Murder She Writes

I was trolling the Internet and I saw a comment by my editor where she said my books had very alpha men.

It’s probably true. I don’t actually think of it that way when I write, but yeah, I love strong men. In fact I married one. (Another editor once said I love to torture men—also true!) I’ve been called strong willed myself, and some people have wondered how it is that we’ve had a long marriage.

The answer is simple; my husband is alpha, not a jackass.

Strong men don’t dominate women. They aren’t trying to subjugate the people they care about. That’s not what alpha is about. Alpha men are confident, they lead and they protect. They do what has to be done, often at a personal cost to themselves.

There are some women who don’t get the distinction and that’s on my mind today.

It’s bad enough when it’s one woman, and be honest, we almost all know one: The woman who believes that a man who is so jealous that he’s driven to yelling or violence is sexy. They feel loved, while I feel like vomiting in my mouth and staging an intervention. These women have an ingrained pattern that is deeply dangerous. They are NOT romance heroines.

But what really got me thinking about this is that I stumbled onto this entire subculture of women who want to submit to their strong, manly husbands who use domestic discipline to prove their love.

That I found that truly frightening. I discovered this about a year ago and I am still majorly freaked out. The women blogged or wrote on message boards, insisting their men are strong head of households and they are cherished. The men only punish them to make them better women, better behaved, etc. Somewhere in the collective psyche of these women—the men being driven to violence over them equates being loved and cherished. (I’m not talking about consensual fun between two adults—I don’t care what you all are doing that way and I don’t want to know!)

One of the women involved in this lifestyle has even written books and promoted them as romances.

Not in my world, honey! And trust me, I love strong men. I write them. In BLOOD MAGIC, my editor had me tone down Axel, my hero, in a couple places. As soon as I looked at the scenes from her perspective, I saw she was exactly right. As my editor said, there’s a line between alpha and restraining order, and she never let me cross it. Because the set up required Axel to kidnap the heroine, we really did have to walk a fine line.

Now in the story, we learn he kidnapped her to save her (as well as he needed her to save his baby sister). The motivation works. Or I hope it does, but I don’t EVER want to promote the idea that dominating, hurting, controlling, belittling or in any way subjugating women is ever okay.

To me, an alpha male becomes a trusted partner. My husband is and has been for many years. He’s the first person I turn to in any situation. I never fear him, but always value him. I’m a better person because I’ve never wanted to let him down, not because he ever threatened me. He is my partner in life.

Now let’s lighten up since I got all ranty and dramatic. Who are some of your favorite alpha males in books, movies, TV shows…wherever you find them. What do you find sexy about true Alphas?

I have tried to teach my kids that if they work hard enough, if they are committed, if they are willing to make mistakes and learn from them and get back up and try again and again and again, that if they have a passion for something and want it bad enough that they are willing to sacrifice for it, they will achieve their goals.

But that’s a lie and we all know that.

If it was only about the level of personal commitment, dedication and hard work, we would meet each goal we set. We would write the ten pages we set out to write. We would be published within five years. We would hit the New York Times list.

But quality is subjective. We may agree on a group of books that will never be published, and another group of books that are fabulous and worthy of bestselling status, but all the books in between must face the scrutiny of others and their success–or failure–has little to do with how good that book is by any objective standards. We work hard, we write the best book we can, it’s brilliantly edited, but its success is dependent on external forces that we have little to no control over.

Distribution. Cover design. Competition–both in-house and out of house. The season. The economy. A glut in the genre. Shipping. So many things factor into the success of the book, that we can be confident in only the book we turn into our publisher, that our dedication to the story and the hard work we put into it have given that book the best chance of success . . . because everything else is completely out of our control.

