Navigating the Authorial Landmine of Reader Forums with Amber Skye

January 4, 2012 Roni Loren

First off, I want to give heartfelt thanks to everyone for all the well wishes (and books bought!) for my release day yesterday. I seriously can't even describe how amazing it feels to have so much support. I'm so lucky to have found such a wonderful community of people here online. *giant group hug* I love you guys. :D

DAILY BLOG TOUR ALERT: On Riverina Romantics I'm doing a BDSM 101 post for those of you who may be new to my genre. And over at Stephanie Haefner's blog I'm answering questions about how I built Fiction Groupie and tackling burning issues such as Ryan Reynold or Gosling? ;)

Okay, so, Monday I did a post on Authorial Interaction with Readers - More Controversial Than I Thought. The post seemed to strike a cord with many of you and a lot of you had the same kind of surprised reaction I did. So when Amber offered to give her perspective from the trenches of reader forums, I thought it would be great to hear what she had to say. Hopefully her insight gives us an idea of where some of that sentiment was coming from in the original post I referenced.

Now to Amber...

Navigating the Authorial Landmine of Reader Forums

by Amber Skye

I am a writer, but first and foremost I'm a reader. I've long loved romance and erotica books (longer, in fact, than is strictly appropriate). Anne Rice was writing menage before menage was hip (hello, Witching Hour). Since then my tastes have meandered through the romance sub-genres, from paranormal to historical to contemporary and erotic and others. What I really love about the genre is the sense of tradition. I love the history of the romance genre and watching the evolution of it. And part of the culture is sharing the experience, whether it's a swap bookshelf at work or an online community.

For a while I was active on the Amazon Romance forums, which can best be described as the Wild West of discussion forums. Spam was a common occurrence: authors posting links to their books in irrelevant threads, posted a one-line, off-topic post, but with a 5 line signature with all their books linked, starting threads only to drop their book link. Worse than that, authors regularly got into "heated" discussions with readers. They called us wrong and stupid. They challenged not only our reviews, but our opinions in general and our reading selections. In an infamous thread about erotic rape-fantasy fiction, one author said that anyone who liked to read books like that should be raped so hard we had to go to the hospital. I'm dead serious.

Several their members and I started the GoodReads Refugee group, a group of readers (and a few authors) started by readers and for readers, with strict rules about what authors can do. It's all community driven. Our members (as in, readers) get to say what is okay and what's not, and authors have to abide by the rules or get out. We still get spammed and insulted, but we can quickly delete and ban those offending members.

Now, you would never say awful things. Roni would never be like that. In fact, 98% of authors would never be like that, but those authors have already peed in the pool. The entire author species makes us nervous. That doesn't mean that we don't want authorial interaction. Some of us do. I do. And that is what blogs and newsletters and twitter and even author chats on those forums are for. But they have a built-in velvet rope around them because they are specifically set up for that purpose. When I subscribe to your blog or follow you on twitter, I'm telling you that I'm interested in what you have to say and giving you permission to send me promo.

The question about whether an author can participate in "reader" area is a great one. The answer is yes, you can, but you have to act as a reader. Put away your writing cap and your promo and go talk about the books that you read. This means sharing the books that you love, but also talking about what you didn't like. Authors don't like to do that, they don't want to give negative reviews. I understand that, it's throwing stones and glass houses and all of that. Plus, as an author, you have a certain respect for have freaking hard it is to do it well. But that's you're looking at it through writer-colored glasses, not as a reader. If you go into a reader's area and only give positive reviews, only talk about what you loved, then that looks a lot like promo. And when promo is unsolicited, as it would be in a reader area, then it's called spam.

Our group actually has a few authors in it. They talk about reading. And we like them. So when it comes time to promo them, guess what? We do it for them. One of our founder-author-reader-members, Penny Watson, said, "I honestly have no idea how my participation in this group has affected my sales, nor do I care. I write for fun. I read for fun. And I love this group because it's fun, friendly, and informative." Awesome. And anytime someone wants a Christmas book, we happily point them to hers. I read about a different instance of this happening here.

In the previous post, Roni said, "Yes, we're writers, but first and foremost we're READERS. Just because I have a book out there doesn't mean I'm not also voracious reader who loves to discuss books with others."

