Stop Word Abuse Now!

From the Sunday New York Times Editorial Section the following ("A Return To American Justice"): "Experience shows that federal courts are capable of handling high-profile terrorism trials without comprising legitimate secrets..."

It's obvious the word is intended to be "compromising". Typo? Editorial oversight? Or a clear case of WORD ABUSE!

Peak. Peek. Pique. Anyone. Any one. Everyone. Every one. A lot. Alot. All right. Alright. Rein. Rain. Reign. Threw. Through. Weather. Whether. Except. Accept. Led. Lead. Peace. Piece. Council. Counsel. Dual. Duel. Principle. Principal. Capital. Capitol. Cite. Site. Sight. Raise. Raze.

The list goes on and on. I must ask: What's up with the prevalence of writing errors concerning word use? It is not just about spelling, really (all right, it is in some cases like "a lot" and "all right" - that's more of a usage problem, too). It's about not knowing the difference between one word and another, when they mean utterly different things. I have to say that I'm flummoxed as to why a writer wouldn't be absolutely zealous about mastering vocabulary which is, essentially, their lone tool for storytelling and communication. I'm not even talking about the really weird words, the utterly unseen (scene/seen) examples that crop up only in academic texts or the classics (adds or adze - the latter being an ax-like tool, or all or awl - a pointed scriber); though airy and aerie do come up, now that I mention it!

I have certainly found myself typing the wrong word when in the throes of a creative fervor because my fingers type faster than my eyes read. And since spell check won't catch them and grammar check is a pain in my tush, if I'm not careful that "throes" might come out "throws". Imagine, if you will, an editor perusing your steamy love scene which reads: "while in the throws of orgasm she moaned" - What? You're not going for laughs there? (you're/your; its/it's - these being a couple of the grammatical faux pas that far too frequently rear their ugly heads).

Correct: "If everyone in the hot dog eating contest ate every one of their hot dogs, how do they know who won?"

Not so much: "If everyone in the hot dog eating contest ate everyone of their hot dogs, how do they know whom was the winner?"

Homonyms - words that sound alike, but are spelled differently and have different meanings. (Or almost sound alike in some cases.) Advice. Advise. Censure. Censor. Chose. Choose. Assure. Ensure. Insure. Clothes. Cloths. Emminent. Imminent. Alter. Altar. Band. Banned. Who's. Whose. Heel. Heal. And one of my favorites: Want and wont. (That crops up a lot in historical romances.)

I'm coming across these errors more and more as I read unpublished authors' work on blogs, posted excerpts (not excepts, as I've seen...), critique groups and in contests (and on some sad occasions, published work - what's up with those copy editors? In a published novel in the first paragraph I came across this: "She waved her hand imperviously at the waiter." I called the publisher - St. Martin's for full-disclosure - and reported the typo. My complaint was met with a fairly vague, "Oh" from the editorial assistant to whom I spoke). I wonder if these authors are making just typing errors (obviously understandable) that they subsequently don't catch (less understandable) - and which their CPs don't catch either - or if there is actually a growing population of people whose vocabulary skills are simply that piss poor? Is it because they don't read enough? I find that hard to believe, frankly, because the authors of romance that I know read voraciously. Don't focus? Perhaps it is simple carelessness. I hate to think it is a purely blatant lack of concern with the quality of work product.

Regardless, I mark up entries in contests, and I critique people's excerpts and constantly point out these errors. And if I, as a completely disinterested party, catch them, you can be sure editors and agents are catching them (with the possible exception of the above-referenced editorial assistant). And I would hazard a guess that there's nothing more apt to turn off an editor or agent than a submission filled with:

"I want everyone of you to line up for inspection."

or "As is my want, I tumbled the chit without a second thought."

or, "Hand me the reigns, Jeeves and I'll run the fox to ground."

"Are you alright?" (OK, this word, and alot are used so frequently - albeit incorrectly - that they are becoming accepted spellings and usages. I'm not happy about this. I don't see the value with rewarding sloppiness, vocabularily speaking, by allowing the words to become acceptable just to save everyone the trouble of figuring out the correct choice of spelling or usage. Let's raise the standards, not allow them to sink to the lowest common denominator, OK? (Or is that: Okay?)

I'm not going to go into the various other issues: Who, whom, therefore, therefor, flammable, inflammable, and heaven save me from a comma debate.

But tangentially, there is also that category unto itself - malapropisms.

