The Gabi News

New address

2010-07-26T17:13:00.001-07:00

Dear friends who follow me at this blog site:
I'm am changing all my post to my other blog at Words, Books, and Magic at www.gabistevens.blogspot.com

If you still wish to follow me, please switch over.
Thanks for reading my thoughts.
--Gabi

RWA Conference

2010-07-26T17:12:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again. The time when romance writers gather in a single hotel and discuss...well, everything. If you think 2000+ women are going to only talk about writing, you're nuts. It'll be loud and boisterous and wonderful. I'm on my way to Orlando tomorrow. Wednesday night, if you happen to be in the area, there is a book signing for literacy open to the public. Five hundred plus authors will be signing, including me.

So this is a brief post from me. I will write more when I return. Oh, and after the week with writers I"m stopping at Harry Potter World. So much excitement!
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins
The Giver by Lois Lowry (Guess what I HAVE to teach this upcoming school year?)
Captive of Sin by Anna Campbell.

Why I am Socially Inept

2010-07-15T22:07:00.001-07:00

So today I realized I should have posted about RomCon. I had a great time in Denver--probably the most relaxed and intimate conference I've ever been to. I should have posted the highlights when I still remembered them (Like having dinner with Jo Beverly; I don't mean listening to her speak, although her speech was great, I mean sitting next to her at dinner Friday night.And then having dinner with Julia Quinn on Saturday--again, I sat NEXT to her. Hey, I may be an author, but I'm also a fan). I met some wonderful people--readers and authors--and I am definitely planning on attending next year. In two weeks I Go to RWA and plan to post about that conference. We'll see how I do.

But I realized how socially inept I am. I had a lovely women invite me to have drinks with her and her friends in her room, and I turned her down, not because I was opposed to having drinks with her but because I can't switch gears that fast. If I have it in my mind that something is going to happen or I'm going somewhere, I can't just switch plans. It absolutely throws me. And about half an hour later, I was kicking myself for not joining in the fun this woman and her friends were having in their room. Spontaneity, you are a stranger to me.

I was on a panel at RomCon with others and didn't say a word. I suddenly froze up. If you know me, and know that I have an acting background (waaay back when), you'd be laughing at me. But suddenly this room was looking at us, and I had nothing brilliant to say, so I was afraid to speak up. There were words and ideas in my head, but I never peeped up. So I looked like a lump. Idiot!

I know we are all hard on ourselves, but I'm angry with myself. Few people are that outright mean to want to see someone fail, yet that is exactly what I am afraid of. Sigh.

So I'm determined to work on it. I'm neither glib nor witty in real life (That's why I write), but I have to remember that most people aren't judging me either. So if you see me at RWA, come engage me in a conversation, or if I sit down and say something stupid, just chuckle gently and love me anyway.

Yours neurotically
--Gabi
Books I'm Reading now:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling

Dreams

2010-07-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

I'm not one to follow dreams (I mean the ones that occur while you sleep) or look for hidden meanings in them, but you don't have to be a symbologist to understand mine lately. My dreams have been so vivid lately--which also means more nightmares for me (I read once that that average adult has a nightmare twice a month--mine are like twice a week)--and they are clearly speaking about things going on in my life. Last night's was a doozey. It covered everything from the writing I'm doing, the travel that's coming up, the health stuff I've been dealing with, family, and teaching. Seriously. I hate dreams like that.

I often have dreams that tell stories. I've based at least four of my novels on dreams I've had (highly edited, of course, to remove the purple kangaroos and milk-flavored hamburgers). And I like sleep (unfortunately). I still love to sleep in, take naps, laze away under the covers. I don't think I ever left that teenage phase where kids want to stay up late and sleep in. I know that's how I'd live my life if I could (It would help if my youngest's summer school didn't start at 7:30 AM). As luck would have it, I'm not queen of the world and I don't get to set the rules. (Someday...Mwahhahaha)

So I'm cranky today. I didn't need my dreams telling me all the things I have to do and take care of. I wanted rest.

What kind of wacky dreams do you have?

As for that travel, I hope to meet some of you in Denver this weekend for RomCon. I'm really excited about it, and not at all cranky about going.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
(I told you; I'm going to Harry Potter World at the beginning of next month)

I'm on the Radio

2010-06-27T16:24:00.001-07:00

I just finished my very first radio interview (Thank you, Theresa Chaze). I think it went well. I haven’t listened to it yet—there’s that little fear of listening to myself to get over first—but I think it went well. I certainly enjoyed myself and I hope I didn’t say anything stupid. I think I spoke too fast at times (I get excited and start racing—I do that in class too. I start speaking about a book, and my face gets flushed, and I speed up; my students laugh at me) and I think I talked over the host a couple of times (Sorry, Theresa), but if you get me started, sometimes you just can’t shut me up. Not bad for someone who considers herself shy. (Really. Don’t put me in a situation where I have to mingle and mix—but ask me questions and I can get rolling).

We talked about the romance genre, fantasy, science fiction, the magic in writing, my puppy (Yes, I know I need to post a new picture—it’s coming…sometime), promotion, and stuff in general. If you’d like to listen to the interview you can download it or listen here at blogtalkradio.

So…how did I do?
--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
Finding the Dream by Nora Roberts
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (because I’m going to the new Harry Potter World at the end of July)

Good News

2010-06-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

If you remember that personal post of two weeks ago, I have the results. The pathology was negative. I don't have cancer. Good news. They did find what they called active tissue, which I will have to have monitored for a while (next MRI in December), but for now I'm fine.

So how does this affect my life? Well, it's freed me in my writing a little. I'm not afraid to be a little more out there, sink a little more of myself into the text. It's made TOIL & TROUBLE, the third book in my trilogy, a little more interesting to write because I'm able to turn off that internal editor with a little more success. That internal editor gets in my way a lot. That and being an English teacher. Hard to forget those grammar and essay rules I'm trying to drive into my student (That's right; it's driven into them; they don't want to learn them).

So now it's back to work, and loving it.

Happy summer everyone.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Duma Key by Stephen King
One dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare

A Tribute

2010-06-13T15:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had our monthly writers’ meeting, and I was struck by something. Earlier in the week, I had received an inquiry from a film producer about the film rights to my book. I know most likely nothing will come of it, but it’s fun to speculate, and I shared this news with my writer friends, and they were appropriately excited. Our meeting was about screenwriting (wonderful speaker, great meeting, by the way), and through the course of questions one of our members revealed that her book is going in for screenwriting through a huge Hollywood agency. She had not mentioned this to me.

Now, let me explain. This author got the fairy tale, the Cinderella story. Her first book sold in a major deal, foreign rights are being sold right and left, and now I’ve discovered she’s got a movie or TV deal in the works as well. I did not get the Cinderella deal, but that’s okay. I’m really happy with what I have. I didn’t get the guy who can sing well either, or the guy who picks up after himself, and while I love to look at my guy, I wouldn’t say he was a babe magnet either. But you know what? I love him with all my heart and soul. He is my perfect guy and I love being around him and I’m still thrilled he picked me (after 25 years of marriage that’s saying something).

I adore the author who received this deal. We are at the start of real friendship (yes, we’re friends now, but we still don’t know the names of each others’ children—okay, maybe we do, but you know what I mean). I’m thrilled for her, but I’m afraid she might be holding back on sharing some of the exciting details of her fairy tale because she is afraid she might put some people off, or it will sound like bragging, or because people will turn nasty with her (it has happened with other authors) out of jealousy. Really, she got the deal we all dream about as authors. And it’s exciting to be a witness to. It proves that dreams do come true. It doesn’t diminish what I’ve achieved. So it will take me longer to reach her level—I may never get there—but who cares? There’s room for everybody. Her success is everyone’s success.

Is she not allowed to celebrate because of her success? Isn’t she allowed to bask in her glory and just enjoy the whole process? I’m sure she’s celebrating with family and close friends, but I hope she doesn’t have to fear celebrating with the rest of us too.

So I’m here to be a cheerleader for her. (Not literally. Me in a skimpy skirt with pom-poms? That’s the stuff of nightmares. Wouldn’t give the right impression. Frightening. >shudder<). I want to hear about everything, because even if I never get there, I’m learning from her experiences, and if it’s my turn I’ll know a little more. Besides, she deserves it. She worked hard. She wrote a great book (which I’m still waiting to read—but I suppose I have to wait like everyone else.) and she was recognized for it. Good for her!!!

--Gabi

P.S. I don't have the results yet in regard to m last post, but I will keep you informed.

Books I'm reading now:
Ten Things I Love about You by Julia Quinn
Duma Key by Stephen King

Take Your Health for Granted

2010-06-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think I need to get a little more personal on this blog, and this is one of those times. It promises to be a long one, so either stop reading now, or be prepared for a bit of reading.

I’m going back to the beginning, April 21. My book was coming out April 27, and I had nothing but high hopes for the future. April 21 was my scheduled annual mammogram. I took the day off of school for the appointment and spent the rest of the day writing guest blogs, planning promo for the launch of the new career. Excitement, nerves, and fear about the new book filled me. And then on Friday, April 23, they called and said that they found something on the mammo and want to do another one. But that this was fairly normal and that I shouldn’t worry. (Really? I’m a writer. I earn money from using my imagination.)

So my book came out on Tuesday, April 27, my puppy arrived April 28, and on Friday, April 30, I went in for another mammo and a sonogram. The mammo still showed something, so they scheduled me for a scintimammogram—that’s nuclear medicine for those who don’t know. May 11 was the next available date. Great. Not quite two weeks of worrying.

In the meantime, I had guest blogs, comments to make, keeping up a good face at school, and trying to enjoy my book’s launch. I also had a puppy to laugh at. I did most of the time, but sometimes the worry would get to me. By the way, thanks to all those bloggers who let me appear on their blogs, all the interviews you all let me give. It was helpful to keep my mind off of things.

So the scintimammogram consisted of having radioactive stuff injected into me, and then a special mammogram that shows the radioactive isotopes that react to anything unusual happening in the breast. I had to laugh while taking the test. The vial of radioactive stuff was kept in a lead tube, the technician kept it in a lead box, the syringe vial was encased in lead, but they just shot it into me. It didn’t frighten me; I just found it ironic. But the test was positive. Definite reaction. Next step: MRI.

Now lest you think I’m feeling overly sorry for myself, I wasn’t. I didn’t tell people because I didn’t want people coming up to me and asking how I was. That’s not who I am. My daughter joked with me. “If it is cancer, they can just lop off the breast. Of course, then you’ll be walking around in circles.” Best line ever.

Meanwhile, I’m checking reviews coming in of my book, scheduling more blogs. It was surreal, really. The excitement of the book coming out, the end of the school year coming fast, and yet behind it all I was frightened of the “c” word. My husband kept saying it wasn’t fair. I should be enjoying this time, enjoy the success the book seemed to have. Yeah, well, life doesn’t work that way.

May 19 was the MRI. It showed not only the spot in the right breast that was causing concern, but also a spot in the left that hadn’t been spotted through all the previous testing. Great. Of course, by now I was thinking this wasn’t so bad. Breast reduction on the insurance company. Never have been able to find blouses that fit well.

Met with a breast specialist who is fabulous, and we decided on a course of action. I went in for a lumpectomy on June 7. We decided that because whatever this was was caught so early, it would just be best to cut them out. Then if it was cancerous, they would be out, and if it was precancerous, then they wouldn’t be there to turn cancerous. She also said that if I were 65, she wouldn’t have done this, and just let it grow for another ten years, but because I was so young (preening here) this would take care of anything in the future.

Between May and now, I decided I wanted people to know. I had gotten used to the idea, and frankly, I didn’t think about it much. I was ready for people to ask me how I was. I’m still not thinking about it much, except now my chest is wrapped in bandages and I can’t take a really deep breath, but I have so much going on. I’m working hard on the third book in the trilogy, putting finishing touches on my GLEE essay for the fall book, and enjoying summer. I wish I had the definitive answer to give you right now. The pathology still isn’t back on whether it is cancer or not (I should find out tomorrow or Friday), but whatever it is, it’s out, and I’m good. I’m a little uncomfortable (I did have surgery, after all), but I’m good. We’re talking cure, not treatment. And really, if it is anything, we caught it sooooo early.

So here’s the explanation of the title of this blog. Take your health for granted. I don’t mean you should eat unhealthy, or that you shouldn’t exercise or see a doctor regularly, but you shouldn’t worry about your health if you don’t have to. Once you’re given a reason to worry, you’ll do plenty of it. No need to worry about things until they happen. So take your health for granted. I’m ready to do just that with only the occasional reminder that something happened to me in April, May, and June of 2010. I’d rather remember that‘s when my book came out and my career started.

--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
Strangers in Death by JD Robb
Ten Things I Love about You by Julia Quinn

The Well

2010-05-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

Today the well was finally opened. I sat down and realized that I have nothing hanging over my head: no classes to prepare for, no papers to grade, no meetings to attend. So I ran up to my computer to write.

And I did.

Oh, I've been writing all along, but not like today. The pictures were vivid in my head, and I was in the world. My world. It was so liberating, so wonderful.

So happy summer everyone. I know it isn't even June yet (tomorrow), but happy summer anyway. Do you remember that feeling you had as a kid when school was out? Grab onto that memory and enjoy life.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Rogue in my Arms by Celeste Bradley

Reviews

2010-05-24T12:53:00.001-07:00

So that thing that was supposed to be resolved two Wednesdays ago wasn't, and it's totally distracting me. I'm not going to announce it here because I don't want to, but I could use all the good thoughts you have to spare.

Meanwhile the reviews are coming in for THE WISH LIST. I don't really know how book sales are going (they don't share that info with authors often, and extrapolating from Amazon numbers doesn't tell you anything--although I am obsessing about them) but I've had several wonderful e-mails from readers telling me they love the book, which thrills me to no end. For the most part, the reviews have been fair and I can accept them. The majority have been good. As for the bad ones...well, they happen. Frankly I don't want to appeal to everybody. I'd rather elicit strong reactions one way or the other. Tells me I have a strong literary voice. I know I should just ignore all reviews, but that would take a stronger personality than I have.

The only reviews that do bother me are the ones that say something like "I wish this or that happened in the book instead." Excuse me? It's my book. You want a different book, write your own. I can understand if you say my logic is bad, or if you hate a character, but it's MY story. My story goes just as I wanted it to (although I could get into a debate on whether my characters tell me the story or I manipulate it). And I like it.

I hope you pick up THE WISH LIST and decide for yourself.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Stormfront by Jim Butcher
What I did For Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Soulless by Gail Carriger

MIstakes

2010-05-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy blogging everywhere, that I've forgotten about my own site. Oops. Sorry.

So today I want to talk about mistakes. In the past two weeks I've written at least ten blogs for different sites. The easiest were the ones where the owner posed questions and I answered them. But the ones where I came up with original content weren't too bad either. I felt it important not to repeat myself and send the same blog to every site (although I will confess I did repeat a couple of them because it's also the end of the school year and I'm crazy busy. Plus I have something going on in my personal life that's occupying a great deal of my attention but will be resolved on Wednesday, and no, it's not the puppy.) So I hope you've all been able to find me all over the 'net, and that you found the content interesting.Repetitive perhaps, but not just the same stuff over and over again.

As I visited the sites I blogged at, the one thing that irritated me so much were the mistakes I found. I can't believe the number of errors I made in my content. I want to go back and correct "un" to "fun" and take out the misplaced words and the partially erased sentences. I've done it all in my blog file (I keep my blogs in a file just in case someday someone wants me to put together a book on my magnificent self --Hahahahaha. Had you fooled for a second, didn't I?), but I can't go to someone else's blog and fix mistakes. So now I'm just cringing and hoping that people realize that everyone is human and mistakes happen.

There is a lesson in this. I really need to proof my blogs. But as I said earlier, I've been crazy busy and I didn't always have time. Of course I also believe excuses are lame.

And I do have a puppy.

Her name is Pixie, after THE WISH LIST, my book that came out last week.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerrtisen
Devil in my Bed by Celeste Bradley

THE WISH LIST

2010-04-27T16:39:00.001-07:00

It's here!

And so am I!

The Search for a Puppy

2010-04-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

It started last summer (2009). We decided we were ready for a new addition to the family. Most especially for my daughter, who has IDD (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities), to give her something to love and care for and to love her back. But it would be a family dog. So we started our search. We visited the pounds and shelters of our city daily and never found a puppy. OK, we did once, but no kidding, we stood in line to adopt the dog, and the woman in front of us adopted the dog we were going to get.

Let me explain further. We had a specific idea for our next dog. We wanted a small breed, a puppy, but beyond that we were pretty flexible. And we were determined to rescue a dog.

Fast forward to today. We still don’t have a dog. As much as I wanted to rescue a dog, it just isn’t working out. Around here, every dog is either a Chihuahua or a pit bull. In fact we saw one puppy this weekend that was a Chihuahua/pit cross (don’t ask me how that happened). I know, I know. I’ve heard stories about great pit bulls, and perhaps they do have an undeserved reputation, but we didn’t want a pit. And sorry, we just don’t like Chihuahua that much (Don’t write me hate mail--it’s a matter of taste, just like dark or milk chocolate). From my experiences in the shelters, I’d say at least 50% of the animals available were pit bulls or pit crosses, and among the small dogs at least 50% were Chihuahua or Chihuahua crosses. I think if we lived elsewhere the outcome would be different. (I believe I’ve mentioned in the past how isolated Albuquerque really is.

So we’ve succumbed and bought a dog. For the first time in my life, I’ve paid to get a dog. I still firmly believe in rescuing dogs, and if we ever decide on a large dog again, I’ll definitely go to the shelters.

Oh what kind of dog? A cockapoo. I’ll keep you posted and maybe even get a picture up. The puppy won’t arrive for two weeks yet. ‘Til then, woof, woof.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Devil in my Bed by Celeste Bradley
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters

Making the Rounds

2010-04-13T17:35:00.001-07:00

It's been a busy few weeks. Want to see what I've been doing? I'm scheduled on the following blog sites for the release of THE WISH LIST. Yes, the blogs are all different from one another (although I can't be held responsible if they sound similar) and many include giveaways. So be sure to visit these sites to learn more about me and my novel.

