Romance Resource: The 5 Love Languages

So, not only did I miss yesterday's blog post, I also didn't meet my goal in completing my overhaul of BITE ME, YOUR GRACE. :( My friends and family had enough of me being Ms. Reclusive Writer and wanted me to be social this weekend, which was fine. I could get back to work on my WIP on Monday.

...But then I got heatstroke. Heatstroke! ME! I'm the one who turns blue under 70 degrees! I'm a lot better today, but I still have a splitting headache.

Anyway, on to the post.

My latest crit buddy pointed out a big issue in my MS: The hero seems to only express lust for the heroine. There was little to indicate any deep emotional connection. To deal with this, I found an awesome resource: The 5 Love Languages, by Gary Chapman People express love in many different ways and this book breaks it down with convenient simplicity.

Here are the 5:

1.) Words of Affirmation: We all know that in most romances, the hero is often reluctant to say "I love you" until near the end of the story. Still, he could compliment her, not only on her beauty, but on her actions: i.e. "Your paintings are exquisite." "I can trust your reasoning in this matter," "Etc."

2.) Quality Time: Aside from romantic walks on the beach and sensual candlelit dinners, the hero and heroine could do some activity that is new to the other. In one of my favorite books, the heroine gets the hero to get up at the crack of dawn to go fishing. At first, he's all grumbly about it, but eventually they have a wonderful time.

3.) Receiving Gifts: To quote the book, "A gift is something you can hold in your hand and say, "Look, he was thinking of me," or "She remembered me." Flowers and jewelry are often in romance novels, but it's the unique ones that resonate more. I got all melty when a hero from one of my stories presents the heroine with her favorite book.

4.) Acts of Service: In WRENCHING FATE, my heroine repairs the hero's car. Her justification is that she likes working on cars, but the pleasure she gets from his gratitude leads me to believe her intentions went deeper. Later, the hero gets her mentor a lawyer so he can get out on parole a little sooner than expected.

5.) Physical Touch: This is usually the most prominent Love Language in the romance genre, I know it's one in mine. But think how many non-sexual touches convey love. Anything from a friendly hug to holding hands can strengthen your characters' bond.

This book can be a priceless resource in your work.

What is your hero's "Love Language?" What is your heroine's. How do these conflict and how can they blend?

Summer Rerun: On Genre Bending

If the TV stations can get away with reruns in the summer, I can too. :) I'm buried in revisions at the moment, so I hope you enjoy this older post. 

For years I have been working on and off on a series that breaks so many genre rules that it isn't even funny. In the first book, most of the characters are between ages 17 and 19, which apparently is a no-no for adult romance, but I can't make it YA because they are older in subsequent books. So far I'm gonna call it an urban fantasy, though I don't know how well that'll end up working because eventually the series really begins to lean towards straight fantasy. Either way, there is a love story within every one.

This got me to thinking of other authors that broke the genre rules and made new genres. Laurell K. Hamilton, Lillith Saint Crow, and others pioneered Urban Fantasy. Amanda Ashley, Maggie Shayne, and more started paranormal romance.

Right now I'm reading Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and damn, it breaks a lot of rules. I love that it is similar to mine in that it blends urban fantasy with straight fantasy. Not only that, but the fourth novel, WIZARD AND GLASS, completely interrupts the storyline and is all back story. (I have mixed feelings about that one.) All over the place are connections to his other books, as if every story he wrote is part of an interlinked web.

Once you ignore that King is labelled a horror author, it is hard to nail down the genres of some of his stories. The Shawshank Redemption and The Body, to name a few are literary fiction, in my opinion. Really, where would The Dark Tower novels fit if they weren't written by a horror author? Fantasy? Urban Fantasy? Science Fiction? Is it a dystopian? How the hell would one query such an oddball series?

I no longer have an agent, but maybe that's okay.

For those of you who haven't yet heard, Tribe Literary Agency is no more. The agent closed shop due to family obligations. For a few of the clients, this was an unpleasant surprise, but for others, like myself, it was a good thing because we'd already sent out "intent to terminate" letters and thus no longer have to wait 30 days to get back in the game.

Instead of launching into a vitriolic rant about my experience with this agency, I've decided to share the positive things I got out of it.

1.) I'm cured of the "I MUST HAVE AN AGENT NOW" fever. There seems to be a persisting attitude online that you're nothing without an agent. Those who have one seem to be held in higher esteem. They often have more followers on Twitter, their blogs get more traffic, etc. It seems they have it all, and the thrill when their book sells is vicariously exciting.

