You Say Tomato

It's a fun thing anymore, cruising through the lower reaches of the publishing world where I (and many of you) reside. Ok, "fun" is probably not the word I'm seeking. "Interesting" perhaps or at the very least "fascinating."

Oh all right: "frustrating the the point of brick-wall-head-bashing."

Fine.

Between all the advice blogs, review sites with their own agendas, kindly relatives asking "so, how much of the $17.50 that you got from one of your publishers last month will you put in your 401K, Liz?" and random assorted others who snicker behind their hands in a smarty-pants college town like mine about "sex books" (including a book store owner who pretty much told me to my face she would never support "E.L. James books.") it is hard to know what to think about the validity of what we do.

But I'm not here to complain (much).

I'm here to talk genres. You know, "categories of fiction" that encompass everything from "sweet romance" to "splatter horror" and everything in between, which, believe it or not would include books considered "mainstream fiction" to many.

I am sort of confused by the whole "New Adult" thing. Many people consider it a way to ease younger readers into erotic fiction. I have no problem with that. God knows I read Valley of the Dolls when I was fifteen, twice. And frankly, the addition of this "new genre" (which to me feels more "sub-genre-ish" than anything) has only muddied the already roiling waters.

What is chick (or as I've seen it lately which bring to mind a certain brand of jeans to those of us of a certain age) "chic" lit anyway?

How does that differ from "women's fiction?"

And how is all of that really that different from the softer core erotic books that have done their coat-tailing thing to That Book I Refuse To Name up to the top of all the best seller lists?

I will be the first to admit I consider myself more of a mainstream reader. And most if not all of my books contain a bit too much "real life" to them (including female protags that you really would befriend, even though you'd like to smack her upside her fool head more than once during your friendship and male protags that sometimes make you really really angry) to find much of a foothold in romance. Which is odd, I know, as this is a romance blog, in name but I consider it one of the few that is also very much a blog for writers to discuss the ins and outs of their business.

The formulas that many hard core romance publishers use have stood them in good stead for years, making money for many authors and executives alike. Many readers seek out that predictability including the happy ending and, like any smart business owner, the Harlequins and to some extent the Ellora's Caves of the world make a product to suit their customers. No brainer and more power to them all.

But the oozing over into mainstream thing that has been happening for the last couple of years (again, thanks to That Set of Books) of flat out, formula-style erotic fiction has confused everyone, including the big shots in New York.

I bring this up for a reason. You see, I am pondering a shift change for 2014 but it has gotten me really thinking about my back list. I have something like 20 books published, all of which have been released and marketed as "erotic romance."  But, I am thinking I may repackage myself and the books a little differently as I work on 3 new projects simultaneously. As part of this, I am in the process of doing a hard re-edit on everything I've released with one of my publishers, preparing some of them for "anthologizing" and audio recordings. Of course I have no plans to change anything significant about any of the plots or characters. Just doing a bit of cleaning up where it is needed.

Taking care of the Liz Brand as it were, seeking some different sorts of platforms for publicity and promotion and encouraging everyone to consider what I write in a whole new category: Relationship Fiction.

I wrote about this in the latest issue of BTSemag (page 30) and plan to do some research into "genre-izing" of modern fiction in order to speak on it in a slightly more coherent way in a few other arenas. I want to explore what you and I and all the other good readers out there might be missing out on because of our pre-conceived notions about genres we will and will not consider as good use for our disposable incomes.

God, would my English Lit undergrad adviser (an AMAZING woman named Lucy Frieberger, a former nun and killer short story writer in her own right) be proud of me...all this "compare and contrast!"

In the meantime, I would love to know your take on this. Do you want to know if something is, at its core, about a relationship between a couple of people? Because so many books are, no matter what genre they purport to be.  I mean, of course you gotta know if it's "horror" or "mystery" or whatever but otherwise, what does it matter?

And as a good example of my own efforts at relationship fiction the Black Jack Gentlemen series will release its 3rd book in a few days. To celebrate I'm offering the opportunity for you to win all 3 of the books in ebook or print AND a free download of Floor Time on audible.com. Just 3 more days to win! over at the brewingpassion blog right now.

cheers and happy writing/reading
Liz
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LIFE LESSONS I LEARNED FROM WRITING

BY
CARA MARSI



1. Affirmation works. If you want something badly, write it down. For several years before I sold my first book, I wrote fifteen times a day: “I will be a published author.”

