WHERE DO YOU DRAW YOUR INSPIRATION?

By Anna DePalo

As a writer, I’m always looking for that germ of an idea. But what can spark ideas for a story?

Some writers need to ruminate a long time. This is often where the idea for the first novel or novels comes from. Usually characters are formed in your head, coalescing from a variety of experiences and stimuli over the years. Perhaps you saw a movie once…or read a book…or attended a show.

This method is exactly how the idea for my first book, HAVING THE TYCOON'S BABY, formed. I had the general idea of a family—three brothers and a sister—in my head a long time. I slowly developed different plot lines for them. They became the books HAVING THE TYCOON'S BABY, UNDER THE TYCOON'S PROTECTION, TYCOON TAKES REVENGE, and CAPTIVATED BY THE TYCOON.

On the other hand, to maintain productivity, particularly in popular fiction, it eventually becomes necessary to stimulate the imagination. Now any life experience can do this—traveling, meeting new and interesting people, or going through a big event such as having a baby or getting married.

But sometimes you need more targeted stimulation. In this case, you need to expose yourself to the types of experiences that would trigger ideas for the particular type of book that you want to write.

Are you into glitz-and-glam novels? Then perhaps subscribing to Vanity Fair or some other magazine covering the rich and famous is a good idea. Do you want to write thrillers? Then perhaps touring FBI headquarters is in order.

Since I write for Silhouette Desire, which is an imprint that often features wealthy, powerful heroes, I keep exposed to the lifestyles of the rich and famous. I subscribe to People and Vanity Fair. I check in on gossip columns such as Page Six of The New York Post. I read books such as THE SKY'S THE LIMIT: PASSION AND PROPERTY IN MANHATTAN, which focuses on the buying and selling of coops by celebrities. I keep up with The View on television.

For my current Aristocratic Grooms trilogy for Silhouette Desire, which starts this month with HIS BLACK SHEEP BRIDE, I started buying Tatler magazine, which chronicles high society life in Britain.

What about you? Where do you draw inspiration from for your writing or life in general?♥



On the verge of graduating from law school, Anna DePalo decided it was finally time to face a new challenge and write a novel. Her Aristocratic Grooms trilogy for Silhouette Desire starts with HIS BLACK SHEEP BRIDE (August 2010) and continues with ONE NIGHT WITH PRINCE CHARMING(March 2011). She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, son and daughter. Visit her online at http://www.annadepalo.com/.

CINDERELLA: THEN AND NOW

By Beatriz Chantrill Williams

It's Dallas in late July 2007, and I'm sweating through my suit jacket as I await the shuttle bus that's supposed to take me to the annual Romance Writers of America national convention. It's not just the shimmering Texas heat, either: I couldn't be more of an outsider here. I've just joined the organization on the recommendation of a sci-fi editor friend of mine, who assured me that anyone starting out in women's fiction needs to take out an RWA membership, pronto. I've never been to Dallas, I don't know a single soul, and I haven't read a romance novel in 15 years. I'm even staying at the overflow hotel across town, for goodness' sake. I'm nobody.

Flash forward to late July 2010, and I'm still sweating through my suit jacket, but the scene has changed. It's Orlando, and I'm whizzing under the Disney World entrance arch with a suitcase full of business casual and a BlackBerry full of meetings and appointments. I'm looking forward to my second RWA conference so much, I can feel my belly muscles strain, urging the taxi onward.

What's the difference? You, my friends: the marvelous sisterhood (with a few proud and stalwart brothers!) that is RWA. In the three years since my first national conference, I've joined two local chapters and learned masses about the craft and business of writing novels. I've completed a couple of manuscripts, found an agent and sold a novel, and I owe it all to the warm welcome, the priceless networks, the nonstop education that the women and men of RWA extend to fellow writers across a dizzying range of subgenres and special interests.

So this time, as I walk through the lobby of the Dolphin Hotel, I recognize countless name badges, whether from email loops or books read or people met. This time I dodge half the workshop slots to dine with my agent and her other fantastic clients, to sit down with my paperback editor for the first time, to meet face-to-face the many writers and bloggers I've encountered online. Instead of slouching up to my room at eight o'clock, I head for the pool or the bar, sipping chocolate martinis with chapter mates and new best friends. On Friday night, I tiptoe into my first publisher party, where the fangirl moments come so fast and furious it almost starts to feel... normal.

But every Cinderella eventually hears the clock strike midnight. At the awards gala on Saturday, I lose track of my buddies in the lobby crowd, and find myself herded into the massive ballroom without (gasp!) a tablemate. It's 2007 all over again, and after all the glamour and fellowship of the last few days I'm back sitting through a three-hour ceremony with a bunch of strangers. All of sudden, my dress feels wrong, the goddess ponytail that InStyle magazine assured me would set the summer ablaze seems silly, and I'm dead certain my mascara is smudging.

And then I pass by a familiar face. It's our own Lauren Willig, just sitting down to dinner, and with a big smile and a friendly laugh she welcomes me back into the sisterhood. By the time I head up my room that night, I'm convinced that there must be some pixie dust in these books we write, because it's no small miracle that a profession so notoriously rife with competition and neurosis could produce so many helping hands.♥



Beatriz Chantrill Williams is thrilled that the next RWA national convention takes place in New York in only ten and a half months. Her first novel, OVERSEAS, will be published by G.P. Putnam's Sons just in time.

RUNNING AND WRITING!

By Jerrica Knight-Catania

As soon as I got home from Nationals this year, I knew there were a ton of things I had to do now that vacation was over.

