Monday, December 10, 2007
The Pirates of PEN-zance! Or perhaps the Pirates of PUN-zance?
Sorry. Couldn’t help myself. I don’t even know if Gilbert and Sullivan operettas are popular in the US. They sure still are over here in Australia but then we kept a lot of our British ways like tea drinking and the use of the word ‘bloody’.
Anyway, enough waffling! Avast, me hearties! Arrrrrrrrrrrrr! Shiver me timbers! Walk the plank, ye landlubbers!
Yes, we’re about to celebrate the writer as pirate! And I’m waving my cutlass in excitement (hmm, perhaps that’s what my heroes do instead?) at this incredible honor of being the first captain from a rival vessel to board the good ship YO HO, A WRITER’S LIFE FOR ME! Land ho! Well, publication ho, anyway!!!!
Firstly, good luck to your enterprise and may she sail the seven seas for a long, long time to come. I’ve been lurking for a while and I think it’s fantastic. You’re all doing wonderful jobs of filling out the captain’s log…uh, blog. An extra measure of grog to you all! But be careful when you climb the mizzenmast! We don’t want you coming to grief on a sagging middle and falling flat on the decks, now, do we?
I love the idea of a writer as a pirate. We’re all pirates, setting out as outlaws to seize the gold bullion from the Spanish galleons plying the main. Um, that is grab fantastic publishing contracts and share our wildest fantasies with a breathlessly waiting public.
The qualities of a good pirate are definitely the qualities a writer needs. Courage! Chutzpah! A certain amount of arrogance because if you don’t believe in your stuff, nobody else will! You also need those navigational skills so you don’t come to grief on the reefs and shoals of writing life.
You need to know how to pick a great crew to accompany you on your adventures – clearly, that’s something I don’t need to tell you pirate lasses about! You need to know how to hold your nerve when you get becalmed in the doldrums. You need to weather storms and lash yourself to that bucking helm when the huge waves threaten to swamp you! Above all you need dash and daring. And that’s something you girls have in spades. Or perhaps in bailing buckets!
So thank you for inviting me to toast the fortunes of the Good Ship Yo Ho! May all your parrots be housetrained. May termites stay clear of your wooden legs! May you fill your big leather boots with pride and not with sand! Ugh, hate sand in my shoes almost as much as I hate sand in my underwear. Hmm, do pirates even WEAR underwear? And no, please don’t answer that!
May you rescue Johnny Depp from a tropical island… Oh, right, that’s my task. You girls go off and find someone else to rescue!
Long may your ship sail and a keelhauling to any landlubber who says me nay!!! It’s Davy Jones’s locker for anyone who tries to scuttle this grand privateer!
OK, so do you have any pirate questions I can help with? Something about anchors or blunderbusses or, shock, horror, actual writing? Why do you think you need to be a pirate to be a writer? Clearly you agree with me about this! And honestly, is there any way to make ship’s biscuit palatable? Or would you rather I brought over some good Aussie chocolate when I come for my next visit?
And there’s pirate plunder! Terri who invited me gets to choose a commenter at random and they get a signed copy of what’s currently keeping Good Ship Anna Campbell afloat on the briny waves. My latest release UNTOUCHED! I’d love someone to show that mad marquess a good time on the ocean! He definitely needs to get out more!
Good luck, me hearties! Another serve of rum all round! ARRRRRRRR!
Now that Anna is Queen Pirate for the Day (and perhaps hit the rum a little too hard already) it's your turn to pillage from her all the writing knowledge you can. And she's full of it. Wait, that doesn't sound right. Argh! You know what I mean. Lets talk Mad Marquesses, Uber-Alphas, and chasing that publishing dream undaunted or just tell Anna how sweet and generous and wonderful she is! Don't forget, one lucky commenter will win their own copy of Untouched.
Anyway, enough waffling! Avast, me hearties! Arrrrrrrrrrrrr! Shiver me timbers! Walk the plank, ye landlubbers!
Yes, we’re about to celebrate the writer as pirate! And I’m waving my cutlass in excitement (hmm, perhaps that’s what my heroes do instead?) at this incredible honor of being the first captain from a rival vessel to board the good ship YO HO, A WRITER’S LIFE FOR ME! Land ho! Well, publication ho, anyway!!!!Firstly, good luck to your enterprise and may she sail the seven seas for a long, long time to come. I’ve been lurking for a while and I think it’s fantastic. You’re all doing wonderful jobs of filling out the captain’s log…uh, blog. An extra measure of grog to you all! But be careful when you climb the mizzenmast! We don’t want you coming to grief on a sagging middle and falling flat on the decks, now, do we?
I love the idea of a writer as a pirate. We’re all pirates, setting out as outlaws to seize the gold bullion from the Spanish galleons plying the main. Um, that is grab fantastic publishing contracts and share our wildest fantasies with a breathlessly waiting public.
The qualities of a good pirate are definitely the qualities a writer needs. Courage! Chutzpah! A certain amount of arrogance because if you don’t believe in your stuff, nobody else will! You also need those navigational skills so you don’t come to grief on the reefs and shoals of writing life.
You need to know how to pick a great crew to accompany you on your adventures – clearly, that’s something I don’t need to tell you pirate lasses about! You need to know how to hold your nerve when you get becalmed in the doldrums. You need to weather storms and lash yourself to that bucking helm when the huge waves threaten to swamp you! Above all you need dash and daring. And that’s something you girls have in spades. Or perhaps in bailing buckets!