The legacy of Richard Sheridan's Mrs. Malaprop, these are the wacky misrenderings of classic sayings that can stop a reader in her tracks when you spot the incongruous beast in the midst of a romance. "It's a doggy doggy world" was a favorite my Mother always remembered, quoted from a young neighbor many, many years ago. Dan Quayle, noted malaprop: "Republicans understand the importance of bondage between mother and child." And that other famous gent, Archie Bunker: "Thou shalt not bear falsies against thy neighbor." From The Sopranos: "There's no stigmata connected with going to a shrink." And while his words were not legitimate malaprops, there's the Master of Mangle himself, Yogi Berra - "It's deja vous all over again!" and "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

I've heard numerous malapropisms over the years. "He's really up a creek with a paddle." (which reminds me - creak and creek). "I don't know what I'd do if I were under your shoes!", "Boy, he's a real mover and a shaker-he doesn't let any hair grow under his feet." But I must bestow the ignominious first prize to: "Battle down the hatchets!"

A writer's world is a world of words. They will make you able to speak sublimely to your readers, or, if you aren't careful, instead have those poor souls stumbling awkwardly through your prose. I beg of you - check before you print! Consult a dictionary or thesaurus before you commit those precious and INCORRECT words to paper. Even go so far as to read the dictionary and study those words like the vital tool they are. Give yourself the absolute best chance to shine. Don't expect editors will find and fix your mistakes. Aim for perfection before you send them out to that editor or agent, who'll take one look and roll their eyes (notice I did not say 'role') and toss your submission into the "reject" pile.

Because the shock might just make you prostate ... WHOOPS, I meant, PROSTRATE with grief.

Publishing Waits for No Writer

My name is Lise. And I'm a Procrastinator. Would that there was a 12 step program for types such as myself. Because no matter the urging, nudging, pushing, shoving, or outright bellowing that I am subjected to from well-meaning friends and relatives to get off my sorry tush and finish a writing project (and we mean finished - edited, polished, spic and span FINISHED) and send it out, I have not.

And for the 2nd time I am suffering a bout of gnashing, wailing, grimacing and grousing over being beaten to the literary punch.

In 2006 I completed a (very, very rough) first draft of a time-travel romantic thriller of a novel about Jack the Ripper. Never polished it or completed it in such a form as could be submitted (why? I get sidetracked by "new" and "exciting" projects, for one thing). But regardless, about a week or two after the 2006 NaNoWriMo challenge ended, I was in a bookstore and lo and behold, there was a TIME TRAVEL NOVEL ABOUT JACK THE RIPPER.

Granted, the premise was utterly different (and no, you cannot "steal" an idea since they are not protected by copyright) and it wasn't a romantic sort of novel (It was called, BTW, "Jack Knife"). It was a sci-fi time travelers setting history right rather than an "accidental" traveler trying to change history but failing - though she changes the outcome of something in the future. And it wasn't a romance like mine (lots of spice, and a quirky set of secondary characters leaving room for a sequel).

But there it was. A book on the shelf while mine was collected in a Barnes & Noble shopping bag. Color me disgusted. Could that have been why I put it aside? Maybe a part of the reason (if I'm not the first, why bother? Everyone will say I ripped off the idea!).

Meanwhile, I started another novel. It was planned to be an urban fantasy series with an accidental psychic who talks to ghosts. Snarky, some romantic entanglements and a whole slew of paranormal and supernatural characters. My planned first book was called "Dead Man Talking". I entered it in a couple of contests and actually got a third place in the RWA New York City Chapter's Love & Laughter contest. Did I finish it? Oh, silly girl!

I loved the plot. The characters were fun, and I had lots of research, ideas and chunks of writing from throughout the book. In fact I probably had a good 40,000 words. But done? Complete? Fini? Noooooo.

I did talk about it a lot, though (I'm looking at you - you know who you are). I shared the plot, the title, and my ideas and got wonderful feedback. Everyone thought it was going to be a great book!

Today, I'm in the bookstore (deja vu all over again?) and there on the shelf - a new paranormal by an established author ..... can you guess the title? Yep. "Dead Man Talking".

(And my MS? That's right, you guessed it: a Barnes & Noble shopping bag.)

Now, granted, this play on words is not particularly brilliant - it would come pretty easy if you thought about a ghost hunter novel title when there is a humorous bent.

