THE PLOT'S THE THING!

By Caroline Clemmons

Once upon a time, I attended a Story Magic workshop given by Robin Perini and Laura Baker. And that’s the real start of my romance writing career.

Although it’s been years now, I will never forget that day of the all-important workshop. I sat beside Sandra Crowley in the second row. A lot of my current besties were there: Geri Foster, Carra Copelin, Lyn Horner, Sylvia McDaniels, Kathy Shaw, yada, yada.

Why do I remember it so clearly?

I'd written news stories, but they're strictly facts. And they're written so that they can be shortened as needed without diluting the story's impact. This doesn't translate well to fiction, even though the training is invaluable.

When I first began writing fiction, I’d know how the story started, how it ended, and some of what happened in the middle. I’d go with that and start writing. And I’d have to cut a scene or a chapter because it didn’t fit (which wasted all the time I'd spent writing that part) or I’d get stuck and not know what came next. For the first book I wrote, I got to the end and learned that my story was too short. (See Kathy Shaw’s April 10 fun post “Help I’m Stuck In The Middle.”)

One day this miraculous, serendipitous, wonderful event happened and I attended the Story Magic workshop. You’ve heard people say a light bulb went on when they learned this or that. For me, a searchlight-sized spotlight went on over my head. What had been missing from my writing suddenly became clear. I needed to plan—to actually plot out my book from start to finish, including characters, back story, and what happened in each chapter, the good stuff, the bad stuff and why it happened. 

Who knew?

In the course of the day, Robin and Laura shared their secrets for plotting. Some who attended that day didn’t get it or didn’t like the concept. But I was on fire with enthusiasm. 

For me, the information was like being given the secret handshake to the Sisterhood of Successful Romance Writers. Arming with these tools empowered me. Now I had the method and could deal with my weaknesses and those of my characters.

Here I am eighteen titles and numerous anthologies and boxed sets later and I’m still using the Story Magic method to plot. Stick with what makes sense, right? Anytime I’ve tried to coast, I’ve gnashed teeth, wept, and had to go back and review. 

This stuff works for me. It works for numerous friends. We continue using this method to plot our books.

That’s why just an idea for a book is not enough. Writing takes lots of work over time. For some that's weeks, for others (like me) that's months. 

Sure, I love writing and can’t imagine doing anything else. I work to improve. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail. I work just as hard in either case. 

But I really, really want to please readers. I want you to love my babies! All writers want that. 

And we’ll be living and writing happily ever after—as long as you keep reading our books.

Cover Reveal for TASTING TEXAS by Kimmie Easely

***SQUEEEE***

Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I can move on. J I have been so excited to share this post, I am busting at the seams over here! I have a steamy little secret to share with you!

I’ve had the pleasure of participating in the romance box set, Hot Summer Nights, set to release May 30, 2014. This anthology is choked full of talent, and I’m honored to have been invited to take part.

And what does an author do to celebrate?

Share a brand spanking new cover, of course! You are getting the first sneak peek at the gorgeous cover for Tasting Texas, the first novella in The Tasting Series. Brace yourselves for the awesomeness!

(Insert drumroll here) 

TASTING TEXAS ON GOODREADS

HOT COVER! I am beyond blessed to be able to work personally with my cover model, Padme’ Kane. She is new to the literary industry, but not to taking gorgeous photos. You can check out her portfolio here. Padme' Kane on Facebook

Once again, I have to give HUGE props to my cover designer, DeLaine Roberts. The woman is a graphic rockstar. Check out her other works here. DeLaine Roberts Website

I have great things in store with both of these fabulous ladies. 

About Tasting Texas:

Beth Garrett spends every waking moment with the love of her life, The Long Branch Saloon. The popular southern bar is a much needed escape from the reality of living in a small Texas town.

Never one for drama, Beth swears off messing around with men from her own backyard, and spends most of her nights alone. That is until fate has pity on her and sends the occasional handsome stranger through town.

That’s exactly what happens when Eric Alexander comes to Sommerville on business. After a long meeting, Eric and his colleagues end up at The Long Branch to blow off some steam, and when the sexy New Yorker challenges Beth to a game of pool for one night together, all bets are off.

Just as Beth thinks she has Eric eating out of the palm of her hand, she quickly realizes he’s been the one pulling the strings the entire time.