If an author was already involved in discussions, then they already know the etiquette. As KarLynP, my fellow moderator and romance forum junkie said, one of the biggest problems we see from authors is "not reading the posting policies nor getting the general feel for the group before you post." I can see how this would happen organically, without sinister spammy intentions, but it doesn't always end well. Starting all posts with "As an author" or "When I started writing X" ...yuck.

A reader can come into the discussion and say, "I loved that alpha hero, he was hot, but the heroine was like nails on a chalkboard to me." That's what reader discussion looks like. If you can say that, or whatever your actual opinion was, then you can absolutely participate. If you can't, because of potential backlash in the writer community, then you're no longer a reader first. You're a writer first.

People write their reviews for other readers. If it was intended as a message for the author, we'd email them. Even the Dear Author blog came out and said it was a shtick, not an actual letter. I know that authors can read my reviews, but it's disconcerting when they reply. If I rave about a book, then hearing a "thank you" is sweet. But if I say something negative in the review, then I don't want a "thank you" even in a private email. Depending on the phrasing, it can come across passive aggressive. But when authors respond to negative reviews, even if they speak carefully, you can always feel the hurt emanating from them. That doesn't shut the discussion on that review down, it dampens the whole reader community.

A book is a product. It's ALSO a labor of love, I know. Holy God, I know. But if you package it and put it up for sale and I paid good money for it, then it became a product along the way. And I should be allowed to say, "I didn't like this book" just like I'm allowed to say "I don't like this new shirt that bled purple all over my clothes." And I don't want Macy's (or whatever) coming up to me and saying, "well, actually, you misunderstood the intention behind the bleeding purple dye, we want all things to turn purple." Or even, "you read the washing instructions wrong, dummy." Sometimes reviewers make mistakes. People who read my review are smart enough to figure that stuff out for themselves.

I've bought books with scathing reviews. Hell, all books of a certain success level have scathing reviews. But when the author steps in, all indignant but trying to hide it behind a veil of courtesy, it's awkward. Don't make it awkward, authors. Take a book that you LOVED, that you consider epic, and check out it's negative reviews. It'll blow your mind, but they'll be there and full of reader rage. It's just part of the book ecosystem. If you're going to put your book out there, then you have to be willing to take your lumps, and quietly.

So what's a well-intentioned author to do?

Make it easy for readers to contact you. Have a blog and a twitter and whatever else you want. But above all, if you want reader interaction, put your gosh-darn email address up on your website! Twitter or contact forms are not a replacement. I know spam is scary (oh, the irony) but Gmail does a really good job nowadays, so just pick the whole email address up! Mine is hello@amberskye.net. There, I said it. And the spam lightning bolt did not strike my inbox full, so don't worry about it!

Don't ever respond to reviews. Roni brought up a great exception, which is if you were in email contact with a blogger and asked them to review your book. Then it makes sense to thank them, but I'd keep it hella short and sweet and do not comment on the content of the review. Otherwise, say nothing. Ever.

The #1 reader interaction is your book. If you want to interact with a reader, write a book. Then write another one, a better one. That is the absolute best way to interact with your fans. That's what we really want, the next installment, a sequel, a new book from you. If we like what you wrote, then we want to buy more, make that possible by writing as many great books as you can.

Amber Skye is a writer of dark erotica and sweet romance. Her erotica manuscript, which has won awards and what-nots, is currently out on submission. She blogs at http://amberskye.net and tweets at @a_skye, mostly about naughty things but occasionally about writing. In the interest of full disclosure, she self-publishes under a different pen name.

Thanks, Amber, for stopping by and sharing all of this with us! :)

So what do you guys think of authors participating in reader forums? Do you think you can take your author hat off? Anyone out there successfully being a "reader only" in forums? Any horror stories about authors peeing in the pool?

"Revved up and red-hot sexy, CRASH INTO YOU, delivers a riveting romance!" --Lorelei James, NY Times Bestselling author of the ROUGH RIDERS series

CRASH INTO YOU is now available!

Read an excerpt here.

