Devon Matthews

Time To Write

2011-08-25T17:13:00.000-04:00

I looked at my writing log--the place where I record my goal totals for the day and actual words written--and saw that there have been nine days this month when I wrote nothing at all. Not good. I'll never reach my goal at this rate. Besides all the distractions there have been lately in my personal life, the internet and the social media are just too much of a temptation for this recluse to while away valuable time each day. So, I've decided to unplug until I get this book finished. I call it a book and it isn't even that yet and won't be unless I stick to the program.

Happy writing, all! See you on the other side.

Devon

Evil Computer Is Back

2011-08-22T23:03:00.003-04:00

Yes, he's back and in fine form today.

The day started off fine. More than fine. We got the very good news that our house closing is scheduled for Wednesday. We haven't bought a new house, it's the same old one we've lived in for the past twenty-two years. We're just refinancing at less than half the interest rate we're paying now, which means lower monthly payments. Yay! And even with the lower payments, the term of the loan is the same as the remainder of the original, which means the house will be ours, OURS in just a few more years. But I get ahead of myself.

So, the morning started off great. What with the house news and our recent adoption having gone so smoothly, I was beginning to think maybe our rotten luck had started to turn. After hubby went to work this early afternnon, I came in here and sat down at the keyboard, jazzed to write. Yes, things were looking up!

I read through a few paragraphs I'd written yesterday to bring myself up to speed on where I left off, stopping now and then to change a word or add a line. I got to where I stopped last outing and I continued with the story. The writing was going fine, smooth even. I was making progress, getting the words down in the manuscript. Then, BLINK. My screen goes to black. The air stops running and an unearthly silence settles around me. But not before I hear the boom of a transformer blowing up somewhere down the road.

After a few choice words, I got up and set about doing something to pass the time, cause I got a bad feeling about this. And what is there to do when the lights are off except, ewww, housework. Resigned to waiting, I folded some towels and loaded hubby's lunch dishes into the dishwasher. After an hour, I ended up sitting in my armchair, staring out the window to see if I could spot the Jackson Energy truck.

The electric finally came back on at about a quarter til eight tonight. First thing I did was rush in here and boot up the computer to see if the additions to my document survived. They didn't. Vanished. The document looked the same as it did when I opened it earlier today. I thought Word had an autosave feature. In fact, I know it does, but it sure didn't save my work today. Must go check those settings.

I guess this is my comeuppance for bragging just yesterday to someone about how meticulous I am about saving my work.

Devon

p.s. - I just went and changed my setting in Word to autosave every 5 minutes.

Social Media and Politics

2011-08-10T23:29:00.003-04:00

I'm straying from my comfort zone for this post but I feel this needs to be addressed. Actually, it should never have to be addressed. You'd think people would have a clue by now. Social media and politics, they just don't mix.

I'm sure it's been said thousands of time, but let me repeat it just once more. If you're an author, or any person who depends on the general public to buy your product, please don't get on a public forum like Facebook and spout off a bunch of political crap. Here's the thing. No matter what your political views are, no matter which way you swing, you're bound to piss off roughly half the people who see your message.

I have very strong political views. I keep abreast of what's going on in the political theater (and lately it's come down to that). I don't need or want to see posts from my "friends" that hit my buttons seven ways from Sunday. During the past several days, it's been especially bad for some reason. Maybe because we've had so much flirting with catastrophe during the past two weeks. If I want to know what's going on in the world of politics, I watch the news and I turn to my favorite political pundits, knowing they'll bring me up to speed. I go to Facebook to wind down, hopefully see a cute video or get a laugh from some comment. The last thing I want to see is a post from a friend that makes me not only question her intelligence, but also her sanity. It isn't funny, people. And please stop jumping on the latest, loudest bandwagon that shows up on the radar. Use your head. This is our future you're rolling the dice with.

End of rant. But let me end by saying that I came close to deleting a couple of people from my friends list today. I really didn't want to do that. Then I found that if you hover your mouse over the right hand side of their posts, you can "hide" them. Voila! Problem solved.

Peace,

Devon

The New Face of Romance

2011-07-28T23:02:00.003-04:00

Remember when Fabio was on the cover of nearly every romance novel ever published? Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it seemed like he was on the cover of every one I picked up. Then came John DeSalvo. Man, was he ever a cutie. Both those guys have now faded from favor but they'll live on forever, as long as there are old romance novels floating around.

Now, with the tidal wave of self-publishing and e-pub/small presses, there's a new guy in romance town. His name is Jimmy Thomas and his image is on more than 1,600 romance novels, at last count. He's keeping track and keeps all the covers on bookshelves on his site and the number changes daily by leaps and bounds. How did he end up on so many covers, you ask? Well, you see, Jimmy has a web site called RomanceNovelCovers.com where cover artists (and those playing at creating covers--like me) can purchase stock images--featuring him and a variety of female models in cover-ready poses.

So, in case you were wondering, who's that guy on all the romance covers all of a sudden, meet Jimmy Thomas, the new face of romance. :o)

Two of my future books were added to Jimmy's shelves today. I had a lot of fun making these covers. And the stock images of the couples I found on Jimmy's site made it so much easier to add that special touch of romance. ~~~Devon

New Cowboy Philosophy

2011-07-25T15:56:00.002-04:00

"If you've got work to do, stop lollygaggin' and palaverin' over at the bunkhouse. Just get on your horse and get it done."

This is my mantra and I can't seem to stick to it. So, instead of following the latest publishing controversy via internet, or trying to preach to the choir, or worrying over whether any readers at all can find my book (soon to be books) among the vast, confusing miasma of the self-publishing stampede that's taking place as I write this, I'm following my own advice. I'll be back when I have something of substance to say and/or more stories to offer. Meanwhile...

Happy reading and writing!

Devon

2011-07-23T14:10:00.003-04:00

Do you like angst and an occasional dash of misery in your romance? If so, read on. The following tidbit is from pages 237-39 of Angel In The Rain.

*****

     Deep detonations of thunder rolled across the land. Behind him, the windowpanes rattled in their frames. The sound roused Rane from the state of oblivion he had worked so hard to achieve. With a muttered curse, he coiled his hand loosely around the neck of the whiskey bottle he’d been nursing and stood. Weaving an unsteady path to the window, he shoved aside the heavy drape.
     Lightning slashed through the night’s velvet blackness. He squinted against the sudden brilliance. A heller of a storm was lashing the border country and he’d been oblivious to it.
     He let the curtain fall into place and staggered back. The closed-in room felt stuffy, suffocating. On the unmade bed, rumpled linens bore evidence of spilled food and drink. ¡Mierda! How long had he been holed up here?
     The stagnant air threatened to choke him. He felt for the top button on his skirt and yanked, sending it flying, and then the next one. It wasn’t enough. Still keeping his hold on the neck of the whiskey bottle, he crossed to the door, wrenched at the handle and lurched through the opening.
     Outside, cool dampness washed over his fevered flesh. Runnels of rainwater poured from the tiles overhanging the edge of the roof. Beyond, rain slanted down at a hard angle and danced against the onslaught of a fretful wind. Rane braced against the rough adobe wall and leaned out. The deluge streamed over his uplifted face, drenching him down to his trousers in a matter of seconds.
     Nature’s cold dash was a shock, but at least he felt it. He’d lost count of the number of days and nights he’d numbed himself with whiskey and felt nothing at all. Now, the violence of the storm awakened him from his prolonged apathy, stirred to life the dormant wildness in his soul. Like a drunken demon, he threw back his head and laughed, taunting nature’s fury.
     A spectacular series of forked lightning licked through the blackness, throwing his surroundings into vivid relief. His rented room opened onto the plaza of the tiny border town, the name of which he’d forgotten. Before him yawned the emptiness of a deserted circular road. At its center stood a fountain, a shallow aboveground pool made of mortar and stone. An angel, spectral in the flickering light, her slender arms uplifted to the Heavens, stood to her ankles in the watery basin.

      He braced his back against the wall and waited. The next flash was closer and hung on with a deafening crackle as it ripped through the sky. He had eyes only for the angel. She seemed to mock him with her cold, marble stare. The angel of mercy, her delicate wings glistened with a sheeting cascade of wetness...an angel in the rain.
     Rane clutched at the rough wall behind him, feeling the bite of the grainy clay beneath his nails, and surrendered to memory. The winged angel dimmed before his bleary eyes as he envisioned another. His Angel, standing in the pouring rain. His nostrils flared as he again smelled the fire and brimstone of that long ago stormy night. Like a dim echo, he heard her calling his name. An ephemeral sense of her arms around him, the taste of her rain-washed skin, sweeter than creation’s finest nectar... he remembered.
       God help him, would he never forget!
     A strangled sound of raw torment slipped from his throat. The lightning flashed again with a stuttered cracking that might have been the sound of his own heart ripping from his chest. The angel, remote, unmoving, stared with her indifferent eyes.
     Rane shoved away from the wall and staggered into the downpour. “¡Vaya infierno!” he shouted at the lifeless statue. He drew back his arm and flung the bottle in his hand with strength bordering on madness. The vessel sailed into darkness and shattered explosively when it struck stone.
      He waited, half expecting the wrath of God to strike him down in the mud and streaming water. But there was nothing, only the soft rushing sound of the rain falling around him.
      “Why don’t you stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something about it.”
    Slowly, he turned toward the voice. Benito stood in an open doorway, a dark figure silhouetted by wavering lamplight. Rane dashed the water from his eyes and shook his head at the irony of having his own words thrown back at him.
      “I can’t,” he said.
      “So, what will you do if you do not try?” Benito asked. He lifted his hand. “It’s cold. It’s raining. And you are a sorry sight, amigo.”
     When Benito faded back inside his room and closed the door, Rane hung his head. Battering rain pounded the back of his skull and streamed from his face. If only it could run through his burning heart and cleanse his soul with such ease.
     He turned and lifted his eyes to the angel once more. Mercy, he silently cried. But the lifeless seraph would not be moved to grant him any boons. There was only one living, breathing angel who could help him now. She was far away and tonight he was more undeserving of her than ever.

*****

Cowboy Philosophy

2011-07-20T23:50:00.002-04:00

Andrei Claude

It's the man that's the cowhand, not the outfit he wears.

You can judge a man by the hoss he rides.

Any hoss's tail kin ketch cockleburs.

Polishin' your pants on saddle leather don't make you a rider.

If the saddle creaks, it's not paid for.

Tossin' your rope before buildin' a loop don't ketch the calf.

It's sometimes safer to pull your freight than pull your gun.

Only a fool argues with a skunk, a mule, or a cook.

There ain't no hoss that can't be rode.

There ain't no man that can't be throwed.

Brains in the head saves blisters on the feet.

The bigger the mouth, the better it looks when shut.

Man's the only animal that can be skinned more'n once.

The man that always straddles the fence usually has a sore crotch.

You can never trust women, fleas, nor tenderfoots.

**(from Cowboy Lingo by Ramon F. Adams)

Covers, Flowers, and Rabbits

2011-07-04T23:23:00.006-04:00

My prickly pear bloomed over the weekend. Here's a shot of one of the beauties that's growing right next to the back of the house. They're a month late this year. They've always bloomed for me at the end of May or the beginning of June. I think all the gloomy, rainy weather we've had delayed them. I love the prickly pear blooms, but they usually only last one day. My plants are all transplants from east Texas, where my mother lives.

In my upcoming western historical, the title, Wild Texas Rose refers to both my heroine's name and the prickly pear that grow wild in Texas. There's a scene where my hero makes up a story for the heroine about the prickly pear being the true yellow rose of Texas. It's a sweet moment and leads her to think there may be more to the rugged cowboy than a tough as leather view of the world.

Hubby was home all three days this holiday weekend, so I got very little writing done. Every time I opened my document and got into it, he came to the door and said, "I hate to bother you, but..." and pulled me right out again. Since today was the last day he had off, I gave it up and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with him. We sat on the back porch this evening and watched rabbits out in the yard. For the longest time, we've thought we had three resident bunnies living in the brush just across the property line. Then this evening, we had seven in the yard at the same time. Must be mating time.

For the past several days I've spent part of my writing time editing a Regency Historical novella I wrote earlier this year. Part of my problem with being a prolific writer is that when I do finish something, I have to let it get completely cold before I can go back and spot the no-nos. I mention this because I've had my eye on a cover shot for the novella over on Hot Damn Stock for several weeks. Then, today, I received a notice that they were selling all their stock photos for 50% off, today only. So, I hopped over there and bought the shot. Got it in low res--which is all that's needed for an ebook cover--for only ten bucks, and you can't beat that.

Hope you had a safe, happy holiday weekend.

Devon

Pirates Ahoy

2011-06-24T23:48:00.001-04:00

I just ran across something strange. A site called The Pirate's Realm, devoted to all things piratey (their word, not mine) has lifted my blog post titled Before Pirates of the Caribbean... and posted it on their site. The word pirate put me on the alert and caused me to investigate. But I found nothing to complain about. They've attributed the post to me and in order to read it, they've linked it back to the original post here. Here's a link to the "piratey" site, if you want to take a look. Makes me wonder what else is out there, and maybe whatever else is out there is the reason I have so much traffic to my blog but no comments. Avast all ye lurkers! I'm onto ye! Aargh! Sing it with me now -- Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum...

Devon the landlubber

The Good News Is...

2011-06-23T19:00:00.001-04:00

Thanks to Smashwords, Angel in the Rain is now up on Kobo and Sony. I'm sure it's showing up in other places, too, if I took the time to go look.

I have my office back! Can't tell you how thrilled and relieved I am. Now I can write again. A solution finally occurred to me two nights ago. I could move mother to my son's room and run the phone cord from her heart monitor through the wall into our bedroom. So that's what I did yesterday. I punched a hole through the wall and problem solved. Hey, what's a little hole in the wall compared to writing time.

For the past nine months, we've been involved with my dear hubby adopting my daughter from my first marriage. She's always been with me, and then with my husband since we were married twenty-three years ago. But because she's an adult (33) with Angelman's Syndrome, it's been more of an involved process than we anticipated. But an end is now in sight! We have a court date for the second week in July. Wish us luck. This is long overdue, folks.

For the past several days, sales have nearly flatlined. I was beginning to get a little down in the dumps over it. Then, last night when I checked email for the last time before turning in, I had a lovely note from a reader who told me I'm now one of her favorite authors and she's eagerly awaiting my next book. Doesn't get much better than that. Thank you, Ashley, wherever you are, for giving this old gal a much-needed pick-me-up! :o)

Hope all your news today was good news.

Happy reading and writing!

Devon

Falling Skies

2011-06-19T23:54:00.002-04:00

Tonight, hubby and I watched the 2-hour premiere of Falling Skies on TBS. What can I say, I'm a Noah Wyle fan and there's a real dearth of entertainment on tv these days.

Overall, I was disappointed. I expected more from Steven Spielberg and Dreamworks but this was nothing but a knockoff of The War of the Worlds with a plot that is too familiar and tired. Noah Wyle is still playing his Librarian character, the brainy professor who is a warrior. Like Tom Cruise in WOTW, he has children he's dragging around with him while running from and battling aliens who've taken over earth. He belongs to a group of survivors who call themselves the Massachusetts Resistance. Toss in a pediatrician love interest (though this has yet to develop)--who treats all wounds and is the voice of reason--add to that a counter movement led by a long-haired bad boy (think Sawyer in Lost), two hot militant blondes, an overbearing ex military man who heads up the resistance, the requisite African-American and Asian secondary characters, and the old, wise couple and you've pretty much got the entire cast.

There's nothing new here. Same old aliens and their robot counterparts roaming around looking for humans to kill while the mother ships hover over all majorly populated cities. I don't look for this one to last long because there aren't even any interesting cast members or characters like there were in Battlestar Galactica. For myself, I'll give it a couple more weeks to get interesting before I completely give up on it. Only because of Noah.

Devon

Edit Anxiety

2011-06-13T00:58:00.017-04:00

I loved this the first time I saw it on DA.

Today, everything ground to a screeching halt. Our anniversay plans, everything. Yes, today was our wedding anniversay. Twenty-three years. Not bad, when everyone in the family bet it wouldn't last six months. LOL! What do they know. Instead of celebrating, hubby and I spent most of the day at the hospital, in the ER. He developed some pretty severe and scary symptoms last night, so we were off to the hospital this morning. He has prostatitis and a severe urinary tract infection. Hopefully, the antibiotics will do their magic and he'll be fine in a few days.

Tomorrow, I plan to get back on track with the manuscript. When I checked email tonight, I had yet another reminder that I need to get this book finished and out there. A reader and a couple of fellow western romance authors were saying that very thing on one of the Amazon forums. They wish I'd write faster because they want to read the next book!

This brings me to a bit of a pickle, a problem that's been floating around in the back of my mind for quite some time. Even when I do have this book finished to my satisfaction, there's NO WAY I would ever publish it without putting it through some kind of an editing process. I'm a decent editor and my writing is pretty clean, if I do say so myself, but no one can edit her own work and catch all the typos, logic errors, etc. etc. that are found in any newly finished manuscript. No one. I'm going to need help. Dear hubby has offered to read for me, which is fine because there are some things he can catch. But when it comes right down to it, he doesn't know squat about craft of writing.

I need a crit partner. Or a group. But I have no idea how I'm going to get hooked up again. Over the past four years, I've drifted away from all my old crit pals. It's going to be difficult because a critiquing partnership is almost like a marriage. There are trust issues, and there are skill level issues, and then there are familiarity with the western genre and its tropes issues, and so on and so forth. Ack! Trying to critique with someone new would be almost like going out on a blind date. Actually, when I think about it, the best crit partner I ever had was a blind date. A mutual acquaintance hooked us up and we clicked immediately. But how often does that happen?

So... tell me, please. How did you find your crit partner or group?

Devon

Baby Steps

2011-06-11T01:42:00.006-04:00

That's what I feel like I'm taking right now--baby steps. With my mom here, the relatives are coming and going so much, I might need to install a revolving door. Plus, it seems like we take an awful lot of impromptu trips to town for whatever. Then there are the functions. Nephew's graduation, huge family gathering at the cemetery to decorate graves (people drive in from out of state for this), birthdays (hubby, mom, and my niece), and a first time ever family reunion next weekend. I know I've said this before but, I am NOT a social person. I just want to be left alone so I can write, not to mention THINK. I guess that makes me an old stick-in-the-mud (or so I'm told).

Would you be surprised if I told you, progress on the current manuscript is going painfully slow? No? Didn't think so. I recently read someplace that if you want to do something badly enough, you WILL find a way. So, that's what I've been trying to do. Find a way. To write. Even if it's only a few lines a day. I want to get this second book out there. I'm tired of being asked when the next book is coming out and having no answer except, "I'm working on it."

