Meet Our Greyhaus Authors - Elizabetta Bricca - Live From Italy!

Greyhaus Literary Agency is much more than simply Scott Eagan. The heart and soul of the agency really is the group of writers who work hard at what they do. Some are published and some are working hard to move on. In an effort to see that, I have asked the authors to come here and blog every now and then. In the future, some will be talking about their upcoming books and some will simply be letting us know what is going on in their lives and their careers.

I met Elizabetta at the Women's Fiction Festival in Matera, Italy. She currently writes for Harlequin Mondadoi and we are working on new projects to be ready for the North American Market!

Make sure to stop by and say hi!

ROME WAS MY CRADLE

Rome was my cradle. I grew up on bread, history, and art, inhaling the very air the Roman Emperors had breathed before me, warmed by the same light by which Caravaggio and Michelangelo had created their timeless masterpieces.

Rome’s grandeur was imprinted on my heart and quickened the blood in my veins so that it flowed tumultuously like the Tiber River.

As a child, I used to play near the ruins of Emperor Nero’s Golden House. As a young woman, I walked by the Coliseum every day on my way to work. Inevitably these glorious sights –the rich, ancient culture I was born into – shaped my soul.

Writing has always been my way of expressing the beauty I felt inside, surrounded and supported by the spirit of my ancestors. I am my roots, molded by history, both as a human being and as an artist. I am my past and cannot deny it.

I began my writing career as a copywriter, working in the lively heart of Rome. I remember sitting in Café Canova in Piazza del Popolo, a pencil in one hand and a notepad in the other, gazing at the white marble fountain while trying to come up with catchy slogans. I loved my job, but there was more in me, bubbling beneath the surface, aching to erupt: enchanting stories of the past. So one day I decided to give life to one of these stories. I wrote my first historical romance, REBEL’S BLOOD (SANGUE RIBELLE), a novel set in 17th century Ireland, in less than a year. It was published by Harlequin Mondadori in 2009. But it was with the second book that I paid tribute to my country. D’AMORE E DI VENTURA (ON LOVE AND FORTUNE) tells the story of Cesare Mocenigo, a soldier of fortune making his way in Renaissance Italy, torn between passion and revenge and ultimately healed by love and redemption. Inspired by the lives of Gilles de Retz and Braccio da Montone, and by my own husband, I created a lead male character equal to the condottieri of the past, men of light and shadow, and though penning a romance, I left out the saccharine. Writing this kind of book was a risk – but it was worth it.

I believe the great potential and true mission of an author is to dare, to strive to conquer new summits, and to find one’s own voice. Always. This is my credo – and my suggestion to aspirant writers: Write what you love. Do not pay too much attention to hot market trends. Markets go up and down. Spare yourselves the agony of forcing yourselves to write stories that do not suit you. Try to dig deeper, past the stereotypes, and find your own voice. Writing is a career, not an hobby. Yet, first and foremost, it is the lovechild of your heart and soul.

Meet Our Greyhaus Authors - Jean Love-Cush

Greyhaus Literary Agency is much more than simply Scott Eagan. The heart and soul of the agency really is the group of writers who work hard at what they do. Some are published and some are working hard to move on. In an effort to see that, I have asked the authors to come here and blog every now and then. In the future, some will be talking about their upcoming books and some will simply be letting us know what is going on in their lives and their careers.

Up first is Greyhaus's latest author, Jean Love-Cush. I met Jean at the Chicago Spring Fling conference this year in 2012. She pitched, I loved her story and now we are out to get this and future projects available to the readers.

Ask her questions, share your stories!

WHY I WRITE

Whoever said writing was easy—lied. It is single-handedly the most difficult thing that I absolutely must do.  Even if I tried, and trust me I have, I couldn’t imagine a life without creating stories for others to enjoy.  I started writing my first book when I was in 6^th grade. Even then I could identify a good story—and boy oh boy was my mother’s life a doozie.  I never finished her biography but what I held on to from that experience was my unfettered desire to write.

Sure, I tried to suppress it; who wouldn’t, considering most writers never earn enough money to live off? But my aspirations for fortune never pulled me too far away from writing.  I majored in print journalism at Temple University, and when I felt like I still didn’t have enough education, I earned my law degree three years later. In both journalism and the law, I still wrote.  Sometimes it was even creative writing. It takes a pretty creative writer to come up with a winning argument when all the facts of a case seem to be against your client.   After practicing law for some time, I reached a place emotionally where I had to make a decision.  Either I was going to dig my heels in, be a good lawyer and make a comfortable living or nix it all and pursue what has always called me.  It was an easy decision, really. Of course, it didn’t hurt that my husband made enough to provide for our family. I had the green light to pursue my heart’s desire.

So, each morning, when the kids go off to school and my hubby heads to the office, I go to my computer.  More times than I’d like to admit, I find myself checking my emails, surfing the web, filing my nails, anything but writing. Then something happens.  My fingers start typing, ideas start flowing and the characters are living in the words I’ve put together. In those moments, there is no other place I’d rather be, nothing else I want to do.

Several years later, here I am still writing with no end in sight to this crazy dream of mine that one day my picture would be among those great writers on the walls of every Barnes and Noble that still exists.  I sure hope I get my big break before the word bookstore becomes retro or worse archaic.

