Jayne Brings Gossip from the Romance Writers of America Convention

Just got back from the annual Romance Writers of America convention in Atlanta and I thought I'd give you a first hand report. This is a huge event (over 2000 attendees) so I can't begin to cover everything. But don't worry, the rest of the returning Quills will soon follow with more details.

For starters, the Literacy Signing on Wednesday night was a hugely successful affair with over 400 writers and countless readers present. Thousands of dollars were raised for literacy projects and we Quills got a chance to meet folks from all over the country. Thanks to everyone who made the trip into downtown Atlanta to buy a book, meet some authors and contribute to a great cause.

There were a lot of great workshops this year covering every aspect of craft, business, and the personal side of writing. Ninety-nine percent of these seminars are polished, professional and highly informative.

And then there is the workshop that Susan Elizabeth Phillips and I do every year. The program guide refers to it officially as the Secrets of the Bestselling Sisterhood workshop but I'm afraid it has come to be known as the Susan & Jayne show. This title reflects the sad fact that Susan and I go live and unscripted. We do not prepare. We do not write out notes. It shows.

What happens is, someone gives us a couple of microphones, the audience starts asking questions about writing and publishing and Susan and I forget that we are being taped... I blame the, shall we say, unpredictable results on Susan. She is the one who majored in drama and theater in college. For my part, all I can say is that apparently I am easily led.

Well? What am I supposed to do when Susan mentions that not all authors follow the same career paths and then goes on to point out that many have won numerous awards (that would be her) and a few have won dip-squat (that would be me). And it isn't my fault that I wore flip-flops to the workshop and she wore designer shoes. Nobody said anything about a dress code.

Another major highlight of the conference was the lavish cocktail party given by the gang from Squawk Radio. Unfortunately, I'm sure there will be pictures because Kitty Kuttlestone was running around with a camera. Just remember, don't believe everything you see because it is amazing what can be done with digital photography these days and I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong impression about us Quills...

WOW, JUST PLAIN WOW!

Okay, I know I shouldn't do this, but...

I just finished Susan Anderson's JUST FOR KICKS.

WOW.

Thanks, Susan. What a wonderful book!

Quotes

"Without books the development of civilization would have been impossible. They are the engines of change, windows on the world, "Lighthouses" as the poet said "erected in the sea of time." They are companions, teachers, magicians, bankers of the treasures of the mind. Books are humanity in print. " Arthur Schopenhauer

And so, dear readers, this blog is...
In Salute to Great Quotes
From Authors, or About Books!

On the irony of quotes...

"I might repeat to myself slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound - if I can remember any of the damn things. " Dorothy Parker

"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know. " Ralph Waldo Emerson

LF - Hello sports fans! I was in a non-blogging mood this week, so I decided to just pull together some of my favorite quotes. Many of these inspiring comments are taken from my mega stash of past articles and interviews with other authors. Some are from the web. Some are from conversations I’ve had in emails or IM.

Some of them I think are mega profound, and some just really tickle me.

Not all of them are by authors, or about books, but I swear they all apply just the same - in one way or another.

I hope you enjoy!

“Some say write what you know. That’s good. Also, write what you want to know. Write what you’re passionate about regardless of market.”

Bob Mayer

LF - These delicious quotes are on the oh-so-important author voice. If we’re not individual, if we don’t tell it the way we need to tell it, if we don’t put our own unique spin on it, then we’ll never stand out of the crowd.
I've heard the problems with over-editing explained many times. But never has it sounded so clear as this next quote, but none-other than a Quill.

“What very few editors understand is that the virtues of any author are very tightly connected to her vices. Remove/remodel the vices and the same thing happens to the virtues.” Elizabeth Lowell

LF - When you're trying to figure out your voice, and you're not sure about things, just remember this great quote!

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson


"Voice is not an elusive thing any more, but something very exciting." Karen Harbaugh

“I never thought, ‘Gee, there aren’t too many people doing romantic comedy so I’ll write romantic comedy.” In the beginning, I didn’t even know I was writing romantic comedy.” Jennifer Crusie

“I have a sense of humor that people often don’t expect. It’s dark humor, but effective. I call those books my black-hearted romps (as opposed to other people’s light-hearted romps).” Anne Stuart

LF - I believe most authors strive to leave a trail. I know I do. And when a reader writes to me, saying that I've touched her in some way, the sun is shining bright. It's a wonderful, wonderful feeling.
Writing requires a lot of discipline. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There are no lazybones in writing. No idiots, either. You have to be dedicated, motivated, and smart. Here are some fabulous quotes reflecting the discipline necessary to make it in this business.

“If we’re truly involved with the art and the craft of writing, and our unique connection to every element of a story, even if there are days when we can’t remember why we thought this piece was a good idea, we learn to be patient

until the rush of enthusiasm returns.” Stella Cameron

“I never could have done what I have done without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one subject at a time.”

