Interview with Jim C. Hines

Publisher's Weekly says: Hines sidesteps the main question facing elvers—WWTD, or What would Tolkien do?—with a wink and his usual snort. His goofy elves, orcs, trolls, dwarves, humans and even an evil tree conjure laughter, not screams. Jig Dragonslayer might have a dash of hobbit in him as he reluctantly dashes into his latest adventure (after Goblin Hero): he would much rather stay home in a comfy cave, hanging out with Smudge, his fire-spider, or Relka, a most excellent cook. But alas, they're all pressed into a human/elf war against Billa the Bloody, a monstrous orc who'll do anything to win, even if it means killing her army and human Princess Genevieve's troops fighting for Wendel, king of Adenkar. Luckily, Jig has a secret weapon thanks to Tymalous Shadowstar, a Forgotten God who communicates with him telepathically. Shadowstar would sacrifice himself for his little goblin priest, but Jig's amazing courage may not make that necessary. Readers will need familiarity with earlier books in the series, but Hines's funny bone is sharp and YA-friendly. (Mar.)

Readers have dubbed Jim C. Hines the Goblin King. His third novel Goblin War has just been released in the U.S. His goblins are also showing up in France, Germany, Russia, and several other nations. The books have earned praise from the likes of Julie Czerneda, Ed Greenwood, and even Wil Wheaton, who called Goblin Quest "too f***ing cool for words!"

But here's what he has to say for himself:

What was your inspiration for writing Goblin War?

It's the unwritten law of fantasy. I had written two goblin books, but as a fantasy author, I had no choice. I Must Write Trilogies.

There were things I wanted to accomplish with the third book, of course. In the first two books, Jig is constantly struggling to protect himself from adventurers and heroes, not to mention his fellow goblins. This time, I wanted to bring that struggled to some sort of resolution. This is an all-or-nothing adventure. If Jig succeeds, he'll be able to keep himself and his fellow goblins safe for years. But if he fails, he's going to fail big.

There were other factors as well. Jig' and Smudge are a lot of fun to write about ... my readers enjoy him and wanted more ... perhaps most importantly, DAW was willing to pay me for a third book!

Why did you decide to make Jig a goblin?

I wanted to take on the fantasy genre from the monsters' point of view. I've seen it done a few times before, Shrek being one of the more famous examples, but I never felt like they got it right. Shrek is really just a big, gross, socially awkward human. We never see anything about his family, his culture, or his background, and his motivations are completely human.

I also thought the tougher monsters had it too easy. Sure, anyone can survive an adventure when you're big enough to recycle armored knights and punch dragons in the face. So I decided to go with the underdogs, and you don't get much lower than goblins.

What sort of research did you do to write this book?/What kind of preparation do you do when you are writing?

You wouldn't think a humorous fantasy would require much research. At least, I wouldn't have until I got started. But from day one, I was e-mailing a geologist for information on cave formations, looking up cooking sites to come up with good goblin recipes, double-checking armor and weaponry ... for Goblin War, I spent a fair amount of time trying to make sure my armies were using sensible formations and tactics.

Goblin War also required me to go back and re-read The Giving Tree. And no, I'm not going to explain that one.

Are there any interesting scenes or ideas that didn't make it into the final book?

The biggest thing was a romance between Jig and one of his fellow goblins. I tried ... I really tried to make it work. I think I'm a pretty good writer, but I just couldn't pull it off. Maybe it's self-preservation, but my brain refused to go there. Much to the disappointment of my agent, who was hoping for a fourth book called "Jig gets Jiggy."

The first draft also gave Jig a magical elf cloak, a la Lord of the Rings, but I kept giving myself flashbacks to Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. Besides, invisibility would have made Jig's life far too easy.

Oh, and the scene where we learn that Smudge the fire-spider is gay didn't fly. I guess my publisher doesn't think the world was ready for homosexual spiders.

What are you writing now?

DAW recently bought three more books from me in a new series. The first book is called The Stepsister Scheme, and should show up in January of 2009. I just finished revising that book, and have started on the rewrite of The Mermaid's Madness. The books are basically my response to the overcommercializiation of the fairy tale princess. My princesses come from the older fairy tales, which means these are some very conflicted characters with pretty dark backstories. I basically did a mash-up of those old fairy tales and Charlie's Angels.

Let's just say my version of Sleeping Beauty can kill you with a spoon.

This isn't your first book; tell us a little bit about what else is out there?

There are the first two goblin books, Goblin Quest and Goblin Hero. All three are a lot of fun, particularly if you're a fantasy fan, because you'll catch a lot more of the jokes. I've also written close to 40 short stories. (Well, I've written a lot more than that, but I've sold close to 40. Big difference.) A fair amount of the short fiction is humorous sword and sorcery, but there's some serious stuff as well. I was quite happy to make the preliminary Nebula ballot this year for one of the serious stories, even though I got knocked out of the running for the finals.

Thanks for stopping by, Jim! Your books sound hillarious. I'm truly disappointed the world isn't ready for a gay spider.... I hope the readers of my blog will take this opportunity to check out you and your novels. Good luck!

Interview with Mike Brotherton

The human colony on the planet Argo has long explored and exploited the technology left behind by an extinct alien race. But then an archaeology team accidentally activates a terrible weapon: a weapon that will destroy the entire colony, and its star, if they cannot deactivate it. Evidence at the site suggests that the weapon was created for the ancient Argonauts by another race, a race of traders. The archaeologists discover a map of their interstellar trading empire, and the coordinates of their main trading station. Although the information is over a million years out of date, the only hope for Argo is to send a ship and crew into the unknown, to find the traders—or anyone who can help them find a way to shut down the weapon.

Mike Brotherton is a hard science fiction writer publishing novels with Tor. His latest, Spider Star, is being released on March 4, 2008. In addition to being a writer, he's a professor of astronomy at the University of Wyoming, an observer who studies quasars with the Hubble Space Telescope and other facilities on and above the Earth. His webpage is http://www.mikebrotherton.com.

What is the premise of the new novel?

It's a story about an interstellar colony on the planet Argo orbiting Pollux, and what happens when the people there accidentally set off a doomsday weapon left behind by the original inhabitants of their system. The original technology behind the weapon came from an even more advanced alien species living in something referred to as the "Spider Star." There are two main protagonists. The first is an older man, Frank Klingston, with a family who is drafted into the mission given his previous experience as the only human to ever encounter living intelligent aliens. The other is a young hotshot, Manuel Rusk, who was supposed to head off the next interstellar exploration mission and is partially responsible for setting off the weapon.

What was your inspiration for writing Spider Star?

I was finishing up my first novel, Star Dragon, and was chatting with a friend at a review panel for the National Science Foundation. He told me about some papers by David Eichler, a theoretical astrophysicist, hypothesizing the concept of planets made of dark matter that might be found around neutron stars. Well, that was a pretty cool idea and originally I was just going to write a short story of some kind but never got around to it. By the time I was ready to write about this idea, it had grown to novel size and had accumulated a lot of associations. I'm always looking to do something exotic, leaning on my professional expertise for unique situations or environments, that haven't been done a million times already. The setting of Spider Star is unique, I believe, but a setting no matter how great doesn't make a story on its own. Story ideas kind of grow piecemeal for me, where one good idea isn't enough but when it hooks up with two or three other ideas suddenly a story crystallizes. It's like the ideas are amino acids floating around and my mind is the enzyme that assembles them when it finds the right combination.

What kind of research did you do for this book?

While I don't think so-called "hard" science fiction should be hard to read, it can be hard to write. My current operational definition is fiction that requires a calculator. I had to do a bunch of ugly calculations and estimates to world build, and then find engineering/plot solutions when the physics didn't quite work out the way I wanted for the world building. Some of the things were rather complicated and I lucked out that I found a couple of papers doing most of them for me, as I would have resorted to writing computer code to be sure what I was envisioning was plausible. I'm talking around this because I don't want to spoil too much.

I also leaned on the stories of Jason and the Argonauts and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness for some layers of mythology that seemed to resonate with the plot and themes of the book. Happy accidents do occur when symbolism and motifs crop up on their own, but I usually try to put some in intentionally to reinforce points I'm trying to make and the mood I'm trying to establish.

What are you trying to do with your science fiction? Does it have a purpose beyond telling an entertaining story?

Yes, ideally. I think science fiction at it's best is great literature. It shows a side of humanity in the face of new ideas or new circumstances that cannot be done with mainstream work. What does it mean to evolve past our current state? What does it mean to us to confront non-human intelligence? Are we great, as complex and intelligent life, in the face of a largely lifeless universe, or insignificant before the near infinity of space and time?

I also try to get as much of my science right as possible, although I do push the limits and sometimes just avoid the impossible while embracing the unlikely (if it's interesting enough). I like to think I'm educating people a little about astronomy and physics and perhaps inspiring people to study science, the way I was inspired by Star Trek and other science fiction I encountered growing up.

Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?