All content copyright of the author. Please ask permission before re-printing or re-posting. Fair use quotations and links do no require prior consent of the author. ©Roni Loren 2009-2012 |Copyright Statement|

How Low Can You Go? The Important All Is Lost Moment by Sierra Godfrey

November 28, 2011 Roni Loren

It's guest post Monday! Today the lovely and infinitely wise Sierra Godfrey leads us through that dark black part of our manuscript where we go all sadistic on our characters. Fun times!

Over to you, Sierra...

How Low Can You Go? The Important All Is Lost Moment
by Sierra Godfrey

In women’s fiction, one of the main story features is the transformative journey our main characters usually go through, which ultimately ends in self-realization and a life change by the end of the story. But getting to that resolution first requires our gals to go through some tough times and situations. And it’s our job to put them through the literary wringer.

In plot structure, one of the hardest moments in a character’s transformative process is the All is Lost point—also called the Dark Moment, or the point about ¾ of the way through the story when after everything our girl has been through, she’s lost. She’s defeated, broken, and there’s nothing left. The All is Lost point comes after the midpoint, and is the point at which our girl will fall, and then ultimately gather herself up and head into the finale where she’ll (ideally) take back the day and win. (The All is Lost moment really applies for any genre of fiction--must apply, really--but in women's fic, it's especially important in our heroine's journey.)

In the movie Bridesmaids, the midpoint of the story comes when main character Annie snaps spectacularly at the bridal shower. She throws things, swears a lot, and makes a massive scene--all in public. Her behavior is the culmination of lots of tension, and she lets it all out. After Annie storms out of the shower, her car’s pesky broken taillight (the one she was told to fix repeatedly) causes an accident and she gets stranded (which is bad). Worse, she calls the only person she can think of, the smarmy guy she was dating/sleeping with, who greets her with possibly the most insulting greeting ever—“Hi F- Buddy!” Worse, he does this right in front of the nice Irish cop Annie’s been sort of dating. Oooh. Ouch.

Cop leaves Annie, and Annie has no choice but to go with smarmy F- Buddy guy. He continues to be obnoxious, and she gets out of his car and has to walk home. It’s the movie’s All is Lost point. Annie has lost her friends, her place in the bridal party (let alone maid of honor position), her car, her Irish cop, even her smarmy her F-Buddy. The next few scenes see Annie really take in the despair of this moment by lying on the couch in misery and watching TV.You need this All is Lost point in a story so your heroine can sink as low as she can go before she can rise again. It’s a natural story dip. Your job is to make this moment as low as possible. Take everything away from your character that you can—everything that matters.

Your All is Lost moment should:

Feel like the heroine’s lowest emotional point in the whole story—she should die inside a little.
Be a huge blow to every goal the heroine’s been trying to achieve.
Happen after the character has resisted hard against every obstacle.
Take away things from the heroine and leave her bereft.

In general, the lower you go, the better the high of the bounce back up will be, and the more satisfying the story’s conclusion.Let’s look at a few more All is Lost moments:

In the movie Tangled, Rapunzel and Flynn finally come together and are sharing a loving moment out on a boat. But then Rapunzel’s evil mother tricks her, and takes Rapunzel back in (in a great display of maternal guilt tripping) and Rapunzel is heartbroken and bitter, and has lost her freedom and her love. Flynn is also captured by the mother’s henchmen and tied up in a boat so palace guards will capture him. For both Rapunzel and Flynn, all they’ve fought for has been lost.

In Pride and Prejudice, the All is Lost point can be hard to pick out. It initially looks like the point after Elizabeth hears the news that her naughty sister Lydia ran off with the equally naughty Mr. Wickham, wreaking general disgrace and havoc on the Bennett family. Elizabeth thinks Lydia’s disgrace will cause Elizabeth to end her acquaintance with Mr. Darcy. But in fact the real All is Lost moment comes when Mr. Darcy’s stink-face aunt, Lady Catherine, visit Elizabeth and tells her to renounce Mr. Darcy and that he’s engaged to her own daughter, Anne. Elizabeth goes for a walk, unable to sleep. Of course, she meets Darcy on that walk, but that walk is your moment. (Austen clearly knew about modern plot structure way back in 1813!)

In the story I'm working on now, I just took away my girl's house, fiance, and job--and for good measure, I let her see that someone had been tricking her for most of the book. And I loved doing it.