Meanwhile, even with everything around me in chaos, I've been trying to get my name out there. Trying to network. Very time consuming. Time I should be spending working on the ms., I suppose. Like now, instead of writing this blog post. But it's so much easier to click a few buttons on Facebook than write sparkling dialogue when it's 3:00 in the morning and my mental faculties turned to mush an hour ago. Speaking of Facebook. I got a friend request from some porn queen tonight, complete with racy photos. I declined, but thought it was interesting because that's never happened before. Heh. And now I'm rambling...

It was my intent tonight to get on here and give you a progress report. Even though I've had a few twinge moments for one reason or another, (lots of despicable author shenanigans from the self-published on Amazon forums) I'm still happy with my decision to publish on my own. I'm not burning up the rankings, but sales have been a steady trickle. The key word here is "steady" and I can now report that since publishing on April 26th, I've already surpassed my royalty earnings that I made for the entire year of 2010 while I was under contract with a small press/epub. WITH THE SAME BOOK. THAT'S ALREADY BEEN ON THE MARKET FOUR YEARS. I think that's pretty remarkable. It gives me hope for the future. And that's a good thing. :o)

Sweet dreams, and my apologies for the occasional shouting.

Devon

A Little More Time, A Little Less Conversation

2011-06-06T11:30:00.001-04:00

I thought it was time I posted something, since it will soon be a month since I was last here. For the past three weeks, I've been a fly-by observer of the internets and not much of a participant. My mother is here from Texas for an extended visit and we've had people dropping by from here, there and everywhere. Some of them only stay for a short visit. Others spend an entire weekend. Plus there have been functions to attend. My nephew's graduation, a family reunion, family cookouts, etc. Social butterfly, I am not, so I'm ready to pull out my hair.

My computer time has been nearly nil and this is really driving me nuts. I have a book to finish!!! I've already announced that it will be out by the end of the summer. What was I thinking?

What's the cover, you ask. It's one of the prototypes I was playing with for the aforementioned unfinished book before normalcy was snatched away. Seeing it here in miniature, I can tell some more blending is in order at the top where the dark area meets the lighter background. Finding stock images is a challenge. I think these look just a tad too contemporary for my historical, but there isn't much choice. I also have a couple others in the works and will probably post them later and ask for feedback on which I should use. I think rational decisions about anything right now might be beyond me.

So, how's the summer going for you so far? At least we've gotten a break from the rain.

Happy reading and writing!

Devon

Publishing The Book

2011-05-12T11:28:00.000-04:00

At some point this morning, Angel In The Rain went live on Barnes & Noble. Yippee! So now I have it up on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords, who will eventually distribute it to Apple, Sony, Kobo and others.

I'm done. At least I've done all I'm going to with publishing this title. Now I can fully concentrate on getting the next book ready for publication.

This publishing stuff is time consuming, but I like the hands-on aspect and being the one in control of my own work. Control freaks, ahoy. This Indie author stuff is definitely for you. ;o)

Devon

If You Can Read This...

2011-05-10T22:17:00.006-04:00

...you can read an ebook.

Did you know that? Until recently, I didn't. For a while I began to get frustrated because some of the books I wanted to read were only available as ebooks. Then, after buying my husband a Kindle for his birthday, I discovered I could download the Kindle app. from the Amazon site to my computer, and it's free!

Both the Kindle and the Nook have free apps for all your gadgets--PC, iPhone, Blackberry, iPad, and Android and they're absolutely free.

I like my PC version of the Kindle better than my hubby's actual device because I get a larger page area and instead of a bland list, I get icons of the beautiful covers in color.

So, if you haven't tried an ebook yet because you thought you needed one of the expensive readers, go ahead, try an ebook on your PC. You might be surprised how much you enjoy it.

Happy reading!

Devon

Quality Control

2011-05-05T17:04:00.001-04:00

I had intended to save this topic for a later date, but something just happened that prompts me to bring it up now.

On the recommendation of a Facebook friend, I downloaded a western historical by an author I'm not familiar with. I thought, oh, good, a new author with a whole list of books I haven't read already. Eagerly, I opened to the first page and started reading. The first brief paragraph was in the hero's point of view. The second paragraph was in the heroine's. What? That's where I stopped, and I won't be returning to this book. I refuse to read a book written by someone who ignores the rules of craft that I've had drummed into my head for the past fifteen years and that I abide by at all costs. How much easier it would be to whip out the pages if I didn't have to follow even the most basic rules, such as NO HEAD-HOPPING. This book was not self-published, nor was it from a small press. I find it hard to swallow that such blatant head-hopping is still allowed by the big pubs in this day and time. I mean really. First two paragraphs of the book!

End of rant.

Now, to the real topic of this post. Quality control.

A year ago, one of the reasons I wouldn't have considered self-publishing was the issue of quality control. With Amazon's Kindle program, B&N's Pubit, and a whole host of others, anyone out there, even down to their siblings and cousins, can publish any old thing they whip out on a word processing program and it doesn't cost them a dime to do it. How are the book buying consumers supposed to wade through all the crap to find books worth reading? It seemed there was no answer because the vetting process, the gatekeepers, had been taken out of the equation. This lack of any kind of quality control was the one aspect of the self-publishing stampede that troubled me the most.

Then, the ebook retailers provided the solution, and it was so simple. It's called sampling. All the major ebook retailers have sampling on their sites. You can try the beginning of any ebook before you commit to buying it. The sample depends on the book length. I checked and the sample of my book is something just over the first two chapters. Shorter lengths may only be the first chapter or so. Plenty enough material to tell whether or not a book is well written--or not--and if it's something we want to spend time reading. I even sample the books from the big NY pubs and I've run across quite a few clunkers that I decided not to waste my time or money on, and this after the blurbs made them sound so good. Thank goodness for samples. Now we don't have to rely on reader reviews, which may or may not have been posted by the author's friends and family.

Samples are definitely our friends.

Have you tried sampling yet?

Back From The Edge

2011-05-03T16:25:00.001-04:00

Hi, all! I'm back. After many months of woolgathering and deep introspection (is there any other kind?), I've decided to return to the land of the living.

As some of you already know, or may have guessed, I've joined the Indie revolution, which is a rather pretentious way of saying, I'm self-publishing. And guess what. I'm loving it! This was a decision I didn't make lightly. And, yes, I've spent a lot of long nights trying to figure out how to do this and that. There's a big learning curve between writing the book and actually publishing the book. In the coming weeks, I hope to share with you some of the things I've learned during this process.

The most fun I had was making my own cover. I think it turned out fairly well, insofar as it reflects the two main characters and one glance lets you know, you're looking at a western historical. What do you think?

Just a year ago, I never would have considered going the indie route. (Ack, the horror! Only people who can't write self-publish. The stigma, the stigma!) But times have changed, and they continue to change, sometimes on a daily basis. After spending four years with a small press/epub, I can tell you with certainty, there are more advantages to putting my work on the market myself. At least, that's true for me.

So, what are your thoughts about the self-publishing frenzy taking place in the publishing industry? Would you ever consider becoming an Indie author? Or is the stigma that's long been associated with it still too real for you?

Devon

Political Correctness vs. Accuracy

2010-08-29T23:31:00.004-04:00

From Wikipedia, here's the definition of Political Correctness-- Political correctness (adjectivally, politically correct; both forms commonly abbreviated to PC) is a term which denotes language, ideas, policies, and behavior seen as seeking to minimize social and institutional offense in occupational, gender, racial, cultural, sexual orientation, disability, and age-related contexts.

See the guy in the photo. That's the Marlboro Man. He was created the year after I was born. I grew up seeing him on tv ads and on billboards He, along with Joe Camel, the Lucky Strike guy, and a whole host of others were part of popular culture during my day.

I mention this because I was sitting here writing. The scene was my hero, agitated, staring toward the horizon, alone with his troubled thoughts. I was trying to think of ways to "show" his agitation when it suddenly dawned on me that just a few short years ago, I might have had him make a smoke, strike a Lucifer on his bootheel or thumbnail, then grind the hot match head into the dirt. But not anymore. Why? Because these days it's not politically correct for a hero to smoke. I'm not even sure why it popped into my head. It just did. Which got me to thinking about all the things we don't write about anymore because they're not socially acceptable. Well, it's my opinion that we've become so attuned to political correctness, we've lost something in the process, which is historical accuracy and the authentic flavor of times past.

But back to the smoking guy in the white hat. The Marlboro man usually did wear a white hat. Because he was the good guy. These days, the villains are usually the only persons who smoke. Because smoking is bad so it must be cast in a villainous light. Is this accurate? No, of course not. But think about the smoking man in the X-Files who left his trademark butts lying everywhere. That guy was the very definition of villain. The message is clear, but it's not historically accurate.

The fact is, the American cowboy of the Old West had about a 50% or better chance of being a smoker. Most all cowboys carried "the makin's" (a pouch of tobacco and rolling papers) in their pockets. Not only did they smoke tobacco, they chewed it in mass quantities. Why else did they have all those brass spittoons in every saloon.

Please do not think I am for one second advocating smoking. I'm not. I'm just trying to make a point about how all this political correctness has affected us as writers. And, frankly, I don't get it. We can write about murder, torture, vampirism, pagan gods and demonic heroes, etc. etc. and yet we don't dare have a guy light up when he's stressed. Does that make any sense at all?

Other than the slavery issues in Civil War romances, what other things can you think of that have become taboo subjects in our romance novels. As fiction writers, do you think we should always tailor our stories to conform to political correctness?

Devon

Chaos Winding Down

2010-08-28T23:55:00.012-04:00

For the past week, I've been up to my eyeballs in chaos. I was right in the middle of an edit on my manuscript and haven't gotten back to it yet. I've done nothing but shuffle things around the house, trying to find some place to put them. Oh, I got all the major stuff done. It's the little things that are driving me to distraction.

The good news is, my son left his job in Richmond and walked right into another one here at home. It just so happened that my husband's part-time lady had to stop working for personal reasons, so my son stepped into her position. For the past three days, he's been at the store, learning the ropes.

Meanwhile, I finished reading "Pieces of Sky" by Kaki Warner. All I can say is, wow! It reminded me of--and yet it was not the same because it didn't go into a lot of daily life detail-- the reason why I fell in love with western historical romance all those years ago and decided those were the kinds of stories I wanted to write. Remember those? The historicals that actually had a story to go with the romance? I'm not going to give out any spoilers but I will say that parts of the story were absolutely haunting and will stay with me for a long time. If you love westerns that are all realism and no fluff like I do, then I highly recommend. The romance was beautifully played and kept me on the edge of my seat right up to the very end. I did NOT know for certain how this one was going to end. But I will tell you that I closed the book at the end with a weepy smile on my face.

I received "Open Country," the second book in Ms. Warner's Blood Rose Trilogy, but haven't even had a chance to look at it yet. Why? Because the moment it arrived, hubby snatched it and put it on his nightstand. He's one of those people who must read each night before he falls asleep, so it looks like I'm second in line to read the book. Again. He did the same thing with "Pieces of Sky."

Happy reading and writing!

Devon

A Turtle Tale

2010-08-22T22:37:00.006-04:00

We live in the country, so we see all kinds of wild animals out here. Mostly, they're the cute kind, sometimes not. An example of that would be the copperhead hubby killed in the garage last week. Not so cute.

Anyway, back on the afternoon of May 30th, I went onto the back porch with Molly. I hadn't even sat down when Molly (who started having a fit) and I heard something scratching at the storm door that goes into the garage. The weird thing was, it was scratching from inside the garage, like it was trying to get out. The bottom of the door is aluminum, the rest glass. The glass was raised for ventilation, but I wasn't about to go over there and stick my head inside to see what it was.

So I go back inside the house, through the laundry room, and peek out the door into the garage. The mystery scratcher was a huge snapping turtle. The moment I stepped into the garage, the thing turned to look at me. I slipped over to the wall where hubby keeps all the tools and grabbed a big flat-bottomed snow shovel. Okay, so I've got the tool for removal, now how to put it to use? I had a devil of a time getting behind the turtle because every time I moved, it turned toward me. Finally, I went for broke and shoved the shovel against the turtle's back side and started sliding it as fast as I could across the garage floor. I shoved it right out the big door and then pulled it down so Mr. Turtle couldn't come back inside. He didn't look too happy as the door was coming down.

A little later, hubby came home from work. I told him about the turtle and we went out to see if we could spot it in the yard. It was nowhere to be seen. I was surprised because the thing had to really put on the speed to get gone so fast. Then hubby noticed a furrow in the nice, thick mulch he'd just put down in the shrub beds. It looked like a miniature plane had crash landed in the mulch. He looked closer and saw that the turtle had buried itself in there. So he got the hoe and plopped Mr. Turtle out of there. Turtle was very unhappy about this treatment and latched onto the hoe handle. Then--like me--hubby used the snow shovel. Unlike me, he actually scooped up the turtle and carried it down to the edge of the yard and released it into the woods.

Now you would think that's the end of the story, but it's not. The next morning--May 31st (I remember the date because it was hubby's birthday)--hubby was on the back porch having his morning coffee when he yelled for me to come out and look at something. The turtle was back. It was down in the yard acting really strange. It was stretching up on its legs as far as they would go, then dropping down to the ground. It did this several times before hubby and I decided a closer investigation was in order. We walked over to see what it was up to, which apparently upset it, because it decided to leave. As it turns out, Mr. Turtle was a Mrs. She'd dug a hole and was in the process of depositing her eggs. So we had a nice, neat hole full of turtle eggs, but she left without covering them. Hubby gently put the loose dirt over the eggs and we placed a patch of moss over the disturbed ground to disguise it from predators. Every day after that, we went out to look at the nest to make sure it hadn't been disturbed.

For the past week, we started to think the eggs wouldn't hatch. We knew they took anywhere between 60 and 120 days, depending on the temperature. (we looked it up online) With the heat wave we've been having, we figured it would only take the minimum amount of time. Then, today, the baby turtles came out of their shells and left the nest. I hope at least some of them survived the trip to the pond across the road. Happy birthday, baby turtles!

Devon

What I'm Reading

2010-08-20T23:03:00.008-04:00

These past several weeks have been good writing days, and nights. In fact, a couple of times last week, I pulled an all-nighter. I haven't done that in years. Though it was exhausting after the fact, I was in my good place and had to keep going. It felt wonderful because I was getting something accomplished.

So I finished one manuscript--still putting a polish on that one--and am well into another. But for the past couple of days, that's all come to a screeching halt. My son is back! Not officially because he still has to go back to Richmond and work one more day at his job and pick up the last of his things from the apartment. But he actually is back. The reason I say that is because his bed and most his things are in his room again. As of today, he nearly has things put back the way he wants them. Computer and gaming system all set up and good to go. His clothes are in the closet and the drawers. It's hard to believe a year has gone by already.

Anyway, the reason my progress came to a halt is because as my son moved in, I had to move out all the "stuff" I had stashed in his room while he was gone. Good grief. You should see my office. Since I had no ready place to put all the "stuff," I just piled it in here and now my writing cave looks like a room from that Hoarders show. I have no idea where I'm going to put it all.

Okay. Enough of that. I wanted to tell you that I'm reading the first book in Kaki Warner's "Blood Rose Trilogy" titled Pieces of Sky. I'm far from finishing it, but that's okay. I'm reading a little every night before I go to bed and savoring each page. Yes, savoring. It's been a long time since I've said that about any book. To me, Pieces of Sky reads more like a straight western than a romance, which is mighty nice. I started out many years ago reading and writing straight westerns, so it's like going home again. Make no mistake, this book does have a very fine romance. What makes it so different is that it's not written with all the romance "language" we've come to expect and are expected to write. This book actually has a lot of story. And it's gritty. The grittier the better. I love it. And while I understand I won't find any explicit love scenes, the dialogue more than makes up in the explicit department. Yes, the language is about as gritty as you can get, but it isn't vulgar, unless you object to cussin'. When Ms. Warner did a guest blog at Petticoats & Pistols a couple of weeks ago, she said you wouldn't find any heaving bosoms or throbbing manhoods in her stories. And she was right. But what you will find is realism, characters so well written they seem like actual people, and wit written by the freshest voice I've seen in many years. I look forward to reading all her books (which number exactly two, so far). I hope she has a very long career and doesn't lose that freshness that makes her voice so unique.

Happy reading and writing!

Devon

Hodgepodge

2010-08-12T22:44:00.001-04:00

Another week has flown by. I finished the manuscript I was working on. See the cute mile marker. Writer friend Taryn Raye made a whole set of these, in two different designs, for me a couple of years ago. I'll bet she thought I lost them. I still have them, Taryn, and thank you!

Anyway, I finished the manuscript a couple of days ago and now I'm busy ripping out its guts and rewriting. Sounds gruesome, doesn't it. It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.

Speaking of gruesome... Hubby killed a copperhead in our garage yesterday evening. OUR GARAGE! I'm so freaked out. It's going to take a while before I feel comfortable again. We've always treated the garage like it's an extension of our house because it's attached. We've got so much stuff out there. And to think there might be something more hiding amongst all our boxes and bins. Brrrr! Gives me the creepy crawlies. Hubby says he's afraid to go prowling around out there now, too, and will have to wait until the dead of winter, when it's zero, to look through everything. This would not have happened if we still had Little Man. Since he's been gone, we're overrun with wild critters. At any time of the day, you can look out and find squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks and (it seems) every kind of bird on the planet frolicking in our yard. By all reports we've heard, snakes are plentiful this year, too.

In other news... My son will be moving back home in a couple of weeks. He's been wanting to come back for several months now, but the lease on his apartment isn't up until the end of August, so he had to stick it out, work, pay rent, and wait. I'm thrilled that he was responsible enough not to walk away from his responsibilities and do what he wanted. After a year, it will be yet another adjustment for hubby and I. While we're happy he's coming back home, we've also gotten used to him not being here. It's hard to believe it's been a year already.

Devon

Dorchester News

2010-08-06T12:05:00.000-04:00

Publisher's Weekly has some jaw-dropping news about Dorchester. They are adopting the e-pub business model. In future, all their books will be released in digital. The titles that sell well will later be available in print-on-demand. Dorchester will no longer be doing mass market print books. Wow. I'm still in shock. If you want to read the PW article, here's the link.

