In Defense of Writers

If you're reading us then you probably found us because of someone linking to us somewhere in Romancelandia or because you like old farts or because you know us and we make you come here. Oh yes... we have our methods and we're more than willing to employ them all **evil stare**

So all the author behaving badly shits are on your radar. The recent slew of YA authors getting butt hurt because of middlin' reviews or the lack of the squee in response to every pearly nugget of wisdom they depart. Oh you know it all.

And by the way, if you haven't seen Miss Meljean Brooke's hystical Diary of an Author then check it out. OMG. She should sell it on Amazon under the Kindle Select Program (seriously, $1.70 from everyone who reads it!)

Dear Author had a wonderful post of the author/reader paradigm and what Jane said should be required reading for every author. Some of the following responses not as much (as some, very much).

Much I agreed with. I've spent many years writing and taking classes and workshops and critique doesn't bother me. I've said this before and I mean it: a thoughtful rejection outlining what you did wrong can be the greatest gift a writer receives. I've been on the lines a long time and some of my best writing has come after it was rejected.

If you can't take critique, this is the wrong business for you.

But I was bothered by the attitudes that a writer should be completely hands-off once the book is released. Don't thank people for a good review. Don't acknowledge any feedback whatsoever. In fact, one person suggested that authors shouldn't even check reviews. Once you hit send then your emotional connection is severed and whether praise or disdain greets what you do, it's none of your business.

Um... no.

I'm not going to say that writing is the hardest job ever or that my work is art or well... let me try this again. I sit down with an idea that I like and I start to write it. As I write characters appear and a plot takes shape and things happen. Sometimes when I'm writing it's like being possessed and the words are all there and it types out lickety-split and life is good.

Sometimes I can't come up with the next word and I think that I'm crap and nobody will ever want to read this and why do I bother? Sometimes I don't write for days on end because I suck and the words refuse to come unless I threaten them with creamed spinach and liver and it just doesn't feel worth it.

I can't tell you how often I decide to stop. Just not do this anymore. I don't sell that much and I'm never going to hit my goals and it's just distracting me from playing Plants Vs Zombies and getting my ass kicked by Carolyn in Words With Friends.

But at some point I finish a story. And then Carolyn and Lea read it and point out errors and give me (usually) positive feedback. And I fix the errors. And I polish it up and send it out. And then maybe someone says, "Yeah, we'd like to publish this."

And my soul dances and I'm lifted from despair and I call Carolyn and write Lea and then post it on Facebook and all is well with the world.

Then the edits start. And I discover how wonderful Carolyn and Lea are because they didn't point out that my hero was 6 foot tall in one scene and 6 foot 7 inches in the next. And commas are not supposed to be used the way I was using them. And the line editor is pointing a pitchfork at me and my hair starts to fall out in stress and then I get a cover and I'm so happy again for awhile...

And the book comes out.

Truly, the worst thing that happens is nothing. It's ignored. Nobody reviews it, nobody cares. Oh yeah, I know that feeling. Shall I tell you how many copies of Miss Hex Mex have sold? You can count it on your fingers and that's with one hand behind your back.

But maybe the book does okay. 666 Angel Lane has done okay. It sells, even a year after release. Oh, not in hundreds but every months statements show sales. And on Goodreads every now and then someone new might put it on their bookshelf.

And it got reviews. Some really good reviews. And even a not so good review. And over on Goodreads someone gave it 3 stars and no comment. (By the way, I never google myself. But I have googled the titles of my books to see if there were reviews.)

I care about how people react to the book. I created a world where the Devil has ads on the radio and War Demons become television stars. This is my imagination and I made that. I'll say it again because I'm proud of it: I made that. If someone praises the book I want to know and feel good that they got it and they liked it and I did it right. And if someone didn't like it I'm interested to know where it failed for them and if it's a flaw in my writing or my world building or maybe they just didn't like it.

Just because it's out of my hands doesn't mean I'm not still attached. I wrote it. I made it. That was my world built from my words and my imagination. The reader can react however s/he chooses (my brother loved the epitath the Demons used that now instead of cussing, he says "Clouds!") and I don't have any right to tell a person how to read or react but damn if I don't want to know.

