My Gift to You

Today, 30 years ago, my husband and I met. The teenagers we were had no idea of the journey ahead.

We went out last night to a restaurant that we love and ate on their brick patio, complete with a small waterfall fountain. The food was good, the weather was spectacular and we never ran out of things to talk about. It was just one of those magical nights where everything comes together.

We reminisced about all that has happened since that day. Like the time we went out to eat and he ended up in the floor of his old car trying to scrape up enough change to pay the bill because he forgot his wallet. He didn't have enough and I ended up staying as collateral until he returned. The time we went camping in Virginia Beach in July and how God-awful hot it was. He told me on that trip that his car was so overloaded I couldn't buy anything unless I could eat it or wear it. When his father died of brain cancer when my husband was 25 years old, how we attended my graduate school graduation and his father's funeral in the same week. Our wedding day. How I laughed and cried when he got into graduate school. The joy on his face when he held our baby for the first time.

It feels like yesterday and a long time ago all in one package. Through it all, he has encouraged me to write every step of the way. He’s made sure I could go to writing club meetings, surprised me with writing classes, hurried home to stay with our child so I could meet with the Rockville 8, encouraged, pushed, prodded and told me I can do it. He has never disagreed to any time, any amount of money, any effort I’ve made toward a writing career.

So, this post is my gift to you for all that you have given me over the past 30 years. My love for you is immeasurable.

For every writer there is at least one unsung hero who’s had a part in their writing life. Tell me about the ones in yours.

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

Where do I get my ideas?

This question comes at a steady pace from all those interested in the writing process. The response, even if in a half-joking manner, wonders if my life is the source of the sixteen-plus books I've written. As time wears on, I answer less adamantly. There is no right or wrong answer.

However, my quick negative was there to dismiss any speculation that I was throwing my "love life" onto manuscript pages. That my strengths and weaknesses hidden between the lines of the pages were some sort of literary therapy for public consumption. That these books were my not-so secret fantasies for a variety of needs. Here's the thing, I'm not an exhibitionist.

Nine years later, I'm steadily working in my career, creating new stories, and conducting research on a long list of items that will hopefully be part of future books. In this reflective moment, I will attempt to answer the burning question.

The source of these ideas do come from me. No, it's not bits of pieces of my life being confessed. However, it's very much my impact on life and people around me.

I made the annual pilgrimage to Romance Writers of America's conference in New York. From my hotel room on the 43rd floor, I would look down on Times Square on various times of the day where the area constantly teamed with people, vehicles, even sounds and smells colliding, and shops and lights that rattled the senses awake.

After NYC, I headed to Barbados. From the airport security check process, to hoping that the plane's issues would be resolved for the flight, to a scalding cup of coffee being spilled down my leg -- these nuggets provided more than enough "meat" for a story.

Soon my vacation will end, my (writing, energy, passion) reservoir has been refilled and enriched for the long hours of writing ahead of me. My activities included tours, swimming, brisk morning walks, visiting friends, and enjoying fine dining. I even managed to get much needed reading in with two James Patterson's, one Lee Child, two Amanda Hocking's--all very enjoyable and a reminder of why I must keep doing what I do. I have chatted with locals, visitors from Ireland, other U.S. travelers sharing concerns on world topics, specific interests, personal accomplishments. As diverse as we all are, we have so many similarities that connect us.

Television, Internet, newspapers all kept me informed on the big news, entertainment craziness, and the latest social media must-see. I soaked everything in, freeing the imagination to play, throwing out what ifs for the creative process to do its thing.

So, where do I get my ideas?

From me and my world.

I'm in love with the moon!

Much thanks to Candy for keeping us posted on what she was up to in NY. Internet was so tres espensive that I only accessed it on my phone and couldn't quite negotiate the mechanics on there for adding to the blog.

And now that I'm home, what can I say to add to the knowledge base?

I attended the literacy signing. And completely freaked OUT. So many people, so loud, and I couldn't figure out how to get those paper thingies with the pretty covers onto my Kindle where I could actually, you know, read them, so I ducked out as soon as I could.

Bright and early the next morning, the conference was off and running.  I loved the opening session, as Candy said, very inspiring.  I attended some great workshops. Hung out with some fabulous people. Ate at several fantastic restaurants. In short, I loved it all.

But more and more I find myself wondering where I fit in this game. As an unpublished writer I can't really say I'm in the industry. But having had an agent, and won some contests, etc., I can say that I'm in the game. Even if I'm not sure where.

Of course I'm not the only one looking for landmarks. Digital publishing, self publishing, the death of the bookstore, etc., are all changing the game and there was a general fog of panic hanging over the conference this year. As if everyone was just looking around and wondering: Where the Hell are we?!?

