Writer's Wednesday - Things Writing Has Taught Me

Jenna Bayley-Burke swoops in to The Pink Heart Society to apologize for unknowingly commiting so many writerly offenses, she may very well be sent to writers prison -- for life!

What are writerly offenses? Things only writers, editors, and people who actually comprehend English grammar understand. Things that when done right go completely unappreciated...but when they're omitted or glaringly refused...well, it ain't pretty.

Passive voice is one of these things. Before writing my third book I had no idea what passive voice was. (It wasn't until book three that I learned there were classes that would teach you how to write.) It seems you can unintentionally victimize your characters by having the action happen to them, rather than having them take action. Now, I'm a frantic manuscript de-was-zle-er...moving every "she was walking" to "she walked" and finally to "she sauntered". Or paraded or strolled or stomped...it's easy to see why it takes some people years to write a book. You can play with word choice for months on end...

And then there's autonomous body parts. Her eyes rolled...across the floor? It seems saying "she rolled her eyes" makes it easier to understand her eyes are not marbles. His brow arched...just the one? No, he must arch his brows. And don't get me started on how the parts get moving during love scenes...

Repetitive word choice never occurred to be before taking a writing class either. Though in going back I realized each manuscript had it's own set of favorite words. The one I'm currently editing is soft, tight, and has shoulders - do with that what you will!

I actually enjoy head-hopping (switching point of view at the authors whim) as a reader. My all time favorite romances - of which there are three - all head-hop. I didn't care when I read them, and I don't are now. I do try to avoid it though, it's wicked hard to write!

And then there is my most glaring offense...slang. I've had British editors for the most part, whose perpetual professionalism has likely kept them from whipping me for the afore mentioned crimes. But that also means there are certain things I say that have them wondering if I've cracked. It's common in my world for someone to be textually frustrated...enjoy a virtual Friday...strive for academic bulemia...hate their grandboss...suffer deja moo...want a guy with gigabucks... but most will be 'fixed' in the edit with a whole lot of text bubbles asking me what I meant...and probably wondering if my computer even has spell check. I get it most of the time, it's when things like 'ground round' get taken out that I wonder if we actually speak the same language. Then I remember that I'm the one who didn't say hamburger, and all is again right with the world.

Luckily all these things are surface scratches. Nothing time and Neosporin can't fix. Writing has taught me how hard editors work to correct these writerly blips. They grind over the story until nothing sharp sticks out, ready to poke the reader out of the most important part - the story. I've always been a storyteller. I've had to learn to become a writer.

What writerly crime drags you from the story? Anything make you want to throw the book at the wall?

Jenna is hard at work on her next title for Mills & Boon Modern Heat. In the meantime, Her Cinderella Complex is available with a millionaire, secretary, engagement of convenience, private island, and a hot pool scene. To find out what Jenna is up to now...check out her website or blog.

Temptation Tuesday with Shelley Galloway

This Tuesday at The Pink Heart Society we're pleased to welcome back Shelley Galloway, who's here to talk about something that tempts us all!

Tempted To Turn Back Time

Happy 2009! This year will bring a host of special events for my family. My daughter will get her driver’s license, our son will graduate high school, and this summer, my husband and I will celebrate twenty years of marriage.

Where did the time go? It sure doesn’t seem like twenty years have gone by since I was planning my wedding…or changing diapers…or buying Legos…or organizing the neighborhood carpool.

Obviously, it has.

But, as my son likes to say, ‘it’s all good.’ I’m excited to celebrate these milestones, and to imagine what life will be like during the next twenty years. Maybe one day soon I’ll figure out how to be a better housekeeper and more organized, too.

Or maybe not.

Isn’t it funny how we all wish we could rewrite history a time or two? In my new Harlequin American Romance, Mommy In Training, my hero and heroine are re-meeting after almost ten years. Matt Madigan comes back to town, hoping to be the hero of his small town by bringing in a supercenter.

The heroine, Minnie Clark, has her hands full, too. Minnie’s now raising her niece, whose parents died unexpectedly in a car crash. During the story, both Minnie and Matt are struck by how much has changed and yet stayed the same over the last ten years.

Kind of like me, I guess.

So, what am I tempted to change? Hmm…

1) I wish I hadn’t spent so much time caring about schedules and calendars.