So thank you for inviting me to toast the fortunes of the Good Ship Yo Ho! May all your parrots be housetrained. May termites stay clear of your wooden legs! May you fill your big leather boots with pride and not with sand! Ugh, hate sand in my shoes almost as much as I hate sand in my underwear. Hmm, do pirates even WEAR underwear? And no, please don’t answer that!
May you rescue Johnny Depp from a tropical island… Oh, right, that’s my task. You girls go off and find someone else to rescue!
Long may your ship sail and a keelhauling to any landlubber who says me nay!!! It’s Davy Jones’s locker for anyone who tries to scuttle this grand privateer!
OK, so do you have any pirate questions I can help with? Something about anchors or blunderbusses or, shock, horror, actual writing? Why do you think you need to be a pirate to be a writer? Clearly you agree with me about this! And honestly, is there any way to make ship’s biscuit palatable? Or would you rather I brought over some good Aussie chocolate when I come for my next visit?
And there’s pirate plunder! Terri who invited me gets to choose a commenter at random and they get a signed copy of what’s currently keeping Good Ship Anna Campbell afloat on the briny waves. My latest release UNTOUCHED! I’d love someone to show that mad marquess a good time on the ocean! He definitely needs to get out more!
Good luck, me hearties! Another serve of rum all round! ARRRRRRRR!
Now that Anna is Queen Pirate for the Day (and perhaps hit the rum a little too hard already) it's your turn to pillage from her all the writing knowledge you can. And she's full of it. Wait, that doesn't sound right. Argh! You know what I mean. Lets talk Mad Marquesses, Uber-Alphas, and chasing that publishing dream undaunted or just tell Anna how sweet and generous and wonderful she is! Don't forget, one lucky commenter will win their own copy of Untouched.
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82 comments:
I guess this is why you're a published author. Throw you into the crew of the Romance Writer's Revenge or the Vagabond Gypsy Caravan and you make yourself right at home. Heck, you own those places! I've nothing much pirate-y to add except avoid the weevils and keep writing Regency Noir, a phrase I'm longing to use in my query letter unless you own that too.
Congratulations on fabulous books and a long career-voyage ahead!
Fancy seeing you here, Anna :)
I would love to write a pirate book one day. Unfortunately, the idea of all that ship research is really daunting to me. I think I'll keep my characters on the land.
I can't wait to read Untouched. I'm hoping for a B&N gift card for xmas so I can buy it. The story sounds great!
See you around :)
Ahoy there, Pirate Anna! ;) I must concur with Maggie. Just keep writing Regency Noir--which you do brilliantly--and the rest of us will be happy indeed!
As I've already said on other boards, blogs, etc., I adored Untouched! Matthew will stay with me for a long time-- a true knight in shining armor! *sigh*
Maggie - I hadn't thought of that but Paradise really is Regency Noir isn't it? Love that description.
Christie - you never know, you might win yourself a copy today.
Gannon - Isn't Matthew dreamy? I'm only up to chapter 9 so I'm prepared in case the discussion starts heading toward spoilers.
*sticks fingers in ears and starts singing*
LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALA
Anna welcome aboard the Romance Writer's Revenge. Since you're a pirate at heart you'll feel more than welcome here.
Attention spoilers ahead!!!!!
I just finished Untouched and I have to say it was a wonderful read. I fell in love with Matthew from the start, and Grace's bravery in the climax was amazing. I loved how you allowed her to step away and give him time to come to terms with his new life.
Congratulations on your success, and I hope to read much more from you in the future.
Welcome Anna! I haven't read Untouched yet, but I may just have to wander into B&N today and pick it up. It sounds like a great story. I love a good tortured H/H love story.
This is completely off topic but I just think this whole internet/romance community is getting smaller and smaller. It's really amazing when you think about all the authors and readers spread all across the world. And it seems as if we're all just right around the corner from each other. Pretty awesome when you think about it! Where do you find most of your readers dwell - Australia, the UK, Canada or America?
Please, don't tell Anna how sweet and wonderful she is--we're having a hard enough time living with her these days, what with all those puns and cutlasses flying around the Bandita Lair!
I'm just glad she gave us the map to visit your fun site! I'm a pirate lover at heart. My first romance I ever wrote was about a girl who got kidnapped by pirates, learned to become one herself, hung out with Jean Laffitte (the coolest pirate ever, even though I can't spell his name), and eventually carved her name into her hero's chest. Oddly enough, that one didn't get published.
Though I'm writing contemporary YA and adult romance right now, I'm coming back to the pirates soon. They're too cool not to.
Good luck to you all on that journey to publication! :-)
Welcome, Anna. We're so happy to have you here.
It's encouraging to know that a writer can gain success when they bend conventions of the genre, a real pirate! What inspired you to tell Verity and Justin's story in "Claiming the Courtesan?" Did you know it would stir up conversation about romantic conventions?
wow. that's a whole lot of swash for my buckle. buckle for my swash? clearly i am deficient in derring-do (ha!) piratical 'tude - i can see how a confidence adjustment could go far in attacking my recent writing listlessness (i have nanowrimo overload).
all this piratical vocab reminds me of a great thing my son did this summer, on his first ever trip alone. he went to visit relatives in bavaria (not particularly known for pirates, but well-equipped with dark forests, princely castles, witches and wolves) and visited playmobil themepark in which full-scale versions of the children's toys exist. So they have a life-size pirate ship, with crow's nest, cannon, gangplank, etc etc that kids can climb on, but first they have to row out to the ship on little rafts. As an inexperienced rafter, my son fell in the water - and loved every moment.
Comparing pirates to writers... I am not sure it is very flattering!!
