Vixenwriter

I say feh to negativity and instead, want to talk about things a writer needs most – friends.

When I first started out, I had no real concept of what this business would be like. So it was all just sort of theoretical and in a few ways that was good because I wouldn’t have been as disapointed if things hadn’t worked out.

But later on, as things began to move forward for me, I realized how important it was to have friends you can trust. And it’s not like this idea in general, was new to me. I’ve always thought friends were important. But for whatever reason, this business can be filled to the brim with negativity sometimes and having people who can help you through it all is priceless.

For instance – rejections. Oh we can all pretend that “rejection is part of the business” so it shouldn’t bother us. And it is part of the business, don’t get me wrong. And you do have to get past it. But you’d be inhuman if it didn’t bother you on some level. So what a friend who writes can do is help you to see the rejection as a learning tool – how to glean whatever information is in the letter to make the ms better and/or send you virtual chocolate and grousing about how totally blind that editor is for not seeing your brilliance. It takes a friend who’s been there to help you through the particularly hard ones and to help you pick yourself up and move forward. You can’t wallow too long because it will happen again, but a good friend is gonna spot you while you’re wallowing and then tell you when it’s time to get out of the pool if you’ve been in too long.

Bad reviews – your friends are going to help you be philosophical about the run of the mill bad review. They’re going to remind you that books are subjective because people read them and everyone looks at the world differently. A good friend will tell you when you’re overreacting. And a good friend will also tell you when a review is more about the issues of the reviewer and not the book at all. And a good friend will remember that just because we put our books out there, it doesn’t mean it won’t hurt when people question our motives, our honor or our honesty. A good friend will also tell you when it’s time to shut up about it and move on – an important quality in a friend, LOL.

Blocks – oh god, this one is hard because you can be blocked for a whole host of reasons. But a good writerly friend can help you brainstorms and plot, they’ll crit for you, they’ll check in to see how you’re doing. Sometimes they have great tips for how to get past the block.

Writing in general – what a prize a good friend who is a good critter can be! And by good, I mean honest. People like to say, “oh I’m a brutally honest critter” but most of the time what they mean is they’re just overly bitter and negative and their crit isn’t helpful or constructive at all. A blunt critter is a huge help at least for me because while it’s nice to get pets from your friends, I want to improve my writing and a good critter will say, “this scene doesn’t work, why is it here?” Or “is this necessary?” and offer other perspectives on what may work or not. A friend wants you to succeed and will just say, “you can do better.”

Advice always helps. Support when you’re low, celebration when things go well. It’s good to have people in your corner to get you through. Are there haters? Yes. Are there fake people who pretend to be nice but who’ll stab you in the back when they can? Yes. But for every one of them there are ten good people. It’s important to be choosy and to try your damndest to rise above the pool of people who live to be bitter. It’s easy to be bitter and it’s easy to let that claim your existence so all you have is negativity. And that becomes a cycle because it garners attention as well and it’s hard not to feed on that. But a true friend will help you rise above, will tell you, “no good can come from that response” and a true friend will pet your head and shake theirs ruefully at you when you do the wrong thing.

Don’t forget the people who’re with you now and who’ve been there through thick and thin. A true friend is a rare and wonderful thing.

Well, not like I’m not thrilled to have last week gone or anything *shudder* I’m back to work on my WIP for the Samhain anthology so yay on that. We’re just shy of consummation, heh. And then I need to work on a few proposals and get writing Making Chase. Oh and I have a release date for two books – Ascension is June 8 from EC and Making Chase is June 5 – busy late spring for me! But as I’ve said, I like busy!

I finally got my newsletter out yesterday, dreadfully late I know.

The fabulous Frauke has designed a new bookmark for me that I’ll have for RT – absolutely gorgeous. Oh and she’s going to do a new website for me as well. Just because she does wonderful work and I thought something new would be nice! Look for a new face here in March sometime.

I watched part of The Punisher yesterday. I’m not sure why, it’s not a very good movie. Perhaps because it’s not hard to look at hot, muscled up men stride around without shirts and getting all sweaty. What? Did you think I was looking for the socio-political subtext or something? Not in eye candy pop movie smut! Sheesh, a girl has to have her guilty pleasures sometimes.

