Hindsight...

....is always 20/20. Gah...if I could have a do-over of last year! Soooo many things I'd change or at least do differently! Let's start with February.

-I would have sent the hubby out to move the car, instead of the oldest child. Cost us $900 to repair the damage to friend's car when he failed to see it in the dark and backed into it.

March:

-I would have held on to more of our tax refund; plus the minute the spouse complained about his sight, dragged him to the eye doctor.

-Picked a better date for oldest son's Eagle Ceremony, but as it turned out, nobody will ever forget that day, lol! (Palm Sunday, two days after hubby's eye surgery!)

July:

-Investigated potential publisher a bit more thoroughly.

Aug:

-Would have made a better decision, instead of keeping my 'WTHIGO' issues to myself.

-Bought oldest the College Care Package, even though he told me not to.

Oct:

-Attended signing in the MORNING, instead of the afternoon. Everyone was gone by then.

I know there are others I'm forgetting; these are just the big ones. The best decision of last year, it seems, was doing the Farmer's Market every weekend. It got me noticed by the Christmas Parade planners, and as a result, myself and five other authors were made the Grand Marshals. I enjoyed it, and was thankful the weather cooperated.

What about you? Do you have anything you'd like to change about the past year? Or was 2010 pretty good?

Whips and Chains

Maybe it was all those spankings as a child. Or being teased by my peers from the 4th grade until high school. At any rate, I most likely will not write a BDSM, or any psychological horror/thriller stories.

Don't get me wrong; I enjoy reading them from time to time. And in fact, several of my favorite authors write these genres. But I just can't wrap my head around anyone who would enjoy being 'punished', spanked, whipped, or even treated like a child, and then being told 'I love you,' and being made love to. In my head, those elements just don't go together.

The closest I can get to writing anything like this would be mild bondage. When tying each other up is viewed in playful ways, and not causing any pain. I do, however, have a wip which wants to veer into this genre, and another which wants to take a peek into the lifestyle. But neither of these are grabbing my attention, so I may just turn the concept over to Brynn and see if she can work her magic:) I'll take my payment in free books, ha ha:) Then again, she may insist I do it myself.

Another genre I doubt I'll ever write is M/M. Again, I have read some of this genre, and thanks to Kaenar Langdon, there is a video saved in my email which I think is pretty hot! I think I'll leave this to the ladies who write it best; Dakota Rebel, Kaenar, Carol Lynne, and Mia Watts. I had enough problems writing my one and only F/F, in which all of the sex scenes take place 'behind closed doors'.

Menage: I like to read it; however, I tried to picture myself as the adored object once, but always, the 2nd guy managed to fade away. Guess I'm just an old fashioned, one man-at-a-time-woman.

Fantasy/SciFi: In two words, World Building. Enough said. If I have trouble visualizing my setting, how can I expect to write it? If I attempted either of these, I'd end up looking like a sad copy of Harry Potter, Tolkein, or Star Wars. I again refer you to my ending of Star Wars. Pitiful.

I admire anyone who can create other worlds and make them sound exciting! Jae Roth, Anny Cook, Vicky Burkholder...these ladies have imaginations!

I know there are several of my friends who don't like unhappy endings, and others who can't stand romance. It all comes down to personal preference. What's yours?

And never say never; I'm collaborating right now with what may end up being my one and only horror/transgender/zombie story. The other two authors need to write their scenes and finish what I started!

Shock!

"Dear Kenzie,
" After reading your book, I have decided not to set it out for my customers. Frankly, I am appalled at the language and sexual situations depicted, even though I am fully aware of today's environment. I do, however, choose to discourage such behavior among today's teenagers and young adults, and therefore would invite you to put your talents to better use.

" I would also like to invite you to meet my Friend who died on the Cross. Finding a wholesome, God-fearing community might help cleanse your vocabulary and create stories more tailored to promoting God's glory.

"Sincerely,"
Name Withheld,
First customer repelled by my first book, June 2007

In my defense, I TOLD her the book had some language and mild sexual situations. She chose to buy it anyway. And a week or so later, her note arrived in the mail.

