It’s been a great week for me! I still can’t believe it – My second manuscript titled Three Days of Rain has been picked up by Black Opal Books! Here’s a little teaser for you:

Chapter 1

Jake had just finished a set at Billy’s and was taking a five-minute break. He caught Billy’s eye from across the room, raised his hand and nodded. Man, he thought, I need a beer. Regardless of the fact that he’d already put back half a dozen and some shots with his brother celebrating the fact that Megan just popped out kid number two, Jake needed another drink. These days it was all about having a good time, playing his guitar, working for his dad and taking home some random girl he’d never call back. The pickins were slim, he noticed. Mostly locals and a few married chicks on vacation the next town over and just visiting here to say they checked out the local scene. No one caught his attention tonight. He’d probably be going home alone.

He saw Maddie’s blonde hair weaving through the crowd with a tray of pints raised in her hand and appreciated the way her t-shirt clung to her curves. She’s been quiet since she came back from college, he mused. Maybe she’s decided drama wasn’t her thing anymore. They say people grow up in college, not that he’d know. When his mom died, he decided to stay in town and work with his dad and brother over at the docks. Madison’s father, Mr. Olsen gave him a job the day after he graduated high school and Jake was grateful at the time. He needed to keep busy. Mom’s death hit him harder than anyone else.

Jake did everything he could to block out her death. A long drawn out bout with cancer wasn’t the easiest thing to remember. Drinking helped with that, as did fighting anyone and everyone that pissed him off. As that thought passed through his mind, he noticed a small ruckus starting in the middle of the bar. Marty Donaldson and Nick Jones were mouthing off to a few out-of-towners. One thing led to another and the stranger clocked Jonesy good and he hit the floor cold.

Insanity erupted in that instant and though Jake was glad he was out of the way of the flying chairs, elbows and drinks, amusement twinkled in his blue eyes and a wry smile played on his lips as he contemplated joining the fracas. It wasn’t until he saw some idiot elbow Maddie to the ground that he jumped into action.

Jake leapt from the makeshift stage and grabbed the guy who hit Maddie. His six-foot two stature easily bested the other guy by almost half a foot. It didn’t matter if it was an accident or if she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Jake fisted the guy’s collar, clocked him with a head butt and threw him into the wall. The crash was loud as the guy hit the photographs on Billy’s wall. That guy’s gonna get it, Jake thought. Billy is so proud of those photographs. Apparently his niece, the one who lives in Connecticut, took them and Billy hung up everyone she’d sent. When he heard Billy yell, he turned to scan the room for Maddie. Fighting was going on everywhere and she was sure to get trampled.

He looked all over, shoving people out of the way, punching his way through. He finally found her cowering under a table with a towel wrapped around her arm.

“Maddie, you okay?”

“Yeah. Son of a bitch. These guys piss me off. What the hell?”

“You’re bleeding.”

“So are you.”

He absently lifted a hand to his eyebrow. “I’m fine. Are you alright?”

“I’m okay. Just a small piece of glass. I pulled it out. I’ll live.”

They both looked over to the entrance. The Sheriff had shown up.

“Time to go, Maddie.”

“What? Why? I didn’t do anything.”

“Yeah but I did and you’re bleeding. Let’s go.”

Jake pulled Maddie up and led her by the hand through the bar up to the stage Billy had set up, grabbed his guitar and led her out the back entrance.

Pulling his keys out of his pocket he yelled, “Get in!”

Maddie jumped into the passenger side of his new pickup and held on as Jake pealed out of the parking lot.

Hey all! Long time no post . I’m sorry about that – I promise I will try to do better! I have lots to share and I pinky-swear I’ll post everything very soon! For now, you can visit me on a number of BLOG SITES that have agreed to host my “tour” (yeah, I’m a rockstar) to promote the soon-to-be-released TORN! Ohmygosh, I can’t wait! (can you tell by my ridiculous use of exclamation points?)

Listed below are the blog addresses and dates you can find me. Please be kind to the blog hosts (like I have to tell you that) – they are doing me a huge solid by helping with my promotion.

See you soon!

