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The Expectations of Well-Meaning…and Not So-Well-Meaning, People

I’m going to do the drawing to see who won The Argentine’s Price later in the week, so you can still comment on the post below or your chance to win!

In the meantime…

This is a subject I think about a lot. Because it really has an effect on my real life. I’m talking about the PEOPLE in your real life, and what they think about…well…your writing. About you doing it, about what you choose to write about.

I was raised in church and I remain involved in church. I started out in a 5K member church, and went there for the first twenty years of my life. My mom worked at the church, my dad led a worship service at the church. I got a job at the church coffee shop, which is ultimately where I met my husband. Who also sang at the same church.

We aren’t at that church anymore and haven’t been for about five years, but a lot of the ties there remain. We still attend church and we’re still involved in music.

I give you that bit of background on myself so that this next part makes sense.

When I first started writing romance, it was hard for me to let people know what I was doing. (And I mean right at first. When I sent off His Virgin Acquisition, it took me a couple of weeks to tell my mother it was to Harlequin) I never talked about it with other people, not just because I knew I was likely to face disapproval, but because I didn’t think it would work out anyway.

Then it did. And that was great. I was thrilled. At that point, my family and my closest friends knew what I was writing and I didn’t have to fear any judgment from them. Quite the opposite, they’ve always been very supportive of me.

But it’s a mixed bag. Not everyone is thrilled to hear I’m writing romance, though most people don’t react strongly. (A lot of people laugh, and that’s less about judgment and more about…well, people being weird, but more on that later on)

As I’m writing, I sometimes realize, my pastor’s wife might read this. My mom definitely will. That derails things pretty quick sometimes. (though my mom never has a problem with my books!)

That’s when I have to take a breath and ask myself: How’s it gonna go? Am I going to write to try and please others? Or am I going to serve the story?

In my circle, opting not to write Christian Fiction is kind of a big deal. (When are you going to write a book like Francine Rivers?) Writing romance, secular, sexy romance…well…you can imagine I’ve gotten some wide eyed looks.

I’ve also gotten a whispered, “I love those books.” And also a “Of course you write romance, look who you’re married to!”

People have surprised me in both good and bad ways. People I thought would be judgmental…haven’t been. And I’m glad I chose to write what I wanted to, and not what wouldn’t make waves.

Actually, I’ve probably had to deal with more judgment from those outside of church. People who want to know why I don’t write something else. Why I’m not writing the next Harry Potter. (I’ll do it later, I just don’t FEEL like making a bajillion dollars right now…kthxbai)

And then there’s the people who laugh. Person: What do you write? Me: Romance. Person: BWAhahahHAHAHA!! With Fabio on the cover? Me: |:/ With USA TODAY Bestseller on the cover actually. BOOM. (Occasionally THAT is met with a blank look and the question: Why no New York Times? or What’s that? But I digress.)

The point is this. No matter what circle you come from, not matter who is standing in the background waiting to judge you for your smuttiness/non-literaryness/all of the above…write what makes you happy.

Now, you may not want to write something that polarizes the people in your real life, and that’s understandable.

I chose to take the chance that I would seriously alienate some people with my sex scenes and my PG rated swearing.

But I’m glad I did. Because I’m writing what makes me happy. Because more and more I find myself free to tell the stories that are in my heart. Because I believe, and some people might have a hard time believing this, that this is what I’m supposed to do. That it’s part of God’s plan for me.

Make no mistake, people in your life will offer opinions. Some will laugh, some will scoff. It’s one of the reasons people take pseudonyms: So they can write without worrying about what they write affecting other parts of their lives.

For me, the occasional stupid remark is worth it. So is the judgment, silent or not. Because I love what I do. I’m happy when I sit down at the computer. If I was writing something else, writing for someone else, I wouldn’t be happy.

That made it an easy decision for me.

New Voices Post of Epic Winning (and giving a book away!)

So today the results were announces for the New Voices competition! Huge and hearty congratulations to the top 21!! To be in the final, with such stiff competition is truly, TRULY an accomplishment and nothing can diminish that. Heck, *I* want to be in the top 21. That is AWESOME STUFF!!!

But for those of you who didn’t make it, I just wanted to tell you that you were SO fantastic. I read and enjoyed so many wonderful entries. So much talent!

I know what it’s like to not final in contests. (you can say ‘Cool story grandma Maisey, because I know this is a repeat, but I’m repeating.) The grand and sparkly Lynn Raye Harris won the first contest I enter, and she’s a testament to how great these contests are. I didn’t get anywhere. And rightly so! My chapter just wasn’t up to snuff. Really. It wasn’t. My heroine likened herself to a manatee. I’m serious. We will not speak of it, it only upsets me.

