Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

FIVE OF MY GUILTY PLEASURES

1. Staying in bed until 7 a.m. on weekends – I’ve always been an early riser and feel like I’ve lost half the day if I’m not up and about by 5 a.m.

2. Sneaking a nap on a Sunday – My conscience screams at me that I’m wasting valuable time.

3. Eating a fried seafood platter – Living near the ocean makes this treat all too available. I seldom indulge, but when I do, I see my cholesterol shoot through the ceiling.

4. Taking a mental health day from my day job – Calling in unexpectedly some morning because I simply need the day to myself…and facing co-workers the next day who all want to know what was wrong.

5. Spending money on a full body massage – I can’t afford it, but gosh does it feel good!

How about you? Share something you do on occasion that makes you feel guilty.

Pam Champagne
Where Passion Meets Danger
www.pamchampagne.net

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

As with everyone, my childhood shaped me into the person I am today… a solitary individual who enjoys my own company more than being with others. Large crowds and gatherings make me uncomfortable. I get claustrophobic so it’s difficult for me to attend writing conferences.

Roughing Up Your Characters

I’ve been told I torture my characters, especially the heroine. Since I’d never given it much thought, I spent a few days mulling it over. I had to admit I inflict burden after burden on my leading lady, both in physical and emotional ways.

I’m pragmatic. I think I was born that way. Like most people, I’ve experienced pain and survived to talk about it. There’ve been times in my life I kept going only because I had no choice. I believe hardships build strong character and instill empathy in a person, something that might otherwise be lacking. Overcoming life’s storms gives people strength, courage and hope, all of the qualities a fictional character needs to grow and change during the story.

Thanks to my father, I learned about self-reliance. He taught me early on that no one, except me, was responsible for my happiness. True love is born of self-reliance. Bingo! The birth of my tough, independent heroines.

I’m a firm believer that, as a rule, love requires bumps and dings to grow strong enough to survive. Some sweethearts may walk a paved road and find happiness from the beginning, but the majority of lovers stumble down a rocky trail to reach their goal. Perhaps I make the route a bit rougher than need be, but I listen to my muse. The more dimensions I can weave into a character, the better.

One of those character facets is a softer side. Who likes a charcoaled black marshmallow? But how about a lightly browned crust with a warm, gooey center? The redeeming quality of a tough character is the warmth and compassion curled inside, waiting for the right person to set it free.

How about anger? Does your character keep his/her anger hidden? Does he/she have thirty years of ire ready to explode? Sounds like a villain to me.

If I come across a wimpy heroine in a book who does nothing but whine, cry and cower in her bed, she’d best become a woman with a backbone. If I sense it’s not going to happen, I stop reading.

Characters must develop and evolve into better human beings by the end of the story. Perhaps readers don’t realize this growth is the reason they like and remember characters, but the author does.

A TRIBUTE TO MOOSE

Last week, my brother, Andy, and his partner, Judy, lost a very special friend. Moose lived a life most dogs (and many people, too) only dream about. A cross between a Brittany and a Golden Retriever, Moose received the best qualities from both breeds. He proved to be a fantastic bird dog and loved the water as if he were born there.

I remember Moose as a puppy. He overcame many health problems, and this tenacity showed us what a super dog he’d become.

ALASKAN HEAT

BLURB
She’ll make him finish what he started—if they live through the night.

Framed and on the run, FBI agent Joe “Hawk” Hawkins has only one chance to clear his name: hit the road for Eagle, Alaska. Things can’t get much worse, until a woman from his past steps into his path. Sophie’s a brilliant statistician, pissed off about their disastrous one-night stand—and offering him a deal.

This is Sophie’s first field assignment, and the fact that it involves Hawk doesn’t make it any easier. She’s never forgotten or forgiven the night Hawk found his way to her bed and left her wanting more. Now she’s on a double mission to make Hawk finish what he started, and get them both to Eagle alive.

The long Alaska Highway stretches before them, and long nights of sexual fireworks that rival the Northern Lights. Caution turns to trust, and then to a love neither of them bargained for.

With two rogue agents in hot pursuit, though, the end of the road may be closer than they think.

SECOND LIFE? – NOT FOR THIS OLD AUTHOR

Last month I received an invitation to attend Brenda Novak’s virtual Christmas party. Totally psyched, blood sang through my veins. The attendees included best-selling authors, New York agents and publishers. I thought how cool to be able to “chat” with these people. In addition, the prizes Brenda planned to give away floored me. Critiques, manuscript reads, autographed books, just to mention a few. Not even the late hour (9 p.m. to 11 p.m. EST) deterred me, although I knew I’d be bleary eyed at work the next day.

The Power of Words

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

WRITING - HOBBY OR CAREER -- And Birthdays

Recently I received an e-mail from a friend telling me how sorry she was that I’d broken my ankle and couldn’t work this summer. She ended her e-mail with “at least you have your “hobby” to keep you occupied.”

HOBBY? I’ve never looked at my writing career as a hobby and it shocked me that others did. The dictionary definition of a hobby – an activity engaged in for pleasure and relaxation during spare time.

GOOD OR BAD?

I’ve always written one book at time. Now I think I’ve created a monster…well actually six monsters. I have three stories in progress. I write a chapter for my Reno gambling/serial killer book, and then a scene for my hero and heroine on the lam from both the bad guys and the FBI.

If I spend too long on my Reno story, the librarian, who writes erotica on the side, whines, “It’s my turn.”

Not to be outdone, the horror author who wants the erotica writing librarian to live in a haunted house with him says, “Hey! What about me. You haven’t paid any attention to me in over a week.”

Sometimes they get so obnoxious I demand they leave me alone.

“Who are you talking to, honey?” my husband asks from the other room.

“Myself,” I quickly answer. No sense letting him know I’m crazier than he already suspects.

I’m locked into these three books. Although this method delays completion of a manuscript, on the brighter side I’ll have three novels ready at approximately the same time. Once they’re complete, I’m hoping to go back to my old ways—one story at a time.

I’d love to hear from others who do this dance.

HAPPY READING AND HAPPY WRITING

Pam Champagne
www.pamchampagne.net

WRITING BLUES

The weight of winter means more to me than the four feet of snow on my roof. I’m not writing, and I’ve decided to blame it on winter sitting on my shoulders. Simple writer’s block? I’m not sure. The ideas, scenes and characters churn in my head twenty-four/seven.

Unfortunately, every time I sit at the computer, I discover numerous other projects needing my immediate attention. Writing a blog I promised someone. Critiquing someone’s chapter. By the way, this excuse works time and time again. Oh! I can’t put off one more day updating my website. Have to check all the groups’ digests to see what I’ve been missing.

When I finally settle down, I open one of five WIP’s. Before I know it, three hours have passed. I’ve edited the first chapter…for the fifth time. What’s wrong with me? I know where the story’s going. Why isn’t it getting there?

I feel guilty blaming winter. It’s my favorite season. It’s always been my most productive time of year.

Is there such a thing as a writer’s shrink? I might need one.

This quote says it all:

“I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument while the song I came to sing remains unsung.” Rabindranath Tagore 1913

Ideas, anyone? Suggestions? Empathy? At this point, I’m grasping at straws.

Pam Champagne
WHERE PASSION AND DANGER COLLIDE
Samhain Publishing
Bed of Lies 2008 EPPIE FINALIST
The Enchanted Inn
Wild Rose Press
Dead Heat – In Print
Bridge of Hope -Available Now
pamchampagnenews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
www.pamchampagne.net