WELCOME TO BOOK COVER FRIDAYS!
Every week we bring you an exciting hot book
cover from one of
New York's Leading Romance Authors. Enjoy!
"Seduction in the Snow"
ONE WEEK IN WYOMING
by Julia Kelly
Friday, September 26, 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
REJECTION NOTICES WE’D LIKE TO SEE….
by
Jean Joachim
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Dear Mr. Dickens,
So who has great expectations? Is this Miss Havisham chick expecting a roll in the hay with Pip or what? Cougar stories are hot right now but this kid is underage…don’t want to bring the feds down on us. So make him older and add a few hot scenes and resubmit.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Dear Mr. Dickens,
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”? Really? Make up your mind, Mr. Dickens. Which was it, the best or the worst of times. Geez. When you decide which it was, revise and resubmit.
Stuart Little by E.B. White
Dear Mr. White,
A woman gives birth to a mouse? She’s cheating on her human husband with a giant mouse? Honestly…that may be original but is totally inappropriate for a kid’s book, Mr. White. Besides, it has creeped out the entire editorial staff. Don’t bother rewriting and resubmitting this one, I’m afraid.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Dear Mr. Cervantes,
A novel about a crazy old guy who fights a windmill and his chubby sidekick who goes along because he has no life? Honestly, this story has been done to death, Mr. Cervantes. While we loved the chivalry, the plot was ho hum and the characters too far-fetched. Please send us your next manuscript, we have not filled out quota of rejections yet this month.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Dear Ms. Shelley,
Your hero is made out of dead body parts sewn together? Yuck! Three of our editors threw up reading about that. Then you jump start him like a dead car battery with lightning from the sky. Yeah, like that’s ever gonna happen. What nice girl writes about something so grisly? Thanks but no thanks. Do send us your next attempt, we’re always looking for a good laugh.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Dear Mr. Carroll,
A girl disappears and this is funny? Down a rabbit hole? She eats pills that make her bigger and smaller then meets a floating grin that’s a cat? We suggest, Mr. Carroll, that the next time you take psycho-tropic recreational drugs, you remove pencil and paper from the room. Please, we know an acid trip when we see one. Good luck with your drug habit but don’t send us your next “trip”.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Dear Ms. Alcott,
We were disappointed to see from the title of your book that it wasn’t about a bordello. These girls are innocent to the point of totally boring. Four editors fell asleep skimming your book for sex scenes. Besides, there was too much telling and not enough showing in this book. We couldn’t feel the emotions of your characters. What a bunch of spoiled brats! Please, spice up this book, like one of them gets it on with the rich kid next door, rewrite and resubmit. Oh and make the girls all over sixteen. We like ‘em legal.#
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jean
Joachim, wife and mother of two sons, is owned by a rescued pug, named Homer.
She’d been writing non-fiction for what seemed like forever until she got up
the nerve to try fiction. It was love. Now she spends her days in New York City
in the company of her characters, with a cup of tea and a secret stash of black
licorice. She has 20 romance books published and seven non-fiction books. Her
series include, Hollywood Hearts; Now and Forever; New York Nights; and
Moonlight Series, Lost & Found. Visit Jean at www.jeanjoachimbooks.com.
Dear Mr. Dickens,
So who has great expectations? Is this Miss Havisham chick expecting a roll in the hay with Pip or what? Cougar stories are hot right now but this kid is underage…don’t want to bring the feds down on us. So make him older and add a few hot scenes and resubmit.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Dear Mr. Dickens,
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”? Really? Make up your mind, Mr. Dickens. Which was it, the best or the worst of times. Geez. When you decide which it was, revise and resubmit.
Stuart Little by E.B. White
Dear Mr. White,
A woman gives birth to a mouse? She’s cheating on her human husband with a giant mouse? Honestly…that may be original but is totally inappropriate for a kid’s book, Mr. White. Besides, it has creeped out the entire editorial staff. Don’t bother rewriting and resubmitting this one, I’m afraid.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Dear Mr. Cervantes,
A novel about a crazy old guy who fights a windmill and his chubby sidekick who goes along because he has no life? Honestly, this story has been done to death, Mr. Cervantes. While we loved the chivalry, the plot was ho hum and the characters too far-fetched. Please send us your next manuscript, we have not filled out quota of rejections yet this month.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Dear Ms. Shelley,
Your hero is made out of dead body parts sewn together? Yuck! Three of our editors threw up reading about that. Then you jump start him like a dead car battery with lightning from the sky. Yeah, like that’s ever gonna happen. What nice girl writes about something so grisly? Thanks but no thanks. Do send us your next attempt, we’re always looking for a good laugh.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Dear Mr. Carroll,
A girl disappears and this is funny? Down a rabbit hole? She eats pills that make her bigger and smaller then meets a floating grin that’s a cat? We suggest, Mr. Carroll, that the next time you take psycho-tropic recreational drugs, you remove pencil and paper from the room. Please, we know an acid trip when we see one. Good luck with your drug habit but don’t send us your next “trip”.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Dear Ms. Alcott,
We were disappointed to see from the title of your book that it wasn’t about a bordello. These girls are innocent to the point of totally boring. Four editors fell asleep skimming your book for sex scenes. Besides, there was too much telling and not enough showing in this book. We couldn’t feel the emotions of your characters. What a bunch of spoiled brats! Please, spice up this book, like one of them gets it on with the rich kid next door, rewrite and resubmit. Oh and make the girls all over sixteen. We like ‘em legal.#
Friday, September 19, 2014
BOOK COVER FRIDAYS: SWEET JAZZ by Ursula Renee
WELCOME TO BOOK COVER FRIDAYS!
