A Review to Make Me Smile

Debra received a nice review for Family Secrets.

It's been a long time since I've had an 'official' review for any of my books. I've had some great (and not so great) reviews from readers, but I had nothing from one of those official review sites on my last book, This Feels Like Home. Therefore, it was a nice surprise to find a link from The Romance Reviews in my in-box the other day for Family Secrets.

I'll give you a few of the good snippets, and if you want to read the entire review...click HERE.

In FAMILY SECRETS, Debra St. John has created a well-paced, absorbing tale of divided family loyalties and moving forward in the face of adversity to grasp a second chance at happiness.

...a story that is sure to garner a mix of emotional responses in the reader.

Kudos to Debra St. John for weaving passion and family drama into a thought provoking and satisfying romantic read.

Now this review arrived just a bit late to include on my MIS for the brag page of my new book, but I'm hoping that since the next step is the pre-galley, I'll still be able to sneak this one in. It also reminds me that I really should do a Google and Yahoo! search of my titles linked to my name to see if I've missed any reviews that have been posted out there.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Different writers = Different methods of writing.

Paula looks at what some best-selling authors have said about their writing.

I read an article recently in which 3 best-selling authors spoke about their methods and it struck me how different they are. Each writer, it seems, works in the way that suits them best.

Barbara Taylor Bradford says, “I must know the entire book before I can sit down and write myself an outline. It is very useful as a blueprint, and I try to stick with it. Of course it doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes I’ve thought it out and got it down, but it’s not right. I always say people, ‘Don’t worry if it’s not right; you’ve got something that you can tackle the next day and then get it right’. I don’t have the method that some people have, which is to write a first draft completely. I stay on chapter one, writing and editing until I am satisfied. Then I move on to chapter two.”

In contrast, Bernard Cornwell says, “For me, the joy of writing is the same as the joy of reading: to find out what happens next. I start with a situation, throw the hero or heroine into it, write the first chapter, and I genuinely don’t know what’s going to happen in the second. I know where I want the book to go, I have a destination in mind, but I have no idea how I’m going to get there. I don't worry about style in the first draft. The first draft is about getting the story right."

Jeffrey Archer says, “To people who say, ‘I’ve written a book’, I say, ‘I doubt it; you’ve probably written a first draft.’ My books have had 13 or 14 drafts. You’ve got to accept that it’s a marathon every time.”
He goes on to say, “You have to make sure have to turn the pages. When they get to the end of a chapter, they have to curse you. I love it when people say, ‘Damn you, I sat up all night reading.’ That’s great. That’s what I’m trying to achieve.”


I think my own writing method is a combination of all these! I’m not as disciplined as Barbara Taylor Bradford, in that I don’t have the complete outline first, but I do tend to edit as I go along. Often I’m more like Bernard Cornwell – not knowing what is going to happen next. But I agree with Jeffrey Archer in that you have to make readers want to keep turning the pages.

Which one do you relate to most?

Goodreads Giveaways

Jennifer is running a giveaway... I’m running a Goodreads giveaway for my new book, Miriam’s Surrender. You have to have print copies in order to do it (seems a bit dinosaur-ish) and mine arrived last week. I ran one for one of my other books, Skin Deep. The good thing about the contests is that they draw a lot of attention to your books. I always get more than 100 people who add it to their TBR lists. But like most mass promo things, I think there are people who troll the sites looking for ways to get free stuff. The same thing happens with the blog tours in which I partake. Because Goddess Fish runs giveaways with them, there are people who follow the tour just to get the gift card or the free books. I’ve even seen the same people comment this time around as the last time I took part in a blog tour, and some of those people comment at every stop (makes me wonder what they do in real life, since that has got to take a lot of time). But despite this, I really believe they’re good things to do. They get my name out there, and my books. It’s like that old shampoo commercial, “You tell two friends and they tell two friends and they tell two friends…” and pretty soon there are a lot of people hearing about your book. I do get people reading and reviewing. And I do see sales spikes. Do I think all 164 people are going to buy my book? No. But I’m hopeful that the added exposure will allow people who normally wouldn’t see my book to see it. And read it. And buy others.

