Learn more about my editorial services at CLG Entertainment. I'm affordable, pretty fast, love to teach through editing, and my clients don't think I'm half-bad either. Some of their testimonials are at the site, too!
Showing posts with label Shon Bacon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shon Bacon. Show all posts
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Shonell Bacon: The Editor
Learn more about my editorial services at CLG Entertainment. I'm affordable, pretty fast, love to teach through editing, and my clients don't think I'm half-bad either. Some of their testimonials are at the site, too!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Writing in 140: Finding the Desire to Write
What can I say relevant about writing in 140 words or less? I'm not sure myself, but I'm starting a new series of commentaries called WRITING IN 140 where I attempt to do so. The first commentary, "Finding the Desire to Write" is live at the [Blood-Red Pencil]. Check it out and leave your own thoughts on the subject!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
The Agent Experience with Death at the Double Inkwell - [podcast]
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
I (along with Death at the Double Inkwell) Am Featured at Myst Noir!
Not only is my mystery, DEATH AT THE DOUBLE INKWELL a featured title for June at Myst Noir [LINK] (mysteries written by African-Americans and/or featuring African-American sleuths), but also I sit down for an interview with Myst Noir founder, author Angela Henry to talk about DDIW and writing. Come check out the interview [HERE].
Friday, June 04, 2010
The DDIW Chronicles: Excerpt of Death at the Double Inkwell [podcast]
This month with The DDIW Chronicles, I'm offering a juicy excerpt of my solo debut project, the mystery Death at the Double Inkwell.
This podcast features the first couple pages of chapter one. Will definitely make you want to see what happens next!
You can check out the podcast [here]. Definitely consider ordering YOUR copy of DDIW through Amazon.com [link].
This podcast features the first couple pages of chapter one. Will definitely make you want to see what happens next!
You can check out the podcast [here]. Definitely consider ordering YOUR copy of DDIW through Amazon.com [link].
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
One Question, One Answer with Author Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Lauren Baratz-Logsted has written books for all ages. Her books for children and young adults include the Sisters Eight series, The Education of Bet and Crazy Beautiful. She lives with her family in Danbury, Connecticut. You can learn more about Lauren and her books at her official website.
My question was: How do your roles as woman, wife, mother affect what and how you write?
Lauren's response: Leave it to you to ask me a question I have to think about! Hmm... Let's see... I think being a woman has predisposed me for most of my writing career to write female-centric fiction, but I appear to be branching out. The YA novel Crazy Beautiful is told in first-person, dual-narrator, he-said/-she-said fashion. And I've just delivered an adult novel to my agent that's from the point of view of a man's man - fingers crossed that she likes it and that others do as well! I don't think my writing is affected by being a wife at all except for maybe in two areas: 1) if I write about a wife who decides the only answer to her problems is to murder her husband, I have to expect a few dirty looks at the dinner table; 2) my husband Greg Logsted (website) is one of my collaborators on The Sisters 8 series for young readers, along with our 10-year-old daughter Jackie. Finally, as to the last part of your question, being a mother affects me as a writer in every way. Jackie's proud of what I do for a living now, and I'm grateful for that. I only hope that when she grows up she still feels the same way.
I have been a fan of Lauren's since her debut novel in 2003, The Thin Pink Line; she knows how to develop a strong, realistic character and how to move a reader along a great story with her pacing. You owe it to yourself to pick up her latest projects!
Released May 3rd!
Questions! Questions! Questions! The Sisters Eight have so many questions and so few answers! Luckily, one more month means they’ll get a few answers.
Marcia’s month is about to begin. You remember Marcia, right? The sensible one? The one who would never do anything . . .crazy?
"Part Snickett, part Dahl with a little dash of Gorey, author Lauren Baratz-Logsted along with Greg Logsted and Jackie Logsted have created a series that is perfect for the younger tween set. I have already test-driven the first two titles with my 4th graders, and they are bugging me for more. With 8 sisters, there is a character for every reader. Fun, fun, fun." ~ Stacy Dillon, Tweendom.blogspot.com
The Education of Bet (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, July 2010) is about a 16-year-old girl in Victorian England who impersonates a boy in order to get a proper education.
"This book left me laughing and rooting for Bet the whole time. Many surprises and wonderfully included twists to capture your interest from page one all the way to the end. Another wonderfully written book by a great author who never ceases to amaze me with her writing skills and easy flowing story. A great historical book for the young adult genre!" ~ My Overstuffed Bookshelf
Saturday, May 15, 2010
The "Everything's Great, But..." Woman
We know her.
On the outside, she is a woman that most men want and most women envy.
She's the "everything's great, but..." woman.
You know.
She's beautiful. She has a great job. She has great friends. She has a great family. She has a great home. She has a great car.
Her future is so blindingly bright your retinas can sear just trying to imagine what her future looks like.
And when she smiles that toothpaste-commercial smile, it makes her whole universe that much brighter.
But the smile is fake.
A woman like this can't afford to let everyone know what's really going on in her world.
Because everything's great, but...
...she's not happy.
And she's usually not happy because of some man.
Sometimes, she has everything BUT the man, and she goes home to all her wonderful things and feels empty and lonely.
And sometimes, she has everything AND the man, and when the two are together, people are that much more jealous of her because she appears to have the perfect life.
Yet she goes home to all her wonderful things, including her husband, and feels empty and lonely.
Why?
In my debut novel, set to drop next month--Death at the Double Inkwell [Amazon], Jovan Parham Anderson is the "everything's great, but..." woman. She's a bestselling mystery novelist, has a wonderful twin that she writes great novels with--she has loving parents, and everyone in their hometown in Maryland consider Jovan and her twin Cheyenne to be just DARLING. And then there's Cordell, Jovan's husband. She's loved him since college, and he her, but at some point that love began to dismantle and the facade of Jovan's idyllic life begins to crumble.
And before she can even think about the situation clearly, her focus moves at one point away from her husband and to herself.
Is SHE the reason he's being distant? Is SHE not doing something right?
She wonders if her curvy figure is no longer attractive to Cordell--after all, he does call her out a time or two about her weight.
She wonders if she's not doing enough at home--considering she's a successful businesswoman just as Cordell is a successful businessman. Is she not being Suzy Homemaker enough for him?
More WHYs cloud Jovan's thoughts regarding her marriage and herself, especially when an event occurs that rocks the very foundation she's built her entire world on, causing
Jovan to question everything about her life with Cordell.
How can the "everything's great, but..." woman have EVERYTHING great in her life...with no buts?
She has to take control of her life, see the TRUTH of her life, determine what she NEEDS in her life, and act accordingly.
Will Jovan do all of those things?
You'll have to read Death at the Double Inkwell to find out.
It drops next month--but you can by it now at Amazon.
On the outside, she is a woman that most men want and most women envy.
She's the "everything's great, but..." woman.
You know.
She's beautiful. She has a great job. She has great friends. She has a great family. She has a great home. She has a great car.
Her future is so blindingly bright your retinas can sear just trying to imagine what her future looks like.
And when she smiles that toothpaste-commercial smile, it makes her whole universe that much brighter.
But the smile is fake.
A woman like this can't afford to let everyone know what's really going on in her world.
Because everything's great, but...
...she's not happy.
And she's usually not happy because of some man.
Sometimes, she has everything BUT the man, and she goes home to all her wonderful things and feels empty and lonely.
And sometimes, she has everything AND the man, and when the two are together, people are that much more jealous of her because she appears to have the perfect life.
Yet she goes home to all her wonderful things, including her husband, and feels empty and lonely.
Why?
In my debut novel, set to drop next month--Death at the Double Inkwell [Amazon], Jovan Parham Anderson is the "everything's great, but..." woman. She's a bestselling mystery novelist, has a wonderful twin that she writes great novels with--she has loving parents, and everyone in their hometown in Maryland consider Jovan and her twin Cheyenne to be just DARLING. And then there's Cordell, Jovan's husband. She's loved him since college, and he her, but at some point that love began to dismantle and the facade of Jovan's idyllic life begins to crumble.
And before she can even think about the situation clearly, her focus moves at one point away from her husband and to herself.
Is SHE the reason he's being distant? Is SHE not doing something right?
She wonders if her curvy figure is no longer attractive to Cordell--after all, he does call her out a time or two about her weight.
She wonders if she's not doing enough at home--considering she's a successful businesswoman just as Cordell is a successful businessman. Is she not being Suzy Homemaker enough for him?
More WHYs cloud Jovan's thoughts regarding her marriage and herself, especially when an event occurs that rocks the very foundation she's built her entire world on, causing
Jovan to question everything about her life with Cordell.
How can the "everything's great, but..." woman have EVERYTHING great in her life...with no buts?
She has to take control of her life, see the TRUTH of her life, determine what she NEEDS in her life, and act accordingly.
Will Jovan do all of those things?
You'll have to read Death at the Double Inkwell to find out.
It drops next month--but you can by it now at Amazon.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Advocate of the Heroine of Substance (& Size), Author Lynne Murray
Lynne Murray, author of the romantic comedy, Bride of the Living Dead, has had six mysteries published. Larger Than Death, the first book featuring Josephine Fuller, sleuth of size who doesn't apologize won the Distinguished Achievement Award from NAAFA (the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance). She has written three ebooks of encouragement for writers as well as essays, interviews and reviews on subjects that rouse her passions, many of those can be found under "Rants and Raves" on her web site. Lynne lives in San Francisco and when not writing she enjoys reading, watching DVD film directors' commentaries and spoiling her cats, all of whom are rescued or formerly feral felines.
Indie film critic, Daria MacClellan, wants to marry the man she loves, but she's slipping on rose petals as if they were banana peels on her way to the altar. Big, beautiful and rebellious, Daria, who is most comfortable in a monster movie poster T-shirt and blue jeans, finds that her wedding is hijacked by family drama. How did she sign on for a formal wedding planned by Sky, her perfectionist, anorexic, older sister? Daria adores her fiancé and she loves horror films, but her wedding seems to be spiraling downward in that direction. Will a picture perfect pink wedding turn her into the Bride of the Living Dead?
Imagine the movie poster for your novel, BRIDE OF THE LIVING DEAD. What's the logline?
Her wedding day or her worst nightmare? Would she turn into the BRIDE OF THE LIVING DEAD?
What was the spark that initiated the idea behind BRIDE OF THE LIVING DEAD?
I love the humor of chick lit books but the shoes scared me! Also the dresses! The deep-seated obsession with wedding planning terrified me most of all. When I tried to imagine what it would be like to live in these books, I'd see someone who twisted her ankles in the high heels, stepped on the hems and ripped the long gowns, and flashed her underwear at the world while she tumbled head over heels into the gutter. I decided to write about a rebellious heroine who is allergic to frills, but who loves her man and her family so much that she reluctantly agrees to let them railroad her into a formal wedding organized by her perfectionist, anorexic, older sister.
Talk to us about the writing process for BRIDE OF THE LIVING DEAD. Was it a fast write? Did you outline first or just sit and crank out the story?
I'm an incorrigible non-outliner who keeps trying to outline. There's something tremendously appealing in the idea that I could write faster and better and control the process by outlining. So I begin each new book by attempting to outline the story. In the middle of that, every single time, I go off the rails and start writing the actual scene I'm outlining. I've come to accept that breaking rules is part of my process. The structure of beginning to outline gives me something to break out of. I'm the same way with paper--I get lined paper and then write through the lines and around the margin.