Anyway, Anna... you are everywhere... and this a new blog and I am new here, obviously :)
Yo Ho Pirate Anna! You know - I have absolutely no difficulty imagining you grasping a rope and swinging deck to deck a la Errol Flynn. I think you might have a bit of pirate blood in your past.
I confess I've read only the first three chapters of Untouched as my book has disappeared! Methinks my daughter, a bit of a pirate herself, has plundered it. I'm hoping she won't hold it for ransom before I get to finish. Hmmm...I may have to borrow your cutlass and stage a raid.
Welcome, everyone! Grog all around!
Lily - we were very specific to call ourselves writing pirates and not pirate writers. We may pillage and plunder but we do not steal words and we bathe. LOL! Very big difference there!
Anna - Now that everyone knows you for the Regency Noir, do you worry it will be harder to branch out and do something different?
Doing some pillage... for your thoughts. I thought it was funny :)
I think great heroes are rebels, and being mad must add to the excitement. Donna, I remember stealing a book from my mom when I was dying to read it! however, a few days later, it always appeared somewhere... I wonder who used to do this!!
Writing pirates... I understood that, obviously. I hope I did not offend anyone! I love a good pirate romance ;) but I am not sure it would mix well with the noir genre.
Never fear, Lily, we're a laid back lot. It's just funny because the Captain and I had the same conversation when we started this. LOL!
Do you think with POTC that pirates are now a thing of comedy and not seen as quite so menacing?
This is how excited I am that Anna is here: I'm iced in at my house and I've figured out how to connect to work email/internet through my phone.
Pirate!
Welcome, Anna, and though I can't be the boisterous Captain of Usual, I hope you have a great time here. :)
I know they seem quite comical in the movies, when we are thinking of Depp's character, however they are much more enticing in the romance novels, especially barely clad - did I just write that!
Hi Anna and Terrio! Oooh, another Pirate Haven. It's nice to swing over from the Bandita Lair to a new venue. Someone already posed the question, Anna, but I've wondered too, if you worry about being pigeonholed - or in pirate vernacular, crow's nested - into your very own niche of Regency Noir? Love that nominative, BTW. :> Very descriptive. Love CTC and am dying to read Untouched, but am holding it in reserve for finishing book #2 by my Jan. 15 deadline. It's to be my Bandita Reward for doing my duty. Ha! Doesn't that sound convoluted? A Bandit doing her duty. Oxymoron? I think NOT!
Great post and delightfully full of swashed buckles, rum barrels and plank-walking. Hi-ho, Terrio, and Anna! Have a great blog day!
Hey Anna and Terrio - Maria Lokken here - I'm not a writer - but I consider myself a Pirate. I think you have to have a little Pirate in you to get things done and make life go the way you want it.
Anna - Loved UNTOUCHED!!
The Captain is bootlegging! LMAO!!!
Lily - barely clad is always better, pirate or no. LOL!
Duchesse - lovely to see you on board. Isn't that a great monacher? RN - Regency Noir or Romance Novelist. Both work for me. Maggie deserves some rum for coining the phrase.
Hey, Anna! Fun post, and I just finished listening to my Pirates 3 soundtrack. :) If you pirate ladies see Will Turner wandering around, he's mine, I tell you. Mine! :)
Hello Anna,
I just want to say I loved Claiming the Courtesan. It was different than other books I have read and that is what I liked about. I can't wait to read Untouched. Unfortunatly I haven't been able to find it yet. I think you have a great future in writing books, no not just books great books w/ a fantastic following of people. Thanks for writing books that I can sink my teeth into.
Welcome, Trish!
Ellen - I know exactly what you mean. But the time I'd read two or three pages of Anna's book I knew it was like nothing I had read in a long time. I do love the Regencies we've had for the last 5 to 10 years but it's nice to have one that stands out and really goes in directions no one else will go.
Anna welcome to the crew!
I picked up Claiming the Courtesan (and I'm getting Untouched for Christmas! Hurry up Christmas and get here!) and I've gotta say that I loved Soraya/Verity. Her character was just SO well written and the struggle to find herself and mesh the two of them together was perfect. Do you outline your characters from the very get go, or do you plan a little of their traits and watch them grow bigger than life as you write?
OK, Pirate Queen, back on duty. Promising herself she's never going to hit the rum quite that hard again! Ouch! My aching head! And is that sea rough or is it just pleased to sea me? Sorry I'm a b it late arriving - it's the time difference with Australia. I should have stayed on the Spanish Main!
Maggie, hello again! Actually I think you could call something a Regency noir. I don't see why not. Stephanie Laurens invented the term when she gave me a quote for Courtesan. I think she'd be chuffed to know that she's named a whole new genre!
Hello, Christie, my Landlubber Bandita buddy! Thanks for coming across to say hello to the crew. Isn't this a great blog?
I used to love pirate books but I can't say I've read one for a while. I've got the Windflower on the TBR pile because it's a classic and people keep telling me I should read it. Hope you have a lovely Christmas with the green monster (actually the green is making me feel sea sick this morning!).
Anna!! I have been meaning to write you and tell you how blown away I was by Untouched. I'm so glad to see you here!
You know, when I first picked up CTC, I was aware of all the controversy and unsure how I would like it. (Forgive me! I did not know!) But I loved it, couldn't put it down, fell in love with Kylemore despite all my intentions not to - and my comment to a friend was, (and take this in the best way!) "I feel forcibly seduced by this book." And with Untouched, I can honestly say I felt held captive by Grace and Matthew's story and your wonderful prose. Not even whiny toddlers could keep me from reading it through to the end. The intensity of the reading experience just amazed me, with both books.
So now I am begging you to write a pirate book, so I can feel thoroughly plundered!