The Sleep-on-it Solution

Ana muses about writing scene transitions

I have not yet mastered the art of inserting an emoticon in my WIP where the right words have not come and skipping ahead in the story. I guess this outs me as a linear thinker.

I am recognizing how this slows my daily word output and am now searching for a pleasing and meaningful symbol to use.

Take yesterday. I cooked all morning for early afternoon lunch company and played with the granddaughter who'd slept over. I visited and then washed dishes. Still familiarizing myself with my new laptop, I drop boxed my WIP and got it downloaded. Then I had an hour to myself.

I was stuck on the scene transition where the heroine is bamboozled into making the run into town for more fenceposts. (My story is a historical western. The hero has corralled her family into helping him buy her fancy dress for the upcoming dance. They want him to fall for her (he is) and stay permanently. He's trying to get on their good side so he can convince them to sell their ranch to him.)

I labored over the transition until I knew I'd do better with my fall-back solution:  Sleep-on-it.

It worked! I woke up at 5 am with the answer. Even more exciting is being able to take my laptop to work. Late afternoons are often quiet, even during our busy season. Starting today, I'll be able to write   effectively. I wrote the first draft of this WIP at work on a now-dead desktop. It's be like old-home week.

Adriana Kraft: today's Friday Friend

 Ana welcomes Adriana Kraft!

Fourteen years ago last spring, my husband and I sat down with a blank computer screen and began to sketch out our first romance novel. Why? I’m not sure even we can answer that question any more. We’d each always harbored a dream of writing fiction. We’d been writing together in our academic and research careers for over a decade by then, so we thought maybe we knew something about the craft. We were looking for something exciting, different, and fun to do – and, believe it or not, we thought it would be easy, compared to the painstaking publications we were used to.

Wrong. Romance is a world all its own, with literary conventions like point of view, scene breaks, dialogue tags, arc, pacing, character development and of course (in our case) those sizzling sex scenes to create. We had a lot to learn.

We have a few mottoes that guide our lives: “If not now, when?” and “Never give up” are two of them. We did our on-line research, located Romance Writers of America, joined, and sent me off to my first romance writer con, in Washington D.C. I can hardly describe the immediate sense of belonging and camaraderie I experienced that weekend, to say nothing of the steep learning curve. I’d never heard of a “pitch,” but by the end of the pitch workshop, I had drafted, incorporated feedback, polished, and memorized a pitch I used the next day with a New York editor, who was gracious enough to request the full manuscript of our first romantic suspense. Looking back, I think she may have said that to everyone she met with.

We threw ourselves into workshops, continued writing and editing, read everything we could find on the craft of writing fiction, and began to send query letters to editors and agents. We count ourselves lucky to have received several helpful responses during that phase, suggestions for how to improve our work, where else to send it, but never a nibble or an offer. On the bulletin board over our desk, I posted something I’d heard Judith Viorst say at a conference: She submitted her creative writing diligently for fifteen years before she ever received a contract. Never give up.

One editor’s response was pivotal. “You write sexual tension extremely well,” she told us. By this time, erotic romance was bursting onto the scene, and we decided to try adding that to our repertoire. Several writers and editors encouraged us to keep on writing even while we awaited that first elusive contract.

Five years after we started that first novel, we sat down and wrote out the following goals for ourselves:

·      To get paid for writing

·      To write what we want (happy endings, hot sex, strong women, healthy relationships, lots of fun, healing and personal growth, good stories, exciting plots)

·      To be under contract for something by the end of 2005

·      To get published in print

·      But not to spend time holding out for print publication. 

By that time, we had drafted six romantic suspenses and seven erotic romances. In late November, 2005, just ahead of our self-imposed deadline, we received a contract for an e-pub of a romantic suspense, in the days before e-readers swept the market. I’m happy to say we reached all the goals we listed that day, with over thirty romantic suspense and erotic romance novels and novellas currently available, many in both print and e-book format.

