Lynn Raye Harris

Today, dear friends, I’m at Tote Bags ‘n’ Blogs, talking about foreign translations and the variety of covers I’ve gotten for the same book!

Clearly, I have gotten very, very bad at writing blog posts. I used to really enjoy doing it! It was my outlet, my way to blather on about whatever was on my mind. This blog, long before I published, was alternately a “writer’s journey” blog, a travel blog, and a “she talks way too much about inane every day crap” kind of blog.

I’ve realized that I miss blogging regularly, but I also have to acknowledge to myself that I get pretty stretched thin sometimes. I also tend to feel that if I’m blogging, I’m supposed to be inspiring or profound or whatever. I think that comes from having gone on this pretty amazing journey from unpublished to published, and feeling like I’m supposed to help others feel inspired or motivated where I can.

But I got an email from someone recently who thanked me for the posts I’ve done on this blog (she even went and read the old ones, which I found amazing!) because they showed her my progression as a writer. So, that’s the answer really. That’s why I’m supposed to blog more frequently. It’s about progression and getting to know each other. I’ll blather senselessly, sometimes it’ll be really good take-that-to-the-bank info, but mostly it’ll be whatever is on my mind at the time.

And if you get something out of it, great. If you don’t, I hope you won’t be too upset with me.

Today’s blathering is about revisions and editors and the relief you feel when your editor explains the revision letter to you. Because I got a revision letter earlier this week, and I was confused. I always expect them, of course, because nothing is perfect when you first turn it in unless you’re Nora maybe.

But this time the revisions seemed more extensive than they have for the last few books, and I was stumped. What did I do wrong? How did I get it so messed up? Was this a total rewrite?

My editor could sense the crisis brewing and helpfully called to chat. That’s when she realized I was about to meltdown and I realized that she hadn’t said the first thing about rewriting the whole book. No, what I’d done was short-changed some of the emotional stuff for the sake of plot. (But you’re a pantser, I hear you cry! Yes, it’s true, but I can let the plot get in the way as I make stuff up. Which is what I did.)

I have a bodyguard book, which is apparently a classic Presents trope. I did not realize that actually. But I’d gotten a bit caught up with the mechanics of the bodyguarding and the heroine’s job (it’s a cool job, believe me, and one my hero has to protect her for) and it seems as if I’d let those things get in the way of true emotional connection. I didn’t think I’d done that, because there is emotion on the page — but it’s not deep enough.

So my task now is to go back in and pull out the elements that are overshadowing the characters, and then to turn up the emotion to boil. I’m really looking forward to it — and so relieved it’s not a total rewrite. I may be a pantser, but I usually get a pretty good story arc by the end that doesn’t require major shifting. Thankfully, this isn’t a major shift, but it’s still work.

The lesson here, if you’re looking for one, is something I’ve said before: your words aren’t static. You have to be willing to change them. And it’s not the words so much as the story. Spending hours and hours taking out all the ‘was’ words, or getting rid of ‘was’ + ‘ing’ constructions, is insane. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking STORY.

If you have any questions about what that is, go read this amazing post by Epic Black Car.

That is all.

Except for this: right now, The Prince’s Royal Concubine is really cheap at Amazon! $2.17 on Kindle and $2.28 in paperback. No idea how long that will last, so go check it out if you want a copy!

Dear friends, it’s been three weeks since I held the contest for a $10 gift card and a signed backlist book. Tracey won, but I’ve yet to hear from her. I’m giving her one more week, exactly a month from when I announced the winner, and then I’m choosing a new winner. So Tracey, if you’re out there, email me your details at lynn AT lynnrayeharris DOT com. I’d love to mail you your prize!

I know who you are because you are because you seem to pop up in entertainment news and celebrity gossip quite a lot. I also know that you are a very, very tanned person. So when I read in an article recently that you would never have plastic surgery because you are afraid of needles and anesthetic, I had to shake my head sadly.

Here’s the thing, my dear. You are young, in your 20s I think, and so all that tanned skin is quite supple and tight right now. But you just wait. When you hit 35, 40 if you’re lucky, you may start to think differently about surgery. Because tanned skin is damaged skin. The only way the skin can react to UV damage is to brown. As brown as you are, that’s a whole lot of damage to those delicate cells. It’s going to sag, trust me. I’ve seen it in my tanned friends who looked awesome at 20, and then looked like they were over 50 when they were barely 40.

Your skin is going to sag when the collagen fibers stop doing the job of holding it up, and you may be looking at plastic surgery in a whole new light then.

On the other hand, there’s another danger of which you seem either blissfully unaware or you think it won’t or can’t happen to you. Skin cancer. Tanning beds concentrate the UV light, and more and more younger people are presenting with skin cancers these days. You are dark skinned and have dark eyes and dark hair, but that’s not a guarantee, especially the more you subject your skin to intense UV light. It’s not just the tanning beds, of course. Sun exposure does the same thing.