Gannon, lovely to see you here! And please, don't be quiet about Matthew on my account ;-) He really was a wonderful hero to write. Actually one of the things I thought might be a problem but which I loved is that he's not at all your conventional hero. He spends most of the book held captive by the baddie, for a start. But to me, he was just so strong and wonderful! Oh, dear, alert, alert! She's getting soppy over her hero!
Terri, just read your post - don't think that counts as a spoiler. You know he's stuck there!
And a heartfelt sailors' thank you to the Yo Ho crowd for inviting me on today. I'm looking forward to kicking my heels up in a hornpipe or two!
Hi Anna! I just finished Untouched, and I have to say that I loved it! I, like other posters, immediately fell in love with Matthew and was heartbroken over the life he was forced to live. And Grace! I love strong heroines, and you captured that perfectly. But my favorite part, I think, was how you managed to keep an undercurrent of suspense throughout the entire book. So often, when trying to put romance and suspense together, there are almost two storylines which appear. But in Untouched, it was woven together so well that it all meshed into one cohesive whole that kept the suspense of their situation foremost in the reader’s mind, even while the relationship between Matthew and Grace was developing. Was that something you planned on and strove for? Or do you think that was more the nature of their captivity – that the suspenseful nature of the entire book was created by the fact that they were held prisoner? I guess my question really is more about how much of the story line you planned in advance, and how much of it developed as their relationship and their situation as prisoners developed.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us today – I can’t wait to find Claiming the Courtesan and read that as well!
Lissa, thank you so much for that! And by the way, you guys have a fabulous site here! Congratulations!
POTENTIAL SPOILERS!!!!!
******
Ah, the ending! I wondered too if people would like that. But if I were in Grace's position, and if I were Grace (she's filled with self-doubt because she's made a few wrong choices in her life), I wouldn't trust what had happened, especially given Matthew's circumstances. I'm glad that worked for you. Actually, what's been lovely with so much of this stuff is where I took a major chance, they seem to be the things that have worked for people. So let that be a lesson to you, crew!
Don't do what you think you SHOULD do. Do what the story tells you to.
Hi Irisheyes! Sorry, with a name like that you absolutely MUST buy the green monster ;-)
What an interesting question. The majority of my readers by far are in the US. But I have readers all over the world. A lot in Europe who read the books in English. I'd say there, the most hits I get on the website are from the Low Countries (you know, Holland and Belgium) and Finland! I guess it gets cold in Finland and they want a hot romance to cuddle up to in those dark winters. In Holland and Belgium, I think most people speak very good English, so it's no big deal to pick up a book in England. I have a German edition of Courtesan out now and one of Untouched on its way so I get a lot of hits from there too - but I suspect they're for the local language version. Romance seems to be popular all round the world these days which is great. I remember travelling in the UK in 2004 and seeing hardly any on sale. I went back there this year and while it's not everywhere, you can certainly buy romances at places like Borders and the big bookstores. Great to think the genre is spreading!
One of the many things that surprised me when I sold my book was how closely knit the romance community worldwide is. I think probably more than any other genre. The fans and the writers seem to have created this wonderful relationship. I've made a lot of really good friends over cyberspace since CTC sold - and it was wonderful to meet so many at the Romance Writers of America conference in Dallas this year.
Hey, guys, did you know Kirsten has just picked up an amazing deal to write a series of young adult romances for Hyperion? She's a star in the making! So wiggle your cutlasses at her in welcome! Thank you for posting, my Bandita friend! Hmm, Bandits and Pirates should stick together - we're both romance outlaws!
You know, I'm not sure I could write a pirate romance. Sometimes you can know a little bit TOO much history ;-) Although I love Captain Blood the movie (it was on Turner Classics the other day and Errol really was hot before the drink got to him!).
M, sounds like your sun had a ball in Bavaria! And as you say, there's plenty of stuff there to awaken his imagination, even if there are no pirates! I loved Mad Ludwig's castles! Did you get to the end of nano? I'm guessing when you say overload that you did! Good on you!
Anna, it's quite understandable why you'd get soppy over Matthew! Part of his appeal is that he's an unconventional hero, not the typical swaggering alpha male--which, BTW, I quite like. Matthew remains strong in spite of the horrors that he endures, and his love for Grace never wavers. A man like that is worth getting soppy over! :)
Anna: "Don't do what you think you SHOULD do. Do what the story tells you to."
Anna what great advice! I often float around without a care in my writing and try to steer myself back to the mainland, but too often enough I end up writing something completely different than I'd planned to in the first place.
I love books that make you think it's leading you down the path of the obvious and yanks the carpet right out under you. I was SO sure that they wouldn't end up together but was hoping that they would and voila! you did it! I have to agree with Tessa though. Despite my best intentions, I fell for Kylemore (even when he was a bit of an ass).
I can't wait to get my hands on Untouched!
Kirsten! Congrats on your amazing deal!!
Marnee, thanks for inviting me on today. I'm having a ball! Or perhaps a BAIL?
Actually I think one of the reasons I sold was that my work was different. So I'd definitely recommend the writer as pirate idea!
When I wrote Courtesan, as a lot of you know, I'd been unpublished FOREVER. So I just came up with a story and I wrote it with as much truth as I could. I just assumed the book would go under the bed with all its comrades. Those two main characters in CTC came to me SOOO strongly and they've continued to speak to readers strongly - there were no halfway reactions to this book! The whole controversy took me completely by surprise. I mean, it was a debut novel in a genre that everybody said was dead at the time - thank goodness, the rumors of the death of the historical were vastly exaggerated! I didn't think anyone would pay me the slightest bit of attention!