Thursday April 12 – www.workadayreads.com

Sunday April 15 – http://thepenmuse.net

Monday April 16 – http://justanotherbookaddict.blogspot.com

Wednesday April 18 – http://mona-karel.com

Thursday April 19 – http://bkwalkerbooksetc.blogspot.com

Saturday April 21 – http://briclarkthebelleofboise.blogspot.com

Monday April 23 – www.thewritewaytomakealiving.com

Tuesday April 24 – http://michellemiles.net/blog

May 19 – http://cynthiawoolf.com/blog

I recently attended the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York City and had the most amazing time. I highly recommend attending a conference in your area that matches your interest. For me, the WDC offered a number of workshops and seminars that included ideas for promotion, the importance of conflict and suspense and an overview of publishing in the 21^st century.

One of my favorite seminars dealt with conflict and suspense in writing. James Scott Bell inspired our group for an hour and I’d like to share some of what I learned.

1. A great story = life with all the dull parts taken out.

Connecting to readers and making them feel like everything happening in the story, be it romance, comedy, science fiction, could actually happen. As writers we need to remember that reading is about connection and if we aren’t connecting with our writers in a real way, they won’t continue to read our stories.

2. We have to build lead characters that our readers will actually care about.

According to Mr. Bell, there are three main types of lead characters:

• The Positive Lead (hero) – represents the values of the community (of the readers’ community). Be sure to give him/her flaws that are believable and relatable. This type of lead character is generally an ordinary person caught up in extraordinary circumstances. (think Indiana Jones)
• The Negative Lead – This type of lead character often starts out being someone or doing something that readers, as a community, don’t like. They will often vindicate themselves at the end of a story. (think Scarlet O’Hara or Ebenezer Scrooge)
• The Anti-Hero – This character generally is a loner and does not want to be part of any community. They aren’t villains, they just don’t follow rules given by the general population and don’t care about what other people think.

3. The stakes of our stories should involve “death”. And we need to figure out how to make the stakes feel like death to the characters involved.

Death includes:

• Physical death – a character actual dies
• Professional death – a character’s career is on the line
• Psychological death – a character dealing with emotional, psychological issues

4. Open stories with a disturbance or the possibility of trouble. Readers are looking for  trouble. They want to worry about a character.

5. Opposition – Not always a villain!

There must always be a force opposing character that is stronger, in some way, than the main character (physically, collectively, psychologically). (think Tommy Lee Jones in the Fugitive – he wasn’t a villain, he was just in opposition to Harrison Ford’s character)

The behavior of the opposition must be justified in their own mind. Give them a reason for the opposition. Clarifying justification to the reader will enhance the reader’s empathy for them. (Why do we care so much about Hannibal Lecter?)

6. Scenes: create a sense of worry, fear or terror. This worry should prevent total communication. Also explain the viewpoint of the characters with objectives. Will they or won’t they accomplish their objective? If they do accomplish the objective early on, it should lead to further trouble.

7. Remember, minor characters can be key to suspenseful scenes.

All fiction should have some element of suspense in order to keep the readers’ interest. We need to remember that suspense does not always equal terror, horror or thrillers. Romance and comedy should include something suspenseful as well, a sense of conflict within the pages to keep the audience turning pages. As writers, we are not in the business of writing reality. Rather, we are in the business of styling reality for emotional effect.

Once in a while, much to the chagrin of my friends, I can be rendered speechless. Looking back on 2011 has had that effect on me. I’m not by nature a “mushy” person but the people who know and love me are able to see past my jokes and snarky witticisms and forgive me for my shortcomings. In the spirit of keeping it short and sweet, I’ve come up with something that, I feel, encompasses everything.

Happy 2012

I can be moody and hard to read. I can be as open as a book. I can be the life of the party and the wallflower. I can be as self-conscious as the next girl and I can be absolutely fearless. I am both selfless and selfish. And I believe in love, in arguing, in jamming out by myself in the car. I believe in smiling until my cheeks hurt and laughing until I cry. I believe in surprises, holding hands and hugs. I believe in telling someone how amazing they are, in kissing in the rain, and miracles. But mostly, I believe in you.

I’m sitting at Barnes & Noble writing this entry. I’d love to be at home sitting on my couch, watching some random show I’ve DVR’d and haven’t had the time to watch yet. But I’m not in my jammies and super comfy black and gray striped slippers. I’m sitting at B&N, ear buds plugged into my latest playlist, phone on vibrate and a Grande earl grey to keep me company. For the past few weeks this has been my life. It ain’t bad, but I miss putting the kiddies to bed. Sure, my husband can do it but I like to do it.  So why am I here and not there? Because this is the only time I have to write lately.