But not just now. Now I have work to do so I’m off! Enjoy your day ladies and gents.

The very talented Frauke has struck again! Check out the fabulously gorgeous website and blog she’s created for the Dynamic Trio!

We’ll be doing a grand opening contest soon so keep an eye on the blog for details!!

Yesterday I needed new glasses and went out to get them. Sigh. Okay, first of all, my healthcare program doesn’t have Saturday hours for the optometry services. Now I get that they’re all people with lives and stuff and I don’t begrudge them their weekends, but it’s impossible for me to get there with kids in tow and this is a really hard time of year for my husband to take off so I had to go to a non system eye doctor who was open on Saturday. Anyway, I got my eye exam and found out I have mild astygmatism, which apparently isn’t something I can do anything about but it sounds awful.

So I did get my glasses, which I quite like. And they’ve got special lenses shaped to help with the astygmatism so for the first several hours after I got them, it was very disorienting! I’m used to it now but I suppose it went to show just how much I needed new glasses that these are such a huge difference.

But while I was out and waiting for everything I went to the bookstore – hee! I picked up: Vivi Anna’s Inferno, the new Crimson City Anthology because I love Patti O’Shea and I’ve been looking for it everywhere, Jackie Kessler’s Hells Belles and a cool book on celtic mythology. All on a gift card! Yay!

The husband and I watched, The Last Sect, which appears to be a straight to video vampire movie that looks a thousand times more cheesy on the box than it really was. It wasn’t a bad movie at all. There were some plot holes but the overall story arc and world myth they’d built was pretty good and I was definitely entertained, even by as one of the characters calls “wild vampire sluts” which wasn’t so much the case but there are some hawt chick vampire girl on girl kisses which were sort of relevant to the plot and not so incredibly overdone that you laughed.

And today I get to have lunch with a friend I don’t see nearly enough! Indian food! Woooo! Oh and then I need to pick up the stuff for my oldest’s costume for the upcoming school play. Glamorous!

The totally fabulous Maura Anderson tagged me

Contemporary, Historical or Paranormal?
I like them all but i’m picky about authors in all three. I love paranormals the most probably, but as it’s what I write most often, I need a break sometimes. I usually move to contemps or sci-fi and then historicals. I do love historicals but it takes me a bit to get back into the language differences.

Hardback, Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback?
Generally, MM. But most of my friends write in trade, so I buy their books that way. Very occasionally I buy in hardback (hey, it’s expensive for a girl addicted to books!) usually just for JD Robb books and the new Sookie books.

Heyer or Austin?
Austin absolutely hands down

Amazon or Brick & Mortar?
I have three children who are holy terrors (read my There are DAYS entry from earlier this week) so Amazon is way easier for me. Plus I signed up for the free plus and I never bothered to unsubscribe so now I get free two day shipping, which rocks I must admit. Still, I do love to shop in brick and mortar bookstores, there’s nothing more satisfying than rows and rows of books all waiting to be fondled.

First romance novel you ever remember reading?
Forever by Judy Blume.

Alphabetize by author, alphabetize by title or random?
Um, no. On the shelf if I’m lucky, more often in four foot high piles because the shelves are all full.

Keep, throw away or sell?
I keep about 1/3 (used to be more but I don’t have the room!) the rest I give away or donate.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
Remove it, it’s too floppy and it bugs me when I’m trying to read.

Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake?
I like Sookie. Sookie is more tangible to me and I like her personality more. Still, I like the AB books.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
I try to make it to chapter breaks but sometimes I just can’t I’m too dead tired.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Neither.

Crusie or SEP?
Okay, this question is totally unfair. Because I adore both and really for the same reason – they take unexpected characters and make them work. Crusie’s humor is more snarky like mine but SEP has this unbelievable talent in making a character you should not like at all, a real heroine. I love them both and I read everything they write. I will say it was Crusie’s Welcome to Temptation that really made me think writing romance was something I wanted to try – she used these quirky characters who weren’t perfect by any stretch and she made it work. Oh and I’ll never, ever forget the dock scene…

Buy or borrow?
I do both.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, recommendations or browse?
Hmm, well recommendations by people whose tastes are similar to mine first. Then I browse and I do use reviews if they’re from a source I trust. Personal tastes being what they are, I’ve read great reviews of books I hated, still getting why they got that review – now that’s a good review (or vice versa in many cases too) I have my review go to places and my go to reviewers as well.

