'Twas the Night Before Nano... Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Nanowrimo starts in about, oh, an hour and ten minutes (as of this writing). Me? I'm huddled up with a box of kleenex and a hot mug of tea, trying not to sneeze my brains out. There seems to be some rule that I must get sick right before any writing marathon. *muttergrumble*

According to long-standing Nanowrimo Tradition, I ought be running around the room like a chicken with its head cut off, worrying about my lack of plot, 'till the clock chimes midnight, when I should set my hands to keyboard and start writing. Even if it's gibberish. (Especially if it's gibberish, some might say. LOL.)

Of course, I've been mulling over what I want to do for Nano the past several days. I'd originally intend to attempt a dual-WIP. That is, work on a Nano project as well as the urban fantasy I've been working on for several months. Except, I know from experience that doesn't work out for me. (Yet, I keep trying to do it anyway. >_<) Here's the problem. I don't have a Real Plot^TM for what I was intending to write for Nano. I have a premise. Prince Alvaro is captured on the battlefield by his sworn enemy, Tristan of [something-or-other], who seduces him in the dungeon and turns him into a vampire. Nice premise. I have no clue what happens after that. This has been driving me nuts for weeks.

So I've decided to cheat. Instead of starting something "new," which I'm supposed to, I'll try to finish Stronger over the course of November. Or at least a good portion of it, as I have somewhere around 75k to go, by scene length estimation. If I finish it with time to spare, then I may work on something else... but I don't know. However, this decision leaves me feeling quite a bit less stressed. ;)

Okay, now it's 40 minutes to Nano. Everyone geared up and ready? What are y'all doing for Nano?

The Familial Sacrifice Sunday, October 29, 2006

So often I'm giving kudos to other authors and doing the things I do to further my writing career that I forget the sacrifices others make. Perhaps it was the "Dedication" section of the contract I received from The Wild Rose Press. It got me thinking.
There's my husband, who often goes to work even when he's dog tired so that I can be a stay-at-home mom and struggling author. He also has to listen to the different aspects of the business which is like another language. Most importantly, he was forced to read my first manuscript. That alone should get him the "long suffering" award.
Michelle is my best friend. More like a sister to me, she's listened to so much of the struggle, the ideas, the "stuff" that goes along with being a writer. Not once has she rolled her eyes or gone to sleep on me. She does get really mad at me when I tell her I'm not a good writer. She was also forced to read the first manuscript but she only had to read the first hundred pages. She gets the "most time spent keeping me sane award".
Then there's other members of my household. The kids, who are often wanting a little more attention than I'm able to give them. Then, there's the teenage brigade who have given me ideas and names and all sorts of stuff. They don't laugh at my writing and they try (not always successfully) to give me the quiet I need to do my work.
My author friends are the ones I turn to for all my writing woes. They've encouraged me. They understand the language I use. "Sub", "Editor", "Rejection" and "Writer's block" all have a totally different meaning to the non-writer. My first author friends were on the Harlequin boards and Romance Divas. When I got a form rejection from Harlequin Intrigue, Paula Graves sent me a one page email encouraging me to keep at it. When I get stuck or frustrated, Dayna, Crystal and Diana all talk to me and tell me to keep at it. They're my resource for industry help. They give their opinions freely and with no strings. Often, they have to listen to the same complaint over and over. "I suck." "I'll never be published" (yes, Crystal you were right) and the dreaded "I hate waiting!!!" They always lend an ear.
So, I'm giving the people in my life who do a lot to make my career happen, a little space here to get the attention they deserve.
Thank you.
Who helps you further your career?

Addictions Friday, October 27, 2006

*stands up*
Hello. My name is Diana. And I'm a book-a-holic.
*sits down*

~~This post in no way down plays the real addictions that are out there~~

I mean, there are far worse addictions that I could have. Even a fellow Diva is well known for her shoe addiction... er... Collection, that is.

