A huge thank you to Julia Spencer-Fleming, yesterday’s Visiting Vagabond. Julia, we hope you will visit us again. All the best to you and to Claire and Russ.
Julia has generously offered not one but four ARCs of I Shall Not Want to commentors on her blog yesterday.
to our randomly selected winners: Christie, Joye. Beth, and RevMelinda. If you will send me your snail mail addresses, I will get them to Julia right away.
Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Sheridan’s plat The Rivals (1775) is famous for confusing and misusing words in lines such as these:
We take our word “malapropism,” the mistaken use of one word for another, from the character.
Can you correct the malapropisms in these sentences?
1. A prospectus is someone who searches for gold.
2. After a long air flight, it is reassuring to get your feet back onto terracotta.
3. I couldn’t change his decision: it was a Fiat accompli.
4. I can assert the truth of it, without fear of contraception.
5. You can darken your eyelids with cascara.
6. If you swallow poison, you should take an anecdote.
7. I was prostate with grief.
8. She ate with a veracious appetite.
9. The garden was brightened by the red flowers of saliva.
10. A triangle with all its sides equal is called an equatorial triangle.
11. He was on the horns of an enema.
12. The doctor had told him he had very close veins.
Are you a Mrs. Malaprop or a Lady Eloquent? Play our game to find out.
The Vagabonds are delighted to welcome mystery writer Julia Spencer-Fleming to the caravan. Julia studied acting and history at Ithaca College, and received her J.D. from the University of Maine School of Law. She lives in a 185-year-old farmhouse outside of Portland, Maine, with three children, two dogs, and one husband. Julia’s first book, In the Bleak Midwinter received the Agatha for Best First Mystery as well as the Malice Domestic, the Anthony, the Dilys, the Barry and the Macavity Awards, making her the first author to win all six awards for a first novel. Subsequent books in her series featuring Clare Fergusson, a former Army helicopter pilot and an Episcopal priest, and Russ Van Alstyne, police chief of Miller’s Kill, New York, have been shortlisted for the Edgar, Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe, and Romantic Times Readers’ Choice awards. The sixth book in the series, I Shall Not Want, is scheduled for a June 10 release.
I started reading Julia’s books shortly after Eloisa James introduced her to the Squawk Radio community. I was hooked by a title that alluded to a Christina Rossetti poem and a first line that has to be among the best ever: “It was one hell of a night to throw away a baby.” Julia has been an auto-buy author for me since I read that first book. I Shall Not Want is just as riveting as the others in the series. Not only is it a great mystery but, as one review notes, “Clare and Russ’s complex romantic dance is as compelling as ever.”
Welcome Julia!
Hi. My name’s Julia, and I’m a romance reader.
Hi, Julia!
Okay, for regular readers of Romance Vagabonds, that’s probably not a shocking confession. But in the mean streets of crime fiction, where I make my living, that’s enough to raise eyebrows.
Romance. Don’t they use a lot of…adjectives? Like “ throbbing?” And “moist?”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like crime fiction uses “gritty.” And “gunmetal.” Part of the problem is, of course, that historically romance was written by women for women, while mysteries were written by manly men like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. Part of the problem is that each genre–romance, mystery, horror, science fiction–is trying to snatch the most respect from the exceedingly small portion ladled out by the literary and critical establishment. And part of the problem is a lot of mystery lovers are–and I mean this in the nicest way possible–prudish.
The only body parts I want to see in my book are dismembered ones.
When I started my first book, In the Bleak Midwinter, I knew I wanted to tell a love story about a brand-new female Episcopal priest and a married small-town chief of police. I knew I wanted it to be smart, and grown-up, and to ask questions like, “What do we sacrifice to honor our commitments?” and “What if finding your soul mate only lead to heartache?” I didn’t know if the ending would be happy or tragic. I didn’t know if I could balance the story of Russ and Clare, and the people of Millers Kill whose lives intersect with theirs, and the demands of a tightly-plotted mystery. I really didn’t know the central question over five–soon to be six–books was going to be Will they or won’t they?
Really, does this sort of thing belong in a mystery novel?
My agent called me up after I sent her the first draft of I Shall Not Want. “I think you’re moving in a genre-blending direction,” she said. She sounded excited, so I figured that was good. “It’s sort of mystery-women’s fiction-romance.”
“With explosions,” I pointed out.
“Sex and explosions are a great combination,” she agreed. “Have you thought about adding in vampires?”
“I don’t think so. I’m going for psychological realism.”
“With explosions.”
“And sex.” I paused. “Is this going to be a hard sell for some mystery fans?”
“Maybe,” she said. “But the good news is, you’ll more than make up for it in romance readers. If you can get the word out.”
