How much of you is in your hero/heroine?

Good evening.

I was driving home from my J.O.B. today and I was thinking about the couples in my two books, and the couple in my upcoming.  I've never really thought about it, but as I look at the three heroines, Ramona, Shara, and Izzy (From my newest WIP.)  I realize that very big parts of them come from me.

Ramona:(Dream in Color)  Starts out very overweight, in completely in love with a teen idol rock star, and loves late night pizza.  Has mother issues.  Hates that she lives the life everyone expects her to live.

Shara: (Lies in Chance)   Loves horses, is good with kids,  is blond.  (I think I'm blond.  I had blond hair before I started coloring my hair.)  Has mother issues.  Refuses to live the life everyone expects of her.

Izzy: (Fresh Ice)  Loves to read, loves her daughter, drinks coffee by the gallon.  Has mother issues.  Never could live up to the life everyone expected her to live.

Yeah, you get a pretty clear picture of me if you look at my heroines.

As I look at the things that make my heroines special, and, well, heroic, I see, too, the talents I dearly wish I had:

Ramona: (Dream in Color) Can compose music and arrangements that are brilliant and plays piano like a dream.

Shara: (Lies in Chance) Can sight read music and has a photographic memory.  Oh yeah, and she can sing, cook, and wrangle horses.  (Shes' my renaissance girl.)

Izzy: (Fresh Ice)  Can figure skate like a dream.

I always tell people I can't make a book work until  I fall in love with my leading man.  And let's look at my leading men in my books (and the pictures that inspired the characters):

Jesse Alexander:  (Dream in Color) Okay, it's Rick Springfield.  Let's just move on.  I met Rick at a meet and greet almost 10 years ago...his personality and patience blew me away, but so did the juxtaposition of his face, which is not that of an air brushed teen idol, and his body  (oh yeah, I went in for a hug) which ....let's just say, wow.  Wow.  I got such a clear image of who I wanted Jesse to be in that one hug.

Brian Jacobs: (Lies in Chance) This goes back to my childhood hero, Randy Mantooth, TVs Johnny Gage.  I met Randy 12 years ago, and again, personality was an A+.  Plus, he's every bit as dreamy as he was back in the 70's, just with better hair.  Hugging him  (yep, I'm shameless) was like finding a missing piece of myself.  When you love someone from afar for 30 years, one hug can mean a lot.

Quinn Murray: (Fresh Ice)  Okay, calling David James Elliott...I'm ready for my hug!  LOL!  Seriously, something about David's wonderful work as Harmon Rabb in JAG spoke to me when I sat down to write "Fresh Ice."  There's something about a hero who is a hero because there's just no one else around...but someone who doesn't see himself as being all that great...it's like the perfect blueprint for a romantic hero.  So yes, Quinn Murray is that heroic guy with a really, really dark soul.  He needs saving more than anyone he saves. 

I don't know if anyone else approaches it this way.  Maybe every author sees themselves in the hero/heroine. 

Maybe that's why my love scenes tend to be far less graphic than many of my fellow authors.  I'm a married lady!  (And my heroes are all inspired by married men.)  And no matter how I work it, the heroine is still in very large part me, so something super graphic, while fun to read, is too hard for me to write realistically.  It's hard for me to put aside my own morals when I see so much of me in that character. 

So, friends, how much of you do you put in your hero/heroine?  And how much of a real person do you put in the character of the opposite gender?


And Mr. Elliott?  One hug...that's really all I need!

Because it's all about me!

Hello all!  So my friend and critique partner, Linda, did me the favor of doing an interview with me about "Lies in Chance."  Her very fresh, quite fun blog is  here, but I wanted to share the interview with you all because 1)  It's all about me and 2) Linda delves into places in my brain I haven't even visited in a while...like how many degrees of separation I have between myself and Kevin Bacon!

Enjoy!

An Interview with Author, Sarah Bradley


Good Evening:
I'm happy to share with you an interview I did with an amazing author, who also happens to be my dear friend and critique partner. She's also the famed author of "Dream in Color" (available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and The Wild Rose Press) and is currently debuting her second book, "Lies in Chance", a romantic suspense novel (available at Smashwords, Barnes and Nobles and very soon, Amazon). Sarah is a gifted writer, a funny, funny person (and I mean that in a good way), and someone I'm proud to call my friend. Enjoy the interview, get to know Sarah and buy her books! And stay tuned to my blog for a review of both "Lies and Chance" and "Dream in Color".





1. Tell us a little bit about yourself, Sarah!

I'm a mom of two teens, a wife to my college sweetheart husband, and and "mom" of three rescued cats. I love watching movies, reading books, and finding humor in every day stuff. (Hey, if you can't find the humor in our world today, you're just not trying hard enough!) I recently started working third shift, mostly because I was bored with sleeping the required 8 hours a night. I find sleep deprivation is a great attitude adjuster. Plus, I'm home during the summer to annoy my kids!



2. Your latest novel, "Lies in Chance" has just been released at Smashwords, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles. Can you tell us a little about a bit it and which readers it will appeal to?



