Can one go too far with research?

Have I told you how much fun I have with researching my alien romances?

Possibly the high point of my week this week was a visit to a sword master's lair. My quest was to get inside the head of my next hero: Prince Djarrhett.

'Rhett is a swordsman, which seems rather anachronistic in a high tech, albeit feudal, world, so the Sword Master and I had a wide ranging chat lasting nearly two hours, which covered the real-life Sword Master's opinions of the fight scenes in the Bond movie Die Another Day, and The Phantom Menace. (He feels that the light sabres are cool, but is concerned about the balance of the hilt, given that light can't weigh much, which is why Darth Maul is his favorite!!) We also discussed the logistics of weapons aboard space ships. Swords come in various lengths, and the big ones --like rapiers-- could be rather antisocial.

I so love this analytical thinking!
You can bet that if an opportunity presents itself, a lot of Sword Master Todd's opinions will filter through into 'Rhett's point of view.

"Have you ever cut someone?" I asked, never hoping for an affirmative answer. Fencing is supposed to be safe, right?


"Yes."

"What does cutting someone feel like?"

I couldn't believe my luck! After all, if I'm going to write a swordfighting duel from the point of view of my hero, he is going to have to sink some portion of his weapon into someone else's flesh.

The answer presents some literary challenges, but I can handle that, secure in the knowledge that if any Sword Masters read my next book, they will not hurl it at a wall--or trash can-- because my hero feels unrealistic sensations.

I think I must have asked more than twenty questions. I will share one more:


"Is your image of yourself different when you have a sword in your hand?"

(Oh, I did ask what he'd fight in, if he did not have to worry about protection. Would you believe, Underarmor? )

"I feel younger, stronger and faster with a weapon in my hand."
I really liked that answer, because I can make use of a double entendre. Now, I have four books to read, including The Secret History of The Sword. I had no idea there was a secret history. I cannot wait to find out what it is!

Until next week.

Rowena.

Make my day

It's been a Michelob day.
You know the jingle "Some days are better than others" ?
I love the positive spin it puts on days that are NOT among the better ones.

Yesterday I had oral surgery, and today the face I see in the mirror reminds me of a cartoon rodent... like the prehistoric one with an acorn lodged in one cheek. Laughing hurts, yawning is worse, and I'm drinking delicious, sober liquids out of the non-operated-on side of my mouth until my stitches come out next Monday. I have been forbidden to use straws. Sucking is verboten.

So, having spent the best part of a day (Monday) on an interview for the benefit of aspiring authors (when I ought to have been pounding out the pages for a book in a month!!!) I was delighted to find this email in my account today:

-------snip---------------------
Rowena: First, thank you for your OUTSTANDING responses to my
questions. Yours is a prime example of exactly what I was hoping for
with the interviews. Education, entertainment and promo. Extremely well
done!

It's now up on the blog. Thanks again!
Lynda
http://paranormalityuniverse.blogspot.com
------------end of snip------------

Best wishes,

Rowena

FIND and REPLACE... a rabbit's testicles

In case you are boggling, I am author Rowena Cherry, and I write science fiction romance, survival romance, and I have just finished edits on my next novel INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL.

Last Thursday (eleven days ago)
was my deadline for finishing revisions on INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL.
I made it.

Over the weekend, I discovered that although we had deleted a passage about
skinning a large alien creature resembling a rabbit, but bigger, we had not removed a later
reference to the skinning.

To be specific, the deleted skinning conversation between the hero and heroine
went into detail about handling genitalia and other sources of potential contamination of
the meat.

Once that was gone, the heroine's subsequent thoughts about touching a rabbit's
testicles did not make sense.

On the following Monday, I spoke with my editor and she assured me that she had
taken care of the rabbit's nuts. I shall have to wait four weeks for the galleys to
see if she took them out acceptably. If not, I can request a change at that point.


I'd also like you to know that INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL is already up for
pre-orders at Amazon. Another cool new feature is that readers or potential readers can
add TAGs to say how much they are looking forward to the next book (or whatever).

http://tinyurl.com/ftqwy

THE OUT-TAKE

“Now, look here, and learn.” He brandished a wicked looking knife. “You don’t have to concern yourself with how to skin and gut large animals. With smallish ones like this, it’s easier to skin when its cooled.”

He used his knife as a pointer.

“The first thing to do, which I’ve done, is cut its throat. Next, place your animal belly up. That way, you can see what you’ve got.”