#1 - I had to lose weight. I've gained and lost 10lbs since having my daughter, but I still have 15 to go until I'm back to my pre-baby weight! And being on vacation for two weeks didn't help at all!

#2 - I had to write the manuscript that the agent I pitched to requested. I had about 8 chapters written before I left for vacation, but I got a critique back from Barbara Poelle in the middle of it with some brilliant suggestions. So I pitched a fairly different story in Florida, which meant I pretty much had to toss what I had of the manuscript. And with the partial on request, I knew I needed to get my butt in gear and get writing!

#3 - Hire a nanny and a maid because #2 was going to make it difficult to look after my 7 month old, let alone do any kind of house clean up.

So, how has it all panned out?

#1 - As my husband and baby and I enjoyed beers and appetizers with our other mom/dad/baby friends for happy hour a couple weeks ago, one of them mentioned she was going to run a 5k in October. Hm. What a great goal, I thought, even though I'm not a big fan of running. And before I could stop myself, I volunteered Eric and myself to do the run as well. So now diet and exercise are a given - a non-negotiable part of our schedules 4-5 days a week. We're on a regimented training schedule, and if we miss any of them, it will throw the whole plan out of whack. With only 8 weeks to train, we don't miss a day! Have I lost any weight? I'll let you know once the batteries on my WiiFit balance board are charged. But I will say that my backside is starting to look mighty fine, if I do say so myself ;)

#2 - The day after we arrived home from Orlando, I put my butt in that chair every moment I got and wrote like the wind. By the end of the first week, I had my first three chapters done (about 14,000 words!!!) I'm now up to 5 chapters (things slowed down a bit in the second week) and wrote a 2,000-word synopsis that I'm quite proud of, along with my query letter. I sent it out yesterday and took the rest of the day off. But today, it's back to work! God help me if she asks for the full anytime soon! LOL!

#3 - Nanny? Check! And she's wonderful! Maid? She's coming to give me a quote today, and just in the nick of time. The in-laws will descend upon us this weekend and I just don't have time to devote to whipping this place into shape. It's bad enough that my baby's nap time this morning was used to clean up cat puke from the carpet in the bedroom!

So what about you? Did you make any Nationals Resolutions? Are there things in your life that are non-negotiable that you must do every day? Are you a goal-setter or a go-with-the-flow type?♥

Jerrica has been writing for three years. She just sold a four-book series of Regency romances – The Wetherby Brides – to Second Wind Publishing. Book 1, A GENTLEMAN NEVER TELLS, debuted last November. Book 2 will be released in 2010. Jerrica has also sold three short stories. Visit her at www.jerricasplace.com and romancingthebook.wordpress.com.

FIVE WAYS TO WRITE DEEPER FICTION

By Lisa Dale

If you want to enchant your audiences, considering upping your writing game and exploring deeper ideas in your fiction.  It doesn't matter if you're writing thrillers, mysteries, romances, science fiction, or erotica. The potential for writing truly meaningful stories or novels is there. If you're writing about humans (or even human-like non-humans), your plot is primed for real insight. Here are some techniques that may help inspire you to tackle meaningful issues.


Pay attention. To deepen your writing, you also need to deepen your experience of your own life. Are you paying attention? Watch for the details. When you see something that strikes you as interesting, stop. Think deeply about why it's interesting to you. Don't just say "it's interesting because it is." Dig deep. The results will show in your writing.

Read. If you are reading widely, your writing will show it. You'll have better techniques and a bigger worldview. Read in as many genres as possible-not just the ones that you're comfortable with. If your usual genre is mystery, challenge yourself to read science fiction. Get out of your reading comfort zone, and your readers will thank you.

What scares you? Think of the things that scare you most. Losing money? Dinosaurs? Clowns? Or are you scared by the issues: loss of human rights, gross unfairness in the coffee trade, environmental hazards. Fear plays a part in every plot in some way. Are you digging deep enough into what it means to be afraid?

Grace. In our lives, we all experience moments of unexpected grace. Grace brings us startling insight into ourselves or others. Grace can show us fundamental human decency. Grace can be forgiveness, self-realization, clarity, joy, and certainty. The best moments of grace in fiction come when they are least expected. What does grace mean to you? Do your characters experience unexpected grace?

Slow down. To write thoughtful fiction, you can't expect to write fast fiction. If you're shooting for X number of pages each day, chances are you're more focused on meeting an artificial goal than you are on writing unique, special, insightful content. When you slow down and explore all the various nooks and crannies (possibilities) for a given scene, you often deepen that scene. You may not get to the finish line quickly, but you'll be dancing as you go.♥

Lisa Dale's new novel, SLOW DANCING ON PRICE'S PIER, arrives from Berkley in 2011. More at http://www.lisadalebooks.com/.

WHEN WRITER’S BLOCK IS GOOD

  
   By K. Keith

I had a very long day. The subway train coming home was hot and not in an entertaining way. All the cars on the street below my building showed off their car alarms. I had dinner. I’d gotten everything ready for the next day. Now thankfully in bed, I closed my eyes.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2….I was almost asleep. And then it hit.

What if Juliana could not get into her bedchamber because of a vicious mastiff sitting in front of the door? Then she has to run upstairs and tap on the door of Lord Wilton’s chamber and…

I was plugging my plot holes, but why then? Just when I needed sweet oblivion, I was coming up with all of these scene ideas. And it was midnight.

Alas, the best ideas sometimes come at the worst times.

Another choice moment occurred when I was all lathered up in the shower. Ah, peace and quiet. Nothing but me and the soap and NPR blasting away from the radio in the next room.

