Bound by desire...

6-word stories

2012-01-31T16:07:00.001-05:00

Getting the post out on time this week!

Six-word stories(or, sometimes we just need to think small)

Ernest Hemingway's shortest story consisted only of sixwords:

"For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn."

Not too long ago, Wired magazine challengedseveral science fiction writers to do the same...tell a complete story in onlysix words. I've only included three below as examples, but you can visit thewebsite for dozens of examples. Notice that most of them are more than onesentence:

Automobile warranty expires. So does engine.

- Stan Lee

Machine. Unexpectedly, I’d invented a time

- Alan Moore

Longed for him. Got him. Shit.

- Margaret Atwood

Sometimes these are fun to write on their own, other times this works as a new way to look at an old character or event. Remember, sometimes it isn't MORE words that you need, but fewer.

Your challenge? Write a six-word story, of course. Feeling adventurous? Post your best in the comments section.

If you find these workshops useful, please consider dropping a donation my way. It helps keep me writing!

Want to borrow a good book?

2012-01-27T22:19:00.006-05:00

Did you know you don't have to buy Learning Curve? If you own a Kindle, you can borrow this short novella from the Kindle Owner's Lending Library!

Stop by and borrow your copy today!

Play safe,
Diana

Workshop!

2012-01-25T17:07:00.001-05:00

Oh, my glory, I forgot again. Someone said something to me today and I said I'd do it on Wednesday. She said, "This IS Wednesday." I slapped my head and thought of you-all sitting there at home wondering if I I'd lost my mind again. Drat.

I have to start associating the workshops with another event that also happens on Tuesdays. I know! NCIS is my current must-watch. New episodes air on Tuesday nights. NCIS=Writing workshop! Help me remember, guys. Send me tweets, emails or, if you're near me, Gibbs-slap me into remembering to post.

Of course, that actually leads into today's topic. The world of NCIS (heck, the world of most TV shows with plots) all have something in common: a world created by their writers and peopled with characters that have backstories of their own. And so, this week's workshop:

Backstory andworld building…not just for fantasy any more

Knowing the world in which your story is set is vital togood storytelling. Don’t assume your reader knows what you do. While you wantto be careful about bogging down your story with too much detail, knowing theworld cold will help you give a thorough picture to the reader.

Activity

Choose a story you’ve had rumbling around in your head. In your writing journal, answer the following questions about your setting and society.

~Or~

Use the questions below on a story you've already started but are stuck in. Perhaps one will jog your imagination just enough you can get started again.

World BuildingQuestions

In what country is your story set?

What is the monetary system there?

The political system? Who is in power?

Are there any laws germane to your story the reader willneed to know/understand?

What languages are spoken there? Do your characters speakthat language? (think street talk or dialect as well as invented languages)

What are the curse words of the language? Which ones wouldyour character use? Under what circumstances?

How does the country's economics affect your characters?

What social classes exist? How do they interact?

How is affection expressed in this country? What is taboo? Anymating rituals?

How powerful is religion? What religion? What do yourcharacters think of that religion?

Is there anything in this country's history that isimportant to your story? If so...why is it important to the characters?

Is there anything in particular about naming conventions(first born always named after the father, for example)?

What is the balance of power between the genders (men morepowerful? Women? Equality for all?)? What about between races?

How technologically advanced 1) is the society, 2) are yourcharacters?

Are there any particular foodstuffs that are germane to thisgroup of people? What role does food play in their lives?

What is the climate of the country? Does it have any bearingon your character’s actions?

How educated is the society? Is education important to thepeople? The government? Your characters?

What about medicine? Is there insurance? What happens whenpeople get sick?

Caveat: it's easy to fall into the World-Building Trap. You get so into creating the world, you don't actually write anything that takes place there. Be sure this doesn't happen to you!

One way around the trap is to answer only enough of the above questions to get yourself started. Fill in other questions as they pop up in your story.

That's it! Have fun with this...creating new worlds out of whole cloth is what writers do and it should be a fun process.

Remember, all these workshops will eventually be collected and published together. If you are enjoying them and would like to make a donation, please use the yellow button below. Those who donate will get the collected volume at no cost.

Play safe!

Diana

blogging at the Scribes!

2012-01-22T10:05:00.003-05:00

My turn over at the Sizzling Scribe's blog. Come on over and give me some advice :)

Learning Curve available again

2012-01-18T17:34:00.000-05:00

Learning Curve is a short novella I wrote 'way back in 2004. It's been out of "print" for a few months and is once more available.

Here's the original blurb:

Asa young girl, Sam fancied herself a writer. Excited, she showed her first storyto a classmate, who labeled it "yucky" because Sam's femaleprotagonists had been tied up when they were captured by the bad guys. Abashed,Sam spent the next decade caging her vivid fantasies of being tied up, andcultivating the good girl image that society expected.

Untilshe met Peter. Sam didn't understand why her body responded so violently to hiskiss, only that when it did, her fantasies banged at the bars of their cage andthreatened to break free.

Thenight they finally escaped, Sam's life changed forever.

There are no substantial changes between this edition and the older one, except for some now-fixed grammatical errors. And a new cover, of course!

Learning Curve was a fun story to write. Many readers don't know this, but the first part of the story where we find out that Sam's burgeoning writing career was abruptly halted by a sixth-grade classmate, is an event from my own experience. That actually happened to me and as a result of her demeaning remark, I didn't write another original story for nearly ten years -- not till I got to college. I thought them all the time, but kept any attempts at writing stories only in my head. Thankfully I had the guts to take a Creative Writing class in college and the professor not only enjoyed my writing, but encouraged me to play with language and plot and to continue writing after the class ended. Yay for teachers!

For the next three months Learning Curve will be available on the Kindle only. I'm giving their Select program a try-out, more out of curiosity than anything else. Seems counter-intuitive to me to have it only in one format and available in only one place. Will post here at the end of the 90 days and let you know how the lending option worked and whether or not this was a mistake. If you're not in the US, use the new Purchase Info tab at the top of the page for links to the "other Amazons".

There it is -- the new cover! Play safe, everyone --and enjoy those handcuffs!

Diana

File Management

2012-01-17T06:06:00.000-05:00

Practical advice in today's workshop! AND I got it posted on time :)

By this time in your writing career you undoubtedly havelots of pieces of started stories scattered about both in your hardcopy filedrawers and on various flash drives or computers. Now is the time to clean upthe mess!

Rule #1 – create a folder for your work inprogress and keep all files related to that story inside.

Managing the various drafts of your stories is vital. Ispeak from experience. Not too long ago, I uploaded the first draft forself-publishing by mistake because I’d mislabeled it. Thankfully I found theerror quickly and pulled the mss before anyone bought the wrong copy (I hope!).

In this digital age, keeping your files straight can be achallenge. If you’re like me, you don’t want to throw out previous draftsbecause, after a good night’s sleep, you might change your mind and want to putback a phrase (or an entire scene!) you cut out. I’m paranoid that way, myself.

My solution? For every story I’ve ever written I keep aseparate Word document called “(story title) extras.” So I have a “SecretSubmission extras” file, a “Cabin Fever extras” file and so on. That Word doc.holds every scrap of sentence I’ve cut from the larger work. There are timesI’ve cut entire scenes (sometimes the characters are going off track, sometimesthe plot is bogging down…lots of reasons for slashing scenes) and, by puttingthem into my “extras” file for that story, I can keep them if I need themlater.

But keeping them serves another purpose as well. Sometimeswhat doesn’t work for one set of characters works beautifully for another. Imight be three novels later and working on a scene and remember something Iwrote for an earlier novel but cut out. I go to the “extras” file and voila! Ihave a nearly-fully written scene I can just insert into the new story.

And sometimes those cut scenes become short stories of theirown. A scene I cut from Secret Submission, for example, became “SecretSigns”, a short story in Timeless Love.

So Rule #2 of file management? Don’t throw anything away!J

Rule #3 - “Keep your stories straight.”

This is harder than it sounds. Especially if you’ve sent adraft off to critique partners and they return them with the same name you sentit with. Training them to add their initials at the end of the file name (for example:Services Rendered MSedit) is best, but sometimes they forget. If that happens,download the file to an odd place (like your Desktop) and rename it before youdo anything further.

Adding the words “Master copy” to the file title also helpsme keep straight which version I’m working on and which one I’m referencing.

Rule #4 – Back up, back up, back up!

I have not one, but three computers that are “mine.” I havea Lenovo laptop with the wonderful red dot mouse for work (this is my favoriteuser-friendly keyboard!), I have a Gateway laptop that I bought when my workcomputer went on the fritz and I needed something to carry back and forth tothe cabin, and I have my desktop powerhouse computer with Internet hookup.

Yes, the two laptops have wi-fi connections but I keep themturned off when I’m working on them. I get distracted easily. Squirrel!

To ferry files between and among the computers I have adedicated flash drive. Several, actually, but only one is in use as a “ferry-er”at a time.

I keep only the CURRENT file of the work in progress on theflash drive. Deleting older files from it helps to keep down the clutter andmanage the mess.

Do you have any other suggestions or rules for filemanagement? Include them in the comments!

2012-01-14T21:24:00.000-05:00

I generally don't write about my personal life much. You all know I'm married (same man, 30 years and counting) and that I have two children. You know I spent a lot of my time writing my novels in the car waiting for them to finish with dance lessons, basketball and baseball practices, cross country runs and other Mommy-taxi duties all mothers perform.

What you also know is that children grow up. My daughter's twenty-one now and a December grad from college. Because she took several college courses in high school, she was able to graduate a semester early. As a theatre major, however, we've been a little worried about her ability to get a job in this economic downturn the US is in. We envisioned months of her home as she sent out resumes and went on interviews for jobs in tech theatre (Her dream job is stage managing. Specifically stage managing for Cirque du Soleil). After all, it's mid-season for most companies and most hiring is done in the spring and summer for next season.

But she's good at what she does. Very good. Her resume so impressed the people at a company in a large city just 50 miles from here that they thought of her when they needed a mid-season replacement for someone who was leaving. She interviewed earlier this week, they told her there were other interviews yet to be held and she'd know by next week.

And then they called this Thursday past and asked if she could start that night.

Thus the whirlwind was put in motion. In the past three days, she's started working a real job in a real theatre for real money. Part of her pay is a room, rent-free, in a house the company owns. It ain't pretty (furnished somewhere between early garage sale and theatre-set rejects) and I'm more than a little worried about the section of the city she's in, but my little girl is calling a show tonight as a professional production and stage manager. I'm so proud of her!

Of course, that means tonight her bedroom here at home is empty. We moved her today. My son is at work and my husband and I just keep wandering from one room to another. He finally settled in his recliner watching Family Guy and Seinfeld re-runs, I've been sitting at my computer watching NCIS episodes, avoiding the emptiness. She's not off at college -- she's begun her life. And while I'm thrilled and excited for her, I also miss her something awful.

Love to you all,
a maudlin Diana

Writing like we speak—or—Authenticity in dialogue—or—Say what?

2012-01-11T19:42:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking I should just post the writing workshops on Wednesdays rather than Tuesdays... I can't believe it's already the middle of the week and I missed it -- again!

Writing like wespeak—or—Authenticity in dialogue—or—Say what?

Before you writetips:

1) observe/listen to other's conversations. In the mall, atwork, with your great-aunt Mabel. Notethe word choices and sentence structure. Listen and learn.

2) Observe/ listen to your own conversation. Do you have"habit words"? Certain linguistic phrases that are a part of yourlexicon? Quotes from movies or books that creep in often?

3) become aware of geographical peculiarities. Whatwords/phrases are spoken wherever you're setting a story? What are thelinguistic "giveaways" that would clue a reader in to your story'slocation simply based on the dialogue?

While you writetips:

1) Give each character his/her own lexicon. What are wordshe/she uses that others don't? How can those words give us a clue to his/herpersonality?

2) Editors are moving away from the "he said","she replied" format of dialogue. Try to make the dialogueindependent of action descriptions.

3) Try not to edit as you go. Just write what the charactersare saying. You'll clean it up after you get the scene down.

After you writetips:

1) read your dialogue out loud (heck, read your entire storyout loud!). You'll hear where the words are awkward.

2) remember that we speak in fragments. Do your characters?

3) get some friends together and read the dialogue as if itwere a script. Skip the directions and just read the spoken words. Does itsound like a real conversation?

Activity

Use the tips above and edit a story you’ve already written. J

Alternately, use these steps in writing a new story!

New Year, new books!

2012-01-08T09:21:00.000-05:00

On the reading front:I'm going to keep better track of the books I read this year. Didn't last year and I think I didn't read as much as a result. For some reason, when I keep a list, I actually read more. Go figure!

Started the year with Gangway Lord, The Here Come the Brides Book by Jonathan Etter. Am only about 75 pages into it and am already pretty turned off. He sets himself up as a historian, but he's done so with attitude (I'M a historian and I ONLY record the truth, so you better listen to me because I know more than anyone else does!). No, he doesn't say that in so many words, but it sure comes across in his writing.

I gave him the benefit of the doubt though, and kept reading. Yesterday, though, I peeked ahead to see what else the book contained and discovered he has included chapters on each actor. Now, I'm an admitted Bobby Sherman fan and have been since the series first aired. But in a history book, I'd expect fair an equitable treatment of all the people involved -- no special treatment of Bobby just 'cause I had a crush on him.

That isn't the case, however. Special treatment abounds for a select few of the actors while the others get short shrift. In the section on the actors, Bobby Sherman (Jeremy Bolt) and David Soul (Joshua Bolt) get only 7 and 11-page chapters respectively. Joan Blondell (Lottie) and Henry Beckwith (Captain Clancey who has to share his chapter with the fans) get 9 pages each. Mark Lenard (Aaron Stemple) and Susan Tolsky (Biddie) each get a more respectable 13 pages apiece.

Etter's biases become blatant in his remaining two actor chapters. Bridget Hanley (Candy Pruitt) gets the star treatment at 29 pages and Robert Brown (Jason Bolt) gets a whopping 35 pages! Throughout the book, it's pretty obvious who the author likes and respects...and who he doesn't. I also find it suspect that the ONLY person still alive he does not interview at all -- is Bobby Sherman.

So yes, that probably shows MY bias somewhat, but if you're going to do a book that purports to be THE history book on the series, then you interview EVERYONE.

Okay, getting off my soapbox. For all I know, Mr. Sherman told him what he could do with his "history" book and refused to be a part of it. I will keep reading, but I will accept this book for what it is: one fan's drool over certain actors involved.

On the writing front: I'm approaching the climax in my newest (as yet untitled) novel. This one has been a lot of fun to write and actually is a mystery/erotic romance combination. With any luck, I'll keep you guessing about who done it 'till the very end!

One last note: Mystic Shades' title YOURS TO COMMAND is set to go off sale shortly. If you haven't yet gotten your copy of this erotic short story, you can still get it on the Kindle and the Nook for 99 cents. The price rises to $1.99 in another two days, so get it while it's still available at the introductory price!

Play safe, everyone!
Diana

Workshop -- The Power of Observation

2012-01-04T19:48:00.001-05:00

Once again, I'm late posting. No good reason this time. Halfway through the day today someone said something about it being Wednesday and my first thought was, "Oh, no! I missed NCIS!" My second thought was, "Drat! I forgot to post a new workshop." Yeah, I suppose that says something sad about priorities...(sigh).

Here you go...have fun with this one. It's one I do at least once a year just for the heck of it. :)

The Power ofObservation

Becoming a writer requires you to be student of humanity.You listen to the way people talk, you watch how they move and the gesturesthey make -- and then you capture that in words so others can see what you saw.

How well do you notice the world around you? What do you seethat others don't?

Activity:

Pick a place to do your observation and fill out the sheetbelow. Malls work great. So do fast-food restaurants.

There's a worksheet I use for this activity, but you're going to have to create it yourself since I can't attach a file to the blog. You can do this in your word processor, spreadsheet or on a sheet of lined paper --whatever works best for you.

Make a table three columns wide and ten spaces long. Leave LOTS of room to write. Take your worksheet with you or save it to your laptop and fill it in as you observepeople in your place of choice. In the first column (label it "Observation"), just write ageneral comment about what you see. Use the second column ("Impression") torecord an overall feeling about the event or scene. In the third column("Details"), list the specifics of what you’re watching.

