rebellion leads to...

Romance is the Cinderella of literature. Some would not even put it into the category of literature. The books sell a lot, but many people consider them trashy if not worse. Despite studies having been shown that the average romance readers are content with their real life, that the book is just a momentary escape, you know like a movie, the accusations constantly arise that it's bad for women.

Recently I came across one such article. The accusation went that reading romances was unhealthy for women, even addictive (comparing it to porn). Supposedly, those who read the books are at risk of leaving husbands, have unrealistic expectations for life, and worse yet, spend too many hours reading. 

It's interesting how I never read the same concerns for men reading a Tom Clancy book. Has anyone worried that the Game of Thrones might make someone want to rush off to find that life for real? Romances are often set in fantasy or historical settings also, but something about them seems different to those who worry about romance readers. What could it be?

The feared instability of women is why it took so long for them to get the vote in this country-- not until 1912, the year my mother was born, could women vote in Oregon. This concern over women being easily swayed into instability didn't start recently if you look at Genesis where it was the woman who caused the grief. It was her who had to be controlled or... The or is where the concerns grow.

I posted a few comments in the last such thread. One was that while romance novels can have sex in them (they don't all), they are more about the heroine/hero's journey. I am not going to say all of them. In any genre, you can find books with a great deal to them and those that offer a shallow adventure.

Many romance novels follow Joseph Campbell's hero's journey. They are also about Pinkola Estés' running with wolves. Their characters do choose their own path... and I have to say that may be the fear these articles are expressing about the risk in romances. Not that a woman will leave her husband, but that she will not follow society's rules as usually written by old men to maintain power.

Romance novels can serve to be a sharing experience for women. An example from my life is one year I was staying in a hotel in Massachusetts (where my husband had been sent for a project) and was in our room often when the attendant came to clean. This was a period when I was buying a lot of used romances to get a feel for the genre. She saw them, and we talked about the books. I asked if she'd like some. She was pleased. So when she'd come, I'd give her the ones I'd finished. She told me she passed them onto her daughter. It was a female bonding experience on several levels. 

While I know some men read romances (they are the ones who understand the stories are about heroes and adventure as much as heroines), the majority of readers are women. Maybe the real threat in romance novels is that those female heroines sometimes do what they want and don't follow the rules set out by a more rigid society. Can't have women doing that, now can we? Who knows to where it would lead.

An example is the snippet from my historical romance, Arizona Sunset:

    In her bedroom, Abigail wrestled with buttons and fabric, that adhered to her sweaty skin, as she pushed her dress up and over her head. She tugged loose petticoat ties and stepped from all three. When she was down to her chemise and drawers, she stood in front of her floor mirror and stared at her reflection.

    Serafina's knock with water and towels interrupted her frustrated evaluation. Told that her father and Martin had also come home early and were already in the parlor, Abigail managed thanks and a faint smile before Serafina closed the door, leaving her alone. On an impulse, Abigail wriggled from her undergarments and turned again to the mirror. She felt a surge of guilt as she stared at her naked body-- the sins of the flesh.

    She remembered the pastor’s preaching on Sunday, had even then felt it to be directed at her. Perhaps the narrow minded man was right about the dangers of hidden desires, how it led to rebellion. One step out of line and you were over the edge. Well, that was all right. She felt in rebellion. Against him, against her father, against all she had been taught.

    What was wrong with being aware of her body, of her own skin and curves, the soft womanly places that were hidden from all, usually even herself. She watched in the mirror as her hands stroked over the fullness of her breasts, down the line of her hip, to her flat belly. She felt scandalized but unwilling to stop. What was she hoping to find? She had no idea. But something. Definitely something.

    Feeling mutinous, she walked naked to her wardrobe and looked at her dresses, selecting the lightest cotton on the rack. She shook it and fresh underwear out, just to be certain no scorpions or spiders had taken up residence, then dressed, this time with a light chemise and only one petticoat.

For Abigail, just to change her garb is a major shift, because even that was dictated in her society in Tucson, Arizona 1883. I suspect that might be the concern being expressed by those who tear into women who read romances-- how dare women take their lives into their own hands and not stick to serious endeavors like-- reading the books written by the ones writing those warning articles.

keeping sanity

What does an artist expect to get from their effort? And I don't mean just in terms of money--

on the sanity of artists

this link was in The Dish; so I hope it still works now that Sullivan has ended that blog

Although I have been involved in painting, drawing, photography, and sculpture, I am personally looking at this in regards writing-- specifically mine. I don't do the craft type, where I look at what has sold well and try to put my spin on it-- basically formula writing. My stories, as is the case with most writers, come from within. If my plot structures fit any formula, it's Joseph Campbell's the hero's journey-- which is pretty much about the journey of life.

For me, writing that kind of story is pure pleasure-- no problems with sanity. I love setting up a situation, creating characters, getting a feel for who they are, and then taking them through various experiences to a meaningful climax-- as I see it. Some say that for them, writing is like pulling teeth or sweating blood. It's not for me. I love diving into these fictional characters' lives, becoming involved in their problems, helping them work it all out, and forgetting for a little while my own...

