He’d Never Say That!!! The Importance of Effective Dialogue

by Connie L. Smith

 

“It’s not what you said. It’s how you said it." I’ve been hearing a variation of this my whole life, and as it turns out – it’s true. A person can say the sweetest words in the world to you, but give them a sarcastic tone and they’re derogatory. Or maybe he agrees to do a kind thing, but with a bored expression, letting you know that his preferences are to do something completely different. In life, we have to consider the words, the actions, the tone, the expression… There are so many factors that sway our perception of what we’re hearing.

When reading, some of those aspects go out the window. We can pick up on the nonverbal bits of communication through description – a character places a hand on her hips, or rolls her eyes – but we don’t literally *hear* what the person is saying. There can be clues that let us infer – maybe an exclamation point – but that’s kind of the point. We’re inferring, and interpreting, and it isn’t as concrete as actually watching people go through a conversation.

Dialogue is a huge part of writing, and even without the above thoughts, it should be taken seriously. Readers can learn a good amount about characters through dialogue, and it can be a useful tool in moving the plot along. When you add in the differences between a real-life conversation and a written one, the details become all the more important.

Each author is free to choose his own method of delivery, but to me, dialogue is most effective when it mirrors conversations. This seems a little obvious, but sometimes the mark is missed by a mile. You should know your characters well enough to understand how they speak, and strive to stay as honest to that approach as possible.

There isn’t a specific formula for this. If you’re writing historical fiction, you might use language that is much more eloquent than someone who is writing a contemporary piece, and a fantasy author might have more imagery than a YA work. I’m not criticizing any of the genres. My kindle account has at least one of each that I adore. But you should get a firm grip on the era and the style you mean to represent, and hold to that as you go through your story.

A good rule of thumb, to me, is to make your characters sound like people. If you can’t imagine a person actually saying something, you probably shouldn’t force your character to. These are the pieces of your story that we identify with, and if they’re constantly throwing us for a loop with their dialogue, it takes away from the story. It’s like removing you from the plot, going “THIS ISN’T REAL,” and sending you back. Any part of your story that’s out of place can do this, and dialogue is not an exception.

As an example, let’s say that you have a couple of modern-day teenagers, discussing what movie they want to see. Now, you could make one of them say,

“Nay, lads, I’d prefer to venture forth to the telling of the story of that cowboy fellow.”

But unless he’s joking, it doesn’t work. This would be a fine line if you had a character from another time or place trying to merge with society, but not so much with the modern-day teenagers you meant to represent.

Okay, that quote was a bit of a stretch. Most authors wouldn’t put that in their work. Still, even if you are a lengthy distance from that particular boundary, you could still choose unsuited dialogue.

“I worry that the movie will continue past my curfew, and mom will be angry.”

Not one word of this statement is out of context for the time, but the order and design make it sound foreign to what a teenager would really be saying. If the teen is worried about curfew, he’d more than likely say something closer to,

“That one lasts too long. Mom’ll kill me if I’m out that late.”

It flows more easily, and it keeps you in the story, because it reads like a real life scenario. If the dialogue feels forced or abnormal, it can momentarily bring a reader out of your fictional world, which is the exact opposite of what you should be looking to do. You should want them invested in your book, and take precautions to keep them there. Dialogue can be a deciding issue on that, even if just momentarily. You probably don’t want your reader to pause to say, “Nobody talks that way!” and then have to submerge into the novel all over again. Keep them there, and use thought-out vocabulary to do so.

If you’d like to critique my work – see if I abide by my own rules – check out Essenced, scheduled to be free on December 5^th. Links are on my website.

Book Blurb:

Essenced (The Division Chronicles #1)

by Connie L. Smith (Goodreads Author)

Years ago, demons were forced out of the earth’s realm by a band of supernatural fighters, banished from the place and its people in the aftermath of a horrific war. It should’ve ended there – would’ve – if not for the final demon’s claw snagging on the open portal. What felt like victory became only a reprieve, the winning warriors understanding that the tear would spread, and the demons eventually would escape exile. It was only a matter of time, and a need for future defense – a question of genetics and essences, magic and power.