2) Looking back, I shouldn’t have cared about how many times we ordered pizza from Dominoes.

3) I wish I would have realized that years really do go by quickly. I should have savored the moments more and yearned for an extra hour of sleep just a little bit less.

What about y’all? Anyone have something in their past that they’re tempted to change? Or…that they’d like to keep just the same?

Thanks for letting me visit the Pink Heart Society today!

Shelley

To learn more about Shelley and her latest Harlequin American release, Mommy In Training, be sure to check out her website.

Male on Monday - Sam Neill

This week, Kate Walker shares her long time (rather longer than she'd realised!) admiration for the brilliant, talented and charismatic Sam Neill.

Before the advent of Russell Crowe, Sam Neill was the only New Zealand film star of worldwide note. And for me - given his extraordinary consistency, his unerring ability to play loveable action heroes, psychotic authoritarians, damaged everymen and even the Antichrist himself - Neill will always be a much bigger draw than The Gladiator himself.

Sam Neill's career has been long, remarkably varied, and marked by a loyalty to the Antipodean film industry that made him. He was born Nigel Neill on the 14th of September, 1947. His dad, Dermot, was a third-generation New Zealander, whose family ran Neill And Co, one of the biggest alcohol wholesalers on the islands. Like many of the Neills, Dermot was a military man and the family were stationed in Northern Ireland, in Omagh, where Nigel was born. In 1954, the family returned to New Zealand, Dermot moving into the family business.

It was in New Zealand that Nigel became Sam. There were a fair few Nigels at school in Dunedin, and it wasn't a good name to have - "a little effete for the rigours of a New Zealand playground", recalls Neill, who also stammered at the time. He got the nickname Sam, and kept it.

Gaining a BA in English, he then joined the New Zealand National Film Unit in Wellington and, for the next six years, grounded himself in film-making, as an editor, a writer, a narrator and eventually the director of documentaries. He covered skiing, windsurfing (his Surf Sail concerning the first crossing of the Cook Strait by windsurfers), his great love architecture, and also the theatre troupe Red Mole. All the while he was acting too, in fringe productions and short films. Landfall concerned a collapsing back-to-the-Earth commune, while Ashes, based on TS Eliot's Ash Wednesday, saw him as a priest tortured by his wavering faith.

1977 saw him star in Sleeping Dogs, the first New Zealand film ever to be released in America. Directed by Roger Donaldson, in it, Neill played a recluse reluctantly drawn into a struggle between a fascistic government and an ultraviolent resistance movement. He was tremendous, his performance being noted by Australian casting director Margaret Fink who had him audition for an upcoming movie called My Brilliant Career.

With Australian cinema enjoying a renaissance, My Brilliant Career was the launch-pad for Neill. Judy Davis stole the show as a bright, sassy young woman battling for her independence in Australia at the turn of the 20th Century, but Neill did well, and decided to pursue acting full-time. He got TV work in long-running series like The Sullivans and Young Ramsay, starred in the news comedy The Journalist and played the poor lover of another feisty female in Lucinda Brayford. But My Brilliant Career was still slowly winning hearts across the globe, and one admirer was lauded Brit thespian James Mason who was knocked out by Neill's efforts. He not only recommended Neill for the part of Damien Thorne in The Final Conflict: Omen III, but also offered him a ticket to London.


In Omen III, his horribly intense and malignant stare made him perhaps the only actor who might have convinced as the grown-up version of the spooky little kid in The Omen. He also managed to charm his co-star, Lisa Harrow, also a New Zealander. The pair would have a son, Tim, but split before the Eighties were out.

Having hit big as Damien, Neill didn’t allow himself to be typecast and played a variety of roles –There was disturbing Possession, then came From A Far Country, Ivanhoe, and Enigma, a spy thriller set behind the Iron Curtain, where Neill played Dimitri Vasilikov - the first of many roles where he'd play a strict Eastern European autocrat.

But his first real taste of fame came when, still living in England, he was Reilly, Ace Of Spies, in a hugely popular TV show that won him a Golden Globe nomination and nearly got him the role of James Bond when Roger Moore finally hung up his Beretta. Neill would be mentioned each time the role became subsequently available. Then came Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer's tale of corporate warfare, Neill playing a rich, aristocratic Wall Street superstar fighting it out with formerly dirt-poor Polish hotel magnate Peter Strauss. It was a big hit, and led to some prime film roles. There was Plenty and A Cry In The Dark (the story of Azaria Chamberlain, the baby taken by a dingo ), both with Meryl Streep and director Fred Schepisi. He Colonel Andrei Denisov in the mini-series Amerika, where the USA has been taken over by the Soviets. And he was Lafayette in The French Revolution.

