Cascade Literary Agency

I'm Hosting Bestselling Kindle Ebook Author Joan Reeves Today

2011-09-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
Pop in and say hi to Joan Reeves, best-selling Kindle author of romantic comedy who, in her first five months as an ebook author, sold over 120,000 ebooks. She also writes the popular blog SlingWords http://SlingWords.blogspot.com.
www.dianarubinoauthorblogspot.com

When my muse abandons me....

2011-08-13T15:08:00.001-07:00

My muse is a slippery little beast. She sometimes hovers lovingly over my shoulder, sprinkling her magic muse dust all over my keyboard. The words fly from her to my brain to my fingertips and into my story. It’s a delightful, magical time...

Admittedly, those times are very, very rare. Almost non-existent. As a matter of fact, it’s possible I just told a big fat lie. Mostly, my muse is stubbornly silent and the words are all my own, pulled out of me with the difficulty of a tooth extraction, and almost as painful. When that happens, I often take a break and read passages from some of my favorite books in order to draw inspiration. I close my eyes and picture my setting and my characters. I talk to my characters. I ask them what they want from me (I sometimes use a few curse words)

But, overall, I keep writing. For whatever time I’ve set aside to work on my story, I make sure that I write something, that I fill the blank pages with whatever drivel pops into my head. Because, I know that, no matter how awful the stuff I come up with might be, I can always fix it. I remind myself that all I have to do is write something, then go over it as many times as necessary. I remind myself that each pass through my story will be an improvement. The trick is getting the words—any words—down on paper.

I prefer those gloriously blessed days when my muse participates and the words spew forth faster than I can type them, but that doesn’t happen often. So, I’ve learned, whether it is with her help or not, the trick is, KEEP WRITING.

Leave Them Swinging in the Wind

2011-08-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

Leave them swinging in the wind, or torture your hero/heroine, then torture them some more. That's the best piece of advice I've ever received.

Yes, those are pretty sadistic words. I have it on good authority, from Shannon K. Butcher, that will heighten the suspense and keep the reader's nose buried in your book. Don't believe it? Read one of her Sentinel Wars, or her mercenary Edge series. She's a master of torture. Just when you think it can't get any worse for her characters, she throws them in a seemingly impossible situation. Survival looks grim.

My hero.

Granted, it doesn't have to be real torture, no thumb screws or iron maidens, but the premise works no matter what genre you write. Even in a book, or story rife with comedy, pain can add another layer to the humor.

Take the 1962 comedy, That Touch of Mink. It was released before the pill and the sexual revolution. Marriage, children, and a woman's virginity, were still held up as the gold standards.

Cathy Timberlake, played by Doris Day, is rushing to a much needed job interview in New York City. A Rolls Royce blasts past her, and her only good outfit is splashed with mud. Cary Grant plays Philip Shayne, a man of power and position. The moment they meet, she see's the man of her dreams and Philip wants Cathy in his bed. He wines, dines, and dazzles Cathy. When he asks her to go to Bermuda, she's imagines wedding rings and he's thinking ring-a-ding-ding. After much soul searching, Cathy decides to go to Bermuda with Philip. The long awaited night approaches, but she stresses to the point where she breaks out in hives. Cathy can't go through with it. Once back in New York, the humiliated Cathy once more decides to give herself to Philip. Off they go to Bermuda again. This time she gets drunk and Philip calls off their rendezvous.
The black moment in the comedy is her attempt to rid herself of her hated virginity. She wants to prove to herself that she really is a woman by going to a motel with a sleazeball named Beasley. Once Philip finds out what Cathy is up to, he races after her, declares his love, and they marry. The final irony comes at the end of the film when they are in Bermuda on their wedding night. This time, Philip is the one who breaks out in hives.

Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and her sister Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, are prime examples of just when you think it couldn't get any worse, it does. Rochester and Heathcliff are classic tortured heroes. In Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, no matter how many times Mitchell twists the knife in Scarlet O'Hara's gut, the woman will not stop. Scarlet raises up her fist to God and declares that she will never go hungry again. It's a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions.

Your readers want the hero and heroine to overcome the obstacles you've put in the path to true love. That's the payoff. You'll make fans and have a them lined up in the bookstores to buy the next book with your name blazoned on the cover.

So, torture away.

Dyann Love Barr

Muse, please come home

2011-07-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

What is a muse? According to Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Eleventh Edition a muse is “any source of inspiration: especially a guiding genius.”

When anyone referred to a muse I had one of two thoughts. The first image is an aging famous painter besotted by a beautiful very young woman. He does many studies of her. They may show her in various forms of dress or nude. His wife of over fifty years comments that the portraits show the painter’s love for his muse.

The second is the muses in mythology. Someone may mention having a muse. Another person asks “What is a muse?” Usually I casually say “you know knows the nine female gods from”...oh dear, why can’t I remember if they are in Greek or Roman mythology. Since my knowledge of Roman gods is less than Greek gods, I guess Greek and smile modestly.

Neither of these muses applies to my writing life. Interior decorators talk about inspiration pieces. These can be a painting, a piece of fabric or even a carving on a building. Okay, I may read a column in the newspaper, over hear an interesting snippet of conversation, or a childhood memory may surface. Any can become my “inspiration piece.”

Several writers were chatting about our craft. One lamented that she had run out of ideas. Her explanation was that her muse must have gone to Pluto. Upon hearing this I rolled my eyes. I didn’t have or need a muse. I worked for my story lines. Little did I know my muse had been lurking in the back of my mind. She takes offence at my classic eye roll and flits into my computer. She steals all the items in my ideas file and packs up the scraps of inspiration in my brain. I am now alone on Earth staring at a blank screen while she is living the high life on Pluto. I ask other writers what they do to jump start a book. The answers range from I’m never stuck for a story to pray. In the distance I hear muse’s tinkling laughter.

Days of searching newspapers, watching TV-scripted and reality-shows, reading favorite authors don’t bring blinding revelations. I resort to begging my muse to come home. I promise her full credit for the next ten books. No response. I up the ante. From now on I’ll call her by her name and help her find her perfect male equivalent.

The next day three wonderful story lines appear in my ideas file. I can’t wait to start plotting. She’s back from Pluto! My public thanks to...My computer doesn’t have Greek type. Do you hear that tinkling laugh? She’s having nectar with a handsome male.

Sloane Addams

My Muse is a Jealous Lover

2011-07-08T06:14:00.000-07:00

My Muse is a jealous lover. Actually, I have more than one Muse. Each book has its particular Muse because I like to dabble in Historical, Paranormal, Contemporary, and Romantic Suspense at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always one genre that takes precedence over the others when I’m working on a book. Like many authors, I have several stories on the back burner. That’s not to say two Muses couldn’t work together on a cross genre novels, but it can get a bit hairy. I prefer one at a time.

Right now I’m working on revisions for a Paranormal with fits and starts of inspiration, but I need to steamroller my way through this book at warp speed. The Muse for this one is flirting with me, making me promises and then she doesn’t deliver.

The bitch.

I’ve tried all the conventional methods of jump-starting a fizzling scene. Chocolate might be a great bribe for a Muse, but let’s be honest, whose hips do the calories land on, hers? I don’t think so. My bathroom scales are a testimony to that sad fact. What about rewarding her with a trip to the movies to admire washboard abs of the lasted male star? That should kick her into gear. Nope. She eats my popcorn, drinks my soda, and then gets the hell out of Dodge when the credits begin to roll. Again, talk to my scales. Music helps – some. Usually, I have playlists for each of my books. I know exactly the mood I want to elicit from the reader as I work. But explain to this to me – why does the newest Country Western song hum through my head when I’m listening to Heavy Metal?Who writes an epic battle scene to Lady Antebellum?

Why do I say my Muse is like a jealous lover? I’ve discovered a way to tame this particular shrew. Ignore her. For example, it’s like this. I’ll head over to my stash of stories where I have outlines, or starts and peruse the choice of Muses there.

Blonde and bouncy Contemporary waves her hand. “Hi, I thought you'd forgotten about me. You do know I was about ready to kiss the hero when you quit writing?” Did I hear a sniff of disapproval?

“Sorry, Blondie. You’re going to have to wait.”

My Paranormal Muse claps her hands and sticks her tongue out at her Contemporary sister.

Historical Muse wafts in on yards of wispy, white muslin and patting her long dark curls. “I’ve missed you. I’d offer you a cup of chocolate, but I’m in the midst of getting ready for a ball.”

I let out a sigh of frustration. This story isn’t the one I need to get Paranormal Muse off her rear. “Well, I think you’re going to have to wait to meet the hero for a bit longer.”

She shrugs her delicate shoulders. “This is tiresome, but this is your book after all.”

“You got that in spades.” I close that file. A hoot of laughter echoes in my ear. On to Romantic Suspense.

“Not now,” the RS Muse whispers as she pulls her hat down low and clutches the lapels of her coat tight. She throws a look over her shoulder. “I think someone is following me.”

Now what? I’ve run out of Muses. I head to my video games when this happens. I don’t know how many times I’ve been on my gaming console and my husband will raise one eyebrow and say, “Shouldn’t you be writing?”

“I am,” I counter and hit the X button on my controller for a heavy kill. There are bandits and bears to slay while I play Red Dead Redemption. My Paranormal Muse sits beside me, tapping her foot with her arms crossed over her chest.

“You know, I was thinking—“

“Quiet, I’ve got to take out the bandits with this Gatling gun. If you get me killed, I’ll have to start over again.” Shots fire and I leave a wave of bodies in my wake. Yes!!

“But –“ She jumps to her feet as an inspiration hits her. I can see the gears working as I play my game.

A quick double mash on the buttons and a crate of dynamite blows up and screaming enemies fly through the air. “La, la, la, la, la. Not listening.”

“You know, what if the hero gives the heroine a bread crumb for her to follow in her investigation into the disappearance of the children?” She twists a long strand of her red hair around her finger as she paces behind me. “Or, how what about the villain abducting someone important to the heroine?”

I smile. Yes, my Muse is jealous when I pay attention to anything other than her. She’ll come up with the perfect solution every time. “Let me think about it.”

“Put that thing away. We have work to do.” She points to my office. “Chop, chop.”

“Okay, let me save this level.” I heave a sigh and turn off the game. “You are a hard taskmaster.”

“That’s my job.”

Dyann Love Barr

BEFORE I WRITE

2011-07-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

First let me say I had a blast at RWA National in NYC. I worked registration and met Tess Gerritsen and Heather Graham, 2 of my fav authors, and moderated 2 workshops. The weather held up, wasn't too hot, found some great restaurants, met up with 2 very old friends--Linda I hadn't seen in 15 years, and Jill I hadn't seen in 41--not a typo--years. As always the energy was invigorating and everyone was upbeat and positive. Now that I've sorted out the cards I collected from contacts, the free books in the goody bag and the notes from workshops, I can remember how I warm up before a writing session!
I'm not a coffee drinker so I mix a bit of chocolate soy milk with skim milk and that gets me going til breakfast. But I don't write a word until I've eaten. I rev up by reading what I wrote the day before and editing that, reading Email and whatever book I'm reading at the time. (I don't subscribe to the belief that when in the midst of writing, an author shouldn't read anyone else's work. If anything, it helps--ideas hit me from all directions.)
I've tried writing to music, suggested by other authors--Clannad, etc., but nothing but silence will work for me. I don't wait for the muse to show up--I show up, usually by late morn or early afternoon. My daily goal is 2500 words and I don't quit for the day until I've reached that goal.
I'm open to hearing anyone else's chants or prayers or a calling of the muse--I'll try anything!
Diana

Getting In the Mood

2011-07-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

I used to have one process I went through before I wrote, and it worked for any writing project I was working on. I'd turn on History Channel International, make sure I had coffee ready, a handful of chocolates within reach, and with those three elements in place I could write at any time, any hour, and as long as needbe.

I've found rather recently that my writing mood has shifted. Now it's becoming different depending on what I am writing, both within subgenres and across subgenres.

There are two things that haven't changed: coffee and chocolate. Coffee is usually warmed over from the morning pot. Chocolate is almost any kind I can get. But Junior Mints particularly inspire me. As do those little Hershey nuggets with almonds in them. My children know "Hands off the chocolate, that's mom's". Heh.

I tend to like quiet more than I did before. So my daylight writing hours have shrunk, as my children are up. When they go to bed inspiration tends to strike.

If I'm working on something historical I have to immerse myself in history for a little while -- let those pictures of the past percolate in my head before I can get into the voice. History Channel International still works wonders here.

If I'm writing on The Curse of the Templars series, (my paranormal project) I need to have a little bit of music. And that music needs to be sweeping orchestral/film tracks. Anything that has an element of "power" to the musical score. If I have nothing on hand, I'll go to YouTube and pull up my series trailer, set it on replay for a couple passes, and then that will fill the need and I can turn it all off and get to work.

When I'm working with the Black Opals, (my erotic romantic suspense), and putting on my Tori St. Claire hat, everything has to be different. I think, in part, this is because it takes a whole different side of my brain to compose these novels. It's not just about being sensual, but also thinking in a world of deceit -- be that for better or worse, depending on who's presently narrating. And because it requires such a different mindset for me, I have to have near utter silence to work on the Black Opal series. Even my constant lap companion, my 17 year old cat, drives me nuts if he tries to crawl up and snuggle when I'm writing. So I move his chair next to mine, tuck him in, situate all the critters, and start pounding away at the keyboard.

Another thing that is consistant through all the writing -- I have to have my chores done for the day (or that part of the day) before I can do a single thing. For instance, one dish in the sink waiting to be washed must be washed and dried before I can shut off the voice that says, "You have dishes waiting." I won't often write before the horses are fed in the morning, I can't relax enough to get it done until after their buckets are full.

I can't look at photos as other people do, I can't listen to background music *while I'm writing*. And if there's no chocolate in the house, I've been known to make a late night trip to the gas station just to have that habit handy.

Chocoholic? Mm. Yes probably.

One thing that folks haven't mentioned that I'd like to ask you all how you handle -- what do you do when you're running along and all of a sudden hit a wall. Be that because you don't know what happens next, or because you aren't certain how to piece that next part in, or because you just need to recharge because the next scene is going to take a lot out of you.

I recharge by browsing the web and flipping through email, primarily. I might get up and make something in the kitchen for the next day. Lately I've stopped to play with cats and dogs to let my mind rest. And if things are really jumbled up in my head and can't find their way to the surface appropriately, I'll soak in a bubble bath.

So what about the rest of you? What is your process for "unblocking"?

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com
www.toristclaire.com

Before I write...by Alicia Dean

2011-06-28T04:23:00.000-07:00

My favorite time to write is first thing in the morning, after I've had two cups of strong coffee (strong-stand on it's own and punch out a heavyweight strong-coffee). In the evenings, my mind is cluttered with the stress of the day's happenings and real life encroaches into my fiction world,taking a toll on my creativity.

Before I begin writing, I listen to music from a playlist I create for each story. Specifically, I listen to whatever song fits the scene. If I'm writing a love scene, I might listen to "These Arms of Mine" by Otis Redding or "Power of My Love" by Elvis. If I'm writing a bad guy scene, I'll listen to something like the Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil."

Another thing I do before I start writing is watch snippets of The Vampire Diaries, just to get in the zone. My daughter, Lana, made me a scrapbooky, callagey wall hanging thingy with these really awesome, sexy photos of Ian Somerhalder as Damon Salvatore. I look at that before I write-and while I'm writing-for inspiration.

No...wait. I look at the wall hanging after I write and on days I don't write at all. Sometimes, when I look at it, I don't even think about writing. Maybe I just really, really like looking at Damon Salvatore :-)

So, what are some quirks and rituals you go through before you write?

Morning Work Habits By Sloane Addams

2011-06-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

I don't have a routine in order to start writing. However, come to think about it I do. Since my office gets the evening light I usually turn on all the lights. That's an extravagance fo one whose ancestry is Scottish. Next I realize that as usual I forgot to bring in my diet cola. Back to the kitchen for my cola and ignore anything that needs to be done in the cooking area.

My desk could not possibly have been in this mess when I stopped working yesterday. After putting much of the paper into some sort of order I'm able to have space for my cordless mouse. You know the one with the very clever name of Mousie. I try to use Mousie, but finally grasp the concept that the computer is not turned on. With a cold calculated breath I'm now all set to complete the murder scene.

Not yet. Mah Jong is calling me. Much to the amusement of the Asian branch of the family I play it as a matching game. This morning I'll play two games - only TWO games. By the middle of the fourth game Suzy Heroine is knocking on my desk and yelling, "Remember me, Sloan? Boris Bad Guy is attacking me."

Fingers on the keyboard the words begin to flow. Not exactly flow, but they do find their way onto the screen. Another day of writing has begun.

Now where did I put my cola?

Friday With Claire

2011-06-24T00:54:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, it's Friday and I haven't forgotten what day it is because I'm buried in writing, I haven't said "Oh, I'll do that when the clock rolls over so it shows up on Friday" -- and then zonked out...

