Archive for July, 2011

The Psychic Realm: Clairaudience, Clairsentience, Spirit Guides and Apportation

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

The BEST part of my research for my new psychic proposal is learning about clariaudience and spirit guides. Both play key roles in the developing series about a new family evolving into a legacy of latent parapsychological gifts. If you’ve ever felt someone near you when no one was there, experienced an epiphany from out of nowhere at the exact moment that you needed it, had a stranger share the precise message or insight that will get you through a personal struggle, or avoided disaster at the last moment because of a random encounter with someone or something that diverted your from danger… Haven’t you wondered if there might just be more intent than whim behind what you’ve encountered?

spirit_guides woods

First, let’s back it up and talk about a spirit world theory that is the basis for new books in my Legacy series and the foundation of a philosophy that says that the energy of beings we can’t see coexists all around us, every second of the day.In a world such as this, spirits surround us but exist in a dimension that most of us are incapable of interacting with. Those most likely to see and hear them tend to be children, because they’re more spiritually conscious and less likely to dismiss an encounter, and animals (whom some believe are the most spiritual evolved beings on the plant).

So, whithout digressing into past life philosophy and a deeper discussion of whether higher/faster plains of existence that we can’t see are possible, let’s agree for the sake of this blog post that spirits of those most of us cannot see and hear do exist. Spirits, the theory goes, of those who’ve died before us and whose energy has passed on to another dimension.

A principle like this opens up a world like the one I’m drawing in my books to fantastic possibilities.

Why? Because what if these spirits were regularly trying to communicate with us, all around us, from wherever their energy has gone? If only we could hear them, what could we learn? How could these souls help (or in some cases) harm those they’ve left behind? In fact, how would they go about getting our intention, while we walk right by and ignore them.

Which brings us to the terms clairaudience and clairsentience–the gifts of being able to hear beings and information from another dimension, or receive and actually experience the physical and emotional projections of those spirits on the “other side” of your dimension, respectively.

Many say children are born with these gifts (that all children have at least one psychic gift). Have you ever witnessed a child talking to her imaginary friend, having a tea party with no one, or repeating something that’s been said to her that she should have no way of knowing? Have you ever wondered how they can be so engaged?  What if they were really hearing, seeing, and interacting with something?

spirit guide

These would be the gifts of people who tell us they communicate with the dead and can pass on information from spirits. (more…)

How We Write Wednesdays: High Octane Heroes–Applying protagonist archetypes

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Everyone shout out a HoWW welcome to USA Today bestselling author Catherine Mann as she adapts one of her most popular workshops for our How We Write edification–High Octane Heroes–and kicks off our Wednesday guest blog series. 

CatherineMann2 006

Jenni and I will continue to alternate posts through August and September, but for the next two months we’re bringing you an exciting schedule of guest authors to keep us all focused on craft through the steamiest part of the summer! Keep an eye out for a schedule any day now ;o)

This week, Catherine’s talking about how she hones appealing facets of the military archetype to power up her heroes.  And whether you write romance, other genres of novel-length fiction, or even short stories, we can always learn new and innovative ways to hook readers with our protagonists. So, sit back and enjoy as a master of the craft puts us through our paces ;o)

Catherine, take it away!

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Cops, Firefighters, Secret Agents, Spies and yes – dreamy sigh – a military man in uniform!  These kinds of heroes have me on the edge of my seat.  They set my heart racing. 

But what about stories that feature the man next door, the lawyer, the accountant, the preacher, the businessman?  Can they be edge-of-the-seat, heart pounding heroes too? 

Of course they can! 

I started out writing military suspense – then began writing for Harlequin Desires as well.  As I branched out, I decided to watch a ka-zillion military movies and analyze what it is about the military archetype that so intrigues viewers and readers.  By pinpointing those qualities, I would instill them into any hero I penned, whether he’s an Alpha, Beta, Gamma.  A Swashbuckler or a Professor.  A chief or the best friend.  

Here are the elements I found traditionally included in the most memorable military heroes, spanning multiple genres and time periods.  The more of these qualities the military protagonist possessed, the more multidimensional – and memorable – he (or she) became.  

sgtyork

I. PROWESS: Daring, Bravery, Charisma

I watched movies like Sgt. York, To Hell and Back, Flying Tigers and the machismo can’t be missed in these classics.  That warrior spirit, however, transcends time in a personal favorite movie of mine, Braveheart.  William Wallace’s shout of “Freedom” still sends chills up my spine. 

II. FOCUS: Determination, Drive, Pride (more…)

How We Write Wednesdays: Catherine Mann Guest Blogs Tomorrow!

Tuesday, July 26th, 2011

To kick off a HoWW Guest Blog series tomorrow, USA Today bestselling author Catherine Mann talks about building protagonists and “High Octane Heroes.” She writes amazing military heroes and walks us through exciting, visual ways for using movies to hone your character archetypes…

USA Today bestselling author Catherine Mann has over two million books in print in more than twenty-five countries. 

