THE ART OF JABBERING: Not Such a Bad a Thing—Well Not all the Time

My guest is romance author, Christie Craig. You may have read some of her books like Divorced, Desperate and Deceived and Divorced, Desperate And Dating.

I recently had the opportunity to read Christie’s book. Oh what a fun book to read, and laugh? Oh my goodness this book cracked me up. It’s a good blend of comedy and suspense. I love Christie’s sense of humor and her ability to infuse that humor in her writing and her word plays without losing that edge of danger needed for a good suspense story. Her characters are real and fun and tend to get into some wacky situations. You’ll love Precious, Texas and Shala, Sky, Redfoot, and Martha and her red Cadillac. Wait until you meet the guy in the pink bathrobe and smells like a skunk. You’ll be laughing your, um, head off. If you enjoy witty, sexy romantic suspense, you’ll love Shut Up And Kiss Me.

Christie shares with us The Art of Jabbering & Networking at Conferences.

Shala Winters, my heroine in Shut Up And Kiss Me is a bit of a jabberer, and guess what my hero can’t stand? Yup, you got it. Sky Gomez can’t stand a jabbering woman. In the book he states: He would walk uphill naked and barefoot through the snow and a bed of porcupine needles to avoid a jabbering woman. I bet you can figure out just how that works out for him too, can’t you? Basically, there is no escape, not even an uphill path through the snow or porcupine needles. Sky is stuck with Shala and her endless chatter. I make sure of it. Love in the making.

The crazy thing is that while Shut Up and Kiss Me is the perfect title for the book, I had originally given the title to an earlier book and another heroine who had a habit of talking a wee bit much. So I guess you could say, I have a tendency to write about heroines who aren’t afraid to talk. Now, how I have so much insight into this character trait is beyond me. I can hear everyone who knows me cracking up right now.

So, fine! I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a talker, and the ol’ foot-in-the-mouth moment is something I’ve experienced once or twice, maybe a dozen times. There was the time I stepped out into my backyard just in time to hear my next door neighbor, positioned on top of his ever-increasing CB radio antenna, yell down to my husband, “Hey, it works.”

And I yelled back, “It should. It’s big enough.”

Only to have my husband--after he finished laughing his butt off and after he picked his butt up from the ground--tell me they hadn’t been discussing the antenna, but my neighbor’s vasectomy. Yeah, I had my big toe stuck between my molars for about a week on that one. And for about a year, every time I saw my neighbor I swear he walked a little taller.

Ahh, but foot-in-the-mouth moments aside, jabbering isn’t altogether a bad thing. Not for my fiction, and especially not for me as a writer.

Here’s what I mean:

Jabbering -- Good For Fiction

Jabbering, or to say it another way, talking before you think-- saying what you mean before filtering it-- is one of the best keys to writing good dialogue. The heck with politeness and political correctness. Kick aside what people expect your characters to say, and let them do a little jabbering, and speak their minds. Just for fun, let me show you what I mean.

“How are you this morning?” Linda asked, as Jeffery walked into the boardroom with the other six members.

Jeffery paused. “I’m fine thank you.”

Now that’s just plain ol’ polite dialogue and frankly it’s boring. How about we spice that up:

“How are you this morning?” Linda asked, as Jeffery walked into the boardroom with the other six members.

Jeffery flinched. “How the hell can you even ask me that after what you did?”

Better, don’t you think? Or maybe let’s try.

“How are you this morning?” Linda asked, as Jeffery walked into the boardroom with the other \six members.

“I’m doing fabulous and as soon as I can get you alone and naked again, I’ll be doing even better.”

To write great dialogue let your characters say the truth, the hell with consequences. Hey, kids can get away with it, why not our characters. For example, my three-year-old son accidentally walked into the bathroom as my mom stepped out of the shower.

“Wow, I didn’t know you looked like that naked,” he said.
My mom grabbed the towel and covered herself. “Like what?”
“Like a fat lady,” he said in total honesty.

I didn’t say there wouldn’t be consequences, just the hell with them. Yes, I had a talk with my young son about political correctness, but let me tell you, it was funny, it was honest—my mom had gained weight and was hiding it behind her clothes—and while it happened more than a dozen years ago, the whole family still laughs at it.