A very healthy, ridiculously well-developed male animal.

“Starting ‘north’ of the penis —if there is one—“

In this case, there is a very prominent one.

“If there is, remember that there’s usually a bone in it. Make an incision just big enough to slip two fingers in.”

“Why?”

“You use your fingers to press the internal organs down, away from the skin. You do not want to nick the bladder or entrails. That really spoils the meat, so you’d have to wash it, and we don’t have water to spare.

“Cut up the body as far as about the breastbone.” He stroked the body with the point of his knife. “Then go down to the far end, cut neatly around the anus, and also cut a good circle,” he tickled the area in question with his knife, “around the genitals, taking care not to cut the urinary tract.”

“Why?” she breathed, disgusted.

“Unless you want to eat its testicles, it’s simpler to pull the whole lot off with the entrails. Think about it. When we come back from wood-gathering, you can have a go. You’re not going to be sick, are you?”

Martia-Djulia shook her head. At some point during his revolting demonstration, her hand had crept up to her mouth.
Djetth stood. He had removed his flight suit, his chest and shoulders glistened, though it was too cool and too early for him to be sweaty, she would have thought.

“I’ll go on ahead, and check on the beach well. Catch up when you’ve used the facilities. I don’t suppose you fancy a morning dip, do you?”

You must be mad! She stared at him pityingly.

“You’re quite right.” He grinned. “It’s not as warm first thing in the morning when the tide’s out. The water will be pleasant once the tide comes up over hot sand. I’ll teach you to swim at high tide. Of course, one finds the best shellfish at low tide.”

*

Grinning, Djetth loped down to the water’s edge to wash the blood off his hands. One way or another, sooner or later, if Martia-Djulia were pregnant, she’d have to let him know.

Meanwhile, he intended to keep her too busy to think. Maybe she’d forget about wanting to shave him. Already, she knew that Prince Djetthro-Jason was a degree of cousin. If she found out how much like Tarrant-Arragon he naturally looked, well, Djetth could imagine that she'd dream up plenty of new reasons to object to his sexual pursuit of her.

CAVEAT

SURVIVORMAN, Les Stroud advised me that this skinning method isn't quite right for rabbits. These are alien rabbits, and bigger... they also begin their literary life as more like porcupines. Now, it is a moot point how to skin prey animals for meat and fur. It's out.

Best wishes,

Rowena Cherry

Long Words

I recently got a book from the Writer's Digest Book Club called THE GILDED TONGUE: OVERLY ELEGANT WORDS FOR EVERYDAY THINGS, by Rod L. Evans. It's a glossary of elaborate, obscure words, all of them real (not made up by the author), as far as I can tell. A great treat for lovers of language. The reverse dictionary in the back -- meanings first, followed by words -- should be quite useful, in case, for instance, you're seeking a fancy word for "taking time off work" (feriation), "swimming" (natation), or "sun-worshiper" (heliolator). Some of the entries are polysyllable equivalents of simpler words. Others offer precise terms for concepts that have no widely known single-word equivalent. Most people probably know murdering one's wife is uxoricide, but did you know sexual intercourse in a parked car has a name (amomaxia)? Or that sexual intercourse without orgasm is acritition (a word that would sound very impressive in Viagra ads)? The potential for arcane insults is practically infinite, e.g., limicolous (living in mud). Personally, I think the author cheats to fill out Y and Z by including such not-so-rare specimens as yenta and zaftig. Haven't these Yiddish words become familiar to most Americans, especially in urban areas? But in general it's just a fun book to browse.

As a writer, do you use lots of arcane vocabulary? As a reader, do you like to encounter "big words" or unfamiliar ones in fiction? I enjoy seeing an author discover the mot juste rather than "dumbing down" his or her prose with a crude approximation. A skillful writer can make the meaning clear from context or subtly work in a definition. For instance, I like the way Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's historical fiction uses the proper names for clothing unique to a particular place and century. In contemporary fiction, of course, the vocabulary should fit the character. If he or she would use a certain word -- because of his/her profession or level of education -- that word shouldn't be avoided just for fear some readers might not get it. I like authors who expect intelligence and literacy of their readers, as well as the willingness to look up an unfamiliar word now and then.

Out, damned weaver fish

Maybe I'm peculiar, but when I read a book, I expect to come across the scene on the cover, and I feel vaguely cheated if it is not there.