Yay! So I'm here to yap at everyone. My official day to talk about my writing habits is later this month. Right now I'm going to sneak in here and talk about writing process.

If you've followed Cascade's NEWS link, you'll see that I am embarking on a new venture with Berkley Heat, in conjunction with my venture with Tor. Well, aside from fun and exciting, it's been a bit chaotic lately. Both first books in both series are slated to come out in January 2012. Which means I have been doing a world of things that I've never done before:

I think we all knew that when you are contracted you go through edits, copy-edits, galleys and that's about the core I knew coming into things. Oh. No. There's a lot of stuff that I didn't ever consider.

Myth 1: I don't have to think about those pesky back cover blurbs anymore. There's a committee that does that tricky stuff, a handy-dandy committee called "Marketing".
Truth: Publishing houses want you to think about them and value your input. Which means theres another whole process to go through -- review, tweak, review, tweak, celebrate! But that wasn't in my Gantt chart, and I didn't plan for that.

Myth 2: Front cover blurbs are things that magically appear because someone knows who to appropriately beg.
Truth: That someone is you--hah! And holy smokes, Batman, its terrifying to contact the authors you revere. It's even more terrifying when you turn in the letter and then realize you didn't sound anywhere as intelligent as you'd hoped to. This too was not in my Gantt chart.

Myth 3: Writing a proposal is so much easier than writing a synopsis!
Truth: (That sound you hear is me cackling madly). I'm a heavy plotter and found myself struggling with crafting an intelligent proposal that tracked the nuances that were important to the story. And when you have it all nailed down, and send it off to your trusted research assistant, and hear "Um. No. You have serious problems here. You have to fix xyz." Your life will flash in front of you. Also not in my Gantt chart, nor was the recovery time from the near-stroke when I looked at the calendar after hearing, "Um. No."

So, while I was evaluating back cover copy, writing letters to people who are "gods" in publishing and feeling very much like an unintelligent human being, plotting a proposal, and having a near-death experience, I was also fielding edits for three novellas, cover input there, and generally existing in my own little bubble.

Oh and my barn broke in there somewhere too. And I adopted a fledgling pigeon who couldn't seem to understand that eating three times a day wasn't anywhere remotely close to being on my Gantt chart.

Somwhere in here too is the process of dedications and acknowledgements. I'm waiting on that still. Oh and covers. Yes. I have the Templar cover, but am frothing at the mouth over what Berkley will put together.

I just know, in my gut, I'm going to sit down one day and find copy-edits from both publishing houses on my desk, having arrived within minutes of each other.

THEN... my dear, esteemed, trusted agent informs me (okay reminded me when I'd shut it deliberately out), that I will have to market both books in January simultaneously.

Holy cow, no one's ever going to see me again.

It might sound like I'm complaining. Really, I'm loving the deadlines and the feeling that I'm actually working. It's been fun, challenging, and really sincerely rewarding. But gee... can't everyone make friends with my chummy little Gantt? He's crafted in shades of green and white. Very cute. Honest.

And he doesn't bite like the pigeon.

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com

Morning Work Habits By Dyann Love Barr

2011-06-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

People often ask me if it's difficult to work from home. Yes, and no. It depends on what I have on my plate on any particular day. Sometimes it's heavy duty revisions. I have a tendency to drag my feet when faced with tearing my story apart and redoing it for the umpteenth time. The beginning of the writing process is my favorite part of the process. It's pure play time. There's nothing like the kick of getting my characters on the stage and interacting with them for the first time, to see my vision take shape.

But first, I have to drag myself out of bed.

I'm not an early morning person. My husband gets up at four in the morning to get all his email and blogging done. He may be enamored of O-dark-thirty, but I'm still cutting Zs with the cat. Seven comes way too early if you ask me. After I rub the sleep out of my eyes, kiss my husband goodbye, and send him on his way to work, I stumble to my computer and turn it on. I figure that if I get that far before the first cup of coffee of the day, I'm doing great.

Coffee is my big motivator. Gourmet, instant, I don't care, as long as it's loaded with caffeine and plenty of cream. That little piece of heaven will sustain me through morning while I go through my email. Okay, let's be honest, I play a couple of games of solitaire to loosen my brain while I'm sipping on my first kick of Joe. It's amazing how much stuff has lodged there during the night. It might be the answer to a tricky scene, the title for a new book, or trying to figure out where I zigged when I should've zagged with a character. It's all there. I tell myself that I'm writing while all the time I'm trying to beat my best score from the day before. There's nothing like playing a bit of hooky to start the day.

Email really does come next. Shifting through the mountain of messages, facebook and Twitter takes more time than I realy want to devote to it. It has its siren lure. I have to limit myself to fifteen minutes of social networking in the morning and later in the evening if I want to get anything accomplished. Writing is a solitary business and these are great tools for connecting with others, but it's addictive.

My workday may not start out with writing. Who knew there was so much other stuff, like marketing, talking to your agent, the editor, scheduling all your work so you know who gets what and when? Keep charts. They are your friend. Update them religiously. I love Excel for tracking my different books - everything from word count to where I'm at on my edits.

Just because I wear fuzzy slippers to work, it doesn't mean I'm not organized. Someone once told me that a clean desk was a sign of a sick mind. I'm glad to say that I'm mentally stable. My workspace shows it. I try to keep the clutter at a minimum, but there are too many things I deal with during the day to make that an option. My one concession to tidiness is that everything is in neat piles. They grow taller each day, and every so often I go through stuff, clean my desk, and start over again.

The fun part of my day begins when I open the file for my current work in progress. Some people write their books straight through and then go back to edit and revise. What works best for me is to read the chapter I wrote the day before, correct mistakes, add any layers of texture of dialogue, and then go on to the new work. The one bane of my life is my poor eyesight. I have to get up from the computer every hour to rest them. This can put a kink in things when I'm on a roll. Again, I read a couple of paragraphs that I've written to get back into the swing of things, make corrections, and start in again.

I'm like a magpie - any shiny thing will distract me. In this case, it's television. I don't watch or even have it on while I write. That's my big no-no. I try not to turn it on, even when I'm taking a break and giving my eyes a rest. The temptation to sit down and finish a program can eat up valuable time. Music is fine, especially if I'm writing a fight scene, a love scene, or anything that requires high emotion. I make playlists for each of my books. If it's a romantic suspense, the music must match the mood of the scene I'm trying to capture. My favorite is orchestral pieces because the words don't get in the way, but I do listen to regular songs that evoke a certain emotion. Everything works for me, classical, theme music, heavy metal, or country - as long as it digs up the feelings I'm trying to put on paper. If I've done my work well, the reader will feel these emotions along with me.

I can't think of a better job where I can work on my own schedule and schlep around in my pajamas all day. There's no magic formula, no troll dolls, or sunrise yoga to get the words flowing.

Just me, my coffee, and the computer. We're a good team.

So glad to be here...from Alicia Dean

2011-06-19T10:04:00.001-07:00

Hello all...I just wanted to say how excited I am to join Cascade Literary Agency. Jewelann has been warm and wonderful. I already knew Claire and Dyann, and I've recently 'met' Sueanne. Looking forward to meeting the rest of you. Hope your having a wonderful weekend!

HAUNTING PARANORMAL ROMANCE NOW ON SALE!

2011-06-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

My new title, A NECESSARY END, centering around the plot to assassinate President Lincoln with a haunted twist, is now on sale at Amazon.com.

Since I Can't Seem To Comment

2011-06-02T00:09:00.000-07:00

Because Blogger is evidently having a severe case of PTSD after a "patch" according to their forums...

I wanted to say, Sueanne, I thoroughly enjoyed your dialogue posts. Nancy, that was a very, very nice excerpt.

Word choice... I tend to like big words. But for the most part, my word choice is derived from rhythm of the sentence(s). I think I "hear" what I write. I'll choose a higher syllable word if the rhythm needs lengthening, fewer if it needs to be condensed. And on redundancy, I seem to have words per book that stick in my head. I will never forget my very first book, my love affair was with 'skated'. For the next three I avoided that word at all costs after feeling extreme embarrassment when my editor pointed it out to me. Recently, blinked has been a favorite. That too has now fallen to the "Do not touch on threat of strangulation" list for a while.

And on that note, I shall scamper away and hope Blogger gets itself out of its funk very quickly :)

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com

Rainy Mount Vernon

2011-05-10T13:32:00.000-07:00

At Jewelann's suggestion, I'm beginning my bio novel about Martha Washington, and visited Mount Vernon a few weeks ago to do research at their library. It was like Fort Knox--first you have to make an appointment with the historian, then announce your arrival at the gate; once inside, they confiscate your bags and hand you a pencil to write with. (but many historical society libraries go the confiscation route). No rubber gloves, though. The historian stacked a few mountains of books and papers before me, and I was in heaven for three hours! I'm looking forward to going back. I LOVE Mount Vernon & never tire of going there. My first trip there was at age 8 & I never forgot it.
When we toured the house, we stood at the doorway to the bedroom where George died, apparently of pneumonia, and I, of an 8-yr-old mind, asked the guide if it was still contageous!

International Women's Day.

2011-03-09T12:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was International Women's Day. I proudly read the words of the women who came before us and fought for us. I was reminded of how far we've come, how much we've achieved, and how much hope there is in the world.

Until I read some of the backlash. It had been a long time since I'd read such hate. It reminded me of a study I had once read.

Researchers asked men and women what they most feared from each other.

Men said they were afraid a woman would laugh at them.

Women said they were afraid a man would kill them.

This is why I think that writing romance is an important feminist act. In our worlds, strong men, wounded men, even angry men are not afraid of us. They are not afraid of disagreement, they are not afraid of a women who have agency or power. They might fear for us, they might want to protect us a little too much since they see how hurtful the world is, but they will not silence us. They will engage in conversation and arguments.

Romance heroes, Alpha to Omega, do not tell a woman she cannot vote, hold property, or have access to her own money. They do not tell the heroine she is wrong to want more in her life.

This gives me hope.

Learning New Tricks

2011-03-08T08:27:00.000-08:00

Twitter, facebook, MySpace are as foreign to me as learning a new language. I find myself navigating in a world of hash-tags, abbreviations, and trying to figure out how the heck facebook works. It's a daunting task for someone who always thought of social networking as going to the bar with their friends on a Saturday night.

And blogging? I'm the world's worst blogger. I first time heard the word blog, and I had a flashback to my eleventh birthday. My mother, God rest her, thought I might like to scribble down my secrets, most most private thoughts. No way. The blank pages stared up at me, defying me to write down a single word. Back to the present--I whined to my husband and critique partner that I couldn't blog. I didn't know how it worked, blah, blah, blah. Their reaction? Get over it.

Their tough love worked. So I began my blogging journey. It's still spotty, but each day gets better as I try to find topics that readers and other writers might find interesting.

Marketing is one great aspect of Twitter, facebook, and any other social network. It's an instant format that keeps your readers and fans appraised of what's happening in your career. The one great rule I've learned is that the work really begins once you've launched your book. Blogging on other websites, making video trailers for your book, tweeting and writing on the wall of your facebook to let everyone know the release date is just the start. Technology inserts itself into everything. Bookmarks, the actual writing, and talking to your agent and editor via email. The list goes on.

Technology gives the writer more tools at their fingertips. I'm still dipping my toe into the water, learning more about the different social networking sites and blogging. More and more books are coming out in digital, as well as print. The world of publishing is changing each day and as authors, we have to change with it.

The one big caution is the time it takes to do all of this 'stuff'. I have to divide my day, and or week, into blocks of time that allow for tweeting, facebook, blogging, emails, phone calls, and writing. It's a job, just like any other job.

Yes, all this still makes me crazy, but it's a nice kind of crazy. I'll finish off with one of the most trite cliches in the world, but with a twist. Old dogs can learn new tricks.

Countdown To Conference

2011-03-04T00:20:00.000-08:00

The time for the NOLA Stars conference is coming. March 11th and 12th, and I am super duper excited.

I'm presenting, you see. My first ever invited to present, event. It's exciting, it's scary, it's intimidating, and it's amazing all at once. Add in a touch of surreal, and you have a good idea how I'm feeling at the moment.

For those who don't know me well, I've never been to a conference for Romance Writers. Local get togethers, larger-scale RWA Chapter events, locally, but never a conference. So, in my typical fashion of, "charge straight ahead no holds barred", I'm evidently making my first foray into conferences the hard way.

I have given my presentation locally, honed it, practiced it, and I think it's the best I can present. I'm also pretty comfortable with speaking in public -- right after the first five minutes passes. I have attended conferences, and I have presented to a room of 100 plus before, so that's okay too. Just different subject material and a different audience. This one, a little closer to my heart.

I'm looking forward to meeting authors I wouldn't normally have the opportunity to meet. And quite frankly, I'm looking forward to four days away from my adorable, loving, sweet as pie, mini demons known as children. I'll be travelling to Louisiana, a state that's on my Bucket List, with two close friends (including Dyann Love Barr), and the trip promises to be good all the way around. We'll hope the food is as good as the company :)

Next week, I'll endeavor to update you from the conference. Meanwhile -- wish me luck!

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com

Interview on Blog Radio Show

2011-02-22T11:43:00.000-08:00

I'll be doing an interview on the Book Blogs Blog Radio show on Friday, March 4 at 7 p.m. EST.

The site where it is located is: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/literaryscribes/2011/03/12/diana-rubinoauthor

Getting the 'Call'

2011-02-21T15:28:00.000-08:00

The moment I've waited for my entire writing career finally arrived.

I'd always envisioned getting the call from an agent who gushed over my book, while I, cool as a cucumber said, "Why thank you, I'm so pleased you enjoyed it." Somehow a purple plumed pen was worked in the scenario, I don't know where or when, but believe me, it was there. I would waft across the house to find my husband doing manly things of some sort. He'd glance at me with one of 'those' looks. "Not now, my dear, I got the call. I have an agent for my opus." Oh yes, this is where the purple plumed pen comes into play.

Life is nothing like my fantasy world.

The day was colder than a well digger's butt. I was sitting in a crowded shuttle bus full of Polar Bear Plungers when my new IPhone rang. The number of Jewelann Cone, the agent that I'd submitted my book to, showed up on caller I.D. I frantically tried to answer the call. Nothing happened. I think my phone smirked. What did I do wrong? The whole time I'm juggling my phone, I'm being bumped by clowns, who are buried up to their ears in parkas, and giant Smurfs. I'm nose to crotch with a guy whose duffle bag comes close to clobbering me upside the head with every bump of the shuttle bus. Fairy princess wings flutter around me until I wanted to swat them away like gnats.

I looked to the back of the bus for my husband. Maybe he could help. He works in It and is my techie guru--without him, my ability to write would be nil. I'm one of these people who walks into a computer store with a glazed look on my face, while he's like a kid in a candy store. He once tried to explain the binary system to me. It stripped the insulation on my brain.

Back to the 'Big Moment'.

My husband, he's the crazy one who planned to plunge into the icy waters of Longview Lake, chatted away to his sister, who is equally nuts. No amount of arm waving got his attention. It's time to go for broke. Surely I can be smarter than a phone. Don't make any bets. Anyway, I pulled off my gloves to get a better grip on the slippery sucker, and low and behold, the darn thing likes 'skin to skin'. Who knew?

A bit of pained, logical thinking and I was able to call Jewelann back. Then she said the magical words I'd longed for, "I'd like to represent you."

I screamed back over the noise of the crowd. "What?"

"I'd like to represent you."

A couple of minutes of trying to talk and I gave up. I told her I'd call her back when I got settled. The noise grew worse. There were over 1100 crazy people who decided to take the plunge for Special Olympics. It's a great cause, but I'm a big believer in pancake breakfasts as a fundraiser.

I finally found a quiet spot, if you can call trying to compete with the Allman Brothers Band's 'Ramblin' Man' quiet. My husband is running around in a diaper and top hat as the New Year's Baby. I'm talking to Jewelann when I hear the announcer for the Polar Bear Plunge say the Plunge is now complete because she saw a dude in a diaper. The 'Dude' won first place in the costume contest.

Okay, so the Big Moment didn't go like I'd always thought it would, but nothing can take away the thrill I felt when I got the call. Thank you, Jewelann, for being the one part of my fantasy that was true.

How Far Is Too Far?

2011-02-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

So I'm at that place in my book where the hero has done something terrible and the conflict has just come to a head. Only this time, I was a bit lost. I'd done something pretty significant, and my heroine's world shattered as a result. There weren't any wrongs or rights -- just the black and white fact that the mess was the hero's responsibility and it wasn't something that could be cleaned up. Not from either of their points of view at least.

I say I was lost, but I knew what I needed to do. There could be no forgiving for the heroine. This was it. The final straw. The end of all things warm and loving. But this is a romance, and that created a quandary, because regardless of her explosion, I had to put these two people back together again.

Which led me to a very long conversation with a fellow author about "how far is too far?" How far did I take this heroine into the point of no return? How far did I go with her words, her actions? Could she go where she needed to go and could the relationship be salvaged at that point?

