Sunday, April 13, 2008
RWR Proudly Welcomes Guest Blogger, Dana Marton!
Today, the boat is a rockin' for the arrival of Pirate Author, Dana Marton! Dana will be raffling off a copy of her newest release from Harlequin Intrigue, 72 Hours, to one lucky commenter. You can find this fast-paced and hot read on the shelves of your local bookstore right now! I just finished it and it was wonderful.Without further rambling on my part, here's Dana!
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Hello, Everyone! Wishing all a wonderful morning! I feel so honored to be invited to do this guest blog. Thank you!!!
As a quick introduction… I’m a Harlequin Intrigue author. And I’m still tickled pink every time I get to say that. While my novels are fast paced, my road to being published was anything but. I had to hold my breath through 12 years of writing and several manuscript rejected by everyone under the sun before Harlequin made an offer on my first published novel, SHADOW SOLDIER. Talking about the scream that was heard around the world! I was a tad overexcited. Trying to make up for lost time, in the almost five years since, I sold 20 stories to them.
I love, love, love to write just about anything, but found that romantic suspense is a really good match for my voice. I tend to write action/adventure novels that hop all around the globe. So far, I’ve written about the U.S., Europe, Middle-East, Malaysia and South America. My current release, 72 HOURS is about an embassy crisis in Paris. Undercover agent, Parker McCall, is running for his life, nowhere near being done with his last mission when he receives a new one, to save the U.S. Consul in Paris who's been taken hostage. Being held in a building stuffed with explosives and biological weapons, Kate Hamilton didn't think her situation could get worse. But then they send the devil to rescue her: her ex.
I love a good, strong undercurrent of emotions in a book, and the past these two shared, certainly provided that. I also enjoy exploring how people change over the years. How mistakes can be corrected, wrongs forgiven. I firmly believe that everyone deserves a second chance, and second chance love stories are some of my favorites.
So since my life is pretty boring… It mostly consists of writing, more writing and editing, I thought I’d say a few words about Intrigues, in case someone hasn’t tried them yet, or if someone would like to write for this line.
Intrigues are known for fast beginnings. The book starts with action. You won’t find someone in a car, going someplace, thinking about what he’ll do when he gets there, setting up the story. If an Intrigue starts with the hero sitting in a car, there better be a car bomb involved that’s set to explode any second. Which is how my Sept. 08 release SHEIK PROTECTOR, begins.
Intrigues are hero oriented, and these heroes are often larger than life. They also often carry the scars of their past. If he’s an FBI agent, he’s the best the Bureau has. If he’s a cowboy, he’s tougher than all the rest. If he’s military, he’s a super soldier who knows everything from how to fly a helicopter to how to disarm a nuclear warhead. These men are tough and rough and take care of business like you wouldn’t believe it. If there’s trouble, they don’t call the police. They will take care of whatever needs to be taken care of themselves.
Heroes this strong need exceptionally strong heroines as well. And I love writing them!
Add a villain who’s darker and scarier than all the rest, raise the stakes at every turn and make sure the hero and heroine generate enough heat to melt the cover off the book, and you have an Intrigue.
Can you tell yet that I’m completely nuts about them?
I’ll be stopping in throughout the day and would be very happy to answer any question about myself or the writing life.
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Thank you, Dana, and thank you again for hanging out with us on the ship. Now, it's your turn, wenches. What questions do you have for Dana? And don't forget, one lucky commenters gets a copy of 72 Hours!
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28 comments:
Sounds---sorry---intriguing, LOL. So are you an armchair traveler, or do you try to visit the settings of your books?
Yippee, Dana is here!!
I've been trying to save my questions for today, so I have a few. I read on your website that you have a masters in writing fiction. Did you find that helpful? What was the program like?
And, of course, something we debate a lot around here: pantser or plotter?
Finally, can I keep Parker? I don't think my husband will mind. (Considering Parker exists only on paper.)
Welcome Dana! So great to 'see' you here. I'll ask you the same question I ask every visiting author:What is your revision process?
Good morning and welcome, Dana! We are very excited to have you with us. Marnee has been raving around the ship waiting for this day to get here. LOL!
I think you need to add sales person to your resume because you have totally sold me on this line. I've always loved RS and had no idea I could get such a punch in these books.
And did you say 20 stories in five years?! That's amazing. When do you sleep? LOL! I'm thinking you must do some interesting research. What's some of the most interesting things you've done in the name of research?
