Manuscript Makeover

For the last week or so, I've been reading Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon. It was recommended to me by a fellow romance author, Emily Ryan Davis. Since I've been planning to revise Secrets Uncovered into a full length novel, I have been trying to find ways to turn 30K into 80K. Sometimes, I have way too many ideas for things I could do and it's not always clear as to what I should do.

But reading this book is great. It's primarily a revision/editing book for writers who have no idea where to begin the process. Manuscript Makeover is also a craft manual. There are useful tidbits for expanding bare bones scenes through "riff writing" and processes for taking paragraphs or lines from your favorite books and learning how to emulate the technique. And, of course, there is the basic stuff on sentence structure, unnecessary words, and reading your manuscript aloud to catch awkward phrasing.

Though I'm only on chapter five, I'm already in love with this book. Manuscript Makeover is just what I needed. And, I haven't even gotten to part three on characterization.

What I love about this book is that it covers all the major aspects of revision/self-editing. It's not just a manual for how to clean up your sentences and eliminate "that", "was", "had", etc. It is not just a book about cutting word count for clarity. It teaches you techniques for writing and shows you how to emulate your favorite writers to learn from their description or their dialogue or characterization techniques. It has simple methods for you to re-read your own writing and listen as a reader would listen.

I highly recommend Manuscript Makeover. It is pure genius!

Interview with Jeannie Lin, Golden Heart Finalist

Today is a special day. I'm interviewing Jeannie Lin, a fellow Romance Diva and Golden Heart Finalist! Since we both write historical romance, I thought it would be fun to explore that theme and talk about what makes Jeannie's stories so unique.

One thing I can tell you that sets Jeannie Lin's romances apart is her use of setting. Her current manuscript, Butterfly Swords, is set in ancient China. Click on the title to get a sneak peek at the book.

Now, on to the juicy bits...

What inspired you to write historical romance?
JL: I like to be swept away and lose myself when I read and I found myself loving historical romances for their larger than life characters. I love how historical is almost fantasy. There's a genre of historical romantic fantasy in Asian literature called "wuxia" that I grew up on and that's really the main source of inspiration for my historicals.

What time periods are your favorite to read about or write about?
JL: I have a particular love for medieval time periods, regardless of the setting. I like to imagine a time of both honor and chivalry as well as ruthlessness all mixed in together. It makes for a good sense of drama. I have a particular liking for Asian settings but I love to read stories set in Europe and fantasy medieval settings as well.

How did you get the idea for Butterfly Swords?
JL: Butterfly Swords was my second finished manuscript. Ryam was the ne'er do well sidekick in the first one. He was the comic relief, the best friend who was always screwing up in a big way. Before I finished the first book, I had decided to write him as a hero and give him his chance for redemption. I became fixated with the idea of a likable vagabond who jumps into a single act of heroism out of impulse and it changes his life. I brainstormed to find the perfect woman for him and had several prototypes try out for the part, but finally I decided she had to be from the warrior class, be completely serious and believe in him more than he believes in himself. In order to make a soft, woman warrior believable I drew from my tiny bit of martial arts training and based her training on Wing Chun Kung Fu, which really is an ideal style for women. In Wing Chun, butterfly swords are used as extensions of your arms and it's quite an exciting visual when you see demonstrations.

What do you think makes a good historical hero? What makes a good historical heroine?
JL: Historical heroes have more freedom. They don't know a thing about being metrosexual so there's that rough edge on them that's so sexy. Throw in honor, the element of danger and that dark, brooding streak and it's a great fantasy. I like historical heroines who have a fiery streak, but also that softer side. I don't believe that women in the past were always meeker or necessarily more repressed, but they had to be smart with their strength and manifest it in different ways than men did. Yin and Yang and balance, you know? I have a whole write up to do about feminism in Tang dynasty China, but that's for another day. :)

How does it feel to get a Golden Heart nomination for your book?
JL: AWESOME!!!!

Do you have any other historical projects in the work? Are they in the same setting or a different one?
JL: I'm revising the follow up novel which is also set in the Tang Dynasty. It features a former concubine and a warlord and explores the shadowy underworld of imperial China. I also have a contemporary paranormal that takes a small time slip into Storyville in the early 1900s, the New Orleans red light district.

Any advice you wish to share with other writers or is there anything else in general you'd like to share with us?
JL: Assume every rejection means your writing isn't good enough yet and keep on working at it.. That's the only thing you can worry about.

You can learn more about Jeannie Lin and her awesome book, Butterfly Swords, by going to: http://www.jeannielin.com/

Excerpt Monday - Secrets Uncovered

It's Excerpt Monday again! My friends and I are posting excerpts from our books. (At the bottom of the post, you will find links to some great free reads).

