One More Day!

As writers we all have our rituals - those little things we do in the process of writing, editing, proofreading, publicizing, and selling books. For instance, I have to listen to music to create. Music takes me out of the mundane awarenesses, like cold feet, a gray day, a hard chair - and into a space between consciousness and dream, where reality is suspended long enough to take the form of whatever it is meant to be.

I have to have a calendar in front of me when I write. I might have an idea of what's coming next when I sit down. I might be totally blank. The calendar isn't there to tell me what comes next. It's blank, too. I have a template I've been using for fifteen years. Each book as a manila folder filled with pertinent research, the selling synopsis, and the calendar. I have the folder in front of me, too. I generally start my day by reading over what I wrote the day before. I might do light edits, if they present themselves. I might not. The point of reading is to allow the story to absorb me. And, if I've gotten out of the way of the process, I hear voices. My characters voices. They just start talking. And my fingers start moving. When the first scene break happens, I stop, pick up my pen, and jot a note on the calendar template, documenting the scene on whatever date the scene took place.

At any time during the process of a creating a book, I can look at that calendar and see a scene by scene overview in chronological order. I can pull out a folder for a book I wrote ten years ago and see the chronological order of the scenes all neatly plotted on the calendar. It would be great if I could start each book with the calendar! If I could know, each day when I come to the office, what my job for the day will be. What I have to write. But for me, plotting ahead of time ruins the process. If I plot it, I've told the story and I'm done. The entity becomes stale. Been there done that.

And, as some inexplicable energy dictates, there always seems to be an exception that proves the rule. It Happened On Maple Street is that exception. Fifty six books into this life as a writer and here I am with a book like no other. There is no calendar for Maple Street. No synopsis, either. There's a folder. Until I received some emails pertaining to the book, business emails, the folder was empty. It's never been on my desk. I've never referred to it, or noted anything.

It Happened On Maple Street is raw truth. Truth being the key word. The story was created over thirty years. Every step I took, every decision I made were the creators of this story. I didn't get to pick and choose, or imagine, or wait for what would happen next. I simply told what happened.

I am a USA Today Bestselling Romance writer. I've been penning published love stories for nineteen years. My books are fiction. Some say fantasy. I've always believed that the love I write about is true. That the kind of love embodied in Harlequin Books is real and powerful and the most important aspect of human existence.

It Happened On Maple Street is my proof. It's my own true love story. They say that writers should write what they know. And that's what I've been doing for my entire career. (As a disclaimer, for legal purposes, a middle portion of the book, from the last time Tim and I saw each other until we reconnected, is fictional.)

The story has all of the elements of a romance novel. It has goal, plot, motivation, internal conflict, external conflict, hills and valleys, beginning, middle, end, love scenes and tears. It has two points of view - first and third person. It has dialogue and introspection. And all of these elements were just there. I didn't make them up. I didn't craft a story. I simply sat down and told my story. It reads like a romance novel.

And like all romance novels, the hero and I had journeys to travel before we could get to our happily ever after. In this case, as in most of my books, the journey was a sometimes very painful one. Much like my heroines, I had some intense hurdles to overcome. And in this book, I'm telling a story that no one but my hero knows. /p>

It Happened On Maple Street is out tomorrow. One more day until the debut of my life.

To celebrate, Tim and I are hosting a cyber blog tomorrow and you're all invited! There are six blogs, random book giveaways, and everyone who comments on all six blogs is entered to win a one of a kind collectible Maple Street collection of Tim and Tara favorites.

The theme of the party is The Writing of Maple Street. And Tim tells it like it was! To read the story in order, click on the schedule in order: MIRA Authors, HCI Books, RomCon,National Domestic Violence Hotline, Chapter's Books, Border's Books.

We'll be here all day, responding to comments, so please join us! And then we hope you'll continue on with the blog tour with us. We're visiting fifty sites over the next several weeks, all with original posts and giveaways.

This post is brought to you as part of the It Happened On Maple Street International Blog Tour. For a complete tour schedule visit tarataylorquinn.com.

All blog commenters are added to the weekly basket list. Gift Basket given each week to one randomly drawn name on the list.

Don’t miss the cyber blog tour party to celebrate launch day, April 1, 2011!

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, or if you suspect someone is, please contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline, or call, toll free, 24/7, 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY). The call can be anonymous and is always confidential. There is not one second of life that is worth wasting.

Next tour stop, Friday, April 1, MIRA Authors /p>

To get your copy of It Happened On Maple Street, visit your favorite bookseller, or MapleStreet.com

Beginning April 1, 2001, It Happened On Maple Street is available on Kindle and Nook, too! Click Here!

Don’t miss The Chapman Files! Still available at: Amazon.

