Susan wants to know: what's reading done for you lately?

I write only because there is a voice within me that will not be still

-- Slyvia Plath

Long before I wrote so much as my first chapter, let alone an entire book from start to finish, I created vignettes in my mind to help lull myself to sleep at night. Yeah, yeah, I hear you snickering. It wasn't the content, people--at least I hope not. It was the exercise. No, it wasn't even that. It was simply something I felt compelled to do.




Writing professionally didn't change that. It was still during that twilightish betwixt-and-between time when I wasn't quite asleep yet not truly awake either that I would suddenly solve the plot problem that had plagued me all day. It was like this miraculous gift... except for one not-so-little hitch. My brilliant solution was invariably gone in the morning.

Now clearly I'm a slow learner, because this happened to me quite a few times before I finally wised up and put a pad and pen in my nightstand drawer. That way when the answers I'd been wracking my brain for magically came to me in my semi-conscious state, I could scribble enough key words to remind me what I wanted to do once I was properly awake. It worked like a charm, too--until the morning I woke up, reached for my pad, and discovered that the pen had run out of ink and not one word of my elegant solution appeared on the tablet.

Noooooo!!!!

Luckily, there's an advantage to growing up having read everything I could get my hands on. I found a pencil and scrubbed the flat side of its lead back and forth until impressions made by my midnight scribbling began to form words. Whew. Thank you, Nancy Drew!

These days I work strictly with pencil.

How about you? Do you ever wake up with a fix to a problem you're sure is emblazoned in your brain, only to have it disappear when you're fully awake? Or, alternate question, has something you read ever saved your bacon in a tight situation?

Suzanne asks: "What's a Quill to do?"

I'm about to take a short hiatus. This is the first real time off I've had from writing in 2006. (I refuse to count RWA or the three weeks + after the conference when I had the flu and a nasty case of vertigo as "time off.")

A hiatus to me means time to read, read, and read. Watch a little TV. Definitely go to the movies or rent the DVDs of whatever I missed in the theaters.

So, I've been asking everyone I know for recommendations: books they loved, TV shows they've been watching, movies they can rave about. Here's what I have so far:

My son gives a big endorsement to the Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child trilogy: BRIMSTONE, DANCE OF DEATH, and THE BOOK OF THE DEAD. I must draw the line, however, at his TV choices: I don't think I'm interested in reruns of "Friends" or "Seinfeld." And the only movie he's seen this summer is "The Pirates of the Caribbean."

My husband gives two thumbs up to any book by Jeffery Deaver. I see there is a stack of them on the bookshelf in our family room. His TV recommendation is football. Nuf said. I know he doesn't have a movie to rave about because we haven't been to any movies thanks to my crazy work schedule and the aforementioned flu/vertigo episode.

P.S. Under pressure, dh came up with "Bones," a TV show based on the experiences of best-selling author and practicing forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs.

My friend and fellow writer, Shirley Jump wrote me a whole essay when I e-mailed her. Here's what she recommended in the TV show category:

Well, after working so hard on the Opus, you need something vapid and a total waste of time. I recommend "My Name is Earl." Not only will you see how the other half lives, but how they do it while reaching even deeper into the dregs of humanity. Earl has good intentions because he believes Karma is trying to teach him a lesson about his life of petty crime, but he is surrounded by a cast of characters with the worst of intentions, which kind of makes redemption hard.

Just start with his ex-wife, Joy. She "rents" movies by digging in the return bin ("I got us a new one, honey!"). Or when she asks how bad her kids have to be to get into the bad kids camp so she can have a week alone for Mother's Day. She's no Mother of the Year but in a weird way, you have to like her, even if she's bad. :-)

Earl is a hapless, bit naive, good-intentioned but not too ambitious guy who suddenly has a wake-up call. He gets sidetracked often, but represents, in many ways, all of us, and our own struggle between doing what is right and doing what we really want to do. It's funny TV, doesn't require a whole lot of thinking and is one of my favorite shows. Of course, that may say a whole lot about how deep-thinking I am, LOL. (Look for THE OTHER WIFE by Shirley Jump, Harlequin NeXt. November 2006.)