Appearances:

April 13, 2010
Pen and Muse

April 16
PASIC To Be Read

April 22
Literary Escapism

April 26
Enchanted by Books

April 26
Paranormality

April 28
Borders True Romance

April 29
Lucy Monroe’s Readers at Home On-line Conference

May 5
Petit Fours and Hot Tamales

Paty Jager

May 11
Muse Interrupted

May 15
Speaker at the Rio Rancho Public Library (This one's live)

May 28

Much Cheaper than Therapy

Reviews:

The Pen and Muse

Michelle and Leslie's Book Picks

Single Titles

Genre Go Round Reviews

Larissa's Bookish Life

Wicked Little Pixie

Heather's Books

Hope to see you there.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Texas Princess by Jodi Thomas

Twenty Days

2010-04-07T10:24:00.001-07:00

Time slips by when you're not paying attention. I've been getting so much ready for the release of THE WISH LIST, that I haven't posted anything here in weeks. Sorry about that.
So today's blog is about what I've been up to to prepare for THE WISH LIST's release.

Actually the process started several months back. As soon as I received the cover (It was November), I posted it on my blog and web site. In December I placed my first ad (in Romance Sells). In January, I started lining up guest blogs and contacting people who showed interest in the novel. In February my ARC's (advanced reader copy) arrived, and I sent them out to various review sites. Also in February, I designed my bookmarks--in the name of full disclosure, I have to tell you that my husband designed the bookmarks--and ordered them. And thus followed many trips to the post office. I also decided what other if any promo I would do, and more trips to the post office to mail off ARC's and bookmarks. More promo followed in March, as well as blog writing, making knick-knacks (I have some vials of fairy dust with labels), and just keeping current.

Now we're twenty days away from the release. Hooray! The first of my blogs shows up next week, and in the meantime, I'm biting my nails as reviews come trickling in (so far, so good). I'm excited and eagerly awaiting the first real copy of the book to hold in my hand. I'm also writing the third book in the trilogy, working on other ideas and still holding down the day job.

Ack! Twenty days!
--Gabi
Books I'm reading now:
Phantom in the Night by Sherilyn Kenyon and Diana Love

Readers at Home online Conference

2010-03-20T12:43:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of Lucy Monroe, a bunch of authors have gotten together to provide a an online conference for those readers who can't make it to the RT confernce in Ohio. So without further ado, here's Lucy:

Okay, so you all know I'm going to RT, but *I* know a bunch of you
aren't and I got to thinking what I could do to make the week of RT
fun for you all and any other readers who might be feeling a little
left out. Then I hit on it - I would host a Readers at
Home Conference here on my blog. We'd have tons of
authors, tons of "door" prizes (more than 50!!!), tons of hotties
(cover models, hero inspiration...just plain yum factor) and tons of
fun!!!

I wanted something really special, something that made this a true
conference and my friends helped me make it happen! We are giving away
Swag Bags to the first 50
readers who register for the conference. To register, all you have to
do is send an email to me [lucymonroe @ lucymonroe
dot com] with your name and mailing address (for the Swag Bag) stating
your intention to attend the RAH Conference. The Swag Bags are for
conference attendees only and we are trusting that if you register,
you truly intend to attend the conference and interact with the
authors and other readers on the blog. :) I'm shipping the Swag Bags
at my own expense, but many authors have donated loot
for you all, and each Swag Bag will have a free book inside.

Yes, that's right - the Reader at Home
Conference is FREE. How cool is that?

Every day there will be multiple authors visiting and guest blogging,
with new blogs posting every 3 hours between 6 AM and 6 PM. And cover
models? We've got 'em - with behind the scenes action as well as hero
inspiration. There will be daily drawings for multiple prizes,
including dozens of signed books, a B&N gift card, a t-shirt, 3
prize tote bags filled with books & goodies (donated by Sue
Grimshaw from BTRB and Becke Martin), free online subscirptions to
Affaire de Couer magazine and 2 more Swag Bags given away each day.
What could be better?

Readers at Home Conference Sponsors
~ Guest Blogging Authors ~
Elizabeth Amber
Jules Bennett
Jenna Bayley-Burke
Leigh D'Ansey
Jami Davenport
Kate Davies
HelenKay Dimon
Diana Duncan
Cynthia Eden
Kimberly Fisk
Barbara Freethy
Tricia Jones
Nicola Marsh
Kaylin McFarren
Susan Meier
Elisabeth Naughton
Erin Nicholas
Lorie O'Clare
Rick Reed
Maggie Robinson
Patti Shenberger
Gabi Stevens
Kay Stockham
Helen Scott Taylor
Karen Van der Zee
Mary Wine
Other Readers at Home Conference Sponsors
(donated prizes, items for the Swag Bags, etc.)
Affaire de Coeur
Borders True Romance Blog
Monica Burns
Christie Craig
Lori Foster
Donna Grant
Faye Hughes
Margaret Mallory
Becke Martin
Lucy Monroe
Alexis Morgan
Laurie Ryan
J.L. Wilson

So, while a bunch of us are at RT going crazy, you can be visiting
with some of your favorite and some brand new authors - wearing casual
clothes, ditching the makeup and your shoes. Oh, that? I envy! :)

The Golden Heart is stupid...

2010-03-18T11:47:00.001-07:00

My dear friend Sheley Wimmer, wrote a brilliant reaction to next week’s announcement of the RITA and Golden Heart finalists. In it she expresses the ridiculous, angry, hopeful, illogical, and plaintive emotions many of us feel as writers. We want validation. Publication does that, but the euphoria doesn’t last. We want to know that we are loved, that we are good, that we have mattered. So, in her words, here is Sheley Wimmer:

The Golden Heart is stupid…
So says someone who was once addicted to entering this contest. But no more. No way. Know why? I will admit something here... but it's a secret. The Golden Heart contest makes me cringe, especially the day the calls go out.

My first entry went in 2002. I heard nothing on that day. In fact, I received a whopping 28 [out of 45] on my scorecard. If I were made of lesser stuff, I would have stopped writing right then and there. Nope. Kept plugging along. I started entering other contests about three years later. Becoming a contest finalist was my new goal. Goal achieved. Twenty-five wins altogether, but still no Golden Heart call. One year I was at Disney World, refusing to ride anything because it was call day. Another time I was on the beach with the phone in my hand.

"Why do you have your phone?" the husband asked.
"No reason."
None at all… just hope.

Again, last March, I spent the day on the computer watching the calls come in one by one. Sigh. Still no call for me. My scores got better thought. I went from 28 to 35. From a 35 to a 38 and then last year, a 42 and a 40, on two different entries.

This last year I said to myself there is no friggin’ way I am going to enter the Golden Heart a-g-a-i-n!!! No way! I'm not doing it. That's for crazy people. Contest wins had already blessed me with a wonderful agent… what more did I need?

So guess what I was doing the last week of November. That's right. You know what I was doing. Need I say more? Okay, I will, but only because I said it was stupid before. That was just a hook to get you to read this far. Two days before the entries were due, I was making crazy insane copies of three manuscripts, the first fifty pages, formatted just right, six copies each, and rewriting each and every synopsis, because, of course, that had to be why I wasn't getting the call. Overnight mail really works! I won't tell you all what I paid. That's a secret between my credit card and myself. Suffice to say I had to hide that bill from my honey.

Through everything, something amazing happened. I had pre-paid for four manuscript, hoping that by some miracle I would finish my young adult novel. Well, I didn't. Not even close. But what I did have was three solid manuscripts, beginning to end, sitting on my kitchen table. Seeing them piled like that made me realize that I am indeed a true writer. There is a plaque I have hanging on my bathroom wall that says, "One shoe can make all the difference. Cinderella."

In my case, one phone call can make all the difference. It won't be the Golden Heart call… it will be the other one. The real call. Even so, what will I be doing on the twenty-fifth, next Thursday, between, roughly, I don't know, six am to, gee, midnight, because one can always hope they "forgot" to call someone? Nothing much. Mostly just sitting here. On top of my on my vibrating cell phone. With my house phone right by my side. Glued to my computer screen. Watching the calls come in. Hoping against hope that I might get one of them... or three. (Okay, now I am just being greedy!) Part of me thinks this IS all incredibly stupid on my part. But what if? I like the "what ifs?" So, like many of you, my fingers are crossed. That is my true confession. Anyone else care to admit a true Golden Heart confession??? =0)

Sheley

Sheley,
You are not alone. We all want that elusive feeling that today is the day. But I’ll let you know that the desire for that feeling comes back. Even after THE CALL. I was a Golden Heart Finalist way back when, and while I try to appreciate being published, I still crave that validation. So you know what I’ll be doing this November. Entering the RITA with THE WISH LIST.

Sucker. Right there, printed on my forehead. But beside it is also DREAMER. Because that’s what gets us writers through the day.

--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
Lord Of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
Lessons in French y Laura Kinsale
The Phoenix Endangered by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

How to Write a Romance Novel--Dialog

2010-03-04T20:35:00.001-08:00

Dialog is a crucial element in romance novels. At least I think it is. I love writing and reading dialog. It moves the story forward (plot), lets us get to know the characters without telling (characterization), tells us what’s important (theme), defines the mood and tone (setting), gives us insight to the author (voice), gets us into the characters’ heads (POV), and exposes problems (conflict). Great dialog can lift a book to another level of enjoyment.

Personally I’m a dialog slut. I write books heavy on the dialog. I always have to go back and add introspection, description, and emotion, because I usually just write down my characters’ conversations for a rough draft (yes, there is more to writing my novels than just dialog, but hey, this blog is about dialog.) So let me start with mechanics. Just kidding, sort of. I won’t speak of punctuation. Comma if there is a speech tag, when to use single quotes, when to use double, how to use a question mark, etc. You can look that up, right? Let me jump right in and talk about the speech tags themselves.

As Elmore Leonard said, “Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue.” Who am I to contradict the great Elmore Leonard…but…I would also add use only “ask when tagging a question. Rarely use “whisper,” or “cry,” or “shout,” or anything else. Every “whimper,” “stated,” “retorted,” “answered,” or word other than “said” stops the reader, requires processing, and slows the pace. Any time the reader has to stop to process the word in dialog, it slows your novel. Yes, sometimes you need to use a different word (remember, there are no hard and fast rules for writing--use what works for you), but the word “said” becomes invisible to the reader.

Sometimes you don’t need speech tags at all, especially if only two people are in the conversation. Action tags can indicate who’s speaking. An action tag is simply giving an action to the character who is speaking and attaching the line of dialog to that tag (but not with a comma). For example:

“Now you look terrified.” He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Should I be?”
“No.” He drew his hand down his face.
“And I’m supposed to trust you?” Panic rose in her throat. “I don’t know who you are--“
“Ritter. Tennyson Ritter. I’m your arbiter.”
“The guy who’s supposed to test me?”
“Judge you, observe you, decide whether you pass or fail.”
“Thanks, but I’ll pass. I mean on the test thing.”
He let out an angry breath. “And you’re Kristin Montgomery, who lives at Seven Thousand Beadnell Way, Apartment Two C.”
She hated the Internet. Any creep could get all kinds of information.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know--” He stopped and peered at her, his eyes widening. “Good God, you’re a Rare One.” (THE WISH LIST, May 2010)

Notice that “said” doesn’t even appear in this passage. You might have also noticed that often no tag was necessary at all.

OK, I don’t want to drone on and on, so here are a couple of final points: avoid using the dreaded “-ly” in combination with your speech tag (she wrote vehemently). If you need an adverb to describe the tone, your words aren’t doing their job. And while we are trying to sound realistic in our dialog, we can’t be. We are writing. You’ve probably heard that communication is something like 85% body language (and 67% of all statistics are made up), and all we have are our words on the page. So, yes, strive for realism, but dialog has to convey so much more than just the way we speak, and if you analyze just how much goofy empty stuff we actually say when we speak, you don’t really want to write real dialog. (Yuck. What a horrible sentence.)

Spring is almost here. Yay!
--Gabi
Books I’m reading now:
The Phoenix Unchained by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
The Golden Season by Connie Brockway

True Confessions

2010-02-26T21:59:00.001-08:00

I have reached that age when I’m supposed to be dignified and refined. Yeah, that’s not going to work for me. This is my true confessions blog. I’m going to confess and admit in public some embarrassing facts. Actually I’m not embarrassed; in fact I’d like to meet the people who think I should be embarrassed by my tastes.

I’m going to start with candy. You heard me. Candy. I don’t like dark chocolate. I don’t care if it has antioxidants, I don’t like it. I like milk chocolate, and it had better be filled with nuts or caramel, and from a European nation, preferably Switzerland or Germany. But chocolate is easy. I’m not a huge chocolate fan in any case. The candy I really like is bubble gum. The old school stuff--the stuff that’s pink and semi-hard: Bazooka, Dubble Bubble, etc. I also like Pixi Stix, Sweet Tarts, and Lik-M-Aid. That’s right, kid stuff.

I’m not a big drinker. I like my drinks with umbrellas and fruit. I don’t understand wine, and I’m not a connoisseur. I won’t drink red wine, I don’t like white much, but I will drink White Zin. I will also drink what I call Kool-Aid wine--those fruity wines that really have no right to call themselves wine and taste like fruit punch. I know, I know. I would hang my head in shame, but really, I’m fine with it.

I don’t drink coffee unless it has four packets of sugar and lots of cream. It has to taste like hot coffee ice cream. Or it has to be one of the International Coffees…but not the chocolate ones. I like hot chocolate, but I like the whipped cream on top more than the drink itself. I don’t like tea either, which is really a pain on cold mornings.

Pizza is far from my favorite food, I love sardines and liverwurst (although not together), and apples annoy me. I love Disney movies, cried at all the “Thanks, Mom” commercials during the Olympics, and enjoy big commercial movies more than deep artsy ones. I like to stay up late and sleep in late. I take two hour baths when I can and read in the tub, with snacks and drink. I’m afraid of moths (yes, moths, and butterflies don’t thrill me either), like snakes and rodents, and get thrilled when I see any animals of the non-insect kind in the wild, including the rabbits in our neighborhood.

So what about you? What confessions can you make?
--Gabi

What I’m reading now:
Finished my Rita books
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The Dark Knight by Frank Miller

Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T11:52:00.000-08:00

I don't do Valentine's Day.

I know, I know. I'm a romance writer, but I still don't do Valentine's Day. I have nothing against it. Go out and celebrate. Get candy, cards, gifts, etc. Enjoy it. Think warm thoughts about your lover, husband, significant other. That's all good. But I don't do Valentine's Day.

My husband and I are both too contrary. I admit it. It is a major character flaw. If someone (whoever may hold that power) tells us we must celebrate or do something, we don't. (OK, I'm not talking about paying taxes or seeing a doctor here--I'm talking about the fluffy stuff.) While we agree that we need to show each other our affection, esteem, and care, we just choose not to do it on Valentine's Day. Although I did make him bacon this morning because I love him.

No, I believe that little tokens of love, gestures, favors, surprises are better when they aren't proclaimed by some day, when they come spontaneously and are truly a surprise. It's too easy for my husband to bring flowers on Valentine's or my birthday. It's too expected and gets him off the hook too easily. It's much more difficult to show those feelings when it comes from the feelings themselves.

Now that I think about it, it's really hard, and there are definitely times we both fail in showing our love for each other, but when we do, it means so much more. And I think I'll make a resolution for myself now (you did read my post that said I don't do New Year's resolutions either, right?): I will make more of an effort throughout the year to show my husband and family I do think of them often with love. And I'll try to cut the hubby a little more slack.

So happy Valentine's Day. It's always a good thing to celebrate love.
-Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Still working on the Ritas, but I've picked up several for my TBR pile when I've finished.

Inspiration

2010-02-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

I’ve been waiting for inspiration to strike me for my next blog.

OK, let me say that’s a major error on my part. Inspiration doesn’t need to strike a writer. A writer has to write anyway. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel like it, you have to do it. If you are a writer. If you are a dabbler, then by all means write when the mood or muse hits you. But if you are a writer, then write. No excuses.

If you want to pursue this as a career, if you want to be a professional, you sit your butt in the chair and write. Even if every line feels like it has to be yanked from your soul with serious tongs. Even if every word makes your brain hurt. Even if you’re tired, lazy, unhappy, giddy, or not in the mood. You write. How do you expect to fulfill contracts if you don’t get in the habit of writing anyway? How do you expect to last in the business if you don’t produce?

The funny thing is usually, once you get started, the words will come. Sometimes they don’t, not even if you’re diligent, but usually they will start to flow. That’s because the muse is shy sometimes. Sometimes she wants to hide, so she leaves you without the inspiration to create. But if you start creating without her, she eventually wants to take part because it’s fun. There’s that lovely sense of accomplishment when you’ve finished with a short goal (2000K words or one chapter or any such goal you may have). You’ve added to your manuscript, you’ve revised, whatever, but you’ve taken concrete steps in your career or toward publication.

And see? Even though I had trouble getting this blog up and going, once I started, the words came and now it’s done.
--Gabi
P.S. I received my ARC’s for THE WISH LIST. Yippee!!

Books I’m reading now:
Still the RITA books, the titles of which I am still not sharing with you.

How to Write a Romance--Research

2010-01-21T13:41:00.001-08:00

So, research. The word alone makes lesser mortals tremble. I’m kidding. Research is the stuff you do that isn’t actual writing but you need to make your writing better. Besides, you shouldn’t be afraid to learn new things or learn things more in depth.
I can’t think of a writing project I have undertaken that didn’t require research.

For THE WISH LIST, I didn’t have much research to do. It was my world, my rules. But…the story is set in San Diego. I went to college in San Diego. My husband grew up in San Diego. My father-in-law lives in San Diego. Nevertheless, I had to do research on places. So not only did I ask my husband about all his memories of the city, I also played on Google Earth for days, pored over maps, and visited hundreds of web sites. And when we went to spend the holidays with my FIL, we drove around the city itself. I found the cottage that appears in my novel. And since then I have written the second book, SPELLBOUND, but before I finished we drove around Del Mar just so I could get a feel for the place.