But still, knowing that my passion and career as an author is subjected to the variances of the business, I still teach my kids that commitment and hard work matter. I want them to have a passion for something in life. I want them to want something so badly that they are willing to sacrifice to achieve their goal. My eight-year-old is a talker. He’s also in his first year of football. If you talk too much, you run. He wants a new lego set that costs over $100 with tax. I told him that was a Christmas present level lego set. He wants to earn the money to get it earlier, so I said I’d give him $5 every day he doesn’t have to run a lap for talking or daydreaming. There are 49 practices. He has the chance of earning $245. He’s trying, but at the rate he’s going I don’t think he’ll reach $100 by the time the season is over. But he IS improving (and, he’s running faster too!) He had been running three laps, and now he hasn’t run more than one per practice (for talking) and has earned $10 after (cough) 20 practices.

Luke is learning football and he may be a decent player. I don’t know if he has the dedication–the passion–for the sport to be a great player, but right now he’s excited and he’s energized.

Sports is really Karin’s venue, but as my kids have grown I’ve been much more involved in their teams. I see the players who I know have the passion for the game, whatever sport they play. There are a couple high school kids on the football team whose passion is really baseball, and you can see that in their energy when they are in the diamond vs the football field. There are a couple kids who have an excellent shot at getting scholarships to play basketball at top ranked schools even though they are playing in Division V. They are in the gym every chance they get practicing. They are top high school players, they want to be top college players. They run drills, they shoot, they do a hundred lay-ups in a row and if they miss one go back to zero. Because they want it.

Writers are like that, too. We write and submit and keep writing, keep improving even when we’re rejected. And while we know that there are so many things out there we have no control over, our passion and commitment keep us working hard. We know there are many who won’t make it for reasons that have nothing to do with their talent or commitment. I’ve always believed that getting published is a combination of talent, perseverance, and luck. Because yes, there is a luck factor in getting published and luck has nothing to do with talent. But without talent, luck doesn’t come into play. Without perseverance to get through the rejections, to learn the craft, to push yourself to be the best damn writer you can be–you won’t be in the position to capitalize with luck comes your way.

In sports, however, luck doesn’t factor into it. With sports it’s hard work, talent, and commitment. And passion. Some kids will never have the skill level to play for sports. I couldn’t play softball to save my life. Absolutely no hand-eye coordination. Soccer, on the other hand, is about running, balance, and foot-work. I loved soccer, played for eight years. Could have played varsity in high school, but didn’t. Why? I had no passion for it. I loved it when it was “fun” but when I had to buckle down and live, eat, and breathe soccer? Um, no. I had the skills–I knew how to play and I was good–but I didn’t have the passion to work as hard as I’d have to in order to succeed on the Varsity level.

I love sports because it usually IS talent based. Players with passion plus talent are generally rewarded. If they make the commitment, go to practice, get better, have the skill-set, work their asses off, they are rewarded. In Varsity sports, it shouldn’t be arbitrary who makes the team. It’s a factor of all of the above and what’s good for the team as a whole.

Unfortunately, my oldest daughter, 15, learned a lesson I wish could have waited. That I’ve been lying to her all these years. That when I told her she could do anything she set her mind to, that her hard work, commitment, and talent would pay off, I was holding something back. That thing was other people. That people make decisions that have nothing to do with hard work and talent, and sometimes those decisions are unfair and arbitrary. I never expected it to happen in sports.

But we, as writers, already know it.

When I give my No Plotters Allowed workshop, I ask the audience, “If you knew today that you would never be published, would you still be writing?” If the answer is yes, then they are already half-way to publication. Because honestly, we all know that most unpublished writers aren’t going to published. Commitment, hard work, talent and passion is not enough–but it is your foundation. It is the rock on which you build your books, and hopefully a career. They are the requirements of a career author, and when you have that foundation, when you keep moving forward, improvement, looking for the “luck”–trying to make your luck through multiple submissions, creative classes, self-editing, whatever it takes–then you are in the best possible position to achieve your goals. Be proactive, be positive, be passionate.

When my daughter got the blow yesterday–something completely unexpected and out of the blue based on everything she’d been told for the last four months–a lesser athlete, a weaker person, would have quit. But she didn’t. She cried. She said it wasn’t fair. (I have banned “it’s not fair” from our house, but this time, I agreed with her one-hundred percent.) She questioned herself, and questioned everything that she’d been told. She feels lied to, manipulated, and emotionally abused. She began to doubt herself, but I wouldn’t have any of that. Because she is talented, she is passionate, she is as good or better, more committed, and more passionate than those who were given something she was denied. But more important, in the face of unfairness and adversity, she didn’t quit because she is committed.