Willow Smoke, now considerably revised and with a new cover for its re-release, was that first contracted book. We’re thrilled to bring readers a true “heroine with heart” in Daisy Matthews, who shows up as a teen-age street kid in Cassie’s Hope (Riders Up, Book 1), but has now grown up and deserves a happy ending of her very own.

BLURB

When the chips are down, there's nobody there.  Willowy blond Daisy Matthews has survived the Chicago streets with this mantra but is unprepared for the much older Nick Underwood's urgent pursuit.  The wealthy businessman receives a thoroughbred in payment for a bad debt and is thrust into Daisy's world.  She teaches him about horse racing; he teaches her about love.  When Daisy's seamy brother-in-law threatens Nick's safety, she doggedly tries to stop him by herself, but flees to the familiar streets when he attacks. Can Nick find her in time – and if he does, will she still want him?

BUY LINK

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N0DH13I

EXCERPT

“So tell me,” Nick said, “where can I find a horse named RainbowBlaze?"

"RainbowBlaze!" Daisy gasped and glared at him again. "Why? What do you want with her?"

"Damn, you've got to be the most protective woman I've ever encountered. If you must know, she's my horse."

Daisy opened her mouth as if to speak. She glanced quickly at the chestnut mare. "There must be a mistake," she stammered. "RainbowBlaze belongs to Michael Barnes."

Nick crossed his legs and leaned against the stable wall, giving Daisy Matthews a slow satisfied smile. He'd found his horse. And he had a new employee. This could be more interesting than he'd imagined.

Furthermore, being his employee made Matthews safe to be around. He had a firm rule against personal involvements with employees. He flashed a look at the slender woman's nipples that showed faintly through an orange tank top. Didn't she know what she looked like?

Too young. He closed his eyes. He might be old enough to be her father. His eyes sprang open and he appraised her again. Maybe, maybe not.

"The horse did belong to Michael Barnes." Fright flickered across the blonde's face and quickly disappeared behind a steely gaze. "Mike's fallen on bad economic times. Turned out he couldn't pay his debts. Showed up at my office with a bill of sale for some damn race horse and begged me to take it to clear what he owed me. Against my better judgment, I agreed." Nick raised his open palms upward. "So, here I am."

Daisy's hands, resting at her sides, curled into fists.

"You look like you'd like to slaughter me for your supper." Nick stood. Ignoring the woman, he pointed at the horse with the oversized socks. "So I take it this is RainbowBlaze." He glanced back over his shoulder at the woman. She gulped and nodded. "Is the horse any good? How much can I get for her?"

Daisy sputtered and Nick suppressed a laugh.

"She's a damn good mare. She'll run her heart out for you, if you treat her right. But she won't work just for anyone."

"Sounds like you've got a thing for my horse, kid."

"Suppose so." Daisy studied the dirt at her feet. "I've known her since she was foaled. Was there to help her mother give birth. I've been there every step of the way when Rainbow was with Cassie Travers, and then when Michael Barnes bought her it was with the understanding that she'd come to Sam's barn and be with me."

When the woman stopped to catch her breath, Nick said, "You didn't answer my question. How much is she worth?"

Daisy shrugged. "Maybe," her voice quaked, "fifty thousand. Maybe more."

"Hmm. Michael said a hundred grand."

He watched the spirit flow out of the young woman. Her glistening eyes grabbed at something inside him that he hadn't experienced for a long time. Not thinking, he reached for her chin.

"That horse," he said softly, "means a lot more to you than a hundred grand, doesn't it?"

ABOUT ADRIANA KRAFT

Adriana Kraft is the pen name for a husband/wife team writing sizzling romantic suspense and erotic romance. The award-winning pair has published over thirty romance novels and novellas to outstanding reviews. Romantic pairings include straight m/f, lesbian, bisexual, ménage and polyamory, in both contemporary and paranormal settings.