Research isn’t always so physical, but it will happen in one form or another. Most romance writers think research is only necessary if you’re working on a historical. Wrong. There’s always something. Now that I’m working on the third book of the series, TOIL AND TROUBLE, I needed to do research on weaving. (My heroine weaves—she couldn’t be a German teacher, no. she is a weaver.) The worst thing about my research on weaving is that I suddenly started thinking that I want to learn to weave in reality. Don’t worry. I talked myself off that ledge pretty easily (Like I have time to add a hobby.) But the research was so cool.

Whether you need to find out if a person who gets knocked out, then rouses to have a conversation with the heroine, then passes out again, would live in the Middle Ages (It helps if your critique partner is a nurse—Thanks, Brenda) (Oh, and by the way, he probably wouldn’t) or if you need to know which poison works the fastest, its all about gaining knowledge. Knowledge is power.

Research is crucial because you WILL receive letters or comments from people who do know more than you. I remember reading a story set in Venice, Italy, and within the first three chapters the hero and heroine were driving around Venice in a coach and four. Really? In Venice? Uh, no. I read a romance set in New Mexico where the hero ate a dinner of typically New Mexican food: red and green chili. That’s not a meal. Red and Green CHILE are condiments. Even expertise in an area doesn’t make you immune to criticism. I have a friend who has owned or ridden horses her entire life. She participated in equestrian events as a child and still has horses today. She entered a contest with a manuscript that has horses in it. The judge dinged her on her horse information, then wrote that she had been around horses her whole life and if my friend needed help with horse stuff she could contact the judge.

I haven’t written one…yet…but I would wager that elements of sci fi stories need research.

The danger of doing too much cool research is using way more than you need in your story. Most people don’t read romances to learn about a topic (although you certainly can learn from romance novels). In using what I learned about weaving, I didn’t think I had to go into all the parts of the loom. I needed to know about it so I could write comfortably, but my goal isn’t to educate the reader. My goal was to be knowledgeable enough about the subject not to make mistakes when I wrote about weaving. I don’t want to receive letters that tell me my heroine couldn’t do that (Of course my heroine knows magic, so who’s to say she couldn’t weave that way with her powers-heeheehee).

So where do you begin? Wherever you wish. There is no right way to research. There are sources available everywhere, and all kinds of sources available. If you want a short list of sources you may not have thought of, visit my web site and click on the “For Writers” page. There you will find an article on Historical Research, but many of the items apply to all kinds of research.

So plunge into the research and don’t be afraid that you’ll do something wrong. Knowledge is good, and knowing more is better. And who knows, maybe you will teach yourself and readers about whole new worlds. How can that be scary?

--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
My RITA novels, and I’m not telling you what they are—confidentiality must be maintained (For you non-RWA readers, the RITA is the award given for the best romance novels of the year.)

Rebuilding

2010-01-16T12:46:00.001-08:00

I know I said I would write about research this time, but sometimes life has other plans for us.

I just built a new web site. Building something new is an interesting idea right now. Two night ago, my mother's condo was destroyed in a fire (read: she left the building with nothing but what she was wearing. No shoes). Don't worry; she has insurance, and everything will be replaced. My mother doesn't care a lot about "stuff".This is the third time in her life my mother has lost everything: first time was when she left Hungary with nothing but the clothes on her back and my father; second was when my father died and within the space of a year she was robbed and then her house was seriously damaged in an earthquake; and now this.

But all the photos, mementos, and tangible memories are gone. We'll be able to replace some things, but the beret my father wore (they all wore berets in Eastern Europe then) when they left Hungary is gone, as is my baby book and the old family photos. But they aren't important. She is safe and unhurt. And we will rebuild.

That it happened in the same week as the Haiti earthquake puts many things into perspective. But they will also rebuild. With help and money and other aid, but I have no doubt they will rebuild. That's what we humans do. These trying times bring out the best and worst of human behavior.

I choose to focus on the best.

And rebuild.
--Gabi Stevens

Books I'm reading now:
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Born of Night by Sherilyn Kenyon
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

A Season for Gratitude

2009-12-30T22:46:00.001-08:00

When I next pick up the “How to Write a Romance Novel” thread, I’ll speak about research, but it’s that time of year that requires introspection and resolution. Except I don’t make resolutions. I love new beginnings and making plans, but the contrary in me refuses to do so at this time of year. I’d rather look back on some dates. Like February, when I acquired a new agent, or April, when I sold my series. Those dates mean more to me. And I have dates to look forward to. I have to finish the third book in the TIME OF TRANSITION series, tentatively titled TOIL AND TROUBLE. I have new proposals to write and new novels to finish. I’m attending RWA national in July this year, and I’m still thinking about attending RT at the end of April and RomCon in Denver in July. Most of all I’m looking forward to May 2010 when THE WISH LIST comes out.

January 5 is another date I celebrate. It’s my 25th wedding anniversary. Yes, I do have a family and apparently a husband who still loves me. We are a team, Bob and I; he pulls me back to earth when I am in danger of getting lost in my emotions and imagination, and make him fly when he’s too focused on work. I don’t like to talk about my family here, but this time I think it deserves some attention. I certainly don’t feel as if I’ve been married to the man that long. We have too much fun together, and I am not that old. OK, maybe I am, but I don’t think it, and it’s largely because Bob keeps me young.

The holidays are over, and the new year is coming. It’s just a date and a number--fairly arbitrary if you ask me. But I love the holiday season: time off from the day job, my family is home, and I am grateful for so many things this year. So instead of resolutions, I’d rather just bask in family, enjoy where I am in life, be grateful for the having the joy of writing. I hope you can bask in your life too.

--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts
Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Spirited Brides by Amanda MacCabe

Agent Appreciation Day

2009-12-11T08:47:00.001-08:00

A fellow writer told me about this day, and I thought it was fantastic. OK, Jen K Blom is also a client of my agent, but, nevertheless, I am ready to gush.

Marlene Stringer is wonderful. She is never too busy for her clients. She answers my questions and responds to my e-mails promptly and with great wisdom. I can bounce ideas off her, get as much or little support from her as I wish, and I trust her. Trust her to tell me if my work isn’t good, and trust her to tell me if it is.
I went through a long drought with my writing. Oh, I was writing, but I wasn’t selling. My confidence was low to the point of non-existence. I had won or finaled in contests in the meantime, but I had no confidence left in my writing.

The day Marlene e-mailed me, I burst into tears. After I talked to her, I was even happier. Here was an agent who knew the business, understood authors, and who wanted me as a client.

Well, she sold my novel (THE WISH LIST, May 2010) and two more a month after we had submitted it. I know it’s about the work and whether the editor likes the submission, Marlene added her insight to my novel and knew which editors to submit to.

I still have major doubts about my writing (a drought will do that to you), but knowing I have a champion in my corner helps me lift those doubts and think that maybe, just maybe, I can write.

So I thank Marlene Stringer of the Stringer Literary Agency for giving me back my confidence and giving me the strength to face this fickle business. It would have broken my heart to quit because I can’t imagine doing anything that would satisfy me more than writing.
--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig

How to Write a Romance Novel--Style

2009-12-05T23:28:00.000-08:00

What to say about style…hmmm.
Style has everything to do with writing ability, grammar skills, mechanics, and voice. This is the part where you groan and say, “Grammar? Isn’t that what I have a copy editor for?”

Uh, no.

Style requires work, study and instinct. Style is the part of writing that is the hardest to define. If’ you’ve ever judged a contest, you’ve probably run across entries that are perfect but missing that spark that makes you settle into the story with pleasure. Or you’ve seen entries that have great voice, but you can’t read it with without wincing because of grammatical errors.

Literary devices and tools are a part of style. Metaphors, similes, satire, irony, imagery, word choice are all tools that can elevate your writing from ordinary to extraordinary. We’ve all run across sentences that take our breath away (My husband calls these gems.) Words that move you, words you remember. Like this one:

“That’s what I love about books: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another but there will lead you onto a third book. It’s geometrically progressive--all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment” (The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society; uses repetition.).

Or this one:
“Stories have to be told or they die, and when they die, we can’t remember who we are or why we’re here” (The Secret Life of Bees, a book I didn’t really love, but I’ve never forgotten the line).

Learning to use literary devices will lift your book with rich language and unforgettable sentences.

Grammar and mechanics are probably the easiest thing to fix. Even if you don’t remember a thing from high school (or earlier), you can find so many good grammar books to teach you what you need to know. So why is this important? How can it not be? How can you claim to be a writer if you don’t know the language? OK, maybe that’s harsh, but mastery of language allows you to play with language to achieve effects that will make your writing pop. Look at the following poem: Hazel tells Laverne. The author could not achieve the humor or the sadness without breaking grammar and mechanics rules. Besides, knowing these rules shows you care about your product.

Now look at your voice. Do you write a light-hearted novel? Are you into the deep and dark side of human nature? Do you use curse words? Big words? I believe voice is one of the hardest aspects to master. Can’t you recognize your favorite authors by the way they write? If you pick up a Jayne Ann Krentz novel, it reads like a Jayne Ann Krentz novel no matter which name she’s writing under. Susan Elizabeth Phillips writes like Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Find your voice if you haven’t already.

Finally, the most important tip I have for you about style: Read Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. This slim volume teaches you everything you need to know about style. I re-read it every year. Yeah, I have friends (you know who you are) who haven’t made it through the book, but I find it highly readable, succinct, and informative. Every serious writer should own this book and study it. (Yes, I realize that is an opinion, but this is my blog, so I’m allowed to state my opinion.)

Keep on writing.
--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Duke Most Wanted by Celeste Bradley
The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig

How to Write a Romance Novel--Theme

2009-11-22T21:23:00.001-08:00

Theme is my favorite aspect of a novel to think about. I honestly believe that all novels have themes. They might be simple ideas, but themes nonetheless. No matter how “fluffy” or shallow a book may seem, it will have a theme. So what is a theme? It’s the underlying message, the moral if you will, of the story. It’s the reason the author wrote the book, even if she didn’t know she was doing it.

All the events, plot, characters, conflict, POV, etc., feed into the theme. Look at what the author wrote about-- the topics--and what she says about those topics, and you will find the theme. Is she writing about family dynamics? War? Running a business? Running a kingdom? How does the story turn out? The way the plot resolves will give you the clues to find theme.

A theme is a universal idea that the author holds to be true. Most novels have several themes. Short stories may only have one. Poems can have themes, as can songs, photos, paintings, series, dance, etc. It will be stated in universal terms, not in terms of the plot of the particular story. Often they can be stated in proverbs or clichés: beauty is in the eye of the beholder; the ends justify the means; love conquers all; war is hell. It can be stated as a sentence: doing the right thing is often difficult; just because you can doesn’t mean you should; with great power comes great responsibility. It is the idea that the author wants to share with you, the idea that she believes you should also believe.

In the movie “Second Hand Lions,” which if you haven’t seen you should, there is a beautiful scene where Robert Duvall gives Haley Joel Osment part of the speech he gives to all young men. In it the character gives his beliefs and rules of life. Great speech by the way. Within this speech is the theme of the movie, and it isn’t that you should get rich, have adventures, and buy a second hand lion. The theme should never be couched in terms of the plot. The theme is bigger than the plot.

For example, in my next release, THE WISH LIST, I have several themes, ideas that I believe in my worldview. The story is about a CPA in San Diego who finds out she’s next in line to a fairy godmother, and with the onset of her powers, her simple life disappears. One of the themes in my novel is that all gifts have a cost. One might think that suddenly having magic powers would make life easier, but instead she realizes that her new magical gifts come with a responsibility that she never anticipated. But in my own life, I’ve found that gifts do come with a cost. The cost might be minimal--a simple thank you--but more often a gift comes with higher costs. The imagination I have to tell stories, which I consider a gift, also can make me jump to conclusions, or make me incapable of paying attention at times (I go off on tangents too easily--off dreaming somewhere). Another theme of THE WISH LIST is that all decisions have consequences. And also “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Notice that I haven’t used plot to describe any of my themes. I haven’t said, “using a wand can cause trouble.” Plot is not theme. You’re looking for the deeper sense of the story. Harry Potter’s theme is not “a boy wizard fights evil.” That’s plot, not theme. One theme of Harry Potter is “sometimes you have to fight evil, even when you know it will be difficult.” (Dumbledore actually says something like this in the book.) Other Harry Potter themes: sometimes an unlikely hero is the best; friends and family are the greatest treasures; sometimes what’s on the surface doesn’t reveal the true contents; sacrifice can be painful; be true to yourself.

One of the fun ways to find theme is to look for quotes from your novel that stick out, lines that you love. So here are some quotes from my novel:

And in that mix of emotions that swirled through Kristin--the shock, the disbelief, the exasperation--there was a spark of hope, a wish that it all was true. (Sometimes the impossible is possible, never give up hope)

Her wand wasn’t alive exactly, but it seemed to read her thoughts. When her magic wasn’t working, it lay cold and stiff in her hands, but when things were going right, it seemed supple and warm and a graceful extension of her body. And at times, like now, it reminded her of the burden she had inherited. (Every gift has a price)

Tears filled her eyes. “I’ve turned you into a criminal.”
“No, just a rogue.” He grinned at her.
“Count us in as well. We’re rogues too,” said Hyacinth.
“Now have a sandwich, dear.” Rose passed her a sandwich. “Here try this one. It’s turkey and Swiss. Your favorite.” (Sometimes doing the right thing requires breaking the rules.)

So look for your theme. Realize that romances will have a theme and while you will produce one, you don’t have to write specifically toward your theme. Although you can. By the way, the theme for a romance usually isn’t “love is a many splendored thing.”

--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller
Vision in White by Nora Roberts
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts

2009-11-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

It's here. The book cover for THE WISH LIST (Tor Books, May 2010). I am so excited.
--Gabi

Inspiration

2009-11-06T08:58:00.001-08:00

Wow. All I can say is wow.

May we all experience somehing like this someday.

--Gabi
Books I'm reading now:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Exceptions

2009-11-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

I read The Guide to Literary Agents Editor’s Blog by Chuck Sambuchino today. It was an older post (September 27,2009) on word count. I am neither confused on word count, nor am I looking for a new agent (Love the one I have, thank you very much). But I often like to read the thoughts of publishing professionals on various topics just to learn or get exposed to a different perspective. Mr. Sambuchino said two things that absolutely resonated with me.

The first: “The most important thing here is to realize that there are always exceptions to these rules. And man, people love to point out exceptions - and they always will.”

He of course is talking about writing rules. I love rules--grammar rules, rules of etiquette, rules of writing, rules of behavior, etc. Rules make life easy in a way--you don’t have to think for yourself; you can just do what is expected of you. Do I follow all rules? Not always. I like to think for myself, judge for myself if a rule is fitting or moral or right, but I understand the need for rules and I also understand the need to know the rules. Writing rules exist not because the author isn’t creative enough to produce something without them, but because when a reader picks up a book, the reader has expectations. If a writer refuses to meet those expectations, the writer will be unsuccessful. Breaking those rules comes with a risk, and if a writer breaks those rules, he/she had better know why he/she did so. To break a writing rule, you must understand it first.

Are there exceptions? Of course, but you can’t bank on being an exception. It always surprises me, for example, when I meet an author who doesn’t think that knowing grammar is an essential skill for writing a book. You do. Or when a writer believes that they can include anything in a story (or not change elements, or refuse to listen to critique--not critics, mind you, but critique from editors or agents or trusted readers--and no, I am not arguing in favor of critique groups) because it is their vision and their vision is art and therefore perfect.

The exception gets talked about BECAUSE he/she is an exception. If I tell my students that smoking is bad for them, one will invariably pop up with “Well, my grandfather smoked every day, and he lived to be 95.” Right. He is the exception. We talk about shark attacks and plane crashes because they are the exception. We don’t talk about the millions (yes, millions) who travel each year on an airplane without incident, or the millions (yes, millions) who swim in the ocean and emerge without a nibbled toe. But people will point out the exception and then expect that they too are the exception.

Which leads me to the second quote: “And since most writers haven't earned oodles, they need to stick to the rules and make sure they work gets read. The other thing that will make you an exception is if your writing is absolutely brilliant. But let's face it. Most of our work does not classify as ‘absolutely brilliant’ or we'd all have 16 novels at this point.”

As much I would like to believe I am an extraordinary writer, we have yet to see if my sales record will support that claim. Do I write well? Absolutely. Do I tell a good story? Definitely. Am I brilliant? Of course…in spots. Sometimes my writing blows me away, and then if I look at it again, I see areas I can improve in. Will I be the next big star? God, I hope so, but looking at facts realistically, I write a good book that people can enjoy (yes, I have been told as much). I love the books I write, and I hope to sell enough to establish a career, but to paraphrase Mr. Sambuchino, if most of my work classified as ‘absolutely brilliant’, I’d have 16 novels at this point.

Am I special? You bet your life. There aren’t many who have had a book published, and I number among them. Sometimes that has to be enough.

Next time I’ll talk about Theme and its role in the romance novel. I love the topic of Theme.

--Gabi

The website for the blog is:
http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/Word+Count+For+Novels+And+Childrens+Books+The+Definitive+Post.aspx

Books I’m reading now:
An Affair before Christmas by Eloisa James
A Lady of Persuasion by Tessa Dare
How to Engage an Earl by Kathryn Caskie
Sin and Scandal in England by Melody Thomas

How to Write a Romance Novel-POV

2009-10-17T21:07:00.000-07:00

I’ve finished the second read-through of SPELLBOUND, the second book in the Time of Transition series, and now I’m waiting for the input of my agent and other beta readers before sending it to my editor. I am also eagerly awaiting the cover of my first book, THE WISH LIST. I can’t wait to see what the art department at Tor has come up with.

In the meantime, I’m continuing the series on How to Write a Romance Novel. This post: Point of View. Point of view simply means how the story is told, through whose eyes do we view the novel. Point of view is important because it decides how the reader will experience the story. And many readers have strong opinions on their favorite way to read a story. From now on I’m abbreviating Point of View as POV.