There's the Queen! I was worried she'd found Captain Jack on an island somewhere and would refuse to come up for air. LOL!
Congrats big time to Kirsten. A couple of friends of mine just sold for the first time and I can't get over how excited I am for them. It's just so great watching people grab their dreams.
I have no problem getting soppy about Matthew and I still have a ways to go. He had me from hello, I have to admit it. I love, love, love betas who have the alpha strenth but don't have to throw it around all the time. *sigh*
Hello again, Lily! We meet only in the most literary of places ;-)
Donna, a kidnapping in your particular pirate ship! I think there might be some pirate in the MacMeans household too! Thanks for coming over. Actually I'm far too klutzy to be a REAL pirate. I'd fall overboard at the first opportunity and the sharks would get me. That's one of the reasons I love writing romance - I get to imagine what it would be like if you DIDN'T fall over your feet at the first opportunity!
Hi Terri! Glad to hear the news about bathing. On those long sea voyages, that would matter big time! At the moment, I'm really happy writing the Regency noirs. I think I need to establish myself in the genre first and then look around to see what else beckons. As you know, one day I'd love to write comedies. Not exclusively but as a sideline. However because I'm so slow (sadly, I'm the tortoise pirate writer!), I'm not sure how practical that will be. And luckily I seem to have hit historicals just as they are on an upsurge, so hopefully the market won't make me change genres any time soon.
Nathalie - I suspect if I were to brave my daughter's bedroom I'd find Untouched most definitely touched. But facing my daughter's room is not for the weak. She has a mound of books in there that you'd think would make the floor sag. I'm sure Untouched will mysteriously re-appear. Grrrr...it better!
Nathalie, I NEVER stole the book my mother was reading. My life wasn't worth the risk ;-) And yes, it was FUNNY!!! Thanks for coming by!
Lily, you sure haven't offended me. I can't speak for my bloodthirsty colleagues - g!
Terri, I think there's pirates as they really were - and that was I hate to say smelly, self-serving, violent, cruel thieves. And pirates as they are in fantasy - hmm, POTC! I can't see anything wrong with perpetuating the fantasy. It's fun and it's romantic!
Oh, Hellion, how disappointing about the internet troubles! I was looking forward to cracking open a barrel of rum with you and really getting down to pirate business! Thanks for the welcome!
Oh, pirates in the movies are always sexy! That's part of the unwritten laws of the sea!
Hiya Jeanne from the Banditas! We have duchesses over there, gals! Thanks for popping over and good luck with that deadline. I've only pulished two books - I think it's too early to worry about being pigeonholed. And because CTC was kinda the first Regency noir - or the first book to be called that - in a way, it's MY genre so I can invent the rules as long as Avon continues to come along for the ride. It's actually a really good spot to be in!
Believe it or not it took nearly 20 years to convince my mother to read romances. But my sister and I got her hooked several years ago. The only trouble is she reads anything anyone gives her though I try to get her to *purchase* certain authors, *cough* Anna *cough*, she just keeps reading the freebies.
Terrio - freshly bathed and perpetuating the fantasy.
Hi Maria! Fantastic to see you here! I love Romance Novel TV, as you know. If anyone hasn't been there, check it out. There are videos and messageboards and fantastic discussions and just everything a romantic pirate girl would want. www.romancenovel.tv
So glad you loved Untouched! Thank you for popping by!
Hey, you're right - RN could stand for romance novelist! Whoo-hooo!
Trish, I knew it was a matter of time until you turned up to stake your claim. Pirate lasses, as perhaps you've guessed, our Trish is a POTC loon!
Ellen, what a lovely compliment. Thank you so much! I'm delighted you loved CTC. Those characters were incredibly alive to me when I wrote them and what's been lovely is that since the book hit the shelves, they've obviously been real to readers too. Hope you find Untouched soon!
Terri, love the idea that it's the direction nobody else will go! Do you think maybe because there are sea monsters in that direction? g! Actually, returning to the sea imagery (ha, like I ever left it!), once I really get into a book, the characters are at the helm and they really decide what they're going to do. When it's going well, it's like channelling. Hmm, another sea joke? I swear not! That one came from nowhere! I'm talking on the Avon Romance Blog today about how I wanted Matthew to be another Kylemore. I mean, if anyone has an excuse to be angry at the world, it's this guy. And he just wouldn't come to the party in that particular costume. He'd found his knight in shining armor gear and I couldn't get him out of it. Hmm, Grace does a fair job of undressing him, though, doesn't she? Snork!
Hi Sin! Thanks for inviting me over to play today.
Thanks for picking up CTC! Actually I do very little planning before I launch into a book. What I do have is two VERY strong characters in the back of my mind who know their story before I do. It's really subconscious - Verity/Soraya really told me what she was like rather than the other way round. Does that sound too new agey and mystical? But when I looked at the story after I'd written it, the fact that basically she split herself into two people made perfect sense to me. She'd have to do something like that or go mad.
Tessa, great to see you here. Got to say I'm laughing at you being 'forcibly seduced' and 'plundered'. Hmm, not goin' there, girlfriend! No, no way!! ;-) So glad you loved both books! I can't wait till yours come out - are they still talking about 2009??!!! That just seems cruel on your panting public!
And Tessa may not write pirates but she is writing a story that takes place on a ship. Maybe that will be close enough to bring pirates back around in popularity.
I agree, 2009 is way too long to wait!
Haleigh, thank you so much for those lovely compliments! I'm so glad this story touched you.
