Yes, consistency does pay off. When I first started writing, I met with some heartening successes - contest wins, acquiring an agent, a couple of near sales - but there were years of rejections nonetheless. Enough, in fact, that many a less determined writer might have given up. I didn't, and in the end my persistence paid off with my first sale and a three book contract.

Well, I'm not offering anything quite as exciting as that, but this month's winner of my drawing WILL have a visit to the bookstore on me. Hey, in my little world, that's exciting! She's a second time winner, and that's where persistence pays off. She visits often and leaves lots of comments, and I always appreciate her ability to make me grin. The winner is:

Having lived in New England, I can't help but love Halloween. After all, with it's Puritan history and Salem witch trials, all those haunted colonial houses and taverns and such, and of course the amazing fall colors to dazzle the eye, the entire region was tailor made for this holiday. There's no pretending needed - Halloween is everywhere you look.

A few months after my husband and I were married, a friend of ours hosted a Halloween party in the house where he lived and worked as an assistant caretaker. It was one of the historical estates around Newport, RI, a grand old Victorian house with wide verandas overlooking sloping lawns and Narragansett Bay. Now, the party was confined to my friend's apartment "below stairs," but (Newport Historical Society, please don't freak out) at the end of the night, in glaring breach of all the rules, he offered to let my husband and me spend the night in the main house. Or rather, he dared us to stay - in the very room where the last of the family, after exactly 100 years of ownership, had died.

Shocking! On any other night we'd have said thanks, but no thanks! But it was Halloween, and we were young and adventurous and, yeah, probably more than slightly tipsy. And since you should never drink and drive, we made our way up the shadowy, creaky old staircase...

The room was as cold as...you guessed it...death.  I think we could see our breath, although it was hard to tell because the electricity to this part of the house had been turned off.  So it was also as dark as...you guessed it...a grave.  

Waving our flashlight around in search of spooks, we laughed at our nervousness.  Did we really dare?  Our trepidation only intensified when we saw we'd be laying our heads on pillowcases monogrammed with the last owner's initials. Talk about audacity! I will mention, for those of you experiencing an ick factor right about now, that the linens were periodically cleaned, and were very likely NOT the ones in use on that unhappy day long ago...

Still. After seriously considering leaving, we steeled ourselves, snuggled under the down comforter, closed our eyes...and didn't open them again until morning. We were too scared too!  Too afraid we'd see the ghost of owner-past hovering at the footboard, one skeletal finger outthrust in accusation: "How daaaaaare youuuuuu???" 

I still wonder that myself! Then again, maybe she'd had a sense of humor, or soft spot for young love. Maybe our tremulous foray into her haunted chamber warmed her ghostly heart. I like to think so.

Do you have a special Halloween memory? Share it here and be entered for my drawing. I'll be picking a new winner on Monday!

Happy Halloween!

If you love Regency romance and read a lot of them, you've got to check this out - I'm still giggling.

Regency Satire

Then come back and we'll talk about cliches and why, despite the fact that writers are repeatedly told to avoid using cliches at all costs, they ARE used and they DO continue to sell books in great numbers. So go on, have a read...I'l wait...

Ok. Let's face it, cliches exist for a reason: they strike a chord in readers. Another way of looking at them is as universal identifiers. The evil stepmom, the greedy business partner, the curmudgeonly grandfather, the dashing rogue, the clever vixen. We know these people the moment we see/read about them. The trick, of course, is to give them new and surprising angles that keep them from feeling stale. But why? Why don't we constantly just come up with completely new character types?

Well, for one thing, at this point no matter what you come up with, it's been pretty much been done before, somewhere in the world's body of literature since the beginning of time. Sorry, but it's true. 

But so what? Robert McKee (writing guru and author of STORY) explained it best in speaking about the James Bond franchise. Over and over for decades now, fans of the series have enjoyed watching Bond do pretty much the same exact thing - defeat the bad guys, save the world, do the bad girl, win the good girl, without ever mussing his clothes or spilling his vodka martini. Bond has become his own cliche, yet we love him...we love watching the game unfold each time because he's so impossibly good at what he does. With each movie, his limits are pushed a little further and the plot becomes a little more fanastic and high tech. But it's still basically the same and has been ever since Sean Connery first swaggered into camera range.

