How Contemporaries Helped my Paranormals.

Now that I finished my contemporary romance, I'm working on revising the 1st two novels in my paranormal series and I gotta say, it's good to be back in that world. As much fun as I had with the contemporary, I really missed the magic, fangs, and otherworldly politics...not to mention the fictional worry free sex :) Seriously, you have no idea how frustrating it was to include condom use into the sensual flow.

But I gotta say I learned a lot from the experience. I made em into three "C"s because alliteration is sexy. :)

1.) Characterization: With no magic, fangs, or mystical chemistry, I really had to focus on not only making my characters unique, but also tapping deep into their psyches to make them real on the page.

2.) Conflict. Since there was no mystical prophecy involved, not to mention a lack of government conspiracies or crazy vampire cult leaders after the characters, I really focused on making every day problems affecting the romantic relationship.

3.) Communication: 1.) In my paranormals the characters can often communicate telepathically. One even speaks to a character through her dreams. In my contemporary the characters had to rely on phone and email. So to make things difficult I learned to add in believable 3rd party interference. i.e. The guy answering the phone at the recording studio says to the heroine, "Unless you're dying or giving birth to his baby, it's not an emergency."

2.) I did a lot of research on communication between men and women. THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman was awesome for this. I also talked with a counselor and one of the most useful things she said was "People often tend to 'assign' feelings to the other person." This was very useful. Hopefully I'll get a counselor to do a guest post on the subject.

Now that I'm back to work on AN IRONIC SACRIFICE, I'm seeing how all these things can make the story richer. I'm also realizing that it may be the best book I've written and I'm awed at how easy it's been so far to identify its problems and work out the solutions. I think my brief sojourn into another genre is responsible...as well as the priceless feedback from my awesome beta readers.

How many of you have dabbled in another genre? What did the experience teach you?

Rejoining the World

After finishing a project, and leaving the fictional world I'd been living in for awhile, I always spend at least a week in a confused daze as I grow reacquainted with the real world. My emotions are on edge and I can go from giddy laughter to verging on tears in seconds. I am simultaneously mournful that my time with those characters has ended and excited to get to know new ones. On top of all, I am bracing myself to confront rewrites on previous projects.

Oh, and speaking of the real world, usually by this point, my friends and family are wanting my company, and I also must reunite with this wonderful online community. There are blog posts to write, catching up with my buds on twitter, and maintaining my usual Facebook shenanigans.

The problem? At this stage in my writing I have no desire to talk to anyone. I feel like I just got off the longest and craziest amusement park ride on the face of the planet. I am shell-shocked and all I want is time alone to find equilibrium. Needless to say, I managed a blog post Monday and a few conversations, but Tuesday I basically told the world to go to hell while I reread Jane Eyre. I traumatized my drinking buddies at the Powder River Saloon when I came in, sipped a hard cider in silence, and left. They probably think their resident chatterbox was abducted and assimilated into the Borg....or whatever it's called.

Today, I'm a little better. I feel more connected during this blog post than Monday's. As I gear up to tackle my BRIDES OF PROPHECY series, I think of you all and how grateful I am to you for sticking with me through this arduous writer's journey. It is because of you that I've become a better writer and because of you that I improve daily at my craft. Thank you!

How do you feel when finishing a project? How do you rejoin the world?

Between Drafts

If you'll kindly take a look at my progress bar, you'll see that I completed the rough draft of my contemporary romance: Solo Project For Two. W00000T!!!!


I follow Stephen King's advice to put a rough draft away for 4-6 weeks and work on something else. That something else shall be another round of revisions on the first two books in my paranormal series. I CAN'T WAIT to get back to my paranormals! This last was a contemporary but it wouldn't get out of my head so I had to write it.


I'll start with book 2 in AN IRONIC SACRIFICE since that progress bar has been sitting idle for months and I have pages of notes and tons of helpful beta crits to work with.


And speaking of crits, since I'll be in "editor mode" I'll be doing a few crits for some friends. I will also be catching up my social networking and hunting for paranormal guest posters. :) 


But this period won't be all work and no fun. I'm finally going to get to attack my giant TBR pile...and be lazy on the couch watching movies...and getting rowdy late at night on twitter. Oh, twitter, I've neglected you so. :( 


Then I'll get on rewriting the "Official" first draft and while that's off to the betas I'll work on rewriting book one. Then I get to do my research for book 3.


