Tall, dark, handsome...and wildly messed up. Writing heroes women want to fix.

Good morning!

Now that I'm approaching my middle years...okay, now that I'm firmly ensconced in the tail end of my middle years, I look back and realize we women of a certain age share an interesting little quirk: Many of us spent years finding a husband, having children, and getting a house.  And now that we have all that, all we want to do is flee from all of them.

I'm not talking about walking out, of course not.  But be honest here ladies.  Don't we all sort of fantasize about a weekend where no one creates dirty laundry, no one leaves empty soda cans and water bottles on the counter and no one leaves dirty dishes all over the house?  That can't possibly be just me!

And yes, we love our husbands.  We adore our husbands.  And there are times we want our husbands to just go fishing/hunting/hiking/out of the country for a short period of time because, and I'm not alone here, we just want to sleep in the bed by ourselves.

Studies have shown that romance novels continue to sell at a ridiculous pace compared to every other kind of novel or book.  Some might think it's a conflict that the women who want their families to just LEAVE THEM ALONE for a couple days are the same people who buy and devour romance novels where the enjoy of the story is always a happily ever after.

I have zero issue accepting this as fact because I love to escape into a book where the hero saves the day and love conquers all.  And I'd like to read that book and have that escape alone, in my perfectly clean house.  I want to watch a romantic comedy and not be teased when I cry at the end.  I want to watch a huge war epic like Pearl Harbor or Titanic and get swept up in the love story without someone yelling, "OH COME ON! HE'S SHOOTING AT THE GUY WHILE THE SHIP IS SINKING?"  (Yeah, I'm talking to you, Bob and Brian at 1029TheHog.  Love your morning show, but I also love those movies.)

But mostly, and I know most of my female readers are going to agree with me on this one, don't we want to read a story where the hero is a work in progress and the woman gets to fix him?  Isn't THAT why we really watch romantic comedies and read romance novels?  We want some super hot wreck of a guy to realize that the only way he's ever going to be human is if he falls in love with some Ordinary Girl? (Love it when I can use a Rick Springfield song title.)


It's no surprise, then, that the heroes in my four romance novels are all works in progress. Take Jesse, the retired rock star, in Dream In Color.  He's a hot mess when it comes to his reputation with women, and even with his music career.  And then he meets Ramona, a full figured girl from Wisconsin.  

Or Bryan, from Lies in Chance. Bryan is definitely messed up, thanks to his ex wife, but he might be my most heroic hero.  He's a lost soul, but he covers pretty well, although he's given up on himself and any self worth he may have.  Enter the very unlikely heiress-murderess-nanny Shara.  There's a girl who needs a hero, and she knows, on a certain level, that it's going to have to be Bryan, no matter how hard he fights the idea.  


Then there's Quinn, from Fresh Ice..  Quinn is possibly the most messed up of my heroes.  I was not kind to Quinn when I wrote this former NHL bad boy.  He's definitely a project any women would want to try and fix, but that's one of his problems"  Quinn is way too attractive for his own good. He's clearly damned, especially in his own mind, although he does his darndest to redeem himself in a thousand ways, no of it holds any meaning for him, until he meets figure skater turned waitress, Izzy.  I had a hard time writing Izzy because I needed someone whose soul was clear enough to save Quinn, but who didn't come off as some sort of weird perfect angel.  I needed Helen Hunt from "As Good as it Gets."  

Finally, there's Collier from A Hero's Spark,, and he's interesting for a romance reader for a couple reasons.  First of all, he's blond.  He's my only blond.  And fun fact, Collier wasn't broken when I started writing him, unlike Jesse, Bryan, and Quinn.  When you first meet

Collier, in Fresh Ice, he's got a good life.  He's a musician, he's doing well, he's happy.  Oh, but he's in love with someone destined to be forever bonded to someone else.  BAM!  Poor Collier...I broke him.  I broke him on purpose because maybe I was in a bad mood.  We writers get that way sometimes.  We do horrible things to our characters just because we can. I broke Collier so bad people told me I HAD to give him a book.  So I did.  But first I broke him a bit more, made him more of a mess.  Then I introduced him to Mira, who was a hot mess all her own.  (I was pretty proud of myself with this book.  I was an equal opportunity mess maker!)



As writers, we do glean a certain perverted pleasure out of breaking our heroes and having the heroines build them back up.  As women, we read that sort of story because in our whole lives we always had a thing for the bad boys we just KNEW we could fix.  And as readers, well, hey, who doesn't want to just escape with someone tall, dark, handsome, and wildly messed up?  Even if it is for an afternoon while the husband and kids are out of the house?

Sneak Peak Sunday: Dream in Color

This week's read is Chapter two from my first novel, the rock and roll romantic comedy, Dream in Color.  Enjoy!

After three hours of entering serial numbers into the system, Ramona was ready to take the completed shipping orders to Filing.  Filing consisted of two clerks caged in a large room completely filled with filing cabinets and completely lacking any natural light. The clerks took the thin papers and stuffed them in dusty file folders never to be seen again.  The faces of the two clerks changed almost weekly as those unlucky enough to get such a duty never lasted long in the filing dungeon.

             Filing’s surroundings were so much more dismal than her own were so Ramona made it a point to be cheerful and chatty with the clerks if she could be.  She rang the bell and leaned over the counter.  “Hello?”

            A pale-faced girl, someone hardly out of her teens, dragged out of a row of sliding cabinets and up to the counter.  “Yeah?”

            The girl was someone Ramona had seen more than once, but the name escaped her.  “Good morning.  I have the Bio-West shippers here.”

            “Whoop-de-do.”  The girl brushed a strand of lifeless hair out of her eyes.  “What am I supposed to do with it?”

            Well, you’re the filing department; I suppose you could file it. “Celia Yasher told me you needed these shippers right away this morning.”

            “Celia Yasher is an idiot.”  Taking another swipe at her limp hair, this time with both hands, the girl tucked two strands behind each ear.  “There’s nothing we need right away.  We’re the last stop on the road to Deadsville for these things.”

            So I’m what, a speed bump?  Ramona left Filing and checked her watch.  It was nearly noon.  If she moved slowly enough, she would not have to return to her desk before lunch.  Deep in a daydream, she passed through the rows of cubicles, not noticing her surroundings.

            “Hello Beautiful.  I’ve been waiting for you.”