So, I asking for your help: What's a Quill to do? Please share your recommendations for books you've recently read and loved, TV shows you enjoy, and movies you can rave about.

Here's to a Happy Hiatus!
Suzanne

Jayne Interviews a Real Live Editor About Paranormal Romance

Jayne: Today we have with us Cindy Hwang, Executive Editor at Berkley Publishing Group. If you read paranormal romance, you've read Cindy's authors because she is publishing the hottest paranormal writers in the business.

Jayne: Working as an editor at Berkley Publishing Group you were one of the few in mainstream publishing who saw the paranormal romance wave coming and you wasted no time scooping up the hottest authors. How did you know the paranormal was going to go so big, so fast?

Cindy: Honestly, I really didn't know that paranormal romance would be the Next Big Thing. But, the fact that it's become enormously popular doesn't really surprise me either. I think the interest in paranormal romance can be attributed to a number of factors: 1) it reflects pop culture on a broader basis (TV, films, interest in other genres like sci fi/fantasy); 2) the paranormal subgenre is nearly limitless in the types of story one can tell--the only limitation is the writer's imagination; 3) because of the freedom the subgenre offers there are lots of fabulous, fresh voices paired with strong world-building--basically a lot of really good books are being written; 4) the people who love these books REALLY REALLY love them and are very quick to spread good word-of-mouth and share their find with others (the growth of the internet has really helped paranormal romance in particular)--I think this comes from literally years of having very few paranormal romances to read so fans don't take these books for granted.

Jayne: So how come you became so interested in the paranormal?

Cindy: Because I personally love paranormal romance and have for most of my life (nothing fired my imagination more when I was growing up than the Fairy Books of Andrew Lang; toss in the Frank Langella version of Dracula and a visit to the Winchester Mystery House when I was 8, and voila! A fascination with all things paranormal is born),

Jayne: Oh, hey, I grew up in California. I know the Winchester Mystery House!!!!

Cindy: I'm fortunate to work for a publisher who encourages editors to buy what they love, even when general market trends aren't favorably inclined. As a reader, I've always responded to strong voices, strong world-building and strong storytelling, and through the years I've noticed that the subgenre that consistently delivers all these things for me is paranormal romance. Again, for me, I think a lot of the appeal of paranormal romance is rooted in it's use of archetypes and larger-than-life concepts and ideas (i.e., a love that defies death)--I just respond to it on a gut level. I've just been lucky that a lot of readers seem to feel the same way. It's definitely an exciting time to be a fan!

Jayne: Who are some of the authors you are publishing?

Cindy: Some of my authors include Christine Feehan, Lori Foster, Angela Knight, Emma Holly, MaryJanice Davidson, Suzanne Simmons/Elizabeth Guest, Virginia Kantra, Pamela Clare, Eileen Wilks, Sunny, Alesia Holliday, Nalini Singh, Cathie Linz, Linda Castillo, Lisa Valdez, Barbara Bretton, Karen White, Erin McCarthy and Maureen McKade. I like a wide variety of romance subgenres and styles, and I try to reflect that in the authors I acquire and work with.

Jayne: People speak of the paranormal romance as a single genre but you see several subdivisions within it -- some more successful than others. What works within the realm of the paranormal and what doesn't?

Cindy: In the 1990's, fueled by the popularity of Constance O'Day-Flannery and Jude Deveraux's KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR, time travel was easily the most popular subset within paranormal. I remember reading traditional Regency romances in the early 80's that featured time travel. Berkley even devoted a whole romance line to time travel romance called Time Passages. Many readers didn't consider time travels to be paranormal though, because they often read like straight historicals once the hero/heroine traveled to the past (the books usually moved from present to past). So the success of time travel romance didn't extend very far to other paranormal romances. Ghost romances were also very popular for a while (thanks in part to the movie GHOST) and its cousin, the angel romance, had it's day in the mid to late 90's as well.

