RedHotRomance

Happy Valentine's Day

2007-02-14T16:37:00.001-08:00

Drink champagne, eat chocolate and kiss the one you love. Have a wonderful, romantic holiday.

BJ

Happy Valentine's Day

2007-02-14T16:37:00.000-08:00

Drink champagne, eat chocolate and kiss the one you love. Have a wonderful, romantic holiday.

BJ

Two Nominations!!!

2007-01-21T15:26:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the congratulations, but as it turns out I have TWO nominations for RT Reviewers Choice awards!

Fangs For The Memories by Cricket Starr in the category Best Erotic Romance & Erotica Novels 2006 - Paranormal/Fantasy/SciFi Erotic Romance.

Beloved Enemy by Janet Miller in the category Best Small Press 2006 Small Press Paranormal Contemporary/Fantasy/Futuristic.

So both sides of my split writing personality as well as two of my publishing houses, New Concepts Publishing and Ellora's Cave are nominated for awards.

I was totally stunned, thrilled, and honored by the news.

Cheers,
Janet Miller/Cricket Starr

Way to Go Cricket

2007-01-18T13:21:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to Cricket Starr
RT Reader's Choice nomination for Fangs for the Memories - Best erotic novel 2006.

Way to Go Cricket

2007-01-18T13:21:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Cricket Starr
RT Reader's Choice nomination for Fangs for the Memories - Best erotic novel 2006.

Dreams & Desires: An Anthology For Charity

2007-01-16T05:24:00.000-08:00

January is half over and my To Do List has very few strikethroughs. I was feeling optimistic about what I planned to accomplish. Maybe a five-page list was a bit unrealistic. LOL At any rate, here's one thing I can cross off my list - my blog post here.

Just wanted to share a bit of exciting news ... I was invited to participate in a charity anthology, Dreams & Desires, which will be out in February. Not only does this anthology contain wonderful stories written by 18 other authors, ALL net proceeds will be donated to a battered women's shelter in Florida. Thus, none of us - including the publisher - will profit from this book. So please help us support a great cause - and read a bunch of great stories - by buying the perfect Valentine's Day book.

To purchase, please visit Freya's Bower or BarnesAndNoble.com. For more information on the book, as well as an excerpt from my story, "Romance For One", please visit my web site.

Wishing everyone a belated Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T16:14:00.000-08:00

Best Wishes to all. Have a very merry holiday.

What makes a hero unforgettable?

2006-12-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

I was walking the dog this morning, which is something I do every day. It gives me time to think about the work in progress and what I'll write on any particular day. Today I got sidetracked (not unusual) and started thinking about heroes in romance--what makes them not only hot and yummy, but unforgetable? What makes you, as a reader, sigh and wish the hero had his shoes parked under your bed? Because I'm most familiar with the men I write, I went back through my "men of Wolf Tales." In order of appearance, I've got Stefan Aragat--brash and cocky but with a soft heart and a powerful desire to please his packmates. There's Anton Cheval, the most powerful of all my Chanku. A wizard as well as a shapeshifter, he's also one of the older characters, and, in Chanku Journey (fall 07) becomes a father for the first time, something that scares him spitless. There's Lucien Stone from WTII, Mik and AJ, and Tinker McLintock--all alpha males, but each with a character trait -- call it a weakness, if you will -- that gives them a softer side. Do you see where I'm going with this? Even Jacob Trent, my Chanku "bad boy" has secrets that make him vulnerable, and that, I think, is the necessary ingredient in creating a perfect hero. It's not how handsome he is, or even how good in the sack. It's that vulnerability that tempers all the tough-guy traits. If he's always hard-edged, always the tough guy without a bit of softness, he doesn't need love, right? But, if he's vulnerable in some way, a vulnerability he shares with the heroine, it gives him a sense of humanity the uber-alpha male lacks. At least that's my opinion. I'm curious about what you think? Do you want your hero to have at least one small chink in his manly armor? I'd love to know what makes a hero unforgettable for you, and if you disagree with me, do your best to change my mind!

Exposure

2006-12-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

Have you seen the "Britney" photos on the internet?

I'll admit to writing a scene where my heroine "forgot" to wear her underwear, but the act was intended for the "hero" never for the "public" at large.

I'll never create a heroine like Britney or Paris or Madonna and I really don't care what they do, but why do romantica writers take so much heat?

Resolutions!

2006-11-30T08:04:00.000-08:00

I don’t often have contests, but friends of mine who worked on an anthology for http://www.liquidsilverbooks.com are getting together with me to run a contest for “Resolutions.” What’s the book about? You got it! Four hot stories about friends who made their resolutions come true! My story, FREE FALL, is based on the time I went skydiving. Yes, I jumped out of a plane at 10,000 feet with nothing but a man and a parachute strapped to my back. It’s called tandem skydiving (and bad girl that I am, it was terribly erotic, too). Unfortunately, the week before I did it, a couple died when their chute didn’t open. But I’m alive to tell the tale and you can read all about it in “Resolutions,” along with great stories by Leigh Wyndfield, Dee S. Knight and Vanessa Hart. To hear how you can enter for the chance to win a gorgeous tote bag filled with autographed books and other fun stuff, go to my web page, http://www.skullybuzz.com/contest.html

Also, I’m signing copies of my latest Berkley HEAT, OPEN INVITATION, tonight, 7:30 pm. at the Santa Clara Borders Express in Valley Fair Mall. That’s at the junction of the 880 and 280 freeways. With me will be Josie Brown, Jami Alden and Karin Tabke. Hope you all drop on by!

BTW, I just finished reading all three new books by these ladies, and let me tell you, they’re HOT!!!! Great reads, one and all.

And you might have guessed my question for all of you this morning. What’s your New Years Resolution?

Jasmine Haynes
http://www.skullybuzz.com

what I love about the writing life

2006-11-16T10:22:00.000-08:00

Lots of things! Like when I'm taking a walk and a brilliant line comes to me and I repeat it to myself over and over until I get home so I can write it down, oops, better do that now while I still remember...okay, wrote it down and I'm back! What else do I love? Ooh, that first moment when a new concept comes, a brilliant concept. Or when your character suddenly comes to life. There's always a trigger for me. Some characteristic or event in their past that suddenly makes them real. I love sitting with my Alphasmart on my lap and just typing away, in the flow, then downloading and realizing I have a whopping ten pages. And they're actually good pages, too! I love my writing friends. I love the flexibility (as in I'm taking off in 10 minutes to have my nails done and I don't have to tell the boss!). I love holding a new book in my hands. I love getting that first page onto a blank screen. I love typing The End. I love all the finagling of my characters that beginning and the ending. I guess I just love being in someone else's skin for a while, too. And you know, that's exactly what I love about reading, too. Going to far off places or just feeling an unexpected feeling.

What does everyone else love about writing and reading? Really, why DO we do it?
Jasmine
www.skullybuzz.com

Stuff

2006-11-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

Now that I’ve moved to Pismo Beach I’m trying to squeeze my “stuff” into a house half the size of the Sebastopol home I sold. I have to throw or give “stuff” away. I gleefully tossed a lot of my “working” clothes and love spending the day in jeans and shorts. How many pots, pans and appliances does one really need?

I plan to toss out more "stuff" but I’m having a real problem getting rid of books.

My husband doesn’t understand why I keep books I've read. He doesn’t like watching a movie a second time either. If I had a walk-in closet I’d have a mini library. Space is at a premium in my small house and I have books tucked under my bed, in the truck of my car and in a bulging suitcase in the backyard shed.

Am I totally weird or do any of you have the same problem?

And the release train rolls on...

2006-11-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

I am a writer in the business of writing, and writing is a business.

So what do I mean by this? I mean that just about every day I have to deal with being a professional writer in one way or another. Unlike most jobs there aren't really any days off. You are working most of the time.

I've kind of lost track of how many books I've written or contracts I've signed. The earlier part of this year I had three books go from ebooks into print. Then in August Rogues was released in ebook, in September Ellora's Cavemen Dreams Of The Oasis III came out in ebook and print, October was the print release of the White Hot Holiday collections, November 8th Tasting Nightwalker Wine was released from Cerridwen. Ellora's Cavemen Legendary Tails I was just released in Spanish. Next month I have a Wild Winter quickie on December 22, in January Memories Revised will be released.

I just finished edits on A Promise Made, a new novella for New Concepts Publishing. And then there are the works in progress... another collaboration with Liddy Midnight called Outlaws, and a new Hollywood After Dark tale, this time for Ellora's Cave.

So either the time is spent writing, editing, promoting, in other words something to do with the business. If nothing else there is reading what other people write to keep up with what the market is putting out.

Of course that latter is mostly an excuse...and my favorite part of this business.
Hey, read any good books lately?

Cheers,
Janet/Cricket

Sgt. Pepper and All That

2006-11-12T22:28:00.000-08:00

For the first time in ages, I’ve just listened to the CD of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Even though they're not in the same order as on the original album (yikes, an actual record to be played on a turntable), the songs struck me with as great an impact as the first time I heard them in the late sixties. So what if “When I’m Sixty-Four” is coming back to bite Paul McCartney in the butt? So what if I I could weep looking at the pictures of the young John and George -- and Paul and Ringo. The songs are as fresh and energetic -– I have to sing along and get up and move -– as they were then. Maybe more.

The other “album” that hits me in the gut the way much of the Beatles does is Simon & Garfunkel’s Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme. I’ll never forget the first time I heard their rendition of “Silent Night”. A friend who’d bought the record gathered a group of us and told us to shut up and listen. We did.

A flood of memories, 20-20 hindsight, and all that. Surely it all was as I remember it, right?

I've Got a Cover For SEX LOUNGE!

2006-11-07T06:59:00.000-08:00

I feel as if I'm spamming the Internet but ... I'm so excited, as I FINALLY received the cover for my May 2007 book, Sex Lounge. With each thing I receive -- copy edits, cover flats -- my book feels more and more ... real! Since the lead time from contract to publication feels so long ... is it just me or do other authors worry that their editor is going to call one day and say, Gee, we made a mistake. We don't want to buy your book after all ? LOL

At any rate, here's the back cover blurb:

Manager of a San Francisco talent agency, Nichole Simms is poised, professional, and cool - but her private notebook reveals a much more daring woman who loves explicit, uninhibited sexual fantasies. Her dream lover is a secret. Until he finds her notebook …

Famous chaise designer Derek Mitchell can't believe his eyes when he stumbles upon Nichole's secret book - in which he stars. Derek is hot to explore each sinful scene and every red-hot obsession with this demure, quiet beauty … and fulfill her every desire.

And here are the quotes they used:

"A sexy page-turner. You'll love it!" --Lori Foster

"Rachelle Chase is the Goddess of Erotic Romance. The hot, steamy, and unforgettable romance sizzles in this page-turning novel." --Mary B. Morrison"

An amazing erotic imagination...the reader is simultaneously swept up in Chase's writing, drawn into the drama of her characters, and kept in a state of sexual arousal...takes you on a ride that is exciting and enlightening." --Dr. Michael Bader, author of Arousal: The Secret Logic of Sexual Fantasies

I am just too thrilled!

Writers and their health

2006-11-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, very boring subject today, but mucho on my mind. I sold my first book 3 years ago. I quit my day job two and a half years ago. Writing and being a published author has always been my dream. I worked toward it for over 20 years, getting financially secure, making the contact, hmm, and actually writing the books, too. So here I am!!! And what happens? My body starts to fall apart on me. I have a hard time typing on the computer all day and I lay awake in pain at night. For a while, I hurt so badly that I couldn’t even hold a book to read. Thank God THAT’S gotten better. I’m doing physical therapy now. I’ve got what’s called “multiple crush.” In other words, I’ve been staring at my computer screen day in and day out on a chair that wasn’t ergonomic using a laptop where I couldn’t get the screen and the keyboard in the right place, hence, I jutted my head forward to see it and ended up screwing up the nerves going down my arms. Okay, took a while to get myself into this place, and it will take awhile to get myself back out, but I do have a point, I swear it!

Writers have a sedentary job. I don’t even go to meetings or rush down the hall to the copy machine or printer or over to MIS or Customer Service, or maybe out to the factory floor to count some inventory. No, I sit in front of the computer until my butt ACHES! I wonder how many of us do that. I’m pretty sure those of us with new babies don’t! But what about the rest when we’re on deadline? Now that I’ve reached my goal, made my dream come true, I don’t want to lose it all to a broken-down body. So here are some of the things I’m doing to keep myself in good writing shape.

First, I go for my daily speed walk. I think I do about 3 ½ miles. I have a timer on my computer now to remind me to get up every half hour, if for nothing else than to walk about my office and stretch a bit. I bought an external keyboard for my laptop so that I can have my eyes and my arms in the right place! I do a series of exercise to help my posture. I take my vitamins to help keep osteoporosis and arthritis at bay. And don’t forget the fish oil, which is good for lots of things. I practice breathing from my belly instead of my chest (you know, that’s really hard to do!). And I get a monthly deep tissue massage. Hmm, that’s actually a bonus.

I’d love to hear what all of you do to keep yourselves in tip-top shape. I might just have to incorporate it into my routine!

Jasmine Haynes
http://www.skullybuzz.com

Wie Gehts!

2006-10-24T02:24:00.000-07:00

RedHotRomance

Ja, I’m sprechen German at you. Why? Because I’m in Germany this week.

Why? Well, that’s a long story involving the day job and the need to learn things best learned from those who have the most experience. One impact of working for an international company is that occasionally you have to go international to do your job.

Fortunately I rather like to travel as anyone familiar with http://26tickets.miramontes.com/ can testify to. Hey, at least I have enough time to do laundry on this trip.

Mmmm, clean socks tomorrow…

Traveling from a writer’s perspective is a little different. Your schedule is thrown off so even doing random things like working on a blog entry can become a challenge. Making progress on a WIP can be difficult because you don’t have the notes you left in your office at home.

Besides you used all your energy up just driving to and from work, coping with strange traffic signs, unfamiliar roads, and communicating with the waitress in German to order dinner.

On the other hand when you are staying alone in a hotel room, there can be nothing better to do than write. Last year I wrote most of Pleasure Maid, my Ellora’s Caveman story in Dreams Of The Oasis III, during a similar three week trip to Germany. This year I just finished up edits on my Christmas quickie, Perfect Hero.

I’ve got another week here and long evenings to work on stuff. Who knows what I’ll accomplish?

In the meantime auf wiedersehen!
Janet/Cricket

2006-10-23T08:20:00.000-07:00

Learning Italian

As I’m required to take 150 hours of instruction every five years to keep renewing my California teaching certificates (Rant # 47, which I’ll spare you), I’m currently taking a class in Beginning Italian at Foothill College. Since I know lots of French and a little Spanish, Italian is easy for me. The instructor, a native speaker, is quite good. The mix of students has come as a pleasant surprise. Other than difficulties parking, I find the experience very positive—especially having the chance to learn this very beautiful language and to have the mental shake-up that getting into a new language demands.

One of the features of Italian that really impresses me is the sense of style that imbues the pronunciation and the construction of the words. In addition to being euphonic, Italian is molto elegante.

The question and challenge is, how to get the feeling of the language, like the feeling of being in Rome, into a story?

