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The Temptations of the Muse

September 16, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as , , ,

by Linda McLaughlin

USA Today reported that in an interview with The Sunday Times, John Le Carre, British intelligence agent turned thriller writer, said he was “tempted to defect to the Soviet Union”. Le Carre, real name David Cornwell, joined British intelligence in 1949. He wasn’t sympathetic to Communist ideology, but he was “curious about what was on the other side of the Iron Curtain”.

Is he a writer, or what?

As an author, I can understand where he’s coming from. The muse is always whispering in our ears, asking questions and making suggestions. When I was writing my historical romance, Rogue’s Hostage, which was set in Pennsylvania and Quebec, I jumped on the opportunity to attend a conference in Toronto. Then I talked my husband into joining me afterwards so I could see Quebec City for myself. We had a lovely vacation, I got great visuals of the area I’d be writing about, and I found research material that would have been much harder to find in California. (This was in 1994 before so much was available on the internet.) This experience helped me to write a better book.

A few years ago, my publisher, Amber Quill, started looking for gay romances, something I’d never thought I’d write, but my muse had different ideas. I shocked friends and family by taking this step, but my sales are up and one of my stories was an EPPIE finalist. Sometimes the muse knows best, though I’m glad Le Carre didn’t defect. Otherwise we’d never have had The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, The Constant Gardener, and dozens of other books by a terrific author.

What has your muse tempted you to do?

Linda

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PRO Blog

September 14, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as

I’M GLAD I TOOK THE TIME
by Kitty Bucholtz

I’ve been writing stories since I can remember, the first ones in chalk on a blackboard in the hallway outside our bedrooms. In 1996, I let someone try to convince me I could maybe really publish something. I did in 1997, and I got my first “thank you” email from a reader. That was “the moment” for me. The moment when I thought maybe I could change the world with my words.

In 2001, I joined RWA, can’t even remember why. Someone must’ve told me it would be good for me. I expected broccoli (something I like, but it is a vegetable) and instead I found a buffet (broccoli, pot roast, potatoes, jello salad, death by chocolate cake – the works!). Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the buffet was spread out on so many tables and I missed a lot of it, still don’t know a lot of the benefits. There are so many and I’m finding new ones all the time.

In 2004, my agent sent out my first book – very exciting. We got two “we would’ve bought it six months ago” replies, and my agent told me to just write another book and keep going. So I did, not realizing there was this thing called PRO and that it would be helpful for me to join it.

I spent most of 2006 in Sydney, Australia, and strangely that’s when I learned about PRO. I was making friends at OCC by being involved through email and in online activities and Gina Black told me about it. Then I think Mindy Neff encouraged me again to get the paperwork filled out. But I didn’t see the point – it was just a pin, right? Finally, Sandy Chvostal all but printed out the form for me! I sent it off, got the pin – then an amazing thing happened. I finally started to see that going PRO was about more than a pin!

We get our own retreat at the RWA National Conference with lots of great speakers and information just for us. We have our own Yahoo Groups with tons of information and mini-classes every month. (All free, mind you!) We get treated like professionals instead of wannabes. Respect! I love it! All for proving that we have the capacity and fortitude to say we’re going to write an entire book and send it to an editor or agent. Even if we’re not picked up, people give us the respect of knowing we have it in us.

Now that I know so much about PRO (and I’m pretty sure what I know is only a part of everything that PRO is!), I encourage all my friends to fill out that darn paperwork! When else in your writing career is someone going to give you a medal for being rejected by an agent or an editor! LOL!! Going PRO has really helped me grow as a writer. So join us – go PRO and grow!


Kitty Bucholtz is a co-founder of Routines For Writers, a new web site to help writers write more. She writes light urban fantasy novels with a romantic comedy spin – and loves every minute of it! Even though she loves talking about, writing about, and teaching about writing, she’s pretty sure she knows at least three people who aren’t writers.

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A Writer’s Pursuit…

September 12, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as

Of Inspiration

Have you ever strolled into a room and just been struck by the intricate details found in every corner, by the colors, by the traditions, by the history? Did the room ever become inspiration for part of your story?

This particular room inspired a couple of famous authors, Lewis Carroll and J.K. Rowling: The dining hall at Christ Church in Oxford, England.

Charles Dodgson, a.k.a. Lewis Carroll, taught mathematics at Christ Church, but entertained Dean Liddell’s daughter, Alice, and her siblings with stories about Wonderland and often drew his inspiration from his surroundings around the college. At the far end of the photo, you can see the High Table where the faculty members eat. From what we were told on our tour, the senior members of the faculty would exit the dining hall through an extremely narrow staircase behind the table, which eventually led to a senior common room then outside to the Tom Quad. It’s believed this may be the inspiration for the Rabbit Hole.

And, of course, Harry Potter fans recognize this hall as the inspiration for Hogwarts’ dining hall, too. However, the portraits here didn’t move, although I did hear a tale that one of them does… I wish I knew the full story behind that! 😉

I know lately I’ve been inspired by historic homes, abbeys, villages, and small towns…At least enough to incorporate a piece of what I remember about those places into my stories, those special details to make the tale my own, to make it pop off the page.