Either way, I will write because it is something far greater than me. The written word is powerful.  It has the ability to transport the reader to new universes. It can make you laugh and cry in a single page.  It can impact the world.  To me, writing is the difference between truly living and settling for something far easier but less fulfilling. I write because I am a writer.

_____

Jean Cush writes women’s issue fiction. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband, Charles, their two daughters, Sydney and Haley and their dog, Sparkles.

What An Editor Wants In An Author - Guest Blogger Susan Litman

"What Does an Editor Want in a Writer?"

Seems like a simple question, doesn’t it?  Naturally, my first answer to this is always going to be, “I’m looking for a fresh, exciting voice and unique storytelling!”  But there’s so much more to the author-editor relationship. After all, editors are readers – we got into publishing because we love books.  So our ultimate goal is always to find authors who are interested in delivering great stories, well-told.

In the best possible world, the author-editor relationship is a collaborative one – a partnership.  If revisions and changes are necessary, I’ll discuss them constructively, with an eye towards making changes (sometimes minor, sometimes not-so-minor) that will stay true to the author’s voice and vision while still meeting the needs of the imprint/publishing house, and ultimately making the story the best it can be.  We’re advocates for our authors, so it is part of our job to help make sure their work shines.

It helps if the author has a good understanding of the unpredictable nature of the publishing business, and a strong sense of professionalism.  This might be a creative endeavor, but it is also a business – never forget that. 

Along those lines, it’s important for a writer to meet deadlines, because this keeps the production process rolling smoothly, and enables us to publish your books more strategically and develop your presence in the market.  As well, while we’d never want anyone to write to a trend just for the sake of doing so, in category romance it is important for the author to understand what their targeted series is about – what the audience for Harlequin Special Edition is looking for in a story versus Romantic Suspense or Blaze.  Being able to consistently deliver on the series promise is something we take into account when evaluating a manuscript.

But let’s go back to voice and story – because those are the building blocks of the editor-author relationship. When I start reading a new manuscript, I’m looking to be engaged right away.  And if an author can draw me in to the characters and setup – even if there are flaws throughout (after all, nothing is perfect!) – so much the better.  Because when it comes down to it, it’s easy to teach a new author the ins-and-outs of the business and help them improve the technique of their craft, but if they can’t deliver the most basic element – a great story – then there’s not much to work with.

--Susan Litman

  Editor, Harlequin Special Edition

  Twitter: @susan_litman

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HarlequinSpecialEdition

Scott's Dog Takes Over The Blog - Over-doing it Leads To Barf

Hey there,

I'm Apollo and I took over the blog for this week for Scott.

I started thinking about all the things Scott does during the day and I realized that I really had a new perspective to this whole human writing thing so I figured I would add my kibble worth of thought here.

One thing I have discovered in my 7 months of life is that over-doing things really leads to some serious barfing. I mean, I can really toss by cookies and boy does Scott not like it when it hits his carpet. He is getting really good at this whole steam cleaning thing though.

In any case, I thought about that whole "over-doing" it thing and it made a lot of sense when it comes to the writing you might think about sending to him or to some other person that might want to buy your book. If you do too much in your story, if you add too much extra stuff to your story that really doesn't need to be there (like the strings I find on the floor), it will lead to some seriously barfy writing.

What you need to understand is that Scott really does want some great stories but he really doesn't want to read any more barf that could have been prevented.

So, when it comes to writing your stories, try to use something I have heard Scott tell one of his writers on the phone. Keep It Simple. Take a great story and don't over-do it with all of that extra stuff.

That is, unless you like barf and then go for it.

See you tomorrow. I'm off for my morning nap now.

Apollo

Greyhaus Guest Blogger - Learning To Let Go

I think this one speaks for itself.

* * *



So, here’s the thing about your first novel: It’s your baby. Most people think their babies are perfect. Not me. I simply couldn’t let go of developing it. It started out as a short story. And then it grew into a trilogy. After that, a series. I was twelve when it started. I’m now nearly twenty-eight. Sixteen years next month. Crazy, I know.


I’ve written other things since the first book of course—even I’m not that obsessive—and everything that I have written has helped me learn something new.

Being twelve when I first sat down to write novel number one, means that my organization was off. Really far off. First of all, let me say that in trilogy form it worked in a circle (the beginning of book one was the end of book three) and there were possibly five hundred flashbacks between the three books. I knew they still weren’t quite right.

So, I did what I do best: I rewrote them again. My catchphrase is: “My life is rewrites”. I am the person all my writing friends turn to and laugh when they feel like complaining about the number of rewrites they’ve done. This is my thirty-ninth rewrite. It is also my final rewrite before I send it off to a professional editor to be looked at for substantive editing, line-by-line editing, and proofreading.

Why am I willing to do this now, when I wasn’t years ago? Simple: It is the best I can make it without professional help. When I reached college I started taking writing courses. I took courses in poetry to help me learn how to get rid of clichés and write succinctly, short story to help me figure out how to make things clean and clear, and science fiction/fantasy to help me take what’s standard about my genres and make them fresh. I also joined online genre specific writers’ groups and had a roommate who was a writer.

