Sharp Words

Between my broken desktop computer and the Cavalcade of Boring that is my life, I was sad as Cinderella sitting at home while the entire Romance world was living it up in fabulous Pittsburgh, PA. Then the blogging started. Reports of groping by greasy men, complaints about the complainer complaining about said groping, Mr. Romance contestants who are packing teh crazy in addition to the proverbial pair of tube socks, dueling daughters…WTF, peoples? It’s starting to sound like Romantic Times threw an episode of the Jerry Springer show, and everyone was invited.

Now, I know there are grown-ups who went to the convention, and had a fab time. They just don’t get as many hits. So if you went, and had a fab time, tell me about it in the comments, or link to your blog post.

Ann Aguirre tagged me to blog 7 random facts about myself on Thursday. I’m just getting around to it now. Better late than never, right?

1. I know the place of purchase and price of every article of clothing I own, no matter how long ago I got it. If I bought it on sale, I can also tell you the original price and how much I saved.

2. I love fabric. I am, in fact, a fabric whore, known to wander the aisles of fabric stores across Los Angeles admiring the color and weave of wares I rarely purchase. Bonus: every story I’ve ever written contains at least one fairly detailed description of fabric–the material, the color, the weave, the pattern or the dye-process.
3. I am just under six feet tall.
4. The reason I use a lot of exclamation points in my blog posts and comments? I really talk that way. Really!
5. I love false/created spaces. Las Vegas, Disneyland, miniature golf courses, malls built to look like 19th century European or American towns, odd little houses around LA that look like hobbit houses or castles or pagodas.
6. I’m fascinated with trains. From 19th Century steam engines, to 20th century trollies, to Angel’s Flight (Los Angeles’s late, and much missed funicular rail line) to subways to light rail. Trains are cool.
7. I am almost unbeatable at “Connect 4″

Okay, now I have to tag 7 people. I tag Sarai, Isabelle Santiago, Carolyn Jean, Grammar Geek Laurie, Kate Rothwell, Sherry Thomas and December Quinn

The many, many authors at Fangs, Fur & Fey, are posting the top ten hallmarks of their writing. So, even though they are print-published authors, and I’ve only got two novellas out–one of which is free and the other of which won’t be released for another week–I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon.

1. Moral ambiguity
   I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I like villains. My protagonists aren’t all bad people, but they sometimes do bad things. My goal at the outset of any story is to write it in such a way that if it was told by a different character, the hero would be the villain.
2. Secondary characters with lives
   Another storytelling goal of mine is to write secondary characters with lives and secrets. There are things you don’t know about your friends. There are times when you are just a support character in their story–and if there aren’t those times, you don’t have friends, honey, you’ve got back up singers.
3. Fairy tales
   I love the gory ones. No surprise here, but almost every story I write references fairytales or folktales as a general idea, or a specific comparison.
4. Romance
   But it ain’t all hearts and flowers. Love is a battlefield — violent and explosive. Or an ice-skating rink — cold and treacherous. Or a race track — fast and competitive. Or a waltz — dreamy and whirling in perfect accord. Love is different things for different people. Why should my characters all have the same version of it? Though, to be honest, I really like the battlefield.
5. Multi-racial and international characters
   Why? Because when I was a kid, there were so few nonwhite characters in books that weren’t about race that I used to randomly pretend heroines in my favorite adventure stories were brown girls. Because as a reader I am damned tired of seeing the word “white” used as a description of the heroine’s beautiful skin. Because I want my characters to look like me and my friends. Because I think authors who refuse to write about characters who aren’t their own skin color or ethnic background are wusses.
6. Violence
   Most of it movie-like and stylized. Some of it not. Fact is, I like adventure stories. When it comes to movies, I like car chases and sword fights and Hong Kong style fight scenes. And sometimes I use physical violence as a symbol of emotional turmoil.
7. Strong female protagonist
   Do I even need to say this? I can’t imagine writing a weak female protagonist–leastwise, not one who didn’t end up strong by the end. Those martyriffic heroines who let everyone shit on them for an entire book before the hero realizes that they are pure and virtuous and wonderful are not my heroines. No way, no how.
8. Virtue is NOT its own reward.
   See above. I hate the idea of noble suffering. Usually, characters who spend a whole book suffering nobly could have ended it all by telling a few people off. I also am not down with selfless heroines who will always, always, always sacrifice themselves to help or save people they love–Self-sacrifice like that isn’t noble, it’s co-dependent.
9. A is for “Alpha” and “Asshole”
   I admit it, my heroes are kind of assholish. But all they need as motivation to end their asshole ways is the no-nonsense love of a strong female protagonist (see # 7, above). Just like in real life, right? ;o)
10. Dark
    This isn’t part of my manifesto, it’s just something people keep saying about my stories. Even the sweet ones. I don’t set out to write “dark” they just end up that way.
11. Bonus Feature: References to classic/hard boiled mysteries.
    Not in every story, but in a few. Email me or leave a comment on this post* identifying Like a Thief in the Night’s references to Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammet titles by February 1, 2008 and you’ll be entered to win a $25 Amazon gift certificate.
    