Feel free to use your writing journal instead of a separate worksheet. Choose someplace very populated. Aim for five to tendifferent observations in one location.

Writing:

Take one of the observations you made and use it as the seedfor a new story. Who do you suppose those people were? What were theylike? How did the setting affect what they did or said? What kind oflexicon would be appropriate for them? Have fun and spin a detailed story usingyour brief encounter as the starting place.

Like these workshops? Feel free to leave a tip in the tip jar. Once all the workshops are posted (there are a lot of them), I'll gather them in a single file for sale. If you regularly leave a tip, however, you'll get a free copy!

New Starts

2012-01-01T15:37:00.000-05:00

Sometimes all you need is a new look at an old problem.

There are four of us in this too-big house. When my husband and I were house-hunting nearly 18 years ago, we wanted something large enough to spread out in, something where everyone could have his or her own space. We didn't want to go so large that we lost touch with each other, however. The Queen Anne Victorian we found was perfect, even if it was one town over from where we'd expected to spend out lives. Each child got a bedroom, my husband and I got one to share. The extra bedroom became our study and he lined it with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves (the kind with cupboards underneath to hide stuff in). Only one bath upstairs and a powder room down. Perfect!

There was, however, a left-over room. At one time it had been a child's bedroom (I knew that by the wallpaper I scraped off when redoing it), the previous owners used it as a sun room since it's only 9'x6' and has both a western and a southern window. For years it was "mama's room" and I used it to house all my craft supplies, even putting my loom in there (which made very little room for anything else, so that didn't last long).

So that's the set up -- what's the problem?

My daughter just graduated from college and my son decided the major he'd chosen wasn't right for him and they both moved back home. With all their stuff. My daughter had had her own apartment, so she brought home more than my attic can hold. And my husband has recently begun painting (if you haven't been to his site yet, go take a look...he's good!) and his canvasses are taking over the study. And my son's room. And our bedroom.

The upstairs has become a firetrap. Too much stuff in too small a space. And that's not including the ethernet cable running across the hallway to hook my daughter's computer up or the cables that run through their rooms for the Xboxes, the TV's, the....you get the picture.

Two days ago I spoke to each member of the family and said, "Okay, guys. We need to pretend we're just moving into this house. No room has been assigned to anyone yet. Remember, when we moved in before, computers were still in their infancy and one of you was just over three and the other was only 18 months old. What would you suggest if we were to have bought this house yesterday and are moving in this weekend?"

My son immediately said, "Give me the little room."

At first I thought he was kidding. The kid's 6 foot 2 and he wants the smallest bedroom? But he was serious. He doesn't need a lot of room, and as long as he can keep his dresser in the larger room across the hall, he's ready to make his own "man cave."

And so, today is a new start for all of us. We've spent the entire day moving. First we made room in the study and then moved all my stuff from the small room into it. Then, because he has a double bed and that won't fit, he switched beds with his sister. She's thrilled to get the larger bed out of the deal. He moved his desk in as well and started setting up his electronics while my husband then started moving his art stuff and desk and computer into the newly-emptied back bedroom.

So where does that leave me? With the study! I now have my very own space in the house to use as an office/craft room/library. Right now there's stuff all over the place and it's a total mess, but it's mine! My very own place to write where I get lots of light (three outside walls; south, west and east) and often can't hear what's going on in the rest of the house.

New look at an old problem -- and everybody won. This is going to be a good year!

Play safe, everyone :)

Diana

Writing Workshop -- So Who is your Muse, Anyway?

2011-12-27T14:32:00.000-05:00

So Who is your Muse, anyway?

Definitions:

Muse (capitalized) – Greek goddesses of inspiration;specifically in the arts

Muse (lower case) – n. to think or dream; to ponder orconsider

The ancient Greek looked outside themselves and so valuedthe mystery of inspiration that they deified it. Eventually we ended up withnot three, but nine classical muses covering all the artistic processes.

The Nine Muses

Starting out as three, by the Renaissance, nine Musespatronized the arts. They are:

Muse	What her name means	What she patronizes	Her symbol in art
Calliope	the 'beautiful of speech'	Chief of the Muses; Muse of epic or heroic poetry	carries a writing tablet
Clio	the 'glorious one'	Muse of history	carries a scroll and/or books
Erato	the ‘amorous one’	Muse of love or erotic poetry, lyrics, and marriage songs	has a lyre and/or a crown of roses
Euterpe	the ‘well-pleasing’	Muse of music and lyric poetry	carries a flute
Melpomene	the ‘chanting one’	Muse of tragedy	seen with a tragic mask
Polyhymnia or Polymnia	the '[singer] of many hymns'	Muse of sacred song, oratory, lyric, singing and rhetoric	often has a pensive or thoughtful expression
Terpsichore	the '[one who] delights in dance'	Muse of choral song and dance	pictured dancing or carrying a lyre
Thalia	the 'blossoming one'	Muse of comedy and bucolic poetry	seen with a comic mask
Urania	the 'celestial one'	Muse of astronomy	Carries a staff often pointed at a celestial globe

Those are bytradition. However, individual women are often referred to by artists as their“Muse” or their “inspiration.” Only in the past few decades have female artistsapplied this term to men.

Muse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muse.Accessed 3.26.08

Activities

Today we tend to look less to the heavens and more to theworld around us for that special “something” that will spark a story or scene.There are two activities below (do them in any order; they’re numbered to keepthem apart) for you to do today.

1) The Reflective Writer: set your timer for ten minutes andtry to write the full time: Who/What is your Muse? Where do you get yourinspiration?

2) Write a short piece (1500-3000 words) using one of thenine Muses as a jumping off point. Make her a character in the story or write astory about someone who is inspired by her.

*****

If you enjoy the workshopsand find them useful, please consider sending a donation my way. When the finalproduct is ready to go, those who have donated each time will get a free copyof the ebook as a gift from me. I won’t dun you twice for the content. :)

2011-12-26T07:52:00.001-05:00

Hope your holidays are going well! When my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas this year, I told him to start me on a new fantasy series or give me a film festival as he did several years ago (he'd rounded up every movie he could get his hands on that starred Kurt Russell. Two words...Snake Plissken.).

This year he got me over twenty books by L.E. Modesett, Jr., mostly from the Recluce series. I am VERY psyched to get reading. I've seen his (her?) books in the stores for years but haven't made the leap before. Apparently they're all set in a world but are episodic, not serial, so can be read in any order. Anyone have a suggestion as to which I should read first?

Last year I counted out the number of books I read and posted mini-reviews as I went. This year, to be honest, I didn't read as many books as I did last year. Spent far more time writing than reading. Okay, not entirely true. But most of the reading I did this year was online blogs (I've been watching the entire publishing empire implode) or news sites (yes, I am an admitted news junkie -- one look at my Bloglines account will prove it).

So I don't know exactly how many books I read this year, but I'm sure it's less than last year. More non-fiction reading this year in alternate forms from books. I'll do better next year, but you'd better be ready for a whole bunch of posts on L.E. Modesett, Jr.!

Play safe and enjoy the holidays!

Diana

New title from Mystic Shade

2011-12-25T09:20:00.005-05:00

Yours to Command is a short erotic story from Mystic Shade. Her works are not erotic romances, but straight erotica, so beware! She's offering this short story for 99 cents for the first two weeks as an introductory price, so if you know someone who just got a Kindle for Christmas and who likes erotica, this is a fun little title.

Yours to Command blurb:

Set in modern times, Yours to Command explores Dru's need to submit and Malachi's need to push herboundaries. Dru likes her sex on the rougher side of kinky and has come tovisit Master Malachi in the hope that he is just the Dom to help her find thatever-elusive sub-space.

Malachi, on the other hand, likes to find and then push hissub's boundaries. But how far is too far? With most subs walking that tightropestirs his passions, but with Dru, his passions threaten to ignite.

Yours to Command is a short story. It deals with themes ofextreme BDSM and is intended for mature readers only.

So far, the Kindle version is the only live link. Other formats will be announced as they go live.

Want to know more about Mystic and her other books? Here's a link to her blog, Shades of Desire.

Happy Holidays to all!

Diana

Virtual Choir 3

2011-12-22T20:25:00.003-05:00

Eric Whitacre rules!

For those of you who don't know, Eric Whitacre is an incredible composer and choral conductor. Two years ago he created his first virtual choir using video from a hundred and eighty-five people living in twelve different countries. It was a cool experiment in using technology to bring together people from around the globe in a beautiful, musical experience.

Last year he repeated the experience with a piece called "Sleep" - only this time, over two thousand people sent in videos. Whitacre and his team blended the voices and videos in a magnificent video that went viral. When I watched it, I vowed that, if he ever did another virtual choir, I was going to be a part of it.

Well, guess what? That's right. He's now announced the formation of his third virtual choir and yes, I'm already practicing the music. I'm an alto and have sung in choirs for years but this will be my first time singing all by myself in my study, making a recording of my performance and uploading it to join with thousands of others in creating something so much larger than myself. I am so psyched I can barely contain myself!

Use the links embedded above to listen to Eric's wonderful work. If you're a singer, consider joining this incredible undertaking. The piece he's chosen is difficult, with --are you ready for this? FOURTEEN-part harmony. How could you NOT be excited???

Off to sing it through again!

Diana

Writing with the holidays

2011-12-21T19:09:00.001-05:00

It doesn't matter what your personal religious beliefs are when it comes to this season of the year, messages of good cheer, good will and good friendships abound that encompass nearly every one of them.

I know this workshop is a day late (partly because last night I got sidetracked by a wonderful choir rehearsal for this year's Midnight Mass -- bet you didn't know I sing alto, did you?) but I'm keeping it brief with a holiday writing prompt this week.

Spend some time choosing a point of view other than one you personally hold and take a half an hour to write about these last days of December from that person's perspective. Dickens created a classic when he created Ebenezer Scrooge. Who will you create?

Play safe!
Diana

PS. For those of you who haven't heard, Eric Whitacre has announced the creation of the Virtual Choir 3. Get your parts and start those recordings! If you want to hear last year's amazing compliation, click here to hear Sleep.

Holiday Hiatus?

2011-12-18T18:27:00.002-05:00

Like many, I work two jobs.

One, my "day job", pays the big bills like heat and electricity and food. While many people would love to tell you I only work forty, forty-hour weeks a year, I can tell you I know very few teachers who keep those hours. Even after thirty-one years in the classroom, I'm still working many hours after school correcting homework and spending my "vacations" creating curriculum and honing my skills in managing a room full of teenagers.

My other "job" is writing. It's more than my creative outlet, it's my passion and my love. But writers are not born, we are made by long hours of practice and patience. While our willingness to play with words may be innate, our skill with a phrase, our understanding of story structure, our ability to create characters our readers fall in love with, all takes time and training.

What I'm getting at is that, even though I enjoy one of my jobs over the other, they both are work. And like all jobs that require work, that means occasional vacations are necessary.

So why do I feel so guilty when I spend an entire Sunday watching NCIS re-runs instead of writing or promoting my writing or preparing a manuscript for publication? I don't feel guilty when school's out on vacation, yet I feel incredibly unproductive and guilt-ridden when I step away from my writing career even for a single day.

I have a to-do list of all sorts of projects that are in-progress. Every day I try to make a little progress on at least one of the items. Today I did not. Not only did I not make progress, I didn't even attempt to make progress. And now I'm writing about my lack of progress in an attempt to justify why I made no attempt at doing anything other than watch TV. See what I mean by guilt-ridden?

(sigh)

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I promise to do better.
Play safe,
Diana

The Great "What If?"

2011-12-15T20:56:00.000-05:00

Oh, my glory, I totally forgot to post this Tuesday! See what an airhead the holidays make of me? I'm having so much fun shopping and decorating and writing that I completely forgot to blog! Here it is now...have fun with this!

The Great "Whatif...?"

This really is the question at the heart of allstorytelling. What if Hamlet's uncle killed Hamlet's father and what ifHamlet's heart was good, but his mind wasn't strong enough to carry outrevenge? Alternately, what if Hamlet had killed his uncle immediately afterseeing his father’s ghost the first time? And what if he had a girlfriend buthe was so in love with her he didn’t dump her?

You see where this is going?

Asking the great What if? question gets answers you don't alwaysexpect. There are several parts to this workshop, so follow through them alland see where you end up at the end. I'm pretty sure it's not where youthink you'll be!

Writing Journal Assignment

Answer four of the following in your journal. Throw somespaghetti!

What if the sun shone only three hours each 24-hr period?

What if newborn babies could talk at one-hour old?

What if the airplane had been invented before the Civil War?

What if we had jetpacks and could fly?

What if there were no more gasoline?

What if there were only three colors in the world—red, blueand yellow—and they couldn’t be mixed?

What if people were never allowed to leave their hometowns?

What if? questions can also be big questions:

What if the rivers ofNorth America flowed from East to West rather than primarily North to South?What would the expansion of the continent by European settlers look like ifthat were the case?

What would the world look like if China had colonizedAmerica before Europe? Would the world have a different political structure?

What would have happened had the European nations notremained neutral during the American Civil War and had sent troops and supportto one or both sides?

What if the Axis forces won D-day?

Currently we can fertilize eggs and create the spark ofhuman life in a test tube. What will happen when we can bring it to termoutside a woman’s womb? What will happen to human reproduction?

Writing:

You see…whole worlds of possibilities open up with those twosimple words and a punctuation mark: what if?

Use any of the examples above or create a what if? of yourown to write a story or create an outline for a story for later development.Let your imagination roam and throw that spaghetti!

If you’re willing, add some What If? questions in thecomments below. J

(Some of the ideas in this workshop were taken from Strategic Learning in the Classroom, Dr.Harvey F. Sliver and Richard W. Strong, SilverStrong & Associates, Inc. andfrom Writing Smarter! by KeithManos, The Center for Applied Research in Education (1999) )

Characterization II

2011-12-06T06:22:00.001-05:00

Morning! Back to our regularly-scheduled Tuesday writing workshops....:)

Using Adjectives in all the right places

"It was MissMurdstone who was arrived, and a gloomy-looking lady she was: dark, like herbrother, whom she greatly resembled in face and voice, and with very heavyeyebrows, nearly meeting over her large nose, as if, being disabled by thewrongs of her sex from wearing whiskers, she had carried them to that account.She brought with her two uncompromising hard black boxes, with her initials onthe lids in hard brass nails. When she paid the coachman she took her money outof a hard steel purse, and she kept the purse in a very jail of a bag whichhung upon her arm by a heavy chain, and shut up like a bite. I had never, atthat time, seen such a metallic lady altogether as Miss Murdstone was."

~ from DavidCopperfield by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens is a master of description.From just this one paragraph, we readers learn a lot about MissMurdstone, even though she hasn't spoken a word or even looked at theprotagonist.

Activities

1. Analysis (If you’re keeping a journal, that’s a goodplace to do this. Alternately, copy and paste Dickens’ paragraph into your wordprocessor and do your analysis digitally):

First, make two lists of the adjectives Dickens uses: onelist describing Miss Murdstone herself and the second describing herpossessions.

The protagonist calls her a “metallic” lady. Circle all theadjectives you’ve listed that refer to “metallic".

2) Choose a descriptive word that captures a personality (asDickens did with "metallic"). Create a list of adjectives you coulduse in writing about that personality. Then turn the personality into acharacter and write a short descriptive paragraph showing us that character.

Editing

(you knew we’d get tothis eventually)

Go back to a previously written work. Choose a random twopages and highlight all the adjectives you used. What kind of adjectives are they (sight,sound, smell, touch, taste)?

Where can you add to the character descriptions to give thereader a clearer idea of the character's personality?

Final note

As you play around with adjectives, it’s important not tofall into the Adjective Trap or you'll end up with sentences like:

The cute-looking, bowlegged, tall, brown-haired, blue-eyedcowboy jauntily jumped onot his roan bandy-legged, long-maned, dark-eyed horseand clip-clopped, jingle-jangled into the purple, pink and blue-hued glorious,gorgeous, beautiful sunset.

Play safe!

The nitty-gritty

Anew workshop will be posted every Tuesday. Eventually we’ll have the contentsof a book about writing. At that point, I’ll collect all the workshops in ebook(and maybe print) form for those who would like it all bundled into one nice,neat place and offer it for sale.

