September 30th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Perhaps it’s the change of seasons, I’m not sure, but I am definitely a little off lately. I feel like I’m trying to run on low batteries or something. My intentions are good, but my follow-thru is lacking. I have entirely too much to do, to be functioning at less than optimal capacity.

Only one of you weighed in on my request for advice yesterday – thanks Cindy. I am going to heed her advice and just let the judges’ ruling on Taking Chances stand and not enter it in a new category this year. So, this morning, I filled out and submitted all the paperwork to enter Corporate Blues in the 2015 Indie Next Generation Book Awards.

I’ll admit, I have very low expectations for the results. Corporate Blues is a fun, light, book. It’s a quick read. It was very easy for me to write – minus the anxiety of having to contact the FBI to get some of my facts straight. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good story, but it required nowhere near as much work as my Bradford Series novels do. Perhaps because portions of Corporate Blues were actual events, which happened to me, it came very easy. The story just flowed on to the pages.

Research consisted of verifying some facts with our local police, having to check out the subway route to Fenway Park and the baseball pre-season schedule, and asking a few helicopter flight related questions. That’s it. Plus the fact that Corporate Blues is what I call “sex-lite”, the love scenes were not painful to write. There was no blood, no sweat, and no tears wrung out of me to produce the story, and because of that, it makes me wonder if I should have even entered it into the competition.

I realize I’m trying to compare apples to oranges. Historical Romance and Contemporary Romance are distant cousins, several times removed, at best. The amount of work and research required to produce a Historical is astronomical, where as a Contemporary, set in a location you are familiar with, in a profession you are familiar with… not so much.

I don’t think I will have the same issue with entering Faerie Tale Queen, because, since it is set in Ireland, I have had to do my fair share of research. (Flight times, commute time to a fictitious island which is based on a real island, eggs not being refrigerated like they are here in the states, different words for things depending on if the American character is saying them or the Irish character is saying them, a show that would be playing on tv on a certain night at a certain time, etc.)

Now, if Corporate Blues happens to do well (ie: better than Taking Chances), I will be truly confused. I used to get this same feeling when I was in school and aced a test I had not studied for, or bombed one I had studied hard for. Yeah, I know, I’m a nut.

Double Rainbow -The weird thing is,
it didn't rain, so I have no idea how
we had a rainbow.

As a completely random interjection, last night I ran out to the car to get an iced tea – I went grocery shopping yesterday and the case of iced tea had not made it into the house yet – and I was gifted by a lovely, and completely unexpected surprise. I just wanted to share the photo with you.

One last random piece before I skedaddle, this morning I read some advice to woman writers, and I wanted to share the link to the article with you. I think I will be printing out the article and sticking it on my fridge, so I can use it as a reminder from time to time – and who knows, perhaps others in my house will also take a look. (I’m not holding my breath on that one.)

Okay, I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge:

You tried your best…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

May 8th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Chin up, it’s only two days until the weekend.

Since Dani was up, I didn’t even attempt to start this blog first thing this morning. Instead I poked around on the internet. One of my friends posted this photo, with the story behind it. Like most things posted on the internet, I was skeptical, so I looked into it further.

It turns out, this is a true story, but what people might not know, is the photo is almost twenty years old. Kyrie and Brielle Jackson were born on October 17^th, 1995 in Massachusetts, which means they are most likely either seniors in high school or freshmen in college now. It’s amazing, a photo and the story behind it, which took place almost two decades ago, is still circulating on the internet.

Lilacs
(in my front yard)

Lily of the Valley
(lining my walkway)

Well, I think the wait is finally over, Spring just may be here to stay. Yippy!!! Although my allergies are in overdrive, I am not going to complain one bit. I was happy to see, two of my favorite flowers, were blooming. In my mind, the combination of these two, is what Heaven smells like. I just LOVE both of them. I only wish they didn’t bloom at the same time of the year, that way I could thoroughly enjoy one, and then when it was finished, be able to enjoy the other.

I have a confession to make. I kept checking my email yesterday to see if another message came in from the folks at Indie, but sadly, it didn’t. Now I’m wracking my brain (or is it racking my brain – another word where you get vehement opposing views and I’m never sure which is right) as to what Taking Chances was missing.

It’s very frustrating. How am I supposed to learn and improve, if I can’t figure out what made A Second Chance a winner, and Taking Chances not even get an honorable mention in the romance category? Was there too much intrigue, action, and suspense for it to be labeled a true “romance” in their eyes? Is there something I should or shouldn’t do in Simply by Chance – the third in the series?

Although I am not claiming to be at the same level as Johanna Lindsey or as Stephanie Laurens, their Mallory and Cynster Series, respectively, are pretty much on the same lines as my Bradford Series; historical romance novels, with a high degree of action, adventure and mystery, with an interwoven cast of characters. Plus, like both of their novels, there are some steamy scenes, and, of course, the predictable yet required, happy ending.

I know, Taking Chances was better written than A Second Chance. The characters were deeper, the conflicts more intricate. I learned a lot from writing and then from the editing of A Second Chance, so I was able to implement the knowledge while writing Taking Chances. I learned even more from Taking Chances, and I tried to bring that knowledge into the books I’ve written or am currently writing.

However, this is making me wonder if I’m getting steered off course somehow; if my interpretation of the “knowledge” or my implementation of the “knowledge” has gone awry. I’m NOT saying I should have won, and if Taking Chances had become a finalist in the ROMANCE category, I would not even be questioning any of this right now.