That's a difficult question because I have so many! My favorites growing up and then through college were Philip Jose Farmer, Joe Haldeman, Robert Heinlein, Fred Pohl, Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, David Brin, Larry Niven, Gregory Benford, and Roger Zelazny. More recently I've been a big fan of Dan Simmons, Nancy Kress, Michael Swanwick, Jack McDevitt, Eric Nylund, Robert Charles Wilson, Vernor Vinge, and Kurt Vonnegut (better late than never). I think there's a lot of great books being written and I'm happy to be able to contribute mine.

Thanks to Mike Brotherton for dropping by to answer a few questions and promote his newest book which is available TODAY (March 4). If your curiosity was piqued by what you read here, please go out and find yourself a copy of SPIDER STAR!

Astro Alert: Mars in Cancer

Exciting new planetary happenings brought to you by astrology.com:

On September 8, 2007, the warrior planet Mars entered Cancer, the sign of home and family. It's been a wild ride! The heat of this flame touched on matters concerning family as well as decisions affecting property and mortgages, loans and debts. Then, Mars turned retrograde on November 15, and it was time to review -- and perhaps revise -- plans set in motion. By January 30, Mars turned direct in chatty Gemini, and you finally you had the opportunity to get traction on various projects and initiatives.

Now, as Mars head back into homebody Cancer on March 4, you should have a good handle on how you want to approach the various issues that have competed for your attention over the past few months.

Interview with Alma Alexander

When Email Attacks!

What would happen if the spam that accumulates in your inbox suddenly started carrying live spells - open a "Lose Weight Now" email, and you do, you drop pounds, you open the thing inadvertently twice and you turn into a wraith? Or a "Free GIft" email results in a subscirption to a magazine in Mandarin Chinese or a pair of Emperor Penguns delivered to your door?

And what happens if it is a grounding tenet in your world that the only thing actually impervious to magic IS a computer, and magical... SPELLSPAM... is frankly impossible...?

Welcome to Thea Winthrop's next adventure.

ALMA ALEXANDER is a novelist whose work has appeared in thirteen languages and more than 20 countries worldwide. Her international bestseller "The Secrets of Jin Shei" is perhaps the best known of her adult books, but in 2007 she branched out into the world of YA literature with the release of the first book in the Worldweavers trilogy, "Gift of the Unmage", which has garnered a great deal of reader enthusiasm and critical praise, being compared to Susan Cooper, Madeleine L'Engle, and even J K Rowlings. "Spellspam" is the second book in the Harper Collins trillogy, released March 11, 2008. The third book, due in the spring of 2009, is entitled "Cybermage".

Visit her at her website, www.AlmaAlexander.com, and learn more about the Worldweavers books at their own site, www.WorldWeaversWeb.com. Alma also blogs at http://anghara.livejournal.com, and is a regular guest blogger at www.SFNovelists.com and www.Storytellersunplugged.com.

What was your inspiration for writing SpellSpam?

Back in 2002 I went to my first-ever World Fantasy Convention. I had no plans to do any writing in the YA arena, but I wandered, at some point, into a panel on YA literature because it had a bunch of writers on it whose work I have admired - Charles de Lint, for one, and Jane Yolen. After about five or six minutes of chatter on the subject of YA, someone from the audience raised a hand and asked, "What about Harry Potter?"

And Jane Yolen sighed and said, "I was wondering how long it would be before that particular elephant walked into the room."

This was 2002 - Pottermania was in full swing. And I am sure they went on to discuss that, amongst other things, But I didn't exactly hear any of it. Because the next thing that came out of Jane Yolen's mouth was something about how she didn't particularly like the way that the Potter books treated girls. And I was off and running, making the acquaintance of Thea Winthrop - not the Boy Who Lived but the Girl Who Couldn't - and exploring the Last Ditch School for the Incurably Incompetent, to which she would be sent because she, born a Double Seventh, the sventh child of two seventh children and the most magical of entities, cannot do any magic. At all. At ALL.

Until everything changes...

Who are your favorite authors and books now and when you were growing up?

Good grief, I read EVERYTHING. I blew through the kids' section of our library like a tornado, and there were always books in my house, and the rule was if I could read it and if it interested me then it was allowed. There were no restrictions. I grew up in language heaven. I could not possibly start naming all my favourite authors, the list would go on forever. I cut my teeth on authorless books - the collections of myths and legends from various sources. But when it comes to a few seminal influences - Tolkien, of course. The Narnia books. Roger Zelazny.

But also Henryk Sienkiewicz, Sigrid Undsett, John Galsworthy, Pearl Buck, Ivo Andric.

What is it about fantasy/science fiction that attracts you?

The fact that it allows for the telling of pure unvarnished truth, and because it's wrapped up in such a pretty tissue of lies and enchantment people seldom realise that the story they are reading is far more real and far more emotionally true than much of what they cling to in their "Real" worlds. I believe in fantasy. I have always thought there was a vast power in dreams.

Why did you decide to make Thea "incapable" of magic ?

Because everything has a price - as my Alphiri (a race of elves with the souls of Star Trek's Ferengi will take great pleasure in telling you). And this is a coming-of-age story, and coming of age means finding out what your values truly are, and how they shape who you are becoming. Thea's inability to to magic in the first book of the trilogy is a very important formative period for her.

What (besides writing) do you do for fun?

Heh. Reading.

Also, photography, embroidery, watching a few good shows on TV (currently - spring 2008 - "House", "Lost", "Men in Trees").

Travel.

Did I mention reading?

What are you writing now?

The new project is an adult novel inspired by Byzantium. Vastly more complex and research-intensive than the Worldweavers books were. But it's time for another of my complicated, lush, vast, broad-canvas stories - and I've already waded into this one, and it is going to be GOOD.

Did you always want to write? Or did you stumble into it? How did you get where you are now?

In order, yes, no, and I stumbled blindly along what I thought were lots of different roads but there was only one, and it led here.

I grew up in love with words - it began with the influence of my poet-Grandfather who read me his sonnets from when I was five years old and it stuck, I never could shake language from me after that, I devoured books, and I started writing my own poetry when I was six or so. I wrote my first novel at 11 (and it was horrible, and thankfully doesn't survive). I won a national writing competition back home in Yugoslavia when I was 12. I wrote the next novel at 14, and you know, it isn't half bad if I went back and tweaked the 14-year-old-ishness out of some of it. I started publishing before I was twenty - but I didn't get a "real" book published until 1995, when I was in my early thirties, and I went full-time only eight years ago. But in the meantime I managed to earn an MSc in Molecular Biology, run an allergy society professional journal, do a stint as senior editor with an educational publisher where I produced text books in subjects as widely varied as Social Studies and Mathematics, got married... lived a life.

But I am, and have always been, first and last a WRITER. That has never changed. It never will.

What does a typical writing day look like for you? How long do you write, that sort of thing?

There is no such thing as a typical writing day. The one thing that all days have in common is coffee - lots of coffee - hello, my name is Alma and I am an addict.

But the rest of it - if I am reading a research book, I am "writing" just as much as if I had my behind planted in a chair and my fingers on a keyboard. Writing is what happens in the mind, and for me it's a constant and ongoing process - putting actual words on a page is just the final installment of that process, the culminating act. THere are days when I will spend hours doing that, pouring out the words, writing up to 10 000 words a day. There are days I will go for a long walk and wrestle with a scene or a character until I can get to a point where I CAN sit down and let the words come. That's half the joy of being what I am. I have no "routine". I am responsible only to myself, my story, and my characters - and it takes however long it takes.

This isn't your first book; tell us a little bit about what else is out there?

"Spellspam" will be my ninth published book.

I started out with a collection of three fantasy short stories - much like the Oscar WIlde fairy tales, "The Nightingale and the Rose", like that - which was published by Longman UK in 1995 and STILL brings me in a trickle of royalties to this day. That was followed by "Houses in Africa", an autobiographical volume describing my growing-up years in Africa, published by a small New Zealand publisher and now out of print. That in turn was followed by an epistolary email novel called "Letters from the Fire", written in collaboration with R.A. ("Deck") Deckert, the man I subsequently married. That, too, is out of print. But then came the "Changer of Days" books - published in 2001/2002 in New Zealand, and reprinted in the US in 2005 by Eos as "The Hidden Queen" and "Changer of Days"; and my big successes, "The Secrets of Jin Shei" and "Embers of Heaven", both published by Harper Collins in their English editions and by a plethora of foreign-language publishers elsewhere.

The YA books were next, with "Gift of the Unmage" in 2007 and "Spellspam" in 2008 and "Cybermage", my jubilee tenth published book, due out in 2009.

Thank you, Alma! If you were intregued by what you read here, be sure to check out Alma's books.

A New Review: ROMANCING THE DEAD

Errant Dreams Review wrote a very lovely review of Romancing the Dead here. The book got 3.5 stars out of 5, which seems to me more than fair. The reviewer is absolutely right that the book gets off to a meandering start. If you were following this blog as I was writing Romancing the Dead, which was called various other things including Drop Dead, Gorgeous and Dead on Arousal, that book was a bear for me to write for whatever reason. I will say that when I discovered my publisher decided to print a galley and "push" this of all my books, I was a little nervous because I really don't think it's my strongest effort.

I was EXTREMELY pleased that the reviewer didn't feel as if she needed to have read either TALL, DARK & DEAD or DEAD SEXY to enjoy ROMANCING THE DEAD. I work really hard to make each book stand alone.