I have never been so proud of her.

Make me as proud of you. In the face of rejection, write. In the face of adversity, write. When you fall, get up. If you want it bad enough. Sports is not for wimps, and neither is writing.

There’s a huge difference between writing a novel and creating a short story. I have a tendency to be verbose, so the structure of a novel fits me well. In it I feel I get more opportunities to bring my characters to life. I can add in a bit of their background and more of their mannerisms to give the reader a true flavor of what the character’s about. Doing the same thing, bringing a character to life I mean, in a short story takes pure damn genius in my opinion. And a genius I’m not. At the moment, I’m working on rewrites for two shorts that will appear in an anthology next year. ALL of the contributors are excellent storytellers and can make a short story sing like Whitney Houston on her best vocals day. Mine sounds like somebody’s Uncle Charles singing in the shower with a bad case of laryngitis.

Fortunately, one of the tools that has aided me along the road of short story writing, has been a plot outline that a friend shared with me. It’s been invaluable in helping me get to the point of the story without a lot of fluff and/or verbosity. Wait a second, ain’t fluff and verbosity one in the same? Yeah, ok, so add redundancy to the list as well.

Anyway, because it’s been so useful to me, I thought I’d share it with you. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the outline comes from the infamous, master storyteller of all times….Dr. Jack Williamson.

Here’s the crux of the concept….

In a 3,000 word (or 12 page) story, for example, the beginning is about 750 words, the body about 1500 and the ending about 750 with resolution/validation taking no more than a few sentences. Thus you have the following outline:

BEGINNING (3 pages)
1. Main character
2. Disturbing situation (conflict)
3. Character’s story purpose
4. Hazards or difficulties
5. Assets essential to the ending

BODY (6 pages)
1. Attempts to achieve purpose (usually 2-3, increasing in difficulty)
2. Results (usually 2-3, commonly failures)
3. Black (or bright) moments

ENDING (3 pages)
1. New stimulus
2. Final conflict (one last attempt as above, usually succeeds.)

RESOLUTION/VALIDATION

So, there ya go. The perfect formula for the perfect short story and/or novel…..happy singin’ everyone!

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It is Tuesday, August 25, 2009…and I have been waiting for this day for one year, since my last book was released. Hallefreakinglujah, it’s release day! In honor of this long-awaited and thrilling occasion, I’m going to bow out of my usual blogging duties and skip my diatribe of writerly insights in order to run a sixty-second commercial for my new book, Hunt Her Down, in stores…today!

Feel free to mute or fast forward, I promise you I won’t be offended. Or you may just skip to the bottom, leave a comment and win a copy of Hunt Her Down, in case you don’t have time to run out to your local bookseller and grab it from the very shelves it hits…today! But if you want to find out what I’m so excited about, here we go.

Cue romantic suspense music…

Bullet Catcher Dan Gallagher is about to learn that some vendettas — and some women — are hard to forget.

Fourteen years ago, as an undercover FBI agent, Dan watched his lover, Maggie Varcek, flee as gunfire exploded around them. She believed him to be another man, a traitor, and dead. But Dan has learned that the drug lord Maggie unwittingly helped put in prison is free, and may be out for revenge. Determined to track her down and make sure she’s safe without revealing who he is, Dan gets a shocking surprise that turns his life…and his heart…upside down.

Maggie is indeed in danger, the target of an international hunt for a clue she doesn’t even realize she has. When Dan’s identity is stunningly blown and danger strikes terrifyingly close, Maggie has to forgive Dan’s crushing betrayal in order to save the one thing that matters most to her…their son. Haunted by their past, tortured by their bone-deep attraction, and locked into a race against time and a cunning killer, Maggie and Dan take a thrill ride of heart-stopping suspense and heart-pounding sensuality.