Jayne: So, what's happening today in the realm of the paranormal?

Cindy: Today, paranormal romance is definitely divided into several subdivisions--there's dark fantasy/horror, where I would put all the vampires, werewolves, witches etc. used in a darker universe and tone. On the opposite end there's funny paranormal, which often can have a chick lit veneer to the voice and stories. There's also futuristic/sci fi romance, and pure fantasy romance. There still the occasional time travel or ghost romance, but the most popular creature now is the vampire. You definitely see more darker, edgier, sexier paranormal romances now, but really there are books all along the paranormal spectrum. There are truly books for every taste.

Jayne: What is this Urban Fantasy sub genre that people are talking about?

Cindy: Ginjer Buchanan, an editor at Berkley/Ace who has edited Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlaine Harris among others, and I often discuss what constitutes Urban Fantasy. There's some paranormal romance that can be classified as Urban Fantasy, and we've been working on ways to promote authors and books in both ponds since we know there's a large crossover readership. When you get down to it, Urban Fantasy is a true cross-genre subgenre. Basically, Urban Fantasy can be defined as fiction that features preternatural creatures interacting with humans or other beings in a non-hidden manner. The world is contemporary and often a mirror of our own world, with the addition of preternatural creatures. The setting is usually urban, although not always. The tension often comes from the conflict of having the preternatural beings exist somewhat uneasily in a larger society made of non-magical beings. The protagonist is usually female, and there can be some kind of romantic element, but what propels the plot is not the romantic relationship--more likely, the plot is suspense-oriented.

Jayne: Are you still actively seeking paranormal manuscripts?

Cindy: Absolutely, though it takes a lot to knock my socks off these days. I think that sometimes writers try too hard to come up with something that's never been done, and forget that most important thing is still the writer's voice and storytelling ability, and not the paranormal elements.

Jayne: Meanwhile, what's happening with the more traditional romance market: historicals and contemporaries?

Cindy: Never fear, historical and contemporary romances are alive and well! Not everyone loves paranormal, of course, and in this age of diversity, I think it's more important than ever to give readers a choice. So publishers are still committed to buying and publishing historical romance and contemporary romance (romantic suspense, romantic comedy and contemporary romance). The problem comes when we can't find the quality we're looking for, because writers have decided that these subgenres won't sell and thus are no longer writing in these areas. It is true that for the most part, the historical and contemporary romance market isn't as strong right now as paranormal, but I think we (editors, publishers and readers) have been reading romance long enough to know that everything cycles around, and that as long as good books are being published in these subgenres, there will always be markets for them.

Jayne: Thank you so much, Cindy, for chatting with us today. Readers: Tell us about your experience with the paranormal!

Getting to Know You

Note: Sorry for the later blog - it's storming here in Ohio again, and the internet was temporarily down. But we needed the rain, so it's okay - as long as you forgive me.

So...I was at a loss this week on what to blog about. My brain is so crushed full of story stuff - the characters I'm working on, the characters I want to work on, answering emails to readers asking if I'll be writing a book for Tim or Denny (the answer is no, not anytime soon) and line edits, plot points, tying together loose ends on the current plot - I couldn't seem to focus on anything interesting for a blog.
I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear about my bouts of frazzled confusion while trying to do too much. Or the times that I forget something important. Or the times I can't stop thinking about the unimportant things.

So... what should I blog?
I asked my readers group because they're such an inspiring, fun, great bunch of folks who never fail to boost me when I need it.

They said: The weather changes! Ah yeah, a great topic... if Stella hadn't just done that.

Then they said: Your beloved pets!
I had to laugh, since I decided on that, and then Elizabeth did it first. (GMTA?!)