Good morning, Dana. I too have a question for you.
Tell me, how do you create the “larger than life” heroes portrayed in your books? Do you research declassified documents, have clandestine meetings with ex spies, and interview interesting people with Intriguing backgrounds? Or are you going to smile and say that you simply make it all up… that’s your story … and you’re sticking to it!
Intrigued minds want to know.
Where's your favorite place you've ever set a book? (And did you get to go there to research it?) Do you have any Intrigues set in Scotland? Being that 72 Hours sounds like a reunion story, do you frequently have reunion stories as a core theme for your books? If not, what do you think your core story is?
I really enjoyed your blog and I will be picking up 72 hours next time I'm at the store. YOU totally sold me.
Sometimes I have a hard time reading action stories set in the middle east, at least right now with my brother serving in Afghanistan (again). But if this story is set in Paris, I can read that with no problem.
Do you have any favorite research book or website ?
Di
Dana! *waving* Welcome to the ship! So glad you've come aboard!
Sorry I'm late this morning, Marn!
72 Hours sounds like my type of book! Congrats on your 20 books in five years! Your fingers must fly like the wind!
Now, how long does it take you to complete your novels? Anything special you do to help you along if you're stuck in a rut?
Is ok, Sin! Oh, and what a good question. I could use help getting through the rut. :)
Me too. I'm perpetually in one all the time. LOL
Oh, Solomon! Where will you stash your blunderbuss and powder horn? *bats eyes*
Ach, the ship has picked up a golden treasure. Welcome, Dana! All of these wenches have already asked brilliant questions. I'm most interested in your prolific-ness (20 books in 5 years). How do you manage your time, be it writing time vs family time? Do you travel extensively to research your novels? Have you ever written historicals? And what would your advice be to those of us facing the dreaded rrrr's.
Prom, mateys, was a wonderful experience for my little vixen. Luckily for the crazy wench and her equally crazed ma, neither stirred trouble. Arrrrr! I have a crew posted and ready to intercept the wiley wench should she attempt to stir anything up at ye ol' baseball game tonight. Double Arrrrr.
Kathy, I'm so glad your girl had a good time at the prom and that there was no drama. :)
Did somebody say rut? Cause I'm about to move all my things in there.
*Waves to Dana* So glad you're here!
I have no questions. I'm just a semi-lurker today. A big HELLO to all the other wenches in here :D
Dana,
Welcome to the ship!
Congratulations on all of your success. It apprears I have another book to add to my TBR pile:)
What do you look most forward to in your writing process?
Hi Dana! Thanks again for stopping by!
I was wondering if you had spent any time with any commandos. :) Your descriptions of them feel so real, I had assumed you had.
Dana - you are my new hero! I think you are right where the rest of us want to be. LOL! Do you think you could bottle that and pass it out?
And I have to say, I love "I fell off a quarterback." LOL! Don't you hate when that happens?! About that research trip, I'd be happy to handle that for you. I promise to send back very detailed notes. And I live in a military town so it would be no problem!
Dana said, “You decide, what do you want to be… a great writer or a great housekeeper? Give your best effort to what you want to be.”
This is so true. My eyes see it, my ears hear it, my head registers it, but I can't get my sorry carcass to administer it. Arrrr! Thanks for the exceptional advice though. As for writing first thing in the morning, on days when I have time, I find myself wasting it on the computer checking enormous amounts of e-mail. Before I know it, I've 'wasted' -here's that word again- 3 hours. What do you do to put butt in chair?
Do you listen to music to set the mood? Do you story board?
As Dana's editor, I have to say I'm thrilled that she's posting and that everyone seems to love her as much as I do. Dana's been wonderful to work with and publishing her is easy: she writes the kind of books we want to provide our readers with. And of course that includes you guys. What she says is spot on about our heroes and heroines. And the action should move, the hero never just going along, doing nothing but waiting for something to happen. He should be prepared for anything, and a bomb going off is definitely anything! I always encourage those who want to write to actually read our books. And if you read Dana's stuff, you'll see some examples of stories that have certainly made an impact in Harlequin Intrigue. Even if you've been rejected for years, don't stop trying. As Dana said, it took her a long time to get discovered but, in the end, it was well worth the work. For her and for us.
Terrio--If you do get some commando research done, please let me know. I'd love to hear the details :-)(Umm... Maybe some pictures?)