Or, did I sacrifice a little of the truth of her emotions for the sake of romance and fudge my way through?

My friend and I walked through several different scenarios. Every one led us right back to the reality of circumstance -- I had no choice but to take the heroine there. The events were so critical that doing anything else would have cheated not only her, but also the hero, and further -- the reader.

So how far is too far when it comes to digging into emotion? The answer is... there isn't a too far. Emotion is what drives a romance. Readers are too smart to put up with being short-changed in that department. As an author, we strive to create believable worlds, events, and people. What limits us is fear, and in my case, I think I was a bit afraid to go down the heroine's route. The whole thing was a bit too deep for me, the author. I was limiting my character because in a hundred years I would never utter the things she needed to say.

But pushing ourselves as authors is what writing is about. For us, there is no 'too far', so long as the events correspond with believability and the overall plot (and characterization.) Love scenes are rote actions if the emotional journey to lead to that point isn't present. The same goes for anger. For heartache.

Keep that in mind when you're writing next. No matter the situation, no matter how difficult it might be to dig into ourselves and pull out those things (in this case pretty ugly truths), we have to be real. And in reality, there is no upper limit, no ceiling stopping emotion. Which translates to -- in fiction, there is no 'too far'. It must be real. It must be memorable. It must be honest. Anything else is like setting us up for cherry cheesecake, and receiving vanilla ice cream.

Claire
www.claireashgrove.com

My Article in 'The Spirited Woman' Launches New Feature

2011-02-17T07:02:00.000-08:00

I wrote an inspiring article for The Spirited Woman--click on the link below. Join and become a Spirited Woman! Diana
http://www.thespiritedwoman.com/go_blog_blog_blog/2011/02/tell-us-your-stories-she-stuck-with-it.html

http://www.dianarubino.author.blogspot.com/

Girl talk.

2011-02-16T21:32:00.000-08:00

Over at my blog, I've been doing some heavy duty writing about archetypes. I was going to bring some of that discussion here, but I decided to talk about my wonderful day today.

I got to spend an afternoon with a dear girl friend who is always working, so today was a rare treat. We hung out in her hot tub, drank champagne, slathered ourselves with lotion, and talked about everything, including sex. Some people get uncomfortable with such intimate discussions, but I am always fascinated and delighted with them.

It's when people are the most likely to share their deepest emotions. It's when our pasts and our presents come together (no pun intended) to reveal what we most need in our lives. =

I always want to honor those brave enough to share their secrets with me. I want to take their bravery and vulnerability into my office to inspire not just my love scenes, but also the limits of human courage - the very soul of what makes fiction important.

I'm going to have a great writing day tomorrow. How about you?

A Post of Announcements

2011-02-11T00:04:00.000-08:00

Hi all! It sure is good to be back. I've been snowed in on my farm property with a furnace that decided quitting once wasn't enough. It had to fail on me twice. Meanwhile, farmhouse has no Internet, and I was lost to civilization.

So I come bearing news this week:

1. While I was in Neverland, I received news that my Romantic Suspense, Necessary Deception, (on submission under a different title) finaled in the Great Expectations contest! Out of 27 entries, four of us move on to the final round editor. Whee!!

2. I don't know if it's kosher to spill beans, but I think it is -- I found out also that my writing cohort for the last (almost) three years is now an official Cascade author. Wahoo! We can continue to create mayhem together in a whole new kind of way :)

3. I'm embarking on a new adventure. Starting Feb 14th, I will be teaching an online workshop for Black Diamonds RWA on "Digital Publishing -- Is It Right For You?" If you're considering electronic publishing at all, this is a great workshop and there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions. I would love to see you there!

I wish I had more to add, but I think that covers it for now. See you all next week!

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com

Somedays, it's all about magic tricks.

2011-02-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

I'm slogging through my usual "Oh my God, this *stinks*" first draft for a new book. Indeed, this draft does stink. The book does not - I think it's going to rock. But seeing the crud that is coming out of my pen is a little discouraging.

So I resort to trickery to keep myself on the page. My favorite?

Change locations. I love the library, the coffee shop, the nice restaurant that lets me draft by hand after lunch. When I'm really depressed, it's time to hit one of the beautiful gardens here in Portland (the Classical Chinese Garden is particularly nice since it has the Tao of Tea right in it).

What are your favorite magic tricks?

Brain stuff.

2011-02-03T11:53:00.000-08:00

In my head, I never work hard enough and I never get enough done. I'm sure none of my fellow Cascadians know what I mean. ;)

I found a tool to manage my anxiety about 'working enough'. I'm overwhelm it with (get this) actual data on my work habits.

Call it a baseline of my real-time behavior.

I keep a simple log on

What I am doing: Am I in meetings? Updating my blog? Doing promotional work? First draft composition? Brainstorming? Reading? Going out into the world to try new things so I stay fresh?
How long I'm doing it: pretty self explanatory there. And
How I feel about the work. Basically, did I think I did ok work, good stuff, or Yowza! level material.

I am always amazed by my real progress versus my imagined progress. It's astonishing how much I downplay my productivity.

Have any of you kept track of your hours? What did you learn?

I got nuthin'.

2011-01-25T18:49:00.000-08:00

No ideas for my blog post this week, so instead, here is a picture of some rich, thick, and decadent drinking chocolate I had today.

From Verdun Fine Chocolates and Gifts in Portland.

Nail Biting

2011-01-21T00:58:00.000-08:00

Submissions are nothing new for me. For almost a full two years prior to signing with Jewelann and Cascade, I submitted left and right. I did sell five manuscripts to The Wild Rose Press, but there were four or five other manuscripts that will never see the light of day before then.

All told, I received over 125 rejection letters before Jewelann offered to represent me and my first Templar book sold to Tor. I received a form letter written to bulk recipients. I've had an early work criticized to the extreme. I've gotten more form letters than I care to count. I've had some very helpful and encouraging remarks made. Two rejections were heart-breaking, but the rest I took in stride. Rejection, in and of itself, doesn't bother me, per se. It's all part of the routine.

There is, however, the underlying hope every author has that the manuscript will sell, and it is frustrating when a project doesn't fly and an author has to rethink a new plan. It's like driving down a highway and realizing that you missed your exit three hours later. Now it's either find a new route or back-track and start the journey again.

I have a book on submission now, and all the houses that are looking at it are places I would love to be published with. I put time and effort into the book, and this one I particularly like. I like the plan I have for the companion novels. And I'm biting my nails, hoping I won't have to find a different highway when the editors finish their review.

I suspect that I'll always be a little anxious. Good story, bad story, sellable story, unmarketable story -- there's a piece of an author invested in every manuscript written, and I'm not exempt from that either. And while I know I have a page of "possibilities" I can always go back to, I do tend to hold close those long-term plans.

If that anxiety goes away, there's something wrong, in my opinion. An author should always be concerned about how hisser work will be received. And I don't want to ever take anything for granted -- or more importantly, appear as if I am. I am very grateful for the opportunities I've had; I just hope to continue them as well.

So fingers and toes crossed, along with all of you who have things under review. Even published authors get nervous. Just don't let those nerves block you from continuing to work, and recognize in all stages of publishing rejection is a part of life. It really is a subjective business, and the ultimate goal is to have someone else see your vision. Keep trying. It will happen with enough practice and time. Just as I know, if this one doesn't sell, another will. But oh! how I want this one to sell!

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com

What exactly do I tell people when they ask what I do?

2011-01-19T20:04:00.000-08:00

As a pre-published author, I'm not someone who can say, "And X is the title of my new book!" This leaves me a bit at a disadvantage in social settings. When people ask what I do, I bravely say, "I write very very sexy paranormal romances."

Thus far, I have had positive responses to this statement. I wondered why, when I'm straight up admitting to being a freak who writes in a denigrated genre.

I found an answer:

A bad reputation can set you free. After all, if you've already declared yourself to be a pot-smoking, acid-addled slut, your opponents are forced to oppose your ideas on their merits, rather than strategically revealing your hidden depravities. Shame is no weapon against the shameless.
-- John Perry Barlow

(For the record, I am neither pot smoking nor acid-addled.)

Hi. I'm Linda Mercury. I write very very very sexy paranormal romances. I refuse to be shamed by that. I hope my refusal invites you to enjoy life's pleasures.

Writing Compelling Characters

2011-01-14T01:08:00.001-08:00

Quick! Name the first character that comes to mind from your favorite movie/book.

Everybody can do that. But have you ever stopped to consider why? One of my gut responses is usually Maximus from Gladiator. And while Russell Crowe is undoubtedly nice to look at, that has nothing to do with why Maximus is my favorite character. It's the fictional man that grabs me.

So what makes a character so compelling you think of him/her years after the movie/book has gone out of print/theatre?

Contrary to what we are told and what we believe in when we start out writing, it isn't a collection of quirky attributes that make a character different from every other character in creation. At one time gum-smacking secretaries were quirky. Now they are kinda trendy. Boisterous heroines were to die for when they first showed up, now they are definitely cliche.

What makes a character compelling (thus memorable) is the commitment to the role they are designed to play.

Huh?

Okay that was a little obtuse. Let me back up. A balls-to-the-wall feminine cop isn't any more or less interesting if she has eleven toes, or if she shaves her head, or if she can hit a target dead on in the kill zone, blindfolded, from fifty yards away.

Those aspects are only interesting the minute they come on the page. Then, if nothing is done with them and they don't tie into the woman's fictional life story, they are as flat and meaningless as the department-issued black shoes she wears.

What makes her unforgettable is the way the she adheres to the set of morals, beliefs and behaviors the author gives her. If a reader can bond with a character and believe every twist and turn she might make, that's what makes a character compelling. When readers forget this person isn't fictional. When the character is so alive it looks like the author might really know someone like this.

Take the well-known Miss Melly for instance. She's as compelling as Scarlett, and yet, when the two are placed side by side, from an outside-in perspective, she's flat and uninteresting. Mousy.
But what makes her compelling is her absolute goodness which prevails from the first time she enters the book all the way to the end. She never waivers off her course. The reader never stops to question the plausibility of her actions -- because she is consistant. Scarlett would never turn a blind eye to a possible affair with her man. But the reader never stops and says, "What? This is totally unbelievable" because for Miss Melly it is 100% believable.

Consider this -- if nothing else had changed in the story, but it was Melly who was caught in a compromising position with Rhett, and Scarlett said "Oh, it's impossible. I'll just welcome her to the party and hug her." How many of you would have gone, "Eh?"

If Maximus had given Commodus pardon at the end of the movie, and sent him to say a life in jail full of humiliation... that would have been inconsistant with his set of morals, beliefs and values. If he had surrendered to the weakness in his body and allowed himself to die before killing Commodus... that too would have been inconsistant with his morals, beliefs and values.

So what I am driving at is:

When you're designing characters don't put so much effort into making them different from another character in creation. Not in outlandish, obscure ways. Give them a firm set of morals, beliefs, and values. Force them to adhere to them. This, in turn, will likely drive your conflict and your eventual growth arc. They can't suddenly change or drop a habit because it's convienent, or it makes the story work.

They must live and exist exactly as you, the writer, does. And for us to change, it doesn't happen simply because we wake up and decide we're going to do something differently. We might make that decision, but until we master that new aspect, we have struggles to go through, behaviors to adjust, thought-patterns to modify -- none of which happens overnight.

Once your reader can shut off his/her own "life rules", and live right alongside with your character, without questioning whether the reaction/action is legitimate, then you've hit a milestone. Your reader will share the characters emotions. Cry when he/she does, Laugh when he/she does, feel the thrill when he/she takes an innocent life.

So, to sum it up -- don't start with a list of "unique" things like tatoos, piercings, different shapes to shift into. Dig deeper. Dig into the psyche and set your boundaries. Then, whether he has a nose chain connected to his belly-button, or whether he shaves at five am, every am, on the button make sure everything he/she does stays within those boundaries. When the time comes for him/her to exceed those boundaries and grow, as long as you've taken him/her through that journey with all the detail it requires, the character will truly have achieved something remarkable.

And remarkable accomplishments make unforgettable characters. No matter how insignificant.

(And yes, there's a deliberate irony there.)

~Claire
http://www.claireashgrove.com/

Examples

2011-01-12T18:50:00.001-08:00

Here's a quick example of how the nine sentence synopsis works.

The trouble starts when..... Linda wants ice cream.
The protagonist makes a plan to cope by... going to the freezer.
The trouble gets worse when...there is no ice cream there!
The protagonist regroups and presses on harder by...checking her purse for money
The protagonist reaches the point of no return when...she gets in her car to go to the store.
The protagonist is pushed to the brink when...all the lights are red on the way to the store.
She appears to have lost when...there is no Coconut Bliss!
She fights on by...looking behind all the other ice cream containers.
Everything is on the line and only one will win when...she stands up on tiptoe, drags the last container out by the tips of her fingers, and barely avoids pulling over the display!

Even this little silly story about ice cream has rising and falling action. It also describes my GMC and how it changes. For example:

Goal: Get ice cream (what I want)
Motivation: Hungry (because)
Conflict: None in the freezer (but)

My goal and motivation remain the same, but the conflict changes as the story goes on. In a more complicated story, the protagonist examines if her goal is worth what she thought it was. In a tragedy, the story would go like this:

The trouble starts when.....Linda wants ice cream
The protagonist makes a plan to cope by...going to the freezer
The trouble gets worse when...there is no ice cream !
The protagonist regroups and presses on harder by...looking her purse for change
The protagonist reaches the point of no return when...she is out of money!
The protagonist is pushed to the brink when...she ransacks the sofa cushions for change
She appears to have lost when...there is nothing there either.
She fights on by...checking her bank account
Everything is on the line and only one will win when...she can't afford the ice cream.

This little tool tells you how you want to run your story, and what needs to happen between each section. The writer can add the setting by talking about how blisteringly hot it is out, by what her house looks like, what kind of ice cream is haunting her.

A quick and dirty introduction to story structure

2011-01-12T11:55:00.000-08:00

Some writers love outlines - sailing from island to island in an archipelago to reach the mainland. Some like to sail into the fog, boldly striking out on their own to find their story.

Both ways are correct. Both will make fabulous stories.

For those of us (namely, me) who run aground at the slightest notice, story structure helps keep the boat on track. I love to use this little tool called the nine sentence synopsis. This helps me figure out the turning points of a story, where my characters are going, and what needs to happen next in order for everything to make sense.

The Nine Sentence Synopsis

The trouble starts when.....
The protagonist makes a plan to cope by...
The trouble gets worse when...
The protagonist regroups and presses on harder by...
The protagonist reaches the point of no return when...
The protagonist is pushed to the brink when...
She appears to have lost when...
She fights on by...
Everything is on the line and only one will win when...

I know I got this from a genius writer, but I can't find the original handout to give credit. Damn! I'll keep trying to find that.

Writing Is Like Legos

2011-01-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

First let me preface this with I have no idea how to spell the plural form of "Lego" so if that's wrong I apologize.

A little while ago my five year old came up to me and wanted me to put his tiny Lego set together. Naturally he'd broken into the box a while back and the instructions are long gone. So, using the picture as a guide, I gave it my best shot. Not too bad -- except I had two tiny black circles that the picture didn't show.

After much studying and contemplating I decided to stick them on another part, more to attach them to something and not have them floating around my house, than for any real feeling that they belonged there.

All of a sudden... the little toy looked a heck of a lot better. That tiny little detail which was part of a sign post added a touch of life to plastic. And it made me think of writing.

When we write, we go to great pains to craft vivid pictures and tell engaging stories. We put a lot of effort into substantial plots, complex conflict and unique characters. For many people, at some point those aspects of writing just begin to happen naturally, compared to the days when we sat down and spent hours thinking about that one way our character could be different.

But when we back up and blow the process up into miniature pieces all we have is parts -- kinda like these little odd-shaped plastic parts that form nifty little toys when stuffed together. When we take the time to look, we should notice detail that, when the words are stuffed together might not stand out as deliberate.

For instance, this type of sentence is fairly instinctual for me to craft:

"Moonlight filtered through thick overgrown trees, casting eerie shadows throughout the decaying garden."

Broken down into parts, you have verb, noun, modifyers, and a basic setting. The root of this sentence is --

Moonlight flitered through the trees, casting shadows throughout the garden.

But that sentence alone doesn't really convey much. It could be a spring day, starry sky, the shadows could be curious, maybe even comforting. But much like that Lego sign required two little black circles to add the finishing touch and make the sign life-like, that base sentence requires some tiny parts.

Now the trees are thick and overgrown, lending to the sense of abandonment and age. The shadows are eerie, further helping to set the mood I want to achieve. Add in the decaying garden and there should be no doubt that this is not a place that sees a lot of activity, nor is it a place whoever is seeing it particularly looks forward to being in.

The reader is more prepared for what follows:

"A gut-curdling scream ricocheted through the night. Then silence.
Absolute, maddening silence."

Just like Legos, I started with pieces, pulled in a few unique shapes, and added to a base design.