Charles Dickens

LF - Every writer works on her craft - with each new plot she conceives, the way she types it out, the twists and turns, the choice of a word... I love this next quote because it epitomizes what great writers strive to do.

“As a writer, I sit all day, working at a word processor, reading books on auto theft, or doing telephone research.”

Sue Grafton

“You’ve got to find some way of saying it without saying it.” Duke Ellington

LF - And this one - I sooo agree! I don't wanna do that either.

“I don’t want to write formula. I don’t want to crank these books out like sausages. Every book is different, which takes a hell of a lot of ingenuity on my part.”

Sue Grafton

“Whenever somebody comes up with a good idea, there’s somebody else who has never had a good idea in his life who stands up and says, Oh, you can’t do that.”

Tom Clancy

“Critics don’t buy records. They get ‘em free.”

Nat King Cole

LF - Just like many reviewers. (But not all reviewers - we do have some excellent ones in the biz!) And when someone says (as someone always does) "I have an idea for a book," then the perfect reply is:

“Ideas are easy. It’s the execution of ideas that really separates the sheep from the goats.” Sue Grafton

LF - Because, you know...

“No matter what you or anyone else does, there will be someone who says that there’s something bad about it.”

Tom Clancy

“Critics have their purposes, and they’re supposed to do what they do, but sometimes they get a little carried away with what they think someone should have done, rather than concerning themselves with what they did.”

Duke Ellington

LF - And anyway...

“If you’re holding out for universal popularity, I’m afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time.” J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

LF - Hey, let’s face it, love is the backbone of romance! And in our genre (like in these quotes) love is expressed in many, many ways. There's drama, and humor, and suspense...


"Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired. " Robert Frost


“Before I met my husband, I’d never fallen in love, though I’d stepped in it a few times.” Rita Rudner

“I pay very little regard...to what any young person says on the subject of marriage. If they profess a disinclination for it, I only set it down that they have not yet seen the right person.” Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

LF - Hey, we’ve seen that sentiment many, many times in a romance novel! And what about those other traits we've seen in romance characters?

“There are some men who enter a woman's life and screw it up forever.” Janet Evanovich

“When I meet a man I ask myself, “Is this the man I want my children to spend their weekends with?”

Rita Rudner

LF - This is a quote given in an interview 20+ years ago – and it’s my favorite for this section!

"I believe the next generation of best-selling women authors will come out of the romance genre."

Suzanne Simmons

LF - There are many reasons why writer's write - and many quotes about it!

“To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music that words make.” Truman Capote

“The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it

becomes the property of all.” Voltaire

“I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled [poets] to write their poetry,

but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.” Socrtes, In "Apology," sct. 21, by Plato.

“Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.” Mark Twain

“Literature is my Utopia. Here I am not disenfranchised. No barrier

of the senses shuts me out from the sweet, gracious discourses of my

book friends. They talk to me without embarrassment or awkwardness.” Helen Keller

LF - It's not always easy to be happy in a very difficult profession that leaves you exposed and puts you in the position of open-game to every reader, reviewer, and critic. But we try...

“Worry is the interest paid on trouble you haven’t had yet.”
Stella Cameron – citing a fave quote that works well for times of impending doom as the deadline approaches and you don’t approach the deadline.

“I focus on the writing and let the rest of the process take care of itself. I’ve learned to trust my own instincts and I’ve also learned to take risks.” Sue Grafton

LF - On creativity...
(This first one may or may not be an exact quote, so I’m not putting it in quotations. It was repeated to me by someone else, with Nora Roberts as the originator.
I can fix anything but an empty page.

“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new at all.” Abraham Lincoln

“Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.” Mark Twain

"I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." Mark Twain

LF - Twain cracks me up. But I'll admit that I cry sometimes when writing my books, just as I laugh and snicker and occasionally give myself a pat on the back. For the space of time that it takes me to write a book, my characters are real to me. So when they deal with the pitfalls of life, so do I.

“Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.” Leo Tolstoy

“Some characters are invented out of whole cloth. Some are borrowed from life with a few modifications thrown in.” Sue Grafton

LF - from the above quote: yes, I borrow from life. All the time. It's cathartic!

From the below quote: I bet nearly every writer out there has said, at one point or another while watching a movie where the inexplicable happens, "They'd never let me do that in a book!"

“The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.” Tom Clancy

LF - On education, creative writing classes, and those ghastly critique groups!
MY ADVICE – don’t get involved with critique groups. They slow the process, weaken the voice, and let’s face it, your critique partner can’t buy your book, only an editor can. It’s best to get suggestions and feedback from editors.