Meeting old friends

2006-10-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

I write a tightly connected series with characters who appear and reappear throughout the ongoing storyline. This week I started a new book, Wolf Tales V, which is actually the ninth story in the Wolf Tales saga. The heroine is new but the hero has been around for a couple books. I realized, when I wrote his opening scene, that I felt like I was saying hello to an old friend. Bay hasn't had his own story yet. He's been an important yet peripheral character in the lives of other characters, but he's always been fun to write. Now, however, he's the star and I actually feel excited about finally giving him a romance of his very own.

For those of you who write series, do you connect with your characters as if they are real living, breathing people? I do. Baylor Quinn is at least as real to me as many of my friends in cyber-space, and almost as real as the ones I see every day in "real" space. I know his background, I've met his sisters and I sympathize with all of them for the dysfunctional upbringing they had. Most of all, I really like Bay. He's the kind of man I'd want to know--intelligent, warm-hearted and loving, yet with a streak of vulnerability, a sense of need about him that gives him an even greater appeal. I get to take all these bits and pieces of the man I've essentially created out of whole cloth and turn him loose. I've only written one scene with him so far. I can't wait to see what he's going to do next.

Bella ponders how to write the BIG ideas...

2006-10-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

Ever since I had my second child 2 months ago, my brain has been brimming over with high concept book ideas. This happened last time I gave birth--I don't know if there's some kind of weird body-mind connection between birthing a baby and an idea? But I digress...

I've run several of my hooks by my agent and she loves them all. Okay, great. That means I can go ahead and write the proposal chapters, right? Well, sort of. I'm usually the kind of writer who just jumps right and works it out on the page. I love beginnings because anything seems possible. It's the end of the book where I tend to drag a bit. Very much a different process from many of my writer friends who slave over the beginning and then race to the end.

This time around, however, I feel like the hooks are so solid that I don't want to mess up and get it wrong. Of course, all this thinking does is mess with my brain, and I sit here worrying about the writing, rather than getting to the writing.

Yes, I understand that each book I write is supposed to stretch me as a writer (or are they really? can't we coast sometimes and still write good books? another digression...), but I wouldn't mind it if I get lucky and when I sit down to actually attack the first few chapters, they flow easily and beautifully.

I'd love your thoughts on being stretched as a writer and how you deal with ideas that seem too big to get down on paper.

;-) Bella

Mystery in the Mountains (or what's going on with my former neighbor)

2006-10-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

No arrests have been made in the murder case of the 6 ½ month pregnant checker who worked down at my local supermarket. Everyone in this little town I live in is still holding their breath, waiting. But a month after my initial report to you, the mood has changed. Remember I told you my neighbor had been arrested for a violent sexual assault? That alleged crime came to light while the police were investigating the store clerk’s murder. He was in jail on $1 million dollars bail.

Well, now he’s been charged in a second rape case and his bail is $1.5 million, and his support is starting to wane. The first assault was against an acquaintance at the market where he worked (where the murdered checker worked, too). Only now it’s clear the woman he allegedly raped wasn’t just an acquaintance. Presumably, he’d been having an affair with her for 18 months. She didn’t go to the hospital after this violent sexual assault, so there isn’t any physical evidence that it took place. And the week after he violently sexually assaulted her, they went to Disneyland together. Okay, can you tell I’m reading the newspaper incessantly? Coincidentally, they broke up just about the time the murdered sales clerk got pregnant. Now, the DA says the reason his bail is so high is that this is considered a domestic violence case because of its longevity and the woman accusing him is afraid for her life. Which is the reason she didn’t say anything long before now.

The second charge against him results from a relationship he had 16 years ago. He allegedly raped his 17-year-old girlfriend repeatedly. He was 21 at the time, and thus she was a minor, which is why the statute of limitations for rape, which is 10 years (according to the newspaper article I read) doesn’t apply in this case. Additionally, it is considered a domestic violence case.

Interestingly, both women remained friends with him after they broke up. But now they are afraid for their lives. And he’s in jail on $1.5 million bail pending another hearing where the evidence against him will be reviewed to see if it is enough to take him to trial.

But let’s face it, everyone in my small town is thinking that he might be the father of the pregnant checkers baby, and that it looks more and more likely that he killed her. Because he seems to have had this double life. Because other women say he abused them. Because that bail is so darn high. I no longer have emotion about whether he did or he didn’t do these things. I guess that over time, one sort of divorces oneself from the emotion of it because it’s easier to deal with the situation that way. My husband and I disagree about why he hasn’t been charged with the murder yet. I say that it’s because once he’s charged, the DA’s office has to give all the evidence they’ve got to his attorney, and they don’t want to reveal their hand yet. My husband says it’s because they don’t have enough evidence to charge him, so they’re holding him on ice with the rape charges until they can find the evidence. But in there, notice I didn’t say that my husband and I disagree about whether he killed the woman or not. We’ve both come to accept that it’s highly likely he did.

Which is kind of sad. Whether he committed murder or he didn’t, whether he committed rape or he didn’t, his life is ruined. No one’s going to believe he didn’t do it, even if he’s never charged. And his wife’s life is ruined. I just hate to think of how it will affect his kids later in life.

Jasmine Haynes
http://www.skullybuzz.com

4 days left

2006-10-17T06:44:00.000-07:00

I'm quitting my day job. After almost fifteen years my last day is Friday, Oct 20th. Beginning Saturday, Oct 21st, I intend to only enter a bank as a customer.
I've sold my house and I'm moving to the beach!

Help me celebrate. Jump up from chair and dance around the room.

BJ

Where's my muse gone?

2006-10-16T09:45:00.000-07:00

Where’s my muse gone?

Okay, on the cusp of winning probably the highest award an unpublished author can win, the RWA Golden Heart, I’ve suddenly lost my muse. Yeppers, I’ve become so frustrated that my book won’t sell--for whatever silly reason the editor of the day has manufactured—(which pretty much says EVERYTHING THAT CAN BE WRONG WITH MY BOOKS IS, despite the fact it’s won this highest award)--that I’ve completely given up. Yes, even after preaching to people, "don’t give up, follow your dream, keep writing," I’ve fallen to the dark side… and given up, been defeated by this fickle industry.

Now, what does a writer do when her muse has run off and quit? I wish I had all sorts of eloquent advice to give you here; maybe use the Nora Roberts quote, plant butt in chair and just do it, or the Nike Slogan, JUST DO IT, and all sorts of profound things to share to motivate you… but I can’t. It’s not in me. I’m broken. You’re seeing the breakdown of a frustrated writer who has no desire to write. Will I pull out of it? Oh, probably, but it is my blog day, and since I’ve lost my muse to write, I just thought I’d ramble about why I’m so frustrated, and why this post isn’t full of inspiration. ;)

Now that I've completely depressed you with my whining, go get some chocolate! I give you permission! And give me some cheese to go with this post.

Revolt of a Character

2006-10-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

The end was in sight. My plan was for my Heliotropic series for Changeling Press to be complete at the end of the third story, To the Light. Wrong. It turns out the villain, Ideg Retkove, is not ready to ride off into the sunset. The two heroes, Val Cutter and Paul de l'Astre, are more than happy to do so and have waved good-bye. But Ideg is now demanding his own story. Since he's a vampire with a nasty disposition and a track record for wreaking havoc when he doesn't get his own way, I may have to pay attention.

So now I've got to think about how in the world to find Ideg a lover, a, gasp, soul-mate for the soulless villain. Ideg does point out that his character has undergone an arc of development, that he's no longer the vicious, manipulative scum he was (or people thought he was!) when Val and Paul first got together. Ideg also points out all his accomplishments, including the development of the serum that enables him and other vampires to enjoy the sunlight. This serum makes it possible for him to voyage anywhere in the universe in search of Mr. Right.

Ugh. Does Ideg care that I have other projects penciled onto my calendar? That he is not, in fact, the center of the universe?

Advice is needed here. What do you, my fellow writers, do when a character just won't let go? Should I just let him down gently and tell him to divert his energy to Solitaire? Or do I need to devote my energy to Ideg Retkove's quest for love?

Dream a Little Dream

2006-10-05T07:36:00.000-07:00

I think dreams are important. I believe they tell us very important things about ourselves, if we can just figure out what they mean. That’s the hard part. What does all that gobble-d-gook in my head mean? If you think that’s what this blog is about, telling you how to interpret your dreams, sorry, dudette. I have no idea. It’s like reading Nostrodamus. You can’t make heads nor tails of future events from what he writes, but by golly, you can fit just about everything he wrote to one past event or another. Hitler used Nostrodamus to show he was going to win and the English used him to show that Hitler was going to lose. It's all in the interpretation.

But I digress, sorry. I just find dreams really interesting. Lately I’ve been trying to recall my dreams with more regularity. Sometimes I really have to work at it. Overall, though, I realize I have a lot of dreams about snakes. Hmm. Now, I know snakes are supposed to be phallic, but my dreams about snakes go like this, I’m in a very serene setting, doing dishes or watching a sunset or whatever, then someone throws a snake at me (or a lizard, lizards work, too, I think it’s the whole reptile thing), and it gets all tangled up in my hair (or down my blouse) and I’m screaming for someone to get it out. So. What does this mean? Really, I haven’t the foggiest. Except that I’m afraid of snakes. I have this weird feeling that they can jump and fly, but I think that’s because I’m always dreaming about someone throwing them at me, so in my mind, it’s as if they actually can jump and fly.

But I think I’m digressing again. My whole point in this topic was to ask how people use dreams in their writing. I do know that sometimes I dream something that will be so totally perfect for the book I’m writing. Maybe not the whole dream, but a kernel of it will work for the next day’s writing. It’s like the light bulb going on: oh man, she’s going to do this next. I’ve been told that my writing is outrageous sometimes, and I think that’s why, because I used something strange out of a dream I had. I also use my characters’ dreams to give them revelations, about themselves or someone else. The problem is, though, that in a book, you can’t really have a dream be like a real dream because real dreams are so disconnected, jumping from one seemingly unrelated thing to another. In a book, it simply wouldn’t make sense. Hmm, come to think of it, it doesn’t make sense in the dream, either.

So, here are the things I’m interested in hearing about from you. First, do you remember your dreams fairly clearly? Second, do you have any clue whatsoever as to their meaning (that’s providing that your answer to the first question is yes). And lastly, how, if at all, do you use dreams in your writing?

And if you want to share any dreams you have, especially recurring ones, that would be cool, too.

That is all! I’m off to dreamland!
Jasmine Haynes
http://www.skullybuzz.com

The trials and tribulations of dialup

2006-10-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

This one should make all of you with fast Internet access feel REAL smug. I have dialup. SLOW dialup, to the point where my email takes about twenty minutes to download on any given morning. Today I had to UPLOAD an ad to Romantic Times Magazine for a promotional brochure I decided to take part in for the 2007 convention. I love doing the graphics, so spent the morning creating an ad I was really pleased with, saved it as a tiff file, as requested, and sent it. Or TRIED to send it. No way was my phone line going to handle a 4 mb tiff file. It shut down, locked up and probably would have cursed but I have the sound muted. My frustration was growing and I can't blame it on hormones. Finally gave in, packed up the lapstop, the glasses, the briefcase, etc. and hightailed it to the local coffeeshop/bookstore. (Yes, even on Cobb Mountain we have a coffeeshop/bookstore with wi/fi!) and got myself settled with a soy mocha, flipped open the computer and punched send. Didn't even have time for a sip. Damned thing was off and gone, sailing through cyberspace in the blink of an eye. It's magic, I tell ya. Pure magic! Magic the rest of the world has, but it's passed me by. Once we're settled here permanently, I'm getting broadband, but for now it just ain't gonna happen. Still, when I think of the time I waste, waiting for things to load, it definitely makes me gnash my teeth!

CAVEMEN

2006-10-03T06:31:00.000-07:00

I recently sent in my submission for the Ellora’s Cavemen 2007 anthologies. Six mixed genre stories, 10-12K in length, comprise the four anthologies. A book is released each quarter. The 2007 series will be Jewels of the Nile.
The twenty-four stories are selected by a group of EC editors without the editors knowing which author wrote the story. Having your story selected for Cavemen is akin to winning a contest.
I like the Cavemen selection process. Every writer, whether published or not, has a shot. The stories expose readers to a variety of writing styles and the genres include contemporary, historical, paranormal and futuristic. If you haven’t read a Cavemen anthology, you’re missing out.

The following Cavemen anthologies have stories by RedHotRomance authors:

Ellora’s Cavemen Tales of the Temple I: Kate Douglas and Doreen DeSalvo
Ellora’s Cavemen Legendary Tails I: BJ McCall and Cricket Starr
Legendary Tails III: Kate Douglas
Ellora’s Cavemen Dreams of the Oasis II: BJ McCall
Dreams of Oasis III: Cricket Starr

Did I leave anyone out?

If my story, a futuristic called Silk, is selected I'll be sure to blog about it.

My inspiration--Nora Roberts

2006-10-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

On my blog day I want to share an article I saved from 2004 because it inspired me. All in all, I consider Nora Roberts the best writer of our time. I remember meeting her at National this year. She was in line for coffee right in front of me, just a regular old person, but in my eyes, she was larger than life. I said to her, "your hosting of the awards ceremony made my night. You redeemed RWA with a wonderful ceremony and made winning the Golden Heart a dream come true for me." She graciously thanked me and went on to get her coffee, but I was in awe she talked to me, little old me, just like a regular person. She's an inspiring lady, no matter now much she says she's not. She's someone all writers can learn from.

Forbes Magazine
Who Needs a Muse?
Friday October 29, 2004
By Thomas Kellner
Romance novelist Nora Roberts is the most prolific--and best-paid--writer in America.

Nora Roberts won't win the Nobel Prize in Literature--not unless they invent a new category for gross revenue. But for sheer output, few people can touch this 54-year-old novelist. In just over two decades she has written 157 books (7.9 million words added to the store of romance fiction), and 116 of them were bestsellers. Last year she sold 50 million copies, and stands to repeat that feat again this year. Jane Austen she isn't--and readily admits it. "I don't believe in inspiration," says Roberts in the husky voice of a chain smoker. "I was educated by the nuns. They are a lot tougher than any muse."

Such toughness has made her very rich. She grosses $60 million a year. That hardly puts her within broomstick-flying distance of J.K. Rowling ($147 million per annum). But it places Roberts, who owns the copyrights to all her books, well ahead of better-known scribes like John Grisham and Stephen King, who earn less than she does. "I've made a tremendous living," says Roberts, who has dwelled in the same house for 25 years. "I have the luxury to choose a simple life."

By the Numbers
Stripped Down
Astonishingly, sales of romance fiction declined 13% last year.
$1.4 billion was spent on romance novels last year.
2,093 new titles of romance fiction were published in 2003.
34% of all popular fiction sales were romance tales.
25- to 44- year-old women are the sweet spot, representing 46% of all romance readers.
Source: Romance Writers of America.