Devon

Lost Weekend

2010-08-01T22:58:00.000-04:00

No, I'm not referring to the classic old movie. I'm talking about the past two days. I spent all day Saturday trying to figure out what was wrong with our desktop. No go. So I went ahead and crashed the thing and started it over from scratch. The difference in this time and times past--I had everything saved elsewhere so I didn't lose anything. Needless to say, I didn't get any writing done over the weekend. But I wrote over 1,600 words on Friday. Two steps forward, one step back.

Of course, crashing the computer couldn't be the end of it. I was trying to fast bake a couple of potatoes last night and broke the microwave. Then today, hubby went out to mow the yard. He'd only made a couple of passes around the perimeter when one of the back tires on the lawn mower came right off the rim. We tried to fix it back on, but that was a no-go, too. He's taking it to work with him tomorrow so he can stop at a garage and have it put back on the rim.

Hope your weekend was better than mine. I can't wait for tomorrow morning.

Devon

Ebay and Nearly Finished

2010-07-26T23:01:00.002-04:00

If you don't have Google alerts set up for your author name and titles, I recommend you do so. You'd be surprised at what turns up in your inbox. Today, I got an alert about a listing for my book on Ebay. Nothing new about that. It's been there nearly continuously for a couple of years--and at ridiculous prices. And the books are always listed as new, which makes me wonder where the sellers are getting them and if any portion of that filters down to me. I doubt it. I also highly doubt they ever sell any because of the prices. Anyway, the Ebay alert for today was a little different because the seller is in Australia. Yep. Someone in Aussie land has my book listed for sale, in brand new condition. What the heck! The price is $24.49, which equals $22.01 American, plus mailing charges. I've seen it listed for as much as $36. Here's the listing, if you want to take a look.

Okay. Enough of that.

Since RWA's national conference starts in a couple of days, I figure the blogosphere will be even deader than it is already until the weekend or later--unless some kind souls decide to blog about the goings on from their hotel rooms. I'm not going to Orlando but I am going offline for the rest of the week to finish up a manuscript that should have been finished a couple of weeks ago. I'm so close to the end, all I need is a big push to put it to bed. So, that's the plan.

To those of you going to conference, have fun and stay safe.

Happy writing!
Devon

Sex Sells EVERYthing

2010-07-25T22:23:00.007-04:00

Have you seen this? Part of me thinks it's cute as heck. The other part of me feels it's an abomination. What do you think?

Devon

Into The Weeds

2010-07-24T22:09:00.018-04:00

As an avid reader, there's something that's been bugging me for quite a while. So I have to ask, how many times has this happened to you? You're reading an absolutely delicious book by one of your favorite authors. You're three-quarters of the way through it and, so far, it's been nothing but pure escapist joy. And then, and then... somewhere between the black moment and the resolution, the author drags you so far off into the weeds you begin to lose sight of why the book was so fabulous up to this point. And instead of ending with a bang or such a heart-wrenching scene you're forced to sit the box of tissues on the table next to you, it limps along to an uninspired conclusion that leaves you with the feeling you've been cheated somehow.

I have two theories about why this might happen.

a.) The author is a pantser and has no earthly idea how she is going to resolve the story, so she meanders around until the problem resolves itself. Or...

b.) The author pens the black moment, then realizes she could wrap it up in one more chapter. But wait! She's still 20 thousand words shy of her projected word count, so she shoves the hero and heroine into the weed patch and lets them grope around aimlessly--sometimes even doing things that run contrary to what we've learned about their character--until the necessary wordage has been achieved, at which time she thrusts them back together and resolves the thing.

Thankfully, most authors are not guilty of this. But there are a handful who come to my mind who are repeat offenders. One in particular is such a fabulous writer, I'm always heartbroken when she strays off the path. And I have to wonder how she stays on the bestseller lists.

Question--can you tell which of your favorite authors (no names, please) are plotters and which are pantsers just by reading their books?

Happy reading, and watch out for those weeds!

Devon

Friday Firsts

2010-07-23T14:04:00.004-04:00

Since a lot of bloggers have a Friday "thing" they do, I thought I'd start my own and call it Friday Firsts. Every Friday (Lord willin' and the creek don't rise), I'll list three random books from my keeper shelves along with the very first line in each book. We've all heard about the importance of first lines so the point of this is to see if the first lines of our favorite books are attention grabbers, or not. Here goes.

Stranger In My Arms by Lisa Kleypas - 1998

"Lady Hawksworth, your husband is not dead."

(This is my all-time favorite Kleypas. Don't ask me why. I think it reminded me of A Rose in Winter, for some reason.)

Allie's Moon by Alexis Harrington - 2000

Althea Ford needed a man and she'd walked all the way to town to find one.

(The appeal of this one was that the hero was the town drunk. The heroine dragged him up by the scruff of his neck and reformed him. Very Americana-ish.)

The Outsider by Penelope Williamson - 1996

He came into their lives during the last ragged days of a Montana winter.

(This is the best portrait of a gunslinger ever written in a romance novel, in my opinion. I wish Ms. Williamson still wrote historicals, but she changed her name and went to mystery suspense. Too bad.)

Happy writing and reading! And have a great weekend!

Devon

What's The Plan?

2010-07-19T23:07:00.010-04:00

Many of us go along for years, writing, learning all we can to improve our craft, and dreaming of the day we hold a book in our hands with our name on it. But even after we've done the best work we can do and that magic moment comes and the contract has been signed, how many of us are truly ready to be published?

I will be the first to admit that I was not prepared for what happens after the contract is signed.

First of all, I had to come up with a web site. Since I didn't have any excess money lying around and hubby had just lost his job, I sat here one night until the wee hours and pored over lists of hosting sites, looking for the best deal and one that was user friendly for a non-techie like me. Namely, one that required absolutely no knowledge of html. Once I settled on a host, I quickly went to work and threw together a site. It was not pretty though, at the time, I remember thinking it was the greatest thing since peanut butter. This speaks to my state of mind during this time of unbelievable, rapturous joy brought on by the fact that I was getting published at long last--I was not rational. Not even close. I've since relocated to a better host that uses the absolutely genius Intuit software, which is a vast improvement.

Second, be prepared to edit your precious darling. I had no problem dealing with this one, but I feel it's worth mentioning because I am aware of a few individuals who freaked out when their editors sent back their manuscripts with the first round edits on them. Just be aware that, unless you self-publish (and I don't recommend it), you will more than likely be asked to change a few things. Maybe even a lot of things.

Third, I needed a marketing plan. How the heck was I supposed to get the word out to promote my book once it was released? Chats, blogs, and loops, oh my! Until my first live chat, I'd always considered myself to be somewhat of an articulate person--at least on paper. Ha! My most embarrassing moment came when I took part in a live chat with complete strangers. The first question the moderator asked was, "What's your book about?" Simple question, right? I mean, I wrote the darn book and I, of all people, should have known the answer to the question. But, guess what. I froze. Froze! I stumbled and fumbled so badly, the mod ended up passing it over completely and moved on to something easier like, "What is your hero's name?" I wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. Lesson learned-- be ready to encapsulate your entire story in a line or two at the drop of a hat. Figure it out, write it down. Write it on the back of your hand, if that's what it takes.

Once your book hits the shelves, virtual or otherwise, be prepared to answer questions. About your story. About your writing process and your inspirations. Any halting or fumbling about for words is not acceptable. People start to give you strange looks if you do this. An air of self-confidence is a must when trying to promote yourself. Too bad so many of us writers become tongue-tied when you drag us from behind the keyboard and actually force us to speak.

Fourth point--and this is a biggie--once you publish your first book, readers expect more. Gasp! For most of us, this is a no-brainer. But for some--like me--we spend so much time writing, revising, polishing, and shopping that manuscript around NY that it never even occurs to us that at some point we need to move on and do it all over again with something new. I can tell you from experience that the question most frequently asked of a new author is, "When's your next book coming out?" It's a real wake up call, especially if you have nothing but a bunch of half-baked partials waiting in the wings. My advice to anyone who seriously aims for a career at this writing stuff is, don't publish unless you are prepared to publish again, and again. Otherwise you end up with a long, long stretch of nothing where you're trying to figure out what the heck your next move should be. Lesson learned (from my perspective, anyway)--don't submit unless you're prepared to cover your butt with solid follow-up material.

One final thing I want to mention. All of the above can happen at dizzying speed if you publish with an electronic press. In my case, I went from contract offer to book release in the space of two months. If that sounds like plenty time to make the adjustment and deal with all the details inherent with going from unpublished to published, trust me, it isn't. My biggest mistake was accepting an offer to edit when I'd barely finished signing the contract for my own book. The whole publishing experience kind of passed me by because I was up to my ears in queries and other people's manuscripts.

On the bright side, I've learned some really good lessons which--hopefully--left me better prepared for the future. It took a while, but I'm now looking forward and dreaming those big dreams again of tossing my hat into the publishing ring. And ain't it about time!

Happy writing!
Devon

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

2010-07-17T23:16:00.004-04:00

I try not to, but often I find myself dwelling on the changes that have taken place in the romance writing industry in recent years. Back when I first started seriously pursuing writing, we had never heard of an e-publisher. The RWA chapter I belonged to wasn't on Yahoogroups. The internet wasn't the end-all of communication and information it is now. Man, how times have changed.

The question is, have they changed for better or worse? I guess the answer depends on who you ask.

Let's look at the negatives first, because I'd rather wrap this up on a positive note.

The economy is a big factor. Mass market sales are down. Therefore, advances are down. The authors who've been at this for a while are forced to write more and more to make the same money they were pulling in a few years ago. Midlist authors and those even farther down the ladder are being dropped like hot potatoes. Many are resorting to alternate avenues of publishing--small press, electronic, and even self-publishing. It's become commonplace to me now to run across authors who used to publish with the big, mass market publishers and find them on the lists of the small electronic/pod publishers. What many wouldn't even have considered doing a few short years ago has become the norm. (and we all thought this e-publishing stuff would never catch on) With more and more authors publishing with the small electronic presses, the competition for sales has grown fierce, and the contracts with the big boys in New York are more coveted than ever and increasingly harder to get.

Sounds pretty bleak, doesn't it? By all accounts I've seen and heard, the entire industry is in a tailspin. I'm curious to see how it all ends up, and yet I'm almost afraid to watch.

Okay. I said I'd end this with the good news, so here it is, for what it's worth. With the influx of all these electronic and/or print on demand publishers, nearly all of us can now be published. Yippee. Right? Well, the downside is that the money is nothing to brag about. There are quite a few exceptions, of course, but on average the electronic and print on demand published author will spend more on trying to promote her book than she will earn in royalties. Maybe the numbers will improve with more time and a few more e-readers. Most of the authors I know have built themselves a list. The more books they have out, the more money they make. One of the pluses of being e- and pod published is longevity. Your book stays on the market until you or your publisher decides to take it off, which means the royalties do add up over time. My own experience has been that after more than three years on the market, my sales are pretty much the same now as they were when my book was first published. After the initial friendship sales, it's now all casual traffic looking for the kind of book I've written, and when I go looking, I'm always amazed at the number of places on the internet where my book is listed for sale. How much you make depends greatly on the genre you write and the degree to which you can spread the word around. It also doesn't hurt to have an entire army of family and friends who are willing to help drum up sales.

I'm interested in hearing your opinions. Is this wild west, anything goes era of publishing we've embarked on good times? Or is it the pits? Give me your perspective.

Devon

This And That

2010-07-15T23:24:00.001-04:00

I've lost a couple of writing days because of family obligations but I really can't complain because they are so few and far between.

I received the Pat Rice book, finally. If you're in the mood for a different kind of Regency Historical--or you always wanted to read about an earl put to the task of hoeing rhubarb--I highly recommend. I'm not very far into the story, but I'm enjoying it.

If you're wondering about the photo of Valentino, I posted it because it ties to a bit of info I want to share. If you write historicals, I recommend you put a shortcut to the Online Etymology Dictionary on your desktop. I've had it on mine for years and it's been invaluable. Any time I'm in doubt about a word, I simply click over and the ED tells me when the word came into use. It's great for checking up on those pesky, distracting anachronisms. For instance--if you see the word "sexy " used to describe someone as being sexually attractive in a story set before 1923, that's an anachronism. The word was first used in that context to describe Rudolph Valentino. Interesting.

I was very sorry to read about Dorchester being uninvited to the RWA conference, which takes place in just a couple of weeks. They're having financial problems and have failed to meet their contractual obligations--which I translate as, they haven't been paying their authors as promised. Hope they are able to get solvent soon. I would hate to see them go under. In many ways, they've been a pioneer in the romance industry for a lot of years.

Devon

Gone In A Flash

2010-07-12T23:00:00.002-04:00

Methinks my tired typist picture is a little dated with that dinosaur of a monitor. It's been a while since I've dragged the old girl out and when I inserted her into the post, the image of that big, thick monitor jumped out at me. Oh, well.

This has not been my night.

Now that I'm in full-blown writing mode, I've become obsessed with saving my work. Each day, I'm making good progress and the thought of possibly losing it all to the "evil computer" makes me a little crazy. Over the years, I've lost so much in computer crashes and fried disk drives, it's no wonder I'm paranoid.

I've been writing on the laptop and saving to a flash drive. Then, tonight, I figured--just to be on the safe side--I'd put a copy of the ms. on the big desktop. So, I did that. Then I decided maybe I'd better copy the ms. to my other flash drives as well. Cause you never know, and I read somewhere that flash drives sometimes get corrupted. So I go looking for my other two flash drives and I find only one. The nice big one that has several gigs of storage space is missing. I can't find it anywhere. It has all my pictures on it. But I refuse to panic. For now.

I took several calming breaths and clicked over to Amazon to check on the Pat Rice book I ordered. Last time I checked, which was Saturday, it was sitting in Lexington, so it should have been here today, but I didn't get it. Well, according to the tracking record, it was delivered today. Well, no, it wasn't. And just to make doubly sure, I turned on all the outside lights, looked all around inside the garage, then went outside and looked on the doorstep of every entrance to the house. Nothing. Not that I really expected to find it. Every time I order a book, they wedge the Amazon box into the mailbox so tight it usually ends up ripping before I manage to get it out. I've never had anything get lost before, but if it doesn't turn up tomorrow, I guess I'll be calling the post office.

Tomorrow, I'm taking my daughter for a much-needed outing. We're going to visit my aunt. My cousin is there for a couple of days and we don't get to see each other often, so it should be fun. I could use the break.

Devon

As The Sun Sinks In The West...

2010-07-09T22:30:00.004-04:00

In case you were wondering why I've gotten rid of the dark, earthy colors and my wild west banner and changed to a softer --hopefully-- more romantic, generic look, it's because for some time now I've been moving away from the westerns. Not to say that I've completely given up on them, by any means. But I have been writing in other genres, kind of the way I did when I first joined RWA more than 15 years ago.

Given the current publishing climate--and because I have no desire at this time to write either erotica or inspirational, which is most of the westerns published nowdays--I finally decided maybe it isn't such a good idea to pigeonhole myself as strictly a western author. Yeah, I know, I'm slow, but I finally did break over. It really wasn't a conscious decision. After being away from the keyboard for a good while, story ideas started coming to me again (after a looong dry spell). Funny thing is, the new ideas weren't westerns. So I decided to stop being stubborn and just go with the flow. And that's what I've been doing and I'm enjoying the writing process more than I have in a very long time.

I could write an entire post on the reasons why I stuck strictly to the westerns for as long as I did, and maybe I will, sometime or other. As I said, I've not given up on westerns completely. I love them too much for that. And there are at least two manuscripts that are begging me to finish them, so I intend to. Eventually. Who knows, maybe someday traditional westerns will become popular again, but I'm not holding my breath any longer. For now, I intend to write what speaks to me at the moment, regardless of genre.

The changes I've made to the blog I also plan to do on my web site. But I keep putting that off because changing out the template on an entire web site is no small undertaking and I'm dreading it. Just so you know, even though I got rid of the banner and the cowboys, I simply could not let go of the little red horse. So I moved him to the very bottom of the blog. He's inconspicuous there, but I can still scroll down and see him whenever I want. He's there now, running his little heart out.

Happy writing!
Devon

Wycked

2010-07-07T23:07:00.010-04:00

This afternoon I ordered Patricia Rice's latest book, The Wicked Wyckerly. Love the title, but I've always been a sucker for alliteration. I can't wait to read this. I decided to order after reading an excerpt and an interview Pat gave to RT. I admit, it's been a while since I've read one of Pat's books, but this is a traditional Regency without any paranormal elements and it sounds wicked good.

In this book, Pat has taken the usual fare for Regency Historicals and set it on its ear. This one is about impoverished nobility. Yikes! You mean there were nobles during the Regency period who weren't stinking rich? I say, bring it on, this will be a breath of fresh air. It's the first in a series about younger sons who will not inherit. Pat also has a wicked sense of humor, which I've always loved about her, and from the excerpt I read, she's given it free rein in this latest book.

Speaking of a wicked sense of humor... this is a switch in subject, but I can't go without sharing my hubby's latest jab. He owns a small retail business and today a male customer asked if he sells "smart water." My husband said, "No, I've never heard of it. But if I had some, I'd hand out samples." Ah, I love that man. ;o)

Devon

From One Writer To Another...

2010-07-06T23:22:00.011-04:00

Even with a huge organization like RWA, local state chapters, critique groups, and online networking sites, writing is still a solitary pursuit. When it comes right down to it, it's just us and the blank computer screen and what happens when the two of us interact that will make or break us as writers. That said, I don't think any of us could make it through all the bumps and low points we encounter along the journey without the support, encouragement, and sometimes well-deserved butt kicking from some special person or persons who are always there to talk us through when we hit a wall and start to panic. You know, that person you call to celebrate a request... or commiserate over a rejection. Yeah, that person. In most cases, that someone is another writer we met somewhere along the way. All I can say is, thank God for other writers who understand the industry speak and know exactly what we are feeling when the worst and the best happen. So, this is a shout out to writers everywhere. Just wanted to say, thank you for being there.

Devon

Independence Day

2010-07-04T23:12:00.003-04:00

Happy 4th of July, everyone. In honor of our nation's independence, I'd like to pay tribute to a great American hero who helped preserve that independence and became the most decorated American soldier of World War II. Audie Murphy, soldier, actor, and veteran's advocate. Gone, far too young, but not forgotten.

That Was Then

2010-07-01T22:43:00.007-04:00

Several years ago, I read a feature article in a magazine about author Pat Conroy. It's been in the back of my mind all this time because his writing process for some of his early books was so amazing. I'm sure the article comes to mind because one of the things he did was keep a word list. Any word he came across or heard in conversation and liked, he added to his list and found a way to incorporate it into his writing. I've started doing this with words that I see and hear all the time, but don't normally use. When I come across them, I write them down in a notebook, then look up the precise meanings and write those down, too. I keep the list handy and, while I'm writing, I occasionally take a look to see if I can use any of the words in my manuscript. In this way, I feel I'm broadening my vocabulary. After all, what is a writer without an extensive arsenal of words?