I'm glad that the story kept you on the edge of your seat. I wanted it to do that. There's no real happy ending for them until right at the happy ending, if you know what I mean. As I said, I'm very much a pantser. I come up with characters and a situation and let it grow from there. But I try to keep the reader worried about my main characters - as long as you're worried, you'll keep reading. If you think everything is rosy, you'll put the book down and probably never come back to it. So the situation has to be inherently perilous in some way. That's true about CTC - I played with that old gothic idea of is the hero also the villain? Will he KILL the heroine or KISS her? Or perhaps - oooh! - both! With Untouched, the situation Grace and Matthew are in is SOOO dangerous and they have so little power, at least from a shallow reading. Of course, Matthew has the incredible power of his spirit and when he and Grace fall in love, they create a unit more powerful than the baddies can defeat. Or at least that was my take on the story. But every time I thought they might be starting to get a bit comfortable (which wasn't actually that often), I'd throw in a tweak to remind the reader that things were really dangerous!
Snort, Gannon! Clearly we're soppy together ;-)
Actually my definition of an alpha isn't a bully. It's a strong man who is the leader of the pack. And I think that describes Matthew to a T. He's had to be stronger than most heroes I can think of to survive in his situation. He's not a conventional alpha but to me he's definitely an alpha!
Sin, I loved Kylemore too. I love his passion and his pain and the fact that he's a man of his time who actually transcends that in the end. I loved how he loved Verity (my heroes get it BAAAAAD!).
Sin, I think being too careful when you write (I mean scared of where you think your story will take you) is death to a good book. If you're hedging your bets, your readers know that and they won't forgive you for it. If your characters want to go in a certain direction, let them do it - and then make them take the consequences. That's how you get power into your writing.
Hi Anna!
Congratulations Pirate Lasses, on the launch of the Revenge! The launch of such a mighty ship is reason to celebrate for certain.
And what courage you have, inviting the enemy aboard right away!
Actually you've all seen how much I love Untouched if you've seen me comment on other blogs or forums.
And I do actually have a ship-based romance, set in the Post Witch-burning era in New England. Like Christie, it's the research that has held me back on that one.
I truly stand in awe of Anna's skill at letting her characters lead her. And her courage in doing so. I'm really glad she sent this book in rather than putting it under the bed with the others. I predict no more will be left behind in the darkness.
Anna, I pre-ordered Untouched at Barnes and Noble. They ordered 8 total, and when I was last there, only ONE was left on the shelf. I bought two total, so I bet by now there are NONE. The eight books lasted less than a week. I'll keep watching to see if they reorder. They should, at that sale rate.
Terri, so glad lovely Matthew is working for you too. You can come over to the lifeboat where Gannon and I are having a drool fest! ;-)
Donna, I know you don't want to hear this, but congratulations on bringing up a READER!!!
Terri, I was pretty lucky. My mum was a romance reader her whole life. She gave me my first romance back when I was eight. You could give an eight year old a Harlequin romance back then - they were pretty tame compared to today's efforts! I was hooked. I love the story arc of romance - you know, the redeeming power of love and you may suffer on the way but you get your happy ending as a reward. I love that romance is about personal growth and surrendering yourself to another person to find yourself. Oh, dear, I really am getting new agey here! I'm not a pirate at all! I'm too sappy to be a pirate! Waaaaahhhhhh!
Hehehe...you're a granola pirate. Totally acceptable.
For me romance is the ultimate escape. I'm sucked into another place, another time, another person. A good book in any genre can do this but when you add the *sigh* factor, romance is hard to beat.
I love the comment about letting your characters take those chances but then making them face the consequences. It's basically not chickening out or taking the easy way. I love that and I'm going to be thinking that while I'm writing. Such great advice.
That's another thing about the romance industry. I have these nuggets of insight I keep in my head that I have gotten from so many published authors. Everyone - pubbed and unpubbed - is so generous and supportive. You don't find that in many industries.
Tessa, is your book a shipboard romance? I love those. I recently did a blog on why I love crucible romances and why I WRITE crucible romances. I love it when the hero and heroine are trapped in a confined space and can't get away from each other, even if they want to. And generally they do, if only because the force of the attraction they feel is scary. If they're trapped in a small space and heat is applied, the tension just ratchets higher and higher until it explodes!
Cassondra, my wonderful Bandita friend! Hey, great news about B&N selling out! Fingers crossed that's a scenario all over the place. I think people like the cover! As you know, I'm delighted that you loved Untouched!
Terri, I too have been blown away by the help and generosity I've received in the romance world. It's amazing that a huge star would take the time to help a newbie, but they do.
Actually, I think that being brave thing is really important. I judge a lot of writing comps and I so often see great premises and then the writers just chicken out before they take those ideas to their limits. And as a reader, I'm left going, "Sounded promising. Let me down." One really big editor - sorry can't remember which one - says she wants 'really' books. You know, REALLY sexy or REALLY scary or REALLY funny. She doesn't see enough of them! And you can't write a 'really' book if you wimp out!
Phew! Caught up for the moment. Might go and have a hot rum toddy to celebrate.
Thanks for the fantastic welcome, Pirates!!!
I hope we all have a little pirate in us in that we still have a thirst for adventure and a will to dream, however differently we define those terms. One of the saddest lines I know is the final line of a Mary Chapin Carpenter song: "So I came to the end of my pirate days."
Anna, Untouched is on my TBR shelf. I am grading final essays like mad today so I can turn in grades tomorrow. Untouched is the carrot that keeps me slogging away through even the dreadful papers. Once I turn in grades, I can settle down to read AC book #2; then I'm sure that I will join my friends in raving about it.
ROFL Anna- you've got that pirate lingo down pat, huh?