Some folks think it's all about praise. Some say writers have no right to learn where they might have failed in a reader's experience. I say that almost every human being carries around an invisible sign that says: How am I Doing? We want to know if we're connecting and doing okay.

Writers are people too, you know.

The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever aka: The Can't Say Those Three Little Words Trope

We don't grade books here or give a number of hearts or anything like that. But I was thinking about it in regards to this book and would give it a solid B grade. The first two thirds of this book was wonderful. Maybe even the first three fourths. Then the last part went straight to bad trope-ville and ruined a great book.

Miranda is a great heroine. She's pretty without being beautiful, smart as heck and her repartee is brilliant. The hero Turner is pretty good for a hero, also a smart ass and funny and tortured. He has the great hero-angst of a previously unfaithful wife who died on the way to meet her lover.

Seriously, this book started and went going great guns. I loved all the characters and was reading this in huge gulps. I was turning into a Julia Quinn fan girl as I read. And then.... I don't know what happened.

Miranda is in love with Turner (has been since she was a child) and now he's a bitter widower who spars with Miranda and fights his feelings and it was just done so well but then ...

ALL SPOILER FROM HERE ON OUT....

Miranda and Turner do it. She gets pregnant. She runs to her grandparents in Scotland and he doesn't follow immediately but when he does she's lost the baby but he demands they get married and then they do and they're blissfully happy except he can't say "I love you" and she gets pregnant again and because he won't say the words she has issues and then gives birth and almost dies and he says the words and all is good in HappyVille.

Say what?

I mean, here was this great story with smart characters and what the fuck happened? I swear it was like Julia Quinn was writing this book and suddenly ran out of plot so she borrowed from another book. It didn't fit, it brought this wonderful story to a grinding halt and destroyed an almost perfect read.

I would recommend this book because so much of it is wonderful. Just be prepared for an ending that seems like it came from another book.

By the way: I hate the trope of the hero who can't say he loves the heroine. First of all, they're happy. They're fucking delirious with happiness. Actions speak louder than words after all and if the hero is acting like he's in love then suck it up woman and realize that words are words and the man is yours.

And a heroine on her deathbed forcing the hero to face his feelings and then say the words which rescues her from the Grim Reaper... omg, RETIRE THIS TROPE IMMEDIATELY!

Okay, I'm calm now.

Anyway, so that's my non-review of The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn.

Congratulations to the Alabama Crimson Tide

My heroes!

Monday night they won their 14th College Football National Championship by defeating LSU 21-0 in the Superdome in New Orleans.

The Tide done rolled, baybee. A great defensive game and I hope to be making a similar post next year. :-D


Woo hoo!!

Whatever Happened to !

Since I acquired minimal computer skills and forged a pathway onto the internet, I've noticed a few things. The one I want to discuss today is exclamation points.

When did the definition change?

There's been a resurgance of Georgette Heyer books recently, along with the requisite number of complaints about all the exclamation points she uses. A couple of posters even asked why all her characters had to shout.

Darlin', her characters aren't shouting, they're being emphatic. That's what an exclamation point used to mean back in Heyer's day, and evidently mine too.

An exclamation point can also define a character's personality.

"She didn't." Meh

"She didn't!" Shock. Horror. Widened eyes. Perhaps hands to throat.

Lots of descriptors attached to that second dialogue when you add an exclamation point.

Ms Heyer wrote of the ton, most of whom had affected talking down to a fine art. I think it fair to say most of her exclamation points occur during dialogue, because that's how these people talked.

Then, while my back was turned, exclamation points suddenly designated shouting. Is it one those unwritten writing rules, like start with the action?

I think exlamation points and their users, in particular Ms Heyer, are getting a bum deal. Since I tend to talk in exclamation points myself, you can understand why I feel that way. And why I love Heyer so much. ;-)

Lori's Best of 2011

I don't know that I have a best of list really but there were some books I really enjoyed for different reasons.

Silk Is For Seduction by Loretta Chase. I make no bones about my willingness to bear Loretta Chases' love child or even *gasp* clean her bathrooms. Yes, that's right. I'm such a Loretta Chase fan girl I would willingly clean her bathroom. I wouldn't like it but if it would free up wrting time in her life then I'm all over it.