The first draft process for BRIDE took less than six months. The rewrites have taken a few years. I don't regret that BRIDE was rejected by several big publishers when it was first submitted because I got ideas on how to improve the book. One editor at a major publishing house said they had already filled their yearly quota for books about losing weight before the wedding. Eeeek! If anyone could even imagine that BRIDE OF THE LIVING DEAD was about that, major changes were needed! The title went through changes as well. At one point it was called "A Guide for the Dysfunctional Bride." Like a lot of non-outliners, I enjoy the rewriting process. Finally BRIDE OF THE LIVING DEAD found its form, its title, and a home with Pearlsong Press.
What are you doing to promote BRIDE OF THE LIVING DEAD?
I'm not able to do in-person events at this time, so I'm going mostly virtual, and ever so slightly postal! I'm doing my own blogs and visiting other blogs--ChickLitGurrl is the first! I'll also be emailing and snail-mailing people whom I've got to know over the years who liked my other books. Pearlsong Press has frequent call-in telephone events where anyone who feels like it can call, and chat and I may do other call-in events as well.
I know that you have a mystery series that features Josephine "Jo" Fuller, "a sleuth of size who doesn't apologize." How important is it to you to develop stories that feature large and in charge female characters?
About that "doesn't apologize" part, I had to add that and turn it into a rhyme because I had a librarian take off the "of size" part in their promotional literature for an event. That kind of thing mobilizes my rebellious streak. I figured if it was a rhyme and a joke, they couldn't chop it up. I don't tolerate fat-bashing in what I read. I know that some books are what you might call "size neutral" and content themselves with not insulting large people. That's the author's decision, but I'm not good at keeping my mouth shut when I feel strongly about something. I need books that inspire me and make me feel good as a large woman. I wouldn't mind some positive role models as well. So I write what I want to read. I've gotten many, many emails from women and men who found it helpful and healing to read such stories.
Why do you write?
I've loved stories for as long as I can remember. My parents would read little Golden Books to me, and even before I could read or write, I told them I wanted to write one of those books. So I did! My mother typed it up for me and I illustrated it with a crayon picture of the hero--a duck.
What is the most important component of a story for you--why?
I'm a firm believer in the healing power of escape. I read (and write) to go to another place, to make sense of the world and spend time with characters I like, enjoying their adventures, seeing the good guys win. I love the kind of books where you finish the book and wish you could go right back to that world again.
What are three pieces of advice you would offer writers wanting to get published?
Persist. The late mystery novelist, George C. Chesbro, gave a speech at the 1994 Bouchercon Convention that helped me tremendously. He said that there are no child prodigy novelists. Writing talent is not rare, but beyond talent, a novelist above all needs to be neurotic enough to continue writing in the face of years of rejection, criticism and no rewards whatsoever. That is the only way to learn the craft. When I heard those words, I wanted to raise my hand and yell: "Yes! Keep going in the face of no rewards at all--I can do that! I've done that. I'm doing that right now!"
Use whatever works. Never underestimate the motivating power of revenge. As a writer you have a license to kill, fictionally speaking, and often when you do, it heals your own pain. I had a request from some former co-workers to kill a manager who treated us all badly. I made him my next murder victim (slightly disguised so I wouldn't get sued), and I felt much better. Afterward when the former co-workers had read the book, they thanked me and asked me to kill him again! I didn't really need to, though, because I had written my way out of it and moved on to other victims.
Keep notes. Observe the stories unfolding in life with an eye toward using them or just to exercise your curiosity and you'll never be bored.
Who is one of your favorite writers, and how does he/she inspire you as a writer?
Terry Pratchett is my favorite. He can make me laugh and think about serious things at the same time. His Discworld is as fantastical a setting as you can imagine, yet I feel as if I know the characters and learn from them.
Word Association. What comes to mind when you see the following words:
BRIDE OF THE LIVING DEAD: Finding her inner Bridezilla!
FAMILY: Protect
LOVE: Harmony
FAT: Tasty
WRITING: My passion
LYNNE MURRAY: My self
What projects are you currently working on?
I'm exploring Urban Paranormal realms now. I'm doing revisions on a vampire novel where some of the vampires shop at the Big and Tall Store and generally look like real people instead of slinky supermodels. When that's done, I'll return to my work-in-progress, a ghost story that has a romance as well as vampires and some other paranormal critters.
What are you doing to promote BRIDE OF THE LIVING DEAD?
I'm not able to do in-person events at this time, so I'm going mostly virtual, and ever so slightly postal! I'm doing my own blogs and visiting other blogs--ChickLitGurrl is the first! I'll also be emailing and snail-mailing people whom I've got to know over the years who liked my other books. Pearlsong Press has frequent call-in telephone events where anyone who feels like it can call, and chat and I may do other call-in events as well.
I know that you have a mystery series that features Josephine "Jo" Fuller, "a sleuth of size who doesn't apologize." How important is it to you to develop stories that feature large and in charge female characters?
About that "doesn't apologize" part, I had to add that and turn it into a rhyme because I had a librarian take off the "of size" part in their promotional literature for an event. That kind of thing mobilizes my rebellious streak. I figured if it was a rhyme and a joke, they couldn't chop it up. I don't tolerate fat-bashing in what I read. I know that some books are what you might call "size neutral" and content themselves with not insulting large people. That's the author's decision, but I'm not good at keeping my mouth shut when I feel strongly about something. I need books that inspire me and make me feel good as a large woman. I wouldn't mind some positive role models as well. So I write what I want to read. I've gotten many, many emails from women and men who found it helpful and healing to read such stories.
Why do you write?
I've loved stories for as long as I can remember. My parents would read little Golden Books to me, and even before I could read or write, I told them I wanted to write one of those books. So I did! My mother typed it up for me and I illustrated it with a crayon picture of the hero--a duck.
What is the most important component of a story for you--why?
I'm a firm believer in the healing power of escape. I read (and write) to go to another place, to make sense of the world and spend time with characters I like, enjoying their adventures, seeing the good guys win. I love the kind of books where you finish the book and wish you could go right back to that world again.
What are three pieces of advice you would offer writers wanting to get published?
Persist. The late mystery novelist, George C. Chesbro, gave a speech at the 1994 Bouchercon Convention that helped me tremendously. He said that there are no child prodigy novelists. Writing talent is not rare, but beyond talent, a novelist above all needs to be neurotic enough to continue writing in the face of years of rejection, criticism and no rewards whatsoever. That is the only way to learn the craft. When I heard those words, I wanted to raise my hand and yell: "Yes! Keep going in the face of no rewards at all--I can do that! I've done that. I'm doing that right now!"
Use whatever works. Never underestimate the motivating power of revenge. As a writer you have a license to kill, fictionally speaking, and often when you do, it heals your own pain. I had a request from some former co-workers to kill a manager who treated us all badly. I made him my next murder victim (slightly disguised so I wouldn't get sued), and I felt much better. Afterward when the former co-workers had read the book, they thanked me and asked me to kill him again! I didn't really need to, though, because I had written my way out of it and moved on to other victims.
Keep notes. Observe the stories unfolding in life with an eye toward using them or just to exercise your curiosity and you'll never be bored.
Who is one of your favorite writers, and how does he/she inspire you as a writer?
Terry Pratchett is my favorite. He can make me laugh and think about serious things at the same time. His Discworld is as fantastical a setting as you can imagine, yet I feel as if I know the characters and learn from them.
Word Association. What comes to mind when you see the following words:
BRIDE OF THE LIVING DEAD: Finding her inner Bridezilla!
FAMILY: Protect
LOVE: Harmony
FAT: Tasty
WRITING: My passion
LYNNE MURRAY: My self
What projects are you currently working on?
I'm exploring Urban Paranormal realms now. I'm doing revisions on a vampire novel where some of the vampires shop at the Big and Tall Store and generally look like real people instead of slinky supermodels. When that's done, I'll return to my work-in-progress, a ghost story that has a romance as well as vampires and some other paranormal critters.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
ROMANCE READERS ~ Lend Me Your Thoughts!
To All READERS of ROMANCE FICTION!
I would love your input on a pilot study I'm conducting titled "Romancing the Reader: Preferences of the Romance Fiction Reader." With this pilot study, I seek answers to several questions, to include:
1- Why do women read romance fiction?
2- Is there a difference in the reading/purchasing habits of romance fiction readers depending on race?
3- What aspects of romance fiction do readers enjoy most?
4- What problems do readers find with romance fiction?
5- Do women read romance fiction from authors outside their race?
6- Does age of reader affect 1) reading of romance novels and 2) reading of romance novels across race?
For this pilot study, I am administering a survey, which is located on Survey Monkey [http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/romancefiction]. The survey should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete and consists of 26 questions on romance reading preferences and demographical information.
Names will not be used in the study. If you agree to participate in the study, please go to Survey Monkey [http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/romancefiction] where you will first read the consent form before completing the survey.
You can contact me at shon.bacon@ttu.edu if you have any questions.
I thank you all in advance for considering my request.
"Romancing the Reader: Preferences of the Romance Fiction Reader"
Survey ~ http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/romancefiction
The Heart of the Matter: Interview with Author Rachel Coyne
Rachel Coyne is a collector of vintage editions of Jane Eyre, a devotee of Pablo Neruda and a lover of Don Williams songs. She is a graduate of the Perpich Center for Arts, a public arts high school in Golden Valley, Minnesota and Macalester College.
Whiskey Heart, Coyne’s debut novel, is the heart felt, sometimes uncomfortably truthful story of Kat Lovely. Kat returns to her Minnesota roots and her dysfunctional extended family to find both recovery and redemption. She has to hit bottom and find a way to grieve for everything that's been lost before she can live again.
"Coyne understands the human heart - she knows all the dark corners, twisted by the heat and hurt of love, and she knows the odd paths back from ruin. I couldn't put it down." -Jonis Agee
“Whiskey Heart lays bare the destructive power of family love, and yet Coyne’s voice – as clear and sweet as water – charges the novel with a visionary light. Rich in character, place and incident, the story moves like fate towards its final chapter.” -Lin Enger
Imagine the movie poster for your novel, WHISKEY HEART. What's the logline?
Love is a familiar stranger.
Expand on that logline by pitching us WHISKEY HEART.
Arriving home after years apart from her family, Kat Lovely tries to piece her life together by finally putting to rest her beloved cousin Tea. Charged with cleaning Tea’s rooms, giving away her possessions and finalizing her tragically incomplete life is almost more than Kat can bear – even years after her cousins death. Haunting Kat most are the stories her family tells, that resurrect Tea’s last days, even as she dismantles her life.
What was the spark that initiated the idea behind WHISKEY HEART?
All my works usually start with a clear “flash” of insight into my main character. I hear their voice and I love them deeply and I go from there, usually writing out all of the conversations first.
Talk to us about the writing process for WHISKEY HEART. Was it a fast write? Did you outline first or just sit and crank out the story?
I started this novel when I was fifteen and still in high school. I’m not a fast writer – my recent projects are going faster, but I still take a lot of time. What I typically do is write whatever I want in whatever order I want. I write the scenes that really grab me first. I don’t usually outline, except for reminders of the next few scenes, if I don’t have time to get everything done at once. I generate a lot of conversations, then I add action scenes. Then I usually put everything in chronological order and start typing from there. I stay pretty sequential after that – from page one to page 200. The process of typing out the conversations and the scenes usually reveals I’m light on descriptions or need a few extra scenes. So I add those. Once I have a typed draft things get easy again – I read everything aloud dozens of times and change things to flow nicely to the ear. At heart I’m a poet, so the language itself remains critically important.
