Samhain Publishing Ltd. Weblog

Would You Like My Book? Are You Sure?

Before a recent family get-together, I got a brief e-mail from my brother-in-law asking me to bring along a copy of one of my books so that he could take it to my husband’s aunt. Now leaving aside the sort of obvious response to that—“Gee, Bob, can’t you afford to buy my book?”—I could see other, more long-range problems. My husband’s aunt is an 87-year-old unmarried lady; once upon a time, you might have called her a spinster. While I may not be too sure of Aunt Beth’s tastes in literature, I’m fairly sure she wouldn’t like my stuff.
This is a sensitive question for a lot of us. We write romance because we like it. We read it. We support it. Catherine Wade had an interesting post on her blog about this a couple of months ago, pledging that she would no longer apologize for writing romances and asking the rest of us to do the same. I’m with her all the way. But at the same time, I know some of my friends and relations won’t like what I do because they’re not fans of the genre. I’ve already had a friend tell me she liked my first book “except for all the sex.” If you read romances, the fact that my books have a lot of sex scenes shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. If you don’t, it may be a bit of a shock, to say the least.
So what do you do when your grandmother wants a copy of your book? Or your grade-school teacher? Or the pastor’s wife? Or your colleague at work who reads mostly literary fiction? Samhain requires its authors to write warnings that are posted with the book description at the Samhain Web site. These are mostly good-humored (hey, we try to be witty about it), but they also serve a serious purpose. Samhain doesn’t want readers buying books with content they’ll find offensive. So how do you head off a friend or relation who might be similarly upset by what you’ve written?
So far I’ve tried the straight-forward approach, telling anybody who asks that, yes, my books do include fairly explicit sex scenes, but no, I’m not writing porn. I have no idea how erotica writers handle this, but I’ll bet they’ve had to come up with ways to alert their maiden aunts before they buy their latest books.
The problem for all of us may be that reading and liking romance is still regarded as a guilty secret by a lot of people, even though it’s one of the best-selling genres in publishing. It’s always possible that my husband’s aunt has been reading romances for years and would look at mine as just another on her TBR stack. But she’s never mentioned it, and I’m not sure how to ask her. So for now, I’ll just tell my brother-in-law that I don’t think my book would be right for Aunt Beth. And then the next time I visit her, I’ll check her bookshelves for copies of Nora Roberts or Danielle Steel or even Barbara Cartland.
And if I find them, I’ll be sending her autographed copies of my books—ASAP.

The Voice

One of my favorite poems starts off –

There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long,
“I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong.”

Shel Silverstein made it sound so simple. But what do you do when the voice inside you starts speaking in tongues?

Hardcore Inspiration

I asked myself today, what to write a blog on? I was watching Bones, and episode where Cindi Lauper is a psychic. So I figured, there’s my inspiration. I’ve read cards for well over 20 years, and use them for inspiration, so why not pick a topic that way. I went to www.facade.com, selected a deck, the three card spread, and go with it. So, eight of pentacles, King of Swords, and The Sun, for me translated into working physically and mentally to effect a change and manifest a skill or talent at a higher level. The King, the pivot point, asks us, what are we willing to lay in to get where we want to go, because the King of Swords is a disciplined character who will go to the boards and give up whatever is necessary to achieve an end. So this is really a message of more than simple growth – this is the universe saying give it your all and all if it will come back your way, ten thousand fold.

Crisis of Faith

Have you ever gotten to a point in your writing career where your critique partners believe you’re ready to rise to the next level of writing craft, but you’re not so sure?

That’s where I am now. Since Tuesday’s meeting, I’ve been struggling with whether to scrap the considerable work I’ve already done on my western romance novel, POLITE ENEMIES, or continue reworking it for sale. My face-to-face partners say to start again because I’m ready to bring the story to a higher level of craft. My online critique partners say that the story is entertaining and to get it out to readers who are waiting for my next novel.

Blogged Down

When I realized last night that I had a blog due here at Samhain, my immediate reaction was a sinking sensation. Not again, I thought, and I can’t help wondering if readers don’t feel something similar.

Don’t get me wrong. I love interacting with my readers; it’s one of the perks of the job. But I just finished the rough draft of one novella, I’ve got another due on Wednesday of next week, a third novella due on the 30th, edits to my print book for Somebody Killed His Editor due on the 21st, and edits for another mainstream project due on the 30th. I would be lying if I didn’t admit to feeling overwhelmed. And as I calculate how to best use my limited resources, I’m wondering where blogging fits into this.

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.

Characters to Root for

I had no idea what to write about for this blog. I just got back from a holiday, I’m exhausted and dealing with a jet lagged baby who won’t sleep at night, and I have all this work to catch up on. I was thinking about a gripping blog about needing a holiday after my holiday. Then as I was watching Bones, I turned to look at my little boy sitting on the floor with his back to me reading a book (or pretending to since I’m pretty sure he can’t read yet—pretty sure…). He looked so cute and skooshy and I thought how protective I am of him, how I’d do serious damage to anyone who even dared to hurt him. That got me to thinking about the heroines I write. And the heroes for that matter.

Every single one of them has a protective personality. Even if they don’t think of themselves as strong or protective, they all end up being just that.

Seventeen Reasons Why DragonCon is a Regency Country House Party

“You’re gonna need Sherpas,” Greg taunted.

The spouse person always says that when I’m compiling my lists of what to pack for a trip. I wanted to flip him off, but this time he was… um, right. When he caught me I was tallying the costumes I need for this year’s DragonCon.

There’s the Pirate Ball, but everything about that costume packs flat. Except the boots, which can’t use for the Steampunk Ball, but I might be able to match up with the costume for the DragonCon attempt on the world’s largest “Thriller” dance. Then there’s the growing contingent of waitresses from Merlotte’s, the bar in Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse novels and HBO’s True Blood series, assembling for the parade. Alas, my days of playing not so sweet juveniles like vampire Jessica are long past. Still, I’d make a killer Arlene. Maybe I could re-use the top for one of my panels.

But what am I going to do about the high tea?

Oh for the days of capacious trunks and well-sprung coaches. Of footmen to carry your luggage to your room and maids to tend to your every need. Of dancing all night and sleeping ‘til the afternoon…

And if you don’t count the panels, that’s exactly what I’ll be doing at DragonCon. I stared at my list, while my mind cycled through the amusements contained in every Regency novel I ever read. “Well, day-um,” I said, “I’m summering at a Regency house party.”

Greg stared at me.

“No. Really. I’ve got seventeen reasons to prove it…”

(Click the link for the reasons—all seventeen of them.)

Naming Characters

I haven’t written historical romance, at least not yet. But I love to read it and I so admire the authors who manage to get it right, by evoking a feeling of place and time while telling a compelling, engaging story.

This month I have a novella coming out that has a minor historical component. For somewhat complicated reasons, the heroine doesn’t really age for most of the book. So she comes from an earlier time. The first thing I wanted to get right was her name. I thought it was key. (Names are always important, but it seemed even more important for this story.) There are, of course, lots of names that were used one hundred and two hundred years ago and are used now, for example, Elizabeth, Anne, Jane, etc. etc.

Drawing Inspiration by Ann Cory

Hubby often asks me what inspired my latest story. Inspiration can be a funny thing, and can be drawn from almost anything. I’m never far from a pen and paper, just in case it strikes.