CatherineMann2 006

She pens military suspense for Penguin and Sourcebooks, as well as steamy romances for Harlequin.  Catherine’s work has won numerous awards, including the prestigious RITA and the Bookseller’s Best.  A former theater school director, she hold a Master’s Degree in Theatre from UNCG.  Catherine resides in Florida with her aviator husband and their four children.  FMI visit her website, and she can be found on Facebook  and Twitter.

I’ve heard Catherine teach at conferences for years, and this is a blog version of one of her most popular workshops. She’s amazing. You don’t want to miss it, so come back tomorrow to learn, talk amongst yourself in the comments and over on Twitter in the #HoWW hashtag, and have a blast!

Keep checking back here and on Jenni’s blog for more details on August/September HoWW guest bloggers–we’re getting their topics, bios and blog dates lined up now! It’s going to be a great group, including Joanne Rock, James Scott Bell, Candace Haves, Susan Meier!

Dream Theories: Men have more naked dreams than women???

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

We’ve talked about examining, grouping, and interpreting your dreams. Now that I’m back from Summer break, let’s get specific and have a little fun. Starting with getting naked ;o) The most common take on being naked in dreams is that these images represent the dreamer’s fear of being vulnerable. Remember, dreams are all about emotions/feelings. Except, not every culture views nakedness as something to be ashamed of, and not every dream about taking our clothes off in front of other people is about exposing ourselves to ridicule…

naked exposure

Yes, in North America, nudity is most often forbidden, even illegal in some situations. So it’s a normal, literal interpretation to think your naked dreams are about being embarrassed or mortified. And, yes, studies have told us that men have more naked dreams than women. Which, metaphorically, could mean that men have a greater fear of being exposed.

Still, remember that dreams are often not quite as literal as we think they are. What if naked dreams are telling us we’re tired of covering up, and that we’re wanting people to notice something we’ve been hiding too long. What would that say about the men (and women) in our society who dream of letting it all hang out ;o)

In a lot of naked dreams, we discover ourselves standing in front of strangers, rather than keeping parts of ourselves hidden the way we often do in our everyday lives. So, if we feel anxious and cover up, or if we feel proud and confident in front of faceless or nameless onlookers in our dreams, what does that mean?

We’re all born naked and learn to feel embarrassed by our exposed bodies based on cultural and social norms . But in the right places, even in conservative societies, being without clothes is the goal–say when we’re having sex. Naked doesn’t always mean safe. Our naked dreams can be about no longer needing to protect ourselves so closely. They can be about wanting to experience a more natural lifestyle. Which would be a good thing, right?

naked newborn

The types of clothes you dream you’re taking off (or staying in) can be significant, too. Cool, huh? Okay, maybe it’s a girl thing, (more…)

I Hear the Craziest Things: I’m NOT the weirdest author on the planet…

Saturday, July 16th, 2011

Who’d have thought that my odd ticks as a writer were tame in comparison to the masters of eccentricity?

  • Truman Copote wrote lying on a couch, with a drink in on hand and a pencil in the other.
  • A Newsweek reporter stripped down to his boxers to work so he didn’t wrinkle his clothes.
  • An acclaimed female author writes facing a brick wall, saying among other things that it seems a fit metaphor for being a writer. Heh.
  • Hemingway created only 500 words a day, telling a friend he got one page of masterpiece for every 91 pages of sh**t.
  • And the list goes on.

copote

Take a peak for yourself.

And, if you’re a writer or artist of any kind, feel good about your own messed up process ;o)

Revising a Year: Falling In Love…

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

I fell in love again these last two weeks…  With how much I and other writers and editors and agents and readers still love story. Forget the doom and gloom about book publishing. Forget closing book stores. Forget the social media hype that book promo, not the story, is what matters most to readers. Spend a few weeks surrounded by those whose business is bringing creative inspiration to life, to the page, and to the market, and you’ll fall in love again, too.

book love

I’m always searching for the right stories, the right directions, the right voices to lose myself in. It’s easy to look around at the rabble and rubble of our business and wonder what the readers want, thinking they have the answers. And shouldn’t the industry professionals we look to to buy our books and get them to readers tell us where to put our energies next? Isn’t that the way it works?

Except writers create what readers read, and the beating heart of that story, that relationship, is an affair that the establishment might feed into, but it doesn’t control how and when the heart beats true. And that’s what I’ve felt non-stop for weeks now, thanks to the inspiration and energy and love for connecting with readers that fills me and my fellow writers. The truth behind this race we’re all running.

It’s too easy to forget where we started. What needing to express what’s inside can do to the mind, until you let it out. Where that release takes you once you get out of your story’s way. Once you let the love of creating rein.