Hopefully by the time I finish the third draft of SOLO PROJECT FOR TWO, I'll get to begin the third book in my Brides of Prophecy series, already loosely titled: QUEEN OF PROPHECY.


What do you do between drafts?

The Final Stretch

Despite suffering a cold and countless other interferences, I am finishing the rough draft of this project by Saturday. I'll have to forsake my usual Friday debauchery, but damn it, it's going to get done. As usual, my word count will come shy of what I planned, but that's okay.

There are always mixed feelings when finishing a project, whether it's a short story, or the final line edits of a novel, but for some reason the emotions are more intense and contrasting for me when I near completing the rough draft of a manuscript.

Naturally, there's a measure of excitement. Excitement to complete a new project, excitement to write the dramatic scenes of the story's climax.

But there's also a measure of dread and reluctance, both from leaving the new world and characters I created and fear of not writing an ending that does the characters justice.

And finally, there's impatience. Impatience to get the damn thing finished and to move on to the next project that's flirting with my imagination.

What emotions do you experience when you come close to the finishing line?

A Piece of Mind: The Price of Being a Bully, By Bennet Pomerantz

My friend, Bennet Pomerantz, wrote this article and it resonated so much that I was pleased to get permission to repost it here:



Lately, there has been aggressive behavior on line . . . Bullying on the pages of Facebook, Goodreads, Amazon as well as other sites. It hasn’t been young homosexuals or teens bullying by other teens. It’s worse than that. It is adults annoying and harassing adult writers of erotica . . . Both male and female.

Someone may say to me “You’re a critic, what do you know about erotica?” Well, I have written an erotic work of fiction (Last Wish) in the book collection Faggots. This story was a M/M romance. It does not make me gay, it just makes me a writer who has written in the genre. I also review erotic books. So now, you can say I have some street cred in talking about the subject.

I can understand someone giving a book or a novella a bad review. I am guilty . . . I have done that myself. However when I do say something is bad, I tend to give a reason why I assume you need not get it. It is not picking on an author’s life or lifestyle.

What annoys me is someone personally attacking another human being because they write a fiction genre they don’t like nor do they respect. Many of these writers are female. Most of these authors are married with families. They have productive lives out of writing erotica. They pay their bills like we all do. However some men (and a few women) assume that since a person writes a book with erotic content that it’s is okay to stalk, annoy, harass, and belittle these authors in public and private

There is a different between gentle kidding around and true harassment. I told an erotic author on Facebook that she was a BITCH (my term means a Beautiful Intelligent Talented Charming Honest lady). She said “Bennet that is the nicest thing anyone said to me”. She knew I was joking around.

Most of these people are not using a witticism like I did. They seem to prey upon these women (and some men). If they cannot get them by trashing their book or their private life in a public site, they do it with a campaign of hate and ignorance. In my opinion, this isn’t right. Someone needs to shine a light of them

An author friend of mine said “It makes me wonder. Why do people have to say nasty things about each other on Facebook and elsewhere?”

Another writer friend said this, “I've always kept this quote close to heart: ‘Your opinion of me is none of my business.’ People who understand you are the ones to keep in your life and those that don't, don't know what they are missing!”

What I think is that most of these people are close minded , narrow headed clods that either assume erotica is beneath them and their social status or are beer swilling (I know I am stereotyping very badly here) jackasses who go by the name Bubba. (I did say I was stereo typing–NO HATE MAIL PLEASE). Jeff Foxworthy is right. They might be a REDNECK. So with misunderstanding, they make judgments and putdowns that they are unsure of and/or are stupid. They point fingers for they do not know better. We also know many of these stalkers must have Hustler, Playboy , some girlie magazine or some erotic literature semen-stained under their bed, because their girlfriend or wife had a headache last night

I really do not know what we have to do. Nevertheless, I do not want a stalker’s list. For the moment we do that, someone will take someone else’s words or emails out of context or get their feeling hurt . . . then there is a mass riot because someone does get another’s opinion.