 Classic features, dangerous eyes - cliche? Who cares!!!

Classic features, dangerous eyes...

Are we getting tired of this? I think not.

Is it cliche? Like I said, who cares!

The same satire also could be applied to romance series based around navy seals, or big Texas families where the men are all alpha cowboy executive millionaires, or semi-reformed soul gathering vampires. Watching angsty, alpha guys fall for sassy women is just good fun, and no, we don't tire of it.

Me, I love a man's man in breeches and boots, whose billowy linen shirt hangs off his tight, tapering body, who isn't afraid to gallop his horse across a foggy moor, whose dashing presence commands attention in any drawing room, and who knows when and exactly how to kiss his lady breathless.

Do you have a favorite, sinfully secret romance cliche?  Do tell!

Is it possible to write an emotionally satisfying sex scene without consummation?  I think I did today.  Taking in all the dynamics of my WIP and characters, it's way too soon for them to be knowing each other in the biblical sense. But it's certainly not too soon for them to be chomping at the bit to do the deed and to find it impossible to keep their hands off each other.  

They both have baggage (or it wouldn't be a romance, or fiction for that matter), and both have compelling reasons not to jump into anything permanent. In Victorian times nothing screamed "PERMANENT" louder and with more vehemence than consummation, unless of course the hero was a cad and the heroine rather less than a lady, which he isn't and she isn't. They REALLY need a ton of motivation and irresistible urges to ignore every moral standard by which they were raised and throw caution and silk drawers to the wind.

Hence a lot of intense but prolonged foreplay. And of course by "emotionally satisfying" I mean about five seconds of sheer bliss immediately followed by an onslaught of brand new angst and conflict certain to drive my poor characters crazy as they resolve to resist each other from now on.  Uh huh.  Of course they will.

Anyway, this was pretty much my challenge today: have them do it, without really doing it.  My hero, being the gentleman that he is, helped me out quite a bit by taking the high road and adhering to the honorable standard of "Ladies First." But of course now I owe him.  Or rather, my heroine does. Can't wait to see how she handles that - or should I say how she handles him.

I've been barreling along with my manuscript lately, having fun, feeling invigorated, and not stressing over things. Strange, lol! The chemistry between the characters seems to really be working, which maybe shouldn't surprise me since the hero is a scientist and something of a chemist as well. But what I'm most enjoying about the hero and heroine is that externally, they have a lot in common and should certainly be enjoying the mutual sparks flying between them, if it weren't for all the internal baggage preventing it. For me, that means digging deep into both characters and fleshing out who they really are, rather than simply allowing events to come between them.  My goal has been to finish the first draft by Christmas, and at this point I'm pretty much on track. Can we say "confidence?" I'm actually feeling it with this story. Except for that tiny, faint voice inside that every so often insists in asking, "What if I'm wrong?" Do we ever entirely banish our demons? For now I'm going to ignore it and continue full speed ahead for as long as momentum lasts. LONG MAY IT LAST!!

But now on this absolutely beautiful, cool, windy Sunday morning, my daughter and I are off to our closest Borders armed with coupons and a lion-sized craving for a latte. Ah, the simple pleasures.

“Dear Author, I just finished your book and I wanted to let you know …”

When you consider that the readership for books with even modest sales is in the thousands, fan letters can be relatively few and far between (unless of course you’re Nora Roberts or Heather Graham – they probably get fan letters by the thousands on a slow day, lol) Most readers just don’t pick up that pen, or in more modern terminology, pop off an email, even to their favorite authors. Could be a privacy thing, could be shyness, could be a time factor. Or it could be that most readers don’t realize how much their opinion matters.

But oh, from the author’s point of view, there’s nothing like a fan letter, however brief, to motivate a good day’s writing. It can lift a discouraged writer out of a slump and more than make up for a tepid review. Even my most recent tag board entry (see to the left) from Suzy telling me she enjoyed my books gave me a boost this morning as potent as my favorite flavored latte. And that in turn fires the energy I need to be creative when I open up that book file and continue where I left off yesterday.