I didn’t sell immediately and I had to work really hard at writing. Just affirming what I wanted wasn’t going to do it. But putting voice to my dream kept me focused.

Life lesson?—If you really want something, believe in yourself and keep working toward your goal. Will affirmations help you win the lottery? Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. But if you have a realistic goal, for instance to buy a new house in two years, you can make it happen. Write your house-buying affirmations every day, but save your money and work hard.

2. Don’t listen to the so-called “experts.” If I’d listened to the nay-sayers I would have stopped writing a long time ago. The “experts” said I would never sell because: I wasn’t finaling in writing contests; editors didn’t praise my work; I wasn’t receiving personal rejection letters. The only personal rejection letters I received made me cry. I refused to give up and I refused to let the nay-sayers stop me.

No matter what you want to do in life--move to a new city, start a new career, go back to school, there are those who will tell you that you cannot do it. DO NOT listen to them. Only you know what you want and what you’re willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals.

3. Don’t burn your bridges. Good advice in the real and corporate world and the writing world. Another rejection? And from your own publisher. Ouch! Smile through the pain and send that editor a thank-you note. You may want to submit there again. [NOTE: You may not always want to send a thank-you. If I get a rejection from an editor who I have a relationship with, I send a thank-you note or email. If I get a personal rejection letter that is constructive with good advice, I send a thank-you. If I get a form letter that says nothing, I don’t bother with a thank-you]

Passed over for a promotion at work? Congratulate the person who got the job you wanted. Smile at your boss. Maybe you’ll need to look for a new job, but you never know when you might need that good recommendation from your old boss.

4. Don’t compare yourself to others. There will always be those who are smarter, prettier, more successful than you. There will always be those who are less smart, less pretty and less successful than you. Don’t sweat it. Just be true to yourself.

This is a hard lesson in life and in writing. We all know those people blessed by the fates. They have beauty, brains and money. It’s the same with writers. We’ve all heard of that writer who suddenly decides to write a book. She finishes it in six months. Agents clamor to represent her. Book goes to auction and sells for six figures. And then there are the rest of us. We struggle for years, enduring rejection after rejection. But we persevere and we sell.

Life lesson?—Accept that some are more blessed than others and be the best you can in anything you attempt. We each have a special talent.

5. Karma—there is such a thing. I have bad contest Karma. I never finaled in a contest until after I sold. See number 2 above. When I finally began to final, what did it get me? Rejections within two weeks rather than twelve. Contests are overrated. Bad contest Karma? Not a big deal. Accept it and go on.

Bad Karma in life? Not to worry. Good Karma is overrated. See above. If you tell yourself that you have no control over your bad luck, you are in trouble. You do have control over your life.

6. “Don’t take life seriously. No one gets out alive.” A rock star said this. I wish I’d been clever enough to think of it. Write for the pure pleasure of telling stories. Don’t worry about the rejections. I know - that’s easier said than done. You tell a story from your heart and some editor or agent or contest judge rips it apart. Keep writing because you love to write. Another sage once said, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” [NOTE: That isn’t always the case but if you don’t get rich at least you’ll have fun]

The same goes for life. Have fun. Enjoy yourself. Hard advice at times, but remember this: when you’re in that nursing home, you’ll regret what you didn’t do, not what you did.

7. Know the rules. I belong to several email loops. It’s important to know the loop rules. Know them and follow them. Don’t give others a bad impression of you. You can break grammar rules though, but only if you know the rules to begin with. In English class, we were taught never to write fragments. I write fragments all the time in my fiction. Lots of writers do. They make a story flow better. If you break any grammar rules, you’d better have a good reason. Nothing kills a story faster than bad grammar.

Life lesson? — Break the rules if you want, but know them first and have a darn good reason to break them.

8. Publishing is a business. Repeat this fifteen times. Sure, you’re a nice person. That has nothing to do with anything. An editor will take your book and an agent will represent you if they think they can make money. That is the bottom line. Don’t take rejection personally. A few years back I had a great interview with an agent. We discussed our upcoming vacations. She said she loved the type stories I write. I sent her the requested partial. In my cover letter I said I hoped she had a wonderful vacation. Her response? An unsigned, mean-spirited form letter that didn’t include my name or the title of my book. The final punch in my gut? The letter said I shouldn’t ever bother them again. Publishing is a business. Don’t forget that.