Away For A While

I'm off for a while. My family and I are going to be in Indiana visiting grandma and grandpa. Unfortunately, this isn't a happy visit. Grandpa has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and this is very much a "come while you can" kind of trip.

Granted, I'm typically a spotty blogger here, but if you don't see anything new from me for a while and you're wondering what's up, that's it.

Big Print Version Cover - Many Bloody Returns

This is the big print version cover for Many Bloody Returns. I have to say, being involved in this New York Times bestselling anthology has allowed me to learn things about this business I don't know that I would have otherwise. Like, big print versions get their own, different covers?

Cool!

Astro Alert: Mercury Direct!

This latest breaking planetary news is brought to you via Astrology.com:

When two important events occur close together in time, one thing is for sure: You won’t be bored! Mercury turns direct in inventive Aquarius on February 18, which means the plans and ideas you have been mulling over since January 28 -- when Mercury turned retrograde -- can now proceed. Usually you would be in full logic-mode with the Aquarian emphasis, but with a full Moon eclipse on February 20, you will feel anything but! As the emotionally intense lunar eclipse occurs in common-sense Virgo, you will be asked to maintain balance between your feelings and your analytical mind. Since Virgo is the sign of work, health and service, these themes will be especially important now. Develop and maintain a great self-care program to make the most of this period.

New Dinos!

My son would consider me deeply remiss if I din't point out that two new dinos were unearthed in the Sahara Desert according to world-science.net: Two Strange Dinos.

Many Bloody Returns News

From our editor Toni L. P. Kelner:

Just wanted to let y'all know that the Trade Paperback edition of MANY BLOODY RETURNS is scheduled for February 2009. Also, the Large Print edition of MBR will be out in March

Writing and Cats

There are a number of writing bloggers that end up writing (or taking videos) of their cats behavior as they try to write. Here's my darling, Ms. All Ball, LURKING out from behind my fancy new flat screen monitor. And see my important writing... er, wait, that's Mahjong. Oh, maybe she's not lurking so much as nagging....

Book Club Sale

My editor sent this note yesterday:

Good news, we have sold book club rights to ROMANCING THE DEAD. The advance is <$not-bad-for-this-sort-of-deal>, and it will be a featured alternate in the Rhapsody book club (May issue), and will also be used in the Doubleday Book Club (May issue) and the Science Fiction book club (June issue).

Hawk on my Boulevard

This hawk was sitting in the silver maple tree on our boulevard for about twenty minutes on Saturday afternoon. Shawn and I suspect s/he was after the pigeons that like to roost on the window above our side door and poop copiously (we've seen evidence in the past of someone's successful hunting). What was fascinating to me was how quiet the songbirds were until I accidentally scared him/her away when I went out the back to take out the garbage. It was like we all watched the hawk in silent awe, and then after s/he left suddenly there was joyous cheeping!

Perhaps you can tell by reading my books, but I love to add moments like this into my narrative. There are always animals intruding into Garnet's storylines (and not just when she's being stalked by werewolves.) I think that's because, growing up in a semi-rural middle-sized town in Wisconsin, animals were always making themselves known to me. Bats and nighthawks chased mosquitos during the summer months. Purple martins, kingfishers, egrets and red-wing blackbirds hunted the marsh. Even in the winter, when everything seems so desolate, you might see something like this awesome, predatory bird....

Periphery Available as Pre-Order/Kindle

Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures (edited by Lynn Jamneck), in which my alter-ego's short story "ishtartu" appears in, is now available for pre-sale at Amazon.com. You can purchase it either as a print version or Kindle. Also, the publisher, Lethe Press, is planning to make it available for sale in the dealer's room at WisCON this year.

Lunar Eclipse - Astro Alert

This is a little tardy, but I thought you might like to know anyway -- from Astrology.com

"Eclipses are known to be associated with dramatic events in human and earthly affairs. If you have ever seen an eclipse, you know they are quite dramatic! So, in preparation for the solar eclipse on the 6th, plan on something grabbing your attention -- but don’t think too far ahead! What you think is going to happen, often doesn’t.

We use the word ‘eclipse’ to say that one event has been overshadowed by another. Because this eclipse is occurring in Aquarius, your desire to be part of something bigger is stimulated -- whether it's a community issue, or organizations with a cause close to your heart. And, because Neptune conjuncts this eclipse, there is some uncertainty or confusion.

Ordinarily the sign Aquarius is quite logical, but with this spiritual planet’s influence, you’ll get more out of opening up to your less analytical sensibility. In addition, as this eclipse is occurring at the north node, you’ll be prompted to let go of the past and invest in your future."

"We DARE You" Contest

***Forwarded message***

'We Dare You'Romance Writing Contest 10th Anniversary Edition

Does the air above your manuscript sizzle with excitement when your heroine and hero first meet? Does your romance novel grab our attention from the start, and at the end of Page 12 leave us begging for more? Then you may be the winnerof 'We Dare You 2008'!

Visit our website www.saskromancewriters.4t.com/ for entry forms and more information on how you can join the hundreds of emerging romance authors who have entered 'We Dare You' since it began. You could win cash as well as a chance to be read by a romance editor at HQN. Every contestant also receives three detailed reader responses from our volunteer judges! Warm up your keyboards! Deadline is May 15, 2008.

Saskatchewan Romance Writers Home of the 'We Dare You' contestVisit us at: www.saskromancewriters.4t.com

Lesbian Erotica

My alter-ego has been taking over this blog a lot lately. She wants to do it again... Her short story "ishtartu" about a holy prositute will appear in this anthology (due out in time for WisCON 2008):

This is Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures edited by Lynne Jamneck and it will be published by Lethe Press. Look for it!

Captain America News

My alternate personality has begged me to post this here, since she's a huge fan. (Passed on to me by two of my fans: Betsy and Warren Urbik)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080131/ap_en_ot/people_captain_america

Marvel Comics revives Capt. America
By JOHN ROGERS, Associated Press Writer

It turns out you can't keep a good man down — or even dead and buried — when he wears a red, white and blue uniform and calls himself Captain America. Marvel Comics, which killed off the veteran superhero almost a year ago, brought him back to life Wednesday — sort of.

Captain America's alter-ego, Steve Rogers, is still resting in peace at Arlington National Cemetery, having been done in by assassins last March. But his good buddy and sidekick from the 1940s, Bucky Barnes, has picked up the bulletproof Captain America shield, put on a new uniform and taken his place.

What's that you say? Wouldn't Bucky be about 85 years old now? And without any real super powers to fall back on, isn't that kind of long in the tooth to be taking a bite out of crime? Well, yeah. But remember, this is the comic book world we're talking about. Bucky was put in suspended animation by the evil Russians (back when they were evil) and stayed that way for the better part of 60 years. "So he's probably in his late 20s right now," jokes Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada, who decided to promote him to Captain America.

Rogers' old sidekick had already returned to the Marvel pantheon of heroes some time back as the rugged Winter Soldier, redeeming himself for the years he'd spent under the control of the bad guys, who would occasionally thaw him out for evil deeds. "We were toying with the idea of someone new taking over the mantle of Captain America," Quesada said by phone from his New York office. "But we kept coming back to Bucky. Not only because he seemed such an obvious choice but especially because of the fact that when we brought him back as the Winter Soldier he was so incredibly popular." Barnes never swallowed the "Super Soldier Serum" that transformed the wimpy Rogers into the super-strong Captain America in the months before World War II. So he's at a bit of a disadvantage in his new role. But he's bulked up himself over the years, become a master at special operations and he's also packing some serious heat these days along with that mask and shield.

But forget about defeating enemies in the fantasy world. The people he will really have to win over are those notoriously finicky comic book readers. Quesada says he isn't worried, however, adding that killing off Captain America last year seemed to give him new life with readers. The editor was taken aback when newspapers even carried obituaries on the character. "Not since the 1940s have we seen Cap being this popular," he said.

Magic Moment Contest

PERMISSION TO FORWARD GRANTED

The Magic Moment Contest
Sponsored by The San Antonio Romance Authors

We want to see the pivotal, breakthrough moment from your manuscript. Entries will be in electronic format and should be no more than 20 pages in length; entries should also include a 1-2 page set-up to explain the context of the scene.

Eligibility: Entrants may be published or unpublished, but manuscript cannot be contracted for publication at the time of entry.

Entry Fees: $20 per entry for San Antonio Romance Authors members; $25 for nonmembers.

Entry Deadline: All entries and payments must be received by March 1, 2008, 12pm CST.

Judging: Three published and/or trained unpublished authors. All contestants will receive a score sheet from each judge. In addition, judges are encouraged to write comments on the manuscript.

Categories and Final Judges: Short/Long Contemporary - Susan Litman, Harlequin. Single Title - TBA. Paranormal - Hilary Sares, Editor, Kensington Books . Historical - TBA, Avon . Erotica - Raelene Gorlinski, Editor-in-Chief, Ellora's Cave.

Awards: All finalists will receive a certificate and be listed in the RWR. Winners for each category will receive a plaque and a year's electronic subscription to the San Antonio Romance Author's The Love Letter.