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” Mark Twain

“Imagination is more important than knowledge...” Albert Einstein

“Collaboration on a book is the ultimate unnatural act.” Tom Clancy

“My primary lesson, however, was that I’m a solo writer, happiest when I’m making all the executive decisions. I’ve always been willing to rise or fall on my own merits.” Sue Grafton

“Life is my college. May I graduate well, and earn some honors!” Louisa May Alcott

“I don’t discuss future works or works in progress.” Tom Clancy

LF - Go Tom! Talking about your work only dilutes the drive to write it. Whenever I have a newer author ask me what tips I can share to help her write her manuscript all the way to the end, I tell her to stop talking about it.

“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” Albert Einstein

“Writing has laws of perspective, of light and shade just as painting does, or music. If you are born knowing them, fine. If not, learn them. Then rearrange the rules to suit yourself.” Truman Capote

"Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die. " Tom Clancy

LF - If you're a writer, then you've learned that you have to keep a sense of humor in order to balance it all.

I don’t care what is written about me

so long as it isn’t true.”

Dorothy Parker

LF - As a writer involved with the internet, I've seen rumors spread faster than a flash fire. Doesn't matter if it's true or not, any gritty gossip on an author is prime pickings. It saddens me that people will jump on an untruth with glee, but when pointed out the truth of the matter, the topic dies a quick death.

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” Albert Einstein

“All literature is gossip.” Truman Capote

LF - I'm sure I'm not the only author who's been questioned on her love scenes. No one asks me if I've murdered anyone, but they all want to know if the "juicy stuff" is based on experience. They need to make note of Capote's above quote!

“I’ve made up stuff that’s turned out to be real, that’s the spooky part.” Tom Clancy

LF - And in closing...

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read." Groucho Marx

ELIZABETH ASKS: TO READ OR RE-READ?

As you read this, I am probably enjoying a great dinner after a strenuous day of fishing (no joke—the waves are big and so are the fish we play with!) in the offshore waters of Sitka, Alaska.

And yes, it’s my second trip this year to fish.

Would I do it every week?

Nope.

Do I enjoy it every year and occasionally more often?

Oh, YEAH.

I can hear you saying, “Okay, goody for you and all that. What does fishing in Alaska have to do with books?”

The fact that we’re going to Sitka twice this year got me to thinking about favorite books. Re-reading, in a word. Visiting a place I’ll know I enjoy, relaxing with the atmosphere, enjoying familiar characters, anticipating favorite scenes. Like well-worn shoes, nothing pinches, nothing demands, nothing requires adjusting my gait or longing for bandages or kicking it all off in frustration and going barefoot.

For me, that’s the lure of re-reading a favorite book, a favorite author. I flat KNOW I’ll enjoy the experience.

Not everyone feels this way. Jayne rarely if ever re-reads. I’m sure she thinks I’m nucking futz for spending my precious spare time with a book I’ve already read. (She’s too polite to say it of course. Or too busy downing green ghost booze. ) *fanning eyelashes innocently*

So where do you stand on the subject of re-reading? After a long day, do you pull out a favorite book rather than attack the TBR pile of authors you don’t really know/trust? Or do you roll up your sleeves and grab a new book for relaxation?

Inquiring minds are…inquiring. :-)

Filling in For Stella

Hello everyone!

Sorry, but I'm not Stella Cameron, not even close.

Stella was to post today. And she planned to. Then the blog got all snippy and locked everyone out, and Stella is under deadline and packing for Atlanta and generally overworked - so like any good, loyal, I-owe-you-bigtime-friend, I wagged my hand in the air and said, "Let me, let me!"


It's not often that I get a chance to do something for Stella. Yet, as most of you know, Stella often does for others. That's just her, the core of the woman. Stella writes some gritty, hold-onto-your-seat suspense, but she's a soft, caring, pretty phenomenal woman.
I'm so glad I can do this blog for her - and about her!
Or at least, about her books - but hey, you got something personal and super nice to add, go for it!
Here are a few comments from dedicated readers.

"I have a love affair with the New Orleans LA setting. I love Stella's Bayou Books which are set there.

She keeps readers on the edge of their seats with these tightly woven romantic suspense titles. The reader has a genuine feel of being in LA while reading her books. I look forward to each new release in this "series" and hope she plans many more books set in this local.

I suppose if I were to pick a favorite book by her it would have to be A GRAVE MISTAKE as it is the last one in this series that I have read.
It seems though that each new book in this series becomes my favorite so Body of Evidence will probably soon replace this one." Barbara Smith

"It is really difficult to pick one favorite book, but my favorite books of hers are the ones she sets in Louisiana.

COLD DAY IN JULY
KISS THEM GOODBYE
NOW YOU SEE HIM
A GRAVE MISTAKE
BODY OF EVIDENCE

Stella's word usage is so evocative of her settings that I feel transported from mundane Ohio to a place where words such as "sultry" and "secrets" naturally go together." Julie Stroup

For me, the Rossmara Quartet with FASCINATED, CHARMED, BRIDE, BELOVED and THE WISH CLUB is always a sure bet when I want to revisit old friends and be enthralled all over again.

BUT... TRUE BLISS will always have a special place in my heart.