You’llsee a new button below. If you enjoy the workshops and find them useful, pleaseconsider sending a donation my way. When the final product is ready to go,those who have donated each time will get a free copy of the ebook as a giftfrom me. I won’t dun you twice for the content.

November is come and gone...

2011-12-05T16:40:00.001-05:00

...and another NaNoWriMo bites the dust.

I really tried this year. Fifty thousand words in one month. I could do it...and I didn't. I started out counting the words I wrote on the blog as well as the words I wrote on my current work in progress. Then grades were due and I didn't write much at all. Then Thanksgiving happened and I lived life large rather than writing about it.

It didn't help that, by the time the end of the month came around, I'd started a new short piece that had nothing to do with any other work I have in progress. Inspiration struck and I chased it down and ended up writing a 6K+ short story in two weekends flat.

So the month wasn't a loss even if I didn't reach my word count goal (I haven't actually totaled them up, but I think I'm somewhere around 25K instead of 50K). And I'm okay with that. I moved one story considerably further than it had been and I wrote a short story from start to finish that I will be self-publishing shortly - probably another week since I it currently is with my proofreaders/editors and I'm still finessing the cover.

Reminder that tomorrow the writing workshops start up again, so watch this space for some fun with adjectives. :)

Anyone who wants to post their word counts in the comments, go right ahead. Come on, show me up!

Play safe,
Diana

Cyber Monday Sale

2011-11-27T18:02:00.001-05:00

In honor of Cyber Monday, all my self-published ebook titles in all ebook formats are on sale for 15% off at Smashwords. Use the codes below to get your discount.

XM57B for Table for Four

QB88U for Timeless Love

RZ37V for Tales from the Ramayana

FK72F for Hardship and Hardtack by my alter-ego, CF Duprey

Place your orders soon -- these coupons are only good for Monday, November 28th and Tuesday, November 29th.

Play safe and enjoy!
Diana

Posted at the Scribes

2011-11-20T14:41:00.001-05:00

My turn to blog at the Sizzling Scribes. So the post you would normally see here? Is there!

Play safe,
Diana

Busy writing

2011-11-16T22:53:00.001-05:00

How goes your NaNoWriMo? I got sidetracked a little last week by my day job and a little this week by reading (!). I know, I know. How dare I let such things tear me away from my work in progress?

Alas and alack, it is far too easy to be swayed by things like deadlines, books that must be read, and NCIS (which, along with Big Bang Theory, are my two TV weaknesses. Superman had kryptonite, I have Mark Harmon, what can I say?). While I hit just under 10,000 words that first week, last week's total wasn't even a quarter of that. And this week's not turning out so hot either.

But the week ain't done yet and I'm not throwing in the towel. C'mon -- say it with me, "I can do this, I can do this, I CAN do this!"

NaNoWriMo -- you no scare me! I'll beat you yet!!!

Play safe,
Diana :)

The best laid plans of mice and men...

2011-11-11T16:03:00.001-05:00

Yep, they’re awry all right. Because of my day job, I’ve hadprecious little time to write this week. But today is a day off and I plannedto get a lot of writing done.

Yeah, right. This morning I finished off the scene I’dstarted and then… they all stopped talking. I’ve two sets of romantic lovers inthis one and neither set wants to move the action forward. I’ve got a greatvillain and several minor characters who are all standing in the wings withtheir arms folded across their chests and pointing at everyone else in thegroup.

Grrr.

Last week I wrote just over 9000 words. This week I’m barelyover 3000. Never going to hit my mark at this rate!

My header mentions stubborn characters. I can be just asstubborn back. I’m going shopping all day tomorrow with my daughter and won’tbe back to the mss till Sunday. That’ll show ‘em!

Wait…

Play safe!

Diana

To Be or Not to Be a Writing Workshop

2011-11-08T17:25:00.001-05:00

I know I said I'd postpone these until after NaNoWriMo, but a fellow writer pointed out a problem many newbies have when drafting their first story and I thought perhaps I should address it now rather than wait till the end of the month when the novel is completed and the mistakes run through the entire manuscript. What problem, you ask?

The problem with the verb "to be."

This is the laziest verb in the English language. It's like the word "thing." We use it to substitute for all sorts of ideas, concepts, and actions and, while it works just fine in dialogue, it has no place in descriptive writing.

Conjugate the verb: "I am, you are, he/she/it is, we are, they are" and in past tense, "I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, they were" and you begin to see the problem. I have to admit, the past tenses, "was" and "were" are among my favorite words -- and did you notice the "are" that slipped into that sentence? Heck, the word "is" slipped into the first paragraph of this post.

Eprime is a style of language that completely erases all forms of the verb "to be." Journalists know it well and learn to be masters at creating sentences that move rather than just sit there. Writers need to take a lesson from them and abolish all forms of "to be" as much as possible.

Taylor Mali once stated that "English has no equals sign" -- this verb serves as the linguistic equivalent. And yet, in telling a story, we use metaphors and similes to show comparison so we don't need "to be." Sorry, Shakespeare, but for the purposes of modern storytelling? You're out!

TIP for use AFTER NaNoWriMo:

If you use Microsoft Word 2003, a simple use of the "Find" command will help you locate (so you can eliminate) this habit word.

1. Open your manuscript.
2. In the lower right corner, there's a little dot between the arrows. Click it and a menu of icons pops up. Choose the binoculars. Alternately, choose "Edit" from the menu bar, then "Find".
3. Where it says, "Find what," write in the word you want to find (I usually type was in that space).
4. There's a box beside "Highlight all items found in" -- put a check mark in it.
5. Click on "Find next"
6. You'll see two things happen.
6A. First, you'll get a number for the total times you used that word (my worst was 1763 uses of the word "was" in a 235 page document. ). Record that somewhere so you can gloat later when you get rid of most of them.
6B. Close the dialogue box by using the "close" button. DO NOT click on your mss or you'll be starting all over!

You'll see the instances of the word are highlighted in your document in black. If you click on any part of your document, they all go away. To keep them, proceed with step 7.

7. On your toolbar, click on the highlight button. It has a small down arrow beside it and you can click that to change your color if you don't like the default.
8. SAVE.
9. Now you have all the instances of that nasty habit word highlighted and you can go through and rewrite your sentences.

2011-11-05T22:32:00.001-04:00

I'm sitting in Medley's Cafe in Prattsburgh, NY listening to Lisa Bigwood singing her songs to an audience of 35-40 people, which is about how many the restaurant will hold. The art on the walls are original pieces by a local artist who has already sold several of the framed acrylic-on-canvas pieces.

What strikes me most about all this is that art, in many forms of expression, is alive and well in small-town America. For every huge rock group selling out stadiums to screaming fans, there are dozens of garage bands playing gigs at local bars and taverns. For every record contract handed out by big-name producers, there are hundreds of musicians making CDs and performing live at festivals and cafes. For every superstar author on the bestseller lists, there are thousands of writers meeting readers and signing books at local, independent bookstores.

The future of our artists lies in these small venues. It's in places like this where we can get up close and personal and where we can look into the singer's eyes as she sings, where we can hold a conversation with the artist or the author, where we can purchase their CDs or artwork or books and know the money goes directly to the artist. It is here where stardom takes a backseat to artistry and where talent can be given the freedom to share their artistic visions. It is here where the magic between artist and audience happens on a daily basis.

Do I have a point to all this tonight? Not really. More musings and observations than points to be made. I do think the artistic community would be better served there were more smaller venues and fewer arena-type Superdomes. For one thing, audiences would have a wider variety of artists to experience rather than just a few who start to sound/look the same after a while. And if there were more venues, artists would benefit by having more places to play/show their work/sell their books. A win for audiences and artists alike!

Okay, done musing for the night. Wrote 2287 words total today (1904 on my novel. Would've written more, but went to Medley's for inspiration instead!). Remember to turn your clocks back if you're in the States.

Play safe -- and support your local artists!

Diana

How are you doing?

2011-11-04T17:21:00.000-04:00

I've been writing at odd times over the past four days and now have 5196 words written towards my goal of 50,000 by the end of the month. I know the spirit of NaNoWriMo is that you write all those words on ONE novel but I started the month with nearly 30K of a novel already done. Getting that first draft done by the end of the month would be VERY good for me. I could then edit in December and have it ready for my proofreaders by the first of the year. Yes, this is one I'm planning to self-publish. I'm having a lot of fun with it -- hope you will, too!

So my "extra" words are going to this blog and to the writing workshops I'm lining up. There are a LOT of workshops -- 37 at last count. What can I say? I've been presenting these for a very long time! I'll resume posting them at the end of the month with some geared specifically towards editing. Getting several prepared ahead of time gives me a nice "distraction" when I need to walk away from the work-in-progress and assures us all that there will be workshops available over the busy holiday season. ;)

Keep writing, my fellow NaNoWriMo writers!
Play safe,
Diana

PS. the 252 words of this post bring my total to 5448 after four days of November. I should be at 6664. A little over 1200 short. Will have to make it up in novel-writing tomorrow!

11-1-11

2011-11-01T20:13:00.000-04:00

Sorry, just love the date today. Had a class end at 11:11 today and the kids wanted to wait till 11 seconds after the time to leave just to say they had. What can I say? We're easily amused.

My husband wanted to take me out to dinner (who am I to say no?) and as we're sitting in the restaurant he starts rattling off all the other errands he needs to do and places he needs to stop. I just rolled my eyes and told him if he wanted to do all that he should've told me and I'd have brought my laptop. This IS NaNoWriMo, you know!

First place we stopped was Staples and I went in and bought a pad of paper for the car and a pen (my car has both, his car has neither). Figured I'd stay in the car while he went into the various places he needed to go and get some writing done. Ended up writing a post for the blog...and here it is: :)

November 1, 2011
11-1-11 :)

So "quad ruled" means graph paper. Who knew?

NaNoWriMo starts today and so far I haven't written a single word on my story. I blogged and I re-wrote an old lesson plan in workshop form for the writing workshops that pick up again in December. Now I'm writing this (how many words per square inch? Can one determine that with a graph-paper steno pad? And since when is a steno pad graph paper? Doesn't it usually have regular lines with a red line down the center? And while we're on the subject, why "steno pads" at all anymore? No one takes dictation using those undecipherable squiggly lines in today's offices. There are no stenographers. It's a dead profession.

So why call these pads "steno pads" if there are no stenographers? Why not just call it a 6x9 pad? I'm betting my kids don't understand the reference and they're in college. It's just a left over term from a time and a job that no longer exist).

Okay, after that somewhat long digression, returning to NaNoWriMo. Fifty-thousand words is the goal. I need approximately 37,000 to finish the novel I've already started. If I write the additional 13K here and in preparing the writing workshops, can I add the two totals together to make my 50 thousand? Why not? It's my writing and I think I should get to make the rules.

So, 50 K. By November 309th. 37K on my story, 13 K on or for the blog.

I can do that. Piece of cake, right?

Now to figure out how many words fit in a square inch...

Diana
PS. I bought two new pens at the same time I bought this 6-pack of Quad-ruled Steno Pads (hey, my husband is shopping and I'm stuck tagging along. I have to have something to write with!). I'm usually a strict black-ink kinda gal but the pens at the counter caught me in a whimsical mood. I writing with a very comfortable Bic 537RT clicky pen -- in purple. And because they had a special and I could get them cheaper if I bought two, I got a second one in teal. I'm such a sucker!

But the purple pen against the blue lines of my quad-ruled pad does look quite stunning...wish you could see it!
D.

PPS. 1180 words for the day on the blog. Only 11,820 to go!

NaNoWriMo Day One

2011-11-01T16:39:00.000-04:00

Yes, this is usually a workshop day but I'm taking a hiatus during the month of November to finish a novel. I'm already at 29,000+ words and my thought is to join the rest of the writing world in a writing frenzy for the next thirty days. If I hit the 50K mark, this'll be one done puppy!

No, not giving hints as to what its about, but I will give encouragement to all of you who are writing this month. Take some time and post in the comments whether you're participating or not and what your goal is. Mine? To finish this novel at around 65,000 words. That's "only" 36,000 words to go...

Need some convincing or a push to get started? Here's a link to the Official NaNoWriMo site. And check here for writing prompts to get you on your way.

Forget playing safe for the month...forget playing! Now's the time to write about it :)

Diana

The writing journal

2011-10-25T17:17:00.001-04:00

With NaNoWriMo starting next Tuesday, today's topic is timely. I'm planning to participate (unofficially) this year and I hope you will consider joining me. If you do, most of your time will be spent getting words on paper, but I think you'll find the journal described below to be a useful place to store ideas that pop into your head that have nothing to do with your NaNoWriMo manuscript. Record them in your journal for December :).

Because so many writers, both beginning and experienced, will be taking November as their "get it all down on paper and edit later" month, the writing workshops will be suspended for the next five weeks as we all write our fingers into cramps. I will, however, post thoughts throughout the month designed to keep your (and my!) spirits from flagging. I will use Twitter to post my daily word counts using the hashtags #NaNoWriMo and#dhunterwdct. I encourage you to do the same and if you use those tags we call all see how we're doing.

All right, with no more ado: this week's writing workshop!

The Writing Journal

Recentlybehavioral scientists have examined the thought processes that are engaged whenwe sit down to write. They have concluded what many of us have instinctivelyknown: we think differently with a pen or pencil in our hand than we do whenusing a keyboard.

Wealso edit differently when using paper rather than a computer screen. Our eyessee the printed word in a different light (literally) and this can be useful inthe editing process.

Whilewe write more words when using a computer, writing in longhand on old-fashionedpaper slows us down—makes us think more carefully about the words we use.

Thattactile trigger can be a useful way to get your mindset ready for writing andis a useful tool to keep in mind...especially when you're stuck. The key is tonot get locked into using just one method or technique. This workshop is aboutadding to your toolbox of writing skills through the many uses of a writingjournal.

Thereare many reasons for keeping a writing journal. Among them are:

· A placeto record character sketches.

· A placeto write down snippets of conversations overheard that might lead to something.

· A placeto explore an idea you have; to chase it down before it’s gone.

· Allow aplace for “stream of consciousness” writing; the unedited throwing up on paperof what’s in your head.

· Toincrease your powers of observation.

· To helpyou develop your own writing style.

· To “getthe juices flowing.”

· To getthose haunting phrases out of your system.

· Toprovide raw material for future writing.

· Toprovide an alternative to napkins, backs of bank statements, etc.

Writingin your journal allows the ideas to “settle”. What you write and think isbrilliant one day may, after time, prove to be little more than an ill-wordedrant. That’s okay. It’s in your writing journal and no one’s going to see itbut you.

Usinga journal has the advantage of collecting all your writing ideas in one place.No more scraps of paper or half-torn napkins. Of course, the drawback is thatyou have to have it with you in order for it to be of use.

Activities: the reflective writer

Being reflective isanother use of the writing journal. If you already have a journal, consideranswering these questions there. If you do not, any scrap of paper will do.

1. Set thetimer for ten minutes and try to write for the full time as you answer: Does itsound like a writing journal would be a useful tool for you?

Use the questions below if you get stuck.

How would you use it?(Or how do you use it if you already have one)

Where would you keepit?

Will you allow anyoneto read it?

2. Get thyself awriting journal.

That’seasier said than done, I know. Is this a case where style dictates style?Should your journal be a hardcover blank book with lined pages inside? Orunlined so you can write whatever way your mood strikes? Should it beleather-bound with fancy tooling or plain so nothing distracts you? Would aspiral bound notebook be better because you can easily rip out pages andorganize them in folders later on? What about a composition notebook, orsomething small enough to fit in your coat pocket or purse? Or heck! Will yourjournal be digital and kept on the computer or your mobile?

Toldyou it was easier said than done.

Here’syour activity for this part: Set the timer for ten minutes and write for thefull time: For YOU, does style dictate style? Does your writing style changedepending on what you’re writing in (or on)?

*****

I hope you're enjoying the writing workshops each week. If you find them helpful, please use the following button to donate to the cause. Play safe!

BDSM and abuse

2011-10-24T20:29:00.001-04:00

I’ve been trying to write this post for almost three weeks.Every time I start, I stumble, trying to find the right words to express myconcerns and frustrations regarding the comparison of the subject matter in mybooks to real life.