That’s three sold. Only 14,997 more to go and I can make the New York Times list!
Reader, I blogged it. (That doesn’t make much sense, but I love riffing off that line. Don’t you?) The rest is up to you. Come on over and visit my website, check out the excerpt of I Shall Not Want, relax and have a drink. (I can’t actually supply the drink, but I would, you know, if I had the technology.) I want to prove that my agent is right about romance readers. Because, after all, I am one, too.
Are you a cross-genre reader? What questions do you have for Julia about genre-blending, mystery writing, or her fascinating characters, gypsies? Ask away! One lucky commenter, chosen at random, will win a copy of one of Julia’s books.
So, every once in a while around here we have a “guilty pleasures” blog wherein one or the other of us (though strangely, I think it is almost ALWAYS me!) admits to enjoying some television show or movie or book that just might cause the general blog readership to throw tomatos at us–okay, me.
I admit it.
I “heart” Law and Order.
And not just old school Law and Order (sadly, I think it lost much of it’s pizazz when Jerry Orbach died)–I love the supremely overacted and hyperbolic Special Victims Unit AND Criminal Intent.
What could be better than watching Stabler (Christopher Meloni) fly off the handle for the four hundredth time because he’s been chastised yet again for violating some hapless prisoner’s rights? Why, that would be seeing Tutuola (Ice-T) tell a suspect in his eerily deadpan voice that the jig is up. Or hearing Benson (Mariska Hargitay) plead with the captain to let her bend the rules just one more time.
Yesiree, SVU is chock full of histrionic goodness.
And what’s even better is watching the parade of guest-stars, who, each week bring their own brand of wackiness to the table: Robin Williams, Jerry Lewis, Leslie Caron, Bernadette Peters, Marcia Gay Hardin…the list goes on and on.
But when it comes to Law and Orders I love, nothing is closer to my heart than Criminal Intent. And I can put the reason into two words: D’Onofrio and Noth. Okay, that’s two reasons. Whatever.
From the beginning I have found Vincent D’Onofrio’s portrayal of Detective Robert Goren sexily compelling. I know he’s supposed to be wierd and off-putting, but maybe I like wierd and off-putting. (At least in my fictional, televisional men.) And year after year Goren becomes more layered, more surprising. The arcs that followed his mother’s illness and his relationship with his junkie brother were superbly acted and, I think, some of the most entertaining on television. Sure, Goren’s odd quirks and ticks can become a little tiresome sometimes, but even while my eyes are rolling I enjoy watching D’Onofrio flesh out this character I’ve grown to love.
And speaking of love…can I tell you how much I LOVE having Chris Noth back in the Law and Order franchise? I was so sad when Mike Logan was sent to Staten Island for punching a politician back on the original L&O. Now he’s back, and despite a revolving door of partners, has carved out a niche for himself in Criminal Intent. Nobody else could alternate with D’Onofrio and NOT make me miss D’Onofrio. If you’re out there, Chris Noth (and I am sure you’re an avid reader of Romance Vagabonds), welcome back!
So, if I were to write a contemporary romantic suspense, I would totally steal Goren and Logan for my heros. Are there any television or film characters you’d like to “borrow” for your own work? Or conversely, are there any characters from romance fiction you’d like to see on the small or the big screen? Tell, Vagabonds! Inquiring minds want to know!
We all have dreams, visions that some deem impossible. I ask, are they? My firm belief is that dreams are visions of what we can become. Like everything else in life, it takes more than an idea, but a plan to put that idea into action.
What if your dream is that of publishing?
After nine years of writing, with well over 100 rejections and working on my 11th novel, I received the call. I did not reach my dream alone. I owe much to friends and family who supported me along the way. But I also know, it started as a dream, one I empowered by setting a plan in action. So my advice to you, dream big. Never settle. Yes, you CAN make your dreams come true.
Diana Cosby currently lives in Virginia, with her oldest son serving in the Marine Corps, her daughter attending college this fall, and her youngest son moving to Texas with her and her husband after he retires from the Navy later this year.
His Captive is available on shelves, and His Woman will be released on December 2nd. His Woman is available for pre-order at Amazon.com. To learn more about Diana or to sign-up for her newsletter, go to her website at www.dianacosby.com.
I had to film myself for a video project over the weekend, and I very quickly learned why my aspirations tend toward writer rather than actress. And thank goodness! It took a ridiculous number of takes to shoot five short lines - and I have enough outtake footage to host my own clip show.
There’s something really nerve-wracking about being on camera. And there’s something slightly odd about pretending to be someone other than myself - or, at least, having to read rehearsed lines with the right tone and meaning. I can play around in characters’ heads all day, get at their thoughts, motivations, what they would say, but I can’t actually execute it aloud. Hence why most of my high school theatre experience put me backstage.