And life doesn’t always give you warm fuzzies either. Pick yourself up and go on. Be true to yourself and kind to others. That’s what’s important.

9. NEVER GIVE UP. If you want it, go for it. Have faith in yourself. Don’t despair. See number 6 above. Enjoy.

10. NEVER GIVE UP. See 9 above.

Why Read Fiction?

Good Morning,

First of all, I must admit I've used this blog before, but I think it's a topic worth discussing again.

 Why read fiction . . . it has no redeeming value.  It has no basis in truth.  So why read something that never happened?

Fiction is considered imaginary and made-up whereas non-fiction is supposed to be factual and indisputable.  I am a writer of fiction.  The ideas for my stories come from real life, so that element has to be realistic. 

For example, my story, ADDICTION, is made of truth and fiction.  The heroine is being stalked by a serial killer, she has low self-esteem and is an alcoholic.  All of these things are real, they happen.  The difference is in how they play out, but even in real life the heroine can survive the killer and gain self-esteem.  She would always be an alcoholic but she can conquer the disease by staying away from those beverages.

All authors write stories about life even if they are other genres such as sci-fi, paranormal, westerns, fantasy, etc.  Even comic books have had some of greatest ideas that eventually came to life. 

The hero in ADDICTION is handsome, Irish and a FBI agent.  He understands women because he has younger sisters, and he wants to protect the heroine.  Do you think this is stretching the truth?  Maybe, but haven't you known men like him?  I have.

Many people like to escape real life and others want to see life turn out differently from the one they live.  It's all the matter of the choices we make and this holds true of the hero and heroine in my story.

I think people who only read non-fiction tried a couple of fiction books, they would be pleasantly surprised.  I have read both and enjoy both. 

I'm posting a blurb and a excerpt from ADDICTION below. 

Blurb for Addiction

Two men are after the same woman but for very different reasons.

Dark-haired beauty, Jolene Dubois has a serious problem, and it's not just battling alcoholism.  Late at night, she receives whispered calls.  "Jolene, I want you.  I'm coming for you."  Shivers climb up her spine and ice flows in her veins.  What does he want?  Who is it?  She must figure it out before she trusts the wrong person.

Jake Farrell, the handsome rogue is an operator with women, but is he hiding something dark and sinister under his cheery facade.  The detective, Andy Martin, who investigated her father's murder, continues to ask her out.  Les Voodré, an alcoholic she met at AA follows her everywhere, and Ron Keisler, her AA sponsor is always there when she needs him.  Could her caller be one of these men?

To further complicate her life, she fights a host of addictions, alcoholism, smoking, gambling and sex.  Jolene is determined to beat the alcohol and to stay out of the clutches of the fiend who phones her.

Excerpt:

Ring. Ring.