I don't think everyone can possibly feel this way. Linnea Sinclair has had some very interesting comments on the alien romances blog regarding a very similar thought.

As a reader, I'm not so bothered if the cover is an artistic grouping of artifacts, although... if there's a bejewelled dagger and a lace doily, I suppose that I do expect them to be used to good effect in the novel.

Please do not misunderstand me. I'm not criticizing anyone's cover or art department. I am simply sharing my inner thoughts about covers in general, and my gut reaction to the gorgeous cover of my next book... and the hazards of hasty research.

The colors are fabulous, and the artwork is sexy. I couldn't ask for a better looking cover (unless I was absolutely out of my mind). It's just a little more "romancy" than I had in mind.
An author friend who is a bit of an expert on cover psychology says that I should tell readers, especially male readers, to ignore the cover. But should I?

My gut instinct is that if the scene is on the cover but not in the book, then I have to --somehow-- write the scene and beg my editor to fit it in. Is that extreme?

If only they'd given me a bare-chested hunk staring out to sea (face not visible, so his features could not be wrong) or up to his waist in the ocean... I should have suggested that! I'm not blaming the Art Department at all. I was warned that I could not have a hunk in underpants out of respect for buyers' fine sensibilities.

Anyway, how many cover models would want INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL displayed boldly across their groins?

Verisimilitude is important, and there are times when you just cannot ask your more exhibitionist friends to commit an illegal act and tell you how it felt.

Illegal? Well I think you can be pinched for doing the deed on a public beach.

In case any members of the law enforcement community are reading this with professional interest, I must disclose at this point that the sea was too cold for my husband.

Suffice it to say that my scrupulous --and ingenious-- attempts at research took longer than expected. Either the tide was wrong (too far in or out), or the waves were too mighty, or too placid, or the sand was too gritty, or the light was wrong....

On the last day of my time by the sea, when my bags were packed and it really wasn't convenient to get my costume wet again, my dear husband and our child decided that despite the low tide, and a stiff onshore breeze, it might be fun to experience the surge of surf.

My mother went to get towels from the car, and we splashed into the North Sea (English Channel) to join dozens of screaming bathers and people surfing on one sort of board or another.
August. Low tide, but only a seven foot drop, not like the nine foot range one gets at the full moon or with the spring tides. For a month I'd watched the shallows at low tide for signs of sinister movement. That day... I forgot.

I did get to refresh my memory of whether there is any difference between the feel of sun-warmed masculine, muscled skin in cold seawater (as opposed to in a fresh water bath, shower, or chlorinated swimming pool) but it's not useable. I like to think that I can do almost anything with words, but I cannot find romantic synonmyms for "slightly slimy".

The chance of copping a romantically inspiring feel was not worth the risk I took that last day. If anyone in my immediate family had to step on a weaver fish, I'm glad it was me. I have very high arches, and go barefoot a lot. Thanks to that, only one spine got me, and it broke off before it could deliver much of the excruciating neurotoxin.

Knowing what had stung me, I flicked off the spine, got out of the water, got home as quickly as possible (luckily it was not far), and immersed my throbbing foot in the washing up bowl filled with water as hot as I could bear. And epsom salts. And more water.

That's what you do to draw out the poison, if you are unfortunate enough to step on a weaver fish or lesser weaver fish. They are spined, venomous little predators (they eat prawns, I believe) who like to bury themselves all but the spines in sand when the water is warm.

Keeping the water as hot as possible until the pain was gone meant regular top ups. My dear husband was especially enthusiastic about this, and had no compunction about tipping very hot water onto my toes (the arch area was what needed it). I noticed an odd thing. Near boiling water feels almost cold for the first second or two as it is added to hot water. Then the brain resets, and registers that the water is very hot.

I didn't even limp the next day, as I lugged (schlepped) my little family's three heavy suitcases from Guernsey, to Gatwick, to Detroit. I was lucky.

I'm glad to have my feet under my desk again.

Rowena

Tricking Oneself into Writing

I envy authors who enjoy the process of writing. I love outlining (just call me weird). I don't mind minor revisions and proofing galleys. It's the work in between that I find laborious and slow. Maybe it has something to do with performance anxiety evoked by an empty screen.

In Peg Bracken's I HATE TO HOUSEKEEP BOOK, she discusses ways to trick oneself into cleaning. One way is to start several jobs at once. After you've got the laundry halfway to the washing machine, the vacuum cleaner out, oven cleaner sprayed in the oven, and the bed stripped, you have little choice but to finish the tasks.