I love to buy books. I love to write. The irony here is that now that I write with ambition, deadlines and purpose, my reading has gone kaputz. I have hundreds, yes you read that right, HUNDREDS of books waiting for me. I have a small collection of them on my TBR shelf--The window shelf nearest my bed. There's more than 30 there right now. It's a growing, mutating monster that glares at me every morning and every night for the lack of attention I have given it of late.

I have paranormal, fantasy, YA, romantic suspense... Just a ton of stuff waiting for me to read it and unlock the stories within. Stuff I want to read for research, others because of the author, or because it's recommended. Then there's the borrowed books. I do books swaps regularly with a close friend. ( I live in Texas and yes an hour and half to drive is close. )

But I guess the whole point of this is this: Do I really need help?

Granted the bottom line here is shopping. Spending money. But the whole idea of it being for books makes so much more sense to me than say, spending money on jewelry (lovely, but who am I going to show it off to?), fancy clothes (Don't go anywhere to need more than jeans. Sad but true.) So, you see my conumdrum here I hope.

If I do have a problem, it's one I will happily live with.

The long and short of it Thursday, October 26, 2006

When it comes to reading action/suspense/mystery romance, I can't help but wonder if the best ones are always the long ones. I mean the full length novel type stories. Here you get the full development of a real story, suspense and romance. You have time to see the characters really grow, you can see the villain degenerate to the final showdown. It's all there and you can really dig into it.

However, the flip side of this argument is that writing short is an artform that not many can master. It takes a lot to write a really good, really tight romance. Especially considering you're adding a suspense sub-element and you have a very limited amount of space. Think about it, you may have to ask a reader to suspend a bit more reality to make it believeable that in 35 pages your people fall in love, conduct an investigation, and catch a bad bad man. BUT you also managed to tell the much story in 35 pages. Holy smokes. That's really amazing for those who can do it.

Hats off to you who write the shorts. And much love to everyone else, because a good story is tough to write no matter how long or short it is.

I'm burnt out on Serial Killers Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Seriously, I've read so many books lately, some of them by great writers, but I'm a wee-bit tired of the whole 'serial killer' angle. I read two Kay Hooper and an Iris Johanssen back to back, and although I love both writers, the storylines--a serial killer on the rampage, mentally linked to a psychic who will use her powers to track him down--well, they got a little tired.

And I know there is a lot more romantic suspense out there.

I know there's forensic-rom-susp: Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs kind of have that market cornered, I think. (Kathy Reichs is most-famous now for the TV show "Bones" which is based off her character Temperance Brennan, who is modelled after Reichs herself)

There's action? rom-susp: Suzanne Brockamann is the best example of this: explosions, gunfire, and sparks fly.

There's paranormal rom-susp: Iris Johansenn, Kay Hooper, and I'm thinking Laurell K. Hamilton's books might count, as could Gena Showalter's 'Enslave me Sweetly'.

This made me realise there are sub-genres I've never heard of, let alone read. And even within these sub-genres (as loosely 'defined' as I have them) there are probably some great authors I've never read.

So my question for you, dear readers, is what is the elusive quality that makes it all Romantic Suspense? What other sub-sub-genres are there? And what authors should I be reading who haven't made it on this list?

Chasing the Market Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Recently, I've been seeing posts around the blogosphere that go something like this: "OMG! I just heard from [such-and-such person, conference, whatever] that editors/agents are full of paranormal romance subs and it's sooooo hard to break in now and the market's going to DIIIIIE!!!"

Okay, slight exaggeration. But not by much.

I've seen this attitude a lot over the years. Somebody says something--it might not even be right--that indicates a certain market is getting oversaturated, and writers go freaking out.

Then what do they do? Jump on the next Big Bandwagon, of course. *sighs*

Anytime there's a big hit, like erotic or paranormal romance, there's going to be a lot of crap put out because the publishers aren't getting enough submissions to fit the demand. Also, to my understanding, it isn't uncommon for editors or agents to suggest to an already published writer, "Hey, why don't you try your hand at this new thing?"

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. I've read a fair amount of paranormals from former contemporary / romantic comedy / historical romance writers that feel like all they did was take a stock plot and stick fangs on their hero. I'm sorry, but that's not paranormal.