However, what has helped me the most is being a part of a manuscript class and small group where no one writes (or even reads) in my genres. They don’t know what is normal and what isn’t, so I’m forced to write in a way that’s clear even to those who haven’t grown up devouring spec fic books. They think about things differently, looking at my books the same way they would a mystery, a romance, or a war history. They ask questions about things my former groups simply took in stride. After two years with them I can finally say that I will be sending my baby off within the year and it feels good to start letting go.

Greyhaus Guest Blogger - The Daunting Re-Write

We all hope we never have to re-write the story but it does happen. Revising a story and rewriting a story is part of this business. I thought this writer really has the right idea here. This is what happens when you get too close to the story.

* * *



The first novel I finished was dreadful, but of course I didn't know that. I bravely sent it off to friends and family for feedback. Luckily, I have some excellent readers in the family. But once I had those helpful comments in hand, I had no idea how to proceed with re-writing my tome. I had lived with those people in my head for years. (this was a fantasy novel - 100,000 plus words) To change any of the plot felt like a betrayal of the characters. This had to happen, which influenced that, which of course led to this.


The story had way too many subplots and a cast of thousands. In my head, they all had a special and important place. I couldn't imagine taking out any incident, much less removing a whole person. I put it aside to let it simmer and tried to work on other projects. But it was still a part of me and my mind kept circling back to it.

One of the criticisms I'd gotten was that my main characters' names were too similar. I didn't think so. They looked totally different on the page! Besides, one was human and the other wasn't. But as I'd heard it from more than one person, I had to give it some thought. I spent some time thinking about who they were and what their names might mean. I went through various scenarios of how their names came about. That gave me new insight in my characters. As I created new names for them, I filled in some gaps in their histories.

With the new names in hand I went back to the story. I was astonished to find that my newly named characters were not as rigidly locked into the plot as their predecessors. In fact, it was easier to reshape the plotline they were in than the multiple subplots. With them as my anchor, I was able to see which subplots were not moving their story forward, and needed to be eliminated.

By changing their names, I breathed new life into static characters that had gotten stuck in their initial incarnation from several years and many skills prior. So if a re-write has you bound and gagged on the railroad tracks, try changing Snidley to Dudley and see if that doesn't free you up!

Greyhaus Guest Blogger - Finding Your Writing Voice Again

I think our guest blogger today really speaks to a lot of authors out there and how the real world simply keeps pushing its way into our life. To this writer, it may have taken a while to get back into the habit of writing, but she made it. Remember, that if you ever find yourself drifting away, don't panic. You can find your way back. It might not be easy, but it is possible.

* * *



As a child, I knew I was a writer – a born writer. I just didn’t know what I should write.


I began with poems. By third grade, I was a “published” poet – courtesy of the local newspaper’s column for child writers. In fifth grade, I wrote a 200-page novel, one two-page chapter at a time, as a present for my teacher. She read at least part of it aloud to the class, revealing its many flaws to audience and author alike. I tried and abandoned another novel four years later. I retreated to poetry, but wearied of my own style by my freshman year in college.

What to try next? Short stories. As a sophomore, I enrolled in a seminar and wrote stories – until the instructor cheerfully commented one day, during class, that I had done thus-and-so rather well for someone who “wasn’t a born writer.” My one lifelong certainty undermined, the last straw added to the load, I stopped writing anything but required papers. The papers came hard: I would write a single sentence, go out into the common hallway and complain or bang my head on the wall, then return to my room and squeeze out another. I wrote an occasional scrap of poetry, but never tried to finish a poem.

Lacking any substitute ambition and terrified of the working world, I hid from it in law school. There, and even more as a practicing attorney, I somehow learned to write with relative ease. After a few years, I could churn out pages of effective advocacy without trauma or fuss.

I became a mother. Lines for picture books floated up from the depths. As my children grew, I wrote and filed away manuscripts, all reassuringly short. Of course I wasn’t writing novels. I knew I couldn’t do that. I called myself a wordsmith rather than a writer.

Once again, my children led me. My elder daughter entered National Novel Writing Month and completed a charming short novel. As November approached and she declared her attention to participate again, I let myself contemplate joining her. My younger daughter urged me on. I told myself I would start, just start, just dip in my toes, see how the water felt.

I emerged dripping and triumphant, 60,000 word rough draft in hand. Many revisions and another 26,000 words later, and after uncounted hours of reading blogs like this one, I may be close to beginning the submission process for my science fiction novel.

Whether born so or made so, I am a writer.

Greyhaus Guest Blogger - How Many Characters Is Enough?

Stephanie really nails this one! I think what she is saying about characters is something that really applies to all of the elements of writing a novel. We don't follow rules, so to speak, but we make sure to ask if it is really necessary to the story. I know that I frequently will work with an author and have them hack characters and scenes from the book. Sure they fight and complain but I alway return to the same issue Stephanie brings up. Is it really necessary. Honestly, this is a great way to cut back on word count in some of your stories!
~Scott

* * * 

How many characters does it take to make a good book? I’ve tried to read my way through this question for about a year now with not much success. I’ve tried to glean an answer from stories I’ve written in the past. Combing through the wisdom imparted by published authors has given me great insight just not on this particular subject I went in search of. This question presented at seminars has left me wanting.