And then it struck again.

What if Lord Wilton opens the door and lets Juliana in, but there’s another tap at the door? He opens the door again, and there’s his ex-girlfriend. Juliana, in the meantime, dives under his bed where she sees a mouse…

Argh! I had to jump out of the shower to write it down before I lost the scene in my head. A puddle formed at my feet as I jotted it down.

It does seem unfair sometimes that the ideas come not when one is fully dressed, well-fed, wide-awake, and sitting in front of one’s laptop, but at a moment when one would be quite content with writer’s block.♥



K. Keith is a RWANYC member. She's busy writing her first historical romance, HEXFORD, about Lord Wilton, aka Hexford, and Juliana.

BITS & PIECES: THEA DEVINE

I knew who Thea Devine was before I even knew who she was, the "Queen of Erotic Romance," Romantic Times calls her. I was in awe of meeting such a legend in the industry, and a bit star struck. I had just started reading her newest Sex, Lies and Secret Lives--and it was immediately so sexy and so good! Everything you would expect from the queen.   Thea is such a warm person, I felt instantly comfortable with her and that is the secret to her success. Everything that I have ever believed about love and happiness she embodies. She glows when she speaks about her husband of forty years.  For everything she talks about there is a playfulness and a curiosity that she is filled with that is contagious. She told me about a brown notebook she used to keep which she wrote down all sorts of notes that might fall into a novel at some point--maybe not. But she is always inspired, and inspires. After meeting her, I bought a tiny black Moleskine notebook to I keep my own notes, I wanted to incorporate the things that she did so I could aide my own writing. If ever the term the "real deal" was coined it must have been with Thea in mind. A gifted, natural writer, we are so lucky to have, and I was so lucky to meet, Thea Devine in my lifetime. I am sure I sound like a groupie and I am! I asked her to sign my copy of SEX, LIES AND SECRET LIVES. Inside she wrote, Live the Fantasy. Thea Devine makes and lives fantasies--read her bits to be as enchanted as I am with her....

I'm a crazy romantic. I love love, I love being in love.

I've loved reading romance since I was in high school, especially Emilie Loring who had a very distinctive voice and whose books had a very colorful New England flavor. My dad was a newspaper man, in distribution, and he would bring home all the best sellers. What I found I liked was the romance within the bigger plots. And even though I'd known I wanted to write since I was 9 and reading Nancy Drew, I never dreamt I'd be writing romance this many years later.

What's also interesting to me is that, on rereading the stories I wrote in college, I can see vestiges of the way I write now.

When I started writing, my books were categorized as "spicy romance." But I was the first author whose books were reviewed and niched as erotic romance.

In my first book, I had a situation where the hero was going to take the heroine. But I kind of got that if he did, there was nowhere to go with the story. So I had her put her hand between his legs. And instantly the power shifted. She saw she could affect him just as much as he could her in a sensual way.  It changed everything, that moment, and informed everything I've written since.

A long time after that, a very astute reader defined the relationships in my books as two people continually trying to get control of each other. She got it exactly right.
.
I think that even if you aren't literally writing, you're writing in your mind. You're watching people, you're reading the paper, watching TV, you're talking to people -- you're thinking -- I'm thinking -- all the time, "how can I use this? What if -- what if -- what if?" Ideas are everywhere. Write everything down -- a line of dialogue, a description, a name, an incident, a theme -- you'll never remember otherwise and you'll regret you didn't take note.

Most RWANYC'ers know I was a manuscript reader for about 25 years. You may not know I worked in advertising during the "Mad Ave" years. We had to type print and TV ad scripts on clunky old manual typewriters, an original and seven carbon copies. There really were two hour (and more) lunches, and big celebratory parties. And endless rewrites of copy. I worked for two women copywriters, one of whom I remember asking, as she was redoing copy for the umptieth time, "how do you know?" By which I meant (remember, I was very young) , what to change, whether it would work.

She said, "I just know."

I never forgot that. And now, I know --when you've been writing long enough, you "just know."

I write the kind of book I like to read, and anything I'll write will have a strong erotic component. I set my own ground rules for that early on: there's always going to be a romance. The heroine will always have some control. The hero won't force her or hurt her. They'll be together at the end. They'll be in love or on the cusp of it. They have to be falling in love.

Historically, I like the antebellum period. So you can guess I love GONE WITH THE WIND, and I also collect women's civil war diaries.

I also love to play guitar. A guy gave me a guitar in college, and I learned a few chords -- C F G -- with which you can play hundreds of songs. Just like one idea can generate dozens of different stories.

I met my husband at a party and what I remember is that we talked all night. Many years later, we were doing a tag sale of some of his mother's effects after she died. It was the middle of July, candles were melting in the heat, and hardly anyone came, but there we were, sitting and talking, and I thought, how amazing, we still have stuff to talk about. It struck me forcibly that nothing was too insignificant to talk about, and that there always IS something to talk about.

I'm a Brooklyn girl, born and bred, even though we live now in Connecticut. My younger son, Tom, calls Brooklyn the "mother country."

I'm a TV-holic; I'm recording every night. I'm watching Vampire Diaries, Glee, Army Wives, V, Pretty Little Liars, House, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, One Tree Hill, Life Unexpected -- and more. I love them because under the skin, they're about family and community. I think in this culture, in these times, we're yearning for that connection. I know I am; I have a great nostalgia for the time in my childhood when cousins and grandmas lived close enough for that "do I have to?" Sunday visit. I wish my cousins all lived that close now. And all my friends.

