The Novelty Girls

Sorry, couldn’t help it after Crystal’s post and the Big Awards this weekend.

Here are the answers to last week’s Dirty Minds clues:

1. A boxer.
2. An egg.
3. Breakfast.
4. Dust.
5. Easter eggs.

So our winner is Jeanette J! She’s won a download of Shelli’s Silk Hauntings. Congratulations, Jeanette! If you’ll email Shelli, she can get that out to you.

Continuing on with the awards notion (don’t you love how we all piggy-back on other people’s topics?), I’m curious about awards in general. Not writing contest awards, as those take a whole different sort of criteria to judge, but the poll type awards.

I’m never quite sure how I feel about them. Flattered to be nominated if and when that happens? Of course! But then, I wonder whether it’s kosher to make mention of that fact on blogs and mailing lists, particularly if I intend to ask my readers or fans or friends to vote for me. Shouldn’t it be up to them whether they vote or not? Is it fair to campaign?

If I don’t campaign and other people do, does it skew the results? If I have fewer friends online than the next author, does that necessarily mean that my writing is any less worthy of winning?

When the results are announced, if I’m not at the top of the list, does that mean that I’ll lose readers? Do readers even really care about those sort of awards, or is it mostly the writer who watches votes roll in neurotically? Does someone winning a poll-type award make a reader rush out and buy their book when they wouldn’t have before?

Is this all just a part of the never-ending promotion machine that comes part and parcel with signing a publishing contract? Am I asking too many questions?

I can answer that last one for myself. I’m done.

So I remember posting a week or so ago about trends in the industry, and how frustrating they could be to writers and readers alike. I really started thinking about it today, while half watching Heroes, and had another thought. It’s just not books. It’s everything.

Some years back I was a huge Sex in the City fan, but only, I didn’t discover it until it made it to TBS (the watered down stuff). I watched every episode and was devastated when the series ended. All the talk of a movie didn’t really do it for me, it would be like watching one more –albeit long–episode. I just wanted it to continue. But as with books, no trend lasts forever. My friends stop thinking how fabulous the four ladies on the show had it, and started saying, “Jeez, it was a good show. But now that I think about it, they were kind of whorey.”

The show the industry thrust my way next–my replacement–was Desperate Housewives. It did nothing for me. It was Oil and Water. And remember when reality shows were huge, as in take over the world huge? Okay, they still are a little bit, but they’re on the way down. What’s big? Paranormal. Heroes. Lost. Medium. Ummm, don’t ask me to say more because, seriously, I only watch the news now. But I know what people are talking about.

Now look beyond television and books. Music? That’s changed. Remember boy bands? One minute they were huge, the next Justin Timberlake is like f*ck this, I’m jumping ship before this fad sinks. And then how as a kid I was heartbroken when Wham broke up, and Debbie Gibson decided not to do anymore albums.

The key in all this? Reinvent yourself. Look at Madonna. She’s like the freaking cockroach of the entertainment industry, nothing will stop her. And ER and Law and Order? Those shows are doing fabulous after all these years. The key with those? Changing out the actors. (Could be applied to writers: keep your voice, make your hero a vampire instead of a lawyer.)

So what do you think? Am I off my rocker? Did we all just assume Friends would be on forever and Nora Roberts would only write sweet romances? Change, people. We need to be able to adapt to our environment and change….

I do not watch award shows.

I do not like them, Sam I Am. I do not like red carpet spam, I do not like them in a dress, I do not care who wins best actress. I do not like them, Sam I Am.

Shelli Stevens and Emma Petersen and Karen Erickson kicked me into watching the Oscars last night, where I was depressed by how skinny and pretty everyone was. Most of the time I was bored, but I didn’t whine about my mid-show boredom as much as Emma, so I felt good about myself a little.

Anyway, here are examples of people prettier than I will ever be, wearing dresses I could never afford, and smiling so wide and bright you know they have serious dental work and that their faces literally ached before they’d made it up the red carpet. Maybe that’s mean to say, but it made me feel good about myself a little more. Yes, I’m mean and petty.