About Hot Summer Nights: 

Multi-talented romance authors, collaborating to bring you stories so hot, they'll melt your Popsicle off it's stick.

So grab your sunblock, drink of choice, snack, and claim your "me time" before you escape into our characters' sexy, dog days of summer.

***Releasing May 30th, 2014!***

Inspiration from My Shenandoah Valley Garden

"It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!"  ~Mark Twain

I've spent countless hours outdoors laboring to restore order and beauty to my earthy realm. Many plants are missing from the borders, even faithful standbys. The bitter cold of the past few months took its toll. Overwintering weeds crowd out those herbs and flowers still clinging to life and must be carefully evicted. After a lengthy hibernation, I'm tearing about like a deranged bunny, but sleeping well. There's nothing like the profound peace that follows working in and among plants, with birds trilling overhead and from nearby fields, lowing cows, fussy nesting geese...all the sounds, sights, and scents of my country garden. 

Any writing I'm getting done is in my head, and a new story is slowly taking form. I seem to think more clearly outdoors. Conversations and scenes appear to me. I met a fascinating new character who has captivated my imagination. I must know her story. The challenge to these revelations is remembering them later. At the time, they're so clear, but they fade in the resulting haze. I suppose I should take a notebook out with me and jot ideas down on pages soiled with dirt. Some writers say ideas come to them in the shower, or while driving, so why not the garden? As long as they come. What of you? Where do you find your inspiration?

"I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden." ~Ruth Stout

The image below of the cow licking her newborn calf is what I see out my kitchen window today. Husband Dennis took it. Daughter Elise took the images above. Those are Virginia bluebells my dear late grandmother gave me years ago. 

"Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day."  ~W. Earl Hall

I write humor, not heavy. So, why did I try?

I love a dash of humor in my stories. For me, it's one of my strengths. One of my weaknesses? Oh boy, which one shall I chose? The one that bothers me the most, I suppose. My lack of being able to write deep emotion. I just don't feel I can do it as well as I'd like. I want to make your heart ache with sadness. I want your chest to constrict with pain. I want you to cry. Doesn't every writer want to elicit emotions from humor to anger to heartache to joy? I know I do--someday.

So, when I designed my heroine and hero for book one of my Firemen's Wild Heat series, To Catch a Flame, I wanted a darker hero, one who was more emotionally damaged, one who didn't believe in love. Enter Quinn. Exit my good sense.

Things started out good enough. Really, they did. My critique partner assured me I was breaking her heart over the damaged soul of this guy. I was off to a good start and just as pleased as punch.

Then my sense of humor reared it's nasty head.

Quinn knew he had fallen in love with Cassie, but felt he was too damaged for her innocence. Now, Cassie may have been sexually innocent, but she was also a bit of a pistol. Get her angry and she would go off like a roman candle. To get away from her before he damages her in any way, Quinn decides to leave town. As soon as she finds out, she storms over to his apartment to find out "why" he's leaving without telling her. They exchange words at the U-Haul trailer Quinn's packing. Quinn walks away from her snit--a BAD move for any man--and storms upstairs to his second floor apartment. He packs more boxes, waiting for Cassie to come up to continue the argument....

Still no Cassie.

Had she given up and gone home? He carried the box containing his microwave into the living room and peered out the sliding glass doors overlooking the parking lot.

Holy Mother of God!

How had she gotten his Harley untied and out of the trailer? She’d pushed it onto the small patch of yard in front of the apartment building. All of his neckties flapped from the handlebars and what looked to be his jock strap was stretched across the back of its seat. Jammed into the ground at both ends of his bike were his water skis. The rope that had secured his bike upright in the U-haul was now strung from one ski to the other with all of his damn boxers hanging from the rope. In a semi-circle around the bike sat his high school and college football trophies.

His gas grill had also been dragged from the trailer, and hanging like dogs’ ears from the closed chrome lid was every sock he owned. He narrowed his eyes as his blood pressure exploded through the stratosphere. Because there…there…in the midst of all his previously packed boxes was the object of his wrath, kicking each of the cartons, arms waving, mouth moving as if she were cussing someone out. And he had a damn good idea who that lucky son of a bitch was, especially when she scowled up at his balcony and shook her fist.

Just what did she think all this chaos would do?