But back to Pat Conroy. At the time the article was written, he had secluded himself in a scenic old lighthouse on the Carolina coast to write a manuscript. He stayed there, alone, and did nothing but write until the manuscript was finished. His food, drink, and other necessities were delivered to his doorstep by friends so he didn't have to leave his writing zone.

Here's the really amazing part. His writing process was simply to write. And write, and write. The initial drafts for the books titled Prince of Tides and Beach Music ended up at something just over 2,000 pages each. He wrote the scenes as they came to him, and in no particular order. By his own admission, he ended up with a mess of manuscript that he couldn't make heads or tails of. It was his editor, Nan Talese, who took those gi-normous manuscripts, pored through them page by page, slashing whole sections and rearranging, until they became the books that eventually went on to become bestsellers. How incredible is that?

It makes me wonder. In today's publishing climate, where editors want everything as close to perfection as possible on submission--so there's a minimum of editing--how far would Pat Conroy's ponderous manuscripts have gotten? Probably about as far as my first manuscript, which ran just slightly over 700 pages--a wee pittance compared to Mr. Conroy's tomes. Green as spring grass, I queried that monster to agents. I received a note from one, who shall remain nameless (because he's still agenting today), that was absolutely priceless. He said, and I quote: "Are you kidding me with this?" But back to Mr. Conroy. I'm going to take the optimistic high road and say that I'm sure he would have worked through the whole culling and editing process himself, eventually. Those books would still have been published and gone on to become bestsellers. But how much longer would the road to publication have taken?

I thought Mr. Conroy's story was interesting and I think it serves as a good example of how much the publishing industry has changed in recent years. I have to wonder, though, if there are any authors in this day and time who still receive that kind of special treatment from their publishers.

Devon

The Devil Is In The Details

2010-06-28T22:32:00.009-04:00

While browsing author blogs, especially group blogs, I see a LOT of authors discussing the problems they find in today's Regency Historical romances. There's a lot of debate about anachronisms and I've often been tempted to include my two cents on the subject because I see things posted that are--at the very least--questionable and--at worst--maybe just plain wrong. But I don't comment because I'm no authority on the Regency. The main complaint of these Regency Historical authors appears to be about other Regency Historical authors who are getting their facts wrong and the idea that these historically inaccurate books are making them look bad. The more I see, the more I'm beginning to wonder if there's anyone out there who really knows the end-all, be-all of information about the Regency period.

To satisfy my own curiosity, I've looked up some of the things in dispute on the blogs. What I found was a lot of conflicting information. On both the internet and in print. So, is it any wonder there's disagreement when the various resources about the period can't seem to agree or are misinformed themselves?

Here's an example. One author complained about the use of the word "scone" during the Regency period. She stated that scones weren't around until the Victorian era. So, I went looking. According to Wiki, the common complement to English tea during the Regency was scones with clotted cream and jam. Another source stated that scones were of Scottish origin in the early 1500's. To me, it's not much of a stretch to think that during the 300 year interim, this food item might have ended up a couple of hundred miles down the road in English kitchens. So, what's the answer? Even after doing a bit of research about this small detail, it still isn't clear.

Here's another one. Did English gentlemen in the Regency wear Hessian boots, or did they wear Wellingtons. I have no idea, but I'd really like to know. Some authors who have been writing Regencies for years claim that both are wrong. So, what's the answer?

Use of the word "whiskey" also seems to be a sore spot with a lot of Regency authors. I looked it up. Scotch whiskey came into being in 1778 in neighboring Scotland. So, it seems only reasonable to me that during the 40 year period that followed, maybe a bottle or two of Scottish produced whiskey made it over the border into England. Who can say conclusively that it didn't?

For years, one of the biggest complaints I've seen has to do with the use of contractions in books set during the Regency. Many of the old school authors claim it just "wasn't done." I admit, I've never read Jane Austen, but I'm told she did use contractions in her writing. She passed away in 1817, which means she actually lived and wrote during the Regency period. I guess even she didn't wish to read an entire book that had no contractions.

In wrapping this up (for now), I'd like to offer the radical suggestion that maybe the anachronisms and historical inaccuracies that sometimes appear in historical romances aren't always the fault of sloppy research. Just maybe some of them are due to all the conflicting information floating around out there. All I did was go poking around a little bit and the problem immediately jumped out at me. On many of these minute details of the period, no two resources seem to completely agree. It would be nice if there was a comprehensive, accurate reference for each of the most popular time periods throughout history. In the meantime, I guess we just have to keep digging.

Devon

Cabin Fever

2010-02-11T23:22:00.002-05:00

Is it just me, or is blogland truly as dry as a rain barrel in August lately? Where is everyone? I know I'm guilty of neglecting the blog in recent weeks, (okay, make that months) but I'll be darned if I can think of anything interesting to write about. I could talk about the crazy weather but I think we're all sick of it already. I have a whole slew of personal stuff I could unload but I'd rather not go there either.

So, what's left? Writing? Well, I'm still at it but there's nothing earth shattering to report as of this posting. Oh, I did have an epiphany the other day. (Yeah, another one.) I realized I've been looking at the business side of writing all wrong. So, I'm planning a new approach to the submission process. I'll let you know how that works out.

Anyone else got cabin fever? If so, what are you doing to keep from climbing the walls? The snow's coming again tomorrow night and it's expected to last until Tuesday. It's times like this when I really miss my son being here. He did move out back in the fall, by the way. When he was still at home, I could hop in my car and make a run to town whenever the notion hit me. Now, not so much. I've been making quick grocery runs about every two weeks.

Well, there I go. I said I wasn't going to unload my personal stuff, but I managed to slip something in anyway. Guess I'd better go before this turns into Dear Diary.

Enjoy Andrei Claude in cowboy getup. I posted Mr. Hottie because he's much nicer to look at than the cold stuff outside, and I think it's safe to say we're all sick of snow pictures.

Stay warm, everyone!

Devon

Bracing for SNOW

2010-01-28T23:20:00.005-05:00

Issued by The National Weather Service Jackson, KY 10:49 pm EST, Thu., Jan. 28, 2010
... WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM FRIDAY TO 7 PM EST SATURDAY...
A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM FRIDAY TO 7 PM EST SATURDAY.
* SNOW IS EXPECTED TO START FALLING FRIDAY AFTERNOON SOUTH OF THE HAL ROGERS PARKWAY AND GRADUALLY SPREAD NORTH AND EAST THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE UNTIL SATURDAY EVENING.
* SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON WILL LIKELY REACH 6 TO 10 INCHES OVER THE WARNING AREA... WITH UP TO A FOOT OVER THE HIGHER RIDGES ALONG THE VIRGINIA BORDER.

Well, this is what we have to look forward to tomorrow. More snow. I've been tracking it on radar all day, watching it build out west and tonight it's getting ever closer. From the looks of it, I think the storm will be here long before 1:00 tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if we wake up to the white stuff.

In any event, I think we're prepared. I went to the grocery yesterday and stocked up, just in case, because we live several miles outside of town in a rural area and our road is well off the beaten track. If we should lose power, we have plenty of firewood and kerosene.

I hope everyone stays safe and warm.

Devon

Calling For Backup

2010-01-25T10:41:00.003-05:00

Yes, the Evil Computer is back. Over at Bookends, the topic for today is backing up your computer files, so it got me to thinking. Is there any 100% safe and sure backup method?

Over the years I've backed up my word files on floppies, rewritable CDs, and flash drives, but I've still managed to lose a lot of material as a result of computer crashes. Any backup method is only as good as the person using it. You have to resave each document after each and every little edit or you're not covered.

Let's run it down. Floppies are out of the question. They never were reliable, and these days computers usually don't even have a floppy drive. Writable CDs are good, I guess, but I always had a problem with those as well. On every computer I've owned--and I'm now up to half a dozen--the CD drive has eventually stopped working. I'm now using flash drives, but I understand they are also vulnerable because they can become corrupted.

Back in the very early days of owning a computer, I printed everything. It didn't take long before I was buried under a mountain of partials in hard copy. I printed each time I made a change or added to each document and, after a while, I couldn't make heads or tails of any of it because the sheer volume of version 1, 2 , 3 etc. became overwhelming. And let's not forget the cost of paper and ink for all that printing.

So, what's the answer?

Many writers set up a Google or Yahoo email account and email their manuscripts to themselves. But I foresee the same old problem with this. You would have to be super diligent and email the ms. each and every time you make a change to the text.

I know how heartbreaking it is to lose an entire manuscript or even multiple partials, not to mention pictures and other sundry items, in a computer crash. Just the other day, a dear friend and fellow writer asked me if I perchance had any of her old manuscripts on my computer from when we used to critique together. Sadly, I had to say I didn't. Those critiques were two computers and several years ago. I feel so bad for her. She's lost everything she didn't have in hard copy.

If anyone has a tried and true backup method that I haven't mentioned, I'd love to hear about it.

Devon

Clutter

2010-01-24T23:46:00.004-05:00

I spent nearly the entire day today going through all the paper in my office. I mean all of it, and--let me tell you--it was a daunting task.

All this time, I thought I kept my writing space neat and organized. Ha! I had no idea I had accumulated that much paper. Old manuscripts. Not just one, but several copies of each. Mail, mail, MAIL. Pictures. I ran across some strange stuff when I went digging into everything. Both entire sets of my children's baby teeth, the package of new checks I thought I hadn't ordered yet, even my old student ID from junior high. Geez, I hate to admit it, but the picture on that was in black and white.

This all started on Saturday when my husband needed the title for his car because he was trading it in, and I couldn't find it. I found the title to my son's car, but not hubby's and not mine. I was ready to pull my hair out. I still haven't found them, but wherever they are, they're together. I know I'll end up finding them in a stupid--right in front of your nose--kind of place. I'm sure I stuck them up for safekeeping. The question is, where?

Meanwhile, I've gone through every envelope and scrap of paper in this office. The most interesting things I found--and I plan to sit down later and really look at them--are old correspondence from editors, agents, and writing pals. At least this had forced me to get rid of the clutter in the drawers and cabinets.

Hope everyone has a great, clutter-free week. :o)

Devon

In With A Whimper...

2010-01-20T10:12:00.004-05:00

From where I'm sitting, this year certainly hasn't started off with the kind of bang I had hoped for. My heart goes out to everyone everywhere who is suffering and grieving right now. I'm sick at heart over the catastrophe in Haiti. It's impossible to imagine the horror those people are living every day. I lost someone very close to me over the holidays and I'm just now starting to come to terms with it. Closer to home, my thoughts and prayers are also with Magdalena Scott and family. Stay strong, Mags. Your writing family is here if you need us.

Now, for a complete change of subject...

Rules of Engagement, by Christina Dodd, was published in Oct. 2000. I know because I looked it up. Why? I received a Google alert about this book in my inbox the other day. It turns out the hero's name is Devon Matthews. How funny is that? If I ever happen to meet Ms. Dodd, I'll probably have to explain that my pseudonym is a combination of my children's given names and not a ripoff of her character. I may have to buy a copy now and read it. Just because.

I haven't been online much during the past many weeks, but I have been writing. More recently, I've been working on a laptop that isn't online. I disabled the wireless function so I'd have no temptations or distractions. My goal for the year is to finish three projects. Two full-length and one short. Wish me luck. :o)

Devon

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-16T00:24:00.004-05:00

It's a busy time of year, so I'm just going to wish everyone Happy Holidays! I hope you and yours find joy this holiday season. God bless and see you next year!

Devon

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-23T23:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Pumpkin Shortage

2009-11-23T09:54:00.001-05:00

This past week, hubby and I were listening to the national news when Brian Williams announced that there would be a canned pumpkin shortage this year. He said, after Thanksgiving, Libby's canned pumpkin might become scarce because there was so much rain, the pumpkins rotted in the fields. I immediately looked at hubby and said, "Maybe we should pick up a few cans, just in case." He scrunched his face and answered, "Why? We don't even like pumpkin pie." "No," I said, "But you sure do love my pumpkin bread." His expression changed. "I didn't think about that," he said.

Then, yesterday, we were talking about food for Thanksgiving when he announced he'd like to have some pumpkin bread NOW. Guess he'd been thinking about it since we were talking about it the other night. Since I always make it for Thanksgiving anyway, I went ahead and baked.