Q&A WITH AGENT ERIC RUBEN & CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS!

  
Many thanks to RWANYC member Anne Elizabeth (PULSE OF POWER) for “introducing” us to her agent, Eric Ruben.  Below is a brief look at the job of an agent.  PLUS, Eric has a special submission proposal for all RWANYC members.  Read below. --mcf

Q:   How do you select your clients?

I need to love their writing! I want an enthusiastic writer who enjoys their own work and makes me love it too. If I am going to represent someone, be their champion, then I need to know they are 100% behind what they are doing.  Some of my clients come from referrals either friends telling friends, business contacts, or current clients. With client selection as in agent selection, it’s important that it be a good fit.


Q:   What exactly do you do, and not do, for your clients?

It depends on the client. I have some clients who know exactly where they want their work submitted and they have a whole career plan. For them, I follow their specific wishes. Other clients seek more input or guidance from me to choose publishers, publicity ideas, and seek ways to support and share their talent. As someone with experience in several areas of entertainment beyond publishing, I feel especially qualified to advise clients about opportunities in film, television or other venues. One of my client’s refers to me as the “multi-shop stop” for my ability to take projects into several areas of multimedia.


Q:   Can you represent your client if they write in more than one genre?

Absolutely. It just depends on the genres and their own brand identity. Some authors can cross over effortlessly and others may need to do so under another name. This is like so many things in this business. There are some general rules but there are many more instances where there are no rules at all. The most important thing is that the writing is strong. There’s no point in a client pursuing paranormal because it’s “hot” when they just don’t write it well. But there’s no reason to avoid a genre that others claim is cooling off if a client has a great story, told well and with great characters. I know a writer, not one of my clients, who even after she was told “vampires are over” has a mega-hit book series based on vampires. It’s because the books are great.


Q:   What does an author need to know about the new digital publishing / e-book rights?

That the landscape is changing and they need to make sure that, whoever represents them, they take this into consideration. The technology is evolving so quickly that it’s hard to predict what the industry will look like in only a few years. However, I also think that there’s nothing to be afraid of. People are reading more books than ever, buying more books because of impulse purchases on their e-readers and the price point. People are often afraid of change, but I think that you just need to look at the music industry to see that some artists and companies were flexible and found a way to succeed while others didn’t. Musicians and music companies are still finding ways to make money and get great music to people who want it. I buy more music now than I ever did. ♥


SPECIAL SUBMISSION PROPOSAL:     As a special offer to the RWANYC, members can submit proposals to Eric by email, starting now and up to September 30, 2010. Please make sure submissions include a full manuscript, synopsis, and all your contact information. List RWANYC in the subject line and send to eric@rubenlaw.org.


BIO:     Eric Ruben is an attorney with more than twenty years of experience. He has a B.A. in Political Science from Union College, and a J.D. from Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law. He has been admitted to practice law in New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts and is a member of the American and New York Bar Associations. He currently represents authors in a variety of genres including romance, erotica, graphic novels, health and cooking, but is open to all genre of story. He is also well known to fans of New York Times best-selling author Suzanne Brockmann as the man who suggested she write a series using Navy SEALs as heroes, thus creating the new genre of romantic military suspense. Eric has had a long career as an award-winning performer and writer, appearing in major motion pictures, television commercials, national print advertising campaigns, and Off-Broadway theatre. This experience gives him a unique perspective that benefits his clients.

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT AGENTS

By Maria Ferrer


NOTE: On Monday, August 16, Agent Eric Ruben will be RWANYC’s Guest Blogger. He will blog about how he selects his clients, and what he does and doesn’t do for them. Plus, his take on the e-book / digital rights question. 

An Agent is YOUR representative. She/he pitches and sells your book to the publisher, negotiates the contract and for their trouble gets 15% of your earnings. Sounds simple. The problem is that Agents – especially good Agents – don’t grow on trees. Below you will find some tips on how to find an agent, how to interview the agent and things to consider when signing on with one.

THE QUEST.   Before you start your quest for the Perfect Agent, ask yourself: Do I need an agent? The answer is…maybe. Some big name authors don’t have agents; most do. Some authors who write short stories or magazine articles don’t think they need agents; neither do some big fiction writers. Other writers swear by their agents. YOU have to look at your situation – what you are writing, whom you want to submit to, what your goal is -- and decide. For example, our very own Cathy Greenfeder did not have an agent when she sold her first two books to e-Wings Press, but now she is in the market for one. Another important consideration is the publishing house you wish to submit to. If they only deal with agented authors, then you need an agent.

DO YOUR RESEARCH.  Find the books that you like, the authors you admire and find out who is their agent. Sometimes you can call the publisher and ask. Sometimes the authors list their agents in their books or on their websites. Look up that agent in the Literary Marketplace and on the AAR database. Check out their track record with the RWA National office. Research their reputation, their practices. Visit the agent’s website; look at their recent sales. Are those books like yours? Are those houses you want to write for?
         Also, think about whether you want to be in a small literary agency or a large one. A small agency has hungry agents who are going to be eager to work and sell. This could be a plus.
         It could also be a negative if your agent dies or moves to Brazil. A bigger agency may seem for secure. Do your research and find out which one will work best for you; where will you feel more comfortable; which will position you better career-wise.

SUBMIT, SUBMIT.  Now that you’ve done your research and you’ve narrowed your list to three agents, let’s say. Try to meet these agents informally at a local writers’ conference or at the RWA National Conference. An informal talk can help you narrow your choices even further. If you can’t meet them beforehand, no problem; you can still submit to them. NOTE: the agent(s) you are soliciting should NOT charge a reading fee. If they do, move on.