If you were asked to describe your writing philosophy, how would you answer?
Find ways to make it easy on yourself. I don’t believe the process needs to be painful. It is work yes, but it shouldn’t be overwhelming work. If you feel overwhelmed, try a new approach until you find something that works for you.
What are you doing to promote WHISKEY HEART?
All through college I worked at a well-known independent bookstore called the Hungry Mind. This was the place for big names promoting books in Minnesota to give readings from Rick Bragg to Hilary Clinton to Isabelle Allende. I attended hundreds of readings of all sorts while I worked there and I still love them. So I’m trying to do as many readings as possible. I know this isn’t the most favored approach these days – and I do use social media. But I try to use the social media to encourage people to attend the readings, to meet me and hear me read aloud.
What are three pieces of advice you would offer writers wanting to get published?
- Expect a lot of rejection and don’t take it personally.
- Prepare for a long haul and have a day job you love (because life is too short).
- When you do get an editor or agent, be open to what they have to say about your work. Selling a first book is not an instant ticket to fame – you need to be easy to work with if you want to keep selling books.
Who is one of your favorite writers, and how does he/she inspire you as a writer?
Charlotte Bronte is an easy choice for me. I have loved her since I was a child. There is such a singular richness to her characters – I am always striving for that clarity of voice when I write.
Word Association. What comes to mind when you see the following words:
WHISKEY HEART: Family
FAMILY: Brothers and sisters
LIFE: Leaving
WRITING: Comfort
RACHEL L. COYNE: Voice
What projects are you currently working on?
My first published work was a children’s book – a poem. These days I write exclusively in the long form (but I still try to make the text read lyrically like a poem). I am just finishing the first typed draft of a new novel called The Patron Saint of Lost Comfort Lake. It is set in the same part of Minnesota as Whiskey Heart with some of the same themes related to family and alcoholism.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Latest Commentary: Components of a Good Writing Workshop
Are you interested in starting a writing workshop? If so, check out my latest commentary at The Blood-Red Pencil, "Components of a Good Writing Workshop" [link].
What are those components? Well, I discuss three: a great moderator, an appropriate size for the workshop, and rules for the workshop; however, feel free to read my commentary and post your own experiences with writing workshops.
We learn by sharing with one another.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Heating up the Page with Author Terra Little
Terra Little is the author of "Running from Mercy" (2008); "Where There's Smoke" (2009); "Where There's Smoke 2: When the Smoke Clears" (2010); and "JUMP" (2011). She currently resides in Missouri with her teenage daughter, and works in education and social service. Hang out with Terra online at www.terralittle.com and terralittle.blogspot.com to learn more about her work and see what else she's up to.
After a few ups and downs, Alec “Smoke” Avery and Anne Phillips have found a rhythm they can both groove to, and they’ve made a love connection. But just when they think they can finally settle down and tie the knot, their past comes back to haunt them in ways they never imagined. When the smoke finally clears, truths will have to be told and Anne will have to accept the fact that she and Smoke are more alike than she cares to admit.
What is your earliest memory of your love for writing?
Honestly, my earliest memory is so early I don't even remember it. All I know is that I was always running around with a pencil and paper in my hands, trying to write something and coming up with ideas for what that something would be. I do remember writing a "complete book" when I was in middle school - hand written and about five hundred sheets of loose leaf paper, it was. And my aunt recently showed me a letter I wrote her when I was something like eleven, telling her that I planned to have already written the "great American novel" by the time I graduated from high school. So I guess I must've been pretty young when the idea first took root.
Why do you think this love of writing manifested itself in you?
I have no earthly idea. Sometimes I wonder that myself, especially when I'm going through one of my "is this really what I'm meant to do" stages. I guess because it takes a little bit of everything to make the world go round and in every generation people are designated to do certain things. I like to think I was born to write, when I'm not going through one of my "is this what I'm meant to do" phases, that is.
I know that writing is something that you always seemed to carry within you. Despite that, you went on to earn BS degrees in criminology and sociology and a master’s degree in counseling. You also earned a paralegal certificate and a phlebotomy certificate. During this time, I'm sure writing was still a part of you, but why do you think you didn't "heed the call" and jump feet first into becoming a full-fledged writer?
Plain and simple? Life got in the way and I didn't have a clue how to get it out of the way. I had a child when I was eighteen and then it was all about putting food on the table and keeping a roof over my daughter's head. College was put on hold and I worked so many entry level jobs it was crazy. That's how I ended up with a phlebotomy certificate, a paralegal certificate and I also worked as a certified nursing assistant for a few years, too. I didn't know what the heck I wanted to do with my life. Not that there's anything wrong with an honest day's work, because there isn't. I just happened to always be struggling to make ends meet and when you're consumed with how you're going to pay rent, utilities, buy food and shoes for your kid - all out of one paycheck - stress is the name of the game. I had tunnel vision - survive by any means necessary. I forgot for a while that I once had dreams of being a writer and it took me an even longer while to remember. Then I decided to make time to write or else die a slow death from being deprived of something so vital to my existence.
I think “Life happening” is a cause for many would-be writers’ long journey to writing.
From From Where There’s Smoke 2: When the Smoke Clears...Alec and Anne, on what it takes to sustain a honest, healthy and loving relationship…
ANNE
After I disconnected from Smoke’s psycho ex-girlfriend, I decided to bypass stopping to have a manicure and pedicure in favor of going straight home, where Smoke was waiting for me. We were planning on taking in a movie and having a romantic dinner afterward, but that was out the window now, wasn’t it?
As far as Diana Daniels was concerned, one thing she needed to hurry up and learn about me was that I hadn’t let a woman get the best of me in over twenty years and I wasn’t about to start now. Smoke was a different story though. He had obviously been getting the best of me for a hot little minute now and here I was too blind to see it.
I dropped my briefcase on the bed, checked to make sure Iris was sleeping soundly and then I followed the sound of the shower into the bathroom adjoining our bedroom. I stood there for a few minutes, watching him move around behind the frosted glass and taking deep breaths, so I wouldn’t lose it and plug in a hair dryer. Then I made a Bill Bixby-Incredible Hulk, turning green because I’m furious move.
I scared the shit out of Smoke, opening the shower door the way I did. He spun around with his mouth hanging open and his package swinging. “Woman, you were about to get a beat-down, running up on a brotha like that.”
I didn’t smile when he smiled, nor did I take a deep relieved breath when he took a deep relieved breath. Instead, I stepped halfway inside the shower and slapped the shit out of Smoke. Then I said, “Diana said for me to tell you it’s a boy. Congratu-damn-lations.”
He came tripping out of the bathroom with a towel pressed up against the family jewels and dripping all over the carpet. “Run that by me again?”
I ignored him and kept on doing what I was doing, which was easing Iris off of our bed and into my arms. I stood still and waited for her to settle back into sleep and then I tiptoed her down the hallway to her own room. When I came back to our bedroom, Smoke was stepping into boxers and eyeing the doorway warily. I closed the door behind me, stepped out of my heels and shrugged off my jacket; took my earrings off and laid them on the armoire. Then I rushed Smoke like a Stealth Bomber.
“What the hell…”
I succeeded in driving him back into the dresser before he caught my hands and tried to pull me into him. I wasn’t aware that I had started crying until I pushed him away from me and had to wipe my face with my hands, so I could see him clearly. “I love you, Anne. I want to be with you, Anne. I don’t want anyone but you, Anne. Marry me, Anne. Isn’t that the shit you said to me, Smoke?”
“I know what I said. Baby, listen to me, this is not what it looks like, okay?”
He came toward me with his hands out and I stopped him with a look. “If dying right here and now is what you want to do, then you go right ahead and put your hands on me.”
“I haven’t been creeping around with Diana the whole time we’ve been together. If she said that, she was lying.”
“Oh, I got that part, Smoke. The silly whore was only too happy to tell me that she had my man twice and apparently, this last time she got,” I paused to punch him in his chest, “pregnant. So not only were you screwing her, but you were screwing her without protection. Bringing that whore home to share with me!”
“That’s not how it was.”
“So you didn’t screw her twice?”
“Yes, but…”
“And you used condoms both times?”
His mouth opened, snapped shut, and then opened again. “No, but…”
“So you willingly put my life in danger. Is that right?”
“If you would just listen to me for a minute, I can explain. I wasn’t running around with Diana behind your back. What happened between her and I was nothing. Didn’t mean shit to me.”
“But you did it anyway.” I pushed a hand through my locks and closed my eyes against fresh tears. I couldn’t believe I was standing here, letting him see how devastated I was. Couldn’t believe something like this was what it took for me to realize how completely I had given myself to him. Couldn’t believe… “Two times, Smoke? You can call one time a mistake, but two? You knew what you were doing. You went to her looking for sex.”
“I didn’t go to Diana looking for anything. She kept coming to me and I…”
“Gladly gave her what she came for.”
“…made a mistake.” He searched my face. “Okay, two mistakes.”
A thought crossed my mind and I pointed behind me to the bed. “Where? Please don’t tell me you brought her here, because I swear to god I will strike a match up in here.”
“She came to my school. Five minutes tops, both times. It meant nothing, Anne.”
“Meant enough for you to get her pregnant, Smoke.”
Suddenly I was tired. Exhausted, really. I sank down to the bed and let my face fall into my hands. It took me a few minutes to collect my thoughts and set them straight, but I finally managed to calm down enough to accomplish the task. I was too outdone, I mean really thrown for a loop, and it showed on my face as I propped my head up on my fists and stared at Smoke long and hard.
He mistook my silence for acceptance. “It was nothing.”
“I changed my whole life for you,” I said softly. “I sold a business I built from the ground up and walked away from an entire life for you. And this is what I get?”
“I made some changes, too.”
I looked around me with big eyes. “Like what? You sure didn’t give up other women, as far as I can tell. You still have your house, your career and all of your friends and family. Hell, you even got another baby out of the deal. Diana isn’t the only one who got screwed here, Smoke, but at least that whore got some good sex out of it.” I lifted my hands and let them fall. “I got to feel like the fool of the century.”
“I love you.”
“Sure you do,” I said as I pushed to my feet and scrubbed my hands across my face. “You have a strange way of showing it. Excuse me.” I went to step around him, but he stepped with me and blocked my way. I stared at his chest. “I said, excuse me.”
“Say it back to me.”
“Oh my god, please don’t start this right now. You ought to know I’m not in the damn mood, okay?”
“Say it back to me.”
“Get out of my way, Smoke.”
“You can’t, can you?”
“I don’t need this right now.”
“What do you need?”
“To pee, first of all,” I said, still staring at his chest. “And then I need to get as far away from you as humanly possible.”
“So you’re leaving?”
“Yep.” I took a deep breath and nodded resolutely. “I’m leaving.”
“This is convenient as hell for you, isn’t it? You’ve been looking for a way out ever since you came here.”
“Was I looking for this mythical way out before or after I sold my house and my business? Or was it before or after I got pregnant? Yeah, that’s what I thought. So don’t try to run game on me. You did this, not me. Now I’m going to ask you one more time and then I’m going to lose my mind on your ass. Get out of my way.”
“You don’t even want to know why I did what I did?”
“It’s enough just knowing you did it. I don’t need to know why.”
“Look at me.”