She stormed back to the trailer and crawled into its cavernous interior. He leaned toward the glass and cocked the box on his hip. Now what was she after? His gaze scanned his belongs scattered helter-skelter over the lawn. She’d already removed everything he’d worked so hard to pack. Except for his…oh no. Oh, hell no! A flurry of movement flashed in the corner of his eye, followed by an unholy sound, resembling a moose in heat. His narrowed gaze swung to Cassie standing below his window playing his treasured saxophone. If one could classify the metalized shrieking she produced as playing.

She’s a dead woman. That horn’s all I have left of Uncle Mat.

He slammed the box onto the sofa and barreled out of his apartment. By the time he sprinted down the steps and charged through the building’s door, every dog in the complex was howling along with Cassie’s demented saxophone caterwauling.

“What the hell are you doing?” He tried to grab the instrument from her hands, but she spun and hit a high note he’d never imagined an alto sax capable of reaching.

“If you don’t stop that infernal racket, I’m calling the cops!” Milt Garland, the old coot who lived on the first floor, ambled out of the building. “I had to turn down my hearing aid.” He gestured to his trembling Chihuahua, snuggled between his arm and his chest. “Scared poor Killer so bad, he peed on the floor.”

“I’m sorry, Milt. I’m trying to stop her.”

Cassie slipped the mouthpiece from her lips. “I’m serenading the man I love. Don’t tell me you’re against romance, Milt—” She hip-bumped the old man and winked at him. “Not a stud muffin like you.”

Milt’s wire-framed glasses all but fogged up and a cheesy grin spread. “Well, no, I’m all for a little romance, sugar plum.” His gaze shot to Quinn. “Don’t know if this young whipper-snapper can deliver, though.” He smirked and his pigeon chest puffed out. “Maybe you’d be better off with an older, more experienced gent.”

The neighborhood dogs quieted since Cassie had stopped frantically pounding the instrument’s keys as if she were typing a letter to Santa.

She leaned against Milt’s bony shoulder. “I’m going to marry this young whipper-snapper.”

Milt narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips while he petted Killer. “Don’t look like the marrying type to me.”

Quinn folded his arms and widened his stance. “That’s because I’m not the marrying type. I’m more the one-night stand type.” This whole conversation was totally bizarre. He glared at Cassie. Thanks to her shenanigans, he’d have to repack everything.

“Oh, you can make book on this, Milt. Hot lips here is mine. His ass is grass and I’m the lawn mower.” Cassie sucked a bucketful of air and blew four sour notes at one time.

Quinn jammed his index fingers into his ears and cursed.

Milt jerked his hearing aid out of his ear.

And Killer pissed on Milt’s shirt.

~~*~~*~~

OK, so maybe writing deep emotion, the kind that touches your heart with sadness won't be my thing, after all. We all write what we write. Right? Still, we can dream a little. Try to stretch our wings. I emailed this manuscript to my editor at HarperImpulse two weeks ago. So far she hasn't fainted--that I've heard of. Keep your fingers crossed for me and my dark hero. Or maybe Quinn's not so dark, maybe he's more grey or deep tan. But here's how I envisioned him.

 Visit Vonnie at her website: www.vonniedavis.com

 

 

 

THAT LITTLE SPARK

This morning, I watched a story on TV about a book on creativity written by Ed Catmul. He is a co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios. I'm not promoting his book, especially since I haven't read it myself. The title is rather self explanatory, though: Creativity, Inc. Overcoming The Unseen Forces That Stand in The Way of True Inspiration. However, his interview was very interesting.

His insights struck a chord with me. He said that every project they worked on was awful on the first attempt. That was expected and they learned to work from their mistakes. Frozen wasn't perfect the first time it was on the drawing board.

Never be afraid to mess up.    

Always be open to change and ideas that seem out-of-the-box. Ideas come from some strange places. As a writers, we are always looking for the fresh, new idea that will make our book stand out.
 
Have you ever pictured an ax sticking out of the head of the cranky sales person who just told you, "Oh honey, that dress will never, fit you." That happened to my aunt who had just lost thirty-five pounds and was looking forward to some new clothes. Now there's a motive for a mystery novel!
     We all probably have a manuscript hidden away, under the bed that seemed to be the greatest romance novel ever written on the first attempt. Hopefully, you were lucky to have fantastic critique partners who gently told you to put it away and try again. That's why our writing is called a work in progress. Don't be afraid, be adventurous. Even the most absurd ideas can turn out to be good ones. After all, who would have ever thought an animated movie about a princess who freezes anything she touches would be a good idea?