Trying to answer my own question I ponder on the protagonist, the antagonist, the supporting character or two, and minor characters that reveal the plot. So it might depend on how many plot lines, how many problems or how much trouble I want my main character to get into. So, I thought, no less than four characters? I've also read about a protagonist being the antagonist fighting the trouble in his own head. That would technically be one. Back around to that same question again.

What I found is whether you have one or twenty characters they all have to have a reason to be there. But how do you know if they need to be there? I put my “crazy” hat on one day and asked my characters "If you were never born, how would the story change?" The ones that cough or stutter are out. If they don't have an immediate response, except for those characters that stutter as a regular means of communication, they're slashed.

I find this is also a good exercise to take out a character to see how the story flows. It strengthens my main character as he has to "find another way" out of the labyrinth. Sometimes I come up with good stuff. Other times I see a weakness in my writing. On rare occasions I see the true-life motive for my seemingly unconscious mind striving to work out a real-life problem.

When I'm done torturing my characters and they can have their scene back (or many times display the new torture scene) I'm left with my answer. How many characters does it take to make a good book? All of them. (All those left that is.)

Greyhaus Guest Blogger - Not Enough Time In The Day

Suzanne really does a good job of pin-pointing some things I believe we all face. Heck, after this last week, these ideas sounded pretty good to me. Yet, it is important to remember that in the publishing world, there really can't be excuses. Deadlines do have to be met and readers need to be satisfied.

Thanks for the comments Suzanne!
~Scott

* * *



I’m not complaining about my lot in life. But have to say that finding time to write, network, edit, and research can be really tough with 3 kids (2 with special needs), a husband, and elderly live-in aunt, 3 pets (2 also with special needs) plus a full time career as a Marketing Manager for a major national brand.

With this in mind, I remember the worst piece of advice I ever received: “You have to give up everything: family, friends, and career in order to be a serious writer.”

Uh, I don’t think so. I might give up a few extraneous items, but am not giving up my family or friends, and definitely not my day-job. I wouldn’t even give up the few writing organizations that I belong to because that’s where I get the motivation and knowledge that I need to move forward on the road to publication.

In order to find time for all that I have to do, I have to multi-task and schedule. Here’s how I manage the madness:

• - Lists: I try to create a short REALISTIC list of activities that I need to get done the next day, whether it’s family, work, or writing-related.
• - Prioritize: In each subhead, prioritize what needs to be done right now/today
• - Time Manage: Set a timer. If you know that you only have 20 minutes for social networking, then when that timer goes up, move on to research, editing, or writing. Chances are, you’ll be more focused on the task at hand knowing you only have a limited time to do it.
• - Ask for Help: If you have a daunting research project, ask for help from writing buddies. If you belong to a writer’s group with a loop- post the question there. You’ll be surprised at how many people will respond with relevant links and info.
• - Forgive yourself: It’s ok to let some things slip, such as having a messy living room for one more day so that you can finish your manuscript in time for a contest deadline.
• - Give up extraneous activities: This is the most difficult for me because I am a compulsive voluntee-er. I had to post a sign on my laptop to remind me not to volunteer for anything else.

It’s definitely not easy, but I have found that by keeping these concepts in mind I am a happier, more productive writer. And I realize that my non-writing life may delay my path to publication, I’m still ON the path, and that’s the important thing.

Greyhaus Guest Blogger - No Agent Is Better Than A Bad Agent

Agents, time and time again, are bringing this point up. We tell you about all of the writers who have faced this problem, but in this case, you get to hear directly from one of them. What Jen is saying here shouldn't come as any shock to you. Maybe this is just a quick reminder to always use your brain in this business.

~Scott

* * *



Getting an offer of representation should be one of the highlights of a writer’s life. But what if you then discover that the agent isn’t everything you hoped for?

That is exactly what happened to my writing partner and I last autumn. We’d been querying widely for just over three months, carefully researching each agent and agency. On the surface, this particular agency looked great: they made what looked like credible claims about their deals, they had enthusiastic quotes from clients about the agency, and they showcased their clients’ books on their website.

Looking back now, I realize that our naïveté and enthusiasm upon receiving that first offer partially blinded us to the red flags we should have seen sooner. To our credit, we spotted those red flags quickly once we did more in-depth research before responding to the offer.

The most important thing we did at the time was invest $20/month in a Publishers Marketplace subscription; that was how we found out that the claims made on the agency website about sales and rankings were untrue. In the single phone conversation I had with him, two things happened that set off warning bells: he said our manuscript was flawless and didn’t need a single word of editing (after doing revisions with our current agent, I know that couldn’t have been further from the truth), and he refused to give me the names of his other clients to ask for references, something we’d been advised by other agents was a normal request from prospective clients.

Ann and I jointly agreed that we were uncomfortable with his attitude and the information we had discovered. We had already informed several other agents who had the manuscript of the offer, but all of them passed on it. It was a very painful decision to turn down that offer knowing that we were essentially starting again from scratch and that we might be throwing away our only chance at ever getting an agent. But we agreed that no agent was better than being contracted to a bad agent.

We queried again for several months before discovering Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency. We write crime fiction with a scientific edge, so Nicole caught our eye when she listed herself as a ‘consummate science geek’. We queried Nicole and things moved very quickly from query to a full request. When Nicole corrected a scientific point in the manuscript, we knew we’d found our match. Nicole offered shortly thereafter, and we haven’t looked back since.