I tipped my head back and met his eyes, hopefully for the last time. We breathed in the smell of each other’s breath and stared each other down. “What?”
“Do you need me for anything? I mean, other than for taking the trash out and laying the pipe to you when you’re in the mood, do you need me for anything else?”
That was actually funny enough to make me laugh. I took a step back, raised my eyebrows at him and…laughed. “You have got to be kidding me. You go out and sleep around on me, you get somebody else pregnant and you want to make this about me?”
“It’s not just about you, sweetheart. This is about us and what’s going on here in this house. About the fact that you don’t need anybody for anything, least of all me. You can’t even bring yourself to tell me you love me, which tells me that you don’t. Either that or you can’t.”
“What part of washing your damn drawers, cooking your damn meals and cleaning your damn house isn’t love? What part of kissing you in the morning before you brush your teeth and massaging your back until my fingers cramp isn’t love? What part, Smoke?” I bent over at the waist and pressed the heels of my hands against my eyes, feeling like I was about pass out. This mess was making me lightheaded. “I swear to god I don’t need this.” I slapped at Smoke’s chest until he finally stepped aside and let me by.
“That’s what was messing with my head, Anne. I had a woman at home that I loved like I ain’t never thought about loving a woman who wasn’t my damn mama, but I was still thinking all the way to the left. Tripping off of you not being able to look me in my face and tell me you love me. You not needing me to be or do nothing for you. And what about the wall you have around you, every damn minute of the day and all damn night? A brotha can’t break that mug down for nothing.”
“A brotha exaggerates.” I turned on the faucet and splashed cold water on my face. “Kiss my ass, Smoke.”
“You’re not hearing me, Anne. I think you do that on purpose, too. I need you to see if you can dig this, though. You listening?”
I stopped patting my face dry long enough to give him my eyes. “I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
Smoke backed away from the bathroom doorway, chuckling and shaking his head at the same time. Looking at me like I was the one with the problem, like I was slow in comprehending something important.
“I’m feeling like I’m not needed. Some days more than others, but that’s beside the point. The point is, I’m feeling like I’m not needed, like whatever it is I’m doing for you ain’t enough. How can I help falling for the okey-doke, Anne? I have to get my needs met somewhere.”
“And once again, Smoke, it’s all about you and what you need, what you want. Well, you know what? You needed to mess with Diana, so you must’ve wanted me to leave. Mission accomplished.”
“See, this is…forget it. You know what?” He held up a finger and moved out of my line of sight. I heard him rumbling around in the closet and then he was back with my carryall. He tossed it on the floor in front of him and pointed to it. “You want to leave? Go. But trip off of this for a minute, baby. Your bag is already packed!” He kicked my carryall so hard it left the floor and slammed into the wall beside the doorway. “I wonder why?”
Without missing a beat, I said, “This is why.”
ALEC
“Where are you going?”
To be such a little thing, damned if Anne didn’t move like a speed demon. She raced down the hallway, zigzagged through the den and skidded into the living room, looking around like she was seriously considering jumping out of the nearest window to get away from me. Or else looking for something to knock me unconscious with. She saw me coming after her and spun on her heels, heading for the kitchen. I jumped over the coffee table and almost managed to grab a handful of the silky tank top she was wearing before she kicked it into overdrive.
We faced off across the kitchen table, both of us breathing hard. “I asked you where you were going, woman.”
“I’m leaving your castle, King Smoke.”
“What?”
“You heard me, Negro.”
She went to pressing on her chest and sucking in mouthfuls of air, turning on the dramatics. I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. “Don’t start hyperventilating. This is not the time for you to be…”
“See, there you go again, telling me what to do. I don’t think you should do this, Anne. And that doesn’t sound like a good idea, Anne. Or I don’t want Zay doing this or that. You don’t stop to ask me anything, Smoke. You just hand down your decision and expect me to go along with it. You’re talking this shit about me not needing you, but you haven’t stopped to think about the fact that you don’t need me to need you. You don’t give me time to tell you I need you before you come charging in and taking care of everything.”
“Oh, so now I’m wrong for handling my business, running my household and being a man for you?” This was getting better and better. More and more, I was convinced that women didn’t know what the hell they wanted from men. At least the one standing in front of me didn’t. “If I was one of those brothas who sat around on their asses all day and couldn’t keep a job, you’d be whining about that. If I didn’t come to the door and run those damn Jehovah’s Witnesses off, you’d be saying I don’t have any balls. If you had to tell me to take the trash out or when to take your car in for servicing, you’d be telling everybody you know that you have three kids, instead of two. What do you want from me?”
“I want you to stop stomping around here, issuing orders and giving commands,” she had the nerve to say. “I was perfectly capable of thinking for myself and making sound decisions before we started doing whatever this is we’re doing and believe it or not, I can still manage to do it now. Plus, I don’t know where the hell my daddy is, but you’re not him.”
“Your daddy?”
“Yeah, my daddy.”
I thought about that for a minute while I looked out the kitchen window and chewed on my bottom lip. I had a sudden urge for some water, so I took a glass down from a cabinet, filled it with tap water, and stared at her over the rim of the glass as I drank every last drop. Then I set the glass in the sink, scratched the back of my neck and took the gloves off. They came off calmly and in a rational voice, but they still came off. I figured it was time.
“Maybe if your ass wasn’t forever moping around, depressed about every damn thing under the sun and feeling victimized every time somebody raises their voice, I’d come to you about things. Shit, by the time I wake you up from one of your psychotic episodes the crisis is long over with. Am I supposed to wait for the Prozac to kick in and make you normal before I take the initiative and handle the situation?”
The way Anne narrowed her eyes to slits and hissed at me told me that I had hit a sore spot. Giant tears popped out of her eyes and rolled down her face without her even realizing they were there. She was too busy wishing me dead to take notice. Now, I thought, now we’re getting somewhere.
“Go to hell, Smoke,” she sobbed. “Go to hell, okay? I don’t take Prozac and you know it. I refused the prescription for an anti-depressant because I’m not depressed. I…”
“The hell you’re not. You sleep too much, you’re antisocial and you stopped enjoying life months ago,” I cut her off, my voice large and in-charge.
“So what?”
“So you need to deal with your past and quit thinking up ways to avoid it. You can sleep forty days and forty nights, but when you wake up your mother and sister are still going to be there.”
“And so is Diana, because for some odd reason you can’t shake off that whore to save your life.” She snatched a set of keys off the hook by the door and pointed a shaky finger at me. “You and the rest of these mixed up Negro men out here, with your high-yellow women and your self-hatred. You make me sick.”
I took two steps back and feinted against the refrigerator, wondering if I had heard her right. My eyes stretched big with shock. “And ain’t nothing wrong with black women?” She got quiet and offended. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. You and the rest of your big, strong black women. The ones that claim they don’t need a man, but have vibrators in every shape, size and color under the bed. It’s you chicks who are keeping the Energizer bunny in business. What you sistas need to do is recognize when you have good men and sit your asses down and let your men be men. You can’t run every damn thing and I don’t even know why you would want to. Then, the minute a brotha walks out, you want to cry about not being able to find a good man. Now that’s what makes me sick. Hell, if god meant for a woman to do everything by herself, he would’ve given her balls, too. But he didn’t and here’s the catch, baby. This is one brotha who ain’t giving his up.”
“So it’s your way or the highway, right?”
“In a pink Cadillac,” I said and had to laugh.
She twirled her melodramatic ass out the door and left it standing wide open. It took me a minute of staring at the key hook to realize that something was out of order about it. Took me another ten seconds to figure out exactly what that something was.
“Shit!” I felt shock waves coursing through my body as I watched Anne almost sideswipe my new truck. She was backing it out of the garage and not looking where the hell she was going. Too busy flipping me the bird and gunning the motor like she had lost her mind. I didn’t even drive my truck like that. “Woman, if you jack up my truck, I swear to god…”
“God ain’t got shit to do with the fact that you lie, Smoke.” She took off down the street, screaming out the window. “You lie, you lie, you lie…”
I took off running after my truck. “This shit ain’t over, Anne!”
I was standing in the middle of the street in silk boxers and nothing else, screaming after a truck and a lunatic woman that I couldn’t even see anymore. “This shit ain’t over! You hear me!”
“How you doing, Mr. Avery?”
I looked at the little chump who lived across the street from me. Kenny something or other. Isaiah ran around with him sometimes, when he was home from school. The idiot didn’t have the sense god gave a goose. Working three minimum wage jobs when he needed to be in somebody’s college. At the very least in trade school, learning how to do something besides flip burgers and throw boxes into the backs of trucks. And he had the nerve to be cheesing at me like I was the one with the problem.
“Boy, don’t you have a dead end job you need to be at?” I sucked my teeth all the way back inside the house and slammed the door behind me.
Goddamn kids.
Monday, March 01, 2010
Message from an Author: Niobia Bryant
Niobia Bryant-the red-hot author of Live and Learn and Show and Tell-delivers a sexy, unforgettable novel about love, infidelity, and the importance of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer...
Through good times and bad, longtime friends Jaime, Renee, Aria, and Jessa have shared just about everything. But all hell breaks loose when Jessa texts them a shocking revelation: she's been sharing her bed-with one of their husbands. To make matters worse, she refuses to name which husband she's been cheating with. And all three wives have reason to worry...
Jaime wonders if her own past infidelity drove her man into Jessa's waiting arms...Renee thinks her busy career opened the door for Jessa to step in and fulfill her wifely duties...and Aria fears her competitive relationship with Jessa pushed her so-called friend to claim the ultimate prize in revenge.
The betrayed trio vow to stick together. But before the identity of Jessa's lover is revealed, each woman's deepest secrets will be exposed for all to see-and they'll need each other more than ever.
Message from a Mistress is your 15th novel since you started your career as a published author in 2000. What was the inspiration behind this book and its storyline of a woman sending a text message to alert her friends of her affair with one of their husbands?
My first book that was published ten years ago was a romance and I enjoyed--and still enjoy--telling these really great stories about the love a black woman and black man have for each other. But I always wanted to tell more drama driven fictional stories where there was no guarantee of a happy ending. Where people dealt with real meaty and complex issues in their lives. So I had to one day cross over into the commercial or mainstream fiction genre.
Message from a Mistress is my third mainstream work and it is a look at the dynamics of both marriage and friendship and how they can be affected by secrets, lies and betrayals. My main inspiration was not just to deliver drama and scandal but to really travel the road many marriages take that leads to that ultimate betrayal and then to examine the effects of it. More than my previous mainstreams novels, I truly believe that Message from a Mistress is the one that most captures the reason why I wanted to write more than just romance fiction.
Message from a Mistress was loosely inspired by the 1940's film A Letter to Three Wives, and your Hoodwives series was inspired by the television show Desperate Housewives on ABC… it seems that you find inspiration in TV and film to influence your writing. Are you inspired to tell stories that share views of what women of color aka "sistahs" would do in particular scenarios?
Definitely. Although the vast majority of my books are completely original I have been influenced by my own desire to see “you know what would a sistah do in this same situation.”
For the Hoodwives series, my co-author and I were like “Desperate? Puh-leeze. Living in a beautiful subdivision in a great neighborhood? They want desperate? How about the wives in the projects? We’ll show you desperation.” The idea for the series was born and then we came up with four original storylines for the wives.