I write erotic romance that contain elements of the BDSMkink. I primarily tell my stories from the female point of view although,through research and interviews over the years with many in the lifestyle, Ithink I’ve gotten a pretty good handle on the male side of the story as well.All of my stories have male Doms and female subs although a few books also haveappearances by Dommes and their male submissives.

I’ve written inthe past (scroll down the page to read it) about the line between a BDSMD/s relationship and an abusive one, but I think it bears repeating (I know Iwrote another post, but I can’t find the link at the moment). I’ve recentlybeen reminded that not all men (or women) who claim to be Doms really are; somepeople are emotional or physical abusers. Likewise, not all who claim to besubmissive really are; some people are just broken.

Submissiveness MUST come from a place of strength. The woman(or man) MUST understand her own sense of self-worth BEFORE entering into anysort of power exchange. To do so without that rock to anchor to, is to setoneself adrift and open oneself to abuse.

Likewise, a Dom(me) must also have a realistic sense ofself-worth and not one that’s overly-inflated. A power-exchange scene is headyenough without an uncontrolled ego getting in the way.

I’m including this link concerning abusive relationshipsspecifically for the Basic Rights in a Relationship section partway down thepage. It’s absolutely wonderful and applies to ALL relationships, vanilla orBDSM included. It is a must-read for all couples of any persuasion.

If you think you are in an abusive relationship, GET OUTNOW. Don’t wait. Leave and go to a friend’s house, a relative’s or the nearestshelter. You don’t have to wait for permission from anyone, you don’t have towait for anything. Just GO.

I know that sounds like a drastic step, but distance helpsthe abused gain perspective. Right now it seems like the world is small andthere is no one to help you. But remember, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. There are lots ofpeople who are willing to help you. You, however, have to take the first step.It’s the hardest step to take, but once you reach out, there are lots of peoplewho’s arms are ready to catch you.

And if you know someone in an abusive situation, be therefor him or her. You cannot force them to recognize the abuse but you can givethem hugs and hold them when they need it.

Serious post tonight – but it needed to be said. Tomorrowlook for the next writing workshop and above all...

Play safe!

Diana

Characterization

2011-10-18T16:12:00.000-04:00

Ready to try something new? Get out your pen and paper and read on...

Put your timer on ten minutes and jot downyour answer to the following questions. Try to write for the full time.

Who is yourfavorite character in any movie, play or work of literature? Why? How has thefilmmaker/playwright/author made you care?

Exposition

(background information you need for therest of this to make sense)

Readers find outabout character in five ways:

The author tells us directly what weneed to know or think
Listening to what the character saysor doesn’t say.
Watching what the character does ordoesn’t do.
Listening to what the othercharacters say about him/her.
Watching how the other characterstreat him/her.

Activity

1. Choose any workin progress you already have (if you don’t have one, go to this workshop forprompts).

2. Determine yourprotagonist (the main character).

3. The challenge:Write a scene where the reader learns about the protagonist, but he/she neverappears. Use the last two methods for finding out about a character only. Thiscould be a scene that’s used to introduce the reader to the main character or ascene where we learn more information about him or her.

Want an example?Read the dialogue below to see how Charles Dickens did it in this abridgedexcerpt from A Christmas Carol. Scrooge and the Ghost of ChristmasFuture are eavesdropping on a rather unsavory group of people:

Scrooge and the Phantom came intothe presence of this man, just as a woman with a heavy bundle slunk into theshop. But she had scarcely entered, when another woman, similarly laden, camein too, and she was closely followed by a man in faded black, who was no lessstartled by the sight of them than they had been upon the recognition of eachother. After a short period of blank astonishment, in which the old man with thepipe had joined them, they all three burst into a laugh.

"You couldn't have met in abetter place," said old Joe, removing his pipe from his mouth. "Comeinto the parlour. You were made free of it long ago, you know; and the othertwo an't strangers. Stop till I shut the door of the shop. Ah! How it skreeks!There an't such a rusty bit of metal in the place as its own hinges, I believe;and I'm sure there's no such old bones here as mine. Ha! ha! We're all suitableto our calling, we're well matched. Come into the parlour. Come into theparlour."

The parlour was the space behindthe screen of rags. The old man raked the fire together with an old stair-rod,and, having trimmed his smoky lamp (for it was night) with the stem of hispipe, put it into his mouth again.

While he did this, the woman whohad already spoken threw her bundle on the floor, and sat down in a flauntingmanner on a stool; crossing her elbows on her knees, and looking with a bolddefiance at the other two.

"What odds, then? What odds,Mrs. Dilber?" said the woman. "Every person has a right to take careof themselves. He always did!"

"That's true, indeed!"said the laundress. "No man more so."

"Why, then, don't standstaring as if you was afraid, woman! Who's the wiser? We're not going to pickholes in each other's coats, I suppose?"

"No, indeed!" said Mrs.Dilber and the man together. "We should hope not."

"Very well, then!" criedthe woman. "That's enough. Who's the worse for the loss of a few thingslike these? Not a dead man, I suppose?"

"No, indeed," said Mrs.Dilber, laughing.

"If he wanted to keep 'emafter he was dead, a wicked old screw," pursued the woman, "whywasn't he natural in his lifetime? If he had been, he'd have had somebody tolook after him when he was struck with Death, instead of lying gasping out hislast there, alone by himself."

"It's the truest word thatever was spoke," said Mrs. Dilber, "It's a judgment on him."

"I wish it was a littleheavier judgment," replied the woman; "and it should have been, youmay depend upon it, if I could have laid my hands on anything else. Open thatbundle, old Joe, and let me know the value of it. Speak out plain. I'm notafraid to be the first, nor afraid for them to see it. We knew pretty well thatwe were helping ourselves before we met here, I believe. It's no sin. Open thebundle, Joe."

But the gallantry of her friendswould not allow of this; and the man in faded black, mounting the breach first,produced _his_ plunder. It was not extensive. A seal or two, a pencil-case, apair of sleeve-buttons, and a brooch of no great value, were all. They wereseverally examined and appraised by old Joe, who chalked the sums he wasdisposed to give for each upon the wall, and added them up into a total when hefound that there was nothing more to come.

"That's your account,"said Joe, "and I wouldn't give another sixpence, if I was to be boiled fornot doing it. Who's next?"

Mrs. Dilber was next. Sheets andtowels, a little wearing apparel, two old-fashioned silver tea-spoons, a pairof sugar-tongs, and a few boots. Her account was stated on the wall in the samemanner.

"I always give too much toladies. It's a weakness of mine, and that's the way I ruin myself," saidold Joe. "That's your account. If you asked me for another penny, and madeit an open question, I'd repent of being so liberal, and knock offhalf-a-crown."

"And now undo my bundle, Joe," said the firstwoman.

Joe went down on his knees for thegreater convenience of opening it, and, having unfastened a great many knots,dragged out a large heavy roll of some dark stuff.

"What do you call this?"said Joe. "Bed-curtains?"

"Ah!" returned the woman,laughing and leaning forward on her crossed arms. "Bed-curtains!"

"You don't mean to say youtook 'em down, rings and all, with him lying there?" said Joe.

"Yes, I do," replied thewoman. "Why not?"

"You were born to make yourfortune," said Joe, "and you'll certainly do it."

"I certainly shan't hold myhand, when I can get anything in it by reaching it out, for the sake of such aman as He was, I promise you, Joe," returned the woman coolly. "Don'tdrop that oil upon the blankets, now."

"His blankets?" askedJoe.

"Whose else's do youthink?" replied the woman. "He isn't likely to take cold without 'em,I dare say."

"I hope he didn't die ofanything catching? Eh?" said old Joe, stopping in his work, and lookingup.

"Don't you be afraid ofthat," returned the woman. "I ain’t so fond of his company that I'dloiter about him for such things, if he did. Ah! You may look through thatshirt till your eyes ache; but you won't find a hole in it, nor a threadbareplace. It's the best he had, and a fine one too. They'd have wasted it, if ithadn't been for me."

"What do you call wasting ofit?" asked old Joe.

"Putting it on him to beburied in, to be sure," replied the woman with a laugh. "Somebody wasfool enough to do it, but I took it off again. If calico ain’t good enough forsuch a purpose, it isn't good enough for anything. It's quite as becoming tothe body. He can't look uglier than he did in that one."

Scrooge listened to this dialoguein horror. As they sat grouped about their spoil, in the scanty light affordedby the old man's lamp, he viewed them with a detestation and disgust whichcould hardly have been greater, though they had been obscene demons, marketingthe corpse itself.

Seehow Dickens used the other characters to give us information about EbenezerScrooge? They never mentioned him by name, yet we know from the context whothey disparaged. All done without Scrooge saying a word.

Okay,go back up to #3 above and write your own scene. Show us a character throughother people’s words and actions. To check for validity, ask yourself thequestion:: how would an actor portray the character you’ve created? What clueshave you given him/her to use?

Usethe comments sections to post questions or to brag about your success!

Myqualifications

The contents of these workshops areactually my accumulation of several years’ experience teaching creative writingin real-life classroom settings. Each workshop has been tried and testedseveral times. Additional workshops came from my work in Second Life where Igave many of these workshops in the virtual world (as Diana Allandale). Thisis, however, the first time all the various workshops I’veoffered in both worlds are gathered and published in one place.

Thenitty-gritty

A new workshop will be posted everyTuesday. Eventually we’ll have the contents of a book about writing. At thatpoint, I’ll collect all the workshops in ebook (and maybe print) form for thosewho would like it all bundled into one nice, neat place and offer it for sale.

You’ll see a new button below. Ifyou enjoy the workshops and find them useful, please consider sending adonation my way. When the final product is ready to go, those who have donatedeach time will get a free copy of the ebook as a gift from me. I won’t dun youtwice for the content.

Dancing

2011-10-15T05:29:00.002-04:00

Last night, my husband took me dancing. At a supermarket.

Yes, a real supermarket with produce and a meat department and canned goods on the shelves. Wegman's supermarket, to be specific, up by Baytown plaza in Webster, New York.

And no, I don't mean just dancing through the aisles -- I mean real dancing. Swing dancing, the waltz, the mambo...in a supermarket.

You see, my mom and dad have been asking us to come up every Friday night for the past several months, but something always gets in the way. And really, who wants to go to a supermarket to dance? Well, after last night? I do!

To understand why, you need to know a little about Wegman's. It's been voted one the Best Companies to Work For by Fortune magazine for the past several years, coming in at #3 for the past two years (it's been in the top five for eight years running). Yes, it's a supermarket, but it's also an experience. Just ask Alex Baldwin and his mom. I won't go on extolling the virtues of the store because, if you live near one, you already know and if you don't live near one...here's hoping you will someday!

Anyway, at the Wegman's up at Baytown, they have a large area for their Market Cafe. They sell all sorts of already-prepared foods (Asian, pizza, chicken wings, soups,subs, salads, even sushi!) and you can either make your purchase and take it home, or you can eat in their dining area. The first time I went to a supermarket for dinner I will admit, I felt a little odd. But the food is freshly made (often right in front of you) and is actually better than some "regular" restaurants I've been to.

Several months ago, this particular Wegman's started offering live music by Johnny Matt and his combo (he has a full swing band, but only brings a small group to perform on these Friday nights). The Powers That Be at Wegman's rearranged the tables and made a dance floor -- and people have been coming ever since. The band (which is terrific, by the way), plays swing and pop music from the 40's and 50's -- a lot of Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and songs originally sung by Dean Martin, Sinatra, Como and others (if you've read "One Last Dance" in my Timeless Love anthology, you'll realize Glenn Miller and I go way back. And if you haven't read it, what are you waiting for? ).

Not only did my husband and I have a great time last night, so did about 50 other couples. The two of us did bring down the median age on the floor, but my glory, can some of those older folks dance! Most of them put us to shame. So many with hunched backs and more than one of them with a walker, got out on that floor and looked great. And of course, the solo woman in her fishnet stockings, all dressed up and by herself who wasn't going to let the lack of a dance partner stop her. She wove in and out of the couples all by herself, enjoying the music and light on her feet --and nearly 80 years old. She was terrific!

Robert Fulghum wrote a wonderful book called "All You Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten" and followed that up with "It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It." To understand this woman, you should read his piece on "Geek Dancing". She fit it to a "T" -- even to the strappy shoes she wore.

So yes, last night my husband took me dancing at the supermarket -- and I'm going to make him take me again. Soon!

Here's to dancing -- play safe :)
Diana

Good Deed Day!

2011-10-12T15:56:00.002-04:00

Did you know todayis Good Deed Wednesday? Neither did I.

This morning Istopped at McDonald’s on my way to my day job as I often do (large hotchocolate, low fat). I got to the window to pay and she told me it was GoodDeed Wednesday according to the person in the car in front of me who was just pullingaway from the next window up. He’d paid not only for my hot chocolate, but forthe order in the car behind me as well.

What a wonderfulway to start the day! Now to pay it forward, I hereby declare tomorrow as GoodDeed Thursday. Go out and do something nice for someone tomorrow.

Play safe!

Diana :)

Getting Started II

2011-10-11T06:03:00.000-04:00

Some days ideas are far and few between. You want to write, but you sitdown and…nothing.

The five writing prompts below are designed to 1) get you motivated or 2)just to give you some practice. Remember, we’re throwing spaghetti here. Gowith one of these ideas and we’ll see if it sticks.

Activity

You can either read through the whole list and then choose one, or takeeach one in turn and write for ten minutes. The goal here is to write for atleast a half an hour.

Writing prompts

1) It is your turn topick up the bill for the Friday afternoon Happy Hour with your friends. They’veall left. You reach for your wallet…and you’ve only four dollars inside. Youhand the bartender your credit card…which is denied. Now what?

2) You’re at a localfair and everyone’s having a good time. Then your significant other slobbersmustard down the front of his (or her) best shirt. While the others rib him (orher), you fume. You told him (or her) not to wear that shirt today. Write thescene you have when you two get home.

3) Scents often arepowerful memory inducers. What kind of person would find their memory triggeredby the following scents: lilacs in full bloom, coffee brewing on the stove,fresh-turned earth after a spring rain, a skunk that’s just been frightened?Brainstorm, then write a scene where that scent triggers the memory.

4) The local churchis having a bake sale. An older member of the congregation calls and asks ifyou’d bake something to sell. You’re not home…one of your family members takesthe call and cheerily volunteers your services. But you’re a lousy baker. Whathappens?

5) Your siblingsexcel at sports, winning medals and ribbons and setting various records. Youcan barely walk without tripping over your own feet. Write a scene where yourmother or father consoles you after the latest success on the part of yoursiblings.

Don’t lose what you’ve written. Ifyou’re working digitally, BACK UP (You’ll discover this is one of my mantras.Experience has taught me well.) Next week we’ll be doing some character workand you’ll need a story you’ve already begun (either something sparked bytoday’s writing or another piece from your files), so bring it along.

PS. “Backup” does NOT mean making asecond copy on the same drive. It means making a second copy on a flash driveor emailing it to yourself. Or even printing it out to have a hard copy.Whatever you do, have a second copy in case something happens to the first.We’ll talk further file management options in a future workshop.

My qualifications

Thecontents of these workshops are actually my accumulation of several years’experience teaching creative writing in real-life classroom settings. Eachworkshop has been tried and tested several times. Additional workshops camefrom my work in Second Life where I gave many of these workshops in the virtualworld (as Diana Allandale). This is, however, the first time I’ve gathered allthe various workshops I’ve offered in both worlds and published them in oneplace.

The nitty-gritty

Writing workshop #1

2011-10-04T05:22:00.005-04:00

Getting Started

Soyou’ve got a great story. You know the characters, the details of their lives,maybe even the minutiae of what happens to them. You’ve talked about it lots oftimes over the years, telling it to critique groups, friends, neighbors, anyonewho would listen as you refined the plot points and developed the hero.

Butyou haven’t written it down. It still exists only in your head. And thereinlies the problem.

Writingis an art, and just like all the other arts, you create first and sell later.No one’s going to buy that blank canvas just because you say you’re going topaint a beautiful sunset on it. They’ll buy the painting of the sunset onceyou’re done. No one’s going to buy the music in your head that they can’t hear.But make a sound recording or write it on staff paper and it becomes somethingreal. And saleable.

Samewith that story you’ve refined in your head till your significant others don’twant to hear it anymore. The time has come to stop telling your story and startwriting it down. It’s time to create.