I think, I HOPE, "Lies in Chance" will appeal to a lot of different readers! I set out to write a book that had strong, interesting characters and a storyline that was interesting for a broad range of people. While I would not recommend it for children under the age of 16, I think there are a lot of elements that will appeal to men and women alike. If you like action, adventure, mystery, romance, and a bit with some horses, this is going to be the book for you!



3. What inspired this story?

When I was a kid, my favorite TV show of all time was "Emergency." There was something about the friendship between John Gage and Roy DeSoto, and then the strong female character of Dixie McCall, that sort of stuck in my brain. By the time I was 13, I was going through a VERY awkward, and rather lonely span in my life. I wanted to create a world where people like those three characters not only existed, but were actually my friends. (And yes, I started writing this book when I was 13) Obviously, the main character grew and changed as I did (though I'm 43 now and Shara is forever 24) but the character and relationship of Bryan, Drew, and Molly is exactly as I thought of it 30 years ago.


As for the name "Shara" it's not an accident that it sort of looks like my name. I really didn't have a name for my main character when I started writing. I used my name because, well, this was the world I was creating for myself. But one day, during a Summer Marching Band tour, one of the chaperones asked me for my name. I said, "Sarah...with an H" because people constantly misspelled my name. She wrote down, "Shara." And a character name was born!

4. When did you begin writing and what inspired you to become a writer?



I have wanted to be a writer my entire life. When I was seven, I was reading the "Little House" series and I thought, "If Laura can do it, why can't I?" My first stab at writing was "The complete illustrated history of the Civil War." I was not quite 8. The book was four pages long...8 sentences. I illustrated it myself. I do not draw well. My first real stab at writing came when I was 13 and I began work on what now is "Lies in Chance."


The biggest force in my life as a writer was Ermba Bombeck. I read that lady's column every single day growing up. (And then I read Ann Landers'. That might explain my twisted sense of humor in the face of the world's general dramas.) The other half of my writer's brain belongs to Erma. I love writing about just finding the humor in the mundane.



5. I know you have a busy life outside of your writing career. When do you find the time to write and when do you feel the most inspired?



At the moment, since I began working nights, I haven't written much that is new, sad to say. I think all writers have this harsh balancing act we have to do between real life work, family, commitments and our wonderful world of writing. And it gets more challenging when you do publish something because then there's the marketing, blogging, and whatnot that you do during that writing time. So I write when I can, which is rarely a set time of day. I keep a notebook close to me, because I never know when an inspiration is going to hit me. I get inspired in different ways, but I think I work tough plot issues out through music. The two books I've published both have very strong soundtracks, all made up of songs I played over and over and over again while trying to sort out this plot point or that. The family knows not to bother me if I've got a song on repeat.



6. Any particular rituals you must perform before writing (i.e. getting a muffin and coffee from the kitchen, having your favorite cat in the room with you, etc.)

If I'm writing "for real" (not blogging or marketing or other fun type stuff) then I'm at my desk, door closed, candles lit, iPod locked onto the soundtrack of whatever I'm writing. Jasper (our oldest cat, who just turned one) is allowed in the office, but TacOcaT (my son named this one in a palindrome) is not because Taco climbs to the top of my desk and knocks things off the top shelf on to my head.

7. Writer's block? Do you get it and if so, how do you resolve it?



My Critique partner (Tee hee) will tell you I get writer's block endlessly. I write in spurts. If I'm blocked, I simply shut down. I've tried writing through it, but what happens, for me, is I wind up with pages and pages of deletes. So I try to keep my eyes and ears open to what around me might solve my problem. I will think the issue through, and I will play music with lyrics I think will point me in the right direction. (Music is such a big part of my writing.) I've been known to abandon my cart in the grocery store the minute my block breaks so I can get to a desk and start writing.



8. What do you love about the writing process and what do you dislike?



In my own personal experience, I love that I can work out my own issues through writing. If you've read "Dream in Color" you'll see a lot that is simply me. I have issues with my mother's terrible cooking. I have issues with finding the place where I shine, where I belong. These are constant themes in everything I write, I'm finding. "Lies in Chance" started as a way to sort of get back at the world for the loneliness and alienation I experienced as a kid, but beyond that one story, I find that my writing helps me work through a lot of my issues. So that part I love.


If I had to find something I didn't like about writing, it's the blank page. I never ever thought I had more than one story in me. Turns out, I have a lot of stories in me, but getting them started is the worst part. I have a general picture in my head of what I want, but the physical act of putting the first words on a page is so hard!



9. Any favorite characters from your novels?



Well, who doesn't love those hot, tortured men? I fall in love with my leading men every time I write them. I've been in love with Bryan Jacobs since I was 13. I have been in love with Jesse Alexander (the main male character in "Dream in Color") for nearly a decade. Up next, I'm falling in love with a formal NHL player named Quinn Murray.


Beyond that, I've put so much of myself into my leading ladies, that I love and hate them the same way I love and hate myself some days. I did give both Shara and Ramona ((Dream in Color)) some talents I wish I had. Both can play the piano brilliantly, and both have great hair.