A writer has the choice of several points of view. First person is told from the “I” viewpoint. One character tells his or her story without the ability to know the emotions or feelings of any other character besides themselves. Writing in first person POV can be a challenge, because the author has to convey the emotions and all actions of the non-POV characters through the eyes and experiences of the one main character. First person is common in mystery and urban fantasy. Many fans don’t like first person POV in straight romance, but first person done well will work in any story. (For those of you who love first person POV or write in first person, don’t try to argue with me. I’m just relaying what I’ve heard, not giving my opinion.)

Books aren’t written in second person unless you’re writing a “choose-your-own-adventure” book. Second person is “you.” Try and see. “You are walking down a street. You see a handsome stranger leaning in a doorway. You smile at him.” I will offer an opinion here. A book written in second person would be annoying.

Third person is the most common choice for fiction., but even here you have choices. You can use omniscient, where the reader is privy to every character’s thoughts. Omniscient is rarely used today. Limited third is most common, where the reader experiences the novel through the eyes of just a few characters. In a romance, limited third is often limited to the hero and heroine.

So that’s the technical explanation of POV. But, wait, there’s more. Many authors don’t handle POV well. The problem occurs when the author tries to give information that the POV character couldn’t possibly have or wouldn’t ever think. I can’t tell you the number of times I have read something like, “She tossed her long, silky, blond hair over her shoulder. Her long, slim legs were curved just the way a man liked, and her cute figure did the same,” while in the heroine’s POV. The heroine wouldn’t think of herself in these terms unless she is arrogant and conceited. And the heroine very well might be, in which case, go right ahead, but be aware of the POV pitfalls.

POV is the main tool you use to pull the reader into the character’s brain. We need to experience their thoughts, their feelings, their reactions. Once you achieve placing the reader in the character’s mind, you switch to deep POV. You don’t want to use terms like “she felt” or “she thought”. Their thought is the reader’s thought at this point; you don’t have to introduce it. Also at this point you shouldn’t refer to the character by name unless it is grammatically necessary. A character wouldn’t refer to themselves by his own name. Switching out of deep POV happens by accident or when other characters enter the scene or at scene breaks or, or, or (yes, I wrote “or” three times), but once it is established it is easy to reenter that state.

In the course of writing you will also hear the term “head-hopping.” Head hopping is jumping from one character’s POV into another’s at a rapid pace. Most readers don’t know enough about POV to realize when it happens, but they might feel some dissatisfaction with a scene or a book because of it. They won’t feel as drawn to the characters; this is because they haven’t had a chance to live in the character’s head for long enough to identify with him or her. Staying in one character’s POV gives the reader the chance to know and understand the hero or heroine. Purists (authors who believe in the strict adherence to the POV rule) will tell you to stay in one character’s head for an entire scene or longer. Non-purists will switch when they wish. You have to decide for yourself how you will write. I tend to write from one POV for a scene or chapter, but I will change when I need to. I have enjoyed books by Purists and non-purists, but I do tend to notice the rapid POV change, and I have also gotten annoyed unless it is masterfully done.

One last thing about limited third: to help build the page-turning capacity of your book, think about putting the scene into the POV of the character who has the most to lose.

All writing rules are meant to be broken. One of the newest trends is to write the heroine in first person and other characters in third. So, study the books you enjoy and examine the author’s use of POV. Then choose your POV and keep writing.

--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
Knight of Desire by Margaret Mallery
Never Trust a Scoundrel by Gaye Callen
How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author by Janet Evanovich and Ina Yalof

How to Write a Romance Novel--Plot (and Conflict)

2009-10-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

Sorry I’m late. The good news is that I finished both the copy edits for THE WISH LIST, my May release, and the second book in my series, SPELLBOUND, and got it out to my beta readers. The bad news is that this blog was one of the things I have to set aside for a few days. But I’m back now, and trying to catch up.

Plot is up next. Picture if you will (Rod Serling, just kidding) a five or six year-old, hmmm, let’s make her a little girl (only because I didn’t have any boys, and I’ll have an easier time imagining it). Ask this little girl about a movie she saw, let’s say FINDING NEMO, and she’ll happily recount the film: “There’s a mom and dad fish and a barracuda eats the mom and all the babies, but there’s one left and he has a bad flipper, and his dad won’t let him do anything, so he swims to a boat, when a diver comes and scoops him into a bag. The dad chases the boat and…”

You get the picture. That’s what plot is--what happens. Nothing more, nothing less. I’m one of those readers who prefers plot over characterization, and I know I’m in the minority among romance readers. Don’t get me wrong; a book needs characters and their problems, but I like plot--what happens next. The number one reason I put down a book is because the characters have so much baggage, I can’t believe they can get to a happy end without a porter, a luggage cart, and an account with UPS. (But I will defend your right to read such novels--hey, you have your own taste.)

Now the controversial part. I think conflict belongs under plot, not characterization. In all honesty no one element can be truly separated out from the others. Characterization is a part of plot, and conflict is a part of characterization. But conflict drives the plot. Conflict and the way your characters react and respond to the conflict tells the story--the plot. It sets the story in motion.

There are two types of conflict: internal and external. Internal conflict is the struggle within one’s self. Any decision a person makes can constitute an internal conflict. Recovering from pain, changing one’s image, maintaining one’s temper, and resisting an urge are all possible internal conflicts. As the name implies, an internal conflict takes places within one character, and no other character will share the conflict unless the original character chooses to share the conflict. External conflict is any struggle with forces outside oneself. War, weather, fights, competing in a beauty pageant can all lead to possible external conflicts.

There are four kinds of conflict: Character vs. Character; Character vs. Circumstance; Character vs. Society; and Character vs. Himself. The first is a physical conflict; it requires a test of strength against other men, forces of nature, or even animals. The second is also known as the classical struggle, a fight against fate, the gods, or the circumstances of life, like aging (Don’t get me started--my knees will never be young again). The third is a struggle against the ideas or customs of other people. And the last is psychological--the character struggles with himself, with his own soul, ideas of right and wrong, physical limitation, choices, etc. (Sound familiar? Look above at internal conflict.)

Here I am going out on another limb: I believe every book should have both types of conflict. Internal conflict alone leaves me cold. External conflict alone doesn’t leave much room for character growth or change. (See, I told you all these elements are interconnected.)

Conflict is a highly complex idea. I will revisit it later in this series, but until then, I hope I gave you something new to think about.

--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
Goddess of the Hunt by Tessa Dare
A Hint of Wicked by Jennifer Haymore
Suddenly One Summer by Barbara Freethy

How to Write a Romance Novel-Characters

2009-09-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

Good God, where does one start? Characters are the lifeblood of a novel. You must have them or a novel cannot exist. Think about it. Even if you’re writing about the wind, the wind itself becomes a character. You cannot write a novel without them or at least him (or her). Otherwise you’re not telling a story but just trying to prove that you’re clever. I’d call that pretentious. And obnoxious.

The reader wants to relate to the story you’re trying to tell, and the way the reader accomplishes that is through the characters. Gosh, but where to go from here? OK, a quick generalization: you must make your main characters--that is your hero and heroine in a romance--likable. Or at least have the hope of becoming likable by the end. Because the main character, especially the heroine (let’s face it, most of our novels are read by women), is the vessel through which the reader experiences the novel. If the reader cannot identify with or recognize themselves in or understand or just plain admire your main characters, what reason do they have to finish your novel?

Unfortunately likability is hard to define. Personally I like egg-head characters, the absent-minded professor types. I even wrote one, only to have a reviewer give me a bad review because she hates that kind of person. As is her right. We have our own personal tastes, our own criteria for choosing friends and lovers. Good thing too. Otherwise there would be very few happily married couples out there.

But likability itself isn’t necessarily the factor that makes a novel successful. Take Scarlett O’Hara. Yes, she has traits we can admire, but I wouldn’t want her as friend. And yet GWTW is great because of Scarlett. And if you another example of where likability plays a contrary role in characterization, read THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD by Agatha Christie. I won’t say anything else about the novel except that she was both reviled and praised for this novel, and she changed the mystery genre forever with this book.

Character is the person doing the actions; characterization is the traits given to that person. You must focus on the characterization to make rounded, well-formed characters. Just by nature of the beast, a fictional character cannot have as many facets as real person (such a feat, I propose, is an impossibility), but your characters should have enough sides to bring him/her to life in a novel, to let your reader believe they could be reading about a real person. They must be three dimensional, not static; they should grow during the course of the novel (ask yourself, “What have they learned?”); they should have faults. Ack, don’t make your characters perfect. Perfection is not only unbelievable, but it can also come off as arrogant, and often boring. Really. If your characters are perfect, they don’t make mistakes. And then where’s your conflict? (That’s next week, folks).

You can, of course, chart out each of your characters: what is their eye color, hair color, height, etc (always useful if you need to refer to them through out the book, and you will, and don’t wish to have your heroine change from having blue eyes in one scene to having green in the next). You can ascribe an entire history to them: where they attended school, what traumas affected their childhoods, what their favorite Christmas present was; etc.; stuff that may never appear in your book, but might help you understand your character better. You can find character interviews all over the Internet. Whatever helps you to create characters that come alive is what you need to use.

And we can’t forget the other characters in your book, namely the villain and the secondary characters. You should take as much time making your villain realistic as your main characters. Or almost. Personally I like the over-the-top villain: the Voldemorts, the Darth Vaders, the Wicked Witches of the West. But even these characters were given some sort of backstory to make their evil understandable. Heck, the Wicked Witch was given her own book(1) and Darth was given three whole movies(2). And if you’re anything like I am, your secondary characters take on a life of their own. I literally had to kick one of my characters off an island because she was taking over the book. I love secondary characters. Think of them as the character actors. So often they steal the scene from the leads. Like Spike in NOTTING HILL or Alfred in the Dark Knight.

One last little thing: it’s fun to give your characters a quirk to set them apart, be that a fear, a habit, some odd little hobby that makes your readers smile or at least remember your characters. Everybody knows and remembers that Indiana Jones is afraid of snakes, that Ron Weasley hates spiders. In my upcoming story, THE WISH LIST (May 2010), my heroine eats chocolate chipless cookies--that’s right, chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips.

There is so much more to characters than what I possibly can write in a blog. So go explore on your own. Find out what you want your characters to do and learn. Give them personality and faults. And don’t forget to let them fall in love. You are writing a romance, after all.

--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
Desperate Duchesses by Eloisa James
The Highwayman by Michele Hauf
What Happens in London by Julia Quinn

1 In the original book, the Witch is chasing Dorothy because she murdered her sister and now she wants the silver slippers, not a very original reason, but a reason nonetheless ; the book WICKED followed decades after the original and gave a whole new history to the Wicked Witch. I’ll let you decide if Maguire succeeded.

2 The supposed “first three” episodes of STAR WARS are all backstory. I won’t give my over opinion here, but we as writers know what too much backstory does to a novel. And I love STAR WARS (the original three).

Stuff they didn't tell you

2009-09-13T17:14:00.001-07:00

So I’m interrupting the flow for a moment. Yes, this blog is still about how to write a romance, but instead of continuing with the logical progression of topics, I’m breaking things up. I’ll get back to the elements of a novel next week with characters, who they are, what their make-up is, etc. Today I want to speak about one of the unspoken aspects of writing a romance novel: fear.

Fear accompanies the writer on so many levels. What if I’m not good enough? What if no one likes my story? What if I can’t write another novel? What if I can’t sell my novel? What if I can’t sell another novel? What if I get bad reviews? What if the judges slash my entry? What if my co-workers find out that I write Romance? What if I can’t finish? What if ...

What if my mother/children read/s it?
OK, the last one is a valid fear, but one not so serious.

Writing isn’t about the fear. It’s about the courage. The courage to put yourself on the paper. The courage to submit. The courage to bounce back even when faced with rejection. Or failure. Or low sales. Or editors leaving houses. To face detractors, the ones who laugh at your choice of genre, the ones who hate your book. The courage to keep on writing despite all the things that can and do and might go wrong.

Did no one tell you that writing takes guts?

I’ll see you back here next week for the continuation of How to Write a Romance Novel--Characters, when I’m no longer in the revision swamp.
--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
Havemercy by Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett
Nickled and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

How To Write a Romance Novel--Setting

2009-09-06T12:51:00.000-07:00

This is where the series becomes nerdy. OK, I like literature and the analysis thereof. I earned two degrees in it. But I believe Romance is worthy of and stands up to literary analysis. So bear with me while I write about stuff you may have learned in high school (or probably dozed through as your teacher presented it).

Last week I talked about the Hook, a crucial element in writing any novel. You want to draw the reader in. And then what? A hook does not a novel make. So today I’m looking at what constitutes a novel, what elements make up a novel.
Every novel has five elements: setting, characters and characterization, plot, style and presentation, and theme. All five of these elements combine to create a rich even that carries the reader through to a new world, new ideas, and, at least for my authorial purposes, entertainment. Take out any one of these elements, and a book flounders. You can’t have a book without setting, characters, plot (although I’m sure literary fiction has tried this one—oops, that’s snarky), and theme (This is the one that Romance is accused of overlooking. Boy, does that ever irritate me.)
Each element deserves its own blog entry, so we’ll start with setting. Setting is more than where and when a story takes place. It is also special weather conditions, social conditions, and mood and atmosphere. But setting is important to a Romance novel because often setting establishes which subgenre of romance the book falls into.

The three major breakdowns in romance are contemporary, historical, and paranormal; but within each of those categories are further subdivisions. Within contemporary, for example, you have romantic comedy, romantic suspense, action-adventure, family saga, chick lit, etc. Within historical there’s medieval, Regency, Victorian, Georgian, Tudor, Edwardian, ancient, etc. Within paranormal possibilities include urban fantasy, contemporary, historical, futuristic, fantasy, science fiction, and so on. Setting helps establish all these subgenres.

Place clearly helps set up the novel. The reader needs to know where the story is set. She needs a base from which to embark, a place that can help her begin to visualize the world of the book. It makes a difference if the book starts off in modern San Diego, an estate in Regency England, or standing on a grassy purple plain watching the setting of the six suns in the pale green sky of Planet Jellicorp. Your setting establishes reader expectation.

Time plays the same role. Reader expectation is different for books set in the present, past, or future. But don’t forget time of day or time of year. A book’s feel is different if the opening is at night or in the morning. Your description will vary between winter and summer. We’ll talk more about description in the future, but for now know that it is necessary for the reader to know where the book is taking place.

Weather conditions are an aspect of setting that shouldn’t come up too often, but when it does, it will make an impact. Think about the cyclone in WIZARD OF OZ or the rainstorm in THE SOUND OF MUSIC. In both instances, these weather anomalies must happen to further the plot. By the way, this includes natural phenomenon, like the tidal wave in POSEIDON ADVENTURE.

Social conditions are an integral part of the story as well. Especially in contemporaries, social conditions may not play a major role, but picture a Regency without the rules of society. Or any European set historical without the rules of class. And in many futuristics, social setting is crucial to the story. The new YA best selling series, THE HUNGER GAMES, requires its social conditions as part of its story. And where would 1984 be without the social conditions?

Mood and atmosphere are the final aspects of setting. Is your story Gothic? Is it light and happy? Does the atmosphere speak of danger or laughter? If your novel starts out light and humorous, it shouldn’t end with dead puppies. On the other hand, your story shouldn’t be so intense that it leaves the reader exhausted. Mood and atmosphere can vary in a novel. Real life does. In the Harry Potter series, Rowling moves from humor to tragedy in a seamless manner. And it’s all a part of setting.

Setting is interesting in that it sinks into the background once it is established. When setting comes into the foreground, it should appear for a reason: to announce a place change—from London to a country house, from the space ship to the planet, etc; an important description—in my book, THE WISH LIST, I describe a painting because it will play a role later in the story; weather will change the direction of the plot; etc. Setting pops in and out of the story then sinks into the background. As a savvy reader, you should notice when setting comes forward because it can be a clue to something important. Setting can be so important that the novel couldn’t take place with those characters, with that plot without that particular setting.

So if you’re working on a novel, you know where your story is taking place. Now consider what your setting says about your novel, and be aware of its role in your novel.

Next time, we’ll look at characters.
--Gabi
Books I’m reading now:
On a Wicked Dawn by Stephanie Laurens
Duchess in Love by Eloisa James

How to Write Romance Novel Part Two

2009-08-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

THE HOOK

Yes, I am continuing on this insanely ambitious blog series on How to Write a Romance Novel. Why not? It’s not like I have things to blog about from my everyday life. I’m a mother of three, two in college, one in high school, who all think they don’t need me any longer (except when they need to BUY something). I’m not traveling right now; my husband and I are doing great (not that I want you involved in my marriage, thank you very much). I am teaching full time, and I could actually fill a year’s worth of blogs with the anecdotes of my students, their parents and the frustrations of a teaching within a school system, but I don’t think any of my students or their parents would appreciate recognizing themselves on these pages and as for venting my frustrations…well, I still have to pay tuition for those two who think they don’t need me. So I’m left with writing and we’re starting at the beginning.

You want to open your book with something--an event, facts, actions, conversation--that will draw the reader in and compel to read more. This is called the hook. Not being a fisherman myself, I won’t continue the analogy of landing the fish, but you do want to grab the reader. Something has to happen at the beginning of the novel. And you start with the first line. Here are some examples :

Audrey Magill went into the Third Street antique store looking for a chair and found a man instead. (READY AND WILLING by Elizabeth Bevarly, Berkley Sensation, 2008)

Why it works: We have the name of our heroine, and an unexpected twist in the second half of the sentence. It raises questions in the mind of the reader.

The Glitter Baby was back. (GLITTER BABY by Susan Elizabeth Phillip, Avon, 1987,2009)

Why it works: Uses the title. The word “back” raises questions in the readers’ minds.