My first impulse was shock, and I wanted to write her back, explaining yes, I AM a Christian, and attend church on a regular basis. But then common sense prevailed; I did not want to engage her in a pissing contest, and let the matter drop. I don't even think I'd recognize her if I ever ran into her again.

You've undoubtedly heard of the author who had no such qualms about confronting one of her reviewers, who gave a not-so-steller-review. I don't know if this will hinder her further efforts; I think she definitely needs a 'think before you speak/type' attitude. Jumping in someone's face because they've expressed an opinion of your work is not professional behavior. Remember; our work is highly subjective and we're not going to please everyone we meet. Develop a thick skin and let the bad reviews go; enjoy the good ones and strive for your best work.

First Impressions

"Oooooh, you're an author? What do you write?"

"Adult Contemporary Romance."

(Eyebrows lift) "Ohhhhh..."

I'm up front with what I write; however, I tend to omit the 'erotic' part, preferring to call it 'adult'. If anyone wants to know more, and I can't judge their age, I ask how old they are, and if they're younger than eighteen, I steer them toward my alter-ego's books.

I'm still new enough that I've not had a whole lot of reactions; I have been prayed over (basically, for the Lord to help me clean up my language); I've had someone write me a letter inviting me to 'Meet my friend who died on the cross' (I already have a very good relationship with Him, thankyouverymuch!); and I've even had former classmates say they've read excerpts and fall off their chairs. "Sweet, innocent YOU wrote THAT?" (Sweet, innocent me went to college and grew up, heh heh heh!)

But I suppose the best reaction I ever received was two years ago at our local Wine and Art Festival. Apparently, one of the workers at one of the wineries had stopped by my table earlier, and had heard me refer to my writing as 'Adult Smut'.

I went up for a taste of one of their wines, and as I was tasting, he asked me, "Do you really write smut?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good for you!" He poured me another larger taste, free of charge!

And another winery owner gave me two bottles of Blueberry Wine, because we'd sent many customers to his booth, and, "My wife really enjoyed reading your book last year. When is the next one going to be available?"

Unfortunately, this past year, that particular winery did not make it to the festival; their truck broke down. So I have high hopes this coming June, when I get to tell him Wild At Heart is out, and two more will be on the way:)

Research...Do I Research?

To some extent, I do have to research some subjects.

For instance, while writing Teacher's Pet, suddenly the hero was slapped with a sexual harassment suit. Since I knew nothing but sketchy details, I had to stop writing; call a friend on the school board to find out specific actions, as well as contact a lawyer for his input on policies.

Same when I was expanding All She Ever Wanted; the issue of Health and Building Code violations came up, and again I was calling people to find out about fines, what constituted a violation, and how to go about contesting it.

I guess my favorite 'research' happened while on vacation. In 2002, my family spent a week in Estes Park, Colorado, at Nicky's Resort. We toured the strip malls in Estes Park; we spent hours in various parts of Rocky Mountain National Park, and ate at some terrific restaurants. I was actually writing another book at the time, but kept a diary of our travels, a habit my mom started when my children were little.

Fast forward to 2007. I'm happily writing away and getting my convict's story down, when all of a sudden, one of the minor characters decides he's not going to be so minor after all, and reveals he's in Denver, Colorado. Suddenly, he's exploring the park and meeting people. An entire subplot develops, and suddenly I can't remember what was on the menu or the decor of Nicky's. So I called them.

The hostess was thrilled I was putting the establishment into a book, and eagerly rattled off some menu items. Then I gently asked about some landmarks in the town, and she confirmed my memory was good. I thanked her and hung up.

Right now, I've got three 'research' projects going on: One story involves a convention, so I have to 'table' it until I can actually GET to one, or at least wait until the characters speak to me again; 2) Since my Discovery Channel episodes were deleted, I'll be watching the next season with interest, and again, hoping my characters talk to me; and 3) Since my 'Dancing with the Stars' storyline is balking, I'm going to have to start watching the show or take up my dance lessons again. I also got a great idea for a subplot, but as an illness I know little about is involved, yeah, I'm going to have to do some research and interview a good friend. Wish me luck; since Spring Break is over, I plan on diving back into Word War at least 2-3 hours per day.