Today, we're going to go back in time. To a time of corsets, proper lords and ladies, subtle innuendos, manor homes, and a good Queen to rule them all. My novella, Secrets Uncovered, which may be turned into a novel, is set in the late Victorian period. Circa 1890.

To sum it up: American widow, Elena Montgomery, has discovered that her mother lied to her about her parentage. She accompanies her friend to England to search for a man who might be her biological father. But, along the way, she gets entangled with a gorgeous earl who has a very dirty reputation. Jamie Davenport, Earl of St. James, has every intention of making her his mistress, no matter what the cost. But, will he still be willing to pay the price once he discovers the secrets she's hiding?

The scene below is part of the first chapter. Elena and her friend have arrived at the country estate of Sir Charleston, the man she thinks may be her father, for a two-week party. While Elena and Melissa plot to find out Charleston's connection with her mother, Jamie corners Elena...

“You summoned me, Mrs. Montgomery?” St. James’s voice was thick and low, yet smooth. Certainly not the kind of voice that a man used in a crowded ballroom. It was the voice a man used from within the covers of a canopied bed.

He took her gloved hand and kissed it. Once those brilliant sapphire eyes looked into hers, she lost every ounce of her will. And this wasn’t the first time.

“No.” Breathe, Elena. Breathe. He cannot see you nervous.

That lazy smile was the downfall of so many women. Apparently, Elena was the next one on St. James’ list.

“Your eyes bid me to come.”

“They did no such thing.”

“Then why were you staring?” he challenged.

“As if you are not always staring,” she muttered. She couldn’t remember a time since they’d been introduced when St. James wasn’t attempting to seduce her with those eyes.

“Is it not natural to let your gaze linger on something exquisite?”

Despite herself, Elena felt heat creep up her cheeks. They must be red as beets.

She gave him a suspicious glance. “Am I the first one to hear that phrase or did you practice it on a few other widows before me?”

He smiled. “I reserve my best compliments for women who rise above the crowd.”

That devil. He felt he could charm any woman out of her pantaloons. He was mistaken.

“Such as those young ladies who are longing to drag you back into conversation?” Elena nodded in the direction of the three women he had just abandoned.

“They are merely to pass the time.”

“And me?”

He leaned in closer. “You are one to savor.” He spoke the word slowly as if he tasted on his tongue.

They could have been alone for all the intensity with which he gazed upon her. An intensity which made her stomach flutter. The air between them crackled with heat. She fell for his charm. Again.

Why couldn’t they have met under different circumstances? Though truth be told, she wasn’t sure if an affair with Lord St. James would be good under any circumstances.

“He has a reply to everything,” Elena said, addressing Melissa.

The girl smiled. “That he does.”

“Would you rather I stuttered and stammered in the face of your delectable beauty?”

She could feel the hammering of her heart beneath the corset. The temptation to lean in toward him burned within her.

Yet she could not give in so easily. “Perhaps I would rather you said something sincere.”

“Ah.” He paused for a moment. Thinking up a good line, no doubt. “Would it please you if I were to tell you that I have thought of little but you since I heard you had accepted the invitation to my aunt’s party?”

“Perhaps.”

He smiled. “That is all I have to offer in the way of sincerity.”

Elena shook her head and laughed. “You will have to practice, my lord. That was hardly a confession of undying devotion.”

A dark look passed over his face. “I do not make those, madam.”

He was serious. The man never confessed love. She should know better. For all intents and purposes, Jamie Davenport bedded one woman after another. If gossip could be believed, he amused himself with a woman for three to six months and then moved on. No declarations. No marriage proposals. Just heated nights under the bedcovers.

“Just as well, my lord. I would never expect such from you.”

She turned from him to look at Melissa. “I think you have an admirer of your own.”

Across the room, St. James’ cousin, Lord Langdon Sterling, had his eyes on Melissa. Elena looked at him and wondered again how he and the rake could be so different. They were first cousins, but other than their curly hair, tall, lean physiques, and superb tailoring, they were totally unalike.

St. James exuded mystery and midnight seductions with his intoxicating stares, sultry voice, and dark looks. Langdon, however, was all charm and affability. His blond curls, wide, sincere smile, and impeccable manners made a woman think of an angel.

What did it say of her that the angel did not tempt her in the slightest? It was the devil she craved. It was the Sin-James who made her awaken breathless and heated in the dead of the night.

