So, I learned a shocking truth the other day: Fresca is a diet soda. Okay, this might not be news to you (or anyone who actually, y’know read the label) but it was a revelation to me. I’ve been drinking Fresca for years and feeling guilty because of all that sugar only, as it turns out, there is no sugar. D’oh. Now I have to learn to not feel guilty about drinking Fresca. Something I just took for granted as true isn’t. Which got me to thinking: what if there are other facts out there that really aren’t facts?

Like, if you go out in the cold and wet you will catch a cold. Or, if you eat before swimming you’ll get a cramp and drown. Or, if you shave your arm hair, it will grow back in thicker. I learned this last “fact” from my bestest friend, Heather, at the age of eleven. Actually, looking back on my childhood, Heather was the source of much apocryphal information.

Other cultures have wrong “facts” too. I’ve heard that in Russia it’s thought that you can catch a cold by drinking chilled drinks. And that if a young woman sits on cold concrete she’ll become infertile. These “facts” seem obviously wrong–even silly–to us, but have you ever tried arguing against a cultural “fact”? Usually the believer will look at you with pity for your ignorance.

After all, everyone knows that if you cross your eyes.

Cheers!
Elizabeth
www.elizabethhoyt.com
www.juliaharper.com

Today, at last, I’ve finished with all the tweaks and polishing of Taking Care of Business - the erotic romance I c-wrote with Megan Hart. There was a kefuffle between our own documents, google document where we’d been working together and at last when I imported it back to Word. But it’s done and nicely ahead of schedule, too!

Each book is its own journey and I have to say, Kate (my heroine) was hard to learn at first. Part of it was that I’d been interrupted a dozen times so each time I had to put the story aside to finish up something else, I had to re-learn her all over again. But each story has a sweet spot, at least for me. And that sweet spot is like an epiphany. All the sudden it’s clear - whatever it is that’s been lacking. You see it. You know your hero, or your heroine. You finally get what her big problem is, or you know what happened to him in the past and why it’s making him a jerk now, or whatever.

It’s not necessarily writing blind - it’s like tasting the book and suddenly the full bouquet of it comes to you and it’s so vivid. I love that moment! Sometimes it doesn’t even come to me when I’m writing. I can be driving and see something out the window or hear a song on the radio or it comes to me while ironing. With Tri-Mates I had no real outline, I just had the idea of this tri mate bond thing and started writing (the concept came to me when I was writing Enforcer but I don’t do brother menages) and I’d planned on making Tracy good friends with Sarah, the Alpha female of her new Pack. but suddenly Tracy and Nick were fighting about Sarah and Sarah was not the character I’d imagined. She was such a fun villain to write because she was so totally unexpected. The whole money laundering storyline was something that just fell into my head as I was writing the first scene at the Pacific Pack House.

Other times, I plot very carefully and follow the synopsis I craft. But even then I still have the epiphany moment at some point or other. Because for me, the process is a surprise. I love that! I love that I find new things I hadn’t even imagined no matter how much planning I do. And sometimes I have to go back and re-craft something, other times it changes the ending a bit. It’s flying through my brain fast and furious or slow and sensual but it’s part of me and I couldn’t ask for a job I loved more.

I’ve been asked more than once where I get my ideas.  The other day someone asked me where I came up with the idea for Cosmic Sex and what exactly it was like to have Cosmic Sex.  Being very serious (if you know me, that might be a stretch for you)…okay, being very serious, I looked them straight in the eye and told them that Karl (hubby) is really an alien and many years ago he abducted me.  After he got me to his planet, we had wild cosmic sex and he realized he couldn’t live without me so he moved to planet Earth.

With eyes as big as saucers (note the pun), she said, “Really?”

Karl has been asking me if I’ve noticed that people in town are looking at him kind of strangely.  I told him it’s the new haircut and not to worry about it.