Next came Dead Calm, with Nicole Kidman. Here Neill played her distressed husband, desperately trying to save the day when crazy Billy Zane kidnaps both Kidman and Neill's boat. It was a superb thriller, boosting its stars big-time, but it brought personal benefits too. Noriko Watanabe had been a make-up artist on A Cry In The Dark, but got to know Neill while working on Dead Calm. Noriko already had a daughter, Maiko, and she would bear another, Elena, for Neill. The couple married in 1989, and are still together today, Noriko having worked on many of Sam's films, as well as such hits as Muriel's Wedding and My Best Friend's Wedding. They have a daughter, Elena, born in 1990.

Neill now entered an extraordinary period. He was yet another stern Russian, Commander Vasili Borodin, chasing sub-thief Sean Connery in Tom Clancy's The Hunt For Red October. He paired up with Judy Davis again, getting another Golden Globe nomination for his part in the French Resistance thriller One Against The Wind . There was Memoirs Of An Invisible Man, where he forged a firm friendship with director John Carpenter. And then came 1993, when he took the part of Dr Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg's original Jurassic Park. He balanced this blockbuster with the role of Holly Hunter's morose, misunderstanding husband Alisdair Stewart the arty, testing and beautiful The Piano, which was also a massive hit. Sam was awarded an OBE for services to acting that same year, four days before his father died of cancer.

Neill now chose some genuinely interesting projects. He did Sirens with Hugh Grant, played a super-sinister bandit going after Willem Dafoe in Joseph Conrad's Victory, and starred as King Charles II, alongside Robert Downey Jr in the period piece Restoration. He joined up with Carpenter again for In The Mouth Of Madness. He was Kristen Scott-Thomas's husband in The Horse Whisperer, Sigourney Weaver's in Snow White: A Tale Of Terror, and starred alongside Helena Bonham Carter in the blackly amusing Revengers' Comedies. He even played Merlin, earning a 37 million rating for NBC, the best miniseries rating in 14 years and the best for a film since Neill's own Jurassic Park. Neill was nominated for both a Golden Globe and an Emmy.

After over 30 years in the business, Sam Neill is still turning in great performances as his role as Cardianl Wolsey in the BBC’s The Tudors shows. He may be older, the dark hair now greying , but that amazing blue blue stare still has the intense power that drew and held audiences attention when, as Reilly, he also showed that he had a rare quality of such total stillness that sometimes only his eyes moved, showing brilliantly exactly what he was thinking without a word needing to be said. One of my own Christmas presents to myself was the complete set of DVDs of Reilly Ace of Spies. It was something of a shock to realise that it was over 25 years old, but the impact was just as great the nth time around – and it reminded me of just why any film starring this actor had always been a must-see for me

Six feet tall, with brown hair and those piercing blue eyes, as well as being a great actor, Sam Neill has also made a great success in another entirely different field – returning to the Neill family tradition and establishing his own vineyard in the Gibbston Valley, Otago New Zealand where his Two Paddocks Pinot Noir is produced. The 1997 vintage was so popular that none was left for export. Good looking, talented and an appreciator and producer of good wine – that’s my sort of man! He was the inspiration for Nick Hazard, the hero of my second book and first USA paperback Game Of Hazard. So it's perhaps appropriate that he's my first Male on Monday in this year that marks my 25th anniversary of being published. And after watching the complete set of Reilly back to back again, he may well be the inspiration for my upcoming 56th!

Kate's November release Bedded By The Greek Billionaire is shortlisted for the Romantic Times Best Presents 2008 award. It's still available on Amazon or eHarlequin.

Kate's latest book Cordero's Forced Bride is published in the Harlequin Presents edition in February. It is available as an ebook on eHarlequin now and will be for sale in a print edition from February 1st (or probably earlier, knowing the way the books are available in the shops).

The Mills & Boon Modern edition will be on sale in the UK on March.

Wild Card Weekend – meet the Wii!