        Her heart pounded frantically. Jolene pushed her covers off and jumped out of bed, her gaze on the clock. Four o’clock in the morning. She had a caller. Horror pulsed through her veins, and then she grabbed her purse.
        It can’t possibly be him.
      Come on, Jolene, answer it.
      Her hands shaking, she dug in her purse pulling out the cell phone and flipping it open. “Hello.” He’d blocked the caller ID.
      “What took you so long, Jolene?” a muffled voice asked.
     She tightened her grip on the cell. No. How did he get this number?
    “Come on, speak to me. I know you’re there,” the whisperer said in a low raspy voice. “Don’t make me come in there.”
     “What do you want?” He knew where she was. How could he? “How did you get this number?” she demanded, rubbing her palm on the pale floral bed cover. Was he outside? She wanted to hang up, but that never worked. He’d call all night then.
    “Jolene, I’m disappointed in you. You were around too many people tonight for me to get to you.”
    She rose and walked to the window, feeling cold in spite of her olive green cotton pajamas. If only he’d talk in a normal tone, she might recognize the voice. “Why are you harassing me?” she asked, sliding the light green curtain aside so she could peek out. There weren’t any new cars parked on the street, but he could’ve parked anywhere and be outside the house.
    “I thought we were friends. Don’t you like it when I tell you all the things I’m going to do to you?” He cackled loud and long.
     His maniacal laughter sent shivers up her body, and she wrapped her free arm around her waist. Did she know this person? Surely, she didn’t know anyone like this except for Les. That guy was just downright crazy. Quiet.
     She held her breath and listened. Was he still there? No sound. He must’ve hung up. Softly, she started to close her cell.
     “Don’t hang up on me, Jolene.”
     Startled, the phone slipped out of her grasp, but she scrambled to catch it. The darn thing hit the thick beige carpeted floor. Down on her knees, she grabbed the cell, putting it to her ear.
     “Hello.” The buzzing told her she’d lost him. What would he do now? Call her back. She stared at the phone, her shoulders hunched, and the tendons in her neck tightening.
     After a few moments, she rose, went to her bed and climbed in pulling the covers around her. She knew she wouldn’t sleep, but she didn’t want to wake her sister or call her brother to talk to him. This was her problem to take care of. She would call the police later this morning and make a report.
    Ring. Ring.
    Jolene grabbed the phone; she knew it was him again. She’d made him mad by hanging up on him even though it had happened accidentally. Without saying anything, she listened, hoping it wasn’t him.
     “Don’t ever do that again.”
    The loud click told her he was finally gone. Her hand shook so badly she could hardly reach the oak end table to lay her cell on it. She’d never sleep the rest of the night. She had to figure out who this person could be.
     The only person she knew this crazy was Les, but she didn’t know how he could’ve gotten her numbers. She’d never met him before tonight.
     Pulling the covers over her head, she burrowed deeper into the bed. She’d always been afraid of the boogie man, and now he was really after her.
   
   You can find all of my books at Eirelander Publishing, Amazon, B&N and Coffee Time Romance book store. 

I'll be waiting eagerly to hear why you read or don't read fiction. 

See you next month.

Sandra K. Marshall, Author of the

Odyssey Mysteries Trilogy, The Catalyst,
Addiction and The Deceived
Anthology - Fool Me Twice
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com

Identity as a Writer

Over the years, I've had many identities, but today I want to share myself as a writer. The life of a writer sounds glamorous, but in fact is lonely and difficult. Even those of us who are social do not have time to socialize unless it's through e-mail and medias like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, which is not the same as face to face.

The first story I remember writing was a skit I performed while in the third grade. All my life, I wrote letters to family members, friends and soldiers overseas. At the age of forty-three, while I still worked for a major airline, I started writing for publication. After that there was no turning back. The art of learning to write stories grips you around the neck and will not let you escape its' clutches. Unformed ideas swarm into your mind like bees, and they keep coming until you choose one and focus on it.

I write mystery romance with a women's fiction bent because I like to read stories that deal with real issues. These are the types of stories I like to read, and so I write them. I grew up on Nancy Drew mysteries and others of that age group graduated to Victoria Holt, Sidney Shelden, Sandra Brown and numerous others.

There is so much to learn as a writer of fiction. You have to learn the rules before you can break them is a saying among authors and publishers. One of the things I had difficulty with was point of view. We're supposed to stay in one view during a scene, never matter that someone like Nora Roberts can get away with going into the viewpoint of a cat if she wants to. For new authors that is not an option if you want to get published.

Other things beginning authors need to learn is how to weave the different threads of the story together. For instance, romance and the suspense cannot be kept seperated but must be woven together.

Before you become a published author you need a website to build a name for yourself and to start promoting the image you want. I wanted something dark and mysterious because I wrote romantic suspense. Once you are published, you used this site to help promote your books by putting your bookcovers, blurbs and excerpts at your website and hook them to your publisher.

Promoting is a huge part of publishing. It's time consuming and takes time away from writing your next book. Would I have become an author if I knew what I know now? The answer is a simple 'no.' But, it's too late, I'm hooked.

My books, The Catalyst, Addiction and The Deceived can be found at http://www.eirelander-publishing.com
Also, they can be found at Barnes and Noble, Amazon and Smashwords along with the anthology, Fool Me Twice, written by myself and Sandra Sookoo.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about the life of a writer.

Have a great day.