But nevertheless, someone else now got there ahead of me.

And why? Because I PROCRASTINATED.

I failed to act when I had great stuff and energy and motivation. I got lazy, and despite the enthusiasm from others, let it slide. I sat around dreaming big dreams of publishing contracts, movie options and sequels and NEVER FINISHED THE FREAKING BOOK!

I've heard that some writers refuse to discuss current projects for fear they'll "jinx" it, or lose their enthusiasm if they talk about it too much. Others are obsessively worried that their ideas, titles, plots will be "stolen" by others and so stay mum about the details of projects.

Me? I just wait around until the great idea slips away and maybe takes root in someone else's mind. Or until someone else - as invariably happens, right? - comes up with the same or similar idea, plot, character or title.

So I have no one to blame but myself. Will this work as a kick in the butt to get me working? I sure hope so. We're approaching National Novel Writing Month 2009 - NaNoWriMo to the insiders - and it's the perfect time to put the cerebral pedal to the metal and get a project done.

Will I do it? There are some pretty intense folk rolling up their sleeves and getting ready to administer that kick in the butt if I don't.





Really, I'm serious, is there a Procrastinators Anonymous out there?

When The Play Can Be The Thing...

I had a fairly standard education. Elementary School, High School, College. I took a few classes at The New School for Social Reasearch as a non-matriculated student. Mostly, though, I've learned what I've learned as an adult through all the different jobs I've had, the experiences I've gone through, and in large part via my creative endeavors.

As an actress and singer, I read voraciously in the connected fields. Biographies of writers, composers, singers and actors. I read hundreds of plays, from the Greeks to Shakespeare to Sam Shepard and Wendy Wasserstein. I read theatre history and theare production books as well as acting instruction manuals, and voice technique books.

Now as a writer, I am reading everything from craft titles on individual aspects of creative writing, to motivational guidebooks, prompt books, marketing and sales and submission how-tos and of course, dozens of romances, mysteries, thrillers, paranormals, and the oodles of research books and material that I use for creating compelling and complex stories.

So it comes as no surprise that I have a wealth of extremely variant information at my disposal. As I like to say, I'd be great on Jeopardy but otherwise my knowledge and $2.00 will get me on the subway. I am always tickled, however, when I discover one area of knowledge able to invest another area of endeavor with a little something extra.

I have found to my delight that my work as an actress has been extremely useful, dare I say vital, in my work as a writer. For one thing I focus on creating dialogue and characters via the methods I learned in the theatre. Since dramatic literature - plays - have no exposition or narrative, nothing but dialogue or spoken words (be they monologues or what have you), it is a great method for studying the creation of dialogue that is important, and that moves the plot and conveys details about the story and the characters, with minimal narration or excessive expository description that can slow a story down or bog it down in unnecessary stuff.

I also build my written characters just as I built the characters I was performing. By creating histories for them, knowing their past, even when the details had nothing to do with the play. Because by giving my characters as much personal detail, as many characteristics, and motivations as I can, I find their responses far easier to come by. I know how they think and react and how their present lives are infused by their pasts. Studying various personality traits, characteristics, tics, phobias, and how past events have shaped them - how their childhoods form their adult actions and reactions. Why they are motivated to do something, or fearful of doing something else. Why they have a particular personality - withdrawn, solitary, independent or outgoing, loyal and gregarious. How they'll react to the hero or heroine - or the villain - of a piece, all of which makes writing the story greatly easier. I never have to stop and ponder, "what would they do..." because I've created their personalities and I KNOW what they will do. Be it in a disaster or in the bedroom.

It is rather a bit like a Dr. Frankenstein experience to create a living, breathing human being - at least on paper - but it can be thrilling and exhilarating when I come to a point in a story where I know exactly what, and why, my character is going to do. Which allows me to move the story forward and makes my characters' behavior immediate and real to the reader.

And of course, when I pass on helpful suggestions (and I do that a lot - I hope I'm not a pest, but I love to be able to make my past experiences and what I've learned as useful to as many as possible)it makes me feel the time spent on these past pursuits is that much more valuable.

So today, when I made a recommendation that my fellow writers study plays for the purpose of examining how to use dialogue to be efficient, to create distinct characters and to understand the way to move a plot and expose details without exposition and excessive narrative, it felt great. And it reminded me of my favorite plays (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Streetcar Named Desire) and playwright (Tennesee Williams). Which brought me to remember an exquisite little 2-character play called TALK TO ME LIKE THE RAIN AND LET ME LISTEN, a bittersweet, poignant piece that exposes the man and woman's deepest yearnings. It brought me back and reminded me of the joys of that genre of literature and how well it works for me now, as a writer, to have experienced it.

