I wrote about three different blogs and had to scrap them because I was contemplating my navel too much.

Therefore I suppose there's nothing else for it: parody time. And maybe, just maybe, it'll be a little bit inspirational to you as you hum along.

If not, at least be grateful I spared you the reading of my navel lint and its philosophical meaning to the rest of the Universe.

I’m taking it nice and easy,
It’s going to be so breezy
For me to write this book.
Hey, now, what’s my hurry?
Relax, I shouldn’t worry,
My opening’s going to be off the hook!
I’m on the road to getting published
That’s safe to say
But I better finish it or they’ll never pay
The problem now of course is
To figure out what my plot is of course is
To write nothing would be a crime
But nice & easy does it every time.

 I hope Old Blue Eyes isn't spinning too quickly in his grave. Frank, you know I love you!

Question of the Day: What little lies do you tell yourself in order to accomplish the tasks you have for yourself? Whether it's writing a book or giving birth...after all, neither of those cases is it "nice & easy". Well, except for maybe Terri...What little pep talks (LIES) do you tell yourself to get it done?

 

When I started writing His Bewitching Guardian last year, I knew I would have to avoid sounding too contemporary.  It was set in Regency England so some things they just couldn’t say.   Some words wouldn’t have left a proper young lady’s lips and some words hadn’t even been created yet.  It would have sounded ridiculous to have my hero call his friends “dudes” or have a girl talk about PMS.

It was a tough modification, but I bumbled through.  There are definitely moments where my Linguistics major CP Jordan still points out these errors but I think, like anything else, that it's possible to get used to watching out for things.  You start noticing when a word might not fit and where you might have to avoid informal language. 

I’ve started a new project.  It’s a YA Paranormal tentatively titled Touched.   All of a sudden, I’m able to sound as contemporary as I want. 

Now I have to worry about using contemporary language that feels clichéd.   'Cause really, who says gnarly anymore?

I should be breathing a sigh of relief.  I won’t be looking up the type of underpants girls in 19^th Century England wore.  Yippee!  But, now I have to worry about what kind of underpants a teenage girl in Generic American Town would wear if she were a normal girl who ran cross country, sort of hid in sweatshirts, and avoided conversations.  Not that her underpants will show up in my book (I suspect anyway) but character development is important.

My YA is also in 1^st person.  The story made it necessary, but I’m still getting used to the idea.  Thank goodness our Quartermaster writes a slamming first person and is holding my hand a little bit here.

So, this historical 3^rd person writer, accustomed to using more formal language, avoiding pronouns, and in possession of a healthy disdain for dialogue tags, is wrestling with her contemporary 1^st person voice.   A whole new world has opened up to me. 

I’m still exploring my horizons.

Do you prefer 1^st person or 3^rd person novels?  Do you write 1st or 3rd person?  What do you think are the benefits of each POV?    Do you think some stories just require a certain POV?  Any 1^st person stories that really stick out to you?  Any historicals you've noticed language that felt too contemporary?

Just a thought.

 

It’s passing at first. You walk down the hallway, up the stairs without the light thinking about it. You walk into the bedroom, ignoring the thought as you ready for bed. You sit on the edge of the bed, sinking into the softness as the thought mills around in your tired brain.

 

Ignore it. You’ve got better things to play out.

 

You lay your head on the pillow. You close your eyes slowly. The gentle glow from the TV is soothing, and the thought refuses to go away. You thought you could make it go away.

 

I mean, it’s only a thought. A brief moment, a flash through your subconscious.

 

But that thought brought your subconscious back into focus.

 

It brings you back together.

 

It pulls you apart.

 

The first glance into something new always sticks with you the hardest. It’s always the most vivid thought that keeps playing over and over again until you finally do something with it.

 

New stories are like that. Once they have you in their clutches, the new story doesn’t let you go. It builds. Gains momentum. Roars like a freight train coming around the bend. The fun and excitement of exploring new ideas, new directions, and new characters are what keep writer’s going through tough times when it’s not coming so easily anymore. New experiences keep our minds fresh and our writing strong so that those beginnings don’t turn into soggy middles and bad endings with loose ends.

 

But with all beginnings, we stumble and we fall. Beginnings bruise us from the inside out as we push through doubt and fear that our new start isn’t as great as we originally thought. So the trick is to work past the doubts; because in the beginning doubt will be the only thing that keeps you from moving forward. And with something new, doubt is just not acceptable.

 

So forge on, great writer, don’t let that beginning beat you down.

 

What is your favorite part about the beginning, whether it be from a writer or reader’s aspect?

