Harlequin Romance Group Author Blog

OK—this is it. Debut shelf-week. The date I have been waiting fourteen months for with barely disguised and ever-growing enthusiasm.

I made it. In more ways than one.

Writing as an Extreme Sport

Poor Rebecca - tech woes still plaguing here so I'm here to post her blog!  :-)

It's very tempting when you want to write an emotional scene, or even an emotional book, to throw everything you have at it.  We're always told that including sensual information adds depth to our writing, and it does, but it's not always a good idea to go to town with it on every page!

Too much too soon.

Even though we’re nearing the end of the month, I still find January magical. Some of my friends think it an anti-climax after Christmas and the New Year – but I love it. I find there’s something fresh and laid back and hopeful about January.

Some writer buddies and I recently had a discussion about hero names.

The good, the bad, the ones that aren't so welcome in different countries.

I love naming characters, adore it!

Before I start writing, or even planning a book for that matter, I absolutely must have my character names nailed.
They help define my characters.

Location, Location, Location

That’s the best feature for real estate, so the experts say.  But does it matter in books?  I have two books out this month.  One is set on the rocky coast of Maine, the other in sunny Spain.  

My morning is going like my year, my book. 

Synaesthesia.

The blend of the Physical Senses.

Even the word has that subtle alliteration that appeals to the senses when spoken out loud.

We writers love to explore combinations of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch to add colour and depth to the sensory details to every scene.

Sadly, I don't have an image to post today. LOL No fun holiday picture of myself. No book to promote -- though if you want to pick up a copy of THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS, that would be nice. LOL

Anyway, I awoke this morning to a winter wonderland.

Again.

This month I'm celebrating the release of 'Lights, Camera...Kiss the Boss' in ebook form (save the trees!) and a 4.5star review from Romantic Times. I thought it was a good opportunity to talk about how I celebrate finishing a book. (Images in this blog courtesy of www.pandora-jewelry.com)

You ask, “What does Julia Child have to do with writing?” 

Some holiday reading to curl up with:

Australian Bachelors, Sassy Brides

This is a two-in-one collection of novellas by Jennie Adams and Margaret Way and is available for purchase on eHarlequin now. 

Simple living

Have you ever heard of voluntary simple living?  I first head about this in the late 1990's and was intrigued.  Reading several books on the subject, I found I could definitely embrace the idea.  I did not need more clothes than I wore in a month, nor more shoes than I could fit in the bottom of my closet.  The basic tenet is live simply, don’t acquire things just to get more.  Make life about experiences, not acquisitions.

We've drawn a winner of the huge giveaway we posted on Friday.  Congratulations to Patti Ausdenmore!

 I've e-mailed Patti with our congrats. 

A very merry Christmas to all of you, from all of us, and here's to an even more fabulous 2010!

 Donna

Can you believe Christmas is next week?

For me, the year has passed in a blur of deadlines and kids' activities and family stuff.  It isn't unusual for this writing hermit to be out many nights during December, catching up with friends I haven't seen all year.

Writing commercial fiction - of any genre - which readers will enjoy, seems to me to be a complex blend of art and craft, culture and market.

These elements then need to be combined with a fierce passion for the story I am telling and a deep respect for the readers who I would love to enjoy the story of these two characters and their journey to love.

I found this recipe for stuffing back in the early 90s, and I've never cooked anything else to go with my Christmas turkey since.  It's that good!  You can use vacuum-packed chestnuts for this (if you must), but frozen are much better, as you get that lovely nutty, softly crunchy texture.  Heaven.

Last month I had a bit of a crisis of confidence regarding writing after I had revisions on book  #4 come in halfway through writing book #5,  and then my author proofs on book #2 arrived halfway through the revisions. It sent me into a spin and put me in a place where I lost all perspective on other minor bumps in the road.

Stress works like that.

*am posting for Jackie Braun who is having technical difficulties.

20 and Counting... 

 Gee, that headline makes me sound like a reality TV mom, except that I’m talking about books, not babies. My 20th one published through Harlequin Enterprises hits store shelves in December. 

Nothing divides readers in the romance community as much as a sheikh.Some adore them; the sense of danger, the difference, the dark passions. Some loathe them.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how many times I've writtien myself out of a corner over the years.

          .  

Tonight I’m attending my town’s premier literary event – the Newcastle Poetry Prize (that’s Newcastle Australia). As the winner is awarded AUD$10,000 it’s considered one of the country’s most prestigious poetry events. I’m attending because I like to support the local literary scene, but it has me thinking about poetry and my somewhat ambivalent relationship with it.

How does a story start?  What comes first - characters, plot, both?  In my case, I'd say all of the above.  Helpful, aren't I?

Babies in Romance – Love ’em or Hate ’em?

Hi, everyone, this is my first blog for the Romance line so I hope you’ll all come out and play…

Loglines.Premise. The Story Idea. The Pitch.

For a newbie like myself,these can seem bewildering concepts which are only relevant to screenwriters and of no value to fiction writers.