Similarly, I've spent years looking for new and improved ways to trick myself into writing. Discovering FIRST DRAFT IN 30 DAYS, by Karen Wiesner, came as a terrific help to me. The "draft" created by this method is actually a very detailed, scene-by-scene outline that ends up about one-fourth the length of the finished book. The more detail I build into the scene-by-scene "formatted outline," the more wordage I can produce while continuing to fool myself that I'm not really writing, just outlining -- the part of the process I enjoy. The next step is to expand each summarized scene into a fully fleshed-out passage of narrative. Since I have a rough idea of how long it takes to expand a scene, I can plan out a writing schedule with more accuracy than I ever could before.

Another plus of this method is that I'm working with a template of the entire novel on the screen in front of me. So if I get a stray idea for a scrap of information, description, or dialogue to incorporate into a future scene, I have a place to insert it. No more jotting notes in my workbook or on loose sheets of paper and then forgetting where I put them. (Even though, as suggested in FDin30D, I now maintain a "story file" for each novel, I find it's still possible to lose track of miscellaneous notes in the folder.) This method makes it, if not quite painless, at least measurably easier to produce what I think of as draft 1.5.

Isn't housecleaning romantic when an alien does it?

(Substantially, this is the same content as posted on my other blogs, Rowena Remarks, and Alien Romances)

Would I want to see a Mr Spock type vacuuming up my dustbunnies?
No. I don't think the spectacle would be either romantic or funny. Not for me, anyway.

I imagine that a highly logical alien, if confronted with the need to use alien household appliances, would locate the appropriate user manual, study the instructions, and carry out the domestic operation with great efficiency and a deadpan expression.

Maybe he'd raise a quizzical, flying eyebrow. Actually, that might be romantic in a traditional Regency romance sort of way.

Of course, in my home, a highly intelligent and efficient alien might have trouble finding instruction manuals. If I were to write a blow-by-blow account of the exercise, I think an alien would comment. His remarks would probably be very funny to everyone except myself, the butt of his cool wit.

I am sure many authors have written scenes where their aliens have issues with human housecleaning appliances....Dara Joy's splendid early novel, Knight Of A Trillion Stars, comes to mind. What was it her alien hunk attacked with his broadsword, thinking it was a rival? A TV? An answering machine?

That scene was so funny, and so "right" in its context. I really love Dara Joy's work. I adored Rejar, too. It was the cat that got me!

Is chopping up the furniture the closest that any alien hero has come to housework? If not, I'd love recommendations. Generally, I think alien heroes tend to be extremely macho. They are world rulers, starship commanders, space pirates, intergalactic diplomats or trading tycoons.... they have servants, or orderlies, or androids to do the domestic dirty work.

Maybe I just haven't read the right books. No one seems to wash their clothes, or scrub toilets in an alien romance. Susan Kearney said that her aliens' clothing was self cleaning (smart!!! and with nano-technology, this is becoming a reality). Intelligent spaceships have aircleaning devices that work a lot better than the monsters we keep in our human furnace rooms. I once thought of modeling an alien toilet on a whole-house vacuum.

Then I read a joke about a sexually adventurous man who did himself a mischief.

In FORCED MATE my alien prince does have a little bit of trouble drawing a bath, mostly because he takes a macho stand (sitting on its edge, waiting for the heroine to take her clothes off and get in) without realizing that human baths don't automatically stop filling once the water reaches a sensible level.

He also has trouble with a shopping list.

And... he has trouble with the heroine when she discovers that his spacecraft toilets perform automatic urinalysis and a few other functions and announce the results. Romantic? Maybe not, but it appealed to my low sense of humor.

And then, there's recycling. We all do it, I suppose. Like Susan Sizemore who blogged recently on www.aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com , I like military books. I find them a treasure trove for research, for instance for battlefield uses for urine (to make communications equipment work).

My heroine of FORCED MATE is grossed out when she learns how spacefarers obtain yeast to make deep space bread. But that's getting into cuisine, and housekeeping, rather than house cleaning.

My "thing" is to gaze at the underbelly of an alien character's lovelife and poke fun at it. And, you might not have guessed it, but of all the sciences in science fiction, Biology is my favorite.

I'll be gone for the next four weeks. Do you know the ins and outs of a crab's sex life? I do. :-)

~Rowena

July/August newsletter www.rowenacherry.com/newsletter
Warning, there is a completely nude guy in this issue.

