A Slice of Orange

Last week, I saw one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. The Other Guys, with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. Maybe it’s just because I was there with my kids, but I couldn’t stop laughing. The great thing was, most of the time, the movie stopped just short of the OTT humor in which Ferrell sometimes indulges, which I find more painful than funny. Ferrell is great when he’s playing the “straight man” which he was in this film. And while there were 15 minutes or so of slight drag in the last third, most of the time it cracked along.

The problem with comedy, is one man’s laugh is another man’s cringe – this applies to books and TV as well as movies. I love the Shopaholic novels (the latest, Mini-Shopaholic, just arrived in the mail today, yay!) and laugh all the way through them, but I have friends who find them irritating. Half the TV shows that are generously classified as sitcom leave me cold, while others, like Seinfeld, crack me up every time.

I learned a lot recently about how and why comedy is funny when I attended a workshop with Hollywood comedy guru Steve Kaplan. Sometimes, the kind of analysis you do in a workshop makes it harder to enjoy books or movies as a reader or viewer. But the great thing about Kaplan’s workshop was that I can still enjoy comedy, and in fact, appreciate it even more, without my tendency to analyze sucking the life out of it.

I also have a greater appreciation those writers who seem to produce effortless comedy. Because I know from experience it’s never effortless—in fact, it’s extremely difficult.

Okay, I’ve told you some of the movies and books I find funny…now how about you tell me yours? Because if there’s one thing we all need, it’s a good laugh!

I’m always fascinated by the process of coming up with a title for my books.

I always suggest something, of course, and I like some of my ideas better than others. Sometimes they stick, and sometimes they don’t.

Like my Harlequin Nocturnes. I’m writing a miniseries about Alpha Force, a covert military force of shapeshifters. The first in the series was ALPHA WOLF, which was published in January 2009. The second will be published in December of this year: ALASKAN WOLF. When I originally submitted my manuscript for ALPHA WOLF, the title was different–and so was the name of Alpha Force. I’d considered calling it Omega Force, as the last and ultimate group to be called in when nothing else works, but the editorial staff at Harlequin suggested that it be called Alpha Force–which made sense for a group composed largely of people who shift into canines. Now, many titles contain “Wolf”. I had a different title idea for ALASKAN WOLF, but another Nocturne was published with the name I’d proposed. The title ALASKAN WOLF, suggested again by the wonderful folks at Harlequin, works well, since the story takes place in–you guessed it!–Alaska! I’m currently working on the third book in the series, which I’ve called GUARDIAN WOLF, and that may remain its title.

I’ve had great fun coming up with, and sometimes brainstorming, titles for my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries, published by Berkley Prime Crime. The tone is light, and the titles are fun: SIT, STAY, SLAY; NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FERRETS; THE FRIGHT OF THE IGUANA; FELINE FATALE; and the rest.

I’m now working on a spinoff series from the Kendra mysteries, the Pet Rescue mysteries. The tone is a little darker, but they’re still cozy mysteries. I’ve struggled a little more with the titles, but the excellent Berkley folks have come through by suggesting great ones! The first, BEAGLEMANIA, about a puppy mill rescue, will be published in March 2011. As you can guess, some of the rescued puppies are baby beagles. And the second? We just agreed on it last week: THE MORE THE TERRIER. It’s a wonderful title for a story about animal hoarding!

How do you come up with titles for your books?

OCC’s annual Birthday Bash is this Saturday, October 9th, at the Brea Community Center – and this is one meeting you won’t want to miss!

Our speaker for the morning session is beloved New York Times bestselling author Linda Lael Miller

Since selling Fletcher’s Woman in 1983 to Pocket Books, Linda has successfully published historicals, contemporaries, paranormals, and thrillers before coming home, in a literal sense, and concentrating on novels with a Western flavor. For her devotion to her craft, the Romance Writers of America awarded her their prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Linda’s latest series, the McKettricks of Texas, Tate, Garrett and Austin (HQN Books February, June and July 2010 releases) has earned reader and reviewer acclaim and berths as high as #2 on the New York Times list.

A book signing will follow Linda’s talk.

After lunch, we will have celebrate our Birthday Bash with cake and other refreshments, and our annual raffle with fabulous prizes to be won! Prizes include several published author critiques, a Kobo e-reader, gift cards, themed baskets, and much, much more!

Doors open at 9:30 AM. Non-members and new faces are always welcome; there is a $20 visitor fee. Please note, there will be no Ask-an-Author session this month.

See you there!

Have you ever noticed how life tends to throw you curveballs just when you can least afford it? It’s almost as if Fate is saying, “So, this writing thing. How badly do you want it?”

I’m on a tight deadline right now. I’m already dealing with a heroine who is being difficult–or silent, actually, which is worse–so this means I am behind on my page count. Add to that a challenging day job, a husband out of town and a couple of sick kids, and it’s enough to make me want to hide under my desk. Or get lost in all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I thank God for my contract at times like this because, like most women, when others need me, I tend to push aside what I want to do in favor of taking care of everyone else. So husband, kids and day job get my attention first, and if I had no deadline, writing would somehow get pushed aside, listed on my To Do list under “I’ll get to it.” Yet I never would get to it. Or I would get to it weeks from now. Somehow everything else would take precedence.

I’ll say it again: Thank God for contracts and deadlines.

The deadline gives me an excuse to put writing first. I signed a contract. It’s a job. I have to do the work. The fact that I live and breathe to do this work is immaterial. The deadline somehow makes it okay in the mind of this wife/mother/employee to make it a priority. But should I need an excuse? Why can’t I just decide that writing comes first?

Okay, so I need to work on that. So I need to trick myself into making time. But I do it. The books get written. The work gets done.

When Fate throws obstacles in my path (see above: husband out of town, sick kids, grueling day at work), I simply find a way to get around them. That might mean getting up at 5am to write, as I did today. That might mean taking my laptop and getting out of the house to write. Go to Borders or Barnes & Noble or Starbucks. When you’re home, it’s way too easy to break out the Buffy or clean the tub or get distracted by the kids. When you go somewhere else with the express purpose of writing, it’s like going to an office to go to work. It makes the writing a priority.

I’m pleased to report that as of this morning, my heroine has finally started talking. My husband is home, half my kids are back to school and the other half are on antibiotics. So the fridge is empty. So we ate out every night this week. But the pages are done. I win.

How badly do I want it? You tell me.