10. What books inspired you as a child? What do you read now?



As a kid I lived in a very small town with a very small public library. I read every kids' book in that library in two summers. (Remember, this was before YA was such a big deal) I loved "Little House" "Encyclopedia Brown" and anything by Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary. Joan Aiken's books rocked my world because they were so dark and awesome. I didn't know kids' books could be so very, very dark. (Go to your library NOW and read "Wolves of Willoughby Chase." GO RIGHT NOW!)


Nowadays I don't read nearly as much as I want to, but if Phillipa Gregory, Billie Letts, or Adriana Trigiani writes it, I will make the time to read it. Also, I've just finished a BRILLIANT new novel by a new author...maybe you've heard of it? "A Lonely Sky" I know so many super talented writers that I will always read new material. A new author is very, very exciting.



11. What is the best advice you have received or read regarding the writing process? What is the worst?



There was a TV show once, it might have been one of those after school specials or it might have been the TV show "Head of the Class." (I somehow can hear Howard Hessman saying this) The line was "A writer writes...always." As much as I hate to write what I know I'm going to delete later, the shear act of writing is so vital to a writer's life.


I think the worst advice I got was "write what you know." Okay, it is important for writers to write what is real to them, what they've researched, and what makes sense. That might be why Drew and Bryan and Molly teach at small school that is quietly, and unofficially controlled by a church. I grew up in a parochial system. My husband has worked for years in the car dealership business. But had I kept "Lies in Chance" in the realm of my experience, it would be a very boring book!



"Write what you know" is not terrible advice, it's just that writers tend to take it literally, and that keeps a lot of good story ideas locked away. Sure, my comfort zone is about being a suburban mom. But that's not a setting that's going to transport a reader away from real life. Not unless you toss in a little thing I like to call FICTION. Both my novels are grounded in who I am but then vector off into a world where I'll never live. And that's okay.



12. What are you currently working on?



I've got a novel "Clean Ice" in the works (very early works). That's a romance between a former figure skater and a former NHL player. I'm also going to listen to my mother's advice and publish some of my own musings on real life. "Scenes from an Awkward Childhood" will probably be the first edition I put out there, and I'll share stories about how I wrecked my bike while watching a one armed man build a house; how my mother's terrible cooking affected me; and why I hate ponies but love horses.



13. How has the e-publishing experience worked for you?



If I would read the directions it would be way smoother! I had it very easy because I tapped the very talented Nicola Martinez, the woman who did my cover for "Dream in Color" to do the cover art for "Lies in Chance." Nicola is brilliant and I love her. Then I got the aid of the wonderful folks over at 52 Novels (electronic formaters) Amy and Christina were the pictures of patience!



I should say I would NEVER have had the guts to e-publish if I hadn't met author J. A. Konrath at a writers' conference last year. I had the privilege to sit next to him at a book signing and he regaled me with the joys of e-publishing while he shared his peanuts with me. I owe that man a lot!



14. What are some of the best/worst movies made from novels?



I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and if you think you have the whole story by watching the movie you are wrong. I love Gone with the Wind, and I love the movie. But the two are two completely different experiences.



"Wuthering Heights" is my favorite book of all time. That book has been done as a movie a bundle of times, and I believe the worst...(and I'm going to get smacked for this) is the 1939 Lawrence Olivier version. Everyone is too darn clean and shiny! Meanwhile, (and get ready to smack me again) my favorite movie version is the 1992 film starring Ralph Fiennes.



Much debate goes on about the most recent "Robin Hood" movie, and I'm going to through in and say that I LOVED the Russell Crowe film. (Okay, I love Russell Crowe.)





15. Most romantic scenes in a book or movie:



I tend to find a ton of romance in some of the oddest places. Best kiss in a movie? Well, I hate to give Tom Cruise for any credit, but that kiss in "Top gun" is spectacular. I blame it on the gauzy curtains. Ruined the concept of perfect kisses for me. other than that, I find facial expressions and voice tone to convey romancde far more than some overt setting or nudity. Case in point: the movie "Rough Magic" starring Russell Crowe and Bridget Fonda. Very odd movie. BUT there's a moment in that movie, when they kiss, that is ridiculously erotic, and a big part of that is Russell's very quiet, almost whispered line. I could go on about Russell Crowe...like him or not, the man can convey some pretty deep emotions with very little. Going back to "Robin hood" there is a moment where he and Cate Blanchett say very little to each other, and yet there is something so deep, so completely romantic, just in an exchange of expressions. It's breathtaking. I really hope those two do more work together! As for books, I think I read "Wuthering heights" over and over because I like to impose my own romantic ideal onto Heathcliff.



For more traditional movies, "Pride and Predjudice," (the one with Keira Knightly) has some amazing, romantic scenes. The two best, the first one where she and Mr Darcy are dancing for the first time. Romance defined. The second, when Mr. Darcy is crossing the field to claim her. (Is it getting warm in here?) I think movies are better able to convey the sheer emotion of romance better than books because, well, movies are visual, and there's music, and the people are all super attractive....and now I have to go watch "Pride and Predjudice" again!



