Nano and Our Characters

So who's doing Nano this year? Are you on goal? We should be about 3/4 through and getting ready to get into the stretch to finish our 50,000 words for Nano Wrimo 2010. To get myself in gear today I thought about what my characters would have to say about it or what kind of book they'd write for the month.

Ryan Michaels would write the premier thesis on explosions - the kind the bad guys make and the kind he feels emotionally when the love of his life, Kelly, is in his sights.

Melanie Hughes would use that magic portal in her house to go back in time to finish early by writing her daily words and then going back each day to add to them.

What would your characters say or do for nano?

Nano 2010!

So who else is writing this year?

I usually get it together to say something about Nanowrimo long before this, but the first week has been hectic. That said, I did get in 8066 words the first 5 days making me only about 300 words short of the 1666 daily word average. Too many numbers?


Let me back up.


Nanowrimo, referred to as Nano by many, is held each November. The goal is 50,000 words in thirty days. If you break it down into a daily average it's about 1666 words per day. I've found if I make the average I finish right on time at the end of the month. Most years I've gone beyond and every year I've done it a few months later the book is contracted. I find just telling the story that wants to be told works best. If you stop to edit, double check names, eye colors, research the best restaurant in Petaluma, you get bogged down with minutae that you do need to deal with, but unless you are fortunate enough to write 8 hours a day like a regular job, you may be crunched at the end.

I was kind of struggling with my book this year. It's a romance (or course) but I just wasn't able to get the feel for a lot of romance for a woman who just gave birth to twins via C-section. Somehow a candlelit dinner with hubby and a romantic evening with dining and dancing, soft kisses and moonlight leading up to some fabulous sex, isn't high on the new-mom list.


I needed to get to romance, you know?


Inspiration comes to us in myriad ways. The romance for this book came to me in the form of one of my favorite co-workers. He's such an awesome guy. A true friend. Caring, compassionate and a privilege to know. Without giving away a part of the story which I am thoroughly immersed in now, I now have a cop who's going to save someone from herself and a very bad man. It's a totally awesome feeling when a story clicks.

ALONE OR LONELY

This subject came up in another context earlier this week and it led me to thinking about what some people think of as lonely is what someone else considers being alone—quality time with oneself.


To me being lonely is craving or simply needing company. Needing someone to be there to talk with, do something with or fill in the empty spaces of our lives. It can also be something that one person projects on to another, generally someone who prefers their alone time.

Most of the avid readers I know enjoy their alone time. Solitude may perhaps be a better choice of word. We read for entertainment, simple enjoyment, to escape our day-to-day world for a period of time. We read out of choice; not because we have no other choice. I suspect that is in part why historicals, especially romances, are so popular—they transport us to a time out of our own. When I read, which is for a time every day, it’s because I want to. It has never ceased to amaze me how non-readers think I am doing so because I am lonely and have nothing better to do. They do their best to entertain me and fill in my time for me when all I really want to do is bury myself in my latest read. I generally have another book handy and will offer it up—in the hopes they’ll leave me in peace to read. Generally I receive a smile and a pleasant refusal of the book. And they still talk on. Nodding and not closing the book seems to work after a bit.

Growing up my mother was one of those people who couldn’t bear to be alone for more than a short time. She wasn’t very good at entertaining herself although she did knit and crochet and sew, she still needed to have someone to talk to. If no one was home she’d start her way through her phone book, calling everyone she knew so she could have someone to talk to. Interesting to me because she was an only child. She projected that desperate need for companionship on to me and it was really quite frustrating. She simply did not understand I preferred to be alone in my room with a good book. My favorite day of the week was library day—when we’d head on down to the library to choose a week’s worth of reading. I’ve sort of recaptured that day in the past year only now it’s picking out classic movies along with an occasional book. Given the economy buying books is a luxury and the San Francisco library has virtually every new release and it’s still free (several libraries in my area are starting to charge a rental fee for new releases).