But that's another rant entirely.

The point is, once the "first wave" is past, you're going to have a lot of people looking at this new fad--whether it be paranormal or gods know what else--and thinking, "Hey, I'll write that. It sells."

Except that doesn't usually work out. If your heart isn't in it, most of the time, the reader can tell. If you're bandwagon-hopping, you're also not likely to finish the work by the time the next Big Thing hits.

I'd really like to tell some of these people to quit bemoaning the "death" of their chosen subgenre and shut up and write. Ultimately, if you're writing what you love, you're going to have a much better shot at publication than if you're constantly chasing the market. There is no "Magic Key" to publication, and I think some people really need to be smacked upside the head with a clue-by-four.

But that's my opinion. ;)

What do you all think about chasing the market?

A Whole New World Monday, October 23, 2006

I find myself in strange territory. I think there was a part of me that believed that I wouldn't be published for a "long time". It wasn't that I didn't work hard or keep being persistent. It's that I know being published is a matter of talent AND luck.
Now, with my short story coming out next March, I've actually filled out a *gasp* contract. I'm "published". That magic word. It's a whole new universe for me.
So, I have a story to go along with this. I filled in for a secretary for two weeks while she was on vacation. I ran out of time one morning and took my contract with me to mail it from work.
Ooops. My boss (a real nice man, by the way) sees "The Wild Rose Press" on the envelope. You guessed it. He asked me. "You're a writer?"
"Yes, I am. That's my contract. I didn't have time to mail it from home. So sorry."
"No that's fine. You're published then?"
"Yup."
"What is it? Maybe I'll read it."
At this point, my stomach hurts. I'm totally embarrassed and I want to sink into the floor. I mean, "Garden Of Sin" has "toys" in it. No way I want my boss to read THAT. What would he think of me?
"I don't think you'll like it." *Promotional no-no*
"What do you write?"
I'm in agony now. What do I do? I JUST found out I was going to be published. I'm not ready for this.
"I write romance."
"Oh, my wife will like that."
I just nod. Now, I change the subject. Much as I would love to crow from the hills that I'm going to be in print, I'm still awkward about revealing my work to those who know me. I just hope I get better at this. *sigh*.
My question for you all is this; What in the world do you say? If you write "love scenes", can you just promote to everyone even if they're your boss, your co-workers or *gasp* your mother? I would LOVE to hear what you have to say on that subject. The newbie needs a little help here.

Who is your inspiration? Friday, October 20, 2006

I ask because I have a hard time using anyone for inspiration, whether it's physical looks, character traits, or mannerisms. I've watched a few of those "How they made the movie" shows where they discussed the computer animation and mannerisms of the actors doing the voices themselves, and thought that was pretty neat. Hand motions, or facial expressions.

I envision those movements and tones, or reactions, but I can't put a real life face behind it as the basis. I know a lot of you use Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp and a ton of others for their male inspiration. I can't see it. I've always been a bad one to ask if someone is good looking or hot, because I've never thought physical beauty was all that important. A swan on the outside can be a real ass on the inside. Been there, have the t-shirt in memory of it.

So, do you write from a purely creative stand point? Are your characters completely or fractionally fictional? When you read, do you put a star's face on the main character to make them more human? Does the character have to be someone you do recognize to connect to them? Egads, that's a whole 'nother can of worms... :)

Suspense, action, or mystery? Thursday, October 19, 2006

I had the ever-talented (and patient) Dayna Hart read over my work in progress Revenant. Now this story was originally intended to be a romantic suspense. I hit a few glitches and a big brick wall along the way, but for the most part it's done. Here's the fun part. Dayna gave me some feedback that said it wasn't so much suspense as action with some suspense because we know who the villain is right from the start.

Here's my question: is suspense only suspense when it's a mystery as well? Or is suspenseful action good enough to count? How many forms can the suspense take?

I ask these things not because I mind being action with some suspense (no problems as long as it's a good read, in my humble opinion.) but how flexible is the genre? Basically what makes a romantic suspense a romantic suspense?