            Jesse stands there, alone in the cavernous lunchroom, dressed in a black tuxedo and holding a white rose out to her.  Candlelight reflects back to her from his long, glossy, raven-black hair.

            “I was hoping you would be early for lunch today.  I’ve ordered something special.”

            They sit at a table, in a room warmly lit with candles, the tables covered with white cloths.  Somewhere a violin plays soft, romantic music. 

            “How is your morning going, my dear?”  Jesse pours her a glass of wine.  The white liquid glitters in the halo of candlelight.  “I have thought of you all morning long, waiting for this moment that we could be together.”

            “I have been, too Jesse.  You have no idea.”

            “Well, I think a good lunch will cure everything, don’t you?  Now, what are you waiting for?  Pick what you want and get going.  There are other people who need to eat, you know.”    

            Ramona shuddered herself out of the romantic scene in her head to see that she was staring at the sandwich vending machine.  Someone behind her poked her to move.

            “Oh, sorry.”  She stepped aside and looked around the now full room.  Sighing, she located Neil, who waved to her from a corner table.

            “Not eating today?”

            “I came from Filing. I left my lunch in my desk.”

            “You could have some of my sandwich.  I always pack too much.” He held out half of what looked like a cold meatloaf sandwich on crumbling whole wheat bread.

            “Thanks, Neil. I’m fine.  I’m not hungry anyway.”  Ramona looked around their table, somehow hoping to glimpse a swish of long dark hair or a flash of tuxedo.  She closed her eyes, straining to hear the soft violin music.

            “Ramona?”

            “What?”  Ramona regretted her short tone with Neil.  It wasn’t his fault she preferred to be surrounded by candlelight and music to the harsh light and sounds of the lunchroom.  “I’m sorry.  What were you saying?”

            “Oh, nothing.  I was just saying I have tickets to the Civic Symphony for tonight and wondered if you’d like to go.  I’ll even throw in dinner.”

            “Oh, I can’t.  Wish I could.  I’ve got dinner with the parents tonight.”

            “Oh.  Okay.  Maybe another time.  I just thought, since you’re such a great musician and all…”

            Ramona rubbed her temples, trying to ignore the niggling promise of a headache coming on.  “Was, Neil.  I was a musician.  Now I’m just a person with a job and dinner with the parental units tonight.”

            “Oh.  Sorry.”  Neil took another bite of his sandwich.  “Some other time, then.”

            Ramona tried not to stare at Neil as he chewed his bland brown sandwich.  “I’m going to get back to work.  Maybe if I really cruise, I can sneak out early today.  God knows I need to prepare for seeing my mother.”

            Neil gave her a warm smile as she stood.  “Just don’t let Celia see you!”

            Back inside her cubicle walls and swathed in Jesse’s music, Ramona noticed little of her surroundings as the afternoon passed.  Her fingers floated over the keys as she invented scenarios involving Jesse.  A tap on her shoulder shook her out of her reverie.

            “Putting in overtime there, Doll?”  Bonnie’s nicotine-roughed voice cut through the music in Ramona’s ears.

            Ramona pulled off her headphones and looked at the receptionist.  “What do you mean?”

            “I mean it’s after five, and if your butt isn’t out of that chair in the next two minutes Celia’s going to find you and give you the sermon about unauthorized overtime.”

            “That can’t be, lunch was just-oh my.”  Ramona looked at her watch and smiled.  “I guess I’m not sneaking out early today, am I?”

            Bonnie gave her an appreciative whistle.  “Is this your stack of done shippers?”

            Ramona looked at her full out basket.  “I guess I really overachieved today, huh?”

            “Just don’t make a habit of it, darlin’.”  Bonnie waited as Ramona slipped into her comfortable shoes.  The two women walked out together.  “Plannin’ on spending some time online tonight?”

            “Not until later.  Dinner at the parents’ house.”

            Bonnie hoisted her round body onto the plush seats of the Buick.  “Sounds enthralling. What’s the occasion?”

            “Nothing.  Probably Mom’s found the perfect match for me and wants to talk about it.  I mean, geez, it’s been what, five days since she last mentioned I wasn’t married?”

            Bonnie gave her a mock shocked look.  “You’re single?  How on earth does your mother hold her head up in public?”

            Ramona waved as her friend started up her car.  Sliding into her vehicle, Ramona turned the key in the ignition and waited for her frozen car to warm. While the engine idled, she let her mind wander to a more pleasant place.

            “What took you so long, Beautiful?  I waited here in the car all afternoon.”

            Jesse sits with his long legs stretched out in the back seat of a black limousine, smiling at her.  He holds a glass of champagne out to her.  Ramona takes it and smiles at him like a child caught stealing cookies.  “I got caught up in work, I guess.”

            “That’s a shame.  It’s much too pretty a day for you to be cooped up in that office.  Promise me tomorrow you’ll play hooky.”  He takes her left hand in his and strokes it gently with his long, graceful fingers.

            Her heart flutters and her voice is airy as his touch sends a thrill up her spine.  “I promise, Jesse.  Whatever you want.”

            “That’s my girl.”  He leans back in the black leather seat and adjusts his cufflinks.  “You have a good night with your folks, okay?  Tell them I say hi.”

            Ramona tore her gaze away from the rearview mirror and looked out her passenger window, where Neil waved to her. “What?  What did you say, Neil?”

            “You’re having dinner with them, right?  Your parents?”

            Ramona made a face.  “Don’t remind me.”

            “You want some back up? Joe Adel said his wife would love to go to the Civic tonight, so I gave him the two tickets.  Which means, Miss Simms, I’m free tonight.”  He returned Ramona’s ironic smile.  Tickets or no, Neil was usually free, and the idea of bringing him to her parents’ house was tempting.  Maybe if she brought a date, even Neil, her mother would lay off. Then again, Mom’s always trying to put the two of us together. She shook her head and shifted the car into reverse. “No, it’s okay.  Maybe next time.”

            “Email me later; let me know how brutal it was.”

            Ramona backed her car out of her space before Neil could continue a conversation.  She cast hopeful eyes to the mirror one more time, wishing that just once reality would fade away and the daydream would be real.

            The late afternoon sunlight cast an optimistically rosy glow on everything in Ramona’s kitchen as she staggered in.  Too tired to notice, she flopped face first onto the couch and lay there until a familiar smell reached her.