When the high and mighty trip up (or when the low and obnoxious do)

Last night I couldn't resist staying up much too late to watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets --again.

My favorite scene, perhaps of all the Harry Potter movies so far, is the demonstration duel, where Gilderoy
is so busy posing that he gets legally zapped by Severus Snape.

At least, I'm pretty sure Severus Snape is simply quick onthe spell-casting draw, in neat dramatic contrast to Draco Malfoy, who cheats.

Why do I like that scene?
I find it immensely gratifying when a poser gets their come-uppance! Don't we all?

One of the most enduring themes in literature is hubris: the dramatic downfall of someone who gets too big for their boots.

If one cannot zap someone obnoxious, or watch them being zapped, it's fun to imagine warning them that they are about to get their come-uppance.

"Your High-and-Mightiness, you are in deep shit!" one of my characters tells Prince Tarrant-Arragon with great glee, in my next book, Insufficient Mating Material.

Ah, but does he live? History has shown that it isn't healthy to be the bearer of bad news.

An other program that stands out in my mind is Nigel Marvin's scientific documentary about the swings and roundabouts of a lion's sex life.

Actually that is my very loose, personal interpretation of what I got from what was a high minded and wide ranging program.

The up-side of being a lion with a big, dark mane is that the lionesses like you (and you have fewer parasites).
The down-side is that you have a lower sperm count. Presumably, it's the dirty, itchy, blond boys who get the job done.

I haven't figured out how I can work that quirk of nature into one of my alien djinn romances, but --trust me-- I will.

I wish you all an interesting week.

Rowena

New Concepts Publishing is looking

New Concepts Publishing is looking for new short stories.
Have you all seen this?
I'm snipping from Andrea De Pasture's announcement
-------------------------------------------------------------

New opportunities for authors (Permission to post)

We have many new projects we're working on throughout this year and the next, and we're very excited about these themes. These lines/series are open to all authors, so please spread the word to any writing groups you're on or to your writing friends.
Also, please be sure to include the series title in the Subject header of your submission.

Kinetic Series—Releasing November 2006

The theme for this series is psychic powers. Examples include, but are not limited to psychokinesis, pyrokinesis, hydrokinesis, and other superhuman powers. Let your imagination run wild! Stories should be between 10,000 and 35,000 words, but longer novels will be considered. Genres can be historical, fantasy, futuristic, or paranormal/contemporary and can be in any locale or setting. Spicy or erotic sensuality is preferred. Current NCP authors can submit a detailed synopsis and 5-10k words. Non-NCP authors must submit full manuscript. Stories should be turned in for consideration no later than the end of July 2006.Send to submissions@ newconceptspublishing.com (no space)

Harmony™ Line—Ongoing release dates

We are actively acquiring high quality, original interracial and multiracial romances for this line. This line is widely advertised in print media and heavily promoted wherever opportunities arise. Romance genres we are most interested in are paranormal, futuristic, fantasy, and historical—spicy or erotic are preferred. Straight contemporary romances are rarely accepted for this line. Novels should be at least 70,000 words but novellas will be considered for anthologies. Current NCP authors can submit a detailed synopsis and 10-15k words. Non-NCP authors must submit full manuscript. More information about this line can be found on our website: www.newconceptspublishing.com/submissionguidelines.htm(We've had requests for more Domination/Captive themes for this line, but are not limited to this theme alone.)Send to submissions@ newconceptspublishing.com (no space)

The Brood—Releasing February 2007

The theme for this series is animal shifter clans, either of earthly origin or of the fantasy variety. (Please, no bestiality themes) Examples include, but are not limited to wolf, lion, bear, dragon, griffin, swan, etc. Stories should be between 10,000 and 35,000 words, but longer novels will be considered. Romance genres can be historical, fantasy, futuristic, or paranormal/contemporary, in any locale or setting and use any plot device, as long as shifting is used within the story. Spicy or erotic sensuality is preferred. Current NCP authors can submit a detailed synopsis and 5-10k words. Non-NCP authors must submit full manuscript. Completed stories should be turned in for consideration no later than the end of October 2006.Send to submissions@ newconceptspublishing.com (no space)