And, of course, it’s even odder to watch yourself afterwards. That’s what I sound like to other people? What is that face I’m making?
I’ll definitely stick to writing.
Though in the days of Romance Novel TV, Lifetime TV, and with the news that both HarperCollins and other publishers have been starting their own production studios to make author videos, I’m starting to wonder how realistic that is. Authors are suddenly becoming very public figures, and that seems to include plenty of online video exposure. Maybe we should no only be honing our writing skills, but our on-camera skills, so we can be ready for this new wave of promotion.
What’s your on-camera experience? Have you ever been on TV? Would you like to? What do you think about all these online efforts to put our favorite authors in front of the camera?
I am a world-class procrastinator, and one of my favorite ways to procrastinate is to read books and articles (paper copies and etexts) about how to write. There is certainly no shortage of information on the subject. Books in Print lists nearly 1100 books currently in print. The Internet offers even greater riches. If I google “how to write,” I get 34,900,000 sites, and even if I limit my search to “how to write a romance novel,” I am given well over 2.5 million sites.
Which of those 1100 books will offer me not just a way to procrastinate but also something useful to take back to my writing? Some titles I can rule out right away. I have no interest in reading advice on how to write resumes, suicide notes, or more effective emails, but I must admit that I am tempted by a book called How to Write Like Chekhov: Advice and Inspiration, Straight from Anton Chekhov’s Own Letters and Work. And Bullies, Bastards and Bitches: How to Write the Bad Guys of Fiction, a Writer’s Digest book by Jessica Morrell, definitely sounds like something I should check out. There is also the boldly titled How to Write It: Complete Guide to Everything You’ll Ever Write, which should surely have something helpful.
Which of the two million plus Google hits can I spend a brief time with and return to my writing reenergized? I know enough to avoid the site that promises I can write a bestseller in less than a month if I sign up for their course, but I am pulled in by fascinating pieces like Stanford Magazine’s article on romance writers Bella Andre and Jami Alden, both Stanford alumnae and Tess Gerritsen’s blog on her own adventures with romance novels. I’m glad I read both of the latter, but they don’t help me with my writing. The problem for me and for other aspiring romance writers is how to separate the wheat from the chaff. Doing so is a monumental task, and not one that I have either the time or the expertise to do, but I thought I would make a modest beginning by sharing with you from time to time some of the “wheat” that I have discovered.
Kernel #1: Annie Dillard, The Writing Life 
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Dillard’s lyrical account of her time spent living at the edge of Tinker Creek in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, is one of those books that really was transformative for me, so I may have been predisposed to find The Writing Life appealing. But I think even if I had never heard of Annie Dillard that I would have appreciated this book that is both a discussion about writing and an illustration of precise, powerful prose. I am hooked from the opening paragraphs.
“When you write, you lay out a line of words. The line of words is a miner’s pick, a wood carver’s gouge, a surgeon’s probe. You wield it, and it digs a path you follow. Soon you find yourself deep in new territory. Is it a dead end, or have you located the real subject? You will know tomorrow, or this time next year.
“The line of words is a hammer. You hammer against the walls of your house. You tap the walls, lightly, everywhere. After giving many years’ attention to these things, you know what to listen for. Some of the walls are bearing walls; they have to stay, or everything will fall down. Other walls can go with impunity; you can hear the difference. Unfortunately, it is often a bearing wall that has to go. It cannot be helped. There is only one solution, which appalls you, but there it is. Knock it out. Duck.”
Her words seem addressed to me.
I love this book. It challenges me. It makes me want to write.
Do you find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available in the 21st century? How do you separate the wheat from the chaff? What advice, on writing or on other interests, have you found inspiring or useful?
So, when I looked at the note I’d made for writing this post, it said “Something about French and Indian War.” I’m pretty sure that Manda gave me a more complete idea than that, but that’s what I had down.
The French and Indian War. Hmmm.
Called the Seven Years War in Great Britain!
Okay, so actually I couldn’t think of much to say about the French and Indian War. But while I waited for a bolt of inspiration to hit me I sat on the couch and helped my daughter watch HOUSE, MD. Now that got me to thinking–about anti-heroes.
When HOUSE first came out I admit I was somewhat surprised at the amount of women who found him incredibly sexy. Not because House the character wasn’t sexy, but because I’d watched Hugh Laurie play Bertie Wooster in JEEVES AND WOOSTER for years and was having trouble reconciling this sarcastic House with the goofy Bertie I’d known and loved. 
Anyhoodles.