On a personal note, I’ve been a jerk before. Some people block you when they don’t understand you, instead of trying to open a dialog. Emails and online posts don’t have emotion as a real person on skype, phone or in person. In this modern age, a second chance is a rare event especially in this age of living on line. I always remember the Joan Rivers’ quote, it seems to fit here, “Always keep your enemy’s list in pencil. The person who is your enemy today may be your boss the next day.”

However You cannot turn a blind eye to the man who messages someone with a line “Want to see naked pictures of me?” or “You are such a (Insert nasty word here), want to cam and play on line?” or “Want meet somewhere and screw?” or other winning pieces of crap that these stupid ones want to spew out on a Facebook wall or an email.

There are no easy answers to why someone does do what they do. Just more questions to ponder and to mull over. I would be remiss if I did not mention this old adage I was told when I was a child “Why Can’t we all get along?!”

Food for Thought


@Pen and Ink Inc

Anti Heroes

I've always had a thing for a well written anti-hero. One of my first crushes was on Raistlin Majere, an archmage in the Dragonlance novels who began as a neutral character, but steadily grew more evil until the very end, when he sacrificed himself to save the world. I love Professor Snape, but he had nothing on Raistlin.

The current hero I'm working on is a nice one, albeit a little autocratic at times. He was a relief after my last character, whom I'm not certain was exactly an anti-hero, but he was quite evil at times. Still, amidst all the sweetness of this project, I needed to take a break and read something dark.

I read THE DARK PATH by Luke Romyn and loved it. Vain was an anti-hero to beat all. This wasn't a romance, I warn you, but if you like a good dark supernatural thriller once in awhile like I do, this is a definite must-read.

Reading such a good anti-hero reminded me of others I fell in love with. Other favorites include Zarek from Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series. His book, DANCE WITH THE DEVIL, brought me to tears.

Another favorite would be Rhevenge, from JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood novels. I'd been intrigued with him since he made his appearance in the 2nd book as the owner of a nightclub, drug lord, and pimp. There could be no saving grace there...but there was when he finally got his story in LOVER AVENGED.

So while noble heroes are all well and good, hell, I'm jealous of my heroine because I've fallen in love with my current one, there's just something about a bad boy.
One of my crit partners is still talking about my last one, Razvan Nicolae. When she read my first book, she kept commenting, I HATE HIM! But when she read the second book, she was all I LOVE HIM! ::sigh:: I done good there, apparently. In my next book, he'll be reunited with his long lost twin. My friend's been asking me for hints and all I can say is a snatch of conversation I hear where one of my characters says to Razvan, "I thought you were the evil twin!" Ooooh, he's gonna be so much fun!

The thing about anti-heroes is that they can be hard to write. There's such a fine line between wicked and repulsive. Redeeming them is also a struggle because it must be believable and suitably heart-wrenching.

What anti-heroes have snared your heart? What struggles and triumphs have you encountered with writing them? 

Awesome Deviled Eggs!

Makes 24 servings:
Ingredients:

1 Dozen Eggs
1/2 cup Mayonaise (Not Miracle Whip or salad dressing)
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions. (Scissors are your friend)
Snipped fresh chives
Dried mustard (wet mustard works too. I usually use both)
Parsley
Paprika
Seasoned salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
Dried Dillweed
Milk (optional)

1.) Place eggs in a large saucepan and add enough cold water to cover them. Bring to rapid boil on high heat.

2.)Reduce heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. (Times may vary due to elevation differences. I'd check cooking times for hard boiled eggs in your area)

3.)Pour off water and fill pan with cold water and ice cubes if you have 'em. Let stand about 3 minutes

4.)Pour off water. Gently shake pan back n'forth to roll the eggs around and crack the shells.

5.)Peel off shells staring at larger ends of the eggs. Some are a pain, but most come off easy.

6.) Cut eggs in half lengthwise, scoop out the yolks and put 'em in a bowl. Set the egg halves aside in a shallow container.

7.) Mix in the rest of the ingredients to taste, except for paprika n' chives. Add more mayo or milk till you get your preferred creaminess.

8.) Fill egg halves with the mixture, top with paprika and chives. Cover and chill until serving.

Do not leave the deviled eggs at room temp. longer than two hours. They should keep for a week in the fridge.


Happy Easter and I hope you enjoy!