Heart of Steel by Meljean Brook. I liked Iron Duke but I loved Heart of Steel. Archimedes Fox and Yasmeen are simply the best romance couple evah. Now I'm not offering to have Meljean's babies but I would happy bake her a cupcake and not lick the frosting off before I give it to her.

The Shop of Shades and Secrets by Colleen Gibson. I admit I have a weakness for free-spirited heroines and uptight heroes. Add a ghost, a mystery, a politician and grandparents having sex and well, it's a winner all around.

Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela Choi. I don't remember if this was a Kindle free read or a 99 center but it was awesome. I mean, mass murdering, soulless soul mates. I snorted and giggled throughout the whole damned thing.

When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James. This book was amazing. Funny, felt, fresh. Easy to read and a pleasure to do so.

I read a lot of books I enjoyed but I don't know if I would label them best of. Some new authors hit my Kindle: Nalini Singh, Saranna DeWylde, Sally McKenzie.

What I'm always looking for is foodie romance. Or foodie books without romance. I've read The Best Food Writing of Name Your Year, Anthony Bourdain, Ruth Reichl, Gesine Bullock... Those books that talk about food with passion. That describe the art of eating.

Anyway, that's my list right now...

Carolyn's Best of 2011

Everyone's doing the 'best of 2011' reads, so I thought I'd give it a try. Problem is, I can't remember when I read what and 2011 sort of zipped right on by. I've never seen a year pass so fast!

I guess this will be my 'best of within recent memory' reads and I'm almost sure to leave something out and I'll wake up at 1:00 in the morning and cry out, 'oh my God, I should have put *insert book title* on the list!' Of course, by then it'll be too late, but if I get enough left over titles, I can do another list and another post and so it'll all be good. :-)

I shall have to retire to Amazon to see when I acquired some of these books. Hold on, I'll be right back.

Good lord, I'm not even going to tell you how many pages I had to go through, because it's kind of embarrassing even though a lot of the books were freebies. That won't change my habits though. Okay, my list in the order bought:

1. The Peach Keeper, Sarah Addison Allen

2. Archangel's Kiss, Sword and Blood, Naline Singh

3. Blue Eyed Devil, Lisa Kleypas

4. Magic Slays, Fates Edge, Ilona Andrews

5. River Marked, Patricia Briggs

6. Blood Magic, and all the lupus books, Eileen Wilkes

7. Kiss of Snow, Nalini Singh

8. Dragon Bound, Thea Harrison

9. Silk is for Seduction, Loretta Chase

10. Heart of Steel, Meljean Brook


All righty, that's a rather eclectic list, isn't it? There's your paranormal, your historical, your contemporary, your fantastical and your steampunk. Plus some extra ones I snuck in. All wonderful reads, and most will have sequels, so my future enjoyment is quaranteed.

Happy reading in 2012.

Penquin is Pulling My Leg - Go On, Penquin, Tell Me Another One

I was lollygagging around the internet today and checked out some of my favorite authors on Amazon to see if they had any new releases coming up, when I happened across this:

Book Bundle, Amazon

I saw the bundles before my brain took in the prices. Forty dollars, y'all, for five books.

Now - please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't book bundles supposed to be an enticement? As in enticing the reader to invest in the series by offering a too good to pass up price? As in enticing the reader to re-invest in books s/he may already have?

The first In Death bundle, books one through five, are OLD, y'all. You might say they're backlist, except I don't think they've ever been OOP. So why the hell would I pay $40.00 damn dollars for them, expecially considering I have them all in paperback?

I thought this e-bundle and its companions, would be a great way to keep track of the books. I have every one, but they're scattered here and there throughout the house, as I pulled them out for something and didn't put them back. Plus they exceed the shelf space alloted to them. Since all the titles sound the same to me, the bundles would be a great way to keep them in order.

Alas, it is not to be. $39.99 boils down to $7.99 per book and that's just not good enough, not for this reader.

Why are these publishers so hard headed? Is it just corporate greed, or do they have some sort of agenda, a business plan for the future (one that doesn't gouge the customer so much).

I'd be interested to see how the Lady Julia Grey bundle is selling. Three books for $8.83. That's $2.94 a book. I bet they've made more sales and more money than the J D. Robb bundles.

Now, that would be an interesting comparison!