Good news Tuesday . . . I sold another book to Samhain. It’s a contemporary western–ish. More details to follow.

It’s been one of those weekends. The DH has been working at the Basketball play-offs. Left over two-weeks ago–and will be home after the series is over–whenever that happens. The A/C went out Friday night (and it was 101 ° here yesterday) SHEESH! So selling the book is wonderful news.

I know summer time is slow for most folks. Getting writing done is becoming more tricky–BUT I had my notebook in my big green handbag, that everyone thinks is ugly, and wrote after me and two of the kiddos got out of a movie (Kung Fu Panda) waiting for the other two to get out of theirs (Zohan). It was kinda fun to write in a place you might not think of writing, seemed less inhibited since all I could do was wait for 1 and 2. Hmm . . . . have to see where we end up next and make sure I have my notebook!

Anyhoo . . . . Anyone else have some good news to share?!?!?!

Please join us on Wednesday when the lovely and talented Lori Devoti joins us to talk about her new book WILD HUNT!

Alongside his hellhound brethren, Venge Leidolf was summoned to start the Wild Hunt anew. But in this dreaded pursuit of souls, Venge sought to free himself from his infernal bondage—by claiming the heart of a fierce Valkyrie.…

Geysa never questioned the alluring gifts that set her apart from the other Valkyries, or her hatred of hellhounds—until Venge fell under her spell. Drawing the alpha hellhound so close made Geysa doubt her every instinct. To stop the Hunt, the two blood-born enemies would need to cast aside old vows and allegiances. Only then could no one question the strength of their union….

Lori Devoti grew up in southern Missouri and attended college at the University of Missouri-Columbia where she earned a Bachelor of Journalism. She, however, made it clear to anyone who asked, she was not a writer; she worked for the dark side—advertising. Now twenty years later, she’s proud to declare herself a writer and visit her dark side occasionally by writing dark paranormal romances and urban fantasy novels with a little death and a lot of adventure.Lori lives in Wisconsin with her husband, daughter, son, an extremely patient shepherd mix, and the world’s pushiest Siberian husky.

You can read an excerpt here!

I’ll be the first to admit…I love, love, LOVE a really good villain.  And as writers, I think we all know the importance of them in the story.

But if you really want to make him intriguing to your reader, you might consider giving him a pet.

Maybe a kitten.  Or a puppy, teddy bear, love of nature, or make him a tormented author—anything that might humanize him a bit will not only make him more appealing to your audience, but more memorable and believable (at least, as far as you wish him to be).

Hannibal Lector may have been a psychopathic killer, but he was a very soft-spoken gentleman with a taste for fine wines.

Barnabas Collins?  One of the first sympathetic vampires.  Why?  He not only despised himself for what he was, but carried a torch for the love of his life for several…er, centuries.

The Frankenstein monster.  Poor fella didn’t ask to be put together out of spare parts.  One of the most horrendous scenes in the film is when he accidentally drowns a little girl.  What makes him sympathetic is that a few minutes earler he’d been sharing flower blossoms with her.  He not only can’t help what he is, but hasn’t the wisdom, experience, or power to change.

Monsters like Ted Bundy are another story.  A complete sociopath, incapable of remorse, he felt perfectly justified in everything he did because he believed what he wanted was all that mattered.  And although fascinating in his own way, he isn’t someone I’d like to carry with me for long after the book is finished (unless it’s a particular kind of horror story, of course).

If you can give your villain as much character and extra dimension as possible (without having him take over), your readers will probably thank you for it.
And eagerly look forward to the next one.  I know I do.

Any more ideas on making your villains…well, appealing?

Your novel has just been bought by your dream publisher. Then another miracle happens…

Your editor has given you final approval on your cover. The art department is waiting for your instructions. You know your story. The themes. The characters. The conflicts. Describe your ideal book cover. What’s it look like? Maybe it’s a depiction of the most compelling scene in your story. Or perhaps it’s a meadow filled with wildflowers. A dark alley. A box filled with jewels. A cartoon cover. What are the colors? If your hero, heroine or both are on the cover, what are they doing?

I’m rebelling.

Us less-confident types expend a lot of energy on positive affirmations, calming pep-talks and, occasionally, a lot of money on our alcoholic beverage of choice (mine’s white wine, but I’m always happy to make friends with a champagne cocktail or a margarita). We aspire to be positive, well-groomed, well-balanced individuals who have conquered their self-defeating behaviours and spring, light-footed, through a world of flowers and dreams in full bloom.

Reality falls somewhat short of that aspiration.