And I am now reminded of one of the greatest character studies of all, one that was sent to me from England by a fellow actor friend. It is Anthony Sher's The Year of the King and covers his work on the character of Richard III - and how he morphed himself into the character for his acclaimed portrayal. It is an excrutiatingly in-depth look at how a character is built. And I've never forgotten it.

So, now I have a great idea for a tortured hero and all I need is the story to go with him! Hmm. Something about an unjustly accused royal with a penchant for another man's wife?

Eureka!

It's The Little Things...

I'm on vacation and one of the things I promised my Mother I would do is go through the wealth of magazines and newspapers that I have stockpiled (look for my picture under "pack rat" in the dictionary). As many writers do, I'm sure, I can find a reason to save just about everything. Photographs that will inspire a scene, or provide the home, or gown, or look of a character. Stories that can provide background for places, careers, lifestyles, or personal background. News articles that reek of fictional possibilities - from crime stories to human interest essays. Ads for perfumes, cars, travel, food, wine, clothes, makeup, or products. Gardens and kitchens and yachts and restaurants all have immediate inspiration for me. So I save them. Everything. And I DO mean everything. Just ask my Mom.

So. This afternoon, with a bad back from too much lugging of heavy materials during my gardening work yesterday, I can only sit. I like to be outside as often as possible since my "day job" requires that I be sequested in an office, looking, yearning, for the out of doors. But at home on vacation in the late spring, with everything green and lush, and before the heat of summer settles in, I can relax and recuperate outside in my $14.00 plastic Adirondack chair.

So....that's what I was doing this afternoon. Going through four year old magazines, month old newspapers, and culling ideas. Inspiration.

From the classical musician who has dedicated himself to teaching classical music to the students in Iraq who have no instruments or teachers or schools. From the woman and her three daughters and granddaughters who run an organic farm in California. The cupcake maven who, instead of heading to his bar exam instead bought a truck and went into the cupcake street vendor business. The archeologists who race against time to excavate in areas that are being turned into "improvements"/ And to the black and white students who have separate proms because segregation still lives .... except for the one plucky girl who attended both, because she's dated an African-American schoolmate for several years. And of course I found some stunning photographs that perfectly capture the art space for my erotic photographer character. And the spare, masculine bedroom of my John Bearkiller character. And a hugely amusing explosion of purple living space that just SCREAMS to be the bedroom of my wacky demon fighter and ghost talker.

So never pass by the paper. The magazines. Don't necessarily stockpile (I'm going to be culling til the cows come home ... and did I mention the story about the family that has happy cows and an organic ice cream operation?), but don't discount the value of these other places where inspiration abounds.

Sure, we need to work on our craft, study the business aspects of being a successful author, and, DUH, we need to write. But the value of immersing yourself in the worlds around you - worlds that you certainly can't always experience (unless you are far luckier than I, fiscally-speaking). They can give you that flavor, that nuance, that extra-special sensual touch that can create an amazing character, a delicous world, or a unique atmosphere.

Oh, and don't forget: RECYCLE!

What Would Guttenberg Do?

I'm far from being a technological maven. But I am pretty savvy when it comes to reading the writing on the wall. And today, for a writer, that writing says -envision this is big, bold, billboard sized letters:

E-PUBLISHING IS THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE
AND THE FUTURE IS NOW!


Would that this held true across the board. But it doesn't. Writers' organizations have rules and guidelines, obviously. Mystery Writers of America and the Thriller Writers' group, plus numerous others, have a published requirement, either to join, or to join at a full-membership level.

RWA does not have this. Yet.

But the past guidelines for membership in the Romance Writers of America will soon be - it appears - gone with the wind.

Re-vamping what constitutes a General member ("career-focused", and however they choose to define that term) is in the offing. Already the definition of an Associate member has been fine-tuned and re-vamped to narrow the membership. And the continual "career-focused" term, and the obsession with the amount of money an author makes, bode ill for the rest of us. Those of us who (as I have) have been members for many, many years, paying full, General Membership dues, have served on boards, as volunteers and as cheerleaders for our fellow members. Those of us whose dollars have gone to fill the coffers that have allowed the purchase of an entire building dedicated to the organization. We members who have attended national conferences (with hefty fees). Those of us at local levels who have raised our membership - and thus raised the membership of National, as well as the bank account. Well, it looks likes we're about to be pushed back down the ladder, slipping and sliding down those rungs as the current Board re-organizes the rules and regulations and restrictions and when it is all said and done the current (and much touted) membership of 10,000 will be far, far, fewer.

