I first discovered Jeri after a friend recommended her urban fantasy, Requiem For The Devil last year. The premise was so unique that I immediately ordered a copy from Amazon and waited with baited breath for it to arrive. I’m not exaggerating when I say once I got the book, I couldn’t put it down. I mean, Lucifer was the romantic hero, for God’s sakes!

And the story was in his POV.

Talk about a compelling read.

I was so taken by Requiem that I turned into a total fangirl and contacted Jeri. Not only that, but I also did a write up on my blog last year telling everybody who’d listen to pick up a copy.

Annnnyway, Jeri’s got another novel coming out from Pocket Books, and I can’t wait to read that one! She’s going to be here on Wednesday, May 14th, so be sure to stop by and say hi.



Here’s her bio:

Jeri Smith-Ready has been writing fiction since the night she had her first double espresso. She holds a master’s degree in environmental policy and lives in Maryland with her husband, cat, and the world’s goofiest greyhound.

Her hobbies include cooking and animals—though not at the same time, unless you count the cat’s culinary supervision, which looks remarkably like sitting on the floor waiting for food to drop.

Jeri fosters shelter dogs with Tails of Hope Sanctuary. As of this writing, she has hosted twenty dogs at her home, all of whom have found loving adopters.

“…The primary function of a title is to lure unsuspecting readers into having a go at your story.” ~~ Sinclair Lewis

“A good title is the title of a book that’s successful.” ~~ Somerset Maugham

While looking for something else in a stack of my books, I came across an interesting chapter in one of them about TITLES.
The book was called “Learning to Write Fiction from the Masters” by Barnaby Conrad, and I’d picked it up many years ago just for the variety of great prose between its covers.
What fascinated me about this chapter were the examples of titles chosen by famous authors for infamous books BEFORE publication:

Trimalchio in West Egg  (THE GREAT GATSBY)

Blanche’s Chair in the Moon  (A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE)

They Don’t Build Statues to Businessmen  (VALLEY OF THE DOLLS)

Four and a Half Years of Struggle Against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice  (MEIN KAMPF)

The Mute  (THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER)

Private Fleming, His Various Battles  (THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE)

Something That Happened  (OF MICE AND MEN)

The Man That Was a Thing  (UNCLE TOM’S CABIN)

Bar-B-Que  (THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE)

How important is the title of a book to you?
What are some of your favorites, old or new?

It’s finally happening! One of my favorite book series is coming to a theater near you. The best part is that today I got to take a peek at the trailer, and it looks fabulous!

(more…)

A couple of weeks ago, our transit union went on strike. They’d been in a strike position for weeks, and the contract negotiations had been going on for weeks before that.  But one thing the union promised was 48 hours notice before a strike came into effect—giving time for peeps to make other arrangements.

Little bits of news would leak out about the negotiations, but nothing that was gaining the union much sympathy amongst the general public. Eventually it came time to give that notice; one local news channel had hourly updates. The deadline came and went, then an hour later we heard an agreement was struck. *phew*. Dodged that bullet, now to have the union body vote.

Can you guess what happened next? The majority of workers rejected the agreement and…. *without further warning they went on strike.* We’re talking 12am on a Friday night. Folks were stranded where ever they were.  Can you say bone-headed publicity move? They promised us 48 hrs notice before a strike. The deadline came and went, so another 48hrs notice was needed.

Yes. I am going to tie this into writing, right now. An author needs to keep whatever inherent or implied promise made to the reader. Is this a romance? Make sure the HEA or HFN is there. That’s the promise of a romance.  Do not have the hero falling off a cliff, the main characters parting after a sharing a last kiss and an ‘it’s been a slice. Seeya!’  Sorry, an HEA in book 4 with a second hero after the first hero dies at the beginning of book 1 doesn’t work either.  Show a gun in chapter one? Someone better get shot before the end of the book.  You break the promise, you piss people off. 

Now I’m gonna look at this from a different angle.  Remember I said earlier about details leaking out after the 48hrs notice was given, that weren’t bringing anyone over to the strikers cause?  During the wildcat strike, more details came out, like concerns about job security, which did elicit empathy.  If you could get past your rage. 

If you couldn’t get past your rage, all you heard was the voice of Charlie Brown’s teacher.

If those pertinent details had come out before hand, while folks might not have been any happier about the strike, they might have been more patient/understanding.

So point number two: If you’re going to have your character do something that just might tee off your reader, you need to give good and plausible reasons for the character’s actions.  Before the ‘questionable’ action takes place.  And when I say give good reason, I don’t mean some heavy handed declarative statements.  You can ‘show’ or imply the reasons. Just make sure they’re there.

