Liebe ist Furcht

Book 2 of The Valerie Dearborn Series will be out in Germany tomorrow! The German version of LID is 39 in Romance and 230 in the German Kindle store. Hurray!

Stephanie Meyer: Genius

Well, it finally happened. I saw Breaking Dawn part two and…I really liked it.

This may be surprising to you non-writers but most writers HATE Twilight. 

When one spends their time writing, they develop grandiose ideas of what is good and what is bad. We adhere to rules that beloved authors routinely break and call them ‘exceptions,’ blindly plunging over the cliff to do what we are told like fat little lemmings.

It’s weird.

When I saw Breaking Dawn part one, I almost couldn't watch it. It was so cheesy and almost self-indulgent that I found it uncomfortable to watch. It was as though I were watching Stephanie Meyer’s most intimate fantasies of what it would be like to be a high-schooler and have it all. The hot rich vampire, the honeymoon on a private tropical island, the baby, the instant glamorous family, a whole host of superpowers and one cool car after another. Didn't anyone tell her that what she was writing was boring? That there was no conflict and it should be cut?

This movie had the same problem! The exploration of their revoltingly cute cottage, the amazing sex they’d have for years (and with no recuperation time!) and worst of all—Bella’s arm wrestling Emmett. Do you know how hard it was to remember how AWFUL that scene was while I was watching it? I had to bite my lip Anastasia style.

And yet, people like cheese.

In fact, I like cheese. 

I believe that in order to be a good writer one has to put their soul on the page. And for me, that means being willing to infuse one’s own insecurities and desires into one’s writing so that when a reader has finished the book, they feel like they know you.

As Breaking Dawn ended, I found myself strangely moved and in awe of Stephanie Meyer because I hadn't realized the power of cheese. Her unabashed enthusiasm for every moment of Bella’s perfect life is something readers want and love to connect to…and it is something I have spent time learning to NOT do.

I feel humbled, as though I have been reminded of a truth that I should have known-- or maybe even did know-- but that I pretended I was too cool to believe in: that to be a good author, I have to put more than the kinky, the awkward and desperate onto the page. I have to be willing to put the vulnerability of pure happiness out there too.

Despite everything I may have ever said before, Stephanie Meyer is a genius. 

German!

Some of my books are now available in German and are doing amazingly well!

The second book Love is Fear (I think it's Liebe ist Angst but can't remember) is coming out at the end of January!

RT 2013

I will be attending The Romantic Times Conference in Kansas and would love to meet you! I'll be at the e-book signing and around. Let me know if you're going!

Question Time with Caroline

Hello everyone in blogger land! I know it has been a while, but between Christmas and the new book coming out, I've been a bit swamped.

Every now and again I get an email from a fan and I wind up writing an incredibly long response and then I think to myself-- 'Self you should post this on your blog because it's just possible that somebody might find it interesting or relevant.' Let's hope that's true....

I'm going to abbreviate the question and then give you my response. If you have any questions, do let me know!!

The Question-- I am on 60,000 words at the moment and pretty close to finishing but am now unsure what happens next.  Do I just upload and see what happens?  It’s ok I am not expecting answers from you but I guess I am now in a place where I either move forward or just forget the whole (writing) thing and keep reading other people’s words.  I guess I am afraid someone will read my words and identify the same way I have and see the bits of me I have now learned to keep to myself.

The Answer-- First of all, congratulations on writing sixty thousand words!! That is amazing and you should be very proud of yourself. I suppose you could push the publish button and upload it, but my initial thought is that that might be hasty. You seem a bit conflicted as to what you would like to do and I think anyone writing a good book has to put themselves on the page and expect that readers will identify with them and think that they know them. I saw JR Ward at RT and people acted like she was a goddess. They love the peculiar darkness of her characters and it resonates with them. If that is the sort of book that you would like to write, then you are 'out there.'