Super Super-Editor

This is the first time I have contributed to this blog site so I'm particularly fortunate as my fabulous Superromance editor, Victoria Curran has agreed to be our guest blogger, today. She has come to give us an insight into the editorial process from proposal to published novel, something every writer can benefit from! Victoria, with proposals, what is the relationship between query letter, chapters and synopsis? Which do you read first? Unsolicited proposals go through a freelance editor first and when his critique comes in, I check only to see his ultimate recommendation (contract, second read, reject with encouragement, reject—not suitable for Superromance). Then I read the author’s sample chapters. After that, I read the synopsis to get an understanding of what the author had been trying to do with the chapters (the two don’t always match and that can be quite insightful!). I read the query letter briefly before I dig into the editor’s criticism. He assesses four areas: writing style, characterization, story inconsistencies and contrivances, and plot and conflict. I know that other lines, such as Special Edition in our New York office, rely on query letters and synopses, without sample chapters, to decide if the author should submit the full—but our line doesn’t put much weight in query letters. We like to see how well the writer did what they set out to do in the opening of their book. If they excelled and the voice is fresh and the story meets our line’s requirement, then we ask for the full manuscript. Do you know within the first page whether you like the voice? Are you always definite or do you land up with a lot of "maybes"? I’ve heard editors say they can tell in the first sentence whether they like the voice or not. I’m not quite so skilled! (Although I do appreciate a good opening line.) I can usually tell the level of craft the author has immediately, which three chapters will confirm. But the strongest wordsmiths aren’t always the strongest storytellers, and the synopsis is key to indicating the writer’s grasp of structure and Superromance’s specific needs. I’ve seen charming stories with writing that flows, but there’s not enough romantic tension and unexpected choices, which means the romance falls flat. Long story short: I end up with a lot of maybes where the writing isn’t the strongest but the story could work, or the writing is gifted but the story’s structure is weak. In these cases, I request a revision to check the author’s ability to grasp the kind of characterization and tension we need in a good Superromance. My favourite moments on the job are when I get a revision from an author that exceeds my expectations. In the query letter, does the mention of competition wins help? Sorry, but not with me, I’m afraid! The proof is in the pudding, as it were. I like to know if I’ve personally met the author at a conference pitch and I enjoy reading about the writer (having a website is almost a given nowadays), but ultimately it’s all about the execution of the work. What is your process when it comes to giving authors feedback both on proposals and on fulls? Do you see this stage as clear guidance or a broad set of suggestions for the author? I write margin notes as I read, which I then write up and e-mail the author—discussion to follow once they’ve had a chance to digest the notes. I like to step back from the work for a day or two after I’ve read a full so I can see the forest through the trees. If I have time, I structure my critique to point out any bigger issues first and then to follow up with the smaller stuff in chronological order. I don’t necessarily care if an author hasn’t taken my previous suggestions to heart—but I do hope they’ve found a way to make the weak areas work. Ideally, I won’t even remember what I thought was a weak spot because it’s not weak anymore. But if I remember the weak spot—because it leaps out at me again—I keep at the author to find a different alternative than I’d previously suggested, to rethink it. What are the common pitfalls for authors? Wow, that’s a tough one. Often a main character’s motives aren’t urgent or active enough and that hero or heroine can seem too passive, not driven toward getting what he or she wants badly enough. This can happen when an obstacle to love only exists in the character’s internalization (they date, think they shouldn’t be dating…maybe because they have a secret the other doesn’t know about and they should really tell them, but they’re not going to quite yet…and then they date again) or when their life is in the pits when the book begins so they have nothing to lose in loving the other character, nowhere to go but up. And that lack of high stakes obstacle can lead to a less-than-exciting read because there’s no active romantic tension. (Much more exciting when both the hero and heroine have something precious they don’t want to lose at any cost, but loving each other might mean they have to lose it.) Authors are urged to raise the stakes. How can we do this in contemporary romance? In plotting where characters get to know each other, go out horseback riding or to dinner or to the pub or church fund-raiser, it’s much, much more difficult to reach the level of excitement and high stakes that you can—obviously—when there’s a villain with a gun chasing a heroine, or the hero and heroine are on a sinking ship…. The trick in writing contemporary fiction that’s grounded in reality and character-driven, is to make a scene about cooking dinner together as tense and risk-filled as a gun-to-the-head scene. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s necessary if you want a reader to keep turning the pages to find out what happens next! (And it shouldn’t be “on the nose” writing, where the scene really is about what the scene appears to be about…which vegetables the heroine will chop up for her stew and will the hero offer to set the table. There has to be deeper subtext and goals within a domestic scene, where one character comes away the victor from that dinner and the other comes away the loser.) Do clichés abound? I don’t know if it’s possible to write a cliché-free story (how many ways are there to say two people fell in love or one person broke another person’s heart?), and I’m even beginning to wonder what a cliché is anymore. Simpler writing is often more truthful, more poignant, so “her heart broke” is a cliché that works for me if it flows naturally out of the story. It’s when an author relies too heavily on clichés and what I call “torturing” them to try to create something fresh (for instance, “shards of her broken heart seemed to pierce through her lungs so she couldn’t breathe”), that the cliché calls attention to itself and distracts the reader from the story. Not sure if this falls under the category of cliché, but in trying to avoid adverbs (which have a bad rep nowadays), authors often write wordier adverbial phrases. “She said sharply” becomes “she said in a sharp tone”. In trying to write “more actively”, authors become convoluted and repetitive. “She felt cold” becomes “A cold wave swept through her middle”. An editor will clean up clichés in a line edit, but I often point out the most glaring use of them in a revision letter so the author can choose how to clean them up herself without editor interference. But I would hate for a writer to get bogged down and unable to write their story because they’re worried about style. Write the story first, worry about clichés and repetitive phrasing after. To what extent do you see the book as a collaboration between author and editor, given you know what Super readers are looking for? It’s definitely a collaboration, but I never think “oh, that’s Zana and my book”— it’s only “Zana’s book” as far as I’m concerned. I have deep respect and admiration for authors’ creation process. All I do is critique and nudge! How easy do I have it??? Have you ever had instances where, despite author's efforts, they simply cannot produce what you feel is a publishable super? Yes, and it’s a frustrating stage, for both the author and me. No matter how successful an author is within the line, there seems to come a time when a book they propose can’t get to contract. Hopefully we can find a way to work it out in a new proposal. Once a book is contracted, though, the story has been Superromance-approved and we’ve never rejected anything past that stage. How closely do you like to work with authors at this stage? Do you bounce ideas around together or do you give suggestions and it’s up to the author to run with them? Some editors are better at brainstorming ideas than others. I need to see words on a page, I’m not good at over-the-phone brainstorming. I’m also much better at editing ideas than generating them…guess that I was born to be an editor. I love to sit with Wanda Ottewell and “what if” back and forth. I find we’re able to let go of the original ideas more easily and see bigger-picture solutions than the author because we’re not as close to it. The line edits are very exacting. Is it a tightrope walk? I confess that the line edit stage isn’t much fun…and it’s utterly exhausting. But it’s also immensely satisfying to put the line-by-line work into a story and focus it into lean-and-mean fighting form. Once a line edit is done, that’s when I think, “That’s my favourite book ever”. And then I start the next line edit, cursing and grumbling until it’s over, and then it becomes my new favourite book. Wicked cycle. The tightrope during a line edit is explaining your changes to the author without beating an author over the head! Saying too much in margin notes can put authors on the defensive. You’re talking about their creation, after all. What keeps you in the job? *Honestly? A steady pay cheque! But I also love working with words, always have, and I am devoted to seeing my authors get ahead. How many novels are you working on right at this moment? How do you juggle them? I’ve got a full that just came in for Harlequin American Romance; I’ve sent one author revision notes on her first book in a trilogy and have to read and get her notes on the second book soon. I have several unsolicited books to read (three fulls and about 15 partials), and proposals from three of my authors. We work at home one day a week, which is when I usually line edit or read a full. Otherwise, I juggle based on closest deadlines! What can authors do to make their editors' lives easier? Keep reading and studying the craft of writing. There are some excellent books out there, including Stephen King’s On Writing and Robert McKee’s Story. And keeping up with what other Superromance authors are writing certainly can’t hurt. Thank you so much, Victoria, for sharing with us today. The glimpse into your world (the other side of the desk, as it were!) has been fascinating and invaluable. Victoria will be happy to reply to comments or questions so please post away. I will be giving away a Speical Moments two-in-one with Susan Crosby's The Doctor's Pregnant Bride? and my own Tempting the Negotiator (Cataromance Reviewers Award 2010) in celebration of having such a great guest to the blog! PS The photo at the top is Victoria with Beth Andrews, RITA winner.