Here's the recipe, in case you'd like to try it. This stuff is moist and spicy, and it's great for giving to family and friends during the holidays.

~~~~~~~~~~

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease bottoms only on 2 regular loaf pans. (If you want to use as gifts in your goody baskets, use those small disposable pans, will probably make 5 or 6 little loaves.)

Beat together:

2/3 cup shortening

2 -2/3 cups granulated sugar

4 eggs

until creamy.

Add to mixture:

1- 15 oz. can pumpkin

2/3 cup water

and mix until blended.

Blend together:

3- 1/3 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 -1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cloves

1/2 tsp. allspice

Blend into pumpkin mixture until well mixed.

Lastly, blend in:

1 cup black walnuts (black walnuts give it a fabulous flavor, but you can use regular walnuts if you prefer)

1 cup raisins

Pour into pans and bake for at least 1 hour. I start checking at the 1 hour mark, but mine usually take about 15 minutes longer. You can test by sticking a toothpick into the middle of the loaf or touching the tops with your fingertips.

When they're done, allow loaves to cool, then wrap in wax paper and aluminum foil and store in refrigerator. These will keep for quite a while and they also freeze well. The flavor is at optimum after they cool. Try a slice with your morning coffee or slap on a dollop of whipped cream and serve as dessert. Enjoy!

Devon

#twitterfail

2009-11-20T23:33:00.002-05:00

I've had a bunch of email to sort through. No surprise there, since I haven't kept up with it during the same time period I wasn't keeping up with the blog. What did surprise me was that I had a bunch of messages in my inbox telling me so-and-so is following me on Twitter.

Huh?

This is very strange because I didn't even know I was on Twitter. So I pull up the site to investigate. The logon is staring me in the face and I don't know how to get in. It asks for an email or username, so I type in my email, then I hit the forgot? button beside the password box. They email instructions on how to change my password, and I'm in. Lo and behold, a page opens with my name on it. But that's all there is, a name, no profile info, no photo, nothing... except a list of eleven followers. Only one of the names was familiar. The rest, I don't know from Adam.

So now I'm left with the mystery of how I ended up on Twitter. I decided a long time ago I wasn't fooling with another online time suck. I took a look at it once. At least, I tried to, back when the infamous #queryfail thing was going on. I couldn't make heads or tails of anything and decided on the spot I wasn't going to waste time trying to figure it out. Facebook, same thing. I made myself a page but can't see any point to it. Geez. There are only so many hours in the day and with all the time everyone spends online, I don't see how any books at all get written. Another mystery.

On a more pleasant note, I've had a terrific day. My son had a couple days off from work so he came down to visit. This morning, he stayed here with his sister so hubby and I could go do a little Christmas shopping. We had a nice time. Then, this evening, I was so jazzed, I called a writer friend and we brainstormed over the phone for more than an hour. All in all, it was a productive day.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Devon

Sad Day For Romance

2009-11-18T23:28:00.002-05:00

Why, oh why, did I choose this particular time to start paying attention to what's going on in the romance community again? Today was a train wreck and, as usual, I couldn't stop looking. Today, Harlequin--the grand old dame, the backbone of romance--was stripped of it's publisher eligibility by RWA. And rightly so. But what a nightmare for all the Harlequin authors, past and present. My heart goes out to them tonight and I hope RWA can find a way to keep their priveleges intact.

I'm not going over all the points of what's happened. It's already being talked to death on all the loops and the popular blogs. Speaking as an author who still has the dream of being published with one of the big, mass-market publishers, this is the last thing we needed. Romance writers already take enough hits. The literary world will have a field day with this latest drama. It's days like this that make me yearn for the days before the internet and all the yahoogroups and blogs came into being. There wasn't very much drama back then. Only us writers and our stories. It's days like this that make me think anyone must be out of her mind to want to be a published author.

The big media is already picking up on the story. Here's a link to a very demeaning little article in The New Yorker.

I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Devon

Just When You Think You've Seen It All

2009-11-18T00:33:00.005-05:00

I've been a member of the romance community for many years, but never dreamed I would see anything on the scale of this. Harlequin is now listed at Predators & Editors as a vanity publisher because they've joined forces with and intend to put their brand on books to be published by Author Solutions, a vanity publisher. What a slap in the face to all the authors who've worked long and hard to build careers at HQ. What a slap to all the people who've written and submitted to Harlequin for many years, trying to break in with their "dream" publisher when all they had to do was wait a while and simply pay the price of admission. I don't see this ending well for anyone.

If you want to read more, or learn the particulars, it's all over the blogosphere. Or.. here's a link to the Harlequin Horizons site. That's what they're calling this new vanity imprint. Today has seen another giant leap toward the demise of the traditional publishing model. And Harlequin of all places! I'm still in shock.

Devon

Back in the Saddle

2009-11-17T06:40:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know it's been four months. I needed the time. I've been trying to get my house in order, both literally and figuratively. First, my mother was here for six weeks. Then, my son moved out. Mother's yearly visit is always a whirlwind of activity and social interaction that throws me out of my normal routine. But my son moving out of the house, to a town 75 miles away, threw me for a loop. Even though I knew it was coming, I was not prepared for the reality, or the grief that followed. I went into mourning, as though someone had died. Consequently, hubby and I threw ourselves into a flurry of work. I guess we both needed the distraction and the busy time. We accomplished quite a lot. The entire exterior of the house, from the roof down to the foundation and landscaping, has been redone. We even built a porch onto the back of the kitchen. Little Man thinks we did it just for him and he's enjoying it very much. Our home looks like a different place, but it desperately needed a face lift.

In the middle of all that, I started in on the inside, methodically repainting each room. I'm still not finished with the interior painting, but I figure I can finish up during the winter months. Meanwhile, I've been cleaning house in my office, too. I got rid of my massive dinosaur of a desk that took up too much space. Just yesterday, hubby brought home a smaller, just right computer desk that works so much better. So now I have my writing space back in order and I'm ready to get back to work.

Hope everyone is doing well and sorry I haven't been keeping up.

Before I go... I know author blogs are supposed to be geared toward shameless promotion, so you can file the following under that heading. To those of you out there (and there are many, many of you) who still don't have a print copy of Angel in the Rain because of the high cost of POD books, you're in luck. There are gently used copies over on Amazon starting at just $3.00. Yep, three bucks. Geez. That's half the price of a download.

Devon

Remembering A Legend

2009-07-16T11:19:00.006-04:00

If you're a fan of westerns, then I'm sure you've read Louis L'Amour. During his lifetime, he published well over a hundred books, and his novels continue in popularity today. His stories have also been made into some marvelous made-for-tv movies and mini-series. Who can forget The Sacketts with Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, and Jeff Osterhage. Back when I first started writing westerns (I started out writing straight westerns, then later moved to romance), Louis L'Amour was one of my personal inspirations.

On Monday, July 20th, Mr. L'Amour's son, Beau, will be blogging about his father over on Petticoats and Pistols. If you're a fan, and even if you're not familiar with his work, I hope you'll drop by there and see what the son has to say about his legendary father.

Devon

Edit: it appears P&P has taken down the guest blog announcement. Don't know if that means it's off, but I'll find out and let you know.

Paper Junkie

2009-07-15T10:20:00.000-04:00

I'm a paper addict. And it's not just paper I'm drawn to, but school and office supplies in general. I thought I had it under control. Then, yesterday during a quick run to Kroger, it hit me again. The urge to buy PAPER. They'd put up a shiny, new display of school and office supplies and there it all was, calling to me. But I was strong this time. Though I stood there for a while looking at all the pretty binders, loose leaf paper, index cards, pens and pencils, I resisted and didn't put anything into my cart. Yeah, sure, I picked up a couple of 5-subject, spiral bound, college ruled notebooks with pocket dividers and drooled over them, but I put them back on the shelf. So, I am getting better. It's just very hard to completely overcome a lifelong obsession.

My last binge happened several years ago. I'd gone to Wal-mart and they had an entire end cap stacked up with spiral notebooks, and they were dirt cheap. So, I loaded up with like 30 of them. When I got home and was carrying my bags into the house, my sister pulled into the driveway. She helped me carry the bags inside...and she noticed all the spiral notebooks. I explained to her that I'd gotten a real bargain. She just shook her head and said, "You're the only person I know who would ever actually use this much paper in an entire lifetime." And I did. I used it all. But it certainly didn't take a lifetime. Ditto with pencils, the mechanical kind that you don't have to sharpen, and post-its, ink jet paper, printer ink, staples, paper clips, binder clips, index cards, and all those cute little notebooks that I have lying around for jotting down passwords, web addresses, and general notes to myself. The list could go on.

My paper and accessories obsession has long been a joke within my family. They tease me about it. The funny thing is, who do you think they come to when they need something? That's right. Whenever they need a yard sale sign, they know good ole sis always has a stash of poster paper and assorted markers. What I find strange is that most people aren't very well stocked with office supplies. I honestly don't know how they get along in life.

I actually don't feel bad about my paper obsession. I have one writer pal who's a confessed office supply junkie, too, so I'm not alone. Another writer friend is a binder clip freak. I'll bet some of you are paper hoarders, too. Remember, admitting the problem is the first step toward recovery. ;o)

Devon

Writing ~ Career Choice or Calling?

2009-07-13T11:49:00.005-04:00

I've always been fascinated by First Sale or How I Became an Author stories. Whenever I run across a first sale story, I usually stop and read and I'm always surprised by the ones that say the person simply decided at some point in life to change their profession and become a writer. What's even more amazing is that many of these people never even dabbled in writing until they made a conscious choice to become a writer. And they're successful, otherwise, why would their first sale stories be of interest to anyone? These people went into it as a career choice. Given the wacko, roll-of-the-dice nature of the industry, this blows my mind.

Then we have the other kind of writer, the person with the calling, who is compelled to write stories from a very early age, the person who must write to satisfy the many voices clamoring inside her head. I'm one of those who was compelled to write from the moment I learned to put the alphabet down on paper and form words. Now that I'm getting up in years, I'm not sure whether this is a gift or an affliction.

I think it would be interesting to know the ratio of career choice writers vs. the ones who are simply compelled, when it comes to authors who have successfully "broken in."

Here's the question for today: which are you? Do you write by choice, or have you always felt compelled to write?

She's Back!

2009-07-11T10:38:00.002-04:00

Have you ever run across an author whose writing you enjoyed so much, you went looking for her entire backlist? For me, Rebecca Sinclair was such an author. I have her entire list of Western Historicals, plus a couple of her Scottish Medievals. To me, her appeal wasn't in her great storytelling ability, it was in her in-depth sensual details (and I'm not talking about sexual encounters, although she had those, too). As a writer, it was those passages of detailed sensuality that fascinated me.

I devoured her books. Then, ten years ago she suddenly disappeared from the radar. After doing a little digging, I discovered she'd quit writing.

I was really sad about that, so I held onto all her books and I've reread "Forbidden Desires" so many times the pages are coming loose from the binding.

Well, surprise, surprise. Last night, I logged onto MySpace and, suddenly, there she was. And she's got a new book titled "Murphy's Law" out from Kensington, her old publisher. I immediately popped over to Amazon and discovered the book is only available in Kindle edition. Bummer. I don't have a Kindle. So I went looking again. The e-book is available other places, but I'm leery of buying from them. The only successful downloads I've bought have been from the Harlequin site. Twice I've bought something from Fictionwise and they've taken my credit card number then sent the download zinging off into cyberspace and complete oblivion. I have no idea where they went. I only know they didn't end up in my computer.

I must have this book! This snowbound cabin cover looks so cozy and inviting. Here's the blurb I picked up over on Amazon:

Murphy's Law reigns supreme...

What else can explain how Murphy McKenna managed to get herself stuck in an unexpected, early-in-the-season Maine blizzard? In a very remote cabin. With dead phones. And impassable roads. Could there be a worse time for a desperate, badly wounded man to show up on her doorstep?

Instinct demands Murphy not trust Garrett Thayer. After all, the man refuses to give her a straight answer about anything. Even her precious Himalayan cat, Moonshine, is suspicious. Who wouldn't be? Not only is Garrett hurt, he's also apparently been out wandering in the storm with nothing more than a duffel bag stuffed with money, antique jewelry (a bottle of antihistamines?) -- and a gun.

Will Murphy's conscience allow her to turn her back on the handsome stranger who may be a thief, a bank robber, or worse ...?

This storyline appeals to me. I used a very similar plot device in "Maura's Outlaw," my historical romance set in late 19th century Missouri.

Just as an aside, I think it's interesting--in light of the current digital vs. print debate in romanceland--that Kensington has released this book in e-format only. Despite my bad luck with downloading e-books, I'll probably give it another try. Probably before the day is over. Maybe. Darn it. I wish they'd released this one in print.

Devon

The Truth About Writers

2009-07-10T13:02:00.001-04:00

Here's an article that appeared in the L.A. Times. This cracked me up because it's so true. Enjoy!

Devon

Kicking and Screaming

2009-07-10T12:02:00.005-04:00

The title of this post refers to me, being dragged into the 21st century. I freely admit, I don't want to go. If I had my way, we'd all still be writing on manual typewriters. In fact, I was much more productive when I wrote on an old manual. The computer is a window into a boundless world of distraction and playtime, which equals a lot of wasted time, at least for me. The plain truth is, I'm a techno-phobe and I dislike change with a passion. Does that surprise you?

Yesterday marked yet another reluctant step into the new millennium. We got our first cell phones. Yes, first time ever. Hubby and I both swore we'd never have one. Aside from being just plain old stick-in-the-mud fuddy-duddies, our main issue was the rudeness factor. Too many conversations interrupted by someone's cell phone ringing and them stepping away to talk. Too many people driving down the road with phones glued to their ears. Too many people walking through stores, itemizing the things on the shelves to an unseen person on the other end. Hubby complains often about customers holding up the line at his business because they're too busy talking on the phone to tell him what they've come to buy.

So, we hated that people are walking around, not paying attention to what they're doing because of the gizmos pressed to their ears. We swore we'd never be those people. Then, something happened. Our son got his driver's license and hit the road, alone. He went out into the big world with no way at all to communicate or call for help if something happened. That scared the daylights out of us.

So there we were last night, sitting at the kitchen table, trying to figure out how to turn the things on. (son wasn't here to show us) They'd been activated and charged, but we were clueless about how they worked. Hubby finally resorted to reading the user's manual and we were in business. We called each other, just to see if they worked. One was switched over to voice mail mode (which hadn't been set up yet) so it was back to the manual. Now we're good to go. We hope. These things have features we'll never use, though our son just might. But at least now we'll feel a little easier when one of us gets in the car and drives away. Help is just a phone call away. As far as hubby and I are concerned, these are reserved for emergencies only. The last thing I want is a phone ringing in the car while I'm driving to town and back. I do some of my best thinking while I'm driving. Yeah, I sometimes miss a turn because I'm all up in my head, but I eventually get where I'm going. ;o)

Devon

Readers and Authors

2009-07-08T11:43:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, the mail brought a manila envelope with a lovely surprise inside. It was a print copy of "The Wishing Stone" by Allison Smith. Imagine my surprise when I opened the book and found that she had included me in the dedication! Needless to say, this wonderful gift brought tears to my eyes and put a big smile on my face.

Allison and I have never met, but our acquaintance goes back two years. Hers was the very first reader note I received after "Angel in the Rain" was released. I don't think any author can forget her very first "fan" mail and Allison is a very special lady. During the past two years, we've kept up with each other via email. She writes to ask how the writing is going and I write to ask about her progress as well. And now, as of this week, she's officially a published author, and I couldn't be happier!

Here's the blurb from the back cover (and isn't that cover positively yummy!):

After the deaths of everyone dear to her, Lara Miller has lost all hope of finding a love that lasts...until she meets the man who can literally love her forever.

Lifetimes ago, Lord Lucien Saint was brought to the existence of eternal night by a vengeful, jealous female with fangs. For centuries, he has searched for the cure to his cursed reality and finds it in the one woman who can love only him.

Together, Lucien and Lara must fight the demons of his past that threaten to tear them apart for all eternity.

"The Wishing Stone" is available at The Wild Rose Press and Amazon.

Congratulations, Allison! I'm so happy for you and I can't wait to read the book!

Devon

Weekend Update

2009-07-06T23:48:00.004-04:00

Sorry I haven't been around. I've had a lot on my mind over the weekend. Friday, my brother's girlfriend/roommate--who has been with us so many years, we consider her family--went to the emergency room at our local hospital. For more than a week, she'd had a severe migraine-like headache that kept getting worse, plus fever, aches, back and chest pain. From our local ER they immediately transported her to the UK Medical Center in Lexington. The diagnosis wasn't good. She has spinal meningitis. She's still in serious condition so prayers would be much appreciated.

Saturday, I got out of bed and went into the kitchen, only to discover that my refrigerator had stopped working. On the 4th of July, no less. Buying another one was no problem. All the stores were open, but getting it delivered immediately was another matter. So I called my uncle. Even though he had out of town company in for the holiday, he was kind enough to come straight over with his truck.

Anyway, just thought I'd report in since I haven't been around for a couple of days.

Devon

Kentucky's Got Talent!

2009-07-03T16:14:00.006-04:00

There's a fella named Kevin Skinner from Mayfield, Kentucky--which is way over in the extreme southwestern area, near the Tennessee and Missouri borders--on America's Got Talent who's doing all us Kentuckians proud. The embed feature on YouTube is disabled so click HERE to see his performance. Turn up the volume on your computer. You won't be sorry. :o)

While I'm here, Happy 4th, everyone!

Devon

Wednesday Hodgepodge

2009-07-01T15:21:00.006-04:00

Some book buyer stats that I found interesting came in today's market update from Cindi Myers.

According to PubTrack™ Consumer, a service of R.R. Bowker, LLC.:

23% of books are purchased through online purchase/e-commerce

22% are sold through large chains (Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-a-Million)

10% are sold through book clubs

7% through independents

6% through mass merchandisers (Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart)

4% through warehouse clubs (Sam’s, Costco, BJs)

2% through supermarket/grocery stores

1% each through discount stores, drug stores, religious bookstores and book fairs

22% through a variety of "Other outlets" which includes author hand-to-hand sales, churches and other organizations, craft fairs, speakers selling from the back of the auditorium, etc.

I have no idea how this would translate to romance sales, but I'd be interested to know. I remember a few short years ago, the claim was that Amazon and other online retailers accounted for only 2% of romance sales. I think it's safe to say that number has probably drastically changed.

I have a gripe. (So what else is new?) Lately I've been trying desperately to find a romance I can lose myself in. I prefer historicals because I read for pure escapism, so the farther away from today's reality I can get, the better I like it. Within the past month I've bought three historical romances. The first book--a very popular and highly reviewed Regency Historical from Avon--was a wallbanger for me because the hero did something early on that made him so unsympathetic I couldn't bring myself to read any farther to find out if he redeemed himself or not. He was so repugnant, I did not care. The second and third books are an Avon and Harlequin, respectively. Another Regency-set and a Western. Both are so full of anachronisms, I'm constantly yanked out of the story. I have to wonder what's going on with editors these days. Most of all, why aren't these authors doing a better job of policing their own writing? I'm familiar with both these authors and they're both better than this. So I have to wonder what's going on with all the modern terminology and even slang being sprinkled through these historicals.

For anyone reading this who writes historicals, here's a link for the online Etymology Dictionary. Just click on the words and it will take you there. When in doubt, click over to the dictionary and it will tell you the definition(s) and year the word in question came into use. This is such a handy tool, I keep a shortcut right on my desktop. End of rant.

Okay. Getting back to the manuscript now. Hubby's working evenings this week, so the next several hours are mine, mine, ALL MINE!

Devon

Sign Of The Times

2009-06-29T23:16:00.003-04:00

This afternoon I was talking on the phone to a friend and fellow author when she pulled up something on the internet I'd never seen before. Even though she read it off the screen to me, I had to go take a look for myself. It was submission guidelines for emailing a query, synopsis, and complete manuscript to one of the mass market print pubs. Yes, you read that correctly. Dorchester is now taking unsolicited submissions of entire manuscripts via email.

I realize this isn't exactly earth shattering news, but I'm amazed and a little bit dumbfounded.