I loved, loved, loved the movie “A Letter to Three Wives”. I enjoyed the concept of three wives learning that their mutual friend has run off with one of their husbands and then have the entire day to ponder which one of them has been betrayed. It’s really clever and it intrigued on so many levels. So I wanted to modernize the story and give it some new perspectives-- like adding the wives having secrets of their own. I really just wanted to see where I could go with it. Again the general premise is the same but the actual stories for each character are original and I had a lot of fun bringing those characters to life in Message from a Mistress.
You write in 4 genres… and are signed to 3 different publishing houses... very impressive…how did that happen for you?
I am definitely ambitious and very focused on living my dreams. The same way that I write in different genres, I read different genres. Black, white, whatever. From non-fiction by Cornel West to street-lit by Donald Goines. Sci-fi, young adult fiction, romance, commercial fiction, literary fiction and those like Tina McElroy Ansa and Gloria Naylor who have found a nice blend of commercial and literary fiction--I read it all. I wanted to try my hand at a lot of it. People always say to write what you enjoy. Well, I enjoy a lot of different things and it transitioned over into my writing.
I started out in romance because I did my research and discovered it was easier to get published without agent in this particular genre. Those books did well and I eventual got the agent. I had these different stories in me that I wanted in print so I came up with proposals over the years and my agent got to work making the deals happen.
This year you are nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for Best African American Romance for your 9th full length romance novel "Make You Mine" as well as the Best Steamy Romance in the 2010 Emma Award presented by Romance Slam Jam. Congratulations on those accolades. As a national bestselling author, how important are these award nominations to you?
The award nominations are great. They are testament that the hard work you put into a book is appreciated and respected. It’s a great way, besides having a great sell through percentage, to know that you’re getting it done; that people enjoy what you’re doing. I’ve been up for a lot of awards in the past ten years and I’ve won some, but I’m always just as excited as if it was my very first nomination because I have great passion and love for this writing game.
For someone who is celebrating her 10-year anniversary in book publishing and has over 15 novels of your own, what is your greatest achievement to date and what would you like to accomplish in the next 10 years?
I think the fact that I once dreamed of getting published and having just one book deal and to now have four is a great achievement for me. I’m a girl from a single-parent household from Newark, NJ who use to sit on the back of the public bus and tell stories to my friends and anyone who would listen. I used to write short stories in my notebook. I used to say I will have a book published before I turn a certain age. I did it. But I have even more dreams. I am a national bestseller which means I have hit some bestseller lists across the country but I definitely want to hit the New York Times or USA Today. Also, like any other author I would like to see one of my books turned into a major movie or television show. So in a nutshell, New York Times and a movie deal. Point blank, those two things are definitely on my to-do list.
Monday, February 15, 2010
The Color of Romance with Author Gwyneth Bolton
Gwyneth Bolton was born and raised in Paterson, New Jersey. She currently lives in Syracuse, New York with her husband Cedric. When she was 12-years-old, she became an avid reader of romance novels by sneaking her mother's stash of Harlequin and Silhouette novels. In the 90s, she was introduced to African American and multicultural romance novels and her life hasn't been the same since. She has a BA and an MA in English/Creative Writing and a Ph.D. in English/Composition and Rhetoric. She teaches classes in writing and women's studies at the university level. She has won several awards for her romance novels, including five Emma Awards and the Romance In Color Reviewer's Choice award for new author of the year. She is the author of eight novels and a novella. When she is not teaching or working on her own African American romance novels, she is curled up with a cup of herbal tea, a warm quilt, and a good book.
Some like it hot...
Firefighter Patrick Hightower will take any risk in the line of duty. Risking his heart again? That’s something he’s vowed never to do. He prefers scorching affairs—the briefer, the better—though he might make a temporary exception for smart, sexy teacher Aisha Miller. But Aisha isn’t interested in exploring their instant, searing connection—no matter how much she feels the heat.
Aisha has had enough of dominant men trying to control her life, and the gorgeous firefighter who visits her kindergarten class is alpha male through and through. Yet the gentler side Patrick shows, especially around her young son, gradually melts her reserve. As shadows from Aisha’s past resurface, she’ll discover just how far Patrick will go to prove she’s found her real-life hero.
Click the cover above to purchase YOUR copy of Sizzling Seduction today!
The Interview
SIZZLING SEDUCTION. Make us burn to read your latest work!
Patrick Hightower is used to putting out fires. However, a sweet and sexy kindergarten teacher breaks through his protective shield and makes him think it might be more fun starting a fire instead. Sizzling Seduction is a slow burning love story that steadily rises to an uncontrollable passionate heat. It’s a story about trust and learning to love again.
SIZZLING SEDUCTION is the final book in your four-part Hightower Honor series. How did the series/idea come about?
The series started with an image of a funeral/wake. I got a vision of Penny, the heroine of the first novel in the series, at the wake for her deceased grandmother and she was nervous about possibly running into her ex-boyfriend. Of course—evil writer that I am—I had to make her face that fear right away! That’s when the sweet but tortured Jason Hightower came into my vision. As I probed his character more, I found his fine-fine-fine older brothers and a family legacy of cops and firemen. Needless to say, I was very pleased and a series was born about men who protect and serve, but most of all love passionately and completely.
What type of writer are you? Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I’m a little of both actually. I used to write a novel about halfway through without plotting and then I would have to plot out the rest of it to finish it. That’s how I wrote my first three novels, I’m Gonna Make You Love Me, If Only You Knew and Divine Destiny. Now that I’ve sold a few novels by proposal and the novel is technically plotted out already in the proposal, I have to give myself serious critical distance from the proposal after I write it and write as if I am still pantsing it. Then usually about halfway through the writing, I have to revisit my proposal to finish writing the novel. Strange… I know…
What's your favorite thing about SIZZLING SEDUCTION?
My favorite thing about Sizzling Seduction is the overriding themes that even when you have given up on ever finding true love there is always a chance that true love will find you.
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THE THREES
What three adjectives best describe SIZZLING SEDUCTION?
Hot, Hotter, Hottest
What three adjectives best describe YOU?
Funny, shy, crazy
What are your three guilty pleasures?
Food Network, General Hospital (I-mean-Sonny-shot-his-own-son-come-on), Lays Potato Chips
What three authors or books propelled you into wanting to write romance novels? Why?
There are really too many to name. Three authors whose down-to-earth, funny and sexy writing styles helped me to realize that there was a place in the genre for the kinds of love stories I wanted to tell were Leslie Esdaile, Adrianne Byrd and Niobia Bryant. Three authors who I admire and want to be when I grow up are Brenda Jackson, Jennifer Crusie and Beverly Jenkins.
What three things can you NOT live without?
Love, Books, Music
What are the three pieces of advice you would give to a black writer trying to break into the romance publishing world?
1- Never give up.
2- Keep honing your craft.
3- Find your voice and perfect it.
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Why romance?
I’m a sucker for love. Seriously, love stories had me at “hello.” I don’t know why but I’ve always had a soft spot for a well-told love story and I hope that never changes. I’ve found some of the most satisfying reads ever in romance novels. And that’s saying a lot because I was an English major for my BA, MA and PhD. So, I have read a lot of books!
What do you hope readers come away with after reading one of your books?
I hope that readers come away from my novels having experienced a full range of emotions. I want them to laugh, cry and have an “oh-no-he-or-she-didn’t-moment.” I know this sounds bad… But when I get e-mail from readers and they tell me that a particular scene in one of my novels made them cry, I get elated. I also get elated when they say that they laughed out loud, or they were talking to the characters. But if they shed a tear, that’s golden. Because it means I did my job. I made them care. I want readers to walk away with a sigh, feeling like they had an emotionally satisfying reading experience.
Black Romance - how much recognition, status do black romance novels have today?
Not nearly enough in my opinion. I consider myself to be a hardcore devoted romance reader. I read romance across race. Not everyone does, however. There are some folks who won’t read a romance novel if it has black characters or was written by a black author. That’s really a shame because they are missing the wonderful novels of A. C. Arthur, Ann Christopher, Phyllis Bourne, Deatri King-Bey, Victoria Wells, Iris Bolling, Shelia Goss, Celeste Norfleet, Maureen Smith, Wayne Jordan, Dara Girard, Patricia Saergent, Michelle Monkou… So many talented African American writers crafting beautiful black love stories…
What stigma (if any) do you see from those who talk about black romance novels?
I think there are layers of stigma. There is the general romance stigma that all romance novels—no matter the race of the author or characters—experience. That stigma is one that belittles romance and derides it because it is genre fiction. This stigma usually goes hand-in-hand with either: Romance porn for women. Happily-ever-after is unrealistic. Romance is not real fiction… These are the general stigmas for romance in general. Since African American romance doesn’t exist in a social-cultural bubble, it has to deal with these stigmas too. But African American romance novels also have to deal with stigma from some readers who don’t want to read African American romances because of race. Some of these readers feel that African American romances won’t be as well written as mainstream romance or that they will have a lot of slang, preach about racial injustice, etc. Basically, it’s a stigma based in racial biases…
How can black romance novels break the stigma, rise to the significance that they deserve?
That’s the million-dollar question. If only I knew the answer to that one… But I would urge skeptics of romance in general to try reading a few. They’ll find some well-written, phenomenal stories, some of the best. And for people who are letting cultural biases stop them from reading African American romances, I would urge them to try a few. There are so many talented African American romance authors, so many gifted voices; it would be ashamed to miss out…
In addition to being a fabulous romance author, you are also a professor who examines gender, writing, race, and rhetoric. Do you often feel you are living two separate lives: the academic and the saucy romance novelist?
Not only do I feel like I am living two different lives, I really do feel like I am two very different people… and no I’m not crazy. I just think when I’m in Gwyneth Bolton mode, I really am very different than when I’m in Gwendolyn D. Pough. I really am living two different lives and I love them both! LOL.
How do your academic interests blend with your creative works? Do they?
I don’t think I do it consciously. That would be too didactic and not fun to read or write. But I do think some of my academic interests find their way in. For example, as a black feminist cultural critic, I have tendency to make some of my heroines black feminists or hip-hop feminists every now and then. As a rhetorician, issues of language also find their way into my novels on varying levels.
What do you do with ALL that spare time...after you've been the great writer, professor, and wife?
That’s a trick question, right? I think someone ran away with all my spare time, because I can’t find it anywhere. If found… please send my spare time back to me. LOL.
Sizzling Seduction: The Movie! Who would play firefighter Patrick Hightower and the smart, sexy teacher Aisha Miller in the movie?
That’s an easy one! Lamman Rucker has always been Patrick Hightower in my mind. And Lark Voorhies (the all grown-up Lark, not the teenage Save by the Bell Lark) would be the perfect Aisha Miller.
What can fans expect to see from you next?
My next novel is a part of Kimani Romance’s yearlong promotion where it’s all about the heroes, Kimani Hotties. The novel, Make It Last Forever, will be released in August 2010. It is a steamy contemporary romance with just a hint of magical realism thrown in. It is a novel about soul mates and a love that transcends time, space and place.
The Excerpt
From Sizzling Seduction...
Some men just take up all the space and air in the room with their very presence. And given the fact that Aisha had purposely sworn off of such men until the end of time, she really had no business noticing how he stood out in a sea of people or the pronounced lack of oxygen that had her pursing her lips and swallowing.
Tall dark and handsome had nothing on this towering wall of muscles or the way he filled out that navy blue and white uniform. She didn’t think she had a thing for men in uniform. Who knew the sight of thick muscular thighs and strong pipes for arms all encased in those official and authoritative clothing could send a woman’s heart racing like this?