I saw a LOT of that. But I did not come across anyone who had The Answer. Which makes me feel a little better (I'm not the only one feeling lost) and a little sad.

After the conference officially ended, my roomie and I stayed on a day and saw some sights. One of the things we wanted to do, while staying right there on Broadway, was see a show. Thanks to our friend Eileen's wheeling and dealing, we got GREAT seats to the matinee performance of The Addams Family Musical. Which was everything you could want from a musical based on Charles Addams famous characters.  It was whimsical and weird and laugh out loud funny while at the same time addressing some very real themes about growing older and letting our kids grow older, and falling in and out of love.

At one point, during dinner, Uncle Fester announces that he's fallen in love with the moon. And in the end, that pretty much sums up what I have decided to take away from RWA 2011. Don't be afraid go after what you love, no matter how impossible it seems.

Gone To The Big Apple

Many of us from the Rockville8 are packing our bags for the RWA national conference in New York City this week. Please stop back over the next few days to enjoy our bite-size commentaries on the goings-on at the premeire romance writers' event of the year. We can't wait to be in the company of so many successful, smart authors. Come join us for the latest buzz.


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Tuesday - June 28, 2011 - Times Square

Okay, I've been in NYC less than twenty-four hours. There's been one bomb threat at Times Square and this morning some guy decided to climb a traffic light and sit on top, right at the corner of Time Square and Broadway (I think). Crowds gathered round to watch both times, pulling out their video cameras and trying to capture the latest scoop. Gotta love NYC!

Officially events start (for me) tonight with the Literacy signing. So I was off at 7:00 a.m. to hunt or gather, I'm not sure which. My youngest sprog designs jewelry. So I found a few wholesale bead shops in the Garment District. Happy Day! Yes, only a mile away from my hotel. Resting my feet now while I wait for my roomie to arrive from Canada.

Dinner last night at Ollies with friends. Great Chinese. Yum. Stay tuned for lots more literary/romance writing nuggets as the conference kicks off tonight and I'm sure a few culinary delights as well. I'll be sure to start carrying my camera to get pics, too.

Ciao!

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Wednesday - June 28, 2011

Opening Session - Tess Gerritsen, Steve Berry, Diana Gabaldon

Awesome panel with these three NY Times Best Selling authors. Great sound bites. Diana Gabaldon's analysis of characters as either an onion (with layers), a mushroom (someone who pops up and walks away with the scene), or a hard nut (a character you need to do the best with you can) was brilliant.

Steve Berry's perseverence in the face of 85 rejections and writing from 6:30 to 9:00 every day while holding down a career as a lawyer and a county commissioner was awe-inspiring. His encouragement to "stay long enough for the world to change" and "make your own luck" were words taken to heart by the crowd.

Tess Gerritsen admonished writers to "keep the forward motion" by continuing to write the first draft, even when it gets hard. "Only once you finish the book do you know what the story is about."

The panel's favorite authors were:

Tess Gerritsen ~ Stephen King

Diana Gabaldon ~ Charles Dickens, Robert Louis Stevenson, John E. McDonald, Dorothy Sayers, and P.G. Woodhouse

Steve Berry ~ Clive Cussler, Robert Ludlum, James Michner, and David Morrell.

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Wedesday night - Fabulous dinner out at Trattoria Del Arte on 900 7th Avenue. The Brooklyn-born waiter was funny and played along with the antics of our group of ten romance writers who teased and gave him a hard time. We ate lasagna, tuna, warm sea food salad, pasta bolonaise, and for the vegetarian among us--mashed potatoes and mushrooms. Limoncello topped off a perfect dinner. Thanks, girls. A night to remember.

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Thursday - June 30, 2011

Sherilyn Kenyon gave a heart-wrenching motivational speech that had us all laughing, crying, and cheering. We'll all fight a little harder for our dreams because of her words this afternoon!

Several members of the Rockville8 pitched their projects to agents and editors today. Hopefully a few of them will report on their successes later in the post.

Tonight members of WRW donned their fancy dresses and headed to the St. Martin's party, thanks to Jen Enderlin's generosity.

Stay tuned to more updates tomorrow . . .

something from nothing...

Hello All,
Welcome to my Monday post here at R8. It's a Monday where I am experiencing serious writer's block. So as I was racking my brain for something enlightening and encouraging for you my fellow writers, so I went searching for inspiration. I stumbled upon the TED website and ended up listening to the following talks given my writer's Amy Tan and Elizabeth Gilbert.