Back during the Stone Age, when I first ventured into the romance writing community--before YahooGroups even--every bit of contact with editors and agents was done via snail mail. It was a slow, torturous process. In fact, it took forever. I remember the turnaround time on the very first partial I submitted was one year. An entire year. For a partial. Can you imagine?

Anyway, it wasn't long before the internet got its hooks into everyone. YahooGroups came into existence, and all the loops and groups shortly followed. I remember when agents first started taking email queries. It was only a handful at first, then more and more. Now, it's unusual to run across an agent who doesn't take an email query. And it's great. Sometimes, you get a reply with a request or a "no, thank you" within an hour or two instead of a week or two.

During the anthrax scare right after 9/11, Avon went to email queries only. Now, other NY pubs have joined in and put their addresses online and invited queries, too. But today was the first time I've ever seen one of the major romance print publishers invite submissions of entire manuscripts via email attachment. And unsolicited, for Pete's sake! How great would it be if all publishers did this? (Yes, I know. Harlequin allows unsolicited email subs for their shorts that are aimed for digital publishing. This is a whole nother ballgame.) Just think of the postage that would be saved, not to mention not having to stand in line at the post office to mail those bulky Priority envelopes.

Anyway, I'm tempted to email something to Dorchester just to mark the occasion. I wonder if they send out that same crappy, faded, Xeroxed form rejection for email submissions. If I find out, I'll let you know. That thing is the pits. ;o)

Devon

Opening Lines

2009-06-28T23:53:00.002-04:00

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

Everyone's familiar with that infamous first line penned by Bulwer-Lytton. But do you know why it's so famous? Here's the explanation from Wikipedia: "It was a dark and stormy night" is a phrase penned by Victorian novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton at the beginning of his 1830 novel Paul Clifford.[1] The phrase itself is now understood as a signifier of a certain broad style of writing, characterized by a self-serious attempt at dramatic flair, the imitation of formulaic styles, an extravagantly florid style, redundancies, confusing syntax, and sentences—sometimes incorrectly dubbed run-on sentences—that are exceedingly lengthy. Bulwer-Lytton's original opening sentence serves as an example:

It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.

Good grief. No wonder the line has gone down in history as an example of bad writing. Bulwer-Lytton should have quit while he was ahead and put a period after that first clause.

Opening or first lines are one of my pet peeves. The first line of the first paragraph on the first page of any manuscript is a matter of great concern. It has to sound right. It has to set the tone. If it does neither, nothing that follows seems to flow or fall into place. Not to me, anyway. I've completely rewritten pages so that I could work in a particular opening line that I thought sounded just right.

I also pay attention to opening lines written by other authors. Some are pure dynamite. Most seem just bleh. And some come close to rivaling Lord Lytton's infamous line in an attempt to pack a single sentence as full of information and description as possible. One particular best-selling author who's always guilty of this comes to mind.

Since I write historicals, an opening line in an omniscient point of view sometimes works very well to set the tone and achieve a catchy opener. Many authors use this little trick, even though you might never find another omniscient line in the entire book. It works, so why not.

Do you obsess over opening lines, or even first paragraphs? During the writing process, do you go back to the beginning time and again to tweak until you feel it's near perfection? What's the one opening line from any book that's stuck with you through the years? Mine is from K.M. Moning's The Dark Highlander, and it goes like this: "Dageus McKeltar walked like a man and talked like a man, but in bed he was pure animal." Don't ask me why that's stuck with me since 2002, it just has. Other than my own, it's the only opening line I can instantly recall word for word.

Devon

Friday Munchies

2009-06-26T23:49:00.000-04:00

It's been one of those days. We got unexpected company just about the time I was ready to head out to the grocery store. So, it was much, much later before I was able to go and I made the mistake of going hungry. I only went after a few necessities, like milk, cereal, and soft drinks, but I ended up loading up on junk. An entire pudding cake, chocolate frosted donuts, peanut butter cookies, potato chips, an assortment of candy (all chocolate), pudding cups (triple chocolate and tapioca), and two kinds of ice cream (Edy's French Silk and a big box of chocolate covered vanilla bars). Ai-yi-yi... The worst part is, hubby's diabetic.

Speaking of food, I'm very put out with Little Man (the cat). For a while now he's been losing weight and I couldn't figure out why. I feed him very well, and when I check back, the food's all gone. Well, as it turns out, HE'S not the one eating the food. A strange cat has been lurking around and going into the garage and eating his food. I've caught him at it twice in as many days. When the cat comes into the garage, Little Man simply steps aside and lets the other cat have his food. I've tried to run the cat off, but he doesn't act a bit frightened by all my yelling. And he's no stray. He, evidently belongs somewhere in the neighborhood because he looks very well fed and cared for. It's just so strange that Little Man won't defend his territory and allows this cat to eat his food. And he keeps getting thinner. To add to the aggravation, he's gone on a killing binge lately. We've been finding ground squirrels (chipmunks) lying all around the outside of the house. I'm thinking he's hunting because he's hungry. The little idiot. I've thought about closing up the access to the garage so the big yellow strange cat can't get in, but then Little Man would be locked out, too.

Well, enough of this meaningless ramble. I hope everyone has a terrific weekend.

Devon

Soon To Be Almost Empty Nest

2009-06-25T16:16:00.004-04:00

Dear Glynis and Jennifer, my apologies for the disappearing posts. Professionally and personally, I've been a wreck the past several days. Having a meltdown in a public place is the last thing I should be doing. My only excuse is that my emotions have been very close to the surface. Mags, if you're out there, please come back. I promise to behave myself.

The last thing I'm going to say about the RWA vs. the digital age issue is that I'm not offering any more opinions on the matter because my viewpoint changes depending on my mood. So that's that.

Taking a breath now and getting to the title topic of this post.

Yesterday was a huge turning point in my personal life, as well as my son's, who is pictured here. He finally got his driver's license. He's owned a car for nearly a year, paid for with his own money he earned from working, but he's never been able to get out on his own and drive it. Until yesterday. He took the test early yesterday morning and finally got his license. Immediately after, we went to the insurance company to get him on our policy, then came home. Within the hour of our arrival, he took off in his car and drove to Richmond to stay with friends until the weekend.

Eeeeek!!! That's me screaming at the top of my lungs. I've never really decided how one should spell a scream, but that's what the eek is supposed to be.

My baby boy pulled out of the driveway and left. On his own. For the first time ever, he was on the highway--the freeway, even--without me sitting in the passenger seat guiding his every move. Needless to say, I spent an evening I never want to repeat--I actually got physically ill and was up until 4:00 this morning, even though he called as soon as he got to Richmond and told me he'd made it okay. I know this scenario is going to be repeated over and over until I get past the fear of him killing himself on the highway.

Even though I'm scared to death, I'm really happy for him. Not having a license had put his life in a holding pattern. He couldn't come and go as he pleased and he even had to quit his job--at my request--because I was running back and forth to town twice a day to take him to work and then pick him up again, most of the time with my handicapped daughter in tow. So something had to give and, unfortunately, that something was his job.

Okay, so he's on the road. Now the next big thing is him moving out. I know it's coming. He's been talking about it and making plans for months. The friends he's visiting have an apartment and they're anxious to make him a roomie and split even more expenses. Even though I'll be heartbroken when it happens, I know this too must come to pass. He's 20 years old. It's time he experienced the world outside the sheltering wings of me and his father. I have a feeling this may happen when he returns from his little trip up north.

I know that many of you have already dealt with a child leaving home and striking out on his or her own. But this is all new to me and I'm a total mess.

Devon

T.G.I.M.

2009-06-22T23:12:00.001-04:00

After spending a very unsettled weekend (I'm not even a member of RWA anymore and all the e-pub brewhaha still had me upset), I've gone back to my happy place. And none too soon. Sorry for the disappearing posts but I have some serious unresolved issues, and as much as I'd like to spill my guts, this isn't the place to do it. Anyway, I sent my son outside with his camera earlier today and he took a shot of the Christmas cactus. I wish he'd gotten a close-up of one of the blooms, but this will have to do. Here's hoping the week is better than the weekend.

Devon

Espresso Book Machine!

2009-06-17T10:46:00.011-04:00

The monstrous looking machine in the picture is the Espresso Book Machine, the latest innovation in print on demand technology. I've been hearing about this for a while and it sounded more like science fiction than fact. Well, today the exec. admin. and co-owner of The Wild Rose Press sent an email to all WRP authors, informing us that they've signed a deal with Lightning Source, who already handles our book printing. Now all our print titles will be available on the Espresso.

This is huge news! This means that at long last, POD books may find their way into bookstores across the country. And not only bookstores, but many other venues as well. Yippee!

Here's a quote from Lightning Source: "Lightning Source is pleased to announce the launch of the Espresso Book Machine (EBM) Channel officially at BookExpo America starting this Friday. The EBM, an ATM for books, is located in bookstores, libraries and other sites. The Espresso Book Machine is the latest pioneering distribution channel to join the Lightning Source family of publisher-to-market pathways. The Lightning Source Espresso Book Machine Channel will give publishers the option to make available the books they have stored in the Lightning Source digital library, and have those titles printed, bound, and delivered at point of sale, on demand, in minutes."

To learn more and see a video of the machine in action, go to http://www.lightningsource.com/ebm.aspx

Devon

Ready For A Close-up

2009-06-16T00:19:00.011-04:00

My son took a bunch of pictures outside in the flower beds. He was trying to be artsy with the camera and got in really close--too close--so most of the pictures came out blurry, but these four were pretty good, so I thought I'd post them.

The first one is Wave Petunias. The second is some kind of multi-headed lily my mom brought up from Texas, but I don't know its actual name. The flower is huge. The third picture is of large red and white petunias. And the last picture is a close-up view of a tree-like bush that grows right outside my office window. Those white things all over it are flower buds. The way they look in the picture is about as pretty as they get. They don't really open up too much. I have no idea what it's called either. My Mandevilla and a few others are getting ready to burst into bloom. I'm hoping to get some more pictures when they do. I had no idea he was doing this or I would have told him to get a few shots of the Christmas cactus--yes, Christmas cactus--that sprouted flower buds all over when I put it outside for the summer. Never seen one bloom in summer before, so I thought it was rather odd. We have tons more of different types of blooming plants, so I'll try to get more pictures.

Devon

Mixed POV

2009-06-13T11:32:00.008-04:00

Something's bugging me. Maybe it's because I just finished a critique for a friend and marked a couple of these on her pages and told her they were incorrect, but lines like these have been jumping out at me from all over the place since I sent her manuscript back to her:

And I do, he assured himself. I want solitude. Solitude and peace.

I can’t deal with this now, Lannie thought as she stared at the car she'd hit.

The first line is from a newly released Avon romance. The other was published on a popular review site, where it was open to critique, but no one mentioned the mixed pov. To me, these two lines are incorrect. Why italicize a line to set it off as internal dialogue and then toss in a "she thought" or "he assured himself," which throws it into 3rd person? When you add the action tag, it indicates 3rd person. So, essentially these lines are mixing 3rd and 1st person points of view. Why not just write, "And he did, he assured himself. He wanted solitude. Solitude and peace."

Evidently, this type of mixed-up pov has become acceptable. Well, speaking as a member of the old school of writing, this bothers me. I'm equally bothered by the new trend of not putting a comma before "too." In fact, if I thought about it long enough, I could probably come up with a long list of writing issues that bother me.

Anyone care to enlighten me on the thinking about why this mixed pov is acceptable?

Before I go, I have to comment on "old school," since I used it in this post. Even this has been corrupted. Now the "in" spelling is "old skool," and it's intended as a derogatory term. This spelling appears in the online Urban Dictionary and it explains that "old school" started out to mean, "old is cool," which was shortened to "old's cool," and that's how we end up with "old skool." The definition is: anything that's out of date or behind the times. So I guess that's me, out of date and behind the times. But I can't for the life of me see the new method of doing things as an improvement. What do you think? Old or new "skool?"

Devon

Summer Hiatus ~ EDITED

2009-06-12T10:30:00.001-04:00

Things have gotten busy around here, so I may not post as regularly as I have been. I promised to help hubby with home upkeep projects that we've been putting off. I also promised myself, for reasons of health and well-being, to unchain myself from this computer chair and get outside more. For a change, I might even interact with some people who aren't online. ;o) In fact, just yesterday, I went and visited my aunt and uncle. Hadn't been over there in ages, and it was good to see them. Just wanted to let you know, in case I don't post as frequently, so you wouldn't think I'd dropped out of sight and crawled back into my cave.

The picture is one of my prickly pear blooms. All the flowers are glorious this year. When I went to my aunt's farm, she gave me something to add to our collection. Hubby doesn't know yet, but I brought home a hummingbird vine.

Devon

Knockout

2009-06-06T23:51:00.010-04:00

Aren't these gorgeous? These are called Knockout roses. Personally, I don't like the name. Something this pretty should have a pretty sounding name, not one that makes me think of a prize fight every time I hear it.

Yesterday, I mentioned to hubby that I'd like to have some of these. First thing this morning, he went to Lowe's and bought them for me. Wasn't that sweet? So today we planted them out back along the deck. There are several varieties and colors of Knockout roses, but the ones hubby chose are exactly like the ones pictured here. Of course, ours are a long way off from the beautiful hedge in the picture because they're still too small.

These roses are becoming very popular around here because they're so easy to care for and they bloom prolifically. I first saw them on Main Street in our town. Over the past couple of years, there's been some major renovation going on that covers several blocks in the vicinity of the courthouse square. The buildings have all been fronted to look vintage, along with the streetlights, which now look like antique lamp posts. Even the sidewalks have undergone a transformation and part of them are cobblestone. It's all very charming and I love driving along those several blocks now. The best part is, the place has become a living garden with blooming plants and shrubs growing from every available space. There are hanging baskets spilling a riot of colors. Some of the plants surprised me because they're so exotic--like purple sage. Yes, we have it on Main Street. Water-fed planters separate the street from the sidewalk. In the planters are solid hedges of glorious, blooming Knockout roses. These things bloom continuously all season.

Today was one of those weather-perfect days. Seems like they've gotten kind of rare. Hubby and I both love digging around in the dirt and coaxing things to grow and bloom. Which reminds me. My prickly pear have a lot of buds on them this year. They'll be opening soon, and when they do, I'll post pictures. Most people hate the cactus, but I love it. My mom brought it to me from Texas. She simply whacked off some of the flat pads and put them in a box and brought them with her. I was surprised that they would thrive here, but they do.

What kinds of beautiful or strange and unusual plants are in your home or garden?

Devon

When The Going Gets Tough...

2009-06-04T01:04:00.002-04:00

As a writer, do you ever feel like you're a little duck in a big pond? Ever feel like no matter how hard you paddle, you're never going to keep your head above water? Take heart. You're not alone.

Writing a book is a long, hard, tedious, often frustrating and lonely process. So, when the going gets really tough, how do we keep going? I'd like to share a few tips that I hope will help.

Just Write. We've all heard this advice and it's sometimes easier said than done. Speaking for myself, I find it darn near impossible to force the words when they aren't flowing smoothly. Still, I write. If not on my manuscript, then I come here and type a blog post. In my opinion, anything is better than nothing, so long as we are putting words down on a page in some manner. If you keep the words flowing then inspiration will surely follow.

Don't Give In to the Negative. Instead of sitting at the keyboard, agonizing and telling yourself, "This is too hard. I can't do it," tell yourself, "I can do this!" It's up to you to psych yourself up because no one else can truly do it for you. So learn to be positive about yourself. Expect to succeed rather than fail. Remember why you started writing in the first place and try to recapture the magic that first pulled you to the keyboard.

Don't Hide in a Cave. I am expert on this one. ;o) When you do hit a low spot, don't crawl into a cave and hide from the rest of the writing world. The longer you seclude yourself, the harder it is to come back. We've all hit the rough stretches and we know how it feels. So please don't think you're the only one who's ever second-guessed yourself or felt like quitting. We've all been there and we understand.

Remember, You're Not Alone. In general, I've found the romance writing community to be one of the most accepting and friendly groups I've ever encountered. Don't try to walk the long, hard road alone. Find a mentor or a critique partner. If you need it, there's help out there. But before you dive in headfirst, test the water. Make sure the relationship is going to work. A critique partnership is like a marriage. It's built on trust. And just like marriage, if it goes bad, it will suck the creative life right out of you. But when you do find someone, or several someones, you connect and work well with, it's pure magic. I credit critique partners with saving my creative life many times over. Best of all, from the trust you develop with a crit partner often comes lasting friendship that will carry through the low times.

Set Goals. If you're writing a full-length manuscript, set up milestones along the way. When each milestone is reached, celebrate and reward yourself. Make the milestones something you can attain within a reasonable amount of time. If you go too long without reaching a goal of some kind, the work becomes tedium with no end in sight. So set shorter goals along the way that are easier to accomplish.

Let Yourself See It. This goes hand in hand with setting goals. I like to keep a record of daily word counts. That way, I can see my progress each day. Many writers have daily word count quotas. If you do this, be sure to keep your quota within a reasonable range of what you're capable of writing. There's nothing more discouraging than falling short of your goal on a daily basis. On the other hand, it's exhilarating to exceed your quota. So, keep it real and strive to accomplish it.

Write Every Day. For some of us, this is easier said than done. But do make an effort to write at least something, even if it's only a paragraph or one line, every day. If you have to skip a day--life happens--redouble your effort to write the next day. Don't go for several days at a stretch without writing. Once you skip, it gets easier to just let it slide. But if you write every day, it soon becomes habit.

Share Your Accomplishments. Most of the writers I know blog these days. So get on the old blog every now and then and toot your own horn, or talk about the process. There's nothing more uplifting than having writer pals comment with a few "Attagirls!"

Learn to Persevere. I put this one last, but it's probably the most important. If writing for publication is your dream, stick with it. Don't give up. Some people write a book and hit the jackpot the first time they query. But for most of us, the road is much longer and very curvy. Decide you're in it for the long haul and then strap yourself in for the ride of your life. Remember, the only sure road to failure is to quit. Don't ever give up on your dreams or yourself. Success is always out there somewhere. It's up to us to reach for it.

Devon

June Already

2009-06-01T06:14:00.006-04:00

Well, it's the 1st of June already and, as usual, I'm amazed at how quickly time has flown. For me, this is the official start of summer. I'm disappointed that I'm not farther along with writing projects and on schedule with what I planned back in January. But this is nothing unusual. Life always has a way of throwing a monkey wrench into the best laid plans.

For a change, I spent the entire weekend doing non-writing things. It was hubby's birthday, so I made an effort to curtail my obsessions and spent some quality time with him. At least I hope he considered it quality. Yesterday, the weather was so beautiful, we spent most of the day outside. As a result, the yard, shrub and flower beds look really good. Not a weed in sight. I was down on the ground in the landscaping out front when my nosy neighbor walked by and told me I should just spray everything with weed killer. Where's the fun in that? And wouldn't that kill things I don't want killed? No thanks. I'd rather do it the old fashioned way, down on my knees with my hands in the dirt. It's a good excuse for quiet, thinking time, and I've always enjoyed weeding, as strange as that may be.

It's been an especially long, dismal winter and spring, but I think summer may finally be here. And we have plans which, as usual, involve work around here. Hubby wants to put a roof over the deck out back. That would be nice. We haven't been able to use the deck since the huge, native trees came down. Weather took out some of them, and we finished off what was left for safety reasons. Now, the sun blazes down all day out there. So a roof and some shade would be nice. Also, we finally decided on a color for the outside of the house. Funny thing is, it's almost the same as the color we have now, just fresher. Hubby had wanted to go with an entirely different color scheme because all the surrounding neighbors have ended up siding their houses with our color, which made us wonder what the hay they were thinking. But after much haggling and many samples, we decided not to make a drastic change. We had the color first, so they're all the copycats. And why does it matter anyway? But for some reason, whenever we do anything around here, the neighbors all soon follow suit. We were very tempted to paint the house some off-the-wall color just to see what they would do next. No, we don't get out much and so we take our entertainment where we can find it. ;o)