The second contest I entered was the one the Very Fabulous Lucy King won. This entry was better than the first one. It was actually part of a full manuscript. I had some sense of pacing and conflict at least. And there were no manatee references. O_O

At the time I also had a different manuscript in with M&B and I’d gone through three rounds of revisions on it. I asked the editor I was working with if I could enter, and she said yes. I entered. I got a form ‘thanks but no thanks’ letter.

I was SO sad. I remember getting up at about 5am and stumbling to the computer to check the results and seeing my ‘thanks but not thanks’. Wah. I curled up in the fetal position and let the epic whining commence as doubt crows circled my sorry carcass.

What chance did I have if I couldn’t final in a contest? Surely the slush pile was a much deeper pile of pages to wade through.

I was despondent. I sat at the computer and looked at pictures of shirtless men. BUT NOT EVEN THAT HELPED. I was filled with WOE and BLAH. 

And about four months later, I sold. The MS I had done three rounds of revisions on, the one I had submitted through the slush pile, was acquired.

Cue happy dancing and hopping and stuff. *hops in memory*

the point is this: It is always really sad to not win. It is. It makes you feel yucky. it makes coffee taste less awesome and washboard abs seem less ab-y.

But there is ALWAYS hope. Just because this contest wasn’t your way to publication, doesn’t mean the slush pile isn’t. Or another contest. Or another publisher. Your journey is unique. Great things come from contests. And great things come in other ways too!

And now I give you this. Because it’s funny.

AND I’m giving away a copy of The Argentine’s Price!! So comment below to be entered to win!

Also, I promised Susie Mediwell on Twitter that I would post a song. I guess it’s in the spirit of all of you so bravely putting your work out there for judgment.

*yes, I know I once said on Twitter that every time someone covers an Adele song a kitten gets kicked. I’m truly sorry for my part in that.

An Early Look at Hajar’s Hidden Legacy…

I have a very early peek at Hajar’s Hidden Legacy for you today! (Beast Sheikh! UK, January 2012) I’m really excited to share the cover and back cover copy with you today.

I adore this book. Because I love wounded heroes, strong heroines, and I love Beauty and the Beast, and I got a chance to combine my love of all three in this book.

Beauty…

Princess Katharine has always been destined for a political marriage. Her heart heavy, she prepares to meet her future husband-the man whisperers in his royal kingdom call The Beast of Hajar…

…and the Scarred Sheikh…

Concealing his disfigurement from public scrutiny, Sheikh Zahir rules his country from within the castle walls, allowing no one in. Until duty demands he carry on the Hajar family dynasty and allow his new bride to cross the threshold.

Zahir expects Katharine to flee at first sight. Yet her unflinching gaze fires Zahir’s blood, and their attraction burns hotter than the scorching desert sands…

(I love this cover copy. I think it captures the essence of the book nicely. So I’m really pleased about that!)

One of the things I really like about the cover is having Katharine in the foreground, with her eyes meeting the camera. She’s a very strong character. She’s the driving force of the story in the beginning. She needs to marry, and she needs to marry now. And that means, whether she wants him or not, she needs Zahir.

Zahir’s face is shadowed a bit on the cover, but I want to give you a hint of how I see him…so here’s a little peek from inside the book.

He lifted his head and for the first time, Katharine saw his face.

He was every bit as frightening as they said. The skin on the left side of his face was ravaged, his eye not as focused or sharp on that side. Yet she still felt like he was seeing all the way into her, as if the accident that had served to cloud his physical vision made him more than a mere mortal man.

That he was a ghost, or god of some kind, was part of his legend, and looking at him now she understood why.

Zahir is certainly one of my darker heroes, but if you like that sort of thing…(dark, tortured heroes with strong women to keep them on their toes!) while you’re waiting for Hajar’s Hidden Legacy you can check out Argentine’s Price, which is just about out in the UK! Star crossed lovers meet again after twelve years…and there’s revenge too. 🙂

Head Asplosion

I want so much to write a witty, pithy, helpful blog today. But my brain is stuck. My head asploded a few days back and as I work to scrape the goo off the ceiling and back into my noggin’, witty seems harder than it should. You have mah apologies.

For the past few weeks we’ve been wrestling with school problems for the oldest. Long story short, I am not Martha Stewart. I can’t make doilies and my housekeeping skillz are teh suck. But if you need me to put on a pair of leopard heels and be alpha woman to get my son’s needs taken care of? That I can do. We all have our strengths.