Questions and Entry Information: Please visit our website http://www.sararwa.net/, or contact the Contest Chairs, Beckie Ugolini> and Margaret Batschelet, at merrittcontest@sararwa.net

Astrology Alert: Mars Direct

Important planetary news from Astrology.com:

This is a dynamic, event-filled week. Begin by reviewing your ideas and plans as Mercury turns retrograde on January 28. You will find that certain circumstances or events start to snowball as Mars turns direct on January 30. Ready or not, be prepared to leap -- not look!

In particular, Mercury's placement in Aquarius promises plenty of exciting conversations. This is also the time to think outside of the box and leave any old or outmoded concepts behind. Mercury is in a trine aspect to Mars in Gemini, lending you energy and support. Just watch out for acting prematurely -- you might wind up too far ahead of yourself!

The Public Life of Writing... In My Dreams?

Do you ever dream about celebrities?

I've heard it's pretty common for some people to dream about movie and TV stars. Certainly, I've had that one about Brad Pitt (which actually included his brother Doug... have you ever seen a picture of Doug Pitt? He's actually a fairly good looking guy, but his brother is Brad Pitt, so standing next to Brad he looks like a schlub.) I've also dreamed that I was a pilot on Battlestar Galactica, complete with SciFi Channel CGI effects.

That all seems pretty normal to me.

Lately -- okay, really since becoming a science fiction professional in '01-- I've also started dreaming about, well, SF/F celebrities. Neil Gaiman visits my subconscious a lot. If you've ever been to a convention party where I'm in that sort of mood, you may have heard me tell the first rather embarrassing dream I had that involved Gaiman. It's not really repeatable here mostly because this is a public forum and I would absolutely DIE if it got back to him. But, you know, ask me if you see me and I'll happily tell you all the gory details (unless of course you happen to BE Neil Gaiman, in which case I will deny all knowledge of this).

Anyway, Gaiman has mutated over the years to represent fame -- particularly the fame I have yet to achieve. This association has been fueled by my son's strange attachment to Gaiman. When Mason was quite little, perhaps a year and a half, he imprinted on a picture of Neil that appeared on the cover of LOCUS. He actually carried it around with him and wanted us to play peek-a-boo with Gaiman's face. It was very odd, and, perhaps not surprisingly, Gaiman became a feature in my own mind as well.

My alternate personality wrote over on my LiveJournal about a dream she had last night which involved another local writing celebrity -- actually several, and that made me wonder how *I* would feel if I stumbled across a post like this where someone dreamed about ME. And it made me think about the public life of a writer in general, because, as I confess in the other post, I have created in my own mind rather complicated relationships with people I really don't know at all. But because they've achieved a certain amount of fame in our community, I react to them in ways that are fraught with meaning -- both in my real life (tm) and in dream-time.

Weird, huh?

Astro Alert: Pluto Enters Capricorn

Here's the latest, breaking planetary news from Astrology.com:

Are you ready to climb the ladder of success? How about accomplishing a long sought after goal? With transforming Pluto entering ambitious Capricorn on January 25, you will have the opportunity to achieve something valuable for yourself -- as well as for the world.In the past 13 years, while Pluto transited through Sagittarius, it was important to explore and evaluate your beliefs, morals and ethics. Now, responsibility and self-reliance should be your focus. Certainly those who know the value of hard work will be rewarded during this time. So, figure out which obstacles you're ready to face -- and overcome. There’s a big world out there with plenty of peaks to scale, just waiting for you to make your mark!

Over at SF Novelists Again

I have a very short ramble about my writing process called "Process, Oh Process" over at SF Novelists today.

Deleted Scenes

Do you ever write a scene you KNOW you're going to end up deleting for the final draft?

I did last night. Due to a bunch of circumstances I won't get into because it would reveal spoilers for the fourth book, Garnet and Sebastian end up talking about where Sebastian was during World War II. Sebastian, remember, is Austrian. As someone else in the scene points out, so was Hitler.

After a great deal of consideration about this, I decided that history is a complicated thing when you're living through it. There are, for instance, atrocities going on today that I know about. Things that history may judge to be as evil as things that went on during the Third Reich. Yet, there's only so much a human being can do, and, you don't REALLY know the extent of all that stuff until it's over and you have perspective. So, I decided that, though he wasn't expressly a NAZI, Sebastian had fought on what we would now consider "the wrong side" during WWII.

Lots of people did, after all.

And, my sketchy college courses on WWII taught me that Hitler was very attractive during the time he was alive. He was charismatic, and his policies improved Germany's crumbling economy. He also inspired a great deal of nationalistic pride. Things that are hard to resist. When the economy is good, a lot of the rest of the evils in the world, no matter how truly horrific, are easier to ignore. It's true that most of us don't give a damn until our own lives are personally affected.

I wrote a scene in which Sebastian talks about hindsight, and wishing he could change the choices he made in the past with the information gained over time. I think it's a great scene, but I don't think it'll survive the draft process.

Why?

Well, for one, I think my readers, perhaps rightly so, would rebel against the idea of a ROMANTIC hero who fought in Hitler's army, regardless of his current level of regret or the fact he never joined the NAZI party. (The scene, as written, actually has Garnet react similarly. She spends the night on the couch after Sebastian confesses this trying to deal with the loadedness of his revelation.) I think, if I left it, my editor would ask me to change or get rid of it, with the marketability of the book in mind.

Secondly, even though I think the scene is great for understanding and deepening Sebastian's character, it's not 100% necessary for the advancement of the plot.

It'll probably end up in the file I keep with all the scenes that don't make the final cut. So why not cut it now, or not write it at all? Well, that's the question isn't it? I guess for me, writing scenes like this one are part of my creative process. I need to write through it in order to get to the next moment. As I was telling Sean the other night, one of the reasons I rarely feel like I have a lot of ideas to spare (writers like to talk about having more story ideas than they have time to write, but I never have felt that way), is because I make stuff up on the fly every night. I have an outline for my Garnet Lacey books, but they don't go on a page by page level, so a lot of the interactions are, in point of fact, spontaneous. And they change the nature/feel of the novel as I write them.

Cool Octopus

My partner forwarded me this article about an octopus who loves to play with Mr. Potato Head. It's worth it for the photo alone.

F,F&F's Top Ten

Over at Fangs, Fur & Fey someone started a meme about the top ten ways you can tell this novel was written by me. I like this question because I think it gets to some of the subconscious things that crop up repeatedly in authors' fiction. I didn't go terribly deep with this list, because I think there are also usually some issues with family that come up in my books as well as moral questions, but here's what I posted to F,F&F:

1. Sex happens early. In fact, in my first novel my editor kept asking me to slow down the romance. (I guess this just means I fall into bed easily and often. Oops.)

2. People drink a lot of coffee, and a lot of the action happens in coffeeshops. (Hmmm, I wonder what I'm doing right now?)

3. A character's religion is often central to the plotline. Also, someone in the novel practices an off-beat religion/spirituality. There is also often a reference (usually a joke) regarding my religion of origin -- Unitarian Universalism.

4. There is a hidden GLBT character in every novel, usually in the background.

5. There is a character who isn't white -- usually a secondary, but important, character.

6. At some point someone speaks a language that isn't English.

7. My geek roots show. Someone (usually my resident geek boy, William,) will make a reference to gaming, comicbooks, Monty Python, Star Trek, Star Wars, or other things that demonstrate his (and consequentally my) geek cred.

8. A character listens to country western music.

9. A Wisconsin/Minnesota joke/reference is made at some point. There is a lot of talk about the weather, fish fries, beer, the movie Fargo, and other things specfic to these two states. Someone sees a cow in a field at least once a novel.

10. I describe Madison, Wisconsin as "strange and liberal," and someone takes a stroll down State Street.

So, that's me. What about you? Do you have any hidden themes in your writing you care to share? It doesn't have to be ten... name just one!

Love Scene Workshop

-------Permission to Forward------------

http://fthrw.com/workshops/

ANATOMY OF A LOVE SCENE
DATES: February 4th-17th, 2008
INSTRUCTOR: Jenna Petersen aka Jess Michaels
COST: FREE for FTHRW members, $15 for all others
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: January 30th, 2008

COURSE DESCRIPTION: Hot is well, hot, right now. But not every author is comfortable with the intricacies of sensual love scenes. In this three part presentation, sensual and erotic romance writer Jenna Petersen (Jess Michaels) breaks down the key elements a powerful love scene should contain.