Now, centuries later, a new army must bind together – one of teenagers with inhuman potentials and abilities…

AJ went to bed Sunday night an average teenage girl, clumsy and athletically lacking. So when she wakes up Monday morning with super-strength, she does what any rational person would do: She goes into denial. When a smoking hot guy in a suit shows up, rambling about the end of the war and demons spilling through some kind of rift, she refuses to listen, telling herself he’s insane. Except weird things just won’t quit happening, and the guy keeps popping up in her life, trying to explain the changes suddenly happening within her. Is she crazy, or is this guy… not so crazy after all?

Author Bio:

Connie L. Smith spends far too much time with her mind wandering in fictional places. She reads too much, likes to bake, and will be forever sad that she doesn’t have fairy wings. And that she can’t swing dance. When she isn’t reading or writing, there’s a good chance she’s goofing off with her amazing, wonderful, incredible, fabulous nieces and nephew, or listening to music that is severely outdated. She has her BA from NorthernKentuckyUniversity in Speech Communication and History (she doesn’t totally get the connection either) and likes to snap photos. Oh, and she likes apples a whole big bunch.Found out more about Connie L. Smith, A GOODREADS Author at:

 

WEBSITE      BLOG 

 

 

FF&P On-Line Workshop Line-up

 
 
 


The Fantasy-Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter of the RWA Presents the line up of great workshops for 2013! Click here to see the full line up: http://romance-ffp.com/page/workshops


PLEASE CHECK OUT THESE FANTASTIC

ON-LINE WORKSHOP
STARTING SOON!

Setting in Paranormal-presented by Tina Gerow Aug.19-25: The settings for paranormal stories are just as important as the paranormal characters themselves. After all, what would Harry Potter be without Hogwarts? Join me to explore some things to think about when building this "character" for your story.
 

Unforgettable Characters-Dynamic Dialogue-presented by Kit Frazier   Sept. 2-13: What do Indiana Jones, Darth Vadar, Erin Brocovich and Cruella DeVille have in common? Memorable characteristics, unforgettable dialogue. In this class, we'll look at some of the most memorable characters and learn to create your own, how to write great character-driven plots and create Character Sheets and a Character Bible.

Ladies, Lechery, and Lace-presented by Pat Hauldren   Sept 9-22: Alluring ladies of literature. How to improve your female characters characters and the men who play off them. (particularly in paranormal/fantasy/gothic literature.

Three Act Plotting-presented by Monette Michaels   Sept. 9-22: Whether you are a pantser or a plotter, there are certain plot elements that are essential to every story. This class will take you through a simple plot point method to ensure your novel will grab and hold the attention of your readers. The class will also look at GMC and how character development is an essential part of every plot. Plus, we will cover some simple methods to keep your middles from dragging or you hitting the wall. The class will be a combination of lecture, and each class member will be expected to plot point a novel which will be critiqued by the instructor.

PLEASE JOIN US!

Hung Up on the Small Stuff

by  Monette Michaels

 

Have you ever started writing a book and then couldn't move forward because you got stuck on details in your world?  This isn't a sagging middles problem or hitting a wall issue since both of those tend to be something wrong with your plot. This is more of a world-building-creating-stasis type of problem.

 

 

I know several aspiring authors who do this. They are good writers with creative minds and decent plots, but can't finish a novel or even a novella. I can't tell you how many partials B good partials B I've critiqued from authors like this. I tell them "finish the damn book and then worry about the little things later," but many of them can't seem to get past the details. 
 

My diagnosis: They have a form of world-builder's disease B micro-managementitis. It's symptoms are amnesia B the author has forgotten she is primarily a story teller B and paralysis B the author has become stuck on the small stuff. Micro-managementitis is a common side effect of the major world-building disease, The Dreaded Info Dumpitis, in which an author wants to put all her research into her story.

And it's not just paranormal/fantasy/science fiction authors who contract this debilitating and story-sabotaging disease.  Face it, all authors build worlds. Whether you write paranormal, science fiction, urban fantasy, historical, contemporary, or romance in all its subgenres, you are creating a world B and you want your novel's world to ring true, be consistent, and set a mood or backdrop for the plot. 

Ahh, plot B you know what that is B it's the whole reason you are writing the book to begin with B you are telling a story. In order to do so, you need a beginning, a middle, and an end and interesting characters with goals, motivations, and conflicts. And until you have those crucial elements, you do not have a story.  Everything else, including world building, is merely backdrop.