NOTE:The terms “work” and “play” are nearly synonymous in an author’s life. We“work” at crafting a good story, yet we “play” with language in order to findjust the right word. Throughout these workshops you’ll hear the two conceptsused interchangeably. Remember, if you’re not having fun writing it, youraudience won’t have fun reading it!

Where do you begin?

“Begin at the beginning,”the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”

~ Lewis Carroll, Alicein Wonderland

Firstmetaphor:

Thesefirst few workshops are designed to get you thinking. To get the words out ofyour head and onto the page.

Someof what you throw up out of your head and onto the page will be wonderful, likea great spaghetti dinner. Other stuff will be puke.

Thisis a fact of creation. Accept it and move on.

Secondmetaphor:

WhenI was a kid, I came into the kitchen shortly before dinner one night to see mymother fling a piece of spaghetti at the wall. It stuck for several momentsbefore beginning a slow descent. She watched it, beaming a satisfied smile asshe turned off the heat under the pot of pasta.

Confused,I just had to ask. “What are you doing?”

“Checkingto see if the pasta’s done. I read about it in a magazine. If it sticks, it’sdone. If it doesn’t, it needs more boiling.”

Forthe next several months, I had the unwelcome task of wiping the wall down aftermy mother made spaghetti.

Inthese workshops I will encourage you to throw up an idea onto the paper, toplay with it a while and see if it “sticks”. If it’s good, you’ll know. Like alarge family dinner, the characters will talk, the action will move and thestory will get written.

Ifit’s not good—well, you’ll know that, too.

Taking Inventory

Whetheryou’re a published author or just starting out, stopping to take inventoryevery once in a while is a great way to gain perspective and spark new ideas.

Activity:

StepOne: Gather together allthe stories and scraps of stories you have already written down. Whether on thebacks of napkins, in piles of spiral notebooks or computer documents scatteredhither and yon, find them all. If you only have a few on the computer, printthem out.

Forthose of you with lots of your stories on the computer, gather them together intoone file. And make a back up.

StepTwo: If your scraps are onpaper, get out a ruler and measure the height of the pile. Those of you withdigital files, look at the list in that folder. Talk about an affirmation thatyou’re a writer! Did you realize you had so many pieces?

StepThree: Choose three of thepieces and read them without editing. This is spaghetti you threw against thewall at some time in the past. What do you think of this now? Any new ideassparked?

StepFour: If the ideas arestarting, stop here and go write. Throw more words down on the page and seewhat happens.

StepFourA: Nothing’s happening?Pick another three and read through. If you get through the entire pile andnothing sparks, it might be time to start something fresh. And that’s nextweek’s workshop J .

Myqualifications

The contents of these workshops areactually my accumulation of several years’ experience teaching creative writingin real-life classroom settings. Each workshop has been tried and testedseveral times. Additional workshops came from my work in Second Life where Igave many of these workshops in the virtual world (as Diana Allandale). Thisis, however, the first time I’ve gathered all the various workshops I’veoffered in both worlds and published them in one place.

Thenitty-gritty

A new workshop will be posted everyTuesday. Eventually we’ll have the contents of a book about writing. At thatpoint, I’ll collect all the workshops in ebook (and maybe print) form for thosewho would like it all bundled into one nice, neat place and offer it for sale.

You’ll see a new button below. Ifyou enjoy the workshops and find them useful, please consider sending adonation my way. When the final product is ready to go, those who have donatedeach time will get a free copy of the ebook as a gift from me. I won’t dun youtwice for the content.

Blog's up!

2011-10-02T22:14:00.005-04:00

It's later than I expected to post but that's what happens when I go to my daughter's show and the theatre is two and a half hours away and I forget to post before I leave (big sigh).

Anyway, it's up now and filled with links to all sorts of me all over the web :) Head on over and take a look!

Diana

October newsletter out

2011-10-01T12:27:00.001-04:00

I think most of you know, but for those who don't, I'm a member of the Sizzling Scribes, a group of seven authors who originally banded together in order to pool our promotional dollars in an attempt to make them go further. We created ourselves a website and we take turns blogging as well (my turn is tomorrow, so be sure to stop by).

But what started as a business partnership has long since turned into honest-to-goodness friendships. When we began I'd never met Tielle and had only passing acquaintances with Tara, Cait, Cat, and Lynn. Ruby was really the only one I'd ever had a long conversation with and it was she who got me involved with this zany group of people. I bonded with Tara over several bottles of Guinness at the last two Romanticons and am thankful for a story she told me one night that paved the way for Services Rendered. Cat helped me over my first conventions with the Romantic Times crowd and I will never forget meeting Cait for the first time on a visit to Bubba Gump's in Daytona, Florida. I met Tielle when I took a trip to Alaska and we talked so long we closed the bar and then sat in the hotel lobby and talked to the wee hours of the morning. And then there's Lynn, who's bright spirit and incredible organizational skills keeps us all headed in the right direction. I love you all, ladies!

Some time ago we published a cookbook and had such fun doing it we decided to publish a quarterly newsletter of all our doings. We include excerpts from our latest works, there's always an interview with one of the seven of us where you can learn all sorts of odd tidbits about our lives and lately we've started running an article about some aspect of life and/or writing. In April Tara started us off and this month features my article.

The newsletter is free and if you like, you can subscribe to it. Or you can just wait for me to post that the newest edition is up and ready for your viewing pleasure .

So, tomorrow you're going to want to head to the blog (I'll post a reminder, don't worry) and then on Tuesday you're going to want to be here for the unveiling of the first writer's workshop (if you don't know what that is, click here to read about it).

In the meantime, play safe!
Diana

2011-09-28T14:29:00.003-04:00

Sorry, gotta rant.

Out of curiosity I went looking for reviews of SERVICES RENDERED. It's been out a month now and so far I've found only one review. What I ALSO found were not one, not two, but THREE sites that had posted the book as a free, illegal download.

THREE of them! And the book's just out four weeks. I haven't even gotten my first royalty check from the darn thing and already its been pirated. How the hell am I ever going to make a living at writing if people keep stealing my books????

I'm asking you all a favor. If you ever see an ebook, mine or anyone else's, listed somewhere for free and you know you paid for it, the site is probably an illegal pirate. Email me or the other author or the publisher and we'll take care of it. I am very thankful for EC's pirate hunter -- she does a great job and wields one hell of a sword!

GRRRRRR

New Feature!

2011-09-28T05:16:00.000-04:00

Ta Da! The kinks are worked out and today I get to introduce the roll out of a new feature of my blog today…the writing workshop.

We all tell stories, whether around the water cooler recounting the Big Play from the game last night, out on our daily power walk retelling the latest joke we heard, or in the break room discussing dreams for a different life. Telling stories is important to us and we all tell them.

But when it comes to writing stories down, many people back away and say, “Not me. I’m not a writer.” They understand that there are different skills involved in bringing a story to life on the page than when recounting their latest exploit to their friends. Finding the right words and creating a memorable story is part art and part skill. And both take practice.

Which is why, for the next several months, I’m running a writer’s workshop feature on this blog along with my regular (or is that irregular?) posts.

Professional writer or just beginning doesn’t matter. Genre doesn’t matter. Got a great mystery story? How about a true-life adventure? Want to tell the story of your family’s history? In these workshops you’ll find new ways of thinking about some of the skills necessary in crafting a story that will keep people reading and turning the page from chapter to chapter.

The workshops break into four general categories: writing skills, ancillary skills, inspiration and publishing. Some workshops fall into more than one division. That’s okay, I’ll code each post with tags that’ll help you know what you’re expected to do.

Keep in mind: what you write is for you. I’m not providing a forum through which you can post your writing and because of my own writing schedule, I do not give feedback on manuscripts. Any stories sent to me will be deleted without being read. I’m not an agent or a publisher. I’m a writer who’s gained some insights along the way and who wishes to share them. That’s all. J

That said, there’s no reason we can’t have a good, spirited conversation about each workshop. If you have an additional insight, feel free to post it in the comments. Remember, writing should be fun…and so should talking about writing!

My qualifications

The contents of these workshops are actually my accumulation of several years’ experience teaching creative writing in real-life classroom settings. Each workshop has been tried and tested several times. Additional workshops came from my work in Second Life where I gave many of these workshops in the virtual world (as Diana Allandale). This is, however, the first time I’ve gathered all the various workshops I’ve offered in both worlds and published them in one place.

The nitty-gritty

A new workshop will be posted every Tuesday. Eventually we’ll have the contents of a book about writing. At that point, I’ll collect all the workshops in ebook (and maybe print) form for those who would like it all bundled into one nice, neat place and offer it for sale.

You’ll see a new button below. If you enjoy the workshops and find them useful, please consider sending a donation my way. When the final product is ready to go, those who have donated each time will get a free copy of the ebook as a gift from me. I won’t dun you twice for the content.

Watch for the first workshop coming on Tuesday, October 4th!

Cleaning and getting ready...

2011-09-27T20:46:00.000-04:00

I've been cleaning up more of those tags tonight -- hopefully no one is getting notices that the blog's being updated when all I'm doing is erasing old, rarely-used tags in preparation for adding some new ones that are far more useful (and relevant!). Also playing with Blogger's new interface -- I can post titles for each post in this template now!

You may recall I promised something new almost two weeks ago. I'm glad I didn't rush as I ran into a small snag that's now been teased out. One more little wrinkle to fix and everything will be good to go. Are you curious? Here's a hint: sharpen your pencils, make sure you've ink in your pen; you'll soon be working and finding your Zen!

LOL In spite of my bad poetry, stay tuned to this space for an exciting new feature!

Catching up

2011-09-12T18:18:00.000-04:00

Okay, it was give and take for a while, but I have prevailed! HARDSHIP AND HARDTACK is now officially released in Kindle, Nook and all other ebook formats, as well as in print!

When I get some time later this month I'm going to give the blog a going over and re-do the sidebar and the tag list. Just be forewarned. There will also be a new feature that is almost ready to debut, but I've learned my lesson about being over-eager to release stuff :).

In the meantime, I'm back in Second Life doing readings (have one in just a few minutes at the Nudist Paradise, which is exactly what it says it's name is!). If you're inworld, stop by!

Check out my Civil War historical and play safe!
Diana

2011-09-01T18:21:00.001-04:00

I know, I know. To go from a week of exciting news nearly every day to a week of nothing is hard. I didn't take the week off, just to let you know. I've been reformatting HARDSHIP AND HARDTACK after finding numerous issues with the darn thing. No formats are up and working until further notice.

Also have taken both children back to their respective colleges on opposite ends of the state -- the house now belongs to my husband and me once more. Those of you who are empty nesters know it for the bittersweet feeling it is. Spent a number of hours putting the house back to rights after the flurry of packing and moving out.

In all the rush, I forgot to tell you all I was guest-blogger over at Sizzling Hot Book Reviews! Many thanks to Marissa for the opportunity to post there. If you haven't read it yet, follow this link and take a gander. I reveal another side of my none of you know about!

Be sure to visit the website and let me know if you like the puzzles. Do you want more of them? Let me know that, too!

Play safe,
Diana

edited to remove links to non-functioning books

2011-08-25T11:12:00.002-04:00

Day three of the exciting announcements this week. This one, however, doesn't really pertain to Diana as much as it does my alter-ego, CF Duprey. Yesterday Diana had a release (have you seen it? Bought it? Get your copy now!), today CF Duprey has a release. Told you, it's been a busy summer and I've been working hard!

HARDSHIP AND HARDTACK is historical fiction (NOT erotic romance!) and is truly a work of my heart. This man's story affected me the very first time I heard it and I knew it was a story I had to tell. It is based on the letters the real Richard Bassett sent home to his wife during the Civil War. The monotony, the drilling, the fear and excitement of battle, the shame of being captured by the Confederates, he tells her all of it. Much of the action of the book is taken directly from what he wrote home.

Here's an excerpt to whet your appetite:

HARDSHIP AND HARDTACK
by CF Duprey
All Rights Reserved

“Dresden!”

At the sound of the steamer’s captain’s call, most of the men of Company B crowded the decks to get one last look at home. Each of the companies had done the same thing at various points along the way as the steamer passed one hometown after another. He watched as eagerly as the rest to see the families left behind.

It seemed as if all of PennYan had traveled the five miles to the dock at Dresden. A band played and ladies waved their handkerchiefs, all to send them on their way with fond memories of home. Even Richard found himself caught up in the gaiety and waved back almost as vehemently as the others, though he knew Mary wouldn’t be there. Their farm lay further south, closer to Dundee. He would look for his wife there.

Dresden faded into the distance, the sound of the band lingering long after the town slipped out of sight. Now they approached Lakemont, where he suspected his wife would be.

As they came into sight of the tiny hamlet, Richard strained his eyes, his heart beating hard. This would be the last glimpse of his family he’d get for a very long time. His eyes misted as he thought of it, but a surreptitious wipe of his sleeve got rid of them. He didn’t want his last look at his wife blurred by tears.

He saw his father first, standing straight and tall on the shoreline, saluting. Rass joined Richard at the side of the steamer and the two brothers stood at attention, returning the salute. And there was Mary, waving a blue handkerchief. He chuckled and remembered that she had told him it wouldn’t be a white one because she wasn’t going to surrender her husband to the army, only loan him. And so she waved a blue handkerchief that matched the blue of the uniform he would soon wear. By her side were his two little boys, Eddie and Georgie. At four years old, Eddie was old enough to understand a little of where his father was going.

He stood between his grandfather and his mother, shyly waving at the big boat. Georgie had just taken his first steps last week, and clung unsteadily to Mary’s skirts. As he watched, Mary scooped up the baby and held him for Richard to see.

The shoreline passed all too fast. Richard hardly noticed that Lill, their sister, also waved, as did Kate, Rass’ current love interest. No, his eyes were for Mary and the boys. The two brothers traveled back along the rail to the rear of the boat, keeping their family in their eyes as long as they could.

A moment later and the trees hid the sight of the small knot of people on the shore. The two stood in silence as the boat continued south, finally turning as one to pick their way back to their belongings.

No bands played now and the mood turned somber as each man thought of the ones he left

behind. It would be a long time before they would be back here again. Some would never come back.

The silent shore drifted past in an unbroken line of woodland. Not too many people lived right on the shore. The farms that bordered the lake tended to be up on the hills where the breezes cooled the houses and the sun warmed the earth. Richard thought of the haying they had just finished and tried not to worry about his father getting in the corn with only the help of a few old men and young boys. In spite of the conversation he’d had with Mary before he left, he knew she’d help harvest as well, a task he really didn’t want her doing. Her place was with the children, providing them a safe home he intended to come home to.

HARDSHIP AND HARDTACK is available in all ebook formats (print is coming soon). I hope you enjoy my foray into a different genre! Click here for the official website and purchasing info.

Play safe,

Diana

2011-08-24T09:24:00.002-04:00

SERVICES RENDERED is now available from Ellora's Cave!

Told you it's going to be a week of announcements. Yesterday I told you about the new goodies on my website, today I get to announce a new release. And yes, there's more to come, so stay tuned to the blog (or my newsletter) for more tomorrow.

You can read an excerpt here, a different one here, and yet another (short) one below. I've also included a picture of the cover...John Fish is SOOOO sexy! And he perfectly fits the image of the hero inside. Yum :)

Excerpt from SERVICES RENDERED by Diana Hunter
All Rights Reserved

Lauren nodded, conflicting emotions running rampant inside her. Reading people was second nature to her. One didn’t have a lot of time to make a call when the medics brought in their buddies. And there was more than one way to bleed.

But this John McAllen, so far, was an enigma. Obviously used to being in charge, yet out on this imaginary battlefield as a private. Smooth, definitely sexy—she’d seen the way the young woman reacted to him when he posed with his arm around her. Lauren had to admit she felt a little of the same herself. The way he looked right at her, as if she were the most important person on the planet right now? The way he steered her with small touches on her arm or back, not as if she were incapable, but as if he were protecting her.

That was it, right there. In his presence, she felt safe. As if he had the strength of body and will to fight off all her demons, both real and imagined. For a brief moment she thought of the two of them standing on a hill in a time period even longer ago and knew he’d be wearing armor and riding a white charger. Or maybe chaps and spurs and a white hat.