16. Book (besides your own) that you'd like see made into a movie:

Well, mine, yes. And "A Lonely Sky." I'd be sobbing through the whole thing! As for other books...how about if we get Snookie's book made into a movie? Why not? She's got a clothing line, she's got a big book deal, she's got a free trip it Italy. What has she done?

Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox.

Interview interrupts: I can't believe you put me and Snookie in the same paragraph together. LOL!



17) Favorite authors:

Phillipa Gregory, the Bronte Sisters, Joan Aiken, Judy Blume, Adriana Trigiani. And the list could go on.



18. Why write? What keeps you motivated?

I have always told stories. I love to tell stories, and I love to make people laugh. So I write my little humor pieces to make people laugh, to lighten their load, and that way I lighten mine. As for the heavier fiction, well, we all have a dark side, right? I think I see a picture, maybe of an actor (which is how the character in my upcoming book came to be) or something and I'll make up a story about that picture. Once I have a character's story, I have to write it. I have to share that story with others.



Well, that and I'm simply worthless when it comes to cooking, cleaning, knitting, sewing, cross stitch. Many have tried to teach me, no one has succeeded. We all have to do something, this is what I do.





19. Favorite bookstore:



Well, I got a Sony e-reader recently, so I'm havning out at the Sony store a lot. And Amazon, of course! for actual print books it's all about Barnes and NOble or half Price Books.





20. Fill in the blank: If I couldn't be a published author, my next dream to come true would be:________________________________________________.

A Rock Star...or a movie critic.





21. Congratulations on your two published novels, "Dream in Color" and "Lies in Chance". What's next for author Sarah Bradley?



Thanks Linda! This has been a blast! Right now I'm trying to get "Scenes from an Awkward Childhood" put together for e-publishing and then I'm going to hit "Clean ice" hard. I've got a lot of ideas for that one...mostly because I've been listening to Night Ranger a lot!

22. And finally, the most important question, how many degrees of sepration are you from Kevin Bacon? I am three degrees...in two different directions.



I met Randy Mantooth in 2000. Randy starred with Sonny King in a terrible movie called "Agent Red." Sonny king was in "Murder in the First" with Kevin Bacon.



I met Rick Springfield in 2001. Rick was in "Hard to Hold" (NOT a great movie.) Rick was in Hard to hold with Tracy Brooks Swope, who was in The Big Picture with Kevin.

Drawing inspiration from loss.

Good morning!

My uncle passed away earlier this week after a battle against a cruel form of dementia. His spiral down into darkness was not slow and gentle, as some forms of dementia may be. No, he went from a college professor to a being who did not recognize his family in a matter of two years. After that, the rest of his time on this earth, 9 years, was spent in some sort of detached existence.

Through it all, my aunt, who is also my Godmother, stayed with him. For those who blithely divorce under the mantra of "I deserve happiness and fulfillment," I hold up my aunt. For eleven years she supported her husband, never straying, never looking for comfort, never asking for her own happiness. She set aside her life to be a wife to a man who didn't know who she was, and, ultimately, could no longer remember he even needed her. Eleven years, she watched the many she'd shared a life with leave her in the coldest, most heartbreaking way possible. Death, a quick death, would have been less painful. Still, she never complained, and she never left him. She was at his side when he finally drew his last breath.



They celebrated, if you can call it that, their 50th wedding anniversary this past June. 50 years they were married, separated by death. Of those 50, 11 were spent in the agony of dementia. I look at some of the marrieds around me and I pose this question: If you knew that more than 20% of your married life would be spent caring for, visiting, and supporting a partner who didn't recognize you as an important person, would you remain married?

I don't have to guess. The statistics on American marriage are there for everyone.

An odd topic, especially for a romance writer, right? Well, maybe. Romance writers work for the happily ever after. Romance readers read for the happily ever after. But there isn't always a happily ever after, at least not the way the romance world sees it.

But my aunt and my uncle lived in a marriage that was every bit as romantic as any steamy romance Wild Rose Press could put out. They had a happily ever after, in a different way. My uncle was loved and well cared for. He is in Heaven now, and he is the perfect version of himself. My aunt, meanwhile, is free of a burden I cannot even imagine, a burden she did not ask for and would never have given up willingly. She will cry on Friday, when we lay him to rest. She will mourn as hard as any young widow in the first flush of love might. Yet she has peace because she knows she was every bit the solid, faithful wife and partner she promised to be on her wedding day.


I do not write inspirational novels, mostly because, while I live my life in that vein, that form of writing does not include the stories I want to tell. That said, I am drawing tremendous inspiration from my aunt and uncle. Their love story wasn't just about two people in love. It was about two people truly willing to give up everything for each other.

As writers, we often find inspiration in odd places. I've talked quite a bit about how "Dream in Color" came about, after a Rick Springfield concert and meeting Randy Mantooth. "Lies in Chance" was inspired by the TV show "Emergency." "7/8ths Time" the novel I'm working on now, was inspired by some liner notes in a "New Minstrel Revue" CD.