Am I worried? Well, not so much. Because over the past four years I have discovered the vexing frustration of membership in this organization. As a writer of erotic romance I am among those belittled by numerous members and not defended by National leadership. As a pre-published author beginning to grasp the import of the economic times and the technological advances, I am watching as the e-published author and format is dissed from here til Tuesday. Contest rules have been changed to be more exclusive. Membership status is being changed to be more exclusive. A Manchurian Candidate-like policy of explanation that keeps members from understanding the realities of the industry and hiding beneath the soothing blanket of "protection" and support offered by National RWA. But what isn't changing?

Well, let's see.

RWA's failure to support of the marketing/promotion and sales efforts of memberships ("self-promo" and "marketing" posts are frowned upon, restricted, or banned, entirely).

The dearth of serious craft and writing business knowledge among so many of the membership, including basic understanding of intellectual property issues, contractual basics and an understanding of the reality of romance fiction versus the "RWA" promulgated romance "rules". (There are a ton of smart, savvy RWA members, to be sure, but all too often I see members floundering in a sea of misinformation.)

RWA's lack of support for the growing industry at large and the newest technological aspects that permit greater diversity of publication formats.

RWA's (apparent) lack of understanding of the economic and industrial changes that are taking place in the publishing industry which are further dictating a move towards e-published and digital formats.

Or, RWA's continued failure to recognize that the primary movers and shakers in the romance publishing game have seen the light and are moving forward with various format changes and different business models that are poised to take the world of the written word by storm.

Frankly, I'm learning far more from non-RWA sources. Other Yahoo groups, marketing organizations, e-zines, trade periodicals, non-RWA conferences, and non-RWA writing groups who have broken out of the divisive, caste-like RWA mold. Sadly, there are some great RWA chapters. There are some great RWA members. There are lots of folks who are grappling with the changing economic times, evolving genres in the romance fiction world, and technological advancements that have even the mavens struggling to keep up, all while attempting to write wonderful, entertaining books that can please their readers, get their work published, and make an honest living at it. It just seems to me that they are fighting these various battles alone. That RWA is retreating to its ivory tower to hide behind the tried and the true - and the antiquated, and in the process is not just raising the bar for members, but is actually turning it sideways into a pole vault rather than a high jump so that far fewer of us can make the cut. And we'll be relegated to a real, or a perceived, second class status.

So, I'm wrapping up my RWA business. I'll be taking my bat and ball and going to play in a whole new ballgame. I've got responsibilities at the moment to RWA chapters that I don't feel comfortable abandoning even though I will not be a participant beyond this year. No more sweating the time commitment of my volunteer services for multiple chapters. No more thousands of dollars membership fees, conference registration costs, contest entry fees. I'll be learning from authors who are out in the real world but not hampered by the RWA yoke. Not buying into the growing, discriminatory mentality of the RWA. Not swallowing the excuse that e-published authors can't succeed or be deemed "published" simply because they didn't get the $1,000 advance. Learning about the new technology, the value of on-line marketing and web presence and meeting and networking with people who are not stuck in a darker age when publishing success meant a pretty book on a shelf in a mall. I'll miss some fabulous people - but I'll be cheering them on whether it be by purchasing their pretty paper books off the shelves - or wrangling an e-book onto some form of a digital reader. But in my mind, they'll be just as thoroughly PUBLISHED either way.

Hell, before too long, I predict in the very near future, small presses, POD and e-publishing may very well be the only way authors outside of that hallowed "best seller list" world may ever get published or sold. Publishers are reining in their acquisitions so fewer of those precious "mass" published, paper copy books are going to be churned out anyway. And bookstores are folding, some hovering at the precipice of bankruptcy, and cutting back on their orders - sticking to the tried and true bestsellers. Tell me that's not a sure fire disaster for the mid-list author! Or if you are one of those lucky few authors to get "traditionally" published? I'm betting that oh-so-holy advance against royalties is going to be winnowed down, whittled away and shrunken. And publishers will be less generous when you don't sell-through. And marketing budgets will shrink so more of the burden will be on the author to hit the bestseller list. So what yardstick will be used to validate a "real" author when the holy grail of "advances" goes from four or five or six figures to, say, three? Who's gonna be the "real" authors then?