To cut to the chase, you can spend three years, five years, heck, twenty years, sweating the details and finally get one book done, OR, you can force yourself to see the big picture, write a complete first draft in less than six months, and then go back and sweat the details. Which author do you want to be?

 

I will now admit that I am a card‑carrying member of the 12‑Step Program for Micro-managementitis. I, too, used to get hung up on the small stuff, BUT I have found a way that helped me get a book done. And it can easily be done with one simple step.

HERE IS WHAT I DO:

To avoid getting hung up on the small stuff, as I write, I put NOTES in brackets and highlight them in yellow within the manuscript where I know I need details that either I haven't thought out yet or have no research on and know I need to research it (such as gun types or time/distance between Chicago and DC, or whatever). Then I can continue to write "knowing" I will fix those things on the next draft. 

Anyone reading my first draft would get a good laugh at all my notes B no one sees that draft but me, EVER.

On the second, third draft, up to how ever many I need, I will go back and add layers of detail B I call it "texturizing" my story B or you can call it world building. 

Adding the micro details to the macro world on subsequent drafts allows me to lovingly craft my world at my leisure once the story is completed. At that point, I can go back and do the fun stuff by adding layers and nuances that will make my story richer.

Acknowledging through my use of notes that I need to add a detail, such as figuring out a propulsion system for my space ship, is a big relief.  I am telling my brain:  "It's okay B you'll fix it on the next draft B keep writing." 

In other words, I have given myself permission to finish the damn book. My A‑type brain accepts that permission and I keep writing. This method is similar to a "to‑do" list. I am a big fan of lists and love to check things off. My Anote@ method fills that organizational need in me and gives me the peace of mind that I won't overlook essential details.

Eventually you might not even need to make notes in the manuscript. I've found over the years, I don't need the crutch of a NOTE in the stream of text any longer. I've trained myself to see the big picture. I unconsciously recognize I can fix the details in the next draft. With several established series to my credit, I now have my series notebooks with world details created in previous books which I can use as I write a new story. This also helps a bunch to alleviate getting hung up on small details.   

By the way, when I say make reminder notes in the stream of text as I write, I don't mean use Track Changes. In my head, Track Changes is strictly for final editing with my publisher. In fact, I write in Word Perfect so I won't even think of using Track Changes during a draft (plus Word Perfect has Reveal Codes which I love and adore and am addicted to).

Sounds too easy, doesn't it? But this simple method is how I conquered getting hung up on the small stuff while writing. Obviously, it has worked for me since I have a bunch of books B long books B out there. Maybe it will work for you.

Monette Draper Bio:

I write as Monette Michaels and Rae Morgan. Published since the late 1990s, I currently am published with Liquid Silver Books where my Security Specialists International series (Eye of the Storm and Cold Day in Hell) and Prime Chronicles books (Prime Obsession and Prime Selection) are top sellers.

As Rae Morgan, I write the Coven of the Wolf Series ( Destiny’s Magick,  Moon Magick, Treading the Labyrinth, and a novella “No Secrets,” in Zodiac Elements: Water) and various other single titles.

For the first years of Liquid Silver Books, I was the Acquisitions Editor and also edited books. I am currently a Senior Editor emeritus, and do still read and edit for the main lines of LSB, as needed.

 

Find out more about the author:

 

WEBSITE   BLOG   FACEBOOK   TWITTER

I hope you will join my class titled
THREE-ACT PLOTTING

Hosted by

Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers

This Two Week class starts September 9, 2013

For more information click HERE

Ruth A. Casie Talks About....

Editors Collaborators

How anxiously I awaited the edits of my first book, Knight of Runes. Excitement. Well I still had a hard time believing that it would be published. When her letter finally arrived the editing process and timeframes were clearly laid out.

I really don’t know what I expected. I opened the file and felt deflated at the sea of red track changes. I worked diligently on the story. We worked on the plot and made certain it flowed logically (even for a fantasy). We made sure the characters stayed true to their goals and motivations. We tackled flow and story without impacting voice.  I found editing to be a great learning experience and I had a personal teacher by my side all the way. Here are the top ten things I learned from my first round edits. Did I warn you this was a long post? Go get your coffee. I’ll wait.

10.  Well-meaning friends, who are ‘in the know,’ sometimes don’t know. The advice of a good friend and published author was to remove irrelevant words in order to stay in the action and make things sound crisp and immediate. It’s the way to hold your reader attention. Not, however, when you splice commas. Words such as and, but, are essential, not extraneous.