So make you character’s dialogue memorable and maybe even funny by letting them talk with child-like honesty.

Jabbering -- Good for Verbal Networking

The art of jabbering is basically the art of carrying on a conversation--and being able to communicate with the editors, agents, other writers, and eventually your fans. Probably one of the best networking skills I’ve attained is the ability to talk. While some believe it was a natural talent, I beg to differ. I was a wallflower in high school. It wasn’t until I sold my book and was asked to speak at conferences did I learn the fine art of jabbering. So here’s a few tips and advice to shy writers trying to build their verbal networking skills.

• At conference or any social event, pretend it’s your party and your place to make everyone else feel welcome.

• Make the conversation about the person you are speaking to and not all about yourself. People love it when you show interest in them, and it makes the person curious about you. So you’ll usually get your time in the spot light as well. (This even works in pitch sessions. Ask an agent, so what types of books are you really wanting to see right now? Eventually the conversation will come back around to what type of book you have, but by then hopefully you’ll be relaxed a bit and won’t feel so nervous.)

• Find the person who is standing alone and go greet them. I’ve made more friends by simply looking for the lone stranger in the room and introducing myself. Amazingly, a few of them were editors.

• Don’t be afraid to try public speaking—unless it truly is your worst fear. Most speakers are nervous at first, but if you practice your talk, have confidence in what you’re saying, see it as opportunity to share your knowledge, chances are you might even learn to like it. Start out giving short talks to small groups and build up from there. Speaking at conferences is the best PR.

• Have fun, smile and watch your body language. Nothing draws a crowd more than people having fun. We all want to join the party. A big smile says I’m open, friendly, and invites people to come and say hello. Closed body language, arms crossed, and avoiding eye contact of others keeps people back.
  
  Okay, so there you have it. Why jabbering isn’t altogether a bad thing—as long as you keep your foot out of your mouth.
  

Today, what I’d love to hear from you is some funny foot-in-the-mouth situations, or perhaps some of your tips on dialogue and verbal networking.

One commenter will receive an autographed copy of Shut Up and Kiss Me. So make sure you leave a comment.

~ * ~ * ~

Back Cover Blurb:

WELCOME TO PRECIOUS, TEXAS...where fistfights serve as dinner theater and fire ants rain from the sky. The locals are usually very friendly, if a bit eccentric. No pictures please, or you may find yourself a guest of the county morgue.

Photojournalist Shala Winters already had her hands full bringing tourism to this backward, podunk little town, but her job just got tougher. Pictures can say a thousand words, and one of Shala’s is screaming bloody murder. Now she has to entrust a macho, infuriating lawman with her life—but she’ll never trust him with her heart.

Trusted or not, Sky Gomez isn’t about to let a killer get his hands on Shala’s Nikon—or any of her more comely assets, for that matter. Her mouth might move faster than a Piney Woods roadrunner, but all he can think about is how good it must taste…and how she’ll never escape true love.

Browse the features of the book HERE

BUY: Amazon.com Borders BN.com Booksamillion Dorchester Katybooks.com

You can find Christie Craig: Website Workshops Write With Us Writer's blog Facebook Killer Fiction


Christie Craig, an Alabama native, is an award-winning, multi-published writer, multi-published photo journalist, motivational speaker, and writing teacher. Her non-fiction articles and photography have appeared in almost three thousand national magazines. A Golden Heart finalist, and a finalist in more than fifty RWA-sponsored contests, she has gained a well-deserved reputation for writing romance fiction that has both witty humor and a suspenseful, sexy tone. Published by Silhouette in the 90s, she recently broke back into fiction in a big way, making four book sales in one day. Her seventh humorous single title romance novel, published by Dorchester, will hit the stands in June 2010.

Her non-fiction book, co-authored by Faye Hughes, released September 08, is The Everything Guide To Writing A Romance Novel and their second non-fiction book, a humorous self-help relationship book, Wild, Wicked and Wanton: 101 Ways to Love Like You Are in a Romance Novel is scheduled to be released December 2010. Craig’s latest writing adventure is the sale of a young adult paranormal romance series, Shadow Falls Camp, that will be published by St. Martins Press in the near future.

