I figured it out while I was reading comments over at Watch With Kristin on Saturday after watching LOST–and if you’re NOT watching LOST you’re missing one of the best seasons yet!!!

Anyone someone over there made a comment about Sayid helping Ben (in post island flashforwards. How’s that for confusing???). And I commented back that Sayid isn’t the type of character to follow anyone blindly! If he’s helping Ben (who is NOTORIOUSLY Manipulative!!! And Locke is CRAZY for listening to him–though I think Locke is crazy as a hatter ANYWAY) he has his own reasons/agenda.

And the whole Jin/Sun thing this week? OMG I cried like a baby! Why? Because of the characterization! If you’ve watched the show over time and remember flashbacks from season one, then you know Jin is a changed man. Like REALLY changed. He’s a man who deeply loves his wife–and his backstory/reasons for doing what he did prior to coming to the island lend depth to his characterization.

Same goes for Penny and Desmond!!! Did anyone watch? MAN!!!! I CRIED!!!!!! That was classic romance in the truest sense of the word (or words as in “I’ll always find you”). Not that he actually may have said that but it was there. You FELT it. *sigh*

The whole tangled knot that is LOST is amazing to watch–from a writer’s perspective anyway.

So what are your favorite shows? Why? What do you think about the characterization? Who are your favorite characters….and why?

An excerpt from my coming-soon release has finally been chosen, with a little help from a couple of sources in this process.

I don’t think I’ve ever asked for advice in the chosing of an excerpt before, but for some reason this one was tricky for me.  Or maybe I just decided to take it more seriously.  After all, it involves carving out a chunk of your prized manuscript to represent the whole, and often having people decide whether they might be interested in reading based on those few words.

It’s a fairly short book, so there was only so much to choose from.
It also seemed difficult to find one 1500-word passage that captured the “flavor” of the story.  It was hard to find something that seemed both sexy and sweet, silly and potentially serious, and hopefully intriguing but didn’t give too much of the plot away.

So naturally, it stirred my little gray cells to ask the question:

What do you look for when you read an excerpt from an author’s book?  What’s too long, too short?  Is there anything you occasionally find that turns you off, or a particular something you find lacking in some of them?

You’ve seen them. They’ve been popping up everywhere. Some I love, some just don’t do anything for me, while others are very, very bad. The problem? The images didn’t have anything to do with what the narrator was talking about. Then there’s the sound quality. If it’s good, the rest is probably great, but if it’s bad, no amount of polish can make me want to sit there while my ears are bleeding.

WRITERS/READERS: What do you think about book trailers? If you’re a published author, do you use them? If not, why? If you’re a reader, do they influence you to buy the book? Have you seen any you loved?

Here’s one I think is kinda interesting.

Thanks so much for the invitation to hang out here today! I’ll begin by telling you a bit about myself. I’m a dark person. When I was born the nurse said, “This baby has a dark soul.” Well, I’m sure she at least thought it. ;)

I find foreboding in everything. Old buildings. New buildings. Bridges. An open field. A weedy pasture. A grove of trees. A quiet street. Anything and everything seems sinister to me. Small towns can be particularly secretive while at the same time seductive. On the surface they can look quaint and welcoming, but underneath they resent newcomers and change. Nature is the same way. Beautiful and inviting, but dangerous and secretive. I decided to tap into those personal anxieties while writing Pale Immortal and Garden of Darkness – books I think of as basically one long story that I call the Tuonela books.
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So recently, I read this manuscript . . . there is no possible way it has ever been seen by the eyes of a crit partner, crit group, or a reader that is not related and blowing sweet felicitation up the backside of the human they birthed. (Or rather, aside from the parental connection–all parents will say it’s great, unless you’re my mom and a former English teacher–sheesh! but I digress, if it did have a pseudo-sorta crit partner, this person needs to be drawn and quartered for the HUGE disservice they have done to the author). I have heard the various debates about crit groups or crit partners or not. Some folks swear by them and some just swear at them.

But there is something to be said for getting a constructive set of eyes to peer at what otherwise might become a much talked about MS, but not for its merits but for its ghastly pitfalls.

Going to Nationals or the like you will hear all the evils of all things writing (along with the joys of writing, don’t get me wrong, it’s a great place to be inspired, but the horror stories, oh the horror…). And those with “former” crit partners can fill you ears with all the mistreatments and injustices they have been dealt by a bad crit partner. And I’ll bet for some, they are underplaying it a bit as not to say, “I brought it on myself by hooking up with crit-partner-from-hell.”

You will also hear those who can’t thank enough the people who have helped them get through the crunch time or plothole pitfalls. It’s such a delicate balance though, I can see why it may be hard for a new writer to find THE ONE who compliments them at their best. But it is WORTH the time weeding through folks! I swear it is! Otherwise when you send out your MS to contests your judge may consider gouging out their eyes and that of the coordinator who sent it to them with every mind-screaming-for-it-to-end newbie mistakes that drives readers and authors alike mad!

I think a good crit partner is like a BFF, when it’s great it’s great. When it’s not great eh, you’ll get through it because they’re worth it. But that’s just the opinion of someone who has had good crit partners. Tell me what y’all think in the “crit or not to crit” debate, I’m curious . . . .

Wow….what a way to start a Monday. hehe

I worked on Screwed this weekend and made some wonderful progress. Not just in terms of pages, but in moving the story forward.
I broke the 100 page mark, they kissed, they had sex (which I admit I didn’t expect for another 50 pages or so)….and my heroine got SHOT! WOOT!!!!!