The vendor came with their cones and Lauren took a good, long lick, letting the mint settle deep inside her. A slow smile spread across her face. “Is there anything better for the soul than mint chocolate chip?” she commented.

“I can think of a few things,” John answered her, taking a lick of ice cream, twisting the cone around in his fingers. Yet his eyes never left hers, reading her body language far more easily than she read his. He had to. Lauren knew she was no good at hiding her emotions after the crisis had passed. Right now she felt safe, secure…and sexy in his eyes. She lifted her chin and took him up on his offer.

“Oh, really? Name one.”

“Tying a woman down and making love to her all night long.”

*****

That's it! Now go buy the book!

Play safe,

Diana :)

2011-08-23T08:52:00.000-04:00

This is going to be an exciting week and I'll have lots to tell you nearly everyday. I've been busy this summer and now you get to see the fruits of my labor. It's not only farmers who can reap a big harvest!

Today, take a look at my website (It's here if you've forgotten). My webmistress has been working like crazy to get all the new books uploaded, complete with excerpts and blurbs and pictures of some very cool covers. In particular, take note of the What's New page.

Why, you ask? I've been following Diana's blog, I already know what her newest releases are!

Ha! One of the many things I've been working on is creating a series of downloads for my readers. On the updated What's New page, scroll down a bit to find some fun puzzles you can either print out or save to your computer and play. I had a lot of fun creating these - and I hope you'll have fun figuring them out.

So for today's exciting activity: go to my website, check the "What's New" page and scroll down for some fun (and did I say they're FREE!) downloads!

Play safe,
Diamna

2011-08-09T16:11:00.000-04:00

Quick plea for reviews of my self-pubbed works. Right now they're very lonely with only a few at Amazon. If you have the time (and have read the books) would you mind dropping a quick review on the site where you purchased it? I've provided quick links below for your convenience.

And if you haven't yet purchased any of the three...what are you waiting for????

TALES FROM THE RAMAYANA at Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

TIMELESS LOVE at Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

TABLE FOR FOUR at Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Hmmm...I just noticed all three titles start with "T". Will have to switch that up with my next release!

Thanks and play safe!
Diana

2011-08-06T23:22:00.002-04:00

My turn to blog at the Scribes! Come on over and join the conversation about summer festivals...and food.

2011-07-29T07:59:00.000-04:00

TABLE FOR FOUR is now available for the Kindle! And the Nook. And every other ebook platform you could possibly want.

This novel, my second ever published, has recently come back to me. You can still order print copies from Ellora's Cave while they have them in stock, but once they're gone, I'll put it up at Createspace (as soon as I figure out their formatting rules!) for those who prefer a hard copy.

The re-release of TABLE FOR FOUR has a different cover (for those of you reading in a reader, click through to see the new cover in the sidebar) I designed myself. I'd love feedback on it, as I'm really a writer, not a visual artist. Drop me a line or put your critique in the comments section below.

Need a reminder of this book? An excerpt to jog your memory or whet your appetite? Read on!

David and Lissa Patterson have the perfect marriage, as long as one isn’t talking about their sex life. David prefers to snuggle, enjoying the slow and sensuous approach to intimacy; Lissa longs for a dominant alpha male when it comes to sex. She wants to be tied, taken, and left breathless. The two settle on a compromise that leaves neither of them totally satisfied.

Until one night, when a tall Gypsy King and his Beautiful Lady walk into their lives…

from Chapter One

A small diner just down the street and around the corner from their modest house tended to be one of their habitual eating spots. Their usual booth by the front picture window was available and Lissa and David slid in along the maroon vinyl seats facing each other across the matching maroon table.

They ordered and David told her what he’d accomplished while she was ‘busy’ elsewhere. He was very careful not to refer to her private fetish in public—to do so would violate another taboo. Lissa, however, was grateful for his discretion, it had taken her a long time to tell the person she most loved in all the world; there was no way she wanted anyone else to know.

Indeed, part of the arousal of the afternoon was listening to the life teeming around her; life that had no idea what little secret lay behind the open balcony door just above their heads.

The diner filled quickly and when the little bell over the door rang again, David looked up as something or someone caught his eye—and stared. Lissa frowned and nudged his foot under the table, but it seemed to have no effect. Turning her head slightly, she saw what held his fascination.

A man and a woman had entered and were making their way down the aisle toward them. With her straight, long blonde hair and svelte figure, the woman was a walking goddess. Her dark heels were at least six inches high – which just about matched the length of her navy blue skirt.

But while Lissa acknowledged the beauty of the woman, it was the man who followed that held her eye. Even though the woman’s heels made her tall, the male behind her still towered a full head above her, his broad chest and commanding bearing daring Lissa to look away. His neatly trimmed wavy black hair fell in small curls just long enough to give a girl something to run her fingers through. His round face sported a small goatee and neatly trimmed mustache. The very image of a Gypsy king come to life.

The diner was full and every eye watched the couple as they made their way along the narrow aisle. No seats were left and when the waitress apologized and told them they’d have to wait, the gentleman, without turning his gaze from Lissa, told the server in a smooth voice, “That won’t be necessary. I’m sure this nice couple will share their booth with us, will you not?”

There was a faint accent in his quiet, baritone voice, but Lissa could not place it. She tore her eyes away to signal ‘no!’ to David, but he was already moving over and letting the woman slide in next to him. The blonde made an odd little movement, then settled next to Lissa’s husband and smiled across the table at her. Lissa smiled weakly in return, while glaring at her husband. What was he doing?

“Please, by all means … we are happy to share the table.” David tore his eyes away from the blonde beauty just long enough to dismiss the waitress. But anything further was cut off as he watched the goddess flip up her short skirt and place her naked rear end on the vinyl seat cover. He knew was ogling, but he just couldn’t stop. It wasn’t every day that a beautiful woman just walked into your life and showed you her ass.

David’s entranced absorption of the blonde goddess’ actions made her male companion smile. He watched his partner and when her soft blue eyes met his and she nodded, he knew she wanted to play. While he spoke English extremely well, he let his rich baritone affect more of an accent than usual as he made his apologies to the couple whose booth they had invaded.

“Thank you, sir, you have saved my lovely Adora from having to stand so long in her shoes. They make her sexy, do they not?” He put out his left hand and Lissa caught sight of a large gold signet ring on his forefinger—but no wedding band a little further along. The woman he called Adora smiled at him and placed her hand in his. The image of her slender and delicate hand in his larger and rougher one made Lissa’s heart skip a beat as she recognized their poetic contrast: he was night; she was day.

David’s mouth was dry and he hurriedly sipped from his water glass to cover the fact that this man’s girlfriend had given him a hard on—an amazing accomplishment, considering he just had sex with his wife not an hour before. “Yes,” he finally managed. “Yes, her shoes, I mean, your shoes are very sexy.” He tried not to look down, but the woman’s tight shirt barely covered her bosom and her cleavage just cried out to for a quick glance.

“Oh, David, really!” scolded Lissa, totally embarrassed by her husband’s obvious fascination with the blonde, but more embarrassed by her own internal reactions to the man beside her. Her panties were soaked and her pussy was open and aching, right there in the restaurant. For crying out loud, she was a married woman!

“Methinks my Adora likes your husband’s attentions, even as you are not sure you appreciate mine, my dear woman. Permit me to introduce myself. I am Master Richard.”

If the man were not sitting so close to her and so obviously exuding sex appeal all over the place, Lissa might have laughed at the Hollywood movie tone the man affected. And what was up with the ‘Master’ title? All the man needed was an opera cape with red satin lining and the picture would be complete. He already was dressed in the suit. All right, so he wasn’t wearing a white tie and tails, but a nice three-piece, well-cut, black, very sexy suit.

His left hand occupied with Adora, Richard now held out his right to Lissa, palm up in a gesture of peace. He noted how the woman beside him shrank away, careful to not touch him with any part of her body, and waited until she extended her own hand, noting she was unable, or unwilling, to meet his eyes. Master Richard gently took her hand in his, turning it and bringing it to his lips. The kiss on the back of her hand intentionally put her off balance.

Lissa knew she should not sit here and hold hands with a perfect stranger, no matter how sexy he was. Even knowing she should pull her hand away, she remained still, letting him touch her.

“Pleased to meet you,” she murmured, more out of habit than real pleasure.

Richard decided to let the pretty dark-haired woman off the hook, turning to the gentleman across from her. “Sir, you have met Adora, my beloved. And I have introduced myself. Is it not the custom for you to now introduce your wife and yourself?” There was a hint of amusement in his voice, since the man was still entranced with his companion.

“Oh! Erm, yes, of course.” David cleared his throat and shook his head, trying desperately to bring his mind back under control and focus on something other than the extremely sexy woman beside him. “I’m David Patterson – this is my wife, Lissa.”

“Enchanted.” Richard released Adora’s hand, but still held Lissa’s; he turned it over to place a tender kiss on her palm. His eyes held hers, never leaving her face; Lissa felt her soul was open to the man’s inspection. An absurd thought ran through her head that perhaps the man really was the King of the Gypsies and she smiled at the absurdity.

“Ah! Your lady smiles and the world is lighted with happiness."

That's it! The ebook is available here from the Kindle, here from the Nook, and here for all ebook formats (including the Kindle and the Nook!).

Diana

2011-07-20T19:04:00.001-04:00

Today was not a wasted day.

I have to keep telling myself that. I didn't write a single word, I didn't write anything down on paper or type anything into the computer. I did only a single load of laundry and I did run the dishwasher.

And then I sat in the air conditioning of my study and played solitaire on the computer for several hours, going over my current work in progress, trying out plot points in my head, exploring characters by taking them down this path, then backing up and trying another. Playing solitaire keeps my hands and one part of my brain busy, allowing the creative side of my brain to daydream plots to my heart's content.

Since Sunday afternoon I've written over seven thousand words on a brand-new story. I only wrote 600 words yesterday because I could feel it veering off track. But I didn't know how or where it had gone astray. I thought about opening the file and giving it a go today, but now I'm glad I didn't. In all my "daydreaming" today, I think I have it figured out and tomorrow I will hack and slash, rewrite and wrestle this puppy onto the right track.

So today was not a wasted day. Really.

Play safe,

Diana

2011-07-13T09:48:00.001-04:00

WARNING: long and serious blog post alert!

What is the relationship between inspiration and research? Does inspiration move us to learn? Or does our learning inform our inspiration? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

I’ve been thinking about the relationship between the two concepts quite a bit lately. In fact, I’m writing this sitting in Gracie O’Malley’s Pub in Toronto, Canada, just a block behind the Princess of Wales Theatre where, in another hour, I’m going to go see Hugh Jackman’s one-man concert. I’m sipping a Guinness, eating teriyaki chicken wings and debating the heavier questions of creativity.

Asking the questions may be moot – in the long run, does it really matter? As long as creation takes place, who cares about the details? And yet I can’t help chasing down some stray thoughts as I look down the street to the stage door and know inspiration awaits on just the other side.

Toni Morrison once said, “I don’t wait to be struck by lightning and I don’t need certain slants of light to write.” That, more than any other philosophy, has guided my own beliefs about creating a novel. If I waited for the flash of inspiration all the time, I’d never get anything written.

In that way, being an author isn’t that much different from being an electrician. We each learn our trade and how to use the tools, then we go on to use our knowledge and skills to create light (or enlightenment). Sometimes we even create art.

But what about the Muses? The ancient Greeks definitely saw inspiration—that sudden flash of insight or brilliant idea—as coming from the outside. It wasn’t controllable. Either the Muses visited you—or they didn’t. It wasn’t YOU who held brilliance, it was the gods who gave it to you when and if they saw fit.

So where does that leave me?

(Imagine a long pause to sip stout and eat a wing or two as I gaze out the window and down to the stage door. Is he already inside warming up? What might those preparations look like? Will he be as an incredible performer as I want him to be? I finish the wings, clean my fingers and take up my pen again.)

I tend to think of inspiration as internal. The talent to do something with the inspiration is a gift from God (I can be inspired to paint, but I haven’t the talent. As a result the best, most wonderful painting I can ever paint is a blank canvas because I look at that whiteness and see the painting in my head. Every detail, every line, every color. But the moment I put brush to canvas and make the very first stroke, it’s wrong and the painting is ruined. It’s okay. I’m not a painter. Or at least, not one with canvas. I paint with words. That’s my gift.).

But talent isn’t inspiration. I can also have all the talent in the world and never do anything with it. I can be a great singer who decides to keep my mouth shut, to hide my light, as it were.

To me, inspiration is a way of looking. It’s a way of seeing the world, of being open to possibilities that lead to those insights or ideas. If you aren’t looking, how will you see it when it does occur?

Thomas Edison considered it a wasted day if he didn’t invent at least one new thing while at work. He didn’t wait around for a bolt from the blue to point him in the right direction. He looked at the research he’d done, thought about where it could go next—and invented.

And that brings me back to my original question: What is the relationship between inspiration and research? If I’m researching bondage positions on the web and see a picture of a position I find intriguing, then use that position in a scene I’m writing, can I honestly say I’ve been inspired? My methods are methodical, precise and analytical in both the research and in writing the description. There was no flash, no gestalt moment of understanding. There was cold research and hot writing. Moving from one to the other is the talent, the art.

When I watch Mr. Jackman’s concert tonight and decide my next hero will fit the character sketch of him that I will draw, is that inspiration? Or is going to this concert research? Can I convince the IRS I should be able to deduct the price of the ticket because I’m here in a professional capacity? I suspect my attendance is a little of both.

In the end, the area between inspiration and hard research is several shades of gray. It exists both inside me and outside in the pictures I see, in the people I watch. For me, there are very few flashes of lightning because I’m inspired by so much.

It’s a great way to make a living.

Play safe!

Diana

PS. I’m including a pic I took after the show. Yes, I stood outside at the stage door. Yes, I got an autograph. Yes, I gave into indulgence and let myself be a stage-struck dork. After the pic is the character sketch I wrote. Who knows? Maybe you’ll see him soon in a yet-to-be-written novel!

Short character sketch of Hugh Jackman; entitled “Public Perceptions”

(some of the following is also based on the episode of “Punk’d” where he was set up)

Eyes wide, the corners crinkle almost closed in laughter and

cheeks ripple into dimples

A new soul

eager

impressionable

wants to learn

hungry to do more

Slow to anger; it shows in his hands first.

Hands that hold a child, comfort a friend, make a fist.

Protective.

A dichotomy, a puzzle

A man’s man – won’t throw the first punch but will follow with a wicked left

A woman’s man—the alpha male with a caring heart

Breaks classification. Defies tradition and stays out of the box.

Pushes his limits, tries new ideas.

Mr. Jackman

2011-07-05T20:43:00.002-04:00

Now available -- Timeless Love, a collection of four sweet romance short stories by me, Diana Hunter :) Long-time readers of the blog probably figured out I had ulterior motives in asking about ebook pricing and genre-hopping -- you were right!

From meeting to dating, from marriage to the end of life, the four couples in these four short stories show us that love truly is timeless. Timeless Love contains the following short pieces:

Love at Third Sight—Is it possible to fall in love at first sight? How about second? For Diana, the third time she saw Steve, she knew he was the man she was destined to marry.

Secret Signs— This short piece began life as a scene in Secret Submission that ended up being cut. Here it is now, developed into its own little romantic story.

Gorilla Love—Inspired by a trip to the zoo, this very short story captures a tiny slice of married life.

One Last Dance—True love lives forever, even as our bodies age and fail.

Secret Signs has never been published; the other three were available briefly at Scribd. Here they are now in one volume for one low price. I thought about selling each individually, but ultimately decided to bundle them together because Secret Signs and Gorilla Love are pretty short. The other two make up for it, though!

Timeless Love is available at Amazon and at Smashwords for all ebook platforms.

WARNING: Timeless Love is a sweet romance! If you're looking for Diana's kinkier, erotic romance, please visit her site at http://www.dianahunter.net for hot excerpts and purchasing information.

2011-07-03T17:32:00.000-04:00

First of all, thank you to all who participated in the survey over at the Sizzling Scribes. That poll is now closed and here are the results:

What is the highest you'll pay for a short story?

You’re all over the board on this one. 9% say you’ll pay nothing; you want it free. 9% say the top you’ll pay is $.49, which is almost free. I'd lump them together and say 18% really don't want to pay anything for a short story. NOTE: I did not define any set length in the definition of "short story."