PROMOTION--An author's view

My guest is Historical Romance author, Lisa Cooke. It fascinates me how a former biology teacher, used to the *innards* of things writes characters so alive and vibrant. I love her dialog. I really enjoyed Texas Hold Him. I haven't read A Midwife Crisis, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm thinking her knowledge base will pair up perfectly with her fun characters.


Lisa's topic today is timely for both published and unpublished authors. Promotion. The value of it, the various trinkets authors use to promote their names and books. I'm looking forward to seeing the comments for this discussion.





I’m relatively new at this writing game. My first book, TEXAS HOLD HIM, released a little less than a year ago and my second, A MIDWIFE CRISIS, came out this January. I had no idea how much easier it was before getting “the call”. As pre-published authors, we all dream of that moment, sure that our trials and tribulations will end as soon as an editor recognizes our brilliance and buys our first book. Little did I know that the chaos was about to begin.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s extremely exciting, fun chaos, but chaos is chaos no matter how you slice it. I quickly learned the editing ins and outs, and my agent handled the contract issues, but no one told me how expensive all this would become. Yes, you read that right. Getting started in this business costs a lot of money. Contests, conferences, bookmarks, website, travel to book signings, book trailers…the list goes on and on. One of the biggest problems I’ve had is trying to decide what works and what doesn’t by way of promotion.

New York agent, Donald Maass, says it’s unproductive for an author to spend any money on promotion until she has 5 or 6 books out. But I have to ask, if you don’t do promotion, how will the reader know you have out 5 or 6 books? It seems to me that the author must do something, but when is enough, enough?


I have attended many conferences and writing workshops where all sorts of promotional items were distributed. I have bookmarks, ink pens, magnets, stuffed animals, bags of candy, key chains, cover flats, and many more items in totes stuffed in my closet. Right now, I have at least 5 book cover magnets on my refrigerator holding important notes. My writing basket has 10 or more ink pens with author names and book titles emblazoned in colorful letters.


And now, it’s time for the confession. I don’t know who the author or book is for any of them. AND I have never purchased a book because of a cool promotional item. There. I said it. Promo trinkets do not work for me. I know the idea is to get your name in front of the reader so when she goes to the bookstore, it’s familiar to her, but I don’t even read the magnet to see the author’s name.

What good is that doing her?

Based on my own reaction, or lack thereof, to promo goodies, I decided to do the basics. I have a website, bookmarks and some business cards. I attend conferences to meet and talk to readers where I hand them my bookmark in person. I know they won’t buy the book based on the bookmark, but my hopes are they’ll be interested based on our discussion, and the bookmark will help them remember who I am.

• That brings me to my question for today. Have you ever purchased a book based on a promotional item? Do you visit author websites? What will cause you to buy a book from a new-to-you author?

The Midwife Crisis

Katie Napier is happy with her life as a midwife and healer in the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia. So why does her family suddenly decide she needs to have a husband? It’s not that she’s adverse to it, mind you, it’s just that by her estimation, men are more of a hindrance than a help. But she agrees to their plan to find a husband because for the purpose of having children. Unfortunately, each of her well meaning, though zany, family members finds her the man of their
dreams and now she has three fiancés!

John Keffer, a widowed doctor with secrets of his own, comes to town with is five year old daughter to set up practice and escape memories, but the locals don’t trust the outsider and continue to seek help from the healer they’ve known for years. John’s only way to gain their trust is to hire Katie to help him in his office. What he’s not expecting, however, is her request that he help her decide which fiancé she’s going to keep. A task complicated when he finally realizes he wants to keep her for himself.

A MIDWIFE CRISIS is a fun filled romance that is guaranteed to bring a smile to your lips and a tug to your heartstrings.

• Excerpt

~*~*~*~*~

After 25 years of teaching high school Biology, Lisa decided to tackle her first novel. It was, of course, abysmal, but the love of writing took hold, giving her a new goal in life. She wanted to be published by the time she retired from teaching. Seven novels and four years later, she sold her first manuscript to Dorchester Publishing four weeks after retiring from the classroom.