I finally just decided to get to know you better.
And with that in mind -

What do you like most about yourself?
What do you like least?
(I'm not talking physically - women are notoriously hard on themselves when they look in the mirror.)

To give you a clue, I'll go first.

I like that I'm usually well organized, but I don't let it take over my life. Most times, I'm good at juggling several things and getting them done in a satisfactory manner.
But I don't like that I'm so controlling and have a very hard time handing over anything responsibility that I feel is important.

What do you like most about your current life?
For me, it's watching the way my family pulls together in times of need.
We're all supportive of each other and seeing that does a mother's heart good.
What do I dislike most? That we live in such crazy chaos when I really thought these would be our calmer years.

What do you think others value in you most?
I try to be as helpful to others as I can, and I never see being helpful as a chore. If I can assist someone, and make a difference, then I want to do that.
What do others dislike most about me?
I'm sure it's that I'm so opinionated.
The older I get, the better I am about zipping my lip when it doesn't concern me, or when no one has asked for my opinion. But yeah, it took me 49 years to get there, and minding my own business is still a work in progress.

So what about you? Share a little of yourself. Nothing too uncomfortable, nothing that you feel is too private. But be honest, okay?

ELIZABETH LOOKS AT PETS

A week ago, I was watching my grandson with his three shiny new fish. He and his two-year-old sister had picked them out and named them for characters in an action game I’ve never heard of. I doubt if the fish had, either.

The fish didn’t care. They just wanted to be fed.

The household already has a cat, but she’s so old she sleeps 23 hours a day. The kids both had been jonesing for a puppy. They settled for fish.

This time.

The subject will come up again sooner than my son likes. He wants a dog, too. But first he wants the youngest to be old enough to handle a pet carefully, to give it space and peace when it needs both. Right now the youngest is a full-scream toddler, and has the cat-scratches to prove it. (No matter how hard he tries, Dad can’t be everywhere at once.)

So I’m watching three fish twitch and shimmy for food, and thinking of various pets I’ve had. All dogs, because my Dad and I were allergic to cats. There was Rooter the Scots terrier, Doc (her half-breed pup), Terri (a beagle-Chihuahua cross), Trouble (a black lab, German shorthair cross), and Rainy Day Lady, a leggy, silky-eared silver weimaraner.


I still miss all of them. I especially miss my Rainy Day Lady, the beautiful, blithe spirit who broke all of our hearts when she died.

We meant to get another dog after Rain died, but the kids were grown and gone, and we were moving households to Washington state. In our kidless, petless condition, Evan and I found ourselves traveling enough to make up for the twenty-two years we lived in one place raising kids and pets. When we’re in AZ, Heather’s beagle Darwin, and pound rescue Sydney (aka the Dingo) visit often. When we’re in WA, we chat up strangers’ dogs.

We’re still traveling, still mugging strange dogs for our furry fix, and still planning to get a dog.

Someday.

But not today.


Do you have pet memories you cherish? Are you at a place in your life where you can enjoy having pets of your own?


And just in case you think people are the only species that needs the companionship of others....

WINTER'S COMING--HOORAY!!!

I am not crazy. Regardless of comments made by my dear friends, my mind is sound. But I love winter.

Tonight I'm in Kauai and I've just e-mailed final revisions for my book, TARGET (April '07) another Pointe Judah book. It's hot here, when the monsoon isn't gushing all around the house in a solid curtain I can't see through. Ooh, luverly stuff.

When the sun shines here, the beauty is almost indescribable. Skies so blue they hurt the eyes. A few puffy white clouds. Deep green, wooly mountains that knife in folds down to the sea, and that sea--oh, the sea, turquoise with splotches of purple and lacy foam running onto the beaches.

Spectacular.

But let's get back the rain, or the monsoon as I call it. There is no feeling quite like sitting on a second story deck, beneath a very deep overhang, surrounded by palms and fruit-bearing trees while rain sloshes down, vertical, powerful and bearing memories of so many winters past. And no, it's not winter here. But that doesn't mean I can't summon one up when I need to.