So what about you? What places have struck you with inspiration lately? Was it a room? A town? A college? A dining hall?

Take Care,

Michele

Michele Cwiertny writes dark paranormal romance. To find out more about her, please visit her website, michelecwiertny.com, or her personal blog, Michele’s Writing Corner.

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My Video Interview with Burn Notice Author Tod Goldberg

September 11, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as

by Jina Bacarr

“When you’re a spy, certain things come easy…” writes Tod Goldberg in the opening of his Burn Notice book, “The Fix.”

For me, writing this blog on September 11th isn’t one of them.

I’m not a spy, but the heroine of my latest Spice release, Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs, is. Meet Breezy Malone, a female Indiana Jones and one tough chick. I asked Breezy what she would say if she was writing this blog on this important day in our history.

These are her words:

“Everybody knows the game has changed since 9/11. No longer are attacks planned and executed by a single al-Qaeda mastermind. Fueled by an ever-increasing well of recruits bound together by motives and causes, it’s up to me to find out what the target knows and who he’s working for.

I’m a spy. A covert op, a trained intelligence agent. I deal with graying KGB agents with prostate problems, punks from Pakistan flaunting peach fuzz and assault rifles and Iraqi militants eager to trade intel for explosives. It’s an international grocery list and it’s my job to roll up as many of these lowlifes as I can.

I go where other government agents can’t, taking down sophisticated men in grey tweed as well as terrorists who view the world with a piercing gaze and an AK-47.

If you passed me on the street you’d never know I was a Federal agent carrying a concealed Glock while keeping the eyeball on the punk ahead of me, ready to go into auto-mode to immobilize him if I’m threatened. I like my job and I do it well.

They say in the field, it’s all about people, not theory. Never was it so true as it is today. We’re fighting a war on terror and terror doesn’t take a holiday. The Federal agents out there know that and risk their lives every day to keep America safe. They do it because they believe in America and what we stand for. So do I and I know you do, too. So don’t forget the agents in the field. Not now, not ever.

Duty calls. Gotta go. It’s the business I’m in.”

Thankz, Breezy.

And thank you to author Tod Goldberg for bringing Michael Westen from the Burn Notice TV series to the page in his novel, “The Fix.” As anyone who watches the show knows, Michael Westen does his job with style, brains, a quick wit and fast moves. That also describes Tod. I had the opportunity to interview him after the August OCC meeting and totally enjoyed it.

Check out my video interview with Tod Goldberg then check out Tod’s blog at http://todgoldberg.typepad.com/

Best, Jina

Jina Bacarr is the author of The Blonde Geisha , Naughty Paris, Tokyo Rendezvous, a Spice Brief, and Spies, Lies & Naked Thighs, featuring a female Indiana Jones.

Coming in April 2009: Cleopatra’s Perfume, set in Cairo and Berlin during WWII.

Jina says, “What if Casablanca was erotic…”

“Get Caught in the Act!”

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It’s Worth It

September 9, 2008 by in category Archives tagged as

ROUTINES FOR WRITERS

by Kitty Bucholtz

Write every day. Make each book better than your last. Write what you love so that your passion fills every page. Oh, and by the way, make time for blogs, web sites, social sites, teaching classes, and writing articles to get your name out there as much as possible.

Not to be a naysayer, but wow! That sounds like so much work! I’d rather do the first three things than spend so much time on marketing myself that I have less time for writing. But once a business school graduate, always a business mindset. How could I do both?

One day, it occurred to my two critique partners and me that our weekly conference calls were such a huge part of all three of us getting more done – why didn’t we find a way to share our conference call with more writers – and promote ourselves? Thus the idea for Routines For Writers was born.

Launched on September 1, 2008, the web site is meant to be a discussion-starter for brainstorming ways to get more and better writing done. The three of us only blog once a week, but that gives readers new material each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. (It also gives us real and attainable deadlines.) We’re writing “pillar articles” – longer articles that go into more detail on a particular topic. We’ll post helpful spreadsheets and documents for tracking progress, making goals, and other helpful items. And we’ll have guest bloggers from all areas of the publishing scene.

Instead of stressing about whether we three unpublished-in-novel-length-fiction writers should have three web sites already, we moved the synergy we’d already developed into a joint web site. And the web site is on a topic we’re (gasp!) passionate about! All three of us love teaching, love sharing what we’ve learned with others. (I helped a new writer while eating lunch at the Costco food court last month. It was great!)

What can you do to harness synergy that’s already begun in your writing world? How can you get more done with less work? How can you get your name out more without cutting into your writing time? (And without, say, forgetting to go to the bank and the grocery store as I did this week. Scene 1: Enter husband looking through bare cupboards…)

If you have some ideas, share them here. And come on by our web site and see what we’re talking about each week. We’d love to have you join in the discussion!


Kitty Bucholtz is a co-founder of Routines For Writers, a new web site to help writers write more. She writes light urban fantasy novels with a romantic comedy spin – and loves every minute of it! Read her article Orange You Glad You Thought of That? in this month’s RWR magazine. Even though she loves talking about, writing about, and teaching about writing, she’s pretty sure she knows at least three people who aren’t writers.

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