Good things come to those who wait. If you believe in your work, don’t short change it by leaping at the first offer unless it’s the right offer. Persevere, and hopefully you’ll find that your match is out there too.

Greyhaus Guest Blogger - How Setting My Timer Helps Me Pursue My Dream

Katharine's approach to writer really does represent a lot of writers out there. We have all heard of the authors that have all day to write. They get up in the morning, contemplate their days over coffee and the newspaper. They take the early morning walk and then go for the marathon day of writing. Yet, there is the rest of the world that eek out any chance they get to write. Karen, who frequently posts here has now moved to getting up at 3 am to write before the kids get up.

What I think you will see is the dedication all of these writers have to their dream. They don't make excuses and they work with what they have. Still, they don't quit.

~Scott

* * *

Some writers have smoke-filled offices, in which they spend their days perfecting their prose in solitude. Their only interruption is the clink of the bottle on their glass as they pour another shot of whiskey.


Not me.

I don’t have an office. Instead I have a kitchen, in which I spend my day homeschooling my five children and baking bread. My interruptions are more numerous than the mateless socks in my endless piles of laundry.

Yet, despite this, I finished my first novel last winter, I post to my blog three times a week, I contribute to my church’s parenting blog, I tweet, Facebook and make dinner every night.

I am hardly Super Mom. I get it all done because I do it in ten minute increments.

It looks like this: I set the timer on my microwave for ten minutes and then start writing. Once the timer goes off, I reset it and empty the dishwasher or fold a load of laundry or start a meal. I also check on the children and make sure no one is bleeding. Once that timer dings, I go back to the computer and get a few sentences out. (Woe to the child who interrupts me while I write!) I do this all afternoon and somehow, everything gets done.

I developed this system because I wanted to do it all. I wanted to give all to my family and pursue my writing dreams. I knew that if I looked for big chunks of time, it would never come. So my theory was that ten minutes were better than none at all. And if I did this six times, I would have written for an hour.

Like you, I believe that my dreams are worth pursuing, and like you, I’m pretty busy. I don’t believe that any writer should wait for the perfect moment, or when the kids are older, or huge chunks of time. I think, instead, that setting a timer, and typing like a mad woman is a better strategy. And while I haven’t been published yet, I will be.

And I may just celebrate with a well-earned shot of whiskey.


Katharine Grubb blogs at www.10minutewriter.com

Greyhaus Guest Blogger - Battling Themes Causing Bi-Polar Characters

Susie Sheehey really hit the nail on the head with this one. I have to say, I told you so, but this is again one of those issues where plotters will tend to be much more successful. Still, the problem Susie is facing is a very common one.

Writers have to find a way to keep in mind "the big picture" of their stories. This is especially true when we consider our normal way of editing and getting feedback. We never look at the full story, but small segments and blocks of the story.

I am reminded in this case of my mother-in-law. I will tell you, she was a great person but I hated the approach she took when it came to home decorating. She would focus on one part of her house but not look a the grand scheme of things. So she would change her dining room. It looked good, but it connected to the living room. So we would then hear complaints for months and then she would change the living room (but would forget the dining room). Now that room was out of sync. Writers do the same thing.

~Scott

* * *



I've realized why I'm stuck in my writing this week. After a few weeks of frustrating writer's block, and having to delete several chapters and revise several scenes, I read at my local writer's group who gave me another reason to be frustrated. I'm not frustrated with the writers group- not at all. They pointed out another serious flaw that I have to go back and fix. But it gave me the first insight into my much bigger problem that spurned all the others I was fighting.

My theme is all screwed up in my current project. Some days my theme is about my heroine trying to reclaim the life she wanted before her injury. Other days my theme is focused on the anger and frustration in trying to deal with the pain of her injury. And other days is all focused on going after the love of her life. So when I sat back and compared the scenes, my heroine seems strangely bi-polar. Extreme highs and lows in her emotions and behaviors from one day to the next, its hard for me to keep track. I can only imagine what the reader would think.

My writer's group told me that in the scene I presented, my main character is too nice. She was boring. I needed to *itch her up. And they were right. In that particular scene, she was trying to be too polite and accommodating. But in the next scene, she was a raging, chemically imbalanced drama queen that sparked from a phone call. And the cycle seems to repeat itself over the next few scenes.

After perusing a few author's blogs I follow and a several other sites, I narrowed down on my overall issue. I have too many themes and they're all battling each other. I need to get a handle on which theme I want the most prevalent in the book and write the scenes that way. In fact, its suggested to write my theme on a piece of paper, and tape the paper to my laptop or on my desk while I write. That way I'm constantly reminded of the MAIN THEME throughout my piece. Because the other themes are present in my mind and in the overall situation, they'll be lingering in the background, but I can't let those overpower the main theme.

So now my problem is picking the major theme.

Greyhaus Guest Blogger - Publishing is a Waiting Game, and it hurts sometimes

I have always said that publishing is a "hurry up and wait" business. We madly scramble to make a deadline or get that next chapter written and sent to the critique partners and then we wait. It is tough. And yes, the agents feel the same thing. We send out projects and wait calls from the editors. It does hurt.