Every week we bring you an exciting hot book
cover from one of
New York's Leading Romance Authors. Enjoy!
SWEET JAZZ
by Ursula Renee
Monday, September 15, 2014
2014 Golden Apple Awards Honorees!
RWA/NYC congratulates
its
2014 Golden Apple
Awards Honorees
Lifetime Achievement
Award
Alice Orr
Publisher of the Year
Entangled Publishing
Agent of the Year
Jill Marsal
Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
Author of the Year
K.M. Jackson
Editor of the Year
Megha Parekh
Forever Romance (Grand Central Publishing)
Media Source of the Year
Heroes and Heartbreakers
Librarian of the Year
Frank Collerius
Jefferson Market Library (NYPL)
Bookseller of the Year
Barnes & Noble
Alice Orr
Publisher of the Year
Entangled Publishing
Agent of the Year
Jill Marsal
Marsal Lyon Literary Agency
Author of the Year
K.M. Jackson
Editor of the Year
Megha Parekh
Forever Romance (Grand Central Publishing)
Media Source of the Year
Heroes and Heartbreakers
Librarian of the Year
Frank Collerius
Jefferson Market Library (NYPL)
Bookseller of the Year
Barnes & Noble
Winners will
be presented with their “golden apples” on September 18, 2014 during RWA/NYC’s
annual Golden Apples Awards Reception.
For more information, visit www.rwanyc.com.♥
Friday, September 12, 2014
BOOK COVER FRIDAYS: A DIFFERENT ME by Deborah Blumenthal
WELCOME TO BOOK COVER FRIDAYS!
Every week we bring you an exciting hot book
cover from one of
New York's Leading Romance Authors. Enjoy!
A DIFFERENT ME
by Deborah Blumenthal
Monday, September 8, 2014
A FICTIONAL FAMILY TREE
by Margaret
Birth
Mary Queen of
Scots was descended from both the English and Scottish monarchies—lest I forget
the exact line of succession, two genealogical charts fill the opening pages of
Antonia Fraser’s Mary Queen of Scots,
which I reread recently.
Of course, that’s a real-life family tree. But some of my favorite novels also include a family tree in the book, to help readers keep multiple characters and their relationships straight.
Even if there’s no need for a genealogical chart for readers’ sake, though, should authors make a character family tree in the process of writing a book? I think it’s something worth considering.
During my twenty-five-plus years as a writer, I’ve deepened my interests in genealogy, and in given names and surnames, to the point where I’ve joined the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and the American Name Society (ANS). With these overlapping interests, I’ve learned certain things that have the potential to aid the process of character development:
●
Everyone is related to someone—or, more specifically, to at least two someones:
mother and father. Simply seeing these three names on a chart (person, person’s
mother, person’s father) can give a visual reminder of the biological and emotional
background and relationships among these characters.
● Our names reflect how our parents desired to identify us. This has several implications:
■ The “junior effect” can have a profound impact on a person. If your character has the letters “Jr.” or a Roman numeral like IV after his name, why? Does he come from a family that values tradition or takes pride in its names? How does your character feel about sharing a name? Does he resent it because he believes the duplicate name makes it difficult for him to feel unique, or does he share the family pride? Does he struggle, as an adult, with still being called “Tommy” or “Little Tom,” rather than “Tom” or “Thomas”?
■ Consider other variations of the “junior effect”: the woman named after her mother, the woman given some version of her father’s name (Andi, daughter of Andrew), the man or woman given elements of both parents’ names (Harper Clay Johnson, named after mother, Mary Harper, and father, Ronald Clay Johnson), the man or woman named after a grandparent, or the woman (often Southern) whose first name is a very traditional female name but whose middle name (and the name by which she’s known) is her mother’s maiden name (Catherine Campbell Smith, who goes by Campbell Smith). Family history, pride and tradition frequently go into naming choices like these, and such things can influence how a person reacts to and reflects his or her name (i.e., characterization in fiction).