*ship is abuzz with rumors of THE Teresa Medeiros being interviewed today; as a cabin door opens, the buzz dies and out of the dark depths emerges*

 

Captain Jack Sparrow: *waxing the left side of his mustache with one hand, he staggers over to a big cushy chair and sits* ‘Ello me lovelies, have you missed me? It has been a while since I’ve been above to visit you; but I insisted to Hellion that I should be the one to do the interview today. Therefore, it is my very great honor to present you our guest of honor, NYT’s bestseller and beloved romance author, Teresa Medeiros!

 

*much clapping and screaming from crew and fans; Hellion spies Teresa and faints where she stands*

 

CJS: *pointing at Hellion* Is she still doing that?

 

Bos’n: ‘Fraid so. *helping Hellion to stand again, who looks faintly confused to be on the floor again and is rubbing her head*

 

CJS: *turning to Teresa and taking her hand to lead her to the chair across from him; he kisses her hand* Thank you, Teresa. It really is wonderful of you join us today. We’ve been buzzing about it for months….

 

Teresa:  *sits and offers Jack her other hand to kiss as well* I'd heard you were "buzzed," Captain, but I thought that had more to do with the jug of rum in your hand. *crewmembers laugh, CJS looks…not the least abashed*

 

CJS: *his devilish smirk in place* Witty as well as beautiful. *kissing her other hand in an unseemly manner; sitting back down* So, let’s get the important question out of the way, shall we? Your fans are dying to know. Your eighteenth book, Some Like It Wicked, hit the shelves July 29^th; all of your books have been national bestsellers; and you’re a seven time RITA finalist: just how many times did you watch Pirates of the Caribbean? And will I get to play a part in any of your future novels? You know everyone loves a pirate. You could revisit that Thief of Hearts setting, you know. Everyone loves a sequel!

 

Teresa: I've lost count of the number of times I watched Pirates. I think Pirates and The Mummy both did an amazing job of bringing historical romance to vivid and pulse-pounding life. And it's ironic that you would be chattering on and on about yourself because I'm already telling people that Simon, the hero of Some Like It Wicked, is a cross between Captain Jack Sparrow and Sawyer from Lost with a spritzer of Cary Grant splashed in to liven up the mix.  And it's also amazing that you should mention Thief of Hearts because the first time I watched Pirates, I noticed a definite similarity between Captain Doom's ship in Thief and the Black Pearl.  As far as I'm concerned, pirates are like a good Chanel suit.  They never go out of style!  

 

CJS: *tugging on the cuff of his jacket, flicking lint off his sleeve* Indeed. As I mentioned before, Some Like It Wicked, hit the shelves July 29^th. What is this book about? What is your favorite part about this book?

 

Teresa:  After doing the two vampire books, I'm celebrating my return to the Regency historical with Some Like It Wicked.  My heroine, Catriona Kincaid, goes looking for a hero but finds a man. Sir Simon Wescott is languishing in Newgate Prison when she asks him to escort her to the Highlands to help her find her missing brother and restore the honor of her clan.  She offers him both wealth and freedom but Simon has a more sensual prize in mind.  And of course my favorite part of the book is Simon, who's a very bad boy but a real good man *Teresa gives CJS a knowing wink*.

 

CJS: *smirks back knowingly* Simon! I think I’ve met him. Complete pirate. The wenches here are going to go mad reading your novel, I can tell. It will be all I can do to keep up with them. *grins wickedly* And for that, I thank you. How important is a character’s name, do you think? I mean, clearly, I don’t believe my name could have been anything but *turns and smolders at the camera* Captain. Jack. Sparrow. *turns back and smolders at Teresa* But I’m curious if there was a special process you went through in picking out names? I did notice in your many, many novels a particular dearth of rakish heroes named Jack, for instance. Any particular reason why?

 

Teresa:  I have to confess that I've always had a fondness for those sweep-you-away classic romance names like Sebastian (Heather and Velvet), Gabriel (Yours Until Dawn) and Simon.  I'm not bashing the John's, Edward's and Jack's of the world, mind you.  I think there was a rather famous "Jack" featured in Lisa Kleypas's Suddenly You and one of my favorite heroes of all-time—besides you, of course—is Jack Bauer of 24.   

 

CJS: *grinning rakishly at her* Those dimples of yours are beguiling. *leans forward, looking at her through his eyelashes* What are the necessary things every hero must have? What is your favorite kind of hero to create? And do they look anything like me?

 

Teresa:   I look for the same qualities in a hero that I look for in a man—intelligence and a sense of humor.  There's nothing sexier than a man who can make you laugh or who can laugh at himself.  And my favorite hero to create is a dangerous one. To me, the main conflict in a romance should always be between the hero and heroine so if the hero doesn't pose an emotional (and sometimes physical) threat to the heroine, then the story loses steam. I like to write about men who have the power to either kiss or kill the heroine but who end up being unable to resist the kiss.  To me, that's where the true emotional power of the story lies. 