Reviews are great. Awards are fabulous. Your editor’s approval is invaluable. But nothing compares to hearing from an average reader that your words meant something to them. That you moved them, made them happy, or transported them temporarily from their daily concerns. My favorite comment – every author’s favorite – is hearing that your book kept someone awake long into the wee hours of the night. Or made them cry…or laugh. Nothing on earth warms an author’s heart more.

This isn’t a bid for letters! It’s a thank you to everyone who has ever taken the time to convey their thoughts about an author’s work – either mine or anyone else’s. Because writing isn’t about reviews or awards or really even about the author herself. It’s completely, 100 percent about readers. Readers are the business. Their preferences determine the budgets and the trends – including who makes the bestseller lists – in the publishing world. Readers keep authors inspired.

This morning I was reminded by one of the news shows that there were 79 shopping days left before the holidays. Do you think I found this welcome information? Na uh. All it did was help bring on the old end-of-the-year stress.

As far as the holidays are concerned, I wish I was one of those insightful shoppers who picked up present throughout the year and saved them at the back of a closet. I know some people who actually wrap and label them as they buy them. (I know, I hate those people, lol!) Sadly though, I'm just not a multi-tasker when it comes to shopping. I don't even particularly like to shop. I go when I need something, and then I develop a kind of tunnel vision where I can't consider anything outside the realm of what I'm looking for. So if I need an outfit, say for a conference, I can't at the same time pick up a pair of fuzzy slippers that I'm not going to give to Mom for months yet. My mind just doesn't work that way.

I have a similar problem/condition when it comes to writing. I am, I have always been and probably will always be a linear writer. I compulsively cannot write scenes out of order. Nor do I seem able to work on more than one story at a time. Which is strange because around the house I can do bills, laundry, talk on the phone, and cook like a little many-armed dervish. So I'm specifically rather than universally multi-task-challenged.

It's a concern of mine, really, because it seems that in order to be wildly successful in this business, a writer needs to produce books fast and often - having several books out in more than one genre in a single year seems to have become the standard for success. This certainly wasn't always the norm. One, at the most two books per year used to be what most authors were comfortable with. It's what I'm comfortable with. I don't know that I'd do more than that well, and I'd never want to sacrfice quality for quantity. Nor do I want to live at a constantly frantic pace. And deadlines do tend to make an author frantic. I can't imagine going through that multiple times each year. I mean, "Multiple" can be a great concept in the right context - can you think of one or two?  But not when it comes to stress.

My goal for the remainder of the year is to complete the first draft of book 2 in Her Majesty's Secret Servants. It's due in March (and will be out in December '10), so that would leave me two months to revise with less of a frantic factor in those final weeks. I'm not completely, one hundred percent postive it's going to happen, especially with all that shopping I'm shortly going to have to do, but at least I've set the bar. I just hope I don't trip and break something on my way over.

Do the holidays and end of the year rush leave you frazzled? Or are you able to plough through without breaking a sweat?

Tragic news in the romance industry today. Kensington editor, Kate Duffy has passed away, leaving behind a legacy that touches every facet of the business.

I am one of countless romance authors who got their start because of Kate. I'd been writing historical romance, submitting and amassing rejections for a number of years. In 2002 I entered a manuscript in several contests, including the RWA's Golden Heart. The results were good - I placed in each one I entered, including the Indiana Romance Writers' Golden Opportunity contest. I don't remember if there was a particular prize for winning this one, but for me the prize was the fact that the final round judge for the historical category was going to be Kate Duffy. Wow! My manuscript was soon going to be in the hands of the legendary Kate Duffy!

Weeks later, sometime in November, I got a phone call from the contest coordinator. My entry had taken first place, but Kate had sent her regrets that although she would dearly love to buy the story, her schedule for the coming year was full. I kind of wished I hadn't been told. What a letdown -- so close! Yet...nothing. Sigh....

