I’m the keynote speaker for the upcoming Moonlight & Magnolia conference in Atlanta the first weekend in October. I like writing speeches about as much as I like plotting—which is to say, I’d rather walk over hot coals in bare feet being chased by a pack of hungry, man-eating arachnids.
Rocki, of course, thought I was insane two years ago when I told her I wasn’t going to write a speech for the Emerald City conference. For those of you who have had the privilege of hearing Rocki speak, you know she’s an amazing public speaker. She’s poised, polished, professional, and . . . and . . . and . . . I’m trying to think of another “p” word that means “everyone who listens to Rocki is in awe and talks about her fabulous speech or workshop.”
You get the point.
Rocki writes, rewrites, and practices her speech a gazillion times. She lectured me (and yes, it was a lecture, because I felt if I didn’t follow her advice I would be buried to the neck in the desert and have honey poured over my head) that I had to do the same thing.
I . . . can’t.
But I tried.
For Emerald City, I wrote bullet points. That didn’t work out so well because I was so paranoid about those bullet points and the speech I should have written that I started taking notes before the speech, and ended up with a mess. It wasn’t my finest presentation, but they didn’t throw tomatoes.
So, when I spoke to New Jersey RWA last year, I wrote a speech. It wasn’t bad—I actually had a theme (You’re Not Normal) and had fun writing it. No, I didn’t practice it over and over again (though I did read it out loud once to make sure it sounded natural) but I did print it out in large font and have all 10 or 11 pages there for me to read. And I knew the material well enough that I didn’t really want to read it, I was just going to use the opening lines to seque into what I wanted to talk about.
The problem? I digressed. A lot.
I think the speech ended up being pretty good, but God knows I have no idea what I said after page two. All I remember was Madeline Hunter giving me the “time” signal, though I didn’t know that at the time ☺ I looked at my speech, realized I hadn’t really given it, and jumped to the last page so I could have a conclusion.
So as I started thinking about what I would say to the Moonlight & Magnolia conference goers, I knew I’d need to find a happy medium between the bullet points and the full-length speech that never was read.
But what would I talk about? What would I say? How can I inspire people while also being realistic about writing and publishing and the whole enchilada?
That’s where I am now. I’m using the conference theme as my springboard: Master Your Story, Master Your Destiny. First, I have to figure out what that means.
I like my “You’re Not Normal” theme. My kids have told me that I’m not like other moms, and I take that as a compliment. Why be normal? What’s the fun in being like everyone else? So I’m thinking of a “Master Your Story Because Your Family Already Thinks You’re Crazy” approach.
Or maybe a Star Wars theme, where the Padawan turns into a Jedi Master because it’s his destiny . . . and the force is what we learn that makes us better storytellers, and the dark side is the negative people who try to stop us from achieving our goals.
Or not. :/
So I have a few questions for MSW readers. What types of speeches do you enjoy listening to? Do you want to learn something? Be entertained? Be inspired? Or learn something while simultaneously being entertained and inspired? (Whew, big shoes to fill! I hope Rocki hasn’t spoke to M&M yet because I don’t think I can reach her bar!)
Do you like journey stories? (What I did to get from point A to B.) Or not? What’s a recent speaker you’ve heard where you think, wow, that was fabulous! And then remember something about the speech later. What is that tidbit that stuck with you?
I’m very interested in your comments and opinions, so please share . . . and if you honestly have nothing to say, say “hi” because I’m giving away books to commenters! Three people will win any backlist title of mine they want.
I’m committed to giving away over 200 books between now and the release of LOVE ME TO DEATH on December 28. I’m giving away a book every week to my Facebook Fans and to my Twitter Followers, and a book a day in December. Plus other days with special contests and fun things through those two venues and my newsletter. So follow me, like me, whatever you want, and you will get more chances to win free books in my #lovemetodeath giveaway!
I’m in New York and was gone all day, so this is a short blog, but should be fun!
