Next Big Thing Blog Hop - Losing the Cherry

Welcome to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked, where the women are kick-ass and the men are intrigued. :D I'm sure you've experienced the Next Big Thing Blog Hop on several other authors' blogs, but I think I've dropped the ball. I was out of town for the day my "tagger" Alison Packard posted her Blog Hop post and didn't promote her. :( Then I didn't tag 5 more authors who I think you all should check out. Sigh.

So to make up for my obvious short-comings, I'm going to do something a little different. I'm going to promote Alison now and you can check out her Next Big Thing Blog Hop Post. She really is a wonderful writer and storyteller, so I highly recommend her writing. Her first book is already out from Carina Press.

I'm also going to mention five authors I think you should check out. They are some of my favorites and they're writing is worth the reading. I was an avid reader before I became a writer and these folks have made my "auto-buy" list. But first, the questions I'm supposed to answer. ;)

What is the title of your next book?

Not a Dragon's Standard Virgin

Where did the idea come from for the book?

It actually had a working title of Double Standard because I'd been thinking about the "walk of shame/fame" issue that comes up when men or women come home from spending the night somewhere. The men get kudos, the women get ridicule and derision. So I started to think about what would happen if a woman set out to lose her virginity? And what's so valuable about virginity anyway? That gave me Isabelle Andersen, tavern keeper's daughter who'd rather not be fed to the dragon.

What genre does your book fall under?

I think you could say it's paranormal historical romance because there's a dragon shifter and it's set in 1547 Scotland.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I don't like this question because I very rarely base my characters on actors alive today and I'm not a big TV person (which means I don't see the actors much). So I'd have to say the actor who might wear a face similar to Jonarrion (the dragon shifter hero) would be Colin Farrell. Jonarrion is Irish and tall, athletic with a darkness riding him.

As for Isabelle, the heroine, the actress most similar would be Scarlett Johansson. Isabelle has a fire and a strength to take care of business despite the obstacles and Scarlett brings that to her characters.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Sacrificial virgins are so sixteenth century, but unless Isabelle finds a man to take her innocence, she may be next.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It will be represented by a publisher.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I think all told it took me about five months, but I rarely write one story consecutively. I'm usually writing several all at once and when I get stuck on one I move to another, but then I return once the obstacle has percolated in my mind for a while and I see a way through to the ending.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

My writing is sexy, action-packed, and full of humor, which might be compared to the stories of Gena Showalter and Larissa Ione within the genre, but also can be compared to the stories of Karla Doyle, Gem Sivad, and Cara Michaels, who don't necessarily write paranormal, but their action and humor are first class.

What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

I really try to write stories that appeal to both men and woman, regardless of the romance genre. There are male readers out there who love action adventure and sex just as much as women do, and so I try to write stories to entice them all. You can check out Her Devoted Vampire and Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack right now, and Not a Dragon's Standard Virgin should be out in early 2013.

One last question: If you had to choose between being fed to a dragon or losing your virginity, consequences be damned, which would you choose?

And now the authors you should definitely check out:

Karla Doyle - Contemporary Erotic Romance
TJ Michaels - Paranormal Romance
Goran Zidar - Science Fiction/Adventure
Kris Norris - Action/Adventure Romance
Deborah Coonts - Murder/Mystery with Romantic Elements

Thank you so much for stopping by. Happy New Year and happy reading! :)

Tricks to the Trade

Writing takes practice. Lots of practice. Recently, I was speaking with an editor friend and she told me her English professor once said, "To become a master at writing, you must write one million words first. Then you will be a master."

No truer words were ever spoken. Deb Coonts said to me that the first book is good, the second is better, and the third best of all for the same reason. Practice, practice, practice. Practice doesn't make perfect; it makes better and you're always improving.

I've learned a great deal in the last six months about writing because I've attended a workshop put on by the Las Vegas Writer's Group and a one-day conference put on by the Las Vegas Romance Writers. If you want to be a writer, I recommend going to a few conferences (as many as you can afford because they're not cheap). Both the workshop and the one-day conference were excellent because they taught me things I'd never known about writing.

