And now...a shameless bit of self-promotion...
Looking for a fun, unique, and inexpensive Christmas gift for the romance readers on your list? Why not send them a signed, personalized copy of debut author Alyssa Goodnight’s award-winning, impressively-reviewed historical romance Unladylike Pursuits?
Unladylike Pursuits has been hailed as “wonderful” (Affaire de Coeur), “irresistible” (Booklist), “downright charming” (All About Romance), and “superbly imaginative” (The Road to Romance). Visit www.AlyssaGoodnight.com to read an excerpt and additional reviews.
For only $9.98 (plus tax for Texas residents), Alyssa Goodnight will personalize and sign a copy of her novel. It will be gift-wrapped and sent to the address of your choice. (There is an additional fee for international shipments).
So give the gift of romance to everyone on your Christmas list this year, and with all the time you’ll save, indulge yourself a little.
Visit www.ImpressInk.com to place your order. Specify your personalization requirements, as well as the ship address, in the PayPal comment section. If you prefer to write a check, send an email to impressink@earthlink.net.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Christmas Greetings and Photo Cards
I have to admit I like the entire process surrounding Christmas cards. And while I like choosing a pre-packaged Christmas card with a picture and greeting that represents the spirit of our family, I really prefer a little something more personal. I tried one year (with my husband) to write one of those yearly summaries, letting everyone know the latest news, but I have to admit, it felt a little awkward telling everyone (from family to friends to co-workers) about the little details of our life. (Not to mention referring to ourselves in the third person!) Also, because we decided on a rhyme, it was even harder. Specifically because my husband and I had to agree on the rhythm with which the entire thing would be read and then change verses based on flow and syllable stressing. No easy task.
Once we had our boys, I wanted to send out Christmas photos with the cards. Well, we’re a do-it-yourself kind of family that doesn’t believe in spending a whole lot for one day, one picture, one use, you name it. So we face two problems. One is the difficulty in choosing what to have the boys wear for these photos, and the other is deciding where the picture should be taken. Living in south Texas, not only do we not get snow (except for the rare occasion), but we generally don’t even get that cold. So it’s kinda silly for us to dress the boys up in sweaters and cords (bought for this very purpose) for a little holiday picture in the sun. Particularly as it’s often too hot on Christmas to even wear these special little Christmas outfits!
So we’ve tried to get a little creative. One year we found a polar bear graphic and superimposed our one-year old, dressed in his bathing suit, lying on the tummy of the polar bear lying down. The card said, “Merry Christmas from a real Polar Bear Club”. An added benefit was that my husband and I didn’t have to be in the picture. The disadvantage was that right after my son’s picture was taken, he peed all over the floor. The sacrifices we make in the name of artistic genius!
One year we were in Denver for Thanksgiving and caught a shot of the boys playing in the snow in front of a snow topped “Christmas tree”. We got a lot of questions about that one—“Where were you guys?”
Last year we dressed the boys in colored sweatshirts and jeans and stood them up near the holiday decorations at the mall. They both look like they’re singing in the pic, so we chose the greeting, “Merry Christmas from the XXX Boy’s Choir and their parents.” (XXX is for my real last name).
This year the boys are wearing shorts and eating Dairy Queen Blizzards. The caption will say something about Texas Blizzards being just fine with them. Any thoughts on actual wording would be great… Maybe “Everything’s better in Texas, even Blizzards.” Or how about, “The number one reason to live in Texas—the Blizzards are better here.” Or even, “Christmas in Texas: Wearing Shorts ’n Eating Blizzards.”
Ahhh…the holidays…let those creative juices flow!
Once we had our boys, I wanted to send out Christmas photos with the cards. Well, we’re a do-it-yourself kind of family that doesn’t believe in spending a whole lot for one day, one picture, one use, you name it. So we face two problems. One is the difficulty in choosing what to have the boys wear for these photos, and the other is deciding where the picture should be taken. Living in south Texas, not only do we not get snow (except for the rare occasion), but we generally don’t even get that cold. So it’s kinda silly for us to dress the boys up in sweaters and cords (bought for this very purpose) for a little holiday picture in the sun. Particularly as it’s often too hot on Christmas to even wear these special little Christmas outfits!
So we’ve tried to get a little creative. One year we found a polar bear graphic and superimposed our one-year old, dressed in his bathing suit, lying on the tummy of the polar bear lying down. The card said, “Merry Christmas from a real Polar Bear Club”. An added benefit was that my husband and I didn’t have to be in the picture. The disadvantage was that right after my son’s picture was taken, he peed all over the floor. The sacrifices we make in the name of artistic genius!
One year we were in Denver for Thanksgiving and caught a shot of the boys playing in the snow in front of a snow topped “Christmas tree”. We got a lot of questions about that one—“Where were you guys?”