27% say you’ll pay up to $1.99, but the majority -- 55% -- weighed in at $.99 being the top dollar for a short story.

What is the highest price you'll pay for a novella?

27% said $1.99

46% said $2.99

18% said $3.99

9% said $4.99

Looks like the $1.99-2.99 range has it for a novella.

What is the highest price you'll pay for a full-length novel?

This was evenly split between $4.99 (5 votes) and $9.99 (6 votes). NO ONE voted for less money ($9.99 was the highest price I listed)

What ebook format do you prefer?

Kindle won, hands down. 73%

next came .pdf at 37%

the Nook got one vote

Since several of us Scribes are in the process of moving some of our older works into the self-published realm, your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Play safe,

Diana

2011-06-20T17:34:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the few who gave me some feedback on the short story pricing. I gave that info the the Scribes and we're now asking for a little more information regarding other book lengths. Head on over and take the 4-question survey. Its open from now until Sunday.

Play safe,

Diana

2011-06-14T21:17:00.001-04:00

A minor deviation from the norm today, just because I found this and want to share...

For those of you who don't know, I love the Myst games. I'm a member of the MystOnline community (name: Wisteria) and can be found lurking in Uru. This clip is from Myst: Revelation. While the puzzles in this segment of the series are perhaps the most difficult, the storyline is the most poignant. This song by Peter Gabriel appears in one of the segments and is one of my favorites. Enjoy!

2011-06-01T21:23:00.003-04:00

Much has been written in the past few weeks about the pricing structure of ebooks. Three blogs I follow have all weighed in on the future of publishing and what it means for readers.

Bob Mayer has a good discussion of the matter over at Write it Forward. He poses some basic questions: what is the inherent value in owning an ebook? How much would you pay for an ebook vs. a print book? Michael Stackpole comes at the topic from another angle, discussing that some readers look at print materials as souvenirs rather than separate entities. They own the ebook, now want the print book (usually signed) to show off to their friends. And Dean Wesley Smith has some rather strong (!) words for traditional publishers and authors who feel that's the only way to publish.

These three (and others) have really gotten me thinking about the short stories that are sitting on my computer pretty much doing nothing but nagging at me. The characters want their stories out there. Because they're short, they'll never make it with an outside publisher. The pieces need formatting and I'd have to get someone to design some snazzy covers, but that's do-able. So why not self-publish?

Faithful readers of the blog know that I've played with this concept before on Scribd (a failure, I'm afraid. Love the concept but the site doesn't get enough traffic. Now the Kindle...).

The biggest question is in the pricing. And so I ask you: for a single short story (less than 2000 words) -- what is your top price? 99 cents? 49 cents? A buck-fifty? What would YOU pay for a short? PLEASE use the poll below and help a writer out!

(EDIT June 8th: POLL is closed. Hopefully the blog's formatting will now return to it's natural state...)

THANK YOU!

Play safe :)
Diana
PS. See the +1 at the top of the page? Click it to give me chops in Google Search :)
PPS. Okay, something I did goofed up my template. Bear with the whiteness until I figure it out!

2011-05-27T22:25:00.000-04:00

I know, two posts in one week. Try not to faint :). But it seems things are happening all at once, so read on!

First up, if you are getting emails from diana@dianahunter.net that are trying to sell you penis enlargers or trips to Cancun, that are touting the health benefits of ginkgo or trying to set you up with a lovely woman from Russia...they are not from me. My email's been hacked and I'm in the process of setting up a new one and moving all my honest mail to the new address. The old email will be active for another few weeks while I sort things out. I apologize for the inconvenience and the spam in the meantime. :(

On the upside, yesterday I was named one of the first Book Island Laureates! Many of you know I've been active in Second Life since October 2006, giving live readings from my works, offering writing workshops, and managing several shops that promote my writings. Book Island is a spot that is home to many writers and over the years has hosted the first SL Book Fairs (modeled after the BEA just finishing in NYC), provided critique sessions, writing workshops, book talks and more. I've had a shop there since the start (with only a brief hiatus when funds ran short. Darn economy!) and have made many friends. I am humbled and honored to be named one of the first two laureates. I haven't stopped grinning for the past twenty-four hours!

Another piece of good news: I've been interviewed by Fallen Angels Review site...they're such a fun group of people there! A special thanks to Tammy who gave me some very cool questions to ponder. You can read more about Tales from the Ramayana and Love in the Afternoon there...as well as find out where I'd go to write my next novel if money was no barrier.

And lastly, I'm awaiting the latest edits for Services Rendered, my next full-length novel for Ellora's Cave. I've seen the cover and let me tell you...it fits the book perfectly. In fact, this is quickly becoming one of my favorite-ist covers of all! Just wait till you see it :).

Play safe everyone!
Diana

2011-05-23T18:28:00.000-04:00

I've been so busy writing these past few weeks I have hardly had time to read more than headlines at all my favorite blogs, our local daily newspaper, and one book, Kreskin Confidential by the one, and only, Amazing Kreskin. I had the opportunity at BEA last year to meet him (he signed his book for me!) and found him to be an utterly charming man. No, I didn't ask him to read my mind. I was having too much fun watching him clown around with some of the others. A delightful chance that I happened to be passing his booth and saw him sitting there, chatting with several fans. He reminded me of a grandfather holding court, entertaining an entire neighborhood of children with his tales.

His book is a quick read, telling stories of some of the people he's met along the way. While not everyone is referred to by name, anyone who grew up in the 60's, 70's and 80's will know exactly who he's talking about (c'mon, Baby Boomers, you know who you are!). A fun way to spend the afternoon.

And of course, reading his stories got me to thinking about my own experiences with ESP (Extra Sensory Perception). My mom enjoyed board games (still does) and we played often when I was a kid. Of course, my brother and I would always argue about who got to go first, so she'd hide one of the markers behind her back and ask us to guess which color. Or she'd think of a number and we had to guess it. I almost always got to go first because I usually knew which hand, which color, which number.

Only later, once I was married and pregnant with my first child, did she confess to "sending" out the answers to both my brother and I. He rarely picked up the thoughts she sent, I often did. We also had a deck of cards with black and white shapes and she and I would play where I would "send" her the figure on the card and she'd try to draw it and vice-versa. For the record, I'm a terrible sender. I didn't do half-bad, though, when she pictured the image and I drew it.

As you can tell, I do believe the mind has possibilities we're just beginning to understand. Do I believe in mind control? No. Hate to be the one to break it to you, but there's a world of bad guys out there. If mind control actually existed, what hope would the world have? We'd all be zombies doing the bidding of the most powerful bad guy. Do I believe in the power of suggestion? Oh, yeah! Madison Avenue advertising and politicians would be lost without it!

So anyway, that was my reading this weekend - Thank you, Mr. Kreskin, for a wonderful story to read and a fun trip down memory lane!

Play safe,
Diana

2011-05-14T20:01:00.001-04:00

Good news! SERVICES RENDERED has been accepted by my editor (the wonderful Pamela Campbell. We've worked together for the past eight years and she is wonderful!). I was a little worried since this is a hero with a huge sense of right and wrong. John McAllen would like nothing more than to tie Lauren Carr to his bed and make love to her all night long. But he won't until she's ready. Let's just say that, when he finally achieves his goal...the wait is worth it!

What? You want a taste of this novel I've been working on for over a year? A snippet? An excerpt to whet your appetite? Oh, well...you talked me into it. Read on!

The vendor came with their ice cream cones and Lauren took a good, long lick, letting the mint settle deep inside her. A slow smile spread across her face. “Is there anything better for the soul than mint chocolate chip?” she commented.

“I can think of a few things,” John answered her, taking a long lick of ice cream, twisting the cone around in his fingers. Yet his eyes never left hers, reading her body language far more easily than she read his. He had to. Lauren knew she was no good at hiding her emotions after the crisis had passed. Right now she felt safe, secure…and sexy in his eyes. She lifted her chin and took him up on his offer.

“Oh, really? Name one.”

“Tying a woman down and making love to her all night long.”

Lauren choked on her ice cream. Of all the answers she’d been expecting from years of bad pickup lines, John’s answer came out of the blue and smacked her right in the pussy. She felt herself grow warm all over despite the ice cream she tried desperately to swallow.

And it didn’t help to have him stand there, looking nonchalant, gallantly offering her a paper napkin as if they were discussing the weather. Her eyes watering from swallowing too much ice cream too quickly, she tried to look up at him, but the sun was behind him.

“No fair. Can’t see you,” she muttered and pushed him to her other side so she could give him the glare he deserved.

Except he took one look at her and laughed out loud. A good, hearty, infectious chuckle. When her glare turned to puzzlement, he reached over with his own napkin and wiped the green ice cream off the tip of her nose. She rolled her eyes and relented.

“Okay, so your answer wasn’t quite what I expected…” she started.

“But you’re intrigued enough that you’ll go out to dinner with me tomorrow night,” he finished.

Lauren opened her mouth to demure, but Beth’s voice superimposed itself over hers. “Of course she is, and she’d love to. What time?”

“Beth, I can arrange my own calendar…”

“Seven o’clock.” John spoke directly to Beth. The conversation continued as if she wasn’t there.

“Here’s her address. I took the liberty of writing it down for you.”

“That was kind of you, ma’am. I appreciate it.”

“Casual dress? Or something a little fancier?”

John paused and gave Lauren a once-over. She took the opportunity to interject her own thoughts on the matter. “I’m right here you know. You can talk to me and…”

“A little fancier.”

“Perfect. I know just the outfit she should wear. It was nice meeting you, John.”

“Nice to meet you too, Beth.” He shook the hand Beth offered and once again tousled Ian’s hair. “And you too, young man. You make sure these ladies get home safe now, you hear?”

“Yes, sir!” Ian snapped a salute and Lauren couldn’t help smiling. His arm was all akimbo and his fingers at the wrong angle, but his posture was straight and his grin infectious.

“Dismissed, soldier!”

“Come on, Aunt Lauren. Beth says its time to go home.” He took her hand and pulled her toward the exit.

“Just a minute, Ian…” She turned to talk to John, but he’d already moved away. Instead, she took her frustration out on her best friend. “Beth, how could you? We don’t know anything about him.”

“And if we did things your way, it would stay that way.” Beth pushed the stroller over the uneven ground, making her way toward the sidewalk that led to the parking lot.

Lauren shook her head. “I know, Beth. I know. I just need more time, that’s all.”

“Time and a date with Big John.”

“Beth!” Lauren pretended shock and playfully hit her friend on the arm.

“Well, you do.” Beth dropped her voice. “And if you’re smart, you’ll let him get lucky on the first date and ride him all the way to mindless fucking!”

There you go...your first glimpse into SERVICES RENDERED. I don't yet have a release date (heck, I'm still in edits with this puppy!) but faithful readers know to watch this blog. You'll be the first I'll tell!

Play safe!

Diana

2011-05-01T20:22:00.000-04:00

My turn to blog at the Scribes'! Talking about self-publishing. What do YOU look for in a self-published work?

2011-04-25T21:20:00.000-04:00

Several years ago, a historian-friend told me a true story. It concerned two brothers who fought for the Union during the Civil War. The historian had written several textbooks on the Civil War and thought the story of the brothers would make for a better novel than a textbook. He gave the story to me and asked me if I would write it.

I jumped at the chance. Except back then, I wasn’t a very good writer. I hadn’t published anything, had never worked with an editor and only had a dream of someday seeing my words in print. I read my primary source extensively, poured over the major secondary source and, in general, relived these men’s lives for over a year. I even talked my husband into visiting both Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, toting along two children under the age of five. He loves me very much because he took care of the kids in the parks’ playgrounds while I inspected fortifications, retraced routes, and sat on hillsides with my mind a hundred and forty years in the past.

I learned a lot in that endeavor. I learned how geography plays a decisive role in the winning and losing of battles. I learned how the everyday stresses of being a soldier can both make—and unmake—men. And I learned how easy it is to become so wrapped up in the lives of these men that you grieve when you finish writing their story and they’re no longer a part of your daily life.

I was reminded of this last just a week ago. You see, this year is the 150^th anniversary of that war—a war some say we’re still fighting today (in state’s rights, among other issues). I decided to dust off that unpublished story of two brothers and rewrite it, using what I’ve learned about storytelling over the past ten years. These men deserve to have their sacrifices known, to have their names polished with the hindsight of history, to have the painful lessons they learned recorded so we do not make the same mistakes. Once more these brothers and the men they fought with entered my life, consuming my conscious and unconscious mind as I struggled to find the right words, the best words to do their lives justice.

And now the manuscript is off to an outside editor for review and to the historian for fact-checking. Once again I am bereft, sitting here with a feeling of loss that they are gone from my life. Some of them died during the war, some died many years later. All of their graves are nearby. I haven't visited in ten years. It's time to visit again and once more bring them flowers.

Diana

2011-04-16T15:21:00.001-04:00

TALES FROM THE RAMAYANA is now on the Nook, the Kindle and every other ebook format that's out there! If you don't have your copy yet, why not? These four short stories are a quick, fun read -- and who doesn't like tales of bravery and strength, love and romance? Get your copy today!

Play safe,
Diana :)

2011-04-07T18:12:00.001-04:00

New Release Alert!!!

King Janaka has a problem. The time has come to marry off his eldest daughter, Sita, but it's his opinion that no man exists who is worthy of his little girl. Seeing a way to keep her by his side, he proposes an impossible-to-win contest, confident no man will ever accomplish the deed he sets forth.

What Janaka never expects, however, is for his daughter to fall in love, or for the boy she falls in love with - to be a god incarnate!

Long-time followers of this blog will remember the three short stories from the Ramayana I put out last year. Starting today, you can download those stories, plus one previously unpublished story, ON THE KINDLE!

Tales from the Ramayana contains four stories for $2.99, including The Wedding (you knew Ram and Sita just had to end up together!). Currently only available on the Kindle, it will be coming soon to the Nook and, as soon as I can figure them out, other epub formats. This is so exciting!

Yes, I plan to continue with another set of stories. After all, Ram is a prince of Kosala -- destined to someday become king and we all want to see that coronation, right?

In the meantime, get your Kindle copy today!

Play safe,
Diana

2011-03-25T18:32:00.000-04:00

Haven't posted in a while and figured I'd bring everyone up to date all at the same time :).

On the writing front: SERVICES RENDERED is finished and off! Keep your fingers crossed! And of course, while I wait to hear, I've played around with a few other ideas. Mostly pulling out story starts from the past and re-reading them to see if any of the characters are ready to talk and take the story forward. I'll throw some new spaghetti this weekend, too, just to see what sticks.

Years ago, just after the release of Table for Four, a friend asked me, "How long do you think you can keep this up?" She meant coming up with new characters and new stories. I told her that there were so many voices in my head clamoring for attention, the question wasn't how long, but how could I get the time to tell them all!

And here we are, nine years and nearly a dozen and a half titles later and getting time to write is still the biggest challenge I face. I can retire from my day job in three years -- and watch out! Writing will then become my full-time "job." I can't wait :).

On the reading front: I've read only one book in the past few weeks, Vinyl Leaves: Walt Disney World and America by Stephen M. Fjelman. It ain't a light read, let me tell you that! He analyzes WDW as an American institutional structure, going so deep as to take a look at each attraction, restaurant and shop to show how they work on the psyche to create a "story" of commerce and consumption.

I'm fascinated by the entire thing...and I'm learning some new vocabulary while I'm at it. His favorite word is "bricolage" -- a word I'd never heard of. The third time he used it I gave in and grabbed the dictionary. Basically it's a fancy way of saying "mishmash"-- as in a bricolage of stylistic elements. Who knows? Maybe I'll work it into a book of my own sometime!

The footnotes alone are worth the read. He has a wonderfully sly sense of humor that has made me laugh out loud several times, textbook or no. It ain't a beach read, but it is a lot of fun and I recommend it if you're a WDW fan (as I am!). The only problem is that it was published in 1992 and there have been some substantial changes in the intervening years. I'd love to see him take a stab at it again, updated for the new attractions, restaurants and shops.

So that's been my few weeks. My children were home for spring break and as a present they both brought colds home from their respective colleges. My husband was sick last week and he generously shared his cold with me. Stuffed up, laryngitis, aches and sore muscles -- I'm planning to spend the weekend in bed just trying to breathe.