I Heart Harlequin

By Liz Talley

Okay, don't roll your eyes. No, I'm not shamelessly kissing editor or powers-that-be butt here. I swear. I've just really been thinking a bunch about who I want to be as an author and what direction I may want to head since, really, my writing career is in its infancy (though I'm not!) I want to be prepared in this flip floppy publishing world. No pants down. No rug yanked. No left behind wishing I'd had some forsight.

So I've stewed. And thought. And dreamed. And mulled. And what it boils down to is that I feel like destiny grabbed me by some random body part - I won't guess which - and put me right where I'm supposed to be. Here. At Superromance. And, I'm pretty darn happy with it.

You see, I LOVE Harlequin.

Okay, not in a weird way.

Just in a nostalgic, cozy way.

Because like many of you, Harlequin, along with Mills and Boon, was my first taste of romance. My grandmother and her sister traded paper sacks of Harlequins every week, so it was natural that as a reader, my interest was piqued by those oodles of books. And not to mention that my grandmother took me every week to the library - she happily went her way toward the adult section while I piddled around the shelves of the children's section wondering if I could possibly be happy reading Those Happy Golden Years for the umpteenth time. Finally, one day I picked up one of her books. I'll never forget it. It was a medical and the heroine wore a cape and cute little nurse's cap. I was fascinated. So I snuck and read it. Yeah. A twelve year old wondering what in the heck an Alfa Romeo Spider was, not to mention a few other things that "wowed" me. LOL.

I was hooked.

Then I found The Thornbirds. Oh, the angst. The yearning. The delicious forbidenness of it all.

And then, finally, I rode to my aunt's used bookstore, peddling my short, little legs as quickly as I could all summer long to borrow one book after the other. And that's where I found them. Those delicious Superromances! Oh, I loved them best. They were thick and full of adventure. Long-fingered pianists (I wondered why that mattered), travel agents (very 70s, right?) and tortured lovers ripped apart by meddlesome mothers and happenstance. I'm pretty sure I read every one of them. I even thought antiquing was cool because one of the heroines always wanted to go antiquing. Try explaining that to a thirteen year old boy.

So, every now and again, I sorta pinch myself because I get to write them! How flippin' cool is that? I so wish my aunt were alive. Or my grandmother. Or my uncle who snuck and read them (though he would never admit to it. He was in the choir at the Baptist Church, for goodness sake!) I wish they could know because they would be so proud.

So, I'm good right where I am. I'm loving it. And because I have a new house and a new great office, I bought a vintage Harlequin calendar and used the pages to make awesome pictures to decorate my office with. I have them above....not so good with technical stuff so if they end up in making this look wonky, forgive me. The covers are so funny and risque. My favorite is "She was nice in so many ways....No Nice Girl" LOL.

So what about you? Let's get nostalgic. Do you remember your first romance? What was it and why did it hook you?

The Joy of Raising Boys with Tracy Wolff

Most people who read my Superromances figure out pretty quickly that I love writing boys.  Unless the children I write are babies, I always make them male.  The reason for this is simple-- I have nothing against girls.  I love them, but the fact of the matter is, I know nothing about raising girls.  Boys, however, I'm finally beginning to think I know what I'm doing when it comes to them.  I have three, after all, and while raising daughters might be a joy, raising boys is a riot  (often terrifying, but always a riot).

 A day doesn’t go by when one of them doesn’t make me laugh at something or other.  My oldest is fourteen, and while we are dealing with the inevitable mouth that comes with an eighth grader trying to flex his independent muscles, I am also so grateful to the universe for giving this child to me.  He was the baby I had when I was little more than a baby myself—twenty-one, newly married, in graduate school, he turned my life upside down and I’m so very glad he did. Not to imply that he’s been easy to take care of, because he hasn’t been—not by a longshot. 

By the time he was one, he was piling his large toys next to the front door of our second floor apartment, then scaling the pile to wrestle the chain off the door.  You see, the pool was right outside and for months I lived in fear of him executing a perfect swan dive off the walkway into the pool and certain death.  Of course, this is also the child who only had one speed—hell-bent for leather, the child who dropped my cell phone in the toilet because he wanted to know what it would do and who, by three, had managed to take apart every piece of electronic or mechanical equipment (from the coffeepot to the computer) that we had in the house, just to see how they worked.

 He taught me to grow up, taught me what it is to really laugh at myself and what it is to selflessly, completely love another human being.  He also taught me patience J My oldest is sweet and funny and adorable and always has a quip (usually sarcastic—wonder where he got that from) to make me laugh.

My middle son, well, he is my challenge.  I spent years running after my oldest son so that by the time the middle one came along six and a half years later, my husband and I were exhausted.  Or so we thought.  From the minute my middle son came into the world, we learned what exhaustion really was.  Impatient to this day, this one decided that he wasn’t going to wait around for anything as mundane as his due date—instead, he joined the world seven and a half weeks early and threw my entire life into a tizzy.  And while we were blessed with a very healthy baby considering the circumstances, we had to learn a lot quickly with him.  From the very beginning, middle kidlet wanted things his own way.  He wouldn’t eat unless I held him a certain, specific way, would cry if his blanket wasn’t arranged exactly how he liked it, would scream if we didn’t soothe him in the exact way he wanted.  I should have known, at the time, that we were in for a handful (because, oh boy, is he a handful even to this day).  At two weeks, he stopped breathing and my husband had to do CPR.  Until the day we die, I will never forget what it felt like to stand by helplessly, 911 on the phone, while my husband breathed for my child.