The reviews have been fantastic! Smart Bitch Sarah Wendell calls “smart and steamy and suspenseful writing at it’s best” and swears it made a fan of romantic suspense out of her – woohoo to that!

Romantic Times Magazine gives Hunt Her Down a 4.5 Top Pick calling it “a fast paced treasure hunt and prime installment in a red-hot sizzling series.” Fallen Angels awards it Five Angels, pronouncing it a “hot and sexy well-crafted thriller guaranteed to keep you up late.”

This latest installment in the Bullet Catchers series has secrets, lies, passion, danger, drama and one incendiary scene in a shed you will not easily forget! It’s in stores…today !!! Have I mentioned that? So, go ahead, you know you want to…go right now and Hunt Her Down.

(To thank you for that indulgence, drop a comment and celebrate with me! I’m dying to give a book away…today!)

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Presently, many of my writer friends are in a state of flux. All of them have been at this professional author gig for a while. Most of them have over a dozen books behind them. Some have many more than that. Others are pretty darn close. Regardless, they’re all in a similar place — they’re in the process of (or seriously contemplating) starting over.

The reasons why they’re turning over a new leaf are varied: a series didn’t do as well as the author (or their publisher) hoped, a series ended and the new direction the publisher wanted doesn’t suit the author, the author is pursuing a new direction that doesn’t suit the publisher, the author wants more money, the publisher wants to pay less money, the publisher isn’t satisfying the author with the level of support being offered, the author wants to take their career to the next level and the publisher isn’t making happen, the publisher is disappointed with the author and thinks it’s time to cut their losses…

Whatever the reason, it’s not easy for a writer to decide to throw out what they’ve accomplished so far and start from scratch. Sometimes it’s with a new genre. Sometimes it’s with a new name. Sometimes it’s with a new publisher, where a change in editorial direction and packaging can turn something old new again. For the writer it can feel like they’re slipping down a few rungs on a ladder they’ve climbed a long time. They wonder if their existing audience will follow them, or if they’ll start at Square One.

It’s a gamble and if it doesn’t work out well, a once promising career can stall. I have a few friends who’ve stalled a few times. I have others who are facing that situation for the first time. But the way they’re tackling their futures, with determination and willingness to reinvent, is the reason why they’ve sold so many stories in the past and why they’re certain to sell more stories in the future whatever the name or genre. In a business reliant on public opinion and popularity, it’s inevitable that adjustments must be made. Some big. Some small. Being fluid and adaptable is a requirement.

The sheer number of authors recently announcing new series, new genres, new names, and/or new publishers has been extraordinary. A sluggish economy and slow-to-adapt industry contribute greatly to the need for change, without a doubt. Yet how amazing it is that so many talented people are hanging in for the long haul. How wonderful are some of the stories of editors fighting for those talents, and publishers renewing their commitments to authors who are struggling through reinventions. The reasons why starting over is necessary may be unfortunate, but the way in which those new beginnings are being forged is really motivating.

I admire the resilience of my friends. I look forward to their new ventures. I applaud their can-do attitudes. And I’m sure as hell looking forward to the books they’re going to be writing. They can’t help but be fabulous with such strong creators at the helm!

If you fall in love with a series and the next book never comes out, chances are it isn’t the author’s fault. Last time I checked, writing was a business, yanno where you make money? So if the series didn’t perform to expectations or the publisher isn’t willing to pay for the next book or they are assholes about it, give the author a break.

If an author jumps to a new genre, there’s a good reason for it. Change is good, authors like to spread their creative wings. Don’t drop her because you think she’s abandoning you. Give the author a break.

If you have an auto buy author and wait with bated breath for her next book, and it’s a dud, don’t take her off your auto buy list. Maybe she had serious life stuff going on when she wrote it or her editor didn’t bother to edit it or her dog died. Give the author a break. She’s human. And seriously, have you ever had a bad day at work or totally effed up a project? Most folks get a second chance. Take the book back and get a refund, don’t hate on the author.

If you email an author to tell her how much you LOVE her work and she doesn’t immediately respond, give her a break. She’s probably buried writing the next book for your reading pleasure.