Hmmm?

The Lusty Month of May!

There's a great song in the most romantic of classic musicals, CAMELOT, that extols the virtues of Spring as it impacts the romantic nature of men and women. "The Lusty Month of May" was great fun to sing when, as a Junior at Carle Place High School, I portrayed Guinevere in our Spring musical production.

I'll never forget how my overly romantic and melodramatic self became a walking, talking romantic fool. I was performing with a boy who had become my very first "ex" the Christmas immediately before. My Lancelot was a friend, with whom I "rehearsed" by practicing our kissing. But most romantic of all was the budding relationship that began during that show, with the fella who still reigns supreme in my heart as "the one that got away".

Umpteen years later, jaded with adulthood and cynical about the state of love in this cold, cruel REAL world, I find myself frequently reliving those youthful years because that is the sensation I strive for in writing my romance stories. The one that I think nearly every human has felt. That first heart-pounding, stammering, overwhelming experience of meeting someone's eyes across a room and feeling your entire soul swell with possibility.

I think that many (if not most) romance authors would agree - love in real life is NOT like it is in books - all those heart-warming acknowledgements to husbands and lovers notwithstanding. We're not the romantic heroes and heroines of our books - the larger than life people who always get a HEA, that happily ever after that everyone trodding the everyday path in this weary world would love to be guaranteeed.

But that is what makes a great romance so wonderful. Because it is something that takes us back, reminds us, of that swell of love, that indescribable sensation that is both physical and mental that utterly absorbs our every waking thought and emotion (and some sleeping ones, too). The giddy joy that is almost painful, the unbearable anticipation, the thrilling expectation, the sing-out-loud-at-the-top-of-your-lungs feeling that is unmatched by any other in the world.

Writing romance means that you have to be able to capture, and package, that emotion (and find the words to describe the indescribable) no matter what your life is like. Whether you are in a wonderful, nurturing relationship, or living a solitary existence with only your BFF - Fluffy the Cat. Despite work travails, personal responsibility, health problems, the onset of age and the day-to-day unpleasantness that no one is immune from, we must write great love stories where true love triumphs against all odds. Be they heroic adventures, supernatural couplings, or the madcap whirl of a contemporary category romance. They must have heroes that remind us of the love of our life. And heroines in whose shoes - and negliges - we can imagine ourselves. (Don't tell me readers don't imagine themselves to be the heroines of their favorite novels, just don't!).

Romance novelists, like any other author of fiction, face the usual problems of craft, writer's block, coming up with ideas, finding the time to write, business issues and fear of success.

But unlike other writers, we romance writers have our very own, singular problem. Bringing that sense of romance and love to all of our readers. Sweeping them into a world where love will conquer all. No matter what a reader's life is like, convincing them of the power of love. Whether they are a septugenarian in Saskatchewan or a twenty-something in Tulsa. A widow in Wasilla, a happily married Mom in Mackinaw or a spinster in San Francisco. That beating of the heart that pounds in your ears. That sigh of yearning and the secret smile. The touch, the tingle, the dreams and the desires. That is what our writing must generate. We want to leave our readers leaning back wearing that mysterious expression that says yes, they, too, have felt the pangs and the power of a love as great as any that has ever been.

And believe me. That AIN'T easy!

What's Your Flavor?

There was a recent article that made the rounds very quickly in the romance writing community. Fast on the heels of a NY Times article that pointed out how wonderfully romance fiction was selling in the bad economic times, came an article from the online edition of a Delware paper whose author chimed in on the same debate, but with the condescension and derision so familiar to us romance authorly types. "Bodice rippers" haven't been seen in decades (having quickly faded out of favor after their introduction in the 1970's)yet the terminology still remains and is bandied about with vigor and snide smiles whenever the chance comes to bash the genre.

And this woman freely admitted she'd never read romance, proceeded to hold up the small sub-genre of the mystery baby and the sheik seeking a concubine type of Harlequin novel as the main thrust of the genre.

A few folks took it to heart - as did I - though many were lackidaisikal in there response.