■ Cultural background may also play a role. Different nationalities and religions have different naming customs. This is where a family tree that goes back a couple of generations (character, parents, grandparents) may help to visualize possible cultural naming patterns.
■ Parents sometimes choose names for their children because of positive associations they hope other people will make with those names—or in rebellion for negative associations they fear people may have had with their own names. Imagine a little girl named Destiny (a name implying anticipation for a great future) or Blake (even though Blake isn’t among the family surnames—but sounds distinguished); think of a little boy named Brad (after a parent’s favorite celebrity) or Gage (because the parents believe it sounds macho and cool). Do your characters live up to their names, or not? Did you name your characters, or did you consider why their parents might have named them what they did? Could anything in the parents’ choice of name be in rebellion to their own background (a mother named Sunshine Daffodil Jones by her hippie parents, who traditionally names her own daughter Elizabeth Jean Jones)?
● There’s blood family (biologically related), legal family (related by marriage or adoption) and family-by-choice (neither biologically nor legally related, but people we consider to be part of our family, nevertheless—such as those we call “Aunt” or “Uncle” even though they’re just close family friends). Even in the field of professional genealogy, a real-life family tree may include any or all of those relationships—because it’s the relationships people consider to be the most meaningful in their lives that shape who they are and who they become; and certainly the same could be true for a character’s family tree.
The next time you work on a story, think about branching out—and take some time to consider what your characters’ family trees may say about them and their characterization.♥
Margaret Birth is a Christian writer who has been widely published in short fiction, short nonfiction, and poetry, both in the U.S. and abroad; in addition to working as a freelance writer, she's spent over a decade freelancing for multiple publishers as a manuscript reader, proofreader, and copy editor. Please follow her—and give her page a “like”—at www.facebook.com/MaggieAdamsRhettShepard.
Of course, that’s a real-life family tree. But some of my favorite novels also include a family tree in the book, to help readers keep multiple characters and their relationships straight.
Even if there’s no need for a genealogical chart for readers’ sake, though, should authors make a character family tree in the process of writing a book? I think it’s something worth considering.
During my twenty-five-plus years as a writer, I’ve deepened my interests in genealogy, and in given names and surnames, to the point where I’ve joined the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and the American Name Society (ANS). With these overlapping interests, I’ve learned certain things that have the potential to aid the process of character development:
● Our names reflect how our parents desired to identify us. This has several implications:
■ The “junior effect” can have a profound impact on a person. If your character has the letters “Jr.” or a Roman numeral like IV after his name, why? Does he come from a family that values tradition or takes pride in its names? How does your character feel about sharing a name? Does he resent it because he believes the duplicate name makes it difficult for him to feel unique, or does he share the family pride? Does he struggle, as an adult, with still being called “Tommy” or “Little Tom,” rather than “Tom” or “Thomas”?
■ Consider other variations of the “junior effect”: the woman named after her mother, the woman given some version of her father’s name (Andi, daughter of Andrew), the man or woman given elements of both parents’ names (Harper Clay Johnson, named after mother, Mary Harper, and father, Ronald Clay Johnson), the man or woman named after a grandparent, or the woman (often Southern) whose first name is a very traditional female name but whose middle name (and the name by which she’s known) is her mother’s maiden name (Catherine Campbell Smith, who goes by Campbell Smith). Family history, pride and tradition frequently go into naming choices like these, and such things can influence how a person reacts to and reflects his or her name (i.e., characterization in fiction).
■ Cultural background may also play a role. Different nationalities and religions have different naming customs. This is where a family tree that goes back a couple of generations (character, parents, grandparents) may help to visualize possible cultural naming patterns.
■ Parents sometimes choose names for their children because of positive associations they hope other people will make with those names—or in rebellion for negative associations they fear people may have had with their own names. Imagine a little girl named Destiny (a name implying anticipation for a great future) or Blake (even though Blake isn’t among the family surnames—but sounds distinguished); think of a little boy named Brad (after a parent’s favorite celebrity) or Gage (because the parents believe it sounds macho and cool). Do your characters live up to their names, or not? Did you name your characters, or did you consider why their parents might have named them what they did? Could anything in the parents’ choice of name be in rebellion to their own background (a mother named Sunshine Daffodil Jones by her hippie parents, who traditionally names her own daughter Elizabeth Jean Jones)?