I grew up in the South of England where the rain meant buzz cuts should have been mandatory. Hair inevitably looked damp and lank. And the wind, whew, the wind. I used to walk through my hometown, always by the same route because I'm directionally challenged, and go around the corner at Fortes' Ice Cream Parlor. When the wind blew it's best efforts at that spot I had to hang on to walls and be prepared to get tossed backward,only to force on again.

That would make me laugh, just as walking in the rain with the inside of an umbrella actually sitting on my head made me laugh. The sound the rain made on the umbrella echoed in my ears and sounded like a snare drum. There was a drawback to that--I couldn't see anything but my own feet and the circle of sidewalk immediately beneath the umbrella. Some of my collisions were notable.

How odd, you say, to be in Hawaii thinking about winter. Not at all, that's what imagination and memories are for--conjuring up pictures and sensations whenever one wants to, and wherever.

In truth I don't do heat. Beautiful flowers and trees and all the sights here, bring me back--the scents are irresistible. When I go home I long to take a hibiscus plant with me, or a plumeria tree, which would be cruel because they wouldn't grow where I live. But I do think the flowers would look pretty with snow on them.

Speaking of snow, I'm glad I never got over the thrill of watching those first flakes fall. Icicles on bare trees, thin, thin snow painted on the every tiny limb of a deciduous tree--yum. When we were children, we didn't have central heating or double glazing and night after night in winter, Jack Frost visited. What a talented artist he was. He painted magical pictures encrusted with ice splinters on every window. If I awoke early enough I could open the curtains and gaze at those paintings.

I've had Christmas in New Jersey when our car got snowed in for two weeks. We wore every sweater we owned, one on top of the other and walked to church on Christmas Eve through a wonderland where every house glittered with lights. We hadn't been married a year then and money was something we'd heard about. But that was the best Christmas.

And I've had Christmas right here on Kauai, on the beach. Sliced turkey, cranberry sauce out of a jar, a bought pumpkin pie and little gifts we scrunched up in bright paper. Very special, but not the way Christmas is supposed to be (for me), cold, probably wet, and with a fire in the fireplace. Just the pleasure of being with family.

I didn't intend to wander off into Christmas. All I wanted to say was that I love winter and I can smell it in the air back home. Millie, my dog, smells it. She lifts her nose to the wind and sniffs the scents of fallen leaves. There's a sense of the natural progression of life through the seasons. An order. And the pleasure I feel when I step inside my house and feel warmth makes me content, and very grateful for my blessings.

All the best,

Stella

Please share your favorite time of the year and what makes it so special for you. Are you a rain lover or a sun freak?

Because I Said So!

I'm a child of the Fifties and Sixties. Parents didn't aspire to be friends with their kids in those days, they were simply The Parents. And in my house that meant when my father said "Jump", all he wanted to hear in return was, "How high?"

I'm a questioner by nature, but whenever I'd question one of Daddy's edicts, he'd just level his vivid blue eyes on me and say, "Because I said so." It drove me nuts and I swore that when I had kids I'd never say that to them.

I didn't, either. . .until one day when my son was maybe eleven or twelve years old. He'd spent what felt like hours following me around the house, restless and bored and generally getting on my last good nerve. Finally, fed up with one "Why?" too many I snapped, "Because I said so!"

My inner teenager immediately started howling in horror for sounding Just Like Dad. But before I could so much as smack myself on the forehead my sweet baby boy blinked at me, said, "Oh. Okay," then wandered off to entertain himself.

And I realized that Dad had been onto something all those years.

How about you? Did you have a pet peeve with a parental edict that you swore you'd never do when you became a parent yourself? And how did that work out for you?

Suzanne prescribes: Smile --- it's good for you!

We’ve all heard the expression: “Laughter is the best medicine.”