Justice took inventory of his condition, his weapons, and his chances, as he’d done so many times before in his centuries as a warrior, and came up with:
1. bad
2. worse
3. odds-on favorite to be a dead man in the next five minutes. (ATLANTIS UNLEASHED by Alyssa Day, Berkely Sensaton, 2009)

Why it works: We have the name of our hero, we have some background, and we know he’s in trouble. The situation raises questions in the mind of the reader.

“Not there,” said Collin. (THE TEMPTATION OF THE NIGHT JASMINE by Lauren Willig, Dutton, 2009)

Why it works: It’s the middle of a conversation. Where will this conversation go? And what’s not there? Or why not there? And other questions.

The aunts had summoned her. (THE WISH LIST, Gabi Stevens, Tor, 2010)

Why it works: Our character is being pulled somewhere. Why? Who are the aunts? Why are they summoning her? Who do they think they are “summoning” her?

You may have already noticed the common element: Questions. The desire to know more. I pulled these books at random from my shelves (with the exception of my own) but they all essentially are making the reader think from the first line. They aren’t giving much information; they simple start the story and ask the reader to come along for the ride.

That’s what your hook has to do: Ask the reader to come along for the ride. To accomplish this you have to start your novel with something happening, not introspective, not backstory. Unless you start writing your first novel after many workshops/classes/advice, most first novels begin with explanation. My first novel began with three pages of the heroine walking up the stairs thinking about her life, how she was an orphan, how nobody loved her, how wicked her aunt was, how sad her life she was. Three pages! And all she did was walk up the stairs! Ugh. And every other author I’ve talked to said they did the same type of thing--started with backstory or explanation.

Start in the middle of a scene. Start where the heroine’s day can’t get worse and then it does. Start in the middle of action. Start in the middle of an argument. Start with something that raises questions in the readers’ minds. If you start with dialog, for God’s sake, don’t start with ”Hello, how are you?” If you start with action it shouldn’t be She walked up the stairs. You’re trying to grab the reader, not put them to sleep.

The hook is more than just the first line, but you get the idea by now. Start with something that drags the reader in. Think of the movies. The opening scene of Indiana Jones has little to do with the rest of the movie except to introduce the hero and his rival. But, oh, that opening action! Look at Star Wars (The real first one, not the pretend early episodes) Look at Gone With the Wind. Look at Notting Hill. Yes, they establish setting and characters, but not in a boring way. That’s what you want to establish at the beginning of your novel.

So continue your writing. The best way to learn is by doing…and then analyzing after you’ve written.

Next week…Elements of a Novel
--Gabi

Books I’m reading now:
Sand, Sun…Seduction! By Stephanie Bond, Leslie Kelly, and Lori Wilde
Burning Alive by Shannon K Butcher
On a Wicked Dawn by Stephanie Laurens

How to Write a Romance Novel Part One

2009-08-23T16:52:00.001-07:00

How to Write Romance Novels Part One
How presumptuous of me. Who am I to undertake such a topic? Yes, I have been published, but other authors have written more books with greater success. Yes, I do have a (actually two) degree in literature, but we're not talking literature. Or are we? You've probably heard some of what I have to say before, and maybe you know more than I. Nevertheless, I feel passionate about the subject (no pun intended), so I wanted to share with you my thoughts on the writing process especially as applied to romance novels.

Genre fiction is a fairly new phenomenon. Before the 1900's, there were simply novels. No one categorized them, but even then novels were considered the lesser child of literature. Modern thinking required that we categorize books into various genres. In one way, it makes reading easier. If someone likes, say, science fiction, then he/she knows where to look for science fiction in a book store. On the other hand, categories makes it too easy to dismiss certain types of fiction and miss out on others. How many times have you heard someone say, "Oh I don't read that kind (insert genre that you look down upon here) of book"? (British punctuation, BTW. Much more sensible I think.) Or if someone reads exclusively in one genre because he/she enjoys it (nothing wrong with enjoying a genre), he/she can miss out on wonderful books simply because he/she doesn't consider looking for a book in a different genre.

So genres can make handy labels or limit a person's reading (BTW, literary fiction is nothing more than a name for a genre). Romance is just one such label. If you've been watching the news on the recession lately, you've most likely heard that the Romance Novel industry is recession proof and is in fact doing great business in this economy. Romance novels make you feel good. You are guaranteed a happy ending and a few hours of escape.

I can hear the first snorts of derision. "That's because they're fluff." "That's because they're formulaic." That's because no one who thinks reads them." Really? RWA ® statistics will tell you that romance outsells every other genre, and that its average readers are college educated. And its authors come from a wide variety of fields and educational backgrounds, including lawyers, professors, doctors, teachers, EMT's, social workers, actors, and yes, even housewives (Hey, my mother was a housewife. I defy you to call a woman of her background anything but remarkable.) As for formulaic...well, I'd say all fiction is formulaic and I'm going to be exploring that formula in the upcoming weeks. Yes, romance is a story of a man and a woman (although not always, and the boundaries are expanding, especially in erotic romance) with an emotionally satisfying ending, but aren't mysteries formulaic as well? As well as fantasies, horror novels, speculative fiction, and literary fiction? I hear you protesting. Those books have variety. Um, have you read romance recently? You can find everything in romance novels including mystery fantasy, sci fi, and literary elements. And most of the time you can find romance or at least a love story in the other types of fiction. Love and relationships make the world go around.

Enough about defending the genre. Here's the first thing I want you to ask yourself. Do you love romance novels? If you don't, find something else to write. If you're in this to make a quick buck or to get published, you're in the wrong game. If you don't love what you're writing, it will show and your book will suffer for it. And trust me, no publisher will publish you in romance if you're just phoning it in. Just because romance is the biggest genre, doesn't mean it's easy. Writing is tough--wonderful, but tough--why would you spend hours, days, weeks, months working on something you neither enjoy or respect?

OK, so you love romance. Terrific. Your next question is, "What kind of romance do you want to write?" There are genres within the genre in romance, and sub genres within the sub genres. What books do you enjoy? What kind do you usually read? Do you have the temperament and the time for historical research? Are you comfortable writing sex scenes? If so, how sexy? Are you wanting to write lighter books or angst-filled books? Humorous or serious? Category or single title? Paranormal or contemporary? Vampires, werewolves or ghosts, oh my? Space ships, fairies, aristocracy? Sweet or sexy? Inspirational? Suspense? So many questions to answer.

You might already have a story that's been whirling around in your head. If you do, then you're already ahead of the game. There is no idea warehouse to find your story in, but ideas can come from anywhere. I once wrote a book based on a brief news item I saw on TV about a man who adopted an injured owl. The owl had only one wing, and the man would perch the owl on his shoulder and go roller blading around Lake Michigan in Chicago. The owl would lean into the wind and pretend he was flying. The man lost sixty pounds. But that story was the spark that ignited a novel called The Sea Eagle.

So gather your thoughts, and go ahead and start writing. I'll speak about other elements next week, starting with THE HOOK.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Ready and Willing by Elizabeth Bevarly
His 7-Day Fiancee by Gail Barnett
Glitter Baby by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch

Emotions

2009-08-11T16:14:00.000-07:00

When I was a kid, I cried a lot. My parents called me too sensitive and often didn't know how to handle me. What they didn't realize was that I also laughed a lot, sang a lot, danced a lot, played a lot, just felt a lot. The stuff I went through in high was high drama for them and my teachers (remember I went to boarding school). Because they didn't know how to deal with such an emotional daughter, they told me to keep feelings hidden. And I did learn to. I stopped crying, but I also stopped laughing, singing, and dancing. I don't blame them--to this day my mother says she has no imagination and leads a very controlled life. That's not bad. It's how she wants to live.

But I am passionate. I'm not speaking sexually; I mean I have deep feelings, and I think I'm finally old enough (it's about time) to give in to those feelings. I'm allowed to feel passion about things. So I laugh again, and cry. I argue with vehemence and am often accused of being angry, when I'm not angry at all, just passionate about my subject. I enjoy things with greater relish again. I dance, sometimes even in public places especially with my daughter. And I'm proud that I cried in three separate places at the movie UP. My favorite thing is laughing and I'm always searching for new things to laugh at and with. I'm finding ( after decades--yes, decades--of thinking I should hide my emotions) that the cathartic aspect of letting my emotions show is actually giving me a more fulfilled life.

And that emotion is going into my books. I make myself cry regularly when I write. I also make myself laugh a lot. And when my characters face injustice, I seethe for them. I can only hope that emotion comes through as my readers read my books.

So have a good cry. Or a good laugh. Funny that both those phrases exist: "good cry" and "good laugh." I don't find irony there at all.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
All About Love by Stephanie Laurens
Ready and Willing by Elizabeth Bevarly

Local Conference

2009-08-06T17:11:00.001-07:00

In November my local RWA chapter is hosting a one-day conference with a fantastic line-up.

2009 LERA Write From The Heart Conference

Come join LERA, Dianna Love, and Mary Buckham (with special guest Sherrilyn Kenyon) as they present their innovative, day long workshop:

From Thought To Plot

This interactive workshop will be held on Saturday, November 14th, from 8:30 to 5:00 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center,2401 12th St. NW Albuquerque, NM, just five minutes from Old Town Albuquerque.

Book signing after the conference at Borders at ABQ Uptown (2240 Q St. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110). Authors will include Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianna Love, and Mary Buckham!

Are you kidding? Sherilyn Kenyon? NYTimes best (BEST!!!) selling author Sherilyn Kenyon, who is also one of the nicest ladies out there. And her cohorts, who present some of the most highly rated workshops out there? This is an opportunity you don't want to miss. Go to www.leranm.com for more info.

And if you're family (You know to whom I am speaking), I'll even let you sleep on my floor.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
All About Love by Stephanie Laurens
(Boy, reading has slowed down since I'm trying to finish up my WIP before school starts NEXT WEDNESDAY!)

The Process

2009-07-20T19:00:00.000-07:00

I am back from the RWA conference, pumped, and ready to work. I'm working on revisions and having a great time revisiting THE WISH LIST to get it ready for you to read. There's something about attending a writers' conference that rejuvenates and restores the writer's soul, not to mention all the great things you learn (about yourself and the craft) and all the great books you bring home. Of course, it also drains your energy, so sleep is good for a couple of days.

While I was gone, I received a question (Thanks, Eva):

How do you chose which story to write and stick with when there are so many beginnings in your head?

The answer isn't as straightforward as you might think. I personally like to work on one thing at a time until it is finished. Ideas are always whirling around in my head--the next book, characters that need a book, scenes from books I didn't even know I was going to write--but I work on one thing at a time. Part of being a professional (which by the way does not mean that you earn your living at writing) is completing manuscripts. Having first chapters, half finished novels, or outlines doesn't mean much if you actually want to get published. You must have a finished product at least once (more would be preferable).

But once that finished product is done, then what? If you have a contract to complete, it's the next book of that contract. I still have the third book of my trilogy to write; when the revisions for WISH LIST are finished, I'll be finishing the rough draft of SPELLBOUND, and when that is done, I'll get started on TOIL AND TROUBLE. The only reason I've interrupted my writing of SPELLBOUND is because revisions come first.

If you have the luxury of making your own choice, you can choose anything. I go with whatever (whoever--those characters can be obnoxious) is yelling the loudest. But I do stick with it until it is done.
EXCEPT...
Once you are published, you can start selling on porposal. For Romance, that's usually an idea, three chapters and a synopsis. One of the hardest things I've done was learn to let go of a project just after starting it, after letting it gel into a story, and getting to know the characters. They are still in my head, yelling louder than any ideas, but they have to wait until I sell them.

So once again, my answer is less than definitive. I have to add only one more thing: You have to do what is right for you. What works for me isn't what's right for you. You have to discover for yourself your own method. There is no one answer. How's that for indefinite?

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
To Good to be True by Kristan Higgins
Witches Incorporated by KE Mills
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

I got nothing

2009-07-03T10:16:00.001-07:00

I have no thoughts this time. Absolutely nothing is coming into mind as I try to blog. No wisdom, no wit, no complaints (well, I have complaints, but I'm sure you don't want to hear me whine about my family--don't get me wrong, they're good people, but sometimes,ARGH , you just have to put up with them, because you won't change them and they won't do things the way you want them to do things. How hard is it to learn where everything goes in the kitchen. And then the pettiness beast rises up in me and I'm not willing to help as they need stupid things. Wait, didn't I say I wasn't going to complain?), no ideas. I am working hard on book two (SPELLBOUND is the tentative title) of the new series and it's going well, not as fast as I'd like (see rant in parenthesis) but I'll be done with the rough draft by the end of July. Then I can meet the characters in book three (TOIL AND TROUBLE).

So I am here simple to wish you all a happy Fourth of July, and I'm asking that you think about what it really means to be patriotic.
--Gabi

Books, I'm reading now:
Careless in Red by Elizabeth George
Atlantis Unleashed by Alyssa Day

Stupid Backyard Games

2009-06-20T16:18:00.002-07:00

I just finished playing five holes of golf. Before you get too excited, it was backyard golf. Armed with wiffle golf balls (there's probably a real name for those things, but I don't know it) and my husband's clubs, we pounded in the two croquet end posts at either side of the yard, and proceeded to play: me, my husband, and two daughters. A hole consisted of hitting the post on the other side of the yard.

Not only did this game prove how very little Tiger Woods has to fear from me, but it also proved how much fun stupid little things are when done with the family. So on this Father's Day (tomorrow), play some stupid games with Dad. I don't have my dad anymore, but I do have great memories of the games (mostly tennis and canasta) we played together. Trust me. You'll love the the time spent with the him of your Father's Day (whether it's your dad or the dad of your kids.)

And if you're the dad, Happy Father's Day.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Highland Scandal by Julia London
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling (What? I had to read it again before the movie next month)
The Duke Next Door by Celeste Bradley

Being liked

2009-06-09T10:47:00.000-07:00

I found a review of one of my older books on line yesterday. It was a beautiful review (she--I'm assuming it was a she--loved the book, gave it the highest grade she could, and basically glowed about it.) If you're interested, here's the site:
http://www.channelingboards.com/Romance/page1.html#Ever%20Yours
If the owner of the site is reading this, thank you. I hope you how much you made my day when I found it.

Being liked and enjoyed is an odd part of this business. As an author, I know that I shouldn't take reviews personally, that everyone's taste varies, that not everyone will like every book, and that we shouldn't even want that. As an author you want to evoke strong emotions in your readers, but strong emotions also means strong dislike in some readers. If everyone likes a book, that probably means the book is meh. But if some people love a book and others hate it, then you've done something special. Nothing is worse that doing OK. Succeed with glory or fail spectacularly, but either way go for the big emotional response.

With my new series of books coming out next year (in a new genre, under a new name), I feel a great deal of fear: What if it's not liked? What if no one wants my type of book? What if I never sell anything again? But ultimately none of that is important. I am writing with all the skill I can, putting in ideas that I find important, and hoping that out there someone will like what I've done and said. I can do no more. Fear is the one of the hidden aspects of writing you don't often hear about. However, doing the writing despite the fear... well, courage is something to be admired even if it isn't your conventional courage. It may not save lives, but it is admirable. It is the picture of someone having the guts to follow a dream, of living a life uncompromised.

Whoa, I didn't mean to wax philosophical.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz
The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
Third Circle by Amanda Quick

Entering the World

2009-05-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking about birth. I'm talking about writing. The cool thing about writing is that you create your own world. It doesn't matter if you're writing science fiction, fantasy, contemporary, historical; the world of the novel is yours even if you base it in reality. You have to know your world to write the story. I lose myself in the world of the story. I sometimes have to remember that the reader doesn't necessarily care about the color of the wallpaper in the bathroom even if I can see it vividly. I have to let the reader do some of the work, to get invested in the story and use his or her own imagination to fill in the images.

The same thing happens to me when I read. I can see the story from the words. They won't be the same images that the author had when he or she wrote the story, but that doesn't matter. Reading is a active thing and requires participation from the reader. At least a good book will require participation. That's one of the reasons I don't like movies made from books (although if Hollywood wants to film one of my novels, I'm all for it). The images and actors just don't match the picture in my head. Not that some movies from books aren't great. Some are; but I can think of only two movies from books that I liked better viewing than reading. One was Seabiscuit; the other was The DaVinci Code.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie by Jennifer Ashley
True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson
The Third Circle by Amanda Quick
Nerds Like it Hot by Vicki Lewis Thompson
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

The Magic

2009-05-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

When I'm writing, I always doubt that I can fill one page much less the thirteen through twenty that constitute a chapter. Even when I know what's going to happen, I doubt that the pages will be enough, especially since I am a short writer to begin with (And that has nothing to do with height). And then I start writing. Basically I'm just describing the pictures in my head and transcribing the dialogue I hear there. Not that it's a smooth and easy process. Sometimes the "film" breaks, or the projectionist takes a break, or the film is fed into the machine (Yes, this is old fashioned stuff here--no DVD's) wrong so the film isn't clear or runs ratchety. But the chapter grows and I am always amazed by how much I get on paper. Soon I worry that I'm going to overrun the chapter by five or six pages, because there's always so much more to tell. But eventually it always works out and my chapter is complete and the right length.

I call this the Magic. The story keeps playing in my head and all I have to do is get it on paper. Or computer if we're trying to modernize the process here.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
The Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson
Fast and Loose by Elizabeth Bevarly

Interruptions and the Real World

2009-05-02T16:42:00.001-07:00

The worst thing about being a writer is when your characters are waiting to jump on the page, the plot is wanting to pour out of you, and you can't sit down at the computer. The real world intrudes. The dishes need to be done. Toilets must be scrubbed, laundry has piled up to its limit, the floor can't be walked on without boots, and more. OK, not to be gross, but my house needed attention. And worse, my day job requires me to work at home this weekend. I have tests to correct. The Real World is a drag when my fantasy one is calling.

But at least the story is there and the magic exists. What a great feeling.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
All of Me by Lori Wilde
Rewriting Monday by Jodi Thomas

Two weeks...

2009-04-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

and still flying. Good news, getting validation and having someone believe in your ability to tell stories does wonders for the ego.