Life wasn't always so luxuriously simple. Born Eleanor Marie Robertson, Roberts grew up in an Irish-American family in Silver Springs, Md. with four older brothers. After graduating from a parochial high school, she skipped college, married at 17 and moved to the hills of western Maryland. She had a job as a legal secretary, which she hated, but soon got pregnant and stayed home. During a particularly bad blizzard in 1979, after an endless round of games with her two small sons, Roberts reached for the pen. What emerged was a romance yarn she called Melodies of Love. It was sufficiently close to rubbish that Roberts doesn't want to discuss it even now. No one considered publishing it or the half-dozen or so other manuscripts that followed.

Yet Roberts kept writing. Her streak of bad luck ended in 1981, when romance publisher Silhouette accepted Irish Thoroughbred, the story of a girl from the Emerald Isle who comes to Maryland and meets a studly American horse farm owner, whose eyes soften at the birth of a foal. After a few intimate escapades, they wed. And so was born a formula that has been successfully replicated and varied time and again: Girl meets manly but sensitive boy; they have explosive physical adventures together but find real fulfillment in marriage.

Roberts didn't. She and her husband split up in 1983. She started writing more or less every weekday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Two years later Roberts married Bruce Wilder, a carpenter who came to her house one day to build bookshelves. They've lived happily ever since. And why not? He's one of those muscular types with a softer side: Wilder keeps adding rooms to their 5,000-square-foot house but also runs Turn the Page, a bookstore in nearby Boonsboro.

The rest of the 1980s Roberts spent cranking out dozens of romances for Silhouette and, later, for Bantam (now part of Bertelsmann). Her literary life changed in 1992, when she caught the eye of Phyllis Grann, then publisher of G.P. Putnam's Sons, and Leslie Gelbman, an editor there. "Her books were much more complex and textured than paperback romance," recalls Grann. Her protagonists--ranging from Ukrainian exiles and half-Apache drifters to Kansas farm girls and superstar Italian chefs--occasionally rose above the cardboard high enough to cast a shadow. Still, "She was very linear," says Gelbman, who has been editing Roberts ever since and is now president and publisher of the Berkley Publishing Group, which, along with Putnam, is owned by Penguin. "I wanted her to go out of the box."

More to the point, the Putnam pair cannily discerned that they could make a lot more money--as much, they thought, as client Tom Clancy--by marketing "bigger" books. Meaning: more fleshed-out plots, a deeper cast of supporting characters--even a push of Roberts' romance fiction into more unexpected genres like mystery and suspense. So they hired Roberts to write six books, three hardcovers and a paperback trilogy, for an undisclosed amount. Grann decided to keep the trilogy strictly romance to please core readers; the hardcover books, and their more intricate tales, were intended to expand that audience. Those retailed for $22 and up, compared with $7 for softbound sagas. The book covers underwent a metamorphosis, too. They dumped cheesy Fabio-like images in favor of more sedate jackets dominated by Roberts' name and a more discreet image (say, a cityscape or a close-up of jewelry). The idea was to appeal to college-educated urban women and make them more at ease when they took her books to the cash register or read them on the bus.

Not easy trying to repackage a romance writer. By the time her contract expired in 1995 the trilogy was a bestseller. But her hardbacks at first fell short of the necessary 100,000 copies to make the list. Grann stepped in again. "I told her, 'Don't leave us now,'" she remembers. "'The next hardcover is going to break.'" At the advice of her agent, Amy Berkower, Roberts set her next hardbound effort on a cattle ranch out West. Grann gave it a soaring title, Montana Sky, and launched a lavish promotion push in March 1996, including one of the first TV commercials plugging a book and an unusual full-court press by Putnam with booksellers. Within days the book, Roberts' 100th published volume, became a bestseller. It has sold 2 million copies.

Around the same time Roberts' handlers wrestled with a different problem--how to deal with the author's hypergraphic output. She was flooding her publisher with up to six book-length manuscripts a year. "We couldn't publish as fast as she could write," says Grann. Berkower suggested a brand-new category of romance novels under a nom de plume. At first Roberts resisted both suggestions. But Berkower explained that Grann would spin her into two brands, like Coke and diet Coke. "This lightbulb went off in my head, and I thought, 'Oh, it's marketing!'" says Roberts.

So was launched the In Death franchise, a series of 19 grisly murder mysteries (Naked in Death, Portrait in Death and so on) set in gritty New York City in the year 2059. The heroes are a cop, Eve Dallas, and Roarke, a self-made billionaire with a shady past, who team up to solve crimes and (of course) engage in steamy liaisons. With 17 million copies in print, In Death books are sold under the pseudonym J.D. Robb ("J" for Jason and "D" for Dan, Roberts' two sons).

Running a double game, Gelbman and Grann tried to create a little nonfictional intrigue, exploiting the public's ignorance that the two authors were really one. Posters went up in bookstore chains, asking, "J.D. Robb writes as what other bestselling romance novelist? Ask your bookseller." First released in paperback to snare the largest possible audience, In Death books shamelessly hooked readers on sequels by including an excerpt from the sequel in the back of the book--a rip-off of television's tried-and-true use of previews and coming attractions. Putnam hoped to tease the suspense as long as possible, "outing" J.D. Robb as Nora Roberts in 2001--with poster displays in bookstores--by which time the In Death books had become regular bestsellers. Mel Gibson's production company, Icon, has optioned the whole series for an undisclosed sum; no shooting has taken place yet.

That's fine by Roberts, who says she prefers to leave all the selling to her Manhattan spinmistresses. Roberts hates to fly and tours just once a year to promote her books. But when she's on the road, she's ubiquitous: Promoting her latest romance, Northern Lights, Roberts spent three weeks in October traveling to 16 cities in ten states.

The Internet is her preferred mode of transportation. While Roberts has never visited many of the places that serve as settings for her books--the Caribbean (The Reef), Mexico (Risky Business) and the wilds of Alaska (Northern Lights), for example--she gropes her way there by spending a lot of time online. It's through her PC that she stays in touch with fans. Every two months she e-mails a free newsletter to 50,000-plus subscribers. Her Web site, entirely self-financed, attracts 110,000 unique visitors a month and sells a modest number of books, blankets, T shirts and book bags.

Her output doesn't have the staying power of, say, Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, which has spent 82 weeks on the New York Times list. (Her works have spent a combined 79 weeks as queens of that heap.) So Roberts & Co. must devise new ways to keep goosing sales. One is to guide readers to her other books via The Official Nora Roberts Companion, a $16, 450-page guide to her oeuvre, updated annually. Another is to push overseas, where her novels have been translated into 25 languages, including Thai, Indonesian and Estonian. Then there are the reprints and reissues of titles already in print. To avoid confusion, this has necessitated putting stickers on new releases that designate them as such.

But mostly it depends on Nora Roberts herself, spinning her latest tales at the rate of three paperbacks and three hardbound books a year. That's 300,000 words, probably more than most Americans read.

Recipe For Orgasm

2006-09-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

Life has sucked up my time allocated to the Internet. My web site has become woefully out-of-date, my blog is weeks behind, and my email box is overflowing with unread emails. But I'm struggling to get caught up. Tonight, I selected the last item -- the easiest of the bunch -- and stumbled upon a link to a June 22nd article from the Sydney Herald that I'd emailed myself. So forgive me if this is old news to most of you, but I just had to share ...

From I'll have what she's having, I gleaned a lot of interesting tidbits that I may be able to put to use in my next book. Namely:

Job opportunities abound for "orgasm theorists," as they appear to be under-represented.
Poor diet, too much caffeine, and not enough fish oil may be to blame for my inability to have 52 vaginal orgasms in one session.
For the first time ever, there is now an accurate map of the clitoris.
News Flash: Researchers now believe that women can have a physical arousal and psychological arousal but they are two quite different processes. [Astonishing! I did not know that.]
Women coming up today are used to having orgasms and decent sex, unlike "older" women. [Wow. Guess I just imagined having orgasms and great sex.]

Okay. I'm being a bit sarcastic here. But despite the article's eye-rolling paragraphs, there are quite a few that I found interesting (and I do think diet impacts all areas of life) and I am happy to see attention -- and dollars -- being spent on studying women's orgasm. What are your thoughts?

Men vs Women

2006-09-26T20:24:00.000-07:00

While waiting for my takeout lunch I picked up a local small press newspaper. It one of those freebie papers restaurants leave around to entertain those waiting for takeout. I read an interesting article, but unfortunately I can’t recall the name of the paper or the author otherwise I’d acknowledge the man’s work.

The author wrote a very funny article about the experience of his first Playboy magazine and his first look at naked women. He and his friends buried the magazine beneath a bush in his backyard only to unbury it when parents or adults weren’t around. Finally, the magazine was discovered by Mom and confiscated.

I enjoy the article but it got me thinking about the difference between men and women and their introduction to sex. Boys look at Playboy, Hustler, etc. Most girls are drawn to romance novels. If Playgirl had been available to me, perhaps I would have hidden it away and retrieved it to look at penises. Okay, I definately would have looked at it.

Once I read my first romance novel, even the ones that didn’t tell what happened in the bedroom, I was hooked. I loved them. I still do. Given the the huge amount of book sales a lot of women must love romance novels.

Is it any wonder men and women look at sex from completely different views!

Bella wants everyone to read her friend's books!

2006-09-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

I've been in the Adirondack mountains of New York for the past month and during the month, every time I meet someone new and we get started talking about what I do for a living (that'd be writing books, of course!), I wait an appropriate amount of time (sixty seconds, max), and then I start hawking all of my friend's books.

This time around I had a Jasmine Haynes book and an Allison Brennan book with me and I talked ENDLESSLY about them both, while waving around books. And then I listed off every other author I know and respect and had people write down their names. Several people told me they made the long drive into a big town to a big enough bookstore to find everyone's books.

Do you love that, or what?

I love sharing the love!
;-) bella
http://www.BellaAndre.com

Seriously disturbed

2006-09-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

I live in a very small town in the foothills on the Santa Cruz side of the mountains. We only have 3000 residents. I don’t know everyone, of course, a lot of people work over the hill in Silicon Valley. But we only have one grocery store, one coffee shop, two stoplights, and the post office is really small so I know the ladies that help me mail a pile of books every time I have a new one coming out. I recognize friendly faces even if I don’t know all their names. Especially the people down at the local market...

So it was a shocker that the 6 ½ month pregnant checker down at the market disappeared a little over a week ago and 5 days later her body was found dumped at the edge of town. Someone murdered her. Who could have done such a horrible thing in our tiny town where nothing bad ever happens?

They arrested my neighbor the next day. Not for the murder, but for forcible sexual assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily harm. The police contend this wasn’t an isolated incident. Once wasn't enough. He’s a serial rapist of his acquaintances. And for ten years, he’s worked at the same market as the young woman who was murdered.

You see interviews on TV with the neighbors of some terrible serial killer saying he was such a nice guy and they can’t believe it. I always think, how could you not tell? I mean, look at that mug shot, he LOOKS like a serial killer. Now I know why neighbors say that. MY neighbor was the nicest man, always stopping to talk when I was out walking the dog, always friendly. He has three small kids, ages 2, 4 and 6, and he was so good with them. When he saw my picture in the paper when my first book was released, he came over to congratulate me and he was so sweet. For five years, he’s been the sweetest guy. I can’t reconcile that he’s the same man who’s now been charged with rape and bodily harm. I don’t believe it. I absolutely don’t believe it. But doubts creep in. And if he’s capable of that, then maybe, God forbid, he’s capable of killing that young woman and her unborn child. The authorities are checking the baby’s paternity, because the child wasn’t her husband’s. She’d had an affair. Could the father be my neighbor? And if he is, then did he kill her to hide it? I don't know. None of it makes sense to me.

When I walk my dog now, there’s a somber feel to the neighborhood. No one laughs anymore. I go to the post office, and we speak in horrified whispers. And every new thing that comes out of the sheriff’s department about the murder seems to point to him.

The worst is that we DON’T know. Are they going to charge him with her murder? Could he have done that terrible thing? We all just keep waiting for the next horrible bit of news to come out. It’s a terrifying feeling that doesn’t to go away.

As a writer, I’m trying to examine my feelings, and I’m trying to come to terms with them. I don’t feel less safe in my little town. I haven’t suddenly started locking my doors. But I keep praying it isn’t him, that the police will turn around and say oops, sorry, we made a mistake. I think I’ve figured out why I’m so disturbed. It’s this sudden feeling that there could be evil lurking inside everyone you look at. If HE’S this evil monster, a man I would never in a million years suspect of these kinds of things, then what are other people hiding? It shakes my faith. It calls into question my judgment. I wonder if I’m permanently changed or if somehow my faith in human nature will return. I hope so, because I really don’t want to look at my other neighbors and wonder what terrible things go on behind their closed doors at night.

Jasmine Haynes
http://www.skullybuzz.com

When is the end REALLY the end...or does it ever end?

2006-09-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, so a few days ago I finally wrote "the end" on the latest novella in my Wolf Tales series, and as much as I felt like celebrating, I have to realize that writing "the end" is merely the first step on a very long road. Once finished, I reread the story and did some minor revisions, then I sent it off to my "village," a wonderful group of readers, all either published authors or editors, who are currently finding lots of ways to tell me, nicely, that my writing sucks. I'll take their comments and revise as needed, print the manuscript out and mail it to my editor at Kensington. The end? Not quite. Next I'll receive a nice little package in the mail filled with copy edits which will most likely need to be dealt with on the run and overnighted back to New York. All through? Not hardly. Galley proofs will show up, again most likely by overnight FedEx with instructions to proof and return within half an hour...well, not quite that fast, but damned close. Finally. Sigh of relief, right? NO WAY! It's time to check on promotion! Is the ad for RT ready? Got the mailings done for booksellers? How about those online chats lined up with readers? Almost ready to take a breather when you look at the calendar and realize the proposal for the new novel is due in two days and the deadline on the next book is less than a month away. Point being...there is no end in sight, which is a good thing and a bad thing...and one more example of being careful what you wish for. (VBG) My question being, did any of you who are now published authors have any idea how much work went into a manuscript AFTER you wrote "the end?" I didn't have a clue.

Writing To Size

2006-09-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have to write something that is “to size” meaning that the story has to fit within a certain word count. In particular this comes up with the short erotic stories that Ellora’s Cave calls “quickies”. These have to be between 10 to 15 thousand words, or 10 to 12 thousand if it is for one of the Cavemen anthologies. Within that word count you must introduce the characters and show them falling in love, all through the use of lots and lots of hot sex. Challenging but fun to do.

Some people are pretty good at it, some find it very difficult to do. I find all the sex exhausting to write as Rachelle pointed out in her post last Friday, but I do like the short form in that I can stay focused on the basic relationship story I want to tell. I don’t get real repetitive…no point in repeating information that was only a couple pages away and I don’t have the word count for it anyway. Every word is golden…you don’t want extras so you write tight.

And there is a lot of sex to put in.

So I’ve got one quickie that I’m finishing up for the Wild Winter series that is due to my editor on Friday. Also on Friday I have a release – Ellora’s Cavemen: Dreams Of The Oasis III with my short story Pleasure Maid is coming out in ebook and print format. That’s about this woman who wakes up in the garden of a young man being held prisoner. She has no memory of why she is there but Dina and Gal manage to find ways to fill their time. Within 12 thousand words.

Anyone else want to talk about writing to size?

