Kindle, Nook, IPad versus Paper books

I was asked alot today if I wanted a book or if I preferred ebooks. I'm not exactly an old fashioned girl, but once in a while the old ways get to me. If I loved a book so much, I wanted my friends and family to read it. Or they forced it upon me.... I'm shouting out to my brother who tried to force me to read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy... I read book One and half of the Twin Towers, but I refused to continue reading description of trees that talked half way through. I literally threw the books back at him.

I will miss exactly this. I cannot share a secret treasure and my friends and family can no longer share their secret find with me. We lose this ability to trade without breaking copyright or pirating. I can no longer lend a friend a book to share the wonder, and they can no longer do so with me. It's different than a movie. A movie is often an experience. A book can be discussed for a long time. Heck I was just discussing a classic on this page.

Either way this is a mourn for my paper bound books, both hard and soft covered. I cherished my books very much, and for friends and family thanks for opening up my reading to new worlds and adventures.

The Spark that set my first book to write

I read somewhere that Margaret Mitchell once said that Scarlett O'Hara represents everything wrong with American women, and that originally she wanted Melanie to be the heroine. Now Scarlett ends up unhappy and without her true love in the end. I kept asking myself, dang are all American women really like Scarlett? Yes many women have ambitions these days, but it's not all to end in heartache.

So this was my spark of an idea for my first novel. I wanted to create a strong man and a strong women who conveyed that yes American women might not always be the Melanie type, but that doesn't make her evil either.

So this thinking was truly the spark of my entire story. Now my story is not historical (though I love reading them!!!) It's modern times and set in small town America. But my girl Phoebe is still a strong woman with a mind of her own which causes her issues, but she's not the type to sit at home wishing on a star. And of course Nicolas is most definitely all male with his own set of macho.

Maybe this should be how I pitch the book? (I still want to revise the ending.)

Getting Ready for the Conference

Editors, Agents and other writers, they are causing me such excitement and such fear. I've never published anything, but I'm more than halfway done with my second manuscript now. I've never sent anything out. I am going to the conference to learn about letters, talk about my work, and go to my goal of publishing books.

Now I'm confident in my abilities. I am sometimes over confident in appearance; it's the lawyer training. But inside, I've never sought to entertain people with my writing for money before. It's scary. I ventured into a whole new world. My online fan fics were for online fans of genres and a way to disconnect. Creating my own universe, characters, has been so much fun.

My first novel I drew alot from the classic Mythology of Zeus and Hera. Of course in a romance novel, no one loves a cheater. But I kept her irrational jealousy as something that my heroine must overcome. But my larger than life characters took quite a toll in creating, and I'm still not completely happy with my ending. It might be because I had to let these two finally go. I wanted a major spark and to create a more mythic story. Neither character can outdo the other, and that makes for what I consider a fun read.

So my second novel, my characters are of a much more sweeter variety. (Sweet is just not something to say about either Zeus or Hera types!) I'm calling this my classic Harlequin story. It's two people with issues, but unlike my last book the characters are much more human and sweeter. They definitely still have issues as I cannot stand books where one of the characters is perfect. I don't know perfect people, and it's annoying when the character seem to wonderful. Even my sister tells me that this novel is much more in line with all she's read, though that's kind of bugging me a little as well. Maybe I should re-write with more issues. But then that takes away from my these characters are much more lovable mindset.

Anyhow that's my musing for the day. I'll post two links to two very different fan fics from years past... I've grown up as an author I hope. (My truly early stuff is completely gone.)
Star Trek Enterprise

Days of Our Lives Rex and Mimi

Darn it

My manuscript that's done needs me to edit the ending. I just feel it. I might work on this when I get energy today.

Then of course my new manuscript is beckoning me. My hero might need a few more flaws. He's rather remarkable right now. But I'm not figuring out flaws that would work. Now Charlotte, my heroine, in many ways seems to be a made up sister of mine at this point. I get her insecurities, weaknesses, etc. Does this have the same flow as my other manuscript? No, it's actually alot lighter. Lighter is good though romantic tension is still flowing. (My other novel my characters were fighting and growing alot more.) This novel has a sweeter feel to it, though it might just be because I haven't reached the planned blazing parts to it. Then of course there is the editing once it's done. I keep wanting to write and write and haven't reviewed with new eyes yet.

Lastly for me today is the conference! It's soon!!! I'm excited today again. I hope to meet other writers and really learn how to publish. Do I send my finished manuscript to editors with query letters? I'm feeling that it's better to get a feel at the conference for successful ways people go, and find my route that way. Or do I wait until September about that contest? And if I wait till September, that means finish my new manuscript.

Writing novels is actually alot more work but alot more rewarding than any fan fiction that I ever tried my hand at. And while I'm sticking with romance/women's literature as its what I read, perhaps one day I'll venture into sci fi.

Rushing around

OK I'm feeling pressure this morning. I want to be near complete with my new novel, but I'm getting that it's not something that I can rush either. And while I am enjoying my new characters, they are still new to me. We're in the getting to know you phase. However I'm still bff's with my first ever novel that I wrote. I'm not in love with how I ended the book, but I put it down for now. I'm going to rework the ending tomorrow.

I wish that I decided to write true novels a really long time ago. My creative outlet for stress in my life was always writing various fan fiction for various shows. It was just fun, but it's how I learned to write. I didn't have to worry about knowing the characters. I knew them. I didn't have to detail the setting as I knew that too. But writing my own work with my own settings and my own characters is actually so much more enjoyable. And on a personal note, I'm much more relaxed and at peace with myself now.

And this conference is in two weeks. I hope to learn alot. My goal is to truly publish my novels and continue growing as a real author. I see my book being sold at Barnes and Nobles, and continuing this as a career path that I enjoy. My very first novel has secondary characters in a setting, so I can revisit and tell those stories. My current novel main male character is one of five brothers, so I can tell all of the stories later. I guess I love family or neighbors, and see love in a larger setting of people.

Today though is my sister's birthday party. I must get to my parents and help my sister all day. My computer stays at home, but as I said at the beginning the pressure of writing is truly pushing me right now. But as always there must be a balance.

If you are reading this, then you are connected to me already. So I wish you unconditional love in your own life!

Contest on Brava closed

I submitted my first full length novel to the Brava contest (http://www.bravaauthors.com/contest/brava-contest/). I did this two weeks ago and I'm feeling nervous today because it finally closed. No one hears anything until September, but it sounds like a fantastic way to really grow as an author. I am determined to write a publishable book this year and start a career that can keep my creative side. And I truly enjoyed writing that manuscript.

Now I'm in the midst of writing my second manuscript. I'm making this one shorter, but in no way less heartfelt. It's hard writing this one. I am writing Charlotte with alot of insecurities. So how she deals with all of this is truly struggling for me. I dealt with my own insecurites a long while back, so in part Charlotte is making me look back onto my own mistakes. Are characters supposed to help the author or does that make it to personal?!? I intend to write a publishable book where everyone understands and likes the characters. This book will go to Harlequin probably. Which line directly is still a mystery. It might fit quite a few. But I'm quite sure Charlotte will ultimately decide her own story.

Writing

So this is my first blog entry. I'm finding my muse and learning to write a novel. It's very exciting. My first novel is finally finished though I need to work on my ending. I'm not happy. But in the meantime I started on a much shorter and much more fun to read novel. I can think and type fast, so I'm hoping to get this one done much faster.