POWER OF WORDS

By Caroline Clemmons, in for Tessa Gray

As readers and/or writers, words fascinate us. Phrases, descriptions, active verbs, words that paint pictures for our minds.

As long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with words and phrases. The first book I remember is a LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK OF PRAYERS. In fact, I think it’s still packed away in a trunk in the garage. I just can’t let go of books, more’s the pity.

The second book I remember is a book of verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. At the time, I had no idea who he was, but I loved that book. Somewhere along the way, it was lost or loved to death. It wasn’t until I purchased A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES for my own children that I realized the title and author of the book. My daughters also loved the book’s poems.

All speech, written or spoken, is a dead language, until it finds a willing and prepared hearer. Robert Louis Stevenson

Neither of those is the book my dad used when teaching me to read. I was thrilled with Bugs Bunny’s antics and Daddy taught me to read using the comic strip in our daily newspaper. To this day I’m not sure whether his greatest motivation in teaching me to read was to educate me or so I wouldn’t pester him the minute he came home from work. ☺ Since he was an advocate for strong education, I hope it was so I would be able to read more diversely.

Now I often reread books I’ve loved in order to study the word pictures the author painted. Do you have favorite authors whose descriptions are so perfect you read them again? I do. One is Loretta Chase in LORD PERFECT. Her descriptions of the hero and heroine are breathtaking. I love that book—as you have already guessed. I enjoy all of her books, but LORD PERFECT and MR. IMPOSSIBLE are my favorites. At least for now, but she continues to write amazing books.

Louis L’Amor is another author whose words paint pictures for me, and for my husband. We have detoured a couple of times while traveling to include a site mentioned in a book. Warning! Skip the town of Mogollon, New Mexico unless you are driving a small car on a weekend. Worst one-way mountain road we’ve ever driven. It’s frightening to look over the side of the mountain and see all the vehicles that didn’t make the turns.

Words have tremendous: power to soothe, power to harm, power to change lives forever. A harsh word cannot be recalled. A kind word never goes unnoticed.

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.  Proverbs 25:11  

WHO'S REALLY IN CHARGE?

As writers, we live with a few false impressions. For instance, some of our readers think we sit down at the computer and the words literally flow from our fingertips onto the keyboard, our thoughts go from beginning to book in a matter of days. No. We have future story ideas oozing from our pores. I wish! One of the biggest misconceptions, even for a writer, is that we are in control. Not even close.

Fellow Smart Girl contributor, Paty Jager, posted recently about her Halsey Brother Series. When she started her book, Marshal in Petticoats, she had no idea her hero had brothers. Through writing her story, each new character revealed themselves and thus a series was born. Well, not quite "thus". Sorry, Paty, for the over simplification.

I've said in previous posts that I started writing my book, Code of Honor, few years back. Said book ended up in a box, under the bed for a while. When I brought it back to the light of day, I figured I knew the story and the people inside out. Wrong. The original hero had died and a new one had taken his place. What??Also, several foster siblings appeared along with a couple of stray friends who popped in to help move the plot along. Lucky for me the siblings each brought with them their book titles which helped in naming The Texas Code Series. Another bit of over simplification. There was some head scratching, hair pulling, and hand wringing in the search as I recall.

So, I recently restarted the second book in the Code Series, Code of Conscience, which has also been keeping the dust bunnies company under the bed. I'm reading what was previously written, writing new, reading paper napkin notes, writing . . . wait a minute. Are you kidding me? The hero tells me he's in love with someone else. That I should have known the heroine wasn't right for him. Their personalities are too close and if I don't let him have the woman he wants, he'll either do something drastic or hang me out to dry. The more I think about it the more I see his side of it. He probably is more suited to another character and since I really would hate to be flapping in the breeze (for those of you who remember clothes lines in the back yard), I acquiesce. A new hero has made the scene and I already like the story better.

Bottom line, we are never in control. It's all an illusion that sucks us into the vortex called writing. So to all my friends and fellow writers - Happy Twirling!

So tell me, how do you feel about series? Do you like continuing stories or connected, stand-alone books? Please leave a comment and sign up for my newsletter on my website to win a copy of, Code of Honor and a $5 Amazon Gift Card. (Don't forget to leave me your email addy)

Thanks for stopping by today,
Carra
fall in love under Texas skies

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