            “LEO!”  She jumped up off the couch and strode to her bedroom.  Leo huddled in the corner with a penitent look on his very expressive face.

            “Leo, I swear you are the stinkiest dog on earth!”  Ramona gave him her sternest look.  “The vet tells me you need more veggies in your diet.  Maybe I should bring home a piece of Mom’s veggie lasagna?”

            Leo whined and cowered.

            “That’s what I thought.  So quit stinking up the house!  Do that outside for Pete’s sake!”  She checked her watch.  “And now I’m going to be totally late for dinner over there if I don’t get a move on.”

            She hustled around her bedroom, passing by her computer and resisting the urge to sit down and glide into the world of the internet.  “Nope.  Not now.  I’ll catch up after dinner.  I’ll need to then.”

            Half an hour later, Ramona checked her reflection in the mirror one more time before throwing on a sweatshirt.  She eyed herself critically.  “Whoever called them love handles must’ve had an interesting set of luggage.” She looked at herself again, satisfied that the sweatshirt covered her flaws well enough.

            “Okay, I’m on my way over now. You sure you don’t want to come along?”

            Leo whined and hid his nose under his paws.

            “Yeah, I know.  I wish I could just stay home and fart up the house, too.”  She patted the dog and checked his water dish.  “Yeah, you’re good for the rest of the evening.  Don’t wait up.  I’ll tell you all about it in the morning.”

            Leo lifted his head and licked his chops.

            “No, we are not ordering pizza when I get home.  Not if you keep dropping those atomic stink clouds.”

In case you forgot:

Hello all!

Just taking a bit of a break from my work on my new novel, "Fresh Ice" to remind you that I have two novels floating out there in the wide world of the Internet:

Dream in Color is my Rock and Roll romance.  Ramona is a dreamer in a world of colorless expectations.  What happens when she finds out her Prince Charming is a broken down rock star with a bad reputation and writer's block?  You can purchase Dream in Color in print or digital copy at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or at The Wild Rose Press!

Lies in Chance, a multi character suspense novel, has everything:  Romance, suspence, murder, and a good looking, wounded hero!  Shara is an heiress caught in a web of lies that already claimed her grandmother's life and threatens her own.  The only way for her to discover the whole truth is to live a lie...but she's not the only one in Rock Harbor with something to hide.

Lies in Chance is currently in e-book form.  You can get it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and for you Sony owners and those of you who want to read it on your computer, Smashwords has every other format for you!

In honor of the first day of school...a reading list!

Hello all! 

My friends at Online College have compiled a list of novels with educators in mind. Since in the US it's "back to school" time, I thought it an excellent time to share this reading list with you.  Best of all, I'm proud to say I've actually read a good number of these books and they are well worth a look.



20 Moving Novels Every Educator Should Read


"Moving" means different things to different readerships, so pitching a little Internet hissy fit over inclusions or exclusions isn't exactly going to accomplish anything. This list strives to feature books that will appeal to a few different demographics rather than sticking exclusively with the tried-and-true maudlin Hallmark tearjerkers. Just about the only thing they have in common is an education theme or setting, which might very well pique the interest of industry professionals. Love them or hate them, all of these reads still provide a lesson or two — maybe even a bit of inspiration as well.



1.Goodbye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton

The eponymous schoolteacher overcomes his own insecurities regarding the succeeding generations, only to find himself losing colleagues and students alike in the Franco-Prussian War and World War I. But in spite of everything, Mr. Chipping eventually solidifies his reputation as an ardent people-person absolutely adored by everyone at Brookfield (the all-boy's private school at which he teaches). Interestingly enough, it is his complete dismissal of all things political, no matter the side, as all rather silly and pointless that ultimately wins him such favor.



2.To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite

Part autobiography, part novel, E.R. Braithwaite's intense, inspiring 1959 publication tells the tale of a former RAF crew member who finds himself teaching secondary school in the volatile London East End. Battling apathy in the classroom and racial discrimination outside it, Ricardo Braithwaite decides to carpe himself some diem and take an even-now-unorthodox approach to educating his sighing students. Since they desire treatment as adults, by god he'll give him that, and lessons include museum trips and more open, frank communication — all of which prove incredibly effective, long-term strategies.



3.Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman

One of the quintessential stories featuring an inspiring teacher reaching out to struggling inner-city students, Up the Down Staircase simultaneously kicked off and defined a genre. The whole narrative is relayed through letters, notes, memos and other epistolary communications and takes place during one of America's most game-changing eras. School prayer is now outlawed, and tensions swell thanks to desegregated campuses and buses — and bureaucratic migraine after institutional migraine definitely don't make the protagonist's life easier.



4.Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

Educators who love memoirs and nonfiction novels might want to consider picking up Azar Nafisi's bestselling, inspirational sensation. She moved back to her native Iran shortly after the Shah's deposition and the installation of a militant Islamic regime commenced; as pressures mount, defiance emerges as an all-woman book club. Although the ladies share "Western" literature — which Nafisi adores — they bond over finding commonalities with their trying situations, perfectly illustrating just how the best books resonate across time and geography.



5.Dialogues by Plato

Plato's adaptation of discussions between his mentor Socrates and other highly influential Classical Greek philosophers may not possess a traditional novel structure, but warrant inclusion here all the same. His series of detailed dialogues serve as a particularly piquant read for teachers fascinated by education's rich history and seemingly endless approaches. No matter one's opinion of Socrates' philosophies, one has to admire how he'd willingly face false accusation, conviction, prison time and execution (famously via hemlock) all for the sake of pursuing greater knowledge.



6.On Beauty by Zadie Smith

In her homage to E.M. Forster's Howards End, the sparkling British writer cheekily satirizes higher education while proffering some provocative, essential insight into race relations. Here, Zadie Smith compares and contrasts the UK and US, atheism and belief, black and white (and mixed-race), conservatism and liberalism, wealth and poverty and other common binaries; Affirmative Action, of course, stands as one of the book's more fiercely-debated topics. Despite considerable drama both on and off campus, however, the two families at the novel's core still manage to find common ground and strive towards some semblance of harmony.



7.Plum Wine by Angela Davis-Gardner

An American educator at Tokyo University buckles under isolation, a complex romance and the loss of a beloved colleague — all made more trying as she begins learning more and more about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Through bottles of carefully labeled plum wine and stacks of written memories, she grows even closer to her deceased friend and fellow professor…as well as the childhood friend pressed into translating. Valuable lessons about bridging cultural, political and generational gaps abound, which will certainly benefit real people as much as their fictional colleagues.