But, I think what Elizabeth Reinhardt is stressing here extends to a different level. We have to find a way to summon up that passion inside of us to work on something else while we "wait." It is part of the game people!
~Scott

* * *



The hardest part of the writing process for me is never the first draft. Or the edit. Or the critique. Or the query letter. It’s the waiting. Or more specifically, it’s what to do with the time while ‘the waiting’ is happening.

With waves of five queries going out every other week and a carefully graphed spreadsheet that I mark with a special set of red, green and purple pens (yes, it’s agonizingly color-organized) I feel like waiting is my job. I wait and mark in coordinating colors the rejections, requests for partials or fulls, and any personal comments from agents that might help me improve.

That sounds impressive, right?

Except if you’re reading this blog post, you’re most likely a writer, and you probably know that even if I monkey around editing the first three chapters to death or reformat so my entire manuscript has only one space after each period and a half-inch indent without the use of the tab button, that leaves a whole lot of time.

If I’m being generous with my schedule, I’d say checking my email and responding appropriately to all things writing-based can take, daily, anywhere from thirty seconds to a good five minutes if I take it slow.
Time should be a writer’s best friend! With all this extra time, I could be writing my next book. But it feels like the first book isn’t finished yet since I’m waiting to hear back about it.

So, instead, I challenge my high school teacher to rousing games of online Scrabble. And wait. I clean the bathroom from top to bottom. And wait. I dump out my junk drawer and, instead of throwing away any junk, I organize it all into unrealistically neat piles that will be a heaping mess in less time than it took to initially organize the whole mess. And wait. I check my email obsessively. And I wait.

My husband asks if he can use the laptop.

“I’m working.” I do not make eye contact.

“You’re looking at pictures of someone’s kid on Facebook. Is that your cousin?”

“Um, no. Remember that girl I worked with at Home Depot? It’s her sister’s niece’s grandfather’s birthday party album.”

The silence in the room is deafening.

“I think you need an intervention.”

“I’m waiting to hear back on my first book.” The tab for my email page is right behind the Facebook page, ready to all times to blink if I get an email.

“Look.” My husband gives me his best firm-but-kind voice. “You’re brilliant. Your writing is brilliant. But the time when you’re waiting for feedback on a book is like hell on earth. You’re like a robot. A neurotic robot. Please channel this energy into writing something. Please. Please. And can I see the laptop for a minute?”

Because he’s a really nice guy, I take his advice.

It’s hard.

Scrabble beckons. The bathroom and junk drawers sing to me. But I hold firm. At first it’s a few words, but the chapter picks up and I can’t just stop. Soon I’ve got a new story plotted out. Before I know it, I’ve gone all day without cleaning or playing or checking my email obsessively. And I feel good. Really good.
“I know it’s going to be a huge deal when you get the call from an agent,” my husband says. We’re eating take-out Chinese because I was too caught up in my chapter to make dinner.

“It will be awesome,” I agree. But what I don’t tell him (because I don’t like to encourage him to gloat), is that the part that makes me happiest is the writing. I love it. Even if I don’t get the call, even if I have bad days, even if I sometimes trick myself into thinking I love cleaning junk drawers more, I love writing. And it is, without a doubt, the best way to take up time when I’m waiting for that call.

Greyhaus Guest Blogger - I'm a Storyteller, Not a Writer

Justine really has some good things to consider here. I think her perspective really slams into place why we do the things we do. Why do we punish ourselves time and time again? It is the passion of writing. I do want to add though, and this is something that Justine doesn't really say, but I think is hidden in there. She is talking about writing and not publishing. Rember the passion she speaks of!
~Scott

* * *



That's right. I'll admit it.

There's a difference? Yes, according to many people (Nathan Bransford included) there is. And according to the same people, you must be good at both in order to become successful in this business.

Whoa.

That's a difficult statement to handle, isn't it?

I'm writing this post for two reasons: one, my crit partner helped me realize the difference, which in turn helped me understand my own writing. And two, an intern on twitter recently said this:

"If you don't have background in writing—don't write."

A lot of people don’t agree with that statement. I mean, how will you learn to write—and write well—if you DON’T do it?

First, let's talk about the difference between storytelling and writing. Obviously, storytelling is when you tell a great story. To people, to friends, in a funny notebook you carry around. It’s about getting the words out there, making people laugh, cry, smile, whatever.

Wikipedia defines storytelling as: the conveying of events in words, images and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment.

Writing is all that "other" stuff: grammar, tenses—all the jargon about the English language.

Wikipedia says writing is: the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols.

Then there’s the other "writer" stuff: plots, tension, character delineation, backstory, turning points, plot layers, subplots, personal stakes, reversing motives, character dimensions, and so on and so forth.

So, I wrote before I knew anything about "writing". And what a hot mess I had! But does that mean I shouldn't write? Heck no! Not every novelist has a background in English. Not every author has taken a creative writing class. Not every best seller has a "background" in writing.

