Guest Blogger: Jenna Howard - Spurred On

I'm so happy to welcome my friend Jenna Howard today. She has a new release out, which I'm going to let her tell y'all about:


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I’m not a cowgirl. I’m not even a country girl. Sure there were the summers when I was in the single digits when I’d settle into the station wagon with my mom, brother and the dog and we’d head East to Manitoba but it was never my…thing.

Yes, I used to sing to the cows at my aunt’s farm but my options were limited. I certainly didn’t want to go fishing with our uncle or drive the tractor on the other farm or go catch frogs with the neighbour (to use the term loosely since we had to walk through the creepy woods, down the gravel road and then down another gravel road to get there) boy.

My choices were reading (which I did), sing to the cows, or…help my Granny bake. And considering she scared me (and lectured me a lot in her German accent), I sang to the cows when the books were read.

Yes, I rode a horse once in Penticton, BC. Big Red, however, didn’t like the freaked out city girl on his back and took great exception to his rider and tried to remove via tree branches. But at least her horse had a cowboy name and wasn’t Cotton Candy like the one my brother was riding. He says now that he rode Big Red. Nope. No sirree that was me. With my mom. He was on Cotton Candy. (Hm…is Big Red why I refer to the big ass horse in Spurred On as Crow instead of Red since his full name is Red Crow? Hm…could be something there…)

Yes, yes, I live in Calgary where we have the Calgary Stampede & Exhibition, where for ten days people wear jeans that are tight, dust off their Western shirts they only wear for ten days out of the year and polish the cowboy boots (see Western shirts). We get duded up, the city goes Western and the tourists invade.

But I’m no cowgirl. During Stampede I may wear my jeans but my shoes say Keds and my shirts start with Tee.

So imagine my surprise when 20 years later from those dreaded farm days I’m writing a cowboy story.

With a bareback bronc rider (because saddles are too sissy for him) and a country music superstar.

My one thought was… “WTF???”

My heroes have guns, my heroines wear high heels and they live in the freakin’ city.

Not on acreages.

Or ranches.

With horses.

I’m not sure how it happened. Perhaps in a comment I made to Marie Tuhart who is in a cluster of fellow writers Sherrill & I hang with online when she mentioned she was writing a Cowboy Kink book for Wild Rose Press. “Oooh,” I typed, “rope! Lassos. Oooh and spurs! Bondage and torture!” “No,” Marie said adamently, “no spurs.” (I wonder if she added spurs into her Cowboy Kink story…well? Did ya?)

What? You can’t have kink without spurs!! So…I put in spurs. That my heroine used on the hero. Because she’s a Dominatrix and he’s her submissive.

Yeah…I may not be much of a cowgirl but I can sure use some freaky stuff on a hero who’s willing and able to have a spur run all over his body. (My mom would be so proud if I let her read Spurred On.)

It was also natural (hah…like writing a dominating heroine with a penchant for rope and spurs is natural) to set the book during the Calgary Stampede. Yee and haw. My heroine’s singing at the Saddledome and my hero’s competing in the rodeo…and they’re both playing with ropes and spurs. (Have I mentioned that yet?)

There’s still a vague sense of surprise that I wrote a cowboy story. That I added kink to it…

Is no surprise at all.


Sherrill, thanks for letting me blab on your blog. You rock!

Now make sure everyone buys Spurred On okay? I mean how can they resist? Cowboys and rope and spurs…oh my!

Jenna


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You're quite welcome, Jenna! Readers, you can check out Jenna online at her website.

I'll see y'all next year!

Man Meat Monday

I hope everyone survived Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

When eggnog's generously filling
Each and every Christmas mug
And siblings tour miles and miles
To greet you with a hug
There's scarce else I'll be wishing
Than this simple little prayer
Of peace and calm and blessings much
On Christmas Day this year
--Anonymous

I will see you next week!

Man Meat Monday

Ho-ho-ho!

Friday Funny

EVE'S SIDE OF THE STORY

After three weeks in the Garden of Eden, God came to visit Eve. "So, how is everything going?" inquired God.

"It is all so beautiful, God," she replied. "The sunrises and sunsets are breathtaking, the smells, the sights, everything is wonderful, but I have just one problem. It's these breasts you have given me. The middle one pushes the other two out and I am constantly knocking them with my arms, catching them on branches and snagging them on bushes. They're a real pain."

And Eve went on to tell God that since many other parts of her body came in pairs, such as her limbs, eyes, ears, etc. She felt that having only two breasts might leave her body more 'symmetrically balanced'.

"That's a fair point,"replied God, "But it was my first shot at this, you know. I gave the animals six breasts, so I figured that you needed only half of those, but I see that you are right. I will fix it up right away."

And God reached down, removed the middle breast and tossed it into the bushes.

Three weeks passed and God once again visited Eve in the Garden of Eden.

"Well, Eve, how is my favorite creation?"

"Just fantastic," she replied, "but for one oversight. You see, all the animals are paired off--the ewe has a ram and the cow has her bull. All the animals have a mate except me. I feel so alone."