So when you're writing, remember those building blocks from our youth, when we poured over detailed directions and fit bits of plastic together until we came up with a castle. If we'd left out three blocks in the middle of the wall, it would have looked odd. If we left off the little part that comprised the coat of arms, that castle would sure work and no one might notice. But when we put it back on the tower, it's more eye-catching, more intriguing... more imaginitive.

~Claire

One take on character basics

2011-01-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine is fascinated with the writing process. He says he likes to write setting, but has trouble with narrative and character development (whereas I'm all over narrative, but setting is ridiculously hard for me). So, for both of us, I thought I'd go over some concepts and see if it helps us (and you, too).

Character development - creating a fictional person who is as confused and searching as a real person - isn't easy, but there are some tools that make it more interesting and fun.

The first tool set involves basic questions such as:

What does the person need to learn? Humility? Self-Confidence? That his uncle murdered his father and then married the widow?
What are her flaws? Is she a careless listener? Is he greedy? Hamlet had some serious focus issues, for example. His job was to kill his uncle, not everyone else!
What is her greatest fear? Gertrude did not want to face the truth of her actions - that she had committed incest by marrying her brother in law.
What is his best quality? I always thought Hamlet's best quality that was he didn't take the ghost's words for granted - he had to investigate and prove the truth to himself.
What is the price she will have to pay if she doesn't learn the lesson(s)? Since it took Hamlet so long to learn what was going on, he left behind a trail of innocent dead.

These are just ideas to start the brainstorming process. Let's talk how you figure out your characters!

The Countdown Begins

2010-12-31T14:53:00.001-08:00

Well here we are, hours away from turning over into a new year. 2011 -- I'm still in a bit of a quandry about how it was here one day and gone the next.

Everybody's making resolutions. We do this every year... and subsequently break them long before March is over. Why do we do this?

Now, if you can follow my quirky train of thought -- that reminds me of submissions and a differentiation I wanted to make before the calendar flips over and we're off and running with 2011.

Nancy put a lot of effort into getting us all thinking about Goals. I discovered a few nights ago, however, that I'd fallen into a trap I knew not to, but had gotten caught up. My goals started looking like:

"Sell xyz." Which looked a lot like 2010's goal of "Aquire an agent."

Hm. Neither one of those are goals. So they must now come off my list and I must re-evaluate my thinking.

"What?", you say.

Nope. That's exactly right -- selling a book or obtaining representation are not goals. You (Me) cannot control those factors. I have no say or input on whether someone decided to buy my book or not. I can present it to them, but beyond that, that little birdie is flying on its own.

So my goal then becomes to create the work I dream of selling. If it is already created, then my goal is to get it pitched or shopped to the persons able to purchase it.

Follow the logic?

Going back to how we all do these resolution things every year. Resolutions are, in essence, goals. We break them and we have all kinds of good excuses for doing so. Sometimes we have excuses that are so impressive that in no way do they sound like excuses. In the end, really, if you are committed to your goals, that's all they are. The only way to achieve your goals is to commit yourself to completing them.

And while it may seem daunting there is always a way. Even for writing, which often seems very daunting because of the time required to drown out all the other noise and focus. Writers are, frankly, some of the biggest procrastinators in this world -- myself included, absolutely! One little excuse and we're off on our own little world ignoring that little thing on our goal sheet that says, "Write 500 words a day". We'll do it tomorrow. I can easily double 500, no big deal...

So what's the trick to sticking to our goals?

First: Make sure your goal is something you are directly able to control.

-- Write the book, not sell the book.

Second: Set your goal expectations low enough that you can surpass them. Not the opposite way around.

-- If it takes an hour to write 1000 words, and one and a half hours is the only available free time daily, don't set a writing goal of composing 1500 words a day. Set your daily word count closer to 1200. Then when you hit 1500 a day, you'll feel even better about your work.

Third: Make time to accomodate your goals, whatever they are.

-- If you have a full 40+ hour a week day job, plus a family at home depending on you at night, and perhaps social engagements your career dictates too, take ten minutes out of a lunch hour. Shorten a shower/bath, or extend your bedtime by ten minutes. Ten minutes a day -- maybe you won't get more than a few sentences done, but you keep practicing, the craft stays fresh in your head, and your idea won't stagnate. Ten minutes of excersise daily, is better than no excerise at all -- take that in whatever sense applies.

Fourth: I believe this is most critical. Find someone who will cheerlead on your behalf. This is often why writers gravitate toward one another and critique partners develop such close bonds. Someone needs to be there to give you a swift kick in the rear (which you'll happily reciprocate), someone to hand you chocolate when its needed, and someone to pass you champagne when hard work results in that dream of selling or obtaining an agent.

And that's my two cents on kicking off the year right!

Happy New Year, everyone!

The best intentions

2010-12-28T21:54:00.000-08:00

A dear friend's manuscript was rejected this past week. I was going to write something profound about rejection for her - basically rehashing the brilliant advice Carolyn See gives the world in Making a Literary Life (which is one of the absolute necessities for an author). It's a genius book and the chapter on rejection is one of the kindest, most life affirming pieces of advice I've heard in my life (and I've heard more advice than I can possibly count).

But I simply wasn't up for picking the best parts and I certainly was not going to copy down the entire fourteen pages of the chapter. So I will share the final paragraph:

It's not personal. It's not death. It's just a death experience. And the way to defuse rejection is to turn it into a process: cosmic badminton. So that you can wake up in the night, think about it, and actually smile.

And now, something else to keep one smiling:

Sacher Torte with whipped cream and coffee, at the Sacher Hotel, in Vienna.
Because decadent chocolate torte and Viennese coffee with more whipped cream make the world a better place.

What "The Classics" can teach us.

2010-12-22T12:55:00.000-08:00

I'm always watching movies and reading books, trying to learn more about writing, structure, and what makes a story dazzling. I've been on a musical kick, seeing how the writers tied the music to the story, used it to advance the plot, or used it to reveal a character's innermost self.

In Silk Stockings, Cyd Charisse's solo dance with her lingerie clearly tells the viewer that here is a woman who is finally embracing her yearning for pleasure. It's one of the most tender and touching metaphors for female sexuality and orgasm that I've seen.

So from this movie, I learned how to engage a reader in more than just the motion of the ocean, but also the emotions of the motion, so to speak.

On the downside, I learned just how necessary character development is.

In Pal Joey, Joey starts the movie with being run out of town by the police. Because he'd been pouring drinks for an underage girl in his hotel room. For some reason, this was considered funny back in 1957.

I was yucked out immediately. And I stayed yucked out, because Joey remained a complete dog. Kim Novak played a helpless innocent (another Waif on our hands!), and Rita Hayworth played a woman who actually owned her sexuality. Which means, of course, that she got dumped. Here's the trailer to get you started.

What I learned?
1. I need to pay attention to the mores of your time, and what is considered funny.
2. Sometimes, I just want to watch the movie for the musical numbers, and not the plot. Or the characters.
3. If I'm going to write a jerk or someone in need of redemption, I need to show some kind of reason why anyone would cheer for this louse.

In order to get this foul taste out of my mouth, I had to watch some Mae West movies. My Little Chickadee to the rescue. In romance, the heroine gets to decided what is best for her, and is free to turn down someone who doesn't build her up. :)

Happy Holidays, everyone, and enjoy your movie watching.

Where Has My Year Vanished To?

2010-12-17T00:22:00.000-08:00

So somewhere between Monday and Wednesday, I not only lost Tuesday completely, but I looked at the calendar and realized this year is almost over. How is that possible?!

In keeping with Nan's goal conversations, I've looked back over this last years goals, and I'm pretty sure I've met most of them. I had a side-project take me off track for about three weeks, and that replaced a project that I had planned to do. A few things were navigated for me, thus taking my control of the outcome out of my hands. And assuming I can wrap up what I'm working on now, by the end of the month, I should be on track for January.

But I swear to you, the last thirty days has gone by in a haze where I've been slammed and for the life of me, I can't nail down a reason why.

My to-do list has resembled this, lately:

Frightening.

I think it has more to do with the season than I'd like to admit. I had a package to get overseas. That ate up a good three days of trying to get peanut brittle right. Another two for other various homemade goodies.

Then there was the pitiful attempt at trying to nail down what my youngest wants by taking him to the toy store... where every time we turned around something he hadn't seen before was his "very favorite.

I don't have a tree up yet. That's slated somewhere this weekend in between visiting Santa Claus, writing him a letter, and battling the crowds as I do some shopping I haven't touched yet.

Writing wise, I'm pressed on this project and anticipating edits too. Granted, the project doesn't have a firm deadline, but it's important I finish it. Another project does have a firm deadline and I will be hitting that one at all costs. Edits of course take precedence over all.

I did sit down a few weeks ago, and intend to revisit the project plan as soon as I finish my blog, to review my goals for 2011. I have some new ideas floating around that I want to slate in. Some old ideas I must slate in. Really though, I don't plan on concreting that gantt chart until New Year's Eve when I can sit down with champagne and the plethera of words won't seem so daunting -- Laugh!

So how is everyone else feeling as the end of the year approaches? Have you hit the place where you can relax and revel in downtime? Or are you, like me, crunching to fit everything in before the clock rolls over without our permission?

Getting in the Holiday Groove

2010-12-14T11:13:00.000-08:00

Anyone who comments over at my personal blog will get a free, hand-decorated fan! Be sure to send me an email with your snail mail address (and maybe your favorite colors, otherwise it's up to me!).

A really great quote for all writers!

2010-12-08T13:58:00.000-08:00

In order to keep myself optimistic and encouraged, I frequently read this quote to myself:

###

Here's what I (Elizabeth George) tell my students on the first day when I teach one of my creative writing courses:

You will be published if you possess three qualities- talent, passion, and discipline.

You will probably be published if you possess two of the three qualities in either combination - either talent and discipline, or passion and discipline.

You will likely be published if you possess neither talent nor passion but still have discipline. Just go to the bookstore and pick up a few "notable" titles and you'll see what I mean.

But if all you possess is talent or passion, if all you possess is talent and passion, you will not be published. The likelihood is you will never be published. And if by some miracle you are published, it will probably never happen again.

Quote from Write Away: One Novelist's Approach to Fiction and the Writing Life by Elizabeth George

Ringing In The Holidays

2010-12-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

Hello, everybody! It's good to be back after a brief holiday interlude. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. For me, it was nice to spend some time with family, definitely nice to stuff myself silly. During this time, I was confronted with the loss of my horse, who was a driving inspiration to my forthcoming April release, Waiting For Yes. So the holiday laughter helped to balm those wounds and move forward.

Surprsingly, we've moved forward all the way into December, and I look back and can't believe we're already at the end of the year. Christmas is just around the corner, evidenced by the mass chaos a routine trip to Wal-Mart yields and the pretty lights rapidly covering rooftops. My kids like it. "Mommy, look -- PRETTY LIGHTS!" This year, I'm feeling a bit intimidated by 2011. The things I had planned, beyond my writing goals, skidded to a stop with my stallion's passing, and I have to reevaluate certain dreams.

It's a struggle that I wrote about in my Christmas Romance, A Christmas To Believe In. My hero, Clint, is in the same position, and as Christmas draws nearer, he's desperately trying to hold onto his dreams. I always felt a certain bond with Clint, but now this romance has really struck a soft-spot in my heart.

I'd like to share just a brief bit about it with you. It's available now, and I think there are a lot of people who come into this holiday season feeling much the same. This story really shows the human side of the holiday, and highlights struggles everyone feels -- from the successful, to the struggling, to the complete abandoned.

A Christmas To Believe In
Holiday Contemporary Romance

When a man's dreams are in ruin, all he needs is someone to believe...

Struggling Thoroughbred breeder, Clint King, hasn’t been home for Christmas in five years. Like his brothers, Alex and Heath, life has kept him away. Clint’s farm is barely hanging on. His prize mare's due to foal any day, and in the wake of his father’s death, Clint can’t stand the idea of returning. The memories are too much, let alone his father’s imposing shadow. Except, Alex is getting married on Christmas Eve, and their mother’s put her foot down. She’ll have her boys at home. With his mare in tow behind him, Clint prepares to meet a sister he’s never known and Alex’s unexpected triplets. The one salvation he looks forward to is childhood companion, tomboy Jesse Saurs. Yet when he reunites with Jesse, he uncomfortably discovers she’s become all woman.

Jesse Saurs has everything she needs – financial security, a home, and a foster child who’s about to become her son. She’s spent two years breaking down Ethan’s emotional barriers, and with the final hearing scheduled just before Christmas, this year promises to make his dreams come true. When she learns Clint and his brothers are returning, she anticipates a holiday reunion that’s sure to entertain Ethan. But on the night of Clint’s return, the ‘brother’ she expected leaves her trembling after just a single hug. Even worse, Ethan makes it clear Clint's not welcome.

Will this Christmas destroy what's left of hopes and dreams, or will it give the three the gift they've all been longing for?

If you'd like to take a closer peek, pop on over to my website and learn a little more about Ethan, with this excerpt.

Meanwhile, though December is full of craziness, be sure and take the time to relax. For those of you writing, don't let busy schedules deny you the escape of immersing yourself in your story.

I'll be back next week with some thoughts on NaNoWriMo and traditional Yule.

~Claire

Surround yourself with beauty.

2010-12-01T17:45:00.000-08:00

The Avanti Lounge from Dania Furniture.

Today, The Charming Man and I went shopping for a new bed. For the last ten years, we've enjoyed the bohemian delight of our mattress and box spring right on the floor. But it is finally time to feel 'grown-up', and off to browse the furniture stores we went.

We were both drawn to quirky, fun styles and soon it developed into a game of what personalities would like what kinds of furniture. So! I challenge my sister Cascade Authors to play the game with me.

Who would like this style of sofa? Tell me what kind of character would sprawl on such a deliciously unusual piece?

note: Both The Charming Man and I sat on this lovely thing. It's quite comfortable.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

I've gotta post this or turn in my Virginia citizenship card. Please, don't be offended.

First Thanksgiving? Pilgrims? Really?

On December 4, 1619, a group of 38 English settlers arrived on a spot of land known as Berkley Hundred. This parcel consisted of 8,000 acres of prime Virginian real estate along the James River near Herring Creek. It was 20 miles up river from another famous landing spot Jamestown. Some of you might recall that Jamestown and its triangular shaped fort was the birthplace of the first PERMANENT English speaking colony in North America established on May 14th, 1607.

The Charter required that upon their arrival these colonist observe "A day of Thanksgiving". Captian John Woodleaf did the honors and presided over the services on that cold December 4th.

Yep, notice the date 1619 - not the Pilgrims 1621. Yep, Virginians celebrated 2 full years before the Pilgrims set foot on the New England soil.

Why then do we see Pilgrims instead of Jamestown Colonist? Well, you see the geographical reference above? Yep, That slight disagreement my granny called the "Late great unpleasantness" may be the cause. I know, I hear the groans. That was over 150 years ago, get over it the South lost. We did. But, not only did we lose our "war"; we lost our distinctions because to the victor go the spoils and lots of text books were rewritten glossing over Virginia history.

So when did Thanksgiving first become this national holiday? Our first president, George Washington, also a Virginian I might add, proclaimed the third day in October as a national day of Thanksgiving in the year 1789. He liked it so much he did it again in 1795.

John Adams, the hot head of the Revolution, declared Thanksgiving in 1798 and in 1799. Mr. Jefferson - declined. Humph shame on him. However, Mr. Madison renewed the tradition in 1814 after that nasty piece of business with England in 1812 when his wife rescued the portrait of Mr. Washington and dug some holes in the property at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave to hide the silver. America it seemed like a holiday in which to give thanks for our freedoms.

Now, we come to Mr. Lincoln who spear headed the movement after THAT WAR. He put through a bill to honor our founding fathers, to honor those who had sacrificed so much in the family squabble and a time for all to give thanks our nation had pulled through. Again it was set in October and was celebrated from 1863 onward.

But wait, I see those faces. Your asking yourself where is she leading. Why is it now in November? Ah, again regional fisticuffs. From New England raffles to shooting matches the day was celebrated with gusto. In New York, people dressed up in costumes and roamed the streets in "Ragamuffin parades" sounds a bit like Macy's doesn't it?

So our present day Thanksgiving is the result of yet another war. This one World War II. FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt made the final move in 1939 and placed Thanksgiving as the final Thursday in the month of November. Yep, being from New York, he used the Pilgrim analogy. So we are stuck with Miles Standish and not John Woodleaf.

Other claims to Thanksgiving -

1541 Coronado celebrated with his troops in Palo Duro Canyon in West Texas

September 8th, 1565 Spanish Admiral Pedro Monendez de Aviles celebrated in St. Augustine Florida

December 4th, 1619 Berkeley Plantation near Richmond Virginia

Plymouth, Massachusetts 1623

All the more reason to enjoy Turkey more than once a year. Have a Happy Thanksgiving, a wonderful Black Friday, a calm Cyber Monday and Happy Holidays no matter when you celebrate.