Lisa and her husband live on a 70 acre farm in southern Ohio with a Maltese who thinks he owns the place. She has two grown and married children and the world’s most perfect granddaughter, who also thinks she owns the place—though in her case, that might be right.

You can contact Lisa at cooke57@yahoo.com or visit her website at http://www.lisahistoricals.com/

Writing Contests--The Pleasure And The Pain

My guest today is British Para-Romance Author, Helen Scott-Taylor. She wrote The Magic Knot, which is where I came into contact with her and her latest book is The Phoenix Charm.

He’s Pure Temptation.

Cordelia has sworn she’ll abstain from looking into Michael’s future—particularly when the image in the gilded smoke of her divination mirror shows him half naked. Yet she can’t resist watching the sexy rascal slowly running his hand down his ribs, over his abdomen, flicking open the button on his jeans with a little flourish like a magician performing a trick.

She’s Trying To Resist.

Respectable wise woman Cordelia restrains her secret water nymph sensuality with the Celtic symbols painted on her skin. But Michael’s powerful fairy glamour leaves her breathless, off balance, struggling for control. When Gwyn ap Nudd, the Welsh King of the Underworld, steals away Michael’s infant nephew, Cordelia must work with him to save the child. But how can she trust her instincts with Michael tempting her to explore the hidden elemental depths of her nature and insisting that she believe in the power of…The Phoenix Charm.

How beneficial is writing contests for an aspiring writer? What can a a contestant do to prepare for such a contest? Helen is a veteran when it comes to contests. She sold her first book after winning the American Title IV contest. She discusses her experiences with writing contests and offers some advice:

Most writers have entered a writing contest or two and writers’ feelings about writing contests seem to be mixed. I’ve read posts on chat loops from authors who’ve had bad contest experiences with critical judges and poor feedback, conversely, I’ve also heard of authors who have sold their first book after winning a contest.

The topic of writing contests is a pertinent one for me because I’m one of those authors who sold a first book through a writing contest. I won the American Title IV contest run jointly by Dorchester Publishing and RT Bookreviews magazine and a publishing contract was the prize for winning.

The American Title contest was unlike most writing contests, being based on American Idol. For five rounds, character studies, story summaries, or book excerpts were published in RT Bookreviews magazine. Each round, the writer whose book received the fewest votes was knocked out.

I also have experience of many conventional writing contests where judges, usually fellow writers, judge the first round, marking and giving feedback on a score sheet before the top three or four entries are passed on to an editor or agent for final judging. There is definitely an element of luck involved. Some judges never mark high no matter how great the entry, while others are overly critical or just plain wrong in their assessment and advice. The funniest comment I ever received from a judge was that my English character sounded too American and I needed to research British English. If only she’d known that I’m British!

Despite all their faults, I found writing contests tremendously helpful in giving me feedback on my writing and in helping me grasp the subtle differences between British English and American English. In the early days when I was new, some contest judges put a lot of time and trouble into explaining to me how to improve my writing. Those judges alone were worth the entry fee.

Later when I started to final in and win contests, the boost to my confidence helped me to forge on toward the goal of publication with renewed enthusiasm. For me the ultimate contest achievement for an unpublished romance author was to final in the Golden Heart. The experience of attending the Romance Writers of America National conference in San Francisco as a finalist was so much fun I wouldn’t have missed it for anything, and the camaraderie among the group of finalists is still important to me two years on.

My writing contest experience has generally been good, and I’d recommend unpublished romance writers to enter RWA chapter contests to gain feedback on their work and also to get in front of the agents and editors who judge the finals. My one proviso would be to check the score sheet first. It is often available on the website of the chapter running the contest. If not, the contest coordinator should let you have a copy. I also recommend that you ask if judges are required to give a reason when they knock off points. Certain contests are known for having good judges and giving good quality feedback. Two that come to mind are The Golden Gateway contest run by FTHRW, an online chapter of RWA, and another is The Golden Pen, run by The Golden Network.