Happy June, everyone!

Devon

Before Pirates of the Caribbean...

2009-05-31T00:01:00.014-04:00

Back in 1985, long before Disney produced "Pirates of the Caribbean," there was a not as famous or blockbusting pirate movie titled, "Nate and Hayes." Remember that one? I had it on VHS and my sister and I used to watch it over and over. Even though the critics pretty much panned it, there was something very appealing about it. When I went on the internet to find the movie poster for this post, I learned it has kind of a cult following. Go figure. But I guess my sister and I weren't the only two who loved this movie.

In "Nate and Hayes," a still youngish Tommy Lee Jones played the part of Bully Hayes, the rascally buccaneer, and Michael O'Keefe was Nathaniel Williamson, a mild-mannered minister whose fiancée is kidnapped by a dastardly pirate named Ben Pease. Through a twist of events, Nathaniel and Bully Hayes partner up and hit the high seas to rescue the fiancée. There's lots of swashbuckling and action, and plenty of attempted humor. Nate (Michael O'Keefe) becomes transformed into the adventurous, dashing hero and what ensues is a bit of a love triangle once the fiancée, played by Jenny Seagrove, is rescued and the three begin swashbuckling together.

Does this sound familiar at all?

Tonight, for some reason, I thought of "Nate and Hayes" and it suddenly dawned on me that it was the precursor of "Pirates of the Caribbean." The characters are pretty much interchangeable. Bully Hayes was Jack Sparrow. Nate was Will Turner, and Jenny Seagrove was Keira Knightley, the love interest kidnapped by that odious Captain Barbosa and taken aboard the Black Pearl.

By no stretch of the imagination is "Nate and Hayes" on par with "Pirates of the Caribbean," and I'll take Captain Jack Sparrow over Bully Hayes any day. But back in its day, "Nate and Hayes" was a darned good little movie and I was struck by the similarities. And once I had them side by side, I was surprised to see that even the movie posters are eerily similar. In fact, they're so very nearly the same, I wouldn't be surprised if they were designed by the same artist.

Now, if I could just figure out how "The Terminator" (the original) has the same plot as "Titanic" I'd be a happy camper. Both were written by James Cameron and I've heard, more than once, that he used the same basic plot for both. Would someone who knows what the heck everyone is talking about please spell it out for me, because I don't see it.

Devon

A New Direction

2009-05-27T14:57:00.003-04:00

When I returned to writing back in January, I thought I could pick up where I left off. I had plenty of partials to work on and I tried picking them back up again. But, somehow, the spark was gone. Maybe it's just that I've been working at it for so long, I lost my enthusiasm for my favorite genre. Maybe it's because I've been published in my favorite genre and have seen the results. For whatever reason, I lacked direction and nothing I tried put me back on track.

Then something very strange happened. One day a story idea popped into my head that wasn't a western. In fact, the story was set in a time period and locale I've never before tried writing, even though I've read plenty of it over the years. So I started jotting down the basic story idea and my imagination took off! Suddenly, I felt excited about writing again. Genuinely excited and not just forced enthusiasm and wishful thinking. The idea was fresh, at least to me. It was something new. Not only was the genre completely different than my usual, so was the length. For the past week, I've been working on a novella. I know. Long-winded me is writing a shorter story, if you can believe it. And I'm loving it! Because of the shorter length, each day I can see measurable progress. Better yet, at the rate I'm currently writing, I should be finished within a couple of weeks.

I'm not quite ready yet to divulge all the details, but I'll let you know how it goes and what happens. I wasn't going to say anything at all for fear of jinxing myself, but I feel I'm far enough into it now and, hopefully, that won't happen. For several years, writing pals have advised me to try something different. But I'm stubborn. I had convinced myself I didn't want to write something different. Now that I have, my Muse has come out of a long sleep and she's clamoring in my ear constantly. My mood has improved. I have more energy. For the time being, all is right in my little world. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that nothing happens to dash my enthusiasm and I can keep it up. Wish me luck!

Devon

Blast From the Past

2009-05-26T14:45:00.005-04:00

I must be out of my mind to post this, especially since I'm sporting a baby bulge, but here goes anyway. After all, it's just for fun. In response to Magdalena's post over at Magdalenaville celebrating the comeback of the maxi dress, I give you the granny dress and matching lace-up granny shoes, not to mention a pair of super fly sunglasses. Yowsa! The place: Oxnard, California. The year: 1971.

This was the time period when I developed a love affair with western novels. I zipped through all the Zane Grey and Louis Lamour at the Pt. Mugu library, then was forced to seek out other authors to fill my insatiable reading habit. About a year after this picture was taken, I started penning my first western novel. I actually finished it, plus a sequel, and still have the manuscripts stuck back in boxes in a cabinet here in my office. I've often thought about taking them out and looking at them, but I'm afraid to. So, thinking back, I guess I wrote my first full-blown novel around 1972. In what year did you write your first novel?

Peace, baby,

Devon

It's Getting Crowded Out There

2009-05-25T08:12:00.004-04:00

As more and more romance novels are published, it gets tougher to come up with an original, easy to pronounce, heroic sounding character name. With my current work in progress, I’ve already been forced to ditch my first two name choices for my hero. When in doubt, Google, but be prepared for what a search turns up.

I found my first choice appeared in a Lisa Kleypas historical from several years ago. Even I had read the book, so I have to figure the name was stuck somewhere in my subconscious. So, I scrapped it. I immediately hit on a second choice and ran a search. Even worse, this one appears in a recent JR Ward novel—her famous BDB series—which I haven’t read. Go figure. I was under the impression that all her hero names are emotions—like rage and torment—with a superfluous “h” added to the spelling. I immediately scratched that one off my list, too. So now I find myself with a manuscript partially written and a hero with no name. The funny thing is, this never happens with heroines, only heroes. And it’s starting to be a real problem.

It’s the same with titles. When you come up with a title for your wonderfully unique novel, my advice to anyone would be to run a search. The easiest way is to go to Amazon and search there because if a book is for sell anywhere in the universe, it’s listed on Amazon. Type in your title and see how many books come up. If there are fifteen by various authors, I’d strongly suggest coming up with something else. While titles can’t be copyrighted, why would you want to compete with fifteen other romances out there by having yours coming up midway down, or even at the bottom of the list when someone does a search?

Read any good hero names lately? If so, don’t tell me about them or they might get stuck in my head. There are already too many great names floating around in there. Problem is, each of them already belongs to someone else’s character.

Devon

Paid Advertisements on Blogs

2009-05-21T10:11:00.005-04:00

Lately, I've been noticing strange things happening when I go to some of my favorite blogs. My Windows goes nuts and starts opening tab after tab of the same blog page. I can't close them out quickly enough. By the time I close one, three or more tabs have popped onto the screen. A couple of days ago, I had to shut down my computer and restart just to escape someone's blog. On others, I get an "Operation Aborted" window from my virus program because the page has something potentially invasive embedded in it. There's also one blog I'm linked to that has as annoying survey pop up in front of my face and slide up and down the screen every time I go there. I'm forced to chase it down and click "no thanks" to make it go away. Has any of this been happening to anyone else?

I finally figured out that these things only happen on the blogs that have all the paid advertisements embedded in them. So it would seem that Google's AdSense and my Windows program do not co-exist peacefully. Just wanted to let you know. So if I've left you comments in the past and suddenly don't, it's nothing personal. It's just that I'd rather not have to restart my computer as the last resort of getting out of your blog.

Peace,

Devon

How The West Was Loved?

2009-05-19T00:22:00.005-04:00

Well, this image should have been the cover for Angel, instead of that big rearing stallion. This actually fits. Nah. That big stallion is gorgeous. Yee-haw!

Been absent for a few days, but only because I've been busy. I've been working on something but, for now, I'm holding the details close to my chest. Tonight, I was trying to play catch-up to see what everyone's been up to. I will read all your blog posts. I promise.

Anyway, I was on my own web site and, for some reason, I clicked on a link and discovered something new at the end of it. A site calling itself "How The West Was Loved." (edit: on further investigation, this appears to be an offshoot of BookStrand. Never heard of them either.) Here's a link, for the morbidly curious. Evidently, they've taken over sponsorship of the Western Authors Directory, whose link I have prominently on the front page of my web site. I gave it a quick look for now, but plan to keep tabs on this site. Simply because anything to do with western romance always catches my attention. Plus, it might be interesting to watch one of these places evolve from the ground up. At first I thought it was another resource for western authors, but it turned out to be a start-up e-pub. They've got a gi-normous list of series on the front page, plus a few other things, and it says, "Coming in Fall 2009." All I can say is, good luck to them.

Note to Mags: I read "The Unlacing of Miss Leigh" and enjoyed it very much. I've always been a sucker for a beauty and the beast story. Given the short length, it was surprisingly good. Thanks for the recommend!

Devon

Tonight's Idol Results

2009-05-13T23:06:00.004-04:00

I admit, I was shocked by tonight's results. I would have thought Danny would be the only one who was truly safe simply because he's the only one who was never in the bottom three all season. After last night's performance of "You Are So Beautiful," I thought for sure he'd make it through, especially after he was safe following that awful rendition of "Dream On" last week. Wow. What a difference a week makes. Since there were only a million votes separating the top two, it looks like many of the Allison fans swung their support over to Kris, like they promised.

Simon said next week's finale may very well be a "ding dong," and he may be right. I think the judges are in for a big upset. Here's why. It goes back to that million votes separating Adam and Kris tonight. With Danny out of the picture, his fans are threatening to power vote for Kris next week. That would put Kris way over the top, which = major upset.

For the first time in several years, I don't really have a favorite. I think they're all talented and will do what they will with the opportunities they'll be given. Who rises to the top after it's over remains to be seen. Past seasons have sometimes proven, the winner doesn't always emerge the victor. Just look at Chris Daughtry, who left the show in fourth place. So, next week, I'm going to sit back and relax and enjoy the show. Both Adam and Kris will get record deals, so they're both winners. I'm sure Danny and Allison will emerge from this with recording contracts as well. It's a win-win situation for all concerned. The American Idol title has become a matter of bragging rights and publicity for the winner, but it doesn't always ensure success after the lights go down. I wish them all the very best of luck.

Devon

Good Grief

2009-05-12T23:03:00.002-04:00

The other day, I went to the eHarlequin site and bought two of the Historicals Undone titles. I was curious to see how they're written. I mean, these are only 10-15,000 words. And I write historicals. How long would it take to write 10-15K words? Huh? Huh? But I see that most of these are Regency set. Wonder if they'd be open to westerns?

Anyway, I bought two titles, including the one from this cover pic, and it took me until just a few minutes ago to figure out how to get them into my computer. I really hate to admit that, but it's just the truth. I bought the books in PDF format and when I downloaded them, I got ACSM files, which are links to nowhere, according to my computer. I ended up having to download a newfangled Adobe reader and setting up an account with them. But the files still wouldn't download from the site. I still got the ACSM url links, and when I clicked on them, a window popped up to tell me they couldn't be opened because they were corrupted. Well, great. I finally tonight got the bright idea to manually drag the ASCM files into the newfangled Adobe reader file and, VOILA!, it worked. The things downloaded and now I have them. But, wow, what a bunch of crap. I've downloaded plenty of free ebooks in PDF format and never had a problem. I think this has something to do with the DRM versions of these files.

In other news, I've been having my annual month of May identity crisis. Last year was the worst. It was exactly one year ago yesterday when I swore off writing forever and dropped out of sight. That lasted a whole eight months and I nearly went insane in the meantime. On second thought, maybe I actually did go crazy and just don't realize it. I once told Mary, I thought I was losing my mind. She told me that crazy people don't know they're crazy, so that meant I must not be--crazy, that is. Personally, I think there's room for argument.

Speaking of identity crisis, I've gotten into a real muddle with my work in progress. Muddle really isn't accurate, it's more like I've come to a screeching halt. After thinking about it for a couple of days, I realized I've got two other plots trying to butt in. This is the result of writing an entire manuscript without knowing diddly about GMC and THEN going back and trying to fix it. I brainstormed so many different GMC scenarios, two of them were evidently pretty strong and got stuck in my head. Now they're trying to butt in on the action. So I've got a heroine with a three-way split personality. She should be all the feisty, can-do girl, but shades of the strong-willed, independent and the emotionally damaged heroines keep rearing their heads and trying to drag their baggage into the mix. The only solution I can see is to promise these two gals their own stories somewhere down the road and hope they'll behave themselves long enough for me to finish heroine number one's story. Sheesh.

Devon

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T07:50:00.000-04:00

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

Reference This

2009-05-09T00:25:00.003-04:00

Is there any one reference book you keep close at hand at all times? Mine is a dictionary--an old dictionary--and I keep it on my computer desk, within easy reach. Every dictionary I own is at least 40 or 50 years old, and those old books have been the source of some grousing within my family. We used to play Scrabble every Christmas when my brothers and sister were here and they always complained about my outdated Webster's and told me to get a new one. Well, not on your life. I love my old dictionaries and wouldn't part with them. Every year, I explained that I write historicals and have no use for a newer version, which earned me an eye roll from my sister. A week or so ago, hubby and I were at the indoor flea market and I spotted a dictionary that was much older than any of mine. The thing was at least 6 inches thick and I know my eyes lit up when I saw it. I hoped hubby might take a hint and get it for me for Mother's Day, but I guess that's too much to wish for. Subtle hints usually go right past him unnoticed.

Although... he did surprise me years ago with an antique copy of "The Cottage Physician." The print date in the front of it is 1895. All the pages are loose from the binding and I have to be careful when I take it down and look through it but, by some miracle, the pages are all still there. It's a wonderful resource for how ailments and injuries were treated back in the late 1800's and even has drawings of the medicinal plants that were used.

Like most writers, I have a large, very eclectic collection of reference and how-to books on my shelves. Everything from Medieval Arms and Armour, costume books, the Everyday Life books covering most time periods, to folklore of the British Isles during the Dark Ages, to the entire collection of Time-Life's Old West Series, and many, many things in between. I have several of the Writer's Digest writer's references, including Body Trauma and Armed and Dangerous, but the one I don't have and always meant to get was a reference on poisons and deadly potions. And that reminds me of something that happened years ago.

I was working on a western about feuding ranchers and came to the part where a watering hole is poisoned. I had no idea what they might have used to taint the water and turn it deadly, so I called my uncle, who's a farmer and he also owns a large number of cattle. I put the question to him this way--"If you were going to poison your neighbor's pond, what would you use?" Bear in mind that this was during the days when hardly anyone outside of my household knew I wrote. There was a very long stretch of silence at the other end of the line. Finally, he spoke up and asked, "Why do you want to know that?" I explained that I was working on a story. but he remained skeptical. I never did get an answer out of him. And later, I heard from another relative that my uncle had mentioned my interest in pond poisoning to a few people. I still have to laugh every time I think about it. Did my uncle truly think I meant to poison someone's pond? Good grief.

That isn't the only backlash I've experienced from asking weird (to normal folks) questions. Once, I had a lawyer follow me from his office nearly to my car because I'd given him a hypothetical situation and asked about having someone who owned a great deal of property and cash assets declared legally dead. I'm sure he was convinced I was the heir who needed to have this done to my long, lost mother. I tried to explain that it was just for a story I was writing, but he wasn't convinced. The last thing he said as I was getting into my car was, "If you decide to pursue this, I hope you'll come and see me. It sounds like an interesting case." Sheesh. After that, I learned not to toss out questions to just anyone who I thought might know the answer.

As usual, I got off track and on a tangent with my little stories. So, which references do you use most often? Have you ever gotten into a strange situation from asking questions only writers ask? If so, what happened?

Devon

My Baby Grew Up

2009-05-07T23:12:00.002-04:00

Today was my son, Matt's, birthday. This picture was taken 20 years ago, on his very first birthday. That's me holding him so he can see his cake, which had a pair of clowns on it. Sentimental me, I still have one of the clowns in a Tupperware container in the freezer. Earlier this evening, we had the traditional cake with candles and we sang happy birthday. Right now, he's out with friends, but when he comes back, I might drag the frozen clown out of the freezer and show it to him. But he--who has a pizza box from his first date tacked up on his bedroom wall--would probably tell me I'm weird for keeping a frozen clown all this time.

Looking at this picture now, it strikes me kinda funny. That old dining room is long gone, along with those horrible dark walls, and this room is now my office. It also strikes me funny that I have the same hair now as I did then. I don't remember having short hair back then.

Here's my little guy after he'd had his fill of cake. He's looking kind of sleepy. That's my dad sitting at the kitchen table behind him. He passed away nearly 17 years ago and Matt doesn't remember him. On that first birthday, Dad got Matt a big yellow dump truck and pushed him all around the house in it. It seems like yesterday and I can still hear his squeals of laughter. Today, we gave Matt accessories for his Toyota. I don't know where the time went. My baby is all grown up.

Devon

Allison Iraheta

2009-05-06T23:00:00.000-04:00

This year's American Idol has the best top four ever. But I was so disappointed in the voting results tonight. After the past few weeks, and especially last night, Danny should have been the one to go home. Allison has given a solid, outstanding performance EVERY week and I'm going to miss her. I had hoped she'd make it to the finale. I love this young lady's voice and I hope she has a big career ahead of her. I'm an Idol fanatic but, strangely, I'm not much looking forward to next week after what happened tonight. I can't imagine either of the two guys left going up against Adam in the final. Allison really blew the lid off with her farewell performance. I'm glad it was the Joplin song because it suited her so well.

Devon

The Kickass Heroine

2009-05-06T00:04:00.004-04:00

I have three manuscripts in progress that have, what I would consider to be, kickass heroines. I don't mean kickass in the sense of the modern heroine you find in today's paranormals or futuristics. My heroines don't have state of the art weaponry, nor do they know the self-defense techniques of jujitsu, where they're able to turn a man's strength against him with the flick of a wrist. These heroines are all stuck back in the 1800's, when they had only their wits and sometimes skill and brute strength in their survival arsenals.

Skill and wits, I can live with. But what about brute strength? How can a romance heroine possibly stand toe to toe with a man and still retain her femininity? Therein lies my dilemma.

These women all are doing what was considered to be a man's job. Bounty hunter, secret service agent, and rancher. All these occupations require a certain amount of physical activity and strength. Would a woman capable of doing these activities still be considered feminine and desirable by the opposite sex?

Maggie Osborne wrote quite a few of these types of heroines. Not only were they tough as nails, they were downright gritty. Two that immediately come to mind are Jenny from "The Promise of Jenny Jones" and Low Down (yep, that really was her name) in "Silver Lining." I enjoyed both of these books immensely, but these two heroines had an image problem, in my opinion. They were so very tough and gritty, they came across as rather manly and unattractive much of the time. (again, this is this reader's opinion) While this worked for Ms. Osborne, I'd rather not have a Calamity Jane type as my heroine. It just doesn't seem to mesh when you have a hero who's handsome as sin--especially when you toss the two together for the love scenes.

Anyway, I've been giving a lot of thought to these heroines lately. These gals are the types of characters I love to write. But can I pull them off, make them as tough as they need to be, and still retain their feminine believability as a romance heroine?

Which brings me to another example. Remember Sharon Stone's character in "The Quick and the Dead?" She was tough, and she was out for blood and vengeance. Yet there wasn't a manly bone in her body. I think the secret to her characterization was that she was very vulnerable, on the inside and in private. In public, she showed no weakness. But when she was alone and behind closed doors, her fear, her softer emotions and even her physical pain came out of hiding. She was just a regular woman after all, attempting to do something extraordinary in the world of men.

Devon

Edited to add: I just happened to remember... Since I mentioned "The Quick and the Dead," I can't end this without adding that the plot twist at the end of the movie was a direct rip-off from "Once Upon a Time in the West." Sharon Stone's character was a female version of the harmonica playing Charles Bronson. Same exact goal, motivation, and plot twist.

Monday Blues ~ Not So Much

2009-05-04T12:57:00.006-04:00

Well, it's Monday and I'm feeling better all the way around. Don't really have anything new to report today, but I wanted to post something, if for no other reason than to get that Doom and Gloom post down from the top of the list. So here's a little hodgepodge for you.

Magdalena Scott has a very interesting thread of comments about independent bookstores going on over at Magdalenaville.