I usually don’t like doing those meme things, but while I was waiting for my flight @popculturenerd on Twitter posted this link and challenged us to come up with answers. Using 2009 books read is not cheating, I’ve been told, and because I’m having a hard time answering these with the books I’ve read in the last 18 months (I swear, I used to read 4 books A WEEK; I’m lucky to read 2 books a month now) it can be any book you’ve read. (Yes, I’m changing the rules. Why? Because there are no rules, only guidelines.) Okay, one rule, the sentence has to be a truth about you.
So below are my answers. If you post YOUR answers, you’ll be entered in a drawing for any title in my backlist–winners posted on Sunday. (and you don’t have to post all your answers, just what comes to you!)
Ready?
In high school I was DYING TO PLEASE
People might be surprised I’m THE GUNSLINGER
I will never be DEAD WRONG (at least, that’s what I tell my kids!)
My fantasy job is ONE POLICE PLAZA
At the end of a long day I need SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
I hate it when (it’s) ICE COLD
I wish I had THE VILLA
My family reunions are (an) ANIMAL FARM
At a party you’d find me with KILLER INSTINCT
I’ve never been to HARVEST
A happy day includes COMING HOME
Motto I live by TELL NO ONE (well, most of the time!)
On my bucket list GREAT EXPECTATIONS
In my next life, I want to be CHARMED AND DANGEROUS
I love going to conference workshops, but unfortunately rarely have the time to do so. I went to two-and-a-half this year, other than presenting my own on “Rule Breaking.” I always learn something new, and this year was no exception.
The workshop was Fire in Fiction presented by Donald Maass. I wasn’t planning on staying–I thought it was a rehash of the workshop he gave last year (which I had to leave at the midpoint)–but fortunately, the topic was “scenes” (last year was character.) Near the beginning, he said one thing that ignited the lightbulb in my brain about the problem I’m having in my current WIP, KISS ME, KILL ME.
He asked if anyone had a scene that fell flat. I sure did. Or so I thought.
His suggestion was to take the turning point in the scene, probably around the middle of the scene, and figure out how the character gets to that point. Who was she before the turning point? How does she grow or change? How does she see herself after the turning point?
He said a lot of stuff after that which I’m sure everyone else appreciated, but I kind of ignored it because he wanted everyone to participate in an exercise, and I loathe writing exercises. But his comment got me thinking about the scene I was stuck in before I went to RWA. I realized that I was stuck because there was no character change–nothing we didn’t already no. There was no big reveal, no real turning point. While it was an investigative scene and had appropriate introspection that both paralleled and opposed my heroine’s teenage years, it was flat. Boring (except for clues, which were more obvious because the scene was so damn boring.)
So I mulled over WHY. It’s a necessary scene. In fact, it sets up the entire investigation, provides clues for the characters as they begin the search for a missing teen-ager. But it’s . . . blah. Flat. BORRRRRRING. I couldn’t figure out why then (and no, I did not consider that doing the exercise might have HELPED; in fact, it would have probably prolonged my agony!) but the entire opening segment of fifty pages played through my head as I tried to figure out why I couldn’t write past this one scene.
On Monday, I was alone in the car (a rare instance) on my way to pick up my son from football practice. In that ten minutes, not only did I realize what was wrong with the scene, I figured out what was wrong with the entire fifty page opening.
There is a big emotional turning point in chapter two . . . and that was stopping me. It’s a pivotal part of the story, but it came too early. In my mind, I thought it HAD to come early in the book, but when I looked at it from the perspective of “Who is my character BEFORE and who is she AFTER” this major turning point, I realized that I was simply continuing the story from book one into book two without grounding my reader in her “ordinary world.” This the scene I was having problems with was tainted because my heroine Lucy Kincaid was viewing the bedroom as a CHANGED character, when it should really be looked at through the eyes of who she was BEFORE the major turning point. And I realized that there was no reason the turning point had to be in chapter two–and, in fact, as I re-worked the first fifty paged, the major turning point works so, so, so much better after the search for the missing girl begins.