 At three, middle kidlet entered his oral phase right when other people’s kids were growing out of it. This is the time he started putting everything into his mouth, and I do mean everything.  No matter how careful I was (and it got to the point that I was paranoid) he would find something to try to poison himself with.  Tide at the bottom of the laundry cup, Advil (safety lid? Safety locked cabinets? What are these silly impediments you speak of—this one has never met a lock he couldn’t pick or a safety device he couldn’t release—which speaks well for his future career as a criminal, my husband always says), cough syrup, Hot wheels cars, a penny, his brother’s fish.  It didn’t matter.  If it was the right size (and sometimes even if it wasn’t) it was going in his mouth

As for what this one has taught me … Well, besides the fact that there are a number of household substances and medicines that are nowhere near as poisonous as we believe they are (thank you Poison Control Center), my middle son has really taught me patience (I only thought number one had), the importance of perseverance and the beauty in small things (this is the one who always has a rock or a shell or a flower or a leaf or a lizard or a sunset to show me.  Even at seven, he is my artist and my write, not to mention King of the metaphor, and a day doesn’t go by that he doesn’t make me look at the world in a little different way.

And then we come to raising kidlet number three.  Sigh.  I don’t even know where to begin, but I guess the fact that we call him Little Napolean might give you a clue as to what it’s like to mother this child.  Another impatient one, kidlet number three came into the world ten weeks early and from the moment he was born he was a fighter (thank God, or we might have lost him).  His fighting spirit stood him in good stead during those weeks in the NICU and the first year of his life when problem after problem kept us running between five different specialists.   Now, however, all that spirit does is terrify anyone in his path.  From beating his brothers over the head with their own Nerf swords to ordering them around at the top of his lungs to powering his way over any obstacle someone might put in his path, this kid knows how to handle opposition.  The fact that he’s four and absolutely angelic looking and has a heart of gold underneath all that fight, only works in his favor—especially when it comes to wrapping his oldest brother around his little finger. 

What he’s taught me …creative ways to punish a four year old as the regular ones only make him laugh?  The importance of consistency?   How to duck?  While all of those things are true, he’s also taught me to appreciate every day I have on this earth, to embrace chaos and the importance of playing.  He’s given me a plethora of gray hair in the last four years, but I wouldn’t trade him for the world  …

So, if you have children, what have you learned from them?  And if you don’t, just fill me in on something you’ve learned from someone important in your life.  Leave a comment for a chance to win my April release, Deserving of Luke, two weeks before it hits shelves J  Happy Monday!

Weekender March 26 - 27

This week's daily drawing winners...

Monday, March 21 , 2011

Susan

A copy of Mary Sullivan’s This Cowboy’s Son

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Snookie

A copy of Keri Krotow’s Sasha’s Dad

Thursday, March 24, 2011

AlinaDuffer, JV

Two books of winner’s choice from Sarah Mayberry’s backlist

**Please use our contact page to claim your prize**

And don't miss next week's bloggers...

Monday, March 28, 2011

Tracy Wolff

Tuesday, March 29 , 2011

Liz Talley

Liz will be giving away a $10 Starbucks card

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Zana Bell

“SUPER SUPER EDITOR”

Zana will be giving away a double book featuring her SuperRomancem Tempting the Negotiator and The Doctor’s Pregnant Bride by Susan Crosby

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Tara Taylor Quinn

Tara will be blogging as part of a 50 stop blog tour promoting her new true life romance book. Every commenter on Tara’s blog tour will be entered to win weekly prizes - read her post for more details!

2011 RITA Finalists

Congratulations to our Super Finalists!

2011 RITA Finalists for Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure 

The Moon That Night by Helen Brenna (Harelquin Superromance; 

Johanna Raisanen, editor)

Helen Brenna

Perfect Partners? by C.J. Carmichael (Harelquin Superromance;

Johanna Raisanen, editor)

C.J. Carmichael

To Catch A Killer by Kimberly Van Meter (Silhouette Romantic Suspense;

Johanna Raisanen, editor)

Kimberly Van Meter

2011 RITA Finalist for Romance Novella

A Dundee Christmas by Brenda Novak in That Christmas Feeling (Harlequin Superromance; Paula Eykelhof, editor)

Brenda Novak

Writing Tip of the Week

"Embrace rejection: once you’ve accepted failure, 

you may learn from it."

~ Vicki Essex

The winner of this week's 5-page Super Critique is Donya Pedigo.

*Please use our contact page to claim your critique.  

To enter the 5-page super critique drawing you have all week long to comment here.

A friend in need by Sarah Mayberry

One of the things I have always loved about the romance community is that it is a community. From the moment I was published I felt its warm embrace - I was invited to a publisher's dinner where I met other local authors, I was invited to a monthly lunch where a bunch of Melbourne-based published authors all network and share experiences, I started getting the most wonderful letters from people all around the world letting me know that my books gave them pleasure or meant something to them. I was approached by blog owners to do interviews and meet their readerships.