Book Trailers

I belong to a group of multi-published genre fiction authors.  Over the several years, I’ve heard a lot about book trailers.  Have you ever even seen one?  The only time I have is when one of the other authors writes she has a new one up.  Then I’ll click on the URL and watch.  Fascinating.  Every single one I’ve seen makes me want to rush right out and buy the book.

   Rebecca's still experiencing technical difficulties, but here's her post for this week!  I dare you not to be intrigued - when I read it I was instantly transported.  Is it any wonder she's a reader favourite?

Eleventh hour | Eleventh day | Eleventh month

Today, member countries of the Commonwealth (particularly) recall those who lost their lives during the many engagements of World War 1. Hostilities famously ended at 11am on the 11th November 1918 when the Armistice was signed. It is a day when the dying strains of the Last Post ring out over two minutes of silence around the world. It is a day when simple words have galvanised the world to remember those who were lost.

And technology is winning!

For those of you who were here on Friday, you realize that I also posted then. Why? The Google Calendar we use to keep track of the Harlequin Romance authors blogging each month seems to be having weird hissy fits. I've been deleted and added back in on dates that I SWEAR I have not chosen. I've dropped off dates I've chosen and magically reappeared only to disappear again.

They tell me (they being my more technologically savvy kids) that this is my fault. I am doing something wrong. Really? There's a secret handshake? LOL

Nope, the kids reply...You're clearly missing a step, not clicking an icon or hitting save or walking around your desk three times while chanting nursery rhymes.

A cat, Creamsickle, plays a leading role in bringing the hero and heroine together in THE MAGIC OF A FAMILY CHRISTMAS. This isn't an accident. My cat Sophia has done some remarkable things. She can cheer up anyone. She keeps the rodent population to a minimum in our little section of town. She meows if I yell...even if I'm "yelling" to call someone to dinner. Which has turned me into a much quieter person. But she doesn't get along with our other cat Fat Fluff.

We've figured out why. She believes she's a member of the family and Fluffy is just the cat. The pet.

It all goes back to the day we got Sophie. A few weeks before we'd had to put Fluffy's brother Basil to sleep. I couldn't seem to get over his loss. He was a wonderful, huge black cat who loved to hide in poinsettias. So it was awful.

My niece Kelli just happened to be driving home from Pittsburgh one Saturday and they found poor Sophie on the road beside a stretch of woods. She was so tiny she fit in the palm of Kelli's hand. She was also covered in dead leaves, and sneezing. A new mom, Kelli couldn't leave the poor kitten, so she brought her home and my sister suggested they call me since I had just lost a cat.

Some of you may have noticed that I enjoy music. A lot.

YouTube is amazing. There are people who have gone to the trouble of loading video and music tracks onto the system so that the rest of the world can enjoy them for the price of broadband.

When I am writing I need background instrumental sounds.

...or rather writing one, since even the people who love me beg
me not to sing.

It was nearly two years ago – another November – when I had a breakfast meeting with my editors at the plush Churchill Hotel in the west end of London to discuss what I’d write in the year ahead.

Four years ago this week, our family lost a valued family member.   His name: Puddin’ Ho.

I haven’t seen the movie, The Proposal, yet, but when I heard about it I started thinking about memorable proposal scenes from movies, and television series. Some that came to mind immediately were: 

I am definitely a carrot kind of person. Not in the literal sense (though, I have nothing against orange vegetables), it’s just... I find I work VERY well under a reward system – get x amount of work done and I earn a treat. Acknowledging the achievements of my minor goals makes me feel good about myself.

Well, the odds were good but ultimately the winner of a copy of Montana, Mistletoe, Marriage is Laney4.

Laney, drop me a line at donnaalward @ hotmail.com (no spaces) with your snail mail addy and I'll send out your prize!

Donna

The other big change I see in the world of technology for me is how I interact with other writers.

Way back when, after I had first published 3 books with Harlequin Romance, my then editor told me about an organization called Romance Writers of America.  It happened that RWA was planning a conference in Seattle that summer and she wondered if I would be attending.  I had never heard of RWA, but sure, I’d see about attending to get a chance to see my London editor only a short distance away instead of having to fly to London.  

My first ‘kiss’ for Harlequin comes out in time for Valentines Day next year. It got me thinking about first kisses...

I had two first kisses. The true first doesn’t count because I wasn’t a particularly willing participant and it wasn’t much of a kiss, frankly. It was more of an initiation and the kiss-er didn’t seem much more enthused about the task than the 13 year old kiss-ee.

So scratch that one. Instead, I’d like to share with you the story of my first real kiss. One that counts. Nearly a quarter-century ago now (oh, boy, that hurts).

This weekend my husband and I traveled to a small town in East Central Pennsylvania, near Gettysburg, to make applebutter with the church ladies (and men!) at my husband's brother's church.

In A DILEMMA. A choice has to be made between two equally bad - or two equally good- alternatives.

 I can assure you that one of the biggest things authors worry about once their book is written is – the cover!!