Sandra K. Marshall
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.sandramarshallblog.blogspot.com

Happy Anniversary to Me

Tomorrow is my son's fourteenth birthday. That means I've officially been writing for fourteen years now. Yes, the two are linked.

I'd always wanted to be a writer. I grew up writing plays in elementary school, YA in junior high, and romance novels in high school. See a pattern here? Yes, I wrote what I knew and what interested me. Life, however, got in the way for many years. I never fully gave up the writing dream, but it became a "someday" wish. We all have "someday" wishes. "Someday, I'll go to Paris..." "Someday, I'll buy a new car..." "Someday, I'll be a size six..."

The thing is, "Someday" really never comes. There's only today. So when I found myself bed-confined in the final weeks of pregnancy fourteen years ago, the hubster brought home a computer and told me this was my Someday. Suddenly after years of working full-time, I had an opportunity to do what I always dreamed of: write a novel.

As of this year, I'll have nine books published (so far!). I have three full manuscripts I'm currently shopping around. And the ideas are still coming. Stories are lined up in a giant queue in my head (next to the reminder to do my taxes and my recipe for Buffalo Chicken Dip--it's a completely chaotic storage facility in my skull) waiting patiently for their turn to shine.

What's the moral of the story? Don't wait for Someday. No matter what your goal. Start making it a reality now. (And happy birthday, Nicholas B!)

Setting Goals

Happy 2011, Everyone!

I have never been a resolution kind of person. I break them, so they seem pretty rediculous to swear once a year. Usually they are scoping things, utopian ideas I want to achieve which require a lot more energy than I want to spend.

Conversely, I've always been a big proponant of setting goals and milestones. Admittedly this comes from my "former" life of project management and a sick craving to check off little boxes and watch a project plan unfold.

So I dragged out that project plan before we went into the new year -- this poor spreadsheet that has been running for three years and has so many uncoordinated colors a blind man would cringe -- and looked at what I'd set and where I'd succeeded and didn't, as well as plugging in new things.

I noticed something. Now... I should have been aware of this all along. But it never really stood out to me until I started listening to other people talk about their goals and really looking at what I wanted to accomplish. What I observed?

The only things I've accomplished are the things I can directly control. The things I, and myself alone, can own.

We all have great big scoping dreams as authors. We write a book that we love, our immediate first round readers love, and we let that project grow. We dream with that project, maybe even while we're working on something else. There's nothing wrong with that. If there's no motivation to achieve a dream, that dream doesn't have the first chance at surviving much longer than the short space of time it took to flit across our brain.

But this is one of the few careers I am aware of where the work put into achieving a dream is not necessarily going to make it happen. For instance, as a teenager I held the dream of riding in the olympics. It's totally doable for almost anyone who shares that vision. Have a horse that can do it, put the hours and hours into training, enter competitions, and nine times out of ten training is directly proportional to success. Corporate world -- put in the hours, study the field, most often you'll see promotions.

But writing is different in so many respects. Our training comes from practicing the habit and I still heavily believe anyone can do it if they put in the time and effort. The when becomes the issue, and as we all know, the struggle to get there discourages many people from pursuit.

So... what's the trick to sticking in there when the changing nature of the publishing industry makes things even more difficult to predict and expect?

Goals. Goals that a writer can hold complete ownership over.

This means... strike out all entries that look like: "Get an Agent, Sell XYZ" Don't discard them, but modify them so they are yours. This translates to a larger list of goals and things you can look at as accomplishments.

"Get an Agent" becomes: Finish book. Write synoposis. Write query. Shop query to agent xyz.

Same thing with Sell XYZ, only if you've got an agent doing this work for you, modify that to again, "Shop, xyz to AHouse, BHouse"

You control the completion of the book. You control the effort put into doing all the right things to accomplish the dream. You do not control whether someone else chooses to accept your work. And getting frustrated about it doesn't accomplish anything. While you're doing one thing for one book, do something else for another... keep your productivity rolling so you don't have all your eggs in one proverbial basket.

When the end of the year comes around and you go into another, you won't have frustrations. You will have a solid list of achievements that will make you feel good about what you're doing.

Good luck everyone! I look forward to hearing all your accomplishments as 2011 continues. May this year be your year for success.