I've already started work on the next book and have made good progress. Unfortunately I have a day job that gets in the way of writing--like the essays I have to correct right now. But only five more weeks until summer vacation and then I can turn into Super Writer Woman. I plan to have the rough draft of book two done by RWA National (hope to see some of you there.)

Odd how when you are involved with schools (as a parent, as a teacher, as a student), the year begins and ends with the school schedule, not the calendar. I keep trying to tell my students that the way we measure time is arbitrary anyway. It's for our convenience, without any real meaning. We could rework a clock to have ten hours, consisting of 100 minutes of 100 seconds each (they wouldn't be hours and minutes as we understand them now). Who designed this weird 24 hours, 60 minutes, 60 second thing anyway (I know, I know, the Babylonians)? Just as it would be easy to have one time zone for the world and we could simple do things at different times--In England they eat breakfast at 7:00 AM, while in California they would eat at 3:00PM, when it would be morning in California. No more resetting your watch. And different cultures already have different year counters--The Jewish calendar, the Chinese calendar, the Mayan calendar which claims the world will end in 2012 (actually this isn't true at all--the Mayan calendar doesn't predict the end of the world at all, but I won't go into that here).

So back to the two weeks. I've sold again, and I'm still thrilled no matter how you measure it.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Some like it Wild by Teresa Medeiros
Hunting Badger by Tony Hillerman

News, news, news

2009-04-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm baaaack. My agent has just finished negotiating a three book deal with TOR for my contemporary paranormal series, The Time of Transition. Every seventy-five years, the safeguards between the magical world and the human world are weakened as a new group of protectors are put in place. This time, someone is trying to take over. It'll take three special women to keep the entire world safe. Don't mess with them. They are the next Fairy Godmothers!

These three books are lighter paranormals with a lot a fun and seriousness in them. TOR is changing the titles of the novels, and I don't know yet what they will be, and I'm taking on a pen name, which I will release here if you want to follow me, but the release dates are May 2010, April 2011, and March 2012.

I can't tell you how excited I have been this past week as negotiations were underway. And I can't tell you how thrilled I am with my agent. And I can't tell you how thrilled I am being a TOR author.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
In Golden Blood by Stephen Woodworth
So Enchanting by Connie Brockway
What a Lady Wants by Victoria Alexander
Waltzing with Tumbleweeds by Dusty Richards

Fear

2009-03-06T16:47:00.000-08:00

To catch you up...I didn't get the job in Australia. They picked a bunch of young people. Not one appears over the age of thirty. Which has totally turned me off from even looking at the site any longer. No that there's anything wrong with young people, but please, not a single applicant was qualified who has some life experience?

Anyway, enough grousing. I'm here to talk about fear. Rebuilding a career is a scary thing. I found an agent and she's terrific. She's already sent off my manuscript. And I'm filled with fear. Of two kinds. First is that fear of rejection. What if I'm rejected everywhere (which despite everyone's kind words is a distinct possibility). It isn't the rejection itself I fear. It's that my agent will then say, What was I thinking? and dump me. The second fear is the I will be published again.
There is a fear of success that no one talks about. It's a frightening thing to realized that if success happens your life will change. Change isn't always easy.

But at least it adds excitement.

And I'm looking forward to the opportunity to experience the change. (Wait...that sounds like menopause)
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Dogs and Goddesses by Crusie, Stuart and Rich
Tick Tock by Dean Koontz
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Dead after Dark by Kenyon, Ward, Squires, and Love

And now for something completely different...

2009-02-21T10:22:00.001-08:00

Speaking of dreams...

I don't know how many of you remember around the middle of January, the news reported on "The Best Job in the World." It's the position of "caretaker" on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. Queensland Tourism is actually looking for someone to live on the island for six months, do touristy things and blog and report on it. To apply, one has to create and post a video on line.

Well...I did it. The odds are certainly not in my favor (they've had over 15,000 applicants), but what the heck. I had a good time making the video and dreaming big. So if you want to see my video you can click on the link below and view my application for "The Best Job in the World."

http://www.islandreefjob.com/applicants/watch/xmkhAGLTl44

How awesome would this job be????

--Gabi
Also reading:
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig (I got interrupted by Rita judging)

Good News

2009-02-21T10:18:00.001-08:00

I'm happy to announce I've been taken on as a client by the Marlene Stringer Agency. It's exciting to be starting this new phase in my writing career and I'm ready for the challenge.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Dogs and Goddesses by Crusie, Stuart, and Lane
Pandora's Box by Natale Stenzel
Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz

Froth

2009-02-07T10:42:00.001-08:00

I write froth. Fluff. Brain candy. You name it. And I'm proud of it. OK, my critique partners say that my books have definite depth and emotion and that I get into some heavy areas, but, you know, my taste in reading leans absolutely to works that make me chuckle (I like my movies that way too) or are uplifting (Think SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION or SECOND HAND LIONS).

Now I honestly believe that everyone has different tones that are their favorites, but personally I HATE books where the characters have so much baggage that they need porters to help them move from scene to scene. I will fight for your right to read and enjoy such books, but don't force them on me.

If I'm reading a romance, I don't want heaviness. That doesn't mean no villains--I love a good villain--that doesn't mean no suspense--I love a good suspense--but it does mean that I get turned off by a hero who comes from an abused childhood who has beaten an adult drug addiction , who pairs off with a heroine who's been raped by her foster parent and then spent the rest of her childhood in and out of institutions. Not that such histories don't have a lot to be admired, but that's not the reason I read romance. I read for total escapism. Too much reality ruins it for me.

I have accepted that my books will probably never reach the status of "great" American literature because of my tastes, but they're MY tastes and I don't have to justify them to anyone. Doesn't mean that I don't have themes in my novels--I do. My last novel's theme was "all gifts have a price" (along the lines of "all decisions have a consequence") and I've often written the theme that "home is not a place, it's a person". Themes are the great universal truths that I (again this is about me) believe in.

Anyway, I write the books I would like to read. If you're looking for angst; deep, soul-wrenching pain; or people overcoming insurmountable (which I never believe the characters can overcome--why do you think they're called "insurmountable"?) problems, find another author.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
RITA books are finished
Tall Tales and Wedding Veils by Jane Graves

The Stomach Flu

2009-01-24T11:11:00.000-08:00

That's right. I was laid low by the bug. For twenty-four hours I didn't eat, I was racked with fever, and I slept (and a few other things that don't belong in a refined blog such as this). But the throes of illness are over, and I'm weak but fine, even if I can never eat sunflower seeds, frozen thin crust pizza and artichoke hearts again.

Have you ever noticed while in the delusions of illness, your thoughts are strange. I tried to watch a movie (Made of Honor, in case you are interested) and every time I tilted my head the story made no sense. I had to watch it sitting straight up and focusing. This is not a comment on the movie itself, but on the way my head was working. The movie made perfect sense when my head was straight. So I started pondering about the way we view our world and the skewed images we get of things. Not the best subject to dwell upon when you have a fever of 103.

Luckily, I slept again and all I can remember is having the thoughts, but not the thoughts themselves. Or maybe not so lucky. Who knows what profundity has been lost to the generations because I didn't have the presence of mind to jot my thoughts down as I was having them. Of course, I don't think I could have grasped a pen at that point.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
My Rita entries (to judge)...four down four to go and I'm still not telling you the titles.

Winter

2009-01-16T21:29:00.001-08:00

It's cold. Not so much for me as the rest of the country, but it's still cold. My daughters are off in Massachusetts and Georgia. One picked MA because she liked winter (OK, that wasn't the only criterion for her college choice) and the other picked GA because she didn't. I called both of them to see how they're liking the weather. One is loving the 3 degrees Fahrenheit because she now has a coat that keeps her warm (Don't get me started. We told her that she needed a coat, but she waited until she came home for Winter break when we could get her one for Christmas), and the other is complaining , although she got a coat as well, about the 30 degrees that Atlanta has been suffering.

I don't mean to make light of the cold. People are hurting out there, but I've never been a fan of winter. Oh, I thought that perhaps I could enjoy winters (I went through several in Illinois, New York, and Colorado in my life), but the best part of winter for me has always been sitting inside where it's warm and drinking hot chocolate. I could never understand paying tons of money to strap slats onto one's feet and brave snow covered slopes (Not to mention going too fast, but that's another issue entirely). Of course, it easily could be that I'm the crazy one.

So this winter I'm dreaming of sun soaked beaches, islands surrounded by blue water, and warmth. I don't have that either. More's the pity. And we won't even discuss how I find scuba diving and snorkeling safe as opposed to skiing.

Stay warm,
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig
My RITA books...all seven of them

Odd Thoughts

2009-01-04T14:50:00.000-08:00

Happy 2009!

I hate to say it. I'm looking forward to getting back to the work routine. Not that I didn't love the break, because I did, but with family here, the daughters home from college, I didn't accomplish half of what I had wanted to. So I'm actually looking forward to returning to school and teaching. This is a first for me. I know exactly what I am teaching (Huck Finn--which, as a complete aside, fills me with terror that some day I'll switch letters on the title or character, as I am prone to do, and say something completely inappropriate for eighth graders), I'll have my office back (as soon as one daughter goes back to college) and, I guess I have to admit it, gives me a reason not to sleep in. I love sleeping in.

So new year, new possibilities, but as I've written here before, I believe newness can come at any time. This is just a convenient time to dwell upon it because of the calendar.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Eclispe by Stephanie Meyer
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
The Spearwielder's Tale (3 novels) by R.A. Salvatore
Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey

Integrity

2008-12-16T13:36:00.000-08:00

I don't usually like to blog about serious or downer subjects, but this one is getting me down. Lately my writers' loops have been filled with links to sites that upload copyrighted material and allow you to download books for free. This is stealing. Ok, maybe you don't have sympathy for the "big" publishing houses, but it's also stealing from the author, and as an author I can tell you that my writing "income" hasn't been "income" in any year--not when I was published by a big NY house, nor when I was published by a small press.

What's the difference between reading a book on line from someone's free upload or going to the library to take out a book. Well, the library had to buy a copy or several copies of a book and has a limited area of access. A book uploaded reaches the entire world...at least where you can get internet. If every library in the US bought my books to have on their shelves I would be thrilled. My book available as a free download off the internet... not so much. I spend six months working on a manuscript (sometimes longer, sometimes less). It IS work, and while I write because I love to write, you're stealing from me if you're downloading it for free. You wouldn't dream of taking somebody's painting and hanging it on your wall without paying for it. You wouldn't dream of asking a chef to cook for you for free. Why do you think it is your right to steal my books without compensation?

Of course, I'm not a big enough author to worry about free downloads, but that's not the point. The point is doing the right thing. What has happened to integrity? Is it no longer considered a virtue? Is cheating OK now? A study recently came out that showed that 64% of students have cheated on tests, 36% have plagiarized, yet 94% were satisfied with their ethics (David Crary Associated Press, December 1, 2008). Look at the fat cats CEO's bankrupting their own companies while walking away with their golden parachutes of millions of dollars. Look at the mud slinging in the latest election.

Maybe that's why I like fiction, especially genre fiction, so much. In my books, good guys win, and bad guys get their just deserts. Ahh, the Polyanna in me.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Flashback by Nevada Barr
Agnes and the Hitman by Jennfier Crusie and Bob Mayer
Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling (yes, again)

The Post Thanksgiving Blahs

2008-11-30T14:22:00.000-08:00

I cooked, I ate, I shopped; it was good. But now I'm still battling whatever made me ill last week (not a cold, slight fever, a cough deep in my chest, and thank you, but I don't need a diagnosis) and I have to get back to work tomorrow.

So the blahs have hit. I know, I know, I could start decorating for the next holidays, but my husband hasn't even removed the Halloween stuff from our living room yet (Yes, I know I could do it, but do I want to?) So instead I'm taking today to wallow (and correct homework papers) and just enjoy being out of sorts for a day.

On the other hand, the writing is going well. This historical feels like coming home and slipping into something comfortable. Of course, if my paranormal sells, I will love to write the next two stories that are in my head. Let's just say, I really feel like a writer first and a teacher second, a good place to be.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading:
The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts
Tall, Dark, and Texan by Jodi Thomas
Deep South by Nevada Barr
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

T-shirts and bumper stickers

2008-11-16T16:17:00.001-08:00

I don't wear T-shirts often, except when I'm at home or I work out (which should tell you how rarely I wear T-shirts. I know, I know, I should work out more) and I don't put stickers on my car except when I have to, but that doesn't mean I don't like the sayings printed on these two media. I'm a sucker for a good pun or witty turn of phrase. So here is a random sample of some of my favorites:

I am the Grammarian about whom your mother warned you.
I am an English major (you do the math).
National Sarcasm Society (Like we need your support)
There are 10 types of people who understand binary: those who do and those who don't.
Visualize Whirled Peas
When I was your age, Pluto was a planet.
Hyperbole is the best thing ever

And for you cat lovers, this is a warning. Don't read the following!

So many cats, so few recipes

(Don't send me hate mail. It made me laugh. I can't help it if I have a sick sense of humor.)

So, do you have any favorites?
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Dark of the Moon by Susan Krinard
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Ill Wind by Nevada Barr

Changes

2008-11-04T13:11:00.001-08:00

No, this isn't a blog about the election (And how many people did you have calling your house today to vote? We stopped counting at 16). It's about changes and the things we want to change and the changes that are thrust upon us.

Too often we are complacent in our lives and not wanting to risk anything that might upset the status quo. But I believe, and I always have, that most change is good. It helps you grow, it helps you learn, it helps you live. Change can be painful, but in most changes bring positive energy into your life. At least they have in mine.

I've been meditating why lately I've been afraid to take those risks that bring change. Goodness knows, I would enjoy a change in my life right now (and no, I'm not talking about changing husbands or children for that matter). And I guess I've had change--my daughters are off at college, but that really was just a natural extension of events--but I'm looking for some sort of personal change. I have set some wheels in motion, so now I an actively pursueing a change. I'm certainly ready for a change in the writing career.

So, Universe, are you listening? I'm ready for a change.
--Gabi

--Books I'm reading now:
Men in Kilts by Katie MacAlister
The Undead Next Door by Kerilyn Sparks

Red River again

2008-10-21T11:14:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again. To leave the the city and head for the mountains of New Mexico and Red River. Our annual writers' retreat (our non-conference) happens this weekend, and I am looking forward to it. And the ducks. Gotta love the ducks.

Watch this space for a rejuvenated me after I return.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn
The Warrior by Kinley McGregor
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

A Pet Peeve

2008-10-11T17:05:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I speak three languages. One of my biggest pet peeves is when authors or movies or TV shows speak in a language I know and the language is wrong. Case in point: Chicago (the film of the musical). Not until the second viewing did I realize that the one innocent woman on death row (who gets hanged) is supposed to be speaking Hungarian. The accent was atrocious, the intonation abysmal, and the words barely understandable. My mother, who is native born Hungarian, didn't believe me when I told her they speak Hungarian in the movie. I showed her the scene and she didn't understand a word. Keep in mind that my mother still reads books in Hungarian and most of her friends are Hungarian and she speaks Hungarian every day.
If the producers spent that much money making a movie, the least they could have done is hire someone who speaks the language and fix it!

The same thing happened in a book I read recently. The story takes place in Germany (Prussia, which in the story is right next to the Black Forest!). The German was wrong from the start. None of the nouns were capitalized, and the word endings were wrong in spots. But my first real guffaw came when the hero called the heroine "messe," and she said in English something like, "Yes, I am messy. Just look at me." And the hero said, "No, I mean messe. Messe means fair in German. " Well, it does...only it means a fair like a state fair or a convention. It's a noun, not an adjective.

It got better (or worse; opinions may vary). During a love scene, the hero is kissing her and using German words like Liebchen (which is fine, except it wasn't capitalized), and messe (Again, and it wasn't capitalized as nouns are in German), but the worst was when he used the word Leiche (not capitalized). The author must have used a German/English dictionary to find the word body. Leiche is body...only it means dead body or corpse. Good thing I wasn't drinking milk at the time. Would have had fountains from my nose.

I have written a novel with Spanish in it, and I freely admit that I don't speak Spanish, but I had three different native speakers translate and check it for me. It isn't that hard to find native speakers of a language. This author should have found one.

And now, back to work.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Fire and Ice by Anne Stuart
Never Romance a Rake by Liz Carlyle

Short stories

2008-10-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

We have just finished our short story unit at school (you do know I'm a teacher by day, right?), and my students had to write their own short story for class. I gave them prompts, but they also had the option of writing something of their own. For the second year, I joined them in the writing. I have great respect for short story writers. It isn't an easy task. To write a truly great short story requires discipline and talent. A short story has to pack so much into just a few pages. Mine have turned out to be three and five pages respectively. Like my romances, they spring into my head almost fully formed.

The odd thing is that unlike my romances, which I hope have humor and wit and lightness, my short stories turn out rather twisted and dark. Hmmm. I wonder what that says about me.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
The Daughters Grimm by Minda Webber
Where's My Hero Anthology by Lisa Kleypass, Julia Quinn, and Kinley McGregor

The Political Beast

2008-09-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

The U.S. is getting close to an election that I believe will be very important. I've tried to stay away from politics on this blog because I believe that my blog was just for getting to know me and my writing and other sundry things, but I'm almost to the point of letting loose here.

Normally I love to argue politics with family and friends, but I get highly passionate and incensed when I do so. Although I may seem upset, I have never felt any less toward anyone who argues against me or disagrees with my views. I may laugh at them to myself afterwards, but I've never lost a friendship over politics. I also prefer to argue in person with people that I'm comfortable with, not put myself out there for the world to see. I do that enough with my books.

But politics is ugly. Always has been, always will be. I don't like ugliness (I'm not talking about appearances here). And now it's become divisive. I can't believe some people think the way they do. Actually I believe they aren't thinking because if they did they wouldn't vote they way they plan to.

So although I hold strong opinions about this upcoming election, I'm keeping them to myself. I won't change anyone's mind who doesn't think like me, and if they already think like me, Why argue? But I do plan to vote.

I just can't believe this election is at all close and considered a legitimate and valid electoral race.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Spindle's End by Robin McKinley

Empty Nest?