My habit of sitting up in bed reading started young although back then I sat under the covers with a flashlight. The last time I sat in an otherwise dark room with a flashlight reading was when I was in law school and a fellow classmate asked me to join him for a movie. I didn't realize till we got to the movie he thought it was a date and I thought it was just two classmates getting out of the school rut…errrr pressure for a night. When he started talking about goodnight kisses I started talking headache. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten out of a car as fast as I did that night and then, out of an excess of caution, I hid in my walk-in closet for several hours, reading with my flashlight as my only source of illumination. Why?

The guy was one of those really sweet and considerate people who would have gone to pick up some medicine for me, brought it back and then sat with me till I felt better. I just wanted to be by myself and read something beside my law books for a short while.

I don’t think I know what it’s like to feel lonely and that’s okay. I carry a purse large enough to hold a book in addition to my e-reading device—and with that I can have pretty much as many books as I want with me at any given time. I read on line at the store, waiting for a teller at the bank. I prefer in person instead of ATMs which may seem odd, but I figure if I go into the bank and speak with a person I’m doing my part to help someone keep their job. It’s the same reason why I won’t use the self-checkout at the grocery store. Can’t off-shore a grocery checker or teller job as much as the big corporations may want to because I’m not going overseas to pick up my groceries.

No, I don’t think I have ever had any idea what it is like to be lonely. If I’m craving a particular food I will go out to eat and bring a book. Riding the bus, waiting in line, it’s all found reading time. With interesting characters, their adventures, their mysteries, their dark moments, their happy endings and my imagination I’m never bored.

And with writing, as a fellow author said this week, her characters keep her company and are fascinating to be with. I suppose you could say with my steady ones from my series and the new people they encounter in each book, I’m never alone. Each new book takes me to a different place and in a sense I experience new events. Through research for my historicals I have a taste of life as it was lived in different periods. In my futuristics I create worlds I would choose to live in.

A reader is never really alone and even less so, a writer. I don’t think we are ever truly lonely either. Our worlds are fun at best and thrilling when we are in the midst of a good book and all from our cozy worlds.

The Long and Short of Reading - and Writing

The Long and Short of Reading - And Writing

This past week several of us had a discussion on trends in reading and therefore, writing. Like many of us I’m a life long reader. How many of us were the ones back even in grammar school who preferred sitting with a good book than hanging around people? I was one. I was happiest sitting in my room, reading. The weekly trip to the library, as I recall on Wednesday nights when they were open late, were the high point of my week. More than once the librarian would speak with my mother about the kinds of books I wanted to check out because, in her opinion, they were beyond your average grammar school kid’s reading level. Talk about annoying! More nights than you can count were spent huddling under the covers with a flashlight and my latest read. My dad had a collection of the world’s greatest literature as well as the complete collection of Charles Dickens, in leather-bound volumes, which I still have.

Fast forward to my first job after college. Well, actually it was my second job—my first one wasn’t too far from where I lived and I drove to work. This job was just outside New York City and I took the Long Island Railroad to work. There I was, twenty-one to twenty-two years old and feeling like such an adult taking the train to work. At night I’d sit in the bar car and have a cocktail like all the other business-type people and even though I didn't care much for the drinks, feeling like a major grown up was fun. In retrospect, I must have looked utterly dumb.

But, each way, I read and my favorite books were the long ones. Books like The Ladies of the Club and The Far Pavilions were favorites because they took me more than a day to read and the characters became as familiar to me as the regulars on the train. The first romances I read, as I’ve said before, were Rosemary Rogers and Kathleen Woodiwiss. Ms. Rogers Steve and Ginny books are in the range of 600 pages and many of Ms. Woodiwiss’ such as Shana and Ashes in the Wind are in that neighborhood. My paradigm is that romances are long reads where you become immersed in the characters’ lives and see them through more than one adventure.

Consider Ginny Brandon-Morgan in Sweet Savage Love. We see her as a teen anticipating her first ball, she comes to America and travels west, finds herself in the middle of the Mexican Revolution, sees the beginning of the end and has a series of adventures in between. Alana in Ashes in the Wind is no slouch in the events setting the course of her life – she is accused of murder, poses as a young boy, witnesses events of the American Civil War and it’s aftermath and finds herself in Minnesota with a husband I think most of us are a little in love with. But before she can come to terms with her feelings about him her life is put in danger.