9.    Cut extraneous exposition and let the reader see it. What some people see as extraneous exposition (which I went through and deleted) my editor said was context and necessary to set up the next scene or action.

8.    Don’t give your editor (and reader) a headache by head hopping. Head hopping, I mean real leaps in the same scene, may work for Nora but not for Ruth.

7.    POV is an art. If your POV character can’t see it, hear it, and doesn’t know it then it doesn’t exist. Unless, the other POV character says it or (this was an eye opener) thinks it in his head. Cool heh.

6.    Edits are a learning experience and my editor is a fabulous, and patient, teacher. I learned to see patterns, hear echoes, and feel rhythms. It only took the first 100 pages to get there.

5.    Immediate voice is much more powerful and compelling than passive voice. Chopping ‘ing’ words makes the action sound immediate. It’s essential, although, passive voice has its place, but only occasionally.

4.    Filler words do not move a scene along. These words can usually be eliminated without changing the meaning and will also make the scene more immediate.

3.    Questions in the readers mind can be provocative. Some of my editor’s comments were questions that were answered in the next paragraph or scene. I made my reader think. Not bad!

2.    My deepest apologies to Mrs. X. My high school grammar teacher must be spinning in her grave. I won’t embarrass her by mentioning her name.

The number one thing I learned from my first round of edits…

1.   Call me crazy but I enjoyed working through the track changes and comments. My editor made me think, make decisions, see opportunities, and ultimately helped me make the story the best it can be and isn’t that what we both wanted.

As I waited for the edits for my second book, The Guardian’s Witch which released July 1, my husband took me to see, Seminar, the Theresa Rebeck play staring Alan Rickman, one of my favorite actors. Actually, I visualized him as Bran, the villain in The Guardian’s Witch.

The play is set in present day New York City and follows four young writers and their professor, an international literary figure. Each student has paid the professor $5,000 for a ten-week-long writing seminar. As tensions rise and romance erupts between students, they clash over their writing, their relations, and their futures. At the end of the play, the professor gives each student a gift, a graduation present of sorts, to help them succeed; jobs, pertinent introductions but nothing to do with writing. There is one student who has been the most difficult, who hasn’t truly followed through with the exercises, and challenges the professor at almost every turn. The professor challenges this student to work with him. He will be the student’s editor because he is the one student who has the greatest potential for literary success. The professor goes on to explain the editor – writer relationship.

There is a special relationship between a writer and their editor. The editor knows and understands your story and your characters goals motivations and conflicts as well as you do.

When Alan Rickman spoke his lines I understood exactly what he meant. I had the benefit of my editor working closely with me. Together we were a team that collaborated, brainstormed, and made the story the best it could be. And wasn’t that what we both wanted.  I can’t wait to hand in my next manuscript.

You can find out more about Ruth’s books at:

WEBSITE   BLOG   TWITTER   FACEBOOK

The Guardian’s Witch – Back Cover Copy

England, 1290

Lord Alex Stelton can't resist a challenge, especially one with a prize like this: protect a castle on the Scottish border for a year, and it's his. Desperate for land of his own, he'll do anything to win the estate—even enter a proxy marriage to Lady Lisbeth Reynolds, the rumored witch who lives there.

Feared and scorned for her second sight, Lisbeth swore she'd never marry, but she is drawn to the handsome, confident Alex. She sees great love with him but fears what he would think of her gift and her visions of a traitor in their midst.

Despite his own vow never to fall in love, Alex can't get the alluring Lisbeth out of his mind and is driven to protect her when attacks begin on the border. But as her visions of danger intensify, Lisbeth knows it is she who must protect him. Realizing they'll secure their future only by facing the threat together, she must choose between keeping her magic a secret and losing the man she loves.

Author Bio

Ruth A. Casie is a seasoned professional with more than 25 years of writing experience, but not necessarily writing romances. No, she’s been writing communication and marketing documents for a large corporation. Not too long ago, encouraged by her friends and family, she gave way to her inner muse, let her creative juices flow, and began writing a series of historical time-travel and historical fantasy romance novels. Her first release, KNIGHT OF RUNES finaled in NJRW’s Golden Heart for Best First Book. Her latest story, THE GUARDIAN’S WITCH, released July 1. Both books were published by Carina Press. When not writing you can find her home in Teaneck, New Jersey, reading, cooking, doing Sudoku and counted cross stitch.  Together with her husband Paul, they enjoy ballroom dancing and going to the theater.  Ruth and Paul have three grown children and two grandchildren.  They all thrive on spending time together.  It’s certainly a lively dinner table and they wouldn’t change it for the world.

