Legacy - in memory of Kate Duffy

During my historical research, I came across the term legacy.

Apparently, the popes of history were concerned about leaving something behind after they die so people would remember them, so they commissioned great works of art.

There are two ways to leave a legacy -- have kids, create art, or both. Unless everything on earth disappears, the words we write will be around long after we will in one form or another. Michelangelo is gone, but the Sistine Chapel is still here, inspiring everyone who sees it.

I was sad to learn of Kate Duffy’s recent death. She was Sr. Editor of Kensington Publishing for several years, and I attended many of the same writing workshops she did. She could often be found on editor/agent panels, giving straight, commonsense advice--laced with her great sense of humor--to aspiring authors like me.

During one convention, I pitched a book to her. If you didn’t know Kate, she could seem a little formidable at first, so I was nervous. When the girl who pitched her book before me walked out looking like she might cry, throw up, or both-- apparently there was a sizable problem with her story--I thought “hoo boy, what am I in for?”

To my surprise, it was one of my best pitches ever. It was soon apparent she liked me and my story. And when I described a funny scene where the historical heroine ogles the modern-day hero sunbathing in the buff on the castle roof, she laughed so hard her face turned red. She even told me I was doing a great job pitching.

She read the whole manuscript promptly and although she rejected it, she gave me some valuable feedback I learned from and still use today. Basically, lack of detail in characters and setting and not enough sex. Since then, I’ve been told my settings are rich, my characters are well developed, and sex? I just sold my third erotic romance manuscript. Need I say more? And I’m not an aspiring author anymore. I’m published.

Kate may no longer be with us, but her influence is still around, making all the authors and books she impacted better. What’s your legacy?

Afton Locke
www.aftonlocke.com

Ellora’s Cave titles:
Cicada - paranormal
Sexual Energy - futuristic m/m/f ménage - coming soon!

HALLOWEEN "HUNKY BUNS" COSTUME

Men in sexy costumes. Before I start on that:
ALERT - I'll be adding a hunky Halloween photo at the bottom of my blog...but it's a naughty one! Don't look (well you can peek) if you're easily offended!

My latest book, "Sexy Games" by my other pen name, April Ash, is an erotic romantic adventure of a hero and heroine testing new adult games for the Naughty Games Company. they agree to don costumes and role-play three different scenarios. In my blogs on August 8th and September 8th, I interviewed both the heroine, Stacy, and hero, Sloane.

Costumes and role-playing allow you to fantasize incredible erotic encounters, as my hero and heroine discover. Think about Halloween. It's not just for children. Don't adults dress up and act out roles? How about those sexy pirates, cowboys, whatever?

Only once did I get my husband to wear a costume...but for a very sedate group on a military post so costumes were "tame". We went as Raggedy Anne and Andy. Nothing sexy there. But I knew that going as sex vamp Elvira and my husband wearing tight pants, an opened shirt and looking like a swashbuckling pirate wouldn't fit the atmosphere at this particular party.

So, do you have plans to dress up for Halloween? Perhaps, you'll be creative and do something similar to what the hunky guy in this picture decided to do to impress someone (certainly got my attention!).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Marianne/April
www.mariannestephens.net
www.aprilash.net
Buy Link for "Sexy Games":

http://www.ellorascave.com/productpage.asp?ISBN=9781419922978

t

The uses of erotica--21st century freedoms!