She tried to focus on other things in the firehouse.
The truck? Look at it all red and shiny and pretty. Nope that didn’t take my mind of him. The engine…
Just listen to the words. Focus on the words. Focus on my students. Ignore this man.
As if she could…
“Stay away from hot things that can hurt!” Her kindergarten students yelled the words at the top of their little lungs as they repeated after the young fireman who had just given them a tour of the fire station.
Their guide was in his early twenties and seemed to be having just as much fun as the kids. He didn’t look bad in his uniform either. Maybe she could try and focus on him.
Nope, even the cute little tender-roni fireman guide couldn’t distract her from him.
She glanced at Toni in her outrageous purple and orange get-up trying to catch the young firefighters eye by flirtingly repeating after him with the children. Surely Toni’s antics should have wrestled her attention from the sexy fire captain. Toni batted her eyes and Aisha’s eyes went right back to the fire captain.
Dang!
Aisha couldn’t help it. She stared at the sexy, very hot fire captain who was standing there watching them all. Captain Hightower. He’d said his name was Captain Patrick Hightower. She wondered why he was still in the room. He wasn’t giving them the tour. Last year when she’d brought her students for a tour the highest ranking officer on duty introduced himself, gave them a welcome and hightailed it out of there leaving it up to the young rookie to do the grunt work. Captain Hightower seemed determined to stick around and check her out.
She wondered if the sexy fire captain counted as a hot thing that could hurt her.
She glanced at him. Tall. Rock-hard. Solid muscle and masculinity. Devil may care smile. Oh yeah. He was a hot thing that could hurt all right.
“Tell a grown-up when you find matches or lighters.” The students yelled.
“Stop, drop, and roll if your clothes catch on fire.” They added doing the funny little hand movements that went along with the actions they described.
“Cool a burn!” Their little voices piped through the huge hall.
“That’s right, if you happen to burn yourselves, you should immediately cover the spot in cold water.” The rookie firefighter whose name she still could not remember, as if she could remember another name with the name Patrick Hightower taking over every nook and crevice of her mind, coached the children with gems of fire safety.
Cold water would have been good at that moment. It might have helped with the sudden heat she was feeling. She could drink a glass and cool her dry as the desert mouth and throat. She could splash it all over herself to calm down the overwhelming body heat she felt when she looked at Patrick Hightower. The heat and the sweat popping out all over her was unbearable.
Early menopause? It could happen as early as thirty-five. She was thirty-five. But something told her it wasn’t early menopause causing the steam to roll up her neck and making her hand want to fan, fan, and fan away.
“Crawl low under smoke!” Her little darlings repeated.
“Know the sound of the smoke alarm.” They added.
The ringing of the alarm jolted her and she blinked.
Sound effects? Hmm… She certainly needed a warning if Captain Hightower’s heated stare meant what she thought it meant.
“Practice an escape plan.” The kindergarteners said with the same tone of authority that the young rookie had used.
You haven’t said anything but a word!
She needed an escape plan. She took a slow, calming, and deep breath and tried to appear natural about letting it out. No matter what, she wasn’t going to give the man the time of day. That was for certain. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. So, there was really no need to get all nervous and hot and bothered.
“Recognize the fire fighter as a helper,” the children chanted after the rookie.
Yeah.
Right.
She glanced up stared at the fire captain again. He smiled, a sexy, sizzling, seductive smile. His eyes seemed to say ‘how may I help you?’ And his body language—the cool, confident, assured stance—offered a multitude of possibilities.
She continued to observe him, cautiously, and he continued to hold her gaze. Fire captain Hightower didn’t appear to know the meaning of the words back down.
Too bad.
Aisha shook her head with all the rejection she could muster lacing her stare and posture. She even put on her best, don’t-even-try-it-or-think-about-it-brother glare and placed her hand on her hip, blocking his sensual assault with everything she could. It might have helped if she didn’t find herself so incredibly attracted to him.
And what did the man have the nerve to do when met with her rejection? He saw her shaking head and smiled as he nodded! He even mouthed the word yes before winking at her and leaving the room.
The air seemed to return to the room with a gush. She gasped as she wondered who in the hell was going to save her from the fireman?
Aisha has had enough of dominant men trying to control her life, and the gorgeous firefighter who visits her kindergarten class is alpha male through and through. Yet the gentler side Patrick shows, especially around her young son, gradually melts her reserve. As shadows from Aisha’s past resurface, she’ll discover just how far Patrick will go to prove she’s found her real-life hero.
SIZZLING SEDUCTION. Make us burn to read your latest work!
Patrick Hightower is used to putting out fires. However, a sweet and sexy kindergarten teacher breaks through his protective shield and makes him think it might be more fun starting a fire instead. Sizzling Seduction is a slow burning love story that steadily rises to an uncontrollable passionate heat. It’s a story about trust and learning to love again.
SIZZLING SEDUCTION is the final book in your four-part Hightower Honor series. How did the series/idea come about?
The series started with an image of a funeral/wake. I got a vision of Penny, the heroine of the first novel in the series, at the wake for her deceased grandmother and she was nervous about possibly running into her ex-boyfriend. Of course—evil writer that I am—I had to make her face that fear right away! That’s when the sweet but tortured Jason Hightower came into my vision. As I probed his character more, I found his fine-fine-fine older brothers and a family legacy of cops and firemen. Needless to say, I was very pleased and a series was born about men who protect and serve, but most of all love passionately and completely.
What type of writer are you? Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I’m a little of both actually. I used to write a novel about halfway through without plotting and then I would have to plot out the rest of it to finish it. That’s how I wrote my first three novels, I’m Gonna Make You Love Me, If Only You Knew and Divine Destiny. Now that I’ve sold a few novels by proposal and the novel is technically plotted out already in the proposal, I have to give myself serious critical distance from the proposal after I write it and write as if I am still pantsing it. Then usually about halfway through the writing, I have to revisit my proposal to finish writing the novel. Strange… I know…
What's your favorite thing about SIZZLING SEDUCTION?
My favorite thing about Sizzling Seduction is the overriding themes that even when you have given up on ever finding true love there is always a chance that true love will find you.
THE THREES
What three adjectives best describe SIZZLING SEDUCTION?
Hot, Hotter, Hottest
What three adjectives best describe YOU?
Funny, shy, crazy
What are your three guilty pleasures?
Food Network, General Hospital (I-mean-Sonny-shot-his-own-son-come-on), Lays Potato Chips
What three authors or books propelled you into wanting to write romance novels? Why?
There are really too many to name. Three authors whose down-to-earth, funny and sexy writing styles helped me to realize that there was a place in the genre for the kinds of love stories I wanted to tell were Leslie Esdaile, Adrianne Byrd and Niobia Bryant. Three authors who I admire and want to be when I grow up are Brenda Jackson, Jennifer Crusie and Beverly Jenkins.
What three things can you NOT live without?
Love, Books, Music
What are the three pieces of advice you would give to a black writer trying to break into the romance publishing world?
1- Never give up.
2- Keep honing your craft.
3- Find your voice and perfect it.
Why romance?
I’m a sucker for love. Seriously, love stories had me at “hello.” I don’t know why but I’ve always had a soft spot for a well-told love story and I hope that never changes. I’ve found some of the most satisfying reads ever in romance novels. And that’s saying a lot because I was an English major for my BA, MA and PhD. So, I have read a lot of books!
What do you hope readers come away with after reading one of your books?
I hope that readers come away from my novels having experienced a full range of emotions. I want them to laugh, cry and have an “oh-no-he-or-she-didn’t-moment.” I know this sounds bad… But when I get e-mail from readers and they tell me that a particular scene in one of my novels made them cry, I get elated. I also get elated when they say that they laughed out loud, or they were talking to the characters. But if they shed a tear, that’s golden. Because it means I did my job. I made them care. I want readers to walk away with a sigh, feeling like they had an emotionally satisfying reading experience.
Black Romance - how much recognition, status do black romance novels have today?
Not nearly enough in my opinion. I consider myself to be a hardcore devoted romance reader. I read romance across race. Not everyone does, however. There are some folks who won’t read a romance novel if it has black characters or was written by a black author. That’s really a shame because they are missing the wonderful novels of A. C. Arthur, Ann Christopher, Phyllis Bourne, Deatri King-Bey, Victoria Wells, Iris Bolling, Shelia Goss, Celeste Norfleet, Maureen Smith, Wayne Jordan, Dara Girard, Patricia Saergent, Michelle Monkou… So many talented African American writers crafting beautiful black love stories…
What stigma (if any) do you see from those who talk about black romance novels?
I think there are layers of stigma. There is the general romance stigma that all romance novels—no matter the race of the author or characters—experience. That stigma is one that belittles romance and derides it because it is genre fiction. This stigma usually goes hand-in-hand with either: Romance porn for women. Happily-ever-after is unrealistic. Romance is not real fiction… These are the general stigmas for romance in general. Since African American romance doesn’t exist in a social-cultural bubble, it has to deal with these stigmas too. But African American romance novels also have to deal with stigma from some readers who don’t want to read African American romances because of race. Some of these readers feel that African American romances won’t be as well written as mainstream romance or that they will have a lot of slang, preach about racial injustice, etc. Basically, it’s a stigma based in racial biases…
How can black romance novels break the stigma, rise to the significance that they deserve?
That’s the million-dollar question. If only I knew the answer to that one… But I would urge skeptics of romance in general to try reading a few. They’ll find some well-written, phenomenal stories, some of the best. And for people who are letting cultural biases stop them from reading African American romances, I would urge them to try a few. There are so many talented African American romance authors, so many gifted voices; it would be ashamed to miss out…
In addition to being a fabulous romance author, you are also a professor who examines gender, writing, race, and rhetoric. Do you often feel you are living two separate lives: the academic and the saucy romance novelist?
Not only do I feel like I am living two different lives, I really do feel like I am two very different people… and no I’m not crazy. I just think when I’m in Gwyneth Bolton mode, I really am very different than when I’m in Gwendolyn D. Pough. I really am living two different lives and I love them both! LOL.
How do your academic interests blend with your creative works? Do they?
I don’t think I do it consciously. That would be too didactic and not fun to read or write. But I do think some of my academic interests find their way in. For example, as a black feminist cultural critic, I have tendency to make some of my heroines black feminists or hip-hop feminists every now and then. As a rhetorician, issues of language also find their way into my novels on varying levels.
What do you do with ALL that spare time...after you've been the great writer, professor, and wife?
That’s a trick question, right? I think someone ran away with all my spare time, because I can’t find it anywhere. If found… please send my spare time back to me. LOL.
Sizzling Seduction: The Movie! Who would play firefighter Patrick Hightower and the smart, sexy teacher Aisha Miller in the movie?
That’s an easy one! Lamman Rucker has always been Patrick Hightower in my mind. And Lark Voorhies (the all grown-up Lark, not the teenage Save by the Bell Lark) would be the perfect Aisha Miller.
What can fans expect to see from you next?
My next novel is a part of Kimani Romance’s yearlong promotion where it’s all about the heroes, Kimani Hotties. The novel, Make It Last Forever, will be released in August 2010. It is a steamy contemporary romance with just a hint of magical realism thrown in. It is a novel about soul mates and a love that transcends time, space and place.
From Sizzling Seduction...
