Sister Scribe

Today I’m departing from my typical Fun Friday entry, because I realized I never gave a review of J.R. Ward’s latest release when I finished reading it. Her new book, Covet, is the beginning of a new series for the paranormal author.

When I discovered Ward two years ago, I had never read a paranormal romance and had a real aversion to the idea of vampire stories. By the time I finished Dark Lover, the lead book in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, I had discovered my new favorite author.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel as strongly about Covet. Perhaps it was because I had seriously fallen for the brothers and their fascinating stories. Or maybe it was due to the fact that the characters in this story don’t have the detailed history with unique customs and language. I’m not sure.

At first I wasn’t sure if I would read this one simply because, as a Christian who knows the Word of God, I wasn’t too thrilled with the idea of a book about “fallen” angels, but my curiosity got the best of me.

Of course, Ms. Ward’s idea of what constitutes a fallen angel isn’t biblical. First of all, I never understood where people get this crazy idea that angels are dead people. The Bible tells us the angels are heavenly beings created to minister to humans. It also tells us those angels that fell from Heaven with Satan became the demons who serve him. They are the enemies of God’s people.

J.R.’s fallen angels are merely people who died and were sent back to earth with an assignment to “save people’s souls.” Okaaay, I can go with that for 500 pages. At least they are the good guys and they are fighting the demons.

I loved Vin DiPietro, one of the heroes. He’s a real Alpha hero – sexy, tough, and rich. Jim, the angel, wasn’t as strong a character as I would have liked.

Another thing I liked about Covet was how J.R. incorporated characters from her previous books that readers will recognize. In fact, the heroine, Marie-Therese, worked in the nightclub owned by Rhevenge, the sympath vampire. She brings in other characters for “cameos”. Only her fans will recognize them.

Normally I don't give ratings on this blog, but I will this time just for the sake of comparison. Whereas I would have given each of her first six books an A+, A- or A, I have to give Covet a B-. I am thoroughly convinced that Ward can't write a "bad" book. Covet was good enough for me to read the next installment in the series, but I’m really waiting for vampire John Matthew’s story which comes out in February 2010.

As far as my reading goes, I just finished Suzanne Brockmann's latest release, Hot Pursuit.

This is Alyssa and Sam's continuing story and one of Ms. Brockmann's best. As always, she introduced a secondary romance, this time between Danny and Jenn. I can't wait for her next release to find out what happens with them. If you are a romantic suspense fan, I highly recommend  I didn't blog about Into the Fire because I must admit that I gave up on it before I reached The End. For some reason the story just didn't hold my attention.

On another note, when I went to Malaika Adero's editing workshop last Saturday, she talked about Simon & Schuster's development of e-books that contain video. Since I love new technology, that subject fascinated me. 

This article from the New York Times explains it in detail.  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/books/01book.html?_r=1

Take a look at the vook for Promises by Jude Deveraux and tell me what you think of this new concept.

Last Monday I talked about the five fictional characters I would invite to a dinner party. Two of those characters were Alyssa Locke and Sam Starrett from Suzanne Brockmann?s TROUBLESHOOTERS series.

If you?ve never read about this couple, Stacy Ahlgren gave the best explanation HERE about why they (particularly Alyssa) are so fascinating. An African-American heroine in a non-A-A book is rare, and Stacy explains why Alyssa (an FBI sharpshooter whom Ms. Brockmann describes as a Vanessa Williams lookalike) is a heroine she respects.

Have you been considering reading a Brockmann book? I recommend you read Stacy Ahlgren's commentary and strongly recommend that you pick up Over the Edge, Gone Too Far and her latest release, Hot Pursuit, which feature Locke and Starrett.

Which Five Fictional Characters Would You Invite to Dinner?

I got this idea from reading Julie James's entry on Friday over at Romance Novel TV and thought I'd play along. I love questions like this, because they make me really consider why I find certain characters interesting.

My choices are:

Usnavys Rivera, the full-figured, sexy Latina from The Dirty Girls Social Club by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. Her Spanish-speaking mother named her after the ships she saw docked in the harbor near the Navy base in Puerto Rico. I'd invite her because that girl, with her bawdy sense of humor, would be the life of the party.

Alyssa Locke and Sam Starrett, the African-American beauty and FBI sharpshooter married to the ultimate redneck and Navy SEAL from Suzanne Brockmann's Troubleshooters Series.In my opinion, they are the most interesting couple in recent popular fiction. Just hearing about how they keep their odd couple marriage thriving would be enough to make the dinner conversation fascinating.

   (depending on how you envision him ...)

Rhage (nickname, "Hollywood.". He doesn't have a last name), the mind-numbingly sexy vampire warrior from J.R. Ward's Lover Eternal, because I wouldn't even have to eat. I could just be satisfied looking across the table at him. He would be the male (I can't say man) I'd ask if I could only invite one guest.