Last year we dressed the boys in colored sweatshirts and jeans and stood them up near the holiday decorations at the mall. They both look like they’re singing in the pic, so we chose the greeting, “Merry Christmas from the XXX Boy’s Choir and their parents.” (XXX is for my real last name).
This year the boys are wearing shorts and eating Dairy Queen Blizzards. The caption will say something about Texas Blizzards being just fine with them. Any thoughts on actual wording would be great… Maybe “Everything’s better in Texas, even Blizzards.” Or how about, “The number one reason to live in Texas—the Blizzards are better here.” Or even, “Christmas in Texas: Wearing Shorts ’n Eating Blizzards.”
Ahhh…the holidays…let those creative juices flow!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
The Goose is Getting Fat
My writing time is dwindling for the year, and I’m getting a little sad and nervous as I see it slowly disappearing. Sure I have excuses…the shopping, the lines, the errands, the cooking, the kids, the crafts, the gift-wrapping, the parties…but I’m in a zone in my writing right now, and I don’t really want to give in to them.
I accomplish most of my writing during my Mother’s Day Out free time and during those last few remaining naps I can squeeze out of my youngest. The “by-yourself” time I’ve instituted with my oldest is working just fine, but soon I’m going to have to introduce the concept to my youngest and work him around to it. That time has not yet arrived. Right now the calendar is my nemesis.
The holidays are approaching, and most of the time I would have used to write now must be used to accomplish little tasks I can’t perform with the kids along for the ride. Or else tasks that get done 90% quicker without them….
“No, we don’t have time to give the plastic grapes a squeeze today. Maybe next time.”
“We can’t watch the fish today; we’ll swing by the lobster tank in the grocery section instead.”
These last few weeks before Christmas (a whopping five), everybody is in a hurry, and contrary to the way it should be, everybody’s grumpy too. Not to mention pushy and rude. We all just need to relax a little.
We need to enjoy the holidays and not feel pressured. We need to find the time for projects we enjoy—projects for ourselves. Just a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle might give us the oomph we need to get through another afternoon of cooking or an evening of gift-wrapping.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I’m going to write everyday—even if it’s only for ten minutes—barring an unforeseen emergency development. And if I can’t, well then I’m not going worry about it. There’s always tomorrow. And I will write tomorrow.
I accomplish most of my writing during my Mother’s Day Out free time and during those last few remaining naps I can squeeze out of my youngest. The “by-yourself” time I’ve instituted with my oldest is working just fine, but soon I’m going to have to introduce the concept to my youngest and work him around to it. That time has not yet arrived. Right now the calendar is my nemesis.
The holidays are approaching, and most of the time I would have used to write now must be used to accomplish little tasks I can’t perform with the kids along for the ride. Or else tasks that get done 90% quicker without them….
“No, we don’t have time to give the plastic grapes a squeeze today. Maybe next time.”
“We can’t watch the fish today; we’ll swing by the lobster tank in the grocery section instead.”
These last few weeks before Christmas (a whopping five), everybody is in a hurry, and contrary to the way it should be, everybody’s grumpy too. Not to mention pushy and rude. We all just need to relax a little.
We need to enjoy the holidays and not feel pressured. We need to find the time for projects we enjoy—projects for ourselves. Just a few minutes away from the hustle and bustle might give us the oomph we need to get through another afternoon of cooking or an evening of gift-wrapping.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. I’m going to write everyday—even if it’s only for ten minutes—barring an unforeseen emergency development. And if I can’t, well then I’m not going worry about it. There’s always tomorrow. And I will write tomorrow.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Formula Writing
Doesn’t the word ‘formula’ make you think of math? And science? Should it really be used to describe romance novels? I don’t think so, and I prefer not to think about romance in general in such terms, but it seems that’s the norm if you want to run with the heavyweights. (Here I’m referring to romance authors). I never would have realized this if I weren’t currently working on an article for the Romance Writers Report, but apparently a lot of romance authors got their start by dissecting the works of their favorite authors. I’m not simply referring to generalities, such as what kind of opening hooks work or what’s a good ratio of action to dialogue…I’m talking about detailed breakdowns.
How many pages before the heroine and hero cross paths?
How many scenes are devoted to the romance before the pair realizes it’s not going to work out?
How many secondary characters before it gets confusing?
How many points of view can the reader (and the author) handle without bobbling?
Where exactly does the ‘Dark Moment’ fall in the grand scheme of things? And what is dramatic and significant enough to even be considered a ‘Dark Moment’.
Questions like these were answered and analyzed before some authors began their own projects. They absorbed their findings, tweaked them, and made them work in their own unique way. Maybe that’s what I should have done. As I mentioned in a previous post, I just wanted to write. I didn’t dissect my favorite romances. I knew what I liked was good writing, a spicy romance, a few surprises, great dialogue, and a sound storyline. So I just started. With more of that research I mention above, I probably could have improved the pacing, upped the action, eliminated some unnecessary bits, and dedicated more pages to secondary characters as I was writing. But at the same time, I think I would have gotten bogged down in the technicalities. After all, it’s hard enough to face a blank page everyday without referencing a spreadsheet to find out what should be happening, based on the formula.