This weekend, new columnist Kate Hardy is converted to that Must Have gift of Christmas 08 - the Wii! (Note - if you got one for Christmas, post in the comments)


I should state upfront – I’ve never been a gamer. I didn’t get why my DH loved the driving games and the football games and what have you on the PlayStation. Never played Doom (or was it Dune?) on the PC.

But the Wii promised to be different. To be something that non-gamers could enjoy. (Or so the pleading from my husband and children went.) So we bought one.

Verdict? Wii Sports was OK. (I enjoyed the ten pin bowling and was rubbish at everything else). But I could take it or leave it… until Wii Fit came out. For me, it’s a double whammy. It’s fun, something I can share with the family. And it’s also a great work tool in that it helps to clear my thoughts and help me focus. It’s definitely a wind-down (and I also recommend Guitar Hero – it’s actually harder if you play the guitar for real, but it’s fun) and at the same time it helps with work.

Don’t believe me?

OK. First off, if you’ve hit the ‘uh, this isn’t going how it should do’ stage at a book, a good way to clear your head is to go for a walk, yes? With Wii Fit, you’re guaranteed to be rainproof, you don’t have to worry about traffic, and you can go round the island and find a view to inspire you – whether it’s rolling countryside or the seaside. You even get a dog for company! Keep to a steady pace, and the walking/jogging helps you think. (And, more importantly, you can stop and grab that notepad at the eureka moment to scribble down that snatch of dialogue or the plot point that’s going to fix the book. Do that in real life, and the dog is going to protest because he’s seen a sparrow or a cat or another dog or… you get the picture.)

There are two other activities in the aerobics section that are really good for letting things bubble in the back of your head: step, and boxing You have to concentrate on the pattern, just as you would in a real step class. And that’ll give you some time for your subconscious to work through a problem and give you the answer. As for the boxing: it’s a great way of getting rid of the frustrations when your characters won’t behave! And if the gym is your thing, there are muscle workouts. You set the reps, and again you can break off for the eureka moments.

Or then there are the ‘balance’ games – things that will make you do something different (and maybe give you a different perspective on the bit you’re mulling over). My two favourites are the heading game (you’d never, ever see me on a football field in real life!) and the one where you turn into a penguin and slide across the iceberg to catch fish. This also works as a wind-down because it’s fun – particularly on Sunday afternoons when you have a house full of family and you’ve been laughing a lot anyway. There’s also a tightrope to walk (which I can’t do) – oh, and the ski jump, which is hilarious (and you’d never get me on skis in real life).

And finally the games ones to help you chill out, relax, and get the muse flowing again. This is the yoga section; one of the activities makes you breathe properly, which sounds odd but is actually a brilliant if you’re stressed and panicking about the D-word. And, finally, the one where you sit still. Trickier than it sounds: you have to sit absolutely still and focus on the candle flame for a minute. Move, and the candle flickers. Move too much, and it goes out. But do it for a minute, and you’d be surprised how much more relaxed you feel.

So I'm a convert. And if you add the weight and exercise tracking tools: for someone like me, who doesn't enjoy the gym and who spends way too much time chained to a keyboard, this might just be the thing to help me keep my new year's resolutions - and enjoy them!

Kate Hardy has two books out this month:

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Hotly Bedded, Conveniently Wedded is out in the US, and is also available as an enriched e-book (with pictures, recipes and over 130 links). Romantic Times Magazine says, 'This tale is full of myriad emotions as lifelong friends become lovers. It's nice to see the hero making all the right moves and working to convince the heroine that he's a true prince.'

And The Greek Doctor’s New Year Baby is out in the UK, US and Australia/NZ.

You can find out more about these books, and Kate, on her website (http://www.katehardy.com/) and her blog (http://katehardy.blogspot.com/).

Must Watch Friday:: Detective Romance

This is a toughie, so many films, so many great TV series, which one to choose? I thought about Battlestar Galactica but compared to fangirl, Donna I am merely a Johnny-come-lately who still hasn’t made it through series three. There is a good reason for this, I am watching it with a friend and we have limited joint TV watching time.

Or I thought about talking about NCIS… mmm Mark Harmon. Or Band of Brothers. The Breakfast Club, maybe. Or even Sixteen Candles. There are so many great stories out there full of characters to inspire you or for you to fall for. I even find myself with some films writing the sequel. What happened to the gang in The Breakfast Club when they went to school on Monday morning?