Quote-tastic for the Holiday.

2010-11-23T19:53:00.000-08:00

Like everyone else, I collect quotes. Here are some that make me smile every single time.

"I believe reality is a marvelous joke staged for my edification and amusement, and everybody is working very hard to make me happy." --Terence McKenna

"You should view the world as a conspiracy run by a very closely-knit group of nearly omnipotent people, and you should think of those people as yourself and your friends." --Robert Anton Wilson

"Pronoia is the unshakable conviction that there is a secret conspiracy to liberate you from suffering, fill you with joy, and make you really smart." --Rob Brezsny

I think writers need quotes like this. There are so many tests and trials on the way to our dreams of touching others with our words. We need to believe that the world *is* our friend, that people love us, and that we are going to succeed. It's a whole lot more pleasant than believing we are caught in the existential angst.

Historical research in action.

2010-11-16T19:25:00.000-08:00

Dracula's Secret is based partially on the myths and legends of Vlad Tepes/Dracula. After I finished my early drafts, I sat down and looked at the sources about the man.

Even the most cursory look at the secondary and tertiary sources on Vlad Dracula shows a stunning (or tedious, depending on your personality) number of resources on how bloodthirsty and cruel this particular historical figure was. Most books referenced Florescu and McNally's two books, Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His life and Times and In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires

To find out where they got their information, I did what every self-respecting historian does. I checked their bibliographies for their primary sources. This is what I found.

Vlad Dracul II lived from 1431-1476.

No sources survive from Vlad himself (despite it being commonly reported that he was highly educated and literate). This includes any of his legislative acts.

No sources survive from his brothers, father, wives, other relatives, or even friends.

The only primary source that is contemporary to Vlad's life is in the Monastery of St. Gall, in Switzerland. It was written by an unknown author in 1462. The manuscript gives a number of anecdotes about Vlad (thirty-two, according to the translation I read). The translator claims that six of those thirty-two stories are confirmed by other sources, but does not name those sources.

The stories discussing Vlad's crimes against humanity were not verified by other contemporary sources.

The Russian and German documents that discuss Vlad's preference for disemboweling animals, etc., etc., etc., date from 1490 at the earliest.

The woodcut portraits of Vlad date from 1488 and 1491. The famous oil portrait comes from the second half of the 17th century. Which, I might point out, is nearly 200 years after Vlad died.

Many scholars make much of the oral transmissions of the folk tales of Romania. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any analysis of these stories by anthropologists or historians that would confirm the accuracy. Folk tales often are multipurpose stories - they could be cautionary tales or money makers to fleece the unsuspecting. I've not seen any studies done of where the folktales agree with the primary sources.

For example, contemplate the relationship people in the United States have with George Washington. The old cherry tree tale has been discredited, but how many of us still remember it and tell it?

What all this boils down to is very simple:

We don't know that much about this historical figure.

So as a result, I felt like I could play with this person, bring my own interpretation to the story of Dracula. After all, my outrageous ideas seem to fit right in with the rest. :)

I'm sure that I've missed a lot of information on the historical Dracula. I look forward to hearing from others who want to share their research with me.

Expectations

2010-11-13T04:32:00.000-08:00

I'm off to day to my RWA chapter's conference. Like Claire, my expectations are high. I want to learn from two New York publishing writers, how they mold their stories into a cohesive unit that sells. So it got me thinking this morning, writers have expectations and so do readers.

When a reader picks up a romance novel they expect a wild roll of emotions that lead to a happy ending. We are brought up on that heroine having her happily ever after. When the writer doesn't deliver we are disappointed. So its imperative we "bring it home" for them. But as writers, what do we expect from our stories? I find I must be invested in them. I must feel my characters. I must know them as my friends so they can speak to me and allow me to tell their tale.

As I go to this conference today, my expectations are high. I expect to learn. I expect to come back with something in my arsenal to lure a publishing house into buying my story. I know these two women will not fail me. I hope that after learning, I will not fail to carry out the important mission they entrust me to do. Expectations can be a two way street. Its a bit scary to cross and a writer must look both ways.

Jewelann Is Coming To Town

2010-11-12T01:12:00.000-08:00

If you put a pause in between Jewelann's name, the title fits "Santa Clause is Coming To Town", incidently.

So yes, I'm super duper excited that two Missouri chapters elected to bring Jewelann in to speak to their authors about the industry, generally meet and greet, and hopefully garner some mutual benefits!

I've always wondered how I would handle my first face-to-face meeting with my agent. And not just since signing here, but back in the days of still searching. I presumed it would transpire at a convention, like Nationals, and I'd be nervous. I'd wonder if I talked too loud, if my laugh was funny, and I'd wonder if I was dressed horribly out-of-fashion.

Now, though, as the reality of things hits settles around me, all of those pesky worries are gone. I'm excited! I'd say, kinda like getting a new puppy, if I didn't feel that might come out all wrong. (Shh. I didn't say that.)

I'm not intimidated, and I believe this is, in part, because I've been made to feel at home from day one. My perception used to be that agents were a far-off partner, only really dealt with when active business was on the table. Oh, how wrong, I was. It's much more than that. A very mutually-supportive relationship.

But anyway, this isn't meant to be a sales pitch. I've accomplished little to nothing all week because I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas Eve, and can't keep focused. Next week, I'll give a brief overview. And who knows, maybe I will even have a funny story to share!

Nerding out.

2010-11-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

Since my fellow Cascadians and I are all history buffs, I thought I'd go through some of the nitty gritty of historical research. :)

Historical research is mostly done from written sources. The three main classifications of sources are tertiary, secondary, and primary (historians are not known for creative classification names).

Tertiary sources are the most common and the most easily accessible. A tertiary source is one that is not written in the period in question. Tertiary sources discuss current research and current attitudes about that particular topic or time period. Tertiary sources include text books, book reviews, timelines, and encyclopedias. They are very useful places to start research.

Secondary sources are still written out of period, but refer to period sources. They are often specialized books, dissertations, or theses that look at available period evidence about a person, place, thing, or idea. They are a good place to grasp a complete view of a culture. They also vary greatly in quality, complexity, and scope (this is where you use the book reviews and abstracts to determine which one).

A primary source is a source created at the time you are studying by a contemporary of the action or person. They are more scarce and more difficult to understand, but a whole lot more fun to work from. Examples are coins, inscriptions, buildings, portraits.

Secondary and tertiary sources are often blended sources; they have pictures, quotes, graphics, and facsimiles of primary sources in them. This is extraordinarily helpful - you can get feel for a primary source without having to find it in its entirety.

Frequently, primary sources are published in collections or in thematic arrangements with introductions. Primary sources are not limited to written material; paintings, coins, carvings, artifacts (surviving physical evidence), tapestries, buildings, and photographs and photocopies of any of these are primary sources.

The best and hardest way to write history is from primary sources. The further away a text is from the original actions, recorded by contemporaries, the deeds and thoughts recorded lose their freshness and immediacy. Secondary and tertiary sources are often the cause behind the "history is boring" reputation. After all, novels are exciting for their attention to detail, their focus on action and consequence.

History is the story of murder, betrayal, love, greed, tenderness, and lofty dreams for humanity. Well- researched, well-written history is "edge of the seat" exciting and explains where modern attitudes and problems came from.

It's all in (on) your head

2010-11-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

Osiyo, fellow time travelers. Elisabeth, here.

You've heard the phrase, 'swelled head' and probably know about about 'pin heads' and 'hard heads.' But did you know that 19th century science took all this head knowledge very seriously?

A theory called Phrenology took off as the 'psychology du jour' from the early to mid 1800s. Phrenologists maintained that a person's character could be read by measuring the shape of his skull. The bumps and valleys were thought to reflect the regions of a person's brain and its attributes.

Many different charts and models were used, all labeled to indicate the different areas of a person's brain. Interestingly enough, they had the science partly right. In the late 1700s, neurologists (and I'm using the term loosely) proved that different areas of a person's brain were in actuality responsible for different functions, such as memory and speech. In 1790, Franz Joseph Gall took this one step further by developing a theory called phrenology based on "cranioscopy."

According to Gall's theory, the mind was composed of distinct 'organs' responsible for certain facilities. All things being equal, the size of an 'organ' is the measure of its power, said he. (It would be a man who'd made this absurd claim.) He believed that the different sizes of the organs of the brain determined the physical shape of the skull, based on the strength or weakness of that 'organ' or section. Therefore, he theorized that the shape and surface of the skull could be read as an index of a person's natural capacities, aptitudes and tendencies.

During a skull reading, a phrenologist would run his fingers and palms over a person's head and carefully feel for bumps and concavities. Sometimes a tape measure or calipers were used for measuring more precisely. Then the measurements would be compared with a three-dimensional head or chart to determine which of approximately 35 organs (or brain areas) were responsible for an individual's aptitudes and characteristics.

So here's where it gets fun.

A large 'eventuality' organ means you possess wonderful retentive memory and crave information. You're a regular book worm.

A bigger than average 'adhesiveness' organ means you are a regular social butterfly.

If 'combativeness' is dominant you're likely a pugilist or at least extremely quarrelsome.

The list goes on (and on). Phrenology was discredited by scientists in the 1840s, who lumped it in with other forms of quackery. Some equated it with palm reading or astrological signs. Nevertheless, it remained popular even into the early twentieth century.

Which just goes to show, the 'gullibility' organ looms large in many heads.

As always, would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Starting A New Story

2010-11-05T01:58:00.000-07:00

There's a certain energy about a new story, and I think this is probably my favorite part of writing. First, the idea takes hold. Then, the plot unfolds (because I'm a plotter.) Then, about a week later, I get to put words down... and for me, there's no better thrill. All that thinking starts to develop. All that imagry comes to life.

For the first time in my life, I'm doing NaNoWriMo, and I put off starting my Templar book until the 1st of November. Add into the fact that this is one of the stories I've been wanting to write since I developed the concept, and the fact that the outline has been done for months, and there was some serious anticipation building!

Now though, I'm fully immersed in the story, and having the time of my life. About six chapters to the end, I will wish I was already done, and then I'll hit the final climax, and won't be able to write fast enough to keep up with the ideas in my head.

It feels good to be writing after a few forced weeks doing nothing but edits, housekeeping stuff, and critiques.

How about all of you? Do you share that special energy when you get to put those first chapters down? Are you NaNoing this year at all?

Travel picture of the day.

2010-11-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

In September, I returned from an amazing trip in Europe. In celebration of the beautiful weather the Pacific Northwest is having, here's a picture of Istanbul. This is the Library of Ahmet III in the Topkapi Palace complex.

Doesn't this make you want to learn, work, and create?

Spooky Scribblings

2010-11-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

Osiyo, fellow time travelers. Elisabeth, here.

We had a grand time last night, trick or treating with our fourth grade daughter. Huddled around a fire pit at a neighbor's house afterwards we told ghost stories and drank hot cider while the little ghouls and goblins bartered with each other for their favorite candy.

I was recently researching a new project and came across a little bit of American folklore that seemed pertinent to this time of year.

As late as the nineteenth century, it was commonly believed that when a person died 'troubled' (i.e., had been wronged or done wrong) his or her soul would roam a middle ground between states of existence. In fact, this belief persists today and makes good business for ghost tour operators.

In Mark Twain's America, Bernard DeVoto describes ghosts or 'ha'nts' as follows: The spirit left the corpse and entered a dreary state, less than life, not quite extinction. Such half-creatures flitted endlessly about the world, their passage marked by a small rustling or tiny beat of wings."

Witches were also part of common folklore, and most especially among slaves (some of these beliefs were carried over from African folklore, but I haven't researched that enough to know the particulars). The witch could be a man, but more commonly was a woman. She could change form from an old hag into a frog, insect, cat. Her goal wasn't so much to murder as to torment, and one way she did this was by 'riding' the victim during the night while he slept.
When she picked out a victim, she'd sneak inside while he was sleeping, slip a bit into his mouth and the nightmare would begin. The victim would then awaken worn out and depressed, often with marks around his mouth or on his back from lashes of her whip. In Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, there is an account of such a riding by Miss Watson's slave, Jim.

So how does one thwart a wily witch? Since she plaits the victim's hair into stirrups, one way to prevent a riding is to tie back your hair with thread. She also has to shed her skin before riding, so sharp objects in her path will stop her by catching on her 'empty' skin and prevent her from re-entering it. There was also the belief that horseshoes hung over windows and doors kept out the witches because she would have to travel all the roads the horseshoe had been over before she could enter the home, thus forestalling her until the sun rose.

Back to last night. It was finally time to go and we rounded up our daughter and started back. The rustling wind seemed to follow us down the street, swirling around our ankles and kicking up leaves, whispering like voices we couldn't quite make out. Grabbing each other's hands, we took to our heels and ran all the way home.

How was your Halloween?

Trick or Treat

2010-10-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a back seat today from usual writing topics to talk about something I've learned from my children.

My children love Halloween. Not just loved it, craved it, spent months dreaming about it. For them its better than Christmas. The idea of dressing up, creating a character, and for one night living a fantasy is the best. When they were little, the planning would start in August. Their efforts were worthy of Eisenhower planning the D - Day invasion. Procuring a calendar, they would mark off weeks to the holiday, then work on a theme for the event.

My guys were never ghost or goblins. They came to early for Harry Potter themes however they did base their characters on books or movies they had read or seen over the summer. All through August, they'd submit ideas, hold heated discussion finally around Labor Day the ideas were cast in stone. Then they had to rope in mom.

I was consulted for material and props. My children refused store bought costumes. It would have been an unspeakable horror to have stepped into the neighborhood wearing something that came from a box. So we'd spend a Saturday or two finding the patterns, purchase the material, and sew it together.

What fond memories I have of Minne Mouse, The Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion from Oz, Mr. Peanut, Cinderella,Wilson from Home Improvement, and The Musketeers. I think one of the best costumes was the last year my youngest son went out. He went as John Glen. That year, he commandeered a black plastic pot from a Camila bush, cut a hole out so that it looked like a visor. The swimming pool had long since fallen apart, so he secured the hoses from the old pump. Then Duck taping two 2 quart soda bottles together and placing the hose on the top, spray painted it silver. He wore a silver jogging suit put an American flag patch on it and was good to go. People still talk about him coming up to the door. They'd ask questions to see if he knew who John Glenn was. The boy had done his research and rattled off facts.

Now, as the world turns, my grandson is making the rounds. Last year, he was Curious George, his daddy was the Man in the Yellow Hat. This year,he is Dino the dinosaur, Daddy is Fred and Momma is Wilma. They will all go out together and have a wonderful time. Making memories that will last forever. I have to admit, I love Halloween now just as much as they did back then because through Eli's eyes the world is still full of wonder. As, it should be.
Look for pictures next week.

Going On The Road

2010-10-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow authors and blog-mates! It's me, Claire, again.

Last month, while I was trying to sift through an insane amount of email, I found buried in one of my folders a notice for workshop proposals for a conference that, although I haven't been there, I've heard outstanding things about. This would be the NOLA Star's, Written In The Stars, conference, put on by the chapter who hosts The Suzannah contest each year.

So, I dug out a workshop I'd put together for my local RWA Chapter, did a little cutting, did a little revising, crossed my fingers and sent it off.

Last week they accepted my proposal!

So, in March of 2011, I'm going to my first out-of-state conference, as a guest speaker! And I'm trying to convince everyone I know to register and attend. Unfortunately, our esteemed leader, Jewelann won't be present, but it looks like there are some awesome programs being offered, and who can go wrong with Louisiana?

Personally, Louisiana has been on my list of 'Intended Destinations' for a long time, so I'm doubly thrilled! Downside -- I won't get to stay in that haunted planation house I've always wanted to see. Oh well, maybe next time. I'm more excited about meeting authors and interacting with the folks I admire and respect than meeting some ghosts. And, to top it all off, I just heard this morning it looks like one of my critique partners is going to make the drive down with me.

Which means, quite possibly, we might not have to rush off that Sunday morning. Though work schedules will come into play, I'm sure.

Ahhh... Shreveport, here I come! I do so love the south.

Here's a blip about the workshop:

Gone Fishing!
Everybody knows to catch the fish you have to have the appropriately baited hook. Catfish gnaw on hot dogs. Trout are picky. Bass like things that sparkle. But what'll make an editor bite? Published author, Claire Ashgrove, will discuss five different types of hooks and illustrate how to make your manuscript sparkle appropriately when the submission pool is full of generic bait.

For more information: 2011 NOLA Stars Conference

Please come join me, I'd love to see you there!

Important notes

2010-10-27T20:48:00.001-07:00

Never post after having a long hot-stone massage followed by a bath. You will make no sense. :)

I promise to do better next week!

Intellectual traps.

2010-10-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

I'm sure everyone in the world has experienced the "I'm not doing ENOUGH WORK" pressure from themselves. When this is applied in a healthy manner, it can lead to insights on what tweaks your system needs. If it gets out of hand, though, it can lead to nasty nailbiting. (Not that I know anything about this, you know)

I have to remind myself that having a good day is not dependent on the amount of work I get done.