 

CJS: Danger is my middle name, lass. No worries. *lounging back indolently* You frequently go to the RWA conferences, do you not? Can you tell us a little about what it’s like to attend one? And if Hellion ever gets to go to one, will it be okay if she stalks you? (She did it to me; she’s really completely harmless.) Of course, she’ll have a better time, I think, if she stops fainting. She’s going to give herself a coma.

 

Teresa:  *peering nervously around to see if Hellion is still lurking behind the potted plant* I've been attending the annual RWA conference since 1989 when I was (cough, cough) twelve. They have wonderful workshops where you can learn everything you need to know about writing and publishing.  The only problem now is that I never have time to go to any of them!  I'm too busy being wined and dined by my publisher and agent and eating and drinking with my friends.  Oh, wait a minute—that's not a problem, is it?  It's the best slumber party in the world! 

 

CJS: Maybe I should go to a conference. I love slumber parties! I, of course, am your biggest fan. (I am, for understandable reasons, most partial to Thief of Hearts; however, Nobody’s Darling is perhaps my second favorite, because of the “éclair scene”.) Do you have a particular book that is your favorite, or can you not bear to pick only one? Hellion’s favorite scene (she raves about it constantly) is in Whisper of Roses when Enid and Ranald get caught having sex. Which is ironic since she never laughed when we were caught having….

 

Teresa: Hellion! *turning to gape at the plant*  I'm shocked!  I would have sworn you were as pure as one of my heroines before she meets one of my heroes! 

 

Crewmembers: *laughing hysterically at thought that Hellion’s a virgin*

 

Hellion: Well, I wouldn’t say pure. But I wouldn’t say, impure either.

 

CJS: The priest didn’t understand your logic either, darling. Go back to your plant. *Hellion sticks her tongue out at Jack and releases the fronds*

 

Teresa: *turning back from the plant, looking bemused* And ah, yes, Billy Darling from Nobody's Darling remains one of my all-time favorite heroes.  It's the rocking chair scene I remember with great fondness *eyes glaze over as she sighs wistfully*.  And I can't pick a favorite book because that would be like picking a favorite child.  I love each of them for different reasons. I love the dinner party scene where the lobsters escaped in Once An Angel and I'm very partial to Yours Until Dawn because I was so terribly, achingly in love with Gabriel by the time the book ended. And I have to humbly confess to sharing your fondness for Thief of Hearts.  I still swoon a little when I listen to Captain Doom's theme (Unforgiven by Metallica).    

 

CJS: That sounds like my theme-song as well. I swear, you do a little light thievery and piracy and no one lets you forget it. How are you able to balance both sides of your writing life: the writing and the business? Those aspects seem completely opposite of each other. And how do you keep on top of fan mail, promotion, and all the other stuff that seems to be forgotten when newbies are pursuing the writing dream? (What was your biggest shock to adjust to in the writing business?)

 

Teresa:  I think the internet has brought a tremendous amount of work into the writing life that wasn't there before. The best thing to do is compartmentalize the writing and keep it away from the promo aspects of the job as much as possible because it's two separate sides of the brain.  I can no longer write on ANY computer that has a connection to the internet.  So instead of working in my beautiful office, I end up crammed into a corner of the bedroom writing on my laptop. (I like to think of it as "the magic box where I keep my book.")  I think it's very easy to get swept up in the promotion of your work, but you have to remember that if you don't write, there won't be anything to promote.  Balance is essential!  

 

CJS: I strive for balance in everything but my rum consumption. I could interview you all day. You’ve been such a wonderful guest, and so informative; however, I think we only have time for one more question before I turn it over to the crew for their questions and comments: Which of the POTC movies did you enjoy most and why?

 

Teresa: I'd have to say the first movie because you know what they say, Jack--There's nothing like the first time!

 

CJS: *waxing his mustache in a happily embarrassed gesture* Indeed, luv, indeed. *turning to crew* Okay, your turn: what have you to ask THE Teresa Medeiros?

I'm not a fan of TV series'. In fact, I don't sit down for a lot of TV at all. Three years ago a commercial flashed across the screen. Very vivid imagery- especially with the blood red running like a river down the cobblestone road and the white roman garb dragging along the street, draped over luscious, barely covered bodies. It was sexy. It was bold. It caught my attention. Immediately, I knew I wanted to see what it was all about.Of course. It was on cable. Drat.



 

My one touch with modern pop culture is my BodyPump class. Our instructor’s daughter (she’s 14) creates the music compilations, and she’s not exactly a Brad Paisley fan. My current faves on the soundtrack right now is Miley Cyrus’s “See You Again” (since I’m so that person in the song) and Pussycat Dolls’s “When I Grow Up” (which is me when I was, you guessed it, 14.)