I have recently entered my first book The Magic Knot in a few contests for published books, so I’m now entering a new realm of writing contests. Once again, I feel like the new kid at school!

• I’d love to hear your experience of writing contests if you’re a writer. If you have entered contests, has the experience been useful or not? If you have chosen not to enter, why not?

I'll be offering a signed copy of The Phoenix Charm to a commenter today.
~*~*~*~*~*~

As a child, when Helen didn’t pay attention her teachers accused her of being away with the fairies. Things haven’t changed much! Only now, the fairies are tall and sexy and they live in her stories rather than just in her head. Helen resides in South Western England near Plymouth with her husband, two teenagers, two Shih Tzus, and a cat who rules the household with a velvet paw. With the rocky cliffs of the Atlantic to the south and the windswept expanse of Dartmoor to the west, she loves to walk in the countryside while she plots her stories. She believes deep within everyone there’s a little magic.

Helen would love to hear from readers. You can find her at www.HelenScottTaylor.com

"These Are A Few Of My Favourite Things..."

My guest is Victorian Gothic author, Leanna Renee Hieber. I had the opportunity to meet the irrepressible Leanna at a RWA writers' conference in September.

Leanna is a sassy redhead and a lot of fun and she also knows the value of *presence* She did a fun and informative workshop on Direct Your Book--Using Theatrical Techniques. The gist of the workshop was to remember that while you're an author, you also are a Cinematographer, Director, Actor, and Marketing Director. Each plays a vital role in our writing. The workshop was great for visualizing your work and your characters.

Leanna has a unique way of looking at things in life and how they play into the writing process.

• Leanna, tell us a little about you:

Hello friends! I'm an award winning author, actress, playwright and author of the Strangely Beautiful series of Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels, beginning with The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker.

• I'm glad you were able to visit with us a bit today.

I'm so thrilled to be here Over Coffee with all of you!

• Gothics used to be quite popular and then segued into mostly paranormals (with ghosts, other worldly creatures etc) and true atmospheric Gothics fell by the wayside. What drew you to Gothics and the Victorian period in particular?

I've just loved Ghost stories as long as I can remember, and the Gothic style just calls to me like a siren, it's just like a second skin. I think it's the drama of them (being an actress and playwright, it's fitting).

As for why the Victorian era, another childhood obsession that I can only chalk up to a past life.The conflict and the strained romance of the time just adds so much delicious tension!

• You've given your Gothics a modern twist with fantasy/para, but would you still classify them with the old Gothics? How are they similar? Different?

Absolutely, I'd say I'm in the 'old school' Gothic style, but inspired healthily by Fantasy novels.

• I know of several who love and write dark Gothics but aren't seeing a lot of results. Your books seem to fit a niche and I'm seeing a resurgence of interest in Dark Gothics again.

I do think there's great timing for [Gothic] series right now, however I couldn't have known that when I started the book nine years ago.

• A case of writing what you love to read. I'm glad you persevered! It's a good book. What are some of your favorite things and do you use them in your writing?

I thought I'd make a list of all my favourite things because these are all things that have come up in interviews and when I look at this list, I realize it's a very important list to understanding me as a writer. I feel like singing a little Sound of Music here...

Except we don't have sound, Leanna, but I admit the song has been running through my head.

A (nearly comprehensive) list of Leanna's favourite things:

• British Accents
• British Actors-
• Greek Mythology (and Mythologies in general)
• Ghost Stories
• Writing (since I could hold a pen and finish a sentence, it’s my favourite thing to do with my time)
• Helpless romanticism
• Brooding, brilliant, magical men who seemed wicked but weren’t (Just like Anne of Green Gables says, she wants someone who isn’t wicked but has the possibility of being wicked. I’m so Anne... )
• Fantasy novels (Especially Harry Potter)
• Gothic novels/literature
• Jane Austen
• Theatre (everything about it)
• Gothic things (like architecture, music, clothes and all things under said title)
• Dr. Who
• Edgar Allan Poe
• Alan Rickman (the best actor in the known world)
• London- The Victorian Era and everything therein – (I have no idea why as a child I was flouncing around in doubled skirts and makeshift corsets, speaking in a British Accent in rural Ohio. I credit a past life because I don’t know how else to explain my long time love affair with the 19th century, or why London felt uncannily home when I went there.)
• Birds
• Pine forests (moonlit, please)
• Red wine or a dirty martini
• String music
• cheese
• Soulful singer/songwriters- Making things up that were utterly impossible and/or utterly non-traditional.
• Ghostbusters
• The Muppets (Particularly The Muppet Christmas Carol)
• A Garden-style graveyard
• Stained Glass (Particularly Louis Comfort Tiffany)
• Central Park
• Fine Art (particularly the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood)
• The BBC (Yes. I am an anglophile)
• My beloved pet rabbit rescued from a testing facility, named Persebunny