2008-09-13T13:56:00.001-07:00

With two kids off to college this years (twins, doncha know, so I lost two at once), you'd think I was suffering from empty nest syndrome. Nope.

Don't get me wrong. I miss them, and I think they don't call or email me often enough, but it's not that I miss them. I just want to hear their news. Their lives have to be more exciting right now than mine. I just go to work and come home. They are off in new parts of the country, learning new things, meeting new people. I want to hear the excitement in their voices. And no, I'm not living my life through them.

But I don't think I'm suffering from empty nest syndrome. I already moved my remaining daughter into one of her sisters' room, painted the walls, took over her room as an office, painted those walls, and I'm loving having my own space for writing. In fact I'm thinking of having my twins share a room when they come home so I can keep the office to myself. I love having my own place to work and write. I have an extra table in their for when I work on hard copy, I have my own computer (not this one) just for writing, and my floor to ceiling bookshelves that still have space to hold more! It's quite lovely.

Nope. No empty nest. I have my own life.
But I do wish they would call more often.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
The Emergency Doctor's Chosen Wife by Molly Evans

Reading...and painting

2008-09-02T17:45:00.000-07:00

No, not that kind of painting. Painting rooms. I spent the weekend repainting one entire room and one wall of my daughter's new room. Since her two sisters are away at college, she moved into her older sister's bigger room, and I moved into her old room. Not exactly. I converted it into my office. And that required paint to change the bright pink walls into a soothing green. My daughter's room now sports an island, the ocean and the bright blue sky. Very creative, if I do say so myself. Latent talent there.

But after two days of painting, I can't move without pain, so no way I'm taking this up as a career switch.

And, yes, I know: you're not supposed to change or get rid of your college bound child's room. They need to come home to it to feel still loved, but we warned the twins, and in our case it wasn't one unused room, but two, so they'll just have to lump it.

I am so heartless.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (makes you love books all the more)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey

Happy Birthday...

2008-08-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

Ray Bradbury. I teach a couple of his stories at school and one of his novels. They are spectacularily written, so I thought I'd take this moment and wish him many happy returns.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:

Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey
The Governess wears Scarlet by Sari Robbins

The Olympics...

2008-08-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

OK, I've been slow, I admit, but I've got an excuse (that's all it is--an excuse. Doesn't mean I shouldn't have blogged, because I should have, but it's an excuse). First, I had another birthday between the last blog and now, but the biggie is that I'm back at school. Yup, I'm back at the day job, and that's my excuse. And now, well, now there's the OLYMPICS--

All caps. That's right. I'm a fan. A huge fan. I don't follow sports normally. I don't care for basketball, although I've been to a few Lobos games with my husband, who gets season tickets, don't really care for MLB, although if I have to pick my team is the Padres, and I watch the Superbowl for the commercials. But the Olympics were always huge when I was growing up. My father would watch everything he possibly could and would make us watch with him. And I mean everything. I am glued to the TV when kayaking comes on, and yesterday's women's sabre event was thrilling. I wish they would show more of the obscure events. I will watch the entire length of the bike races, the marathon, anything. During the opening ceremonies, I cried. Several times. (I also have to suppress my own feelings of inadequacy--what the heck have I achieved) And I root for the underdog and the stars.

I love the Olympics for everything it's supposed to stand for, for the dreams of the individuals, and, yes, even for the patriotism that it inspires. (Although I have to warn you that the Hungarians receive as loud cheers as the Americans--despite their hideous outfits.)

Probably the biggest part of the Olympics for me though is that it is a sort of memorial to my father. He died nearly twenty years ago, and for me and my family, watching the Olympics is a tribute to him. It's when I do my best remembering of him. And I cry. And it's a good thing.

It looks like I've passed on the love of the Olympics to the next generation as well. The kids are glued to the TV with me. So I'm off to watch the Olympics now.

I hope you can make such memories with your families.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett
By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey
Bedding the Heiress by Cathy Maxwell
Some Like it Wicked by Teresa Medeiros

Time is running out...

2008-07-18T21:29:00.001-07:00

You all know I'm a teacher by day and romance writer by night (hey, The Dark Knight has just come out, and no, I haven't seen it yet). Which means that my summer vacation is almost over. I'm already feeling the pain. I have to report back on August 6. That's right, August 6. Mind you, I"m looking forward to having new students, and as usually, sap that I am (see previous post), hope is growing that I will actually reach many kids this year, but it means that I have to divide my time again. I so enjoyed being a writer and only a writer this summer. The thing is, if I didn't know how great the writing thing is, I would have made a very contented and dedicated teacher. I do like it.

So I have two and a half weeks to finish revisions. I'm not going to the RWA national conference this year (for the first time since 1997), and I have to start thinking about my curriculum. Sigh.

--Gabi
Books I'm reading now:
Bedding the Heiress by Cathy Maxwell
Sweet Starfire by Jayne Ann Krentz

Sap

2008-07-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I'm a sap. I just came home from the movie WALL-E, and I have to say I loved it. It's disturbing on many levels--the environment, the proliferation of communication devices and personal entertainment--but so amazingly good. I believe it's the best Pixar movie yet (Yes, better than FINDING NEMO, which I loved--who didn't?--or Toy Story.)But that's not why I'm a sap. I'm a sap, because I cried. Yes, cried. At a robot (ROBOT--really, a robot). And an animated robot at that.

You want to talk hero's journey? Wall-e is a hero. You want romance? Wall-e and Eve. You want adventure? Well, I don't want to give away the movie, so I won't say more. I will say you will fall in love with Wall-e--an animated robot (Yes, a ROBOT!)

I cried.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
The Givenchy Code by Julie Kenner
To Light a Candle by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
When Darkness Falls by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Finished

2008-06-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

The WIP(work in progress)is finished. One of the best parts of being a writer is typing "the end." Now I'm giving myself a week before starting revisions, but I love revising. The book needs fleshing out and reduction in some areas and reworking in others. I have to make sure the details are right, the logic isn't ignored, and that it reads well.

There's something so satisfying about finishing a novel. I mean the writing aspect. Yes, finishing one that you've read can be satisfactory as well, but the sense of accomplishment after writing is a magical feeling. You've really done something. Whether or not it ever gets published. You've written a book.

So I'm off now to revising. And believe it or not, I've already started a new novel. I have only three pages, but it's a start.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
In Defense of Elitism by William A Henry
The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Things that Go Bump in the Night

2008-06-18T15:32:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not talking about ghosts. I'm talking about real night terrors. For the past two nights, I've had nightmares. Two different ones each night for a total of four different nightmares that wake me up from a good sleep. And I remember waking up from one about three days ago as well, but I don't remember the details.

They all have different story lines (if dreams can have story lines) and they aren't hard to interpret. One had to do with driving my twins off to work beside a swollen river (the tragic flooding in the Midwest) and then a tsunami wipes out their place of employment. (Yes, I know river don't have tsunamis, but it's a dream--cut me some slack.) You don't have to be Freud to figure out I'm beginning to have issues with letting them go to college where I won't have control over their every day lives (not that I do now-- I don't know whom my subconscious thinks she's fooling). The other four were as bizarre or more so, but I don't need to go into details about them. They make about as much sense as, well, dreams.

In any case, I'm having nightmares, and believe it or not, I'm actually happy about it. Why? I read a study in which the authors said adults tend to have nightmares once a month if that. I've always had nightmares at least once a week. Except this past year. For whatever reason, I haven't had any. Maybe because I wasn't sleeping too well, but I think because my creativity shut down while I was teaching. Yes, you have to be creative to be a teacher, but not with the creativity I use in being a writer. And now the nightmares are back, and I am flying with the writing. I am having such fun finishing up this WIP.

So I'm taking my nightmares as a good thing.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
My Favorite Thief by Karyn Monk
The Price of Indescrestion by Cathy Maxwell
In Defense of Elitism by William A Henry
The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler

Ack!!

2008-06-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

I didn't mean to have such a break between blogs. I try to get one up a week (OK, every week and a half), but May came and went (like a hurricane) with end of school, husband's birthday, twins' birthday, twins' graduation, mother visit, Father-in-law-visit, ARC re-read, and I fell ill.

But no excuses. It's summertime and I am a writer again. Almost done with the WIP, ready and eager to start revisions, and the next book in the queue (in my head) is stomping to get out as well.

What a difference a few weeks makes. My mind set is completely uncluttered (except for plots) and my creativity has returned. I guess not having essays to correct DOES make a difference.
So I'm off to the writing computer again. I will be better blogging this summer.

Books I'm reading now (and have read these past few weeks)
You've got Male by Elizabeth Bevarly
Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
The Lost Wyndham Duke by Julia Quinn
Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Thursday Next: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
The Hollow by Nora Roberts
The River Knows by Amanda Quick
Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
One Good Knight by Mercedes Lackey
Twisted Creek by Jodi Thomas
(I probably missed a couple)

Back to work/school

2008-04-13T16:23:00.000-07:00

My daughters have senioritis, my students think they're in high school already, and I...well, I resent that I'm still playing "catch up" from my week's absence. I have all these creative needs that aren't being met because I have papers to grade.Sigh.

The first week back went well, although by Friday I was wiped out. And because I've been favoring one side over the other, my knee gave out yesterday, so I'm in pain again.
OK, this blog was not meant to be a whine session (although wine seems to help --LOL). I'm looking to see what promotion I want to do with my September release, and still trying to find time to finish up the WIP. But there's only 28 days of school left and then I can be a full time writer again. For a while.

And I'm excited about getting back in the game full time.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Once Smitten, Twice Shy by Lori Wilde
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer
Bewitching by Jill Barnett
And lately I've gotten hooked on The Office (I know that's TV, but hey, this is my blog)
And I'll be buying Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture. For whatever reason, his name has appeared in my life daily since last week Saturday. It's a sign. LOL

News from the world of drugs

2008-03-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

Just kidding. But I do have to tell you that Percocet takes the edge right off that pain. I can't imagine wanting to feel this way if I wasn't in pain (I don't get the whole recreational drug thing), but it sure is nice to have something that works to make me feel better. Even if I can't write when my head is swimming.

My new book cover is up at my web site. Go take a peek (www.gabianderson.com).

My surgery went well, I'm recuperating at home, and trying to get some reading and writing done. It's still a little hard (see above paragraph) but I have one more week to recover before I have to go back to work.

Meanwhile I've decided that I really want to focus on the writing. I have two books waiting to come out that need to wait their turns until I finish the current WIP. I love feeling the creativity return to my life.

A big congrats to all the GH and RITA finalists this year. (see the RWA website if you are unfamiliar with these two contests.)

--Gabi

What I'm reading now:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Forever Odd by Dean Koontz
Fancy Pants by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
The Perfect Wife by Victoria Alexander
Once Smitten, Twice Shy by Lori Wilde

Posting

2008-03-02T15:16:00.000-08:00

I've been pretty good lately, posting something here about every week, and then, WHAM! something happens and all my good intentions fly out the window and I don't get to posting. So I'm giving you all (what? all three people who read my blog) heads up that I won't be posting regularly for about a month. I have health issues in addition to the work issues, so please check back next month when I plan to be really good again.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Give me a Texan Anthology
I'm looking for some good reads to get me through the next few weeks--any suggestions?

The Romance Community

2008-02-10T10:40:00.001-08:00

I have to say that the romance writer community is one of the best places to feel loved (no pun intended). These authors are so giving, so caring, so willing to share of themselves that any author should feel priveleged to write romance. Authors come to give talks and they embrace their fellow authors as if they were long lost friends. Yes, they do come to sell books and promote themselves, but that doesn't diminish the true grace and gentility they display. I have spent many a day with a author whom I have never met before and always felt as if I were sharing stories with a friend.

Today in my local paper, the books section (a page, not really a section) threw in a gratuitious blurb on Romance for Valentine's Day (because, of course, Romance doesn't exist the rest of the year and it's also not the bigest share of the mass market fiction market--sarcasm, if you couldn't tell). The headline reads "Romance! Passion! Lust!" (not so bad really), then the subtitle reads "Who wrote the book of love? For a mere six bucks you can set hearts aflame and get those bodices ripping". How long will it take for the media to understand that "bodice-ripper "is a term most romance authors find offensive, demeaning, and belittling? I give credit to the article for maintaing a neutral tone, but really out of the three romance novel examples the author gives, one is twenty years old, and the second is twelve years old. At least the third one is a recent publication. And no mention of Nora Roberts. Nor a mention that of the top ten bestselling authors on the fiction list printed that week (And I don't know if our paper reprints the NYT or if they have another source, but the list only covers hardcover books), two are known romance authors.

I think I'm just too sensitive because, really, nothing negative is said in the article. I guess I just want more. So much positive exists in the romance community that I want to celebrate it and extoll it to the world instead of relgating it to a mere Valentine's Day burb.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Crimes against Logic by Jamie Whyte
Give me a Texan by Jodi Thomas, Linda L Broday, DeWanna Pace, Phyliss Miranda
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (Yup, it's that time of year again--teaching it to my eighth graders)

Winter blahs

2008-02-02T14:30:00.000-08:00

For two weeks I've been battling the blues. Oh, not the serious blues, but the I've-got-no-talent-who-am-I- fooling blues.Sometimes, when life takes up so much of your time and you can't pursue your dreams, it's hard to keep the faith. And if doesn't help when you find people are advising things like Confucius's saying "Jump and the net will appear." That's all well and good when you don't have many responsibilitites, but if I were to quit my job and really pursue writing full time, who the heck would pay the tuition bills coming up next year when the girls hit college? I've been published. I know what those initial advances and royalties pay, and my kids can't go to college on those paychecks.

So until I can leave work and pursue the dream full time, the dream suffers because my soul is being sucked out of me by the demands of the job. It's a vicious ciricle.

And it's been COLD!

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Crimes Against Logic by Jamie Whyte
The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gillman
Seven books and/or novellas for the RITA contest sponsered by RWA (not releasing the titles of those)

Reading, reading, and more reading

2008-01-13T17:06:00.000-08:00

I have been indulging all week. I have been reading and enjoying my time reading. School has started up again, and next week I have papers to correct, but in the meantime I've been coming home and reading. I didn't have much of a chance to read over the break because, for whatever reason, my mother doesn't like to see me reading--even though it was MY vacation. So I've been making up for it since we returned home. How lovely to read. Just read.
Oh yes, and WRITE. I've been writing too.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Th Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
Breathing Room by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
World Without End by Ken Follett
The Husband Trap by Tracy Anne Warren

Happy New Year

2008-01-03T11:22:00.000-08:00

Resolutions? Not for me. I don't do the whole "this year I will..." thing. Either I do something or I don't. Time of year doesn't matter. Besides, if you think about it, this whole "new"year thing is pretty arbitrary anyway. The new year used to start in March (Thus the discrepancy in George Washington's age you sometimes find). If you teach, you're only in the middle of the year. And it's winter. How can anyone start anything in winter? (Being facetious here--I know there are people out there who like winter...strange people)

But in the spirit of the season and the need to write new numbers on my checks, Happy New Year to you all. May your year be filled with joy, luck, love, and riches. For me, a new book contract will do.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Tell Me Lies by Jennifer Crusie (a re-read)
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (not because it's an Oprah pick--this is a re-read before I buy the sequel. Of course I had forgotten how much I loved this book.)
The Husband Trap by Tracy Anne Warren

Merry, Merry

2007-12-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

Brief post this time. I just want to wish you all a happy whatever. That may read cynical, but I truly mean it. I don't care what you may or may not celebrate, I wish you the happiness you deserve, the prosperity that keeps you well, and the joy that you can find in pursuing your dreams.

Don't forget to write 2008 on your checks soon.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts
Rules of Engagement by Christina Dodd
(And I've received a couple of gift certificates to book stores that I can hardly wait to use)

Comfort and Joy

2007-12-09T15:47:00.002-08:00

Today I am facing grading twenty-two more tests that my charming eighth graders have taken on the wonderful novel Dandelion Wine. Of course, they didn't find it wonderful, despite the life affirming message of the book. They resented having been made to think while reading, or at least think after reading. But enough about the test. It's the grading I'm facing, and frankly I'm trying to put it off.

So I was thinking about taking a nice long bubble bath with book in hand, drink at my side, and snacks. One of my favorite guilty pleasures. Or I could just curl up under a down comforter (45 degrees here today) and read a book. Or perhaps make a cup of cocoa and sit at the table and read a book.

I believe you're getting the sense of where I'm going with this. My favorite way to escape reality is to read. Granted some books are better than others, and since becoming a writer, oh, sixteen years ago, I've become a jaded bibliophile, but when a book works, it works well.

So on that note, take some time for yourself, find your own guilty pleasure and indulge. I'm a firm believer in making yourself feel good.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Tangled up in You by Rachel Gibson
Santa Baby by Jennifer Crusie, Lori Foster, and Carly Phillips
The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling (yes, again)
Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts

Fear, Worry, Panic and Other Beasts

2007-11-25T14:54:00.000-08:00

I'm one of those individuals who obsess on things one really shouldn't. For example, a student from my school was walking home with her little brother as I was driving (No, I was NOT speeding and I was watching the kids who were walking home.). Just as I pulled up even with them, she grabbed her brother and did that pretend shove into the street gag, which I just love so much. I immediately stopped the car (what if he had slipped out of her hands, what if he had tripped?), and being in teacher mode, I opened the window, identified myself as one of the teachers at her school (she isn't one of my students) and told her of my disapproval of her actions. Turns out her mother was watching her children walk home. Mom got in her car, followed me home and proceeded to berate me for stopping to talk to her daughter. I told her that her daughter shouldn't scare drivers with a stunt like the one she pulled. In any case, the woman drove home, I went into my house and obsessed about the incident all day.

This is why I don't break rules. I can't handle the consequences. I don't want to deal with them, they make me uncomfortable, I obsess about them.

This got me thinking about fear and worry, which I do a lot of as well. I don't want to, but it's part of who I am. It's part of why I don't enjoy teaching. Too many students have parents who blame the teacher rather their own child's performance. I don't deal well with confrontation, even when I'm in the right.