My thought was that there is no other genre of popular fiction so frequently and universally sneered at as romance. And my only conclusion can be that it is because it is a genre written almost entirely by women. Those men who write romance - oh, yes they do! - James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks, et al - are treated as authors of "fiction" and shelved on the fiction shelves while women, no matter their sales track record, are segregated within the "romance" section (remember, that there can be no equality in segregation).

What it prompted me to think of - besides how best to phrase my retort to the columnist in question, and wondering how the other non-concerned romance authors looked at the world and their craft - was the sheer wealth of genres of romance that now exist and are enjoyed, world-wide (and yes, world-wide is absolutely correct).

And I know about these genres because I cannot manage to tie myself down to a single, specific genre, but keep being lured away - enticed, if you will - by so many various ones. Perhaps it is my Gemini mood swings, but I just love them all. Well, mostly all. Frankly, I don't do sweet, inspirational or Christian (and that will come as a shock to, well, no one). But everything else? Hell, yes, I'm game!

So here we go: Contemporary romantic comedy; romantic suspense; paranormal romance; urban fantasy; occult paranormal romance; erotic romance (contemporary, historical, paranormal and horror); fantasy (even high fantasy); romantic mystery (really mysteries, but with romance involved); historical romance (Victorian, Gilded Age, Civil War, Scottish, Wild West, Revolution, Crimean War, etc.); historical women's fiction (WWII); futuristic; erotica; and category romance (Blaze, here I come!). Not to mention novellas and shorts which I've just come to write.

Just a short year or two ago the advice was to stick with one genre. Don't diversify or your editors will be upset! But then again, there was the rule of thumb a while back that said NEVER mention that you have a sequal or an idea for a series - they'll think you're stuck up.

NOW? Hell, you have a series, they'll LOVE you. Write more than one genre, ka-ching, you're tapping into a bunch of difference customer pools. With e-books the opportunities abound for an author to write multiple genres. And branding oneself makes it easier to be multi-branded - multi-genred, if you will - and still find a loyal following.

Because my writing runs to spicey, spicier, spiciest (FIRE!), I expect that I won't have any trouble at all garnering an audience. It isn't as if I'm going to write inspirational sweet fiction with nary a smooch on Monday and on Friday turn around and publish dominatrix-laden BDSM erotic romance. I won't be shocking anyone. They'll know what they're going to get from me. Whether they like history, or fantasy, or contemporary, dramatic, or comedic, they'llknow it will be MY VOICE and my level of smokin' sex and what I feel I do best: great characters, neat dialogue, terrific description and a rollicking plot. Oh, yeah, did I mention? None of my stuff is calm or particularly introspective. I do big, loud, boisterous romance. Nothing small or quiet about me. I'm not Melanie, I'm Scarlett.

Count on it.

Got Romance?

No matter what I write, it's got at least a dollop of romance. Usually a lot more than a dollop. Whether it is a World War II historical espionage novel or an erotic urban vampire paranormal story, from a soupcon of sensual detail to banging-the-headboard hot sex, there's also, always, romance. Love, if you will. Obsession, lust, desire, call it what you will - but you'll find love in one of its many permutations in my writing.

So I've redesigned my blog site to reflect the basic fact that everyone I write is romantic. Even if it isn't romance. Not exactly hearts and flowers, but more in keeping with me!

There's always a woman looking for and finding love. Sometimes it is with the Prince after she's kissed the lot of frogs. Often it is a devastatingly gorgeous Alpha male who may need to be convinced just how right Ms. Right can be. On occasion, it might even be two (or more) devastatingly gorgeous Alpha males (don't you just love menage?) dancing attendance upon my Mademoiselle. But no matter the heat level, her heart is always engaged. Whether it is a kiss on the hand or a super-hot flogging, she loves the man who does her so good.

Of course I write outside the "romance genre" box - a happily-ever-after ending may be blatant, or it may only be hinted at. My heroines may have relationships before they meet the hero - or maybe they'll have one in between when the hero is out of her life. And she may not meet the dude of her destiny until further along in her story. But a heroine needs a hero (or two) so rest assured he'll be there. Even when it is a genre-bending story with elements of love.

But now it's time to get back to my creative drawing board and whip up a little love-fest! Get my heroine of the moment - an empath with intimacy issues - into the arms of her hero-to-be (a NYC Vampire with trouble on his hands).

So if you'll excuse me ..... Love Awaits!

When Bad Computer Things Happen To Good People

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