How does this relate to my writing? I’m not sure yet, but some ideas have sparked here. I’ll keep you posted. I do often model characters after actor, so enjoy!

Maggie Gyllenhaal looked awesome, as usual. Of course, her brother is a bit more droolworthy for me–Brokeback or no Brokeback.

Long Live The Queen! As a half-Brit (not to be confused with half-wit)I was totally stoked when Helen Mirren won.

Awww…aren’t they cute?

And here’s my wee snark. Love Reese Witherspoon’s dress, but what was up with the hair? It dwarfed her and she looked kinda bobble-head doll-ish.

For someone whose a panster like me this can sometimes be difficult. It usually comes to me when I write it. Yes, we’ve all heard about character charts, interviewing your characters, story boards, etc. Sometimes I have an idea of what I want my hero/heroine to look like…sometimes I model them after someone famous. Sometimes, I really know the in’s and out’s of one or the other. But most of the time, it’s just an idea in my head.

Right now I’m working on the story where I really know the heroine. It was “her” story first. I just knew I wanted the hero to be a cop and that she’d fall in love with him. But I’m not sure “who” he is. He’s a good guy. He’s a “hero.” He adores her little girl. I’m not quite into his “psychi” yet though. I’ve just gotten to the part of the book (their first date) where she asks him why he’s not involved with anybody and he hasn’t answered the question yet. This was last night around 7ish and right now my time…it’s about 4ish and he still hasn’t answered the damn question.

So, help me out here people. Why is he single? Give me something? Anything?

Smooches!

For once, I’m not blogging my ‘week in review’. I’ll go read through the other posts when I’m done. But I’ve been thinking this week on the business v. pleasure aspects of writing. I’m not sure I have come to any conclusions, but I thought I’d at least share my observations.

1. There are reviews that are nothing but fluff, and writers hate them because they’re not ‘real’.
2. There are reviews that are scathing, personal attacks, and writers hate them because they’re not ‘real’.
3. There are reviews that tell an author where they went wrong without being malicious. These are some talented reviewers.
4. Reviews that leave a writer cowering in a corner sucking their thumb are not good, no matter whether the review is valid or not.
5. Some writers write because they feel it in their soul
6. Some writers write because ‘they can’.
7. Neither approach is right or wrong, and neither approach makes you a good/bad writer.
8. Sometimes you will be treated as a professional–your editor, fellow writers, and publisher will talk to you as though this is a job, and you are competent at doing it.
9. Sometimes you will be made to feel as though your publisher is doing you a favour by taking your work.
10. Sometimes you will feel as though you’re doing them a favour
11. Anonymity on the internet is, nine times out of ten, not a Good Thing ™ (no, I’m not including pen names, because our pen names are names we stand behind, and we’re held accountable for things we say using that name.
12. Choosing to publish with one company or another is, nine times out of ten, a Business decision
13. No matter what job you fill in the ‘writing industry’: writer, editor, publisher, reviewer, etc….Someone will always be willing to believe your business decisions are personal ones.
14. And no matter what job you fill…sometimes making those business decisions is personally painful.

So, my question for you guys today…well, is writing a business? Or is it pleasure? Any observations to share?

Multiple pen names–bane of your existence or necessity?

I pretty much read across genres and find it irritating when I have to hunt for one author with two or more names when I go to the bookstore. I mean, it’s usually pretty clear from the cover and back blurb what genre the book is. If it’s not my cup of tea, I don’t have to buy it.

I seem to be an exception more than rule in this regard though. Or maybe writer’s care less? Some readers seem to get all up in arms over crossing genres though, which is the pits. ‘Cause we all know at some point in our careers we’re going to stray from the genre that makes our names. How can you not? The market is a fluid thing.

I’ve just crossed a genre line I thought I never would and stated a historical. I’m enjoying it but it’s very different from my usual work. Oh, it’s still hot. I can’t seem to not write hot, but it is not my usual werewolf suspense type story. I don’t worry too much about my usually readers crossing over to try me in historical. Nope it’s the other way around. People who are primarily historical readers don’t seem to do a lot of crossover. So I’ve picked a new pen name for the new genre–Bella Whitfield. Love it, bought the domain, webspace, etc. The site will be coming soon.