Instead, we feel more like we’re hanging on to our sanity with our ragged , unpainted fingernails, as we stagger, creased and unwaxed, from one near-crisis to another. Flowers in bloom? HA! The cat’s been sick on the carpet again…

All that energy spent on trying not to say, “Gad, I suck!”

I am reclaiming that energy. I am embracing my suckage! My suckness is an integral part of the person I am, and an irrefutable part of my mental processes!

I had my first book published this week. No amount of snide self-doubt or first-timer ignorance can take away from how truly, wonderfully, f a n t a s t i c that feels. Seven years of hard work in the face of occasionally overwhelming odds, and I can hold my book in my hand and know that somewhere out there, it’s being taken down from shelves and bought and read.

And you know what? That book doesn’t suck. It really doesn’t – reviews, editors, readers are telling me so (one particular reviewer begs to differ, but – heh - what do they know? *wink* ).

But it did suck. Oh yes. And the process it went through as a result of that – it’s Stages of Suck – brought it to publication in the form it’s in now.

If my first draft hadn’t sucked, I wouldn’t have rewritten it. If that rewrite hadn’t unbalanced the ending, I wouldn’t have changed that. And if that change hadn’t made the middle less-than-its-best, I wouldn’t have reworked that, either.

Its suckness has made it what it is.

Rather like me, in fact.

You see, I quite like me. I don’t say that in a, “I am fabulous, dahlink,” sense (please note the creased, unwaxed, barely-sane notes above, which are 100% accurate), but in a, “I find me quite a nice person to spend time with,” sense. And harassed and un-manicured as I am, I retain enough sense to know my suckage is an integral part of the me I quite like.

It’s quite a revelation.

And like all good revelations, it has to be shared. So, my fellow suck-sisters, throw off the shackles of the hated positive affirmation oppression, and embrace your suckage.

To paraphrase the sainted Yoda, “Use the Suck, Luke.”

So, tell me, what was your latest, “I suck,” moment, and how can you embrace it? C’mon now… be brave….

Anna Louise Lucia’s first novel, Run Among Thorns , a romantic suspense published by Medallion Press, is out now!

In a crisis moment of her life, Jenny Waring did something exceptional.

She killed three armed men.

“Excellent… an all-round compelling escape.” 4 ½ stars, Romantic Times

I love TV. . . I mean I really LOVE TV. From the moment I could watch TV, I have been addicted to it. As a child, there weren’t near the choices my kids have now (we were just discussing this over the weekend–no Disney Channel, no Nick). You only got to see cartoons on Saturday or the occasional Disney movie on Sunday nights. During the week the only kids programming was PBS–and I sat there for all three or fours hours it was offered, from Sesame Street, Electric Co., 3, 2, 1 Contact to the Spanish show that came on at the end–I watched it every day–didn’t understand a word of the Spanish show, but I was ever faithful!

Eventually, I graduated to Black and White 60’s reruns. I could tell you about any and every episode of Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy or Beverly Hillbillies. And let me tell you how devistated I was to learn Ernie from My Three sons was not only way older than me, but way, WAY older–and bald. 

My watching habits have changed–and increased. I love have soooo many channels now. Some Saturdays, I will veg in my room and hoard the TV. 

The other night, I was watching a cheesy movie at 1 A.M. and kept thinking, “This is a great story line.” Yes, it was cheesy, but some was because it WAS 1 am and my mind was a tad on the mooshy side and some was there were ways they could have gone to give it a little extra . . . edge. My mind warped ahead how it would make a good book and how to twist it to make it more interesting. I always try to come up with the “internal thought” running through their head. Something a TV watcher is without that a reader benefits from. (but at the same time a TV watcher get the mood music so it’s a trade off)

I realized I actually do that with a lot of my TV watching now. Everything is food for the grist! It doesn’t matter if it is a topic on The View or a CSI episode, anything can be worked into a story. So really, my watching TV now is . . . RESEARCH!

My kids . . . yeah, they proabbly watch too much TV, but I have one or two budding writers, so really, I am just helping them in their training–That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

(Don’t even get me started about actors who say, “Oh, I don’t really watch TV.” WTF!

 . . . Whatevah)

This week’s guest blogger will be Anna Louise Lucia.

I’ve known the very talented, funny, and extremely gracious Anna (cyberwise) for several years now, from back in the days when eharl was a tightly-knit community with only a few message boards.

A large number of my writing friends come from that time (Cat Brown of Romance Junkies, Amie Stuart, Sasha White, Raine Weaver, Dee Tenorio, Julie Cohen, Sela Carsen, Linda Winfree, and Kat Glover (who’s working on my website) just to name a few.

