I've been watching a lot of Nick Jr lately. My kid is still young enough to adore the shows that address the audience and ask questions. We'll sit there together, and he'll yell out answers to every shape and color that kids are asked to identify (at least, I'm pretty sure he's correctly identifying them -- I can still only understand about half of what comes out of his mouth :).

But there's a pacing problem with these shows. A big pacing problem, that sort of drives me nuts -- even though I fully understand it's designed for toddlers -- and is similar to a pacing problem I had pointed out to me in my WIP.

Here's a classic example (I was going to try to find a video, but I thought I would spare you all):

Dora and Boots (the cute little monkey) are in a car, traveling down the road at a steady speed, and in front of them they see a big rock in the road.

Dora: "Oh no! We have to turn the wheel to go around the rock!"

They're getting steadily closer to the rock, still traveling at the same speed.

Then Dora turns to the audience and says, "Come on, we have to turn the wheel. Put your hands out and turn the wheel."

Dora pauses to let all the kids watching get in position to turn the wheel -- but they're still moving at the same speed.

This is where the problem comes in -- Dora and Boots are still moving at the same speed. They should have hit the rock about 10 seconds ago. And yet, they're still driving, and still talking about turning the wheel. Finally, Dora turns back to the road to turn the wheel, and they avoid it.

The pacing is all wrong. The tension rises as they're approaching the rock. And with the rising tension, we get a good sense of how long they have until the crash. We can see the sequence of events laid out in front of us, and the tension goes up as we wait to see if they can avoid it.

But when it takes longer to get to the crisis (in this example, the big rock they're about to crash into) then the reader/watcher is expecting, the tension falls apart.

Something similar had happened in my WIP. I had a section where the tension was climbing and climbing . . . and then nothing. I got the same response from readers. The "What the hell? I was all prepared to crash into the rock, and then the rock never came!" reaction that I have to Dora the Explorer.

What about you? Do you take writing lessons what your kids are involved in or loving? Do you notice pacing problems in shows or books that can inform your own writing? Do you struggle with pacing and tension?

The Dark-Hunters and Sherrilyn Kenyon's world has been around for about fifteen years (published)--and I adore the series. Intensely hot heroes, dark broken men who need great redemption and end up finding the love of a woman is just the thing to heal their past--and then there is all the mythology, pantheons, and things that go bump in the night all over the place. I've always been a romance reader, but one of my best friends just wasn't. It wasn't until I found out she was reading LaVyrle Spencer behind my back that she had even crossed to the dark side.

And because my friend is gothy in nature--and is not entirely opposed to vampires (though she is against gruesome gore), I passed her my Dark-Hunter books for a whirl. Then she really went to the dark side. She loved these books almost more than I did.

The Dark-Hunters can't go out in the daytime, so they have Squires. One of those squires is a kid named Nick Gautier, who is a mouthy little Cajun with a hot-tempered mama. And you don't talk bad about his mama, period. So it was a major plot-turn in one of the books when Nick's mama died. And then Nick killed himself...and incidentally became a Dark-Hunter himself. Which was a bit complicated because he's a few other things besides.

I don't know how Sherrilyn Kenyon keeps her world-building straight, but kudos to that woman. Holy cow.

As if writing about 2-3 of these books a year doesn't consume enough of her time, Sherrilyn decided to write the YA version of Nick Gautier's life, before he becomes a dark-hunter. I wasn't sure I'd dig this series, frankly because I didn't want to get sucked into another of her series, but this one has a more finite life-span of Nick so I figured it was probably relatively safe.

Totally loved them. Reading them has reminded me how much I love the Dark-Hunter series and now I want to go back and reread the series again.

The first one is called INFINITY, the second is INVINCIBLE, and the third is INFAMOUS.

INFERNO comes out in April, and I can't wait to read it.

This series has explained so much in the story world, the other side of the coin if you will. And it really really makes you hope that we can change our destiny...somehow. Everyone has their own side to the story.