Gideon, the hitman from Eric Jerome Dickey's Waking/Sleeping/Resurrecting series because I'd need someone fearless to keep Sam from trying to take Rhage's head off (literally) when he inevitably tries to flirt with beautiful Alyssa.

The menu wouldn't be a problem for Usnavys or Rhage, since both of them tend to devour whatever is put in front of them. I tend to think that Gideon would just pick over his meal. He's too tense to take his time enjoying the food and his eyes would be glued to the door to check on who is entering/leaving the room. I'm sure Sam and Alyssa would enjoy anything home cooked, considering they've spent their lives on the road.

If anyone is up to the challenge, post your five fictional dinner guests on your blog and leave a comment here.

My granddaughter chose #3, which is the comment by Sharon Cooper to win a copy of The Accidental Bestseller.

Congratulations, Sharon! Please e-mail me with your mailing information so I can forward it to Wendy.

If you hang in there until the end of this post and leave a comment, you can win a copy of a fabulous new book.

On Sunday afternoon I finished the revisions on Hot Fun in the Summertime and sent it out into Publishingland. This experience taught me a lot about my work habits and also about what it's like to work on deadline.

The agent who requested the revisions gave me a two-week window of between the middle and the end of August. I wanted to get it to her as early as I could, so I set a deadline for myself of August 16th.

This was the first time I have ever worked under time pressure before, and it taught me a lesson about the distractions I allow in my life. I did the initial revisions on hard copy, which could be done anywhere. My original plan was to print out a few chapters a day, take them to the coffeehouse/bookstore and work there, but when the transmission went on my Jeep, that plan changed to me sitting at my desk with red pen in hand.

The problem with this arrangement was that my computer constantly whispered to me. In a come hither voice, it continually suggested that I check my blog, my two e-mail accounts, my favorite author and industry blogs, and my Facebook page. One day it even convinced me that my MP3 player was suffering badly from lack of new music and that I needed to download something new immediately.

My name is Chicki, and I am an Internet junkie ...

It took everything within me to sit at the desk and focus on the slice and dice project at hand, but I did it. And I am proud of how I stood up to the temptation.

On another note, I just finished reading the best book I've read in a long time. When I couldn't possibly sit in my office another second, I retired to the bedroom to read until I lapsed into a coma. Unlike many of my writer friends, it's physically impossible for me to stay up until three o'clock in the morning reading -- not matter how fabulous a story is. But this book,

The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax was fantastic. Surely readers will enjoy the story, but writers (particularly female writers) will be drawn in from the opening page.

My critique partners have already heard me rave about the story, and ladies you will have to excuse me because I'm going to rave some more. Here's a blurb from BN.com:

Synopsis

"Once upon a time four aspiring authors met at their very first writers' conference. Ten years later they're still friends, survivors of the ultra-competitive New York publishing world. Mallory St. James is a workaholic whose bestsellers support a lavish lifestyle. Tanya Mason is a single mother juggling two jobs, two kids, and too many deadlines. Faye Truett is the wife of a famous televangelist and the author of inspirational romances: no one would ever guess her explosive secret. Kendall Aims's once-promising career is on the skids - and so is her marriage. Her sales are dismal, her new editor detests her work - and her husband is cheating. Barely able to think, let alone meet her final deadline, Kendall holes up in a mountain cabin to confront a blank page and a blanker future. But her friends won't let her face this trial alone. Together they collaborate on a novel using their own lives as fodder, assuming no one will ever discover the truth behind their words.

No one is more surprised than they are when the book becomes a runaway bestseller. But with success comes scrutiny and scandal ... as these four best friends suddenly realize how little they've truly known each other."

Anne M. Miskewitch - Library Journal

"Wax (Single in Suburbia) offers a warm, triumphant tale of female friendship and the lessons learned when life doesn't turn out as planned. At age 45, Kendall Aims is seasoned but shadowed in her writing career - counting on the famed Zelda Award to validate her work and her life. When she fails to win the award, she loses her publishing contract, then goes home to realize that she may lose her marriage. In the midst of all this disappointment, Kendall is told that she's contractually obligated to write one more book. Her friends Mallory, Tanya, and Faye, all writers with varying degrees of personal and professional success, rally together and help her complete the novel. Because they all passionately agreed to make this an anonymous endeavor, they cathartically share secrets they wouldn't have under their actual names. Little do they know that this joint venture will be such a success - and such a fiasco. Wax sheds insight on the writer/reader relationship and nurtures this invisible bond throughout. Sure to appeal to fans of women's fiction and aspiring writers." 

Here's a video of Wendy, one of my fellow Georgia Romance Writers on WAGA's Good Day Atlanta:  http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/entertainment/good_day/Accidental_Bestseller_Author_Wendy_Wax_072309

Wendy has graciously offered a signed copy of The Accidental Bestseller, so leave a comment. The winner will be chosen at random by my granddaughter and announced tomorrow.