I love love LOVE pirates. Pirate romances were always my favorite way back when they were... well around *g* and I'm a huge lusting fan of Captain Jack Sparrow (Will Turner was looking mighty hot, too, with his Pirate kerchief)
The Pirate is the ultimate bad boy -and I'm always a sucker for bad boy stories.
Janga, that IS a sad line. Made me want to howl. Made me want to hold onto my inner pirate until she's old and gray and waving a walking frame in the air instead of a cutlass!
Hope you enjoy the green monster when you clear up your current commitments!
Tawny, lovely to see you. The whole bad boy thing is interesting, isn't it? I mean, I love to fantasise about a pirate (well, one that washes now and again). But I'm not sure I'd want to MARRY one!
Yep, Anna - my second book is a shipboard romance. The hero has his piratical leanings. ;) I was definitely looking forward to just what you say - the combustible attraction of two people stuck together for a month. But then I also realized the other side of the coin - there are only so many places they can go on the *?!$ ship. My scenes just rotate between deck, cabin, galley, etc. Writing it has gotten a bit claustrophobic, I must say. And the research... don't get me started on how much research I've had to do and how many gaps I still need to fill in. My CPs are laughing at these lines in the book like, "Do something to the sail!", because I still need someone to explain sailing to me before I know whether it should be reefed, set, backed, furled or what.
Anyone know a hot sailor?
I live in Norfolk which means I'm surrounded by thousands of sailors. But I don't think they are the kind you're looking for.
Anyone see the pirate De Niro played in Stardust. Now that's a pirate you don't see everyday. LOL!
I think we need to start a movement to bring the pirate romances back!
Triple Argh! I ordered Untouched but it won't cross the pond until after Xmas! Reading all the posts I wish I could have it already and curl up on the couch to read about Matthew and Grace. I just can't wait. I need rum to help me wait. Someone pass me the bottle.
Terrio, I'll take the extra grog, but as Anna says, it was Stephanie Laurens who used "regency noir," which has so much more cachet than "dark regency." And I love the word chuffed----it sounds like it should be a bad thing, but it means pleased, yes? Anna, I think I said somewhere that at my advanced age, the ending of Untouched frustrated me at first, because I did feel the h/h had suffered more than sufficiently for so many years, but upon reflection, it really makes the story all the stronger. Jeez, there's a lot of alliteration in that sentence and I didn't even try.
Janga, Untouched is an excellent motivation for finishing those grades! But so worth the wait!
Pirates are definitely the original bad boys, and who doesn't love a bad boy?! Thus the appeal of Jack Sparrow and Will Turner in his black shirt and pirate kerchief. They can swash my buckles any time!
Ahoy, Anna! Swinging in from Romance Bandits to say hello. Need any help getting people to walk the plank? No?
How about that rum - have any extra? None of that, either, eh?
Well, at least admire my new bucket boots! What do you mean you have a pair just like them? Sheesh!
Whatever you guys do over here, please don't let Anna's head swell too much. She won't be able to fit back into her tiny picture square at Romance Bandits if it does! *g*
This is a great blog and such fun! Terrio, I for one was happy to hear you guys bathe. *g*
Kristen: actually that plot line was rather intriguing. *LOL* I'd buy that book! But your deal sounds very fascinating. I think we are going to have to broker a deal between the outlaw lairs and have more visits (and break out more rum.)
Anna: I know! Of all the days for the Midwest to be hit by ICE. Bah. But I will prevail; and we will crack out the rum! And in case my blogs over the weekend weren't clear: I LOVED UNTOUCHED. I could eat Matthew with a spoon.
Cassondra: Hey! I recognize that name too! I'm so glad so many of the Banditas swung aboard! I too am amazed by Anna's story of allowing her characters to lead and writing a story she truly thought would remain under the bed! How frightening...and inspiring! Very pirate.
Janga: End of my pirate days? *aghast* No, no, no! The end of freedom? I couldn't bear it.
I'm with everyone about wanting more pirate books. *LOL*
And Anna, you seriously need to move Windflower to the top of the TBR list! I loved it.
Caren Crane: Of course, we love your boots! This is a ship of WOMEN--we adore a great heel, esp if you got it for a great price!
Oh, Tessa, isn't it terrible when we're dealing with things that we don't really know well - I did all sorts of reading on Matthew and his roses because, while I was brought up on a farm, I didn't actually know the step by step process of propagating a new variety. Especially in 1822! As it was, I didn't use most of it, but I hope I sound like I know what I was talking about. Sailing must be a similar deal - reefing and sheeting and knotting! Eeeek!
Harlot, we're all out of rum - that Hellion and Terrio and Sin had a private party before I arrived, the evil sea dogs that they are! ;-) Would you like a nice cup of tea instead?
SPOILER:
Maggie, I remember your comment about the ending and I think you've got a valid point about how much they'd suffered. I wanted them to get together at that point - that was my original idea. But you know how I said Matthew stuck his heels in and wouldn't be a cranky alpha? Well, Grace wouldn't accept her happy ending at that point. I tell you - it's so sad when you're a writer and you just work for your characters, subject to their every whim ;-)
Chuffed does indeed mean pleased! I'll get all you gals speaking Aussie before I've finished with you, dinkum, mates!
Gannon, will you shoot me if I say give me Jack over Will any day? I've only seen the first one and I've got to say Johnny just made me drool (hmm, not an attractive picture, Anna!).
Caren, my Bandita friend! Those bucket boots suck pond water compared to mine (isn't that the best saying?). Sorry, but you just had to know! ;-) The Yo Hos (hmm, that sounds worse every time I write it!) are treating me fine and dandy. But then it's the visitor thing - they know I'm going home at the end of the day!