How do you judge?

Publishing crap Wednesday, October 18, 2006

We've all done it--tossed a book across the room in a fit of pique. The story doesn't make sense. The characters are unlikeable. Something about it just makes you squirm. Sometimes, it's not even that subtle. Things like 'cuz' in the middle of non-dialogue drives me up the wall. Or dialogue that makes you wonder if the characters should be renamed Pinnochio, they're so wooden.

For the most part, I'm willing to chalk it all up to 'diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks.' But lately, I've been realising some of it is just laziness.

Maybe I'm getting old, but I certainly recall hearing stories: someone sent a story to a publisher, and used the wrong type-font. It went, unread, into the garbage can. Mis-spelled the editor's name? Grounds right there to drop it into the trash. Granted, some of these might be the hyperbolic stories told to newbie authors in an attempt to keep us on the straight and narrow, but--wouldnt you rather err on the side of caution?

It seems to be a popular attitude that you can submit whatever you want. In whatever format you want. Edit it? Why bother? Publishers have editors on staff. No, apparently the writer's job is just to tell a story, and if it sounds like my four year old telling me about his day at school, well that'll be fixed in editting.

And in this day and age, how hard is it to hit select all, and change the font to match a publishers requested format? How hard is it to spellcheck? Granted, I might not always run every blogpost or email through my spellchecker, but I'm pretty careful as I type. Even with this post, I've removed any time I wrote things like...thing slike... And you better believe if I'm sending an email to a potential publisher, I'll run it through spellcheck. It might even go past my CP to make sure it's okay.

Maybe I was wrong earlier when I said it was laziness. Maybe it's egotism. I mean, if I really believed that what I had to say was so important, so completely unusual and brilliant that you'd all ignore tpoys and bad snetecnes, jsut raeding becuase you were so enthraelled in waht I had to say...well, I guess if my ego was that big, I wouldn't be so careful.

Or am I misreading it altogether? If it isn't lazines or egotism, what is it? Why is that writers would allow themselves to publish crap?

NaNoWriMo: For the "luv"? Tuesday, October 17, 2006

As November 1st draws closer, writers everywhere are busy tearing out their hair, screaming at their Muses, and beating their heads against the keyboard wondering why oh why did they decide to do something this crazy? (All I have to say to that last one: Be glad you don't have friends banding together to go for a "double Nano." ;)

Nano's a wild ride that gives a lot of people the motivation to attach their butts to the chair, fingers to the keyboard, and write. But there's an attitude I've seen surrounding Nano the past few years that I don't particularly like.

"Write crap." Basically, write whatever the hell comes to mind, pull things out of thin air, write useless words... just to hit 50k.

Err. WTF?

The intention of that, as I've always read it, is for people to kick their Inner Editor out the car door while they zoom off writing at high speeds. It's not to give people an excuse to write mindless garbage. Browsing the Nano forums, there seem to be a lot of people who do Nano, write crap... and don't write till next November. Sure, they're not hurting anyone, but I think they're missing the entire point of the challenge.

Or maybe I am. I don't know.

It raises an interesting question, though. How many people do Nano "for the luv," without any serious intentions to publish... and how many do it with the expectation of having a publishable manuscript at the end? I don't see any point in writing something that I'm just going to shove in a drawer because it sucks so bad. I want to have something that I can send to my crit partners, rewrite, and ship out. 50k is a reasonable length for an ebook; why not work towards that?

Then again, this is my career. It isn't for a lot of people.

Opinions, anyone? Are you planning on doing Nanowrimo? And if so, are you doing it "for the luv," or are you going to try for something submittable at the end?