I adore high school sweethearts, I really do.
Sebastian and Bliss came to life, and I love them still.
We all talk about Stella's books a lot on my email loop.
Here's what good friend, Patti Fisher, had to say about TRUE BLISS.

"Wow! What a gripping, suspenseful-and hot, story. Stella Cameron has delivered again in TRUE BLISS and proves why she is one of the best in Romantic Suspense today." Patti Fisher

Donna, an Amazon reader reviewer, said about KEY WEST, "Romances that are also suspense thrillers are not my usual genre, yet I was powerfully drawn to the exotic setting of this story and its likeable characters. One of the things that makes this book special is that the story is rather unique, distinquishing it from all the run-of-the-mill books out there that are different variations on the same theme."

So... what's your favorite Stella Cameron book - and why?

While Stella is out of town, we'll be able to chat about her all we want, and she won't even be here to blush over it!

Wearing My Heart On My Sleeve

Susan wants to know: Do you wear your heart on your sleeve?

Or is it just me? I confess. I’m an emotional slob. Don’t get me wrong, I’m nobody’s pushover. But every darn time I try to express how proud I am of someone I love, tears invariably well in my eyes. And wouldn’t it be grand just once to have a disagreement where I make my argument in a calm, logical manner? But, no. Right when I want to look my strongest, I usually end up crying and looking weak and girly instead—a particularly annoying habit when my argument is rock solid. But, hey, if someone puts me down I always have the perfect comeback .

Tough luck if it’s an hour, a day, or a week too late.

That’s why I adore what I do for a living. Creating strong heroines with the juice to kick ass and take names, with the emotional chops to stand up for themselves without blubbering like babies, gives me soooo much pleasure. They’ve got their vulnerabilities, but having their verbal skills fail them when they need them most generally isn’t one of them. I’m not stuck with the first thing that comes out of my-- er, my heroine’s—mouth. I have a delete button, and I’m not afraid to use it until I get things right.

What I wouldn’t give to have one of those in real life.

So how about you? Do you handle your emotions with a bit more finesse than I? (Which, okay, I admit, wouldn't exactly take a lot)

The Quills Welcome Susan Andersen!

We are thrilled to welcome our newest Quill, SUSAN ANDERSEN, who is joining us here at Running With Quills this week. Her first blog will appear Friday, July 21st. Those of you who know Susan's writing are aware of the treat that is in store.

For those of you who haven't had an opportunity to try a Susan Andersen novel, I can tell you that she writes a fabulously unique blend of funny, sassy, emotional romance with a suspenseful twist. And she delights in out-of-the-ordinary characters. Who else could have given us a pair of sassy, sexy, heartwarming novels of romantic-suspense featuring a couple of Las Vegas showgirls? Hey, I remember the days when editors and other writers would have clutched at their hearts and shrieked, "you can't do a heroine who is a topless dancer!"

Here's what Publishers Weekly had to say about SKINTIGHT: "Susan Andersen deserves to go to the head of the class for this emotionally charged romance, which delves beyond the seductive surface of topless Vegas showgirls to recognize their athleticism and heart."

And here's what Susan, herself, has to say about the heroine of SKINTIGHT: "I think my desire to tell Treena McCall’s story probably says something about the evolution the form of writing we call Romance has taken since I wrote my first book back in the mid-eighties. A lot has changed in the genre in the past twenty years. Heck, a lot has changed in life. I know that I'm less concerned about writing heroines who are perfect than I am about writing women who are a bit more real. At least I hope that’s what I’m doing. But you know how that goes."

As for the second in the duo of connected Showgirl books, JUST FOR KICKS (in stores July 25), well, let's just say , it's about a man with a plan, a woman uninterested in finding her prince, a teen afraid to trust and a fan who takes his obsession with a showgirl too far.

Susan is the proud mama of a grown son. She lives in Seattle with her husband of 37 years and her kitty-boys Boo and Mojo. You can find out more about her and her books at www.susanandersen.com

Welcome, Susan! Thanks for joining us here at RWQ.

FOR THE WRITING-INCLINED

Once more the time has come for Stella's Annual Scarlet Boa Contest! The topic and all important dates are now posted on Stella's site. For a little action, just click Scarlet Boa 2006 on the navigation bar:)

Jayne Suggests the Perfect Road Trip

If you're looking for a good excuse for a summertime road trip, have I got a suggestion for you!

Call some friends, pack some road food and head for Atlanta, GA, on Wednesday, July 26. That evening hundreds of your favorite romance, romantic-suspense and women's fiction authors will be gathered together in a giant ballroom at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in a massive book signing event.

Yes, you can bring some books from your home collection to be signed, although the officials ask that you limit that number to five. This is a fundraiser for literacy, after all and the idea is to raise some funds!