So . . . my original chapter one is gone; the key facts are edited into what WAS chapter three, and is now the new chapter one and two. My pivotal turning point chapter two? Well, I haven’t quite got there yet. But it’s coming. Probably chapter six. Or seven. Or ten . . . I’ll know it when I get there.
I would probably have figured out what was wrong with this opening without listening to Maass’s lecture, but when? When I began to panic? His questions to us, as writers, turned in my mind until three days later I had the solution. And believe me, no one is more relieved that me!
Maass said something else that stuck with me, and will be on my mind as I write this book. I’m paraphrasing, but this is what I typed in the workshop:
“What is the reader not seeing that they need to see in the story? What is the question no one is asking? The issue that has no solution? In this world, what is the most dangerous thing? Apart from the antagonist, what is the most dangerous thing? Who are we the most angry at? What pisses you (the character) off? What’s just plain wrong? What’s not right? Where is there unexpected grace? What is beautiful that people do not see, or would not notice ordinarily? What is or who is exceptional? Who is the unrecognized hero? The would would be a poorer, meaner place without whom? What needs saving? Preserved? Appreciated? Loved? There’s something beautiful in your world; what is it?”
I can answer all those questions (and more), but I hadn’t thought about them as separate issues. Lucy Kincaid is a complex, driven heroine with a tragic past. But the one truly beautiful thing in her world is the unconditional love and support from her family. Family means everything to her, even when they are having problems. And I had a hint of a major problem that is going to test Lucy closest to home. It was a throwaway line, but as I was restructuring the opening I realized that it is truly her greatest fear. It was hinted at in LOVE ME TO DEATH, but it’s going to come out big time in KISS ME, KILL ME. It has to. It’s been an underlying current in not only the Kincaid books, but in all my books. And it’s going to be a very difficult emotion to explore.
It’s funny that last year, it was Maass’ workshop on character that gave me the lightbulb moment that solved my problems with Fiona, my villain in the Seven Deadly Sins series. Helped me so much that I ended up buying his book FIRE IN FICTION.
I learn something new that I can apply to my writing all the time. I don’t think a writer ever stops learning, growing, improving. I have a long way to go, but the journey is half the fun.
What’s something you’ve learned in a writing class or workshop, or if you’re not a writer something you learned in school that gave you a lightbulb moment?
Can you believe in less than five months LOVE ME TO DEATH, the first Lucy Kincaid book, will be on sale? So each of my blog days, I’m giving away books. Comment for a chance to win ANY book in my backlist. And today I’m featured as the “Spotlight Author” for writer Dyanne Davis. She interviewed me about agents, so if you’re on an agent hunt, or simply want to know more about what agents do for authors, you might want to check it out!
The International Thriller Writers (ITW) hosts Thrillerfest in NYC the second week of every July. On Sunday, I returned from the Thrillerfest V, elated and excited and a bit apprehensive.
First, a little about the organization. ITW was originally for published thriller writers of all sub-genres, as well as the lofty goal of being a “readers” group. I think the organization has moved solidly into the thriller writers camp, but with one big exception: the organization makes a concerted effort to reach readers, librarians, booksellers and other industry folks and does an amazing job promoting not only thriller writers, but the thriller genre as a whole.
I’ve always felt welcome in ITW, even though I write what’s marketed as “romantic suspense.” I put that in quotes only because everyone and their brother has a different idea what romantic suspense is and what it isn’t.
(I have my own personal definition of romantic suspense—a hero and heroine working together or parallel to solve a crime or save the world, and they are together—and alive—at the end of the book. Other than that, anything goes—sexy or tame; gritty or light; humorous or serious. I don’t like RS rules because there are so many of us writing RS that I think RS has become it’s own genre, not purely in the suspense camp and not purely in the romance camp. But that’s a subject for another blog . . . )
ITW has developed into a truly amazing entity. They have so many opportunities for authors to promote themselves, both paid and unpaid. They have an monthly e-newsletter that goes to tens of thousands of thriller readers. The board continually develops new and innovative programs to expand the organization but more important, the published authors who make up the bulk of the membership.