This is not intuitive. In fact, it sounds like a downright bill of goods. And I, for one, was not buying this load of horse poo.

Until I read this passage in Feeling Good by David Burns:

Adolf Hitler was clearly a great achiever at the height of his career. Would you say that made him particularly worthwhile? Obviously not. Of course, Hitler would have insisted he was a great human being because he was a successful leader and because he equated his worth and achievements. In face, he was probably convinced that he and his fellow Nazis were supermen because they were achieving so much. (pg 331)

So on those less than productive days, don't despair! Being productive is important, but it isn't everything. Your less than stellar day might just keep you sane enough to prevent using your powers for taking over the world.

Man's Best Friend--The Plants

2010-10-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

Osiyo, fellow time travelers. Elisabeth here.

When I began research for my book The Healer, I read quite a bit of Cherokee folklore and found this interesting story about the origins of disease. I'm going to paraphrase, because the whole story is too long to put into this blog (I would have loved to hear it around a campfire), but you'll get the gist.

In the old days, the beasts, birds, fish, insects and plants could all talk, and they and the people lived together in peace and friendship. But as time went on, the people increased so rapidly that their settlements began to spread over the whole world and the poor animals found themselves cramped for space. Worse, man invented bows, knives, blowguns, spears and hooks and began to slaughter the larger animals for their flesh or skins, while the smaller creatures were crushed and trodden upon without a care. So the animals resolved to consult on what measures would be taken. They held a council and all kinds of ideas were offered. None were all that workable. They all finally agreed on condemning Man for his cruelty by devising diseases that would kill the people. The whole human race was threatened with extinction.

When the plants, who were friendly to Man, heard what had been done by the animals they determined to help Man. Each tree, shrub, herb, down even to the grasses and mosses agreed to furnish a cure for one of the diseases named and each said: "I shall appear to help Man when he calls upon me in his need." Thus came medicine; and the plants, every one of which has its use if we only knew it, furnish the remedies to counteract the diseases caused by the vengeful animals.

This being the case, the old Healers would go out and 'ask' which plants to use for which disease. They eventually ended up learning hundreds upon hundreds of cures, which were passed along to new generations.

The advent of modern medicine was a wonderful thing, but somehow in the process of devising 'cures' the medical community lost this important connection to plants. I thought this story was more than entertaining, because today we are coming around full circle on natural, plant-based remedies.

Anyone know some of the uses of this plant?

New Shoes Make Everything Better

2010-10-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

First things first -- sorry folks for being late with my posting today. I usually post late at night, but last night exhaustion set in before I could type anything.

So, this week, I've been doing a lot of house-keeping related to writing. Fleshing out a few ideas, smoothing out some rough spots in an existing manuscript, doing edits for Waiting For Yes, and a bunch of other stuff related to chapter work, critiques and other general things.

The result was, by mid week, I was pretty unenergized in general. So what did I do? I fed my shoe obsession. Somehow that always works well.

Allow me to introduce you to the cutest pair of shoes I've ever set my eyes on.

Contrary to my fellow shopper's opinion of, "You've got to be kidding", as I toted these shoes through several department stores looking for something to wear with them, I got rave reviews. Regardless of anyone else's opinion, these perked my spirits like nothing else. I was struck with the need to write about a woman in snappy shoes. Hee.

And then the first pair of high heels I've ever owned:

They don't look it in this picture, but they are four inches tall. And I confess, the sudden urge to own a pair of platform stilettos came from the heroine I just finished writing about. More aptly, her job. That's all I will say there. With a little luck, that story will come out in print and we'll talk about that later.

It's funny -- I haven't been shopping in, quite literally, years. Yet, this little spree really energized me. I'm finding myself anxious to be done with all the house-keeping necessities and ready to put new words into action.

But before I do that, I have one more trip to make.

I thought I'd give these two (new to me) romance authors a shot.

Then, I think I'll knuckle down and do some writing come November.

~Claire

Authors helping authors.

2010-10-19T21:38:00.000-07:00

Sloane Addams, my fabulous friend and fellow Cascade Girl, asked me for some details about my recent trip to Europe. When I was in Istanbul, the one place I knew I had to visit was a hamam. I went to one of the most famous Hamams in the world - Cagaloglu Hamami.

In our encouragement of each other, she calls me Wonder Woman, and I call her Power Girl.

***

Power Girl! I have come to the conclusion that the hamam is the cure for all the world's ills.

First, some nice lady pours hot water all over you as you sit on a heated marble floor. Then you get to lay there in wet, fabulous bliss. She comes in with soap and a exfoliating mitt and scrubs you all over, front and back, so that your skin is incredibly smooth and clean. This is not fast, either. It's complete relaxation.

You get rinsed by more hot, clean water splashed over you. This feels like heaven.

Then you realize that heaven is even cooler than you thought, because you get a massage with the soap suds. The soap and water is so thick and bubbly that your massage is slick and relaxes every damn part of yourself.

Finally, she washes your hair.

At the end, you ooze your boneless way back to your little room and try to remember how to put on clothes.

I bought some of the soap and one of the mitts there, so I can give myself a cheater's hamam here at home. No heated marble floors, you know. ;)

***
Her response?

Wonder Woman - I just turned green.

Bushwhackers, Jayhawkers and Borderland Baddies

2010-10-18T13:55:00.000-07:00

Osiyo, fellow time travelers. Elisabeth here. Here’s a pop quiz for you:

Where were ‘bushwhackers’ made famous?

A) In the deepest darkest jungles of Africa

B) In Australia’s outback

C) In Missouri

Who did the term Jayhawker originally refer to?

A) Fanatic KU fans

B) Mythical birds

C) Border raiders from Kansas

Now, if you answered the first question C, you’re right. At least for the purposes of this quiz. Bushwhackers or bushwhacking refers to a form of guerilla warfare (ambushing from the woods or bushes) that gained prominence during the Civil War. The most well known bushwhackers were from Missouri, where secessionist guerillas operated outside of the regular army. These where were largely self-organized groups of young men who took it upon themselves to attack Federal forces and Unionist neighbors. Often, these groups referred to themselves as ‘partisan rangers’ or ‘irregulars’. The most well-known bushwhacker chieftain is William Clarke Quantrill, who led the largest and arguably most vicious wartime raid on Lawrence, Kansas, in the early morning hours of August 21, 1863. (Daniel Woodrell’s novel Woe to Live On, which was the basis for Ang Lee’s movie, Ride with the Devil dramatizes this raid.)

For a good many of these young bushwhackers, the original motive for fighting was revenge for some abuse or atrocity that they or their families had suffered at the hands of Unionists or Federal troops.

This takes us to the second question. If you answered C, you’re half right. The original name comes from a combination of two birds, the blue jay and sparrow hawk. It became part of the Kansas lexicon during territorial times and one early Kansas historian describes it this way:

“Confederated at first for defense against pro-slavery outrages, but ultimately falling more or less completely into the vocation of robbers and assassins, they have received the name --- whatever its origin may be -- of Jayhawkers.”

The worst of these Jayhawker raids came in the early days of the war, when troops under the leadership of Colonel Charles Jennison and General (Senator) James Lane invaded Missouri for the purposes of defending Kansas. However, most of these raids dissolved into looting and burning sprees, with primary targets being civilians. Lane’s raids (which culminated in the sacking and burning of Osceola, Missouri) purportedly sparked Quantrill’s retaliatory raid on Lawrence, Kansas).

Bonus point: What was the other nickname for these Jayhawkers?

Answer: Red Legs, for the red woolen leggings they wore over their boots. Supposedly, Red Legs were considered more purely indiscriminate in thievery and murder. But this is a matter of degrees.

It’s interesting that even today when you visit museums in Missouri and Kansas, you get very different points of view about these fighters who operated outside the accepted boundaries of warfare.

In Harrisonville, you can see this life-size rendering of William Quantrill and Cole Younger (Younger is a hometown boy, and hero of sorts in this part of Missouri).

From the state museum in Topeka to this small museum in Trading Post, Kansas (where Lane launched his famous raids into Missouri) there are pictures and mementos of the Grim Chieftan (Senator Jim Lane) proudly displayed.

Whether Bushwhacker or Jayhawker, some of these characters make Billy the Kid look like a preschooler. I’ve always wondered at how seemingly normal, peace-loving folks can get drawn in to this kind of conflict. What is the tipping point? How to they justify their actions and then deal with the aftermath? How do their victims find peace?

These and other questions led me down a winding road of research into that culminated in three novels set during and after this chaotic time in our history.

So how did you do on the quiz?

Anyone want to venture a guess as to the identity of the Lt. Colonel who led Jennison's Jayhawkers in their first engagement? Hint: he's related to a famous suffragette.

Exciting Stuffs From Claire's Corner

2010-10-15T01:07:00.000-07:00

So last week I mentioned I couldn't go into specifics about a contest. This week, I can, and I'm super happy to be able to share.

I entered SOLA's Dixie Kane Memorial Contest, a contest that I really enjoy the feedback in. After much nail-biting, they posted the Official Winners List, and I found my name in there... three times:

1st Place Paranormal -- Seduced By Fire
2nd Place Historical -- Bound By Decency
3rd Place Single Title Contemporary -- Love's Redemption.

I kermit danced for a while (only now my chapter members are asking me to demonstrate that one.) We'll see how The Suzannah plays out. I entered two pieces, one not in the above list.

Also, in exciting events, I decided to give both online workshops and conference workshops a go for the coming year. I've received word that my online workshop for Digital Publishing was accepted through both Black Diamonds RWA and Lowcountry RWA. I'll be teaching those workshops in February and August, respectively -- hope you'll come!

I submitted a different proposal for a couple conferences (one being RWA Nationals) and fingers crossed that they will go. I really would like to present. Really, really.

So it's been fun and exciting this week on my end. Other news to come next week. Anybody else have any fingers-crossed stuff they can talk about? Or achievements? I'm anxious to hear.

What the heck.

2010-10-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

I thought I might remind everyone that I do, actually, write hot and sexy fiction. :) Several years ago, a friend and I did a writing game. This little snippet is the beginning of a very naughty short story. Enjoy!

Anything, Anytime

Mike asks me, “Would you like to play a game?”

I’ll play anything with him, anytime. “Yeah. What you got in mind?”

“Let’s make out in my truck.”

“Oh?” My voice rises, eager. We’d been civilized and restrained all during dinner, learning what the other had been up to in the last two years. Now the fun begins. “What’s the scenario?”

“I’m dropping you off after a date, see –“

“How old are we?”

“High school, totally.”

“Excellent.” We started fooling around in high school back when I still believed my body was a temple – designed for worship from afar. No, it’d been Mike who’d spent hours convincing me that worshiping from afar wasn’t nearly as exciting as up close and personal. The man had wicked, sweet hands and could make a girl moan. “What next?”

“I pull up, put the truck in park, turn to you.”

I look at his mouth. There’s grey in his moustache now, but I’m looking forward to finding out how much he’s learned. “I say thank you for a lovely night?”

“You got it. You wanna play?”

“Let’s do it.”

When the Muse strikes

2010-10-11T07:58:00.000-07:00

Osiyo, fellow time travelers, Elisabeth here.
   Sorry I don't have much to share today. My muse went on strike last week and I'm not having a lot of luck getting her back to work. I think it might be the two solid months of revising and editing that pushed her over the edge.
   I read somewhere that when the creative well runs dry, you need to refill it. So I'm officially devoting this week to refilling my well. For starters, I'll do some reading, a little research (believe it or not, I consider research fun and inspiring), maybe a trip to a museum.
   What do you find helps get your creative juices flowing? Any ideas for coaxing that little muse back to work would be greatly appreciated.

Pushing Boundaries

2010-10-08T01:19:00.000-07:00

In working with this new project, I've had to change up some of my habits and break some routines so my "boundaries" wouldn't be the same. One of the things that I've altered is, I've started listening to music while I'm writing. Not anything I'm a crazy fan about (like good classical, or sweeping orchestral because that totally distracts me.) Pop music actually. Which is great for a drive, but not normally part of my writing formula.

Anyway, I've discovered something that I probably should have realized a long time ago. There are a few songs that I absolutely cannot stand because they provoke such intense reactions. For instance, Rhianna's Unfaithful. When I first heard this song a year or so ago, it really made me ill. The message conveyed in there just... well, it bothered me.

Now, the song bothers me because it's very... raw. I've gotten over the need to preach "Hey. You can control yourself, lady." Now it just twists my guts because of the deep emotion in the song, even though I don't agree with the "message". Eminem's song, I Love The Way You Lie does the same thing to me. I mean for goodness sakes, lyricwise, the message is pretty disturbing. But combined together with the vocals and how the vocals are sung, it's a very moving song.

All of which, in an odd sense, has made me change a few approaches in my writing. Being able to appreciate the artistic value of songs that I'd previously snorted over, has allowed me to expand my own writing horizons. It's made me realize that it is okay to use a word choice that might not be pleasant for someone. (Always depending on context). It's okay to, where appropriate, have a little shock value.

I haven't been a writer who's afraid to use profanity, or afraid to open the bedroom door, or liberally apply blood. Don't get me wrong. But with this project specifically, it needed to be a little raw. Which I've been able to achieve with moderate ease, after pushing different boundaries.

And the moral of this little rambling? Sometimes it takes literally removing the box, not just stepping outside it, to grow. If, as a writer, there's something you want to accomplish, but perhaps you aren't certain you can, before you decide whether you're really capable or not, change your habits. Explore new territories. In the end, you'll appreciate the fact you have.

And now, back to writing, so I can meet my commitment of having this to Jewelann Monday. EEP!

Art in Person

2010-10-06T10:06:00.000-07:00

Image copyright the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

The Jewish Bride is one of the most popular and mysterious Rembrandt paintings. We've all seen it, over and over, on the web, in our art history books, in our regular history books, and in prints on one's wall. In fact, I used to work at a library in an art museum. I thought I had a pretty good idea of what this painting was about.

I finally saw it in person while we were in Amsterdam, and nothing you can do will prepare you for the full impact of this image.

First - it's huge. Not as huge as, say, his famous Night Watch (which is truly huge), but the people are nearly life-sized.

Second, the color. In a flat image on a page or screen, the colors look rich and deep, but in person, they nearly vibrate in their intensity and depth. You can see how Rembrandt applied the paint so thickly in some places (the gentleman's sleeve, for example) that it literally swirls into peaks on the canvas. It is a truly three-dimensional painting.

Her jewelry looks so luscious and gleaming that you want to try it on.

I've often wondered about the man's hand on her breast. Sometimes it looked creepy and possessive, sometimes it looked greatly tender.

In person, I got a feeling of immense solace and comfort, instead. Rembrandt captured an important moment in their lives - something big had just happened to these people.

It made me think how you really can't have a full opinion on something until you've experienced it. You can have a provisional opinion, and it can even be a very well informed one. But to quote a book I've long since lost, "You can't decide how you really feel about Paris until you've been there."

Real life is always astonishing.

A place out of time

2010-10-04T07:54:00.001-07:00

Osiyo, fellow time travelers. Elisabeth, here.
   This weekend our family went camping south of Neosho, Missouri, near the location of two of my books.
   My husband's uncle owns a slice of land along Buffalo Creek where we stayed Saturday night. It was cold, so we built up a huge fire--a 'white man's fire' as my brother-in-law put it. Explaining, he said Indians wouldn't have been nearly as wasteful nor would they have alerted the entire corner of the state as to their location.
   Snuggled up in our sleeping bags later that night, we listened to the coyotes yapping at each other, the cows in a nearby field lowing their objections. An owl who-whooed on a branch near our tent, but he didn't seem inclined to do much hunting. He just wanted us to know he was there. We were careful to put away our food because bears have reappeared in that area. Earlier we'd seen hawks--lots of them--drifting on the air currents and looking lazy until they nose-dived for dinner.
   As recent as 1920, there were bald eagles in this area but they've mostly disappeared along with the wolves. Somehow, the bear have returned. I'm encouraged by this, seeing as Mother Nature has taken quite a beating over the years of settlement and 'civilization' that overtook this land.
   Just after daybreak, I went wandering downstream. The haze drifted up like river ghosts and the creek sang in a low gurgling voice, unlike that roaring clamor from last spring.
   Somewhere along the way, the sun slipped up on me and turned the water into liquid silver.
   A breeze lifted the overhanging branches and the the leaves looked almost translucent. You know, that subtle lightening of green that happens right before everything bursts into color? The sumac are already turning red.
   I finally found the fresh water spring I was looking for, a trickling stream of water emerging from a crevice between layers of rock that line the banks. Buffalo Creek is fed by underwater springs, and so in seasons when the water is low it has a habit of disappearing under rock for a few hundred feet and then suddenly reappearing like a magician's trick.
   A jay zipped by, screeching a warning. Never did figure out the reason for all his fuss.
   For a moment, it felt like place out of time. It could have been 1900, or 1800, or even 1600. I was struck by how difficult it is to find words that rightly create setting in a such a way that readers can put themselves in the place I see with my mind's eye. For me, place or setting is as much a character in my books as the people who live there.
   When I decided set my stories in this corner of Missouri, I did a lot of walking-around research. I like to put myself physically in the places I write about. It isn't always possible, but when I can I find that this adds a certain dimension I can't seem to get otherwise. I also journal--a lot--jotting down thoughts and feelings that come to me as I'm experiencing it.
   What are some of ways you use to create setting? Some of your favorite books with regard to setting?

