Archive for January, 2005
Monday, January 17th, 2005
After last week’s arduous upgrade to my message board (due to multiple hacks and modifications I’ve done to the core php code of the board it took longer than necessary) I decided to strip the board down to the basics to make future upgrades much more simple. Then I discovered that the programmers of my message board program are planning a completely new, redesigned message board launch in late Feb. early March, which would make my existing board obsolete anyway. LOL
So I’ll just wait until then, when I can I just transfer all the existing posts on the message board to the new format, which apparently will be so different from the one I’m using now that nothing that works on the old board will work on the new. I’m hopeful the new design and programming will contain most of the modifactions I’ve done to the core code so I won’t have to mess with it. In any case, the tech nerd in me is excited. 
Posted in Techie Stuff | No Comments »
Monday, January 17th, 2005
After word got out that I’d received an offer from Brava, I started getting e-mails from other recently published authors. They wanted to know if I was scared, if I was worried about ever selling another book, if I wondered if my editor liked me, if my relationship with my friends and cps had changed.
It was a relief for me to learn that these feelings weren’t just mine but somewhat universal. It’s a strange place to be–no longer unpublished, but not quite published, and desperate to sell another book. There’s even a support group for writers in this stage of their careers and it was great to find that out. It’s always nice to know that you’re not alone. 
Posted in Publication | 2 Comments »
Sunday, January 16th, 2005
My hubby is not so certain that Baby Bob:
is an improvement over the “spongmonkeys”. 
Who is Quizno’s marketing firm, I wonder…
Posted in Life as I know it | No Comments »
Sunday, January 16th, 2005
Here’s to Captain Phoenix!! 
Which Pirates of the Caribbean character are you?
In other, sadder news, Arabella Magazine has officially gone under.  Arabella was actually my first CALL. They offered for a story of mine back in June. The story was never published because they started having financial trouble soon after. Very sad. I know a lot of aspiring authors took heart from Arabella offering to purchase short stories from them.
Posted in Sites of Interest | 5 Comments »
Saturday, January 15th, 2005
As my prize for winning the Reader’s Choice portion of Lori Foster’s Brava Novella Contest, I won a 6-month Kensington Book Club membership.
My first four books arrived yesterday. I’d never heard of any of the books or the authors who wrote them so I looked them up on Amazon to see what they were about and what the readers thought of them. I noticed a few comments were made about the level of sensuality, such as “Rather low on the sensuality scale”. For me, this made me not want to read the books.
Why? I wondered.  Is it because I write “hotter” works myself? Is it because I critique with partners who also write romantica/erotica? I used to enjoy the tamer love stories and yet now I don’t so much. Is it like they say about pornography? Have I become desensitized?
Sure I think it has something to do with the types of stories I write. I tend to write on the hotter side of the scale. Cece said she needed to turn on a fan, Jordan said they are “scorching”, my Black Lace editor said she would have to tone done some of my descriptions (and Black Lace is erotica), but I don’t think that’s it.
Reading my cps’ work also isn’t the reason. If anything, reading their stories and their briliiantly drawn sexual tension has made me more of a connoisseur of great sexual scenes.
Basically, I think it’s because I believe sexual scenes should reveal the characters. It’s not about the act itself, but what’s revealed about the characters during the act. Is the hero holding back, is he trying to keep himself from falling in love? Is he trying to retain control or does he relish losing it? Is the heroine open about her sexuality or is she repressed? Is the act an exorcism of sorts, a purging of hurt and anger? Or is it a loving act, a joyous act? Can I see these people falling in love though the very intimate physical joining or is it lust (which I respect as much as love)? Hell, I don’t want my hubby to just love me, I want him to lust for me too. Don’t you?
When an author writes 300+ pages of romance with only tiny, paragraph length sexual scenes I don’t think I’m getting the whole picture. I don’t think the love story is complete or as detailed as it could be. So I’m not desensitized. In fact, I’m just the opposite. Falling in love is a very complex thing. In order to make that come alive for me in a book I need to see all the many facets and sex is a very important part of that to me.
Now I do have books on my keeper self that aren’t as descriptive, but get the point across nevertheless. I love these books, obviously or I wouldn’t be keeping them. But I do have a preference for books where the sexual heat of the story comes across. You know that tightness you get in your chest in a really poignant scene? Or that anxiousness you feel when the hero and heroine look like they’ll never be together and you really want them too? I like to feel the sexual tension just as much. It’s all part of the experience for me. A great book inspires the gamut of emotions. At least it should IMHO.
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Posted in Books | 3 Comments »
Friday, January 14th, 2005
Yay!!! I got back from lunch with my mom and read an e-mail in my inbox that said I was invited to blog in the “blogging hub” thingy Alison got invited to join!! I’m very excited and didn’t hesitate to say yes.
Romancing the Blog | Romance Authors and Readers Who Blog
The site is beautiful and it sounds like fun. Apparently I’ll be asked to write a blog post once or twice a month on a topic related to the romance publishing industry.
I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’m not sure who else is going to be involved, but it’ll be fun to do a blog thing with other writers and readers. Plus I get a cool button for my sidebar! (I’m so easy to please.)
If anyone else gets invited, let me know!! 
Posted in Sites of Interest | 4 Comments »
Friday, January 14th, 2005
Today my wonderful agent negotiated a contract for me and got me three out of the four things I wanted. I’m a nervous wreck, but it’s done and I’m very, very relieved.
I didn’t really know how the agent thing works. So I’ll tell you in the hopes that my experience answers any questions you might have.
You both have the contract in hand.
You point out areas you don’t understand and they explain them in detail
After you understand everything, you list the areas that you have trouble with. They either explain why it works or agree it should be changed.
When you’re done, it’s their turn. They point out the areas that they have trouble with and explain why. They ask if you agree with them and if they have permission to request the changes.
Then they call the powers that be and negotiate the points you agreed upon.
They call you back and tell you where the negotiations left off. They ask if you’re satisfied and if you’re not, do you want to fight it? If you’re good with things, you’re done. If not, they go back and negotiate some more.
I am tremendously grateful to my agent for just being who he is. He’s very sweet and easy to reach. He keeps me informed and always makes me feel like I’m charge, never making even the tiniest move without my permission. He explains all sides first, offers his recommendation, and then leaves it up to me to decide. So I feel like I’m in control of my career with a really great advisor to help me out. I know these are things agents are supposed to do, but it’s the way he does them that I love. He’s always telling me how grateful he is to represent me, which makes me feel so good at a time when I often feel anxious and a bit lost. Even if I could have negotiated for myself, his moral support has been invaluable.
If you’re a writer, please find yourself a good agent. It makes a trying time so, so , so much easier to bear. They should be your cheerleader, as well as your champion. They should think you’re fabulous and hugely talented. They should have big dreams for you, big plans. They should be grateful to have you pick them. They should take the time, every time, to explain why they recommend something and also why they don’t recommend something. You should be wiser, stronger, more confident just from working with them.
Just some things to think about if you’re still searching. An agent is so much more than just the clout to protect your interests. They should also be someone you trust implicitly to have your best interests at heart.
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Posted in Publication | 6 Comments »
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