Save for the anachronistic things, many of this said list make their way into the Strangely Beautiful series in one way or another.

They say we are what we eat and I think we are also what we love. I'm so interested in the way that creativity meets our great loves in life, and to discuss that with writers and readers.

• Writers: What are your favourite things and does your list make it into what you're writing?


• Readers: Do you look for aspects of your list in what you read?

I hope you'll check out The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. I've just announced the title and cover of the Strangely Beautiful sequel, The Darkly Luminous Fight for Persephone Parker, which will release April 27th, 2010.

Come find me on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/sbfbfan
Twitter: www.twitter.com/leannarenee
Blog: http://www.leannareneebooks.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.leannareneehieber.com/

Blessings to you!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Award-Winning author, actress and playwright Leanna Renee Hieber grew up in rural Ohio where her childhood memories are full of inventing elaborate ghost stories. Graduating with a BFA in Theatre from Miami University, a focus study in the Victorian Era and a scholarship to study in London helped set the course for her books. The dramatic, historic, spiritual and paranormal are the primary forces in her lyrical, eerie, atmospheric fiction.

While performing in the regional theatre circuit, her one-act plays such as Favorite Lady, were published, produced, won awards and continue to be produced in colleges and festivals around the country. She has adapted works of 19th Century literature for the professional stage.

She hit the fantasy fiction scene with her novella Dark Nest which won the 2009 Prism Award for excellence in Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is the first in her Strangely Beautiful series of ghostly, Gothic Victorian Fantasy novels published by Dorchester Publishing.

Finding The Joy

My guest is award winning Stephanie Rowe. She sold her first book in 2002 and since, has published eleven books, including Immortally Sexy series, which is where I first came to love her writing. I loved her sense of humor, her intriguing storylines, and her characters—not a wimpy woman among them. And then there were the sexy men, oh-la-la. I liked the way she could put me in the story so I felt the thrill of falling in love.

Many of us who write want a career as an author. It’s our dream. We work long and hard to develop that dream. We learn to juggle being a wife, mother, sometimes a job outside the home, and time for writing. We want the joy of saying, “I’m a writer.”

Like any dream or career, it’s an upward climb and it’s hard. We rarely think about what happens after those books are sold, the deadlines, the pressure and still juggling life. We tend to look at authors with several books published as having it made.

Stephanie’s article struck a chord with me. I remember feeling this way. Oh, not as an author, but as a successful career woman. The day I looked at my life and thought I have what I wanted so what happened to my joy and satisfaction?

It's not a nice place to find yourself as Stephanie explains.




Writing is hard.
The business of writing can be hard.
Life can be hard.

Sometimes it feels like everything is coming at you so hard and so fast that you can't breathe, you can't think, and you can't remember what it was like to laugh. Your heart feels heavy, the book you have to write feels like a one-eyed banana slug stalking you day and night, chanting "Write me. Write me. Write me." You lie in bed at night, your mind is racing with all you have to do and how you need to do it. The edits, the new proposal, your daughter's lunch, the cocktail party you're hosting, the receipts you owe the accountant, the disaster-zone in the living room. One morning, you're halfway through your precious small window to work while your daughter is in preschool, and your keyboard finally goes belly up. You rush to Staples, frustrated by the traffic and the minutes ticking away with you away from the computer. You're standing in line, tapping your foot, and you see an old friend. One you used to hang out with before you started this writing thing, back when you had free time. She smiles and hugs you and says, "I have been thinking about you all week! I've had the worst week ever at work, and all I can think of is you, following your dream. You are so lucky. I wish I was you."