One of the people who was so wonderfully supportive to me was Fatin, who runs the Novel Thoughts and Book Talk Blog. Also known as Mad, or Mad4rombooks, Fatin has been blogging about and supporting romance for years. She is a passionate and generous advocate and has personally been very kind to me, inviting me to blog when I have new releases and tweeting about my books etc. Fatin and her family suffered a terrible loss early in March when her husband, Sammy, was shot and killed while working in their convenience store in Rocky Mount, NC. He leaves behind Fatin and four young daughters, five people who will feel the repercussions of this horrible violence for the rest of their lives.

Not so long ago, Fatin and I exchanged emails where she told me how happily married she was and shared with me a private joke she had with her husband of more than twenty years. When I heard what had happened to Sammy, I had a good howl and wished there wasn't an ocean between Australia and the US so I could do something more concrete than send my sympathy and good will. Then I learned that some of Fatin's close friends had organised an on-line auction to benefit Fatin and her children.

This auction features some amazing stuff - critiques from editors, publishers, agents and best selling authors; signed books and book sets; goodie baskets; gift vouchers; lunches with authors; advertising on blogs; pampering experiences. The romance community has truly rallied around to protect and support one of its own, and I wanted to make sure that our readers were aware of this so they could take a look at what was on offer and help support Fatin, too, if they were in a position to do so.

I have donated a signed set of 18 books - my entire works to date, barring my first book, Can't Get Enough (no copies left!). I am also offering a critique of the synopsis and first three chapters of a romance novel, which will include detailed notes and a Skype conversation to discuss those notes.

I know Holly Jacobs is also donating books, and Jeannie Watts is offering a critique. Pop along and

take a look at this site to check out the many, many listings, and keep an eye on ebay from March 27 to April 1. (When the auctions are up, I'm sure there will be a link from Operation Auction to ebay to direct people to the appropriate places, but I will keep people posted).

I really believe in the adage "a friend in need is a friend indeed". If anyone I love is hurting, I want to do whatever I can to help ease their pain, even if it's just a phone call long distance and a delivery of chocolate, or a meal to help out or some other small offering or assistance that lets them know they're not alone. That's the big thing, I think - knowing you're not alone.

I am giving away two sets of two books from my backlist (winners' choice) this week. Share with us your stories of friendship. I'd love to hear about the people who make your world go around, the people who make you laugh and who are there when you need them.

Facing the Empty Nest

It seems like it wasn't all that long ago that I was volunteering up at the elementary school, packing my kids' school lunches, helping with math homework, and car pooling kids to dance, basketball, birthday parties and sleepovers. Wasn't it yesterday that I was shopping for prom dresses with my daughter and listening to her latest boy crisis? And how the heck is it that my son is suddenly six feet tall?

My daughter's birthday was yesterday, and as I sat across from her at the restaurant we went to for lunch, I was stunned by her maturity. She graduates from college next spring and is heavy into many of her major classes. Listening to her talk about what she's learning had me nearly speechless. She's so smart, poised, and level-headed. So smart, charming, and enthusiastic. Did I say smart?

Then there's my son. Taking his ACT tests. Driving safely through the worst winter of ice and snow I remember in decades. Gone all the time. Talking to girls, even. Sheesh. Over twenty years of mothering and suddenly I'm facing an empty nest.

Used to be people talked about the adjustment of being empty nesters and I'd think, "Bring it on, baby!" But as the Friday and Saturday nights get more and more quiet in the Brenna house, I've started worrying for the first time about that inevitable empty nest.

We'll have a trial run this summer when my daughter goes all the way to Sydney Australia for a working internship. Wah! My baby's all grown up and going to Australia! A year and a half from now my son will be off to college. What am I going to do when both my kids are gone?

Oh, there's a part of me that's definitely looking forward to some extra time to get to all those household chores that have taken the back burner for years, to spend more time with my girlfriends, to write more, but is all that going to be enough?

So tell me, if you're an empty-nester, what was your saving grace? If you're in my boat, are you looking forward to some quiet time, or does it scare the begeebees out of you? If your kids are little, remind me again of how nice a quiet house and a full night's sleep will be! And if you don't have kids, what's your favorite thing about the peace and quiet?

Happy hump day, folks!
Helen

Romance Lightens the Load-Reading and Writing it!

The past ten days has been excruciating for Japan and heartbreaking for those of us watching and praying as the depths of this disaster are revealed. Just as when I'm hit with the serious illness or death of a loved one, I question what I'm doing while I'm alive and breathing on Planet Earth. Am I doing enough to help my fellow sisters? Am I lightening the load for just one other person today?

When you're blessed to write in the romance genre, and for Superromance, the answer is an unequivocal "yes." Sure, I still volunteer at my local charity functions or fundraisers; I make that meal when sickness hits a family. But the coolest thing about writing romance is that I never know when or where my book will uplift someone who's struggling with the heavier things in life. Sick kids, an unemployed spouse, an ailing parent. It means so much to get the emails and Facebook messages from readers who not only enjoyed my story but allowed it to lighten their load, if just for the time they spent on the pages.