Part 1: Character -- Remaining true to your characters when they take off their clothes. Virgins versus concubines and other ways to throw your hero and heroine out of character.
Part 2: Plot -- Don't lose the thread just cause they're in bed. Why the story can't stop for six pages. How to fold plot elements into your love scenes and keep the conflict and tension high. Why consummation doesn't mean the end to conflict.
Part 3: Emotion -- It's not just slots and tabs. Trust me. Exploring the love scene beyond lust to anger, fear, love and more. How tension can build to and from love scenes.
In addition, Petersen will give tips and hints on how authors can be more comfortable writing their characters in bed. Petersen will conduct Q&A and provide examples.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:Jenna Petersen started writing full-time in 1999 when her husband said, "You're only happy when you're writing, why don't you do that?" In 2004, her dream came true when her literary agent called to say she'd just sold two books to Avon. Her releases include: Scandalous (October 2005), From London With Love (August 2006) and Desire Never Dies (January 2007), Seduction is Forever (October 2007) and the upcoming Lessons from a Courtesan (August 2008). She also writes erotic romance as Jess Michaels, and helped launch the Avon Red line with her novella in Parlor Games. Her next Jess Michaels release is Something Reckless (May 2008). She's been a Bookscan and Waldenbooks Mass Market bestseller. In addition, she has run The Passionate Pen since 1999. This popular site for aspiring authors gets nearly 200,000 hits per month and contains information on literary agents, publishing houses, articles about writing and the industry, links and Jenna's Diary toward and beyond publication. You can find her at http://www.passionatepen.com/ and at http://www.jennapetersen.com/ .

Maria V. Snyder on "Mary Sue" and Armchair Adventures

Here's an interesting post from SF Novelists, in which Maria V. Snyder is "Accused of Mary Sue" and her response to it.

St. Paul is Third Most Literate City (MPLS #1)

Reported by Michele Hauf to MFW

In the fifth annual Readers' Bowl, Minneapolis, Minn., reclaimed thetitle America's Most Literate City for 2007 while Seattle, Wash., fellto the number two spot, according to<http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3618491Biz5864704> USA Today.And in what might be seen as a Twin Cities bid for national readingdominance, St. Paul, Minn., sustained its long-term momentum, having"climbed steadily, from 11th place in 2003 to third place this year."

The top 10 overall, as compiled by "researcher Jack Miller, who for fiveyears has been ranking the nation's largest cities based on theirsupport for and commitment to reading":

1. Minneapolis
2. Seattle
3. St. Paul
4. Denver
5. Washington, D.C.
6. St. Louis
7. San Francisco
8. Atlanta
9. Pittsburgh
10. Boston

The top 10 cities in the bookseller category, which ranks for every10,000 people the number of retail bookstores, number of rare and usedbookstores and number of ABA members, are:

1. Seattle
2. San Francisco
3. Minneapolis
4. Cincinnati
5. St. Louis
6. Portland, Ore.
7. Pittsburgh
8. St. Paul
9. Cleveland
10. Washington, D.C.

A complete list of the rankings is available at America's Most Literate Cities <http://news.shelf-awareness.com/ct.jsp?uz3618491Biz5864714> .http://www.ccsu.edu/amlc07/Overall_Rankings/Top10.htm Books-A-Million is opening its first store in Pennsylvania, in theFoundry at 439 Washington Road in Washington, Pa. The company said ithad decided on opening a store in the southwestern Pennsylvania town"based on its knowledge of this growing market," gained from its newstore in nearby Wheeling, W.Va.

Happy New Year

Sorry I've been MIA for a couple of days, but my internet connection has dried up (the nieghbors are on to my wifi stealing ways.) So, I only have a few minutes in the mornings to catch up on the news, etc. Even so, I wanted to take the time to wish y'all a Happy New Year!

Archangel LOL'ed

My dear friend and alternate personality had her book, Archangel Protocol, LOL'ed by Jim Hines: http://jimhines.livejournal.com/333357.html. Cool, huh?

Romance Contest -- Windy City

**permission to forward**

The Windy City Romance Writers Present the 2008 Four Seasons Awards

What to Enter: Up to the first 25 pages of your manuscript. No synopsis required.

Built-in discrepancy judging—all entries will be judged by three judges, and the lowest score will be dropped to determine final rankings

Save on paper, ink, and postage—only send three copies of your entry (only those guaranteed to be judged) and an electronic version of your entry on CD (in the event you final, we will print a copy of your entry to go to the final judges)

First-round judges: Experienced critiquers and published authors of the Windy City Romance Writers. (Only Windy City members judge this contest, and Windy City members are not eligible to enter.) Final-round judges: One editor and one agent for each category. Scores from both judges are averaged to determine the winners:

Single Title Contemporary: Lindsay Nouis, NAL
Danielle Egan-Miller, Brown & Miller Agency

Short/Long Contemporary: Diana Ventimiglia, Harlequin
Jennifer Schober, Spencerhill Associates

Historical: TBD
Kristen Nelson, Nelson Agency LLC

Fantasy/Futuristic/Paranormal: Leah Hultenschmidt, Dorchester Publishing Co.
Kelly Harms, Jane Rotrosen Agency

Winners in each category will receive an engraved plaque. All finalists will receive certificates and will be mentioned in the RWR. All contestants will receive a score sheet from each judge. In addition, judges are encouraged (but not required) to write comments on the manuscript.

Entry Deadline: March 1, 2008 (postmark date)

Questions? Visit our Website: www.windycityrwa.com or Contact Wendy Byrne, Four Seasons Contest Chairperson, WTByrne@sbcglobal.net

Erotica News

Even though this may not have a lot of cross-over appeal, I thought I should announce that Other Me got this piece of good news regarding the orphaned anthology: Periphery: Erotic Lesbian Futures. Her editor, Lynne Jamneck wrote:

"Steve Berman has just emailed me to say that Lethe Press would very much like to publish Periphery. He wants to have the anthology ready end of February, in time for WisCon 2008."

So, if you're a fan of other me's AngeLINK novels, the story she will have published there, "ishtartu," takes place in that universe, though not with any of the main characters.

Speaking of WisCON, other me just registered yesterday, so she'll be there with bells on! I, Tate, may or may not make an appearance. Depends on if I can find a good dress for the ocassion (and how this whole turning myself into Captian America thing is going.)

Astrology Alert Saturn Retrograde

It has been rightly pointed out that the below needs an atribution. It comes to me via astology.com. My deepest apologies. I almost always put this in quotes:

Saturn turns retrograde in Virgo on December 19. This is also the beginning of the end of 2007, and an ideal time for reviewing the past year’s accomplishments. Hopefully you’ve made strides toward success, or achieved your goals and have a clear sense of what’s next on your agenda for 2008!

This phase will last through May 2. Saturn's sway is even stronger in retrograde, and with the planetary ruler of discipline and responsibility peddling backward in fastidious in Virgo, you'll want to obsess over whether the plans you've laid can succeed. Don't sweat the small stuff! Do, however, take action to improve your chances for happiness and success in all your endeavors.

Saturn’s position in Virgo has been urging you to be more efficient. Can you sense the possibilities that will open up once you are more organized? Use the influence of this Saturn retrograde transit to inspire a list of prioritized goals. Then don’t be afraid to charge forward, full speed ahead!

Winter Rose Contest Published/Unpublished

***PERMISSION TO FORWARD***

Winter Rose Award for Excellence 2008: Published
Sponsor: Yellow Rose Romance Writers.
Fee: $20
Postmark Deadline: January 25, 2008
Eligibility: PAN or PAN Eligible.
Enter: romance novels published in 2007.

Categories: RS, paranormal, ST contemporary, historical, series contemporary, inspirational. Final judges: booksellers, readers groups, & librarians. Top Prize: silver rose pendant. FMI, entry form, and rules {www.yellowroserwa.com}

Winter Rose Award for Excellence 2008: Unpublished
Sponsor: Yellow Rose Romance Writers.
Fee: $30
Postmark Deadline: January 25, 2008
Eligibility: not published in book-length fiction.
Enter: prologue/first chapter (25 pages max).

Categories: RS, paranormal, ST contemporary, historical, series contemporary. Final judges: editors. Top prize: partial read by agent, cash prize and silver rose pendant. FMI, entry form, and rules {www.yellowroserwa.com}

****

Get Outta That Slump! An On-Line Course

***Permission to Forward***

Celtic Hearts Romance Writers Academy announces an upcoming online workshop for January.

Workshop Title: Guerilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump
Presenter: Lori Wilde
Date: Jan. 2 - Jan. 16, 2008

Description: Have you been writing a long time and while you've received some recognition for your work you're just not getting the attention you deserve? Or, were you published once, then found yourself without a publisher and now you can't get break back in? Or are you currently published but your career seems to be barely bumping along?

This workshop is designed provide answers to those questions and catapult you onto the publishing fast track. Guerilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump will illustrate exactly what's holding you back and keeping you from being the writer you're truly meant to be.

Topics covered include
1. Identifying What's Holding You Back
3. Shifting Your Writing into High Gear
4. Toughing the Mind of the Writer Warrior
5. Toughing the Body of the Writer Warrior
6. Honing Your Battle Plan

About the presenter: Lori Wilde has written forty-one novels for three major New York Publishing houses. She holds a bachelors degree in nursing from Texas Christian University and a certificate in forensics. She volunteers as a sexual assault first responder for Freedom House, a shelter for battered women.

Recently, she received a two book contract from Warner books based solely on a 25 word 'high concept' pitch. When the sale-along with the pitch-was announced on Publisher's Marketplace, she was approached by eight film production companies-including Paramount and Warner Brothers-interested in optioning her completed novel for a movie. She is an instructor for a company who provides online community education to over 1500 colleges and universities.