There are many!
I can hear you saying, wow, where has she been?
Thinking a lot about this lately (as I approach writing my 8th and 9th erotica stories), I began to see how far women have come in the past 40-odd years since Harlequin took off, Avon bought Rosemary Rogers and other publishers saw the value of developing their romance lines.
In the 70s, romances for women were known as "bodice-rippers" and some said they gained their shelf-prominence because the stockers were men. That is such a male-centered statement. Those of us who bought the books did not buy them because they sat so prominently on the shelves. No, the fact is that we bought them because we wanted sexual adventure, men who could love a woman and accept her for all that she was and could become. Remember, in the 70's many college-edcuated woman first went to wrok--even if they had babies! In the 70's, safe sex was a novel idea. Condom sales were not high. (Pharamcies still hid them behind the counter and men had to ask to buy them.) The Pill was still considered unsafe for your health (but we took them anyway). And btw, there was no such thing as equal pay for equal work, maternity leave with pay, family leave for illness-and in many cases, no one ever heard of time off for a death in the family.
So...again...why did we buy those books?
We bought them because, consciously or subconciously, we WANTED men to get a grip, see us, hear us for what we needed: equality in work and play, joy in the relationship, more than slam-bam-thank-you, ma'am in bed!
Romance in all its forms gave us that. Men saw us reading them. Laughed, at first. Read one or two themselves. Then something else happened: They saw that we had more courage to ask for what we were entitled to. Fair pay. Fair play. In the boardroom, kitchen and the bedroom.
I remember the comment/aka uproar in the industry when condoms were first used by men in books, first requested by women, when euphemisims for body parts became boooooring and more honesty in use of terms became more acceptable. But editors still sat on the erotica-meter and cut and slashed those racier parts. (I was one whose scenes were edited down in my historicals and who mourned the loss of exciting diversity in the bedroom!)
But as our children grew to young adults and acted responsibly as we had taught them to do, we saw that they read romances, too. Yep, even the males. Perhaps not as many volumes, but still. This meant we had another generation who understood the dynamics of sexual relations--and who not only read about it, but acted on it.
Enter Virgin Books' Black Lace in the 90's and their huge success in sales in English-speaking countries.
Enter Ellora's Cave at the turn of the century and their huge success in the market with their focus on electronic publishing and sales.
Enter so many other e-publishers into a market that grew by leaps and bounds along with the internet--AND the huge demand for erotica.
What has the latest surge in erotica and e-publishing done for women?
Let me count the benefits!
First, we have truth in packaging! (And what a delight it is to see that FLOWERs are no longer the preferred concept cover for a romance or an erotica!) Now we have, for the ladies, MEN. Men in delicious poses. Men in naked splendour. Men with women in scrumptious tangles that imply the novel's content. And we have naked women, posing with other women. Multiple naked bodies, where the story carries it.
Now we also have an easy, quick and safe method to buy the books we love to read without fear of censure. What is on your Sony Reader or your computer can be locked up, baby, and sequestered from those who might spy on you, your need for a little get-away time, and your need for an affirmation that you are strong, needy and entitled to great sex. On paper. In your bedroom. From a partner who cares.
More importantly, we now have the ability to "view" other means of sexual enjoyment. What was once taboo, unavailable to us by any delicate means is now out there. I remember going to an "art house" with my husband in the 80's and being the only woman in the theater. Urrr. I remember enjoying Debbie Does Dallas and Behind the Green Door and not being able to discuss it except with my husband...and later my writing collaborator who was an educated woman with an open mind. I remember, too, going into Adult Video stores and asking for different tapes. i was asked if I wanted videos "For a Bachlorette Party" or "For a Bridal Shower" and being shown to the large book, subdivided that way. No lie. The entries, yes, I tried them-- were not as good as Dallas or Green Door. And yes, the acting was truly terrible.
But the writing of most erotica fiction I have read in the past few years is absolutely mouth-wateringly LOVELY. DYNAMIC and thrilling! Gratifying beyond any video I ever saw. Including Door and Dallas.
So what else do we get for our freedoms to buy, read beautifully written fiction and enjoy the hell out of it?
We get a boldness to ask our sexual partners for what we want.
We get the ability to know what turns us on.
We get the variety, written out for us, by those with more experience or greater imaginations than ours.
We get to understand that there are many ways to enjoy our own bodies. And others'.
We get to understand that what some want--multiple partners, same sex partners, toys--might be something we want to try. Or not. Living vicariously does make you stronger and more intelligent.
We get to read, enjoy our own imaginations and then we get to decide what makes us happy.
What does reading erotica do for you?
Has it helped you grow out of shell, a habit? Has it brought you new ways to think about the human condition? Might it have improved your primary relationship?
I would love to hear.
Thanks for reading my pov on this wonderful genre.
And do read my newest, a menage, HER THREE-WAY MERGER from EC!
CIAO!

Barbara Vey’s Publishers Weekly

I had the most lovely surprise last Thursday when a friend mentioned that my romantice suspense published bt Cerridwen Press was on Barbara Veil's blog with a great review.

FRENCH PERIL on Barbara Vey’s Publishers Weekly
http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/880000288.html

Cheryl has traveled to France to assist in the restoration of a medieval chapel, but one man has been murdered, another beaten, all for the sake of a small but priceless statue, hidden somewhere in the ruins. An international team has been assembled by Francois to help in the renovations, but obviously, one of them is willing to kill to be the one to retrieve the statue.

Cheryl doesn't know who to trust, especially the dangerously handsome Francois, who definitely has more than just a statue on his mind. Who wouldn't want to lose themselves in Mona Risk's French Peril?

Traveling to the beautiful French countryside, staying in a marvelous, ornate chateau, eating fine food and drinking the chateau's wine, and let's not forget the charming and handsome host. Sign me up, Ms Risk, I'll be looking for your next foreign escape.Barbara Vey’s Publishers Weekly

My first book TO LOVE A HERO also received a great review at The Romance Studio and was voted 5 Hearts Sweetheart of the Week.

Mona Risk has built an exceptional story of romance with a hopeful tale of what can be accomplished when people on both sides of the ocean work together to make the world a better place. Both Sergei and Cecile are well deserving of the roles as hero and heroine of the story. As a war hero Sergei has earned the respect of his country that allows him to work as hard for peace and the future of his country as he did during war. Cecile doesn’t let fear stand in her way as she finds a route around the problems to get what she wants if people stand in her way. She’s admirable in her inventive solutions when confronted by a male dominated society.

This is a fast moving story full of colorful characters who enhance our enjoyment of the country and its people. Ms. Risk is one of those authors who puts together a tale that’s captivates from first page to last. I’ll have to look for more of her work in the future.