8.Possession by A.S. Byatt

Audiences craving a romantic read without all the fluff and puff will find this Man Booker winner a nicely stimulating read for more than one reason. Both a rumination on love and the nature of research, the masterful Possession juxtaposes the passionate affairs between two Victorian poets and the academics reading and writing about their letters. It's a beautiful, haunting and intelligent book even for those normally angrily foaming at the mouth over lovey-dovey narratives.



9.On Borrowed Wings by Chandra Prasad

Told from a student's perspective rather than a teacher's, Chandra Prasad's debut novel illustrates just how far some women would go just to seize educational opportunities. Taking place in the 1930s, a working-class Connecticut girl disguises herself as her own brother in order to attend Yale, where she struggles to maintain her façade while simultaneously promoting change. On Borrowed Wings not only makes valuable statements about equality across gender lines, but economic ones as well — particularly reflected in how protagonist Adele Pietra approaches a staggeringly classist research assignment.



10.The Big U by Neal Stephenson

The Big U definitely moves all right, but not exactly in a manner that would win a film adaptation any Oscar nods. Rather, this frenetic, kinetic satire joyfully rips apart anything and everything about higher education, culminating in a literally explosive civil war of a (lightly) sci-fi finale. It boasts a far sharper, harder edge than some of the quieter, more reflective reads listed here, but warrants consideration for its thought-provoking — if not outright relatable — commentary.



11.We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Following a brutal school massacre, the perpetrator's grief-addled, confused and deeply mourning mother turns towards letter writing for solace. Although fiction, it presents a very sensitive look into one way a murderous, sociopathic student might emerge — audiences are left to decide for themselves whether or not they consider such behaviors the result of nature, nurture or some blend. Anyone tasked with teaching or mentoring troubled teens might appreciate the insight, however intense the narrative gets.



12.Pym by Mat Johnson

Mat Johnson is one of America's sharpest, humorous and wholly underrated social commentators, and his third novel explores themes of race and higher education's uneasy relationship. When protagonist Chris Jaynes loses his shot at tenure because he won't exclusively teach African-American literature or serve on a diversity committee, he instead latches onto his The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket and Edgar Allen Poe obsessions. What follows is a whimsical, but thoroughly provocative, trip down to Antarctica in search of a legendary island without meddling white people.



13.Villette by Charlotte Bronte

Ostensibly about a young woman teaching at an all-girls school, readers find this novel more attractive for its uniquely Gothic take on psychology. Whether issuing an intentional challenge to patriarchal standards or not, central figure Lucy Snowe proffers some fascinating insight into life as a Victorian educator. Fictional yes, but nevertheless partly culled from both Charlotte and Emily Bronte's experiences trading teaching services for a boarding's schools rooms and resources.



14.Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

As of April 2011, many claims presented in the nonfiction novel and memoir Three Cups of Tea have fallen under heavy, painstaking scrutiny. Since resolutions are still pending in August 2011, it's up to the reader to decide whether or not s/he wants to accept the stories or approach them with skepticism. The story revolves around Greg Mortenson's ill-fated K2 climb, kind welcome by Korphe, Pakistan chief elder and subsequent promise to build a school there — particularly focusing on educating the village's women.



15.Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov

Teachers who've struggled with language barriers, whether working overseas or overseeing an ESL classroom, might very well see a little bit of themselves in Timofey Pavlovich Pnin. He desires very much to fit in with the American school to which he is assigned, but frequent cultural and linguistic roadblocks render his work under-recognized and underappreciated — to the point he never earns tenure, even. Certainly sympathetic, both international educators and those working beside them might find Pnin an effective, enlightening novel.



16.A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

Set during the interim between World War II and the Civil Rights era, this necessary novel showcases the unique struggle of educated African-Americans in the South. Here, a teacher feels himself suspended between his heritage (and community) and his few professional opportunities, which results more in apathy than any real drive. But an opportunity for (mutual!) personal enrichment and discovery emerges when he finds himself mentoring a young, wrongfully accused death row inmate.



17.Fathers and Daughters by Benjamin Markovits

At an exclusive New York prep school, four narratives parallel corresponding seasons and personally and thematically intertwine every so often. Typically navel-gazing, stressful and tragic, the book hinges more on exploring personalities rather than issuing any overarching statements about education. Despite this, though, many readers enjoy the watching interplay between students and authority figures — some of whom find the age difference a serious internal challenge — slowly unfold.



18.Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum

Sarah Shun-lien Bynum earned a 2004 National Book Award nomination for her stirring story collection about a much-beloved middle school English teacher. The eponymous educator approaches her newly-established career with a relatable welding of excitement and trepidation. Over eight vignettes, she gains her students' trust and admiration, but — more importantly — starts building the confidence necessary to become the best teacher she possibly can someday.



19.Academy X by Andrew Trees

Academy X may be a satirical comedy, but it has plenty of intelligent (and frequently scary) insight into how caught up parents, students and administrators get in the Ivy League game. Taking place in the elitist of elite private high schools, honesty and integrity mean absolutely squat if it means little Dakota and Thurston end up at Yale or Harvard. Once a poor, hapless and thoroughly confused English teacher finds himself stuck in the flurry, a pathetic hilarity ensues.



20.Dancing in a Distant Place by Isla Dewar

Following the death of her husband and subsequent debt crunch, a Scottish schoolteacher and her two children move to a remote area and attempt rebuilding their lives. She takes up a head teacher position and finds herself embroiled in student drama as a coping mechanism against facing her own serious personal issues. And this extreme concern with other people's children cause both her son and daughter to find their own destructive outlets as well.

In case you missed it...

I have NOT ONE, but TWO books out there for sale right now!

"DREAM IN COLOR"  (Print or e-book)

Amazon

Barnes and Noble (Nook)

The Wild Rose Press



"LIES IN CHANCE"  (e-book only at this time)

Amazon

Barnes and Noble (Nook)

Smashwords (For reading on Sony readers or on computer)


Now...buy my books...and then go forth and write! 

Kickin' it old school...

Good morning!

So my book signing on Friday night was pretty great!  I'd forgotten, mostly because I sometimes avoid mass social contact, how fun it is to just talk to people, especially when I'm talking about one of my favorite topics:  My writing. 