THE INTERVIEW.  This is NOT your interview, but theirs. YOU are the employer; they are the employee. Remember that. Don’t be scared of them. They are going to be working for you. And the main issue is not money because they get a standard 15% of your earnings. Think instead career planning – your career. Start the interview by explaining to the prospective agent YOUR Vision for yourself; where you see your career going; where you want to be five years from now. Then ask questions, lots of questions. What success have they had in selling your type of novel? How many authors in their “stable”? (Yes, it’s called a stable.) What publishers do they have better relationship with? What are some things that they’ve negotiated for other authors? No question is silly. This is an interview. If you are anxious, write down the top 5 questions you need answers to and practice with a friend. REMINDER: It’s an interview, you don’t have to sign or make a commitment that day.

THE CONTRACT.   In the old days, agents and authors had verbal contracts. This is the 21st century, you need a written contract. Make sure it includes the commission rate and the agent should detail any extra fees you might incur. The contract should include specific language about the termination of the agreement by either party.
         Thirty to sixty days written notice to terminate contract is pretty standard. And make sure you include a provision on what happens to unsold projects that they’ve pitched on your behalf, and that they forfeit any interest in future works. Also, be on alert. Sometimes agents sneak in a clause that gives the agent a piece of every project you write for a publisher with whom she/he negotiated a contract indefinitely. Watch for this clause and take it out ASAP.

THE RELATIONSHIP. Some authors are friends with their agents, for others, agents are business partners nothing more. You are the one who decides on the nature of your relationship. If you need a lot of hand holding, make sure the agent you pick is a nurturer. If you need monthly or quarterly updates on your books, say so at the beginning. Your relationship with your agent is as important as your relationship with your editor. Be courteous and professional.♥


RESOURCES

AAR, is the Association of Authors' Representatives. Almost all agents belong to this organization. The AAR has a strict Code of Ethics that all agent members must abide by. Their website (aar-online.org) has a database of all its members with submission guidelines and areas of expertise. This is a good place to start.

The Literary Marketplace also has agent listings, with names, addresses and areas of expertise.

RWA National publishes an annual listing of known romance agents in the RWR. They also keep track of agents that members have had problems with.




Maria Ferrer is juggling several projects, and is always amazed when things get done. When not writing, she is blogging at http://www.4horsewomen.blogspot.com/ or at http://www.latinabookclub.com/.

JOB WELL DONE

I am--shockingly--reading more than one novel at a time and there has been a theme in them. There have been several erotic scenes in my literature involving prostitutes. This theme was capsulated in the short story in Fast Girls, edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel, "Playing the Market" by Angela Caperton. The protagonist Jessie had just lost her job--in the stock market--and while in a bar she decides that maybe she can try her luck extending her services...almost immediately she has a taker, and that is when her excursion to the other side begins.

Somewhere between Jacob Riis's How the Other Half Lives portrayal of the prostitutes and Nancy Friday's My Secret Garden describes what an erotic scene is like with a prostitute. The oldest profession is not without its subleties and complexities, like any other. Even though a story like this must exude, radiate, ruminate with sex, there is much more. Performance, anxiety, desire, comaderie and sometimes deeper feelings fall into play during the encounter. A range of emotions come into play with every experience.  Jessie started out very confident and for the most part she was, but it was her first experience and there were things that she had not counted on. Pleasures that she was not even expecting would fall on her.

Prostitution is the oldest profession and one of the hardest ones without a question. Being with someone who is paying you--someone who reminds you that you are being paid to perform. Satisfaction has to be guaranteed whether it is there or not. Although for the purpose of erotica written by women for women, even the hard parts of the job--no pun intended--are overcome. The sexy parts are so hot there is no inhibition when you are being paid for pleasure. None of the trappings of feelings when with a client, unless of course like with any job love albeit taboo comes in; you do what you have to do to get to that zenith. Everything is accelerated, women should be accelerated when it comes to seeking their pleasure, which is why I am sure that it is a fantasy for some to be a prostitute.

My Secret Garden was written decades ago so it is not something brand new, women being aroused by being a prostitute. Whether it be a profession or for personal pleasure women's desires are complex and it is a job for them to get to where they want to be. Fast Girls is filled with stories like these, women who are driven to fulfill their desires and are unapologetic.

I do not think anyone should ever be apologetic for desire. I give a major brava to Rachel for the stories that she picked and Angela Caperton for inspiring me so much with her story.  I could not stop thinking about it after I had read it, and I am a New Yorker--a fast city girl by definition!


For more information on the Fast Girls and Rachel Kramer Bussel, click here.

To purchase on Amazon.com, click here.

GRAVE GOODS: Diversity in 4th Century Roman Britain

By Maureen Osborne

In both archaeology and anthropology, grave goods is a term used to identify artifacts found in burial grounds. Arianna Franklin (aka Diana Norman) used the term to title her 3rd book in the Mistress of the Art of Death series about Adelia Aguilar an Italian doctor in 12th century England. Adelia travels with an Arab manservant by the name of Mansur, who is both confidant and moral compass. In her novel, he is respected and revered. The prevailing thought by modern scientists was that Africans were slaves of “low-status” in Roman Britain. Yet, new technology has revealed that graves and their goods have a different story to tell.

In a recent article published by Antiquity, a new forensic technology has revealed that a skull taken from a grave unearthed in 1901 is that of a woman of black ancestry. The grave in Bootham, York, was the site of Eboracum, a Roman stronghold in forth century AD. It was not unusual for African males to migrate from Roman North Africa with the Roman Army; however those migrations typically did not include women and children.