Once I had an agent, it seemed there was a huge empty spot in my life that had been taken up by querying and stalking my inbox. I dedicated that time to what should have been priority #1: focusing on my writing and perfecting my craft. I ended up fixing a previously broken novel and completing another, along with 2 short stories and a novella.

2.) I made a lot of new friends. Part of what drew me to the agent in the first place was the awesome bond she helped form between her authors. When she quit, that closeness remained and we were able to comfort each other.


3.) The manuscript being "shopped" was not the best way to launch my career with a big house. BITE ME, YOUR GRACE is a historical paranormal. It's a really fun book, but the problem is, I don't have any more historicals at the moment. That would have been awkward, had I landed a multi-book deal.

4.) My manuscript wasn't really ready. I recently won a critique from the awesome Ashley March and she pointed out a bunch of stuff that needed fixed. On the bright side, there was nothing wrong with the story or the flow, so it'll be an easy fix.

So, what am I going to do now?

For starters, I am NOT going to rush straight into hunting for an agent. I am going to step back and really do my homework.

While I polish up my urban fantasy romance series, I am going to shop my novella and short stories to get more credentials. I may even find a home for BITE ME, YOUR GRACE. It's such a fun book and a lot of people loved it. It feels wrong to let it die because of my poor decisions.

In the end, I think I'm going to be okay. I think I came out of this experience stronger than ever. I would like to give special thanks to those who were with me through all my doubts and turmoil. I wouldn't have made it out as well without you.

The H&W Investigations Gang Talks About Favorite Foods: By Jess Haines

Hello there!  Jess Haines here.  

I’m the author of the urban fantasy H&W Investigations series HUNTED BY THE OTHERS, TAKEN BY THE OTHERS and DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS.  I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to some of the cast—Shiarra Waynest, the lead character, Sara, her business partner, Chaz, her on-and-off werewolf boyfriend, Arnold, a mage who lends her a hand, and Alec Royce, a vampire Shiarra meets in the course of her adventures.

Shiarra and her friends are going to discuss what they like to eat, some of their comfort foods, etc.  Over to you, Shia!

____________________

Shiarra:  Comfort foods? Seriously?

Chaz: I like pie.

Arnold:  Dutch apple for the win!

Sara:  I prefer cherry, personally.

Arnold: Pie heathen!

Royce: Is it necessary for me to be here for this topic? It’s been so long since I’ve consumed solid foods, I don’t really recall what I used to eat.

Shiarra: Ha! Sucks to be you.

Royce: Perhaps you’d like to stand in as my comfort food, Ms. Waynest? I promise I wouldn’t take too much…

Shiarra: AUGH!  

Chaz: Stay away from her, freak!

Sara: That’s just all kinds of wrong right there.

Arnold: Hey, I have a question.

Royce:  Yes?

Arnold:  What happens if you eat solid food?

Royce:  Things best not discussed in polite company.

Chaz: In that case, we’re all set.  So?

Shiarra: I’m not sure I really want to know.

Royce:  I suppose it’s not that terrible. With practice, we can hold the food down for an hour or more.  Later, we must purge ourselves.

Shiarra:  That sounds really gross.  Whatever that means.

Arnold:  He barfs. I hope.

Shiarra & Sara:  EW!

Royce:  I warned you that it wasn’t meant for polite company.

Shiarra: Ugh. If I wasn’t so grossed out, now I’d need comfort food. I don’t think I could keep anything down right now.

Sara:  Wait, I have a question.

Shiarra:  No, you don’t!

Royce:  For some reason, I’m finding this rather entertaining.  Yes, Ms. Halloway?

Sara:  Does that also apply to drinks?  Also, do you, like… have bodily functions?  I mean, what do you do with all that blood you drink?

Shiarra: Oh, my god, SARA!

Sara:  What?!  It’s a valid question!

Arnold:  That’s my girl!

Royce:  We can consume some drinks without difficulty.  Water, tea, liquor—nothing with solids, such as smoothies.  As for the rest of your question—

Chaz:  I don’t think we need to hear it, blood-breath.

Royce: Suit yourselves.

Shiarra:  Someone get me a barf bag.

____________________

You can learn more about Shiarra and the rest of her friends in HUNTED BY THE OTHERS (link: http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/finditem.cfm?itemid=16761).  What about you?  What are some of your favorite / comfort foods?