The earlier romances, no, not the Barbara Cartlands’ you can read in two hours, but the other icons of our genre, were all longer books. Stories took place not over a few days, but months; sometimes years. Even with the longer books, if I got down to the last 100 pages I always had the next book in hand because I couldn’t imagine commuting without reading.

This week I saw some stats about how shorter books are not more popular than longer ones. It gave me pause and then some things to think about.

I first “discovered” ebooks in 2001 and with my Franklin Ebookman in hand I didn't have to concern myself with carrying a second book with me just in case I finished the first. No, with my Franklin I could have 200 books all set and ready to go. Having a longer book on hand became less of a concern. And convenient? A few ounces weighing less than a 300 page paperback. The Franklin, and later my Palm, were the perfect platforms for smaller books and I bought my fair share of novellas.

But with those novellas I often felt like something was missing. While the stories can evoke an emotional response, I don’t feel like I really get to know the characters. They have one, maybe two, incidents, fall in love in a day, maybe two and ride into the sunset together. I’d read the blurbs for some of them and anticipate an action packed read only to find it over before it began. Story lines seem thin with little time for the reader to connect to the characters.

I tend to write longer books. Yes, I have 3 novellas out with a fourth on the way to round out my Four Cups series but in actuality, they could be combined into one book. Each story is about 100 pages and picks up where the other ended. The series is about four women looking at breaking out of one career and moving into another and the how the men in their lives stand by them. So while each part is short, the end result is a full length novel.

I recently had an editor ask me to cut down my paragraphs into four, maybe five sentences. To find a break point in ones that were longer and limit the number of sentences. The reason – they play better on an e-reader. The size of the screens is conducive to shorter paragraphs rather than longer ones. So instead of describing a room in terms of sight, sound and smells, I needed a separate paragraph for each. It made sense in that context but it made for a change in my writing style.

In light of the discussion this week I thought more about the books I’ve been reading lately. Even in the longer ones which now run from 280-310 pages, the hero and heroine more or less have one incident that brings them together, they fall in love in a week or two at the most, have their dark moment and then their happy ever after. Okay, that’s a general summation. But it’s a summation of what I have seen lately.

Initially I thought the higher novella sellers were primarily eroticas, but another author said no, her mainstream less steamy novellas sold as well as her eroticas did. So that led me to think it is more a sign of our times.
When is the last time you sat down and wrote a letter? For me it was 2004 when my uncle died. I began to correspond with one of his fellow priests who wasn’t much into computers so we wrote letters. Since then, for the most part, I correspond by email. Even my aunt, who is in her mid-80’s, communicates not just via email, but she’s a huge presence on Facebook.

We live in a cut-to-the chase world of 140 characters so it stands to reason we aren’t inclined to sit down and spend hours reading a book. Or are we?

My favorite days are those that are slightly cool, sitting under an afghan, the cats curled against me with a book. It doesn’t matter if it’s a print book or an ebook, but it has to be a book – a full length story where I get to know the characters, see what they are seeing and maybe miss them a bit when the story ends.

What is your preference?
Print of e?
Long or short?
And why?
Do you feel a connection to the characters if you have 50-90 pages to get to know them?
Do you prefer stand alone books or series?

Question Time: Which Three Books Are On Your Reading List for This Summer?

While I read all year long, there's something about summer reading that makes it even better. Maybe it's the longer days or the slower pace, but I tend to pick up longer reads that I can spend hours at a time sitting with.

I noticed a pattern for myself in the past few interviews I've done and the one thread that seems to travel through this is what lured me to historical romance reading. While I write romantic suspense with paranormal overtones, for my reading pleasure I choose historical romances. My plan is to re-read all of my Rosemary Rogers books this summer but....we are Siren have our summer sizzler event starting in a few days and I know my TBR is going to grow in a big way as I see what my fellow authors have in the offering.

So what are your top three reads for this summer?

Sizzling Summer Reads and Contests - Oh My!