Lost a pregnant ewe who got over onto her back and was unable to get up. Sheep die in an hour or two if they get onto their backs that way. At a certain point, they cannot get up without help. Twelve lambs lost this year with thirty-seven on the ground but will we lose some of them? Two or three ewes left to lamb.

Found a great buyer for last year's lambs. I hate to see them go, but this is as good a set up as possible. We need to sell some cattle; will that buyer come through as he promised? Pineapple Express is giving us the rain we need-- is the creek rising too much? How come my smart phone is eating up its battery in a few hours? Timeout to get passport photos renewed and sent off before ours expires. Is that crown really feeling okay now? Definitely do not turn on the news, it's too depressing; and on it goes. 


All that can be put aside when I am writing a story in an organic way. My stories grow out of their situation and the characters. When writing a rough draft, I am constantly thinking of these people and what comes next. The story swallows my world for the time it takes to get that rough draft. With writing stories this way, I have control and I know it will all work out, which is a lot more than I can say for what happens in the real world.

Marketing books, on the other hand, brings me right back to myself with a thud. I have very little real control, and I constantly have to make choices. If I venture into social media, it's not my characters, it's me. How do I present my books? Do I present them? What should I share of my world? And on it goes.

Amazon is the one creating some of my current angst. Recently I read a link which claimed if you don't put your book in Amazon Select/KU, it will drop into Amazon's black hole. And I know from experience how Amazon helps that happen. In January, I had a book sell seven copies in a short time. Do you know what it did for its rankings? It might as well have sold one. In December a book sold a couple of copies that didn't impact its rankings at all. I emailed Amazon on that one trying to figure out if they had made a mistake. They had not. It's all about their mysterious algorithms dontchaknow.

To be in Select or KU, where Amazon might help my books show up, I would need to pull them from B&N, Kobo, etc. Amazon is as much trying to sell books as they are trying to push out the competition. Yes, it's the way of business, but I don't like it. Staying out of KU may have meant some of my books, one is coming to my mind, suffer. That can't be good either. The other sites do sell, but very few. You can see how my thinking is going round in circles. Which good matters most?

My publisher wants me to give KU a try and because he's my partner in this (not to mention husband), I am going along with it for a book that has been out there for quite awhile and has never sold well-- lately nada. 

Sky Daughter has been a hard book to promote whether in blurbs or covers. Although I think people would like it if they gave it a try, who am I to know since my taste in romance reading isn't the same as the best sellers. 

So we made the tough decision. It has been pulled from the other sites to be in Select and KU. I have a month to see how it goes and to decide if KU should be how I bring out the first of the Oregon historicals. If I do that with the first one, I think I'd leave it there the required three months, until the second comes out. Pull it, put it into the other sites while the second one goes to KU/Select. That would get repeated until all four of are out. But what if KU actually gets rentals or sales for Sky Daughter and that first Oregon historical? hmmmmmm 

I hate having to think about this... It's trading off what is best for my books with what might be best for selling books in general. Will it be best for even my books? I am going in circles.

Keeping sanity while marketing is not an easy thing-- if the writer cares about getting sales and reviews (getting reviews is even tougher where I am not operating within a clique). I've been reading lately about something called street teams where writers ask some fans to join together to help their books be seen. As part of that, there is a private site, and team members get some freebies as well as closer access to the writer. 

Previously, I had never even heard of the term. Looking it up, I learned that street teams began in the '90s to sell music. It is a buzz word where some think it's the way to go and others feel it doesn't really gain much. 

Do I need a street team? Do I even have the potential to have one? Street teams and beta readers are why some books come out and instantly have fifteen reviews-- in case you didn't know. 

When I see a book like Rose's Gift, which had pretty decent sales (especially for my books recently-- helped along by support from other writers), but has gotten zero reviews, I see why some like having such groups to be sure that does not happen to their books. It's not dishonest because most of those in a street team, maybe all, genuinely like that writer's work.

All these questions, which go in circles, are why for years, I had continued to write new Oregon historicals but held off on publishing. I now feel I should let them go out, give them a chance. It is also possible that to give them their best shot will require them being in the KU, at least to begin. Maybe :). Does it also require a street team? *sigh*

Arizona and some of why I love it...

I've now set four books in Arizona with two more coming in 2015-- one a novella or short story (it's a work in progress) and the other a full length novel (which will be started in early January). It has to be obvious to any reader how much I love this part of Arizona.

The first time we came to Arizona, it was 1965 and my husband was going to graduate school at the UofA. We were here with friends and had some great times hiking around the desert. I got pregnant with what was to be our first born, who was born when we got back to Oregon.

It was several years later before we could introduce the desert to our children. 1972 and we came down with an old 15' trailer that had no air conditioning or inside bathroom. We bought one of those you dump them type potties and set it into the small closet. The kids slept on the bunk above us. The heat was often intense as we had to come close to the end of their school season and bring homework. Back in those days, teachers liked the kids having this sort of enriching life experience and sent lots of work along with us.

The years passed, lots of trips through all parts of Arizona and then the last one as a family when our kids were in college and heading off to build their own lives. We began to come back by ourselves. 