You stare at her blankly, then the list of complaints rises to the tip of your tongue, and then her words register. You are so lucky. I wish I was you.

And then you realize a truth. A glaring, ugly truth. A truth that doesn't have any glitter on it. Not anymore. The truth is that somewhere along the line of living your dream, you lost the joy.

Not the joy that is your practiced line of, "I'm a writer. Yes, I love it. It's my dream job." You can still pull that off with aplomb, and you might even believe it.

I'm talking about the joy that's deep in your heart. The joy that makes you skip down the stairs. That joy that makes you burst out laughing when your three year old spills orange juice in your bed, instead of getting angry and thinking about how you don't have time to put clean sheets on the bed. The joy that makes a huge, genuine smile break out on your face when you sit down at your computer to work, instead of the dread in your chest wondering how you're going to make that page quota. The joy that makes you see only the beautiful flowers beside the road, instead of the traffic you're sitting in.

There's a difference between the superficial joy that we can put on so well, and the true joy that resonates through every core of your body, the one that makes your soul so light that it feels like its floating.

And I know, because I lost that joy. Honestly, I'm not sure I ever had it, not really and truly. When I started writing, I did it because I had to do it. I wanted to be a writer, to have a career, to write, to improve. It was a mission for me. I took every failure so hard, and barely noticed each success. Each revision letter or rejection was a sock to the gut, a statement that I wasn't good enough and had to work harder. I did it, I lived it, and I told everyone I loved it, including myself. But it got hard. Really, really hard. I won't go into the details, but my writing career and my personal life took a couple brutal, earth-shattering hits right at the exact same time. Things hit hard, and in my struggle to survive, I plunged myself into a hole I didn't even notice.


Then, one morning as I was lying in bed, dreading getting up and heading to the computer, the truth dawned. I realized I'd somehow, I'd taken my joy, my dream, and I'd let the down and dirty details of life derail me from the pure, simple, joy. And so I began a year-long process of finding that joy in my writing. Of LOVING what I do. Of finding a peace and a happiness within myself that was so deep that it resonated throughout my life, not just with my writing. I had to overhaul my whole mindset, and I was a whole lot further away from the joy that I thought I was. Not that joy that makes you smile. I'm talking about the joy and the love that you can literally feel in your chest, that makes a laugh gurgle up at the back of your throat just because. The true joy. I wanted it back, and I knew I would never become the writer (or mother, or person) I wanted to be until I learned how to feel that joy in my writing.

It's been a long road, but I'm proud to say that I'm finally there. Just last month, I thought to myself, "I'm a writer," and that one phrase made this intense feeling of satisfaction and truth ripple through me so intensely I could literally feel it. And that moment, that feeling that I hold in my heart every day, is so worth everything I've gone through to get here. But you know what? Nothing in my life that was so bad has actually changed...yet. But I've changed. I'm happy. I love my life. And that is all the difference in the world. The rest will come, and while I'm waiting for it, I'm dancing. And it's the greatest feeling in the world!

We all deserve to feel that kind of joy, but how many of us actually have it? How many of us are racing through life, putting our fires, not taking time to sit down and allow the greatness of the things in our lives to touch our hearts? It might be your writing, or your partner, or your daughter... whatever it is. Whatever you say you love, or you want to love, have you really taken the time to let it into your heart? I thought I had, and now I know the difference.


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Nationally bestselling author Stephanie Rowe is a four time RITA finalist. Known for her high octane paranormal romances, her new romantic suspense, ICE, is her first foray into romantic suspense. Her chilling and sexy Alaska series hits the shelves this month, and has received high accolades from such publications as Publishers Weekly. For more info, see www.stephanierowe.com

• Ice blurb: The last thing Kaylie Fletcher wants is a return to Alaska, the place of too many traumatic memories. But when her family goes missing in a climbing accident, she has no choice but to head back to the land where the nights are long, the men are untamed, and passions run hot. Soon after arriving, Kaylie finds herself in a cat and mouse game for her life, and the only thing standing in the way of certain death is a sexy, rugged bush pilot who holds her life in his hands. If she's going to stay alive and find her family, Kaylie has no choice but to rely on Cort McClaine, a dangerous and sensual male who is everything Kaylie doesn't want... and everything she craves... But will Cort destroy her even as he is trying to keep her alive?