Lori is a past RITA finalist and has four times been nominated for Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award. She's won the Colorado Award of Excellence, the Wisconsin Write Touch Award, The Golden Quill, the Lories, and The More than Magic. Her books have been translated into 22 languages and excerpted in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Complete Woman, and Quick and Simple magazines. She lives in Texas with her husband, Bill.

Her website: http://www.loriwilde.com/

Deadline to sign up: Dec. 29, 2007
Fee: $10 CHRW members; $15 non-members.
RWA Membership isn't required; anyone can take our courses. Celtic Hearts members receive 2 free workshops a year.
Where to sign up: http://www.celtichearts.org/chwksp.html
Please fill out the online form.

Still Learning

Perhaps obviously from all the posts here, I send stuff in to any romance contest that accepts published writers. It's always a very strange experience when I get the score sheets back when my novel didn't make the cut (which is, btw, ninety percent of the time.)

A couple of days ago, I got one that fascinated me. One of the judges heaped on praise, including making a point of noting that she felt that I'd handled, of all things, dialogue tags effectively -- specifically not over doing the adverbs describing how people are talking, i.e, "he said angrily." She said that she was impressed that I allowed the dialogue to imply how things were said.

The other judge also made an issue of my dialogue. She, however, had problems with it. She thought that I had a tendency to over do my dialogue tags. I'd have people using the other conversant's name in dialogue and then also use the speaker's name, i.e, "You're being stupid, Garnet," Sebastian said -- even when there's only two speakers in the room.

Yeah, I do that. I'm going to be willful and say that even though I think I'm going to start paying attention to how MUCH I do it, I'll probably continue to do it at times. The reason I do it is simple: people talk like that. Or, at least, *I* do. I use a person's name in coversation, even when there's just two of us, for emphasis. Particularly when we're talking about something sensitive, I'll use the other person's name: "You know I'm right, Shawn." (To which, in real life, she'd reply, "Like hell, Tate.")

I use it also because I'm writing in first person. It's a very quick way to introduce the main character's name -- full name, when it's otherwise quite awkward to try to work in, as most people don't think to themselves, "I, Garnet Lacey, considered kissing my vampire lover, Sebastian Von Traum, on the lips!"

But if you're mad at someone, you might do a parent thing -- using someone's full name to show the level of trouble they're in -- and say, "Stop singing that annoying song, Garnet Lynn Lacey."

Even though I'm a bit defensive about my use of names in dialogue between two people, I'm now paying attention. I think that the worst thing that can happen to an author is when they think they've learned everything there is to know about writing and stop paying attention.

So I'm awake now. And that's a good thing.

Romance Contest: Between the Sheets

***permission to forward***

WHERE DOES THE HEART OF A BOOK LIE? IN THE FIRST CHAPTER? OR BETWEEN THE SHEETS?

Announcing the Greater Detroit RWA annual Between the Sheets contest. Enter your best love scene, up to 10 pages - anything from sweet to erotic.

Final judges: Leah Hultenschmidt, Dorchester; Diana Ventimiglia, Harlequin/Silhouette; Elaine English, Elaine P. English Literary Agency

1st Place: $100; 2nd Place: $50; 3rd Place: $25

Open to all RWA members unpublished in book-length fiction, $20 entry fee, multiple submissions allowed. Deadline: February 14, 2008. Entry includes one page unjudged setup. For more information, entry form, and guidelines,go to www.gdrwa.org or email eheiter@hotmail.com.

On-Line Class: Taxes for Writers (Hobbist, Semi-Pro, & Pro)

The Online Campus of Hearts through History Romance Writers Present

Class: Everything You Never Wanted To Know About Taxes
Instructor: Diane O'Brien, CPA/Attorney At Law/Writer
Dates: January 6, 2008-January 31, 2008
Registration Deadline: January 6, 2008
Fee: $10/HHRW Members, $20/others
Registration: www.heartsthroughhiRegistrat (click on HHRW Mall, then CampusFMI: _classes@heartsthrouclasses@hecla_(mailto:classes@heartsthroughhistory.com)

Class Description: Do the letters I-R-S strike fear in your heart? Are you confused about how to report your income and deductions? Have no ideas what records to keep? This class is for you! This informative yet surprisingly entertaining class will address critical tax issues for both the beginning and experienced writer, including: (1) the myth of the "Hobby Loss" rule; (2) federal income tax forms relating to your writing business and how to properly prepare the forms; (3) business expense deductions, including the options available and the pros and cons of each option; (4) self-employment taxes - what they are, how to compute them, and when they are due; (5) red flags to be aware of; (6) record keeping for your writing business; (7) whether incorporating is right for you; (8) state sales tax issues; (9) setting up a retirement for your writing business. You'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about taxes in this useful online seminar. What's more, you'll get to pick the brain of an experienced CPA/tax attorney without incurring outrageous fees! And, don't forget, the class fee is tax deductible!

BIO: Diane O'Brien Kelly is a CPA and tax attorney with almost two decades experience in federal and state taxation. She spent several years with international accounting firm KPMG Peat Marwick, and has also served as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas. Diane currently works asa tax attorney in Fort Worth. Diane writes humor and romantic comedies, as well as an occasional article on taxation when she's feeling exceptionally boring. Her work has been published in Writer's Digest Yearbook, the Romance Writers Report, Byline magazine, True Love magazine, the Fort Worth Business Press, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and Northwest Family News. She is a tax columnist for Nink,the newsletter of the writers'group Novelists, Inc. Diane publishes a new short humor piece each month on the "Blarney" page ofher page of her website, , www.dianeobrien taxtips on her "Tax Tidbits" page. She distributes a quarterly newsletter, "The Blarney Blub," which is chock full of great tax advice. Diane speaks on taxation for writers and teaches a Writer's Workshop at her local rec center. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Dallas Area Romance Authors. Diane lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area with her husband, two children, and enough cats and dogs to violate several city ordinances.

Format: Course is conducted via Yahoo Groups email with lessons and Q & A. FMI:mailto:classes@heartsthroughhistory.com), http://www.dianeobrienkellwebsite

OMG! My Life List Has Expanded!

Do I need to say more???

Mason and I, who have been playing the license plate game for nearly a year now, have finally seen all 50 states (as well as several Canadian provences.) Mason and I spotted the elusive WV license plate at the Mall of America in the "Florida" level parking lot on the east side. It was a truly momentous moment. We parked as soon as we could, and then ran out to see it up close and touch it. It was on a silver mustang. Then, we did the happy dance of joy.

My life is, in one small way, more complete.

Tarot Card Plotting : An On-Line Course

***Permission to forward***

The Online Campus of Hearts through History Romance Writers Present

Class: Plotting with Tarot Cards

Instructor: Elizabeth Delisi
Dates: January 7, 2008-January 21, 2008
Registration Deadline: January 7, 2008
Fee: $10/HHRW Members, $20/others
Registration: www.heartsthroughhiRegistrat (click on HHRW Mall, then CampusFMI: _classes@heartsthrouclasses@hecla_(mailto:classes@heartsthroughhistory.com)

Class Description: Are you looking for new ways to breathe life into your outlining process, your plots, your characters? If so, have we got the course for you! Elizabeth Delisi, a.k.a. Madame Liz, will teach you how to use the ancient art of the Tarot to develop stories, plots and subplots, heroes, heroines and villians, and more. You'll learn the history of the Tarot, how to choose a deck, how to read the cards, and how to use those readings to develop and improve your writing. There will be four lectures, four assignments to be posted to the list for all to comment on, and naturally all questions will be answered. Lecture One: History of the Tarot, and Choosing a Deck; Lecture Two: How to read Tarot; Lecture Three: Using Tarot to Develop a Plot; Lecture Four: Creating Characters with Tarot.

BIO: Elizabeth Delisi has wanted to be a writer since she was in first grade, and probably would have written in the womb if she could have convinced her mother to swallow a pencil. But life hasn't always gone the way she planned, and on her road to publication she worked as a motel maid, waitress, secretary, administrative aide, substitute teacher, and newspaper reporter. Elizabeth's novels include a FATAL FORTUNE, first in the Lottie Baldwin paranormal mystery series; LADY OF THE TWO LANDS, a time-travel romance; and SINCE ALL IS PASSING, a suspense. She's written contemporary and paranormal romance novellas for ONE TOUCH BEYOND; ENCHANTED HOLIDAYS:HOLIDAY HEARTS; HOLIDAY HEARTS 2:and CUPID'S CAPERS, and has also published two short story collections, MIRROR IMAGES and FENUMBRA. In addition to her writing, Elizabeth edits for several small publishers and individuals, and teaches online writing courses for Writer's Digest. Elizabeth lives in New Hampshire with her husband, dog and cat. She enjoys hearing from her readers at_elizabeth@elizabethelizabeth@_ (mailto:elizabeth@elizabethdelisi.com) and invites everyone to visit her website at www.elizabethdelisivisit

Format: Course is conducted via Yahoo Groups email with lessons and Q & A. FMI: _classes@heartsthrouclasses@hecla_(mailto:classes@heartsthroughhistory.com)

LOCUS Bestseller (Hardback!!!)