But I’m wondering how y’all feel about the name dilemna? Do you write under more than one name? If you started a new genre that was very different would you?

I’m a word fanatic. I will spend hours repeating a word over and over. I have made lists of all the various meanings of simple words. I am constantly amazed at how anything can be made to sound racy with the right context and intonation.

And I’m out of blogging topics at the moment, so I’m combining both things and thought I’d borrow from a game I have.

It’s called Dirty Minds, and if you’ve never heard of it, the gist is that you’re given three clues that sound a whole lot worse than they are. The objects being described are all perfectly normal things, believe it or not, and the idea is that you guess what they are.

I’ll list, oh, five and everyone playing along will be entered in a drawing for … a prize to be determined at a later date. (Only seems fair to hold off on announcing what it is since I’m doing the contest off the cuff and the other Girls might want to donate).

Ready? Here we go:

1.I sometimes get licked.
Quick blows are my specialty.
I’m always ready to swing.

2. It takes me 3 minutes to get hard.
I come in a box with 11 others.
My own mother sits on me.

3. I can be a roll with your honey.
I can be a hot sausage.
I can be ripe juicy melons.

4. You’re stiff when you bite me.
Feathers help to get me off.
To get me off fast, you blow me.

5. In the Spring, I come in several colors.
I have to be hard for you to use me.
I get laid in the grass.

I repeat: These are all ordinary objects. If the clues look dirty, well, that’s not my fault.

I’ll draw a winner next week. You could win:
A free download of Silk Hauntings by Shelli Stevens

Good luck!

The first books I started reading were Nancy Drew. Not the old hardback ones, but the paperbacks with the modern covers that came out for awhile. I thought they were interesting and all, but the one that really stuck in my head, that I just loved, was the one where a lot of the book involved Nancy’s love interest. After that, I couldn’t go back to the straight up mysteries.

So I started reading The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High, especially the ones with dating. And then I hit it. I was reading a SWV book, and Jessica was in some hut with a boy and he tried to touch her breast. And Pandora’s Box was opened to my eyes. I was a little peeved that Jessica cut it off. I wanted to see what would’ve happened if he had touched it.

So I grabbed a Harlequin Presents off my mom’s bookshelf. Despite continuous warnings from my mom that it had a lot of steamy scenes in it, I read it. I was scandalized, and I immediately went back to the shelf to grab more books. I read Harlequin Presents for a couple years, but then grew bored with them. I needed something with more teeth. I discovered romantic suspense and got hooked.

Then things changed. I went through a bad relationship, was very anti-romance. But I knew I couldn’t shut myself off completely. So I switched what I was reading, and what I was writing. I turned to historical, something that wouldn’t remind me of what everyday romances could be like. And with historical, I found my love. I absolutely love reading about different time periods and seeing how absolutely alpha the heroes are in them. (I’m a sucker for alpha’s, sorry.)

Now, I’m a bit of an everything girl. I discovered erotic romance through a Jaid Black book I found at a thrift shop. I read to support my friends in the industry. But my favorites to read are still are historical and romantic suspense. So how about you? Are you still reading what you were reading all those years ago?

You know we all love him.

The Anti-hero.

The historical pirate. The man on the run from the law. The corporate execuative bent on a take over. The dark, bitter man of the slighty-criminal element. The futuristic invader of Earth.

If only I can write him!

I’m trying to do a pirate story, and this man is just naughty. Like wicked, filthy, preverted type naughty. And I can’t make him stop!

He does things to the heroine that make me blush. And I’m pretty unshockable at this point. You can;t write in the naughty romance genre without getting a bit old-hat about certain levels of sexual heat.

But this guy? Oh. My. Holy. Jesus. He’s just filthy. I tell him to reign it in and he pulls his cutlass. I mean, he’s un tameable. That’s why he’s a pirate.

The Anti-hero.

Has anyone ever had this happen? Had a character hijack your story. Ugh! I might have to kill him off just for being such a pill. He might have a sword, but I have a delete key. Ha HA!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69xH_53PgBI]