So after many-a early morning meeting and high heel strutting…we came to the conclusion that that the school COULD NOT do what needed to be done. So we changed schools. (this wouldn’t be working without lots of help from my mom who happens to work at the new school and is helping in my oldest son’s class until he settles in)

Maisey’s Foray Into Revenge

Written revenge at least! (Am a bit too much of a marshmallow to exact real life revenge. Although, if you ask my younger brother about an incident involving crumbled saltine crackers and his bed sheets, he might prove me a liar…)

Revenge is such a popular premise, in all genres really. It’s a staple of action movies, thrillers, and of course, romance!

One reason it works so well as a driving force is that it’s such a powerful motivation. A wrong, even a perceived wrong, if it cuts deep enough, can spur someone to do things they would never normally do. And as far as romance goes, revenge, anger, is all very passionate. Ehen you bring this sort of dark passion into play, all that intense emotion, when it combines with desire the pages can singe your fingertips!

That said, while it’s something I’ve always gravitated to as a reader, it wasn’t something I’d been inspired by as a writer.

Until a conversation I had over coffee with Lisa Hendrix. We were talking about the American Aristocracy. Of course here we don’t have titles, per se. But there is a class system. It’s not felt very strongly in a lot of parts of the country, but there are places where the origins of your family and how long you’ve been in the country matter quite a bit. Where the age of your money is more important than how much you have.

So I started thinking about class, old money vs new money, the daughter of a First Family and a first generation immigrant with no idea who his father is. And what might happen if the two collided.

From there, Lazaro Marino and Vanessa Pickett came to me pretty fully formed. Vanessa had grown up wealthy, in a huge home in Massachusettes with sprawling grounds and a full staff. Lazaro was the son of one of the housekeepers, and an occasional groundskeeper himself.

They met when they were teenagers and fell for each other, but a man of his background wasn’t allowed to sully the precious Pickett Princess and Vanessa’s father got rid of him as soon as he found out.

Fast forward twelve years and things have changed for both of them. Lazaro wants revenge on the man who destroyed his life, and he also wants in to a society desperate to keep him out. Vanessa is the key to both.

But Vanessa needs something from Lazaro too, and she’s hardly passive in their arrangement. She chooses to go with him every step of the way to try and rescue her family business.

This was also a bit of a reunion story, which was new to me as well. Two people who found each other once, but lost each other. But that meeting, those feelings they had for each other shaped them, even apart, which was something that was so fun to explore.

As an aside, I really enjoyed researching the settings for this book. Boston and Buenos Aires were so fun to write, and very different from each other! (there’s also a scene in this book where Vanessa puts her photography skills to work in a very creative way…)

THE ARGENTINE’S PRICE is available now from Mills and Boon UK.

You can read an excerpt or by the book by clicking on the widget!

Romance Trading Cards

I still have RTCs to give away! I know some requests were being sent back as undeliverable, but I got a new box and think the problems are solved!

If you would like some Romance Trading Cards, send an SASE to PO Box 831 Jacksonville, OR 97530, United States.

Variance in Voice

First off, a bit of news! I submitted Untouched Hero to my editor (or rather, The Scandalous Princess, which is the real working title). And I’m making a start on book two in the duet which is working titled The Honorable Heir.

It’s always fun to do books that are different from each other, and the second book in the duet is VERY different from the first. It’s a very refreshing feeling. It makes me feel ready to dive straight into the next one!

I like doing different things, and my books have ranged from being quite dark to being funny…and some have had a bit of both. My voice is my voice, it doesn’t turn into someone else’s voice when I decide to do humor, but it does change slightly. It’s a different tone. But it’s still very much a part of me. Of who I am as a writer.

I think brand building is important. For me, it was my heroines. Particularly for my first few books, I was reminded to keep my heroines strong. My editor saw that as one of my defining features, and they wanted to make sure that readers had a solid idea of what I would give them as a writer.

But even while building the brand, I’ve been able to play with darker books and lighter books, and that’s something that keeps me feeling really fresh. To go from something like The Inherited Bride that had forbidden love and a hero with a tragic past, into Marriage Made on Paper, which was much lighter, helped me get a breath.

I have a CP who writes some of the funniest MSs I’ve ever read, and now she’s working on some more dramatic stories and those work just as well. It’s interesting to see how I can still identify her in the writing, even without quite as many quick one-liners.

Ultimately though, I think I find the real variances in my voice come from characters. When I have characters with dark pasts, or characters who were raised in a palace, they bring something different than say…an American cupcake baker and her coffee magnate boss!

Do you find that your tone of voice varies with different stories and different characters?

A giveaway! (Update!)