ITW’s Mission is “To bestow recognition and promote the thriller genre at an innovative and superior level for and through our Active Members; to provide opportunities for mentoring, education and collegiality among thriller authors and industry professionals; and to grant awards for excellence in the thriller genre.”
You can join ITW as an associate if you are not published by an ITW recognized publisher (though they have a very liberal recognition policy.) Full members can join for free. Free? Yes, I mean it! If you are a published author, you pay no dues. How can this be? Because the anthologies where members write original stories fund the organization.
Currently, there are four or five anthologies on sale now, the two biggest being THRILLER (edited by James Patterson) and THRILLER 2 (edited by Clive Cussler) published by MIRA. A YA Thriller Anthology will be published by Tor in the Fall. I’m the managing editor of THRILLER 3 (edited by Sandra Brown) which boasts a terrific line-up of bestselling and award-winning romantic suspense and thriller authors. Most recently, 100 MUST READ THRILLERS went on-sale. I have an essay on REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier in the non-fiction anthology, the book most often considered the true launch of the romantic suspense genre.
Another amazing program that was announced at the banquet was the USO inviting thriller authors to go to Iraq. Steve Berry and James Rollins are two of them (who I know personally) and I am thrilled with this, not least of which is to help our troops. Like RWA has the Literacy Signing, ITW supports Reading Is Fundamental. Half the profits from the YA thriller anthology (edited by R.L. Stine) is going to RIF.
Because the organization is formed with tiered membership, ITW isn’t bound by many of the restrictions RWA has. But more than that, I find it a place where I fit, even though I have a foot rooted firmly in both the romance and thriller genre.
I’m not writing specifically to plug ITW—though if you want to join, here’s the link!—and the organization isn’t perfect (what organization is?) but they provide access to authors and opportunities that I haven’t found elsewhere. It started in Arizona in the heat of the summer in 2006, shortly after my first book came out, where I was lucky enough to meet some amazing people and forge new personal and professional friendships. Because it’s small—more like a regional RWA conference than a national conference—it feels more intimate and people are generally open and friendly, including some big-name authors like Harlan Coben and Ken Follett and Lisa Gardner (who won the Thriller for Best Hardcover!) and Lee Child and Steve Berry and Lisa Scottoline and Carla Neggers . . . and I could go on.
Thrillerfest offers workshops similar to RWA in that they have both craft and career tracks. But they differ in that two days are focused on “Craftfest” aimed to unpublished and newly published authors; and two days are focused on “Thrillerfest” aimed at both published and unpublished authors, as well as readers and other industry folks. You can buy a package for everything (at a discount) or piecemeal it and attend for just a day or one “fest.” NYC is expensive, and breaking it up makes it doable especially for those who can get to the city for a day trip.
I have a confession: I only attended part of one panel, other than the panels I served on. Why is this so sad? Because there were at least six that I really wanted to listen to. But I was in NY partly on business this time around—my agent hunt (which was successful!)—and because of meetings missed a lot.
I presented my “No Plotters Allowed” workshop at CraftFest. I was surprised anyone at a thriller conference would show up because honestly, I’ve met more thriller writers who plot (though certainly not all—Tess Gerritsen doesn’t plot, Harlan Coben said in a blog interview that he very loosely outlines, and sometimes doesn’t outline at all, and of course there’s me, the insane one, just sitting down and writing with a vague idea and sense of character . . . ) Fortunately, the workshop seemed well-received and I had people coming up to me throughout the week to discuss something I said that resonated with them. Yeah! Not a failure!
I was on a paranormal panel with former MSW contributor Heather Graham (an amazing author and woman, I’ve always enjoyed her books and she’s very fun on panels!) called “Why be Normal when you can be Paranormal?” Jonathon Mayberry, who writes both fiction and non-fiction, made the point that there is so much out there in mythology that we can write paranormal stories from here to eternity and still have relatively original and fresh material, if we know where to look. For example, there are different vampire myths among peoples of different countries and times, and research is just as important when writing paranormal as it is writing a straight thriller.
