Happy Endings

Today I'm blogging at the Happy Endings blog about what to do when that book is done to keep the momentum going. Come on by and give us an update about your own project. We want to hear from you!

Reliving the '80s

I was a child of the 80's. I admit it. I grew up wearing pastels, leg warmers, and bangles. I teased my hair and sprayed it with the ozone-killing gunk until it wouldn't have moved even if a tornado ripped right past me.

Some pretty bad trends came (and went) in the 80's, but there was also some great stuff that I'm always going to remember with a smile like cowboy boots with jeans, Falco, and the Breakfast Club.

And it looks like the 80's revival has begun! This year will see a huge selection of movie remakes from an age that may be best forgotten.

Clash of the Titans, coming April 2010



A Nightmare on Elm Street, coming April 2010



Robin Hood, coming May 2010
(Okay, technically Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was out in 1991, but it still had a whole crapload of 1980s goodness)


The Karate Kid, coming June 2010



The A Team, coming June 2010



Tron Legacy, coming December 2010



So, is there anything here that brings back memories? Good or bad? Are you looking forward to any movies this year?

To be or not to be

We're talking about Shakespearean quotes over on the Vixen blog today, and it got me to thinking about just how much one person can accomplish in a lifetime. After his death in 1616, Shakespeare's first folio was published and it included 154 sonnets, 37 plays and 2 long poems. Imagine if something you create--whether it be a manuscript, a work of art, the design of a famous building--lives on to continue to inspire and provide entertainment and enjoyment for generation upon generation of children and adults the world over.

That's how I feel about my writing. Even though I doubt my work will ever reach a third of the people that Shakespeare's writing did, I feel good that there are a few people out there who will read my books and share them with others, perhaps find them worthy enough to set on a shelf to keep and read again someday. Maybe I will inspire a few would-be writers in producing a new generation of literature. It's a great feeling.

It's the same feeling I get when I look at my son and watch him grow, knowing he will have children, who will have children, etc...and that all these people in the years to come will have something new and important to give to the world.

So, that's my deep thought for the day as I start writing Chapter three of my new WIP.

(Photo: By unknown c1815 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,,1721587,00.html) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons)

One Free Day

Today I'm not working the day job. I'm not writing. I'm not going to check my email, and I'm not going to clean my house.

Today is my free day. I'm going to spend it with my husband and son. We have plans to go and do some shopping, see a movie and have dinner out. That's it. Just the three of us. I can't wait!!

Sometimes you just need to put everything else to the side and find a way to relax. I've been a bit stressed out lately, and it's not good for me. My husband has also been working very very hard and I'd lke to be able to give him an excuse to take a break. Not to mention, my son would LOVE the opportunity to have mommy and daddy to himself with no other obligations but to play with him all day :)

So, what are your plans today and for the weekend?

Taking the Edge Off

Today you'll find me at the Vixens talking about the things we do to take our mind off the stressors in our lives.

The Character Connection

I read this book over the Christmas holidays. It was so good I had to read it again and just finished last night. I couldn't get the imagery out of my mind and needed to bring that feeling into myself again. That feeling that a really wonderful book gives you--of touching imagery through words that have been spun like the finest, smoothest, most tempting silk. Poetry for the soul is this book.

And now I'm inspired. Not to write about teenage wolves (because obviously it's already been done the very best way that it can) but to write something that makes me feel the same way.

It's tough sometimes to be deep and relevant when writing romance. It seems as if the opposite should be true because romance is supposed to be about the heart, what lies between two people as they travel a road of discovery. But more and more I'm finding that there are so many other expectations for a romance novel that it sometimes feels like the soul of it gets lost somewhere between the fantastic hooks, sustaining conflict, alpha heroes and evil blood-sucking fiends.

I actually talk about this a lot, but I think it's important. When we're writing, we have to remember the balance. It's not easy, because it takes effort and you have to be able to dig deep. When you think you've reached that one emotion that will bring a tear or a tender smile to your reader's eyes, dig deeper still. Dig until you cry. Dig until they're your emotions on the page. Balance can be achieved with a stronger emphasis on the emotional experience.

Sure, I like a kick ass knife fight and I enjoy a good end-of-the-world scene as much as the next person, but behind those things, there needs to be a careful, compelling reason for the story, whether I'm reading it or writing it. I want to feel a connection. Don't we all? Isn't that the reason for what we do in all the many areas of our lives?

Whether you're a reader or a writer, do you have a favourite genre? What do you remember the most in the books that stay with you the longest? The interesting plot twists? The feeling they leave you with?

(Photo:  By Antonio Canova (Italian, 1757–1822) (Mak Thorpe (1997)) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons)

Updates

Despite the lack of bloggage recently, I'm still kicking around. It's been busy, but that's not really an excuse. The truth is I took a bit of a break.

The writing. Not sure why, but words have been hard to come by lately. For various reasons, I guess. Not the least of which seemed to be a lack of motivation and creative energy.

Well, I'm going to tell you that the muse stops here. As of today it's fired. There's no room for a muse in my world. This is a serious business and I am treating it as such.

Which means...plotting.

Lots and lots of plotting.

And oddly enough, the plotting exercises have worked in as much as they seem to have helped me to find that sliver of an idea and build it into something I can really work with.

This is going to be a great story.

Oh...and I'm blogging today at the Vauxhall Vixens too, so stop by.