I personally think chick-lit is exploring some fresh and inventive deviations. It seems like you’re not held so much to the formula if you write ‘women’s fiction’, whether it’s humorous, snarky, or totally serious. And I think that’s what makes chick-lit so interesting—you never know what’s going to happen. It doesn’t follow a formula, and sometimes it doesn’t even follow the rules! And yet it works.
But then again, sometimes you’re sacrificing the true romance, so that’s a definite trade-off.
How many pages before the heroine and hero cross paths?
How many scenes are devoted to the romance before the pair realizes it’s not going to work out?
How many secondary characters before it gets confusing?
How many points of view can the reader (and the author) handle without bobbling?
Where exactly does the ‘Dark Moment’ fall in the grand scheme of things? And what is dramatic and significant enough to even be considered a ‘Dark Moment’.
Questions like these were answered and analyzed before some authors began their own projects. They absorbed their findings, tweaked them, and made them work in their own unique way. Maybe that’s what I should have done. As I mentioned in a previous post, I just wanted to write. I didn’t dissect my favorite romances. I knew what I liked was good writing, a spicy romance, a few surprises, great dialogue, and a sound storyline. So I just started. With more of that research I mention above, I probably could have improved the pacing, upped the action, eliminated some unnecessary bits, and dedicated more pages to secondary characters as I was writing. But at the same time, I think I would have gotten bogged down in the technicalities. After all, it’s hard enough to face a blank page everyday without referencing a spreadsheet to find out what should be happening, based on the formula.
I personally think chick-lit is exploring some fresh and inventive deviations. It seems like you’re not held so much to the formula if you write ‘women’s fiction’, whether it’s humorous, snarky, or totally serious. And I think that’s what makes chick-lit so interesting—you never know what’s going to happen. It doesn’t follow a formula, and sometimes it doesn’t even follow the rules! And yet it works.
But then again, sometimes you’re sacrificing the true romance, so that’s a definite trade-off.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Chicken Little—tiny bit of a spoiler
Just took my boys to see Chicken Little, and despite being scandalized over spending $30 for tickets for the four of us, a medium popcorn and an ICEE, I really enjoyed the movie. Disney never fails to impress me. The story lines, I think, are always great, the animation is brilliant, the comedy is balanced for both adults and children, and the songs are fun and upbeat. This movie only had a few original songs that I noticed, but they were good. Instead they decided to use old favorites like I Will Survive, We Are The Champions, and Stayin’ Alive, which I thought worked well to bring in the older audience members. Relatively speaking.
I think this movie had great character development—all those barn animals were really three-dimensional. Plus, there was feel-good ending—even the alien invasion wasn’t as threatening as it appeared—and the clencher, a smidge of romance! How delightful…despite it’s being between a duck and a chicken. The point is, he could see past her limp, disheveled feathers and droopy eyes, and she could see past his accident-prone teensiness, and they made it work! At least until one of them molts and meets someone new…
All in all, I have to say, I’m rarely (if ever) disappointed in a Disney flick. Sure it’s a little much to pay for an hour and twenty minutes of cartoon antics, but if you pay attention, there’s enjoyment enough to be found in the often subtle humor hidden amid the much-used slap-stick, which I think, is actually funny in cartoons.
On a side note...whatever happened to those movies Disney used to make with the real-life actors paired with animation, like Pete’s Dragon, Mary Poppins, Chitty-Chitty, Bang-Bang? I thought those were very clever, and I would imagine they’d be considerably easy to engineer these days… I have to admit, I kinda miss them. Mary Poppins is a big favorite of mine.
I think this movie had great character development—all those barn animals were really three-dimensional. Plus, there was feel-good ending—even the alien invasion wasn’t as threatening as it appeared—and the clencher, a smidge of romance! How delightful…despite it’s being between a duck and a chicken. The point is, he could see past her limp, disheveled feathers and droopy eyes, and she could see past his accident-prone teensiness, and they made it work! At least until one of them molts and meets someone new…
All in all, I have to say, I’m rarely (if ever) disappointed in a Disney flick. Sure it’s a little much to pay for an hour and twenty minutes of cartoon antics, but if you pay attention, there’s enjoyment enough to be found in the often subtle humor hidden amid the much-used slap-stick, which I think, is actually funny in cartoons.
On a side note...whatever happened to those movies Disney used to make with the real-life actors paired with animation, like Pete’s Dragon, Mary Poppins, Chitty-Chitty, Bang-Bang? I thought those were very clever, and I would imagine they’d be considerably easy to engineer these days… I have to admit, I kinda miss them. Mary Poppins is a big favorite of mine.
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