But drawing inspiration for writing from a loss like this is something we can all relate to on one level or another.
I'll be away with family for the next several days, obviously. But I want to encourage all of you to look at the darkest moments, some large loss maybe, of your life, and see if there isn't a glimmer of something beautiful there.

The death of Original Fiction?

Good morning!



I'm taking a sick day today. Most of you out there know that a grown woman with children doesn't actually get sick days the way most people think of them. Still, I don't have to answer to anyone for about three hours today...so that constitutes a sick day.
More on that at my humor blog: http://itcanonlyhappentosarah.blogspot.com

I was watching TV last night. It's premier week for most of the networks, so there's a lot of great new TV to watch. Something struck me last night: I am not wrapped up in TV shows like I used to be.

When I was a kid, I watched three shows religiously. Don't laugh.



Emergency, Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons



Now, mostly I watched those because that's what my parents allowed me to watch. In the days of three channel TV programming, there wasn't much out there to watch. These days, you can spent hours and hours on the couch watching...well, reruns of those shows, I guess. The magic about those shows was that, while they are sequential (You can tell where you are in the "Emergency" series by the length of Randy Mantooth's hair.) they can really be watched in any order. Maybe Little House not so much, because toward the end of the series there were more two part story lines. But those shows, you can sit down right now, watch an episode and not be lost at all


When I got older, I watched the following shows

Dallas, Falcon Crest

The attraction for me for these shows was the endless cliff hangers. Story lines didn't end after the last commercial break. you HAD to tune in the next week. Remember the summer of "Who Shot JR?" I do.



When I got into college, my heart turned to thoughts of romance...and sex. So of course, I never, ever missed "MOONLIGHTING. Different from the shows of my childhood, "Moonlighting" was episodic...you could miss a week. But the "Will they/won't they" storyline, the undercurrent of the episodes, was something I could not miss. Of course, they ruined the show completely when Bruce Willis crashed through Cybil Shepherd's glass coffee table in a passionate embrace for the ages. And they brought in Mark Harmon to try and save the show, which didn't happen. But I digress.



I think most scripted shows today follow the basic template of Moonlighting. Attractive guy/attractive girl. One of them is all business. One of them is a scamp. They work together in some high stress high drama job. Sound familiar? Like half the scripted shows on TV?



Quite possibly the most perfect example of this formula was "JAG." That show was interesting the first season on NBC. My husband loved it. Then it got canceled and CBS picked it up. And set the beautiful Catherine Bell next to David James Elliott. And magic happened. For nine more seasons, their three most popular seasons AFTER they declared their love for each other (but didn't do the dead, take note TV writers...) people tuned in for the drama, for the action, and to see if this was the week these two wonderful characters would finally...ya know. For the record there was never an onscreen love scene between these two. The writers kept these characters beautiful and heroic to the very end, and we love, love, loved it.


The other kind of scripted show out there is the ensemble show. Big dramas that don't really focus on one character. These are the shows that are dying by the scores, and are therefore the focus of this fairly unfocused blog.

I used to watch "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy" religiously. Every Sunday I hunkered down for a long night of ABC viewing. Then they moved "Grey's" to Thursday night opposite "CSI" another favorite. I have not watched one second of "GReys'" since. And I can't get into it now because this is one of those dramas that if you miss a couple episodes, you may as well give up. And, the minute "Housewives" drove off the rails with more bodies turning up on Wisteria Lane (I've lived in the 'burbs most of my life...I have yet to find a body anywhere in my neighborhood.) I gave up on that show, too. What do I watch on Sundays now?


Mad Men


Mad Men is the anomaly in my TV viewing week. It is the one scripted drama I make sure I'm watching every single week. I've left parties early to see Mad Men. I've lied about illness to get out of family gatherings to see Mad Men. Why is this the one TV drama I watch, when all others have faded away?

Because it's WELL WRITTEN. It doesn't pander to special interests, to revisionist historians, to today's adjusted social mores. I never feel like I've been preached to after I've watched Mad Men.


Don't get me wrong. I completely support scripted TV. HBO and Showtime have some of the best stuff out there. The big networks, however, have forgotten how to cultivate an audience. Moving CSI: New York to Friday nights isn't going to make anyone happy. And I'd be more excited about new shows if any of them was really new. But if one more rogue lawyer show pops up, I'm going to howl.

And that's the point, isn't it? The death of originality. TV producers don't want to give an original concept for a show more than 8 weeks ("Scoundrels") to make a splash. Only 10 million people watched it? Cancel it! Put on some lawyer show! Better yet, can we get some skanky semi ethnic twenty somethings to be skanky? Because that seems to be working really well for cable. Oh wait...how about a foul mouthed old person? that's it! A lawyer show with skanky twenty somethings and a foul mouthed old person. GOLD!
As writers, it's also the death of original fiction. If it doesn't fit a pigeon hole, it doesn't get published. Book publishers, like TV producers, aren't going to take a risk. They can sell a name. Like TV can sell a Law and Order or a CSI, book publishers can sell a Steele, a Roberts, a Grisham or a Sparks. They don't have to work at it. it just sells. Basic rules of grammar? Original plot? Interesting voice? Forget it. Name on the book. If you don't have that name on the book, it isn't going to get a look.