The annual "Readers for Life: Literacy Autographing" is a regular feature of the Romance Writers of America summer convention. Trust me, it is a Really Big Deal. There will be well over four hundred authors present that evening, including most of the Big Names -- not to mention a bunch of Quills and that rowdy gang from Squawk Radio.

Think about it: you may never have another opportunity to see a lot of Quills and Squawkers at one time when we're all dressed up, legs waxed (okay, maybe shaved) and acting genteel. There will be no, I repeat no, green ghost margaritas served until after the signing event is concluded. (The officials made us promise on a stack of ARCs. That's what officials do, you see, they spoil all the fun).

The really cool part is that the publishers donate the books, the authors donate their time and the proceeds go to various literacy projects both in the host city, Atlanta, and around the world.

Here's who will be there from RWQ: SUSAN ANDERSEN (our newest Quill, whose first blog will debut here on Friday, July 21st. by the way), STELLA CAMERON, SUZANNE SIMMONS and moi, JAYNE ANN KRENTZ. (Lori and Elizabeth couldn't make it this year but after the signing, we will, of course, toast them with plenty of green ghosts)

Squawkers present that night will include: ELIZABETH BEVARLY, CONNIE BROCKWAY, CHRISTINA DODD, ELOISA JAMES and TERESA MEDEIROS. (There are rumors circulating to the effect that the infamous KITTY KUTTLESTONE will also be present but the officials are trying everything within their power to squelch that gossip).

For a list of the four hundred other authors who will be signing that evening, go to www.rwanational.org and click on "Conference" at the top. When the drop down menu appears, click on "Literacy Autographing".

Like I said, this giant signing event has Road Trip written all over it! Hope to see some of you there.

Here are the details: LOCATION: Atlanta Marriott Marquis, 265 Peachtree Center Avenue, Atlanta, GA. DATE: Wednesday, July 26. TIME: 5:30 - 8: 30 p.m. (But if you're going, plan to get there early if you want to be sure of obtaining books by all of your favorite authors. Some of the most popular writers run out of books early).

See you in Atlanta!

--Jayne

Building A Plot

Right after we finished building our house and got moved in, I looked around at our property and decided that we needed a pond. When the pond people (what do you call someone who creates a pond???) asked me what type of pond, and what size pond did I want - I had only a vague idea.

"Big," I said. "As big as the property will allow."
There were, of course, leech lines and electrical lines and other necessary considerations.

"Shape?" the pond guy asked.

"Natural," I said. "Nothing that looks too manmade."

And there was my kernel of an idea.

I had no concept of exactly how the pond would turn out, or exactly where on the property it would go. Worse, I had no idea that some of my huge Sycamore trees would have to topple.
And so it is when I start a book.
I have this vague idea, sometimes limited by the publishing house buying it or the characters who infiltrate with the idea. But I have no real true concept of where the idea will go or exactly how it'll turn out.

I knew my pond would eventually hold water.
I know my stories will eventually end with a happy, committed couple.
That's it.

So, you ask, what is all this blathering about a pond?

Well, as you see above, I got my pond.
Just as I get that first plot idea.

Then I have to ask myself - now what?

Because the kids swim in the pond a lot, and we all use a little paddle boat, I decided that I needed a gazebo, dock and boardwalk built at one end.

Sort of like (you guessed it) my books need character development and conflicts and resolutions, both in the external plot, and in the romance.

This is a shot of my kids, and other kids, playing on the floating dock

- just as the characters play in my head.

I took a lot of time deciding exactly what I wanted, how and where I wanted it. Then I hired a contractor.
It was as he did his work that I originally drew a comparison to my version of plot building.

You see, when he first got started on the project, I was horrified. Stationary boards looked as crooked as a dog's hind leg. The supports seemed very shaky. There was absolutely no resemblance to the vision I'd carefully drawn out so that he'd understand what the final product should be.

I could almost see my hard-earned dollars falling into the pond with the fishes!

My husband, by the way, told me to be patient. We knew the contractor, and knew he did good work.
So... I summoned up some trust, and watched in awe of his strange process - until finally it started to come together.


When I start plotting on a book, I have a single scene, character, conflict or piece of dialogue that I build on. If, in those early stages, I told anyone the direction of my thoughts, they'd think I was nuts. Never would they be able to "see" my ultimate vision for the story.

I remember way back in my Harlequin days, a friend asked what my next book would be.

I said, "A blind date, where the heroine meets the hero, who isn't the one she's supposed to meet. See, the hero's friend didn't want to go, so he got the hero to go instead. The hero is supposed to tell the heroine that her blind date is crying off. But the heroine doesn't want the blind date either, so she dresses and acts in a way total opposite of her real personality, in an effort to scare the guy away.
But then the hero sees her and he's intrigued enough that he lets her think he's the blind date. And she's intrigued enough that she doesn't admit she's out of character."

My friend looked at me, and said, "And?"

I said, "I dunno. There'll be some other stuff that happens."

She said, "But that's not enough to be a book. It's barely a scene."