It was 1998, when we had had Christmas in Georgia where our daughter then lived with her family which included a brand new granddaughter, that we flew back to Tucson with a serious intention of buying a second home here.

After looking at several possibilities, the realtor took us to this last one; it was love at first sight. It offered everything I had ever hoped to find in a Tucson home. By early 1999, we closed the deal, drove back down with a trailer full of furniture, and set up our desert home. 

As well as I know Oregon, I know this part of Arizona, which means there are always new things to learn. I have had Christmases here as well as Thanksgivings and Easters. I've been here for the monsoons, seen it snow on the cactus and overall never had a reason not to continue to love it dearly. A few of the photos below give a few reasons why. 

Arizona makes a very dynamic setting for stories whether historical or contemporary. Finding the right setting for a book is a big part of making it become real enough to write the story. Knowing it in all seasons, bringing it to life through scents and scenes, that's part of what makes it so much fun to write. Setting is one more character in the best books-- in my opinion :)

Uh oh, too many pictures for one blog. More Arizona next blog and more reasons why it's not only a great spot to visit, to live, but also to base a story.

Christmas in the story

With the holiday season in full swing, it's a good time for writers to think about whether they have a holiday novella or short story to tell-- or whether to include this time of year in a longer book. It might be too late for this Christmas, but inspiration often strikes when the right energies are in place. Besides, people read Christmas stories year round.

There are reasons (religious and emotional at the top of the list) to not use Christmas as well as reasons it will provide a dynamic to reveal more about the characters.

My first novella was A Montana Christmas. Although set in Montana, I actually wrote it when in Arizona. It was on the drive down two years ago that I decided a Christmas story would be fun for the Montana ranch. I knew the characters pretty well and never had written an epilogue to their story, From Here to There. 

The novella stands alone but probably is more fun for someone who read the earlier book-- just because it's nice to see how they are getting along.

A Montana Christmas-- 

what it's about and where it can be bought

A plus in writing a novella or short story is either can be slice of life which does not require the same form that a novel should have. A novella that follows a romance does not need the ups and downs of first love-- though it could have them. So the novella is plus plus in my mind-- faster write and it can be about an emotion or theme without the structure issues. The bad part would be if it was new characters, it isn't much time to thoroughly develop them.

I got sidetracked as this is really about Christmas in particular. And when it's about Christmas it carries with it a lot of weight emotionally. Most of at least the developed world has Christmas memories of some sort-- some positive and some negative. How it has been celebrated has varied quite a bit through the ages. So to write a Christmas story involves some research especially if it's historic, but either way, it takes some thinking as to what angle will be taken. Christmas is a two-edged sword with some having only wonderful memories and others finding it a time of loss and disappointment.

Actually I have included Christmas in several of my books. Sometimes as a kind of side note (as in what the characters experienced was off screen) and sometimes as a major element of the story. I incorporated it into Tucson Moon. Neither the hero, nor his estranged daughter, had experienced much in the way of a traditional Christmas. That story had the hero riding into the mountains above Tucson to cut down a tree. The characters experienced the traditional-- decorating it together with friends, but then a rather nontraditional experience (at least for those who don't live in Tucson) of attending a Yaqui Christmas where the Deer Dancer was part of the celebration of giving. Christmas in that book was a sweet interlude before life caught up with the characters and took them other directions. 

A Montana Christmas involves one of the deeper meanings of Christmas where it's a bringing together of families, sometimes even broken families and the spirit of giving offers an opportunity to heal old wounds. This story is more about the lead up to Christmas Day with a Winter Solstice celebration. It also is a chance to show some of what this season is like for ranchers. 

Currently I am writing another Christmas story but it probably won't make it out before Christmas. It is set in Arizona 1900. I also got the idea for it when in Arizona, which at least this time it is set in Arizona in the season I am currently enjoying here. I am not sure if it'll be a short story or novella but it's been a fun write.

I should add that Saturday I joined tsu (https://www.tsu.co/RainTrueax) which is another social media site that may replace Facebook for many of us who are both wanting to connect with others and show our work. If you are already there, I'd be happy if you friend me. If you join later, remember me :). There is some uncertainty as to how Facebook will be for writers after January 1. I know I can't pay a monthly fee anywhere and hope to sell enough books to cover it; so we'll see how this goes! I am never a fan of new techie things but sometimes ya just gotta do it!

germination-- where it comes to writing

Writing a new book always starts long before my fingers touch a keyboard. Right now I have two books running around in my head with one probably coming before the other and neither started. I thought writing about my process might help others who would like to write but are stymied as to how to get to the point.

When I finished the book Arizona Dawn, there was an epilogue, which the story needed. In writing it, a new character was introduced. I had begun to think while writing Dawn that I wanted another story that involved ancient Arizona ruins and archaeology. 

During my many times in the American Southwest, I've spent time in Sinagua, Hohokam, and Anasazi ruins. Some have been protected as national monuments, but many are hidden away in canyons. The best, to experience, are those which not many people visit. When at such places, you can almost feel the ones who lived there hundreds of years before. They are spread across Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. 

That timeless quality, the energy, and the beauty of those locations will be the setting for much of this fourth Arizona historical romance. Having researched and been to where I felt their magic, I believe I can bring not only them but those who explore them to life.