What are some of the low All is Lost moments you've put your character through?

About Sierra:
Sierra has enjoyed crafting stories for as long as she can remember. She especially likes stories that feature women who grow from the choices they face—and get the guy at the end. She’s a member of RWA and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two little boys, and two annoying cats. In her spare time she works as a freelance graphic designer and technical writer. To the untrained eye she can appear somewhat sassy, but at heart she loves a good story and is really quite sweet, especially when the lighting is right. Visit Sierra at her blog or on Twitter.

Letting Your Character in on the Secret by Ashley March

November 14, 2011 Roni Loren

It's Monday again and time for one of our regular guests--the lovely and insightful Ashley March. Today she's giving us a great idea on how to turn some tropes on their head.

Take it away, Ashley...

Letting Your Character in on the Secret

by Ashley March

Awhile ago I had the pleasure of reading Julie Anne Long’s most recenthistorical, What I Did For a Duke. I say it was a pleasure because not only amI a huge JAL fan (if you haven’t read her work already, please do so—you’remissing out), but also because this was the first book I ever remember readingwhere as soon as I finished I wanted to start over again.

Butthat’s from a reader’s point-of-view. From a writer’s point-of-view, whatreally struck me about this book is that although it could have been a typicalrevenge plot where the hero gets back at the heroine’s brother by breaking theheroine’s heart, (warning! partial spoiler below)

Ms.Long instead surprised me partway through the book by having the heroinerealize that this was the hero’s intention. I admit it, I was stunned. Here Iwas, sure that the hero would succeed in his plans, make the heroine fall inlove with him (while he falls in love with her, of course), and then at the endwhen she finds out what his true intentions were from the beginning, therewould be drama (!) and angst (!). Yet Ms. Long completely turns thatpredictable plot upside down by having the heroine figure out the hero’sintentions before he could break her heart.

Whatdid this do?

1) Mostimportantly, I was even more excited to continue reading than I had beenbefore, because now I had no idea what to expect.

2) Itmade me believe that the heroine was an equal match for the hero, which isn’talways the case with plots like this.

3) Itmade me even more envious of Ms. Long’s genius.

Italso, however, made me wonder why we writers sometimes choose to take the easyway out. Is it because we’ve read certain tropes before and know that they cansucceed, thus we want to emulate their success for ourselves? Or is it becausewhen we brainstorm ideas, we choose something from the first three options,never daring to explore beyond the predictable?

Icould challenge you to copy from Ms. Long by choosing a common plot device andthen turning its on its head to make it unique—and I’m sure each of us couldfind a way to do that without much effort. (Throw in a rabbit here, a redherring there.)

Butinstead, I’m going to challenge you to dig a bit further. Specifically, whatcharacter(s) can you give knowledge to of an event/person/thing, etc. that iscurrently ignorant of that event/person/thing as the story stands? For you see,giving your character knowledge—whether he chooses to reveal it to anyone elseor not—makes him stronger and smarter in the reader’s eye, and it also makesthe story more complex and fresh.

Thinkof the heroine dressing up as a man and becoming the hero’s best friend. Whatif the hero knows the heroine is pretending, instead of questioning why he’ssuddenly experiencing sexual awareness toward a member of the same sex whenhe’s never done so before? (I have to admit, I like my heroes to be smart,too.)

Thinkof two ex-lovers reunited by circumstance. Instead of them both being attractedto each other still and constantly questioning whether the other person lovesthem, have one of the characters confident of their love being reciprocated.What other reason would they have to keep them at a distance?

Theseare just a couple of examples off the top of my head, and I’m sure you can comeup with better ideas when you look at your specific characters. Figure out whatthey currently don’t know (this could be about anything), then change it so thatthey do know. This can deepen notonly your characters and your story, but also create something that might oneday make your readers stand in awe and rave about your incomparable genius.(Here’s to you, Ms. Long. J )

What other book(s) can you think ofwhere a character’s knowledge turned what could have been a predictable plotinto something astounding?