Play safe!
Diana

2011-03-07T21:47:00.000-05:00

It's my turn over at the Sizzling Scribe's blog this week. Be sure to check it out and leave a comment for a chance to win a free ebook! I'm giving away not one, not two, but three copies of Kara's Captain, but only if you post!

Play safe,
Diana

2011-02-26T19:57:00.001-05:00

Just a catching-up post tonight. This week I've finished writing (and editing) a new book, I've read a few others and tonight, I made one heck of a batch of tapioca pudding. I think I like warm tapioca just as much as I do a deep, dark, rich chocolate. The first one brings the comfort of hearth and home, the second brings sensual, erotic desires to the surface. Ahh, the wonders a simple taste can provoke!

I won't wax raphsodic over food tonight (can you tell I'm counting calories again?) but I will add to my list of books I read this year. I've totally finished the InkWorld series -- and will go back and re-read sections of Inkdeath just because I enjoyed them. I also read Nora Robert's O'Hurley series (three sisters and a brother). They were quick reads since they're novellas, two to a book. She must have one heck of a research team to get the depth of detail she does with every novel of hers I've ever read. Very cool.

This week I've also thrown some spaghetti on the wall, trying out some stories I'd started in the past and working on them a little more to see if they're ready to progress. One did, quite nicely, in fact. I'm thinking it'll be my next project.

And of course, I've shoveled snow. Again. Always. It's snowing again as I type this. C'mon Puxatawny Phil -- bring that spring here!

Play safe, everyone!
Diana
PS. REMEMBERED LOVE made it to #4 on Amazon's Bestseller list for free Erotic Romances before dropping again to #5, but did you know LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON is also available on the Kindle? It's a quickie and is less than $3.00! If you're looking for something a little longer (and a little more expensive) try DIAMONDS IN THE SNOW , now available on the Kindle :)

2011-02-21T09:17:00.001-05:00

Okay, this is seriously exciting. REMEMBERED LOVE has climbed to #4 on the Kindle bestseller list for free erotica. I'm so excited!

Secret Submission and Winter Studs both made to the bestseller list for paid erotica in their lifetimes, but I've never made the top ten, let alone the top five before.

Doin' the happy dance!
Diana

PS. Remembered Love is a free read...if you don't have your copy yet...what are you waiting for?

2011-02-12T18:09:00.001-05:00

Six weeks into the new year and my reading list is growing! Figured I'll post once a month just to record the titles, but I won't really "review" each one like I did last year. I'm not a review site, after all. I'm just a writer who happens to like to read :). I'll post links to the books (mostly through Amazon) and the author's official webpages if you want to know more about them.

So far this year I've read two works by Chris Crutcher for my day job as a teacher. I've picked up a new course this term and both his autobiography, entitled King of the Mild Frontier (a reference those of us of a certain age should get) and Deadline, a story about a high school senior who has only one year to live. Crutcher's audience is really young adult males, not slightly-past-middle-age women, but I liked both for what they are and will have fun reading them with my classes.

I've also read Inkheart by Cornelia Funke and am halfway through Inkspell on my way to Inkdeath. If you saw the movie with Brendan Fraser, you've seen only part of the book. I enjoyed both and am very much enjoying the rest of the series.

Add to the list The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and you'll see I've already read four and a half books in six weeks. For some of you, that's pitiful, I know. But don't forget, I'm also writing them! SERVICES RENDERED is now finished and in edits and will be available for you to read before the end of the year (God willin' and the creek don't rise!).

Final note about author's websites: You really should visit them. I found out, for example, that Chris Crutcher is currently in India doing some fascinating things, Cornelia Funke's site has some great fan fiction, and Dan Brown's site is as mysterious as is books (and of the three, is the most beautiful).

Play safe!
Diana

2011-01-25T20:42:00.001-05:00

        Fantasy books are my first love. My home library shelves are home to my “keeper” authors – almost all of whom write in the fantasy genre. JRR Tolkien was the first who turned me on to worlds other than our own. I first read the LOTR trilogy when I was in high school and we were taking a trip to Florida. I brought it along as reading material, having already read The Hobbit and not really loving it.

        I might as well not have left my room for all I saw of Florida that vacation. I spent my days with my nose buried in Middle Earth, walking the forest paths with Strider and the Halflings, riding with Eomer over the plains of Rohan, struggling with Sam as he tried to get Frodo up Mount Doom. I was hooked.

        Except there were few fantasies ‘way back then (the early 70’s), so I turned to science fiction for exploration of new ideas and new worlds. I also dove head-first into Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy, eagerly awaiting each new book, loving her exploration of the world of Arthur and his magician.

       By the end of the decade, the genre had ridden to the crest of a wonderful wave. Fred Saberhagen, Piers Anthony, Robert Jordan, Terry Brooks followed shortly after by David Eddings, Katherine Kurtz and Anne McCaffery. I read them all, kept them all on my growing bookshelves. Those and more.

      And then came children.

      My obstetrician, upon seeing me comfortable in my hospital bed reading the Sunday paper the day after my daughter was born, laughed at me and said, “Enjoy that paper. It’s the last thing you’re going to read for the next eighteen years.” I laughed with him, thinking he was joking.

      He wasn’t.

      Between holding down a full-time job, raising two children (my son was born 20 months after my daughter) and being a wife, lover and friend to my husband – reading fell way down the list of priorities. Who had time to go to the library, let alone read what you borrowed? Buying new books? Out of the question. We needed diapers, school uniforms, milk money. I read short magazine articles in doctor’s waiting rooms. That was it.

      But children grow and since September my husband and I have an empty nest. Temporarily only – they’re just away at college. But time to remember what we used to do with our lives before they filled it up with wonder.

      A few days ago my daughter and I browsed a bookstore and I came across the Complete Book of Swords by Fred Saberhagen – all the Swords books in one volume. I read those books. Twenty years ago. I still have them on my shelves. Today I visited another bookstore, this time I came across a new Piers Anthony book – part of his Xanth series. Another set I read such a long time ago.

      And Katherine Kurtz with a Deryni book published two years ago for a series I once devoured a book at a time, impatiently waiting for the next to be released. Here this one had been out for two years and I didn’t even know it existed. I shook my head, then grinned – and bought it.

      But I’m not going to read it. Not just yet. This year is my year for fantasy. I pulled down the Saberhagen and Anthony books and put them on my TBR pile. I’m debating if I want to re-read the Deryni series in the order in which she wrote them, or the chronological order in which they occur. I’ll decide soon –and I’ll re-read them all, sliding the new book in it’s proper place either at the end, or in the middle where the chronology puts it.

      I’m very excited. A year dedicated to the genre I love. I can’t wait to get started!

     Play safe, everyone...and I hope you enjoy some of these authors, too!

Diana

2011-01-16T11:01:00.001-05:00

So I've been one lazy writer the past three weeks. I haven't read any books. Started one, put it down within twenty pages. Contemporary California girl-books just aren't my interest. Never been to Rodeo Drive and that lifestyle holds no allure. Now, give me a mountain, a running brook and a cabin occupied by a fine specimen of the male persuasion and I'm all over it! Put the cabin in the high country of the west, the backwoods of the Ozarks or the clear forests of the Adirondacks -- it doesn't matter. But alone? Forced into the company of said alpha male? Oh, yeah...

I say I read books about people. I like the characters, their foibles, their problems, their solutions. I read biographies and autobiographies because I'm interested in what makes people tick. Mostly I stick to entertainers and writers because the creative process fascinates me. How does one create something from nothing? I do it all the time when I write a story, but that doesn't mean I'm anywhere closer to understanding how it happens or where it comes from.

But apparently setting is important to me as well. Last night my husband asked if I wanted to sit and watch a movie with him. It was his turn to pick but I told him, "nothing urban and gritty". I'm not much of a cops and robbers sort anyway, and some of the movies he and my son like are just too dark for my tastes. He suggested Johnny Mneumonic which is based on a book by William Gibson. I knew it was science fiction, which I do enjoy, and the blurb sounded rather cool, so I agreed.

And what was it? Science fiction set in an urban and gritty setting! Grrrr! I liked the premise of the movie, if some of the details strained credulity (amazing that they could still broadcast at the end of the movie after all the stuff that got blown up) but I didn't like the dark, distopian view of our future. I'm an optimist, people! I DO believe we'll make it as a global society. There will continue to be fits and starts, but we're making progress.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox with this conclusion: after all my posturing on how important characters are to me, setting is equally important. Not so much the time period part of setting, but the location. Apparently the real estate agents are right.

Play safe!
Diana

2011-01-09T10:26:00.000-05:00

I blogged this week over at the Sizzlin' Scribes -- come on over and take a look and leave a comment :)

2011-01-02T10:06:00.002-05:00

Okay! Here are my totals for 2010:

I read a total of 36 books (I know, a paltry number compared to many of you, but remember, I have to balance my reading with my writing them for YOU to read! :) ).

Of that 36, five were biographies, three were straight fantasies, two were historical, two were historical romances (which moves them more to the fiction side than the historicals which were more factual based), one was Literature (with a capital L and nose in the air), five were young adult and eighteen were romances.

And here's the full list:

Gabaldon Diana           Breath of Snow and Ashes      January       historical romance

Gabaldon Diana           Echo in the Bone                     January       historical romance

Bianculli David             Dangerously Funny                  January       biography

McComber Debbie      92 Pacific Blvd                        February     romance

Gaiman Neil                American Gods                        March         fantasy

Devereux Jude            The Summerhouse                    April            romance

Devereux Jude            The Duchess                            April            romance

King Laurie R              Locked Rooms                       April            mystery/ romance

Carlin George              Last Words                            April             biography

Crystal Billy                 700 Sundays                          April             biography

Sparks Nicholas          Dear John                               April             romance

Bryson Bill                 Shakespeare: The World as Stage    April     biography

Clarke Susanna         Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell   May   fantasy

Dorris Michael          The Yellow Raft and Blue Water   June         literature

Paulsen Gary               Tiltawhirl John                        June              YA

Witton Dorothy           Crossroads for Chela              June             YA

Voigt Cynthia              Jackaroo                                June              YA

Martin Kat                  The Handmaiden's Necklace   June              romance

Drake Shannon           Reckless                                 June              romance

McNaught Judith        Remember When                    July               romance

Fletcher Donna           The Irish Devil                        July               romance

Litton Josie                 Dream Island                          July               romance

Cliff Nigel                   The Shakespeare Riots           July               biography

Penman Sharon Kay   Sunne in Splendor                  August           historical romance

Roberts Nora             Black Hills                              August           romance

Sparks Nicholas         The Lucky One                      August           romance

Rowling JK                The Deathly Hallows              September      fantasy

Penman Sharon Kay   Here Be Dragons                  October          historical romance

Trueman Terry            Cruise Control                      October          YA

Willig Lauren         Secret History of the Pink Carnation October   mystery/ romance

Willig Lauren         Masque of the Black Tulip          November      mystery/ romance

Michaels Fern            Wild Honey                          November       romance

Coulter Catherine       The Heir                               November       romance

Willig Lauren        Betrayal of the Blood Lily           December        mystery/ romance

Trueman Terry            No Right Turn                      December        YA

Delinski Barbara         Twelve Across                    December        romance

That's the list! Okay -- which ones did you read? Would you recommend them? Or did you read any of these because I brought them to your attention? Put your responses in the comments. I'll put your names in a hat and give a free download of one of my books (your choice) to one lucky commenter.

Play safe!
Diana

PS. I apologize for the lack of decent columns. There really should be a way to put a table into a blog post!

2011-01-02T09:39:00.004-05:00

Closing out the old year, tidying up to get ready for the new. Yes, I realize I should've done this in the last few days of 2010, but I spent time with family and friends instead. We've had a great couple of days just kickin' back and enjoying each other's company. I love the holidays just because it gives us an excuse to put the world on 'pause' and simply relax into old relationships and new friendships.

So, to close out last year here, I need to add my last two books of the year to my list and then ask you -- which ones did YOU read that I read? Did we read any of the same books? I know some of you did, you either commented or emailed me to let me know (and I love it when you do!). But what about the silent majority here? Did any of the books I read strike a chord with you? Even if a dissonant one, I'd love to know.

I finished the year with one really good one and one clunker. First up, No Right Turn by Terry Trueman. I'd read two of his earlier this year (Stuck in Neutral and Cruise Control) and looked forward to reading his other Young Adult novels. No Right Turn is another that grabs you from the first pages and doesn't let you go till the end. The audience is middle-school boys, I suspect. Or even high school boys. Girls wouldn't mind it, though. Over the years I've found girls will read books meant for boys and be fine with it, but boys won't read books meant for girls no matter how much you try to hide the frilly covers. If you have boys, definitely turn them on to Terry Trueman's books. He's well worth their time.

The clunker surprised me. I like Barbara Delinsky even though I hadn't read any of hers this year. Figured finishing off with Twelve Across would be a quick, fun read. Unfortunately, it mostly took place inside the hero's and heroine's heads. The basic premise is the same as my Cabin Fever -- two people stuck inside a small cabin for a long period of time. It's hard to keep the action going when neither the setting nor the characters change. Believe me, I know! I invented two ghosts to keep my two company (and several reviewers thought that addition lame) because the two just by themselves did far too much thinking and not enough doing.

And that was exactly the trap Ms. Delinsky fell into. I spent a lot of time reading about their inner turmoil and not enough time watching them do things. More conversation would've helped, but she had two characters very comfortable with long silences. Ah, well. They can't all be golden, I suppose.

Okay, going to do a second posting with the book totals and titles. Make it easier to find as well as read!

Play safe...and read on!

Diana
PS. Edited to add links. Sorry!

2010-12-28T17:52:00.001-05:00

The year is winding to a close and I want to get in the last few books of the year. Finished Lauren Willig's The Betrayal of the Blood Lily before Christmas but didn't have time to make note of it. This book moves the action to India and follows Penelope Devereaux as the protagonist. Good story, but getting pretty far afield from the orginal concept of the Pink Carnation. Like the on-going story of Ellie, though. Hoping there's going to be a few more of these so I can find out what Colin is up to! Is he a spy for the British Government? Is he a writer of spy novels as he claims to be? Only future books will tell!

Three more days to the year. How many do you think I can manage in that time?

Play safe!
Diana

2010-12-27T12:09:00.001-05:00

So you're under a blizzard warning and need something to read? Here are two ideas for you:

Diamond in the Snow -- Paul and Caroline get stuck at his house during a blizzard. How do they spend their time? Well once Caroline finds out Paul's a closet Dom, it's all over but the screaming in ecstasy!

A Devil in Winter -- Kevin Winter spends a wonderful evening with an old flame, only to discover she's getting married to another man. Not able to leave well enough alone, his attempt to see her is thwarted by her younger sister. Kevin kidnaps Anna to keep her quiet --and finds she's far more fun than his old flame ever was!

Both these stories appeared in anthologies in the past but are now available as single, downloadable titles. This way you don't even need to go out into the snow to get something to read and be inspired!

Want them on your new Kindle? Get Diamond in the Snow here and A Devil in Winter here!

Play safe -- and don't drive on those roads!

Diana

2010-12-11T10:24:00.001-05:00

Only three weeks left to the year! I'm adding another book to my list of Books Read This Year list and have two more "must reads" left in my pile. Will I get them both read in these hectic weeks before Christmas? Will I get my current work-in-progress finished by the first of the year, my self-imposed deadline? Will we have a white Christmas? A Happy New Year? Stay tuned for answers to these and other questions!

The book I'm adding as Another Book Finished is The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig. I know, I know. Not ANOTHER Lauren Willig Pink Carnation book!?! Yep. 'Fraid so. What can I say? When I get on a particular wave, I like to ride it all the way into shore.

This book follows Charlotte Landsdowne and I have to say I like this character very much. She remains true to her character all throughout the story (unlike some of Willig's other heroines). Of all the female progagonists in these stories, Charlotte is the one I most relate to, probably because she's very much like I was when I was in my teens. My mom used to tease me that she could set off a bomb next to me and I'd never notice because my head was so deeply involved in the book in my hands. Charlotte, too, lives in the world of fantasy and it's a lot of fun watching her fall in love with a very real world hero.

Hope those who celebrate Hanukkah have had a happy one...those who are preparing for Christmas, enjoy!

Play safe,
Diana