Ruth is President of the Board of Trustees of Shelter Our Sister (SOS), Bergen County’s shelter for victims of domestic violence.

 

Making Your Setting into a Character

Author Lori Hayes

by Lori Hayes  

 

“I felt I was right there on the island. I could smell the brine, could taste the salt on my lips.” “I could visualize the ghostly grave, the one that appears in Claire’s photographs. I could sense the presence of a ghost.” “I imagined the sunglow highlighting the tips of the wild horse’s black mane.”

 

How does an author make the reader feel as though the setting is one of the characters in your book?

 

 

That answer is different for every author, but for me it means putting myself in that setting and imagining what the character is experiencing. I focus on the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch.

For example, when my heroine in The Search realizes a ghostly grave shows up in a photograph, she revisits the hidden graveyard on the island to take another photograph. I draw out her emotions of feeling foolish for taking a picture of the air, hoping the grave shows up again in a photograph, of hiding her actions from another person to avoid explaining the situation, and of dealing with fear while she’s standing there alone taking the picture. The reader can experience the unnerving snap of a twig that makes the heroine jump. I add in her surroundings, including the tree off to the side where the grave had shown up in the original photograph. I also draw in the history of the old fishing village that had once existed on the island. That small detail, combined with the desert-like heat, the sand dunes, and the horses grazing on sea grass off in the distance, helps create ambiance.

Making your setting into a character relies on using several different senses from your point of view character.

It also helps if you can tie the setting and the storyline together, so you have a meaningful way to paint a creative picture to keep the reader engaged in your story. Little details tossed in here and there, as opposed to pages of description, will develop vivid imagery painlessly.

 

Choose your words carefully. One descriptive word can take the place of several rambling words. Concise writing provides a streamlined technique to draw your reader into your story and setting. Let them feel the breeze on their face, experience stepping into the muck of a tidal pool, and visualize seeing your heroine fall in a lump from the sliding stop of a horse. The simple word “lump” says it all.

It’s easier for me to write about something I’ve experienced, at least in part. If I can draw from a memory and relive it in my head, then the words I write will feel more real to the reader. You don’t have to experience a ghostly grave, however, to write about it. I remember as a child being fascinated with graveyards. I always wanted to see a ghost. A friend of mine and I would roam the cemetery right before closing in the evening. I’d work myself into a frenzy until the snap of a twig caused by an animal set my nerve endings in rapid fire. I drew from that experience when I wrote the scene I described above.

Creating ambiance so your setting becomes a character is easier than one might think. Remember to put yourself in your character’s shoes, tapping into her senses. In a concise way, describe her emotions about the setting and tie it into the storyline. Draw on whatever experiences you have that remind you of the particular scene you are writing. Making your setting into a character really is

as easy as that.

 

Blurb for The Search:

 

The pounding hooves of betrayal have battered photographer Claire Kincaid’s trust in men. After her mother’s death, Claire’s desire for family leads her to the coast to find her long-lost father. Instead, she finds herself stranded on an island with a threatening storm, a suspicious man roaming the dunes, and a dangerous confrontation with a wild stallion.

 

When wildlife biologist and park ranger Jeff Rhoades, who is engaged to Claire’s popular landlady, is sent to rescue Claire, he discovers his attraction to Claire makes him question his commitment to his fiancée. To make matters worse, he secretly searches for her father, against her will. Good intentions go wrong, and he unravels a dubious and hurtful past. An island of secrets is untangled along with the mystery of a horse whisperer who lurks in the horses’ shadows. The more Claire searches for answers, the more she discovers that an old truth never existed.

 

Bio:

Lori Hayes writes contemporary romance and romantic women's fiction. She promises to deliver a happy ending in exchange for your much-appreciated time reading her novels.

She lives with her family in North Carolina, and while she hopes to someday say she lives near the beach, right now she is a short drive from the ocean. She thinks it's important to focus on what you have and to appreciate the small things around you, like the tang of salt in the air. For then it becomes possible for your dreams to come true, like her dream of writing and to be published.