The very next day, I got an email from the contest coodinator with a forwarded note from Kate: I cannot stop thinking about "The Duke's Decision." Please have the author call me. She included her phone number. Oh. My. God. I was now in possession of KATE DUFFY's personal extension.

After I died and resurrected myself, I shakingly made that call.
She was fabulous. I'm sure she could hear how nervous I was, but she immediately set me at ease just by being herself - warm, funny and enthusiastic. She had loved what she read so far and wanted the rest. It wasn't a promise of a sale, but it was pretty darned encouraging. I floated through the holidays.

In early January, Kate called. She wanted the story and what else did I have? She also told me that initially, when she thought she couldn't buy the book because of an already full schedule, another editor said, "What's the problem? You're Kate Duffy. You can do whatever you want." So she could, and so she did!

When I hung up the phone I immedately ran to find my husband to tell him that my life had just changed -- I'd just become a published author (or soon to be published, but that day the lines were blurred at best). Before I knew what was happening I had a three-book contract with Kensington. If you visit my website and go to my bio page, you'll find my "Mostly" series listed.

The book also finaled in the Golden Heart that spring, although at that point it was icing on the cake since I'd already sold. Still, it was added incentive to attend the RWA National conference, held in NYC that year, where I had the privilege of meeting Kate for the first time at a cocktail party held at Kensington's offices. I went wide-eyed and starstruck, and it was one of the most exciting nights of my life just because I was part of the company now, one of the "in" people. Kate took me into her office that night to tell me what a wonderful writer she thought I was.  "You're the real deal," she said more than once. All I could do was look at her adoringly and say, "Oh, thank you."

After those three books things didn't go as smoothly at Kensington as I might have liked, and I've since moved on to another wonderful editor, this time at NAL, part of the Penguin Group. I met up with Kate at a conference in Miami a couple of years ago, and when I told her of my sale to NAL she jumped up and hugged me. She was truly, truly delighted for me. We talked for a while, and then both got busy doing our separate things at the conference. That was the last time I saw her.

Today as I remember Kate and everything she did for me, as well as for scores of other authors, I'm stunned and sad and unable to quite believe she's gone. I'm also incredibly grateful to her and so, so glad that during that last little chat of ours, I told her so.

Farewell, Kate, and thank you.

July 2003

(picture taken by Nancy J. Cohen)

Check out the website of my good friend and critique partner, Nancy J. Cohen, author of The Bad Hair Day Mystery series featuring hairdresser sleuth, Marla Shore. Nancy has given her site a complete makeover, and in celebration of her chic new style she invites everyone to enter her current contest. Prizes include, among other things, autographed books by Nancy and her critique group - including yours truly.

So visit Nancy and enter her contest. It's easy!

I think I answered my own question on Facebook last week about writers and self-bribery. One of the reasons we need to offer ourselves little ongoing rewards is that we rarely get paychecks - just a few times a year. Yes I know, writing should be it's own grand reward, yuh-huh. But think about it. How often is it that people with "regular" jobs drag themselves out of bed in the morning, dreading the coming day, but they get through it because they know that at the end of the week, or two weeks in a lot of cases, that paycheck is coming. Numbers and decimal points can go a long way in making even unsavory tasks more palatable. So does knowing you'll be able to pay your bills. Am I wrong?   

Anyway, after nailing down that little kernal of wisdom, I pretty much disappeared from the web-o-sphere for the rest of the week. I was suffering from such eye strain that I not only had several days worth of headaches (real thumpers, too), but staring at the computer screen actually made me queasy.

Talk about bug eyed!

That's when you know beyond a doubt that it's time for a break. Got so bad that by Saturday I was reduced to no computer, no TV and - oh, worst of all - no reading. Yikes!!! What's left in life? Basically, nothing. I spent a lot of that day lying down in a darkened room with an ice bag over my eyes. Fun, huh?

Not particularly, but it worked and by yesterday I was beginning to feel like myself again. Maybe if I'd heeded my body's message sooner things wouldn't have gotten so bad, but I behaved in the grand tradition of modern, busy humans: If I ignore it, maybe it will go away.

Oh, why does that never work? Seems we always need that proverbial knock on the head.