Sunday, September 29, 2013

Hey, who's in charge here anyway?

A few years ago, my Sizzling Sisters and I decided to create a series of books. Each of us would write a story or a novella based in the fictional town of Port Clef, CT. We had a great time building the town and populating it with our characters, some of whom end up in each others' stories.  I had volunteered to write the first story.

It didn't exactly work out that way. Two plus years later, my Sweet Spot story is finally out! CAT SCRATCH FEVER was a story I had kicking around in my brain for a long time. I'd thought about it and thought about it and heard the characters speaking in my head forever. When I finally got down to seriously writing it, something strange happened. It was like the characters had been waiting around for me to get my act together for so long, they were sick of my pace and decided to take over.

I had planned on writing a novella. Apparently, Sage and Walker didn't think their story could be told that quickly. (It's almost 50,000 words) I had planned on making it romantica. Sage and Walker weren't quite so quick to hop into bed together. (Although, when they did, it was HAWT!) I had planned on having all sorts of convoluted conflicts and personal angst. Yeah, they weren't going for that either.

You may be thinking, "Hey, you're the AUTHOR, stop making excuses and write the book the way you planned!". I tried that. It didn't work. Every time I tried to force the book to go the way I had outlined it-- and I use that term very loosely--my writing stalled and I couldn't move the story forward. When I just let go and let them take over, I couldn't type fast enough to keep up with the words pouring out of my brain.

I think sometimes you just have to go with what's working, in writing and in life. If we get too caught up in controlling everything, we may just steer ourselves in a direction we didn't want to go. I generally like being in charge, but in this case, I'm glad I was able to let it ride. Sometimes it's nice to let someone else drive.

I hope you'll pick up a copy of CAT SCRATCH FEVER and take it out for a spin yourself!

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Great Expectations

You know what I need? I need to be 'Cait Miller' in my real life.

Cait is brave, outspoken, shameless, unafraid off her sexuality. She has an awesome wardrobe and a great social life to go with it. Cait is the person who told a roomful of people something she hadn't even told her closest friend. She's the one who can stand in front of those same people and talk about sex without blushing (much). She's the person who said 'I want a tattoo dammit' and went and got not one but two. She sings karaoke occasionally and given enough vodka. Cait travels to foreign countries alone and makes friends without worrying what they think of her.

Cait is everything I would be if I wasn't afraid for my job and of what my family and friends would say or think. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all live without that fear? Then again perhaps that fear is what keeps some really bad behaviour in check for some people.

What would you do with your life if you didn’t have to live up to others expectations of you? Or maybe you are one of the lucky ones who already does. If that’s the case, I salute you...while I still try to find the courage to break completely free of those chains.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

To the future!

Yesterday my daughter and I went to see Austenland, a movie that centers around the question, “What if there were a real place where you could step into Regency England and live the life of Austen’s heroines?”

The movie was fun and filled with plenty of Austen references (as you’d expect). The heroes were dashing with just enough mystery to keep the entire piece intriguing. Jane, the intrepid hero reminded me at times more of Jane Eyre, a Bronte heroine rather than an Austen one, but it didn’t bother me in the least.

But it did get me to thinking.

Jane Austen wrote only six major novels (can you name them? See below to see if you’re right!). Yet here we are, 194 years after her death, still entranced by the world she created. Even the Bronte sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) keep hold of our reading interest and they only have one major work each (Match ‘em up! Who wrote what? See below for the answers).

No, I’m not going to ask what you think I’m going to ask. Reams of papers have been written on all four of these women with plenty of analysts giving their thoughts as to why the stories have endured. To me it’s actually pretty simple: good stories and memorable characters.

And that’s what the Scribes write as well. From Tara Nina’s McKinnons to Ruby Storm’s hunky heroes in love, from Tielle St. Clare’s dragons to Cait Miller’s stories of magic, Lynn LaFleur’s wonderful seductions, Arianna Hart’s sexy heroes and my own tales of Dominance and submission, we tell stories. Good stories.

Now, in two hundred years will someone write a fictional getaway based on our books? Why not? After all, a girl can dream!

Answers:

Jane Austen: In publishing order: Sense and Sensiblity, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion

Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre
Emily Bronte: Wuthering Heights

Anne Bronte: Agnes Grey