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OCC RWA May Online Class

April 26, 2013 by in category Archives

OCCRWA Proudly Presents: header

May 13 – June 9, 2013

Writing the Inspirational Romance

with Nancy J. Farrier
Nancy Farrier
About the Class:

What is the definition of Inspirational romance? A sweet story? An element of faith? A character type? What about S-E-X in Inspirational romance? In this class we’ll take a look at the qualities found in Inspirational stories. We’ll delve into what comprises the various genres within the Inspirational market: contemporary, historical, romantic suspense, etc. 

We’ll look at the element of faith to see what that means and if there is a standard amount expected in your story. We’ll look at examples, and you will be able to share some of your work, if you choose, to see if your manuscript fits the market.

About the Instructor:

Nancy J. Farrier has published thirteen books in the Inspirational market since her first novel released in 2001. She has also written numerous articles and short stories that have been published in various magazines and books such as Today’s Christian Woman and Focus on the Family Clubhouse. She has also been the coordinator for the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award for thirteen years and is the secretary of the Faith, Hope and Love chapter of RWA, an online chapter for Inspirational authors.

Enrollment Information

This is a 4-week online course that uses email and Yahoo Groups.  The class is open to anyone wishing to participate.  The cost is $30.00 per person or, if you are a member of OCCRWA, $20.00 per person.


To join the class, please follow this link.



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So Much of What I’ve Needed to Know, I’ve Learned From Books

April 19, 2013 by in category Archives tagged as , , , ,

And comic books.  Seriously. Long before I ever had a science class Superman explained water came from two parts hydrogen, one part oxygen and a lot of energy. Come to think of it, that’s about all I ever did understand about chemistry.
Albert Payson Terhune taught me about the love between dog and person, and the superhuman qualities of his Collies. Later years took a lot of the polish off his halo for me but brought an overwhelming appreciation for the value of hard work when writing. Good, bad, indifferent, that man put out the words. From Jack London I learned about the quest to do more and be greater, in dog or human. Walter Farley filled my head with misinformation about horse racing and stimulated the imagination of a horse crazy girl (and isn’t that a rare condition!)
Thanks to Bruce Catton and Elswyth Thane I understood more about the Civil War, the battles and the people involved. As well as the continued involvement of a patriotic family (Thane) and how involved some families with each other. From Laurie King I learned the not to be forgotten phrase “Cream of Man Soup” about trench warfare in France.  All of these writers stimulated me to more research as I tried to understand the reasons for war. Yeah, good luck on that.
Andre Norton showed endless future possibilities and also the value of one small person staying the course in spite of all odds. A most valuable contribution to the growth of an insecure girl. Betty Cavanna and other writers of that ilk spoke to that insecurity and helped ease me into growing past.
All of these writers fed my love of words, with Rudyard Kipling bloating me on their power “We’re foot slog slog slog slogging over Africa…” and “The great gray green greasy Limpopo river.”
Then one day I read: “Nothing ever happens to me.” and was transported into the world of Romantic Suspense as penned by Mary Stewart, the master of subtle romance. Sure I read books about pillage and kidnapping and Alpha heroes. But I kept coming back to magnificently worded books with people simply doing their best.  Add in Helen MacInnes and another dose of Andre Norton and I guess I could say a writer was born.
How is it for you?  What writers kicked over your rock and sent the creative ants to work?

Monica Stoner, member at Large. Writing as Mona Karel, and working now on a sequel to My Killer My Love…hoping I can come up with an even better title

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emaginings: Nobility in Romance

April 16, 2013 by in category Archives tagged as , , , ,

What a wonderful meeting we had this last Saturday!

In the morning, we had a guest in PAW, Dawn Vaeoso of All Romance eBooks. I was already familiar with ARe, but mostly as a reader. Dawn and Debra led a lively discussion and I think we all learned something. I missed the morning workshop by Jackie Barbosa, but heard it was excellent.

But I want to riff a little on something our afternoon speaker, James Scott Bell said in his fabulous talk. When talking about creating unforgettable characters, he listed several characteristics that will make your characters jump off the page:

  • Unpredictable
  • Passionate
  • Resourceful
  • Complex
  • Gutsy
  • Wounded
  • Noble

In passing, he noted that the last quality, nobility, is underused, but also discussed characters who are willing to sacrifice to attain their goals or to save someone else. I was busy listening and taking notes, but still thought at the time that nobility isn’t so rare in romance. I’ve been in critique and plot groups for years and can’t begin to count the number of times we’ve been plotting, usually toward the end of the book, only to have someone ask: What is he/she going to sacrifice? Or at least be willing to sacrifice?

Of course, the classic example of character sacrifice is The Gift of the Magi. Such a beautiful, romantic story. But that kind of sacrifice isn’t at all uncommon in romance. We’ve all read romances where the hero or heroine jumps in the path of a bullet to save the other. But it needn’t be a life or death matter. Is one willing to give up a job opportunity to be with the other? Or willing to uproot his/her life and move far away? There are lots of possibilities.