To piggy back on Amie’s post yesterday. . . I thought of another great way not to write . . . FEAR. Fear of the next book. Fear of your last book. Fear of never writing or selling again. I have been in the tangled mits of this for some time now. It’s almost a manic, panic, crippling emotion.

You start to second guess every word you put down, every plot you work out, every story you create. And if you let it, it can stifle the writing right out of your life.

If you get out of the habit of reading, researching, writing, you may lose whatever rhythm you once had, whatever impetus to conjur up other worlds and frankly lose your freaking mojo. . . and to a writer, to me, that is a fate worse than a bad review.

But everntually those characters, hell even your muse, will bitch-slap you and make you sit up and remember that you are a WRITER. In order to be that, you need to WRITE. So if need be you pick up a pen and paper and jot down some notes. Or have a brain-smash session with someone to iron out details of one of your free-floating ideas. Plot out that book you thought about writing, but maybe wanted to hold off for a while. . . as long as you WRITE!(and it doesn’t hurt to have a couple of good friends who kick you in the ass even when they are on a deadline!)

So my comment on Raine’s blog last Friday got me to thinking.

If you’re NOT going to put any time into it(writing), you might as well quit.

I mean what’s the point to keep going if you’re not going to write and all you’re going to do is whine about not having any writing time? I’m sorry but put up or shut up–yes I’m obviously one of the people Raine blogged about above because I don’t want to hear that “I don’t have time” bullshit! There are lots of us out there who “don’t have time” that fucking make the time because it’s important to us.

And while I was um a bit hormonal *coughbitchycough*, I think there’s something valid there.

So how do you NOT write a book? Here are a few ways I came up with in no particular order. Feel free to add your own.

1. Put everything and everybody above your writing: You MUST make time to write. Those words don’t just magically appear on their own. I’m not saying kick your family or job or housework to the curb (but if you can get away with it, go for it).

2. Spend so much time studying the craft that you don’t actually write. This is a cop out. The best way to learn the craft of writing…is to write. Duh.

3. Whine about not having time to write. I don’t want to hear you whine, because believe me when I say everyone has a life to deal with–I have two kids and a day job (a house and two cats). I find time. You can too. Allison Brennan wrote with three or four kids, and a stressful full-time job in the California state government. If you really want to write, you’ll make time.

4. Don’t read. This is an even bigger duh than #2. And believe it or not, I actually know of authors who don’t read. There was even a period after I started writing when I didn’t read–I actually think this is normal BUT if you want to be a writer you have to read AND write.

5. Quit. This one needs no explanation.

So why am I posting all this? Why be such a mean girl? Because I LOVE what I do. I LOVE being a writer, despite the hardship, the deadlines, the rejections, the setbacks…all of it. Now, I’m going to go dump my Alpha Smart and do some editing so I can update my meter.

Feel free to add your own, or argue with me. And then, go read this. And then, come back and tell me what you think.

A mini-rant, since I haven’t used the soapbox in a while.  I try to avoid the ____ thing, but sometimes it just rears up and grabs me by the gluteus maximus.

I’ve come across this a few times while blog-hopping (when I should be writing), and it’s always plucked just the wrong nerve with me.
And no, it’s not that I’m MS. Perfect, and always say just the right thing or phrase it just the right way.
And yes, I’m sure people mean well when they offer advice.  It’s just that we may want to be a little more careful with the manner we choose to offer it.

It usually starts with the phrase, “If you can’t ___ ___ ___, then you probably shouldn’t be in this business.”

I may be contrary by nature, but my instinctive reaction to such statements is, “Well excuse the ___ out of me, but who the ___ died and named you Wizard?!”

I’ve heard it applied to everything from being patient, to the amount of time it takes you to rebound from rejections, to how many words a day you should be writing, to going to conventions, to taking harsh critiques, to meeting deadlines with time to spare, etc.  And I gotta tell ya—it chaps my ___.

Different people react to different situations in different ways.  So while a struggling author might fail to luck into the biz right away, or take rejection too much to heart, or not meet an ideal word count with their writing attempts, it also might be true that they have family issues at that time, or they’re in physical pain, or unable to use their hands/fingers, or can’t see well, or have an elderly parent to care for, or children and no one to help, or they’re working two or three jobs, or don’t have the luxury of a support system, etc., etc.  And however large your molehill may be, don’t piss on the smaller ones.  It ruins the ___ view.

It’s one thing to tell someone that ‘people who can manage this or that seem to fare better in the business’, or ‘if you have trouble with this aspect of the game, you might want to work on it as much as possible’.  But to tell someone, “if you can’t ___ ___ ___, then you should probably take your toys and go home…”

Please.  Stop.  Just ___ stop.  Your way is NOT the only way, and more than one author has made it with more than one liability.