* Update: I just realized, if you post the answer to the comments, the answer won’t be a secret (duh). So, scratch that part about comments. Email me at [bettiesharpe at gmail dot com] or [bettie at bettiesharpe dot com]. I’ll make sure to check my spam folder so no mail gets lost, and I’ll post a list of entries I’ve received the day before the drawing so people can notify me if their name isn’t there.

Wow, Part 1: Demon Night
I just finished the ARC of MelJean Brook’s Demon Night that I won from Dear Author. I’m still gathering my thoughts on it–there’s a lot of plot, and backstory, and detail. I don’t know quite what I think of Demon Night but I am certain of two things:

1. Meljean Brook can write.
   Really. The opening of chapter one was a marvel of pacing and deftly placed detail. It sucked me in, and made me want to reread it a few more times just to admire it.
2. I want to read Brook’s other books.
   Not just because this book was jam-packed with characters from earlier novels, but because I want to read something that’s not quite so full of characters and ongoing plot and backstory. As a newbie reader jumping in on the third (?) book, I gotta say, Brook handled all those elements extremely well. But her big, complex world full of angels, demons, guardians, vampires, secret government agencies, prophecies, and conspiracies is like a hot bath–it’s enjoyable, but it’s also something you want to ease into.

Wow, Part 2: Sundial
I picked up my copy of Carrie Lofty’s Sundial a couple of days ago. It’s a novella, and a damned good deal at $3. Sure, it’s only 67 pages, but there is at least 250 pages worth of longing, tension and angst packed into those pages. Plus, vespas! Also, a hero with a little moral ambiguity, 1950’s Italy, and the loveliest final line I’ve read in a great long while.

To quote the Purple One, “I just can’t believe all the things people say (Controversy!) “. There seems to be a whole lot of postin’ going on at Smart Bitches, Karen Scott, Kate R. and other sites regarding the Shomi authors who dressed as their characters at the RWA convention, the role of blogging, and what constitutes a personal attack. I’m not about to join the flame wars, and I’m not here to offer another opinion on Professionalism v. Publicity. Plenty of people have done that, and, frankly, I’m bored with it. (I’m also too lazy to add links to the other blogs mentioned above. Most of ‘em are linked in the side bar, so click away.)

But here’s the thing about controversy: for the price of a couple of pairs of thigh highs, Shomi generated a hell of a lot of buzz. To be honest, I’m beyond caring about the authors’ behavior. Instead, I’m wondering what Shomi books are like. Are Shomi heroines as daring and ire-inspiring as Shomi authors? ‘Cause that might make for a good book. If I had room in my budget for two more books this month, I’d buy Liz Maverick’s and Marianne Mancusi’s titles. Heck, given my poor impulse control, I’ll probably buy them anyway.

Controversy has a way of generating public interest, even when the publicity seems bad. So here’s the $65,000* Question: Will there be fewer authors in costume at next year’s RWA* conference in San Francisco, or more?