**************

To view more awesome excerpts, go to:

http://excerptmonday.wordpress.com

Melissa Aires, Paranormal Erotic Romance (PG)

Gina Ardito, Historical Paranormal (PG)

Jax Cassidy, Erotic Contemporary (R)

Ella Drake, Erotic Paranormal Romance (NC-17)

Kaige, Historical Romance (PG-13)

Jeannie Lin, Historical (PG)

Crista McHugh, Historical Paranormal Romance (PG-13)

Kirsten Saell, Erotic Romance/Fantasy (NC-17)

Kate Willoughby, Fantasy/Parnormal Erotic Romance (NC-17)

To Be Read Pile

Okay, so I went on an romance ebook buying spree a couple of weeks ago. Mainly after the excerpt Monday earlier this month. So, I ordered several Diva ebooks from Samhain.

The Scroll Thief from R.F. Long
Total Eclipse of the Heart by Crystal Jordan
Called by Blood and Dante's Inferno by Evie Byrne and Behind the Mask and Prince of Fire by Tawny Taylor

Thanks to my recent flu, I was able to read The Scroll Thief and half of Called by Blood. I already finished Total Eclipse of the Heart. But, I also have a few other print books in my To Be Read (TBR) pile:

A 21st Century Courtesan by Eden Bradley
O'Brien's Desk by Ona Russell, which I picked up at my LARA chapter meeting
The Reward by Beth Williamson (I'm very excited because I have a few of her books in ebook format, but I just ordered the first three books in print).
*While we're on the subject of Beth Williamson, if you enjoy westerns, pick up The Bounty. My favorite western romance right now, though I'll always love Only His by Elizabeth Lowell (the first romance novel I ever read).*

Did I also mention the HUGE pile of romance books that Eden Bradley gave me a few months ago just for fun. How am I going to get through all of these? There must be a good 15 books in the bag.

I love reading, don't get me wrong. But, I now see what editors and agents must feel when they open their mail and see 20 books to be read only to read 5 of these and then see 30 more books to be read.

How long is your TBR pile?

Excerpt for Monday-- A Halloween Novella

Well, since tomorrow is Excerpt Monday and many of the Divas will be posting and exchanging links for story excerpts, here is mine. (For links to other participating Divas, scroll to the bottom of this page). I decided not to post any of my current WIPs, but to go back to an older urban fantasy novella...

This is one version of an opening to a Halloween story I started a couple of years ago. I couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to do with it so I never wrote the whole story, but I do like the heroine, Lisa. She's a bit of a clothes snob, but very funny.

****Excerpt****

This was getting ridiculous. It was past the point of fun ages ago. Whoever thought battling demons and vampires was cool ought to have their head shrunk.

Being covered in slimy, green goo that once was the blood of a Dendra demon was the last straw. Four hundred nineteen kills. That was how many demons Lisa had slain or banished since discovering her special calling as a White Witch of Gendron.

Lisa could care less about adding any more to her list of banished and decimated creatures. She wanted out. Or at least a long vacation. Starting tonight.

She walked away from the bloody body with the silver knife hanging from it’s chest. Lisa didn’t even pause to pick up the weapon. Why bother? This was it. The last time.

Halloween was only tomorrow night. Lisa thought it was appropriate to get away and start fresh at the Celtic New Year.

She’d devoted three years to this and it was time to do something else. Bethany and Max could have it: the long nights patrolling, the bruises and scratches, the heavy bag full of stakes and potions and silver daggers. Lisa had other things to do. Like homework.

After taking up demon hunting as a career, her grades sunk. While she’d managed to get into the MFA Creative Writing program at the university, she was behind in three classes.

What had happened to her life? At one time, she was a good writer with a witty sense of humor. She’d won awards in undergrad and had her pick of schools after college. It seemed like ages since she’d gotten an “A” on one of her stories.

Since Gram died, Bethany and Max expected Lisa to continue in Gram’s work. No one expected prim and proper Beth, Lisa’s sister, to carry daggers and mirrors out in the middle of the night looking for monsters with fangs. But crazy Lisa was perfect for it.

No one cared that Lisa had once had a life. Whatever she’d been up to was simply inconsequential compared to the work of the Gendron witches. Lisa wished she could slap the ancestor who decided to take up demon thrashing and pass the calling to her future relatives.

Lisa frowned as she made it to her doorstep. She closed the door without even turning the lights on. In the dark, she sprinted across the living room to the stairs. All she could think about was getting into the shower. Tomorrow, she’d burn the clothes or take them out to a dumpster far, far away.

As Lisa stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her body and one around her wet, blond hair. She noticed the bags underneath her blue eyes as she spread on the moisturizer. Maybe now she could finally make it to bed before three a.m.

She was distracted by the sound at the door. Knock. Knock. Knock.

“I’m in the shower,” Lisa called.

Her sister’s voice carried through the door. “No, you’re not. There’s no water running.”

Lisa turned the faucet on and turned back toward the mirror. She didn’t care if there was a dire emergency and the whole of Los Angeles was burning down. Lisa was off duty.

