Jayne Ann Krentz Signing

So, last night was kind of rock star awesome. I had High Tea with Jayne Ann Krentz (who also writes as Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle), then went to her workshop/signing at Kepler's in Menlo Park. At one point I think I actually stopped, put down my teensy oh-so-cute tea cup and said, "Wow. I feel like I'm in a very surreal dream." Jayne spoke, answered questions. I sat with my wildly talented critique partner A.J, the fantabulous Herron sisters, Jayne's publicist (who I actually had breakfast with in Orlando last summer), our SFARWA membership guru, and Ms. Bates, the Amish Romance Queen.


There were scones (I learned how to say scones properly thanks to the Canadian in the bunch), and William and Kate royal tea sets (almost went back to buy them), and did I mention Brenda Novak showed up?? Oh, my suspense-driven heart was swooning. The serving gals wore aprons, served on wooden tiered platters, and poured out of cozied ceramic tea pots. The mini-sandwiches were delish, though I couldn't tell you what was in them. (I should've taken more pictures, I know, I'm working on that flaw of mine.)

After High Tea, the crew walked over to Kepler's bookstore where a crowd gathered in the back to watch Jayne speak. There were many things an aspiring writer/author could've taken away from the night, but the one thing that stuck with me was this:

"There is never a book that couldn't be improved upon by the act of deletion."

Brilliant, I tell you. Brilliant. Although she would say she's mastered the art of career suicide, I argue to the contrary. The woman knows this business. She knows her writing. And she obviously knows how to make work sell in this market.

Here I am, after I had her sign my book:


And here's what she wrote:


I had such a great time. Oh! And to top the cake, when I came home, my wonderful mother-in-law had cleaned my house, top to bottom, kitchen sinks to laundry baskets. After I thanked her profusely, I watched the newest Deadliest Catch (SOOO GOOD), then hit the hay. I doubted my dreams could've matched my reality. I was right. The night could've have gone better.

Close but no cigar. I'm talking Golden Heart over here.

Golden Heart Scoresheets came back yesterday. For those of you who don't know what the Golden Heart is, it's the National Romance Writer's of America writing contest. You enter in your category, send in the first fifty pages and a synopsis, close your eyes and pray.

*And I mean really pray. The scoring instructions are a little whacked. "Score 1-9, using tenth of points." With no rubric! This English teacher is cringing.*

Anyway, the award ceremony is this huge formal event at the national conference in New York City--Have I Mentioned I'm Going to the Conference?!? Eeeeek!

I sent both books from my Crimson Bay Series in. The first one received AMAZING scores. It earned a few "perfect 9's" with a few "eight-and-a-half's" thrown in. But there was one darn "seven" that lowered my score enough so that I didn't final.

The second in the series received great scores, too, though they weren't as high as the first. The average score was a solid "eight" with no "nines" and a couple "high seven's".

Instead of being disappointed that I didn't final, I'm actually pretty excited. Book One did so well! The response was great! The scores are near perfect! How can I be upset about not being a finalist when I really was close? As for Book Two, I'm now going to take some time, go back through it, and look for kinks with a sharp eye. There's got to be places I can smooth things over and amp other things up.

So...close, but no cigar. Great scores...but no final payout.

I also entered the Daphne DuMaurier contest, which has an award's ceremony at the national conference too, and I should be getting the scores back any day now. I'll post something about those as soon as I know. (I've been holding my breath to final in the Daphne since I first heard about it. Daphne DuMaurier is BY FAR my favorite author and Rebecca is BY FAR AND AWAY my favorite book. Hands down. No contest.) To final in her contest would mean soooo much to me. I'll let you know...

Until then I'm writing away on Book Three in the series and going back to edit Book Two a bit more.

Did you enter the Golden Heart? How'd you do?

Crafting a Heroine for your Hero

I received the following comment from my Writing the Perfect Heroine to Match the Gothic Hero post:

"i'm not much into paranormal things, vampires or whatever, but my class at school was learning about gothic literature and i loved your post on gothic heroes.
personally i love byronic heroes. it's the tragedy and the darkness surrounding them that hooks me into it. i actually posted a few comments on the gothic heroes post and wanted an opinion on my two guys. the byronic hero and the byronic/promethean mix.

now i want an opinion on my heroines. for my byronic hero, i took inspiration from padme from star wars. i like how she is morally strong and fights for what is right. my heroine is morally upright and has strong principles, but also kind and passionate in her love for the hero. she tries to show him the right path, but she never pushes him,she teaches but never tries to talk down to him. she is a light for him so that he can find the correct road.

the other heroine i got inspired from was bella. it's the idea that no matter how dark the hero sees himself as, she always shows him the lighter side within himself. the heroine is not innocent, but pure. curious, but not naive. her youth and optimism makes the hero remember a time when he was also that way, makes him believe that he can do what is morally right. just like she can.
what do you think of my heroines? anyone i'd love to get an opinion, or tell me what i'm doing wrong. one day i'm going to be a writer, it's always been a dream and i love to write. so i hope it happens."

