“She flowed into his arms and they stood silently for a moment: two middle-aged people, much encumbered by heavy winter outerwear and vintage emotional baggage, but, for the moment, in perfect harmony.” So, I get the invitation to blog on Fresh Fiction and I accept joyfully, especially since the kind folks here have named my recent release In a Dark Season “Pick of the Day” (5/25/08). I start checking out some past blogs and then I see the covers of featured books. Hmmm. Flowing hair, heaving bosoms, and more six-packs than a convenience store. Oh dear! This isn’t what I write – do they really want me? Mind you, I have nothing against tempestuous heroines and hunky heroes – I’ve drooled my way through a Judith Krantz title or two before this. But when I began to write in 2000 – at the age of fifty seven – I’d already spent about ten years, looking around for role models — older women who were aging in the way I hoped to. It seemed as if the media was crawling with gorgeous twenty-somethings and the occasional cute, feisty old lady and in real life there was a great middle ground of…
How does a writer create a story with a compelling plot AND compelling characters? This was a question I asked myself throughout my writing of Madapple (Knopf), my debut novel. Released last month, Madapple is a crossover novel intended for older teens and adults. Part literary mystery, part psychological thriller, I knew the success of Madapple would depend at least in part on my ability to devise a page-turning plot acted out by well-developed characters. I expected this would be difficult, because often novels provide either an intricate plot or complex, richly developed characters. Rarely does a novel provide both. But why? But why? As I was writing, I quickly realized why. An intricate plot makes demands on its characters, requiring them to act according to its mandates, which may well be inconsistent with what turns out to be any given character’s inclinations. I’m referring to characters as if they are alive, I know—as if they have inclinations separate from an author’s intent. Well, I think they do sometimes: the characters of Madapple certainly did. As an author, I may have given birth to my characters but, like children, my characters seemed to have minds of their own. My plot…
I have a confession to make: Most of my friends don’t read romances. For one reason or another, they simply…don’t read romances. Period. Either they’re worried about being judged by the racy covers, or they think all that romance stuff is “a fairy tale,” or they prefer to read exclusively about serial killers, or they’ve tried one (just one!) romance–possibly a decade ago, or more–and have decided the whole genre just isn’t for them. That’s okay with me. I mean, there are occasionally awkward moments between us, I’ll admit that. Because I’m passionate about reading and writing romances! I think they’re awesome. I like to celebrate the power of love, the thrill of attraction, and all the wonderful differences between men and women. At the same time, I’m a live-and-let-live kind of person. I don’t think it’s up to me to try to “convert” anyone to my favorite genre. I wouldn’t like it if someone tried to force me to take up lawn bowling or sushi eating or PlayStation playing (it would be futile; I’m a Nintendo Wii gal). Our dissimilarities make us uniquely interesting, and the world would be a boring place if everyone liked the same things. That…
The word brings up images of a blushing bride, a nervous, tuxedo-clad groom and joyful tears in the eyes of family and friends. Months, maybe years, of planning have gone into the single most important day in the lives of two happy people. I love weddings. At one time I thought I wanted to spend my life in the arena of gowns and people with smiles and happy tears. But, as life would have it, it didn’t work out and I went on to other pursuits – writing. When I look back, I don’t regret it. I have been able to be many people. Like Charlton Heston once said, “I’ve been president of the United States three times, and chancellor of England, and I ran the French government. And I led the Jews out of Egypt. What more could I want?” What more could I want except to be a writer, to live the lives of presidents, first ladies, cops, models, lawyers, doctors, architects, and everyone in between. I have flown planes and helicopters, worked with FBI and CIA agents, owned a ranch and held a secret baby. I’ve saved the lives of a presidential candidate, been the granddaughter of…
Last weekend I went to the Reader & Writer Get Together Lori Foster and Dianne Castell host every year in Cincinnati, Ohio. To read more about this event, visit my blog. This was my first time visiting the event and I think any die-hard romance reader should attend. Why? Here are five reasons: It’s great to meet the romance readers you only talk to online. It’s a rare opportunity to spend hours chatting about books with readers who love romance as much as you do. Chances are you will have more in common with these readers than favorite books and authors. It’s fun to meet your favorite authors in a casual environment. (For some reason it’s not that nerve-wracking when everyone is wearing jeans and T-shirts!) Every woman should set aside at least one weekend that is just for her. You spend every other weekend for family, work and chores. A weekend at the Get Together is relaxing and giving you the “me time” you deserve! Susanna Carr www.susannacarr.com/ Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.
