If there could be one word used to describe me this year, it would be late. Seriously, I don't think I took on an overabundance of projects, but for some reason or another I'm always behind the eight ball. So like everything else this year, this ezine is late. LOL
What's been happening? For one, I began booking online workshops for next year. I took a very aggressive approach so I could get some of my popular workshops out, but also could write some new material. I'm doing one on characters now. It's almost a new subject for me. So it should interest a lot of you who've liked my other workshops.
I've been writing a workshop on keeping tension alive in romance novels WITHOUT sex in them that I'm giving for Savvy Authors beginning September 10. I'll put a link for that in the Coming Attractions segment.
My son was in the hospital. My niece got married. I wrote a book -- actually a really great book about a mom with triplets. Writing the kids was almost as much fun as writing the romance! My big computer died and I had to make friends with this laptop! LOL
Things have been so busy that I haven't even played golf much this year.
I'd say I'm hoping for an easier fall, except my son is getting married in Colorado in September. I'm having a shower for his fiancee at the house the week before. So...it's gonna be another busy month.
But at least the wedding stuff will be fun.
In October I'm doing live workshops for Pennwriters in Bloomsburg, Sisters in Crime in Confluence, and attending NINC in New York.
In November, I'm on a panel for a Pennwriters day-long event in Pittsburgh. This one is all about publishing options. CJ Lyons will be there, as well as Jane Friedman. Jane, as most of you know, worked for Writers Digest and became a known authority on publishing. She has a great blog and lots of knowledge about all the options out there.
So I have a fun-busy September with my son's wedding. A busy October with workshops and a conference. And a busy November.
I certainly won't be bored.
But to get back to August...this month saw the release of Nanny for the Millionaire's Twins. Sara from Harlequin Junkie gave it a 5-star review, which thrilled me because if a writer were allowed to choose one favorite book this one would rank right up there.
The hero, of course, has twins, but the heroine was injured in a motorcycle accident and is fighting her way back to real life after five years of recovery. It's funny. The kids are adorable. It's sweet. The heroine finds herself in love with the babies in about two minutes. And the hero is perfect.
Even though it's late (been a while since the release date...LOL) I hope you pick up a copy...or grab it for your Nook or Kindle.
So happy end of August, everyone. And happy September.
There's a writing lesson "For the Writers Among Us", a List of Coming Attractions, a cat tale, and an excerpt from NANNY FOR THE MILLIONAIRE'S TWINS.
Enjoy.
susan
Coming Attractions
Not a lot left to do for the rest of the year! Though two of the workshops are new! Conflict -- focus on books without sex in them and Self-Editing!
October, SELF EDITING for the multi-genre group PENNWRITERS.
Live, all-day workshop, October 6 Novel in a Nutshell with Marta Perry.
http://www.pennwriters.org/prod/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=15&Itemid=53
January 2013 LET CONFLICT TELL YOUR STORY FOR YOU, Washington Romance Writers, online.
February 2013 CAN THIS MANUSCRIPT BE SAVED? Writersonlineworkshops
In February, my book in the Larkville Series BILLIONAIRE BABY SOS is released
March 2013 WHAT'S A SCENE SUPPOSED TO DO Savvy Authors
May, the first book in a duet about sisters is to be released. No title yet! But the heroine is a wedding cake baker with triplets! Tons of fun to write!
June 2013 CONFLICT AND THE CATEGORY ROMANCE, STAR RWA Chapter
July 2013 a short 2-week workshop on Theme for Savvy Authors
For the Writers Among Us
Last year I did a 3-article series for Savvy Authors on Writing a 3-book Series. If you missed it, here it is. LOL Well, article one, anyway. Articles 2 and 3 will appear in the next two ezines. Enjoy!
Writing the 3-Book Series
Book 1 Setup
Most of you know
me as a category romance author, but just like you, I’m also a reader! In my over
forty years of reading and nearly thirty years of writing, I’ve discovered that
when it comes to writing a 3-book mini-series the rules are very much the same
for both single title and category romance.
So grab a cup of
coffee or tea and let’s start with discussing Book 1, Setup.
All books have the
potential to spin into series that could run forever, only requiring the use of
the same characters, the same setting, the same “vehicle” (such as a detective
agency, a SEAL team, knitting supply store). But in this 3-article workshop
we’re going to discuss the strong, well planned 3-book series that has an
overarching story that connects the books and must be resolved in the final
book.