Alas, that's how I write.
I grab a kernel of an idea, I park my butt in my chair, and I start putting things on paper.
Somehow, some magical way, it grows.
Yeah, it seems awkward at first, mostly because I don't know where it's going.
Then the characters start talking, and they tell me.

That's how the contractor worked. He didn't draw out architectural type plans. Nope. He stuck a board in here, a board in there, and built from that.

When I asked him - looking very dubious, I'm sure - about what he was doing, he said that he needed a foundation where he would start.
And he promised me that it'd get prettier as it went along.


A few weeks in (he's a very slow contractor, but good, so we don't quibble too much over his time frames) I could see things coming together. The overall appearance was still that of a strange, gangling, pile of boards and nails with no real purpose.
But at least one section hung out over the water, as a dock should. Another section edged along the shape of the pond, as a boardwalk should. And a sturdy platform looked like it might support a gazebo.

I love it when I get to that point in the book when it starts to really make sense to me, when I see what the characters want to do and where they're headed. When they share the secrets with me.
I'll have these, "Aha!" moments, usually while in bed trying to sleep, and a great turn or development will occur to me.

Have I already told you about the time I had lunch with my Kensington editor, the head of publicity, and the president of the company? If so, skip this. If not, read on!

My title, Just a Hint-Clint, had already been released. That book ended with Jamie, a secondary character and the intended hero of the next book, carrying a naked woman up into the mountains where he lived.

The super nice ladies from Kensington told me that they couldn't wait to see what Jamie was up to.

I said, "Me, too."

You see, at that point in time, I honestly had no idea what Jamie was doing. It just seemed like a really great way to end Clint's story. I must have a lot of faith in myself, because I knew that once I let Jamie carry that naked woman away, he'd figure out what he was doing, and why.
Then he'd tell me.
And he did.

The contractor finished the dock first, and it looked stellar. Those crooked boards that had so worried me were now underneath a really pretty dock with a railing and seat and three fine steps leading up to the... is that supposed to be a boardwalk?

BTW, that gray piece sticking off the end is a floating dock that my boys and their friends use when swimming. It was finished well before the rest of it, so that the kids could get in and out of the pond without stepping on sharp rocks.
The crane fishing off the end of the floating dock is cool, but greedy.
He's eating all my frogs!
If I had my way, he'd be eating goldfish,
because I have more than enough of those!


Two photos of our crazy goldfish. How they got in there, we have no idea!

Anyway, back to my comparisons.

It's so tough for me when an editor asks me questions on book that I haven't yet finished. Until I reach the end, I'm not too sure what will happen, other than that guaranteed happy ending.

After I signed with Berkley, they needed a simple paragraph or two giving them an idea of what the first single title, "Causing Havoc" would be about.

Well, I knew it'd be about a fighter. With estranged family. And I knew there'd be a bad guy. Maybe more than one bad guy. And a heroine. And sex. And a few laughs.

And somehow, stuff would happen and the hero and heroine would fall in love.

See, I'd done that much building so far.

Unfortunately, I told Berkley the wrong bad guy. It turned out to be someone else - and they'd already done a blurb for the book!
I felt terrible when I had to ask them to change it. But they did.

Most publishers are very understanding about an author's ever changing direction.

That particular plot took me longer than usual to build. Instead of my typical 400 pages, I hit 500 - and knew I wasn't really finished. After I mailed it off to the editor, I waited a few days, went back to it, and it became 525 pages.
But finally it looked like what I wanted it to be.

Just as my dock, boardwalk and gazebo finally looked like what I wanted it to be.

I was sort of surprised how the book turned out. But then, I like surprises.

All authors write differently, and I know some like a very definite map of their plots. They like to know where they're going, how each scene will play out, exactly when the big conflict will occur and how they'll resolve it.

Not me. If I knew the ending, I wouldn't be compelled to write the book. I'd be bored in minutes. If I did a detailed outline, I'd feel like I'd already written the book.

For me, the joy of writing is in the discovery, the surprises and - hopefully - the satisfaction when the book is done.

I'm a movie buff. LOVE going to the movies. But my favorites are the movies that take me by surprise, yet still give me a happy ending. For some reason, my brain is focusing on John Travolta, so I'll give three examples of his movies that took me by surprise - Pulp Fiction, which I loved, Get Shorty and Be Cool. Great twists, surprising chuckles, and very fun. My type of flicks.

And how about Bruce Willis in The Sixth Sense, or The Fifth Element?

Harrison Ford in What Lies Beneath?

GREAT surprises in each of those movies.

What about you? Do you like to be surprised? Can you name some books that took you by surprise? Or even a line in a book that took you by surprise. I know after my old (old, old) Harlequin novel, Scandalized hit the stands, a ton of readers wrote to me about their surprise over the garage scene. Worth a laugh, I think.