Anyway, if you're snowed in like I am today...and are looking for some books to keep you warm, definitely put these on your list to give a whirl. Meanwhile, I've already bought three new books for my big snow day--and I'm set. Whoot-whoot!

What are you reading this week? Anyone else read the Dark-Hunters?

The Oscars. Everyone has been buzzing about them for weeks, months. For the first time since I remember I had actually seen half of the movies they had nominated for best picture and agreed they were actually good. The other half, I still actually wanted to see but hadn't had a chance yet. Everyone agreed who the best picture would go to. Or they had the bets hedged at the very least. I remember seeing the TODAY show going, "Half the votes will go here, half will go there, and I bet Amore will get it instead! Wouldn't that be wonderful?" But that was a wildcard wish--we all knew who would actually win. We knew. And then....

Yep. The one they kept dismissing was the one that won. Argo. Mind you, I believe most everyone agreed it was a great movie: great pacing, great dialogue, great story in general--something you could get behind, but it was surrounded by movies with more meat to them. And seriously who wouldn't be voting for Lincoln? Wouldn't that be sacrilegious if you didn't? How can you not vote for our best president? Daniel Day-Lewis is his doppelganger for crying out loud.

Anyway, whether you agree or disagree with how the awards were passed out last night, it just goes to show, you just never know. If you're in the listing, you could very well win, even if the competition is Nora Roberts, Kristan Higgins, Barbara O'Neal, and Jennifer Crusie. That RITA, my friends, could very well be yours as anyone else's.

Of course, it's honor to be nominated, don't get me wrong, but how exactly would your acceptance speech go--and for what would you win it? Who were your competitors? Who helped you achieve this remarkable award, and what are you going to do now?

I'll go first. (Black strapless gown with one of those Angelina Jolie slits in it...and a little train because I like having a parade in my wake.)

"OMG! I can't believe I actually won. Wow. Just wow. Thanks...um...yeah, for a writer I sound very articulate, don't I? First I'd like to thank my editor, who I'm sure wishes she could have seen my speech before this moment, and my agent, who is probably wishing the same. I couldn't have done this without the unwavering support of my family and friends--but most especially my Deerhunter, who not only thinks I'm adorable in a bikini and body paint, but that I'm actually good enough at writing to make a living at it. Bless his heart. You were right, baby. I hope you taped this because that's the only time you're hearing those words.When I look at the other writers in this category--all previous RITA winners and brilliant--I'm just happy my check to the judges cleared." Pause for laughter. "I'm totally kidding. They only take cash. I also need to give a shout out to my mates and crew on the Romance Writer's Revenge--without your support, stashes of rum, and constant kicks in the backside, I wouldn't be here now. Thank you, everyone."

What I'd probably really say.

"OMG!" Ugly crying and shaking like a chihuahua. "I'm can't believe...I...I...OMG...thank you. Thank you so much. I'm so glad you loved my characters' journeys as much as I did. Thank you for believing in second chances and redemption...and OMGOMGOMG, um, I've forgotten everyone's names. Thank you, everyone! You know who you are...and if I don't know you, thank you too! I love you! I love everyone!"

Fortunately I heard Ben Affleck's speech was a bit more practiced than either of mine. Thank. God. Which is why he's winning the awards, I imagine.

So...if you were given an award: for what would you be receiving the award, whom would you thank, and what would your dress look like? (Let's be honest, that's the reason we're watching. Q, I assume you'll be there in a James Bond-esque tux, so no need to spill the beans about dresses for us, we'll be happy to hear about your great science peace-prize award you'll be getting....)

Short version here if your Tuesday is busy: go buy THE AUTUMN BRIDE. Do not pass "Go", do not collect $200. (Monopoly should really adjust for inflation, shouldn't it?) In summary, I was waiting eagerly for MONTHS for this book to be in my hot little hands and it did not disappoint in a single scene. Best of all, if you're the type who doesn't like to read in the middle of series, this one is the beginning of the series. You have missed nothing.

Longer version if you're stubborn and not as easily convinced by my natural ability to be right about everything. (Your loss.)