God thought for a moment and said, "You know, Eve, you are right. How could I have overlooked this? You do need a mate and I will immediately create a man from a part of you. Let's see... Where did I put that useless boob?"

...

...

Now doesn't THAT make more sense than the rib story?

Revisions Galore

We all would like to turn out a manuscript that's so brilliant it needs no revisions. I have, in fact, had that happen to me just once. And I anticipate that it was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence because, well, let's face it. I'm really not that brilliant. I'm a decent storyteller with acceptable grammar and punctuation expertise, but just as any woman looks better with a bit of makeup on, so to does any story read better with the benefit of some glamor. Give this a bit of a lift, highlight that, tone that down.

Last week I received a revision letter from my editor for Kiss of the Vampire, the first in my Warriors of the Rift series with Grand Central. It was longer than I like but shorter than it could have been. I didn't disagree with any of the changes she suggests, which should make the cuts I have to make a little easier to swallow. But it's going to be a lot of work.

I'm also in process of revising a steampunk proposal for an interested editor. Just as my granddad used to say about women and makeup: Any ol' barn can use a coat of paint. The same can be said for manuscripts.

Man Meat Monday

Rawr!!!

Friday Funny

Did I read that sign right?

In an office:
TOILET OUT OF ORDER...PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW

In a Laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT

In a London department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS

In an office:
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN

In an office:
AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD
(one missing word makes a world of difference!)

Outside a secondhand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?

Notice in health food shop window:
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS

Spotted in a safari park:
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR
(just goes to show how important proper punctuation is!)

Seen during a conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE 1ST FLOOR

Notice in a farmer's field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES.

On a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR - THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)

Gearing Up for the Tucson Festival of Books

This coming March Tucson will see its third Festival of Books--and already after only two years, Tucson's Festival is the 4th largest book fest in the country. It's a thing of wonder. Our romance track is strong again, with best selling authors including Jennifer Ashley, Sabrina Jeffries, Cheyenne McCray, Mary Jo Putney, Cassie Ryan, Vicki Lewis Thompson, and Susan Wiggs. Kim Harrison and Diana Gabaldon will also be in attendance.

The Tucson chapter of RWA will also be presenting our annual Amore & More panels in conjunction with the Pima County Library, on January 22 and 29, February 5 and 12.

It looks like it's going to be another great time. Mark your calendars for March 12-13, 2011 and come on down to Tucson!

Man Meat Monday...A Little Late

I think he's worth the wait...

Friday Funny

Cletus is passing by Billy Bob's hay barn one day when, through a gap in the door, he sees Billy Bob doing a slow and sensual striptease in front of an old green John Deere.

Buttocks clenched, he performs a slow pirouette, and gently slides off first the right strap of his overalls, followed by the left. He then hunches his shoulders forward and in a classic striptease move, lets his overalls fall down to his hips, revealing a torn and frayed plaid shirt. Then, grabbing both sides of his shirt, he rips it apart to reveal his stained T-shirt underneath. With a final flourish, he tears the T-shirt from his body, and hurls his baseball cap onto a pile of hay.

Having seen enough, Cletus rushes in and says, "What the heck are you doing, Billy Bob?"

"Jeez, Cletus, ya scared the bejeezers out of me," says an obviously embarrassed Billy Bob. "But me'n the Ol' Lady been havin trouble lately in the bedroom d'partment, and the therapist suggested I do 'something sexy to a tractor'."







[Don't make me 'splain this to you! ---Read the last line again... slowly--out loud.]

Listening to Your Editor--Selling Out or Being Smart?

There's been some discussion lately on a couple of the author loops I'm on about whether you should make changes an editor or agent suggests to your book. Some writers have suggested (and may I say, those who have are predominantly unpublished or self-published) that to do so is "selling out". Their argument is that to make any changes would change their Art.

May I say if you want to make any kind of living out of your "art", then you have to be willing to listen--and follow the guidance--of the people in the industry who, by the way, do usually know of what they speak. You must be objective about your book. And remember that it *is* a book--it's not your baby. It's not an extension of your ego. And if the suggested changes will make the book stronger, why wouldn't you do it?

If you're writing genre fiction, you're looking to get published in a field with complex demands. And lots and lots of competition. My agent easily gets 30-40 queries a day. Multiply that by 365 and you end up with over 10,000 queries per year. And many agents, even those still building their author list, will still only sign 2-3 new authors per year.

Are you really going to be so unwilling to listen to advice that you won't change your book to make it more marketable? Now, I'm not talking about something that will radically change the heart of your story--though in my opinion you should be open about that, too. But I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't listened to my agent with regards especially to my first book, that first book would never have been sold. But I figured with 30 years in the business--first as an editor and now as an agent--she knows more than I do about what sells books.

If you'd rather be a Struggling Artist, suffering for your craft, then, by all means, ignore the advice. But if you want to be a Successful Author, well, then, listen. Learn. Change. Grow.