It still amazes me, after three years of relentless marketing, just how many people that I know on a personal level do not know I'm an author.  So I guess, until every person I know owns a copy of my books, I'll be doing book signings!  (Do you hear that everyone...buy the darn books!  LOL!)

Anyway, yesterday I started yet another new job.  I have learned, in the past several weeks, that, from a writer's standpoint, I had the DREAM JOB, for a number of years.  I had a boss who didn't care if I wrote, played on facebook, built  a website, during the work day.  (Of course, he also didn't care about things like offering health insurance, giving me a raise, letting me use my vacation time, treating me with any sort of human respect...) 

What I'm getting at is that this job, more so than any other I've had, does NOT seem to appreciate computer use outside the very strict guidelines of the job.  So that's going to take some getting used to.  But what's really going to take some time for me is going back to my roots when it comes to writing. 

Yep, lunch and break times mean one thing now:  Opening a notebook and grabbing a pen.

It's how I started...back in school when I would write during a boring class, but in the computer age, I've become one of those who cannot seem to write if my flash drive isn't engaged.  I think many of us use the same excuse, don't we:  We can't write, we're not at our computer.

But that's not the case.  We can WRITE anywhere so long as we have a writing tool and something to write on.  I've written notes on church bulletins, (during the sermon...), on napkins, and once on a paper coffee cup.  Not my best edited stuff, to be sure, but writing that moved my book along.

So now, with the new job I will have to write when I have free moments and use the basic tools of the trade until I can get home and put it on the flash drive.  I'm not going to let this change in my schedule stop me, not a chance!

Now the rest of you...go forth and WRITE!

Avoiding writing by...writing!

Hello friends!




It's been more than a week! How did that happen?



Well, I have much to tell you. First of all, I will NEVER again mock a football player for having a sore hamstring. Sunday morning I got out of bed...and fell down! Generally I reserve Saturday nights for falling down, but not this week. The muscle in the back part of my knee pretty much said, "Uh, no, not today."



After hobbling through church and a good swim session at the pool, I felt a bit better, but the pain was still there. I won't bore you completely with the details, but one of my oldest friends, Rachel S. suggested maybe I do a little stretching, you know, since I've been working out so much more lately. Sure enough...stretch the hamstring, the hamstring is nice to you.



I think my best news is that I had the most amazing 12 minutes and 7 seconds on the phone late last week EVER. No, Rick Springfield did not call me. (That was where the big money was amongst my friends.) Instead, hockey great Jeremy Roenick gave me a jingle.


To be fair, it's not like retired NHL stars call me out of the blue. I wish! No, my cousin Jill is BF F's wife JR's wife. And Jill's been on me to write an NHL romance for months. (Why not? Harlequin has there Nascar romances.) Well, as it turns out, my hero in "7/8ths Time" does NOT want to be a DJ. He really wants to be a retired NHL player.



Enter Jeremy Roenick. Jill very nicely set up a phone call between the two of us. Let me tell you, the man could NOT have been nicer. I was in the nauseous throes of nerves, and he was sweet and very funny. The man is a great interview.



Thusly, Quinn Murray is no longer a hot DJ. Now he's a hot retired hockey player. Not as much of a stretch since, with the changing landscape in the radio biz, DJ's just aren't what they used to be and college jocks wouldn't return my calls. Guess I'm not cool enough to talk to or something. Whatever.



I've returned to actual writing because, my friends, as much fun as blogging is, it's not moving my WRITING forward. Yes, I'm writing, and if you blog, it's writing, don't doubt it. But I, like every other writer I know, have very limited time for my craft. So if I'm MIA for short stretches of time, please forgive me. Thanks to my cousin Jill and Jeremy Roenick, I'm inspired like I haven't been in ages. This book is getting written! (I know my darling critique partner, Linda, will be delighted to get something other than chapters 1-4 over and over again!)



Don't worry, kids, I'll be around. Are you kidding? I'm waiting for news of "Lies in Chance." You KNOW I'm going to make an announcement one way or another.



BTW, a friend of mine just jumped into the e-pub pool and says the water's fine. Maybe my hot retired hockey player will find his way to the Internet!



Meanwhile, the rest of you, GO FORTH AND WRITE!

Revisionist theories...and cake...

Good afternoon!



I'm currently in the agonies of a first draft for a new novel. Meanwhile, my dear critique partner Linda is going throw edits.

Who has the worse job?

Some say that the first draft of a novel is the hardest thing to write. Getting to the words, "The End" is painful, they say, and you just have to vomit it out and then focus on rewrites.
Now that I've been through the editing process from start to finish, I'm going to go ahead and disagree with that theory. The first draft is the one time you get complete creative control over everything. Nothing is wrong, everything is fantastic. The characters are fresh, unpredictable, and new. Bonus, word counts don't matter. Biggest bonus, neither do spelling, grammar, speech tags or logic. In short, the first draft is a blissful chocolate birthday cake before the candle wax drips on it, or people cut into it, or anyone digests one bite of it.

(Yes, I liked your first draft very much!)

The second draft, the one we sort of tentatively send to our critique partners chapter by chapter (and I'm going to apologize now to my critique partner Linda, who has suffered through too many "first draft" chapters lately.) that become painful. The second, third, fourth drafts all have to make sense. The characters have to act in a logical manner. (Unlike real life where stuff happens, regardless of logic.) Word counts and chapter structure are vital.


Worse yet, any change you make has to be made all the way through the whole manuscript.


Oh that's the worst. Make the tiniest little change on page 290 in a second draft...you better make sure it doesn't affect anything in pages 1-289. Sort of like when Homer Simpson's toaster acted as a time machine and, while back in time, he stepped on a bug, which removed the concept of donuts in his present day. (Someone used a knitting analogy on me for this, but I don't knit...I watch TV.) Every little thing you change in a second or third draft is not only going to affect something forward in the manuscript, it's going to affect things backwards, too.

"Lies In Chance" is my shining example of editing gone haywire. First of all, I've edited beyond words on this thing, and the versions of this novel are endless and varied. I think, think, think I'm at the end of it, though once I sell it, I know revisions will be aplenty. But I know these characters better than I know my own children (some days I like them better, too.) but even then, I've made some changes forwards that didn't get made backwards. The results are hilarious. (All I can say is, if you have a character that's living under an assumed name, and you change that assumed name, change it all the way through the manuscript!) Sort of.