1. A Regency set novel of a heroine stuck in hard times with an original twist: how many other books can you name in which the heroine tries to burgle a house, discovers a sick old lady, then decides to move in to help her instead? That's right. You can't think of any either.

2. You need a book for Book Club, and you're tired of reading about people who drop dead of cancer or a hit-and-run ten pages from the end of the book. I can't blame you. This is the book. Lots of angst and what will happen to these poor characters, but with none of that "Oh, dear, draw a straw--which one is biting it in the end?" I always hate that. (I'm looking at you, Julian Fellowes.)

3. Speaking of book clubs, this book has a book club in it. How many Regency set novels do you know had a book club in them? None of them, I tell you. I've been reading since I was in the womb and none of mother's books had heroines in the Regency period going to book clubs. Anyway, you can totally use that scene to sell this book to Book Club. When fiction mirrors real life, crap like that. Pretentious book club members eat that stuff up and won't realize they're actually having fun until its too late.

4. If enough people buy this book, the publishers will notice and Hollywood will notice--and someone (okay, Mr. Fellowes, I suppose you can come back) will have to write the screenplay. AND since we already know the ending, we know there will be no tragic car accidents. Mostly because this is the Regency period and there are no cars, but the outcome is still the same. A happy ending. Anyway, the point, once Hollywood comes, Maggie Smith can play the dowager that's in this book as well--i.e. the sick old lady. The part was quite written for her, I believe. Those lines! So witty! "I thought books were supposed to improve the mind, but this wasn't that kind of book. But I did notice my mood was improved!" Oh, truer words! I should send dear Maggie a copy. *makes note*

5. For the English majors out there in the pirating world--honestly you should get a life--but if you enjoy that sort of "reading a book to look at structure and admire how its done", this is also a fine book for that as well. Anne Gracie is an organic writer--doesn't really plot the thing out exactly, but goes along with her characters and stays true to them and their behaviors. (Don't bother, Julian, no one cares for your excuses!) Anyway, one of the many things you can notice--without it being obvious and heavy-handed--is how the hero and the heroine both have similar strengths that are their greatest weakness as well. For instance, the heroine is extremely loyal--to the point of not being remotely selfish if it hurts anyone in her circle she's loyal to. She'd never betray someone she loves. Of course, not everyone in her circle has this problem and this is a huge conflict for her. The hero is extremely honorable--goes with being a Regency gentleman, does it not? But his honor and her loyalty get into several head-butting situations. Who's right? Who's wrong? Why is there are all this gray around?

6. You won't be able to wait for the other books of the Chance sisters. (I think this is self-explanatory.)

7. The hero is really quite broody, handsome, and steps in it a lot a la Mr. Darcy. Which coincidentally the Mr. Darcy book makes it to the Book Club.

8. Book within a book--see above. Who doesn't enjoy seeing books we love featured in other books we're loving?

9. I'm sure you won't even notice what I'm typing here because you've already run off to the link and are buying your copy. Right? Right. As you should.

10. Because I said so, that's why. It's almost midnight and I need to get some shut eye. Listen to me, damnit.

Has anyone else read Anne Gracie? What's your favorite book by her? And if you haven't read her (shame on you) what Regency set novel really impressed you for making an original twist to something that can be so easy to make the same? (The question can apply to any genre, really--what original twist have you seen in something near and dear to you that really impressed you?)

Sorry I'm late!  I was hung over from whatever the bartender served last night on the ship...what was that Chance?

This morning I was reading Agent Rachelle Gardner's blog post 8 Ways to Be a Happy Writer and I loved how it reminded me to just love the process. (Go read the really short post here, and then come back.)

What it made me start thinking about those are those things that get us down about our writing to begin with. Recently we talked about the day to day stress we are all under and how we can best deal with it, but what about those things particular to writing that seem to bring us down?

Is there a part in the process that kills your mojo?

For instance I KNOW that anytime I have to concentrate on writing about the surroundings or really making the place they are in come alive makes me want to bang my head against the wall. It really takes a lot to pull that out of me. The more I'm having to add that to a scene the grumpier I get and I find myself drifting away from the writing and finding other things I need to do around the house.