The next panel I served as Panel Master. Unlike RWA, the “Panel Master” (or moderator) also participates in the panel while leading the panel, creating questions, taking questions, and shaping the discussion. I never thought I’d like to be the moderator (too much pressure!) but I found I truly enjoy it and it’s almost like running a board meeting—I’m fairly competent at keeping people on task and summarizing audience questions so we move quickly. I was the Panel Master of “Is Social Networking a Waste of Time?” I had some absolutely terrific panel members, including publicists and authors who successfully use social networking. The conclusion? SN is here to stay, but find the medium that works best for you, your schedule and your personality. Be smart about it, and don’t let SN drain your creativity. If you are an awful blogger; don’t blog. If you find you fritter away time at twitter, learn to limit yourself. The authors on the panel firmly believed that twitter (and facebook) sells books . . . I am still undecided, but I believe that if you focus on doing what you enjoy, you’ll cultivate your readership, please your fans, and hopefully those fans who enjoy your blogs or twitter posts will be the ones to spread the word about your next book. But drive-by promotion is a big no-no, because readers know. That’s why you need something you can consistently do, on schedule (whether it’s blogging monthly or tweeting twice a day for ten minutes or checking into facebook at breakfast, lunch and dinner.)
There was an industry panel I missed called “Can we innovate more?” where ITW brought in major house publishers and big name authors to discuss what authors can do to help publishers sell books. I can’t wait to get the tape. Another panel that competed against one of mine was “Why do thrillers kick ass?” with Steve Berry, Carla Neggers, Ridley Pearson et. al. There was a panel devoted to innovation with e-books with authors and marketing people who have had successful promotions of e-books. A panel just on forensic thrillers moderated by Dr. D.P. Lyle (I have most, if not all, of his non-fiction books about forensics for writers.)
ITW also has spotlight guests, which are amazing sessions where popular authors are interviews. This year, they included Lisa Scottoline and Harlan Coben. Ken Follett is the new Thriller Master. And then the debut author breakfast, MC’d by Andrew Gross with a motivational speech by Brad Meltzer. I love this breakfast, even though I have to drag myself out of bed early for it on Saturday morning . . .
And then of course, there’s the bar . . . which is worth the price of admission!
Now there are always negatives to any organization or people, but honestly, the positives outweigh the downsides, and if you write thrillers of any sub-genre, I strongly suggest ITW as the group to join.
I wish I could offer more insight from the panels, but since I didn’t attend most I can’t. If you have questions, please ask! (The big talk across the board while chatting was e-books—some authors are selling up to 50% of their books in e-book format, but most hardcover authors are at 20-30% total sales via e-book and mass market authors are much less. It really depends on your format and distribution. The business is certainly in flux, but change isn’t always a bad thing as long as you make decisions out of sound business analysis and not fear.)
I still go to RWA, and I still find immense value in the organization. It’s larger, the networking is amazing, and I get to see all my friends If you write romance, RWA is definitely the place to be. And since I write romantic suspense, I can’t imagine not being part of both organizations. After Orlando, I’ll write about RWA!
I’m moderating a workshop at Thrillerfest next week about social networking: Is Social Networking a Waste of Time?
My panelists include a prolific non-fiction author, a popular fiction author, a publicist, and two industry professionals and to say I’m a little intimidated to be leading such an esteemed panel is an understatement (and one of my favorite authors is on a panel opposite mine, Ted Dekker, a fabulous scary and talented thriller author with a Christian bent–I hesitate to lump him into Christian thrillers ala Frank Peretti, because it’s not really the same thing, but there is usually a spiritual undertone to his stories.)
Anyway, I was seriously considering dunking out and leaving the panel in the capable hands of pet expert Amy Shojai, who I adore, and figure since she can train animals surely she can keep a panel of industry professionals in line . . .
But then I was thinking, well, no one will show up because I’m giving a craftfest workshop called NO PLOTTERS ALLOWED. The funny thing is, I LOVE presenting this workshop because it’s both motivational and craftie–but at Thrillerfest? What WERE they thinking when I gave them the list of my workshops and they picked THAT one? Most thriller writers–particularly wannabe thriller writers–think you have to plot. No one is going to show up. Everyone will avoid me. And thus, avoid my social networking workshop.