New release Day, The Lost Wolf Warrior

2006-09-18T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Okay it’s my blog day, but also new release day for me, which is always an exciting time. Today my book, The Lost Wolf Warrior--a re-written version—will be released from http://Liquidsilverbooks.com. Let me tell you a little bit about the Solarian Warrior Series-- of which The Lost Wolf Warrior is book #1.

I wrote The Lost Wolf Warrior many, many, years ago as my first completed novel, so the book holds a special place in my heart. When I was writing the tale I decided I had to have a strong female warrior as my heroine and I got to thinking, what if she has a talisman, an animal, I though. I set the story in 13^th Century England/Scotland and I really wanted my female heroine, Serena, to have a wolf by her side and for them to have a telepathic connection.

I started doing research on wolves in England during that time period. To my dismay, I discovered, King Edward the Ist ordered the eradication of the wolves in 1280, until they were completely extinct in England and eventually Scotland by the early 1600’s. To this day, there are no wolves in either country, despite activist attempt at brining them back.

I was totally dismayed to think an entire species of animal could be killed off that way. So I created a group of people called the Solarian's, who lived in harmony with their wolves until that fateful day in 1280 when King Edward sent English soldiers to kill not only the wolves, but the Solarian's as well . After the battle, the surviving Solarian's left England and settled in the Scottish Highlands, where they formed a secret Realm. Today, they still live in the Highlands and protect their wolves. And so the Solarian Warrior Series was born.

Please come by and visit my adopted wolf, Wana at http://WolfMountain.com

Here's an intro to Book #1 of the series:

The Lost Wolf Warrior

The year is 1311. Serena de Reincolt, a young Warrior of the Wolf, is tasked with a quest: Retrieve the sacred scrolls of Solaria and the outlawed murderer, Ziem.

Failure means certain death for the Solarians.

Found at age six in the Forest of the Dean with no memory of his former life, Lord Roan Aston, the Wolf, has always felt a part of him was missing.

One thing Roan knows for certain--he is finished with warring. Taking up King Edward's offer to protect a castle on the Scottish border, Roan is as content as he can be.

It wasn't until Roan met an incredible woman in the most extraordinary circumstances that he pieced together his purpose in life. But their journey is fraught with danger and a vengeful King who will stop at nothing less than eradication of all those he feels threaten his rule.

Suddenly, Roan and Serena are protecting more than a society of gifted people; they are fighting for their lives, their love, and a fantastic legend.

Rae

http://RaeMonet.com

Basking in the Afterglow

2006-09-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

Last week, after overdosing on coffee and forgoing sleep to meet the deadline for my latest book, The Sin Club, I wondered why I felt so drained. Well, beyond the obvious reason, that is. And it finally dawned on me:

Just as the actual sex act – done right, LOL – can be exhausting, so is writing erotic romance.

Why is that? Well, for me it’s because sex is a major character in the story who must be present at all times. Even when the hero and/or heroine are not thinking about sex or having sex or even together in the same scene. What the hero/heroine is seeing, thinking, saying, physically and emotionally feeling, as well as smelling and tasting, must be used to convey sensuality consistently – before, during, and after the actual sexual intercourse. The reader must always feel the sexual tension regardless of what is happening in the story. And keeping that level consistent, even in the most mundane conversation, takes a lot of work. At least for me and the level of sensuality I try to maintain in my writing.

But it’s over. I’m done. The book has been turned in. And I feel like I would after a great round of sex: Satisfied and complete. I think the exhaustion was worth it – The Sin Club pleased me.

So … is it just me or do other writers feel like this after completing erotica/erotic romance? And from a reader standpoint, do you like sensuality present in every scene?

Bella wonders what you like/don't like to read

2006-09-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

I'm spending a month in the Adirondacks with my mil and I always give her paperbacks to read. I've passed along my friend's books--currently on her bookshelf is Barbara Freethy, Jennifer Skully and Allison Brennan--all of which she has read and loved, ladies! In any case, we were talking about books and she made the comment that she doesn't want to read stories about women figuring things out and working out their relationships with other women. I found this to be really interesting, because she voraciously read romances and in a lot of cases, along with the love relationship, the heroine goes through a process of figuring things out. Her preference is quite clear--no books with three/four women characters working through their issues.

It made me think about what I like/don't like to read. I really love women's fiction and romance. And honestly, that's about it. I can't read thrillers because they are too scary. Romantic suspense sometimes works. And literary fiction is usually a wallbanger. Oh--and I LOVE travel writing. I devour Bill Bryson's books and anything about someone who moves to Italy/France/UK to start a new life.

What are your reading preferences?
;-) Bella
http://www.bellaandre.com

Romantic Gifts

2006-09-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

In romance novels, often the hero gives the heroine gifts, especially in the form of jewelry or flowers. While both can be nice, I find both can be little impersonal. Which is why my favorite gift I ever received from my husband was... a dog.

My husband travels quite a bit for business, often internationally. He's brought home a few things - a really cool coffee mug, a couple of beautiful scarves (which I can't quite get the hang of wearing - Doreen, perhaps I can see you for a consult). But nothing beats the dog.

Now, it wasn't a real dog. We already have 2 of those, but at the time we only had 1. His name is Joey, a german shepherd (or Belgian Malinois, depending on who you talk to) rescued from the mean streets of Santa Clara. Skinny, sad, with a horrible case of separation anxiety, Joey joined our family and quickly thrived under our enthusiastic attentions. My husband, who was skeptical about having an "indoor dog," quickly declared Joey "the best dog ever." Shortly after Joey moved in, my husband took a business trip to Berlin. When he got home, he handed me a blue Swarovski bag.
"I know you're not big into the crystal figurines," he said, "but I hope you'll like this." Inside was a crystal figurine of a German Shepherd, and damned if the thing didn't look just like a crystal Joey.

Okay, I know it's corny that I teared up as I unwrapped it. And I know it's silly that I'm so emotional over a crystal figurine. But there's something so great about having someone who knows you so well, who knows exactly what will make you smile... That's more romantic than any diamond bracelety, in my book (although he also recently scored with a sterling silver turtle necklace he bought in Hawaii).

So what is the most romantic gift you've ever received? What did your loved one get you that showed that he or she knew you inside and out, and wanted to make you smile?

The first rule of publishable writing.

2006-09-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

There are a few basic rules to writing if you want to be published. First and foremost…in order to publish a story, you must actually finish it. No one is going to put into print a story that has not been written, that does not have a beginning, middle, and an end. This is because when a reader buys a story they expect it to have those things. The pieces may not be great, but they must exist.

As I usually say, the first thing you must do is finish the dam… that is gosh-darn book!

And yet here I am with the beginnings of several stories that aren’t at this time completed. A couple of them are nothing more than beginnings. In one case I’ve got close to ten thousand words done, which is just a little beyond the beginning of the book. In another I’ve finished the beginning and am half-way through the middle part and the end is drafted, making it the closest to actually being finished.

Clearly what I should do is stay focused on one story, get that one finished, then work on the next. Linear writing - make sure I finish what I’ve promised to turn in first and don’t work on anything else until I do. If only I didn’t get distracted by all those other stories…

Anyone else have this problem?
Cheers,
Janet/Cricket

Roman Holiday

2006-09-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

(Hi all. Mardi asked me to post this for her as she's on vacation! - Cricket)

Roman Holiday

To celebrate my upcoming birthday, my children decided to take me to a European capital I’d never previously visited – a stipulation that would exclude only London, Paris, Prague and Budapest. Though they kept the destination secret for ages, they finally took pity and gave me a bit of advance notice so I could do some preliminary research. So far, based on other travelers’ advice, I’ll want to see everything, eat everything and watch out for the drivers.

Rome brings up so many associations – romance, beauty, art, culture, history, style. The Audrey Hepburn movie whose title I borrowed for this column. “Three Coins in a Fountain.” Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The Coliseum and the Pantheon. Gorgeously dressed men and women.

For the few days I’ll be in Rome, I’ll typify the cliché of an American turista -- taking too many photos, buying too many souvenirs and looking unbearably dowdy. Maybe my eyes will lock with those of an incredibly gorgeous man. I’ll drink in every detail of his face and physique, mentally casting him as hero, villain or supporting cast for a new story.

To be continued. I’ll let you all know about Rome in my next blog. As for now, Ciao!

Mardi

To Slut or Not to slut

2006-09-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

Boy are we going to get spammed for that one!
We’ll deal with it. Okay so call me old fashioned but my heroines are not slutty.
Ok, let me back up here. What exactly is a slut? I’m going to go look it up and come back with the official Merriam Webster definition. Stand by.
Okay, here we go:

1 chiefly British : a slovenly woman
2 a : a promiscuous woman; especially : PROSTITUTE b : a saucy girl : MINX

Love the minx reference. See, my idea of a minx is not a slut. LOL, I guess Kelly Pickler should be insulted that Simon called her a ‘saucy little minx’ during one of the AI shows this past season.

I digress. Slut: A promiscuous woman, a slovenly woman. PROSTITUTE.

I’ll bite. While my heroines don’t come to the hero intact, they haven’t been around the block too many times to count either. My heroines for the most part don’t have sex for the sake of having sex. In other words there is no sport fucking going on. Per se. Idunno. Knitting brows here. My girls aren’t frigid, far from it, but they consider sex more than just a physical act. There has to be some form of emotional investment. Even though instant attraction/lust is a strong impetus, there has to be some other type of connection. Something that tells her this could be the one even though he’s a bad bad boy. I’m thinking of my heroine Frankie in SKIN. She is pretty open-minded. But even so she doesn’t just jump in bed for the sake of sex. Until Reese comes along, and she goes into heat pretty quick. But she uses sex to gain control of her subject, Reese. He uses sex to get information. What they both don’t realize is going on is there are much stronger forces at work beneath the surface than either realizes.

Anyway, the reason for this subject today is there has been conversation on a few blogs lately about slutty heroines, and I wanted to first of all define what a slut was, in general, and second to find out as readers, are you okay with the heroines bed hopping, either before they meet the hero or while engaging him? Is this a generational thing? Or is it just me?

Here’s more food for thought. Can a woman be in lust and have an emotional tie to two men, and live happily ever after together? A good friend of mine, Maya Banks, has written some really sexy, emotional stuff involving trios and more!
As a writer how do you feel about putting your heroines in bed with multiple males either on the page or off?

Is it socially acceptable for heroines to be slutty (per Merriam Webster’s definition?)
What is your definition of a slut? What is slutty behavior?
Okay, enough sluttiness for me today. I’d love to hear from you on any or all of the questions posed, or just a musing.
Write on,

K*

Count your Blessings

2006-09-07T06:43:00.000-07:00

When I’m on deadline and a hundred pages from the goal and the clock is tick-tick-ticking, sometimes I panic. I actually hate the writer’s life. I think, wow, wouldn’t it be great to be back in an office where the clock hits five, and I can just drive home listening to my favorite music and when I get home, I can read a book or just veg on the couch. And I can go to real restaurants and eat real food because I’ve actually got a paycheck coming in EVERY two weeks and my medical insurance is PAID for and I can go on a VACATION if I want to. All I have to do is fill out a little form and hand it to my boss and say sayonara, baby! I wouldn’t be ripping my hair out trying to figure out why the ending is not working, I wouldn’t open my email to awful reviews, or google myself and find people saying awful things about my book, which actually feels like they’re saying awful things about ME. Yes, I think to myself, wouldn’t all that be so cool to work in an office again!!!!!

That was last week. This week is much brighter. I’ve finished the book and sent it in. I’m driving along the highway to Costco. And I think to myself, there’s not a lot of people who get to drive through ten miles of Redwoods when they want to go to Costco. And most people can’t go at ten in the morning on a Thursday. There’s not a lot of people who have a ten second commute down the hallway to get to work. Not a lot of people can walk out their back door and find themselves right in the woods. They can’t drive for ten minutes and be at the beach. They can’t go to The Boardwalk any time they want. They can’t suddenly become a princess and marry a prince or learn how to fly with wings attached to their own bodies or LIVE their dreams. But I can. Because being a writer is my dream. Even if sometimes there are some things about it that are hard.

So, I don’t think I’ll go back to that office job. I think I’ll stay right here and write another book. And when I start to hate the book, I’ll try really hard to remember all the blessings that I’ve got in my life that I would never, ever trade.

What blessings do you have in your life?
Jasmine Haynes
http://www.skullybuzz.com

When is it just too much?

2006-09-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

Talking promotion, here. We all get innundated on a regular basis with email from our fellow authors touting their latest book/contest/newsletter/chat/interview/ad nauseum (and yes, I'm just as guilty) but what I really want to know is, does that stuff work? I've pretty much given up all the online chat in readers' groups because I just don't have the time. I occasionally check out the Romantic Times readers boards, try to participate in the occasional chat and I make announcements and hold a contest through my newsletter every month (over 600 members) for both resident and non-resident readers, but I've shifted a lot of my promotion away from the lists. Why? Because I don't like reading everyone else's and figure that's probably how folks opening their email feel about mine!

Don't get me wrong--I love the occasional announcement of good news, the review clips and that sort of thing, but the constant barrage of blatant promotion from the same people gets old fast. So, what DOES work? I've been trying some new things, but the jury is still out--right now I'm primarily promoting my books to the booksellers. I send out a mailing with a cover letter, cover flats and bookmarks about five months before a new release and also stop in at bookstores wherever I go and offer to sign my books.

I also participate whenever anyone wants ideas for articles for RWR or RT and I try and involve myself in as many panels as possible at both RT and RWA conferences. When someone is putting on a course for writers, I'm quick to send anything they need, because that keeps my name out there. I think that name branding is more important than promoting individual books, but I'm not really sure if I'm right!

Anyway, what works for you? What advertising do you think gives you the best return for the time and money spent? Please let me know what it is that sells your books or, if you're a reader, makes you go out and buy one?

Thanks!

Dead Again

2006-09-05T22:46:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I blogged about an error Red Sage Publishing had made in a double volume, hardback printing of Secrets, Volumes 5 & 6 by Double Day. On the About the Author page they printed my obit. One sentence, I was dead. I thought of it as a unique author story and wanted to share it.

Recently I received an email from Rachelle Chase. While participating on a Red Sage chat on WriteMinded Rachelle noted a posting from a reader. Pam D had posted the following: My favorite story was “Alias Smith and Jones” in Volume 5, sadly BJ McCall is deceased.

Rachelle immediately posted that I was alive and provided my website as proof. She also emailed me and suggested I post. Thank you, Rachelle for letting me know I was dead again.

I posted. Question is will my sales improve that I have once again joined the living!

Why Race Cars?

2006-09-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

A lot of people as me why I write romances with Race Car Drivers in them.

Well let me lay it out for you:

Growing up in Washington State, I began riding dirt bikes when I was an infant. How you ask? My mother used to carry me in a front pouch and my sister rode the back.

Yes, I was raised a tomboy, folks. Sunday, became NASCAR day, where my family would sit down and enjoy all day car racing and crack crab. I'm sure that sentiment brings back fond memories for all of you who did the same.

Here's the history... In the 60's my mother drove the powder puff racing category of drag cars and eventually married my father, who was a mechanic. That was until she decided to have children, and therein lies the story of my tomboy upbringing... instead of boys, my mom had two girls, so she had to make due. But she never really gave up her racing roots, and she decided to trade racing for motor cycle riding. Seemed like the safe way to go.