Or as Arnold Glasgow observed: “Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.”

It’s even been suggested that you should make yourself laugh — whether you feel like it or not — because it will still have a beneficial effect.

Why? Because the brain is not only an organ, but a gland. It manufactures numerous chemicals that have a potent effect on our mood.

Scientists have proven that laughter on a daily basis lowers blood pressure, decreases the stress hormones cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenalin, boosts our immune system, improves digestion, and increases the level of endorphins in our bodies.

The way we move our body affects brain chemistry as well. We all know that exercise does this, that deep breathing and meditation do this. We’ve all heard about adrenaline flowing into the blood stream so that a mother can literally lift a car off her trapped child. Well, the way we use our facial muscles affects brain chemistry, too.

Recent research has indicated that the facial muscles used for smiling, showing anger, disgust, etc. trigger different chemicals in the brain. Smiling affects our hormones positively, the others have a negative effect. (Liz Hodgkinson discusses this phenomena in her book, SMILE THERAPY.)

The advantages of smiling are very real and quite literal. Try smiling more often and see the change in the way other people react to you, including your family and friends. Smiling also changes the tone of your voice. Try smiling AND being upset with someone. It’s hard to do.

So, why not try smiling more over the few weeks and see if it helps your mood. (By the way, there’s a name for a genuine smile or a “true” smile: It’s known as a Duchenne smile.)

So, inquiring minds want to know: What do you deliberately do to make yourself feel better? Are you a believer in Motion=Emotion. Have you tried “smile” therapy? Would you be willing to give it a try?

Here’s smiling at you!
Suzanne

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR AUGUST WINNER!

Our August contest winner is Betsy from Castle Creek, New York. She has won a signed book from each of the Quills: Susan Andersen, Stella Cameron, Lori Foster, Jayne Ann Krentz, Elizabeth Lowell and Suzanne Simmons.

We hope you enjoy the books, Betsy!

SEMTEMBER 11

We join together in remembering the terrible losses of this day, five years ago. Our world changed forever that day, but may we always stand together in our determination to keep our country safe.

Jayne Contemplates the Dark Side of a Series

Reading or writing a series is a seductive endeavor. Trust me, I know; I've tried it from both sides.

I remember falling headfirst into a number of series when I was a kid: the Walter Farley horse books and Nancy Drew, for example. Later in high school I moved into Andre Norton's Witch World and Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. Still later came Robert B Parker's "Spenser" novels and associated spin-offs and, of course, anything by Dick Francis that involved horses. (Important aside here for Francis fans: at long last, he's got a new one coming out! The title is UNDER ORDERS. It will be in stores at the end of September and it features -yes!- his wonderful character, Sid Halley!)

Ahem, where was I? Oh, yes. The lure of a series, I think, is that it takes both the reader and the writer back to a familiar world where we know the landscape and the people. This is a place we have visited before and where we had a great time. We are eager to catch up on what is happening there now.

But there is a dark side to writing a series -- just ask any writer who has ever created one. The really scary aspect of a series from an author's point of view is that he or she can get trapped in it and never be able to escape. In many cases, once readers have discovered a particular series, that is the only world they want from that author. That can sometimes drive writers mad. Why do you think Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tried to kill off his Sherlock Holmes character?

I ponder these issues because I am launching a series, myself. Not just a series within one of my three worlds but one that will crossover between my Amanda Quick historicals and my Jayne Ann Krentz contemporaries. Heck, it even makes a brief, cameo appearance in the next Jayne Castle story. The keystone of the stories is a mysterious group devoted to psychic/paranormal research called the Arcane Society. The launch book, SECOND SIGHT, is out now under my Amanda Quick name. The next volume in the series, WHITE LIES, under my JAK name, will debut in January. I am writing the third as we speak.