And of course, there is also the research my alter-ego likes to do:
She picks up the phone and calls her BFF:

"I need you to stretch your memory..."

E: "Oh lord, what now?"

"Remember the time you and I met those basketball players, and we used to play euchre with them in the lobby? And one night the RA let us go over to the boys' side for ten minutes, only we took fifteen and he threatened to write us up?"

"Ye-es, I think so...why?"

"You whispered something to him and he changed his mind. What did you say to him?"

"You honestly expect me to remember that? Get real!"

"I Dare You..."

Back in 2007, I was challenged by a former blogmate to increase my heat level. I wrote the upcoming Teacher's Pet with much blushing and minimizing the screen whenever a child would happen to walk by, or even the husband. I was uncomfortable typing certain words and phrases (scroll down to see last week's post!), but I knew if I ever hoped to be an Ellora's Cave author, I'd better use them.

After a while, I got used to all the description; the story was flowing, and I was also challenging myself in my first NaNoWriMo, to see if I was capable of a) writing and meeting a daily word count goal and b) keeping my heat level up. I nearly killed myself, but I eventually accomplished both goals. I had a 50, 038 word document, and sex, sex, and more sex all the way to the end. I was so exhausted and sick of my characters, I didn't go near that document for three months. Mission accomplished, and you know the rest of the story.

My next challenge came a year ago September. I had crashed a class reunion, with people I'd not seen in over 30 years. They found out I was an author, and soon, after a few drinks, three people came to me with 'ideas'. I came home, started writing, but stalled. Then an email from a reader changed that work around. Who knew a simple change of setting, character names, etc, would spark the creativity? I should be receiving a contract for 'Class Reunion' soon.

But my largest challenge is a storyline which came to me last year. I'd gotten hooked on a certain Discovery Channel show, and an idea sparked. But, I know little about this lifestyle. How can I write about something I know only slightly about?

I decided to get the basics down. I saved several episodes on my DVR, and started writing. Disaster hit; I not only hit a wall with the story, but someone deleted every single one of my episodes. I'm hoping the characters 'call' me to finish their story! Same goes for a 'Dancing With The Stars' storyline I have going. I've not touched it in two weeks, and even then, the story's not flowing. I have a bunch of disjointed scenes and really no motivation to tie them together yet. Again, when the time is right, it will call me back. For the moment, I'm concentrating on another story I began about ten or so years ago, but didn't know where it was going. Well, now I do, but the war in Iraq has filtered into it. Now I need to do research on VA hospitals and rehab. Sheesh! This is not the book I'd intended to write, but the characters are adamant it stay in. Wish me luck.

I've said it before; I need peace and quiet. I need to lock myself in a hotel room for a month. No kids, no husband. Just me, my computer, a hot tub within easy access, good food, and plenty of cookies. Preferably Fig Newtons or Chips Deluxe. And a hefty supply of Hershey Bliss Milk Chocolate squares. Or Dove.

Now I have a challenge to my friends James and Travis: Finish our story! I wrote about a disgruntled worker three years ago, and you suggested zombies for the next scene. So where is it? Get it written already!

The Women Have Spoken!

After posting this on FB, within an hour I had several women drooling (and a few men as well!) over their computer keyboards! I only had one negative comment, from a non-erotic romance reader, who thought this couple 'didn't look real' and 'they don't look as if they even eat, much less cook!'. And my SU and oldest son were staring at the woman....so I say this is a good one:)

The book is slated to arrive in September, and I'm still hoping Teacher's Pet will be released late spring/early summer, so there is plenty of 'breathing' space between the two. Now I can go ahead and get my bookmarks, and maybe a cover flat and some CD covers made. Starting to get excited again:)

Tomorrow, I'll be over at the Romance Books R Us blog, talking about my imaginary friends. Won't you come join in the discussion?