Whatever we’re searching for in life, whatever our day jobs and responsibilities and family commitments, we’re all put on this earth to create something beautiful with our lives. We all have gifts that bring just a bit more light and understanding to the world. It’s a scary, vulnerable undertaking, breathing life into that kind of inspiration. And I just spent two weeks surrounded by brave artists who dare to create out loud, out in the world, so that others might see their dreams too.

I’ve fallen in love all over again with the strength and honesty and magnificence of writers. Thank God for them all, and for the readers that find our words take in our vision and fly…

You inspire me more than you know.

How We Write Wednesday: Putting the Writing First…

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

I’ve been asked to HoWW blog more about putting the writing first…even when we’re being told (and seeing)  EVERYthing else in the business is more important. Especially the insanity we call social media (yesterday’s topic, where I ranted about writing first, because who knows what’s really making a difference on Facebook and Twitter anyway, no matter what the “experts” say).

Social media Insanity

It’s funny, when you think about it. Blogging about not blogging or tweeting or FB statusing so much that you never groove on your craft. Your art. Your purpose to begin with for dipping your toe in the Internet mustof “connecting.” We try to carve out niche in this great beyond. #weWRITE is a great example, which Jen Talty and I started after a few months of HoWW blog posts, to get writers talking about writing alone on Twitter, not just pimping their books or blogs or promo platforms.

We work to be relevant and plugged in and visible. But why? To support our writing, yes. But we do that best BY writing. To support our career? Better. But many of the folks doing the social media thing most fervently don’t have creative writing careers yet. They’re following the advice of social medial gurus telling them that building a following and pseudo platform (before there’s anything to sell from said stage) is more important to publishers these days than the product of the hard, daily, grinding writing work they’ve yet to do long enough to publish. To connect? That’s more to the point, I think.

We write alone, as I said yesterday, most of the time. And social media is a great way to connect with other writers, those we admire in the business, and, yes, those we trust to advise us about our journey. But it’s the massive scope of that very content we’re daily struglling to take in that, in my opinion, begins to overtake the writing itself, unless we’re very careful.

Because here’s the thing for me–anyone, ANYone, telling you to spend any significant portion of your day doing anything BUT writing, is doing damage to your chances of publishing. (more…)

Publishing Isn’t For Sissies: Social Media’s Taking over…

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

RWA National’s and the Thrillerfest workshop grids were amazing this year. So much variety, you couldn’t keep up. Amazing depth. Still, on nearly every panel one topic reigned. Social Media. Almost like it’s more important now than the writing and the books. How do publishers use it? How do they want their authors to use it? How do wannabe authors and publishers need to use it? You don’t use it??? What’s WRONG WITH YOU!

snoopy-social-media

And no, I’m not exaggerating. I’m not just talking about the panels focusing specifically on the use of social medial for book promotion, though Shelia Clover English’s panel at Thrillerfestwas absolutely the best of the bunch. Check her out. Download her talk, whenever they make the audio available on the TFest website. Get on board the train to your future…

When I say social media’s taking over, what I mean is that everyone was talking about it, in practically every workshop, panel, and meeting I attended the last two weeks. As I said yesterday, no one knows for sure what’s happening to the publishing industry, but EVERYone seems to think that the old way of promoting and reaching readers is evolving into something else, no one’s really sure what, involving social media.

Several times a day, (more…)

Publishing Isn’t For Sissies: The things you see… The things you saw… The things you miss…

Monday, July 11th, 2011

Publishing Isn’t for Sissies is one of my most popular blog threads. Two weeks away in NY, both at RWA Nationals and Thrillerfest, and everywhere I turned writers asked me to post more. So, first day back, what am I prattling about–What is New York publishing looking like/for?

Snoopy strip

Interestingly enough, I’m not sure anyone at either conference had a definitive answer.

There was lots of talk about new digital offerings, for example from Harlequin (Carina Press) and Harper Collins/Avon (Impulse). The major houses are very aware that the digital future of publishing is now, even though they’re still not ready to pay authors an advance for dipping their toes into “traditional” experiments into the medium.

At the Avon spotlight,the editors were talking about quick turn around and prolific authors and getting excited about how quickly they could get your content up on their websites. Lots of assurances that you’d get great editing and covers and face time on a publisher site they say has heavy traffic, plus the books will be out there on Amazon, etc. But with so many titles going out the door, and the covers they were raving about honestly looked like something my teen could photoshop on his laptop, and talk of fast writing and editorial and revisions that sounds pretty close to flash fiction at times, you have to wonder how anything but their lead authors’ books will get enough attention to sell well.

They do have a great plan for using the digital publishing of novellas and such to promo mass market paperback releases of the star authors. Those ebooks should get promoted out the ying yang, and it should help both the digital and print sales of the corresponding mass market releases. But the rest of the books, it seems, will pretty much be on their own.

Let me do the math for you, if this is the case. No advance. No heavy online promotion. No digital sales to speak of. No money. (more…)