Joining The Ranks Monday, October 16, 2006

When we began this adventure together, Dayna, Diana, Nonny and Crystal had to convince me that it was okay even though I was unpublished. I promised you that you would get to see the day I finally sold something.
Sure enough, I entered the "In The Garden" contest at The Wild Rose Press and came in first place in the Scarlet Rose miniature rose line. As well as adding a little bit more to those query letters, I also get to join several other great authors in an anthology to be published IN PRINT in Spring '07. Contracts and editing to follow.
So, as of this date, I have joined the rank of my fellow authors. The great thing is that one of the other winners is an author I love. I get to be in an anthology with Stacy Holmes. The only thing better would be getting published in an anthology with my fellow "Shadows of Passion" authors.
Needless to say, I'm doing a happy dance. The very first thing I did was tell Dayna Hart (we were instant messaging). Then, I woke Crystal Jordan up on her cell phone and bugged her. THEN, I called my best friend. I'm afraid my husband (who was working and couldn't take calls) didn't hear until that night.
I remember someone did a thread on Romance Divas "What's the first thing you do when you get the call?" Calling EVERYONE was not what I thought I would do.
Crystal was right. She said I would get a contract before the end of the year. I'm happy to join the ranks of the soon to be published authors.
So here's my question for you. Have you ever reacted to something important differently than you thought you would? Did you think you'd be better or worse at taking a rejection? Did you get excited or scared after "the call" or, in my case, "the email"?

Halloween is a-coming Friday, October 13, 2006

Are you a Halloween nut? Do you like to dress up, play the witch? Okay, that wouldn't exactly be playing for me... *GRIN* Depends on who you ask I guess...

I love Halloween myself, except it's harder when you've got a kiddo to make the rounds with. I love seeing the costumes, hearing the children squeal. A few more thank you's wouldn't kill any of them though... *wink*

I once had this incredible black satin gown. Could do royalty, a vampire or anything dark in it. I loved that dress. Went and walked Sixth Street ( our local bar run and freak hang out on the 31st). I miss those kinds of costumes, but I'm not a great seamstress. It could be used in a lot of different ways, with a removable train. *sigh* Nostalgic moment there...

I especially like it when it's cool. Have you ever done Halloween in costume in the high 80's or 90's? It's awful, just trust me on that. This year, we've had some early cool fronts, so it's looking promising to be a comfortable candy harvest.

So what is it about Halloween that gets to you? The candy of course is a huge one. Chocolate... Everywhere, if you're lucky. If not, steal it from your kids when they aren't looking.. ;) Not like they need to eat it all anyway... Do you like the costumes? To see the kids? Do you miss the freedom of knowing you could walk your ENTIRE neighborhood and not have any malintentioned pranks? I sure the heck do.

So what gets you going for Halloween?

Never introduced myself Thursday, October 12, 2006

I just realized we've been blogging for a few weeks now and I never got around to introducing myself.

I'm Crystal Jordan, and I write a bit of everything romance. I just love a good love story and I hope I write them, too. My current work in progress is a paranormal romantic suspense called Revenant. It's also the darkest story I've written to date. At least, I think it's dark. I'm still writing it, so it may be fluffy clouads and bunnies by the time I'm done. That's the crappy part about writing by the seat of my pants and hoping it all turns out okay.

Ah, well. That's me. Hi all and welcome to the weirdness.

How do I make it dark? Wednesday, October 11, 2006

I'm trying to figure out Tone these days.

I read the book Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin. I finished it, and then phoned the man who recommended it to me and reamed him out. "WHY did you want me to read that book?"

He chortled. (sidenote: men who actually chortle, outside of actors portraying comic book villains are rare. And to be avoided, especially when making book recommendations.)

When he finished chortling, he asked me what I didn't like about it.

I couldn't tell him. It was an interesting book. A neat book. Even (i'll admit it) a good book. But it left me feeling...like I'd curled into a warm, soft, but mildewy blanket. I got completely wrapped up in it, sure, but it left me feeling a little funky.

Why am I telling you this story? Because I want to know how to get that tone in my books. How can writers...well, DO that? Infuse a story with enough subliminal moodiness to make a reader feel something long after the book's been put down.

I was joking with Nonny earlier this week that I'm not sure I pull off 'dark' when writing. I don't even dress goth because I end up looking like some poor kid practicing for halloween. I have the clothes, the makeup, the jewellery (ooh gods the jewellery *drool*) But I'm just not 'dark'.