As writers, it's true, you can't get bogged down in making your first draft perfect. Just write it. Then take the whole manuscript, and start editing. And editing. And revising. It's a long process, writing a book. It's not a flash of creative brilliance. If you want that, paint something. (And now I can hear my mom and her painter friends howling at me. LOL!) Writing a novel is more like a triathlon. The swimming is just the start. Then you've got that super long bike ride and a grueling, almost impossible run.
But it's not impossible, my friends. You can finish that novel. You can revise that novel. You can sell that novel!

It takes time and it takes energy. Now go forth and WRITE!

Say it with me: I'm good enough...

Good afternoon!
Do you remember that SNL skit where Al Franken (Hey, that's SENATOR Al Franken to you!) would done a blond wig and a cardigan sweat and look in the mirror and pretend to be a loveable dork known as Stuart Smalley? He'd start out talking about some situation that was supposed to lead us all to a higher opinion of ourselves, and it always backfired into some self loathing rant. But always, always the skit ended with a daily affirmation. Stuart would look into the mirror and say, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and gosh darn it, people like me."

Being a writer is something like being Stuart Smalley. We all start out each day with a huge smile on our faces. TODAY IS THE DAY. Today I finish or sell the Great American novel. TODAY I get the big book deal. TODAY I hear back from that newspaper/magazine/blog and yes, they do want to hire me as a columnist!

Then, about noon, maybe we get an email or a rejection letter. Or we screw our courage to the sticking place and call that newspaper or magazine and find out that 1) They've gone out of business or 2) They found what you wrote so awful, they posted it on the office dartboard. (I have visions of several of my short stories still lingering in the local newspaper offices.

Well my friends, if this is you, the it's time for your daily affirmation! No, you don't need a cardigan, unless you're chilly in which case, go ahead. We'll wait...


Now, look at yourself. Even if you don't have a mirror, pick up your cell phone and look at your reflection. Tell yourself, "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh darn it, people like me!"
If you don't want to do that, think of it this way, "Writing is an art. Publishing is a business. This rejection is not personal, it's business."


Now, if you're lucky enough to get a constructive rejection, then do your affirmation this way, "It's not my writing...it's my characters. My characters suck. Kill my characters and then they will love me!

Oh...wait...sorry. That's my personal affirmation!

So if you're writing, waiting, or wailing, don't forget to take a deep breath. Writing is an art. Publishing is a business. Everything in between is equal parts courage, persitence, and luck.

Remember, getting a rejection has nothing to do with you personally. YOU are good enough. YOU are smart enough. And gosh darn it, people do like YOU.

It's just your writing they're not so fond of! LOL

Now, my friends, go forth and WRITE!

Branding...you know, like cattle!

Good afternoon!

I've been thinking a lot lately about the subject of 'branding.'  Branding is the idea that in your professional life as a writer, you present yourself in a certain way so that people will know what to expect from you and from your work.  In the last several months I've translated this into a couple of Sunday School lessons, you know, people judging you on how you act...living your faith, that sort of thing.

You don't have to know me long to know that I'm a devout, conservative Christian.  That's how I chose to live my real life.  However, as a writer, I like to explore other people's lives.  I would write inspirational, and my mother would love it if I did, but that's not who I am as a writer.  As a writer I'm an observer, I see characters in my head and I write what I see.  My characters are not me, and believe me, I don't always approve of what they do, but I'm not the judge and jury when it comes to the story.  I'm the storyteller.

Yet, in branding myself, I do have lines I won't cross.  There are certain words I simply won't use because I don't like to hear those words, and I certainly don't like to read them.  So, while the language in what I write may be a bit saltier than what I use around my Sunday School kids, there's still a part of me that uses restraint.  If you read a story I've written, you are simply not going to read those words.

There are actions my characters, no matter how horrible a villain, will never take.  While alcohol is sometimes a centerpiece in a scene, my characters will not use illicit drugs.  And when it comes to sex, there are just some areas I chose not to explore.  Not because it's right or wrong, but because that's not what I'm about.

I've built a tiny little website...more of a seedling site than anything else.  I'll add to it as my career moves on, but if you go there the vibe you get from the site is the sort of comfortable homey setting I try to put my readers into.  (Want to see the site?  The link is right there by your right hand!)

As you move forward in your life, maybe you move to a new town, or change your name, and this is the moment you get to put yourself out there as you want people to see you.  It doesn't have to be because you're a writer...this holds true for anything in life.  If you're friendly, tidy, and always ready with as smile, that's your brand, that's the way you present yourself when others look at you.  So that when you show up to a PTA meeting looking hung over, you might get a pass and someone might ask if you're feeling well.  But if you're showing the world the messier side of yourself, don't expect them to think of you as a good choice for the Cleanliness counsel.

If you are writing...think about what you're writing and who you want to read your stories.  If you're trying to write YA...maybe leave the grandma cardigans at home and try something fresh with the hair.  If you're writing inspirational, it's best to leave the thrash metal T's at home.

This is not to say don't be yourself.  But don't write an inspirational romance, then show up to a book signing wearing a "Satan Rules" shirt.  I'm just sayin'...

I know a few writers who are trying to get published in one area, but in the meantime are selling stories in a completely different genre.  Of course they're not going to use their real names...you can't write and sell erotica and then expect people to eat your cookies at the church picnic.

I hope to explore all the avenues writing opens to me.  My regular old every day romances, well, that's my real name.  If I were ever to write inspirational, I'd use a different form of my real name, just so my relatives can find the books, but any other readers aren't confused about why there's actual sex in "Dream in Color."  (By the way...do you have your copy yet?) 

Right now I'm working on a new project, one that's been near and dear to me since I was nine or ten.  I'm rediscovering my powers of observation and humor.  You can find most of that on my new blog  (Again, right there on your right...)  and, through the magic of the Internet, I hope to put together a collection of creative non fiction and unleash it on the world electronically.  Of course, I haven't decided if I'll use my real name or not, but I probably will, since there's nothing in my sense of humor that isn't in line with my values as a person.

So as you write, or as you do anything, think about how you want to be seen and how you are seen.

Just being aware might make this a happier world to live in!

Now...go forth and WRITE!

In my next book...the office building will be the villain!

