The Worst Writing Advice Ever #MFRWauthors

I’d always heard you should write what you know and where you feel comfortable within your genre. And I had done that for years in contemporary erotic romance. But when I felt the need to change things up a bit, I listened to someone who said ménage was the best new big thing and that I could have some great success if I tried it. So I did—for many books and a lot of time. Not the smartest thing I ever did. It was fun to stretch my writing muscles, but I since I’ve never pictured myself in a ménage, I don’t think my writing came across as authentic.

I’m not saying that writers shouldn’t get out of their comfort zones, but for me it just didn’t work. On the other hand, I have also tried paranormal and historical and they worked out well, so maybe I was just too ingrained in my own sexual comfort zone to experiment successfully with the other. Or maybe I had the wrong purpose in mind. (Shame on me!)

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Dee
Naval Maneuvers Available now for pre-order at the sale price of $2.99 until March 9.

Five Authors to Meet #MFRWauthor

Gosh, answering this presents a smorgasbord of choices and I can only pick five?? On the other hand, it’s like someone comes up to you on the street and says, “Tell me five of your favorite things in the world,” and suddenly you can’t think of a one. So… (tapping index finger against chin while deep in thought) who do I choose?

1. Margaret Mitchell: Who wouldn’t want to meet someone who came up with the line “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”? Mitchell wrote a soap opera about one of the worst times in American history and made us all want more. Then she dusted off her hands and didn’t give us more. That’s a woman who knew what she wanted to write and did it. End of story. Literally. (Shake turnip at sky and vow always to be hungry for more Gone with the Wind.)

2. Lauren Layne: I love her work! She writes some of the best dialogues and her characters are always interesting and multi-dimensional. I’d like to have coffee with her, and maybe a Danish? (A pastry, not a man.) And laugh. She seems like a person who would laugh a lot.

3. Agatha Christie: My mom was a great reader and loved Agatha Christie so I reaped the benefit of always having her books around the house to read with a good apple. Such staying power! She wrote really good mysteries (though not always fair mysteries—she did often make the killer someone no one knew about until the final chapter) and led a very interesting life. Once I wanted to be an archaeologist and I’d love to hear all about her journeys in that arena.

4. Jane Austen: Like most of the world’s female population, I too fell in love with Mr. Darcy. I was an adult when I first read Austen. I’m not sure I would have appreciated her humor and her take on the gender wars of her time if I’d read her in high school or maybe not even in college. I think she must have been quite interesting but I might have had to give her a shake if we’d met and yell, “Live a little for yourself, woman!” Doing so could have caused a stir in the Bath teahouse where we were enjoying crumpets and scones.

5. Henry Fielding: If for no other reason but than I loved Tom Jones (that eating scene was messy but still a bit sexy), I’d like to meet Fielding. But he also seems like a genuinely nice person. Learning about his times from his perspective would be a great experience.

Did you notice a food theme throughout? Time for dinner…

I consider myself truly fortunate to have met some fabulous authors when I became part of the Liquid Silver Publishing group. I wrote a book (Resolutions) with three of them: Leigh Wyndfield, Jasmine Haynes (for erotic romance, Jennifer Skully for the sweeter stuff), and Vanessa Hart (for erotic romance, Cheryl Norman for the sweeter stuff). Terri Schaeffer is also a friend from LSB, and another Terri, Terri Olson, I met later on. All of these ladies are smart, interesting, and some of the most fabulous writers ever. I’m so lucky to be among their colleagues!

Check out the next post in this blog hop.

Thanks!
Dee
Coming soon: Naval Maneuvers from Black Velvet Seductions

What’s in a Name?

Is a rose by any other name just as sweet really? Maybe not. Names carry meanings, after all.

As writers, we often spend an inordinate amount of time searching for the best names for our characters. I particularly have a hard time finding a name easy to type (yes, it’s true. I use the two finger method and not all names are created the same for us non-typers. I named a character Margaret once and had a devil of a time typing those letters in the right order.), that sounds and means what I want. Most of us want a male name to sound strong. Maybe a female name, too. Or maybe a sweet name for the female protagonist would be nice and a mean sounding one for her nemesis is just the ticket. So out of curiosity, I decided to look up name meanings. For both the girl and boy names below, I used a baby naming site.

Boys:
Aaron (Hebrew, Exalted one)
Brand (English, Proud)
Cullen (Irish, Handsome)
Morgan (Scottish, Sea Warrior)
Will (English, Resolute Protector)

Girls:
Cherri (French, Beloved)
Haley (Scandinavian, Heroine)
Patricia (Latin, Noble)
Sonya (Russian, Wisdom)
Yvonne (French, Archer)

It was fun just reading down the lists to see names I’d never heard of before (Dawnette—Sunrise or Wacian—Alert) or names not much in use anymore (Mildred—Gentle advisor or Valentine—Strong). There are lots of different sites to learn about names and the research is good—if you don’t get too carried away. Not that I ever do… 😉

Visit me and other authors on Nomad Authors for sweet romance (Anne Krist), shifters and ménage (Jenna Stewart), when you just want MORE (Francis Drake), and historical sexy romance (Amber Carlton)!

Treating Yourself Right

I just read a blog post by Javacia on See Jane Write that has sparked a goal for the month of February. She advocates that we need a break from working blinding toward a goal. Rather, she thinks that we will work better and with greater faith that we will reach our goals—including our writing goals—for the month if we treat ourselves a little each day. I agree! It’s like being able to work with a clearer mind if you take a short break. So let’s try to give ourselves a treat of some kind every day. Here are some of Javacia’s suggestions. My own suggestion? Find a quiet place to close your mind off from work and close your eyes for 10-15 minutes. Just open you mind and let your thoughts quiet. You’d be surprised what that little bit can do for your well being. And your work!

Will you join the challenge? How will you treat yourself today?

Love ourselves, love each other, love our writing!