I entered names into my random winner picker and I got…MARIA!! Maria, send me your detials via my contact form!

I’ll admit, this giveaway was inspired by a tweet that the Wall Street Journal did. Should Black Women Marry Outside Their Race?

My mind, ladies and gents, is boggled.

People should marry who they love. End. Of. Discussion.

In honor of this tomfoolery, or rather, to shake my fist at it, I’m giving away a copy of The Highest Price to Pay to one commenter.

This is a book about love, not color. Hooray for love!

POV, for Wrath, for Ruin and for the Red Dawn

Somehow, this became a pep talk of sorts, which makes me think of King Theoden, because I’m a nerd. So we’re going with it.

It’s time to talk about Point of View…or, POV as it will be called from here on out in the post because I’m nursing sore wrists.

I’ve seen a lot of commenting in various and sundry place on POV recently and I wanted to throw in my two cents.

With POV there are preferences. There are a lot more PREFERENCES than there are rules. In my debut book, His Virgin Acquisition, I changed POV within the first page. Would I do that now? Maybe not. But it sold. And my editor never once complained about it. I’ve also never heard a reader complaint about it.

POV is much talked about among writers, not readers quite so much. For a reader, things need to flow, and changes need to be clear.

I do not put in line breaks/scene breaks/***/chapter breaks to change POV. When I was starting our writing, I observed what other writers in the line I wanted to write for did, and I decided I preferred it when things changed without a break. This wasn’t something I really noticed before I decided I wanted to write seriously. I only really started thinking about it when it was something I needed to do.

As you can see, I have a liberal POV view. Whatever works for the book.

My PERSONAL rules that I hold myself to are:

1.Only hero and heroine POV for category

2. When switching POV midscene, signify the change by using character name as SOON as possible. First word if I can.

Those are my rules. The ones that I hold only myself to. Otherwise, I change whenever I feel I need to. I follow what I feel has the biggest emotional impact.

As for hard and fast rules? I think there are only a few. And if I’m overstepping in calling these rules, please correct me. Show me someone who breaks them successfully. 🙂 Nothing better than successfully broken rules!

1. Don’t change in a paragraph. It’s muddled. It’s confusing. You don’t want your reader thinking too hard about whose head they’re in. Which is really the point of all of these rules!

2. Your hero can’t admire his own bicep, your heroine doesn’t know her eyes flashed with anger. POV means you’re in that character’s head. In your own head, what can you see/feel/observe? That’s all your character can see/feel/observe. (if it’s paranormal, fine, you can break that rule WITH PURPOSE if they’re an empath or something.)

3. Be reasonable. Don’t change every paragraph.

4. Whatever you do, do with purpose and control. Which means, you probably could break some of these rules. Because most of these baddies are mistakes made unconsciously. (and I’ve made them) Know what you’re doing, know why you’re doing it. Know whose POV you’re in and why.

I pass the POV sword onto you. Wield it well. With purpose and honor. For the betterment of your MS and not to its detriment.

What The Lion King Taught Me About Writing

I did a post a while ago about what the Beast taught me about alpha males. From that post sprung a Beauty and the Beast themed book (Hajar’s Hidden Legacy, Jan 2012).

Today I went and saw The Lion King in theaters with my five year old son. I remembered going to see it when I was around eight, and it brought back so many fun memories for me.

Also, as an adult whose seen the movie (a kajillion times, conservatively) this time I noticed some things I hadn’t before, and I thought I would share them!

I’ll start off with the character of Simba. He’s a bit selfish, a lot entitled. He’s a bit like some of our very favorite alpha heroes. He’s the future king, and he knows it. Of course, a traumatic event alters him forever, and what does he do? He runs from it. Like many alpha males, he puts on a front that shows him as cool, relaxed and over it.

It’s only when he faces his past that he can move forward, and assume his true position in life.

This follows the path a lot of our characters, heroes specifically, have to take. In the pivotal moment, where Simba is moving past his conflict, he says ‘I know what I have to do, but that means facing my past.’

That’s a very clear, verbally stated point of resolution. At a certain point, our characters have to reach that conclusion. The realization of what’s holding them back, and finding their way forward. (though it doesn’t have to be so bluntly stated!)

In the character of Mufasa, you have that sort of ever confident, laid back alpha male. Mufasa is at ease with himself and his power. He’s another sort of alpha. Of course, I can’t pinpoint Mufasa having an internal conflict (clearly his was resolved as he was living his HEA until the unfortunate wildebeest incident!) but if I were to assign him some deep dark past, I would assume he was the type who would conceal it. Not beneath the sort of it’s all good, playboy demeanor of a Simba, but that sort of dominant, straight talking bluntness that comes from the sort of man who’s done a lot of living and maybe seen to much. (but that, of course, is conjecture! LOL)

Then there’s the storytelling. It begins with Simba being held out off of Pride Rock, and all of the animals watching him as he’s presented to the world. It ends with Simba’s son being presented in the same way.

