And the Winners Are

The winner of Phoebe Conn's download is ... KAREN.
Karen, email Phoebe at phoebeconn (at) earthlink (dot) net so she can get your download to you.

And for those who came to the Romance Studio Release Party: My winners of downloads of WHEN DANGER CALLS are: Alyna, Cathy, Jean, Stacie, Lisa and Darcy.

Happy reading everyone!

Friday Field Trip: A Classic Car Show

First - don't forget to leave a comment on Phoebe Conn's Tuesday post. Today's the last day to enter. I'll announce the winner this weekend.


Next - last week, Jason wanted to know if we'd like to drive up to Loveland, Colorado for a national classic car show. Mostly, he wanted me to be a pair of eyes and hands for our grandson, but I agreed as long as he'd share his pictures. (OK, having a day with our grandson was enough, but I couldn't make it too easy.) And, for those who've come by on my Friday Field Trips, you know that Jason's going to do more than just take pictures of cars. I hope you enjoy his interpretation. And how many of these do you recognize? Or remember? Did you own any of them?

Don't Lose your Characters

What I'm reading: Damaged, by Debra Webb

Don’t forget – there’s plenty of time to leave a comment on Phoebe Conn’s Tuesday post to be entered in her drawing. I’ll wait while you scroll down.

Meanwhile, I’m over at The Romance Studio at a release party today. I’ll be in and out all day. If you’re so inclined, pop on over. I’m talking about WHERE DANGER HIDES, and I’m giving away a download of WHEN DANGER CALLS.

When writing series or connected books, there are some extra considerations, such as handling back story and keeping track of characters. And sometimes, it can get you into trouble.

For example, in WHEN DANGER CALLS, I needed Ryan to be able to get into the Blackthorne’s fancy computer system, even though he’d technically quit. It made no sense for a company like Blackthorne to have conveniently forgotten to shut down his access. (that would have been one of those handy “coincidences” I talked about in an earlier post) So, I simply gave Ryan a throwaway line:

“I sort of borrowed a login from a buddy. His fault—I kept telling Grinch to pick a smarter password than his kid's name and birthday."

So, when it became time to write Grinch’s story, I was stuck with the child. And due to other plot considerations, I gave him a dog as well. While it’s one thing to have a throwaway line, once a character is on the page, be it human or animal, it becomes your responsibility.

It's About Conflict and Tension 3

Thanks to Phoebe for sharing her thoughts on brainstorming. I could use a good brainstorming partner right now as I'm dealing with a new WIP. And remember: leave a comment on her post for a chance at her giveaway. You have until Friday.

Conflict: the word conjures up images of people fighting. But, as I pointed out in last week's posts on microtension, conflict encompasses a much broader scope.

When Jay Boyar of Orlando magazine reviewed 4 romance novels, including my FINDING SARAH, he pointed out that in my book, unlike the others, “Sarah and Randy don’t, for some strange reason, immediately hate each other.”

Having hero and heroine not like each other definitely increases conflict and tension. But it’s not necessary to take that approach. (Confession: when I started writing FINDING SARAH, I’d never read a romance, so I didn’t know about this “hate each other” convention.) Hero and heroine can have a common goal, but with different motivations, and conflict can grow from that.

Example: In FINDING SARAH, both Randy & Sarah want to solve the crime, “Who robbed Sarah’s shop?” Randy wants to do it because he’s a cop, and that’s what he does. Also, the robber seems to be someone he failed to catch on another spree, so his professional pride is at stake. For Sarah, it’s a matter of saving her business—her livelihood. As the case progresses, Randy has a new problem: he’s violating his own code by taking a personal interest in Sarah. And Sarah is violating her internal promise to be independent and not rely on anyone. But there’s no real reason for them to dislike each other.

Why I Love Brainstorming

Today my guest is author Phoebe Conn. She began her writing career with Kensington in the 1980s, when historical romances were hugely popular, twice as long as they are now, and half the price! She also wrote several contemporary books with them, and futuristic books as Phoebe Conn and as Cinnamon Burke for Leisure. Phoebe is also having a giveaway to one commenter, so make sure you read through the post.

Thank you so much, Terry, for inviting me to blog.

Whenever I say I’m a writer, I’m always asked where I get my ideas. Each book has it’s own story of how it came to be, but my June Samhain romantic suspense release, WHERE DREAMS BEGIN started with a brainstorming session with a poet. On weekends, we’d often leave Los Angeles and drive up to Santa Barbara or Ojai. Resort towns are wonderful places to sit in an outdoor cafe, relax and observe people walking by. The poet looked for intriguing characters for his poems, while I made notes of people’s quirks for possible use in my books. A waitress whose ponytail sprouted from the top of her head like a volcano, for example, appears in PARADISE, a book set in Ojai. A waiter who mumbled became a pirate whose orders were unintelligible in my futuristic romance, LADY ROGUE.

We’d also spend time generating plot ideas. The park-like setting of the University of California at Riverside is perfect for brainstorming. One afternoon, we made notes for a story beginning with the protagonist at a crossroads. She’s a young widow and can’t go back to the life she loved, but what if any choice she makes creates more trouble than she’s already in? These were such fun sessions because brainstorming has only one rule: don’t evaluate ideas, simply let them flow.

Every book needs an opening that makes an emotional connection with the reader and swiftly draws them into the story. It needs tension that builds with every word to a dramatic and satisfying finish. We brainstormed dynamite openings some days. Other days, we’d work on developing one of our openings to a full story. In one possible book, we had the hero escape the men after him in a diaper service van. It was a great scene, even if it was never used. Now few people use a diaper service, so the scene wouldn’t be as easily believed.