Upon discovery, the stone sarcophagus contained items that were normally found in the graves of wealthy individuals (ivory bangles, perfume bottle and mirror) who had access to tradesmen. Her skeleton revealed that she was between 18 and 23, did not live a strenuous life and minerals in her teeth could be traced to North Africa. The skull measurements establish an African connection. Also in the grave, was a bone fragment, inscribed a phrase that translates into “Hail sister, may you live in God” which suggests Christian belief.

Dubbed the “Ivory Bangle Lady” for the African ivory and Yorkshire jet bangles found in her grave along with other items will be on display at the Yorkshire Museum.

Historical fiction writers and readers find that research and reading often prompts further study. After reading Georgette Heyer’s, THE SPANISH BRIDE, I went on to study Wellington’s Peninsular Campaign and the Battle of Waterloo. Making history come alive is what Historical Fiction writers do and do very well, and with this new discovery, even more can enjoy.

A LADY OF YORK: Migration, Ethnicity and Identity in Roman Britain, published in the March edition of the journal Antiquity. The Yorkshire Museum’s “Ivory Bangle Lady” will be on display in the exhibit, Roman York: Meet the People of the Empire, which opened on August 1, 2010.♥



Maureen Osborne continues to work on her historical romance.

THE EROTIC REVOLUTION

by Donna George Storey

WARNING:   Contains sexually explicit language.

“I want to change the world one dirty story at a time.”

When I posted this mission statement on my website, I expected my cheeky ambition would make readers smile. I laugh every time I read it myself. And yet I’m also totally serious. I truly believe writers who speak their truth about the erotic experience do change the world for the better.

When I first began writing fiction about thirteen years ago—as a way to keep my brain sharp while my firstborn napped—I was surprised to discover that every story “climaxed” in a steamy sex scene. I knew I’d found my calling. Yet, I’d be revising history if I didn’t admit I sometimes blushed at my own dirty words. Literary fiction has allowed the exploration of erotic themes for some time, but only if the sex was bad, depressing, or somehow punished in the end. But in spite of Susie Bright’s BEST AMERICAN EROTICA series, stories that celebrated sexual enjoyment, and worse yet, aroused the reader below the waist, were—and sadly still are in some circles—written off as mindless porn.

I also noticed that in both literature and “smut,” sex felt disconnected from character and plot, in spite of the fact that sensual pleasure was very much a part of my real life. Even as a rank beginner, I yearned to reunite the mind with the body in my fiction. What if a writer treated the erotic with respect by creating complex characters, by keeping the bedroom action part of an evolving plot through discovery and surprise, and by paying the same breathless attention to language as she would to caressing her lover’s skin? Frankly, the idea turned me on in a big way.

While cooking up sexy tales and researching the delicious details with my husband has been the most electrifying and empowering job I’ve ever had, I also get off on taking the larger view. I am but one of many writers who are committed to exploring the mysteries of authentic sex and desire. (By the way, fantasy and sex-as-we’d-like-it-to-be qualifies as authentic in my book.)  As recently as a few decades ago, women were told how to be sexual by medical experts and how to be sexy by male literary lions. Today we can tell the world what we really want by creating stories from our own fevered brains rather than trying to fit ourselves into someone else’s fantasy.

The old virgin/whore conditioning dies hard, however. Sometimes I blush when I reread a line of my own composition such as: “My clit and cunt still buzzed from the normal fucking, but now my asshole tingled and throbbed, as if his cock were already inside.” How could a sweet girl like me write such filth? Then again in the context of a story about a happily married couple exploring the wife’s desire for a “forbidden” act, these same words show her comfort with her sensual response and the confidence to make “dirty” words serve her own pleasure. How’s that for a revolution?

It’s not easy to challenge stereotypes and fight shame. Sometimes it’s even harder to figure out my own complex, often disturbing feelings about love and sex. But each story I write brings me to a deeper understanding of myself and Eros. So, whether you’re a seasoned veteran or a newcomer rolling in the literary satin sheets for the first time, I urge you to share your true passion with the growing number of eager readers of erotic romance. Can there be a more pleasurable way to change the world?♥

Donna George Storey (www.DonnaGeorgeStorey.com) has published over 100 erotic stories and is the author of AMOROURS WOMAN (Orion/Neon), a steamy tale of an American’s love affair with Japan.

LIVING IN THE NOW (and Book Giveaway!)

by Dee Davis

Been thinking about interesting people of late. The things others do that make me wish I was doing that too. I suspect that lives viewed from the outside always seem more exciting than they are. I know when someone introduces me to speak and I hear all the stuff I’ve done, I always wonder who the speaker is –oh…me.

It’s so easy it seems to let our lives get sidetracked into “what ifs” –instead of “I haves”. Our pasts have a way of dictating our present. And some (me included) can let that paralyze them into losing self-esteem, which is hard enough to come by in the first place. Conversely there are also people who are ruled by the future. Must do this, must do that, and all of it before I reach a certain age or it just won’t count. Again, I find that I am prone to this particular human weakness. I often think why didn’t I start writing earlier in my life, then I’d be like so and so. (Another trap we often set for ourselves – contrast and comparison).

But you know the truth is the only moment that counts is the now. It’s the only one we can be sure of. And I think we need to put or focus on that -- On living each second as if it were the most important one. And overanalyzing the past or the future only wastes the precious minutes we spend doing it. If opportunity knocks, you won’t be able to hear it if you’re having a pity party or a planning session. Better to wait, ready for whatever it is life holds in store, and then grab it with gusto.