Some men just take up all the space and air in the room with their very presence. And given the fact that Aisha had purposely sworn off of such men until the end of time, she really had no business noticing how he stood out in a sea of people or the pronounced lack of oxygen that had her pursing her lips and swallowing.
Tall dark and handsome had nothing on this towering wall of muscles or the way he filled out that navy blue and white uniform. She didn’t think she had a thing for men in uniform. Who knew the sight of thick muscular thighs and strong pipes for arms all encased in those official and authoritative clothing could send a woman’s heart racing like this?
She tried to focus on other things in the firehouse.
The truck? Look at it all red and shiny and pretty. Nope that didn’t take my mind of him. The engine…
Just listen to the words. Focus on the words. Focus on my students. Ignore this man.
As if she could…
“Stay away from hot things that can hurt!” Her kindergarten students yelled the words at the top of their little lungs as they repeated after the young fireman who had just given them a tour of the fire station.
Their guide was in his early twenties and seemed to be having just as much fun as the kids. He didn’t look bad in his uniform either. Maybe she could try and focus on him.
Nope, even the cute little tender-roni fireman guide couldn’t distract her from him.
She glanced at Toni in her outrageous purple and orange get-up trying to catch the young firefighters eye by flirtingly repeating after him with the children. Surely Toni’s antics should have wrestled her attention from the sexy fire captain. Toni batted her eyes and Aisha’s eyes went right back to the fire captain.
Dang!
Aisha couldn’t help it. She stared at the sexy, very hot fire captain who was standing there watching them all. Captain Hightower. He’d said his name was Captain Patrick Hightower. She wondered why he was still in the room. He wasn’t giving them the tour. Last year when she’d brought her students for a tour the highest ranking officer on duty introduced himself, gave them a welcome and hightailed it out of there leaving it up to the young rookie to do the grunt work. Captain Hightower seemed determined to stick around and check her out.
She wondered if the sexy fire captain counted as a hot thing that could hurt her.
She glanced at him. Tall. Rock-hard. Solid muscle and masculinity. Devil may care smile. Oh yeah. He was a hot thing that could hurt all right.
“Tell a grown-up when you find matches or lighters.” The students yelled.
“Stop, drop, and roll if your clothes catch on fire.” They added doing the funny little hand movements that went along with the actions they described.
“Cool a burn!” Their little voices piped through the huge hall.
“That’s right, if you happen to burn yourselves, you should immediately cover the spot in cold water.” The rookie firefighter whose name she still could not remember, as if she could remember another name with the name Patrick Hightower taking over every nook and crevice of her mind, coached the children with gems of fire safety.
Cold water would have been good at that moment. It might have helped with the sudden heat she was feeling. She could drink a glass and cool her dry as the desert mouth and throat. She could splash it all over herself to calm down the overwhelming body heat she felt when she looked at Patrick Hightower. The heat and the sweat popping out all over her was unbearable.
Early menopause? It could happen as early as thirty-five. She was thirty-five. But something told her it wasn’t early menopause causing the steam to roll up her neck and making her hand want to fan, fan, and fan away.
“Crawl low under smoke!” Her little darlings repeated.
“Know the sound of the smoke alarm.” They added.
The ringing of the alarm jolted her and she blinked.
Sound effects? Hmm… She certainly needed a warning if Captain Hightower’s heated stare meant what she thought it meant.
“Practice an escape plan.” The kindergarteners said with the same tone of authority that the young rookie had used.
You haven’t said anything but a word!
She needed an escape plan. She took a slow, calming, and deep breath and tried to appear natural about letting it out. No matter what, she wasn’t going to give the man the time of day. That was for certain. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. So, there was really no need to get all nervous and hot and bothered.
“Recognize the fire fighter as a helper,” the children chanted after the rookie.
Yeah.
Right.
She glanced up stared at the fire captain again. He smiled, a sexy, sizzling, seductive smile. His eyes seemed to say ‘how may I help you?’ And his body language—the cool, confident, assured stance—offered a multitude of possibilities.
She continued to observe him, cautiously, and he continued to hold her gaze. Fire captain Hightower didn’t appear to know the meaning of the words back down.
Too bad.
Aisha shook her head with all the rejection she could muster lacing her stare and posture. She even put on her best, don’t-even-try-it-or-think-about-it-brother glare and placed her hand on her hip, blocking his sensual assault with everything she could. It might have helped if she didn’t find herself so incredibly attracted to him.
And what did the man have the nerve to do when met with her rejection? He saw her shaking head and smiled as he nodded! He even mouthed the word yes before winking at her and leaving the room.
The air seemed to return to the room with a gush. She gasped as she wondered who in the hell was going to save her from the fireman?
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Stalking Author Electa Rome Parks: Interview
Electa Rome Parks currently resides outside Atlanta, Georgia. After successfully self-publishing her debut novel, The Ties That Bind, New American Library, a division of Penguin Group, bought the rights. Electa signed a three-book deal with New American Library. All three books were immediately chosen as Black Expressions Book Club main selections and embraced as Books of the Month by book clubs across the country. Dubbed a "book club favorite," avid readers have embraced Electa's true to life characters that tackle prevalent and heavy hitting issues.
Since then Electa has become a bestselling author of several other mainstream (Loose Ends and Almost Doesn't Count) and erotic (These Are My Confessions and Ladies' Night Out) novels with Penguin Group and HarperCollins. The self-proclaimed, Queen of Real, Electa has been a frequent guest on radio shows, has been nominated for many industry awards and has been interviewed by newspapers, AOL's Black Voices, Vibe Vixen, Upscale Magazine, Today's Black Woman, Rolling Out and Booking Matters, to name just a few. With a BA degree in marketing and a minor in sociology, she is following her true passion and working on her next novel.
To find out when and where Electa will be in your area, check out her website or her MySpace page. To share your thoughts with Electa regarding her work or to schedule an event, please e-mail her at novelideal@aol.com.
Never judge a book by its cover. . .
Xavier Preston is tall, dark, and handsome, and the problem is that he knows it. He's a bestselling author who is accustomed to adoring female fans, both young and old, flirting with him, throwing themselves shamelessly at him, and trying to get between more than the covers of his novels. He has always been more than willing to accommodate their needs and desires; however, his womanizing days have finally ended. He's engaged to a beautiful woman, Kendall, and he's decided to walk the straight and narrow. Or has he?
From outside appearances, the very stunning Pilar has it all: a great career, a beautiful home, and a trust fund that keeps her financially secure; however, looks can be deceiving. All that glitters isn't necessarily gold. Pilar is searching for her perfect soul mate, and she thinks she has found him in Xavier. She believes in going after what she wants with a vengeance . . . and she wants Xavier. That is not negotiable. She will have him, even if it kills him.
When Xavier meets his fanatical fan, Pilar, he gets much more than he bargained for. What starts out as an erotic one-night stand quickly spirals out of control into a dangerous game of obsession and pain with both parties playing to win.
Think you know what goes on behind the literary scene? Think again.
When did you fall in love with writing?
Wow! I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t madly and passionately in love with writing. Writing has always been an essential part of me, of who I am as a person. It defines me in many ways.
I always jokingly state that I have a passionate love affair going on with writing. Our torrid affair has consumed me for much of my life. Writing is in my blood and I can’t imagine life without it. My very spirit would probably shrivel up and die if I couldn’t write. Writing is my therapy. My Voice. My sincere expression of the world as seen through my eyes.
I've been following you since you indie-published your first book nearly seven, eight years ago. During this time, what are three important things you learned about writing and the publishing industry?
Time does fly! It doesn’t feel like it has been that long.
Shon, I know you wanted three important things I’ve learned about writing and the publishing industry, but I simply couldn’t condense it. LOL
I’ve Learned:
1. You can’t please all of the people all of the time. Everyone is not going to love or even like your novels. And that’s OKAY.
2. Everyone, their mother and cousins will want to point out any editorial errors they may find within the pages of your books. Everyone’s a critic.
3. You don’t necessarily have to go to college to become a successful writer. I believe there are elements of writing that comes naturally, just like breathing.
4. Everyone thinks they can write a book. However, every book in the marketplace isn’t necessarily a good book.
5. Everyone thinks their life story should be a book.
6. Talent will only get you so far. Sometimes it’s all about being in the right place at the right time.
7. The right “handlers”, i.e. agents, editors, pr person, make all the difference in the world.
8. Every fiction novel has some element(s) of truth. Don’t believe the hype.
9. Writing is a business. Sales are the bottom line. No matter how talented you are, if you don’t have the sales, you won’t get the next deal.
10. There is such a synergy when creative minds come together; it’s magic.
11. There is such a sense of freedom and joy in having the ability, from the very core of your soul to express yourself to the world; it’s almost like giving birth.
12. The new “renaissance” authors are making history and some are creating legacies.
13. Writing is a lonely and hard business to be successful in. Most of us can’t quit our day jobs.
14. Every author should pen at least one book that gives back to the universe in a positive, appealing manner to the masses.
15. You have to have a real love affair with the beauty and power of words in order to stick with it because the industry, like a lover, will take you through ups and down and sometimes screw you over.
You are the author of six novels; how have you grown as a writer from the first book to your latest, Diary of a Stalker?
Since the introduction of my first book, The Ties That Bind, I sincerely hope that I’ve shown growth as a writer; I think I have. Even though I have no formal training in creative writing, I have always attempted to improve my craft by studying books and literary magazines on writing techniques and such, reading other bestselling authors to gage what has made them successful and taking an occasional creative writing class. As with any profession, I feel it is imperative that authors are constantly striving to improve their craft so that they may send an even stronger, eloquent and more powerful message to the reading public.
What themes do you find yourself connecting to more often in your works? Why do you think they resonate with you so?
I have been termed a women’s fiction writer and I gladly accept that title. I tend to write about topical issues that are prevalent in our communities and that affect women in general. My backlist titles have addressed such controversial issues ranging from domestic abuse, molestation, dysfunctional families, low self-esteem issues to powerful friendships amongst women.
These themes resonate with me because they pull on my heartstrings, call out to my spirit, affect our lives in some form or fashion and I feel if I can make a difference, no matter how small, by being a voice for someone who may be going through similar situations, well, that makes it all worthwhile; it’s an added bonus.
Which book has been your most favorite to write, and why?
Wow! No, you can’t take it there. Shon, that is definitely not a fair question. I simply cannot choose between my “babies”; I refuse (LOL). They are all my favorites and I love them equally for different reasons. They each have different personalities (storylines) and qualities that define who and what they are and that makes them unique. I could never choose. . . (smile). The Ties That Bind, Loose Ends, Almost Doesn’t Count, Ladies' Night Out, These Are My Confessions and now, Diary of a Stalker, all, hold a special place in my heart and spirit. I birthed these “babies.”
Think about the books you have written. Which one has the best first line? What's the line? What do you like it the best?
The Ties That Bind has the best first line.
The line is: “They say there comes a time in every man’s life when he has to stand up and be a man.”
I like that line the best because it is absolutely true and that one sentence sets the tone for the entire book. That one sentence is like the moral to the storyline.
Your latest novel is Diary of a Stalker; how did the premise for the story come about?
Since it has been a couple of years since my last novel, Ladies’ Night Out, dropped, I wanted this new release to be something a little different from my previous novels. Yet, I wanted to maintain the core elements that my books are known for. So the drama, the fast-paced nature, the steamy relationship-based elements are still alive and well.