For example: Do you know what GMC is? No, it's not a dying car manufacturer or a gas-guzzling SUV. It's an acronym for Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. This is something each of your characters has and you must know as the writer to make the story excellent. I knew this instinctively, but I didn't know the proper terms for these qualities. Knowing them has improved my writing by leaps and bounds.

Another example: Get rid of the word "that". Everywhere. Just use the "Find" feature in your writing program and hit "remove", either one by one or en masse. Trust me, your writing will improve significantly.

And editors prefer conjunctions. We don't say "do not", "could not", "will not", "had not", "have not", "I am". We say (and think) "don't", "couldn't", "won't", "hadn't", "haven't" and "I'm". Use this even in description.

The last thing everyone likes (not just editors) is something other than "he said", "she said", "they said". Said? What does that mean? There's no emotion in "said". For example: "Holy shit! Where the hell did that come from?!" she said.

Uh, said? Wouldn't it be better to use the word "shouted", or "screamed" or "shrieked" or "hollered"? Heck, even "exclaimed" gets the emotion across better. But it's not always easy to think of the right word. Thesauruses are great for that, but they don't always have them all together.

Years ago, I didn't like "he said", "she said" either, so I made my own list. It has grown and I've edited it over time (back then we didn't have a need for "Tweeted" or "texted"), but it's really useful when trying to convey more emotion than just the statements suggest. They are listed below for your use when writing.

Accused	Cursed	Ordered	Slurred
Acknowledged	Declared	Panted	Snapped
Acquiesced	Demanded	Persisted	Snarled
Added	Demurred	Pleaded	Sneered
Admitted	Disagreed	Pointed out	Snickered
Admonished	Disavowed	Pondered	Sobbed
Advised	Drawled	Preached	Soothed
Agreed	Emphasized	Prevaricated	Spat
Announced	Encouraged	Proclaimed	Spoke (up)
Annunciated	Exclaimed	Prodded	Sputtered
Answered	Exposulated	Promised	Squawked
Apologized	Fawned	Pronounced	Squeaked
Argued	Flattered	Protested	Stammered
Articulated	Gasped	Purred	Started
Asked	Gibbered	Queried	Stated
Assented	Grated	Questioned	Stuttered
Babbled	Greeted	Quoted	Suggested
Badgered	Groaned	Railed	Swore
Barked	Growled	Raged	Taunted
Began	Grumped	Rasped	Teased
Begged	Hissed	Raved	Texted
Belched	Hinted	Reasoned	Thanked
Bellowed	Hollered	Rebuked	Thought
Bleated	Howled	Recalled	Threatened
Blurted	Implied	Recited	Thundered
Boasted	Inferred	Recommended	Told
Boomed	Informed	Refuted	Transmitted
Breathed	Inquired	Remarked	Tweeted
Called	Insisted	Reminded	Typed
Cautioned	Instructed	Repeated	Urged
Challenged	Interjected	Replied	Uttered
Chanted	Interrupted	Reported	Vocalized
Cheered	Intoned	Requested	Voiced
Chided	Introduced	Responded	Voted
Choked	Jeered	Retorted	Wailed
Chortled	Joked	Returned	Warned
Commented	Lied	Roared	Went (on)
Complained	Mentioned	Rumbled	Wheedled
Complimented	Mimicked	Said	Wheezed
Conceded	Moaned	Sang	Whimpered
Confessed	Mouthed	Scoffed	Whined
Continued	Mumbled	Screamed	Whispered
Cooed	Murmured	Screeched	Wondered
Countered	Nagged	Shot (back)	Wrote
Corrected	Nattered	Shouted	Yelled
Cried (out)	Needled	Shrieked	Yelped
Crowed	Offered	Signaled	Yirred

So there you have it. Each word conveys a great deal more emotion than "said", although that word is also in the list (just in case you needed it). If you can think of any others, please let me know and I'll add it to the list for future reference. Good luck and happy writing! :)