I’ve always said that my only goal in life is to die without regret. That’s a tall order, I know, but I think it helps me to keep focus, to make sure that when I feel overwhelmed and overshadowed, I can pull myself out of the dark and step into the light—one of my own making.

I think in DESPERATE DEEDS, my latest A-Tac book, that’s the lesson Tyler Hanson has to learn. She’s got to understand that there are no promises, no guarantees. Sometimes you just have to jump off the cliff, feet first, and have a little faith that things will turn out all right.

And of course what I love about romance novels is that the leap is almost always worth it. But the funny thing is, that I also find it’s true in life. Sometimes you wind up a little beat up for the journey, but in the end, there’s usually something that happens that enriches the path we’re on.

Clearly, I’m having a pensive day! What about you guys? Do you live in the future, the past or the now? Maybe there’s something to be said for all three?

For more on DESPERATE DEEDS check out http://www.deedavis.com/ ♥


BOOK GIVEAWAY. 
Leave a comment on this blog for Dee and you will be entered to win a free copy of DESPERATE DEEDS.  Winner will be announced on Friday, August 13.  Good luck.



On the brink of turning forty, award winning author Dee Davis realized that life only happens once. In total panic, she decided it was time to stop talking about writing a book and “just do it”. To that end she sat down at the computer and hasn’t left since. The transplanted Texan now lives in Manhattan. The time she doesn’t spend writing is spent with her husband, her daughter, her cat and her Cardigan Welsh Corgi. Visit her online at http://www.deedavis.com//.

BITS & PIECES: SANDY SULLIVAN

   
  
Sandy Sullivan is so cool. I discovered this sitting in a cafe with my MacBook chatting with her online. She's funny, smart and motivated--exactly what it takes to be a good writer. Talking to her motivates and makes you want to be better at whatever you do. Working in the dual role of nurse and author, she still finds time to be on Yahoo loops, such as the Let Me Get You Hot & Bothered Yahoo loop, where she encourages and supports other authors. She's amazing--I felt invigorated just getting to know her. You will get to know her and love her as you read her bits below and you can get to know her even better at her website: http://www.romancestorytime.com/. After all the "Happily Ever After" that she gives her readers is the one she seems to be living for herself.



Trying to get something published initially was my goal. Lessons I learned through self-publishing: You have to be diligent and market, market, market. You don't have a regular publisher behind you when you self-publish so it's all on you. I did mine through CreateSpace so I had to do everything from editing, to cover to getting my piece out there. It can be overwhelming, but I think it's a step in the right direction if you're new. It's hard to break into the business, but once you're in, you're in.

I didn't know about all the e-publishers then so I figured it was the easiest place to start with. With all the e-publishers, you have to do a lot of the work yourself, as in promoting. They all have their editors and cover artists to take care of that part and they all vary as to how much editing they do.

It's not really that hard and I'm not a marketer by any means. I've been trying to condense some of my promo stuff on the Yahoo loops I'm on, like putting out a promo with all of my Wilder Series so if Editors want to look, they get a piece of all of them. There are too many people who just delete promos. And I've been extremely fortunate that people seem to like what I write.

Cowboys. I don't know. I love them all. There's just something about the save-the-day kind of a man. I love guys in tight jeans, pointed toe boots and cowboy hats. I'm a huge country music fan and there's just something about a cowboy. I don't remember watching a ton of them as a kid. A nice butt in Wranglers is a huge turn on. I love to ride horses too. I have two of them at home. Nothing sexier than a guy riding a horse. My favorite country artist is Clay Walker. I've been following that man for fifteen years. Hubby knew Clay came with me.

Love story? Hubby and I met online actually. We started emailing on Christmas Day, met for the first time on New Year’s Eve and he asked me to marry him two weeks later. We will be married 11 years this August.

To me erotica is a book where sex is the main focus and not necessarily a HEA (happily ever after). In erotic romance, romance is the main focus, usually has a HEA and lots of hot steamy sex.

Everything inspires me. I can get ideas for a conversation, a song...whatever.

My house is in Tennessee, but I'm currently doing a travel nursing assignment in Arizona until at least September. I've been a nurse since 2002; Went back to school after hubby and I got married. Many of my pieces have some kind of medical stuff in them --from car accidents to spinal cord injuries. My beta reader tells me I need to write something that doesn't have any of those in it.

I try to stay involved and help others out. I was where most of them are now, just last year. People encouraged me so I'm trying to encourage others, too.

Erotica sells a heck of a lot better than mainstream does these days. I love erotic romance myself. I read everyone who catches my attention: several sister authors with Siren, like Tonya Ramagos, Lily Grayson and Regina Carlisle. In fact, now, if I picked up a mainstream, it's almost boring to me.

Dialogue is huge for me. I hate run on descriptions in a book. I write mostly dialogue in mine. I think it makes the book more interesting and keeps the storyline moving. Currently on the piece I'm working on, my two characters are in the middle of sex using handcuffs. The series is called Want Ads and it will be out with Passion In Print. The title of the piece is GOTTA LOVE A COWBOY.

I like to read and ride my horses, but I don't seem to really unwind because there are always things running through my brain. New story ideas and my characters love to talk to me at the most inopportune times; At work usually; when I don't have a minute to sit down and write something out.

I like mint chocolate chip ice cream. I love Ghost Hunters. I've seen ghosts a couple of times during my life.