Women in the late 1800s were beginning to have the option of careers that were more exciting, such was the character of Grace's beautiful blonde college friend, Holly Jacobs, who had come to visit her. The third book didn't get into the why of her arrival, but the heroine, Grace, knew there had to be a reason she had shown up in to Tucson. 

"Holly had been beautiful in college, but that beauty was eclipsed by the woman who stood before her-- high cheekbones, full lips, lush blonde hair, and big eyes, the picture of feminine perfection."      from Arizona Dawn epilogue

Holly isn't just beautiful but also intelligent with a degree in archaeology. As an archaeologist, her character has a lot of potential. The early 1900s were pretty much a Wild West in that field before the rules became more codified. I had read books on these early archaeologists-- think Indiana Jones, well, maybe not quite that far out. Often the women were married to an archeologist but why not a heroine who was one!

1900 was a complex time for women, as while they could get into professions, previously impossible, they still had limited rights. Women, for instance, could not vote for President, until the 19th Amendment, ratified August 18, 1920. So while Holly could do many things, as a single woman, including own property, men still had very dominant rights over their wives and daughters legally speaking.

The concept of a new American woman emerged after 1900. Writers and commentators described the “new woman” as independent and well-educated. She wore loose-fitting clothing, played sports, drove an automobile, and even smoked in public. She supported charities and social reforms, including women’s suffrage. She often chose to work outside the home in offices, department stores, and professions such as journalism, law, and medicine that were just opening up to women. The image of the “new woman” also usually made her white, native born, and middle class.

By 1910, “feminist” was another term being used to describe the “new woman.” Feminism referred to a new spirit among a few middle-class women to liberate themselves from the old notion of “separate spheres.” An early feminist writer condemned this traditional view of the role of women since it prevented their full development and robbed the nation of their potential contribution. from Bill of Rights in Action

The author Zane Grey wrote about these independent women, and it wasn't flattering. He saw them as needing to be more modest and more connected to nature. Sometimes a hero taught Grey's heroines the proper way, but often it was the land.

So this was an exciting if challenging time to be a woman. Many options were out there, but also potential pitfalls. This is not to say some women didn't walk independent paths earlier; of course they did. Just there were more of them by 1900.

An early question for me was what made Holly leave her wealthy home in Chicago? I wanted something that could really happen and might lead a woman to leave comfort and head for wilderness.  I found two reasons-- one related to something I'd gone through-- the other a bit more exciting.

As I got a better handle on Holly and her character, I began to consider who the hero would be. There were two possible men from Arizona Dawn. One was the Yaqui brother of that hero. He was working through resentments and not nearly as strong a man as his brother, but could that be changed? The other was a lawyer who was a lot tougher than he looked. Both these men had  hoped to win the heroine in Arizona Dawn; so giving a romance to one would only seem fair-- or would it...

More and more I began to think of another possible romantic partner-- one who offered more challenges and was as complex as Holly. I realized his potential while we were driving south through Nevada and Arizona. He had been in Arizona Sunset and then my short story, Connie's Gift. He appealed to me on many levels. He was not a man who would be looking to court anyone and not remotely the man Holly would logically choose. Would he actually be her hero though or a sacrificial hero who had to give it all up to assure her happiness? Three possible love interests but one really had my heart. When I get to where I begin the book, I will know for sure how it works out-- it's the path along the way where the adventure in writing changes things.

In my books, an important character is the villain. I write what I call romances with an edge, which means there is most often someone with bad intentions-- of varying levels. Villains must have genuine reasons to do what they do. Sometimes there can be multiple villains. Other times it narrows down to one dominant. Sometimes I like to use this character's point of view in certain sequences. The drawback is it takes away any chance of the reader not knowing who to watch out for but it's fun to write 'evil' points of view while also writing more noble ones-- the juxtaposition of dark and light.

The new story will also be about the work of archaeology, the discoveries that are to be made. Even today archaeologists don't just dig for pots or physical items, but it's the story they are looking to discover or prove. There is an interesting one to be explored in Arizona, one that Holly might be eager to prove or disprove.

The real digging, in any book of mine, is into the characters. I am only interested in writing character driven stories. Without that, I'd not be willing to put out the work that is required to write a book. I'd be bored before I got a week into it. When the story is character driven, events that happen are all part of the person growing or not. Actions have consequences. Working out those consequences is what makes writing so enjoyable for me.
 

Romero Ruins

For physical inspiration regarding the region and nature, I have many landscape photos of ruins throughout the area. The question becomes choosing the right ones and then adding the elements to it that make an exciting plot..

Serious writing of a rough draft likely will probably not begin until January after a lot more research. The ruins in the story can and probably will be imaginary but must feel as though they are real. I am in no hurry because, for me, creating a story mostly happens before the first word is written down as I begin to take notes and create a character list, gather photos that will inspire and might end up on a cover. I won't start typing until I am ready to go all the way with it. I don't want another one hanging out there for a year.

story telling as emotional catharsis

 image from purchased CanStock image

We've all seen the movies (okay, most of us) like Sleepless in Seattle where the women get to talking about a film, An Affair to Remember, and are in tears as they discuss the angst, the very emotional and romantic ending. It's humorous because the men look at them as though they are nuts and then have their own emotional (real or otherwise) catharsis regarding a guy flick of men at battle sacrificing themselves for each other. 