It's the same for me. Each time I write, each hour spent "in" the story, lightens my load, too. Because when we give, we do receive--just ask any Superromance writer on this blog and I'll bet they agree.

What helps lighten your load? Leave a comment and you may win a copy of my June 2010 release SASHA's DAD.

The Name Game

Mary Sullivan

I’m in the process of writing proposals to send to Harlequin for my next Superromances and had to come up with names for three brothers. It’s a more difficult task than you would think. With each name we choose, we want to convey a certain image, of strength and vitality, or of masculine dependability. There are so many ways in which we shape our heroes and the name can be a large part of that. I write about cowboys and, in an effort to avoid names that seem to be overused in fiction, turned to my research books about modern-day cowboys. What I found surprised me.

For every ‘common’ name I found such as Bill, Keith, John and Jim, there was what I consider a name that is part of the fictional cowboy culture, as found in books or movies, or heard often in the country music culture. Those included Tyson, Shane, Duke, Chad, Lyle, Cody, Casey, Jake, Colt, Sonny, Christian, Travis; however, these men weren’t celluloid stars. They were real men doing real cowboy and ranch work, difficult jobs in the best and the worst weather.

I wondered about the cowboy heroes we portray in our romance fiction and whether any names have become so overused, or such a cliché that readers are tired of seeing them.

Some of the names I've used so far in my Supers are Hank and Cash and Rem (Remington). Hank is the strong, silent type. Cash is masculine and sexy. Rem is a bad boy turned good.

My three brothers will be named Gabriel (Gabe), Tyler (Ty) and Jonathan (Jon).

So…a curious author wants to know, on the issue of names, which are you as readers so tired of you never want to read them again. These can be in any subgenre of romance fiction, not just cowboy names.

On the flip side, which names do you LOVE and which male characteristics do they portray for you? My favorites are Michael and Gabe. I haven't used Michael yet, but will one day.

I would love to give away a copy of my Super This Cowboy's Son to one of you who comments here ;-)

Weekender March 19 - 20

This week's daily drawing winners...

Monday, March 14 , 2011

Gloria

A choice of one of Mary Brady’s books, He Calls Her Doc, or Promise to a Boy, or a set of TossOns stretch bracelets with matching earrings - winner’s choice.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Linda S

A $15.00 gift card for either Amazon or Starbucks - winner’s choice, courtesy of Debra Salonen.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Marybelle

A $15.00 gift card for either Amazon or Starbucks - winner’s choice, courtesy of Ellen Hartman.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Kristina Mathews

A $15.00 gift card for either Amazon or Starbucks - winner’s choice, courtesy of Jeannie Watt.

**Please use our contact page to claim your prize**

And don't miss next week's bloggers...

Monday, March 21, 2011

Mary Sullivan

Tuesday, March 22 , 2011

Geri Krotow

“ROMANCE LIGHTENS THE LOAD”

Geria is offering a copy of her Superromance, Sasha’s Dad

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Helen Brenna

“Facing the Empty Nest”

Helen has kindly stepped up to substitute for Stella MacLean, who is having tech issues at present. Thanks, Helen!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Sarah Mayberry

“A FRIEND IN NEED”

Sarah will be offering two posters a choice of any two books from her backlist.

Writing Tip of the Week

"When you see an interesting person on a bus or in a café, write a quick character sketch and include physical details."

~ Joan Kilby

This week's winner of the 5-page Super Critique is Sarah Tanner!

*Please claim your prize by using our contact page.

Comment here on this or any of our writing tips to be entered

in our weekly drawing for a 5 page Super Critique.  

You have all week long to comment. 

Good Luck! 

Girlfriends, Part 3 by Jeannie Watt

This week, Deb Salonen, Ellen Hartman, and Jeannie Watt combined their blog days into a threesome...welcome to Day 3 of the Girlfriends interviews.

Tuesday: Deb explains what prompted her to write a 9-book series set in a small town in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I mean, seriously, girlfriend, how many people even know where South Dakota is?

Wednesday: Ellen answers those hard questions like...hockey? Really? You decide to write a sports-theme book and you choose hockey?

Thursday: Jeannie is quizzed about rattlesnakes and marathon running because...well, neither Deb nor Ellen get the running thing, but they're dying to hear some rattlesnake stories. (Who isn't?)

Good morning and Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's been a ton of fun interviewing and being interviewed by my friends, Deb and Ellen. 

Today I'm giving away a $15 gift card to either Amazon or Starbucks--your choice.  May the luck of Irish be with you.

Ellen: In "The Brother Returns," the hero, Brett Bishop, is a bit of a bad boy cowboy. When the readers first meet him, he's trying to remove a snake from the heroine's kitchen and he's afraid the snake will crawl up his jeans. When I read that, it was a surprising, but fresh detail and I've been in love with Brett ever since. Did you plan that this moment of worry would make the "bad boy" more loveable? Did you consider making him confront the snake with no worries?