She thanks her mother for her career. One day her mom planted the seed for Lori to be a writer, and it took hold. And as her grandfather always said, Stop talking about it and do something. So she did. While her son took afternoon naps, she sat down and started her first novel.

Quickly she learned it wasn't so easy. She bought every book she could find on the subject, and to this day she's still buying books to study. She believes life is one lesson made up of many shorter ones. Tell the story of your own life and it will come to fruition. She's living proof.

You can find Lori Hayes at: 

 

Twitter   Facebook   Website   

 

Amazon Author Page

 

Conquering Fight Scenes (Part 1) with K. M. Fawcett

If you have a fight scene in your romance story, ask yourself the following questions. Why is it there? Is it essential to the plot?

Fight scenes, like love scenes, must drive the story forward. They must serve a purpose. They must create change either by resolving something or by complicating something. Change advances the story. If your fight is gratuitous, cut it.

Keep these points in mind when creating your believable and exciting fight scenes.
Pacing: Fights are dynamic and fast, so the action should be conveyed quickly. You want the reader to feel they are a part of the fight or at least watching it. Taking too long to describe an action slows down the visual image in the mind’s eye, therefore, slows the pacing. Using short and medium length sentences rather than long, complex ones gives the illusion that the action is unfolding in real time. Be careful not to structure all sentences the same, though, as a lack of variation could lead to choppy, robotic and monotonous prose.

Action – Reaction: Action comes before reaction. Cause is followed by effect.
Ex. 1 (Reaction first)  Blood gushed from his nose when she decked him.
Ex. 2 (Action first)   She decked him. Blood gushed from his nose.
In example 2, the reader experiences the action as it’s unfolding, and will have an emotional response to it right along with the characters.

Clarity/ Word Choice: Be straightforward and to the point. Describing your fight choreography in minute detail also slows pacing. Avoid getting too technical so your fight scene doesn’t read like a training manual.

If you want to showcase a particular technique in the final battle scene, explain it or refer to it earlier in the story, perhaps in a training session. For example, in the original Karate Kid movie, we saw Mr. Miyagi practicing the crane technique. Daniel asked him about it, and we learned that, “If do right, no can defend.” Daniel practiced it, and when he got into the crane stance in the final scene, we knew this awesome move would make him a winner. Another example is the five-point palm exploding heart technique in Kill Bill. If these techniques weren’t explained until they were used in the story, the pacing would halt and/ or their significance would be lost.
Use expressive words and strong action verbs to paint a clear image and to evoke an emotional response in the reader. A fight should create reader urgency so they keep turning pages to find out what happens next. The reader should feel the excitement and energy of the action, not confusion over the words used to describe it.

Emotion: Be sure to include your character’s emotional response. What’s at stake? What will it mean if she wins the fight? What will it mean if she loses? Emotion creates suspense. It connects the reader to the characters. It makes the reader root for a character’s success or demise. Emotion can be demonstrated thru dialog, physical action, internal sensations, and thoughts. Warning: Too much introspection can slow your pacing.

Dialog: Combatants are not going to engage in a long discussion while fighting. That can come pre-fight when they are gearing up for the confrontation (sizing each other up and down, posturing, etc) or post-fight when the opponent is no longer in a position to attack. There is room for terse dialog in a heated battle. However, no fighter will waste precious energy and breath by waxing poetic.

Climatic Battle: The main fight against the villain should come at the climax, and should be the biggest, most difficult fight in the story. If the most exciting fight is with a minion earlier in the book, it makes the climax appear dull in comparison. Many times the hero has to fight the villain earlier in the book, but at that point the hero hasn’t grown yet. He shouldn’t be able to defeat the villain until he has completed his character arc.

Thank you FF&P for hosting me on the blog today. I’ll be back on July 8th with more on fight scenes, including the use of setting, characterization, choreography and improvised weapons.
~K.M Fawcett

CAPTIVE (The Survival Race #1)

AN IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY
The last thing Addy Dawson remembers is a blazing inferno and freezing river water overtaking her lungs. When she awakens, Addy finds herself on a strange, alien planet, trapped in a cell with no doors, no windows-- and to her horror-- a naked warrior who claims to be her mate.