The same thing is played for humor when the author/heroine in Romancing the Stone is writing the ending to her newest manuscript and sobbing as she writes. Her ability to do this, not to mention far out, unrealistic plots, is what had made her a bestselling author, who (in the story) was famous for her romances wherever she went.

I read the same kind of emotional reaction last week in a writer group where I visit sometimes. A reader had just read a book she had read before and described how she was sobbing at the ending. Now she knew that ending was coming (maybe even knew it the first time she had read the book), but the same emotional waterfall happily overcame her.

There are films that totally aim the viewer to have this emotional reaction. The Notebook is one where when... Okay in case people have not read or watched that book/film, I'll go no farther, but emotions are definitely played for all they are worth looking for that emotional release for the viewer/reader.

Thinking about this has made me wonder if it's the missing link in my writing, and it will always be missing for the most avid romance readers. Is there a market in romance reading that likes good stories, characters, interesting plots, emotions, but is not seeking to pull heartstrings to that level? I have never written a book and sobbed at what I had written...

I cannot relate to sobbing at the ending of a book-- unless a dog, cat, horse, or beloved animal gets killed (Bambi does not have a place on my DVD shelf nor does Old Yellar or any other story that goes 'Black Beauty' on me). I love animals too much, have had too many of my own sad endings with those beloved animals and thus relate too much to that kind of painful loss in fiction. 

So, while I could get emotionally pulled around by a story, I choose not to by not seeing or reading them. It won't happen to me in romances-- not any of them-- from the best to the silliest. A little teary from a movie? Sure but not sobbing.

If one seeks that kind of emotional catharsis, it certainly is safer to have reactions to romantic books because, at least in them, they will end happily. Jane Austen may not have had a happily ever after in her life, but she gave one to all her heroines. Stories based around animals give no such assurances. 

I think I used to have more emotional reactions to films and can remember years ago getting teary at An Affair to Remember. I've had a few tears in my eyes from emotionally significant moments in films but books, can't remember any that did that. Now I am wondering if this is a missing link in me which won't let me really relate to what romance readers most want from their stories-- i.e. an emotional experience that moves them so deeply they sob. 

As I mentioned the last blog, I do go for trying to feel the emotions of my characters and hence the photos I use to inspire me to keep those feelings real, as I find words to describe them. But manipulative writing where I deliberately have something happen, not because I think it would for these characters, but with the reader in mind and how I know it will take them on the teary ride they want, that's something I haven't done. I wanted more realistic romances, but in wanting that, have I cut myself off from what the average romance reader wants?

So if anyone reads here, who is a devoted reader, of any type of book, is that emotional catharsis what you hope to receive from a book? The same thing is doubtless true for men in reading adventures. They vicariously get the adrenaline rush for what the hero braves that they don't have to.

in writing a paranormal

Basically when a book is labeled paranormal, it can go almost anywhere from what might be possible to total fantasy (we think) like werewolves, vampires, and zombies. I think the only real rule is it has to stay consistent within its own story. You cannot forget the basics of its world although you can have it grow in understanding.

Before I wrote the first paranormal in my trilogy, Diablo Canyon, I had never figured to write anything like it-- well, I had earlier done one involving witchcraft, misuse of spiritual power where it did have a spirit monster. That was 2002; so it's obviously not a genre of romance I either read or write often.

When I  had the dream in November 2013, involving spirit guides, purpose to life, fairness, and reincarnation, I woke up that morning knowing it would make a story I should write. It had more importance in my mind because I had been asking questions--the tell-me-what-is-true kind of questions. Did my muse give me the dream as an answer? Well that all depends on what the muse is.

Anyway it wasn't long after writing it that I began to think there was another story to be told. In fact, there were two more because what I really had was a trilogy. The second was written in February from the 19th to the 25th and I called it The Dark of the Moon. 

Because I don't write something and immediately release it, it only came out May 1. I really like at least a month before the first edit (while i am writing other things) and then maybe three edits before a book is actually released. It's just so easy to have glitches in logic and consistencies-- even in a story written that fast-- sadly I sometimes find them later even after that much editing. I began the third on April 6th and finished its rough draft April 12th. It will be out the middle of June.

In writing these fantasy/paranormal books, I stayed with what I believe is actually possible. Of course, it can be asked-- possible, but is it true? That can be debated, but there is nothing in any of the three books that I have not heard someone tell me they experienced or that I hadn't read through books or articles. 

To write any paranormal, I had a choice for the approach I would take. I didn't choose to go way out there-- even though some would say shape shifting is way out there. It's not an uncommon thing for some to say they can do. Likewise nor is seeing the 'other' side and being able to converse with it. 

The things that people have told me they saw, I cannot prove. I remember one story, from a very sober and responsible friend, who had been to a local meeting of Buddhists or those interested in being Buddhists. He said he saw sitting on the back of one of the chairs a troll like being which he considered a demon. Did he see what he said? He was no liar, and I never knew him to be delusional.