Aside from installing mood-lighting in the bookstores...how, please help me, do I make it dark?

Life's Interference Sunday, October 08, 2006

It's an interesting puzzle to me that I want to write but life is coming at me fast and furious. However, without my life, I would have nothing to write about. It's my limited knowledge of people that gives me plots and ideas.
We laugh about that question that famous authors hear. "Where do you get your ideas?" The truth is I can sum it up in a nutshell. I get my ideas all around me. The idea for "Heart of the Storm" came from a story that my husband told about a fishing boat that went down and fifteen years later, one of the crew showed up wanted for a crime in another state. The idea sparked into an Alaskan crab fishing adventure (since I love that stuff) and I prodded and poked my hubby for information. (He's an ex-fisherman).
I often write people that I know (or parts of them) and it's usually to kill them off. People inspire me. All kinds of people. There's the old fisherman, Pogie, who is based on several older men I know. There's the "Goth girl" I wrote in "Perfect" that reminds me so much of my best friends' daughter. If it weren't for the people around me and the things that happen to them, I'd have no voice. So, when life comes at me at a fast pace, I just close my eyes and remember it's all fodder for a future best seller.
I joke that I write romantic suspense because I kept trying to write romance and dead bodies kept turning up. That's the truth. I love to add danger and tension to a story. My ideas come from people, from life. I look around and there's the man who wasn't loved by his parents, the woman who runs from relationships because they frighten her, the overprotective mother and the dominating father. I take bits and pieces and tada! There's my story.
This week, as life pounds on me, I'll be getting ideas for lots of books. After all, everything can be useful to a writer.
I'll bet you can't guess the question. Where do you get your ideas? Newspapers? Real life? Or just from your imagination?

Emotion VS. Emotive Friday, October 06, 2006

Per Webster's ::

Emotion :

   A moving of the mind or soul; excitement of the feelings,
whether pleasing or painful; disturbance or agitation of mind
caused by a specific exciting cause and manifested by some
sensible effect on the body.

Emotive :

   Attended by, or having the character of, emotion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so what does that mean???

As writers, we all have to deal with emotion. In horror, it's fear. In romance, love (hopefully),
in drama, apprehension. We have to create it.

As readers, we want to experience those feelings. We want to know what the characters on the
page are feeling.

Does that mean that as writers we create the emotions, and as readers we are experiencing
the emotive product? Has an emotion ever fallen short, either in something you're writing,
or reading?

Just one of those "thinking too much" things that caught me earlier this week.

Paranormal action scenery Thursday, October 05, 2006

So I like to kick a little butt in my books. Or at least my characters do. I'm more into a sedantary, writerly pasttime that involves more chair butt than kick butt. But I digress.

In addition to writing romantic suspense, I write paranormal and *cough* erotic romance. So, sometimes you have to throw some freaky stuff in your action scenes. Paranormal freaky, get your mind out of the gutter! Like if my heroine is a witch and she's cornered, should I get her out of a bad situation through her smarts or a well-timed flame ball?

Hmm...always something to ponder. You don't want the magic to make it too easy, but the paranormal should play a part in the whole book. So, it's a balancing act in every kind of paranormal action sequences. However, if it's paranormal creature on paranormal creature, it's SO on.

How do you like your paranormal action sequences? Lay on the paranormal or keep it light and have them use all their wits?

Fantasy Romantic Suspense... Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Funky new subgenre-or did I just forget a comma?

I was boxing up some slightly-loved books this week. Since these are books I bought, there are only two genres represented: Fantasy, and Romantic-Suspense.

The fact that these are my two favourite genres always seemed rather freakish to me. Like Peanut butter & applesauce, or chocolate & potato chips. They're my favourites, but I couldn't really imagine them together.

Only, now I'm starting to realise that they aren't, really, that disparate. I love romantic-suspense (or, suspense with romantic elements) because there's almost always that moment of "oooh, I did NOT see that coming." And I love that. That's the big hook for me in a book, movie or tv show. And, go figure, the fantasy I choose to read gives me that Moment, too. Some surprise that I didn't foresee that makes me sit up straighter and read a little faster.