There is no shame in writing a book for yourself and it's possible that over a bit of time you would become more comfortable with putting so much of yourself into words. My other concern is that perhaps you are rushing. Sixty thousand words is  on the short side for a novel.   If you have written a novella then perhaps what I am saying is irrelevant, but my guess is that there are areas of your book that would need to be fleshed out more to get you up to eighty thousand words which is standard novel size.

My advice is to put the book away for six weeks and then look at it. At that point the book is fairly unrecognizable and you can look at it objectively and decide what is working and what is not working. I would be very careful about putting your work out  into the world if you are the only person who has seen it. I've been in a lot of critique groups where I have been told that my writing sucks. I've also been told that my writing is good. You have to develop a thick skin so that when strangers take umbrage with your work-- which they will-- you can think 'go write your own fucking book if you don't like it' instead of wondering if they are correct.

From the way you talk about the book (which granted is in one sentence) I don't have the impression that you think you have written the Great American novel. It sounds like you proved something to yourself-- ie that you could do it-- and now you have to decide what you would like to do next. I'm a big believer in joining a writer's group, because they are the only people who will be interested in your writing. Before my book became successful, my friends and family had no interest in reading my writing and I did not want to subject them to it. Now they still don't have any interest but they keep thinking they should. lol.  Anyway, congratulations again and let me know what you decide to do :)

The Walking Stomach Flu

I have been sick as a dog for the last five days. My daughter brought home a stomach bug from preschool and it tore through the house like the Black Death. In the morning people were fine, by the afternoon it was too late.

The only good thing about being sick is that it means I get to watch a lot of TV. Usually my days are too busy and I can barely keep up with what I have. But during this illness, I burned through two seasons of The Walking Dead and I have no idea if that's a good show to watch or not when one is sick.

On one hand, I kept thinking it could be worse, there could be a zombie apocalypse. But on the other hand seeing so much gore and skulls being caved in wasn't good for my delicate constitution. The show really revels in the horror aspect of zombies and likes to get a close up everytime a pick axe goes into the brain.

When I was pregnant I watched charmed and I blame the estrogen for how much I enjoyed it. I found myself crying at the sisterly antics on more in one occasion and I'm pretty damn sure that show did not deserve any tears.

So what do you guys do when you're sick, anybody watching anything good? Apparently there is also a cold making its way through the school and undoubtedly into my house....

Love is Mortal excerpt- page 1

To celebrate the fact that November 15 is almost here I thought I'd post an excerpt from Love is Mortal. My plan is to add a bit more everyday until D day. Hope you like it!

Prologue

London, 1530

                                                                                                    

The air stank. The smell of unwashed flesh and burning candles. The smell of perfume and worn clothing. Marion loved a good party, but usually she just came for the food. She ran her finger down the Fey queen’s arm and watched as goose bumps rose on the woman’s flesh.

Pretty.

Marion loved women, but was anything more delicious than a woman dressed for a party? Maybe it was the dancing—that it made them blush and pushed all that warm blood close to the surface of their skin. Maybe it was the sweat—the slight sheen and taste of salt, the way her lips felt as they slid over flesh damp from a night of dancing.

Or maybe it was just because they were usually so happy that it made them beautiful to drink from.  They were human presents she got to unwrap. She licked her lips and saw her lover track the movement. Annika’s breath hitched, breasts straining against her low-necked dress. Marion was sure she could see a hint of nipple. The fashion did seem to include showing a rather large amount of breast, but the Fey queen was particularly daring.

Heaven forbid she leave something to the imagination. Perhaps it was because she was a fertility goddess at heart. She smiled. It could be downright difficult to get that woman to keep her clothes on. Marion felt very lucky that her goal of retrieving the Sard, a mythical object of Fey power, allowed her to mix work with pleasure.                               

“Annika,” Marion murmured and stepped closer, wanting to take a bite out of her right there. She was about to do it, but then she saw him.

Lucas. His arctic blue eyes fastened on her. His arms were crossed, and he looked irritated. As always. He was watching her, waiting for Marion to do what she was supposed to do.  I hate doing what I’m supposed to do. Marion sighed. “Business. It’s always business.”