Yet . . . I’ve committed, and in the vein of research, I’m asking YOU, dear MSW readers, to give me YOUR very biased opinion about social networking. Because honestly? It’s biased simply because you’re reading this blog! You are 1) on-line; 2) visiting an author blog; 3) likely commenting on said author blog. And because you’re visiting THIS blog, you likely visit OTHER blogs, and because you visit a multitude of blogs, you likely check out other media . . . Facebook, Twitter, MySpace . . . I know there are more, but I don’t “Link In” and honestly, I can’t maintain one more site.
I need to know, for my very unscientific research this week, some answers. And if you comment, I’ll enter you in a drawing for ANY of my books–your pick. THREE people will win a book, signed, of their choice. (I have seventeen if I include my anthologies.)
BLOGS:
On average, how many blogs do you visit a week? How many relate to books/authors? Are you more likely to participate (comment) if there is a prize offered or if the subject matter of the blog moves you to comment? What do you like most about the blogs you visit? What has turned you away from blogs in the past?
SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES:
Do you belong to more than one social networking site? (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc.) Do you get the same benefit from them, or different benefits from them? What do you like/dislike about the sites in general? (MY BIG PET PEEVE? FACEBOOK WON’T LET ME HAVE MORE THAN 5,000 FRIENDS.) Have you ever bought a book because you first “met” the author on-line — or heard about the book/author on-line and when you saw it at the store you picked it up? Have you found that you “like” an author MORE or LESS after getting to know their public face?
GENERAL:
Do you think authors spend too much time “in public” (on-line)? If YES, why? If NO, what do you like about an author’s “public” face? Dislike? What do you like most about the authors you “know?” What do you like least? All things being equal, is there too much social networking, just enough, or not enough?
Would you rather have a rare “event” (i.e. live chat, message board, video interview) once a year/twice a year or regular access to your favorite authors?
Do you have anything else to share? Pros and cons, all comments are welcome!
NOW, how am I going to use this information? I don’t know . . . but I hope to have a snapshot of what people active on-line think of social networking to incorporate into my questions for my panelists. I will report back and share what I’ve learned in two weeks!
Thank you for participating in this very informal survey! Have a wonderful Independence Day. I plan on watching my favorite Independence Day movie — the musical, 1776!
P.S. If you haven’t bought your copy of CARNAL SIN remember that it’s on sale now!
The winner of a brand-new, never been tear-stained hardcover copy of Margaret Mitchell’s GONE WITH THE WIND is Kris Gilson! As God is my witness, you never have to go without reading GWTW again! Email me at roxannestc@cfl.rr.com with mailing info!
Quilt Lady is the winner of HelenKay Dimon’s UNDER THE GUN. Congratulations! Please email HelenKay at hkdimon@gmail.com with your address.
The winner of CARNAL SIN is . . . Kristen Howe! Please email allison@allisonbrennan.com with your snail mail address
NEWS!
My publisher created an iPhone app (works on iTouch and iPad too!) for me — read excerpts, tweets, comment on a fan board, and more. I’m really excited about it . . . and it’s FREE! Go to iTunes and search on Allison Brennan, or click here or go to wherever you get your apps. Check it out
There’s a phrase writers use in the revision process: Kill Your Darlings. That a descriptive paragraph or scene, no matter how well-written or poignant or suspenseful or romantic or just plain stunning . . . if it doesn’t fit in the story . . . if it can be taken out without changing anything . . . has to go.
Kill it.
It’s the hardest thing a writer can do.
Because killing your darlings goes well beyond a well-turned phrase that may be repetitive, or a scene that is unnecessary. Sometimes in the slash and burn process of editing, characters need to go. And I don’t mean just killing them off in the middle of the book. I mean editing them out of the book completely.
Somehow, editing a character into nothing–completely erasing them–seems so much worse than murder.