ADRIANA KRAFT ON THE WEB

Website: http://adrianakraft.com

Blog: http://adrianakraft.com/blog

Facebook Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adriana-Kraft/182846025133440

Twitter http://twitter.com/AdrianaKraft

GoodReads http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/1578571.Adriana_Kraft

Shelfari http://www.shelfari.com/adrianakraft

Google+ https://plus.google.com/102791537641895264573/posts

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/adrianakraft5/boards/

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Adriana-Kraft/e/B002DES9Z4

Warp Speed?

Things are moving along quickly with Debra's One Great Night.

Received contract signed by the owner of The Wild Rose Press. check

Received, filled out, and sent Manuscript Information Sheet and Cover Art Information Sheet. check

Received first round edits from my editor. check

Worked through her suggestions and sent them back. check

Received second round edits from my editor. check

Looked through them. check

Will work on my end of second round edits when I return from being out of town. in progress

Yep. Things are scurrying along. Good times!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Do your characters surprise you?

Paula looks at how our characters can surprise us.

Recently I had a conversation on Facebook with several writers who all said how much they loved the moments when their characters said or did something that surprised them. We decided that non-writers probably wouldn’t understand this – and might even think we are insane, listening to the voices in our heads!

However, I think it happens to every writer – not all the time, but certainly more so as we get to know our characters. We can be writing (or typing) away and suddenly a character says something, and we stop and think (or even say out loud), ‘Wow, I didn’t expect that’ or ‘Oh, I hadn’t realised that.’

I’m not sure just what causes this phenomenon. Maybe it’s something buried somewhere in our subconscious that only comes to the fore when we give free rein to our characters.

My very first experience of this was with my first novel, back in the 1960s. When I was writing the story, I realised the heroine’s ex-boyfriend also deserved a happy ending, and decided to go back and drop some small hints indicating he had met someone while he was working in New York. I found, to my amazement, that I didn’t have to insert anything into the story. The hints were there, not necessarily in what he said, but more in what he didn’t say.

A similar thing happened when I was writing ‘His Leading Lady’. I needed someone else to show an interest in Jess, the heroine, but wondered how and where I was going to bring in a new character. Then I realised I didn’t need a new character. The other man had been mentioned a couple of times, so he was already there in the background, waiting for me to bring him to the forefront.

Sometimes a new character pops up unexpectedly. In ‘Her Only Option’, Ross tells Neve that he always uses the same boat when he crosses the Nile at Luxor, and refers to the boatman as ‘Elvis’ because he always sings Elvis songs. I still remember doing a double-take at what I’d written, and saying, “Where on earth did he come from?’ In fact, my Elvis-singing Nile boatman was going to play an important role in the later part of the story, so it was almost as if he had been patiently waiting for me to find him because he knew I’d need him later!

Another example occurred in ‘Irish Inheritance’. I had no idea how I was going to end a particular chapter, but knew the ending needed to add another strand to the story. I reached the point where the hero receives a phone call from the lawyer he’d met in Dublin, but I didn’t know what the lawyer was going to say - until he said it. He even gave me the name of the new character, without me having to look up a suitable Irish name. Again this character was going to play an important role later in the story.

Sometimes these subconscious prompts may not lead to any major development of the story, but can still add layers to your characters. In a sense, I get to know my characters as I write them, just as you get to know people in real life. I didn’t know one of my heroines was brought up on a farm until she ‘told’ me, and another revealed her phobia of hospitals. That’s why I could never write a ‘character analysis’ before I start a story. I wait for my characters to tell me more about themselves.

In that sense, I can relate to something C.S. Lewis once said: “I never exactly made a book. It's rather like taking dictation. I was given things to say.” (and thanks to my friend Tonette Joyce for giving me that quote)

What’s the biggest surprise one your characters has given you? Or what character ‘invented’ themselves out of the blue for you?