And if you do get skin cancer, guess what? Surgery. If you get the worst kind there is, melanoma, the surgeon will need to take margins. You will probably be knocked out for this surgery, though not always. There are definitely needles involved.

Either way, Snooki dear, I think surgery is in your future. I’m sorry you’re afraid of needles and anesthetic, but I think you need to realize that if you continue the way you’re going, surgery will become a distinct possibility at some point. The damage is already done, considering how brown you are, but I do hope you will think twice about so much tanning. Taking care of your skin now could lessen the impact of the damage. Besides, with your money, can’t you afford a really great spray tan?

These pictures were taken a while ago now (Sunday night), but it was up to about 4 inches the last time I looked out the window — and still coming down. And while I know this cracks up the Yankees, it really does cripple the South when this happens. I do know how to drive in snow, having learned when I lived in Germany, but it’s not so much the driving that does it. (Though that’s part of it because most of these people have no training.)

It’s the lack of snow removal equipment and proper tools for melting ice. They sand the bridges around here, which is just nuts. I don’t know why they don’t have a supply of salt or urea on hand, but they don’t. Or maybe they salt/urea the heavily traveled areas and sand the side roads. Whatever, all I know is the last time they sanded the bridges, it was a joke.

We’re expecting up to 10 inches they say. And that really is quite amazing for us. I just hope it melts really quick. Otherwise, we will be stuck in our houses for days. Schools are canceled, no work for Hubby, the city is shut down, and my Mojo Lunch with Kimberly Lang is postponed. This, dear friends, is a tragedy! We were going to the yummiest little bistro, darn it. Hopefully, we’ll get to go later this week!

I think the snow is pretty, but I wish it would go away. It’s not like in Germany where the snow came down and life kept on going anyway. No, here we’re stuck. No lunches out, no runs to the post office, no impromptu shopping trips. No visiting with friends, unless they live next door and you can walk. I could walk to Kimberly’s house, but it’s a bit farther than next door and I’m not doing it. She’s not coming here either. Lunch is postponed for sure.

I suppose I’ll start work on the next book! It’s due in a couple of months, and I already have a great idea that’s really making me think about it all the time. I have the hero and heroine, their core problem, and I’m really excited about it. I love it when that happens, when the idea takes over and begins to really speak to me. It doesn’t mean the book will be easy to write, but I have hope it will come to me easier than others have.

And now I’m going to go bundle up and read for a while. It’s cold, the snow is coming down, and I’m not going anywhere for a while. Hope you are safe and warm in your corner of the world, that you aren’t snowed in, and that you’ve got a fabulous book to read and/or write!

UPDATE: Morning pictures of the snow!

Thanks for the comments, everyone! We have a winner – Jami Gold!

Today, I want to introduce you to someone I’ve known for a very long time — not that we knew we knew each other, ha! But Vicky and I have been at this romance writing game for many years. We have war stories, scars, tales of woe and frustration. And yet we did not give up! This is what happens when you don’t give up, btw. You get a gorgeous cover like that one right there to the right, and you get to share your fabulous story with the world.

Back in the mid-nineties, probably about 1995 or 1996, I entered my first book (a whopping fat medieval called LORD OF THE MARCH) into the Emily contest. The Emily is a prestigious contest for aspiring writers, so when I got the call that I was a finalist, I was thrilled. The lady on the other end of the line was named Vicky Dreiling. I don’t think we talked much — I was probably overwhelmed, in fact — but I remember Vicky’s kindness and enthusiasm. You just don’t forget the people who call to tell you that you’re a finalist in a fabulous contest.

I didn’t win (I might have placed second, but I can’t honestly remember) and then life got in the way and I did other things for a while. About three years or so ago, right before I ended up winning the Instant Seduction contest and going on to sell to Harlequin, I was judging a contest. And there was this entry, this fabulous entry, that gave me goosebumps. The premise was so fresh, the writing so engaging, and I remember thinking, “This is going to sell.” Then I did something I never do: I signed my name to the score sheet. Eventually, I got a thank you note (this is why you write thank yous!) from Vicky, sent through the contest coordinator. She’d included her email address, so I wrote to her. That’s when we discovered we had a lot in common, including that Emily phone call years ago and then life getting in the way of our dreams.

We actually met in San Francisco, and Vicky is just as warm and fun in person as she is through email. I enjoy getting to see her every year at conference, though it seems as if we are usually two ships passing in the night because we’re so busy.

I know I’ve told you the super long story about how I met Vicky, but I want you to understand how vital it is that you never give up on your dreams. Not only that, but the contest entry I read that day is THIS BOOK right here! Finally, finally, I get to read the rest of the story and see how it ends! Please welcome Vicky today! She’s giving away a signed copy of this magnificent book, so be sure to leave comments for a chance to win!

