I ordinarily don't blog more than once a day, but this is a very special day!
This is the brand new cover of my first novella, Dragon's Bane. The book will be available at Whiskey Creek Press Torrid in July 2006.
The cover artist, Jinger, pulled the images straight from my brain, I swear. It's a beautiful thing.
Thank you, Jin!
As I take this writer's journey, every day I learn to write better. With each endeavor, I create tighter action, better dialogue, more believable characters. Heroines who are strong and capable, yet with enough flaws to keep their particular hero interested.
And what about that hero? What makes him great?
First, like the heroine, he must have flaws. Although he can be stop-your-heart gorgeous (and that's not necessarily a requirement), he has to be more than another pretty face. He has to have a past that has made him the man he is today. Maybe he's stubborn, or quick to anger, or overprotective. With all of that, though, he has to have redeeming virtues as well. He must be courageous. That goes without saying. No one--reader or heroine--is going to fall in love with a wuss. It's imperative that he be honorable. He can be rough and ready, but he must have a code of honor that he adheres to strictly. And it goes without saying that he's passionate and good in the bedroom. I mean, we are talking EroRoms here, right?
Above all, the heroine is what matters. Especially once he's realized the depth of his feelings for her. He will lay his own life on the line to protect her. He will even kill to protect her. And, if it came down to it, he'd give her up if it meant she'd be safe, or happy.
That's what heroes do.
The heroine would kick his ass before she'd let him put himself in danger for her or walk away because he thought it would be the best thing for her.
That's what heroines do.
Over the last 4 days I have written, edited, and submitted a 7k short story to Whiskey Creek Press - Torrid for their Spring Flings anthology. (I already had a working plot and characters from an earlier story that was accepted by Torrid for their Torrid Teasers.)
Now, I'm on to rewriting the story that was critiqued by that editor. I think I've successfully reworked the plot and GMC. My heroine, I hope, is no longer TSTL. Over the next few weeks I will focus my energy on getting this second draft finished and ready for submission. I already have my November project: participating in Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month). The story idea I'm kicking around (which my Muse gave to me a few weeks ago at around 3 a.m.) is sounding more and more like chick-lit. Oy. I've never attempted chick-lit. AND it's sounding like it's gonna be in first-person, which I've never tried, either. I really like getting into the hero's POV in my stories and, when writing in first person, you just can't do that. We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, I have a few more ideas bouncing around in my head for more short stories for Torrid anthologies. Hopefully I can juggle all of these characters demanding writing time without turning into a blithering idiot.
We'll see how that goes, too.
...ya gotta listen. That's why I'm up at 1:00 a.m. (Well, that and the call of nature, if you know what I mean.)
My Muse, I have to say, is very stubborn. Sometimes, she's not satisfied with the pad and lighted pen I have at my bedside (there for just such times as these. No need to turn on a bright light; just click the light on the pen, grab the pad, and start writing.). Sometimes, she has so much to share that I have to get up and get on the laptop. Even though it's very early in the morning, I am wide awake and feeling somewhat intelligent.
And so, M&Ms at my side (because if I have to be up at 1:00 a.m., I'm gonna eat chocolate), I am ready to write. Hopefully my Muse will give me something good. The last time she did this to me, it was darned good stuff. I have to believe it will be just as good this time, too.
What exactly is Erotic Romance (EroRom)?
Let me start by telling you what it is not. It is not porn. At the risk of sounding too simplistic, porn is a medium primarily used by men for straightforward sexual gratification. The titillation factor, so to speak. Slam, bam, thank you ma'am. EroRom is not erotica. Erotica is concerned with the sexual interaction of the characters. There may or may not be romance involved, but if there is, it is a by-product, not the focus.
EroRom is romance with sizzle. The focus is entirely upon the hero and heroine's relationship. Sex between the two moves the story forward, is crucial to their development, both individually and as a romantic pair. The reader is brought into the bedroom with the characters, not stopped with the door closing in their face and having to leave the rest up to their imagination or, worse yet, wade through soppy euphemisms. Happily ever after (or the promise of) is a must.
A good EroRom has a solid plot, believable characters with believable motivations and flaws. There are the normal sub-genres, just like you'd find in traditional romances: paranormal, time travel, contemporary, sci-fi, fantasy, romantic suspense, etc. To read really good EroRom, check out Angela Knight, Cheyenne McCray, Lora Leigh, and MaryJanice Davidson.
One of the most invaluable resources I have at my fingertips is an on-line critique group. There is a core group of about 5-7 erotic romance writers who willingly critique my work. They are very careful how they word things--never attacking, never personal. But they can pick apart my stuff like nobody's business.
One love scene I'd written sounded like the hero had 3 arms. He was on top of the heroine, one hand at her breasts, the other a bit further south. Good so far, right? Well, unless he had another arm to prop himself up with, he'd be flat on the heroine and crushing her. One of the hands had to go.
At other times, my group catches grammar or punctuation errors. I'll admit it, I'm a comma-freak. And for whatever reason, at the moment I'm having a problem with the difference between peak and peek. (I mean, I know the difference, I apparently just can't type the difference.) I tend to favor the spelling p-e-a-k. I guess it's because my fingers can't keep up with my brain, even though I type almost 80 wpm.
To offer effective critiques, a critique group must offer pertinent feedback, doing more than just correcting spelling and grammatical errors. They must truthfully say whether the hero and heroine's motivation make sense, does the sex move the story forward, is the conflict heavy enough to make the story interesting, etc.
My group does this, hands down. And I'll do everything I can to nurture this relationship. They make me a better writer; I can only hope I do the same for them.
I recently received a critique from a well-respected editor. I was thrilled that she would take the time to do this. When I started to read over her critique, it was very hard not to feel, well, crushed.
My heroine was TSTL (Too Stupid To Live), my secondary character's accent was over-the-top, I told versus showed, toward the end of the story I paced it too quickly, the villain's motivation was questionable, yada yada yada.
What kept me from sitting on the floor and bawling like a baby was this: (and I quote) "There was an awful lot that I enjoyed about this book.
Well. Can I tell you--that made my month! She liked me. She really, really liked me! (very big grin, here)
This manuscript is the longest thing I've attempted--at just over 45,000 words. It's imperative to have a strong plot and believable goals and motivations. So, today I sat down and talked to my characters. I tried to interview them, find out what their goals were, what motivated them to reach those goals, and what kind of conflict their own emotions and others' would throw in their way. I pulled out Debra Dixon's GMC book, I looked at notes I'd taken from other writers. I tried to rework the plot in a way that the heroine doesn't come off as deserving to be killed off by page three. It was the hardest thing I've done in a long time.
I usually am a "pantster" -- I write by the seat of my pants. I have an idea of my characters' likes/dislikes, their quirks, what they look like, how tall they are, how much they weigh, etc. I have an idea of a beginning and an ending. That's all you need, right? Start at the beginning and write until you reach the end.
Hah. It might work on a shorter story (something 8,000 words or less), but when you do that on a longer work, as I did on this particular manuscript, you end up with a lot of garbage. My redemption on this manuscript -- it was very clean, the sex scenes were hot, and the characters were likeable. They'll be even more likeable once I smarten 'em up.
Being a writer means being a life-long student. Always learn. Always apply what you learn. Then learn some more.