I’ve put a self-imposed goal to finish this latest manuscript by Christmas. And since carving out time to write can be difficult with a four year-old at home, I come here three days a week for four to five hours. I wait until my husband comes home, distractedly discuss his day (I know, terrible), and run out the door after giving him homework instructions for our oldest, explaining dinner preparations and making time for the “how you doin’?” kiss.

And every time I run out the door, with my laptop stuffed in my messenger bag, I feel guilty. Mostly because I like hanging out with my family. My boys, my husband – all super fun people. But if I don’t end this manuscript soon, I think I’ll go crazy. Not because I don’t like my characters – I love them –but because my mind is starting to fill with ideas for other books, a conference I am attending in January and the upcoming release of my novel, Torn. I can’t have all of that jockeying for my attention, especially with Christmas a mere two weeks away.

But if you were to take away all of that other “stuff” and look at what I’m doing, you’d see that writing is my job. Imagine calling into work and explaining that you don’t have time today because of your family, holidays, and responsibilities. You probably wouldn’t have that job very long. Since I don’t really have anyone to report to, other than my editor (J), I have to make time for my job. So far I’ve been able to juggle everything and haven’t dropped one ball. Well except for the time I left my wallet at home and no money on me for my earl grey, but that’s another story.

My rambling point is if you want to write, you have to do it. Make time for it. Don’t make excuses for why you can’t. If you really want to write, if you really need to write, you’ll find the time. A few months ago I got in touch with a friend of a friend who is a published author and I talked to her about writing. She gave me lots of tips, great advice and steered me towards a conference. Once I finished the novel (literally days before I had to pitch it at said conference), I emailed her and she basically said I had just set myself apart from the thousands who say they want to write a book. Because I had actually done it. And not only had I done it, I was preparing to pitch it, have it critiqued, attend workshops with it, and take it out of my secret “shh! I’m writing a book but don’t want to tell anyone” closet.

My advice for those who want to write – just do it. Find your muse, find the time and do it. If you can only write for an hour a day, make that hour count. If you can only manage a few hundred words a day, then make those words count. At least you’re doing it. At least you have a goal in mind. Set yourself apart from the “want to’s” and make yourself an “I did”.

I’ve actually had a lot of people ask what my playlist is for my novel. I’ve copied the list below for the novel I’m currently working on, tentatively titled Three Days of Rain. I add to it and subtract from it all the time so this list might change next week. When it gets closer to the release of TORN, I’ll post that playlist, too. Enjoy.

Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams) – B.o.B

All I Need – Within Temptation

All I Wanted – Paramore

Almost Lover – A Fine Frenzy

Angel (The Voice Performance) – Javier Colon

Are You Still Mad – Alanis Morissette

As I Lay Me Down – Sophie B. Hawkins

Bad Romance (BBC Live Version) – 30 Seconds to Mars

Bad Things – Jace Everett

Bartender – Dave Matthews Band

A Beautiful Lie – 30 Seconds to Mars

Bedroom Hymns – Florence + the Machine

Bitter Sweet Symphony – The Verve

Breathe (2 AM) – Anna Nalick

Bright Lights – Matchbox Twenty

Brighter Than the Sun – Colbie Caillat

Broken – Lifehouse

Careless Whisper – Seether

Chariot – Gavin DeGraw

Charmer 2:57 Kings of Leon

Chasing Cars – Grey’s Anatomy Cast

Closer – Kings of Leon

Come Sail Away – Styx

Comedown – Bush

Crazy Love – Brian McKnight

Dog Days Are Over – Florence + The Machine

Don’t Look Back In Anger – Oasis

Drive (feat. Michael Stipe) – Dashboard Confessional

A Drop In the Ocean – Ron Pope

Echo – Jason Walker

Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall – Coldplay

Everybody Hurts – R.E.M.

Falling In – Lifehouse

February Song – Josh Groban

Fix You – Coldplay

Gotta Figure This Out – Erin McCarley

Grenade – Bruno Mars

The Grey – Icon For Hire

Half A World Away – R.E.M.