I even did a little research. There a MANY novelists (famous and not) who didn't even go to college. There are some are who went to college, but not for writing/english. There are even a few high school dropouts. (Google is a wonderful thing)

So what about me? What did I do? I wrote. And wrote. And wrote. And then I learned. I got a crit partner (several, actually). I read books. I studied grammar. I did research and practiced my craft. I learned the proper way to write. I have been able to mesh those fabu storytelling skills with some mad writing skills. And hey, it only took me five books to do it!
Do I regret how long it took to figure it out? How hard it was? All the sweat, and crits, and tears?
No.
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.
Because why do I write? Well, why do you breathe?
I need to. I love to.
I don't care if you don't have a background in writing. That shouldn’t define WHO you are. You must DO in order to succeed. You must learn, write, and grow. Do it.
My name is Justine Dell, and I’m a storyteller.

Welcome Susan Edwards

Susan joined Greyhaus last Spring and we have been hard at work at a lot of new projects. She has stopped by to say hi and answer a few questions. My challenge to you??? Keep her busy with a lot of questions!

Welcome Susan...

LIFE IS CHANGE, GROWTH IS OPTIONAL, CHOOSE WISELY
anonymous

We’ve all heard that there are two things we can rely on in life: death and taxes. Well, for writers, there is another.

Change.

Change is a constant in the publishing world and if we as writers/authors do not change, then we dry up and fade away like a pile of autumn leaves.

Most people do not like change because change is scary but I have always embraced change whether it is a new home or rearranging my house or even a new job. Change freshens my life. It is a renewal of heart, mind and soul--a breath of fresh air to chase away the stale and stagnant.

In the publishing world, what’s selling now will eventually fade away to be replaced by something new and fresh. Or perhaps something old will be reborn. Like historicals, angels, time travels and ghosts. Think of the writing world as a big circle with cycles and seasons. Nothing remains the same.

If we accept that our industry is always shifting and changing, then we as writers/authors must be prepared not to just ride those winds of change but to grow as writers for styles of writing also change. Today’s author must be prepared to change and keep up even if it means reinventing ourselves to keep pace with the changes in our world.

While writing White Vengeance, book 11 in my White Series, I felt as though I was slogging through muck. Each word, each scene was a struggle. I loved the characters, loved the story, but something was happening to me as a writer–I was growing and changing yet my White books were not. At least not much.

My books always had a bit of the mystical with the use of visions, gifts of sight and other aspects of Native American culture. As the series grew, I wanted as a writer to explore the mystical aspects of Native American beliefs and go deeper into the mystical world yet my books were historicals, not paranormals. Suddenly, I had a choice: continue to fight the change happening within me as a writer or give in and grow as a writer.

So I wrote something new. Summer of the Eagle is still a Native American Historical but I let the paranormal, the mystical world bloom. And I had fun. I loved the book, the characters, the writing. The change in myself, my writing attitude was a wondrous feeling. I knew then that as a writer I had to embrace change–let myself grow.

I gave myself permission and the freedom to grow and change. It was a scary step that involved taking some time off writing to really think about what I wanted for myself and my writing. I discovered that I needed to write, loved to write and so I allowed myself time to really create the SpiritWalker world that I’d just barely touched upon in Summer of the Eagle.

This process took a couple years, but I believe that by listening to my inner voice, I choose wisely. I have a new series that I love, that has pushed me to grow as a writer and will continue to for some time and I also know that I can return to my beloved White Series with a fresher heart and mind.

No matter what we write, how well we write it, we change because life is change. However, growing as a writer is completely up to us. We can resist, refuse or embrace. We can listen to our inner voice or ignore it. The choice is ours.

While we have to write what is selling, we can still grow as writers. It takes courage to look at our writing career and admit that we’ve grown stagnant. What we do about it is up to us.

Life is Change. Growth is Optional. Choose Wisely. I love this for it is so true. My challenge to you: Look for change. Find it. Embrace it. Then grow with it for I believe if you do this, you’ll have the ride of your life on that wonderful, exhilarating, and oftentimes crazy roller coaster called Life.


Susan

Susan Edwards to visit Blog

On Wednesday, Susan Edwards author at Dorchester books will be here for a chat. Make sure to stop by and say hi!

Scott

Guest Blogger - Michelle Willingham

Dark Moments by Michelle Willingham

The stories of Viking raids struck terror into the hearts of most villagers. When I wrote "The Viking's Forbidden Love-Slave," I knew there would be an inherent darkness to the tone, but I also wanted it to be seductive. Instead of a hero who gloried in war, I wanted a man uneasy about the death and destruction. A tormented hero, if you will.

When he takes Aisling Ó Brannon captive, his intentions are to trade her for his sister's life. In the story's darkest moment, he must face the worst choice of all—choosing between a family member and the woman he learns to love.

Guest Blogger - Bronwyn Scott

To create dark moments, I usually look to the conflict management style preferred by each character and then figure out how those two styles might create a spiraling tension.
Here’s a recipe for doing that if you want to try it out: First, pick two of the four ingredients below. There are essentially four different choices people make when faced with potential conflict.

Style #1 Avoidance/Accommodation. This style focuses on either ignoring the problem in hopes that it will go away (avoidance) OR setting aside one’s own needs in order to give the other person’s needs priority (accommodation). This style works well in the short term and if it’s not used too often. Used too often and it can lead to low self-esteem and of course it does not lead to real resolution of the serious issues in a relationship.

Style #2 Direct Aggression: This involves threatening verbal or nonverbal behaviors and honestly, it’s not the style of choice except in situations where personal safety is on the line and the situation must be resolved within minutes before harm to one’s person occurs. One consequence to this style is that it creates a growing spiral of defensiveness and hostility. Someone else, the other person yells back, then something gets thrown, and the stakes are upped until someone wins and someone loses.