The anti-hero. The nasty, sarcastic, sometimes down-right mean misanthrope that we love. Why do TV watchers—and book readers—love them so much? One reason is because the abrasive anti-hero can get away with saying and doing things that the rest of us only think about. House has no problem telling someone that they’re an idiot and we secretly agree. That can be amusing—and liberating. Another reason is that when the hero of a romance is a misanthrope, it takes that much more effort for the heroine to win him around. More effort equals a bigger emotional payoff for a romance reader—at least in theory.
In my latest book, To Taste Temptation (shameless plug: in stores now!) I’ve turned the concept of the abrasive hero on its head. It’s the heroine, Emeline, who is a bit, well, bitchy at times. Emeline has lost all her male relatives and has had to learn to rely solely on herself. She’s also a woman of strong opinion and a natural leader in society. But Emeline knows that strength in a woman isn’t a virtue—at least not at this time period—and secretly she worries that she’s unattractive because of it. Which of course makes it all the more poignant when the hero, Sam, tells Emeline he likes both her bitchiness and her.
Don’t we all want to be loved for our true selves, flaws and all?
Actually, I didn’t think I’d made Emeline all that mean, but boy have I heard from some reviewers who thought otherwise. That would be the downside to a slightly abrasive hero or heroine: you risk turning some readers off.
Anyway, Discussion Topics: What do you think about mean heroes or heroines? What’s too abrasive in a hero or heroine for you? Who are some favorite anti-heroes or heroines? Or, we can talk about the French and Indian War. I’m easy.
Cheers!
Elizabeth Hoyt
www.elizabethhoyt.com
Okay, Vagabonds, you’ve got your discussion question for the day! How about those anti-heroes (and heroines)? One lucky commenter will win an autographed copy of the Elizabeth Hoyt novel that started it all The Raven Prince!
Way back in the days BI (before internet), the way I decided which books to read depended on a couple of factors. First, it depended on what books my local bookstore had in stock. I’d wander the aisles of the romance section, looking for the all too familiar Signet or Zebra Regency logos, skimming the back covers to see if the story appealed, and if it did I’d decide to buy. I had a list of authors whom I’d read before and I’d keep an eye out for new ones from them, but I didn’t know anything about their publication schedule. Had no way of knowing when their next book was coming out. Just watched the shelves and picked them up if I was lucky enough to stumble upon them. Another way I found books was by checking the shelves of my local library. This is the way I found lots of my all time favorites: Patricia Veryan, Jane Aiken Hodge, Victoria Holt. (Okay, so it was a long time ago!!!)
The point I’m trying to make is that before we had the internet, our reading choices were limited by geography and in turn by the purchasing decisions of our local librarians and booksellers. Romances weren’t reviewed in my local newspaper and I’d never heard of Romantic Times. And, like a lot of romance readers I didn’t know anyone else who read romance like I did. So I couldn’t even depend on the recommendations of friends or fellow readers.
Fast forward ten years to today.
I defy you to name a romance novel that cannot be purchased from some vendor online. Whether it’s Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, or EBay, just about every romance novel published in the last twenty years is available for purchase. And far from being left to go through each and every listing in each and every online store, romance readers can go to a variety of venues to find reviews for the latest books available. From list serves to bulletin boards to blogs to online review sites, you can read reviews to your hearts content. And all from the anonymous privacy of your own home.
But I wonder if all this information has changed the way that we as readers choose what to read.
Sure, there are some people who are not active in the online community, who still rely on the back of the book or whatever the bookseller buys, but for those of us who do participate in blogs or bulletin boards, I would wager that the internet has changed the way we choose books irrevocably.
I can’t remember the last time I just picked up a book off the shelf at the bookstore that I had no prior knowledge of. And now that my Auto-buy Author list has grown exponentially, I not only know when my favorite authors next books are coming out I usually have it marked on a calendar somewhere! I don’t even do that with my friends’ birthdays!!! (But then, I’m a crappy friend
I read reviews. I listen to what friends with similar tastes are reading. I look out for new releases that sound intriguing. I’ve found some of my favorite new authors this way. (Elizabeth Hoyt, for one, who is visiting us tomorrow.)And I wouldn’t go back to the old way of doing things for anything. I do sometimes miss the joy of serendipity–finding that wonderful new to me novelist just from reading the back cover blurb while standing in the bookstore aisle. But for the most part, I am happy with my newfound ability to make informed decisions.
So, for today’s blog, I’d like to take an informal poll. How do you choose what your next read will be (aside from picking the next thing off your towering TBR pile)? Are you a back cover blurb reader? Do you read online reviews? Do you listen to friends on bulletin boards? Come on Vagabonds, fess up! How do you decide what you’re going to read next?