Tidy ending or cliff-hanger?
Depends on what’s right for the story.

Morning reading, afternoon reading, or evening reading?
Most of the time it’s evening, I don’t have the time during the day.

Series or stand alone?
I just like good books. Sometimes they’re series books, sometimes they’re standalone

Favorite book of which no one else has heard?
No one? Nah, I hang out with a lot of very booky peeps, they’re all quite book savvy. How about favorite book I wish more people knew about? That would be Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon – it’s cyber noir and it contains some of the most beautiful writing (in a dark and edgy way) I’ve read in a long time.

I’m supposed to tag people but many of us have been tagged so let me try Anya, Megan, TJ and Shelley.

The last part is a bad combination of words. I’d feel bad for cussing, but, well I don’t. Sigh.

The best thing about today is that my husband is coming home from his business trip. He’s been gone almost all week. I hate when he’s gone. It’s hard to sleep when he’s not here and the kids are wilder than normal too. And I like talking to him and snuggling with him. Plus he spoils me and he smells good.

I usually do book talk on Fridays but the truth is, I haven’t read much lately because I’ve been editing and revising, stressing and cleaning up chocolate powder and then my boys’ bathroom. Seriously, their packages are not that big in comparison to the size of the toilet bowl, how hard is it to hit the target? Gah!

But I have managed to get about halfway through Eileen Wilks’ Blood Lines and it’s so GOOOOOOD! I love the world she’s created with this series, creative, unique and Rule? Oh man, is he like the most fabulous hero or what? I love how she’s got multiple storylines but I never feel cheated or confused. Takes a skillful hand to do that. Anyway, when I finish up, I’ll do a review here.

Oh! But a lovely bright spot in my week? I won an ARC from Alison Kent of her upcoming book The Perfect Stranger wooo! Not getting gushy here so she won’t think I’m a stalker or anything, but I’m a big fan so this is very cool.

And today was a DAY. I sort of lovingly refer to my children as monsters, and they can be. They’re very spirited and active and it’s often a huge ordeal to manage all three of them at once. But overall, they’re all good hearted kids who, aside from being a handful, are generally a joy.

But man, when they decide to be terrors? They excel. Last night, my five year old threw a tantrum that was magnificent to behold. Seriously I watched in awe before I walked over him, repeated that he had to go to bed and left the room. Kicking of things, pounding the floor, wailing and crying so hard he got that hiccuping thing. Still, he did go to bed early, even if I was the meanest mom ever and yesterday was the worst day of his whole life.

My two year old has gone from a good natured sweetie pie to an absolute tyrant. My oldest had the terrible threes and my middle had a pretty severe terrible two stage but she takes the cake. Today she started off by getting into the sealed art supply container and grabbing markers. When I discovered her, I knew it was bad because she ran to me, burst into tears and threw the markers at me. She was covered in ink and it was all over her shirt as well. I tossed her in the tub and when I brought her back downstairs, caught a view of my couch. My sage green couch with multi colored marker ink.

I spray and washed them (I should have stock) and magic erasered the walls I found she’d also hit (again with the stock), made lunch for her and my five year old and put her down for a nap.

Rested, she wakes up raring to continue her path of terror through my day. This time, I’m around the corner and I hear the oddest sound and smell chocolate. My youngest child has broken into the pantry and retrieved the can of mommy’s nice gourmet chocolate drinking powder and it’s all over my living room. And in case you didn’t know this, chocolate powder is sticky. It took me forty five minutes to wipe up the toys that could be saved, throw away the ones that couldn’t and vacuum. I sliced my arm open on the vacuum too. Because today has just been that special.

Another tantrum at dinner because she wanted apple juice instead of milk and then the second round because she wants the milk I’ve left on the table just out of her reach. She’s been merciless with my 5 year old today, taking things from him, getting in his face, trying to brain him with her My Little Pony.