Hat – The Lennings

Hate Me – Blue October

(I Just) Died in Your Arms – Cutting Crew

I Never Told You – Colbie Caillat

I Wanna Love You Forever – Jessica Simpson

I’ll Have to Say I Love You In a Song – Jim Croce

Invisible – Skylar Grey

It Will Rain – Bruno Mars

Jar of Hearts – Christina Perri

Judas – Lady GaGa

Just Wait – Blues Traveler

Last Night I Dreamed – Blues Traveler

Let It Be – The Beatles

Lighters (feat. Bruno Mars) – Bad Meets Evil

Losing My Religion – R.E.M.

Love, Reign O’er Me – Pearl Jam

Low – Kelly Clarkson

Make a Move – Icon For Hire

Moving to Mars – Coldplay

My Baby Blue – Dave Matthews Band

Near to You – A Fine Frenzy

Need You – Travie McCoy

Never Let Me Go – Florence + the Machine

Off With Her Head – Icon For Hire

Only a Memory – Icon For Hire

The Only Exception – Paramore

The Only Hope for Me Is You – My Chemical Romance

Pumped Up Kicks – Foster the People

Realize – Colbie Caillat

Rebel Yell – Billy Idol

Recover – Natasha Bedingfield

Rehab – Amy Winehouse

Runaway Baby – Bruno Mars

Santeria – Sublime

The Search Is Over – Survivor

Secret Garden – Bruce Springsteen

She Said (Live) – Plan B

Skyscraper – Demi Lovato

Somewhere Only We Know (Live at The Forum, London) – Keane

The Space Between – Dave Matthews Band

Stay With Me – Danity Kane

Strangeness and Charm – Florence + the Machine

Stupid – Sarah McLachlan

This Woman’s Work – Greg Laswell

Three Days of Rain – Jason Liberatore

Time In a Bottle – Jim Croce

Turning Tables – Adele

Uninvited – Alanis Morissette

Up In Flames – Icon For Hire

Uprising – Muse

Violet – Hole

The Voice Within – Christina Aguilera

Walk – Foo Fighters

Walk Away – Ben Harper

Walking After You – Foo Fighters

Walking In Memphis – Marc Cohn

What Have You Done – Within Temptation

What the Water Gave Me – Florence + the Machine

Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Live) – Nirvana

White Houses – Vanessa Carlton

Who Says – John Mayer

Without You – Harry Nilsson

Yoü and I – Lady GaGa

You and Me – Lifehouse

You Found Me – The Fray

You Picked Me – A Fine Frenzy

You Run Away – Barenaked Ladies

You’re Beautiful – James Blunt

Yours – Blues Traveler

Writing is therapeutic but instead of spilling our guts behind the closed doors of a shrink’s office, we get to share it all with the world. The best part is that we don’t have to answer weird questions about our life, our past or our future. We get to make people wonder if we’re really writing fiction or if there’s even a kernel of truth in our pages.

Sometimes we can’t help but write from where we want to be in life. Other times, we happen to write from where we are. And yet, in other instances, we write from that scary place we hope to never visit. No matter where we take our story, the writing process, much like therapy, can be quite uncomfortable.

If we write from where we hope to be, does that mean we aren’t happy where we are? Does that mean we should strive for something more, something different? Could be, but not necessarily. Not everyone is in a place they’d imagined to be. I mean, when we were children dreaming of love, marriage, success, careers and whatever else, did anyone of us wonder whether or not we would have to decide if we should pay the electric bill as it comes or put ourselves “on a plan”? Did we ever wish and hope for the trials and tribulations of potty training or did we just image a brood of happy, healthy, good-looking kids? No one ever dreams of the details. And yet the details are what often bring us down and we’re often looking for a quick fix within the pages of our writing. Bored at home? Write about someone exciting. Stressed by money? Give your character lots of it. Unhappy in your career? Make sure someone in your writing has your dream job. Maybe that’s a cop-out. Maybe we should grow ourselves a set and speak out. Gotta tell you, it’s not always the best way. There are too many factors to consider. And it doesn’t make me want to snuggle up with my blankie.