Jeannie: Actually I planned that moment to add realism, since I have yet to meet a Nevada cowboy who isn’t leery of snakes. I’m sure non-leery guys are out there—I just haven’t met one yet. I think, since Nevada is rattlesnake country, it’s something mothers hammer into their young—stay away from all snakes. But you’re right about making the bad boy more loveable. He’d done a pretty rotten thing to his brother, so I had to make him as human as possible. The snake incident really helped the reader get into his head and see that he was a decent guy.

Deb: You’re a runner in a hot yet beautiful state.  What's that like?



I like the part after running the best

Jeannie: First of all, I never meant to be a runner. I fought it tooth and nail, but my husband coached cross country (six state champion teams), my kids ran cross country (members of those state champion teams), and eventually I ran, too (no state championships to date). I was convinced I couldn’t run because no one ever told me there were speed options. I thought there was only one speed. Fast. And I couldn’t run fast for more than a couple hundred meters. When I was in college, my gymnastic coach told us that anyone who couldn’t run a mile would be kicked off the team. I tried to run the mile, but failed miserably because I was, of course, trying to sprint that mile at breakneck speed. I  was quite possibly approaching the 4-minute-mile mark when I collapsed like a heap of quivering Jello on the track.  After scraping me up, the coach had mercy and did not kick me off the team. Probably because my team was like the Bad News Bears and we needed everyone foolish enough to be on it.

As to running in Nevada, I'm usually battling either heat, snow,  mud or snakes. There's only a few times of year when I can run when I want, where I want. Usually I run early in the morning to avoid the heat and I stay on the road to avoid the snakes.

Deb: Speaking of snakes, you must have stories of your own.

I do have stories. There was the rattlesnake that floated down the creek and docked next to my son who was playing in the water (that snake is toast). The two snakes waiting for me where I pump water out of the creek (also obliterated). The one my hairdresser killed with a rock in my driveway when she came to the house to cut my hair. (We have tough beauticians where I live.) There are many others, but in eighteen years, I’ve probably encountered only a dozen rattlers close to the house. My neighbor, on the other hand, lives in the adobe officer’s quarters of an honest to goodness frontier fort. It’s very old, as you can imagine. One morning she found a rattlesnake on her kitchen drain board. Compared to that, I have no good stories.

Ellen: You submitted to Superromance through the slush pile and you went through a few revisions before you sold. Can you tell us how that went?

Jeannie: My very first submission was rejected in late 2003, but the editorial assistant asked to see something else, so I sent the first three chapters of A Difficult Woman. A few months later, Kathleen Scheibling requested a full. She eventually rejected it, but offered to reread if I wanted to rewrite. I thought rewriting was a good idea, particularly since she’d pointed out some areas to address in the rejection letter. I resubmitted and several months later got a call (a call, not THE call) from Kathleen. I believe I babbled a lot as she discussed my book with me. This time I got an honest to goodness revision letter and revised. Kathleen became senior editor of Harlequin American around that time. Many months passed and I suddenly realized that my rejection had probably been lost in the mail months ago, and that I was waiting for something that was never going to arrive. I screwed up my courage and called Harlequin and, wonder of wonders, the person I spoke to knew of my manuscript! It was still under consideration. Three days later Victoria called me (Friday, January 6, 2006 at 9:55 PST—not that it’s etched in my brain or anything) and said that she wanted to buy my book. After the sale I revised again and learned a great deal about tightening my writing. I owe Kathleen and Victoria a huge debt of gratitude for all the direction they've given me.

Deb: You are a pony lover. Tell us about your ponies.

Jeannie: I do have a thing for ponies. I have three now—Dottie, Desi and Studly—but once upon a time I had thirteen. I would have kept every one of them, too, if my husband hadn’t noticed that we had a lot of ponies. We had two or three pony babies a year before I thinned the herd. There is nothing cuter than a pony baby.

Pony Bob with Mama Dottie and Aunt Desi



Dottie, Desi and me



Studly--who's not studly any more. I find this helps keep my herd at a manageable number.

Lightning Round

1. Favorite romance author.

One? Really? Okay, not counting the SuperRomance authors…Georgette Heyer, who introduced me to romance. But I also love Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody series. And Sherry Thomas. And Rafael Sabatini. I can’t narrow it down to one. Sorry.

2. Favorite non-romance author.

Dick Francis. And a bunch of other people, but I’m keeping this down to one.

3. Idol or Dancing with the Stars?

Neither—it’s So You Think You Can Dance for me. I have an autographed picture of Mark Kanemura.

4. Something we'd be surprised to find out about you.

I’m just a bundle of surprises. Let’s see—I was an Idaho state gymnastic champion back in the day—vaulting and uneven bars.