*I actually posted the comment, replied, then decided it would make a great post in and of itself. I deleted the name of the person who asked the question. I hope that's all right. (And if it's not, "S" please feel free to email me and I'll delete this post right away.)

My response was this:
First, let me say I think it's Great! Amazing! Wonderful! that you're writing and developing your craft and creating new characters. This writing world is very small--much smaller than it seems--and I hope to read your work one day!

Not to get down to the nitty-gritty...without reading your book and getting to know your heroines, it's very hard to say what I think of them. I've read romance novels from New York Times Bestselling authors and have absolutely hated the heroine in them. I'm sure they crafted the heroine perfectly...there just had to be something that didn't resonate with me. It may have been the author's voice, the character arc (or lack thereof), or maybe even the style of writing. Hard to say. I think the best thing you can do is write a heroine who you would either like to be or have as a best friend.

As far as the gothic loverboys go, the archetypes I defined in the Gothic Hero post are simply cookie-cutters for you to mold you hero out of. It's easy to look back and say, "Yes, this hero fits right here", but it's a whole other beast to write that character effectively if the writer becomes too focused on the "type" they are writing. I know every writers' process is different, but I don't actually sit down and pick and choose which hero I'd like to write and which type of heroine he'd best be paired with. (In fact, sometimes the fun is pairing them with someone who is all wrong for them, and watching the characters change on the page for each other.)

I think the main thing is to let the hero and heroine choose you. Who do you picture in your story as the conflict consumes them? What changes will they go through when the fire closes in and the tension escalates? What will become of them? Who will they love? How will they change for that love? What will they have to sacrifice?

I think by choosing a character and asking those questions of them (and you) you'll find out what type of hero you're writing...instead of the other way around.


If you want to learn more about all types of heroes and heroines (not just the gothic ones) there's a great book called "The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines: Sixteen Master Archetypes" that you should check out. It's by Tami Cowden, et. al. (I've included the link to purchase it on Amazon above.)

I used it as a guide while figuring out the characters in the first book I ever wrote--you know, the one that will never see the light of day? Yeah. That one. Now, I define the characters as I go, bashing through some archetype walls while falling in line with other classic models...all without meaning to.

"S", I hope this helped...if it helped anyone else, I'd love to hear it. And let me just say, again, every writer has their own process. All I can tell you is mine, so if you want something to balance it against, you might want to keep on researching, compiling your data until you discover what works for you.

Keep reaching for those dreams "S"! If you want it bad enough, it'll happen.

Burn Out

Ever feel like you've got so much on your brain that instead of letting a few things slip through your fingers, everything falls apart at once, leaving you empty handed and exhausted? Yup. That's where I am right now.

The writing's been slow going. I've written 10K in three weeks. Not enough by a long shot if I plan to have this finished by mid-summer. Every time I sit down to write I remember I have to answer emails, do the dishes, throw in some laundry, pick up something for one of my munchkins classes, etc, etc, etc. The list in my brain goes on and on, all hours of the day. I'm even having trouble sleeping. My head just won't slow down enough for me to rest...but I can't seem to write during the night, either.

I think I'm close to burning out, trying to do too many things at once. I think I need to slow down a bit...take a step back. I don't mean from writing--Heck No! I mean from everything...for a night or two.

Not to mention I've been working out religiously for about four weeks now and haven't lost a single pound...instead, I'm gaining weight. Seriously? I know muscle weighs more than fat, but come on. I want to see those numbers decline on the scale. I'm even watching what I eat and I don't mean that in the funny ha-ha "I'm watching the chocolate as it passes my lips" kind of way. I'm being serious. And I'm not a fan of diets.

Something's gotta give or I'm gonna burn out FAST.

Yesterday I told Husband I need to get out of the house this week. He asked what I had in mind. I don't really have anything in mind, other than doing something that requires my brain to go on auto-pilot. Yet every time I try to think of what I want to do or when I want to do it, it feels like another "thing" added to my to-do list.

I could really use some advice here. What do you do when the writing is grinding and the rest of your life won't slow down enough to let you think clearly? Do you Yoga? Run? Coma-like sleep? Write through it?

Silent Sunday

*

"I really enjoy writing novels. It's like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off." --Denis Johnson




"I saw also that there was an ocean of darkness and death, but an infinite ocean of light and love, which flowed over the ocean of darkness." --George Fox