There’s a reason why I suspect many–if not all–of those names ring a bell; they’re a group of very talented ladies who were (are) very generous with sharing any writing/publication knowledge (or experience) they might have come across with the rest of  eharl group.

We’ve drifted to different online communities, writing for different publishers, but we managed to keep in touch,  so you can just  imagine how THRILLED I was to hear Anna sold!   She’d been >thisclose< on several occasions with Harl/Sil but in the end her debut romantic suspense RUN AMONG THORNS came out this week with Medallion Press.  

Anna has an awesome command of the language and her descriptive passages re setting, emotion, and action are sure to knock your socks off.   You can check some excerpts here.

So come back on Wednesday and join the Southern Fried Chica when Anna comes by to guest host.  

I’d like to try to conduct a mini-poll here today.
I hope everyone will feel free to comment honestly.  No right answers, no wrong ones.  Just opinions.
Disclaimer:  This question is in no way ABOUT any particular person or situation.  It’s just something I’ve wondered about, and I think feedback on the subject would be valuable to others too.

Here’s the scenario:
You’re a struggling writer, trying to get a nibble from the New York pubs.
You’ve sent your latest beloved manuscript to all of the publishers and agents at the top of your wish list, and so far they’ve all turned you down.

Until now.

One hot, humid day, when the air conditioner has broken down, the kids are psycho on sugar highs, and you’re trying to get the trash can out before the truck pulls away…

You get THE CALL.

It’s a phone call from a well-known editor at a big, shiny New York publisher, and he’s fallen in love with your manuscript.  He advises you, however, to recruit an agent before negotiations are conducted.

Soooooooo……………

Would you go with one of your top-of-the-list agents if they now agree to represent you, even if they’d turned this manuscript down before?

Or would you rather start a clean slate and find someone else?

I once stumbled across a book that seemed eerily familiar. It was published years ago, but it was my first time reading it. Needless to say, I couldn’t believe the similarities to a story of mine. The most disturbing “coincidence” was the opening scene and how the hero and heroine met. There were even similar character names. I was so disturbed I had to put the book down and stop reading for fear of what other “similarities” I might discover.

Our voices were vastly different, and while our heroes had similar backgrounds, there were noticeable dissimilarities in terms of character temperament, goals and tone. However, even with that, I was still left with a big knot in my stomach every time I thought about it. I guess King Solomon was right. All is vanity and there really isn’t anything new under the sun.

Have you ever encountered a story doppelganger?

Recently I was watching a biography on Ivan the Terrible (and dude, when they said ‘terrible’ they weren’t talking his body odors.)  

But ole Ivan might have had a reason behind his madness. He suffered from chronic debilitating arthritis and one of the constant methods they used to medicate his condition involved using mercury.

Now, obviously the mercury wasn’t doing much more than driving poor Ivan insane, so he’d regularly have foreign doctors visit his court to see if another cure couldn’t be found.   

When that little tidbit drop, the writer in me thought Wow, wouldn’t it make for a fantastic romance to have an English doctor hero come over and fall in love with a heroine who was minor Russian royalty, all against the backdrop of Ivan’s court? Imagine the intrigue and danger, and the rich historical details of setting and behaviors.  

Having said all that, I have noooo problem whatsoever with so-called historical romance, because I’m reading for character/romance.  Sure, a sense of authenticity by way of seamlessly integrating details and mores of the times is preferred, but it’s not a deal breaker.  A vaguely historic feel with a few phaetons and pelisse’s thrown in is just fine as long as I’m engrossed in the story.   

Another thing that I shrug off is the character for whom English is a second language.  A couple of days ago I ran into a friend; she called out to me and we exchanged a few words. At the end of our conversation she said, ‘Okay then, ciao’.  And I have a coworker who sits besides me spends a lot of time on the phone in personal phone calls. Those conversations are always a mixture of English and Persian. 

You know where I’m going with this, right? 

While I can see why having a character say something in one language then repeat it in English (presumable for the reader’s benefit) seems kinda dumb; it’s not something I get hung up on. The smattering of foreign phrases into English dialogue–based on my personal experience as in the examples used above—really doesn’t bother me.  

Using syntax and cadence to ‘show’ the speaker’s accent is very appealing. There’s a certain deliciousness in reading the word choices and picking up the subtle rhythms but in the end? I dinnae care. Och! Lol.

So what about you guys?  Are there things that others rhapsodize or rail about, that  you just shrug off?