Is this the death of original fiction? Is it true that the reader today only wants a cookie cutter book that is the same as the last book they read?

Or is today's reader just biding their time until the book equivalent of "Mad Men" shows up?

A Birthday Wish for Kevin Tighe

Good afternoon!

Okay, so now I have to admit something. I have often said I've been writing me entire life. I've said that my first foray into writing was a six page self illustrated story entitled "The Civil War." All of this is true.

But it's not the whole story of how I realized I wanted to write.
When I was four, a TV show premiered that changed my life, and the course of many others as well. "Emergency!" brought to the public consciousness the stories of paramedics in Los Angeles County. Before "E" showed up on TV, paramedic medicine wasn't even a thought. Now, some 40 ish years later, we have some amazing men and women who save lives every single day in the middle of streets, burning buildings, whatever.

I didn't fully understand the shows impact on other people until 2000 when the Smithsonian inducted the show into its museum. This was a rare opportunity for fans as the memorabilia of "E" made it's way across the county. (You can't exactly FedEx a squad truck, now can you?) I don't know who came up with the idea, but several of the cast members made appearances at fire stations all over the place and fans got to see pieces of their favorite show.

By the time all this got to the Midwest, however, the cast members (And honestly, these aren't young folks, so it's completely understandable.) coming to the events were, well, down to one. Randy Mantooth, known as Johnny Gage. Kevin Tighe, (Roy DeSoto) had committed to joining his partner on TV and friend in real life on this cross country junket, but a movie part came up (I believe it was "Rose Red" which is now my daughter's favorite horror movie.) and, as a working actor, he had to take the job.

So when I went to the event in Chicago, I met only Randy from the cast. That was okay, it's no secret that I have adored the man since I was tiny. But I also got to meet and talk to a lot of really interesting people, many of whom were inspired by the show to get into the field of paramedic medicine.


For me, talking to other fans of the show, something I had never been able to do prior to the Internet (And hence, the theme of "dream in Color.") I realized that while TV history may only see Emergency as a footnote, many of us who loved the show made career choices because of it.


Did I want to be a paramedic when I was a kid? You betcha! I used to dig in snowdrifts in my yard and pretend I was rescuing someone from a mudslide. (Of course growing up in Michigan, mudslides weren't all that common...but still...)


I didn't become a paramedic for reasons I will have to share with a therapist some day. However, I did become a writer, and that's why I'm telling you all this now.


The folks that wrote for "Emergency" had to have been brilliant. Sure, the show is cheesy NOW, because the medical field has evolved so much in the last four decades. And the clothes are pretty terrible. And what was allowed on TV back in the day wasn't much. Still, "Emergency" even now, is a drama that will grip you if you let it.

I've gone around the block to get next door here, but here's the whole point of my blog today: In my opinion, though, the biggest bit of brilliance the writers of the show gave us were Johnny and Roy. The friendship that was written became a very real friendship and anyone who watched that show knew one thing: John Gage and Roy DeSoto were two men who would, honestly, die to save the other person. There was humor, sure. There was mocking. Roy was the older, wiser (although in reality the two men are virtually the same age) married guy who tolerated the antics of the younger, silly single guy. In spite of that, there was never any question that those two were the best of friends.

It was that friendship that inspired my very first attempt at a novel. When I was thirteen, I sat down and started creating what would, ultimately, be a story that reflected where I was in my life. What started out as a cry against teen angst and loneliness turned into a full blown romantic suspense with plenty of heat and humor. Working on the story, creating the world that is Rock Harbor, got me through some miserable times during my high school years. It gave me a positive focus on something as I was losing my faith everything during my college years. And, as a mother raising her children, it gave me a reason to feel romantic, even though I was breastfeeding and smelled like sour milk.

As I grew up, so did that story. At the core of the story, however, is a friendship between two men, Drew and Bryan. That the the one thing that has never, ever changed. I knew, the first moment that I rolled a sheet of paper into my manual typewriter, that I needed to honor the friendship of Johnny and Roy somehow.



You know this story now as "Shara's Chance/A Chance to Walk/or Lies in Chance" depending on where I'm submitting it. Yes, I've had this story in my head for the better part of 30 years. a lot of things have changed over the years, to be sure. And now, after years of false starts and stops, and the years of learning the craft of writing a cohesive story, I have the final version. And the friendship between Bryan and Drew has not wavered.

If "Lies" ever gets published, fans of the show will recognize immediately the echoes of John Gage and Roy DeSoto. For me, "Lies" isn't just a romantic suspense novel about an heiress and a school teacher. For me, it's an homage to the writers who created my two best friends, Johnny and Roy.

So today, August 13, I wish Kevin Tighe (Roy DeSoto) a happy birthday. Kevin, if I could give you a gift, it would be this: The knowledge that the work you did so long ago touched the heart of a little girl and helped her through many dark, cold times in her life.

As writers, we all have a reason we got started. Think about what yours was. Then go forth and WRITE!