It has been tough and I have had to sacrifice myself in the name of research but I have decided that a must watch is the 1980s BBC adaptations of The Dorothy L Sayers Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. (These should not be mixed up with the Ian Carmichael starring ones of the 1970s.)

When I was but an impressionable girl, the BBC adapted three of Dorothy L Sayers Peter Wimsey novels for TV starring Edward Petherbridge as Lord Peter and Harriet Walters as Harriet Vane. Now I fell in love with the novels a few years before this but had read them purely as detective fiction, with Lord Peter and his faithful valet, Bunter solving crimes.


What I had failed to see, until the TV series, was the romance between Lord Peter and Harriet. And my, what a romance it was. From the first time he saw her on trial for murder in ‘Strong Poison’ until the end of ‘Gaudy Night’ he was constant in his love for her.
If you have ever read the novels they are based on, ‘Strong Poison’, ‘Have His Carcase’ and ‘Gaudy Night’, then the TV series are reasonably faithful to the books and the casting was perfect. Edward Petherbridge has the blonde, foolish face of Lord Peter with the sharp mind behind it. And Harriet Walter, dark haired and bruised as Harriet Vane should be.

One of the wonderful things about them is the costumes and settings of 1930s England. If you can ignore the rather cardboard indoor studios which were common in 1980s adaptations before they started using actual places, you will love them.

Through ‘Strong Poison’ where Lord Peter is bent on clearing Harriet’s name, through to the brittle splendour of a seaside resort in ‘Have His Carcase’ to the spires of Oxford and the suspense of their relationship. Will Harriet's heart over-rule her head? Can women have both a career and a meaningful relationship based on honesty? Oh and at the same time solving crimes committed in a women’s college.

I will admit that I have been in love with Peter Wimsey for years, and as I am somewhat near the age Harriet Vane was when she eventually succumbed to him I can quite see why she did. No dark Mediterranean alpha male will ever be able to compete with the pure sexiness than Ms Sayers managed to create in Lord Peter. The man who is looking for his intellectual partner in life, and his final marriage proposal:
"Placet, magistra?"

Skip the Ian Carmichael versions as they portray Wimsey in his foolish aristocratic mask (and he’s dark, when Wimsey should always be blonde!) and see how Edward Petherbridge can make a monocle and a rather ridiculous nose make your heart beat just that little bit faster.

I’m biased and so give these an 11 out of 10 for all round fabulosity!

If you love period detective drama with a splash of romance and can ignore the slightly dated production then you’ll love these series. And once you’ve seen them head out and buy the books. Dorothy L Sayers beats Agatha Christie hands down!

When Biddy isn't glued to the TV, she is carrying on the path to publication! The book is with M&B and she is cracking on with book number 2. To keep up with her writing journey check out her blog .

Happy New Year!

Welcome to a brand new year!!!!!!!!!!

This year promises to be bigger and better than ever here at the PHS! We've got new columnists, lots of brand new authors coming to blog with us, and special events happening all year long!

Our theme days are jam packed with fun topics!

We've still got the ever popular Male On Monday post which is always good for a fantasy or two or hero inspiration for our author readers

T is for Tuesday and Travel (and settings) and Temptation! Virtual vacations and sinful pleasures are at your fingertips on Tuesdays

Writer's Wednesday is still our mid-week feature, and we're looking at bringing you great writing tips, insights and even more Call Stories this year

Thursdays are What are You Reading day - when our bloggers chat about great books they've read recently...personally we can see this boosting amazon wishlists like mad

And we have Must Watch Friday where we'll chat about favourite movies, mini series and tv shows. Once a month columnist Heidi Rice will be doing a movie review for us as well

Saturdays are Wild Card days where almost anything goes....

Biddy Coady is back as a columnist as we follow her journey to publication.

We have coverage of conferences - the RNA and RWA Nationals in July and the RWAUS conference in August.

And be on the lookout for special posts all year long as we participate in Harlequin's Diamond celebrations for their 60th birthday!

Pop on over to our Reviews blog to read the latest reviews of your favourite category romances.

Most of all we're looking forward to this being the biggest and best year for Romance yet!

Donna's got a brand new release this month to kick off the new year! The Rancher's Runaway Princess stars a reticent rancher and a reluctant princess....can they reconcile the difference in their worlds to find true love????