If you email an author and ask her to read your manuscript and she politely declines, don’t write her off! She, one: doesn’t have time, two: most agents discourage this, for many reasons, and three: if it sucks ass and she tells you, albeit nicely, you’ll smear her name on facebook, myspace, twitter and every blog in cyberspace. So, please, give the author a break.

And please, if you email an author and say weird creepy stuff and she doesn’t respond? She’s in fear for her life. Please, give the author a break.

If you send nekkid pictures of yourself and the FBI shows up at your place, give the author a break. After all, she isn’t the whacko.

And last but not least, authors are people too, they work really hard at what they do and they try to write the best book they can at the time, but sometimes, they miss the mark. Don’t write them off, give the author a break.

That’s all I have to say on the matter.

K*

I met Leanna Renee Hieber last year at RT when she helped shoot the video interviews RT Magazine did with a bunch of authors. (She and director Morgan Doremus had me cracking up between takes, which is probably why I look like I am high or a complete ditz and WE ARE JUST GOING WITH THAT THEORY, thank you.) I adored them both immediately. They are the kind of women you wish lived right around the corner, because you just know you’d have a blast hanging out.

Which turned out to be amazingly true. Leanna and I hung out a bit this year at PASIC and again at national and she is just one of those amazing, talented people you immediately root for. Especially since her book – The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker — is terrific.

The story:

What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Hidden in the dark heart of Victorian London, the Romanesque school was dreadfully imposing, a veritable fortress, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met its powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadows, of the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She saw simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gift. This arched stone doorway was a portal to a new life, to an education far from what could be had at a convent—and it was an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death…

[This is where I get to say, "I got an ARC, I got an ARC, nyah nyah nyah nyah, nyah."]

I know, I am so mature. But while we’re waiting for this book to come out TUESDAY, AUGUST 25TH, Leanna agreed to blog for me, and I know you’re going to have fun with this one.

So I am pleased to give you Leanna Renee Heiber:

“Everyone’s Favourite Serial Killer”

No, I don’t mean Dexter.  I mean the other one, the real one.  Jack the Ripper.

How does one deal with such a household name?  From movies to graphic novels, fiction to non-fiction, the killer is a superstar and has made his presence known in every artistic form.

I’ve been on the classic Jack the Ripper walking tours through Whitechapel, and found myself enrapt, and spooked, and I left those alleys feeling no closer to knowing the truth.  All the London walking tours are led by exceedingly knowledgeable guides who have very passionate opinions on all that’s been written and proposed about Jack and the murders, but they themselves are hesitant to present conclusions.  Resources like www.casebook.org will have you immediately steeped in a vast wealth of valuable information proving that Jack remains, by far, the most popular of all unsolved mysteries.

Why?  I believe our fascination with Jack has many factors.  It was an immediately famous spree of horrific murders at a time when ‘serial killing’ didn’t have a sensational list of names attached.  It remains mysterious and unsolved.  It came at a time we now regard as quite ‘civilized’, an era we highly romanticize.  The Victorian era fascinates us as being so very different from ours.  Yet we can certainly recognize true horror, no matter the era.

If an author decides to take a crack at including Jack the Ripper in their book, it can easily become daunting.  I don’t, frankly, have an opinion about who Jack was.  My favorite Jack narrative is Alan Moore’s From Hell, but that doesn’t mean I believe Moore’s take on Jack’s identity.  Because I’ve no sense of who, I made Jack supernatural, an unfortunate side-effect of the much larger problem of a war between the mortal and spirit world that’s about to rage at the center of London.

While Jack is a bit of a sidebar in The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, I do use details of the murders, locations and victims within my fantasy narrative.  During my research I found my fascination with the Ripper case as strong as it was the day I’d first heard the name and surprised at how easily upsetting and shocking it still remains.  The Victorian photograph of Mary Jane Kelly’s body, the final and most severely mutilated corpse, haunts me to this day.

What fascinates you about everyone’s favourite serial killer?  Why Jack? Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction accounts of Jack the Ripper? Do you have any theories?