Is it dialogue for you? Personally I love writing dialogue, but I've heard some authors wail about putting that off until editing. Really? I can't imagine.

But today what I'm trying to get to is identifying the actual part of the writing process - not the editing process - that takes you out of your happy place.

Let's find it and then discuss some ways we can manipulate those little stinkers into submission. Let's find a way to learn to love even those parts of the process we normally want to hide from. \

So, where do you get stuck? What takes you from a writer cruising along, racking up the word count, to almost wishing you could do anything else at that moment in time? Once you identify it, how can we make it work for you - make you a better, stronger author for learning to embrace it? 

(Oh - and that pic is a lovely castle in Germany I saw this past year and it has nothing to do with this post, but it's it awesome!)

It's that time of year again when I daydream about leaving my job (the one that pays the bills) and running off to a Caribbean for real. Not just in my daily fictional reality on this ship. I know why. January starts off languid but immediately picks up in acceleration as the start of the Spring semester begins, students crop up at the last minute waiting to enroll, files are hastily scrambled together for an early semester meeting, and lucky students are nominated for awards that I'm in charge of getting the packets to the appropriate people.

Most of the problem is a lack of communication. I'm sure you can identify this in your daily lives with people. People are all absorbed in their own dramas and journeys; many are keeping secrets that are none of your business; and there is a lot of last minute action and urgency that suddenly becomes your problem even though it is not your problem. Honestly you're in the middle of a working novel all the time and don't even appreciate it.

I've spent the last two weeks treading water--which is why if this blog makes a point of any kind, I will consider it a moral victory. And much of my problem with the last two weeks is the lack of communication--and the unfortunate coincidence that I'm in the middle of this communication drought. It makes me extremely testy when the lack of communication comes about at work because it makes my job very difficult. I just want to be able to do my work and go home. That's the goal, folks. Do my work just good enough to keep the checks coming so I can be a responsible person in society and come home for a few hours to decompress, write perhaps, and enjoy my sweet life. Most days I can do just that.

And then there were the last two weeks. Now I know this will be a chaotic next couple of months for me. It always is. Applications fly through my office as if they were delivered by owl post, phone calls pour in as if individuals think they're the only people who want to go to school, and it wouldn't be a week day if there wasn't a "fire" to put out somewhere. It is what it is. But then we added a committee to my regular work. A committee in which getting 9 people to agree is like getting the Republicans to pass a budget that expands Medicare and Social Security. On top of it, I have to meet with this committee every two weeks for at least an hour--and it pisses me off for a good three days after. It makes my normal work rather unproductive, but it's not slowing down just because I'm stressed out. No. And I'm certainly not the only one stressed--the rest of my coworkers are freaking out about a division merger and at least twice a day, I have a coworker in my office asking my opinion on the latest conspiracy theory with work. Honestly, my coworkers are giving the head honchos way too much credit for having any idea what they're doing. Oh, I agree, they have an outcome in mind, some pipe dream, but an actual plan to implement to make it happen? No. Because they're all too self-absorbed with their daily stresses to worry about fixing any of ours.

But I can leave work at work. No worries. Then I come home...and Fate has to take a dump in my house as well. My best friend from forever discovered she's sick--and there's not a damned thing I can do about it. Other than threaten her doctors they better fix her good, but I doubt that's very productive.

I can point to a lot of things in the last two weeks that have contributed to my lack of words on my WIP. All legitimate things. But as I look at them, I see something in common: most of them have little to do with me, per se. I need to react differently to these stressers rather than allowing them to steal my energy and strength. I'm not doing myself or anyone else any good by being mad, disorganized, sad, and demoralized about all the things I'm facing. I need to S.T.O.P.

Stop. Think. Observe. Prepare.

Stop doing your Chicken Little routine with everyone else. It's not doing anybody any good. Think of the situation, stripping it back to its elements, to the actual problem and not what you think might happen. Observe and see what steps need to be taken right now and do them. Prepare for victory--because those who stop and get it together and do something are always the ones who win.