*$65,000 not included / I’m not affiliated with RWA.

Happy 4th of July!

Having just vowed to write fewer posts about myself, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the 4th of July, and what America means to me. (Hey, I never claimed to be consistent.)

Friends and relatives are often surprised when, in the course of conversation, I reveal something that marks me as a big ol’ America-loving patriot. They think I’ve got some sort of beef with this great country because I’m liberal, or because I’m black, or because I think the war in Iraq is both a tragedy that will haunt our nation for the next century and a harbinger of our falling international stature.

But what they don’t get is that I consider having a beef with my country to be my civic duty as an American citizen. We declared our independence because we wanted the right not just to debate with our government, but also change it. And for two hundred and thirty one years, Americans have been disagreeing with government and doing what they can to change what they don’t like.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The very first civic goal mentioned in the preamble to the constitution is that of forming a “more perfect Union.” Perfection is not an attainable goal. If a thing can always be more perfect, can the quest to improve it ever stop? No.

This is what I love about my country. Our most important document enshrines the goal of continuing improvement (and, given the size of our modern self-help industry, most Americans share that goal–at least when it comes to their personal lives). So, while the founding fathers may have been sexist, racist, slave-owning douches who talked high but lived low (I’m looking at you, Jefferson), the process of continually improving government, of striving for a more perfect union has ensured that this great-great granddaughter of slaves has the same freedoms under the law as every other American (as long as I don’t try to marry a woman).

America isn’t perfect, but I’ve always loved the way we keep striving for a better, more equal government. The only thing that has ever or will ever derail our progress is when Americans stop debating and disagreeing. When Americans let themselves get fooled into thinking that disagreeing with the government means disagreeing with America. Nothing could be fur from the truth. Every time we let the government take away our freedoms, every time we shut our mouths when some talking head accuses dissenters of “treason” wether are betraying our country’s first and most important goal: to form a more perfect union.

So this July 4th, I’m going to write my senator and tell her to give Dick Cheney hell for keeping secrets from the people who pay his salary. I’m going to write the mayor and tell him how much I hate the potholes on my street. And I’m going to write the president and tell him he’s a douche to imply that people who disagree with his administration hate America or hate freedom, because as far as I’m concerned, there is no greater service an American civilian can perform for her country and for freedom than to stand up and disagree.

So first Kate alerts me to this cool contest over at Samhain, and then I read in Dear Author that Samhain has partnered with Kensington for a print line. Congrats to Samhain. It sounds like a great deal them and an even better deal for Kensington.

With heroes that have morphed from rapacious asshats to billionaire sheikhs to brooding vampires/werecods to Navy Seals and heroines that have gone from TSTL, to feisty, to kick-ass and back again - it’s no secret that the Romance genre is prone to trends. Print publishing, by virtue of the time and money it takes to print and distribute books, is always a little behind the curve. Epublishers, on the other hand, can not only bring their product to market faster, they have real time information about what’s selling and what isn’t. Epublishers also seem more willing to take chances on new authors, many of whom go on to successful careers in print.

Print publishers that partner with ePublishers or - as I’m sure will soon be the case - create their own ePub imprints will be able to develop new writing talent and track genre trends faster, more cheaply, and more efficiently than their print-only rivals. I’ve no doubt that epublishing will play a big role in romance fiction’s future.

OMG! So, like, there’s this new site that has like every upcoming romance novel on it! So, like, you totally don’t have to search around across a bunch of different publisher sites to see what’s out each month!

Eh-hem. Pardon my outburst of girlish glee. (Little-known fact, my inner fan-girl is also a valley girl. I’m from LA, okay? So sue me.)

Those two lovely Ja(y)nes over at Dear Author got together with a bunch of friends and put together a site called Romantic Advances that just may be the best thing since Kaldi (blessed be his name) discovered the coffee bean - a single website that lists all upcoming romance novel releases, with information and links to purchase.

I may be Bettie-come-lately to this tidbit of info, but that doesn’t mean I’m not thrilled to the caffeine-soaked marrow of my being. Get on over and check it out.