Embracing the voices in your head

Hello all!

Checking the Wild Rose Press site, it looks like we are a week away from having "Dream in Color" back on the site as a "coming soon" book! And after that, we are a month away from the actual release! Whoo hoo!

I have to tell the story of how this book came to be. See, it's no secret, to anyone who knows me, that I've had more than my share of celebrity crushes over the years. It started with Randy Mantooth, Tv's Johnny Gage, when I was about six and Emergency was a hit. I was positive Johnny would marry me someday and we'd be an unstoppable paramedic team. Never mind the 22 year age difference.

There were others over the decades, Erik Estrada, Mark Harmon (As a blond in 240-Robert) John Bennett Perry (Also from 240 Robert). As a child and a young teen I liked my heroes...heroic. In fact, my second book, "Lies in Chance" actually started out with the two main male characters being paramedics. (They are now parochial school teachers, because, well, you write what you know, right?)

As I got older, my celebrity crushes got more, musical. Mike Reno from Loverboy, Lou Gramm from Foreigner, Steve Perry from Journey, Barry Manilow...(I know, I know...) And, of course, Rick Springfield. (That one's lasted me a good long time!)

It's not often a person like me living in Wisconsin, gets to meet her childhood crushes, but back in 2000 and 2001 I had that opportunity to meet both Randy Mantooth and Rick Springfield. In 2000 The TV show Emergency was being put into the Smithsonian and the powers the be thought it would be cool to move much of the show's trappings, and some of the cast across the country for meet and greets. That worked really well in California, but by the time the show started moving eastward, most of the cast dropped out for one reason or another. Not Randy, though. He made a lot of appearances by himself. And I got to meet him in Chicago on a very hot, sunny day. He could not have been more gracious to the throngs of Midwestern folk who lined up to meet him. I rank that day as one of the best in my life...and I looked great in the photo with him!

In the spring of 2001 I got to meet Rick Springfield at the Potowatami Bingo Casino in Milwaukee. He does a 4-5 day stint in Milwaukee each year and he was, that year, signing his newest album Shock Denial/Anger/Acceptance after the concert. Again, he was awesome, even if Bucky, his handler, was less than amused by the line up of middle aged women. Again, great night, and, while I look less fabulous in the photo, I still treasure it.

Those two events sparked "Dream in Color." I met so many people, women mostly, in those lines and online in groups and chat rooms, all who shared my same crush. In my real life I've been mocked a little for my crushes. But online....well, that was like being in a room with everyone who agrees exactly with you about your favorite thing. the thing was, the stories those women told me about their own lives were...I guess some would say sad. There were stories of lonely, single women, women in terrible relationships, women with terrible jobs. But there was one shining light in all of that. Their crushes on an aging celebrity who had been their crushes forever.

I never thought any of the women I met in those lines were sad, or pathetic. I have always thought that everyone has that one little piece of them that clings to a happy memory, or a happy moment. For me, it was Saturday night at 8 PM when the klaxons of Station 51 sounded, and then later, when "Don't Talk to Strangers" blared out of my stereo speakers. There was a little piece of me that said, "Someday, he's going to stand on my doorstep and fall in love with me."

Of course, I'm married to a man I adore and I have two children...who are teens and therefore not all that adorable, still I love them. I have a job and a church and friends. So when I sat down to write "Dream in Color" I was all set to write Ramona's story as my story...someone who had a crush but was living another dream, a simpler dream.

But a funny thing happens with writers. We writers don't write so much as we take dictation. Any writer who says they don't have voices in their head is simply lying or not listening hard enough. Characters have a way of making their desires known. In "Lies in Chance" I wanted Shara to be a damsel in distress. After trying to write her big distress scene several times I listened and I heard her scream, "I'M NOT SOME STUPID DAMSEL IN DISTRESS." So I put a pitchfork in her hand and let her fight. It's what she wanted.

And the same with "Dream." That book is so different from my original plan, I barely recognize it. I think my editor would laugh at my early drafts. I know some agents did. I can tell from their rejection letters. To make that book work I had to sit down and LISTEN to Ramona.

So "Dream in Color" in spite of what those who know me would like to believe, is not my story. It's Ramona's story. It's the story for all those women I met in line and the women I met online. It's a salute to loyal fans. It's a love letter to those aging celebrities who understand and reach out to those fans with sincerity and generosity.

As the day draws closer, I am more excited, more nervous, and more pleased that this book is coming out. I hope, if nothing else, that the book entertains the reader and inspires other writers to listen to the voices in their heads.

Those are good voices. They know what they want!

Is that what you wanted to do when you were a kid?

Good afternoon!

Geez, what a week already!

It's Wednesday and I'm beat dog tired. Retail, even online retail, even online retail with a crappy website like what we run is going insane right now. 'Tis the season to buy everyone's love, right?

Hey, welcome to my two new followers! Light some candles, make some tea, and get cozy.