AshleyMarch is a historical romance author who lives in Colorado with her adoring (oris that adorable?) husband, her two young daughters, and their dog. Her latestbook, ROMANCING THE COUNTESS, was released by NAL Penguin in September 2011,and she is currently psychoanalyzing the characters of her next two projects:the story of Joanna and Ethan, two secondary characters from her Victoriandebut; and the first book in a series set in 1920s Long Island.

“...a sexy, sizzling tale that is sure to have readers begging for more!" –Jo Davis, author of I SPY A DARK OBSESSION

CRASH INTO YOU is now available for pre-order!

Read an excerpt here.

Why No Sex Doesn't Mean No Tension by Author Jody Hedlund

October 10, 2011 Roni Loren

Today I have the super fabulous Jody Hedlund with us. Jody is one of my favorite bloggers to read and is just an all around lovely person. I feel like I learn something every time I stop by her site.

And today she's going to talk to use about something I have no expertise in--writing romance with *gasp* no sexy scenes. :) I love this topic because it shows how wonderful and diverse the romance genre is. There truly is something for everyone.

AND make sure and leave a comment WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS because Jody is giving away a copy of her newest release, The Doctor's Lady, to one lucky winner!

So without further ado, take it away Jody...

Are Sweet Romances Boring?

Does including sex in your romance novel help it to sell better?

There are those that might argue that, “Yes, sex sells.” And to some degree, that’s true. Why else would commercials use scantily-clad Victoria Secret-like models to sell everything from chewing gum to dish soap?

Okay. So I might be exaggerating just a tiny bit. But the point is that even in the book world, readers are attracted to covers with beautiful women who have lush bosoms and bare-chested men with sculpted abs.

But what about the sweet romances, books like mine, that have demure women on the front (literally covered from head to toe), and usually have limited (if any) sex in them? How do they sell? You might be asking, do they even sell at all?

My first book, The Preacher’s Bride (debuted in 2010), had to do with Puritans in England in the 1600’s. So even things like kissing and touching were fairly taboo. After my main characters get married, I depict them on their wedding night, sharing an intimate moment alone in their small house. But . . . I end the scene before they head to the bedroom.

Does that make my book boring?

Well, most of those who’ve read my book so far don’t seem to think so. In fact, my book has made the CBA best-seller list a couple of different times and has garnered first place in RWA’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award and Award of Excellence.

Could my debut book have done even better though, if I’d thrown in a little sex?

I don’t think so, and here are three reasons why:

1. I’m writing for a niche market.

My publisher, Bethany House (a division of Baker Books), specifically targets readers of religious fiction. A reader who picks up a book with a Bethany House logo has certain expectations about the book, including that it contain some spiritual themes, and that it won’t have explicit sexual content.

In the editing of my book, my publisher has asked me many times to tone down especially passionate kissing scenes, because too much intimacy could alienate readers who expect a sweet romance when they open up a Bethany House book. I realized those expectations going in to my contract, and even though I tend to push the boundaries every now and then, I respect the standards of my readers.

2. Diversity within the romance genre is important.

Roni and I are at the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to sex in our romances. While mine have none, hers are so hot the words sizzle off the pages. But the diversity between our books and within the romance genre is reflective of the diversity of life, the varying tastes people have in their reading, and their own personal preferences.

If writers were all trying to hit the “middle group” we’d leave out some readers who like more and some who like less. Besides, if we were all writing the same thing, our books and lives would end up being boring replicas.

3. Your characters don’t need to have sex in order to develop sexual tension.

What makes a story riveting and enjoyable isn’t necessarily the amount of sex it has in it. Instead, one of the key factors in making a captivating romance is how the author develops the sexual and romantic tension.

I like stories best that keep tightening the relational tension—that enigmatic push and pull between the hero and heroine. The two continually grow more attracted to each other, but the obstacles keep growing too. Their passion is igniting, but insurmountable conflict keeps them apart.

Developing an intense emotional relationship, creating flirtatious and fun banter, and the tender building up of intimacy—those are the things that make a romance truly satisfying.

In fact, one reader said this about my new release, The Doctor’s Lady: “For a story with no sex scenes, you have some very sexy moments in there. Love that.”

What do you think? Do romances need to have sex in order to sell well? Have you tried a sweet (sexless) romance? Were you bored?

And don't forget to leave a comment and your email address to be entered to win a copy of The Doctor's Lady!