Now my first order of business is to sit down and communicate with some of my higher ups so I can get something productive done. The committee will sort itself out later. And my friend? She will be just fine. She's a fighter and a winner--and she is in great hands, surrounded by supportive friends and family. I just need to help her keep positive. And in the meantime, I will not freak out that my writing hasn't been flowing like Niagara Falls this week and know everything cycles and it's never as bad as I think.

Meanwhile, let's talk about the crew? Anyone stressed to the max? Anyone got the winter doldrums and cabin fever? What are your best tips for relieving stress?

Musical Influence:

Okay, in regards to Teresa Medeiros' novels, I'm more on the biased side. I've read her for at least twenty years; I practically cut my romantic teeth on her. I wanted to grow up to be a writer that was a cross between her and Julie Garwood...and Jude Deveraux. And Jill Barnett. And...you get the idea. The woman is one of The Greats for me. Probably because she wrote some deliciously seductive Scotsmen I still can't get out of my head. So I admit up front--I've been in Ms. Medeiros' camp for a long, long time. (She obviously started publishing when she was 10. Those prodigies!)

Today, you have the chance to fall in love with her newest hero: Maximillian Burke, the Earl of Dravenwood (THE TEMPTATION OF YOUR TOUCH), who has the unenviable position of being someone in love with someone who is in love with someone else. And always has been. With his younger brother, no less. Basically your original crappy triangle. And because Maximillian is a hero...and of course, loves his brother, and more importantly, loves the woman he's loved all his life, he gives them his blessing. But it's the beginning of his story--and he's miserable as f--hell.

For a change of scenery, he goes to the countryside where one of his more natural-looking estates resides. He is not allowed to wallow in his melancholy because he's stuck dealing with superstitious townspeople who won't even go to his manor; engaging with a ragtag bunch of servants who seem to have been culled from a nearby asylum; and keeping his hands off a delicious smelling housekeeper who seems intent on being anything but helpful even though she's one of the servants. And let's not mention the food. And the Elizabeths. Or Piddles (who lives up to his name.)

Upon arrival, he transfers his affections from one unattainable beauty to another: in the form of a painting of the lady who is supposed to haunt the house, an impetuous young miss who threw herself off the cliffs many years ago. (Just like a guy, isn't it? Always falling for the wrong girl.) Believe me, the housekeeper, Anne, is not impressed with his choice of broads.

What unfolds is your standard story of the put-upon nobleman: expensive boots destroyed by a family dog who has higher social standing in his house than he does; nearly being burned alive in the house; falling off the cliff where the fair maiden disappeared years ago; and...falling insane love with one of the servants. (But that part is totally understandable. She bakes! Bread. The poor bloke had no chance. The food really was awful. The bread was like manna.)

Meanwhile you the reader spends your time unraveling the mystery of the ghost who haunts the house, of the many wrongs done to the family, and just who was the artist of that magnificent portrait. It's a mystery that took me a little while to unravel. (I like to think the answers weren't immediately obvious, but I didn't understand The Sixth Sense until the end and was like "No way!" So I might not be the best judge.) I enjoyed unraveling it at any rate; and the romance and tension were top-notch for me. There was no rushing into bed to prove anything, but a lot of the FORBIDDEN that comes when a servant falls in love with her master.

I quite enjoy the prequel to this one: THE PLEASURE OF YOUR KISS, which deals with the other two parts of the hero's triangle and their love match. It has the nostalgic hero-heroine interactions that I love about Medeiros' characters: a bit like Anna and the King of Siam, evenly matched wills and saucy retorts. And this one does too.

Well-drawn character, heartfelt emotion, lush prose, and a heart-warming love story happy ending. You can't go wrong.

So question of the day is an either-or: what's your favorite romantic triangle in fiction OR what food could the love of your life seduce you with (especially if they cooked it)? And of course, what are you reading this week?

And if anyone asks, I bought my copy--rabidly--last week and devoured it over the weekend. :) So this is a completely unsolicited review.

Or I’ll sic Zee on you.

P.S.