● There’s blood family (biologically related), legal family (related by marriage or adoption) and family-by-choice (neither biologically nor legally related, but people we consider to be part of our family, nevertheless—such as those we call “Aunt” or “Uncle” even though they’re just close family friends). Even in the field of professional genealogy, a real-life family tree may include any or all of those relationships—because it’s the relationships people consider to be the most meaningful in their lives that shape who they are and who they become; and certainly the same could be true for a character’s family tree.
The next time you work on a story, think about branching out—and take some time to consider what your characters’ family trees may say about them and their characterization.♥
Margaret Birth is a Christian writer who has been widely published in short fiction, short nonfiction, and poetry, both in the U.S. and abroad; in addition to working as a freelance writer, she's spent over a decade freelancing for multiple publishers as a manuscript reader, proofreader, and copy editor. Please follow her—and give her page a “like”—at www.facebook.com/MaggieAdamsRhettShepard.
Friday, September 5, 2014
BOOK COVER FRIDAYS: Dirty Girls Have All The Fun by Lise Horton (& reading)
WELCOME TO BOOK COVER FRIDAYS!
Every week we bring you an exciting hot book cover from one of
New York's Leading Romance Authors. Enjoy!
"Dirty Girls Have All The Fun"
by Lise Horton
1st ANNUAL BDSM WRITERSCON ANTHOLOGY
READING TONIGHT, SEPT 5!
Lise will be reading from her story at
Between the Covers Erotic Reading Series
People Lounge, 163 Allen Street (NYC)
7:00-9:00pm
Hostess: Lori Perkins, Riverdale Ave Books
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
A SONG IN MY HEART
by
Ursula Renée
I usually
have music playing in the background when I work. However, I do not have one
song or playlist that puts me in the mood to write. What I listen depends on my
characters and settings.
Each character I create is different from the next. Their experiences vary as do their tastes in literature, film, music, etc. As part of my writing process, my characters tell me their favorite genre. I then research the type of music they enjoy and create a playlist that caters to their tastes.
There are a few cases in which both my characters listen to the same genre (i.e. goth, funk, psychedelic, etc.). Most times, however, the characters listen to different types of music (i.e. the heroine prefers easy listening and the hero likes country). In situations like that, I try to find artists like Bob Dylan or Neil Diamond, who cross genres or songs that both characters could tolerate, like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.”
In cases where the musical tastes are too different (i.e. one character enjoys R&B and the other listens to Heavy Metal), I create a playlist with songs that suit the scenes. I may use a faster song like Kasabian’s “Underdog” for an action scene and softer music like Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love” for romance.
Creating a playlist can get trickier when I write historical romances. In these cases, the songs have to reflect the characters’ personality and the time period in which the novel is set. Though, I love the song “At Last,” my heroine could not hum the tune in Sweet Jazz. The song was written in 1941, three years after my novel takes place. Therefore, she hummed “Dream a Little Dream,” which was written around 1931.
It may seem like a lot of work. In some cases, it can take days to compile enough selections to create a one hour playlist. However, once completed, I listen to the songs whenever I work on the novel. And, once the novel is published; I hope the music will help the readers get a better understanding of the characters and the settings.♥
Ursula
Renée is the President of RWA/NYC. Her historical romance, SWEET JAZZ, will be
published by The Wild Rose Press. When she is not writing, she enjoys
photography, drawing and stone carving. Visit her at www.ursularenee.com.
Each character I create is different from the next. Their experiences vary as do their tastes in literature, film, music, etc. As part of my writing process, my characters tell me their favorite genre. I then research the type of music they enjoy and create a playlist that caters to their tastes.
There are a few cases in which both my characters listen to the same genre (i.e. goth, funk, psychedelic, etc.). Most times, however, the characters listen to different types of music (i.e. the heroine prefers easy listening and the hero likes country). In situations like that, I try to find artists like Bob Dylan or Neil Diamond, who cross genres or songs that both characters could tolerate, like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird.”
In cases where the musical tastes are too different (i.e. one character enjoys R&B and the other listens to Heavy Metal), I create a playlist with songs that suit the scenes. I may use a faster song like Kasabian’s “Underdog” for an action scene and softer music like Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love” for romance.
Creating a playlist can get trickier when I write historical romances. In these cases, the songs have to reflect the characters’ personality and the time period in which the novel is set. Though, I love the song “At Last,” my heroine could not hum the tune in Sweet Jazz. The song was written in 1941, three years after my novel takes place. Therefore, she hummed “Dream a Little Dream,” which was written around 1931.
It may seem like a lot of work. In some cases, it can take days to compile enough selections to create a one hour playlist. However, once completed, I listen to the songs whenever I work on the novel. And, once the novel is published; I hope the music will help the readers get a better understanding of the characters and the settings.♥
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