Or one of my all-time favorite lines ever in a book that not only took me by surprise, but still makes me laugh when I think of it. For all you JAK fans, you'll recall, "Good news. She doesn't need therapy."

Could it get more perfect than that!?

Okay, now your turn. Share a line, a scene, a character - anything - that took you by surprise.

Happy reading everyone!

ELIZABETH COMMITS...SORT OF

When I first started reading (my mother told me I was four), I had an insatiable appetite for stories. I went through “age appropriate” books very quickly. So I moved on to the kind of stories that Mom and Dad used to read to me.

I still have many of those animal tales from the north woods. Once I was tempted to read them to my grandchildren, but they have HUNDREDS of books that sing, smell, sprout different textures, colors, talking pictures, pop ups and outs, batteries, and other stuff. My old books have dull cardboard covers, few if any illustrations, and no charming Dr. Seuss doggerel to lure a child plugged into the electronic world.

But I digress. I know, quelle shock.

The point is, when I opened a book, I read it from start to finish, guggle to zatch, and heaven help anyone who got in my way. Homework? Sure, I did it--in study hall. Sometimes. And sometimes I raced through homework while still in math class (English was easy—mostly reading) so that I could read in study hall. Housework? Did you know you can run a vacuum and read? (Is this where Jayne's dust bunnies came from?) Cook, too, but you burn a lot of food. The only thing that dragged me away from reading was riding horses, which I did pretty much all the time from fourth grade to sophomore in high school.

Oops, another digression. Sorry about that.

Anyway, I was your ordinary book junkie—if it was between covers and labeled fiction, I read it. If it was between covers and labeled non-fiction, I read it if it was about an aspect of the natural world that interested me. I read beginning, middle, end, and sighed with regret when it was over.

And sometimes, sometimes, I sighed with relief.

Sometimes the books I looked forward to so eagerly disappointed me.

I slogged on anyway, like the kid on Christmas morning whose stocking was overflowing with horse manure, and he was smiling and digging through it like crazy because with all that manure surely there must be a pony in there.

Well, I’ve emptied many a stocking as it were and haven’t found a pony yet.

So somewhere in my fourth decade, I gave myself permission not to empty the stocking down to the last turd.

If a book didn’t keep my interest, I put it down and walked away from it. At first I gave myself a few weeks, read other books, and tried the original book again. Still no flash, no sizzle. So I trust myself now to know when an author/title just isn’t to my taste. I don't even feel guilty about it.

So where do you stand/sit/recline on the subject? When you open a book, do you commit to read it all, even when you’re not particularly enjoying it? Or do you walk away to try again another day? Or do you just walk away?

(And please, no names of authors/books that disappointed you. We all know that taste is just that—taste. As individual as a fingerprint. An author I walk away from, the next reader rhapsodizes about.)




PS: Lori—I tried to use that lovely signature. And tried. *thinks about kidnapping Frank to make sig work*

Stella wants to know: DO YOU PEEK?

Do you peek at the last page of a book . . . ever? Have you ever peeked, just once?

The wiggle in the tummy, the very bottom of the tummy, or the grimace, or the shiver, may hit around the moment you start to care about a character. Why does this happen? Because you're afraid you're falling in love with someone who will die on you just when you'd like to close the book for the last time and think, "Ah, yes!"

The wiggle, shiver, whatever nasty sensation you get may just lead to last-page-longing. But the strong, the intellectually sound, the mature, never give in to this weak, self-indulgent urge.

Some say to peek is to ruin the story. Oh, yeah? A newsflash from this reader: For me, nothing ruins a story like one more example of evil winning over good, the bad guys never getting theirs, and seeing the worthy hopes of heroes and heroines dashed, and sometimes just in the name of making a story "clever."

Excuse me--screeeeeeeech!--now I feel better.

Does this mean I got stuck somewhere back with Angelina's Christmas, or whatever I might have been reading when I was a small kid? No, it means I'm still stuck on Angelina's Christmas and read it every year, just as I do The Grinch and Frosty. But I also moved on. I moved on and went bonkers for stories by people who knew/know how to write drama in which the odds are huge but triumph isn't sold out to a need for acceptance and accolades from any particular peer group.

I should have mentioned, in the first sentence, that I have a major headache:( My mood is "iffy." I watched the final of the World Cup Soccer Tournament, a race in which I didn't have a particular horse, and that caused the headache. For ninety minutes, plus two fifteen minute overtime periods, twenty-two men and some brilliant substitutes went to the mat for the biggest prize in soccer. And at the end of all that what did we have? A 0ne-one tie.

Only a single team gets to take home the golden thingie so on went the intrepid warriors--fantastic players every one--to a ghastly penalty kick shootout for the prize. For those who don't follow soccer, this means the goalie stands in the goalmouth and goes one-on-one with a player from the opposite team. Then the opposing team's goalie gets his turn against a member of his opposite team, and so on, until the tie is broken because either one of the goalies actually SAVES a goal, or because a player (argh, throw-up time) MISSES a goal, and there are no chances left to catch up.