Good afternoon!


I love holiday weekends where the holiday is actually on the weekend. For the upcoming Independence Day, which is Sunday, we've got half the country off on Friday and the other, smarter half off on Monday. (*They're smarter because, well, beer and fireworks sort of go hand in blown off hand, right?) Now, I'm off on Monday, but my hubby is in the middle like many others, working a sucky job in a sucky business that stays open because the bossman thinks maybe someone is going to buy a car. (Right, nothing says Independence quite like nailing yourself down to a 5 year car loan.)
But I digress.


Those of you who follow me on facebook (and who isn't following me on facebook? I'm so completely interesting minute by minute! LOL!) you have read my office building updates. It started out with the road in front of the office getting torn up. Then, after the road crews destroyed a water main in front of the building, I realized that they'd awakened some sort of building demon and since then the office building has NOT been a normal place to be.


For example, toilets either flush endlessly and flood, or they lose all power and you have to flush three times to get a tissue down. Or, the delightful urine scent that smacks you in the face every morning. It's gone by noon...but still. Then there's the mood lighting in the morning. Some days the interior lights are on. Some days not. And some days they come on at about 10.



I could go on like this, but really, then you wouldn't buy the book, would you? (Which reminds me...do you have YOUR copy of "dream in Color?" You know you can get it at amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com or thewildrosepress.com. COME ON!!!!!!!! Buy the book so I can escape the clutches of this haunted building!



Meanwhile, have a happy, safe 4th of July! Hug a veteran...remember how we got all the freedoms we have and never forget, they can be taken away, given the political climate of late...treasure your freedoms, thank those that help give them to you, and protect them with your vote! I love the 4th of July...it's so completely American. Fireworks, noise, parades, ice cream, beer, Snow cones, more fireworks...all during a lovely hot summer night. It's one of my favorite holidays.


And to all my international friends out there, just have a great weekend!

And as always...go forth and WRITE!

Book signing!

Hey all!

I just wanted to remind you all out there, if you're in the Waukesha/Milwaukee area (and why wouldn't you be, Summerfest kicks off today!) I'm doing a book signing at Martha Merrell's tomorrow night (June 25).

I'd love to see you all there! I'll be at MM's 310 Main Street, Waukesha, from about 6-8:30.

Copies of Dream in Color will be available for purchase and I'll be more than happy to sign anything you want in them!

Hope to see you all there! :)

Can't make it to Waukesha? Where do you live? Maybe I can do a book signing in your town!

Cheers!
Sarah

I like my language like I like my coffee...

Good morning!

I had lunch recently with my mother and she informed me that one of my aunts was ordering a copy of "Dream in Color." Normally I would be really excited because I sold another book! (BTW, do you have YOUR copy yet?) But here's the thing: This aunt is one of those people who disapproves of EVERYTHING. I'm thinking she won't even have to get to the love scene...finding the S--- word on page two will do it for her. I'll probably have to refund the price of the book.

My mother once grounded me (I was fifteen) when she found a manuscript in my room that involved the word "S.O.B." Since she was convinced that I got that language from TV and radio (certainly NOT from the parochial school I attended!) I was banned from TV and Radio for an entire summer.

I try very hard not to use strong language in my daily life. I'm a Sunday School teacher, and a role model for my kids, so I "keep it clean" as best as I can. (It's a struggle, I'm not going to lie.) But when it comes to writing, my goal is to write characters who ring true. Face it, Jesse, the hero in "dream in Color," is a rock star. He's not going to get angry and say, "Oh fluffy bunnies!"

Authors who write inspirational are able to write compelling stories without strong language. I admire them for it, but it's now how I write. By the same token, I don't subscribe to many authors who pepper all of their dialogue with f-bombs.

Simply put, I like my strong language like I like my coffee; a little strong, but mostly easy on the taste buds, and warm rather than burning hot.

We all write differently. And we all read differently. I'm sure my aunt will be offended by the language. In fact, I know she will be. I'm ready for the disapproval. It's not like I've never had to apologize for being a writer. But I'll tell her what I tell a lot of people who are offended by one thing or another. Shut the book, turn off the TV show, walk out of the movie. And then move on.

Hey, I found the movie, "Dude, where's my Car" horrible. Ya don't see me scolding Ashton Kutcher at a family gathering, right?

The eyes have it...part two!

So after writing about Eye Acting the other day, I haven't been able to get the idea of it out of my head. And it got me to thinking...besides the scene in "The Quick and the Dead" (Which I had to go back and watch last night...it's so good!) and, of course, "Robin Hood," (Which I'm seeing again today!) what are some of my other favorite "eye acting" moments?


Here's a partial list...and some of them surprised me!

Russell Crowe, "3:10 To Yuma." This a brilliant remake putting Crowe and Christian Bale against each other was a stroke of casting genius. But there's a quiet little scene between Crowe and actress Vinnessa Shaw that takes very little time, but wouldn't every woman want an outlaw to look at her that way?

David James Elliott/Catherine Bell "JAG: LIFELINE" JAG fans waited and waited and WAITED for almost five seasons for Harm and Mac to get together. True, they were going to wait another three before that happy event, but this episode, set against the back drop of Mac's engagement party, brings out the best of both of these actors. The final shot is the icing on a brilliant cake.

David James Elliott/Trevor Goddard "JAG: MUTINY" Harm and Brumby (played by the late and much missed Trevor Goddard) battled for Mac's heart endlessly, but never better than in this brilliantly written episode. Take my word for it...the final shot is a stunner.
Rick Springfield "General Hospital 2005" In the early 80's Dr. Noah Drake was a hot doc on the make. Fifteen years later, he was a sad, broken version of his former self. And Rick brought it all at us with his eyes.

Rick Springfield "LEGION" Terrible movie. But I keep it on my shelf for one reason and one reason only. Watching Rick's character, seeing the depth of despair in his eyes before you ever know what's up...it's spellbinding. By the end you're cheering and weeping for him, in spite of yourself.

Danny Masterson "That 70's Show" I know...I was shocked when I came up with this one. But in the rare moments Hyde takes off his sunglasses in scenes involving his rocky romance with Jackie, Mr. Masterson gives us more good eye acting than a sitcom probably deserves.
Russell Crowe, "3:10 To Yuma." This a brilliant remake putting Crowe and Christian Bale against each other was a stroke of casting genius. But there's a quiet little scene between Crowe and actress Vinnessa Shaw that takes very little time, but wouldn't every woman want an outlaw to look at her that way?