Style #3 Indirect assertion: This style is focused on resolving issues without directly addressing them and causing the involved parties any outright embarrassment. For instance if my next door neighbor has a barking dog and it’s driving me nuts, I might stop over with a chew toy guaranteed to silence and entertain dogs for hours on end. If I present it as a gift, “Hey I was at petsmart today and saw this. I thought your dog might like it.” The neighbor thinks I am being friendly, the dog stops barking and I’m happy without having a direct discussion over the subject that might be fraught with tension. In the long run, the neighbor might get the clue and he/she might not. That’s the risk here. This style depends on both parties abilities to read between the lines. If not, the clue can get overlooked and then you have to try again.

Style #4 Direct Assertion: This style operates under the premise that the parties involved will address the issue head on in a non hostile way.

Style #5 Passive Aggressive: This style is the choice to maintain an outwardly friendly façade while taking less than friendly actions. A great example is saying “I’m fine.” And then slamming the kitchen cupboard doors.







Different combinations of these styles get different results. There are two types of conflict patterns: complementary and symmetrical. Complementary patterns are patterns where the parties each use a different style; maybe one is indirect and another is direct assertion. This will create a different outcome than being accommodating and indirect. Symmetrical styles are when each party involved is using the same style—both might be indirect or both might be accommodating.

Step two in the recipe is to mix up the styles and see what happens. In Libertine Lord, Pickpocket Miss, Julian and Sophie start out with a symmetrical pattern of indirection. Julian is in Vienna to reclaim a set of missing jewels for the monarchy and Sophie is there is steal the same set of jewels for an Italian count. Neither one of them can tell each other much about their tasks or about themselves without giving away too much that might jeopardize their missions. So what happens is a delicious cat-and-mouse game until the game gets too dangerous. The dark moment happens when Julian realizes if Sophie gets to the jewels first she’s dead. The Italian Count will never let her live and risk her spreading the story about how she took the jewels for him. Concern for Sophie drives Julian to adopt a different tack and he becomes an example of direct assertion, forcing Sophie to change her tactics too.

Another favorite technique with these styles can be seen in my May 2008 release Notorious Rake, Innocent Lady. In the book, Julia Prentiss decides to take matters into her own hands to escape an unwanted marriage to the villain. She models the direct assertion approach but the villain meets that with direct aggression. For every move she makes, he ups the hostility level until it spirals into the ultimate dark moment where Julia is captured and the unwanted wedding looms and the situation has to be resolved.

Have fun mixing and matching and making your own ‘trick or treat’
Bronwyn

Guest Blogger - Amanda McCabe

“Dark decisions”—I think I’m a nice person in general, but I do enjoy facing my characters with these life-changing choices! Choices that change who they are, challenge their relationship, and maybe even have no clear “right” answer. In Shipwrecked and Seduced, both my hero and heroine face some serious decisions.

The heroine, Maria, is a maidservant to a Spanish countess who is on her way to the New World in 1535 to be married. The ship breaks up in a terrible storm, everyone is killed—except Maria. She is taken unconscious to the governor’s fortress in Santo Domingo, where she’s mistaken for the countess. When she decides to go on with the masquerade, there’s no going back—especially when she meets Carlos de Alameda, royal warrior and spy!

As for Carlos—he, too, makes a decision to keep a secret. Or two or three. But I’ll leave it to the story to reveal what that is…

Guest Blogger - Nicola Cornick

The dark hero, mad, bad and dangerous to know, as Lady Caroline Lamb so succinctly put it, is one of the most popular in romantic fiction. From Mr Rochester in Jane Eyre to the beast in Beauty and the Beast, this is a hero who is dark and brooding because his heart and soul have been scarred by tragic or traumatic experience and can only be healed by the love of the right woman.

Dark heroes can be tough to write because if they become too dark they can turn off the reader. There is something undeniably attractive about the Dark Side – even Luke Skywalker was tempted by it in Star Wars - but most of us want our heroes to be strong, powerful, loyal and honorable, even if that honor may seem rather deeply buried, at least at first. We want our heroes to resist the temptation of the dark and turn towards the light.

If the dark hero is a difficult character to create, I think that the dark heroine is even more of a challenge. There aren’t as many women in romance books who need redemption. Perhaps it is because we instinctively want our heroines to represent the bright light of transformation, to be good and redemptive. Too often we feel the heroine has to be gentle and sweet, and that if she isn’t she has to have a very good excuse for her behaviour.

Sometimes the dark heroine can work when matched with the dark hero. They recognise each other as wounded souls. They save each other. At other times, the dark heroine can be redeemed by the hero’s love. But the most realistic characters are perhaps those where this transformation does not go too far. In my Regency historical Wayward Widow the wayward heroine of the title warns the hero: “I won’t change, you know.” Fortunately he doesn’t want her to reform too much. He loves her the way she is. It’s easy to make a hero or heroine too bland, too good, perfect or uninteresting. It’s their flaws, the darkness balanced by the light, that allow us to identify with them.

Nicola Cornick
The Unmasking of Lady Loveless
Harlequin Undone e-book November 2008