What I liked about writing a story that I really thought could be possible, was the way it challenges us to think about what we see. In the third book there will be monsters from Native American religions using the names and personalities as the myths describe. You think they never existed, don't you? But many of you believe in your own mythologies regarding the God of the Torah and Old Testament--

from where it comes

Reading one of the places I check now and again, they had put up some western music which led to my remembering my own childhood and how much both western music and movies influenced how I think and who I am today. To make sure I am understood, when I say western music, it's not country-western I am talking about. It is something like this.

I have that 78 RPM of that song as well as my real favorite on the flip side-- Single Saddle. My gosh, I can still sing Single Saddle and haven't heard it for years and years. It was music like that as well as by the Sons of the Pioneers that were what likely formed my values and underlay what I write today.

 I am not embarrassed by it either. Were those westerns realistic? Not usually. Did they always have the good guy triumph over the bad guy? Generally. Some hold up well to today and can still be watched. Some not so much.

Here's the thing-- entertainment, all of it, has a set of values. Whatever we put into our minds feeds something in us. That's not debatable. The question is what will it be? What I got back then fed dreams of romance, adventure, doing right, importance of being strong. My dreams didn't get in the way of my going to college, meeting the right sort of man, having children and living as I do today. Some of my dreams were fulfilled-- others I live out through my characters. Not such a bad deal :)

real life? or... not so much...

 1889 Montana miners

As I have mentioned more than a few times, I am back writing an historical romance, one that joins up with my Arizona historicals. Frankly there are times I've said I never want to write another, not because I don't like the research. I love research. It's so much fun to find out more about an earlier period, learn details I never knew, then set my characters into that for their own emotional run.

In the writing, I have always separated in my own mind the difference between a non-fiction history book, historical novel, and historical romance. I mean come on-- romances are not meant to be realistic. They should feel like they could have happened but all the time are also fairy tales for adults (just like a lot of adventure, sci fi, fantasy, etc.). In a romance you have a story centered around a hero and heroine who eventually, no matter what the odds, conquer all. Where do you draw the line between that story and the historical facts you are setting it into?

I get it. For 'hard core' historical romance readers, the story has to be accurate down to the last eyelash for them to feel they are really there. I have heard some say they learn history from them. O-kay! (incidentally, that word has been in use a lot longer than some might imagine).

So here's my rebuttal to purists-- what we know about historic periods is what somebody from that period wanted to leave us and someone from a later period interpreted. Sometimes the journals or books are scrupulous for detail, but some are written to make a point or sugar coat something. Almost always, if you read many regarding any important event or person, they will have widely differing viewpoints.

We might think we know important facts about an historic period from those who have studied it for a career, using what has been left behind in books, journals/letters; archaeological digs; old photos, which were often posed and sometimes faked for setting and garments even those as revered as by Edward Curtis; often repeated quotes by someone like Chief Seattle, except he never said what they say he did; or objects and clothing that survived to be placed in a museum.

The biggest problem I have with those who adore historical details is the details can get in the way of the story for anybody who is most interested in plot and character. For someone hoping to get the equivalent of a history book from their historical romance, they will ignore plots that make no sense at all. Heaven forbid though that a writer uses a fabric that didn't exist then.

This could be called anal writing and reading. The language their character will use must be accurate even if today it seems staid and forced-- because the only real example we have of past language is written-- which is not often how people talked-- then or now. Fiction of that period also often sugar coated real language. And don't even get me started on dime novels from the western era.

When the TV series, Deadwood was on cable, there was a huge fit made over the crude, obscene language being used. Not realistic went the cry of historical purists. Except how do they know? Oh yeah those books written back then-- which are so likely to be how real people talked...

If you write a western romance set say in the 1880s and you have your heroine ride astride, you have just committed an atrocity. Ladies rode sidesaddle, dontchaknow. Except women did ride astride even before that. I mean let's face it a side saddle is practical more as a puritan device devised to make sure a lady didn't spread her legs or become stimulated by the movement of the horse. Practical? Not so much but horse shows still do events to show a gifted equestrian can do it-- not intended to illustrate it is the best way to ride. As for riding with a full skirt that flowed out all over the place, let's hope there's no wind and that the other horses in the area aren't easily frightened.

The problem with this drive for historical perfection is we do not know exactly what people thought back then or how life was lived except as stated above. The obsession by an author to include details to prove they did research can get in the way of plot action. So if I read a romance by a detail driven purist, but her heroine is acting more like a modern woman (aside from stilted language), I should be impressed even if the plot has enough inconsistencies that nothing makes sense?

But despite all that, here I go again with that third Arizona historical, set in Arizona Territory, 1899. There was a LOT going on then and not just that impacted Arizona but the whole nation.  My main emphasis on research has involved details that I know help the story to come to life and that are often sooooo hard to find without combing through book and article after article. Because I love history, I enjoy this kind of activity but only include what I think would be part of the characters' experiences. When we are living something, we don't think constantly about details.