Stephanie is giving away a copy of Ice to a lucky commenter today

Following Your Heart

I was fortunate to be able to have Kathryne Kennedy stop by for a chat about writing. She’s an author who really appreciates her readers and I love her recommendations to aspiring authors and published authors.

Kathryne touches or writing not what you know but what you want to know and the importance of following your heart when you write. Jealousy and negativity are so destructive to our creative spirit and she gives some good advice on how to deal with those emotions.

I struggled with what to write for this blog entry. If I sat down and was talking with a friend over coffee, or in my case, tea, it would depend on if I were talking to a reader or a writer. To a reader, I would talk about how much I love to build worlds, how I manage to take the eras that I love in history--Georgian, Regency, Victorian--and change them to magical, enchanting places. I would talk about my latest book, how the hero and heroine were so perfect for each other, but had to find that out for themselves. My friend and I would laugh about some of my characters: the were-snake Sarah and her tendency to shed. The were-penguin butler. The were-duck footman. And we would sigh with longing that in some alternate universe my heroes really would exist.

Now to an aspiring writer, I would give some advice on writing that I wish someone would have given me before I started. To write what truly interests you, not necessarily what you know. I had heard long ago that for a writer to produce a great book, they should write what they know. That made me scratch my head. Fiction is pretend…how can I know what a were-lion would act like? How can I know what historical England is like when I’ve never been there? I think a better way to put it would be, write what you want to know. That’s what research is for. And that’s what your imagination is for. And following your own heart will produce a great book.

To a really good friend who has just sold their first book, I would give some advice on what I’ve learned about being an author to help them through their own journey. You might have written a wonderful book, but if no one knows about it, it won’t matter. Think of all the authors you’ve stumbled across, and thought, wow, this is wonderful! How come I’ve never heard of this author before? So market your book. Do whatever you’re comfortable with, whether it’s social networking, guest blogging, or sending bookmarks to booksellers. But do something to get your name out there. And first and foremost, get a website.

And I would caution a dear friend to develop a thick skin. I know your book is fabulous…but you can’t please everyone. What one person will love about your book, another may not. Does that mean you should change the way you write? Does that mean that you should listen when someone says they didn’t like some element about your book? Absolutely not. Remember to write what you love, and fans will follow. The important thing is that you are receiving an emotional response to your work. And then go look at the reviews for some of your favorite author’s books on Amazon.

And then I would caution my friend about something I’ve noticed writers doing that they may not even be aware of. Do not to be jealous of another writer’s success. When a friend tells you about some milestone for them--a new contract, perhaps a starred review--be happy for them. Every writer’s journey is different, and your successes will be different. Don’t belittle another author’s accomplishments, because when you achieve your own personal milestone, there’s nothing better than having good friends to celebrate it with.

And along those same lines, steer clear of negative people. It might even be a member of your own family. Self-doubt may be one of the hardest things a writer has to overcome, and you don’t need someone pushing bad vibes at you. Find people who make you feel good when you interact with them. Good about yourself. Good about your writing. And develop that relationship. Your muse will thank you.

To a reader or a writer, I would finish with a big hug. Either would be someone I would cherish.

"I'm going into surgery on Tuesday, and I will be non-functioning (it's major surgery on my neck) for two weeks after that. I would be happy to give away an autographed copy of a book from the Relics of Merlin series to one lucky commenter."

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Kathryne Kennedy is a multi-published, award winning author of magical romances. She’s lived in Guam, Okinawa, and several states in the U.S., and currently lives in Arizona with her wonderful family—which includes two very tiny Chihuahuas. She welcomes readers to visit her website where she has ongoing contests at: http://www.kathrynekennedy.com/

The RELICS OF MERLIN series from Dorchester Publishing:"Simply delightful!"~Publishers Weekly