Hey, I just found out through the vampire underground that Many Bloody Returns made the LOCUS bestseller list for December. Whoot! We also, apparently, are going to have Polish and German editions of the book. Go us!

English 101 On-Line Course

**Permission to Forward**

The Fiction Writer's Self-Editing Workshop

Instructor: Rhonda Stapleton
Dates: January 14 - 28, 2008
Cost: $20

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: Do you find yourself overwhelmed by confusing grammar, punctuation, and editing rules? Don't despair! The Fiction Writer's Self-Editing Workshop is the place for you. Whether you're a beginning writer or seasoned author, you can learn simple, straight forward tips for self-editing. Topics discussed include punctuation use, point of view, trimming the fat, using concrete/vivid language, frequent errors, style tips, breaking the rules, and more! The course is highly interactive - students will get hands-on editing experience, as well as practice through assigned homework. Students will also receive a list of helpful editing/style books and websites for a reference guide.

INSTRUCTOR'S BIO: Rhonda Stapleton obtained her Master's degree in English from Cleveland State University. She has a Bachelor's degree in English from CSU, as well. Rhonda is a Principal Editor at Thomson West, a legal publishing company, where she has worked for the last five years. In addition, she has freelance edited novels, theses, student papers, and a college writing textbook. While attending Cleveland State, Rhonda worked in The Writing Center for two years as a writing tutor for undergraduate and graduate students. She also taught ENG 105 and ENG 106, college credit courses that give students hands-on tips for writing papers, from brainstorming topics to self-editing. The courses correlate with introductory composition courses ENG 101 and ENG102.

Full details and registration at the Heart of Dixie website,<http://www.heartofdixie.org/> www.heartofdixie.org. Questions: Contact the Coordinator at <mailto:online@heartofdixie.org>online@heartofdixie.org

Romance: The Basics On-Line Class

***Permission to Forward***

January 7-February 1, 2008
The Basics of Writing the Romance Novel
Instructor: Terry Irene Blain
Cost: $25.00 payable by PayPal
Deadline to Register: January 2nd
Go to http://pasic.net/classes.html for more information and to register.

This class will cover the basics of writing the romance novel for the student interested in starting a novel or who has started a novel. The class consists of eight lessons and interactive homework assignments which will introduce the writer to the tools needed to become a successful novelist.

Lesson 1: Character, Conflict and Motivation. How to construct your character, the conflict that will drive your story andthe motivations of your character
Lesson 2: Plot: A look at several methods of plotting, their strengths and weakness. Suggestions of films to watch in preparation for Lesson 3
Lesson 3: Plot and Character in Action: Taking the information from the first two lessons and see how the ideas of character, conflict, motivation and plot are portrayed in the films suggested in Lesson 2.
Lesson 4: Think Guide: Questions you need to think about and ask yourself before you start your own story. Or, if you've already started, how to check to see if you're on the right path.
Lesson 5: Point of View: What it is and how it's used.
Lesson 6: Hooks: How to open you story, the key to getting an agent's or editor's attention. Chapter hooks, how to keep them reading.
Lesson 7: Dialog and Show Don't Tell: Some important tools of the trade
Lesson 8: Synopsis, ms. formatting, word count, query and submissions. Tools you'll need to sell your ms.

About the Instructor: Terry Irene Blain was lucky enough to grow in a large Midwestern family witha rich oral tradition. As a child she heard stories of ancestor's adventures with Indians, wild life and weather so naturally she gravitated to the study of history. She holds a BA and MA in history as well as a BA in european studies and had taught history at the college level. Her first published romance, KENTUCKY DREAM, finaled in the Golden Quill 2000 contest in both Best Historical and Best First Book category, winning Best First Book. Learn more at her web site: www.terryblain.com

Deadline to Register: January 2nd

Go to http://pasic.net/classes.html for more information and to register.

Golden Heart Prep Contest

***Permission to Forward***

North Texas RWA's Great Expectations Contest

Is your manuscript polished and off to the Golden Heart? Just have a polished first chapter? Well, have we got a GREAT contest for you !! Lots of feedback, category-specific score sheets, a super-fast turn-around,electronic or paper entries accepted.

Deadline = December 29th
enter = 25 pages & a query letter
fee = $25.00
judges = Contemporary Series: Megan Long with Harlequin Books, Erotic Romance: Raelene Gorlinksky with Ellora's Cave, Historical: Tessa Woodward with Avon Books, Inspirational: Melissa Endlich with Harlequin Books, Mainstream w/ Romantic Elements: Liza Schartz with NAL, Romantic Suspense: Allison Bandau with Berkley/Jove, Single Title: An editor TBD with Grand Central Publishing(formerly WarnerBooks,) Special (FFPTT): Chris Keeslar with Dorchester Publishing, Young Adult: Karen Chaplin with Puffin/Speak Books.

For detailed information, check out:http://www.ntrwa.org/

Kindle Concerns

There's been a bit of on-going discussion about Amazon.com's new e-book reader "Kindle." I discovered my book Tall, Dark & Dead is available in Kindle format. When I expressed some concern about this on BroadUniverse, I got a lot of confused looks, electronically speaking. When I asked if I was going to "get any money" for this, people patiently explained to me the Kindle was new technology and that OBVIOUSLY I wouldn't know if I was going to make a profit on it until I got my royalty statement.

Here's my reply: That's not how things normally work. When SF BookClub, for instance, wants to change the format of my book, i.e. publish its own version, they pay Penguin USA a fee UP FRONT -- an advance -- for the rights to do this. A percent of this advance is credited to my royalties. Any time anyone changes the format of my book (audio, book club, e-book), Penguin should get an advance BEFORE they make that new format available.

Of course, I may see royalties from the sale of my books on Amazon.com the same way I see royalties from any bookseller. But, think about it. If Uncle Hugo's decided to make an audio book of Tall, Dark & Dead available to their customers, Penguin USA would sue their a**es. Uncle Hugo's, though they have copies of the book laying around that they paid for, doesn't have the right to do anything but sell them in the format they bought them in. Can you imagine if SF Bookclub (or, let's say, I) said to themselves, "Hey, I know let's make an e-book of this book I bought at the store today. I'll just scan the pages here and I'm golden. I'll put it up on the web. Anyone can buy it."

That is exactly what Amazon.com did.

Penguin owns the right to all formats that my book could potentially appear in (book club, audio, e-book, etc.), in order to stop people from just randomly making their own versions available. Amazon.com, as far as I understand it, certainly never paid Penguin an advance, because I'd have heard about it from my agent. This is the money I'm talking about.

It's not greed that makes me concerned, although I would expect to see some profit from any format change. If Bob Smith wants to sit down with Audacity and make a audio version of my book, I think he'd get sued for copyright infringement, which this is. Bob Smith doesn't have the right to SELL my book in any format other than the one Penguin Putnam produced (or any other publisher who bought those rights from Penguin.) And, Penguin doesn't have to wait for Bob Smith to make a profit. They should be paid in advance of publication of the new format. Period.

Kudos to Minnesota!

(December 6, 2007) — Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra today received a Grammy Award nomination for their acclaimed recording of Beethoven’s Ninth (Choral) Symphony, the third release in a five-disc cycle of the Beethoven Symphonies recorded on the BIS label. The nomination, the Orchestra’s first during Vänskä’s four-year tenure as music director, comes in the Best Orchestral Performance category. A full list of nominees is available at the Grammy Awards website, grammy.com.

So....

My alternate personality has just joined Facebook, and I'm planning to open up an account for myself. However, my alternate personality just got bitten by a werewolf, and I'm wondering if any of you out there know if you can chose to join the game or does it have to be random? Thing is, I think it would be cool, of course, to become a vampire. Anyone willing to help me out?

OnLine Class: Productivity

Online class: January 2-31, 2008
"Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors: Allow Writing Productivity & Creativity To Soar"
by Margie Lawson
Registration $30 at www.WriterUniv.com/

Check out the new, expanded version of DSDB. It's Margie Lawson's popular and successful course with FIVE NEW TOPICS: The Power of Sleep, Stretch Breaks, Blasting Writer's Block, Optimizing Productivity, and . . . Simple Self-Hypnosis.

What's preventing your success? Thoughts? Behavior? Low energy? Procrastination? Perfectionism? Overdoing? Counter-productivity? Negative self-talk? Disorganization? Time mismanagement? Unrealistic expectations? Defeat your self-defeating behaviors with this one-month mental boot-camp. You'll explore the new topics, plus the list below, and more!

* Address the three fears that paralyze writers:
* Analyze yourself: Strengths, Weaknesses,Opportunities, Threats
* Challenge your internal dialogue
* Redirect resistance and manage your moods
* Duct-tape your Inner Critic
* Protect your priorities
* Practice Conscious Competence
* Apply Margie's DUH Plan

Margie Lawson’s resume includes counseling psychologist, college professor, hypnotherapist, and keynote speaker. Margie analyzes writing craft as well as the psyche of the writer. She presents 1) Empowering Characters’ Emotions, 2) Deep Editing: The EDITS System, Rhetorical Devices & More, and 3) Defeat Self-Defeating Behaviors in full-day master classes internationally. For more information, visit www.MargieLawson.com.