Angel in the Rain is on sale right now at Fictionwise for 50% off. I don't know if that applies to all their e-books, but it looks like all the Wild Rose Press books have been discounted.

The news out of romanceland is that book sales are on a big upswing. Some people are predicting that happy times are here again, but I'm a little more cautious than that. I have a feeling if/when the economy starts to recover, romance books sales will probably taper back down to their usual levels. In the meantime, though, this is very good news indeed!

Hope you all have a terrific week! I'm off to write now so I can try to get in on this upswing in the romance market. ;o)

Devon

Doom and Gloom ~ Day Three

2009-05-02T09:10:00.004-04:00

I wasn't going to post anything about his, but I think I need to get it off my chest. I've been moping for three days and gotten nothing done except a lot of walking the floor and staring out through rain-spattered windows.

My husband's small business was robbed Wednesday night. Yes, just days after I wrote the Brinks Stinks post. I took that down, by the way, because I realized I had given potential thieves too much useful information about the store's security system. And yes, Mags, I also concluded that the false alarm the other night was probably just a dry run for the thieves to see what would happen.

Here's what did happen Wednesday night, without going into minute detail. The thieves disarmed the security system, then went to the back side of the building, where they couldn't be seen from the highway, and cut a hole through the back wall. They built a blind for themselves using discarded metal racks and old signs and they must have worked at the wall for quite a while, using tin snips and a pry bar. They peeled through two layers of metal and the material between and essentially opened the wall like a sardine can.

After all the panic and mess, we ended up lucky--this time. The thieves took only the Marlboros and a small number of other items. It amounted to 68 cartons of cigarettes. But it seems they were mainly interested in the Marlboros because they took those and left all the rest. How strange is that?

In the aftermath, hubby and others have worked feverishly to restore order. The builders came the same day and replaced the damaged sections of wall. The security people have corrected the flaw in the security system (we hope) and are in the process of doing an update with state of the art camera equipment. And let me tell you, this is setting us back a pretty penny. But how can we afford not to do it. Our income is dependent on this little business.

All of this, plus a number of other things, has left me in a state of mind that I can't really describe. I feel restless, insecure. I feel like I need to do something, but I don't know what it would be. I'm seriously considering taking classes and learning a skill I could do from home that would be relevant in today's workforce. This excites and scares me all at the same time. It's been thirty-some years since I was in school. Can an old dog actually learn a new trick and produce a bit of income? My personal circumstances force me to stay at home. I had always hoped I could earn money from writing. But the reality of that is, writing fiction for publication is like buying a lottery ticket and hoping it comes up a winner. And you're only allowed one ticket every few months or even years. So, realistically speaking, what are the odds?

I don't want to give up my writing dream. But at the same time, I feel I must do something more than what I've been doing. My husband carries the entire load. And he's a brave man. When he lost his good, long-time job three and a half years ago, we were forced to live off his retirement. We were essentially down to nothing when he made the decision to start his own business. It was an act of desperation, but he made it work. Now I feel I need to help him. Especially since Wednesday night. We were lucky this time, but the reality is, we could be wiped out financially next time around.

Sorry for the doom and gloom, but that's just reality sometimes and, just now, I'm standing right smack dab in the middle of it.

Devon

Wednesday Pictures ~ Molly Update

2009-04-29T14:37:00.008-04:00

Several days ago (or was it weeks), Magdalena asked for updated Molly pictures, so today I took some. At least I tried. This critter is a bundle of motion and most of the pictures came out as nothing but a blurred streak. I did manage to get three. Funny thing is, in the two close-ups, she's squinting. And the sun wasn't even shining today. If you click here, you can see the transformation between the time we brought her home and now. She doesn't even look like the same dog! Just look at those ears from six weeks ago and look at them now! If they keep growing, she's going to look like Dumbo. Despite the ears, she's still small, weighing in at a little over 3 lbs.

Here's another shot--and she's still squinting.

Finally, I sat her in a yard chair so she would stop moving and jumping around. It turned out to be a nice profile view, but I think a drop of rain got on the camera lens because there's a smudgy looking spot near the bottom.

I had to include this shot of my dogwood tree out in the front yard. Last year it only had about a handful of blooms, but as you can see, it came out in its full glory this year.

Now I'm off to write my daily quota. Hope you all have a picture-perfect and productive day!

Devon

Little Man

2009-04-28T17:12:00.003-04:00

This is Little Man. Yes, that truly is what we call him. But there's a perfectly logical explanation.

Four springs ago, hubby and I were sitting out back one evening when this little guy came walking out of the the woods. He came over to us and acted like he knew us and was glad to be home. At the time, he wasn't yet full grown. He had a lot of wounds and missing hair and the poor little guy was just a rack of bones, he was so skinny.

There was never any question. We took him in and took care of him. But we always figured he'd wandered away from home and had been lost for a while. For one thing, someone had gone to the expense of having him neutered. I couldn't imagine that anyone would have brought him out into the country and dropped him. Maybe his owner would eventually come looking for him. That being the case, at first we didn't feel he belonged to us. So, we didn't name him. We just referred to him as Little Man.

Time passed and no one came looking. His wounds healed and his hair grew back, and regular meals put some meat on his bones. He's an absolute sweetheart, but the Little Man moniker stuck. He and Zeb were best buddies and he grieved when we had to have Zeb put down. Then, when we brought Molly home, he perked right up. At first, we thought he might try to hurt or even kill her, but no, he fell in love with a little puppy. Now, Molly's his best buddy and they romp and play all over the back yard.

In this picture, the flash did something weird to his eyes. I wish I had a good side view of his face because he has a nearly flat profile and a tiny nose. Anyway, I just wanted to introduce you to yet another member of our family.

Devon

Game Plan

2009-04-26T14:38:00.004-04:00

For the past two weeks I've been stewing about goals. As a result, I've decided it's time to set different bars. The fact is, western historical romance is a hard sell, even to readers. For quite a while, the talk has been that they're making a comeback. But I still see the same publishers (Harlequin, Kensington, Dorchester, etc.) putting out their usual quotas of western romances. Point me to one of the big unreachables (Bantam, St. Martin's, et.al.) who has published a western historical lately and then I'll believe they're making a comeback. It's just a fact--as much as I wish it weren't so--that western historicals aren't big with readers. I intend to keep writing my westerns, but I'm going to a different word length. After all these years I've decided to look at the market realistically and I intend to adjust accordingly.

Meanwhile, the market for FF&P remains strong, with no signs of flagging in the near future. It's the times we live in. This is the sci-fi and fantasy generation. So I've decided not to concentrate solely on one nearly dead genre and give equal time to finishing up the fantasy and paranormals I have started. I've been in a rut anyway, so why not.

Speaking of Sci-fi, did anyone besides me watch the recent Battlestar Galactica series? For a while, it was the best show on tv, until it started going downhill. Which was inevitable, I suppose. They always do, at some point. I had a feeling it was going to end badly, and it certainly did. I was very put out with them. Not to mention the fact that they never did explain the Jimi Hendrix "All Along the Watchtower" connection.

Devon

The Pawpaw Patch

2009-04-25T22:56:00.003-04:00

Have you ever eaten a pawpaw? They're delicious. The ones in the picture are still green, but when they're ripe they turn a yellowish color. The taste is banana-like, only different. There's really nothing that tastes exactly like a pawpaw, so if you've never eaten one, it's kinda hard to describe. The pulp is banana-like also, only mushier when ripe, and all the seeds are in the center of the fruit.

You won't find pawpaws in the grocery. They don't ship well and definitely don't keep long enough to stock. So they have no real commercial value. When I was a kid, they grew wild all over the hills in this area. We used to go into the woods and collect buckets of them. They get huge and can weigh up to a pound. But something happened to the trees. They caught a blight or something and all but disappeared. I haven't seen a pawpaw in many years.

But guess what. We now have five trees growing in our yard. At least I hope they'll be growing in our yard. Right now, they look like twigs sticking in the ground with a tiny bit of green growth sprouting from them. They don't transplant very well, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they survive. My mother-in-law had some seeds a couple of years ago and tossed them into her flower bed. They sprouted and grew.

For the past couple of days, hubby and I have been enjoying this hot, gorgeous weather by working in the yard. We have flowers and blooming shrubs everywhere. We've also planted a few vegetables. Early this morning, hubby went to the flea market and found a treasure. It's a push broom with a hollow handle and you can attach a water hose to the end of it. That way, water continuously flows from the brush. Sounds ridiculous, but hubby was in Hog Heaven applying this thing to his garage floor. The man mops the garage. Yes, the floor is painted and he tries to keep it as clean as the floors inside the house, which is just silly, in my opinion. It's a garage. It's technically outdoors--if you open up the doors. Yet hubby insists on obsessing over the garage floor. So sweep and mop he does, and I don't say anything anymore, I just let him knock himself out. A clean garage floor seems to make him happy. So he used this push broom with water flowing from it, and some liquid detergent, and scrubbed it down good. Then he used his giant squeegee (the thing's 3 ft. wide) to get rid of the water by scraping it all toward the drain in the middle of the floor.

Okay, enough about squeegees and pawpaws. Tomorrow, something about writing, or at least something writing related.

Devon

Something Positive

2009-04-23T11:54:00.003-04:00

Okay. I said I'd be back when I have something positive to report. So I'm back with something positive to report. Didn't take long, did it?

I've started a new project and I'm flying into the wind without knowing precisely what will trigger the black moment. Wheeee! There's conflict galore and oodles of baggage, so I'm confident events will converge at some point and it will seem like all is lost.

Just a few short years ago, I was a seat of the pants writer. Then I became a plotter because everyone around me insisted that's how it had to be done. The transition wasn't easy and to be honest, I've never quite reconciled to it. A part of me has always been a holdout for the unknown, the mystery, the magic of the journey itself, and the faith that the story will unfold in the most natural way. As long as I know the elements that are required, I don't think I can go too far off track. Lately, those danged plot points--trying to figure all of them out to a gnat's patoot beforehand, has been tying my creativity in knots. So I've decided to untangle and just go with the flow. Also, I'm trying a different type of heroine (for me, anyway).

I have to say, though, that once you become a plotter, you can never truly go back, not completely. So I think we need to come up with a new term for writers who do a little of both. Maybe pantsyplotter, or something. I'm open to suggestions.

Which method works for you? Pantser or plotter? Or are you a pantsyplotter, too?

Too Much Reality

2009-04-22T12:08:00.003-04:00

Well, I wrote out a HUGE post, then immediately trashed it. Too much reality is not good. I'll be back when I can think of something uplifting or even slightly pleasant to write about. In the meantime, keep plugging!

Devon

Me and the Big 55

2009-04-21T00:17:00.004-04:00

Well, I wasn't going to mention it. Had planned to pretend it was just another day. But now it's after midnight, so it's officially April 21st. Everyone in the house is tucked into bed, except me. I took a nap earlier this evening because I didn't feel well. Nothing wrong in particular, just a general malaise and swimmy head. I think it's spring fever, but hubby says I'm depressed because it's my birthday.

Cousin Vondie and I are exactly the same age, give or take four months. The other day, we were joking about being considered senior citizens and being able to get a discount at restaurants. But I don't feel like I should be there just yet. I'm still here, where I've always been inside my head. Sixteen seems like just yesterday and I have to wonder, what have I been doing all these years?

Oh, who are these pictures? These are me and Vondie, at two different stages of childhood. Boy, will she be surprised when she sees these. I'm always the one holding the dog or cat. In nearly every picture of me as a child, I'm holding a dog, cat, or chicken.

Anyway, I've now been here 55 years and I can't be depressed about that. I'm thankful and privileged to have lived my life to this point with no major illness or accidents. I've been blessed with the people I love. I've been lucky to have the chance to pursue my dreams. And in the end, I'm still here, plugging away and I hope to continue for a long time to come. God willing and the creek don't rise.

For some reason, I turn nostalgic every April 21st. But tomorrow, I'll look to the future again. It's springtime and promise is in the air. Anything is possible.

Devon

A 2-Movie Weekend

2009-04-20T00:22:00.007-04:00

I'll start off with the bad news--Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Very disappointing. This movie's main purpose seemed to be paying homage to computer-generated special effects. There was too much ridiculous action and too little story and explanation in this one. Indy seemed to pull the answers to the clues out of the air, which left me scratching my head most of the time. And I could have done without the return of Marion. For me, she was the only weak spot in Raiders simply because I thought the casting people made a huge mistake. In this latest installment of a previously very enjoyable series, Lucas and Spielberg lost me the moment they put Indy at ground zero during a nuclear explosion. Not only did he survive, he got up and walked away while the mushroom cloud was still rising behind him. Simply ridiculous. Last, but not least, there's Harrison Ford's age. He looked his age in this movie and I would rather have remembered Indiana Jones as he was in the first three movies. Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade were marvelous. Too bad they didn't stop while they were ahead. Cate Blanchett did a laughable parody of every Natasha the Russian super agent ever filmed. The one highlight for me was Ray Winstone. I loved him as Will Scarlett in the Showtime Robin Hood series from about 25 years ago, so it was good to see him again.

Now for the good news--Australia was a sweeping 3 hours of adventure and romance. It started off a little strange and confusing, but then it picked right up and took off. I've never been a Hugh Jackman fan. I find nothing at all appealing about his Wolverine character, and Van Helsing was a computer-generated nightmare. But as Drover, he won me over in this movie. As usual, Nicole Kidman did a marvelous job of acting. She played the character of Sarah Ashley, widow and new owner of a cattle station in Northern Australia. The story begins in 1939 and ends just after the Japanese invasion of Darwin. In between, there's strife at the station, and a cattle drive across the Outback. For me, the person who stole the show was Nullah, the little Aboriginal boy whose charming voice narrates the story. If you're a sucker for a good old fashioned romance and happy endings, I highly recommend this movie because it delivers on all counts. I enjoyed it very much.

Devon

It Doesn't Grow on Trees

2009-04-18T00:23:00.005-04:00

For the stout of heart who are interested in seeing the financial reality of publishing with a small press or e-pub, take a look at Pat Rice's Money Matters post on her blog. The only comment I would make is that I think Pat's figure of a 50% royalty on an e-book is a little high. Anywhere from 30% to 45% is more in the normal range, and many publishers figure the author's bottom line after seller discounts have been taken out, so you're actually making even less.

Devon

Hot Diggety Blogs!

2009-04-16T00:51:00.001-04:00

This evening I spent quite a while cruising blogs. I looked at well-known author blogs and little known author blogs, as well as a few group and agent and editor blogs. The one thing I found they all have in common is they contain a lot of information or they're clever and entertaining. New book releases, sharing research, writing tips, you name it. There's a wealth of information out there. I also saw a lot of authors having other authors as guest bloggers. (Doesn't everyone on the planet have their own blog these days?) After looking at a couple dozen of these, I began to feel like I've somehow missed the blog boat. No one told me these posts were supposed to have a point and actually be useful in some capacity. And everyone is so busy, busy, busy, I don't see how they ever get any writing done.

Okay. Moving right along. A funny thing happened the other day. Hubby and I were at Wal-mart, like together, at the same time, in the store, which almost never happens because we rarely go anywhere together. Anyway, we were inside the store talking to a friend who works there when this nice looking middle-aged couple walked up to us and asked where they could find the beer. The three of us stood there, stunned, and stared at these people for at least 30 seconds before someone blurted out, "There isn't any alcohol here. It's a dry county." Then it was the couple's turn to look stunned. They said they'd heard of such things, but didn't realize there were still places like that. We asked where they were from. They said they were on vacation, just passing through, and stopped in to get a few supplies. We told them to get on the freeway and head north, or south to Tennessee. When they got to Richmond, or Jellico, (depending on which direction they chose) then they could buy beer because it was wet from that point forward. It just struck me odd that someone asking a simple question like, "Where's the beer?" had the power to stop three grown people in their tracks.

On a related note... I've thought about changing the title of my blog to The Hoot From the Holler, but I doubt anyone who doesn't live here in the sticks where there are still dry counties and bootleggers would get it.

Devon

Action!

2009-04-14T11:08:00.008-04:00

I love reading everyone's blogs because you all are always "doing," and I get to read about the things that happen in your lives. I enjoy doing my blog but often have a hard time finding anything to write about. Who wants to read about me taking a turn around the yard. Yes, my lilies are coming up very nicely since I moved them. -or- Oops. Molly had an accident with her potty training last night. Not exactly what I call riveting prose. Not much goes on around here with me except the normal, daily routine of house and family and the writing process. Not that I'm complaining. These days, I thrive on routine and any deviation upsets my applecart. But, recently, I've discovered something about myself. If I'm not writing some kind of big physical action, I'm bored silly. So, yes, of course I'm living vicariously through my characters and their stories. I freely admit it. Writing is my Calgon that takes me away.

I noticed this since I've been rewriting the beginning of the manuscript I'm working on. On the advice of an agent who gave me a critique, I took out the big action scene at the very beginning of the story. Without it, I'm finding that my heroine has become the proactive, reactive character and my hero has kinda faded to the background. Furthermore, it's boring me silly. And it shouldn't. I read books all the time that have far less going on action-wise. Books that are nothing but the emotional struggle between the two main protagonists. The reality is, this manuscript is turning out to be a different kind of story than I intended. In later chapters, the action-adventure type stuff does kick in, but it's not happening soon enough for me. And when I say action, I'm talking about the faced-with-danger-or-death and very physical situation kinds of action. Still, I keep plowing onward because in the back of my mind, I know there's enough there to carry the story forward. I hope.

I suspect I'm scared of writing a snoozer, afraid I'll never match what I did with my first book. One of the most common comments about my debut novel is that it's a page-turner. That's because nearly every chapter has some kind of big action going on that ends on a hook. The hero is a larger-than-life type, but how many stories lend themselves to that kind of character? In the story I'm currently writing, the hero is more of an average man (or cowboy) type who resorts to desperate measures when faced with desperate times.

So, in view of the fact that I have a dearth of topics to blog about, it looks like I'm doomed to keep pouring out my writing insecurities for all of blogdom to read. Maybe I should just practice sitting on my hands. Or, maybe I should just turn this energy toward finishing the manuscript and see what happens. At any rate, I hope you all have a pleasant, productive day.

Devon

Slo Wri-tah

2009-04-13T07:56:00.006-04:00

Yesterday, while most people were visiting with family, hunting Easter eggs, or whatever they decided to do to celebrate the holiday, hubby worked most of the day so, left to my own devices, I got in a good deal of writing time. Since the subject of speedy writing, of just pouring the words onto the page, has become an issue lately, I've been keeping track. No matter how I try, a good writing day for me is around 1,ooo new words on the page. I've found I spend about half my writing time producing new words. The other half, I spend going over the material I wrote the previous day or two and tweaking, layering in, etc. Most people tell me not to do this, but I have to. First of all, it brings me up to speed with where I left off in the story. Second, it brings the writing I have produced one step closer to being a finished product. Sorry all you prolific speed writers out there, but I just can't bring myself to let it all rip and end up with a first draft that will require intensive editing afterwards. I'd end up with a mess. I'm slow, but sure, and I've decided I'm comfortable with that. If I can consistently produce 1,000 words a day, that will give me a finished manuscript in 3 months time. That's plenty fast enough for me.

I hope you all had a good Easter weekend. I made the Pockets of Lemon cake yesterday. That thing is rich! I mean, sickeningly rich. One serving and I'm good in the sweet department for the rest of the week. Hubby liked it. He had a slice this morning with his coffee before going to work.

Another brewhaha in romanceland came to light over the weekend. Amazon has deranked most of the GLBT and erotic books listed on its site. Which means, they don't come up on the home page search engine. Since this caused such an uproar, Amazon is now trying to claim it was a glitch in the system. But there's documented evidence that someone made a conscious decision about this new policy. If you're interested, you can read all about it over at Dear Author. All of yesterday's posts (3 total) were dedicated to the controversy. Never a dull day in Romanceland.

Okay. I'm off to tweak another chapter and fill in a couple of missing scenes. Hope you all have a pleasant, productive day.

Devon