With Memorial Day and a vacation around the corner my thoughts are turning to summer reading. I tend to go for heavier reads in the fall and winter and look for more light hearted ones in the warmer months. Makes sense, huh? So I was delighted when a number of us at Siren-Bookstrand decided to get together for a sizzling summer event. We'll have some excerpts, some contests and time to talk about our current works in progress and what we're reading.

With the release of my own summer book, The Glass Cage, this past week my thoughts are turning to book 3 in the series. So far my working title is Flame, but we'll see where it goes -- yes, there will be fire and a fire fighter or two in it -- as well as the return of Ryan Michaels. Adrian may have confessed to stalking Kelly, but you have to wonder about Ryan and if he really supports her latest endeavor.

I've already picked out my summer reads including a few Mariah Stewart and I pulled out some of my original Rosemary Rogers to re-read.

So what are you looking forward to reading this summer?

The Glass Cage

The Glass Cage by Regan Taylor -- An Exercise is Catharsis and Celebration!

Most of my books have at least one element of my life in them. In Her Eyes, co-written with Jennifer Cloud, we had an element of walk-ins, what happens when a soul isn't ready to move on and it finds a new body/home to reside in. His Eyes went a bit further with my belief in reincarnation. My kitty, Ginny, has a guest appearance in one scene.

I used to work in law enforcement. In fact, I was recently taken to task by a fellow dispatcher at the California Highway Patrol for not mentioning CHP in my bio. That will shortly be remedied. He didn't exactly write me about it; rather he bcc'd me on a mass email he sent to a rather large number of dispatchers I used to work with, updating them on what I was doing and did they notice they didn't rate a place in my bio. He then wrote and told me he didn't mean anything bad by it. Uh huh. The CHP has a minor part in my current work in progress. They were there before I received said email. It was my experiences working in local law enforcement that drew me to writing the McKenna series. We had a stalking case while I was there. He didn't do anything the stalker in The Spell does, but with my background in psychology I did spend time looking at what motivates a stalker.

The Glass Cage, book 2 of the series, available ohhhhhh in about 4 hours here at Siren-Bookstrand, draws more intensely on my own experience in the police department. The ride along scene is similar to one I actually experienced. Even though that incident happened about 7 years ago, I still got goosebumps when I wrote the scene, remembering what I saw and felt that night. Watching a suspect reach for a gun when you're maybe only five feet away is tense to say the least. It also draws on an experience that 5 of my friends and I shared. Not out of choice, it was perhaps one of the most horrible experiences in any of our lives. I could not have written The Glass Cage without Eb, Lori, Maggie, Karin and Sandy, the friends I dedicated it to. We supported each other during the experience and out of that trial by fire we forged friendships of a lifetime. Of all my books, this one was the most cathartic.

        The Glass Cage

Regan's Valentine's Story

Some people may call it a Hallmark Holiday, but Valentine’s day has always been one of my favorites. I still like those goofy little heart candies with the oddball sayings and total taste delight – PEEPs has a Valentine’s line!

I suppose some could say this was a disastrous Valentine’s day and others that it was a romantic one. To me Valentine’s day 1992 was a day of endings and beginnings. I was engaged to a Marine Corps Cobra pilot who was having issues after Desert Storm. It really changed his emotional paradigm and we were going to talk out our relationship on Valentine’s day that year. I told him I’d be at my parents’ house which was close to his base and we’d meet and talk. He never showed. I waited and waited. Checked my messages a hundred times while I sat and looked out my parents’ kitchen window. I was devastated when he never showed.

And then, another Marine showed up. This one flew CH-53’s – the helo that the Marine’s used in commercials with the knight in shining armor fighting with his sword and slowly morphs into a modern day Marine in dress blues with his sword. The commercial ends by saying “knights still ride stallions”. He took that knight in shining armor part to heart and HE was the one who showed up at my parents’ door. I opened it and all he said was “I couldn’t let you be alone on Valentine’s day.” He was my best friend before that. In that one sentence be became the love of my life. A year later, on Valentine’s day my knight told me for the first time he loved me. Seventeen years later he is still my best friend and every once in awhile I turn around and realize I’ve fallen in love with him all over again.