Since someone may wonder what the big deal is here, it's incredibly hard to defend against a penalty kick when the kicker has the whole goalmouth to aim for, and he can fake the direction he intends to take, but the goalkeeper has to make up his mind where he thinks the ball will go and dive in that direction. He dives, the ball doesn't go in the direction he dives, and it's curtains folks. What's my beef with this method of deciding a game? I still believe the best should win. For me, at the end of a one-one tie, they should clone the golden thingie and give one to each team because they are both the best.

Oh, enough, enough, Stella. I did have a point in all this. If I had known that after all the blood, sweat and tears, the fouls, the yellow and red cards--and the absolutely devastating behavior of a man who may well be the best player in the world--the whole enchilada would be awarded on penalty kicks, I wouldn't have watched the match. I really hate having headaches, especially when I have hours of writing ahead of me as I do this evening, so I wish I'd ducked out from the TV when I realized what the end of the "game" would be like.

Well, that's what I got for being mature; a wiggle in my tummy, a lot of shivers and a rotten headache. It won't happen again because I won't watch another shootout--ever. So forgive me if I've been known to peek at the end of a book. Frequently. I've already learned my lesson about fictional endings that ruin not just one, but sometimes a number of days, and the moment I get an inkling that a writer is sharpening up her pen for the kill, of the wrong character, I'm outa there.

Whew, I've exhausted myself with all that confession and passion and risk. What risk, you ask? The arrows already coming my way for committing the ultimate reading sin; that risk!

I asked some questions as I opened this piece. Will you answer? And if you do answer, yay or nay, please explain why?

Have a wonderful week,

Stella

PS I did not read the end of WAR AND PEACE until the end came.
PPS I never read the end of any book until the end comes when I know/expect the good guys will finish last.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR JUNE WINNER!

Our June contest winner is Meg from Chester Springs, Pennsylvania. She has won a signed book from each of the Quills: Stella Cameron, Lori Foster, Jayne Ann Krentz, Elizabeth Lowell and Suzanne Simmons.

We hope you enjoy the books, Meg!

SUZANNE: The Skinny on S-E-X

Early in my career as a romance writer (I had more than a dozen Dell Ecstasies and Silhouette Desires under my belt), my grandmother said to me: “Suzy, you were always such a sweet young woman, how can you write books with such graphic S-E-X?”

I still remember my answer to her question: “Don’t worry, Grandma, I made it all up.” And I still laugh at that answer since I was in my early 30s, married and the mother of a six-year-old son at the time.

During the intervening years I’ve written and had published more than forty romance novels, including what I call my Quaker books: beginning with THE GOLDEN RAINTREE, set during the era of World War One. TGR was poignant, emotional, had very little sex and no humor. (And is still many readers’ favorite.)

I also continued to write contemporary category romance for sensual lines like Silhouette Desire and Harlequin Temptation. In the early 90s I added in a few historical romps with lots of sex and humor. I viewed sex as another necessary component for my books, along with a strong sense of place, a wonderful hero and heroine, and the aforementioned humor. What I call my “Iowa corn-ball sense of humor.” (Yes, I’m originally from Iowa.)

In 1997, St. Martin’s Press published my first single title contemporary romance, THE PARADISE MAN, with its dash of humor, a few poignant moments, and plenty of sex. TPM was followed by several other “Man” titles. (The funniest of the bunch, imho, is LADY’S MAN.)

In 2004, I moved to Berkley, my current publishing house, with another funny and sexy contemporary romance, SWEETHEART, INDIANA. It was while reading a Harriet Klausner review for the second book set in my fictional town of Sweetheart that I had an epiphany: I was no longer writing cutting-edge sensuality In fact, bless her heart, Harriet had actually described my book as a “sweet romance.”

I’ll tell you I was dumbfounded. Stunned. Left speechless. (A rare occurrence in itself.) I called up my fellow Quill, Jayne, and said: “Tell me the truth, Jayne, have I gone soft on sex?”

I already knew the answer, of course. I had!

Times change. The paradigm shifts. Writers reinvent themselves out of necessity or to stay fresh. And I’ve come full circle in ways I never dreamt I would or even could.

I’m going in an entirely new direction with my writing, so new that I’ll be using a pen name. My hero — the most fascinating man I’ve ever created, a man I’ve been wanting to write about forever — will tell his story in a paranormal romance to be published by Berkley in the spring of 2007. (I’ll be announcing more details later this summer.)

But I can promise you one thing: I’m back writing truly sensual books, books with plenty of S-E-X.

Inquiring minds want to know: Do you like your romance spiced with plenty of sensuality? (We're assuming, of course, that it's done well and works within the context of the story.) C'mon, you can tell me. I won't say a word to anyone.

Here’s to a long, hot, and sexy summer!

INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Happy 4th of July, 2006!!
God bless America.