Kickstarting a stalled story

I've recently had two WIP simply stall. Staring at the page, I couldn't even get a single new sentence on the page. Not a word would come on either of them. The characters in both of these stories really appeal to me and I can't wait to learn more about what's going to happen, but I haven't been able to write on those stories for two weeks. It's been driving me nuts. Luckily, it's not a full case of the dreaded WRITER'S BLOCK. I have been making good progress on another WIP in the meantime, but not being able to work on those two has been driving me nuts. There was something about the two stories that just stopped me cold whenever I opened up the files.

I tried everything I knew to jumpstart the story. I did a character interview, journaled and tried switching the POV of the scene I was writing. I even plotted out what should be happening in the chapter. Nothing worked, not even the walk away from it and leave it alone for a few days approach. That usually has the characters more than ready to talk. I just couldn't move the story forward. So I went back and reread. (I've been trying not to do this so much before I've finished because rereading sometimes leads to revising for me.)

Doing that, I finally figured out what had gone wrong and my subconscious was trying to tell me. (I just wish it would have told me without all of the frustration involved.) I'd pushed the story in a direction that didn't fit the characters or plot. One of them I had to take out a couple of chapters but I'm back to writing and I'm not frustrated. Do you have any interesting techniques for kicking your characters in the butt to get them moving again? I'd like to know because they might come in useful next time.

Oh and by the way, look for Primal Encounter coming October 28!

Finding Time

When I'm not writing, I work at a small independent book store. Part of my job is to read books. I know, the horror of it all. But it does create a problem. There are just too many books out there that I want to read and there are only so many hours in the day. As I sit here in my office at home looking at my shelves, I currently have over 300 books on my "to-be-read" shelves. Yes, you read that right - not piles, shelves. My husband put up bookshelves so the huge stacks wouldn't crowd the floor.

I try to go at the shelves logically - by starting at the beginning. But then another one comes into the store and it looks soooooo good! And then another. And another.... you get the picture. :)

To alleviate this massive pile up, I could do several things:
1. I could quit my job - but I kind of need the paycheck and, besides, where would I then get free books? Not an option.
2. I could quit writing. Definitely not an option.
3. I could quit doing promo. But if I do that, then my books wouldn't get "out there" - it's a necessary evil. So, unfortunately, not an option.
4. I could quit spending time with my family. No, guess I shouldn't do that.
5. I could quit sleeping. As a person with chronic insomnia, I already do enough of that. Not an option.
6. I could quit reading. Like writing, definitely NOT an option.
7. I could quit adding books until I read the ones I have. But the ones that came in yesterday look so good! I can't do that.

You see my problem? So I guess my shelves will keep growing and I'll keep reading during my free moments.

Sorry this blog is so short. But I have a book to read! :)

Vicky

I'm talking to a local Writers Group today. Was going to talk about e-publishing (was hoping to have a copy of NETTLEFLOWER to show them, but that's now not going to happen for a few weeks) so I'm talking about Research. You may know that old chestnut of advice -- Write what you know? My talk is going to show the pros and cons of that.

A pro point -- if you know your subject, you're unlikely to make any horrible errors. Con point -- if that's all you know, then your creativity is stifled. I'm an imaginative writer. I also like to get my facts right, because if I don't, I just know someone is going to latch on to the bits that are wrong and I'm going to be Horribly Embarrassed. So where does that leave me...?

Well, writing Fantasy (as I have done) I can invent anything my little heart desires, and it'll be fine, because that's my world and I can do what I like in it (So long as it's consistent).

But if I'm confining myself to the Real World, then certain restrictions kick in. My characters have to follow the physical laws. Gravity. Entropy. All that stuff. In my other favourite -- historicals -- I can't mess with history (or not too much) or it turns into fantasy. So I can't have the Battle of Hastings won by Harold Godwinson, however much I'd like to. I can have him survive the battle, however. The body identified as his, may have been one of his brothers. In my Egyptian-themed contemporary, I have to find a Pharoah who isn't well-known, so I can invent around him.

You're getting my point. I have to say that these are my rules, and no one else has to follow them. Some of the very popular writers don't. No names -- but I can recall one in which the hero is shot in the lag. The musket-ball breaks his thighbone. (This is Napoloenic era, btw) Now, if we are being Realistic, infection would very shortly set in, and if he survived that, then he could still lose the leg. He would not be walking around six weeks later with barely a limp! When I read that I nearly hurled the book across the room.

In another, historical facts were gayly discarded because they didn't fit the plot. Okay, maybe many of the readers didn't spot the errors, but I did, and it spoiled my enjoyment. Catherine of Aragon, from the portraits we have of her, was short and had strawberry-blond hair. But she was Spanish, right? And Spanish ladies are tall with black hair. (My pet beef about the HBO series, The Tudors. Or one of them. Henry was tall, red-headed, and aged like other mortals, for heaven's sakes...)

Which is why I trumpet the benefits of Research. Get the facts right.

But there's a downside. You can get so enthralled by the research that the book may never get written....