Something new, something old

by | Feb 18, 2007 | Uncategorized

I sent my agent something new yesterday. New as in new genre, totally different, if it sells I will be using a different name. Pretty excited about this venture! I plan to venture into another new direction in 07, also. More on that as I move forward, but essentially I see my diversification not as writing multiple genres so much as writing to different audiences from the same core. At heart, I am a fantasy writer. Romantic fantasy, erotic fantasy, and yes, Mom, fantasy for kids which would require the different name.

I wrote about erotic romance yesterday and while I love the genre, I also can see how easy it would be to get burned out doing nothing else. Not writing makes me nuts, so the answer for me isn’t to write fewer books but to find publishing homes for all the different kinds of stories I want to write.

So, aside from Secret Projects I don’t want to say much about until things solidify, I am finishing off my last contracted EC novella and working on the great Save Miss Lonely Hearts project. If you want some idea what that’s like, read Jennifer Crusie’s blog as she discusses saving You Again. I’m reading it and taking notes. She gives me hope that I can save this book. Every time I’m in despair and think, “this book can’t be saved” I come across some piece of it I love and honestly, I see why it almost sold to Bantam long ago. It has great potential. I just need to find that and bring it out and get rid of all the garbage muddying it up…

Which brings me to, “Hey, why hasn’t Miss Lonely Hearts released yet?” The answer is, it’s a mess. This is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done, mainly because I did such a good job of screwing it up to begin with. I have to find and take out all my mistakes, all the places I went wrong, all the places I ran off the rails and get it back on track. This book is the pefect example of how slapping a cover on some hot sex scenes does NOT create an erotic romance. Oh, if only that was all it took. I have all these characters and subplots running wild, and while that’s the beauty of this story, it’s also kind of why it’s a nightmare. PG Wodehouse can write a story like this and bring all the pieces together in a genius stroke. I’m missing some key piece that ties it all together. Must find the key.

And then I can drop it on my editor’s desk and it will be her problem, heh heh heh. Um, until the edits come back, but we shall not speak of that.

Since this is a caper story, I plan to revisit some of my favorite capers in a similar vein, like The Thomas Crowne Affair. If nothing else, it’ll prove to me that it can be done.

Sexpectations

by | Feb 16, 2007 | Uncategorized

As discussions about Mrs. Giggles’ latest rip on erotic romance swirl about the blogosphere this past week, and as I turned in my latest erotic romance and pitched ideas for more, I have been thinking about the state of erotic romance from a split perspective.

Publishers want it hot. Readers want it hot, too, and yet time and again I come across reader complaints online about “too much sex”. In my opinion, what is really meant by this complaint is one of two things. Either the reader is not really a fan of erotic romance and is reading the wrong books. In which case, something more in keeping with what that reader wants will lead to a more satisfying reading experience. Or the reader loves erotic romance but is finding books in which the author fell down on the job.

It’s my job to make readers care about my characters. Here’s a secret, erotic romance is not about sex. It’s about people. People and emotions and wants and needs and baggage from the past and hopes for the future, and they bring all of that to bed with them. I write about people and situations that interest me. Sometimes that includes aliens and werewolves and vampires, but still people, intelligent, feeling beings who want to love and be loved.

I don’t sit down with a guide in front of me that says “every so many pages there must be sex” or “sex must happen by this point in the story” or “sex must include these variations”. The only rule is that sex must be central to how the characters are struggling along their path to love and happiness and self-actualization and the attainment of their goal(s). Because if sex isn’t important to the story, it doesn’t belong in the story. I’ve heard the idea that you could remove the sex from an erotic romance and you’d still have a story. I think you’d have a damn thin story that was missing a lot, because it’s those scenes where so much that’s vital to the story happens and the characters reveal themselves and discover themselves. If you can remove any scene from a book, regardless of genre, it’s gratuitous and didn’t belong there. If it’s in the book, it should have a reason to be there and serve the story.

Yes, I’ve read books where the author dropped the ball after the first sex scene and from that point forward the story was emotionally over but ran on for another three hundred pages. This isn’t a problem with sex. It’s a problem with conflict. If the conflict ends the minute the hero and heroine hit the sheets, instead of blaming sex, find the conflict and amp it up. Whenever possible, the sex scene should up the stakes and make things worse, leaving the hero and heroine struggling with the consequences and the potential risk versus reward.

Publishers want it hot, readers want it hot too, but they also want it to matter and to be entertained and ultimately satisfied by the story. So what’s a writer to do? Serve the story. Write the best damn book you can. Instead of trying to second guess what publishers want or what readers want, pay attention to what the story needs. I don’t put sex in to meet publisher criteria and I don’t take it out in an attempt to appease complaints of “too much sex”. Either way, it would rob the story and ultimately everybody else. Me, the publisher, and the reader.

Titles are tough

by | Feb 15, 2007 | Uncategorized

Capture Me has gone back to the title drawing board, and the winner is…Satisfaction Guaranteed. I love it! I went through the book looking for recurring phrases, key words, themes, etc. I searched my thesaurus. I brainstormed and wrote all manner of title ideas, most of which I never forwarded to my editor because, um, argh. But I came up with 8 I thought were decent, 3 of which I thought were good candidates, and 1 I loved, and she agreed that Satisfaction Guaranteed is best.

Titles are tough, they really are. A good title can hook a reader. The combination of title and cover are what will prompt a browser to pick up a book and take a closer look. Title sold me on Samantha Hunter’s latest Blaze: Untouched. That title with the cover made me say, “I must know MORE!” And when I read the blurb, well, honestly I was already sold without the incredibly cool plot. The title hooked me.

So I don’t mind going back to the drawing board if a title needs work.  I know how important it is. And I’m thrilled with this change. Satisfaction Guaranteed!