And any of the fantasy books I really truly adore have romantic elements. My favourite fantasy book, in fact, has political uprising and spies in disguise...Until I mention that the king can do magic, I could summarise the book as a rom-susp.

This past month, I've been working on two manuscripts: you guessed it: one rom-susp, one fantasy with romantic elements.

Once I started meeting other writers, I began realising that a lot of them had the same two genres on their shelves as I have on mine. Fantasy and rom-susp. So, I've looked at the WIPs and ideas that have hit me in the last little while, and I've decided to take a gamble and try to write a Fantasy-Romantic-Suspense. (which will probably be billed as a 'romantic suspense with paranormal elements.') Only instead of shifters or witches, I'll be using Elves and goblins.

Has anyone seen that sort of thing before? Have I somehow missed out on a book that already combines my favorites? Please let me know if you've seen it! And let me know if you have two books in your collection that surprise you by sitting comfortably side by side, despite their disparities...

Comfort Reading Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Recently, my fiance and I lost power at our apartment in the late afternoon. He works graveyard and eventually went off to work, leaving me in a dark house. Alone. At first, I figured I'd try to sleep, but found myself unable to do so. Ultimately, I armed myself with a cigarette lighter, a bunch of candles, and my toppling to-be-read stack.

Several hours later, when I was nearly finished with the book I'd settled on reading (The Dragon Lord by Connie Mason), I realised something odd. Most every time I sit down to read something "comforting" (outside of beloved favorites), I usually end up reading something with the same opening premise: the heroine, a feisty young woman, is unwillingly entered into an arranged marriage. (Alternatively: feisty young heroine fleeing from her restrictive life.)

Which really made me think hard. A lot of my old favorites fit this theme, too. Hawkmistress! by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce. And a slew of others.

Most of these are fantasy because I didn't get into romance till a few years ago. Even still, my choice in "comfort" romance tends to have the same premise, although it's often handled differently than in fantasy. (For instance, often the woman's betrothed is often the hero, while I don't ever think I've seen this in fantasy.) I'm sure this must say something about my subconscious, though I'm not quite sure what. LOL.

Does anyone else notice recurring themes/premises in reading choice? Or am I just nuts here? ;)

Welcome To The Darkside Monday, October 02, 2006

Romantic Suspense has been going through some growing changes lately. Note the sudden changes at Harlequin with the loss of the line Bombshell and the restructuring of Sihouette and Intrigue. Then, there was this on Romancing The Blog. http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/?p=729
In the middle of a pretty sticky romantic suspense manuscript, I recognize the difficulty of coming up with a believeable and interesting plot. Making it all fit together and having characters still be alive at the end isn't as easy as Agatha Christie made it look.
Now wait. I'm not whining. I'm commiserating with my fellow mystery lovers out there. We're picky. Not only do we want a Happily Ever After for our hero and heroine, we want a Miserably Ever After for the bad guy. So what's the big struggle? Romance Writers always have a "bad guy" even if it's a minipulative ex-girlfriend or an overbearing father.
The trick is tension.
My biggest question while I'm writing is how in the world do I maintain the edge-of-my-seat tension while I'm writing the necessary "information"? Hospital scenes are the worst. Picture it. Your hero (or heroine) has been shot (stabbed, run over, beat up, whatever) and now, you have to deal with the difficulty of medical drama as well as continue to keep the reader interested in the original plot.
Whew.
That would be hard enough, but my characters usually start running rampant and twisting the plot into a million convoluted turns that go......nowhere. That's when I run to my crititque partner and say things like "This went really funky somewhere. Can you help me fix it?"
I'm sure more experienced writers can force their way out of this self-inflicted box, but I still need a little help.
Here's a question for you. Do you like your mystery with a little bit of romance? Or do you like your romance with a little bit of danger? Believe me. I think the industry has been trying to figure this question out for a long time.