AN UNDENIABLE PASSION
An alpha gladiator, Max is forced to breed and produce the finest specimens for the Survival Race, a deadly blood sport created by the alien rulers of Hyborea. To rebel means torture-or worse-yet Max refuses to become the animal his captors want him to be. But their jailors will not be denied, and soon Addy and Max find themselves unwilling players in this cruel game. Pushed to the limit, they will risk everything for the chance at a life free from captivity. And though fate brought them together as adversaries, Max and Addy will discover that when they're together, there's nothing in the universe that can stop them.

K.M. Fawcett writes sci-fi/ paranormal romances, and enjoys stories filled with adventure and strong, kick butt heroes and heroines. She holds the rank of Sandan (3rd degree black belt) in both Isshinryu Karate and in Ryukonkai (Okinawan weapons). She and her husband own Tenchi Isshinryu Karate Dojo in NJ. When not writing or working out at the dojo, K.M. is home with her two children and two cats.  

EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT by Sascha Illyvich

Getting into the head of your characters is a topic we've all dealt with, read about in spades and had shoved down our throats until we're choking on the vileness that is those very words, right? Well, yes and no. The question I'd have is how far are you willing to go in order to get in touch with your character? What if your character is the opposite gender?

We've covered cross gender writing before, particularly if you've taken my class. I talk about the basic stuff in terms of getting to really know your character but what I usually gloss over is just how deep YOU the AUTHOR will go, what lengths will you go to in order to craft a deeply emotional character that readers can connect to.

Sure it's important to remember motivation but what gets tough is finding the motivation to save the hero or heroine when they're so hell bent on destruction that they can't find their way. Readers love jaded characters, JR Ward's sales (among others) are a testament to that. That's a case when some outside help is needed, usually in the form of a sidekick or best friend.

Or in my case, a second lover and a bottle. I possibly could have done without the bottle but the problem was with the story I recently sold to Red Sage, the character was an addict. Yeah, I went pretty far in my research to truly portray a jaded, wounded hero who needed more than just love. I'm in NO WAY suggesting you pick up vices or habits to dig into your characters heads, but to be fair I was in my early 20s when I started that story. My life was a chaotic mess and the music I listened to resonated deep within me. Writers seek all forms of inspiration, whether they know it or not, the subconscious plays a huge part in character creation.

The best way to remain objective to the voices in our heads is to get them on paper, bang them out then start asking the difficult questions. Why are you like this? What would fix it? How could we create the scenario given the world you're in that would allow you to realize the truth of romance?

That truth by the way is this: I love you so much more than the need to destroy myself.

Substitute 'destroy myself' with whatever behavior pattern your character (read, your hero) exhibits, then create that world and scenario. For Joséf in ENDANGERD, he hasn't learned the lesson in the first book, but he comes a step closer because of the way I chose to split the love he receives. Livía, his soul mate, gives attention to the demons in his heart, the ones who tell him he's not worth loving. Her female lover, Isabella, tends to the demons in his head. The ones that call him to go out in a Last Action Hero manner. She appeals to the logic in him.

To really make the impact and have you, the reader, root for the romance, non-traditional as it is, I had to dig into the core of fans who read ménage romances, and who enjoy and understand it from the paranormal perspective. This story meant a lot to me, and ten years later, it still does. So much so for both my career and my heart that I can't wait to share the beginning of Joséf's adventures with you, dear writer who happens to also read romance.

I'm hoping in the long run I can find something to pull me out of me, when I'm writing but the pre release reviews have been pretty positive, and I'm not sure I want to mess with that formula. For you however, the talented writer, understanding what motivates your audience outside of the typical desire to escape reality, will help you capture a writing formula that works for you.

Sascha Illyvich Bio:

Proclaimed by the Publishing industry as the Bad Boy of Romance, Sascha started writing fourteen years ago. His erotic romances have been listed under the Night Owl Romance and Road to Romance’s Recommended read list, and he's been nominated for a CAPA by The Romance Studio

Former host of The Unnamed Romance Show on Radio Dentata Sascha continues to write for Red Sage, Decadent Publishing, Sizzler Editions and Total E-bound. Find him at http://saschaillyvichauthor.com Agency Representation provided by The Corvisiero Agency

Editor for Sizzler Editions Intoxication Erotic Romance line, Sascha is also part of the WriteSex Panel, a blog group defining erotica for writers in any genre! Find us at http://www.write-sex.com

 

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I hope you will join my class titled

WHY KINK?