Enchanted—Releasing May 2007

The theme for this series is magical enchantments and curses. Examples include but are not limited to retellings of fairytales like Beauty and the Beast, Rose Red, Sleeping Beauty, etc. Stories should be between 10,000 and 35,000 words, but longer novels will be considered. Romance genres can be historical, fantasy, futuristic, paranormal, or contemporary, in any locale or setting and use any plot device, as long as the theme is used within the story. Spicy or erotic sensuality is preferred. Current NCP authors can submit a detailed synopsis and 5-10k words. Non-NCP authors must submit full manuscript. Completed stories should be turned in for consideration no later than the end of December 2006.Send to submissions@ newconceptspublishing.com (no space)

Inferno—Releasing August 2007Theme is summer and heat. These stories should be VERY SEXY and should include high sexual tension. Stories should be between 10,000 and 35,000 words. Romance genres can be historical, fantasy, futuristic, paranormal, contemporary, in any locale or setting. Spicy or erotic sensuality is preferred. Current NCP authors can submit a detailed synopsis and 5-10k words. Non-NCP authors must submit full manuscript. Completed stories should be turned in for consideration no later than the end of April 2007.Send to submissions@ newconceptspublishing.com (no space)

Sincerely,Andrea DePastureNew Concepts Publishingwww.newconceptspublishing.com

Out, Out, Damned Cherry Kool Aid!

I could be Lady MacBeth (or Hannibal Lector) right now...my hands look like I've dipped them in blood! If you ever decide to dye your hair (or anyone else's) with cherry Kool Aid, do NOT forget to wear latex gloves.

No, it's not MY hair taking a walk on the wild red side. It's my daughter's. After spending megabucks on a salon dye job that started fading form day one, she decided to touch up her red ends with cheapo Kool Aid dye. Ugh. I'll say this, I will never again drink the stuff.

We used 5 packets of cherry Kool Aid. The kind with no sugar added (this is key). She wet her hair and I mixed the Kool Aid with hair conditioner, a dollop about the size of a quarter for each packet.

Then I smeared the whole mess on her hair (and also on the sink, the floor, the towels, my shirt, the dog...) I wrapped her hair in plastic wrap and she left it in for 24 hours before rinsing it out.

And I must say, it worked great!

Now, if I could only get the stuff off my skin...

Joy

Politics of nicknames

Somewhere, apparently not here, I pledged to blog on Sundays, so here I am, but I must confess that I almost forgot!

Why? (How rude to admit it!)

I'm in the middle of an editing exercise that I'm finding fascinating. Recently... (actually May 31st -- I'm the sort of person who simply has to check facts) my Dorchester editor, Alicia Condon, emailed that she liked my suggestion that maybe the heroine of Insufficient Mating Material ought to have a nickname.

The heroine has a royally long, formal, hyphenated name. I began to feel that constantly repeating the full name was a bit tedious, but I didn't have time before my deadline to put sufficient thought into shortening it. I'm doing so now.

Have you ever given much thought to nicknames? Just because a hunk comes into the heroine's life, and he decides to call her "Ro" (for example) doesn't mean that she thinks of herself as "Ro" all of a sudden, when she has spent thirty years as Rowena, or Ro-Ro, or Janey, or I.

The rest of her friends and family won't suddenly start thinking of her as "Ro" or addressing her as "Ro". Will the hunk introduce Rowena to his friends as "Ro" or "Rowena"? How will Rowena feel about mere acquaintances using the "private" name?

Is this an alien idea? Different nationalities have different sensibilities about how they are addressed, and by whom. Factor in that the nicknamee is a member of a royal family, and life becomes really interesting.

Up the ante. Suppose the nickname isn't a variant of her given name... "Sugarpuss"? Suppose there's a slightly rude innuendo?

So, maybe only the hero uses the nickname. Does he ease into using it? At first, does he substitute "Ro" in conversation, where before he might have addressed the heroine as "Miss Rowena"? At what point does he wonder whether "Ro" can cook, and what "Ro" is like in bed. You might suppose that he wondered such things from a distance before he even learned the heroine's name!

Anyway, for what it's worth, this is what I'm wrestling with this week.

Best wishes,
Rowena

Well, here's what's going on with me.

In two months, Cerridwn Press will have been sitting on JAGO'S PATH for a year, and that only a partial. Meanwhile two other publishing houses have been waiting for a full submission. Additionally, they have not bothered to give me any Status Check when I asked. Sure, I recognize that they're overwhelmed, but enough is enough.

So, as of June '06, if I don't hear from Cerridwn Press by August 1st, I'll withdraw JP from their consideration and deliver it to New Concepts Press and/or Amber Quill Press. And then I'll make the global changes to send it to Dorchester.