I attend, or used to, a lot of literary events such as conferences, signings, workshops, etc. After awhile, I started to notice a pattern no matter what city or state I was in. Even though the avid readers, mostly female, poured much love my way, I noticed the male authors received an extra dose (smile). Maybe because there aren’t as many male authors?? And I noticed, if I attended a large event, I would see some of the same female readers around the same male authors. Hmmmm. Could groupies really exist in the literary arena? So then, I started thinking about how groupies follow rock banks, rappers, professional athletics and entertainers. Why wouldn’t this exist in the literary arena as well? Throw a few over the top “what if questions” into the mix and Diary of a Stalker was born.
How was the writing process? Did you take time to outline and plot before writing, or did you start with the idea and run with the words?
Outline and plot. . . what’s that? Just kidding!
Seriously, I have never outlined and plotted a single book I have ever written. As you stated, I simply start with an idea and run with the words. Magic seems to happen when I use that writing process; I find it to be more honest, raw and real.
For instance, completing Diary of a Stalker wasn’t difficult at all. I find that once I’ve defined my characters and have a general storyline, my stories typically flow with little effort. I’ve been very fortunate in that I’ve never experienced writer’s block. Once my characters become one with me, and I’m living and breathing them, dreaming about them, feeling as if they are actual people, then it is simply writing the story down.
What are three adjectives you would use to describe Diary of a Stalker?
Haunting (stays with you long after you’ve read the last page; makes you say, “Damn!”), erotic, thriller
Social Media - blogs, micro-blogging, social networking sites - is the place to be these days to help with promoting and marketing literary works. What are three things you are doing to promote/market your novels?
I made the decision to try a different marketing strategy this time around. The industry has drastically changed and what worked in the past no longer works in today’s volatile environment. I chose to deter from the traditional brick and mortar route.
I intend to:
- Maintain a strong online presence via social networking sites
- Connect with book clubs across the nation
- Advertise on various online sites
From Diary of a Stalker...
PROLOGUE
Darkness surrounded her with a thick cloak of protection; shadows bounced and ricocheted off the walls. She embraced it with open arms, like welcoming a long-lost friend back into the fold.
Silence. She felt safe now. While most people gravitated towards the light, she embraced the night, the cover of darkness. From experience she knew that deeds not meant to be seen or heard were best carried out in the deep, secretive confines of the night.
Quietly and painfully slow, she crept out of the shadows, cautiously pushed clothes aside, opened the closed closet door and existed with precision. Her footsteps were deliberate and calculated. She knew every creak and crevice from memory. She walked with the confident stride of someone who was comfortable with her surroundings.
Ever so cautiously, she pushed the closet door open, just an inch. Stopped and listened. Then another inch. Then another. Silence, except for the even sound of breathing. She knew he was a deep sleeper, but she still didn't want to take any chance of him waking up. Tonight wouldn't be the night when she became careless. Even though she had been here before, numerous times, this was the first time with him being inside the house.
With the slinkiness and sneakiness of a feline stalking her prey, she moved from inside the closet to the master bedroom. Stopped just short of the massive bed and simply watched. Watched and reveled in the closeness they shared. Being in the same space with him thrilled her.
She had to force herself to breath because he took her breath away. Every time. He did it for her. If only he would love her back. Even if it were only with a quarter of the love she felt for him. . . she'd still be satisfied. He slept on his back, breathing evenly, legs sprawled wide, with a thin sheet pulled up to his waist. She knew that underneath he was completely nude.
It took all she had not to reach out and touch him. She was so close, yet so far away. In her mind, he was absolutely perfect. Perfect for her. Her eyes eagerly and greedily took him in. Ravished him with her deep carnal yearning.
Why couldn't he simply love her back? This question played out in her mind over and over again, each and every day. Crippling her. Crushing her confidence. Making her crazy. Crazy like a loon. Sometimes she hated him. Hated him with a devastating passion. Those were the days she wanted to do something bad to him. Wanted to hurt him. Make him pay for not loving her.
Tonight, she simply watched. She stood there for hours and watched him peacefully sleep. If he had awakened and looked a few feet in front of him, he would have easily spotted her. Her desire to be near him overrode her fear of being caught.
Once she had her fill of him, she silently crept down the stairwell and out the front door, quietly closing it behind her. The next morning he would be none the wiser. Only the faint smell of her perfume would remain. He'd imagine he dreamt of a dark figure towering over him. Watching. And waiting. Waiting until it was time.
PILAR
I'm your #1 fan.
It's funny how one's life can forever be changed with the utterance of four simple words: I'm your #1 fan. Well, actually, they weren't spoken, but sent to my favorite male author, Xavier Preston, by way of e-mail. Man, I love the World Wide Web.
I couldn't believe it; I had recently finished reading his latest national bestseller, Secret Desires, and to put it mildly, I was simply blown away. I felt like the main character was speaking directly to me, like she was inside my brain, picking it apart, piece-by-piece. I could relate to the storyline . . . totally . . . and the ending was spectacular, took my breath away. Secret Desires stayed with me, languishing inside my soul, like a sweet kiss that lingers into the early morning hours as dawn approaches.
Even though I am an avid reader, I should be since I'm a freelance writer; I typically do not contact authors about their books. I don't get caught up in the entire groupie side of the literary industry. Yes, it exists! Surprise, surprise! There is an entire circle of women all across the country, sometimes entire book clubs, who follow the lives and movement of African-American male writers the same way groupies chase after rappers, rock stars, athletes and actors.
In the book industry, it is just a bit more subtle. For example, the book club president might fly the handsome, fine, articulate male author into her city for the weekend, to discuss his most recent hot release at the monthly book club meeting and to perhaps get the added bonus of getting up close and personal between the sheets. It happens.
For me, however, this was different; Xavier Preston made a lasting impression. And generally it took a lot to impress me because I wasn't into the ordinary and I was determined to tell him, how impressed I was. That is, after I went out and purchased all his previous novels. I had a bit of catching up to do.
A week later, after devouring his other six novels from cover to cover like a delicious gourmet meal, savoring every word, I knew I had to make contact. I simply had an unrelenting urge to speak with him. I couldn't get his lyrical, rhythmic, flowing words out of my head. This man moved me. Moved me like I had never been moved before. I felt a connection. A deep connection.
Early one morning, before I began writing an article for one of the local magazines I frequently wrote for, I sent Xavier Preston my sincere, honest thoughts.
"Mr. Preston, I'm your #1 fan. I know you hear that all the time from readers, but I really, truly am. Your characters stay with me long after I've consumed the last page of your books. I never want your stories to end; they move me. You are super-talented, put these other authors to shame, and I'd love for you to autograph my books. By the way, I have all your novels. When will you be in Atlanta? A true, die-heart fan, Pilar.”
Much to my surprise and pleasure, a couple of days later, I received a simple response.
“Pilar, what a lovely name. Thank you, for the sweet e-mail. I'm so pleased you've enjoyed my books over the years. I'd love to meet you as well. I enjoy meeting and greeting my readers. I will be signing at Medu Bookstore, at 5:00 PM next Saturday at Greenbriar Mall. Please, stop by if you get the opportunity. I would love to see you there. Xavier.”
With a pounding heartbeat, I couldn't believe what I was reading and I re-read it a few more times for clarity. Wanted to make sure I was reading correctly that Xavier Preston asked to meet me. Me. Next weekend couldn't arrive soon enough.
It was Friday afternoon, a week after I had received Xavier's e-mail, and I was lying across my bed, admiring the author photo of Xavier on the back cover of his debut title. Outlining his features with my index finger. He had such soulful, penetrating brown eyes and the sexiest pair of dimples I had ever seen. Such a handsome man. I was so caught up in looking at the picture that I almost forgot I had Leeda on the phone. Leeda and I had been friends since my days in Baltimore. I moved to Atlanta almost four years ago. Had to get out of Baltimore. Held too many memories, most of them bad.
“Pilar, for the life of me, I can't understand why you are so excited about meeting this author. My God, he's only an author. It's not like he's Jay-Z or Denzel,” she exclaimed in her usual authoritative sounding voice, with a bit of amusement.
I sighed inwardly because Leeda didn't understand, or maybe couldn't understand, no matter how many times or how hard I tried to explain it to her.
“Xavier gets me. Period. He gets me. Read Secret Desires and you'll understand. It's as if he patterned the main character after me. Like he peeked inside my bedroom window and started writing. It's almost eerie. I have never met this man a day in my life, but it's like he reached inside my mind and penned my thoughts on paper.”
"Pilar, there are many women who think exactly as you do. They are looking for a handsome soulmate and think there is only one true love for them. You aren't the only woman in the world who is a hopeless romantic. Your thoughts are not unique in that aspect."
Leeda could never understand, so I simply gave up trying to convince her that this was different. Xavier was different; I could feel it deep in my bones.
"Well, it won't hurt anything for me to attend the signing, after all, he did invite me. I can at least get my books autographed. Years from now, who knows, they might be very valuable."
"True. Just don't go there with expectations that are only in your mind," Leeda said.
"Whatever," I stated with an exasperated sigh.
"Pilar, don't get so defensive. You know how you are. We've discussed it before. Every man you meet who is kind to you is not the one. I don't want to see you hurt again."
"Please, lets not even go there," I said.
"Okay, if you say so. Just remember, life is what you make it. You don't need a man to make you whole."
"I know that but I have a feeling that Xavier Preston is going to change my life for the better," I stated with a huge smile. I was on a natural high. A Xavier high.
XAVIER
Never trust a big butt and a smile.
I've been in the literary game for several years now, with seven best-selling novels to my name. I figured out a long time ago that I have the gift of gab, of storytelling. . . and I love women. All shapes, sizes, colors and ethnicities. I don't discriminate; I believe in equal opportunity. Becoming a novelist was a natural progression seeing as how I've been telling tall tales my entire life. Women purchase most books, which is a good thing since my target market is definitely women, especially African American. If I depended on men for my livelihood, I would literally be a starving artist.
At this stage of the game, I have pretty much seen it all and done it all. If I must say so myself, I've led an exciting life. The stories I could tell. However, my "psycho bitch" radar must have been malfunctioning when this chick named Pilar first approached me. Damn, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth just to spit that bitch's name off of my tongue.
Never in a million years could anyone have told me that sweet face and banging body would spell trouble with a capital T. Never in a million years. I guess it's true. . . never judge a book by it's cover. If I knew then what I know now, I would have pressed delete real quick when I received her very first e-mail.
"I'm your #1 fan!" Pilar didn't send an e-mail; she sent a virus, in the form of her very presence.
So sweet and accommodating---a boost to my already over-inflated ego, at least that's what I've been told. I received e-mails like that all the time from adoring female fans, so it never crossed by mind that inviting Pilar to my book signing would set my nightmare into motion, with my life quickly spiraling out of control and Pilar as the driver.
Even if I wrote the events that transpired into one of my novels, no one would believe them. They'd think Pilar was just a fabricated, figment of my vivid imagination. Sometimes I think she is. Wake up hoping and praying that she is. However, I'm not that lucky.
I wish. . . I wish I could go back and rewrite the storyline, which is my life. Do some line editing and write that crazy ass bitch out of the major scenes, hell the entire book. No, I'd kill her off in the first couple of chapters. Have her die a slow and torturous death. Yeah, that would make me happy. Very happy indeed.
Now, it's much too late for that. I have to deal with the consequences of my actions---or lack of. It's true---that line from an old BBD song---never trust a big butt and a smile.
I'm hardheaded; I had to learn the hard way.
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