I’ve been reading romance novels for over twenty years and writing them for over ten years. They are a significant part of my life. I’ve watched trends come and go, and I’ve been part of some of those trends. But one thing remains constant: The heroes and heroines fall in fall. Romance novels are about romance. The Art of Desire is an erotic romance. It’s a wildly passionate book where the characters fall crazy in love while having crazy, heart-thrilling sex. I was accurately quoted in Candy’s June Inside Books column (thanks, Candy!) about how my books used to get censored, and I’d like to expound on that quote, posting it in its entirety. In the old days, I used to get censored by my editors because my love scenes were too graphic, so when the erotica subgenre exploded on the scene, it seemed inevitable that I become part of it. Even my readers kept asking, “When are you going to write an erotica?” So I did it! The Art of Desire is my first really, really sexy book. No censorship. No holds barred. But in spite of the sensuality, I wanted it to be highly romantic and deeply emotional,…
Research is the strength of all stories, regardless if it is contemporary, historical, fantasy or futuristic. So how does an author create real settings in all of these worlds? I like to walk the land every time I can to pick up details we don’t see in a casual passing or on the internet. When Sherrilyn Kenyon and I were writing our new romantic-suspense story PHANTOM IN THE NIGHT (Pocket/June 10, 2008) last fall, we spent time in New Orleans (NO) surveying areas specifically for the story in spite of our joint knowledge of Louisiana. Sherrilyn knows New Orleans well since her Dark-Hunter series is set primarily there, KCON (Kenyon Convention) is in or around the French Quarter each year and she lived in NO at one time. I had family in Louisiana at one time and still do in Biloxi, Mississippi, plus friends in NO. I’ve fished from many of the coastal Louisiana towns along the Gulf of Mexico and had a business in NO at one time, so Louisiana has been a favorite location of mine for many years. Even with all this background, we spent time there last fall “walking the land” so we had fresh images…
I did something yesterday I haven’t done in a very long time: I took myself out on a date. A movie date, to be precise. I had been hard at work on my current manuscript (the second in my new paranormal series) and by early afternoon I was feeling restless and more than a little brain dead. “Cabin fever,” my husband said and he was right. And we both knew the cure. I jumped in the car, rattled over the back roads between our house and the new movie theater in town, and got there just in time to buy myself a Diet Coke and a small popcorn before the previews started. I settled down in an aisle seat, feeling that delicious shiver of anticipation I always get when the lights dim and the candy bars on the screen start dancing. (Okay, so I’m easily entertained. What can I say? I’m a writer. I don’t get out much.) The funny thing is I wouldn’t recognize a Manolo Blahnik if I tripped over one. My favorite sweater is almost twenty years old and I’m fifty-seven. I’d rather spend my money on yarn and books. And I married the first boy I…
One of the things that satisfies me most about writing is exploring the characters’ fears, their hopes, and dreams. Each book has had something new for me and I’ve enjoyed stretching myself—and I’ve especially enjoyed torturing—um, I mean pushing—the hero and heroine. It isn’t always deliberate, but if I have a heroine who’s afraid she’s going to fall to the dark side in her magical world, you can bet she’s going to end up in a situation where that’s tested. IN TWILIGHT’S SHADOW (Jun 3, 2008) gave me something different to think about—risk. I’d explored the idea of courage in an earlier book, but I never thought about risk until Maia and Creed’s story. Maia was a troubleshooter for a society of magic users and she gambled her job, her standing, even her life by playing with black magic. She lost. Certain that her sister, Ryne, would be sent to hunt her, Maia gave up her magic, but she also gave up the only world she’s ever known. Considered an outsider among her people, she lives a human life. She has a job she hates, a mortgage, and bills. And she’s playing it safe now, afraid to take a chance…
I had every intention of writing a blog about my latest release for Silhouette Romantic Suspense, SAFE WITH A STRANGER (the first book in my new trilogy called The Safekeepers.) The Safekeepers is a series of suspense novels about bodyguards for children–with the fun addition of Mexican witchcraft and a family curse. Or maybe I could’ve blogged about connected books. That seems to be my thing lately. My last series for Silhouette was six books long! I just don’t seem to be able to write single books anymore. I like fleshing out characters over several books and really enjoy revealing a series-long connection inside each book. But as I was sitting here at my desk, my mind wandered off (as it usually does,) and I began thinking about why I write at all. As I have said before, I hate to write. Really I do. Oh, I love telling stories. I love getting into the heads of my characters. I love doing research. And I love finding just the right word to make a sentence sing. But the process of sitting my back end into a chair and shoveling out the words makes me want to cringe. In fact, right…