So my fascination with racing began, you could say, from birth ;). Now I write about the sport, the sexy drivers, the sassy heroine’s--it’s so fun to write I can’t resist.

You can read about all my books with Race Car hero's/heronines here: http://raemonet.com

Here’s a picture of one of the driver’s on the NASCAR stock car circuit… not sexy at all, huh? What an inspiration for a romance… and guess what, he’s a bachelor. This is from the August issue of Men's Health Magazine.

So tell me, did you want to watch racing now?

Bella wonders where other erotic romance writers first sex scenes land?

2006-08-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

I'd love to hear from the rest of the red hot ladies on this one--and of course any other writers checking in: Where does the first sex scene in your book always end up?

I'm asking because I've come to learn that everyone has their own style and that, more of than not, we tend to use the same plotting/character pattern for each one of our books--even when everything else about them is completely different.

For example, remember how every single romance used to have the first sex scene at 200 pages and then maybe another one at 250?

In my books, I've found that my characters always relate to each other sexually within the first 20 to 30 pages. Not because I feel compelled to start my books off with a sex scene, but just because that's the initial driving element of their relationship. If they already know each other from their pasts, they tend to reunite many years later in bed (althought rarely in a bed!). If they have just met then it's possible that one of them is using the sex with a stranger thing to deal (poorly, of course) with some crisis in her or his life.

And for readers: Do you care where the first sex scene happens? In the beginning? Middle? End?

;-) Bella

The Unexpected

2006-08-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday as I was taking my daily walk, I met a friend along the way I haven't seen in a while. Linda's a writing friend. I met her eight years ago when we both joined Sisters in Crime as newbies. Of the 90 people on that newbie loop, we discovered we actually lived only a block from each other. Now my little town only has about 3000 residents so the odds of that were absolutely astronomical and we became good friends.

Linda has since moved on to be a loan broker and she loves her job, loves working with people, especially those who come to her looking to consolidate their finances in the hopes of achieving financial freedom so they can live the life they've always wanted. She asked if she could write about me in her client newsletter, as an example of someone who simplified her life and now has the full-time writing career she always wanted. What an honor! And of course, I agreed. In addition, what an unexpected bit of promotion for me.

I'd love to hear about stories from you about unexpected and wondrous things that have happened to you lately. Please share!

And since Linda is promoting me, I'll promote her, it's only fair. Linda Murphy, American Home Mortgage, (831) 469-4800.

Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com

Externally motivated?

2006-08-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

In one of the hundreds of education courses I took, one of the classifications we discussed was whether students are externally vs. internally motivated. Applying those same criteria to myself as a writer, I find myself to be externally motivated -- and wish like hell I could figure out how to switch to the internal type.

For example, today I went to my post office box. There were two pieces of mail. One was a rejection, which would ordinarily bum me out and ruin my day, possibly my week. However, as rejections go, this one wasn't bad. In addition to its not being a form letter, it came from an agent I'd considered a real long-shot in lots of ways -- so I didn't go into too deep a funk. The second envelope contained a royalty check that was bigger than anticipated. My husband always tells me lowering expectations is a good way to avoid unhappiness, and I suppose this unexpected check is a case in point. It made my day.

Reviews can make or break my day. Sometimes even communication with one of my editors can do the same.

Question: For those of you who are internally motivated, how do you do it? How do you manage to not let the vicissitudes of the externals make you ecstatic or drive you nuts? Inquiring minds want to know...

Bella ponders the issue of How To Deal

2006-08-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

I missed the RWA National conference this year (being about 1,000 months pregnant will do that to a girl) and after hearing about some of the workshops and keynote speeches, I'm waiting very impatiently for the conference tapes. Evidently between Christina Dodd's talk about walking the sidewalk of success and Susan Elizabeth Phillips "big mistake! huge" talk there was plenty of inspiration to go around.

The thing is, most writers don't talk about the hard times in their careers. Sure, we know that Stephen King was rejected a bazillion times before he finally sold Carrie and that Sherrilyn Kenyon was told to pack up and go home before she ever sold a Dark Hunter book. But what about the mid-career lulls? What about when you've sold a stack of books and then....the black hole of publishing sucks you in and it's rejection, rejection, rejection?

I find it invaluable to know that incredibly successful writers like SEP, Ms. Dodd, and Barbara Freethy hit huge potholes in their careers. Years in after great sales numbers and big deals where everything stalled. It's hard to believe now that SEP's agent held an auction for her Chicago Stars books and NOBODY CAME!! My lord those are good books, but I digress.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that hopefully the shared wisdom of the stars of our business will help goad us all on to writing and submitting more books and proposals in every stage of our careers, no matter how quickly or slowly they are snapped up.

(Note: I stole the title of this blog from a movie made a couple of years ago from two of Sarah Dessen's books. They're YA, but not particularly young in tone. I highly recommend her books, and the movie too, because Mandy Moore is so cute in it. Love her. Want her to play the heroine of the movie of one of my books one day.)

My question for you is: What's the best inspiration story you've heard from another writer? Please share it with us. I'd love to hear it (and so would many other writers, I suspect)!

;-) Bella Andre
http://www.BellaAndre.com

The pinnacle of my career!

2006-08-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

I can now consider myself a true erotic romance writer. I received my first fan mail from a prison inmate. He said he thought my erotica was the best, the absolute best he's ever read. And he indicated he'd read a lot of erotica. I'm not sure how they come by these books in prison. Does the prison library carry them? After I read the letter to him, my husband looked at me and gravely said, "I think you should feel honored. He's not just a prison inmate, he's a person, too."

So here's to hitting the pinnacle! Oh, the other pinnacle is that Jennifer Skully, that other writer inside me, won first place for single title in the Daphne Du Maurier Award for "Sex and the Serial Killer." Another pinnacle. Since I joined RWA and the Kiss of Death mystery chapter, it has been a dream of mine to win as a published writer (I won an unpublished category with "Dead to the Max," written by yet another multiple personality lurking inside me). And I made it!

Wow, two pinnacles in two short weeks. What more could a girl ask for?
Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com

My Golden Heart night

2006-08-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

I reposted this up front here with a photo of "the moment"

Thanks, Kate. Being able to make that speech, sharing it with so many people, was the highlight of the night, not to mention the award itself. It was like a Fairy Tale evening. It happened as if in slow motion. Karin and I were sitting there, clutching hands, and Sherrilyn Kenyon read the nominees, then the envelope came her way. I think all she got out was Blood before Karin started screaming, and after we hugged each other, I fumbled around in my purse for the words I had so hastily written down on a tiny piece of paper. I made my way to the podium, got a big hug from Sherrilyn, and went up to give my speech. After the fact, I wish I would have thanked way more people, but you know how it is… when you finish, you always think of more to say.

Here’s what I said, in a nutshell. It started with a resounding “WOW.” and a deep breath ;)

“Most of you know me as Rae Monet. I want to thank RWA and the judges of the Golden Heart contest. I’d also like to thank my best friend, Karin Tabke, and my critique partner, Edie Ramer. Thank you to my publishers, Red Sage and Liquid Silver books. For me, Blood Squad has been a journey back from a nearly crippling diagnosis of MS. Despite the fact there is no cure for my disease, Blood Squad has shown me, there is hope. Thank you.”

Oh at least I think it was something like that, LOL. When I returned to my seat, Karin and I did another hug, sat through the rest of a very nice ceremony in a blur with huge smiles, then went for the chocolate.

After that, the night was full of many hugs and congrats. I was in a happy haze and still am. I couldn't have asked for a better evening.

Watching Rae win the Golden Heart

2006-08-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

I was hoping Rae Monet would have a chance to blog about winning the Golden Heart at RWA Nationals in Atlanta last week, but I imagine she's one busy girl and hasn't had the chance. SO, I decided to write about WATCHING Rae win it. You see, Rae's win was very special to me. She's in the early stages of MS--and multiple sclerosis is a disease that changes everything in your life. I know, because I was diagnosed in 1985 when I was just 35 years old. When she gave her acceptance speech, she talked about her diagnosis and how she had poured so much of her anger and heartbreak (my words, not hers) into her book after learning what she had. Damn but I can relate to that, and I sat there listening to her short but heartfelt speech with tears running down my face and thinking, "You go GIRL!" The thing is, I was sitting there with my agent, feeling on top of the world because, after so many years of struggle in this very tough business, not only is my MS in full remission, I'm finally published and my books are doing well, something I dreamed of for all those years and yet never expected. That's what writing is, actually. A profession where we put our dreams down on paper for the world to see and criticize, so it's really gratifying to see one of our own take the podium as a winner. Rae, you are so talented and have such a wonderful life ahead of you. Even though that should have been a RITA they handed to you, your Golden Heart was very much deserved. Congratulations and write on!

You Know … That Red-Lipped Author

2006-07-23T22:48:00.000-07:00

I’ve been thinking of a way to distinguish myself - physically - as an author. When I’ve run into people who know my friend Mary B. Morrison – but not by name – they say, "You know. The author with the blonde [dread]locks." Or when referring to my friend, Liz Maverick, they say, "The one with the rings and sparkly eyes."

So ... what can I do so that people will remember me?

I’m thinking tattoos and piercings. I saw a woman today with an interesting combination of the two. She had this crimson Marilyn Monroe mole with a diamond stud in the middle. Her lipstick was the exact shade of crimson.

How does this sound? ... "That red-lipped author with the red tattooed diamond studded mole who always wears red."

Nah. Too wordy.

The search continues ...

P.S. -- On a different note, I've launched a blog. There are some fun contests going on, namely a chance to win a 6-month Aphrodisia Book Club Subscription, two unique products in the "What Would You Do With This?" contest, and "Finding Derek," where visitors will get to vote for THE Derek Mitchell -- after I find him. I hope you'll stop by and check it out.

On Writing Emotional Scenes

2006-07-02T09:37:00.000-07:00

An author sent out a list of questions last week for an article she's writing, asking how we build emotion in our stories. I started listing the things I do to wring every drop of emotion I can find out of a scene, and realized I was describing the same process I use for writing sex scenes. You can't just "throw" emotion into the story. You have to lead up to it, build the tension much as you build sexual tension for a romance. The reader has to have a strong emotional investment in the character before they can feel any emotional link, which is the same way you write a sex scene that works. Lots of foreplay, right? I know when I write a hot scene, it works much better if I can get into my characters' heads...the same goes for writing something truly emotional. If I don't feel it, how can I expect my reader to feel it? And yes, I have been known to sit blubbering at my keyboard, ripping tissues out of the box to wipe my eyes and nose when I'm writing away at one of those tear-jerking scenes. (Think character Joan Wylder in Romancing the Stone) Anyway, it got me to thinking (Always a scary proposition) about the way other authors write their emotional scenes. What process works for you?

Mysteries of the Technology Age

2006-06-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have random thoughts. Correct that, most of my thoughts are random. Here are a couple of examples.

I noticed that many of the pay phones in my area are being removed. I'm told that's because people now have cell phones. But the pay phones bymy local grocery store get used all the time (I see the evidence with my own two eyes every morning when hubby and I go for our coffee). So what will people without cell phones do? And what if my cell battery dies, and I don't have my charger in the car? Can you do redial on a pay phone? How about *69?

All the people I have ever talked to say they delete their email spam without reading it or even opening it. I do that myself, and I get 100 or more spams a day. But if everybody deletes them and nobody reads them, then why do spammers keep sending them? Seems like a big waste of time. Are there closet spam addicts out there who spend all day opening and responding to their spam?

When an email gets lost in cyber space, where does it really go?

When you call 911 on your cell phone, but you're 200 miles away from your local area code, what 911 dispatcher are you calling?

Why won't they take empty pizza boxes in the recycle bin? They're made of cardboard.

I don't expect answers to my random questions and thoughts. Just thought I'd share.

Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com
Somebody's Lover in bookstores today!

Mysteries of the Technology Age

2006-06-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

My "Real" Job

2006-06-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

Last month, on a plane to Orlando, the man wearing the cowboy hat and boots sitting next to me struck up a conversation.

"Are you traveling for business or pleasure?" he asked with a real twang. (I'm starting to understand this cowboy/uniform fascination – but that's a different blog entry.)

I paused. I wasn’t traveling for my day job but ...

"Business," I finally said.

"What do you do?"

Another pause. Which answer should I give him? I chose the easy one. That is, the one that would result in fewer questions. "I'm a business consultant but I also write so I'm meeting a group of writers for a writing retreat."

"What do you write?"

"Romance," I said. Since he seemed genuinely interested, I launched into a passionate monologue about what I write, when my first book came out, and future pub dates.

After I'd run out of air, he nodded and said, "So writing is your real job."

My mouth dropped open. Then I grinned. "Yeah. It is."

I could have kissed him. When's the last time a stranger's concluded that writing is your "real" job?

30th wedding anniversary

2006-06-17T09:10:00.000-07:00

Next Monday hubby and I will have been married for 30 years. I know that sounds impressive, and I have to admit to being a little impressed myself. After all it means well over half my life has been spent with this man, and him with me.

When we first talked to the minister about getting married, he asked us what we had in common. Jim and I just looked at each other and smiled and told him that we both liked Mexican vampire movies. Which is to say that we both have off-beat senses of humor, and we enjoy the odd little things that life tends to throw at you.

One of our favorite TV shows is called The Amazing Race, where pairs of people, often couples, follow clues to race each other around the world. The best teams are usually people who work well together and don't let the strangeness get to them. To celebrate our 30th we've decided on our own amazing race...a three week trip around the world:

San Francisco, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hong Kong, Delhi, Agra, Athens, the Greek Islands, Delphi, Cairo, Luxor, London, San Francisco. Planes, trains, boats, and automobiles will be involved. At least 50 hours will be spent on airplanes alone.

We're leaving June 25 and returning July 16. For once I'm not bringing a laptop computer, but I will still try and post occasionally. It will be fun, exhausting, exciting, and stressful.

Rather like being married for 30 years.

Cheers,
Janet Miller/Cricket Starr

Historical eras? What works for romance?

2006-06-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

I've heard for quite some time that for historical romances, any time period after 1900 is not very salable (I don't think the French Revolution is, either, but maybe that's because there were too many beheadings). My husband just told me he think I should write historicals, and what era does he pick? Anything in the 20th century. Hah. Figures. But that does bring a question to mind? Why aren't historical romances set in the last century salable? Is it really that readers aren't interested? Have they seen too many documentaries on TV? Yes, I think there are certain events which hold great interest, such as the sinking of the Titanic, but what about something set during one of the world wars? Or the roaring twenties? Or the fifties (Leave It To Beaver's mom could throw out her apron and wear jeans while she's cleaning!!!)? Or beyond.

Don't tell my husband, but I'm not really going to write a historical. I am, however, very curious about what all of you think. Would you like to read more romances set in the last century? If so, what periods and why do they interest you? If not, why not?
Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com

What is your procrastination trigger?