“Leese,” Bethany called through the door.

Frowning, Lisa yanked open the door.

Her sister was wearing one of her icky navy polyester suits that screamed cheap department store. And, those shoes, those “I’ll-never-meet-a-man-as-long-as-I-live” navy old lady pumps which should have been burned in 1989. Bethany lived in those clothes. Her closet was full of black, brown, and navy suits and matching shoes.

“We are being called to the witches’ council tomorrow. There will be a swearing in of the new head of the High Council.”

“Well, you can RSVP without me. I’m not going.” Lisa brusquely dried her hair with the towel.

“What do you mean you are not going? Are you patrolling?”

“No.”

“Then what else could be so important?”

“My life.” Lisa gently pushed her sister out of the bathroom and took hold of the door. “I am not patrolling or going to the witches council ceremony. I am taking a vacation.” She closed the door. “An extended vacation, with any luck.”

****End of Excerpt****

Just for fun, here's the very first draft opening paragraph. Similar to the above, but it amuses me. I love the way Lisa sizes everyone up by their clothes or lack thereof:

“Oh, Pu-leeze,” Lisa groaned. “Beth, you’re not serious. Can’t this wait until tom—um, until next year?”

Bethany crossed her arms as Lisa rolled her eyes. Her sister, Bethany, had screwed her bulb on too tightly. Again. And, she seriously needed highlights and a good romp in the hay. Bethany’s light brown hair was mousy rather than sandy and she insisted on wearing those ugly I’ll-never-meet-a-man-so-long-as-I-live navy old lady shoes. When was the last time she went on a date? 1995? Just because Beth was a work-a-holic spinster did not mean that Lisa had to be the same.

***********

A few of my friends also have excerpts up on their sites starting tomorrow, Monday, April 13, so check these out for some free reads. Many of these are erotic romance, so be advised before clicking!:

http://edenbradley.blogspot.com/ (My good friend Eden Bradley has a new book out. Read the excerpt for A 21st Century Courtesan. Hot stuff!)

http://clwhite.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/excerpt-monday/

http://maureenmccarrie.blogspot.com

http://jeannielin.com/blog/2009/04/13/exce...ay-his-or-hers/ (My friend Jeannie is a Golden Heart finalist this year! Yay!!!)

Kinsey W. Holley Excerpt Monday

Becca Sheridan-Furrow

Kirsten Saell, The Chancellor's Bride

http://melsmag.wordpress.com/

Scenting Cinnamon by Ella Drake

Evie Byrne: Bound by Blood, Book 2 of the Faustin Bros. Trilogy

Emily Ryan-Davis: Changing Thumbelina, the Erotická Revue excerpt

http://kate-willoughby.blogspot.com/2009/04/kiss-guy.html

http://ginaardito.blogspot.com/2009/04/its...rpt-monday.html

http://www.rflong.com/?p=354

http://briaspage.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/em-2/

http://stephanieadkins.wordpress.com/blog/

Inheritance

http://roselondon.wordpress.com/

http://writingspectacle.blogspot.com/2009/...rpt-monday.html

here is the excerpt for Babette James

Tweet, Tweet, Twitter

I'm one of those people that is a little slow to embrace advanced technology. I do love my computer and would find it difficult to live without. But, I keep a super basic cell phone because I like my phone to do what a phone does: make calls. My best friend K teases me all the time because I'm a gemini but I'm not into gadgets. Even my ebook reader is old school.

Today, I signed up for Twitter and I totally love it. It's random frivolity that allows my scattered mind to be everywhere at once. You can connect with all kinds of people, but as much or as little as you want. It's incredibly addictive.

So, you can see my tweets at: http://twitter.com/vivwestlake

Ciao!

Ebook Reading vs. Print Reading

I buy most of my books through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Borders. I do have an ebookwise ebook reader, but I don't have a lot of books on it. I actually do enjoy using it and it's handy to take with me when I'm on the bus or waiting somewhere.

But, even though I do support the ebook market and think it will grow more and more, I find that I don't buy as many ebooks as I do print books. I do have the Gena Showalter books on my ebookwise and I have several Beth Williamson books on it also (I'd like to now buy those in print). And, I use the ebook reader for erotic novellas from Samhain, Loose Id, or Ellora's Cave.

I was really impressed by some articles I read last year on eliminating excess paper and streamlining your library and it really motivated me to buy/use the ebook reader. However, as time has gone on, I find myself still buying lots of print books. I suppose I'll never not buy print books (unless by some quirk of the future they don't exist anymore). But, I'm a little sad that I don't buy more ebooks considering that I have this e-reader and am not using it so much anymore.

I'm curious for those who read a lot of romance books and who own an e-reader if they buy more books in digital format or in print.