(welcome to the only place on earth where getting shot is cause for celebration).

So anyway, back to the sex…..It…wasn’t so good. Now it’s probably one of the BESTEST sex scenes I’ve written in a doggy stylin age, but it wasn’t good for him. He’s got issues with Va-jay-jay*

I’m walking a fine line here…..greatly written bad sex? Isn’t that a bit of an oxymoron?

Do you read bad sex? Have you read bad sex? (And badly written sex isn’t what I”m talking about here)

What do you think of heroes with sexual issues? (and no he’s not magically cured by the Golden Poonanny–did I spell that right?)

What do you think of sexual issues in erotic(a/ romance)?

I had more questions, but I forgotted them.

talk amongst yourself.

——–
Authors note: Do NOT Google Va-jay-jay

The fabulous Anne Frasier will be with us this Wednesday! I’m going to cheat a bit a swipe the intro off her web-site, because it says it all, except that she’s a favourite author of mine with several books on my keeper shelf.  Make sure you drop by on Wednesday, she’s got a kick arse post loaded with lots of goodies for ya!

 Anne Frasier’s novels have spanned the genres of mystery, thriller, paranormal, science fiction, and horror.  Garden of Darkness continues a dark tale started in Pale Immortal of a spooky Wisconsin town.  In Before I Wake, a secret government medical experiment goes wrong.  Play Dead plays out amid the voodoo scene in Savannah, Georgia. Sleep Tight, a traditional police procedural, is set in Minneapolis.    Publishers Weekly says Frasier “has perfected the art of making a reader’s skin crawl.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune calls her a “master.” This award-winning, USA Today bestselling author has been published since 1988, and her books have been printed in over a dozen languages in hardcover, trade, and paperback.
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It’s been a sucky week.
No, don’t bail on me, this isn’t going to be a whine festival, lol.

Let’s just say that if I hear one more idiotic weatherman crow, “Well, hey—at least it’s good for the winter sports enthusiasts!”, I will run down to the tv station and shove a ski pole up his arse.

For the past two weeks, we’ve had one winter storm after another (and another in progress, as I look out…sob!).  Now, I always knew that the weather could have a profound effect on one’s moods.  It’s only recently occurred to me that it also affects my reading habits.

I don’t seem interested in reading about tropical islands, fun in the sun, sand-scoured bikinis or humid, sweaty nights.  This sort of surprises me, actually, since one of the big reasons we supposedly read is for escapism.  And the idea of escaping this winter, even in my imagination, sounds pretty good about now.
At the moment, however, I’m more into the dark, intense, dry-humor-with-a-pinch-of-evil sort of reading.  Mysteries are great right now, especially cozies.  A little urban fantasy—yes.  Paranormal with sharp fangs—yes.  A hero who would rather reign in Hell than serve in Heaven—oh, yes.
I do love a good romping story when the weather is “lighter”, but it doesn’t appear to be working for me right now.  Something to do with the snow pile outside my window that’s nearly as tall as my garage roof, perhaps?

Maybe our need to relate to the story is even stronger than our need for escapism.
Has anyone else noticed this in their reading patterns?

Do you see a pattern? I do in mine, and I also see them in the books that I enjoy the most.

First, let me state upfront. My love scenes aren’t cookie cutter. They are all unique to the particular hero and heroine’s story.

BUT…..

I’m beginning to see a pattern. The first love scene is always–always–a slow seduction. No slam bam thank you ma’am. No frenzied coupling. No wild, sheet tearing, bed knocking sex. Not to say it’s not good. Oh, yeah, it’s good, but it’s not … um … wild. It’s sensuous, but not frenzied. My heroes usually take their time, and they go on and on like energizer bunnies. But the most interesting pattern is that the sex usually doesn’t happen until the last quarter of the book.

Think about your love scenes. Do you see a pattern? Are they usually fast, slow, long, short? Overall, do they take place toward the beginning, middle or end? If you’re a reader, what do you prefer? Hell-fire hot sex in the first few chapters or a slow seduction that ignites towards the end?

Talk amongst yourselves….

Bear with me for a sec. My girlfriend sent me the following ‘inspirational’ message—Eight Lies of My Mother– in an email last week (this isn’t the exact email that she sent to my office, but I found a very, very, very, sappy, long version of it online which I cut it cut down and revised for this post) :

Whenever the time came for eating, mother often gave me her portion of rice. While she was removing her rice into my bowl, she would say “Eat this rice, son. I’m not hungry”.
That was Mother’s First Lie

And While I ate the meat of the fish, she would eat what was left on the bone. When I tried used my chopstick to give her some of my fish, she refused it and said “Eat this fish, son. I don’t really like fish.”
That was Mother’s Second Lie.

To make extra money, mother packed used match- boxes. I woke up from my sleep and looked at my mother who was still awake, working by candlelight, I said, “Mother, go to sleep, it’s late, tomorrow morning you still have to go for work.” Mother smiled and said “Go to sleep, dear. I’m not tired.”
That was Mother’s Third Lie.

While I took my exams mother waited for me under the heat of the sun for several hours. When the test was over, mother welcomed me and poured me a glass of tea. Seeing my mother covering with perspiration, I gave her my glass and asked her to drink too. Mother said “Drink, son. I’m not thirsty!”.
That was Mother’s Fourth Lie.

After I had finished my study and got a job, it was the time for my old mother to retire. I, who worked in America and make an excellent salary, sent her some money to help her in fulfilling her needs, but sent the money back to me. She said “I have enough money.”
That was Mother’s Sixth Lie.

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