While attending the Thrillerfest conference in June, I couldn’t help but notice the frequent use of the word “wheelhouse” in conversations about reading and writing books. The word became the newest buzzword of the year. It is a term that has slowly made its way into many writers’ vocabulary, including my own.
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Is there any subject spanning the ages that has been written, sung and contemplated about more than love? How many battles have been fought and tragedies endured over love?
Seeking inspiration for writing a Valentine’s Day sentiment, I sorted through my late grandmother’s postcard collection and found a few valentines she had received between 1908 and 1913. The cards are little works of art, most printed in Germany or Saxony. Surprisingly, a number of messages included requests to let the senders know if she was still alive. It was hard to tell if the questions were asked in jest or if it was a very real concern given it was early in the twentieth century.
The cards inspire a lot of creative imaginings. They were mailed from distant places and I wonder about those who sent them and how they knew my grandmother.
Read moreI saw a Tweet the other day from Canadian author Andrew Pyper promoting a course he’s teaching on writing suspense and it reminded me of something.
Pyper
is a good writer. I’ve read some of his books before and he’s the kind of writer who has the skill and talent to write any genre he wants. Those are the kind of writers I like to read. But what his Tweet reminded me of is that for a romance writer such as myself, there are many little tricks in the suspense author’s bag that can be helpful to a writer like myself.
Currently I’m reading Don Winslow’s “Broken”, a collection of novellas based on his drug cartel fiction series that includes “The Power of The Dog”, “The Cartel” and “The Border”, all based on the Mexican drug war. I love Winslow’s books because they’re fast paced, very suspenseful and well written. He knows how to tell a good story, and that’s why I’m reading “Broken”. Read more
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about death and dying.
Mostly it’s because I’m starting a new romance novel that features a character who is a death doula (cue the jokes and the confusion about writing a romance novel around death, haha!). But I suppose it’s also because I’m in the latter half of my own life now and have elderly parents and in-laws, and so it seems like the right time to delve into this great and final mystery. Plus, I like to challenge my writer’s self with unusual topics.
There is another reason, too. Frankly, I’m a bit haunted.
A former colleague and friend died more than three years ago after a very sudden and short terminal cancer diagnosis. He was only in his early 50s, with two teenagers at home and a wife who was battling her own health issues. He didn’t want to go, understandably so. In the short time he had remaining after his diagnosis, he could not come to terms with his own dying. He became depressed. He cheated himself out of talking about it, of comforting his family, of allowing himself to be comforted, and of coming to some kind of peace with how his life was going to end. Things progressed so quickly, that my goodbye had to be in the form of an email that was read out loud to him. Read more
I don’t typically write about politics in this space because this space is reserved for reflecting on writing and books (and I will talk about writing and books, in a moment, honestly). But in light of the attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week, well, how can we not talk politics?
More specifically, I want to talk about the badass romance writer who may well have saved America.
Have I got you scratching your head, wondering what the hell a romance writer has to do with the current worrisome state of affairs in America? Well, scratch no more, because I’m talking about Georgia’s Stacey Abrams.
You mig
ht say the antithesis to the romance genre is suspense/thriller. You know, people getting killed versus people falling in love. What could be more polar than that?
I suggest they’re not as different as they may seem, which is why, as a romance writer, I make sure I read a few thrillers and suspense novels each year. They help me to remember how important pacing is, that plot matters, that getting the reader eagerly turning the page matters, that good dialogue is vital.
Character development often takes a back seat in thrillers and suspense novels because plot is king. This is usually the reverse in romance novels. But a really good thriller writer will find a way to develop their characters without bogging down their novel. And good romance writers figure out how to keep the plot interesting, how to pepper believable and heart thumping conflict throughout the story while maintaining character development. Read more
Saying goodbye is never easy, especially to something you’ve spent more than a year with, and almost every day. If not physically every day, certainly mentally and emotionally.
I’m saying goodbye this week to my work-in-progress. Meaning, I’m ready to hand my manuscript off to my publisher, where it will eventually make its way through the editing, typesetting and proofreading process for a late 2018 publication date. My little bird has wings, and now it’s flying away.
How do you like your sex?
Oops, I mean when you read a book, of course…since this is a G-rated blog about fiction writing and novels.
I write quite a bit of sex, since I’m the author of a dozen published lesbian romance novels. And no, it’s not easy. And yes, it takes way longer to write a sex scene than to actually perform the act in real life, in case you’re dying to know. Read more