©Jody Hedlund, 2011

Jody Hedlund is an award-winning historical romance novelist and author of the best-selling book, The Preacher's Bride. She received a bachelor’s degree from Taylor University and a master’s from the University of Wisconsin, both in Social Work. Currently she makes her home in Michigan with her husband and five busy children. Her second book, The Doctor’s Lady released in September 2011.

CRASH INTO YOU is now available for pre-order! Read an excerpt here.

Creating Strong Female Characters by Sierra Godfrey

August 29, 2011 Roni Loren

Welcome again to genre Monday! Today I have the funny and talented Sierra Godfrey who will be sharing posts every 5th Monday of the month on topics related to women's fiction and/or marketing and promotion. Though today her post can definitely be helpful across all genres because none of us want to create a wimpy heroine. Ick.

So over to you Sierra...

Creating Strong Female Characters by Sierra Godfrey

In April, I had a baby boy. I also have a four year old son, which means I’ve become very much outnumbered by males in my house. Sometimes I have to work to understand them, I admit. My four year old is at the stage where he’s exploring and playing with his parts almost nonstop, and my infant son uncannily pees on me at diaper changing time with an arc of urine that boggles the mind in its reach. (In fact, right after I birthed him, he celebrated our post-utero bond by soaking me with pee. Kind of the same way you break a champagne bottle on a newly commissioned boat.)

Anyway, with all that male in my house, I found myself recently pondering strong female characters. Well, to be honest, I’ve always been interested in them. Some of the greats that come to mind:

Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games

Lisbeth Salander from The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice

Claire from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

Because I write women’s fiction, creating a strong female character is of particular interest to me. Strong leading ladies are independent, smart, and plucky. But there are some other key elements to strong female characters:

She’s got it hard
Create sympathy with your character, but don’t overdo it. Put her harm’s way, trot her through hardship, or dump a heap of bad circumstances on her. She’ll come through it swimmingly and without feeling sorry for herself if she’s strong.

She’s relatable
Strong women are also normal ones--and we want to see that we can identify with her. Then when she doesn’t cave under pressure, or she takes high road, it’s particularly satisfying because we know that could be us, too.

She’s witty
Funny ladies are also usually smart ones. We like a sense of humor and a good attitude. There are notable exceptions to this rule--Scarlett O’Hara is one. She’s got a terrible attitude and is super selfish, but she also nails the sympathy vote.

She has great inner conflict
She’s fearless, she’s sure, and she takes action. Great! Strong character, right? Well, no. We want some inner conflict that shows she’s also human, that she struggles with the same doubts that we do, that she works her way through life figuring things out as she does, just like us. But she does these things with grace and with ultimate success. She doesn’t hurt people on the way toward solving her conflict, either. She’s a fighter--and we love her because we know she’ll fight her way to solve her conflict.

The above traits don’t just apply for strong female characters, but serve as a good blueprint for all characters.

What are some of your favorite strong female characters? What are some of the things you've done to make your ladies strong?

Sierra's recommended read for August:

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
In the small village of Edgecombe St. Mary in the English countryside lives Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson’s wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, the Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother’s death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and regarding her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?

The character of Mrs. Jasmina Ali is a fantastic example of a strong woman. She has a wonderful dignity, she's resolved, she's smart and funny, and she has great inner conflict.

Sierra has enjoyed crafting stories for as long as she can remember. She especially likes stories that feature women who grow from the choices they face—and get the guy at the end. She's a member of RWA and RWA-WF, the women's fiction special interest chapter, and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two little boys, and two annoying cats. She is always working on a story. When she's not writing stories, she works as a freelance technical writer and designer.

Find Sierra at her blog or on Twitter.

Thanks, Sierra! And remember that all of our guest contributors have their own blogs, so if you like what they have to say here, be sure to check them out on their own blogs as well. :)

Wait For It...Waaaait For It: The Nuance of Suspense by Joan Swan

August 22, 2011 Roni Loren

Welcome to genre specialist Monday! :) Today I'm excited to introduce you to one of our new regular columnists--Joan Swan, who is a romantic suspense author who debuts in February 2012! Today she's going to talk to us about...