Just Because it’s True…

What I’m reading: Chasing Fire, by Nora Roberts

Have you checked the Deals & Steals tab lately? Some deals expire soon. Don't miss out.

Back when I was just starting to learn the craft of writing, I had a live critique group (The Pregnant Pigs—don’t ask how the name came into being, as all of us were beyond child-bearing years). The others in the group were going back to school as part of a local college program for adults looking to change direction in life. These wonderful women were all studying writing. I hooked up with one through my volunteer training for the Adult Literacy League, and she invited me to join the group. I felt as though I was getting a free education as they were quick to share what they had learned (especially when critiquing my chapters).

At any rate, one of their professors used to say, "Just because it's true doesn't make it good." They would throw this in my face when I'd try to justify something I'd written with, "but it really happened."

One of the things I'm teaching in my dialogue class right now is that although dialogue has to sound like real speech, it isn't really "real" speech. Transcribing actual conversations won't work for writing.

Another place where "real" doesn't necessarily work is coincidences. They do happen, but they're problematic when plotting your story.

Bargains

With the release of DANGER IN DEER RIDGE, I've lowered the price of the first Blackthorne, Inc. book, WHEN DANGER CALLS, to 99 cents. Check the Deals and Steals page for purchase information.


If someone asks single mother Frankie Castor to clear a room, she'll smile and find a vacuum cleaner. Ryan Harper uses a gun. Can they work together when their lives depend on it?

Frankie’s returned to her childhood home in Montana to help care for her mother. Her biggest worries are balancing the budget and the upkeep of an aging home. When she offers a man a ride home from the hospital, she never imagines she’ll end up having to choose between her daughter’s life and matters of national security that could cost the lives of millions.

Ryan returns to his family home to find a way to prove he didn’t leak vital information on a covert ops mission gone south. As he searches for the meaning of a file he’s kept hidden from the mission, he has no idea that international mercenaries have been searching for it—and him. When the mercenaries come after Ryan, he’s torn. Fighting for his country wars with fighting to rescue people he loves.

Set against a Montana mountain backdrop, When Danger Calls is a story filled with action, adventure, and romance, where the stakes keep getting higher and higher.

Friday Field Trip: Mollie Kathleen 2

As promised last week, here's what the area around the Mollie Kathleen mine in Cripple Creek looks like.

And it's my day at the Author Expressions blog, where I'll be talking about setting.

It's About Conflict and Tension 2

What I'm reading: Sweet Nothings, by Catherine Anderson

Yesterday, I showed how I attempted to keep the reader interested in my first scene of DANGER IN DEER RIDGE. I'm continuing that today with some analysis of the second scene, where we get to go inside Grinch's head. By having 2 POV characters, you have more opportunities for tension, as the reader begins to see more than either character can. I normally limit myself to only 2 POV characters, but in this book I actually added a third--the villain, which can also increase tension as neither hero or heroine knows what's going on in his head.

In this section, rather than snip and just leave the paragraphs I explained, I decided to leave everything there so you can follow the flow of the scene.

Grinch peeked through the passenger window of his pickup, reassuring himself that Dylan would stay asleep for the few moments it would take to get the gas flowing. The bumpy ride down the steep, pothole-filled driveway would have woken him up for sure. Besides, Chester was with him, and nobody would approach the truck with that mutt standing guard. He gave the window a soft pat, then headed toward the house. We can't have TSTL heroes. This paragraph shows Grinch dealing with his immediate conflict—getting the gas turned on for Elizabeth while his young son is with him. (And in order to make it work, I had to stick in the dog, which became yet another character to keep track of! But it turned out he was a welcome addition.)

It had been obvious that he'd frightened the Parker woman, and not by showing up unannounced. She had that trapped-animal demeanor. What's her story? He wandered around her car. Layers of road dirt. California plates. Tires in decent shape, but if this was her only vehicle, she was going to have some trouble once the snows hit. Sooner if she didn't get the driveway repaired and graded. Glimpse into Grinch's character. He cares about people.

It's About Conflict and Tension

Thanks to Lilian Stewart Carl for sharing all that information about kilts yesterday. I learned a lot. If you didn't read her post, you definitely need to scroll down.

When I wrote Monday's post, on why I decided to go indie with DANGER IN DEER RIDGE, I had several people email me asking me why I didn't put up more about the book itself.

Interesting question. First, although I definitely want people to buy my books, I've kind of had this "no self-promotion" rule about this blog. I did include links to my website for blurb and first chapter, as well as buy links, so that the information was available for those who wanted to look. And if you missed it, you can find it here.

More in keeping with the focus of this blog, I thought I'd provide a little more of a behind the scenes peek at the writing process. Donald Maass suggests there be tension on every page, and microtension in every paragraph. Characters have to want something, and there need to be reasons why they can't have it. There needs to be conflict.

Under the broad umbrella of all romance sub-genres, one critical element is the first meet between hero and heroine. So, I thought I'd share some of the first meet scene from DANGER IN DEER RIDGE with you, and mark it up with how I tried to create tension and conflict. In this scene, the heroine has a clear goal: start her new life. She's just arrived at her new home with her eight-year-old son. Making sure he's safe is her top priority.

She filled the pot with water, then set it on the burner. Checking the unfamiliar gas range, she matched the knob with the appropriate burner and twisted it. Nothing. She waited. Tried again. Was she supposed to light the burner with a match? Where was the instruction book? She yanked open drawers hoping to find one. Nothing. Conflict: without gas, she can't cook.