***OKAY TO FORWARD***

Submission call for Traps and Terrible Beauty

From Broad Universe:

Scott T. Goudsward and Lisa Manetti are editing two upcoming anthologies for Dark Hart Press. His is called "Traps" and hers is called "Terrible Beauty."

Each anthology pays $.01 per word up to 7,000 words. Story length is 1,000 to 7,000 words. Submissions close on 12/31/07 for both anthologies.

More information and guidelines can be found on the website for Dark Hart Press at http://www.darkhart.com A little more information... Dark Hart is owned by three women. They're a new press, but they are getting a ton of great exposure in horror circles, at the moment, and they hit a lot of east-coast cons to try and keep that rolling. They take all sorts of dark fiction (dark fantasy, science fiction, horror,cross-genre romance but not erotica). They are actively seeking novels, as well as anthology shorts. Strangely, they seem to get a lot of novels from male authors but anthologies have some women submitting. One of the owners, Pam Marin-Kingsley, and one of her authors, John Dimes, can be seen here with Judy Comeau (Tombkeeper) for Count Gore's show... http://www.countgore.com/Vault.htm. Reviews of three of their first four stand-alone books can be found at http://www.countgore.com/Tomb.htm

On-Line Query Letter Workshop

***PERMISSION TO FORWARD***

Announcing the Heart of Carolina Romance Writer's January Online Workshop: Query Letters That Sell and Submission Packages That Shout, "Buy Me!"

Instructor: Julie Rowe
When: January 1-31, 2008
Cost: $15 for HCRW and CRW Members, $20 for All Others

SPEAKER BIO: A double Golden Heart finalist in 2006, Julie Rowe has had multiple requests for full or partial manuscripts from editors and agents from her query letters and has also sold many magazine articles from a query letter. Her work has been published in a variety of publications including the Fort McMurray Today newspaper, Today's Parent magazine, Reader's Digest (Canada), Writer's Digest, Canadian Living, the Romance Writer's Report and various RWA chapter newsletters.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: This workshop will focus on writing fiction query letters from both a romance writer and magazine freelancer's perspective. Participants will be coached on how to turn their fiction query letter into an effective sales pitch, their cover letter into a fabulous calling card and their submission package into one that stands out from the crowd. Topics covered by this class will include:

What is a query letter?
Elements of a good query.
Start with your title.
Your writing credentials.
The pitch.
Endings & pulling it all together.
Query letter checklist & presentation tips.
I got a request for a partial/full - now what?
Cover letters.
The submission package.
Interpreting rejection and revision letters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Cost for the workshop is $15 for HCRW and Carolina Romance Writers members, $20 for all others. The workshop will run from January 1-31. Registration deadline is December 27th. Once registered, you will be subscribed to the workshop loop prior to and for the duration of the class. To register, please visit the HCRW website at: www.heartofcarolina.org and click on the Online Workshops page. You may pay by check made out to HCRW or by credit card (via Paypal on the site). PLEASE NOTE: You do not need a PayPal account to use PayPal and you may pay by credit card through PayPal. However, if you want to join this class, but prefer to pay by check or money order, please print the registration form and sendy our check or money order made payable to HCRW to: HCRW Online, PO Box 80412, Raleigh, NC 27623.

You may contact the coordinator at : HCRWonline@heartofcarolina.org with questions. If you pay for a workshop and do not receive an invitation to join the workshop loop by the first of the month, please contact Elizabeth at HCRWonline@heartofcarolina.org. Cancellation and refund policy: No registration fees will be refunded. All payments for a workshop must be received by the registration cut off date. Late payments can be applied to a future workshop of the applicant's choosing. If a workshop does not have 10 students enrolled by the first of the month, the workshop will be canceled and registration fees will be applied to a future workshop of the applicant's choosing. Hope to see you in class!

Laura Maldonado
Heart of Carolina Romance Writers ~ RWA Chapter 114

Asto Alert: Uranus Direct

This breaking astrological news from Astrology.com:

Uranus turns direct on November 24, triggering a powerful time known for change and surprising events. With Uranus, planet of liberation and freedom from earthly bonds, straightening out its course just hours before the full Moon, your need for independence and freedom will be heightened. Remember to honor your emotions, but keep the feelings of others in mind as well. While change is in the air, remain flexible as you ride out this roller coaster of a transit. Now is the time to break free of routines and patterns that no longer fit, trusting that the new pieces of your life will settle later.

SF&F Prose Poetry/Flash Fiction Contest

This one from BroadUniverse:

Odyssey Con, a science fiction convention in Madison, WI, is sponsoring a contest for 500 words or less, paragraph form, to be judged by Bruce Boston. Preliminary details can be viewed at http://fibitz.com/oddcontest.html. $500 to winner; $10 entry fee. PayPal should be available on the OddCon site by December 1, but you can also mail a check or money order.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Over the weekend, I turned forty.

I spent birthday-actual driving back from a visit with the in-laws in Indiana. As I told Shawn when we arrived home, "You know how you sometimes have birthdays and you don't feel a day older? I definitely feel forty after driving nine and a half hours."

Today is birthday-observed. It's been spotty so far, though in a fit of retail therapy I bought a terrarium. It is now the home for a slug which Mason and I discovered crawling on the sidewalk this morning. We were on Summit Avenue, strolling around looking at the beautiful houses there (and surreptitiously hoping that "Mr. Cat" -- a cat we've seen several times before -- would come out and follow us down the street in his usual way.) Shawn also took Mason and I out for lunch, and now in a few minutes I'm going to be headed off to the gym to work out. Much fun!

Romance Contest

***Permission to forward***

Chicago North RWA's 10th Annual Fire and Ice
Contest Fee: $25/RWA Members - $30/non-RWA Members
Postmark deadline: February 1, 2008
Eligibility: Not published in book-length fiction in last 5 years.
Enter: prologue/first chapter (25 pages max.)

Categories/Final Judges: Historical: Hilary Sares, Kensington, Mainstream Fiction with Strong Romantic Elements: Allison Brandau, Berkeley, Paranormal: Nephele Tempest, Knight Agency, Series Contemporary: Gail Chasan, Silhouette Special Edition, Single Title Contemporary: Scott Eagan, Greyhaus Literary Agency Young Adult: Michelle Andelman, Andrea Brown Agency

Top prize: $30.

Winners announced at Chicago North's Spring Fling Conference chicagospringfling.com. All entries come from outside Chicago North RWA. FMI, entry form, and rules contest@chicagonorthrwa.org, www.chicagonorthrwa.org

Astro Alert: Mars Retrograde Today!!!!

This important announcement from Astrology.com:

Does it seem more difficult than usual to find forward momentum? Do you feel like you are trying to move a mountain? Whether it is a cause that is close to your heart, a relationship or a project that you would like to advance, it's time to put on the brakes, slow down and make a U-turn, as Mars turns retrograde starting November 15.

Mars turns retrograde once every two years. And when it does, as with any retrograde period, it's time to review events already set in motion. Since Mars is going retrograde in the emotionally intense water sign Cancer, make sure you pay attention to your feelings, including instincts and hunches. Actions are now governed by your heart and gut, rather than by logic. If something doesn’t feel right to you, stop, review and make necessary corrections. Remember to pace yourself, since you will be in the review process until January 30 of next year! That’s plenty of time to prepare for putting plans into action once Mars turns direct.

Workshop: Enlivening a Scene (Romance)

***Permission to forward***

Outreach International presents:

TITLE: Breathing Life Into A Scene
DATE: December 10 - December 14, 2007
INSTRUCTOR: Beth Cornelison
COST: $10 Outreach Members/Others $20
Deadline to receive application and payment: December 7, 2007

For more information on this class or to register go to: http://www.oirw.net/campus/currentcourselist.htm

Course Description:"Breathing Life Into A Scene" offers a step by step approach to layering vivid details about setting, emotion and character into each scene you write. Silhouette Romantic Suspense author Beth Cornelison will show you how to select the right details and character-specific information to place your reader in the scene and make a powerful impression, without bogging down your pace. Elements discussed include environment, setting, costume, five senses, physical presence, mood and emotion. The workshop helps writers select the best details to support their story, weave it in through character perceptions, and avoid slowing the pace with unneeded information or overlong description. Well-chosen description can make your writing come alive and lift your manuscript out of the slush pile!

Bio: Three-time Golden Heart finalist, Beth Cornelison received her degree in Public Relations from the University of Georgia. She debuted with Silhouette Intimate Moments in April 2005 and her June 2006 release, IN PROTECTIVE CUSTODY, won the Golden Heart in 2001 and received a Top Pick from Romantic Times. In September 2006, she made her hard cover debut with Five Star Expressions with CHASING A DREAM. Her latest book from Silhouette Romantic Suspense, DANGER AT HER DOOR, was released in August 2007. Beth has served as the conference coordinator and contest coordinator for her local RWA chapter and has presented workshops to numerous conferences across the country. Mrs. Cornelison lives in Louisiana with her husband and son.

Re-Direct: Analysis of Successful Openings

Thanks to one of my students (Gary) who found this post over at Slushmaster's LJ: It Came From the Slush... And Survived! Interesting stuff.