The Nuance of Suspense by Joan Swan

Wait for it... Waaaaait foooor it...

The whole point to suspense is drama development within a story. To have suspenseful drama, you must have:

Stakes--what will the character win or lose in the situation

Character--do I connect enough with this person to care whether they win or lose

Conflict--someone must want one thing while another (even if that is an natural force) wants another.

And these elements must be utilized in a delicate balance.

Suspense is about proposing a story question, then making the reader wait for the answer. How long? It depends...usually on the question itself. Some are big, some are small, but regardless of the size (or relative importance) every time an answer is revealed, another continues to linger. Like that childhood game leapfrog, some question that the reader needs answered is always in place, which creates a need-to-know atmosphere: hence, suspense. When done well, the story skips along, with answers coming at intervals and new questions popping up.

Timing is everything, and it's a skill I believe develops on a gut level. There are "rules of thumb" that can be applied, but in my opinion the development of your sixth sense is more valuable. If you're bored...the reader will be bored. If the scenario feels off to you...it will feel off to the reader. If your attention is scattered between three different story lines...the reader will also be distracted. And if you allow the suspense to linger, making the reader wait too long for answers, they will get exasperated and put the book down.

There are different types of suspense a writer can employ to keep the pace moving in creative, thought-provoking ways: the dark, slowly-twining-around-your-throat suspense, the emotional, life-altering-twisting-your-stomach suspense, and the well-known and loved physical-threat-to life-and-limb suspense. And because I write romantic suspense, I'm also twining in the romantic conflict along the way. It's fun and challenging and when it all comes together, the result is priceless.

Joan's recommended read for August:

MARKED, by Elisabeth Naughton

THERON – Dark haired, duty bound and deceptively deadly. He’s the leader of the Argonauts, an elite group of guardians that defends the immortal realm from threats of the Underworld.

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life—silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even as a 200-year-old descendant of Hercules, he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body.
As war with the Underworld nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Pick up MARKED here:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Chapters, IndieBound, Powell’s

Joan Swan is a triple RWA® Golden Heart finalist. She writes sexy romantic suspense with a paranormal twist, and her debut novel, FEVER, with Kensington Brava releases February 28, 2012. A second in the series, BLAZE, releases October, 2012. You can find Joan at her blog, One Word At A Time, her website or Twitter.

What do you think creates a suspenseful read?

Guest Post: Previously Published Authors & Their Decision to Self-Pub

May 25, 2011 Roni Loren

Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Christine Bell/Chloe Cole, Dee Carney, Cari Quinn, and Dee Tenorio here at Fiction Groupie. These lovely authors are going to talk to us about their decision to venture out into the self-publishing world AND they have been kind enough to offer a big ol' contest along with it! So yay!

And before I turn it over to them, I just want to let everyone know that you should tune in to this blog on Friday because guess what? I'M GOING TO REVEAL MY COVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (**if I'm allowed, still checking on that.) I got it today and am SO EXCITED to share it with everyone. So don't miss that.

Now take it away, Christine...

The Decision to Self-Publish

Thanks so much Roni, for allowing us to take over your fabulous blog today! To celebrate the upcoming release of our erotic romance anthology, Undercover Lovers, Dee Carney, Cari Quinn, Dee Tenorio and I are going to talk about our decision to self-publish and give some insight into how we went about it. We’re also running a mega-contest and will be giving away an ARC of Undercover Lovers to TWENTY random commenters!

Dee Tenorio and I have been friends for a while and have talked endlessly about the recent shift in publishing, the phenomenon that is e-pub and the really great (varying, and often confusing) opportunities out there for authors right now. Self-publishing came up time and time again in these discussions. Not so much as an alternative to working with our current publishers, but as a way of increasing our visibility, offering a product that was entirely within our creative control (SO much fun!) and selling more books. Never one to let the grass grow beneath my feet, after several of these discussions, I said “Okay, I’m doing it. I’m writing a novella and by June 1^st, I’m going to self-pub it. You want in?” and she said “Absolutely.”