Visit me on the web:

www.JessHaines.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jess-Haines-HW-Investigations/199575306328?ref=search&sid=100000426805820.1600836246..1

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Jess_Haines

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/jesshaines

Fan Forum: http://jesshaines.freeforums.org/

Thanks again for having me and the gang over, Brooklyn Ann!

Revise, Revise, Repeat.

I'm one of those strange people who actually enjoys editing and revising...for the first few rounds anyway. I don't edit much during the rough draft, except for correcting typos because they drive me crazy.

At first I follow Stephen King's advice and put it away for a month or so and work on something else. I think everyone should do this since it REALLY helps a ton. Problems become glaringly obvious, yet easy to fix. This revision is the most fun. However, the project is still a "darling" so lots of things get missed.

I then send the revised-but-still-has-problems draft to at least 4 crit buddies and let them rip it to shreds. I get the most valuable help at this stage and have the most fun. If all four say something doesn't work, out it goes. If two out of four say so, then I need to make some adjustments to tone down the issue, or at least clarify it. Quite often I will make a change based on one suggestion because it feels right.

This is when I feel most optimistic about the book and this is when I used to start querying. Not anymore. Someone once referred to revising as moving furniture. They leave scuff marks on the rug. She was right. From roughened transitions to typos, there can be problems. Not only that, but sometimes the right changes weren't made.

So I send it to more crit partners to see how the changes worked. Often they'll point out things the others missed. This is when I begin to be unsure of my story because the feedback is more subjective. Should I really change this scene or character arc when it didn't bother my first batch of readers? And oh, I just got an idea for a new scene, but will it help or harm the story? But...what if the whole story is crap? Should I just give up?

Eventually, I get through the doubts and end up with a polished manuscript that is stronger than ever. Hopefully then it is ready to query.

How do you go about revisions? At what point do they have you tearing at your hair and cursing yourself for ever daring to write the book? 

Freakish Friday: Physical Defects

Long gone are the days when the heroes and heroines of romance novels had to be perfect physical specimens. Well, the hero could have a few scars as long as they enhanced his machismo and made him look dangerous. But the heroine... hell no! She must have alabaster skin, perfect boobs, etc.

I am much happier with today's romance novels. I know I bring up JR Ward a lot, and with my new Friday theme I will probably continue to do so because her characters are so delightfully flawed. One of her heroes is blind and another is partially castrated, to begin with. One of her heroines is average looking and has scars from surgical operations. I love her for this!

As much as I have issues with Laurell K. Hamilton these days, she was even more ballsy. One of her characters had tentacles! Apparently that's a huge fetish in Japan nowadays but I was pretty squicked out at first. But the way she wrote Sholto, she made him beautiful and sexy. That's damn impressive...until when it came time for the heroine to get it on with him and the tentacles magically disappeared and turned into a tattoo. I and many other readers were disappointed with this if you can believe it.

Why? Because we fell in love with Sholto and wanted him to be embraced for who and what he was.

Although she's not in the paranormal genre, I have to give major kudos to historical romance author, Eloisa James for giving her characters defects. In FOOL FOR LOVE, her heroine has a bad hip. In WHEN BEAUTY TAMED THE BEAST, the hero has a bad leg (and is also the regency version of Dr. House, how awesome is that?!) and the beautiful heroine becomes disfigured by an illness but he still LOVED her!!! Seriously, that one made me cry.

What other authors have dared to defy romance tradition by making imperfect characters? What can we learn from them?    

Supernatural Dads

Father's Day was yesterday and I got to thinking about the role Dads play in the paranormal genre. From Alpha-overprotective werewolves to evil demons, they have an influence, no matter how subtle.

In my first few books none of my heroines wanted children and it wasn't really an issue because all of my vampires are sterile. But a friend recently read an earlier work of mine and pointed out that the hero's reaction to that situation was unclear. Reading her response made me realize part of me was clinging to an old belief of mine: That men never want to be fathers.

I've since recanted that opinion, but I was surprised to see remnants of it in my work...and it wasn't just that one. My heroines in my first few novels don't even have fathers. They're either dead, traveling salesmen, or the epitome of evil.

As I scratch my head and try to work that out, I think of all the good dads in my favorite genre. In Sherrilyn Kenyon's NIGHT PLAY, there's Bride McTierney's awesome dad ,who's not only a vet, but also a medic to the were-animals in town. In the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, there's Zsadist, who is just awwwwww with his new baby daughter, and there's Mercy's dad in Patricia Brigg's series...but I can't give that one away.

Really, that's all I can think of for preternatural dads. Do you guys know any more?