2006-06-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

I've got a very busy two months ahead of me. Copy edits on one book, revisions on another, and 150 pages to write on a third--all before my August 1st due date (a baby, not a book!). And yet, as I sit waiting for the DHL package with the copy edits to arrive possibly today, maybe not until Monday, rather than make a dent in the 150 pages that need to be written I'm steam cleaning, blogging, and wandering around the backyard seeing if any new strawberries have ripened in the past thirty minutes.

I've been on vacation for the past two weeks, and honestly, it's like pulling teeth to get myself to write again whenever I come back from a chunk of time away from writing. I know it, I know that it will pass and the pages will start flying from my fingertips again if I can only push through it, but does that help? No. Not really. Does my husband's encouragement or my CPs cheerleading get me to the page? No. No usually, anyway.

That's why I decided to blog about procrastination today--in the hopes that when nothing else seems to work, that at least putting words down in blogger.com will start the engine running again. And for everyone else--what's your procrastination trigger?

;-) Bella
http://www.BellaAndre.com

Guilty Pleasures

2006-06-07T07:24:00.000-07:00

In the evenings, I like to kick back with a good book, or just vegetate in front of the TV. Yes, I'm a couch potato! There are some great documentaries on the History channel, watched one the other night about the French Revolution. Marie Antoinette did NOT say, "Let them eat cake." She was too self-absorbed to even realize her people were starving. This is what I learned. But other times, I like to veg watching something inane and fluffy. My latest guilty pleasure was "Big Love" on HBO. It's a series about a family of polygamists. Then, right after the season finale, I watched some fluffy teenage movie about a sixteen-year-old who makes up an imaginary man for her mother to date. I can't even remember the title. It was silly, but it had moments that made me smile, too. I could be doing something productive instead and I know it's a total waste of time watching this kind of stuff. Or is it? After a long day of working, it lets my mind relax. I feel myself wind down. Thoughts of what I have to do the next day aren't swirling around in my brain. So maybe being a vegetable isn't so bad sometimes.

Do you need to be a vegetable sometimes, too (please say yes so that I don't have to feel like a total flake)? And what are your guilty pleasures that help you turn off an overactive mind?
Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com

A really special evening out

2006-06-03T19:59:00.000-07:00

I've been glued to my computer for days trying to get caught up after a week away at the Romantic Times convention, and I think my husband must have had enough of me telling him to go away. Tonight we went on a date, and it was wonderful. I wore jeans and boots and my leather jacket, stuck my hair into my helmet and climbed on the motorcycle behind Doug for a ride through the woods. We ended up at the little restaurant at the golf course in Cobb where we had a wonderful dinner and watched all the cute high school kids in their prom dresses and tuxedoes coming into the place for dinner before the dance. Dinner was wonderful, we talked and laughed and had such a great time, then we got back on the bike and took a long, slow ride through the woods, down Bottlerock Road and back through the vineyards around Loch Lomond before coming home. All in all, I was only away from the computer for about two hours, but when I came back into my office I realized that my entire perception had changed. I was remembering the changing scents as we rode through forests and meadows, thinking of the way the temperature dropped as we climbed higher into the mountains and how the light glistened off the glassy obsidian that lines Bottlerock Road. It's so easy to forget that we occasionally need to experience life in order to write about it. Tonight's little excursion reminded me of the importance of getting away from the computer and out into the world. When we come back to our desks, it's with a whole new palette of sensory colors for our books. How long has it been since you've recharged your batteries?

Control

2006-05-31T15:28:00.000-07:00

Recently another author blogged about the fact that looks don't matter in writing, particularly when it comes to selling your book to an editor, but also in the marketing of your book. Anyway, a spirited, sometimes prickly discussion ensued, and towards the end the author commented that the reason she is so passionate about this topic is because, for her, it's about having and maintaining control of her destiny. As she put it (and I'm paraphrasing) she can work really hard, become a better writer, write a better book, and market harder. But she can't make herself look a certain way, so it's better to focus on the things she can control that will help her book sell (I feel compelled to point out that this is not a case of sour grapes at work - the author I'm referring to is very pretty and definitely has looks to leverage if the opportunity arises).

And I couldn't help thinking that if maintaining control of your destiny is a major thing for you, then perhaps writing is not the best career choice. Maybe it's just me, but I could lose weight, dye my hair, work out a whole bunch to fit some physical ideal, and it would happen a lot faster than it took to sell a book. And even beyond selling a book to the editor, there are a LOT of things that affect how your book sells once its published that I have almost zero control over. And I'm taking this list not just from my experience, but from other far more established authors who have hit bestseller lists and have still been burned. Here are a few I can think of off the top of my head:
- My cover
- How hard the sales team pushes my book to booksellers
- My reviews
- If there's glitch in shipping, causing my book to not show up in a major chain for the first 2 weeks it's out
- If my book comes out the third week of the month, after readers have already blown their budget on the other new releases in my genre
- If a bigger author gets moved into my month, thus eating up all the marketing $$

I'm sure you can all add to this list, just as I'm sure some of these things get a little more under your control as you get more established. My point though, is that while I'm trying to do what I can to steer my career in the right direction, there are so many things that you have no control over that can derail you. So I don't know, but I'm thinking a little diet, a little nip and tuck, maybe some botox, and I can be a beauty queen a hell of a lot faster than I can be a bestseller.

That opening sentence

2006-05-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

I'm starting Wolf Tales IV today, which is actually the seventh book in my series, which means there's a whole lot of stuff to remember, but my muse is being way too generous. She's given me about six different openings, and I'm having trouble finding that killer sentence. Think about it...when you start a new book, you start with an image that has got to snag both your editor and your reader. So, do you start in the heroine's point of view, or the hero's? Do you open with action or introspection? It's tough and it often means half a dozen false starts before you get the one line that sets your muse free. This conundrum is just part of the process of writing, and it's actually one I really enjoy. I spent most of today working in the garden, working on my opening line. I had planned to start with my hero, but the heroine won out. Here's what I ended up with:

If she sat very still, the wolves ignored her, even now in the failing light of dusk.

Now, would that snag your interest? We shall see if it actually works or not, but damn, I love my job!

Who Are You Calling a Bitch?

2006-05-24T07:50:00.000-07:00

The heroine of my current WIP has a little personality problem. Basically, she's a bitch. Not to mention a snob, who, for various reasons, doesn't think the hero is appropriate dating material. I know she's bordering on unsympathetic, and possibly unworthy of the hero's love and devotion. The problem is, I like her. I like that she's a little uptight, concerned with her image, and reflects attitudes of women I actually know (and love!). And I love that she's not so super sweet and incredibly perfect that everyone who meets her is absolutely enchanted by her beauty and grace (barf!). On the contrary, while she's very beautiful, most people find her kind of cold, and the hero is one of the few people who sees the loveable woman under her perfect exterior.

Then I went back and reflected on my other books, and realized that out of 5 novellas and 2 single titles, my favorite heroines are on the bitchier side.

We're all familiar with the reformed rake/uber-alpha/asshole hero, but what about the loveable bitch? Do you like reading or writing them? Has an author ever gone too far in creating either a bitch or an asshole and made you think he/she wasn't worthy of the other's love?

Too Close to Home?

2006-05-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my family in Wyoming on a dude ranch owned and operated by my mother's family. Which, as some have pointed out, means I should have cowboy stories pouring from my fingertips.

Or not.

Don't get me wrong, I have definitely known some sexy cowboys. But I have also known many who have breath that smells like Coors and Copenhagen, and have the world's most ridiculous tan lines from never going outside without a hat, long sleeve shirt, jeans, and boots on. Which means that the entire torso and legs are milky white, while the hands and face up to the forehead are dark brown. In short, not a sexy look. Which reminds me - there's a cowboy cover floating around featuring a built, shirtless guy on horseback. Lots of people have said it's sexy. Several years ago, my brother's friend came riding back to the barn shirtless. They're still talking about it, still snickering behind his back, making unflattering references to Chippendale's. So when I saw that cover, all I could think about was gooey, velveeta cheesiness. Which is not to say I don't love cowboy heroes - I do. When I'm reading. But when I try to conjure up a cowboy hero, I get too bogged down in the reality of people I've known, and I fixate on those stupid tan lines.

So my point/question (and I do have one) is this: are there any classic romance hero types - cop, special agent, military man, firefighter, etc - that you have trouble writing about because you can't screen out the reality of your own experience?

Book Covers

2006-05-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

The anticipation of a book release is a real high for me. The cover of the book is the icing on the cake. I baked it, but someone else decorates it.
So far I’ve been very lucky.
Both of my thumbs are way up for the cover of my recent release from Changeling Press. Sahara Kelly is the artist. Click on News and take a look at the cover of COSMIC COPS: Dark Pleasures and tell me what you think.

BJ McCall

Lessons Learned From My Contest

2006-05-03T22:56:00.000-07:00

Out of Control, my SECRETS VOLUME 13 novella, got its start by winning Lori Foster’s online “Pick of the Week” contest a couple years ago. So, a couple months ago, I launched my first ever “Chase the Dream” writer's contest (with Leigh Michaels) in an attempt to help another writer like I was helped. Though the contest ended up being more work than I expected, it's been great fun. I received a lot of fantastic entries, which made the job of choosing a single weekly finalist difficult. And I accomplished my goal – editors have requested work from all the finalists. What a rush that gave me! As did the numerous emails from writers telling me how much they’ve enjoyed the contest.

But the contest also gave me something I did not expect to receive: A greater understanding of what agents and editors must go through. Oh, I’ve given lip-service to understanding, but now ... I really get it! Namely, the ...

Importance of a Great Opening. The night before it was time to announce the weekly finalist, I read all the entries I’d received that week. As such, if I wanted to get to bed at a reasonable hour, I didn’t have a lot of time. So the minute I lost interest in an entry, I filed it in my “No” folder and moved on to the next. (The number one thing that caused me to lose interest was opening scenes bogged down with narrative, introspection, backstory – in short, no action). Since the number of entries I read each week paled in comparison to an agent/editor’s volume, I imagine that they give submissions even less time than I did! This has made me revisit the first chapter in my WIPs to make sure it is as interesting as possible.

Great Writing – Overdone Plot. There were numerous entries where the writer had a unique voice, great writing style, etc. but the scene had been done a hundred times. Girlfriends having drinks together while bemoaning the lack of men in their lives is one example that comes to mind. This made me think of a rejection letter I received for my chick lit that opened with my heroine discovering her boyfriend’s infidelity. Maybe the agent’s polite comment, “Our readers did not feel that this material would get the attention of editors” was a nice way of telling me my opening scene was unoriginal. (On the other hand, maybe he just didn’t want to tell me my writing sucked. LOL)

Mood of the Reader. One night, I was stressed out over my own writing deadline. As I went through the entries, I was not as ... forgiving as I had been in previous weeks. Entries that I had previously considered a “Maybe” were now a “No.” So maybe the agent who sent me the rejection form letter with her handwritten comment “You’re trying too hard” had just had a bad day. (Or, once again, maybe she just didn’t want to tell me my writing sucked. LOL)

Empathy for the Writer. Some entries started out really strong – which had me cheering for the author. Then, when the story lost momentum, I got that sinking feeling in my stomach because I so wanted it to be good. This drove home the fact that, as a reader, I started out reading a story wanting it to be good -- and felt “bad” for the author when the story lost its steam.

This leads me to the real point of this observation: For every entry I did not pick as a finalist, I wanted to let the writer know why. But there was no way I had the time to let writers know. So maybe sometimes agents/editors send out form letters, even though they’d like to give an explanation. This makes the personal rejection letters that I’ve received that much more priceless.

Good Writing is ... Good Writing. Many of the entries I selected as finalists were not subgenres of romance that I typically read. But the openings were so compelling that they grabbed me and made me want to read more. This, once again, goes back to the first point – the importance of a gripping opening.

So, all in all, this has been a fabulous experience – for me and, hopefully, the contest entrants. Please stop by my site, check out the finalists, and cast your vote for the winning entry.

Island Time...

2006-04-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

People who have to listen to me (and bless you all for not telling me to put a sock in it!) know that I've been on a killer schedule since I first signed with Kensington last fall...as in two single titles and two novellas completed in seven months. To top it off, I've just been asked to write three more single titles and three novellas which is totally cool and absolutely terrifying, so you'll understand why I've felt as if my life were spinning a bit out of control lately. Then, on Thursday, I got on a plane and flew to Hawaii to visit our son and his wife...and our three month old granddaughter, Ella. It's now Friday and I'm in Kaneohe, on Oahu. I am NOT writing anything...well, except for the blog, but that doesn't count, does it? :-) I'm sitting her listening to a soft rain falling through the palm trees, Melanie, my daughter in law, is nursing Ella, I've got one of their extra laptops so I can check email, a great book half read and a glass of diet Coke on the table next to me. I'm so relaxed I'm almost nervous! Where's the drive, the need to create, to (figuratively) put pen to paper? It's got to be island time, the slow pace of the tropics, the fresh scent of rain overlaid by baby powder and the ginger growing just outside the window. It's probably a good thing for my career that I don't live here. I think I could get used to this! Aloha, and I'll see you all next week.

Historicals!

2006-04-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

I'm usually a contemporary girl, have been for years though I doread a few historicals, mostly those from authors I've met and want to support. But recently I've gone mad for historical romances. It's seems like that's all I've been reading, and I've been snapping up all the really good stuff I can find, everyone's backlist. But I've come to this group for some more recommendations. What are your favorite historical romances? Who are your favorite historical authors? And how about historical erotic romances, too? I'd love to hear everyone's choices.
Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com

Hooray for Spring!

2006-04-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

Now that the warm (and dry!) weather is finally here, at least for a couple of days, I've got a serious case of spring fever. Even though I have 2 projects on deadline, I'm hoping to have a little time to enjoy some of my favorite things about spring and summer. Here are the top 10 things I'm looking forward to once the warm weather sets in:

Watching my baby shubble around in nothing but a diaper
Opening my windows for a nice warm breeze
Flowers blooming on our trees outside
Ripe from the garden tomatoes (yeah, I know I have awhile to wait for these!)
Cherries
Peaches
Early morning trail runs
Reading a juicy romance by the pool
Drinking chilled white wine on the deck
Barbecuing and eating dinner outside

What's on your list?

Sunny California

2006-04-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

All of us Red Hot Romance babes are Nor Cal girls. Usually, that means by middle of April we've got some nice looking tans, tank tops and shorts are out, and we're happy, happy, happy!

Well, up until yesterday, it seemed like we'd all up and moved to Seattle. (Which, btw, I hear has had a lovely, sunny winter...) Sue Grimshaw came out to talk to our local RWA chapter and commented that she felt like she was in Michigan, not San Francisco.

But all that's changed this week, thank god! Blue skies, sunny, I took my son to the park today and basked in the delicious weather. It seems silly to be sitting at my desk now, at 3pm while he naps, as the sun streams in my window, to work on Constant Cravings (June 2007). Really, I should be slipping into a bikini and laying out on my deck soaking it in.

I just ate a popsicle, though, so hopefully that'll tide me over until quitting time.

Anyone else celebrating the good weather?
;-) Bella
http://www.BellaAndre.com

I'm back! Plus a contest announcement!