I can't write a love scene with music on. I need absolute quiet so I can concentrate on the feelings and moods of my characters. I'll usually type it with my eyes closed. If they are regular scenes of the story, then I usually have music on, but if it's a love scene, I need quiet so I can 'feel' what my characters are feeling.

WILD WYOMING NIGHTS started when a picture of Abby sitting on a window seat crying while the snow fell outside her window, popped into my head. Then I had to figure out who her hero was--poof--Chase Wilder was born.

I seem to keep having these ideas and I just keep writing them down. Somehow they end up in a story somewhere. Actually, I'm totally bored if I'm not writing I've come to find out. I drives me nuts not be writing something. There are days though where I get stuck and I have to put something aside until the characters tell me where they are going with it.

It's almost like an addiction once you get going. You can't seem to stop. My daughters write too, but not like me. My youngest is working towards an editor job. I love it. My oldest has like a YA type thing she's working on, but it's hard to get her motivated to finish it.

I think women now are more open minded and willing to explore their needs. I know I am. I love exploration of the feelings between a man and a woman. I think what we write these days helps women think of themselves more and maybe even ask their partner to explore some of the things we write about and that they read.

I believe in taking life by the balls and making it want you want it to be. I've usually got twelve things going at once and if I don't, I'm not happy. I have like seven pieces in progress.

There are too many people out there that think there's not a redeeming thing about romance.

Keep writing and develop yourself into whatever you want to make your stories to be. Write what you like. It shows in your writing if you are trying to force a story. It's the main reason I write cowboys. Each story is something I would want to read myself. Don't worry about making the story into what a publisher might want. You'll find the right home when the time comes.

I don't think of it that way. For me, writing is fun. When it's not fun anymore, when it becomes a job, then I don't want to do it. The money is nice, but it doesn't pay the bills. I just want to write something people like to read. It still astounds me to think people actually pay to read what I've written.

I think e-books are going to be the way of the future, although many people still like to hold the prints. E-book publishing has exploded in the last two years. I read both, although I don't have an e-book reader. I read on my computer. I doesn't really matter to me if it's in print or not; although you can take print into the bathroom with you. I guess you could take an e-book reader too. I'm going to buy my mom one for Christmas this year. She loves to read.

I've never written poetry, but I do believe writing is the way we see the world, and it also depends on what's going on in our own lives at the time. If we are in the middle of a bad time, our writing tends to be darker and more moody. I think being happy keeps me unblocked. I'm in a very happy marriage and it shows in my writing. If I get blocked, I usually put the piece aside for a day or two and then come back to it. I think if we get into a place where it's very dark and very lonely, we have to do something to make it better. Otherwise, you do lose your ability to entertain and that's what writing is all about, entertaining the reader. Taking them away from that dark place they are in at the time. There's nothing wrong with dark. Everything has its place and everyone writes what they are feeling. For me, it's the HEA. I know my readers want to believe there is a HEA for everyone in this life and that's what I try to deliver.♥

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN AUTHOR

By Karen Cino

Procrastination. One of my favorite words. Something I do on a daily basis. That’s why I decided this month to share one of my days with you.

I sit behind my laptop every day and try my best to muster up an idea that will be earth shattering, one that every editor in the industry will fight over. Oh yeah. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.

Out comes my index cards and my special pen. Oh yes, the pen that I only write those great ideas with. The one I have used for the past five years, full of ink, and drying out from lack of use. Now you ask my why, when around me I have nothing but positive things to inspire me.

It’s eleven o’clock. Just as I’m about to embark on my blockbuster plot, my baby Olli Baba, comes strolling by. He sits down on the keyboard, offering to add assistance to my idea. He’s so cute. Isn’t he? My first distraction of the day. I try to read his mind and conclude that he’s looking to be brushed and for a fresh bowl of water with some ice chips in it. It is summer…it’s hot and he’s entitled to an ice cold bowl of water. Down the stairs I go.

I get Olli his bowl of water and remember that I never took the clothes out of the dryer. Down the stairs I go to the den to get the clothes. Just as I am about to take them out of the dryer, I remember that I never watered the plants in the yard. So outside I go. This deed, I get to finish in full because I am getting hungry. I return to the den, take out the clothes and make my way back up the stairs to the kitchen. Lunch time. So I make a quick salad, or so I think it’s quick. I slice the vegetables, add the olives, artichokes, red roasting peppers. Oops. Now I have a bag full of cans on my counter. So it’s back down the stairs and out to the recycling pail. Just as I’m about to walk back into the house, I see my neighbor. Perfect. I haven’t seen her in days. I walk to her stoop where’s I sit down and start gabbing.

I return back to my house, sit down to eat my salad, and I’m on my way back up to my desk when the phone rings. Okay, not a problem. While I talk on the phone I will clean the bathroom and straighten out one closet. After completing that set of chores I make my way up the stairs. Before I start anything, I put the clothes away; straighten up the kids room, again. My daily chore. Mission complete. Time to go back to my writing.

I sit behind my desk, just about ready to start writing when my kids ask me what we are having for dinner. Dinner? Oh yeah. I looked at the clock and sure enough it was almost five-thirty. Damn, where did the time go? I didn’t do anything. Can you imagine if I had a full time job? I would never find any time to write.

There you go. A day in the life of an author -- me. Now of course this doesn’t happen on a daily basis….well most days. But I made a pact with myself that going forward I will take time out for myself where there are no distractions. Remember, I have that great idea that needs to get down on paper.♥



Karen Cino is the President of the RWA New York City Chapter. She writes women's fiction. Currently she is looking for a home for her completed novel ROSES and finishing revisions on MYSTICAL WONDERS.