Warning someone about a rough road is one thing.  Laying down a spike strip is something else.

A few years ago, an agent blogger posted a jaw-dropping list of e-query faux pas she’d encountered.

I couldn’t help but feel sympathy. I mean, agents get the same nonsense in unbelievable amounts day in and day out. Personally? Something like that would drive me batshit crazy. Talk about Groundhog Day! While the list was pretty standard fare, a couple of items were simply outrageous. And here I’d thought I’d seen it all.

Check out this little snippet:

-Titles that make no sense
- Huge word counts on genre or YA novels (that have a limited word count - if you did your research)
- Dear Sir or Madame
- Dear Editor !?!?
- Will you publish my novel (no)
- Not putting your contact information on the page (duh)
- Not telling me what the book is about
- Telling me more about your graduate work than your writing- Dropping names of colleges/professions in the first line (who gives a crap?)
- Telling me that you are uniquely qualified to write a novel (everyone is)
- This is the next… (add anything here)
- attaching files to an email that I didn’t ask for
- Asking me if, when I [say] “Mail this to me” I mean [U.S.] mail. (I do)
- Requesting any sort of deposit for your manuscript (!?)
…
- Assume that if I send a rejection, that it was, in fact, on purpose and not a “huge mistake” because you “know we are meant to work together.” (heeby jeebies)
- When I say I’m interest[ed] in Middle Eastern/Persian books - I don’t mean terrorist novels.

Okay, I’ll fess up. I actually did ONE of the above many moons ago, but don’t ask which one ’cause I’m not telling!

So how about you? Reaching back to your newby days, have you ever committed any of these cardinal sins? Or are you guilty of something even more egregious, something that’s not even listed up there? Come on. Fess up. I promise I won’t poke fun at you.

NOT!

Recently, I found an article on the internet about Peter Mark Roget. I’m embarrassed to say I knew nothing of the man. It seems his entire family was plagued with mental illnesses, from simple depression to possible schizophrenia and paranoia. An uncle slit his own throat while Roget struggled to take the razor away.

To hold onto his own sanity, Roget wrote long lists of synonyms. He found solace in words. I can understand this. When I’m restless, can’t write, or even settle down with a good book, I pick up the dictionary to find interesting, previously unknown words. Words fascinate me.

I’d be lost without my copy of Roget’s Thesaurus. Not only does it offer many choices, but sometimes one of the synonyms sparks my imagination, enabling me to write a better sentence.

Words make the world go round. They allow us to communicate, albeit not so well at times. It’s not just a good story that sells a book, but how it’s written. Think about how your words will flow into a reader’s mind.

Pick a random sentence from one of your manuscripts and spend time improving it. The more often I do this, the faster I get. Now I take all my weak sentences when I complete a chapter and make them stronger. And, of course, Roget is my bedside companion.

For anyone interested in reading the entire article on Roget, it can be found HERE.

I’m also looking forward to reading The Man Who Made Lists by Joshua Kendall. Discovering more about Roget’s unhappy life might be great research for anyone wanting to know more about the darker side of mental illness.

My mother always told me, “Choose your words wisely.” Of course, she wasn’t referring to my writing, but the idiom holds true whatever way you look at it.

Happy word hunting!

. . . or odditities that can help.

I am all for research that is . . . well out of the norm. You may call this writer’s avoidance, but it is truly research nonetheless. There are the tried and true methods of looking stuff up, sure. The internet. The library. The regular stuff. But there are times when a more . . . unique approach can be more informative and a hell of a lot more entertaining while you’re . . . researching.

Even actors go to odd extremes on occasion to “get into” character–Donny Walhberg went into a park to sleep, to see what it was to be rock-bottom strung out when he was preparing for his role in THE SIXTH SENSE. As a writer, maybe the extremes aren’t as extreme, at least I haven’t had the oppotunites to experience some of the wild things I’d like to. And depending on how prolific you are, it may take a bit of time for this research to come to fruition, but it can be fun, interesting and exhilerating while going through it.

Some fun and different research tools:

–Naughty books, and by this I mean BDSM books, How-to erotic talk books, hell even the Kama Sutra–if it’s out of the norm for you (for some this may be the regular go-to guides)

–sexy movies, se-exy movies with xxxx’s

–adult “toys” stores or parties

–trolling bars, even if it’s just to people-watch

–visit a morgue (ew–I think I’ll pass)

–do something mundane, in drag–see what kinda reaction you get

–exotic travel . . . exotic to me is anywhere I don’t have to take my kids to

–a ride along/talk with the police/citizen academy

–locked in the truck of a car (though I was adviced against this by a hottie officer)

There are all sorts of unusal avenues you can pursue when looking for help with your books. What are some of the weirdest things you did in the name of RESEARCH?