I’m wrapping up my final round of revisions for LOVE ME TO DEATH, my January 2011 book starring Lucy Kincaid. Last night I had two major story decisions to make. The first was a series of scenes related to a character that my hero, Sean Rogan, has a confrontation with who subsequently ends up dead. The confrontation scene was fabulous–I loved the scene because it showed Sean being a hard-ass, and because Sean is a bit of a playboy and charming and always in a good humor, I wanted to show him being tough when it was warranted. And there was some great dialogue, too, a great back-and-forth that doesn’t always come easy to me. Then there was the discovering the dead body scene and being interrupted by the FBI. I really enjoyed the back-and-forth between Sean and FBI Agent Noah Armstrong as they butted heads, and then Lucy’s conflict of being in the middle of a crime scene while in the long FBI application process.
But . . . these scenes took up over thirty pages and while well-written and good, they didn’t truly advance the plot. There was no specific reason that Sean needed to talk to the dead guy before he was killed–he didn’t learn anything specific; and in fact, storywise, the guy needed to be long dead before Sean found him.
So . . . I cut all those scenes. And in cutting such a big chunk, I had to edit other scenes that were affected. But nothing changed storywise, and the revelations near the end of the book as Sean and Noah continue their parallel investigations (Sean is a private investigator) make so much more sense now! It’s as if subconsciously, I knew that these scenes weren’t necessary.
Sometimes, we don’t kill our darlings. One scene my editor identified that she felt didn’t advance the suspense plot enough, I decided to keep. I rarely disagree with my editor. In fact, I think the last time I kept an entire scene that she didn’t think was necessary was in THE KILL. But I understood what she meant, so I whittled the scene down a bit, and changed the lead-in to heighten the suspense even though the scene itself is not very suspenseful. But what it reveals about both my characters is, in my opinion, the best way to show the readers who Sean and Lucy are.
But . . . the book isn’t printed yet. The scene may end up on the cutting room floor.
I’ve had to get rid of characters, too. Take Max Revere, a true crime writer who was supposed to be a major character in ORIGINAL SIN. I love Max so much I even bought the URL of his name so he could blog. (I’m not kidding!) I wrote him into the first draft, and my editor told me that she didn’t feel he contributed enough to the story. But I was determined to make him work because I Really Like Max. So I spent a lot of time reworking the story so he had a bigger, more pivotal role. And sent the revisions in, and my editor said he didn’t have a pivotal role, and that he detracted from the story. Reluctantly, very reluctantly, I edited him out of the story. When she read the final version, she said, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but Max was removed easily.” And he was. I’d spent so much time working on his scenes that he wasn’t integral to any part of the story. Just one more character in a large cast of characters.
I argued about it. I tried to convince her that Max was essential. That he was important. That I couldn’t cut him out with messing up the story. But she was right and I was wrong. He wasn’t missed, except by yours truly.
But I was determined to write him into CARNAL SIN. And I did–he had three scenes. They are fantastic scenes. He’s smart and shrewd and intensely loyal–and he doesn’t believe in anything supernatural. He’s also a flirt, in a quiet, soulful eyes kind of way. He just has to look at you and you melt. And he has an agenda, and you know it, and even though you know he’s not all one-hundred-percent good, you’re willing to go along with him because he draws you in in his search for the truth.
And my editor said that he didn’t contribute to the story. I didn’t even argue this time, because she was right, and I knew she was right even as I wrote the scenes. But I wrote them almost defiantly because dammit, I wanted to prove that he was important!
And now he ceases to exist, except in my mind.
Max Revere will be re-born, just not in the Seven Deadly Sins series. Because I had an epiphany the other day. Max doesn’t fit in a supernatural story. He needs to be the lead character in his own story. He’s too strong a character to be secondary to anyone. I’d had a couple ideas over the years, and when I read a snippet of something completely unrelated in a publishing e-newsletter, Max just clicked into place. I have his backstory, I have his first (and maybe only) book, and I have the set-up. It just . . . works.