Wanna write from where you are in life? Go ahead. Maybe your life is perfect and you want to shout it out from the pages of your latest manuscript. Good for you. Maybe your life isn’t so great and you use your writing as a call for help, of sorts. Just know that someone who knows you will read your story and figure out all the crap you’ve just laid out is real. Now that’s uncomfortable. I don’t want to answer questions about that. So do me a favor and don’t ask. There will always be someone in your life who will think, warranted or not, that what you are writing is about them. Even this blog. I am sure there are those who’ll read it and think, “Huh. I wonder if she’s talking about me?” It’s just human nature. The sad fact is, most of the time I’m not writing about anyone in particular. I get a thought and run with it. Sorry. Not that I don’t care enough to write about you, it’s just that maybe, that particular day in that particular post or scene, you weren’t on my mind.

On the flip side, maybe I am writing about someone. Does that mean I have to tell them? Would I embarrass myself, or worse, them, if I were to divulge every thought that crossed my mind? Again with the uncomfortable. Sometimes what’s in a writer’s head needs to bleed through the proverbial pen but remain masked. Not everything needs to be discussed. Maybe it’s selfish on the part of the writer. I mean, isn’t it better to be communicative? Isn’t it better to lay it all out for everyone to see? I’m not so sure. It’s uncomfortable enough watching the words form on the paper. It’s uncomfortable enough to watch your hopes and dreams unfold under the watchful eyes of the public and wait to them judge you for it. But talk about it all out loud? Yeah. I don’t have to. Maybe I’ll write about it instead.

*This is a post I’m sharing on the Black Opal Books blog site as well. Feel free to visit.*

Have you ever talked to a writer about their characters? Did it ever strike you as funny how we seem to talk about them as if they’re real people? Have you ever thought about committing us to a padded cell when we describe the relationship we seem to have with them?

On two separate occasions this past week, I’ve discussed the main characters in my current manuscript, a work in progress that keeps me up a night, follows me around and argues with me as I continue to write. I swear, sometimes, I feel like there’s a boxing ring in my head.

On the first occasion I was talking with a friend about the crossroads my main character was facing and I was struck, seriously for the first time, that I was talking about him like he was real. I posed the question, should I wreck him or should I give him a happily ever after?  Did he deserve the happiness I was offering him? Had he grown enough throughout the novel to appreciate the good fortune that was lying at his feet?

In that moment, I think my exact words were something to the effect of “..And I’m talking about him like he’s real. Nice.” Without judgment, my friend quickly responded, “Well, I guess you have to think of them as real for it to be good.”

What started out as a slight case of embarrassment, (I mean, no one wants to be known as the person who talks to or about imaginary people, right?) ended with a quick statement of validation. Though my friend has no idea they offered up a vote of confidence, I took it as one all the same. It was nice that, in that instant, I was understood. For the longest time I was afraid of talking about these characters as if they were real. None of my immediate friends are writers and I’ve only begun to develop relationships with those who are over the past few months.

After that conversation with my friend, I called upon one of the most helpful women I know, Black Opal Books’ own Bonnie Hearn Hill. In an email, I told her of my dilemma. On one hand, I was having so much fun torturing (really no other word for it) my main character with memories of his past and the one woman who crushed his world. On the other, I enjoyed introducing him to his glimmer of hope, a woman who embodied everything his past was not. She’s shown him that it’s okay to open up again, held his hand while he finally broke down the walls he’d built, and even taught him how to let go.

The issue at hand was almost exactly the same as the one I’d posed to my friend. Do I continue to wreck him? Should I offer him the happily ever after that has eluded him thus far? And the biggest question, would readers be put off if I didn’t end the story on the high note I hope I’ve been able to able to make them want?

Bonnie’s answer came quickly and while I won’t share the entire exchange, I’ll share the best lines: “Remember, it’s never about the author’s goal. It’s about the character’s goal. The best advice I can give is let the character drive the story.” Again, realization hit me. I’m not driving the car. Sure I hold the map, I introduce my characters to other characters, I give them more than I think they can handle. I push them, pull them, make them smile, make it rain. I give and I take. But I’m not driving the car. I’m just a passenger who occasionally gives direction. But, much like real life, sometimes the drivers of my manuscript don’t feel like taking my way. They think their way is better, more scenic, easier. When they do this to me, sometimes I drop a roadblock a force them to turn around sometimes I jus go along for the ride. I listen to their stories and their opinions. I talk to them in my head, I cry with them when they feel pain and I smile with them when things turn out well.

So go ahead and call me crazy. Maybe I am. I’ve spent the last fifty-something thousand words with my newest friends and we have a ways to go before we finish our travels. And I’d like to see where they’d take me.