I decided to share their words of inspiration with you directly instead of giving you a watered down, uninspired, totally lacking in creativity post from moi. Trust me it's better this way...I can't wait to see what you draw from these extremely talented women, so be sure to comment.

First up author Amy Tan who wrote one of my favorite books of all time "The Joy Luck Club". She is wickedly funny and speaks such truth about creativity and the creative process. So much wisdom...


Then we have Elizabeth Gilbert of "Eat, Pray Love" fame on nurturing creativity:

Do you remember your first?

Do you remember your first? Oh my, but I do. And with the memory comes all the feelings-- the excitement, the shyness, the sheer naughtiness of it all. I remember as I dove into the experience the nervous twinge, the flutter of joy, the tight anticipation, the tears of release, and finally, contentment.

My first was a powerful Greek. A war hero turned shipping magnate. It must be said, he could be surly, with an absolutely shitty disposition. And yes, he took arrogance to a then un-heard-of extreme. But he had a fondness for unicorns and when push came to shove, was willing to sacrifice his life for his love.

Sigh.

My first was The Honey is Bitter by Violet Winspear, a Harlequin Presents written in 1967. I read it over 30 years ago one afternoon at the beach house, where I found it on a shelf above my grandfather's Tijuana Brass albums, tucked between Harry Kemelman and Jean Plaidy. By the end of the novel, Paul had nearly died, was blinded, and never once told Domini he loved her. And poor Domini! She'd been traded to Paul to cover her cousin's debts, had nearly been crushed to death in a cave-in, and had miscarried her baby.

And some of the lines... like this one: "...as he laid his face against her heart, her hand dwelt with compassion at the back of his head." What does that even mean? Who knows? And really, who cares? The book is riddled, literally riddled with enough sentiment to make any modern woman's head explode. But, well, it was my first romance. And Paul was my first romance hero. This book was my first sortie into the written word of love and emotion and longing, and as such will always remain close to my heart.

The experience fo that first novel is forever imprinted upon my heart and mind, and I continue to seek it whenever I pick up a new book, try a new author. And as a writer, this si the experience that i want to give to my readers. It is twisty and painful and joyful and happy. An experience that begins with anticipation and culminates with satisfaction and the good kind of wanting more.

Tell me about your first, and i fyou have ever had it as good as or better since.

Publication is not a zero sum game

Publication is not a zero sum game.

What’s a zero sum game, you ask? Say you have a city with 500,000 citizens and 5 hospitals that serve 100,000 people each. In order for Hospital A to gain new clientele, it must lure patients away from Hospitals B, C, D and E. Growth for one organization means a decline for the others in this closed system scenario.

Over the years, I noticed a lot of fear among writers (pubbed and unpubbed) that one author’s success somehow comes at the expense of another’s, as though there is some arbitrary limit to the number of books/stories that readers will purchase in any given year.

Possibly it is human nature to think in terms of scarcity rather than abundance. Certainly over the last few decades, traditional publishers have slashed the ranks of their mid-list authors and poured their money into larger advances for fewer writers. Perhaps this has left folks with the impression that the pursuit of a publishing contract is a competition for finite resources where there is only so much to go around. So on the surface, it may appear that fear of someone else’s success is justifiable.

But I’m going to make two arguments against that premise.

First. As a reader, I am always on the lookout for a good story. Always. As a romance reader, I fall into that happy category of buyers who purchase multiple books a month, if not a week. There are a lot of us out there. So if Loretta Chase, Eileen Wilks, and Kristan Higgins all come out with a release one week and my friend recommends a debut author’s new book too, hello, I’m buying all 4 books. I am voracious and I am not alone.

Second. With the proliferation of indy-publishing and electronic readers, there has been a commensurate explosion of opportunity for writers. You don’t “write to the market” and no publisher will sign you? You’ve been cut by your publisher after a so-so book or two? Today you have options online that simply didn’t exist a couple of years ago.

So an audience hungry for stories exists. As does an accessible, flexible and powerful set of online tools for marketing and distribution.

Someone once told me that FEAR stands for False Expectations Appearing Real.

It is a fallacy to believe that another person’s success impedes one’s own. To a large extend, success in publication will always remain a crapshoot. You can’t make people buy your books. But you can control your output and attitude. Write the best stories you can. Woo your current and/or would-be readers. Be kind to yourself and to others. And know this to be true: Publication is not a zero sum game. Good stories find their ways into the hands of readers and that’s a win-win for all of us.

What do you think?

Did I make my case?

Do you agree there’s room for all of us at the table?

Or have I got rose-colored shades blinding me to the realities of the publishing industry?