in the reviews section! I'd love to hear what you thought of the books.
And speaking of Amazon.com, if you've read Forbidden Temptation or Forbidden Territory and liked them, please take time to write up something in the reviews section! I'd love to hear what you thought of the books.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away
We've been in a nasty drought for a couple of months, but last week we finally got some decent rain, and this week looks like it's going to be rainy as well, and I couldn't be happier.
I'm a big fan of rain anyway, even without a drought. Give me gray skies and drizzle and I'm a pretty happy camper. I'm not sure why I'm that way; I just know that I have been since childhood. Maybe it's the inherent unpredictability of stormy weather that meets an inner yearning for excitement. Or maybe my love of mystery and intrigue just demands a hint of gloom and mist. I don't know.
I just know my mood brightens when I look out the window and see that it's raining.
I'm a big fan of rain anyway, even without a drought. Give me gray skies and drizzle and I'm a pretty happy camper. I'm not sure why I'm that way; I just know that I have been since childhood. Maybe it's the inherent unpredictability of stormy weather that meets an inner yearning for excitement. Or maybe my love of mystery and intrigue just demands a hint of gloom and mist. I don't know.
I just know my mood brightens when I look out the window and see that it's raining.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Happy Independence Day
No barbecuing for me today. Tonight is spaghetti night of all things. I guess we're celebrating the immigrant influence on the American melting pot or something. But I'm happy to be living in the United States, taking part in this radical experiment in Democracy 231 years after its inception.
So have a Happy Fourth of July!
UPDATE:
Well, the spaghetti-maker came down with a migraine, and nobody else wanted to cook. So dinner was potato salad, chicken salad, pimiento cheese and a croissant. I guess that means we celebrated the Mrs. Stratton's Salads influence on the American melting pot, huh?
Be safe and enjoy the fireworks tonight!
So have a Happy Fourth of July!
UPDATE:
Well, the spaghetti-maker came down with a migraine, and nobody else wanted to cook. So dinner was potato salad, chicken salad, pimiento cheese and a croissant. I guess that means we celebrated the Mrs. Stratton's Salads influence on the American melting pot, huh?
Be safe and enjoy the fireworks tonight!
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Because Basically, I Got Nothin'...
I know I said I'd blog more, and I'm going to try, but it would help if I had a cool and interesting life to tell you about. And I don't. Plus, my book revisions have wrestled me to the floor and currently have me in a headlock.
So, just 'cause I promised to blog more, here's a short film that I saw on Youtube earlier today and thought was really well done. If absurd and demented.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFRhs3-pP8w
So, just 'cause I promised to blog more, here's a short film that I saw on Youtube earlier today and thought was really well done. If absurd and demented.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFRhs3-pP8w
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