Kathy--I can't listen to music while I write. If I listen to music, I can't hear the story in my head. Does that make sense? In my head I'm saying the story as I'm writing it down. Very rarely, I storyboard. I no longer need to put myself in the writing mood. I sit at the computer. I write. I try not to even go downstairs until I have a few pages. If I do, I see the half-finished cereal sitting in bowls and the milk nobody put away and I'm tempted to clean up the kitchen. Then I'd get into cleaning mode. I'm so good now at ignoring mess :-) After I have a few pages, I go grab a banana, (put away the milk) bring the banana back up to my PC, eat it at my desk. Won't go back down until lunch. I eat that on the patio if the weather is nice. I don't stop working until the family is home. Then I multitask cleaning with spending time with them. I can chat while doing dishes. Basically, look at writing as if you were at an office job. Could you run home to clean up breakfast dishes? No, they'd have to wait until you got home from work. I'm pretty ruthless about this. Nobody expects CEOs to toss in a load of laundry between board meetings. At the beginning, I'd have neighbors asking me to watch their kids during the day because I worked for home. They wouldn't have asked another neighbor to take a vacation day from their office job to baby sit. I politely and very professionaly declined. They caught on after a while. I even broke friends and family from calling me during my "office hours." When I'm in an action scene with some bomb ticking, I don't need to hear about my cousin's hampster's adventures.
Allison--Thank you for stopping in!! Allison is the most fantastic editor to work with. She's made every single book she edited for me so much better and I'm so grateful for that. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being part of Intrigue.
Really, as she said, the thing is not to get discouraged. Rejections will come. Not all my ideas are accepted even now. But that is also a challenge, to make the next one even better. To be truthful, I'd write even if I knew I could never publish another book. I LOVE the writing process itself.
I'd recommend keeping a folder of rejection letters and envisioning using it at a workshop you're giving at an RWA conf to hopeful writers. Picture yourself holding up that folder when you are a bestselling author and nobody believes that you were a beginner at one point, too. You are not getting rejections, you are collecting material for your "How to be a Bestselling Author" seminar.
I'll be in the audience, cheering. :-)
Thank you again for the warm welcome! I'm so glad you found me, Marnee!
Dana
Are you kidding? I would so lynch someone if they called in the middle of my work day to talk about their hamster adventures (or the equivalent!) The phone ringing is such a darned distraction...
Thank you for coming by to blog with with Dana! I will definitely have to add you to my TBR pile. (And your editor came by and said hello too! *waves at Allison* That's just way too cool!) I totally understand what she's saying. There are so many books that are good or fine, but just don't stand out--and it's rare to find an author who stands out, especially in category romance where everything is so constrained. I think it's phenomenal anyone is able to do it, to be quite honest (because I couldn't), but to do it and do it brilliantly--definite KUDOS.
So thanks again for taking time out of your busy workday to play on the ship!
Allison - thank you for stopping by to visit and for your valuable advice about the Intrigue line. The books I've read recently have been very tight and highly enjoyable. I am thrilled Dana could visit with us and hope that everyone else here enjoys her books as much as I have.
Dana - thank you for coming too! I'm so pleased and grateful that you decided to visit. It has been wonderful having you. :)
Thank you to Allison for taking the time to stop by. Never give up! Just what I needed to hear.
And a big THANK YOU to Dana for being such a great guest blogger and sharing much knowledge and inspiration. You can be sure if...err...when I get to that research, you'll get all the scoop!
Thanks for inspiring me so much today, Dana and Allison. I've taken your advice to heart and printed it out for future reference. :-)
Thank you for "chatting" with me!! I even posted a brief blog about this wonderful site on my MySpace page today. (www.myspace.com/danamarton) I have a proposal due today that's not finished yet, so I'm rushing about, but wanted to check in to thank you all again.
Oh, and I wanted to tell you that you inspired me to find out my pirate name. Just call me Jolly Marie Smithe. :-)
Dana/Marie
Oooohhh!! Pirate names! How fun! And that's a good one, Marie, er... Dana.
Hi Dana, and all the pirates. Argh! I'm here late today -- been revising :) but I wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading the blog. This is my first visit, but it won't be my last.
Dana, you know how much I love your books. You're one of my favorites!
Oh, and I do love pirates!
Mallory
Mallory, welcome! I look forward to seeing more of you. (Please don't be discouraged by our completely random tangents....)
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