Hellion, you know I think you might be like me - I never like to see the word 'tamed' in a romance. It's like the poor character, whether it be hero or heroine, has lost their free will! Let us all (and our characters!) remain pirates to the end! And thanks for persisting through the terrible weather - I told you in the blog pirates needed to keep going through rain and hail and sleet and... Or is that postmen? And I'm delighted you loved Matthew and Grace! Especially Matthew (who now cowers when I mention cutlery to him!).
And the Windflower is definitely getting read this Christmas! Ahoy there!
Since I've now eaten my FOURTH brownie of the day, I think I'm more guilty of stealing the chocolate and not the rum.
Damn, these things are like crack. Thank goodness they're all gone.
I'll bite. What's dinkum?
Anna - once you see Will at the end of POTC3, you'll change your mind. Oh La La, that boy looked good!
Actually I'm buying myself a DVD player for Christmas (at least I know I'll get ONE present I really want then - g) so I'll definitely check out the next two POTCs. For me, Johnny really stole the show in number one.
Are we talking about Jack again? *g* Or didn't we ever stop? LOL
Anna and Tessa - I think the research is what makes writing historicals so difficult.
Thanks everyone again for stopping by! Our ship was quite the party today!
LOLz Anna! you're hilarious!!! It is definitely PUN-zance LOL LOL LOL!!!
Swinging in from the Romance Bandit's lair to check out how Pirate Anna is faring amongst all the pirates (and how you all are faring with her puns!)
There is something cool about a pirate isn't there? Whether it's Errol Flynn in Captain Blood (which my granmother *wink* loved to watch) or the hunks of the Black Pearl - who can resist the bad boy with the wicked twinkle. (Anna - Will only comes into his own by the third film - before that he looks too young!)
For those of you who haven't had the treat of Anna's green monster Untouched - it's fabulous! Make sure you set aside some solid reading time - because, trust me, you won't be able to put it down!
Marnee, that Jack, he sure does get around, doesn't he? And you're right. It's been a great party!!
Ai Yin! As always lovely to see you - especially when you laugh at my jokes ;-)
Vrai Anna! Lovely to see you too. Thank you for venturing out of the lair and onto the briny main. That's it - I definitely need to see the other POTCs. And thank you so much for that lovely wrap for Untouched. Mwah!
Hi Anna... and Donna :)
Yes, we meet in the most litterary places :)
I once stole So Worthy My Love - Kathleen Woodiwiss from my mom who was loving it... and she spent half a day searching for it, and found in a drawer... she was blood-thursty that day... talking of pirates!!
Donna... you would find a pile of books... the same here, however, they ordered in a library... med student here!! very organized ;)
4 brownies... I think this is enough. Can you spare me one - I don't need alcohol - I had a horrible day!!
Oh, my goodness, she couldn't resist a pun, could she? Hey, Pirates! Arr, me hearties. Best of luck to you on your voyage to publication. We banditas will stage a raid every now and then just to keep you on your bucket-booted toes:)
Hilarious post, Foanna. I can't think of anyone more suited to smashing that champagne bottle over the bows. What? You drank it you say? Oh, dear. SOmeone bring us another bottle of Bolly!
*passing a plate full of brownies to Lily and some Champagne to Christine*
Thank you all for making this day such a success and a BIG PIRATE THANKS to Anna Campbell for being an incredible first Guest Author Blogger.
We certainly hope you all will continue to come back and visit the ship. There's always lots of rum, plenty of good conversation and who doesn't like to talk about big cannons? (Is that a cutlass in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?)
This will be a tough one to top! Here! Here! for Regency Noir and Pirates everywhere!
Lily, so sorry you had a horrible day. And then you had to hang around with a lot of 'orrible poyrates, she said in her best Bristol accent. Hope the brownies help! Thanks for popping over!
Oh, Christine, I read your post and I KNOW why we're friends. Definitely another bottle of Bolly! TWO!!!!
Terri, thanks so much for inviting me on today. I had such a good time. I might even say a pirate can take a bandit and I don't often admit to that, me hearties! We'll definitely be over to check on pirate progress from the bandita barque.
Thanks also to everyone who came to party today and made it such a blast (ooh, with Terri's cannons in her pockets, not sure if I should say that!).
And don't forget to check back to see who's reading the green monster or perhaps I should say the sea monster!!! Arrrrrrrrrr!
THANK YOU!!!!
Anna xxx
Anna, dear, of course you can prefer Jack to Will! Johnny definitely had the edge over Will in the first two movies. At the end of the third one, however, Will is looking very hot and piratical!
Yes, we can't forget the big giveaway. I'll put all the names in me pirate hat and let me little pirate pick one out. Check back tomorrow to see who wins!
Gannon is so right. As our (slightly obsessed) Captain often says about Will Turner, in the first 2 movies he looked like a blacksmith trying to be a pirate. In the 3rd movie, he became a pirate. And a right sexy one at that!
This is why I hate real life--I miss an awesome blog and a great discussion! Wah!
Anna, you know how much I loved CTC and Untouched. I'll just say it again--I loved them. Great books and you won't be disappointed in either one.
Plus, I love how her heroes always fight for the heroine. Sigh.
Thanks for stopping by, Ely. The great thing is we can do this all over again in less than a week. Can't wait to see what gypsy puns Anna comes up with. LOL!
And you're in the drawing so better late than never.
Hey, Elyssa! Lovely to see you here. Yes, I'll be back AARRRRRing away at the Vagabonds next week. Can't wait!
No, we're having a serious discussion about writing black moments there. None of this pirate nonsense.
Well, maybe just a little...
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