If things work out ok.

Inspired by a shark's underside

I was making progress with my next book until a bad boy-shark's genitals got me thinking.

Instead of following the I 75 all the way to Florida for the Romantic Times Bookclub convention, I took a detour East through the Smokey Mountains to visit the aquarium at Gatlinburg. As a result, I drove on through North and South Carolina, and Georgia.

I also let my mind wander.

The concept of a male shark's claspers (which look like labia when not deployed) fascinates me. However, I am not about to give my alien djinn males claspers in their groins. A penile bone and a tattoo is about as far as I'm willing to deviate from the conventional wisdom of what is romantic and "normal" in a hero's wedding tackle.

The Gatlinburg aquarium is impressive. It has a very long viewing tunnel of three inch thick glass (it might be perspex) through which visitors progress majestically on a travelator while very large and dangerous fish swim overhead and alongside.

One hears how sharks have to keep swimming to live. Not these boys. Their bellies and genitals were pressed to the glass above the gaping tourists. I wonder whether the tunnel vibrated pleasurably --because of the travelator-- or whether it was warm, or whether the sharks are exhibitionists.

That thought led to musings about figuratively cold blooded heroes, which is unfortunate.

The logical choice for the next Great Djinn to find a mate, fall in love and live happily ever after ought to be Rhett, or so I thought. He's the elegant, calculating, slightly anachronistic swordsman, inspired more by Adam Adamant than any of George Lucas's knights.

However, if Rhett is too shark-like -- or too busy being an intergalactic statesman-- to fall in love, I may need to find an alternate hero for the next book. So, perhaps it is back to the drawing board for me!


Best wishes,
Rowena

Drive-by Posting

Writing a book is tough. It requires slogging it out every day, every week, until finally there's something to show for it. So I'm going to do a quick drive-by Posting and Announce that I have started my new book. I stared it in the face a while today, but I won. I sat down and wrote a first sentence. Then I wrote another, and another and another. I crossed a few out. (I'm a throwback. I write first drafts in longhand...) And I wrote some more to take the place of those I crossed out. And by lunchtime--my usual stopping time--I had written six and a half pages. I almost stopped at five and a half, but I decided that I was going to write six and make my goal for the day, so I kept going, and didn't get 'round to stopping till I'd written a whole nother page. Ha! It's started. The bad guys didn't win today...

Wham, bam, thank you, ma'am....

That Rowena Cherry packed so much action into less than 15,000 words is mind-boggling. It's hard enough when you writer Contemporary Romance or Historical Romance - the readers are "used" to these worlds so you don't have to fill in all the spaces. But in Sci-Fi Romance, you are really biting off a major task. Cherry does it and with style, originality and deftness that will leave the reader amazed.

It's a racy, razor edge of a tale, which will leave you amazed at how she does so much with so few pages.

~Deborah MacGillivray, author of A Restless Knight, Reviewer for The Best Reviews, Paranormal Romance Reviews, Sensual Romance Reviews & Rambles

His Mightiness looks for Romance...and coffee

The god-Emperor Djohn-Kronos hasn't had decent sex in a gestate and is looking for a good time tonight, April 1st. His High and Mightiness will attend the Coffeetime chat at 9pm Eastern in hopes of meeting a few witty, willing, and pleasantly impressionable Earthwomen.

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/ctr_chat.htm

Could someone shine a light on the dark paranormal?

Dark paranormal. Everyone wants em. But I'm not sure what it is everyone wants. As a grittily determined author clawing toward first publication, it's a source of frustration.

What I think of as "dark" may be dismissed as just weird. Or too tame. Or (probably) oh-my-God-how-can-you-even-consider-putting-something-that-gross-in-a-romance-novel?

So what the heck is going through your minds, editors and agents?

Are you looking for the that classic noir feel, with the jaded narrative voice backed up by smoky saxophones and slow-walking baselines?

Are you looking for the hero and heroine to overcome life-or-death, or worse-than-death, jeopardy to find their happy ending??

Do you want the reader to be on the edge of her seat, wondering if the hero will win the heroine's heart or just rip out her throat?

Do you need one of the lovers to be a paranormal person, or can they both be human fighting a great mucking evil?

Are you looking for epic-poetic internal discourses about the anguish of sucking blood? (Please no, as I reader I beg you not more of that!) Or, you know, sucking anything? (This is a much better option.)