Okay, so some of you know that I spend the first hour of most of my work days at my daughter's school working in the before school care. It's silly and pointless most days, since there are generally two kids, both of whom are very well behaved, and then the other caregiver brings in her brood of vipers who proceed to tear up the place. I've never worked in a child care setting where broken toys where thrown out on an HOURLY basis. Makes me wonder what their house looks like!

Well, the other day, one of the little demons asked me what I did, why I had to scoot to work after I dropped her at her classroom. I told her I sold toys online and on ebay. She looked at me with those crazy demon eyes of hers (seriously, should a five year old be that scary?) and asked, "Is that what you wanted to do when you were a kid?"

Ummm, not a chance. No, I wanted to be a rock star. I wanted to be a librarian. I wanted to raise race horses and show horses and beans. I wanted to live by a pond in a soddy, like Laura Ingalls and raise horses and corn and wear fabulous dresses like Scartlett O' Hara all while singing on stage to adoring fans.

Oh, and I wanted to be a world famous writer.

Yep, from very, very young I wanted to write. That's what I've always wanted to do, something I knew deep in my soul possibly the first time I read a book all on my own.

But you know how it goes: Bills, kids, gifts for in-laws you never see but have to buy gifts for so they don't put you on "their list." Thus, the need for a job that pays a check.

So no, little future evil genius. I did not want to spend my day selling toys online for a man who treats me like a second class citizen.

None of us is doing what we wanted to do when we were kids. If we were there would be way more astronauts and actresses and way fewer secretaries and day care providers. But that's okay, really, because while those of us who are working at jobs that we would never, ever have picked for ourselves when we were kids, we're still dreaming.

Yes, little wild beast child, adults dream. We dream beautiful dreams when no one else is looking. We dream of children with clean faces and made beds. We dream of days when we are called "Your Majesty" more than, "HEY LADY!" We dream of reaching that goal we had when we were nine, ten, eleven.

We dream of Rick Springfield, David James Elliot, Randy Mantooth, (insert your own heart throb here) standing on our doorstep wanting nothing more than to whisk us away to a wonderful place.

We dream of a life without screaming, howling, toy breaking children...ahem.

So, my friends, keep dreaming. Keep writing, keep moving forward with whatever it is that gives you bliss.

Have a great evening all!

So what is "Dream in Color" about, Sarah?

Good afternoon!

As a writer, we all think the greatest thing in the world will be the day someone asks us the question, "What do you do?" and we can answer, "I'm a writer and my book is due out on....."

Yes, that is a tremendous feeling!

Way better than telling people you're a writer and having the next question be this: "Oh? What have you published?" and having no answer to that.

Non writers believe, and they don't mean to be cruel about this, but non writers believe that if you write something it will get published...poof...like magic or something. Writers know this is far from the truth.

Dorothy Parker said, "I hate writing, I love having written."

We writers know how she felt.

So why do I bring this up? Because here's the NEXT question you get in the convesation with someone, once you've told them you have a book coming out.

"WHAT'S THE BOOK ABOUT?"

Which is why I'm addressing you all today. My newest beloved minion comes to me from the realm of Rick Springfield fandom, a place I know and love very well. And I realized that I haven't truly opened "Dream in Color" up to its true fan base: Rick Springfield fans!

Let me start by saying that this book was written in love after a couple years of joining, following, and being in online fan groups for Rick as well as Randy Mantooth (TV's Johnny Gage, sigh.) I met some spectacular women. But what I also discovered, and what many entertainers have discovered in the past decade is that many fans are fans for life. When Randy Mantooth went across the country in 2000 for "Project 51" (The show "Emergency" was entered into the Smithsonian Institute and many of the show's props, including the squad, had to travel across the country, so Randy went with it, doing signings and raising money for local fire departments.) my eyes were opened on a lot of levels. Some of what happens in "Dream in Color" between Ramona and Jesse actually happened during fan meet and greets for either Rick or Randy. (I owe those two men a lot!)

After meeting Randy (sigh) I then hit a concert at Potowatami Casino in Milwaukee to see Rick. I got the last two tickets available, but it was worth it to see that show! The next year I went, he'd just released Shock/Denial/Anger/Acceptance (Possibly his best album EVER) and was doing a signing, where I not only met him, I got a picture with him! (double sigh)

All along the way I met women who were like me...fans from their younger years. We're all older, we've all been through real life, but somehow when we come together, aging star and aging fans, it works and it's beautiful.

So what's the book about?

Some of you will recognize the title, "Dream in Color" as being a Rick song from his "Rock of Life" CD. There's a line in that song, "She sleeps under a rainbow, she won't dream in color, she thinks that her soul is painted gray or black and white." That line pretty much wrote the book for me.

Ramona is a woman in her late 30's, with a dead end life. Terrible job, horrible boss, overbearing mother, no romance, and a gassy dog. But her whole life she's held on to one thing: Her love for Jesse Alexander, former pop star turned recluse. When Jesse comes out of retirement to do a string of shows in the Upper Midwest, Ramona throws all caution to the wind and follows him with one goal: Meet him so that he can fall in love with her.

Of course, along the way there's comedy and a gassy dog.

You can see more about "dream" a www.thewildrosepress.com

Have a groovy weekend!