And I’m trying to edit. Now, it takes a special kind of patience to edit and I have none left. Still, it needs to be done so I’m trying to do it around eight thousand interruptions, full on brawls and lots of screams and crying.

It’s been a loooooooong day.

I was looking back at some reviews I’d written and it struck me that I always commented on whether or not a heroine was truly strong or kickass or not. This is important to me, as a reader and an author actually.

I write a lot of heroines who are warriors in some sense. Whether they’re actually physical warriors like Mei or Tegan, (and Rowan and Maya from books you haven’t seen yet) or have a just cause to fight like the Charvez women or Tracy and Nina. I still I always have to work hard to find that line between too hard and believable in the circumstances (an assasin is not going to be all kittens and bunnies).

Even when they’re not witches charged with a compact to protect the innocent, I want heroines to be strong and self sufficient. Maggie and Cassie are strong that way, Tess is strong that way. They don’t have to wield a firearm or know judo, and it doesn’t mean they aren’t wounded in some way, but they’re not going to give up.

I was reading a book recently (and I read this a lot, sadly) where the heroine was one we were supposed to believe was “kickass” but really? She was a whiner. And stupid, impulsive and a doormat for the hero who was an A all right but not an alpha. This is higher on my annoyance list than heroines who scream every time they have an orgasm and double dipping in anal scenes.

Look, all these “experts” keep telling us to show and not tell. So what you’re showing with your whiny heroine is not that she’s strong and smart. You’re showing she’s a doormat. The kind of woman most of us wouldn’t want to hang out with and certainly not anyone you could trust to get your back or tell you when you had egg on your face and to suck it up. The author can tell us the heroine is spunky but that’s not what she is at all.

Heroines like Sugar Beth from SEP’s Ain’t She Sweet are such a great example (and also, another example of a risky book that totally works). She’s got a lot on her plate and most of it deserved in some sense but she does not give up. I love that!

I want a heroine that I could aspire to be in some sense. I want to think of at least one quality I admire when I read. I don’t have to be a bodyguard or an assasin or a regency era virgin, but I would like to be smart, witty, resourceful, etc.

That’s the kind of heroine that hooks me into a book. A three dimensional person I like to read about.

Shelley is talking about genre over at the Dynamic Trio blog today. You should check it out because she’s smart and well spoken and I think she’s fab.

I thought I’d touch on it from my perspective here. I like the blurring of lines between genres. I think it’s exciting and brings fresh air into what’s coming out now. Rather than be distressed by the recent books that stretch our expectations of romance, I love them. I love that authors are taking chances and having the opportunity to do so by editors with the power or persuasive skill to buy them to begin with.

I look at books like Kim Harrison’s Hollows series and I think she’s done something so fabulous and readers responded to that. They’re not simply paranormals, they’ve definitely got a romantic feel to them as well. But they don’t fit comfortably in any genre box and how great is that? She took the best from a few different genres and she blazed a trail.

That is creativity. That’s what artists do. She took risks and in doing so, she made something that rose above the restrictions of genre. When we try and shove everything into genre boxes, we miss stories like Lilith Saintcrow’s Dante Valentine novels and Harrison’s Hollows books. Kelley Armstrong’s Bitten is another fabulous example.

I’m not dogging straight romances – I write straight romances most of the time. I love writing them and you all seem to like reading them so hey, that’s all good for me! (and thank you!) But there’s a book out there now that I hope to goodness sells that doesn’t fit in a box. It’s romantic, it has a romantic resolution but it’s also a hard assed paranormal. It’s been a trial because it doesn’t fit (too much sex for the straight urban fantasy lines, too much romance, too hard a heroine for romance). And still, it’s a good story. I know it’s mine and I know we’re supposed to pretend we can’t really say this stuff but damn it, it’s a good book and I want to finish it.

I’d like for us to expand our expectations instead of narrowing genre boxes. Yes, I suppose that’s idealistic of me, but I can’t help it. I think about all the truly wonderful books I’ve read and almost all of them came as a surprise to me. I wasn’t expecting them to be what they were. I want that element of wonder and suspense, I like it.