Western Romance Authors ~ A Baker's Dozen!!

The new group site, Cowboy Kisses, is all set to launch at the beginning of April. But before we saddle up, I want to give you the lineup of authors who will be contributing regularly to the blog. Also, our number has increased to thirteen authors and here we are... (drum roll, please)

Alison Bruce           Caroline Clemmons      Ciara Gold

Devon Matthews     Ellen O'Connell            Ginger Simpson
Jacquie Rogers        Lauri Robinson             Lyn Horner
Meg Mims               Paty Jager                    Peggy L. Henderson
Sharla Rae

I hope all of you will come join the site. It promises to be a rip-snortin' ride!

While I'm here, I'd also like to invite you to the new readers and authors group Jacquie Rogers started for all of us on Facebook. The Western Historical Romance Book Club is a place where readers and authors mix and mingle to discuss favorite western historical romances. You're sure to see a few keepers that have slipped through your lariet. If you're more into things visual, you can browse through all the gorgeous cover art. You'll also find plenty of pics and videos of your favorite cowboy hunks. In only a few days, our members number more than sixty so you're sure to find some of your friends already there. So, come on over, pull up a chair and cool your heels a while!

Devon

Quality Control

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

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

Chaos Winding Down

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

Ebay and Nearly Finished

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 

Into The Weeds

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

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

This And That

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

Wycked

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

In With A Whimper...

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

Remembering A Legend

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.

She's Back!

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

Readers and Authors

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

Wednesday Hodgepodge

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

Espresso Book Machine!

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

It's Getting Crowded Out There

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

Reference This

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

The Kickass Heroine

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

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

Mid-Week Hodgepodge

Tonight was elimination night on American idol. Scott McIntyre was sent home. No matter how much I know these people need to go, it's always sad when it happens. Last week, I was keeping my fingers crossed it would be Megan. That girl shouldn't be allowed to sing in the shower, in my opinion. Then, when she was voted off, her goodbye tribute made me tear up. Yeah, I'm just a mushy old sentimental jerk. One thing though, after last week I've finally decided about the final four. I have a feeling Adam is going to win and I'm beginning to think he deserves it. But I can't decide between Kris and Danny for the number two spot. Danny started off being one of my favorites, but now I'm leaning toward Kris. Allison Iraheta definitely deserves to be one of the final four. The girl gives a solid vocal performance week after week. A final note about Idol. I hate this "judge's save" thing they've come up with this year. All they've done is add more drama. And they can only do it up to the final five. Well, this renders it worthless. In past seasons, all the people who were voted off before they should have been were sent home while in the Top 5. According to these new rules they've dreamed up, the judge's save can't be used once they get to Top 5. So what's it worth? It wouldn't have saved Chris Daughtry. It wouldn't have saved Tamrya Gray. I know I'm leaving someone out, but maybe it'll come to me later.

Moving along... Have you heard about readers boycotting all e-books priced above $9.99 over on Amazon? If not, you can read all about it over on Galleycat. One commenter stated that it was necessary for the publishers to charge high prices because of all the overhead involved and because Amazon takes such a huge cut. I have to admit that my brows took a hike north at that one. What overhead? Once you have a digital copy of a book, there's no overhead involved. A gajillion copies of that book could go out to consumers with no material expense involved whatsoever. And as far as Amazon taking a huge cut--all I can say about that is, my book is listed at Amazon in Kindle format for $4.80. Comparatively speaking, I get paid nearly the same in royalties from the $4.80 Kindle edition as I do from, say, a download sold for $6.00 at Fictionwise. I just think some of the prices for e-books out there is a little over the top, but I really don't have enough info to make a compelling argument for or against. So, you'll have to look at the facts and make up your own minds on this one.

Finally, there's an article over at Writer Beware about self-published authors and pod (print on demand) books. The article reinforces the fact that most book-buying readers, distributors, etc. see all pod books as products of vanity presses. This is a fact because I've seen it for myself on reader forums, and speaking as an author with a pod book that is NOT self-published, this makes me see red. Never mind that there's an emerging segment of small, independent presses out there who are putting out print on demand books, or the fact that these books are NOT self-published and the publishers are NOT vanity presses. As long as booksellers like Amazon--who just happens to own its own vanity press--allows self-published books to be listed for sale along with everything else on the market, the pod stigma is not going away anytime soon.

Okay. I'm taking a deep breath now and calling it a night. Happy tomorrow, people!

Peace,

Devon