After everything takes place, after the world falls apart and is put back together again, things go full circle.

One of my books begins with the heroine, buttoned up and concealed by her makeup and well-fitting clothes, the things she used to keep people at a distance. It ends in the hero’s office with her discarding all of those clothes, all of those walls. It’s that sort of circular image, though not as literal as what you find in a cartoon.

I was struck by the brilliance of The Lion King again today, and I feel like it gave me a lot to think about in regards to writing, storytelling and character.

Have any unlikely sources taught given you a light bulb moment?

New Contract and a Behind the Scenes Look

Yesterday, I was officially offered a new four book contract for Presents! I knew that I was going back to contract after the sale of Coffee Magnate (which now has an official title, ONE NIGHT IN PARADISE) but we had the bright shiny official phone call yesterday. 🙂

When I start a new contract, my editor likes to get some brief outlines from me to know what I’m going to be doing on the contract. They aren’t set in stone, but it gives her an idea of the ‘type’ of books I’m thinking of doing.

For this contract, I’m planning on doing a duet. I’ve done them before unofficially (An Accidental Birthright & The Inherited Bride, Marriage Made on Paper & The Petrov Proposal) but there was no branding to sigify that they were linked, and with these books, the plan is for scheduling to be close together, and for there to be an easy way for readers to tell that the books go together. (The books are about a fictional Greek principality, and royals, of course!)

So, the first two books on the contract are planned, and now I need to figure out what the last two will be. I don’t always stick to the outlines I send, One Night in Paradise was pitched as an enemies to lovers book, and by the time I got to it, it became a friends to lovers, but the basic settings and characters stayed the same.

And my editor had an idea for what the tone of the book would be. I like to do lighter stuff, with comedy and I enjoy really dark dark books as well. I try to do a mix of both on every contract. It’s nice variety for me, and hopefully for readers as well.

I also like having everything planned (loosely even) right from the outset. When I know what books comes next, I find myself really excited to dive in and begin the next project, rather than struggling to decide on a project at the end of the last one. I do a LOT of brainstorming at the beginning of each contract and then I’m free to keep the momentum of writing up after each MS is complete.

So now I have dates set for when each proposal needs to be in, and dates for each full, all set and scheduled.

I’m working on the first book in my Kyonos Royals Duet, having fun tormenting my hero…bwahaha.

So that was my little inside look at how getting started on a new contract works for me!

Timing is….

Everything.

The time certain things happen, the time elements of backstory are revealed, are very important in a manuscript. If you have a really emotional element in a character’s background, revealing it to the reader, or other characters is going to be an important event. And WHEN that revelation happens is going to be key to the success of the MS.

I’m really struggling with finding the appropriate timing in this MS for my hero’s past to come out. And I’ve certainly struggled with this before!

In The Highest Price to Pay, I started Blaise and Ella out as very secretive characters. Blaise his the misdeeds of his past, while Ella hid her scars from the world.

Ultimately, the problem with taking that route, was that by the time I revealed the truth of their pasts, more than half of the book was over, and it seemed like the reader hadn’t gotten to know either of them. And that lessened the impact. And that was Very Very Bad. (yes, with two veries)

So when I got my revisions *coughrewritecough* it became clear that what needed to happen was for me to go back to the beginning with both secrets out in the open. That way the conflicts, the issues that Blaise and Ella’s pasts created, could be fully explored rather than simply revealed.

Now, in The Petrov Proposal (Out now in the UK in M&B Loves, coming to the US in Feb 2012) Maddy and Aleksei also had deep, dark issues in their pasts (it’s a theme with me…) but those issues weren’t revealed as early on. The reason it worked in that MS, was that their issues had a lot to do with intimacy, and it the moment where they revealed the full extent of their pasts to each other required them to have been intimate with each other. (actually, Maddy’s explanation of her past takes place when they’re in bed together.)

In these MSs, the timing was different. That’s why hard and fast rules don’t really work, because things are so heavily dependent on the story you’re working on, and the characters in that story.

I’ve had books where the first love scene is fifty pages in, and I’ve had them where the first love scene is one hundred seventy pages in. It just depends on what’s right for the book.

So, right now, I’m trying to suss out what’s right for this book.

How are things going for you?