2006-04-12T11:52:00.000-07:00

Computers were supposed to make life easier. And in lots of ways, they do. But I tell ya, when someting goes wrong, it tanks! I lost my Internet access. My husband and I were tearing out each other's hair trying to figure it out. Someone told me I must have gotten some sort of spyware thingie. Do I know what spyware thingies are? NO! I was told I'd have to reload my software, but...I had a book and a proposal due! So, I did nothing (typical). Well, not nothing, I finished the book and the proposal. I didn't want to risk screwing anything else up. Finally, I broke down and called for emergency help. When I was teaching my mom how to use her computer, I said, "Don't worry, Mom. Computers are user friendly and you really can't screw anything up." Hah! I screwed up my computer myself! I clicked some little button on some little window, and wham, I blocked all my internet access and I didn't even know I'd done it! Problem finally solved, but it took an hour on the phone to figure it out (which I'm told is not actually that long). Actually, I was amazed that HP could walk me through what I'd done and how to fix it. Now, I await the next time I press the wrong icon. I live in terror of what I can unwittingly do to myself. But at least I'm back!!!! Do you know what it's like living without the Internet? It's stone age. Anyone else have any nightmare computer stories? Or am I the only dork? Please tell me I'm not the only dork.

But, with all the hullaboo, I (wearing my Jennifer Skully hat) did manage to put together a contest, along with three other Harlequin authors. We're calling it the "Season of Romance Authors Giveaway" and you can win a cool tote bag filled with autographed books and bath and body fun stuff. Check out the details on how to enter on my site, http://www.skullybuzz.com/home.html

See ya there!
Jasmine

Relaxing?

2006-04-09T15:08:00.000-07:00

I'm beginning to think I've forgotten how to relax. This weekend is the first chance I've had to kick back without a story due since signing my contract with Kensington. Since late September I've written two single title novels and three 30,000 word novellas. Finished the last one on Friday, and I'm taking a break before starting my next single title. The only probelm is, my break-taking appears to be broken! I can't turn it off...yesterday I drove over 200 miles to attend an RWA Chapter meeting, and today, in spite of my best intentions to be a bum I've updated my website, built a new site for my late mother-in-law's funeral pictures, organized my office and harassed my husband. He finally gave up and went for a bike ride--and it's RAINING outside, so that tells you how desperate he is to get away from me! Even the dog is in hiding. I know Rufus is afraid I'll make him run around the block again--in the rain. We've done the mile loop once today and as far as he's concerned, that's enough. Any of you guys have this problem? An inability to turn off the motor, to let the engine at least IDLE for a bit? I can't even sit and read. It's like I'm full of nervous energy I can't direct and there's not a project to direct it toward. Hmmm...maybe I'll just go cook something.

tagged

2006-04-02T21:16:00.000-07:00

Nyree tagged me over on her blog, so here goes:

4 movies you would watch over and over
Star Wars
Underworld
Wizard of Oz
Sound of Music

4 places you have lived:
California
Utah
Washington State
Oregon

4 TV shows you love to watch
SVU
Bones
Without a Trace
CSI

4 places you have been on vacation:
Hawaii
France
England
Scotland

3 Websites you visit daily:
liquidsilverbooks.com forum
Pamela Britton Forum
yahoo

4 of your favorite foods:
Macaroni and Cheese
Spaghetti
Ham and cheese wraps
Cold Stone Ice Cream

4 places you would rather be right now:
Scotland
Hawaii
Washington
Home

Tag 4 Friends you think will respond:
Nah, they are all too busy

Rae Monet
http://RaeMonet.com

Beware the Ides of March...

2006-04-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

Well, poor Julius Caesar didn't pay attention, and look what happened to him? This past month of March has been absolutely horrible in our household. We had the deaths of two family members, both elderly, but their passing was totally unexpected and dealt a blow to the entire clan. We broke records for rain in northern California, and here in our home at Cobb we actually had snowfall on the 31st of March, which has been terribly depressing. There have been family crises too numerous to mention, all of which have done their best to stand between me and the inevitable deadline on the WIP. I know...it's not "all about me," and in light of all that has happened I guess my moaning sounds damned petty...but then, every once in awhile, in spite of interruptions and all the crap that life can throw at you, there comes a day where the words just flow. I wrote almost 10,000 of the little suckers yesterday, managed to figure out how my story will end and have just one final chapter to write today. It's days like this, where you finish with a most amazing rush that you have to admit there is no finer job in the world than to be an author.
It takes you out of the everyday world, away from sadness and depression and things that conspire to weigh you down, and delivers you into a fantasy world where you have, if not complete control, at least a lot more than you do in real life. Days like that are pure gold, not to be ignored but to be savored. Of course, in my case, it didn't happen until the first of April... :-)

Tagged Too!

2006-03-30T09:23:00.001-08:00

Okay, not sure if I'm supposed to respond on the same blog, but I'll post here and over on the Aphrodisia Blog.

4 movies you would watch over and over
Old School
This is Spinal Tap
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Star Wars

4 places you have lived:
Stanford, CA
Riverside, CT
Wolf, WY
Los Angeles, CA

4 TV shows you love to watch
How can I limit it to 4??
Grey's Anatomy
Southpark
24
Rescue Me (when will the new season start?????!!!!)

4 places you have been on vacation:
St. John, USVI
Italy (twice)
Greece
Bali

4 Websites you visit daily:
www.Smartbitchestrasybooks.com
www.overheardintheoffice.com
www.overheardinnewyork.com
www.eonline.com

4 of your favorite foods:
steak
sushi
burritos
guacamole

4 places you would rather be right now:
Wolf, Wyoming
An all inclusive beach resort with fabulous childcare

Tag 4 Friends you think will respond:
Karin Tabke
Vivi Anna
Candice Hern
Rachelle Chase

Tagged!

2006-03-28T13:39:00.000-08:00

Darlene Marshall tagged me over on her blog, so here goes:

4 movies you would watch over and over
Pretty Woman
Hoosiers
Sound of Music
Superstar

4 places you have lived:
Stanford, CA
Paris, France
Lake Tahoe, CA
wine country, CA

4 TV shows you love to watch
Don't watch TV, but did watch Dancing with the Stars
And really, the only thing on anymore in our house is Baby Einstein

4 places you have been on vacation:
Hawaii
France
New York
England

4 Websites you visit daily:
this one
none really regularly

4 of your favorite foods:
cheese,
cheese,
cheese,
oh wait...um, cherries

4 places you would rather be right now:
somewhere sunny
English countryside
wherever the place is that my synopsis rewrite is done!

Tag 4 Friends you think will respond:
Kate Douglas
Jami Alden
Rae Monet
Jasmine Haynes

;-) Bella Andre
http://www.BellaAndre.com

About the short stuff

2006-03-27T11:57:00.000-08:00

RedHotRomance

I've been contemplating how much of a market is out there for shorter erotic romance...it seems there are many, many publishers who not only accept shorter work, that is less than 20K in length, but who welcome the chance to have it.

The question becomes not if a short work can sell, but how many readers actively buy short works and why they do so.

Curious minds want to know.

A little inspiration is all it takes

2006-03-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

Jami, my critique partner extraordinaire, called me last Saturday when I was in Hawaii to tell me that she had told her editor about my multi-cultural women's fiction proposal and she wanted to see it.

Have I mentioned I love Jami recently? You see, I've been sitting on some big revisions to this proposal in my head for months...even though an editor at Warner had asked to see it again I haven't done them because it became this big thing in my head.

But one voice mail from Jami and suddenly I was writing like the wind. And I think the brand new kick ass proposal will be ready by the end of the week. Yee-ha!

;-) Bella Andre
http://www.BellaAndre.com

It's all about semantics...

2006-03-19T09:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, so that's a pretty all-encompassing title, but what I was really thinking about is the power of words in erotic romance and the symbolic meaning behind different phrases and descriptions. I've been thinking of this since Geraldo's show about our books when he made a flip comment about "steaming love tunnels" or some such purple prose nonsense. After my first snort, I got to thinking about the way we use words in our stories, the fact that our more graphic language now is essentially what differentiates us from the typical "sweet" romances. All romances, no matter how sexy, are based on building sexual tension between the hero and heroine, but the language and graphic nature of where we go with that tension is what separates us. But (and it's a BIG but!) most of us started out reading romances filled with purple prose. We read those amazing euphemisms--their numbers are legion--but we knew exactly what the author meant when she referred to a "silken sheath, passionate glove, rampant pole or button of womanly delight," (yeah, I HAVE seen all of these...) but because the meaning was clear to us, we reacted as the author intended, experiencing the love and passion through our lusty heroine. Now, however, the language has changed. The descriptions are, in many cases, made up of words we once thought of as crude, vulgar or offensive, but now associate with intimate, loving and passionate scenes between our hero and heroine. So, what's the difference? Obviously, our sex scenes are more graphic and we push a lot of "morality buttons" for many readers, but aren't our graphic words in the same class as those much joked about euphemisms? We're going for the same response but the language has changed. We like to call it honesty, that we're giving our readers "real" language, but is it all that different from the purple prose of old? I'm curious about your opinions...language is, by its very nature, made up of symbolism and open to interpretation. Will our usage of graphic language, at some point, be looked on as the purple prose of the 21st Century? Tell me what you think.

Is rejection always part of a writer's life?

2006-03-16T06:47:00.000-08:00

I've received a lot of rejection letters over the years. And it's been a lot of years, let me tell you! I thought I was used to it. But becoming a published writer made me think those years were over. Hah! Not so. I recently got my first rejection as a published author. My proposal was not accepted. They didn't even want me to make changes. They just didn't want it at all. Oh My God! Of course, my first thought was that I've lost it. I'll never sell another book. I'm a has-been before I even really got started! I have no more good ideas. I'll never have another good idea! My life is over.

I'm a bit of a melodramatic drama queen, as you can tell. It's one of my failings, but maybe it's also part of what makes me a writer. After all, without a bit of drama, a book isn't exactly interesting. So, I'm regrouping. It wasn't actually a bad proposal. It just wasn't right for the publisher. I thought it was funny, but then my humor isn't always mainstream. And once I started saying those kinds of things to myself (instead of the really melodramatic stuff), lo and behold, another idea has come. I've pitched that one and they liked it! Now I just have to figure out the complete story, but it is coming to me. I'm not going to let rejection get me down. It didn't stop me before I was published and I won't let it stop me now. Of course, it didn't hurt that I got news yesterday that I'm a double finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest for both Sex and the Serial Killer and Double the Pleasure (from Twin Peaks).

So I guess, whether one is published or not, a writer's life is always going to have rejection in it. But it's also going to have triumphs as well. I think I'll concentrate on the triumphs instead of beating myself up with the rejections.
Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com

Snowed in in California?

2006-03-11T14:52:00.000-08:00

Today I should have been in Berkley with other members of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of Romance Writers of America. I actually rejoined the chapter specifically to attend this meeting because I was so looking forward to seeing Hilary Sares speak about the new Aphrodisia line -- the one I write for. Well, it snowed on Thursday. Then again on Friday. Not just a little bit of snow but a whole LOT of snow. We live at the bottom of a hill. You have to drive up over the hill then WAY down the other side to get to the main road, which is little more than a narrow two-lane rural highway. My husband entertained himself last night and this morning watching cars start up the hill, then slide down it backwards, sideways and everything in between. (Men find great humor in situations such as this!) No way was I going to shovel my little Nissan Sentra out of the snow drift it's been sitting in, then attempt to drive up a hill that was outwitting big honkin' 4WD SUVs and pickups! Instead, resigned to missing a chance to hang with other writers and enjoy the company of people who are every bit as comfortably neurotic as I am, I ended up staying home watching the snow melt. There is still quite a bit of it out there and it's beautiful, which is really quite a nice consolation prize. I still wish I could have gone. Who would have expected SNOW in the middle of March? This is California, for goodness sake!!! Wonder what's in store for me when the next meeting comes up in April? Hurricanes? Tornadoes? I don't imagine I'll have to worry about snow. Do hope all of you who made it to the meeting had a wonderful time.

Goodwill!

2006-03-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

I realized that I hadn't had a day off since the beginning of February. So today, I decided to take a little break. My husband and I went to a few of the local thrift stores. Lo and behold, on the bookshelves, there was a copy of my Jennifer Skully book, Sex and the Serial Killer. My husband was horrified. Someone actually gave my book away! I, however, was tickled just to see it there, almost like seeing it on the book shelf at Borders. I have to say that as a reader I find new authors by buying cheaply at thrift stores like Goodwill and The Salvation Army. Once I'm hooked on a writer, then I start buying new because I can't wait for it to finally (years later sometimes) arrive at a thrift shop. So, I figure that having my book at a thrift store is a good thing. Someone who's never read my stuff might find me, then have to go out and buy all my other books new! Guess I'm hopeful.

As readers and writers, what do you think? Some of my friends are as horrified as my husband was to find their books at a used store.
Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com

The winner is

2006-03-07T07:26:00.000-08:00

I didn't watch the Oscars. If fact, the only best picture nominee I saw was Crash. I liked the movie. I don't know how it stacked up against the other nominees, but I'm curious about what you think.

Was Brokeback Mountain "the movie of the year"?

I like movies to entertain me and I love a good story. I don't care if the the lead actor did an amazing job - if the story sucked - the movie sucked!

My other question - is Crash as good the recent winners?

Million Dollar Baby
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Chicago
Beautiful Mind
Gladiator
Titanic

If you have an opinion, post it.

BJ McCall

Ripped from the Pages of Real Life!

2006-03-06T08:13:00.000-08:00

I've been struggling these past few months with a linked anthology and single title idea. Two of the novellas and the single title have been brewing for several months now, but I've been at a loss to figure out a third novella to close out the anthology. Until Saturday night, when a conversation with a colleague of my husband's sparked something. On the drive home from the city, a comment she made kept echoing through my brain, and Sunday morning I woke up with that tiny sprout that I hope will grow into a full blown idea. Fortunately, I think I can write it such that she won't recognize herself (assuming someone likes it enough to buy it :)).

How about you all? When do you get your creative sparks? When is the last time you were in mid conversation with someone and had to stop yourself from saying "Let me get a pen. Mind if I use that in my next book?"

And the corollary to this is, have you ever been busted for using something from real life or having a character that hit a little too close to home with someone?

I'm in love with food

2006-03-05T13:58:00.000-08:00

Shocking, since I'm female, I know...But what I'm really in love with is the Jamie Oliver cooking DVD I got from Netflix last week. There I was, flat on the couch with a cold, husband and son away at brother in law's house, when I popped in Oliver's Twist. Instant love. He's no sex symbol, certainly, but the way he cooks! Oh my. {must stop to fan myself}

But I suppose it's fitting for me to have this particular obsession right now since the book I'm working on--Constant Cravings (Pocket, June 2007)--has a famous chef hero. Mine's in Napa Valley, not England, but food is food.

And boy do I love it all!
;-) Bella
http://www.BellaAndre.com

My Brush with Fame!