I’m assuming not everyone stays holed up in a cabin on a ship (and listens to Brad Paisley and watching POTC for the 400th time), but the lyrics are:

When I grow up
I wanna be famous
I wanna be a star
I wanna be in movies

When I grow up
I wanna see the world
Drive nice cars
I wanna have Groupies

When I grow up
Be on TV
People know me
Be on magazines

When I googled the lyrics, I got two different versions. One was “I wanna have groupies” and the other was “I wanna have boobies.”—at 14, I definitely wanted both.

Now, what’s funny about this song is that it’s got a “hail the conquering hero back to Rome” sort of lyric that follows. (In Rome, when the conquering hero was hailed in the street, he was riding in a chariot with this guy standing next to him…and the guy would say, as the people screamed like groupies, ‘This too shall pass.’ A sort of reality check to make sure you didn’t behave like a smug bastard, I guess.) So the reality check lyric that follows ‘I wanna have boobies’ (don’t we all?) is: be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.

You just might get it.

Oscar Wilde, whom I adore because he was so damned witty, says something along this line: In this world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.

It just strikes me that so much focus of conflict building is about denying your characters what they want. Deny, deny, deny. It’s a sound strategy; and it’s enough to keep you busy. But the fact is: just because you get “exactly what you asked for” doesn’t mean there isn’t conflict to be had. In fact, it almost takes less work for conflict to occur when you get what you want than when you don’t get what you want. If you’re denied, you just work harder to get it. You focus, you buckle down, you wait for the opportune moment—and when the flag lowers…you snag the booty.

Look, all you ever wanted. Now what?

Think Wile E. Coyote who finds he has the roadrunner clutched between his fingers, and then he realizes he's just run off a cliff. Beep, Beep.

Which is about the time you go: “Shit. What do we do now?” Why? Because there are still problems. There are always going to be problems. There is always something new, exciting, annoying and overwhelming to deal with. And usually whatever it is you wanted, comes with Bigger Problems. Don't worry--I'm sure it'll all work out in the end (the best stories always do), but don't think it's clear sailing from here.

After all, it's a lot harder to keep what you wished for once you get it than it generally takes to just get it. And not only is it hard to keep, sometimes it morphs into something else you didn't exactly anticipate. It's hard to deal with the whole picture when you've been focused on, oh, the camera this whole time. It's great character development.

We make our characters suffer so they earn their heart's most desperate desire--and they have to be "worthy" of it, but this is also a chance to reveal that they are worthy of it. Only those who understand the cost of getting exactly what they want will do what is necessary to make sure they don't destroy it...or themselves.

Just for a change of pace, feel free to break that “deny-deny-deny” rule and give your characters exactly what they wished for. Then make them deal with it. I mean, think about it: what would you do if you had everything you ever wished for?

Frankly I don’t know what I’d be doing about a pony now…and I don’t want a Mustang because I live somewhere where it snows. Never mind the insurance premiums! And I bet if I had the boobs I always wanted, it would be a PITA doing that move in BodyPump where you flip the bar and push the weight over your head. The bar kinda catches now and throws off the movement.

Have you ever gotten something you ever wished for and after the initial "Yeah!", went: "F--, what do I do now?" Do you prefer to deny your characters or give them exactly what they wished for? Or somewhere in between? Can anyone think of any book examples (I'm pulling a blank) of where getting what you wished for caused more problems? (The only example I've got is that joke email about Lord of the Rings where they say, "Some people will go to any lengths to get a ring; others, having had one for awhile, will go to any lengths to chuck it into a volcano.")

I love those forwards out there where you have to fill in all your favorite things.  It'll ask for your favorite color and your favorite number, your favorite kind of food and your favorite season.  I'm a sucker, I admit.  I'll fill those things in and send them on to my friends every time. 

You'd think I'd be bored of filling them out.  I mean, how many times can I tell people what my favorite color and type of food are, right?

But, every time I get one, I find myself pondering over the answers.  Some things don't change (my favorite color is blue and I prefer the fall to any other season) but some things do (I like Mexican food, but sometimes I like Chinese and Italian better).

I just finished writing a historical.  It was such fun, all that history and all those strictures to work with. 

I thought while I was writing it that I would never want to write any other kind of romance.  But after I was done and starting to get myself pumped to write the story's sequel, my mind rebeled and here I am, trotting after my muse to write a YA paranormal.

Part of me blames this on my obsession with Harry Potter and the Twilight series.  I'm like a crazed tweener for those books.  But I can see that the strictures of writing about teenage growth and angst would appeal to me as much as writing set in the strictures of the Regency era.

I am nervous though.  I've never tried this before and it's a big stretch from where I just came from.

But I think sometimes it's fun to stretch out your creative muscles.  How else will I know where I really fit in the end?

Have you ever been tempted to switch genres?  Have you?  If not, why not?  For those readers, do you skip around in different genres?   I know I never read paranormal before this past couple years, though I love it now.