When reading someone else's book, I can't imagine noticing if they have the proper number of petticoats on the heroine. I'd be more interested in how her dress might've varied depending on her class status. I would care if how she had to dress was impacting her emotions and told me something about her character-- think Calamity Jane. Otherwise what I care about are plots and characters. I have never once read someone else's western historical and thought-- wow, that's the way it really was. I don't for a second expect that it was-- it's a romance for Pete's sake. I want to enjoy the ride and not find it being distracted by trivia.

When I write, I am most interested in motivations, in making the characters act consistently or grow in a way that makes sense. Maybe that means I am better suited to writing contemporary stories where I can make it seem real-- oh along with a few demons and fairies... pardon me Fae (that's what I just read fairies really are-- and if you thought they were nice little guardians of the forests-- they're not-- well, that is one truth).

And the real Old West, well it wasn't quite as glamorous as romance writers/readers might like to imagine. Nothing wrong with fantasy, imagination and fairy tales... just so long as nobody confuses it with real life-- then or now.

 Henry Plummer, a real old time sheriff, maybe road agent, was definitely the man who was hanged by a vigilante gang in Bannack, Montana, January 10, 1864, when he was 32 years old. Was he a bandit or did he get killed by the real bandits?  His wife wasn't there. Was that significant? That's what real life is like and it's always not often tidy ;).

Finding inspiration

When a writer is looking for inspiration, where is it to be found? I read an interesting article on one aspect of this in a magazine I get every month--the Romance Writers Report. It’s a professional magazine for writers who regard what they are doing as a career, a profession, and important in their life. It delved into another aspect of where we find inspiration and what focus means for the creative person.

Written by Erin Quinn and Kris Kennedy, the article was titled, “That’s my book she wrote!” and deals with how often great ideas for books come at the same time. They do that because the writer is out paying attention to the world and suddenly they see a story. I’ve had it happen. Most writers have likewise. Then… the article said, you look at someone else’s recently published book and realize a lot of the elements are in your own. Could be title, characters, setting.  This isn’t copying the other writer. It happens at the same time— simultaneous.

From the article: “In the scientific world, they know all about it. It’s called the theory of multiple discovery, and it’s the notion that many scientific discoveries and inventions are made independently and almost simultaneously by multiple scientists and/or inventors…” 

I hadn't thought of this happening with books but had heard of it happening a lot from my inventor, consultant, innovator husband. It is why in his world, there is often a rush to get a patent and why they consider lab notebooks critical to proving their work wasn’t copied.

This issue of potentially being influenced is a lot of why I almost never read romances-- even though I would enjoy them sometimes. The advice in the article was-- read a lot of them before you begin writing your own. I did that. Then-- quit reading them at all while writing. That subtle influence, where you don’t know from where it came, is why some consider it best not to read in the genre in which they write. 

I suppose some writers are not easily influenced. I don’t know if I would be. I do know that these days, when I am not writing or researching, I stick to non-fiction—a lot of it. It is what interests me as that's from where new ideas will come. I am writing romances and don't want ideas from others who are also writing them. 

When I hear of an interesting romance by someone else, I buy it but store it for the future. Who knows I might change genre—or come to a time I write less. For now I concentrate on my own plots, characters and settings helped along by non-fiction and what’s been going on in the world—or happened next door.  Yep, nobody who knows a writer should consider themselves surprised if they find some aspect of their life in the next book… But if the writer is ethical, it won’t be clearly obvious who it was by name. Save that for non-fiction.

and then there is this...

When you are writing a story, often pieces will just come together. This happens as you write or even when you are imagining how it will all happen. It happens as you begin to know your characters.

When I wrote Desert Inferno, I spent time thinking of not only the hero and heroine but also the villain. Villains are an important counterpoint to the good of the hero and heroine. This one had something occult about him without it going so far as into the metaphysical. He believed he had power through ancient Aztec rituals and sacred items. One in particular was a crystal skull which I knew had been created back then in the Mayan and Aztec cultures.

Recently I came across the following article which pretty much validates what I felt about the villain's belief he could gain power through such methods. I hadn't read it when I wrote the book but like how truths often come together even if it takes awhile. I wouldn't change the book because it says enough as it is but this is an interesting addition.

curse of the crystal skulls

our choices...

?

 guess who broke the electric line

are they supposed to be here

do they care

As a writer of a certain type of book, a writer who writes the stories I want to write, I am always interested in why others choose to write or read the books they do. The latest book to tweak my interest arose from an article in the Daily Beast.

An Intellectual Whodunit

The question I have often asked others-- why read a book about unpleasant people and events (unless it's non-fiction). Why be wrapped up in a writer's story aimed purely at disillusioning you about life with fiction as the tool to do it? Isn't the newspaper enough to do that?

One possible reason could be what is suggested in the article:

 “It’s a novel, and once you’ve finished a novel, what happened in it is of little importance and soon forgotten. What matters are the possibilities and ideas that the novel’s imaginary plot communicates to us and infuses us with.”    from The Infatuations by Javier Marias

The thing is-- what will those ideas leave us with when the story is about horrible happenings and worse people? Can't we get positive ideas from far more enjoyable reads? Is this some kind of torture bearing test? You know, even a lowly romance can leave the reader with thoughts and ideas that don't leave when the plot ties up the ends. So what is the benefit in reading all these books that tear the reader up?
 