Rick Springfield "General Hospital 2005" In the early 80's Dr. Noah Drake was a hot doc on the make. Fifteen years later, he was a sad, broken version of his former self. And Rick brought it all at us with his eyes.

Russell Crowe "HEAVEN'S BURNING" This movie confuses me...did they mean for it to be a dark comedy? Because there are moments so over the top you can't help but laugh. But there are two scenes, both with actress Youki Kudoh, that make the movie an eye acting milestone for me. I'll give you a hint...find the scene where they're not wearing much, and then find the scene where they're really dressed up.

Clark Gable..."Gone with the Wind." Ah, Rhett Butler. The original movie bad boy we all wanted to fix. Even under the censorship constraints of 1939, Gable manages to evoke an awful lot with his eyes...like the scene where he leaves Scarlett on the road to Tara, right before a big kiss. Breathless!

So there you go...some of my favorite eye acting moments. Not all of them are a surprise, I'll grant you, and I could add a ton more, but let's not get boring.

Think about your favorite movies or TV shows...what draws you to a character? I'll just bet there's a scene or two of eye acting in your memory banks.

Now, go forth and WRITE!

How can I face a blank page when I'm having a good hair day?

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm stalling. I'm stalling big time. It's the perfect day for writing, it's gray, it's drippy, it's 56 degrees. I've lit candles. Thanks to the faulty wiring in my office building, half the lights are out in my suite, so it's pretty dark and mellow. New Girl is off today and Bossman hasn't called in the past hour.

I should be writing. I should be working on that novel that has a middle and an end but no beginning.

But....but....my hair looks great today! I can't write!

Those of you who know me know that this is a howler, because given how little time I spend with my hair, whether or not it's a good hair day has no bearing in how the rest of my day goes.

But isn't that how we sometimes approach writing? I can't write...I have to pick up the kids in an hour and an hour's not enough time to get anything done.

I can't write, there's something good on TV.

I can't write, I need to check facebook, myspace, email, ebay, youtube, my website, and my cellphone. And by the time I get through all those, I'll have to go back again because someone might have sent me a post, an email, a top five list, a farmville update, a new bejeweled score, or a text.

Believe me my friends, any excuse you can come up with I've already used. Which is why it took me nearly 30 years to write my first novel, six to write my second and why my third is languishing in the corners of my brain.

Admittedly, once you've finished a novel, you want to bask in the glow of writing the words "The End." Hey, once you've sold a book, or held it in your hands, you want to roll around naked on the books. (Okay...I didn't actually do it...but I wanted to.)

Then you start thinking you're done. You had that one story in you. That's it. You've written. You're done.

WRONG!

I thought the story of Shara and Bryan was all I had in me. Turns out, I had Ramona in there, and now I have Izzy and Quinn. Way back in my brain I have a fun couple I call Patrice and The Dark Prince. Farther back there are outlines of stories I haven't even thought of yet. One story, one couple, one hero, one heroine...it all leads to another one and another one.

But that first blank page is daunting. I have writer friends who have a ritual before they write and if the conditions aren't perfect, they don't do it. I used to pride myself on writing late, late into the night and then functioning well during the day. Well, then the children stopped taking naps. I got a full time job. Bossman frowns on actual napping during the work day.

The wisest words I've ever heard came from a TV show...I can't remember the show, but I remember the quote, "A writer writes...always."

Let me add to that my own observation: No one can read what you haven't written.

And on that note, I'm off to write...

but first I need to check facebook one more time....

Everyone wants to be in a book...until they are!

Good afternoon!

I should be getting my 50 pages of "Lies in Chance" ready for the agent that requested them. And I will, but that's on the docket for tomorrow. It's already 1:30 here and I'm exhausted from two full days of field trips involving stairs. And tonight I'm supposed to go for a big long hike before "Biggest Loser" comes on? When was I drinking hard enough to agree to that?

Anyway, Sunday was the last Sunday School lesson I'm teaching until fall. (We have our party next week.) I thought, since I'd spent so much time hearing about branding at the WisRWA conference, that I'd tie the topic in for the outgoing 8th graders. You know, how your present, or brand yourself to the world and how that reflects on your faith...okay, it sounded really good in my head early Sunday morning when I didn't have anything else ready.

Of course the discussion went off course, because that's what 7th and 8th graders do to you, and we wound up talking about my book. They all want to read "Dream" which I've told them they can't do because it's really not appropriate for them to read. Well, that and I'm not comfortable with my Sunday School students knowing what my sexual fantasies are...oh wait, Ramona isn't me...right....

We talked a bit about things I'm currently writing and one of these cherubic savants suggested I write a book about my Sunday School class. There was much chatter then about plot and who would be in it and what story I would tell. I stepped back and listened, and inwardly smiled. See, everyone wants to be a character in someones book...until they are.

I remember writing stories back in high school. I wrote between classes, I wrote during classes (The teachers thought I was taking notes, my parents thought I was a B student. Truth is, I never paid attention. Had I done so I probably would have been the valedictorian.) I wrote after school. I was never without a notebook. Some kids, when they weren't trying to torment me, would ask what I was doing. (The only thing more strange in my high school than a person READING a book was someone WRITING one.) When I was an idiot and told them, they'd always ask what I was writing about them. And when I was an idiot and told them, they'd drag me by my hair down the hallway or stack my locker, or throw my book bag in the boys locker room.

And, of course, you already know that my high school bully is named in "Dream." She has a copy of it now...I wonder how that's going...

Yeah, everyone wants to be in a book, until they are.

So my writing friends, beware! Beware of people telling you they want to be in your book. Chances are, these are the people who don't want you to put THEM in your book, but rather some flattering fictional version of them. Writers draw from truth based on their perception of things. Readers like reality, but only if it's about someone else.

So keep writing. Just remember to change the names and ADMIT NOTHING!

:)

Like peanut butter cups, but without the guilt...

Good morning!

So theres another interview of little old me on the web this morning. Seems like folks want to ask me questions, and I love answering questions, especially about my writing, so it's a great combination!


This time Cherie, fellow writer/blogger/Bob and Brian fan asked me questions and I answered.

You can check it out by clicking on the Working Writers link there on the left.

Enjoy, my friends!