2006-02-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday I got the kind of phone call I never once dreamed I'd hear--Kensington's publicist calling to ask me if I could fly to LA on Thursday to tape the Geraldo At Large show for a piece on erotic romance, or, if that wouldn't work, could they come to my home to tape an interview! I remember blinking a couple of times to make sure I was awake and then saying, "Sure. No problem." I told her I'd prefer to go to LA as our house is very much in the midst of a remodel and barely suitable for human habitation, much less a film crew. Mary said she'd call back with travel details etc. When she finally called back, it was with an apology to tell me another author who lived close to a studio in Manhattan would be much more convenient to interview. I actually was relieved--Sunny Chen, the author who was selected, is beautiful and articulate and a much better representative of this growing genre than I could ever hope to be. Plus, I'd gotten all the fun out of bragging about my chance to go on TV without having to actually pack my suitcase. Not a bad deal. It was not without a certain amount of trepidation, however, that I watched the Geraldo at Large program on Thursday night. I mean, the man is known for his sleaze appeal, sort of a National Enquirer mentality...I could only imagine what he might do with something so ripe for attack as erotic romances for women. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. Not by Geraldo--he got in his sexist dig with the question, "Are women just hornier today?"--but with the wonderful tone of the interview done by reporter Laurie Dhue who referred to our books as "empowering for women." Sunny was absolutely wonderful, as was Liz Maverick who was also interviewed...but I still got my brush with fame. When the covers of books scrolled across the screen--impressive on our 50" HDTV-- there was Wolf Tales! In fact, I counted at least three times my cover made the screen, along with The Hard Stuff and Pleasure Beach, Champagne Rules and more...it was wonderful. Then at the end of the segment, what did Laurie hold up but a copy of my newest release, Sexy Beast! I just sat there and grinned, especially when my husband turned to me and said, "Congratulations. That was cool." Yep. Definitely cool. There is a video clip in the archives at http://www.geraldoatlarge.com/video-archive.php that shows almost the entire program for anyone who is interested. I think I'm going to link to it from my website! This week Geraldo, next, the world--right guys?

What the bleep?

2006-02-22T09:44:00.000-08:00

Has anyone watched the movie "What the Bleep do we know?" I guess you'd call it a documentary, interviewing physicists, scientists, theologians, psychiatrists, etc, but what the interviewees talk about is demonstrated through a story as well. The premise is that our thoughts are powerful enough to create our reality. What we think is how we see what happens around us and to us. It therefore affects our choices, and thus creates our reality. For example, you have a party to go to that you really, really don't want to attend. You know you're going to have a terrible time, but you promised to go. You get there, and that's exactly what you have, a terrible time and you can't wait to leave. But suppose you decided that even though you don't really want to go, you will go and you will have a good time. When you get there, you open yourself up to meeting new people and you actually with someone you find you have a lot in common with. In the first scenario, you never made the effort to talk to that person because you were miserable. In the second scenario, that someone you talked to becomes a very good friend down the road.

It's an interesting premise. Can I really control how I feel about things and make my life better? Maybe it's like writing a story where I determine the ending of each scene. Well, it's worth a try. And it certainly puts the ball in my court and no one else's!
Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com

My "Wow!!!" moment!

2006-02-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

I remember watching old movies about Hollywood where the star would take a call from their agent...the waiter would bring the phone to the table in a classy restaurant and everyone waited while the "Important Star" took their important call. So, with that background in mind, picture this: I'm driving home when my cell phone rings. Now, we live in a mountainous area where it's easy to lose a connection, so I take a look at my phone, see that it's my agent and pull over to park in front of a winery. The "wow" moment came a few minutes later, as I was talking to my agent about the new stories Kensington wants...we're talking options and money and contracts and all of a sudden, I had my WOW moment. This was better than the movies...it was all about me! My career, after twenty long years, is beginning to grow. Wolf Tales has been in the top ten in erotica at Barnes and Noble for two months now. Sexy Beast, my newest book, debuted at #7 and is currently at #4 in erotica. Wolf Tales is #3 after two months...and it's spent more time at #1. Unfortunately, none of this feels real. However, what does feel real is my own, personal "wow" moment. I wouldn't trade that for anything.

Movies!

2006-02-15T11:34:00.000-08:00

Oscar time is coming up soon, at least I think it is. So I thought I'd blog about movies. Has anyone seen anything good lately? I have to admit that I haven't been wowed by anything recently. I don't even know the movies nominated for an Oscar. I'm actually partial to older movies, most of my favorites having been made before 1960. I still love watching actors like Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, and Errol Flynn. Man, those guys really looked good in a pair of tights in those old Robin Hood type movies. I love Gene Tierney in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Lawrence Olivier in Rebecca, Dana Andrews in Laura, Henry Fonda in The Grapes of Wrath. And I'm sure you're all asking, who ARE those people? but the thing I like about old movies is that they had great stories. Sometimes I feel the stuff coming out today concentrate more on the special effects than the story. Good story telling seems to have been lost. So please, tell me some movies you've seen recently that had a great story to tell and I'll go look for them!
Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com

Happy Birthday, Son

2006-02-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

It is almost Valentine's Day and that brings a lot of happy memories including one that is particularly poignant for me. It was 21 years ago tomorrow that our son was born. Poor guy, having to put up with having his birthday not only on what is the holiday of love, but often in the middle of a week when most of his cronies were out of school (the local school system takes a week break in February around President’s Day).

But now he’s going to be a full-grown adult. Able to buy beer and all that. And some young lady is very likely to find it romantic that he shares his birthday with hearts and flowers.

So what are we going to do for his birthday since we’re going down to LA to help him celebrate? We’re doing what everyone wants to do for their birthday (at least in my family)…

We’re going to DISNEYLAND!

Cheers,
Janet/Cricket

The value of Gratuitous Sex

2006-02-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

I'd like to draw on Bella's blog from Wednesday on whether YA novels should or should not have sex in them. From the comments made, it seems that some of us approve if the sex has some sort of purpose, a lesson, a moral, something for the reader to come away with beyond titillation. I'd like to take that same thought into adult sensual novels. In the adult arena, should it be sex for sex's sake? Does the fact that most of write erotic romance rather than straight erotica make a difference?

This question comes up for me because today I'm writing a very long sex scene. And I'm struggling with how to make it have a point beyond just the physical sex. What will my heroine learn about herself in this scene? How will it affect her conflict? How will it up the stakes in her relationship with the hero? I'm struggling to make it more than just gratuitous sex. I want it to have a purpose. But the bigger question is, do I even need to do that? Can I just plop in sex for sex's sake? Part of me says no. I'm currently reading a book in which the hero and heroine have lots of hot sex, but there is no tension in it. Nothing seems to change in their relationship either during the sex or in the aftermath of it. And quite frankly, I've started skimming the sex scenes. So, you can see where I'm going with all of this. If I find it boring to read this book, then maybe that's a signal about what I shouldn't do in my own writing.

So, what does everyone think on this issue?
Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com

a debate about sex in YA novels

2006-02-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

Over on a writer's chat group, there is a raging debate about sex in YA novels. Should it be there? Does it reflect reality? Do teenagers put the books down and run off to have sex asap?

My take on it? I think teens are gonna do what they're gonna do. And I don't think it was any different in 1986 when I was a freshman in high school. Not only did I not date in high school, I didn't kiss a guy for the first time until college. Not because my parents forbade me, just because, well, it didn't happen. And frankly, looking back on it, 18 in college felt right.

So, reading a YA book with sex in it (Forever by Judy Blume, anyone?) or without sex in it was all the same to me. Just figured the ones with sex were living the cheerleader's lives. ;-) And the other ones were about geeks like me (who would, of course, turn into gorgeous erotic romance authors after college).

Your thoughts?
;-) Bella Andre

http://www.BellaAndre.com

Happy Birthday Baby

2006-02-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Baby

Buying a great birthday present for my hubbie is always a challenge. He likes gadgets, but getting one step ahead of him on the purchase is the challenge. Recently, we purchased a new vehicle. It comes with three months of XM radio and an MP3 jack. Since my husband had already purchased the MP3, I bought an extension for XM.

Okay, I’d taken care of the big present, but I wanted to give him something besides a card with a receipt for XM. Something more visual, something tangible, something hands-on!
And there it was, the perfect present, at eye level and on the grocery store shelf.

Vibrates! Comes with battery! Shower safe!

My husband and I had heard the rumors and the discussions on cable shows about Gillette’s Venus Vibrance. A vibrating handle designed especially for women? Totally different from the men’s Mach3 handle! Ohhhh, this I had to buy.

When a man’s wife writes erotic romance and his birthday is in February, he has a right to expect something besides underwear with hearts on his birthday, right?

I purchased a birthday card with a birthday sentiment to match my Vibrance and secured my surprise in a colorful present bag filled with Hersey kisses and a DVD of one of his favorite comedy films, Hot Shots.

The cost? $30.
My husband’s reaction – PRICELESS

BJ McCall

A Change in Plans

2006-02-06T07:09:00.000-08:00

I was all set to blog about something writing related when I got a phone call and a wonderful change in plans--our daughter in law is in the hospital, in labor with their first baby. Her mom called me--Carol's over in Hawaii with the kids awaiting what will be her very first grandchild. Doug and I are old hands at this--we have two grandchildren with our daughter and son-in-law and enjoy every minute we can with them. There's nothing more exciting than bringing a new baby into the world. Jon and Melanie are the models for the cover of my book, Cowboy in My Pocket. When the book was released, they weren't even married. Now they're married and about to become parents for the very first time...and I just read what I've written and realize I'm babbling. :-) I'll be sure and post when the baby arrives and what they name her...and I REALLY hope the doctor was right and this is a little girl, because if she turns out to be a boy, he'd better like pink! I'm supposed to be writing today. I can tell right now that's probably not going to happen.

Sex or no sex?

2006-02-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

Okay, I guess because I was one of the first authors to actually publish a NASCAR romance which was Racing Hearts, with http://Liquidsilverbooks.com in 2004, people want to know what I think about the relationship between NASCAR and Harlequin. I honestly have to tell you, despite all the press that questions this partnership, I think this arrangement between Harlequin and NASCAR is just smart business. There was a comment about the sensuality level when Pamela Britton’s In the Groove was released last week. Specifically, one reviewer questioned if the fact the door was closed on the sex was affected by the NASCAR relationship. This is what I have to say about that; it makes sense that a business relationship with NASCAR might affect the level of sensuality on a book, but really is this any different than any other publisher/line we write for?

IMHO, no.

Some editors/lines have their little nuances about what they like and don’t like, and we usually end up revising based on this anyway. Some lines want hotter sex scenes; some want less, some want none. Additionally, I don’t think you need to necessarily HAVE to open the door on sex to portray intimacy in a book, do you?

I write for an erotic publisher, sex, and the foreplay leading to sex have always been important to me, however, could I write a book closing a door on sex and still make it good? YOU BET!!! I think I could and I don’t think it would change my literary voice at all. I actually think it takes a talented author to write a good closed-door-on-sex book and make it great, like I felt In The Groove was. Honestly, I don't think In the Groove would have been any different because Pam's voice is Pam's voice.

What do you think? Can you enjoy a good book without sex?

All it Takes is a Little Black Dress

2006-02-01T22:32:00.000-08:00

Men are visual creatures. I’m aware of this. Just like I’m aware of music playing at Starbucks when I’m writing. In both instances, this awareness hums along slightly below my consciousness — until something jolts it to the forefront. Like today, when the barista cranked the music up two notches higher than usual. Or when, hours later, Gary walked in, looked at me, then did a double-take.

I'd met Gary in December at a singles ‘networking’ function. I’d bought a little black dress for the occasion — my first step in implementing New Year’s Resolution #3: Get in Touch With My Inner-Diva. It was clingy and sexy, yet classy and sophisticated. I felt like Cinderella. And my many Prince Charmings stepped forward to slip me business cards, instead of slippers.

Gary was one of them.

Two weeks later, I attended a party at a friend’s house wearing the same little black dress. Same Cinderella experience, though on a smaller scale. Gary showed up. (Aren’t the odds of running into the same guy, in the same dress, in a person’s house similar to those of finding a $1 million lottery ticket stuck to the bottom of your shoe?!). He pressed another business card into the palm of my hand.

Today, I was sitting at Starbucks, in my working attire — baggy army fatigue-like pants and a shapeless fleece sweatshirt. Glasses. No makeup. Bed-head hair — the matted, lopsided kind. While pondering deep thoughts, such as why, at page 156, my heroine and hero in my erotic romance still had not managed to have sex, I looked up from my computer. And there was Gary, standing between the whole milk and half-and-half canisters.

“Hi,” I mouthed.

He did a double-take before returning my greeting, and then walked over.

I laughed. “Yeah, I know. I look different.”

He smiled. “Yeah.”

“I bet if you’d seen me like this — no makeup, glasses, messy hair — you wouldn’t have invited me out to dinner.”

He shook his head. “No. I still would have asked you to dinner. But only if you were wearing that dress. That black dress.”

I didn't know whether to feel complimented or insulted.

Is that really all it takes? Are men really that ... basic? I wish I were bold enough to find out. To not comb my hair. Not shave my armpits. Wear my oldest, most outdated glasses. And don my little black dress.

You really think Prince Charming would be standing by to take me out?

Do you wait for inspiration?

2006-02-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

I'm wondering, because if ever there was a day in which inspiration would refuse to appear, it's today. Baby's been sick for four days with stomach virus. Husband woke up with huge fever and cramps. Guess who's been taking care of them both?

And yet, I have to give myself serious props, because any spare moment I get (like when they both decide to actually take a nap), I'm butt to the chair, fingers to the keyboard.

Oh yeah, and I'm writing sex scenes today. First one came out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

How do you deal with writing when life gets in the way?
;-) Bella

Emotional Impact

2006-02-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

I'm working on the edits for my Berkley July release, an anthology, all stories by me, called Somebody's Lover. The edits are pretty easy, but of course, one has to read everything through completely to make sure there are no inconsistencies sneaking in there. And yes, even at this stage, I found some small ones, darn it!

So yesterday, I got to the dark moment, the climax, of the first story. That story is also called Somebody's Lover, just like the main title (the other two are Somebody's Ex and Somebody's Wife). Let me give you a little background. The book is three stories about three brothers. They run a family-owned tree trimming business with their father. Three years ago, the oldest brother was killed in a work-related accident, and the hero in the first story blames himself for his brother's death. The whole book is about how each of the brothers deals with the death, how it has shadowed their lives in the three years since it happened. So, I get to the climax of that first story where the youngest brother must face his guilt in front of his family (yes, everyone's been sidestepping the whole issue for three years), and I swear, I start bawling. every single time I read it (and I've read it a lot in all my revisions and editing), I cry bucketloads. Not just a tear at the corner of my eye or getting a little choked up, but bucketloads streaming down my face. And I'm not sure why. I mean, yes, it's an emotional scene, of course, it's the climax! But why does it affect me this way every time? You'd think that having read it so much, it would lose its impact, but it doesn't. I have never experienced this kind of situation in my life, yet somehow it seems to tap into something deep inside me. And it's sort of embarrassing, I mean, you're not supposed to be brought to tears by your own writing, you're supposed to bring other people to tears. And oh my God, I've just told everyone here! How embarrassing. But there you go, writing is about revealing yourself. It's just that people don't always know for sure how much you're revealing.

So, my question for thought is, are there any scenes you've written or read that have a huge emotional impact on you? Do you know why they have this kind of impact? I realize this might be very personal, so only share as much as you feel comfortable with.
Jasmine
http://www.skullybuzz.com