2010-10-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

Osiyo, fellow time travelers. Elisabeth, here.

This weekend our family went camping south of Neosho, Missouri, near the location of two of my books.

My husband's uncle owns a slice of land along Buffalo Creek where we stayed Saturday night. It was cold, so we built up a huge fire--a 'white man's fire' as my brother-in-law put it. Explaining, he said Indians wouldn't have been nearly as wasteful nor would they have alerted the entire corner of the state as to their location.

Laying in our sleeping bags later that night, we listened to the coyotes yapping at each other, the cows in a nearby field lowing their objections. An owl who-whooed on a branch near our tent, but he didn't seem inclined to do much hunting. He just wanted us to know he was there. We were careful to put away our food because bears have reappeared in that area. Earlier we'd seen hawks--lots of them--drifting on the air currents and looking lazy until they nose-dived for dinner.

As recent as 1920, there were bald eagles in this area but they've mostly disappeared along with the wolves. Somehow, the bear have returned. I'm encouraged by this, seeing as Mother Nature has taken quite a beating over the years of settlement and 'civilization' that overtook this land.

Just after daybreak, I went wandering downstream. The haze drifted up off the creek like river ghosts and the creek sang in a low gurgling voice, unlike that roaring clamor from last spring.

Somewhere along the way, the sun slipped up on me and turned the water into liquid silver.

A breeze lifted the overhanging branches. The trees' leaves looked almost translucent. You know, that subtle lightening of green that happens right before everything bursts into color? The sumac are already turning red.

I finally found the fresh water spring I was looking for, a trickling stream of water emerging from a crevice between the layers of rock that line the banks. Buffalo Creek is fed by underwater springs, and so in the seasons when the water is low it has a habit of disappearing under rock for a few hundred feet and then suddenly reappearing like a magician's trick.

A jay zipped along the top of the water, screeching a warning. Never did figure out the reason for all his fuss.

For a moment, it felt like place out of time. It could have been 1900, or 1800, or even 1600. I was struck by how difficult it is to find words that rightly create setting in a such a way that readers can put themselves in the place I see with my mind's eye. For me, place or setting is as much a character in my books as the people who live there.

When I decided set my stories in this corner of Missouri, I did a lot of walking-around research. I like to put myself physically in the places I write about. It isn't always possible, but when I can I find that this adds a certain dimension I can't seem to get otherwise. I also journal--a lot--jotting down thoughts and feelings that come to me as I'm experiencing it.

What are some of ways you use to create setting? Some of your favorite books with regard to setting?

Writing and Contests

2010-10-01T10:33:00.001-07:00

Several months ago I volunteered to coordinate my RWA chapter's annual contest (which Jewelann is our final round Paranormal judge too!). We did things a bit differently this year, had a phenomenal turn out, and this last was our last week of judging.

Needless to say I've been in a contest vacuum. Double-checking math, double-checking myself with the Chair, confirming to judges entries were received, tracking down entries that didn't come across... and so forth. Today we hope to have it all finished up, but I needed to pop over here and check in.

I've seen a lot of quality writing because I have to verify every entry that comes through. I've seen a lot of writers learning the ropes. And it's given me some thoughts on contests.

They are a great way to get some intensive feedback, whether it relates to your decisions on your manuscript or not. As always, the decision to modify a manuscript is the author's, and trying to appease every judge for every contest simply isn't going to happen.

At the same time, they can also be downers when folks don't "get" what you've put on the page. While doing all this I happened to stumble across an old contest entry of my own, for the series that sold recently. I remember being excited. Remember opening it up, fingers crossed, breath held. Only to find one judge really didn't "get" it and an otherwise perfect run had just been squashed.

That happens. I'm sure some of the things I've judged end up leaving some excited authors in dismay. I know there was one entry that I personally judged that was FABULOUSLY written... but my background didn't sell the story to me.

Contests are every bit as subjective as submitting manuscripts to editors and agents. If the judges don't bond with the material, it doesn't mean someone else won't. In my case, I chose to not do a thing with the manuscript that judge didn't "Get". It sold. I could have gotten hung up in the remarks, and wonder well... would everyone feel this way? Instead, I opted to go with what was in my gut and stick with what I'd done.

So if you're out there waiting on contest results, maybe hoping to send something to the Golden Heart, or entering the Golden Heart or RITA, remember, a judge's opinion does not define your work. Look for patterns in the responses, but if there's nothing... (and sometimes even in patterns)... it is just another subjective opinion on your work.

Thanks to everyone who entered HeRA's Show Me The Spark! Contest. It's been a lot of fun for me!

The gift of travel.

2010-09-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

How does one go about telling others how life changing and awe-inspiring a trip to another continent is?

Do I givea day to day tour diary, complete with entries such as, "Days One - Three: Amsterdam. Amsterdam is truly the Portland of Europe. Or perhaps Portland is the Amsterdam of the United States."?

And of course, go on from there with quirky, amazing pictures of this brilliant, moist, complicated city with its surprisingly logical yet beautiful architecture and the weight of Rembrant's and Van Gogh's legacies pressing against your skin?

(Total Liz Gilbert moment there, huh? *preens*)

Or do I share my deep emotional insights that the entirely different surroundings gave me? (the short answer - I'm not nearly as much of a screw up as I've always thought :)

Or what exactly happened while we were there? Well, both The Charming Man and I got nasty colds, so we mostly spent our money on going to the doctor and finding cold remedies. I now know where pharmacies are in Amsterdam, Paris, Geneva, Vienna, and Istanbul. Go us, huh?

Tell me what you have learned from traveling?

Get Inspired

2010-09-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

Osiyo, fellow time travelers. Elisabeth, here. I believe I said last week I would be blogging about our most famous suffragette. Did you guess who it was? Susan Anthony. Long before the rest of the states got around to suffrage, Kansas led the way and this was largely due to the efforts of this tireless worker.

In the mid 1800s, Kansas was one of the only states that gave women more constitutional rights with regard to their children and ownership of property. In 1867, a group of very dedicated suffragists managed to push a universal suffrage amendment all the way to a state vote. When I was doing research in Topeka, I was thrilled to find a cache of letters written by Susan Anthony to various people she was working with at that time. Best I can tell, the reason this amendment may have failed is because it tried to do too much.

You'll recall in 1870, black men were granted the right to vote through the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Suffrage for women was another fifty or so years away. There is a whole lot more I could go into about that battle, but we don't have the time (or space).

I love to read about women like Susan Anthony who were highly intelligent, outspoken, independent and persistent as all get out. If there is one thing I hope to pass along to my three daughters it is this: you can achieve all that you were created for if you are willing to partner with your Creator by putting your whole self into it.

Have their been women in your life who have inspired you? Any stories you'd like to share?

Reviews!

2010-09-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Well let's see. Twice now I've tried to post something witty about my dog. I think I'll revisit that next week because Blogger keeps shutting down when I try to post, and I lose everything.

So, I'm opting for the no-need-for-brainpower alternate and sharing two reviews that I received this month:

Both reviews were conducted by Marissa at Sizzling Hot Books.

The first is for Seduction's Stakes, my Contemporary romance centered around a passionate race for the Triple Crown.

FOUR STARS

"Seduction's Stakes is full of unforgettable characters, and an amazing love story. The story between Riley and Maddie is amazing, and like a fairy tale come true."

For full details, go here.

The second review is for All I Want For Christmas... Is Big Blue Eyes, a Christmas romance between two high school sweethearts who got everything wrong the first time around.

FOUR STARS

"All I want for Christmas... is Big Blue Eyes, proves once again that Claire Ashgrove is a talented author. The characters are unforgettable, and the story is believable. You can add All I want for Christmas.... is Big Blue Eyes to your list of Holiday traditions because it is defiantly one for the keep shelves."

For the full review, go here.

If you'd like to find out a little more about these two titles, and my other stuff available while we're waiting on those darkly sexy Templar Knights, take a peek at my Contemporary Romances on my website.

Next time I'll go back to witty and mundane :)

~Claire
http://www.claireashgrove.com/

handicap parking

2010-09-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

HANDICAP PARKING

WARNING! I am on my soapbox today. Monday Elizabeth, our daughter, and I sent shopping in one of those malls that are all outdoors. Supposedly, the layout is going to make you feel as though you are in a small town. We have rain and many of you have snow, so of course what you want to do is walk from store to store in inclement weather.

Now you add the fact that there are not enough handicap parking places. When there is any distance to walk, in or our doors, I need to ride my electric scooter. Many of my parking spaces are on the major traffic lanes. I end up in the busy lane with my scooter, lift and a large truck coming toward me. Or someone is edging closer and closer in order to grab my close to the door parking place. Often the driver makes obscene gestures when he realizes that it is a handicap space.

So I’ve gotten Blue, the scooter, out of Jake, my Tahoe, done my shopping, managed packages, scooter, and near death while tucking Blue away. As I make it into Jake on the third try, I hear one shopper to another say, “Why do they get all the good parking?” At the same time the impatient driver is honking and gesturing. While waiting for an elevator one man said, “People like you should stay home. Then we won’t have to look at you.” I accidentally back upped and ran over his foot.

The next time someone without a tag parks in the last handicapped space because she didn’t want to walk far in the rain if run over by a woman on a blue scooter, you may proudly proclaim, “I know her. She needs her parking place in order to buy a lot and stimulate the economy.”

Until next time Sloane

DICAP PARKING

Got History?

2010-09-19T20:55:00.000-07:00

Osiyo, fellow time travelers. Elisabeth, here. I have a pop quiz for you. Name the first states you think about when I mention the Abolitionist Movement and the Civil War.

Now, I’m going to guess that your top two picks weren’t Missouri and Kansas. I won’t say you’re wrong, but I will argue that these two states did as much to shape the above mentioned events as any other. In particular, the border between these two states became the crucible of our national identity, which was further shaped throughout the rest of the 19th century and beyond. Now that’s a fairly bold statement, but I love to stir up discussion.

Although Missouri never formally seceded its people were sharply divided and its border with free-state Kansas became a locus for the most vicious guerilla warfare ever seen in this nation. In fact, the issue of whether Kansas Territory would be a free state was the spark that set off a wave of secession in the South.

Remember John Brown? Before he ever showed up Harper’s Ferry, he led a 1854 massacre of pro-slavery settlers in Pottawatomie, Kansas. That spurred a retaliatory strike, setting off a cycle of vicious raids back and forth across the border that went on for nearly a decade and only ended after a government order virtually depopulated six counties in Missouri, leaving smoking ruins where homes and farms once stood. In fact, it was the violence in these borderlands that really stoked Brown and got him to thinking about taking this war to the East.

Next week, I’ll blog about how Kansas was the birthplace of Universal Suffrage. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to the name of our most famous suffragette?

Writing Is Like Chess

2010-09-17T01:35:00.000-07:00

Occasionally while doing the total mundane (such as brushing my teeth) a few gems of wisdom pop into my head. Well, maybe not wisdom. But I like to think they are. Tonight while working through the next scene in my current work in progress, it occured to me to pull off what I'm striving for, I have to move each player very carefully.

Like chess. And thus the thought took root.

For anyone who writes with secondary characters, or includes extensive sub-plots, chess is a very appropriate term. Each person and element has to play off the other. The "Checkmate" is the resolution to the story. Getting there requires strategy, not just haphazard relocation of pawns and bishops (and if you're writing about Templars, the occasional Knight.)

Characters and elements can't just appear. Readers get highly annoyed by this. They have to be layered in, embedded in a plausible fashion, and dropping these little tidbits isn't nearly as easy as it may sound. Those who've faced the delimma of how to expose just the right amount of detail without giving away the whole package, should be jumping up and down in agreement. I think for some writers this comes more naturally. Others practice it (Romantic Suspense authors) so regularly it becomes habit. But those of us who are focused on different aspects of different genres have a bit of a difficult time with the chessboard.

Who moves to black? Who kills the pawn. When? With what piece? And how does that affect the pawn behind him?

I admire pantsers for this reason. I would seriously go into fits if my characters changed an aspect of my plot. I have to plot and in detail. But to sit down at a keyboard and possess the ability to navigate unexpected twists and turns? Simply amazing. Kudos to those of you who do.

Others, like myself, dictate out our plots over several pages, and then still stare at the screen, or pace, or chew on our nails as we realize "Oh. THIS must be in here. Now how to do it."

My current WIP is pushing that aspect of my brain a great deal and I am finding the challenge immensely enjoyable. But I'm curious -- how do you do it? Are you a strategic chess player, or are you the sort that takes the move, and then re-evalutes how to make the next one?

While you're considering that, I'd like to share with you the teaser for my Templar series.

For the higher quality version, go here: My Paranormal Website Page

For the faster-loading, but lower graphics quality YouTube version, go Here

Be sure to come back and share your thoughts on both.

~Claire
www.claireashgrove.com

Cherokee Healer by Elisabeth Burke

2010-09-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

Osiyo, fellow time travelers.

This year at RWA National Conference I was part of a workshop called Dressed for Historical Success. There were ten of us who dressed and presented as one of the characters in our books. Getting this costume together turned out to be a blast. Through a friend I located a seamstress who makes uniforms and dresses for re-enactors. We both did research and discovered that very little evidence exists as to what Cherokee women wore in the 19th century. Based on what we could find we came up with a style we believed was representative based on the traditional Cherokee 'tear dress'. If you'd like to see it, or want to know more, check out my blog where I've posted pictures of me in costume.

What I didn't get a chance to share were some of the recipes from Mattie's medicine bundle, so here's a sampling:

Yarrow: chew and jam into a wound to reduce pain and stop blood flow, acts as disinfectent
Cleavers: in salads or teas; makes a good cleansing tonic for the system (lymph)
Mullein: use the leaves in tea or smoke them for lung medicine
Black cohosh or wild yam: root tonic for women's problems (hormone balancer)
Meadowsweet: leaves in tea for pain
Dogwood: inside bark decocted in water is good for intermittent fevers
Purple coneflower: powder second year roots for tonic to protect from illness (boosts the system)
Plantain: put leaf directly on sting or bite to draw out poison
Feverfew: chop and use in tincture with five other ingredients for headache medicine
Bear's foot: make up into salve for bruises and scraps
The best teas are made from green plants. Tinctures are plants chopped up and put in a base of water, oil or alcohol. Sometimes roots are decocted in water, drained and then put into the base. Plans can be chopped up and cooked in lard or oil to be made into salves.

One homemade remedy used by a great grandpa was blowing pipe smoke (tobacco) into our ears when we had an earache (it deadened the pain). Do you have any favorites handed down through your family?

No Nonsense About Poppycock

2010-09-10T02:01:00.000-07:00

I've never been a reality tv fan, but earlier this year my son and I happened to watch America's Got Talent and he was fascinated. Spying an opportunity for some quality mother-son time, this has become a weekly ritual for us. We have our favorites, we don't always agree, but we have consistantly been fascinated with Prince Poppycock.

This last week, when he made it to the last four, he made a heartfelt remark about how (and I am summarizing) if folks felt out of place or teased, look to him and know there's a place.

Well, this remark's stuck with me and I've managed to find a bit of inspiration for writing in it. So many times aspiring authors are scared off by several factors that Poppycock insinuates he too has confronted:
a. Their work being considered non-standard or unmarketable
b. Embarrassment to face a critical critique
c. Told it's a fruitless pursuit; told only x can succeed.
d. Write what has saleable merit, not necessarily what's in your heart.

And so the list goes.

And so writers run away when they confront a rejection, when they have to read that first critique that doesn't come from "mom". When, (as a few household names now) have been told by an editor "Do not submit a manuscript to me again." When they lose a contest.

I think writers are almost more afraid of rejection than many artists. There is a degree of the artist put into every performance, but with writing, author vulnerabilities tend to come through in characterizations or even plotlines. We open a vein and bleed through every word that's put onto a page. And when we are rejected, we can't necessarily fault a sore throat, or an injured limb, or the lack of a pretty face. We are rejected for what comes out of our souls.

And it stinks.

But it is a part of life. It's no different than having to navigate rush-hour for a drive to the office each morning.

Similiarily, Poppycock has created a being that exposes him the man behind the superior voice. Yes, he's outrageous, but I'm convinced the characters we see him develop are a product of his life experiences in some way. A hidden entity seeking an outlet. Or perhaps, as I believe writers are, a part of him desperate for understanding. Maybe even acceptance for our continual head-in-the-clouds, need to babble on about imaginary beings and otherworldly encounters.

