Remembering Your First (aka: Losing Your Romance Novel Virginity) CONTEST!!!

Ahhh, I remember it well. I was young and, believe it or not, reluctant to do any reading that wasn’t assigned as homework. (Ummm, I didn’t do much of that either.) Then, it all changed. I was spending the night at a friend’s house and she handed me this book. Not just any book. This was a full fledged romance novel with a man and woman on the cover, looking adoringly at each other. It had Excitement. It had adventure. It had bold characters that butted heads—a lot. It had…SEX!

Whoooo Baby! I was sixteen and I was shocked and instantly addicted. Not just for the sex—yes it was a major player—but because I truly enjoyed the plot and the spunky heroine. I was painfully shy at that age, though most people didn’t know it because I pushed through the shyness and, in hindsight, I guess that came through as confident—which I was not—but here was a character I could live vicariously through. And, yeah, the sex was good too. <BG>

From that moment on, I couldn’t get enough. I read at all hours. If I couldn’t decide between two books at the book store, I would choose the one with more pages. I was insatiable. Still am. What can I say? It’s a passion of mine, which has moved on to writing as well.

Where was I going with this, you ask? Well, most romance readers I have spoken with remember their first just as fondly as I do. If they don’t remember the name, they almost always remember what it was about. So, what was your first? Leave a comment and share with us. List the title & author and include a line or two about what in this story made you want to read more romance.

I’ll even make it worth your while. On May 1st, I will hold a random drawing and one lucky commenter will receive a copy of my first—Gentle Warrior, by Julie Garwood—or, if you already have this one, a gift certificate to Ellora’s Cave or Amazon.com.

Once the contest is over, I will compile a list of your firsts and post them. I am always looking for new authors to read.

Good Luck!
Sandy :-)

Ooooooouch!!!!!!

I bought the Braun Silk-Epil today.  The legs?  Not so bad.  The underarms?  Now that’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax…..

Sandy ;-/

Using Props in Writing

I recently read the first three chapters of a completed work in progress for a friend of mine. She is a fantastic writer who has a way with words that just makes you feel like you are right there with the characters.

In one scene, she makes use of a prop. Yes, a prop. It was so well done, that I found myself following it with my eyes as the character the villainess was talking to must have been doing. Now, I don’t want to spoil anything so I will not reveal exactly what this prop was (You will just have to buy the book when it is released as I am sure it will be in the not too distant future.) Just suffice it to say, I realized I needed to do a bit more painting of pictures in my book.

What I realized, when reading Sharon’s chapters, was painting pictures with words goes far beyond describing the scenery or even describing the action. What better way to do this than by using props that draw the eye? Just as they do in movies. In a particular scene in my current work in progress, my heroine is at the breakfast table having a very uncomfortable conversation with her hostess and the hero. Although the scene works as is, I now realize it will be much stronger once I add some more imagery by showing Evelyn’s discomfort through the way she plays with the food on her plate or how she grips the fork. But it can’t end there. By bringing the readers attention to the subconscious way Evelyn arranges and rearranges said fork, fidgeting, the reader will start to feel her anxiety rather than needing me, the author, to tell them Evelyn is anxious.

I started to go through some of the books I have by my favorite authors and have found a couple of them to use this technique to their advantage as well. Although I have yet to see anyone do it as well as Sharon did with the particular scene I mention above.

For all of the aspiring authors out there, keep this in mind: The old argument of show, don’t tell is a valid one.

"V" for Very Cool!

After close to 20 years, my husband has finally moved to Friday/Saturday days off instead of Sunday/Monday (he actually had to use vacation time for our own wedding).  So, what did we do on his first weekend off?  We went to the movies, baby.  Yes, like a real date, we braved the mall on a Saturday evening, we stood in line at the theater, and we watched the coolest damn movie I’ve seen in a long time.

Now, I have to say the mall on a Saturday night is not as exciting as one might think.  We are used to the low key Sunday afternoon or Monday evening deal.  You know, when it is more like a ghost town at the theater than a place of entertainment.  I suppose we thought it would be cool to be out amongst the other weekenders for a change.  But, what it really turned out to be was a grind.

No matter!  The movie was freakin’ cool…did I already say that?  Well, let me say it again.  Cool!  What did we see, you ask?  We saw “V” for Vendetta.  I think this is the type of movie you’ll either love or you’ll hate.  It holds a very strong political message and can be a bit intense at times.  Oh, but that dialogue and the effects.  It was really a pleasure to watch it just for the cinematography alone.  It was a work of art.  Can you tell I’m one of the one who loved it?

I want to see it again, to sink my teeth into it, to sit back and appreciate the story and to catch all that I missed in the first viewing.  And, yes, I’m sure I missed a lot.  It was meaty and profound and I enjoyed it to the hilt.

So, if you are not offended by movies trying to tout a bit of a political message and profound dialogue and action are your cup of tea, go see this movie.  Who knows, you might be one of the ones who love it.

Sandy :-)