–  Leanna Renee Hieber is an award winning author, professional actress and award-winning playwright. Her greatest loves are ghosts and fantasy fiction. The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, first in a Gothic Victorian fantasy series with Leisure Books/Dorchester Publishing, launches 8/25/09 visit her at www.leannareneehieber.com

Ah, that’s a lie. I’m alive, and other than a slight cold or an annoying allergy, thankfully in decent hearth. But I’m going to be truthful here, admit more than I usually do, and, I believe, I’m one of many in the situation.

I feel like the Scarecrow sometimes. If I only had a brain!

I would not be overwhelmed.

What is it about us? It’s usually considered to be women, but sometimes men as well. Somehow, we managed to grow up in the “Enjoli” era. Some of you may remember. “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let him think he’s not the man!” Paraphrased terribly, but it’s a very old ad for perfume.

Sometimes, interviewers tell me that many authors have to have a quiet room, there own place, soft music, perfect lighting, whatever, to work.

That would be true insanity. For most of us, work takes place in the midst of kids. Or pets. Or other work, or other commitments. Oh, by the way, that was not a comment stating that Dennis was an incapable person. He’s been around far too long, actually, and is far too opinionated about publishing. But that doesn’t change life. For most of us, a quiet garret somewhere is a fantasy, or a dream. Or it’s not even a dream anymore, because if we had such a place, we’d be looking around, unable to work because something else wasn’t going on, someone wasn’t needy, there wasn’t a time line because a child didn’t need to be picked up from one activity to be brought to another.

Okay, so . . . this time, it got a bit overwhelming. First, there’s the audit. God was angry at me, and had me audited. He wasn’t that angry, or it’s all His sense of humor, because he did give me the most decent and kind agent in the world. I’ve actually learned tremendously from her. She’s stern and her figures will add up, but she has never just lifted a hand and said, “too bad.” She has done her best to help me get missing paper work and make the numbers crunch. But I did get hit with two years in which storm damage erased or ate up a lot of receipts, the journal, and all that. So it’s tough. She works with me.

God is good, after all.

Okay, so audit. Then, midstream, when I was about to turn in a book, we’ve decided that another book needs to be out first. Okay . . . .

Then there is New Orleans. Two weeks now before I leave. Panels, trying to make sure everyone speaks, and speaks with the right group. I have help on this–Mary Stella has put together lots of panels. Who is coming, what is specific need at the workshop, and how do I best serve that need? Roommates–do I have the best combination of people together. (Hey, even in–or especially in!–my own family, this is a tricky task. Again, lots of help–Connie Perry. Baskets for raffles–the original idea of the workshop was to bring people into the city, and then, to support the libraries. Of course! But we need those giveaway from baskets. I’m the one who needs to bring in the goodies. Books to fill the bags–and, thus far, we are remarkably proud of our bags. We try to give the most amazing bang for the buck out there, and support our fellow authors who are there and who cannot be there, so we try to make excellent goody bags.

(Hey, I’m not proud. Anyone with giveaways, books, etc! Connie Perry, 103 Estainville Avenue, Lafayette, Louisiana)

Okay, audit, change in book, NOLA.

That’s okay . . . .

Bill! What’s that wretched bastard doing out in the Atlantic? Okay, he’d better head north, that’s all I have to say. And leave Bermuda the hell alone, too, got it?

We’ve been remarkably lucky this summer. Lots and lots of rain and wind–remnants of storms that didn’t quite make it, and hey, that’s great, we can deal with rain. I am part of Florida, and the state has been beaten up, and it’s handled it well every time. (I mean, who needs electric every day, eh? That annoying Camille already moved into the panhandle, headed north, and is petering out.

So back to that frazzled thing, accountant’s office, book, email, wow, maybe I should twitter, all those pics on my camera and I haven’t downloaded, really need to do the laundry . . . .

It’s all part of bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan, and somehow live a good life, do the things we feel in our hearts, and . . . .

Really. Even back then, I was ready to beat the @#$$%% out of the “Enjoli” woman!

Heather Graham

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