I went into the Bread & Butter store the other day to get a Dr. Pepper before heading to a meeting and the girl behind the counter said, hello Ms Karen.  She always calls me Ms. Karen and I think it’s so cute.  I guess she’s probably about 24.  Anyway, when I went to pay out she turned beat red and told me she’d read one of my books.  Then she said Karl must be a really lucky man.  Not really.  I’m usually writing or reading and he falls asleep early, but I smiled and told her, “No, I’m a lucky woman.”

Karl came in the house the other day.  He’d made a run to the Bread and Butter for milk.  He said a bunch of the regulars were sitting around at the table drinking coffee (we live in a really small town in Texas) anyway, they started calling out how he was the man and nodding at him. 

I told him I wouldn’t worry about it.  They’d probably seen him outside with his new mower.

Poor Karl doesn’t have a clue, but I love him anyway. 

Have a fun day!

Karen Kelley

Hi! I thought this would be useful for those of you who are aspiring authors and/or are writing your own book.

The idea behind this worksheet is to really get to know your characters inside and out. By answering these questions in as much detail as you can, as well as any others you think of, will ultimately cause you to see your story from several angles and possibly show you various outcomes that you hadn’t thought of. Print several of these up and get a notebook to keep them in. If you are creating a series these are great to use to look back on as you generate each new book.

This worksheet is as effective with single titles, too, because they really do teach you about your character.

Name:

Age:

Sex:

Where did he/she grow up?

What was their childhood like?

Who was/is their best friend? Why? What is this person like?

What were/are their parents like?

What is the relationship like with their parents now?

Who was/is their biggest positive influence and why?

Who was/is a major negative influence and why?

Are they religious? What are their God beliefs?

What is their astrological sign? (This is a good one to know and read their horoscopes. It can really give you some insight into their life and who they are. Get a good book on signs. You can also do this with their relationship signs. There is a book called Love Signs out there that tells you who is compatible or not and why.

What was/is their favorite book?

What was/is their favorite movie/TV Show?

What is their favorite food?

What is their favorite drink?

Do they have pets?

Do they have kids?

How is their health?

What is their favorite scent?

What type of skeletons are hiding in their closet?

What is their personality like? Are they conservative? Funny? Smart?

What is their politics?

How much schooling did they go through?

What are their goals? Motivations? Where do they want to be in six months, a year, five years, etc?

What is important to them? Their values? Ethics?

Do they like to travel? Where to? Favorite places?

What is their fondest memory and worst memory?

What are their accomplishments?

What are their regrets?

You can think of many more questions to ask your character to fill in his/her bio. Think about what you would like to know about someone you are interested in knowing. What would you want to know about that person? What would make you really know that person?

Coming this Sunday, PBS’s Masterpiece Theater has given me another reason why I have stipulated that upon my untimely demise all my diaries and letters be burned. Just read this:

Based on the life and letters of Jane Austen, Miss Austen Regrets tells the story of the novelist’s final years, examining why, despite setting the standard for romantic fiction, she died having never married or met her own Mr. Darcy.

Yikes. Was she really unhappy? If I continue to remain unmarried will people wonder why I never met the men I created in my books? Will they look towards the childhood longings of middle school, my high school crush, the ex-model or the wealthy businessman I dated and think that I may have regretted forgoing marriage or life time partnership?

A rich, emotional life on the page is drastically different than real life. I remember having aunts suddenly look at me strange when my first novel came out. Some family friends began to wonder if I were truly as sweet as I appeared. I mean how could such a ‘nice young woman’ (as they like to refer to me) think of such things? The whip cream scene in one of my novels had a family friend sending me strange glances for days (an acquaintance accused me of peeping in her window, but that’s another long and scary story.)

I’m sure I’ll enjoy the production. And I’ll see it for what it is: fiction. The truth is buried with its famous creator. I hope she lived a fabulous life, but one thing I do know is if I end up dying without marrying you can count on this: I lived all my dreams, had a wonderful life and didn’t regret a thing.

Do you have anything you don’t regret? Or do?