So the next time someone gives you the impression that your work, whether you're published, agented, or still learning craft to achieve either, is ... poppycock, don't give up.

If a man who can sing opera, Freddy Murphy, and do a rockettes-twist on Yankee Doodle while appearing like a 17th century noble with eyelashes that would make Scarlett O'Hara weep, can make his mark on the world through constant perseverance and an inner determination to stay true to himself, stay true to his heart... so can each and every author in this world.

He is living proof that even the most outrageous story has an audience. Has a buyer. And maybe it won't come this week, or even this year, but through perseverence and dedication, in time, odds are in your favor that it will.

And that's my inspirational message for the week!

~Claire

This week’s excitement

2010-09-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

Do you wish for a week without excitement? I’m not talking about a hurricane, house fire a car accident. These are calamities. No, I am things that go wrong and cause you daily inconvenience. You know the kind – the kid’s backpack falls apart the day after the sale and you need to get gas because the yellow light just came on, the cat’s funny little limp turns into a $200 vet bill, your piano tuner retired and the new one is booked for a month so you hear the recital piece 10 times a day OFF KEY. Are you mentally checking off all your minor problems? We just had one of those although to final cost wasn’t minor.

For months I’d been saying that the dishwasher was sick. On last Wednesday it died. Trying to be a 21st century person, I went to several websites. There I found the one I wanted a box store near us. The site said it was in stock. No problem they delivered, installed and hauled away the dead appliance.

James and I went to buy it on Friday. We were told it was not at the store or any store of that chain in our area. It always had to be ordered. The dishwasher should be delivered in 30 days. Now I have terrible luck when anything is back-ordered or will take a long time to acquire. After a few furtive calls from the parking lot, we returned to the store. Seems we’re the only people in the area that want that model.

Back in the store we chose one in stock and the delivery in 24 hours only took 5 days. For many years I washed dishes by hand and the skill comes back. But I don’t like to do it. Our kitchen boasts a new, large stainless dishwasher. It works well and I give it a fond pat everyday.

Sloane (no more dishpan hands)

What A Week

2010-09-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

I usually try to find something intelligent to blog about, but today I just am at a loss. This might have something to do with the fact that since the earliest hours of morning, two little boys I know (glances sideways at her sons) have done nothing but fight.

It might also have something to do with the fact that my mind is still hazy from finishing the third book in my coming Immortal Templar Knight series at an unmentionable hour of early morning. Several of the authors I know have difficulty with length. I tend to have the opposite difficulty -- I will drift into the verbose, and today is filled with cutting words and tightening up writing. I despise cutting out words. I worked hard for them! But, it is a necessity.

It might also have something to do with the week going by at jet speed. Sunday my youngest was in the hospital, Mon-Weds my RWA Chapter closed its contest with an incredible amount of entries and I am co-contest chair, Tuesday my hosting company exploded my website which lead to (no kidding) 7 hours of support calls, Wednesday I spent the day moving a horse, and yesterday I wrote frantically to meet my personal deadline.

I'm exhausted!

I do have a bit of exciting news to share. Today my new website went live! www.claireashgrove.com

Please stop by and take a peek! Tell me what you think. We are still perfecting things, and the copy on the intro page isn't correct yet (still functioning as a placeholder). I'm learning a new site design tool, and my designer is patiently holding my hand. But I hope by this evening, everything will be hunky-dory.

Watch that paranormal page for a nifty preview of the Immortal Knights Templar that I hope to have up over the weekend also. And for those of you who subscribe to my newsletter (sign up if you don't!) next week you'll see a new edition there.

Question of the day to steer this back to somewhat writing related:

In four sentences or less, can anyone explain why the Knights Templar would consider the years 1305 to 1314, the years of the False Papacy?

Happy New Year!

2010-09-02T04:40:00.000-07:00

I don’t care what the Gregorian calendar says. The new year begins with Labor Day weekend. All those years of buying pencils, crayons, folders, gym clothes and today backpacks have conditioned us to believe the first day of school is the beginning of the year.

For years I thought I just had too much chalk dust in my veins. My school didn’t have kindergarten, so I attended grades 1-12 of public school. Then came four years of college with summer school before and after graduation, I taught while James was in grad school. Before we knew it our friends’ children were showing us their new school clothes.

Gads, it was our turn to find new school outfits and gather what seemed to be fifty items on the supply list. Back then the class lists were taped on the outside of the school. It was now that the excitement reached fever pitch and everyone knew this was the beginning not the middle of the year. Colleges didn’t send lists, supply or class. They wanted money, lots of money, and use your common sense about what to bring. A new time of life for children and parents began.

Monday I called the Ladies (granddaughters) and asked, “Marie, how was the first day of school?” The answer given in the how dumb can an adult be tone of voice was, “Grammy the younger girls started today. College doesn’t start for three weeks.” College! Wasn’t it last year I dropped her father off at the frat house? Looks like we have two New Years Days this year.

How did that scared first grader with the green metal lunchbox become a Grammy with a college student? Let’s raise a glass, mine is sparkling apple juice, to the new year and all our school memories.

Sloane Addams at www.sloaneaddams.com

Wednesday comes early in these here parts.

2010-08-31T21:03:00.000-07:00

Mostly, I just have a lot to do tomorrow and no time to blog, so you're getting my oh-so-germane discussion now. :)

I wanted to talk about my favorite books on writing. Every author has her go-to's for inspiration and help, and here are mine.

Making a Literary Life by Elizabeth See.
A far greater writer than I'll ever be says this:

If everyone who wants to be a writer would read this book there would be many more good writers, many more happy writers, and editors would be so overwhelmed by sweetness they would accept many more good books. So what are you waiting for? Read it! Ursula K. Le Guin

Write Away by Elizabeth George.
From Publisher's Weekly:

Here's a useful book for the novice writer battling the fears and insecurities that attend when she contemplates her first novel....George illustrates her points with passages from both her own works and those of numerous writers she admires (Martin Cruz Smith, Barbara Kingsolver, Louise Erdrich, Michael Dorris), this remains more of a how-I-do-it book than a how-to-do-it book. Thus George will typically discuss an aspect of writing, such as creating the landscape of a novel, illustrate it with examples from various writers and then show how she approaches it. The result is an informative, instructive and idiosyncratic examination of the structure of the novel and of one writer's rigorously disciplined approach to creating one.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Unlike PW, I'll say that this book is good even for experienced writers. I love her examples - they illustrate her points brilliantly.

How can one live without Joanna Russ's How to Suppress Women's Writing?

People love to denigrate our genre. This book gives an insightful and quirky look at how much and how little attitudes towards women's words have changed. It taught me just what kinds of horrible internalized sexism colored what I wrote, and how I viewed other women.

I feel that the most important book on my shelf remains Against Our Will by Susan Brownmiller. I'm not going to kid you - this is a painful and devastating book, whether you have been a victim of sexual assault or not. But it endlessly reminds me of what I feel is the great gift that romance gives every reader: That her pleasure is central to life, that her consent should never dismissed or belittled, and that each of us deserves to be heard.

Medicine Women

2010-08-30T04:37:00.000-07:00

Osiyo fellow time travelers, it's Elisabeth again.

You may recall from my last post that letters, diaries and family papers inspired my three companion novels, two of which are set in southwestern Missouri. For THE HEALER in particular it was an old newspaper clipping about a woman doctor who lived near Buffalo Creek and rode around in a horse and buggy to visit her patients. I knew that in the mid to late 19th century it was exceedingly rare for women to be doctors much less wandering around in a remote part of the Ozarks. I was hooked and my heroine was born: Dr. Emily Sanders.

This book is set in early 1866, at the intersection of a number of pivotal social changes. For the first time in this country’s history women are entering and graduating from medical schools. A few even serve in federal hospitals and army encampments during the war. Though many years away from broad acceptance, these lady physicians are generally smarter, better trained and more open-minded their gentleman counterparts. Full rights for the female half of the population are a good fifty years away, but it is women like Dr. Sanders who sow the seeds for suffrage.

Another seismic shift literally reinvents the medical profession. During the Civil War, much was learned about infection and the importance of sanitary environments in preventing the spread of disease. In fact, amputation--while it seems a barbaric practice today--was in fact a merciful and desperate attempt to save lives that would otherwise be lost due to virulent infection. In the latter half of 1866 the published findings of Joseph Lister and Louis Pasteur usher in a new era of medicine based on a scientific understanding of the nature of bacteria and importance of sterilization. But when Emily first arrives in Buffalo Creek this future is seen ‘through a glass darkly’. She (like many doctors of her day) realizes how little she has at her disposal and is constantly searching and experimenting to find more effective treatments, which is why she wants to know more about the plant-based remedies used by the Native Americans she encounters.

My husband’s great-great grandmother was part Cherokee and something a local healer. She is the inspiration for Mattie Parker, the mother of my hero, Jay. I wondered what might happen if I put these two different healers together. Needless to say, they don’t really ‘get’ each other, although they are ultimately after the same thing. In Jay, the two vastly different approaches to healing come together. But you’ll have to read the book to find out how.

I periodically post small prequels from my novels and time travel entries on my Blog if you want to read more about Jay's backstory.

Anyone else out there have family histories they’ve used to inspire their writing?

Friday Introduction

2010-08-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hello, everybody!

I’m Claire, and I’m very excited to be here with my fellow agency authors. I’ve been with Cascade Literary Agency since its inception, and with Jewelann since before, and can’t imagine a better place to be.

I’ve been published in Contemporary Romance for two years, roughly, through The Wild Rose Press (where I have two titles coming soon). This year, I achieved a personal milestone with a paranormal series sale to Tor, which should see publication sometime in 2011. Because I am a horse-loving historian at heart, my contemporaries tend to involve horses, while my paranormals usually include speculative fiction twists on historical events and/or facts.

Writing has always been a part of my life. The earliest endeavor I remember is a poem I wrote, around the age of five, that involved a rose, and related to my grandmother’s death. I wrote my first romance novel at the age of 17 – something that will never see the light of day – took several years off and worked in the IT field, and then leapt back in with both feet in 2008. It’s been an adventure in paradise for me, although at times, it can seem a little surreal.

When I’m not writing, I own horses and enjoy spending time with them. I have two small boys who keep me running, and I also free-lance edit.

I’d love for you to drop by my website and take a look around, sign up for my newsletter, or simply drop me a hello -- http://www.claireashgrove.com/ I love meeting readers and authors alike! Outside of the Cascade blog, I’m also a member of Romance Books R Us, and I do have my own blog as well (also accessible through my website.)

I hope you’ll tune in for my Friday ramblings! See you soon.

Claire

Sloane Says

2010-08-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Sloane Addams and I live in the Northwest with my husband, James. Instead of the prerequisite cat and/or dog, we have Koi Carp. We are not natives but chose to live here. Warning, I'm climbing on my soapbox. Living in a temperate climate with green surrounding us all year is great. Yes, it rains with the accompanying gray days. I turn on the light and read a book set in a sunny place. Our growing season is February to November. We have cut roses for a Thanksgiving centerpiece. I'm climbing off the soapbox before the neighbors storm the house with pitchforks because I told you what a nice place to live this is.

So I like where I live - big deal. What do I write? For years, I deluded myself by thinking I wrote comedy. Turns out, I write Hearth and Home. I can see you roll your eyes. No vampires, no extra sexy perfect heroes and heroines, no rich people who have more money than the Gates. How dull. Wait! Do not turn on the TV.

When a man and woman meet and fall in love, it is exciting. These are people you know. They are your friends, neighbors, or even your relatives. They come with problems. Maybe one spent a childhood moving one step ahead of the bill collectors. Another may have a long series of failed relationships. Now, add one or more children and you have a story. By the way, these are real children, not saints. They decide that going to school is a waste of perfectly good play time, everyone else has a five hundred dollar phone with unlimited texting, or there is nothing wrong with getting a four color tat. Throw in a few mroe stumbling blocks and you have a story. Only how will they managed children, pets, a job transfer of 3,000 miles, and who knows what else?

In other words, Hearth and Home books make you feel good while rooting for the couple. Can they find their Happily Ever After? Is this a romance?

Each week, I’ll praise, rant, ruminate or go off on a tangent. If they agree I’ll even bring my family into the mix. Until next week keep smiling and find joy in each day.

You can visit me at www.sloaneaddams.com.

Hello, world!

2010-08-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

I'm Linda Mercury, and I'm your Wednesday blogger here at Cascade Literary Agency. I love blogging. It's a good place to indulge my fetish for parenthetical statements.

Aaaaaaand now I have brain freeze. :) I am not the world's best at introductions, but here goes!

I'm yet another history nerd here at Cascade, but in my own weird way. I studied Middle Eastern History in college, specializing in International diplomatic relations between Safavid Persia (1501-1722) and Europe. Yes, that means I love political history and military history (the usual stuff that people don't like) more than social history (the things that authors love, such as everyday life). Like I said, weird. ;)

I started reading romance in 1978. I was desperate for any books that talked about women's desire and where the woman lived and thrived. It seemed that every book or movie with a female character that showed any initiative had to kill her off (excluding To Kill a Mockingbird, but there the awesome black guy died. Unfair!).

Back then, I decided that romance had to be the most subversive and important genre of them all. As a result, I write blisteringly hot (if I say so myself) paranormal romance. What fun it is, too!

If its Tuesday, its Diana Rubino

2010-08-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday and my turn to blog, altho I'm not sure I like to use 'blog' as a verb. I'd rather just say 'chat' cos it sounds more...well, chatty.
As I said above, I'm a history nut and combined my passion for history and writing 20 years ago this summer when I wrote my first historical, The Jewels of Warwick, about Henry 8 and 2 fictional women who drove him nuts. Before that, I'd written 4 contemporaries, in the semi-autobiographical vein (or is it VAIN) of beginning novelists. Now I'm writing historical novels with no fictional characters, keeping to the record but adding enough of my own touches to make them what I hope are entertaining, informative, and can give readers a laugh or two. Yes, every story needs humor, no matter how serious. Murder trials have comic relief--we all need it. Just yesterday I had a long talk with Jewelann, and she gave me an idea/assignment/suggestion to write about George Washington with a twist. Historicals with a twist are my forte, but I'll have to enter the guy's heart and soul, and I'm honored that Jewelann thinks so much of my abilities that she believes I can pull it off. Starting a new book is like tearing into a gift and seeing it's that new toy I've wanted for ages. A first draft is a toy to me, and I play around til it comes into focus. So I'm looking forward to having fun with George, Martha and his alleged mistress Sally. I heard George didn't have a sense of humor, but I'll fix that. :) I'm sure Martha must've made him guffaw--if she didn't, then Ben Franklin certainly did.

Any time any of you ladies want to chat about writing, history, or whatever interests you, please drop a line here.
My other interests are the paranormal, astronomy, golf, and unsolved murder mysteries such as Jack the Ripper (I've yet to write a book about him), the JFK assassination (I have written a novel about that, not yet published), and the Princes in the Tower (Richard III was accused and his innocence upheld by the Richard III Society). www.r3.org.
(I'm Treasurer of their New England chapter--a HUGE Richard sympathizer--and wrote 3 novels with him either as hero or supporting character.)
Now I have some work to do with George.
Have a great day, ladies!
Please visit me at www.dianarubino or
www.dianarubinoauthor.blogspot.com
My latest title, Fakin' It, now on sale with The Wild Rose Press.

Cascade authors launch new blog

2010-08-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

Looks like I'm the starter in this line-up.

First, let me introduce myself. Elisabeth Burke--certifiable history geek and a sucker for love stories that require a box of Kleenex. It should come as no surprise, then, that I'd write fiction combining history and romance. Not historical romance per se, as that is a genre sub-category I apparently don’t neatly fit. (This doesn't surprise me considering I’m not someone who 'neatly fits' into any category, sub or otherwise.) But for the sake of slotting this into some sort of category--the industry loves categories--let's just call it historical fiction with strong romantic elements.

I’ve always loved stories. Loved hearing them, telling them, writing them. I finally stopped making excuses for why I couldn't pursue my dream of writing novels and got down to business a little more than two years ago. Since that time, I've completed three novels, which are set during the 19th century in the tumultuous borderlands of Kansas and Missouri. You can read more about them on my welcome page -- www.elisabethburke.com

I've lived in this area nearly half my life and love the rich history that I've found here. So much of our collective identity as a nation comes out of the struggles of people who explored, settled, lived on and died for this land. In particular, my husband is a descendent of one the original pioneer families who settled southwestern Missouri and has a fair amount of Indian blood. The family still owns land along Buffalo Creek that was part of the three hundred acres purchased by Campbell Price back in 1828. My curiosity about his family and the history of this area led me to a stash of letters, diaries, personal remembrances and county collections, which spawned the ideas for my first books.

Every Monday I'll be here to share a hodgepodge of historical tidbits (mostly related to the time and people I'm writing about). I invite you to respond with whatever strikes you as interesting or whatever you might want to know more about. I adore a good conversation about history. But I warn you--I may talk your ear off once I get started.