Obviously the book has appeal, since it was a finalist in a category which encompasses multi genres, and I am THRILLED about that, but I’m still left scratching my head, and second guessing myself.

Many of you out there have read both A Second Chance and Taking Chances. Can you give me some feedback or insight? I DO NOT WANT A PAT ON THE BACK HERE. I want some honest, constructive, warts and all, feedback. My goal is to give readers what they want, and if I’m not doing that, I need to fix it, and fix it fast, or I might as well hang up my pen (keyboard).

Oh well, enough wallowing. I’m working again today, so I have to start getting ready. I hope you have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

Share a brief microhistory on any subject you know about, because you could hardly do research in the ten minute allotted time. Make it as interesting as possible so it does not read like an instruction manual.

While writing historical romance novels, you have to do a lot of research. In the course of that research, you come across many interesting facts, facts which never make it into your novels, but are interesting non-the-less. When I was writing Taking Chances, I had to do research on the Napoleonic War, French and Spanish ships, the Battle of Trafalgar, and Lord Nelson. Let me tell you, I could probably write a doctoral thesis on the subject at this point.

One of the interesting facts which never made it into my book was what had happened to Lord Nelson, after he was killed, during the Battle of Trafalgar. Remember, this battle occurred in the early 1800s. The voyage from Cadiz back to England took quite a bit of time, and the crew couldn’t give Lord Nelson a burial at sea as they would have any other fallen sailor, so they needed to figure out a way to preserve his body until it could be returned to England. Their solution, they placed his body in a barrel and used the salt they used to preserve meat during a voyage, to keep him “fresh”. In essence, they pickled him.

Innovative for sure, but that’s not even the worst part. Supposedly, when his body was returned, it laid in state for three days, as was customary for dignitaries at that time. Okay, I don’t know about you, but I’m not sure if I would want to view a body which has been dead for three weeks and pickled. EEEEwwwww!

Your Next Challenge is:

Write a FIRST person experience from the viewpoint of a dollar bill.

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

May 7th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good Morning and Happy Hump Day!

I had me critique group at PPL last night. The group was small again, so we did not have to split into two rooms, which was great. Plus, there were only four of us who read, so we even ended up finishing early.

The lady, Tamara, I met at the Author’s Day, who came to the last meeting, came again last night. You always wonder if someone new will keep showing up, and I’m glad she did. She’s a sweet woman from Israel, who doesn’t feel her English is good enough, but she is really doing a wonderful job. Granted, some of her phrasing and word choice is a little off, but that is something easily fixed during the editing stage.

We also got to know a little more about the new guy Brian. He has written and published a slew of cookbooks. I’m talking, this is his full-time job, and he’s making a living off of it, so he’s an accomplished author. To be honest, cookbooks are the last thing I would have pictured Brian writing. He has that either mystery or horror writer look to him – kinda Stephen King meets Dashiell Hammett. Goes to show, you can’t judge a book by its cover… (LOL, sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Even though it was a small group last night, we had another first timer. His name is Buzz. Yes, as in Lightyear, and I did ask him that. I know he said he was a college professor, but I’m not sure if he said he was retired or not. He is writing something I had never heard of before. It’s called a microhistory, which is where you take one object, event, person, place, whatever, and literally give every possible fact about it. He didn’t bring anything to share with him last night. I guess he wanted to get a feel for the group and how it works first. It will be interesting to hear what he brings next time.

I got home around ten, and even though it was late, for me that is, I couldn’t go right to sleep. I need a little time to unwind first, so I usually play on my Kindle for a little bit before I shut off the lights. I decided to check my email and this is what I found:

“I am writing with great news! Your book has been named a Finalist in the SECOND NOVEL category of the 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.  Congratulations!”

Last year, A Second Chance, won in the romance category. Even though I am thrilled to be a finalist, I was a little surprised, because I honestly feel Taking Chances is a better written novel. I’m also surprised at the category, because “Second Novel” could be any genre, fiction or non-fiction, and I would think the competition would be even stiffer than in the Romance category, and yet I didn’t even place in a category I won last year.

Although I am still invited to the awards reception in NYC on May 28th, I think, because I’m only a finalist, and the event, in my opinion only, should be for the winners, I don’t think I’m going to go. Now, if word comes in that I am a finalist in the Romance category as well – the emails come separately – then I may change my mind.

Okay, I need to get to work early again today, so I have to boogie. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

If you could be in a play, what would it be?

When I was very young, I was enamored with the Wizard of Oz. I tried to learn all the songs, and practiced Dorothy’s unusual skip for hours. 

Then when I was a tween, I was lucky enough to see a production of Annie, and that’s it, I was hooked. I walked around the house belting out “It’s a Hard Knock Life” and “Tomorrow”. I could picture myself up on stage, as one of the orphan girls, or maybe even Annie herself. Oh how I wanted to be part of a production.

In high school, I got the opportunity to audition for Funny Girl – “Nicky Arnstein, Nicky Arnstein, what a beautiful, beautiful name” – but I got myself so worked up over the audition, I landed myself in the hospital with stomach issues. The biggest case of stage fright ever.

I never did audition for Funny Girl, and I have never auditioned for anything since, but someday, I will get up the nerve to try it again. This time though, I think I’d want to be in The Christmas Carol as either Mrs. Cratchit or one of the ghosts.

Your Next Challenge was inspired by the newest member of our critique group:

Share a brief microhistory on any subject you know about, because you could hardly do research in the ten minute allotted time. Make it as interesting as possible so it does not read like an instruction manual.

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.