I’d love to tell you that we had it all worked out from the get go. We didn’t. But we did have the basics. Dee is a tekkie (thank God) and volunteered to handle the formatting and cover design. I researched some tax laws and contracts, wrote up a two page contract and volunteered to handle the finances (as most retailers will not pay to more than one person for a single work*). We also settled on the parameters of the book. We wanted a four story anthology and we wanted it to have a unified theme. Dee suggested Undercover Lovers and I thought it was a brilliant theme. All the stories would be around 20k words, and would feature either a hero or heroine who was hiding their true identity from the other.

Now that we had our ducks in a row, it was time to find two more authors. After bouncing some names around, we settled on our choices and sent a professional email, letting them know that what we were looking to do, citing our publishing credits and asking Dee Carney and Cari Quinn if they would like to join us. They both said yes and we were thrilled! They came in with vigor and ideas and suggestions to streamline the contract and the process and we were off and running.

Because one of the biggest benefits to self-publishing is the ability to write and see your work on virtual shelves very quickly, we wanted to take advantage of that. We set up a tight deadline, allowing about five weeks for writing then another five for editing, formatting and cover art. Due to our collective experience, we felt we could edit for one another in a sort of round-robin fashion. This allowed us to each receive three passes of edits before doing one final pass for ourselves. It worked out really well because each of us has a particular strength in this area. Where one of us might be weaker in grammar, they would catch any timeline issues or plot problems. We had a lot of laughs during the process and aside from jitters (we all wanted to impress one another!) it was as painless as any editing experience I’ve ever had.

Now I’m going to turn it over to my writing partners so you can get an idea of why each of them made the decision to self-publish this time.

Q: Okay chicas, what made you decide to sign on and self-publish this book when it’s very likely that all of you could have sold them to one of your many publishers?

Dee Carney – Honestly, although friends have had great successes with self-publishing, I’ve been on the fence. Although I have one title that’s self-published, the experience wasn’t a great success. I work full-time as a nurse and honestly, don’t feel I have the time needed to dedicate to the marketing, editing, promotion, etc. that is necessary. However, when approached about this anthology--and the opportunity to share that burden--a smile lit my face. Not only was I asked to join a fabulous group of authors, I knew with our combined experience, we have the talent to make this seriously rock. So far, my prediction has come true!

Cari Quinn – I've been interested in self-publishing for a while, but it's not something you can jump into without doing some research. When Dee and Christine approached me, the timing was perfect. I felt confident that they had investigated a lot of the ins and outs and I knew what I was getting into. Best of all, I'd be able to test the self-publishing waters in an anthology with three other incredible authors and we'd be able to cheer each other on to write high-quality stories that worked well with the others. I think (hope!) we accomplished what we set out to do. Plus it was a ton of fun! I loved that we set the timeline and we were our own editorial directors. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, especially with these talented ladies. All three are now on my TBR.

Dee Tenorio- Well, to be honest, as much as I love my publishers, I wanted to have something out a bit earlier than the slots they could offer. Currently, you're looking at a book out—at the earliest, six months after submission and you're competing with the other 4-6 titles released that week. Self-pubbing is a really exciting arena right now and the time was ripe for experimenting. You're competing only with yourself... You know, yourself and the other thousands of books that are out there, lol. But I try not to let odds like that bring me down. It's a new challenge, which, honestly, is why I started with epublishing in the first place. I'm a ground floor kind of girl. :) Getting to write with friends just put it over the top and I dove right in. Plus, well, I had this really great idea about a wounded hero and a woman risking everything to love him… Really now, who can turn down something like that?

Now for our contest! Undercover Lovers is out now, and we’re hoping to get some ratings and reviews cooking on Goodreads, Amazon etc. Today we’ll be giving away TWENTY ARCs of our anthology Undercover Lovers today here on Fiction Groupie! To enter, just comment and leave your email address and preferred format (pdf, epub or mobi) and you’re in. We would love it if, after reading, you would consider taking a minute to give it an honest star rating or review if you have the time (no obligation).

Thanks so much for having us Roni!

*I won’t bore you with contract details, but if anyone has any specific questions regarding that process, maybe pitfalls and things to make sure you include, feel free to ask questions via comments, or email me directly at rcbell64@yahoo.com. I don’t profess to be an expert by any stretch, but I think we all felt good about the end result.

Thanks so much, ladies, for visiting! And now everyone go enter the contest! :) --Roni