Or are you looking for Clive Barker-esque or Hannibal-and-Clarise-ish where the important people actually end up happily together? (Because that's what I want to read, baby.)

Someone deliver me from confusion!

Keeping the writing going

It's a long slow slog through pages and pages of story. You just have to keep going till you get to the end, through orgasms and coitus interruptus, through sword fights and gun battles and curious fish and one blasted thing after another until you can finally write The End.

And sometimes, you get to pull stuff out from under the bed and look it over and think: "Damn, that's still good."

So, yeah, I mailed one of those to my agent on Friday. Let's hope other folks think it's as good as I do.

Should I have an orgasm

In my book... of course?

I'm on tenterhooks, as you might imagine. I rewrote INSUFFICIENT MATING MATERIAL to cut down severely on the scenes with psychics and playing cards, and to engorge the pages with sexual tension, and coitus interruptus.

Sex gone wrong --for someone else-- is so much more entertaining to read about than sex going right, isn't it? Or do I simply have a nasty streak?

I think IMM is a sexy book, but now it is on the editor's desk and on the way to a few of my favorite reviewers, I have started to agonize about a certain scene.

As I've mentioned, I'm severely restricted on page count, so it's not as if I could throw pages to the wind with gratuitous sex scenes. If I were writing for an erotica line, there'd be no doubt in my mind that the hero and heroine should not miss any opportunity.

But... oh, here's my problem... if I were on a deserted island sea shore, and the sea was cold --it usually is-- and I wasn't immensely confident about my relationship with the guy, AND I was afraid of getting seawater in my ears, I don't think I'd try to re-enact From Here To Eternity.

Would you?

Did Owein have an orgasm?

Hey all, I'm just thrilled to be invited to contribute this snobby, literary-minded, upper class blog! But I mean, really - penises being bitten by fish, phallic rhubarbs, oral sex - how's a nice girl like me supposed to keep up with all that?

So I had to think long and hard (about 30 seconds) about the subject of my first post.

This is what I decided: In keeping with the august literary tone of this blog, I figure there are a lot of people out there who would just love to listen in on the high-brow literary discussions that go on between an author and her editor.

So here you have it, a real, honest to goodness recap of last week's phone conversation between me and my editor at Dorchester.

Setting: my day job

Time: just after lunch

Picture this: The phone rings. It's my editor calling from Dorchester. I immediately ditch the day job to talk to her. She wants to discuss edits for The Grail King, my August Love Spell book.

Luckily, I have the final manuscript saved on my work computer.

"Okay," she says, "page 177. What I need to know is, did Owein have an orgasm?"

"Um," I say, looking around wildly. There are a couple people - of the male persuasion - on the other side of the room.

"Because," she says, "it's clear that Clara had an orgasm, but I'm not sure if Owein had his."

"I bet you don't even blush when you say things like that," I say, blushing.

"No, pretty much at this point I've gotten over all that."

Since editors are busy people with no time for trivial things like false modesty, she forges right ahead.

"Since Owein is really vulnerable to Clara's psychic power just at the point when he reaches his orgasm, I think it's important to make sure the reader knows that it happened for him right here, before you go into the flashback."

"Um," I say again. "Okay." I eye the guys on the other side of the room. "Let me think about that and get back to you."

"All right, good. Now, on page 295..."

So I go home and print out the orgasm passage. I don't know about other writers, but I really like to see the words on an actual sheet of paper rather than on the computer screen.

It's a nice scene, I think. Owein has been trying to shield himself from Clara's psychic ability to see inside his mind. He's got some nasty stuff in his past that he just doesn't want to face. At the same time, Owein hasn't had sex in two years, so he's REALLY hot for some action.

Unfortunately, when Owein has an orgasm, he can't keep Clara out of his mind.

I realize my editor is right (of course) - I have to make it clear that Clara has made Owein lose control of both his body and his mind. After all, that's a romance heroine's job, right?


Here's the original passage:

Her passion broke. His fingers moved on her, sharpening her pleasure. A sob tore from her throat. Her body convulsed as she gasped his name.

The sound echoed in his soul.

Here's what I add:

It caught him and pulled him with her. Sensations expanded, until he could no longer keep them within. His pleasure broke, shattering what was left of his emotions. The door to his heart splintered.

Next line:

And suddenly, he felt her there, inside.


I was pretty happy with that. I sent it on to her the other day. Hope she likes it!

Blog with you later,

Joy
www.joynash.com