Wrapping up POV

Thanks to Tom for sharing his new project. I hope everyone had a chance to read it--and took the 3 minutes to watch the video clip, and check out his blog. As a parent and a former teacher, I couldn't help but feel the passion he has for dealing with these deplorable conditions.

As promised, here's the analysis of yesterday's over the top example of writing without understanding the need for a consistent point of view. This is an example of an attempt at third person point of view.

Mary entered the room. John thought she was the most amazing woman he'd ever seen. Mary walked past without seeing him. She went straight to the patio where the buffet was set up. Seeing trays heaped with caviar, her favorite delicacy, she picked up a plate and waited in line. The breeze ruffled the floral chiffon of her dress. She wondered if her long auburn hair would get mussed. No, she thought. She'd sprayed it with enough hairspray to withstand a hurricane. She scooped caviar onto her plate as John stepped into line behind her, a smile on his face. A tiny furrow appeared in her brow, and her green eyes narrowed.

Let's take it line by line, looking only at point of view.

Sweetening the Contest Pot

What I'm reading: Through the Grinder by Cleo Coyle; Finding Hope by Katie Reus

If you're taking advantage of the long weekend for the July 4th holiday, have a great one. Normally, I tried to avoid purely promotional posts on this blog, but heck. 1) It's a holiday and 2) It's my blog. And I wanted to share some good news.

A trip through my email inbox. First, I got a notice from The Wild Rose Press saying that NOWHERE TO HIDE is available for pre-orders in paperback. I wasn't expecting that so soon; the release date is officially July 16th, and that's when the digital versions are out. Normally, print comes after digital. So that was good news. You can buy it here.

Then, I was surprised to find an email from "Got Romance Reviews" saying they'd posted a review of NOWHERE TO HIDE. I never expect these before the book is actually released. I opened the email and learned that the site was actually "Got Erotic Romance." Now, I know the publisher casts a wide net for reviews, but I don't write erotic romance. Yes, I have sex-on-the-page, but usually one or two scenes per book, and then, only after my characters have earned it – usually at least halfway through the book. So what was I going to find?

Moving Farther E-Ward

What I'm reading: Playing with Barbie by Wynter Daniels; On What Grounds by Cleo Coyle

Thanks, Daniel for your thought-provoking post on e-publishing yesterday. I'm going to add some of my own thoughts today as a follow-up.

**NOTE: When I checked this morning, the Smashwords website was having problems. If the links aren't working when you read this, I hope you'll come back and try again--it's been one of those days.

My first publications were for e-publishers. This isn't the same as writing for a print publisher that also creates digital versions. Why? My first submission, a short-short story called Words had been accepted by a print magazine. Unfortunately (although not all that uncommon, I discovered), it went out of business before the story appeared. There's not a big market for short stories, and I moved on. A while later, I discovered a new romance publisher, The Wild Rose Press. They took short stories, so I submitted Words to them. It was accepted, and I was now a published author. Of course, back then, the only way to buy the story was through the publisher's website, and there weren't a lot of e-readers around. Most folks read e-books on their computers.


Fast-forward a year or so. I had a novel, Finding Sarah that was outside the relatively rigid box of what the New York print publishers were buying. I submitted it to Cerridwen Press, a new imprint of what was then the 500 pound gorilla of e-publishing, Ellora's Cave.

A brief digression here. Ellora's Cave filled a niche that readers wanted. They published erotic romance, and called it "Romantica." Readers could purchase and read these books and stories from the privacy of their homes. No carrying around steamy-hot covers.