Now on to the good stuff, where I ask Vicky a series of random questions that popped into my head.

1. You were a Golden Heart finalist in 1996 and you sold your first book in 2009. How did you keep the faith for so long? Did you ever get discouraged?

I was a GH finalist with my first book (beginner’s luck!) and got a lot of requests. I did massive revisions for an editor without promise of contract, but the book wasn’t strong enough. Shortly after the book got rejected, my life underwent some dramatic changes. I returned to university to finish my degree and started a new career in marketing. By then, I was a single mom, so time constraints were an issue. I tried to write, but I could tell I was holding back emotionally on the page. Like so many writers, I let fear of failure keep me from what I wanted more than anything else in the world.

Eventually, life settled down, and I started writing again. However, I wasn’t consistent. Then I joined a group called 100 Words a Day for 100 Days. The interesting thing about this group is that you only commit to 100 words, so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. But it’s also a bit like reverse psychology. Because the requirement is essentially the length of a short paragraph, there’s a tendency to think, “Why should I stop? I never met a rule I didn’t itch to break.” This proved true for many of us, so the group decided members could report either 100 words each day or 100+. No bragging was allowed because we wanted to make it encouraging and noncompetitive. I wrote every single day for one hundred days and credit that group with helping me establish a regular and consistent writing pattern.

2. You were a globe-trotting corporate employee for a long time. How did your travel help enrich your writing? Do you have a favorite location?

Yes, I frequently traveled to the largest cities in the US and Europe. London is my favorite place. The business trips there involved focus groups at night, so our days were left free to explore the city. I got to see so many famous museums and landmarks. One of my favorite places is Spencer House, which was built in the mid-eighteenth century for the first Earl Spencer, an ancestor of the late Princess Diana. You can see a photo of the house on my website (listed below). Inside, the rich furnishings are breathtaking and helped me to visualize my characters in similar surroundings. During a different house tour of Apsley House, Wellington’s home, I got a great idea for my next book after seeing the giant and very naked statue of Napoleon by the staircase.

I also got ideas from formal tours such as a boat tour along the Thames, which gave me an idea to take the characters on an ill-fated barge trip. During a walking tour through the West End, I was quite surprised to find myself standing in front of Beau Brummel’s town house. At any rate, these period town houses helped me to visualize what my heroine Tessa’s town house might have looked like on the outside.

3. Who is Buttercup and why is she so important?

Buttercup is my very spoiled mini-lop rabbit, and she thinks she’s very important. I imagine she’s the only rabbit with her very own bedroom. No, I’m not joking. I had to contain her or she would get into mischief if left to roam free around the house. But keeping her in a cage seemed cruel because animals need space just like we do. So Buttercup has a see-through babygate at her bedroom door and scratches on it when she wants out.

4. How does watching reality television lead to an awesome story idea that I had to wait FOREVER to read? Seriously, it is the most clever idea, and I knew the minute I read it in that contest that you would sell!

Lynn, I was thrilled to the point of tears when I read your comments in that contest. Your encouragement really made a difference in my writing life. As for the idea for HOW TO MARRY A DUKE, it just popped into my head the first time I happened upon a reality dating show: The Bachelor in Regency England, minus the hot tub and camera crew. At first, I thought it was too crazy, but then I thought, “Oh, why not? It’s not as if you have anything to lose?” While the bachelor plot provides a lot of fun, games, and conflict, the primary focus of the book is Tristan’s and Tessa’s love story.

5. Why Regency England?

The first romance I ever read was Judith McNaught’s ALMOST HEAVEN. I’ve been hooked on Regency England ever since.

6. What’s the next book about and when can we buy it?

HOW TO SEDUCE A SCOUNDREL, due out in early July 2011, features two characters from book one: the charming rogue Hawk and Julianne, the sister of Hawk’s best friend Tristan. When Hawk reluctantly agrees to be Julianne’s unofficial guardian, he never expects the formerly prim and proper Julianne to rebel. But he has no idea she’s planning to write a lady’s guide to snaring bachelors in the proverbial parson’s mousetrap.

7. Any advice for aspiring writers?

Kick fear to the curb. And as Winston Churchill said, Never, never, never give up!

Vicky Dreiling is a confirmed historical romance junkie and Anglophile. Frequent business trips to the UK allowed her to indulge her passion for all things Regency England. Bath, Stonehenge, and Spencer House are among her favorite places. She is, however, truly sorry for accidentally setting off a security alarm in Windsor Castle. That unfortunate incident led her British colleagues to nickname her “Trouble.”

You can visit Vicky at her website. http://www.vickydreiling.com/