I get it that some are prestigious books to read and that alone will draw readers. They then have something to talk about with a literary group of friends as they possibly debate how valuable are the writer's endless ponderings and whether he/she was too graphic or not graphic enough regarding life.

The review in Daily Beast suggests that the appeal of Marias' books are because they offer a possibly lurid adventure in a literary setting which means the literati can read them and not feel guilty at lowering their standards-- particularly since it was a Spanish writer.

The last time I read books because they were 'the' books to read I was in college and I wanted to read a lot of what was at that time considered the greatest writings. I read everything by some writers like Steinbeck or Hemingway and a lot of others on the list of 'supposed to have read'. The project ended when I was pregnant and about to have a baby. Baby books, like Dr. Spock took over and I rarely ever again felt a need to get back to reading something because I should.

I felt a bit tempted by this one. It's on Kindle and even though the sample had run together paragraphs and already seemed ponderous, still it's an example of what some consider the thing to read-- which might mean that I, as a writer, should find out what that means. I'm still trying to decide if that's enough reason to put myself through it. I have a feeling it won't be.

As a writer you do have to wonder what is doing well. You ask yourself if there are aspects to these NY Times bestsellers that you could adopt. It would be easy for me to write pages and pages of endlessly philosophizing.  I think that way myself. But... maybe readers only tolerate that when they think it came from a literary genius.

bad guy to good guy?

 cowboys on the WS ranch where it is claimed a lot of outlaws worked at various times when they wanted to hide out (which doesn't mean any of these cowboys were outlaws-- or not)

When you write an historical, you basically will have some idea of the potential of the story to be a real reflection of the times in which it is set. That means research. But in the end, there is a lot of instinct involved which means the things you've heard, your imagination of what might be possible, and what still happens today. Humans are humans; and although they are impacted by the potential of any particular time in history, in the end there are basic similarities for what we need and want in our lives.

When I wrote the first of two Arizona historicals, I did know quite a lot of the history of that time regarding Tucson and the country south of there. I had a feel for the hero and the life he was living as well as what he could live. Sometimes you can almost feel you lived a life-- not to say that I did this but maybe some of it.

As I was editing the manuscript for bringing it out as an eBook, I again looked around for information to correct anything I might have gotten wrong. Instead I found more encouragement for the reality of what was possible in those wild open days in Southern Arizona.

One thing I learned but had never known was that John Slaughter, who I knew as a big rancher and one-time sheriff of Cochise County, one who had done a lot to clean up the bad guys, during a particularly violent time in Southern Arizona, turns out to have had a bad guy history of his own in his younger days.

 I got the rest of the story from the magazine, True West out of an article called, 'The Outlaw Cowboys of New Mexico' and who should I find there but a familiar name to me but not in that context-- Texas John Slaughter.

It appears, when a young man, Slaughter had been on the top of New Mexico governor, Lew Wallace's (yep, that one) list of outlaws he most wanted to round up. He even topped Billy the Kid who only came in 14th on that list. 

After being released from an 1879 arrest, Slaughter made his way to Arizona. The theory is he had his big ranch right on the border so he could slip across if anybody came after him on old warrants. So from gunman, to outlaw, to respected citizen. 

He wasn't the only example of how sometimes a man could ride on the wild side, change his ways and live to an old age despite how so many ended up if they didn't change their ways. It was an encouragement to me that I had the right idea for a story where the hero had a choice to make, but it was one he really could make if he chose. 

Of course, there were other choices and some, like Black Jack Ketchum, that's the one they made.

It's what I like about writing romances in particular, how we can look at life and see options and choices that will give us what we want most in life-- it's up to us which road we take.

Taking Charge

Invictus  

Out of the night that covers me, 

Black as the Pit from pole to pole, 

I thank whatever gods may be 

For my unconquerable soul. 

 In the fell clutch of circumstance 

I have not winced nor cried aloud. 

Under the bludgeonings of chance 

My head is bloody, but unbowed. 

Beyond this place of wrath and tears 

Looms but the Horror of the shade, 

And yet the menace of the years 

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. 

It matters not how strait the gate, 

How charged with punishments the scroll. 

I am the master of my fate: 

I am the captain of my soul. 

William Ernest Henley

Of all the messages of all the romances, the above probably represents the most powerful. It is the one I most aim to put into every one of my books. No matter whether the characters start out with pathos and a feeling of weakness, the purpose of what they experience in the book is that they will reach beyond and come to that place where they do feel they are the captain of their fate.When they are there, when they take charge in all ways, the romance novel usually ends, and their real life work begins.

It is the goal of our lifetime also. We might start out at the mercy of parents, of guardians but that's not where we want to stay. We grow and we learn. We take charge. We then begin the path of life for wherever we hoped to go. Sometimes we compromise because we face reality, but we make the decisions for ourselves and blame no one else. When we take on the choice of raising children, we teach them the same way for being responsible. It's what the bulk of our life will be about.

Finally, we want to live our lives in such a way that when we reach the end times, we will have control-- even if that control means we have given control of our body up to others because of debility, still it will be our choice. I know it can be that way because I saw it with my own elders. I will aim to make it so when I reach that point for my life.