The meter says I'm at 52% on HOLLYWOOD SWINGING. I'm going out to write today after my doctor appointment.

When I get back, I'll finish the reading update about the craft books I'm reading ...

Okay, it's after two o'clock and I just got back in. This morning I wrote about five pages and had my consulation for the dreaded colonoscopy with a gastroenterologist. Now, on to most pleasant topics like the second part of my reading update.

There are two other books next to my bed that I've slowly been dipping into: Rejection, Romance and Royalties -- The Wacky World of the Working Writer by Laura Resnick and The Writer's Portable Therapist by Rachel Ballon, Ph.D.

Since my sister gifted me with Resnick's book, I must admit that I haven't gotten past Chapter One. Not because it's a bad book, but when I get into bed at night, if I'm alert enough to read anything, my first choice is fiction. Lately I've been crashing with Ward or Brockmann on my chest, so I haven't read much in either of these.  

I will share the one highlighted nugget of wisdom I gleaned from the first chapter entitled, The Luck Myth. Here she is quoting science fiction novelist Catherine Asaro:

     "I wouldn't say luck played any part in my writing career. Persistence and hard work were the determining factors. I never gave up, no matter how many times   I was told, 'You can't do that.'"

Later in the same chapter, Resnick quotes Jennifer Roberson, who spent fifteen years trying to break into the business:

     "Without persistence, the most brilliantly talented writer in the world may never be published."

Resnick herself says,

      "... I have often agreed that real persistence combined with only very modest talent can keep you working for years."

That's one I should probably type up in a 72-point font and add to my office wall so it's in plain view during those inevitable "Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me. I'm goona eat some worms" spells.

I won The Writer's Portable Therapist, which I won in a contest on The Seekers blog. If you've never visited this blog by a group of wonderful Christian romance authors, stop by sometime. They share great information on writing, contests, agents, and other good stuff.

This isn't the kind of book you need to read starting at page one, because it's supposed to act as your personal therapist. The Introduction says the book is "... unique in its focus and intent, which is to provide encouragement to any writer who wants or needs support during the course of the writing journey."

Dr. Ballon is a licensed psychotherapist who has worked with all types of writers at every level. You can choose the chapter you need the most at the time. For instance, here are a few of the chapter titles (which she calls "sessions"):

Session 5:     They Hate Me, They Really, Really Hate Me

Session 8:     I'm Not a Real Writer

Session 19:   I Need a Drink/Cigarette/Box of Chocolates, Right Now

Session 23:   There's a Comma Missing on Page 329

This book also provides a place for short journal entries at the end of each chapter called "Creative Chronicles" where the reader can put her thoughts on the topic.

The golden nugget from Session 14 on dealing with rejection says:

     "Be just as prepared for rejection as you're prepared for an earthquake in California or a hurricane in Florida. This planning takes courage and commitment in order for you to increase your self-worth as a writer. Build up your mental attitude by preparing for all types of disappointments and rejection in advances until you get to 'yes.'"

Good books ...

Rather than posting a humorous anecdote or picture today, I'd like you to visit this entry at Dear Author.  The review is okay (B-), but the comments are hilarious.

I finally got all of the writing plugged into the original that I did last week while I looked after my grandson. As a result of the suggestions made by my crit partners, I did a little surgery on the story and the word count has dropped from 42,250 to 41,500.

The changes will hopefully add a little suspense and make the story better. Not much else to report.

Besides working on HOLLYWOOD SWINGING, I've been ravenously reading LOVER AVENGED.

This book is a little different from the previous six in the BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD series because it centers around a non-Brother. Actually Rehvenge is a Brother-in-law. His sister, Bella, is married to Zhadist, the scariest of the original Brothers..

Revh is the kind of character I would normally despise -- a drug dealer and a pimp -- but he's also a fascinating anti-hero. I'm amazed at how J.R. gradually gets the reader to empatize with him.

Stop by my Video page to see the new video in which JR  talks about Rehv..

Considering that I'm only one-third of the way into the book, I can only imagine what Ms. Ward has planned. Unfortunately I'm not one of those readers who can stay up all night finishing a book no matter how wonderful it is. I might get a few pages in once I climb into bed at night before I'm out cold..

What's everyone reading?

Yesterday while Lil' D was in school, I spent the day working in the food court at the mall, at two libraries and at Java Monkey, a very cool coffeehouse in downtown Decatur.

In spite of all the moving from place to place, I got quite a bit accomplished. The word count on HOLLYWOOD SWINGING is 42,250.

Let's see how much I get done today ...

Everyone knows what a J.R. Ward fangirl I am.  I want to turn the entire romance reading world on to her books. Romance Novel TV has a review of her new release, LOVER AVENGED today written by Marisa O'Neill. You can read it here.  Great review!