So I try to live my life with as little chance of confrontation as possible. That's my real fear. That and worrying about my daughters when they drive. Or when they're out. Or when my husband is a little late. Or even waiting for medical test results, although I'm quite fine.

There's a reason I can write fiction. My brain is always coming up with the worst case scenario and rewriting reality.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:

Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypass

Family

2007-11-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

Well, it's that time of year again. Family is coming to town. Mind you, I'm excited to see them, but it also means that I won't have a day to myself this week to write or simply do nothing. That's a little harsh. My sister would of course give me the time with encouragement no less. My mother on the other hand doesn't believe that I'm doing anything productive pursuing this writing career of mine and so will call me to fold laundry (!) rather than let me create. This is the woman who said, "When are you going to give up this silly thing of writing?" and "Why don't you write a real book?" and "I never understood you."

Family. You gotta love 'em. OK, you don't, but I love them anyway. At times.
--Gabi

What I'm reading now:
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Raintree: Sanctuary by Beverly Barton

Obsession

2007-11-11T17:33:00.001-08:00

No, not the perfume. Have you ever found yourself consuming everything about a certain subject in a short period of time? Like reading a ton of J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) at once? Or cooking something once a week for a month (when one cooks)? Or having to have a certain candy bar for a while? I'm going through one such phase right now. Only I'm doing it with two things. First, I've discovered the CONNECTIONS series. I've watched several of the original (from 1979), a few of the second series (1994) and a couple of the third (1997). Fascinating stuff and James Burke is rather funny. I'm totally buying into his view that history (of science, of literature, of religion, etc.) isn't linear at all, but that all these connections exist. So every week, I'm going to the library to check out as many of the DVD's as they have and enjoying them. Because to buy the original series alone is $149.99 and my dollar is devalued enough, thank you very much.
My second second obsession can hardly be called that because there are only three items to glom. I needed reading material (I've been physically down this week with little energy to do anything but read) and my husband bought me Dean Koontz's BROTHER ODD. So Now I'm reading the first in the series, ODD THOMAS, and I will most likely get the second one this week as well, when I go to return my latest CONNECTIONS DVD's.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now (if you didn't get them from my post above)
Brother Odd by Dean Koontz
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

Direct Proportions

2007-11-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

I've noticed a direct correlation to the amount of writing work I get done to the amount of work I assign my students. After you read my discovery, you'll probably roll your eyes (if you could), and wonder why I consider myself even remotely intelligent. It's a real "Duh" moment. Let's just say I knew, but I never really thought about it much before.

So the observation is this: the bigger the assignment I have to correct, the less work I get done on my writing. (I told you--"Duh.") I have twenty-one more essays to correct by Monday, and I don't see myself getting to the chapter I wanted to have finished by Wednesday. Day jobs bleed your creative time, and teaching is worst than most. I also haven't read, haven't cooked, gone shopping, or any other useful thing. OK, let's face it. I'm a slug.

So onto the corrections and the shopping (we do need milk). I'm hoping I can get something productive done this week.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Late Night Talking by Leslie Schnur (finished, and that's all)

Red River

2007-10-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from a wonderful non-conference weekend at Red River, NM. For about the past eight years, a groups of writers including myself have gotten together every October to meet, talk, discuss and support each other. We don't have scheduled talks, although one can give one if one wishes, we can bring up any topic we wish, writing related, and we just spend time with other writers. No meals except the ones you plan for yourself, no fees except the lodging, which you arrange yourself, no committees, no key speakers, no signings, no fuss, except those you create yourself.

Ahh, the joys of being a writer.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Rivals for the Crown by Kathleen Givens
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
Moon Women by Pamela Duncan

And All is Well...

2007-10-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today was the second day of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta and the morning was cold, but cloud free. Most of the balloons took off, and I saw the totally awesome Darth Vader Balloon, an amazing sight. It was probably also the last time I will enjoy the Balloon Fiesta with all of my daughters. The oldest two are off to college next year, so they won't be home for next year's fiesta. Am I sad? In a way, but all is right with the world (I'm just speaking of my own little world, not the entire global situation--I mean, really. Who could call THAT right?) They are where they should be: growing up, going away, finding their own lives. So I'm good with this being the last Balloon Fiesta with the entire family. Who knows? Maybe the next time we are all together to see it, there will be more of us (No, I'm not pregnant--I'm speaking of husbands and grandchildren--but not for several years yet).

And I got an awesome amount of writing done today.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Candy Apple Red by Nancy Bush
A Kiss in Winter by Susan Crandall
Heart's Delight by Ruth Ryan Langan

Brain Games

2007-09-29T10:50:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love to do when I have time is solve puzzles. I love them all--logic, crossword, acrostic, sudoku, jigsaw--almost everything except word search. Those I find stupid. So when one of my students (Hi, Connor) gave me a puzzle to do the first or second week of school, I was thrilled. I hadn't seen it before, so I was determined to solve it. No, I didn't google it (because that's what my husband did and found it at once), but I looked at it, and when I had a few moments here and there, I tried to solve it. So about five or six weeks later, I was lying in bed, about to fall asleep when suddenly I went, "Ah ha." I didn't even have the puzzle in front of me, but the answer clicked into place. Sure enough, the next morning when I went to check the puzzle to see if my answer made sense, I had solved it. What amazed me was how the subconscious mind will continue to work on a problem even when you don't think it's working. This happens a lot in plotting. In fact, I just solved a plot problem the other day using the same method.

So I thought I'd share the puzzle with you.

Determine the next number in this sequence:
1
11
21
1211
111221
312211
13112221
1113213211
31131211131221
13211311123113112211
???

Keep reading,
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:

Must Love Dragons by Stephanie Rowe
Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Love Me, Love Me Hot by Stephanie Rowe

Movies, Part Deux

2007-09-15T10:59:00.000-07:00

On the other hand, there is something to be said for watching truly bad movies. You can have a lot of fun watching hideously bad films. Look at Rocky Horror Picture Show. Horrible movie. So bad audiences started to make up movements and actions to correspond with the film, and now it's a classic (No offense to the actors--Susan Sarandon is an amazing actor, I've always liked Barry Bostwick, and I believe Tim Curry is one of the greatest underrated actors of all time. I'll watch anything with him in it--even his voice.) My daughters and I have watched a few movies that fall in this category; Deep Rising is the title that comes foremost to mind. We laughed at and mocked the screenplay until it has become one of our best family memories. (Coincidentally it stars yet another of my favorite actors, Treat Williams) Camp can be a good thing.

So here's how to watch a bad movie:
Never watch it alone. Have a group to "suffer" with you.
Have plenty of snacks.
Talking is definitely allowed.
Try to predict lines (this is fun).
Try to predict deaths (again, fun although some might call this morbid).
Try to predict the plot (Usually easy to do).
Repeat truly bad lines and act out scenes.
Rewrite as the movie plays out.
Laugh at inappropriate moments.
Scream and moan (I did this at the dialogue of Titanic. I know it's one of the most successful films ever, but I just didn't like it).
Critique as you go.
And if you get bored, turn it off. Life is too short to waste your time on a bad movie if it ceases to be fun.

And just for fun: Did you know Plan Nine from Outer Space has been rated the worst movie ever made? Bela Lugosi died during the making of it, so they have a body double playing the vampire for half of the film, his cape hiding his face in every scene. It's directed by Ed Wood, subject of a movie starring Johnny Depp. Actually Ed Wood is a pretty good movie.

Books I'm reading now:
A Family Practice by Gayle Kasper
A Lady's Pleasure by Renee Bernard
Date Me Baby, One More Time by Stephanie Rowe (who was so kind to me at the RWA National Conference in Dallas this summer. And I'm liking her book too.)

Movies

2007-09-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

My husband and I have been members of Netflicks for a couple of years now. Our goal in joining was to show our children classic movies that are part of cultural literacy--in a way to expand their education into an area where school won't go. I know, I know; movies are hardly high culture, nor do they often provide true education, but, like literature, they do deal with universal themes and ideas. I truly believe the study of literature isn't for the examination of good writing but for the examination of the universal ideas. The arts help society deal with the changes and new ideas that bombard society, especially today with the advancements in technology and science. How can we expect people to accept stem cell research if they don't understand it? How can we as a society come to an ethical decision about cloning if we've never thought about it?Literature and stories (and the other art forms as well) can help society deal with all kinds of new ideas. OK, lofty thoughts, but you get what I'm driving at.

So back to movies. I believe that there are movies, the classics, that we should be showing children, although I firmly believe they shouldn't be taught at school--not for content reasons, but because we have to teach enough mandatory garbage there's hardly enough time for the core subjects. This generation should be exposed to movies like Casablanca, All About Eve, The Women, It Happened One Night, Duck Soup, The Heiress, etc. Some are heavier than others. I believe everyone should see Citizen Kane once, even if it does put some viewers to sleep. Let's not ignore silent films. People should know story tellers like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks, etc. I know a lot of these names are the actors, not the writers, but they are the ones remembered.

So why this topic? Last night I watched Sunset Boulevard. I had never seen it before (yes, there are gaps in my education). It's creepy in a non horror movie way, the story is fascinating, and the humor in it is often disturbing. What a great film. I'm glad I watched it, and I'm glad my daughter saw it with me. And the theme is so interesting. It's all about selling out and compromising yourself for your dreams. Where are your limits? What would you do to be successful? And how much delusion can one person take in one's life? All interesting thoughts.

Go read a book, but watch a movie too.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen
A Family Practice by Gayle Kasper
Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (Yup. My daughter and I finished Prisoner of Azkaban, and now we're reading Goblet out loud.)

Time and the Use Thereof

2007-09-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

One of the worst things about wanting to write and having a day job is, of course, the day job itself and the time it takes out of one's day. But the truth is that if one wants something badly enough, one will make the time for it. It's an ugly truth because no one wants to hear that we are responsible for the things we do or do not accomplish. We want things to fall magically in our laps with little effort and have a big pay off for our little effort. I read an interesting article in today's Albuquerque Journal--an interview of the guy who stars in Dirty Jobs on the Discovery channel. His theory is that somehow the American Puritan ethic-- hard work, discipline, duty, thrift, etc--has been replaced with the phrase "Work smart, not work hard." My students subscribe to this belief. They believe that they deserve good grades just because they show up. But I've seen the joy and satisfaction they have in themselves when they have worked hard and they earn that "A".

Anything worth having is worth working for. It would be nice if writing were easier, but then anybody could do it. And if I don't produce as much as I should, I have no one but myself to blame. Establish priorities, make goals, and work. It's simple, yet not simple.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Dead Shot by Annie Solomon
Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews

Confidence...

2007-08-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's funny how shaky a thing like confidence is. I know grammar. I mean I really know grammar, yet doing some line edits, I am always questioning myself. The slightest remark can send my confidence spiraling. I know I shouldn't give others such power over me, but the thing is they don't know. My favorite motto is "Fake it, til you make it." When I tell people that I'm shy and have little confidence, they snort and tell me they don't believe it. That's because I ACT like I have so much confidence. It really doesn't hurt to act confident, and the surprising thing is that often the confidence will follow.
So I'm at this point where I'm questioning my abilities, which is dumb because I really do know what I am doing, but the confidence is slipping away.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Last Night at the Halfmoon by Kate Austin
McKettrick's Luck by Linda Lael Miller

It's ALIVE...

2007-08-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

The thing about characters is that they take on a life of their own. My secondary characters start becoming more and more powerful and pretty soon I am enjoying writing their stories almost more than my hero and heroine's. I have in fact kicked a character off the island--literally; it was my pirate book--because she was taking over the novel. Right now I have created five characters who are so much fun to write, I look forward to my time in front of the screen. But more than that, they talk to me. I see them. I hear their accents, I listen to their speeches, I feel their emotions. With my hero and heroine I sometimes struggle through their story because I have to make it so much richer and deeper, since the story is theirs, but I can just do my secondary characters (if you know what I mean).

Which goes to show just how shallow and superficial I am.
--Gabi

Books I am reading now:
There Goes the Bride by Lori Wilde
The Marriage Bargain by Dianne Perkins
Almost Dead by Lisa Jackson

Platitudes

2007-08-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

I hate platitudes. Don't get me wrong. I love quotes from famous authors or individuals. I enjoy learning from their wisdom. Quotes can help elevate my mood or inspire me. But don't give me platitudes. Like: Every day is a new beginning. Or: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Platitudes are empty, useless, trite phrases that make my skin crawl. You'll find them on plaques at craft shows. I hate cutsie things.

So why the rant? Lately it seems I've been surrounded by platitudes. I won't live my life by them, so stop throwing them at me. Give me credit for a brain and creativity. I come up with my own rules.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Beware a Scots Revenge by Sabrina Jeffries
There Goes the Bride by Lori Wilde
And still Harry Pottering along.

Brainstorming...

2007-08-04T20:02:00.000-07:00

...an appropriate title for this blog, since not only did I brainstorm this evening, it is now also storming. Yes, it's monsoon season in New Mexico, and we have the most gorgeous thunderstorms in the summer.

But back to brainstorming. I've forgotten how much fun it was just to sit with a friend and throw ideas out to each other. I've done it before with my husband. I was having trouble with the plot of my third novel, so I asked him to brainstorm with me. We picked up the ping pong paddles and just hit the ball back and forth while we spoke. Here is a truth: often if you do something physical (even if it is puny like hitting a ping pong ball back and forth) it can free your creativity. Within a few minutes, I had cleared up the plotting problem and was able to finish the novel very soon after (No, not that day but within a couple of weeks.).

I sometimes let my students build with building blocks without telling them the purpose of the building. For the most part they laugh and think it is a childish exercise. After all, they haven't played with blocks since they were babies. But after letting them build for about fifteen minutes, I then ask them to write for fifteen minutes. They are always surprised at how easily the writing comes after playing with blocks.

Just goes to show you: Don't be afraid to play.

Anyway, I brainstormed the rest of my wip (work-in-progress, remember?) with a critique partner, so now I know where the rest of the novel is going. She helped me find the major plot point I needed to get to the end. And I have several ideas for the other two books in the series. Did I tell you my wip is the first in a three book series?

--Gabi, enjoying the thunder, lightning, and rain

Books I'm reading now:
The Spy Wore Silk by Andrea Pickens
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Taming Him (anthology) from Ellora's Cave

Forces at Work...

2007-07-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

Really weird things happen when I write. I tend not to plot; I just have an idea and I sit and write what the characters show me in my head. This means, of course, when I'm done with the first draft, I often have to go back and fix the beginning so it works with the rest of the novel. But strange things happen in the course of writing. I get these ideas that just fit and make a beautiful layer in the text. I don't know how I do it. I call this Magic.

So I was writing this morning and the Magic struck. I had to take a brief break to post here (and to take passport forms to the Post Office and get the dog chipped), but the Magic is waiting for me at my keyboard. I love the Magic. And it seems to be striking often in my WIP (work-in-progress, doncha know).
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Mommy for a Minute by Judy Christenberry
The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
The Italian Prince's Pregnant Bride by Sandra Marton (Gotta love the title)
And yes, I have finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for the second time. And I so love JK Rowling for her Dateline interview last night where she answered some of the questions I had.

It's Just A Number...

2007-07-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

Age that is. It's just a number. So on Saturday I did something I haven't done since High School. I pulled an all nighter. By 7:00AM, I had finished HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, so I went to bed. I couldn't fall asleep for another half an hour, then I woke up at 10:30 AM. I admit taking another nap in the afternoon, but I went to bed at 11:00 that evening and woke up just fine--OK, a little later--on Sunday morning.

My point is I was having fun and I didn't want it to stop. One would think that someone of MY AGE would know better, but I realized I had nothing else planned, I wasn't hurting anyone, so why not stay up all night and have fun? Age has nothing to do with it.

Now if only my knees would have that same philosophy....

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (finished and now I'm reading it for the second time--first time through fast for the plot, second time through to cherish the writing)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner and Azkaban (still reading it aloud to the youngest child)
All Night Long by Jayne Anne Krentz
And I'm writing...

Harry Potter, Harry Potter

2007-07-20T13:19:00.000-07:00

It's Friday. You know what that means. Tonight I start to read the last book. I'm so excited. Saw the last film. It was OK, but it just didn't have the richness of the book. Of course few movies do, and the film was good, but you just can't compare the two.
To all those spoil sports out there who "leaked" the DEATHLY HALLOWS" ahead of time, you are pathetic. It won't spoil anything for the rest of us who love the fun, and the attempt to spoil the fun, the anticipation, is just, well, pathetic. I pity you for not being able to enjoy as the rest of us do. You're not being an individual, someone who doesn't follow the "rules", you're just being obnoxious.

So, I'll be reading for the next day. Leave me alone.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now (Just because Harry Potter 7 is coming out tonight doesn't mean that I'm not reading other things up until the release):
Finished Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (It is definitely a GUY'S book)
The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell by Samantha James
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
And starting tonight; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I'm ba-ack

2007-07-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

The conference is over and I've returned to a house that is messy/dirty, and a work area that is cluttered. Usually I can overlook the clutter, but I'm feeling trapped by all the stuff. Just before I left, I saw an Oprah program on decluttering one's life and I tossed out several pieces of clothing that I really don't know why I still had. So now onto the writing space.

The RWA conference did do one thing for me. I've returned inspired to write. But it's not the usually uplifting sort of inspiration. It's an angry, pissed off sort of feeling. As if I want to prove all the nay-sayers wrong. So I'm isolating myself this week (as much as one can isolate oneself when one has a family) and writing. Because in the end, it's about the work, and if one piece doesn't work, you have to have another ready to go in its place.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (I didn't take this on the trip with me)
The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dreyer, and Anne Stuart
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (and you KNOW what's happening on Friday at midnight)

And I'm off again...

2007-07-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

This time to Dallas. The Romance Writers of America's National Conference is next week. Don't get me wrong. I love my family, but five days of being just a writer is fabulous. Even if I have to dress up more than I usually do. Editors and agents to impress, you know.
--Gabi

What I'm reading now:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (this is such a GUY book)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (see my previous posts)
and I'm writing a lot!