Here’s how the mutual sacrifice works in Rogue’s Hostage, my captive story set during the French & Indian War. Toward the end of the book, Jacques and Mara are trapped in the besieged city of Quebec. Mara’s brother, Gideon, is with the besieging British Army. Jacques knows the situation is dire and tries to have Mara ransomed to the British. He is willing to give up the woman he loves in order to keep her safe. When things go wrong, Mara risks her relationship with her brother, her only living relative, to save the man she loves. I could say more, but that would be giving away a spoiler, so I’ll refrain. 

What do you think? Are romance characters more noble than most?

Linda McLaughlin

Website: http://www.lindamclaughlin.com/
Blog: http://flightsafancy.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LyndiLamont

Rogue’s Hostage buy links:
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00BJO26OY
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1005663623
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/291719

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WHAT A DOG!

April 15, 2013 by in category Archives tagged as , , ,

My grand-dog Tucker
Recently, a fan wrote to tell me she loved my book Hostile Witness* because I hadn’t killed Max as she expected. I’ve been traveling a lot in the last few weeks and it took me a minute to figure out who Max was and why it was so important to her that he was alive. Max is Josie Bates’ dog; Josie is the heroine of the witness series. I was touched by the reader’s concern for the fictional canine, Max, and that made me wonder: Why is a book that includes an animal richer, more entertaining, and more engaging than one without?
The answer was simple: Animals bring out the best and the worst in a human character. This makes for great drama and provides an emotional touch point that is critical for an exciting read.

Max-the-Dog (his legal name) was originally created as a reflection of Josie, his mistress. Both had been abandoned, both had to fight for their lives, both were protective of others. But Max became so much more than Josie’s mirror as the series unfolded.

 Here are four ways Max made a difference in the witness series:


MAX ENHANCED HUMAN CHARACTERIZATION: Those who attack him were inherently more evil than a bad guy who ignored him. Those who love Max were more admirable because they cared for and protect him.


MAX WAS AN ANIMATED SOUNDING BOARD: Internal dialogue can be tedious. If an author allows a character to speculate to an animal, the rhetorical questions or monologues sound natural.

MAX’S PRESENCE SET A TONE: A scene tone can be set by the way a human character speaks to or interacts with an animal counterpart. A whispered warning creates a much different tone than a screaming command; a languid pet conjures up different visions than a playful ruffling of fur.

MAX HELPED MOVE THE PLOT FORWARD: An animal’s needs can put a human in a place they might not have been in. For instance, in Privileged Witness (book #3), Josie takes Max out for his evening constitutional and alerts her to her fugitive client who was hiding outside. Without Max, Josie would have no reason to go outside and never would have discovered her client. An animal’s heightened senses can also assist a human to warn of danger or alert a human to a change in their surroundings.

From The Hound of the Baskervilles to Lassie and Blue Dog, My Friend Flicka and The Black Stallion, The Cheshire Cat and Puss-in-Boots, animals have frolicked as humans, served to reflect human frailties and strengths, and just plain worked their way into reader’s hearts because of their own character. 

So, to the kind lady who was concerned about Max, have no fear. He will never come to a violent end. No matter what happens to him, his presence or lack thereof, will be a decision motivated by story and plot and, of course, love, because Max is as real to me as if he sat at my feet while I wrote my stories.

*Hostile Witnessis free for all e-readers and is available in print and audio. It was recently released in France.  

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Naked Sushi is a Cosmo Red Hot Read from Harlequin by Jina Bacarr

April 11, 2013 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
“Naked Sushi” cover coming soon.
I thought this illo had a “Bond Girl” feel to it.

What girl doesn’t enjoy reading Cosmo? With its sexy articles and fun fashions, the magazine has evolved over the years. But one thing remains constant:

You know when you pick up Cosmo your libido is going to do a tap dance.

My libido is dancing overtime.

I’m thrilled that my novella, NAKED SUSHI, will be a Cosmo Red Hot Read from Harlequin.

I’m still pinching myself that my wise-cracking, computer-hacking, sex-starved heroine, Pepper O’Malley, will be a Cosmo Girl.

Pepper watches all the cop and spy shows on TV–Castle  and Covert Affairs are her favorites–and she’s intrigued by Person of Interest.

And now she’s got her own story to tell:

Amateur spy PEPPER O’MALLEY gets more than she bargained for when she discovers her sleazy boss is hiding corporate secrets.

She gets fired.

Was it her fault she got caught in the copy room with her pants down with a hunky thief?
The only way Pepper can get her job back is to become a naked sushi model and spy on her ex-boss.

She’s thrown into a world of corporate espionage she never imagined…

——— 
Pepper is a lot like me. I wrote a column for Microtimes magazine called “Sweet Savage Byte,” where I looked at the world of technology from a female pov. This didn’t always go over well with male programmers…though I did meet a bunch of great guys at the magazine.

Like Pepper, I also worked for a video game company, wrote code, and worked with audio/video. I also worked for Japanese companies and wrote a book called “The Japanese Art of Sex,” which was featured on Playboy TV.

I was thrilled when Harlequin added “Naked Sushi” to this exciting new series.

Sylvia Day is the launch author for the series with “Afterburn” in August 2013.

“Naked Sushi” is scheduled for October 2013.

More to come in the upcoming weeks!

————-

P.S. My erotic short story, Breaking the Rules, about a working girl who learns you have to ask for what you want…at work or in bed…is FREE from April 12-16th!
 
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