~Claire

A Writer's Thanksgiving

The following first appeared in Footnotes, the newsletter for Dunes & Dreams Romance Writers


Here in the United States, November is traditionally the month where most people spend some time reflecting on the good things in their lives: health, family, friends, etc. While I have all of those rewards in my daily life, I’m also grateful for all the advantages I have as a writer. I, therefore, proudly present my list of blessings to reflect upon--from a writer’s point of view.

1. The Internet. From companionship to research to purchase power, the Internet is a writer’s best friend (sorry, spouses). Thanks to this marvelous system, we stay in touch with other writers, find out how to make a body decompose faster, and instantly buy a book based on the excerpt we just finished reading online. Can you imagine showing this technology to someone like Mark Twain, Jane Austen, or Charles Dickens? Do you think it would make them more prolific or less so? Because let’s face it. Although the Internet is a great tool, Farmville, email, and YouTube can also make it a bit of a time suck. Still, in my eyes, the instantaneous benefits far outweigh the vampire vibes. Thank you, Internet, for just being you!

2. Office supply stores. Looking for paper, ink, electronics, Post-It notes, software, coffee, giant bags of chocolate (and those big square containers of individually wrapped Twizzlers)? Want a comfy new desk chair? Yeah…they got that. All that a writer needs to survive can be found in this glorious mecca for authors. When the apocalypse comes, I’ll be safely camped out in my local Staples. I figure I can live there comfortably for lots of years. Where are you going? A bomb shelter? Puh-leez. How are you going to get Internet service underground?

3. E-publishing. Over the last ten years, while traditional houses were churning out Scotland historicals and secret babies, the electronic market allowed writers “on the fringe” the opportunity to become mainstream. Erotic romance, paranormal romance, and the non-traditional settings have all become popular in the e-market. And traditional publishers have paid attention, widening their markets, as well. I see a great future for this venue, thanks to its convenience, ecological impact, and flexibility.

4. E-readers. The hard truth? Readers are addicts. Sure, our habit is legal, but it’s also difficult to control. We need to constantly feed our need for great stories. So we’re the ones trolling Amazon at two in the morning or walking with eyes glazed more than a Krispy Kreme through our local bookstores. We don’t see the library scene in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as a sweet moment of generosity between the hero and heroine. For us, it’s a goal! Unfortunately, palace residences with massive libraries are rare these days. Thus, the electronic book reader allows us to indulge our addiction without killing trees or moving the baby outside to a tent to make room for us to store our “keepers.” And thanks to instant downloading, we no longer have to leave home or camp out on the porch until the UPS man shows up with our latest fix. We can have instant gratification!

5. The home office. In the old days, writers had typewriters. And typewriter ribbons. Revisions were a nightmare of Wite-Out and retyping whole pages for one or two lousy words. Copies required pumping a roll of nickels into Xerox machines at libraries, or slipping the pages surreptitiously into work being done at the day job. Now we have the ability to change whole paragraphs (or pages!) with a few clicks of the mouse. We can email as many copies as we need, or print out entire manuscripts in minutes—all from our cozy homes.

6. Peapod delivery, the Roomba and Scooba, and the Keurig. Oh, be still my heart. With the touch of a few buttons, you can feed the family, get the floor cleaned, and have all the coffee your little heart desires. And you never have to leave the comfort of home (are you sensing a pattern here yet?). Even the K-cups for coffee are available online (my favorite site is Kenozacoffee.com) and delivered right to your doorstep.

7. RWA. No, I’m not sucking up. Honestly. How many writers’ organizations accept unpublished, unskilled hopefuls and give them the tools to succeed? RWA is 10,000 members strong, a number that’s tough for anyone to ignore. Toss in the affiliated chapters, and you’ve got, at your disposal, all the resources you need to reach your dreams. How could you not be thankful for all the information on the writing life and the publishing business available at your fingertips?

8. The storytellers who came before. Whether we’re discussing William Shakespeare or Nora Roberts, from the cave dwellers of prehistoric times to the top author on today’s NY Times bestseller list, those who’ve come before us have shaped the writing world. We write and believe we can succeed because they wrote and succeeded. My eternal gratitude goes out to all of them.

Your list may vary. Regardless, these are great times to be a writer. No matter how or when you celebrate your Thanksgiving, may your blessings be many and your rejections few!