There are a couple of other risks in writing a series. Some readers who discover it after it is up and running will refuse to try the books because they don't want to come into it "in the middle", so to speak. They are afraid they will have already missed too much and they don't want to have to go back and start at the beginning. I will make sure that each book in my series stands alone but that doesn't mean I won't lose some potential readers because of the perception that the books need to be read in order.

And then there is the very real possibility that I will lose readers who simply don't like the series. For that reason I will continue to write some books that are not Arcane Society novels under all my names.

But the truth is, I'm really hoping this Arcane Society series works because it brings together all of the elements that I love to work with: romance, suspense and a psychic twist. I can't imagine anything I'd rather write. I won't mind getting trapped in this series, honest! I'm as excited about the Arcane Society novels as I was when I came across a new Walter Farley or Nancy Drew when I was a kid.

What about you? Are you faithful to a series or two? Have you ever quit a series cold-turkey? Have you ever refused to read an author because you didn't want to start in the middle of a series?

If You're Happy And You Know It, Clap Your Hands...

Good morning everyone! You know, after my exciting news of making the "legit" Times list, I took the day off. My husband and I drove to Eastern Kentucky to catch my son and his fiance between college classes and their work. We had dinner at a steak house, visited, and just plain had fun.

Today I'll be writing, writing, writing, and then reading, reading, reading. (I have line edits waiting for me on Causing Havoc.)

So, am I happy? You betcha. I'm doing what I love.
But I recently did an interview, and one of the questions pointed out that I'm such a family gal, and that family appears to be my priority, not writing. I was asked if I could be happy if I never sold again.

Without hesitation, I said YES.
I was happy before I sold.
I was happy (but frustrated and determined) the whole time I struggled to sell.
Writing is what I do, but it's not what I am.
It feeds the creative part of me, but without writing, I wouldn't let that part starve. I'd find another way to feed it and I'd keep on being happy.
If I suddenly couldn't sell, maybe I'd keep writing and just post the books online. Or I'd try selling in a different genre. Or I'd write articles.
Something.

I'm an artsy person. Without the outlet of writing, I could get my paints back out and spend more time on that. (Maybe I'd even get good, instead of mediocre.) Or I'd buy a kiln and start firing up clay pieces. Messy clay is always a blast.
Or chalk... I love chalk! It's so blendable.

When I was younger, I used to think about being an art teacher. I do adore kids - my own and others - and I've always enjoyed interacting with people of all ages.
But writing...?
I never even considered it.
I didn't enjoy reading, so why would I? (School books, as far as I'm concerned, are more designed to turn kids off reading, than to get them hooked.)

If on that long-ago day my sis hadn't brought me over a grocery bag of romance novels when I was too sick to get out of bed, I never would have discovered the joy of reading AND writing.

But I know I'd still be happy with the other elements in my realm: husband, kids, pets, LIFE.

So my question today is: Are you happy doing what you're doing?
And if so, is your happiness dependent on it?
If you couldn't keep your current job, what else would you do?

Most of all, I hope that all of you ARE happy.
The alternative would be no fun at all.
BIG HUGS!

Jayne shouting "Aloha, Lori and congratulations from Hawaii"!!!

Fabulous news, Lori! In case you haven't guessed, we're all absolutely thrilled for you!

YAYYYYY!!!

LORI, CONGRATULATIONS ON APPEARING IN THE NYT TOP 15!!!

MURPHY'S LAW RULES!

*Elizabeth dances in place and screams*

Stella Decrees: TRUMPETS, DANCING IN THE STREETS, MAD OVERINDULGENCE IN HONOR OF...

LORI FOSTER'S


MURPHY'S LAW is #11 on the NEW YORK TIMES LIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ELIZABETH RECOVERS

This blog is late because Evan and I took a “vacation.”

Why is vacation surrounded by “…” ?

Webster’s Dictionary defines vacation as “a period of time free from work.”

That definition conjures up relaxation, lack of stress, “down time,” and a whole bunch of other wonderfully lazy images.