So not every darling killed will be gone forever. While most of the scenes and snippets I cut from my book during the revision process I’ll never use again, they often give me ideas for future stories. Cutting doesn’t bother me. I’ll slash and burn my manuscript if that’s what it takes to make the story the best I can make it. I love the revision process, even when I have to make the very difficult decision to excise a paragraph, a scene, or even a character, out of my book.
Now for a blatant piece of self-promotion . . . CARNAL SIN will be released on Tuesday, June 22! Yes, book two of the Seven Deadly Sins series is almost here. As regular visitors to MSW know, I loved writing these books. I needed to take a break from romantic thrillers, and writing two supernatural thrillers with a large cast of characters in a classic battle of good versus evil gave me what I needed to reignite my love for writing. I am particularly pleased with the blend of police procedure and the supernatural in CARNAL SIN. (For my fans in Australia, CARNAL SIN will be released down under on July 1.)
RT Book Reviews gave CARNAL SIN four-and-a-half stars and said: “Carnal Sin kicks butt!”
The weekly book buzz at Mania said in their review of ORIGINAL SIN: “Original Sin is yet another new series that is definitely more promising. Original Sin is much more grounded in the supernatural and mystery elements and other books of the same ilk. . . . Brennan masterfully builds suspense and horror in this genre-bending story. . . . All in all this was a strong start to this new series and one I’d recommend.”
I’m giving away a copy of CARNAL SIN. The winner will be announced this weekend. And if you don’t win? You can buy CARNAL SIN pretty much anywhere books are sold come Tuesday . . . or pre-order from Amazon, BN, Borders, or wherever you liked to shop! (Note to last winner of CARNAL SIN–I just got my books in, so yours is going out tomorrow!!)
Come out of lurkdom just to say ‘hi’ . . . or tell me what actor and/or actress you picture in the roles of Moira O’Donnell, Rafe Cooper, Anthony Zaccardi and Sheriff Skye McPherson . . . just for fun
In December of 2005, I received my box of author copies of THE PREY, my first book.
There is nothing as exciting–except maybe holding your child after birth–than holding your first book. Months, sometimes years, of work to create a story that someone loved enough to published . . . and there it is, right in your hand. A story that started with an intangible idea, a spark of an idea, now a real book.
Long ago, a multi-published author–I can’t remember who–told me to savor each moment of publication, not just for the first book or the second, but every book after that. Because eventually, I may become complacent, or disgruntled, and I won’t take the time to simply enjoy holding a new book for the first time.
On Friday I received two copies of my fourteenth book–CARNAL SIN. It didn’t matter all the anguish that went into this book both during the writing and during production; it didn’t matter that we had cover changes and ended up with something I didn’t particularly want; I love this book. Holding it reminded me of everything I loved about writing it; I remembered my characters, the storyline, the decisions I made and the characters made. And even though this is #14, it feels like the first time.
I turned in my revisions for LOVE ME TO DEATH, the first Lucy Kincaid book, this weekend. A completely different story than CARNAL SIN. Not forgotten the book or the fact that it goes on sale in less than three weeks, but I’d put the world I’d created out of my head. Maybe that’s why seeing CS in print was so exciting–I was so immersed in my latest story that I’d put aside the paranormal.
I was probably more excited–at least I showed it more–when I received a box full of THE PREY. But my heart still pounded and I couldn’t help but smile when I held the first physical copy of CARNAL SIN.
Sometimes, the business of writing is almost unbearable. And there’s a lot of things about the business–everything but the writing part–that is frustrating or completely out of your control. That’s why enjoying the simple things–like holding the first copy of every book–is so important. It reminds us why we write, what we love about this story, and that even with all the pain and anguish of writing and production and the business of writing, the most important thing IS the story, exemplified in the final book.
What’s one thing you do that always feels new and wonderful? No matter how small . . .
Comment for a chance to win an early copy of CARNAL SIN!
Other Posts by Allison Brennan 
If you write romance, RWA is definitely the place to be. And since I write romantic suspense, I can’t imagine not being part of both organizations. After Orlando, I’ll write about RWA!
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