Hosted by

Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers

This Two Week class starts July 22, 2013

For more information click  HERE

FUN WITH ANIMAL FACTS:

author Isabo Kelly

Using Earth Biology to Create Otherworldly Creatures
by Isabo Kelly

As writers of paranormal, fantasy and science fiction romances, we spend a lot of time developing otherworldly creatures, be they supernatural or extra-terrestrial. But there’s no reason we need to stick to set parameters for these creations. (If readers required strict adherence to traditional myths, we wouldn’t have sparkly vampires.) 

 

With such rich and diverse examples of biology and behavior right here on Earth, we have a wealth of fun material to use. Incorporating real biology and real world behavior in your otherworldly creatures will not only add originality but bring those creations to believable life.

 

Imagine a being that spends its entire life in the clouds—there are actually microbes that scientists believe live and breed in the clouds without ever settling on a solid surface or substrate (once thought to be essential to life). Perhaps your alien species requires a high pressure environment and if brought to a lower pressure setting would die, like so many deep sea creatures. Or perhaps they live at extraordinarily high or low temperatures and can’t survive outside these extremes.

 

How about aliens whose breeding system is similar to the Anglerfish, where males are absorbed by females, becoming little more than vestigial lumps ready to release sperm when the female is ready to breed. Or forget sperm all together and use parthenogenesis—a breeding system where females’ eggs don’t require sperm in order to develop into a living embryo—and see what kind of interesting creature you can develop with that! (I love that word—parthenogenesis.)

 

The strange and wondrous examples are plenty. Just a quick perusal of Earth biology will give you a myriad of things to incorporate into your creations. I recommend watching nature shows as a place to start. Then doing searches on the Internet for strange animal adaptations or behavior will give further helpful details. You can also find a number of books on interesting animal biology, such as Weird Life by David Toomey. Discovering the different ways life goes about its business here on Earth will provide whole hosts of possibilities for you.

 

But I’m not suggesting you use the biological facts strictly. For example, in the science fiction television show, FARSCAPE, there was an alien species called the Delvians who looked humanoid but were actually plants and used photosynthesis to eat. Just because you find an interesting fact about how red-sided garter snakes form “mating balls” in which a female is swarmed by hundreds of males when she emerges from hibernation, doesn’t mean you have to give that trait to a were-snake species. Take that mating behavior and use it for your demons, for example. Or maybe your Fae can only reproduce if the females are swarmed by a multitude of males. Think of the plot possibilities!

 

There are bacteria and fungi that live deep in the Earth’s crust and eat by synthesizing inorganic chemicals from the surrounding rocks. In my Naravan Chronicles series, I gave the native shape-shifting species on Narava a similar way of “feeding”—their cells pull the nutrients they need directly from the surrounding atmosphere, so when they’re in a shape other than their natural form, they can still eat. This way of feeding led to some complications that gave me great room to play with this species.

 

In my short story, Mate Run, I gave my were-tigers the same background breeding issues that plague the Hawaiian monk seals—female numbers dropping for unexplained reasons, males so desperate to breed they gang up on females, sometimes killing them and making the situation even worse. Then I developed a solution to those problems that was unique to the were-tigers. Obviously seals and tigers are very different mammals with different behavior and biology. But I didn’t stick strictly to tiger biology when developing my were-tigers. Why? Because I didn’t have to. My world. My rules.

 

One of the best things about writing in the FF&P genres is that we have such huge scope for our world-building. We don’t have to adhere to ancient myths or even parallel biology. In fact, the more unique you can make your otherworldly creations—without making them so strange humans can’t envision them!—the more interesting your worlds will be. Using things that really happen here on Earth will give you the needed authenticity while also providing a wealth of originality, creating otherworldly beings readers won’t be able to resist.

 

So tell me, have you come across any strange animal facts that you’d love to use in your fiction?

 

Isabo Kelly is the award-winning author of numerous science fiction, fantasy and paranormal romances. Before settling down to write full time, Isabo got her B.A. in Zoology with an emphasis on marine biology at University of Hawaii, Manoa and her Ph.D. in animal behavior from University College Dublin in Ireland. For more on Isabo and her books, visit her at www.isabokelly.com, follow her on Twitter @IsaboKelly or friend her on Facebook www.facebook.com/IsaboKelly