My “vacation”?

Well, gee, it started with a two-hour drive to the airport through rush-hour traffic. Breakfast was an Egg McMuffin. Parking was a nightmare. Race with bag to stand in line to check bags because we aren’t certain what carry-on is allowed that minute. Mega lines at check-in. Security line an endless boa constrictor trying to swallow a cow. Finally get to strip down to blouse and slacks, put purse in scanner, shoes in scanner, wade barefoot through public heath menace (aka walkway through metal detector)—no, there weren’t any paper booties—emerge at other side, get called over for secondary check (new person hadn’t ever seen a Mercedes radio/remote-lock car key), hurry to gate only to find previous flight hasn’t left yet.

Snarling people everywhere. No place to sit and read. No place to lean and read. Go to nearest food place and wait in line for twenty minutes to get an overpriced ham sandwich for the lunch flight. Our plane finally is called. We settle in cheek-by-jowl with a horde of harried travelers. Find ourselves in one of those seats where you can’t pick up anything you drop. No way to change seats, because there’s a warm butt in every seat on the plane.

Wait for customary back spasm from cramped seat. Don’t have to wait long.

Captain leaves seatbelt sign on for whole flight.

Land hard, wait in line to get off, wait in line for bathroom. Wait in line for baggage which airlines repeatedly advised us to check, wait in line for rental car, wait in line on San Diego freeways. Arrive at son’s house just in time to help him shop for dinner. Wait in grocery line. Cook dinner while grandpa (Evan) and son bathe kids and Jenni recovers from a long day at work. Eat dinner, clean up, read to grandkids, take one apiece up to bed and try not to fall asleep with them. Visit with grown kids until we all crawl to bed. (Air mattresses for us because Heather’s knee gives her first dibs on the downstairs guest bed.)

Grandkids up a dawn.

Grandmother is not a dawn raider.

Two days later, get up at dawn, repeat airport clusterhug, with added attraction of gassing up rental car before returning.

Arrive home late due to rush hour traffic in Seattle and have to write a blog.

Run screaming into the marina.

Do you need a vacation after your “vacation”?

STELLA CAMERON STRUGGLES WITH THE QUESTION: TO DATE OR NOT TO DATE?

Or, will they still respect her when they know she's a cheap date?

There is a school of writerly thought that insists you never date--other than in obviously historical novels--because dating might bother some readers. Don't mention the price of a double martini in 1999 because in 2008 the price will be more, making the book seem out of date. "Readers want their contemporary stories totally contemporary."

Watch out for fashions. This is another warning. Don't mention hem lengths or "in" colors. And hair, be very, very careful with hairstyles. Think before you use a particular car, or a building that exists now.

I just wrote a car chase across a good part of the country. "They got in a car there, and drove there, by the shortest route, chasing the villain all the way." Hm, seems I could get more out of the sequence by using wellknown highways--with numbers--and cars with makes that form pictures in the readers' minds, and the names of cities as the two drivers race to be first at their destination. But, the roads might change and, gosh, even the name of a town. . .

Deep in one of my favorite Ruth Rendell mysteries, I giggled at the mention of someone in England paying 8/6d for a lipstick. I giggled because I learned pounds, shillings and pence as a child and 8/6d gave me a rough idea of when the book was set. Even though British money is now decimal, that marker from the past was lovely to me and didn't make the book feel dated. In fact it made me think about this subject and the dire warnings I recall.

Seems to me that by avoiding a real background when it enters a story by brushing over details, or never mentioning all those little facts that are special to a year or decade, like music or sayings, we fail to record history as it's made. Think about it. I know we usually avoid researching through fiction but it's still nice to have the sense that we're walking on the streets of New York, San Francisco, or New Orleans and seeing what's actually there, just in case we like a little fact with our fiction.

Just thoughts, Stella

Do you avoid books set ten, twenty, thirty or so years ago in times that don't yet qualify as "historical?"