To me there are
only two hard and fast rules for a 3-book series:
1. Each book
must stand alone.
2. Each book
must also contain a few pieces of the puzzle for the overarching “series” story
without letting the series story take over.
This is why I believe the best
series are planned in advance! You don’t want secondary characters running away
with a book that belongs to a specific hero and heroine. You don’t want the series story to overshadow the individual
book’s story.
The easiest way to keep the series
story under control is to remember that Book 1 is the series set up. Book 2
carries the series story forward. Book 3 is the series wrap up. Then give each series
character a “role” in each book, but not much more.
So what does a setup look like?
As Book 1 “setup” tells the story
of a specific hero and heroine, it also sets up a main problem or trouble that
will be carried through the three books, and introduces the interesting characters
who will populate the books, including either the hero or the heroine (sometimes
both, but not always) for each of the three books.
As practically as possible you should
work to get in not just each character’s “look” but also his or her
personality.
In the BABY IN THE BOARDROOM series,
the half-brothers meet when their father, a carousing Greek shipping magnate,
dies. He doesn’t just leave them with a company on the skids; he also leaves
them with another half-brother. And Gino is a baby.
In the first chapter, at the reading
of the will, we meet Darius, Cade and Nick. Darius, the hero of the book, gets
a POV. Even as he’s reeling from the bequests in their father’s will, he’s
sizing up the heroine, who has joint custody of Gino with him.
The ROMANCE gets a front-and-center
role in chapter 1 because this is a category romance. The conflict is
introduced. They are joint custodians of a baby when Darius isn’t accustomed to
sharing anything. Or being told what to do.
After all the bad news is given,
including that there is a fifth shareholder, a former secretary who holds her
stock in trust to remain anonymous, Darius asks for privacy to discuss all this
with his brothers. (NOTE: A secretary who holds her stock in trust to remain
anonymous? Does anyone smell heroine for a future book? In the setup book, facts
are peppered in. Not dumped. Clues are dropped to build the “series” story the
same way you would build the main story of each book.)
When they are alone, Nick and Cade
get the chance to speak and readers get a taste of each of their personalities
by what they say and how they phrase things. I don’t spend a lot of time on
them, just enough to show readers who they are. After all, this is only an
introduction. This is still chapter one of book one and DARIUS’S story!
But we DO see that Nick and Cade
aren’t happy that the will appoints Darius as the shipping company’s Chairman
of the Board and CEO. He gets custody of the baby who also gets a vote on the
board, which Darius gets to cast for him as his guardian. He also gets the
family estate in Montauk – because he’s the oldest.
We also recognize that Cade and
Nick could potentially dislike Darius for an even more basic reason. He’s the
only son born in wedlock. Darius’s mom was the only woman Stephone Andreas
married. So Nick and Cade harbor more than a little bit of resentment. They do
not intend to simply fall in line. And they leave Darius to handle it all
alone. He’s the CEO and Chairman. He’s Gino’s guardian. The will says it all.
He gets to do all the work and they’ll happily collect profits, once he gets
everything running smoothly again.
But Stephone’s will also charges
the brothers to unite at the risk of losing the fortune he left them.
Particularly since the former secretary owns 1/3 of the stock while each of
them owns only 1/6. If they don’t unite, this former secretary could come in
and take over the company. Yet, here we are, chapter 1, book 1, with the
brothers walking out on Darius.
Even at that early point, the set
up for the three books is clear. Three brothers will find the loves of their
lives while struggling to get to know each other, get along, save their
father’s company and find the missing shareholder.
Eventually, Whitney will convince
Darius that he must be the one to make the effort to get along with his
stubborn brothers. When Nick softens to Darius and recognizes the difficulty
he’s having trying to fix a dying company, we see the beginnings of the bonds
being formed. We also see Nick isn’t such a bad guy! (Which causes readers to
like him enough he’s a shoo-in for hero for book 2!)
But Cade isn’t such an easy guy to
rein in. He’s a Texas oilman rancher, who lost the love of his life to death the
year before. He’s grouchy, surly. He doesn’t give a flying fig if their
disgusting dad’s company folds. The very fact that he holds out on learning to
get along keeps the tension going. So that that story thread remains an issue
in book 2.
Piece of cake. And lots of stuff to
work with to make all three of the books interesting and exciting!
Since it’s so easy and clear what
must be done, what makes writing a series so tricky?
While stringing readers along
enough that they want to read the books that follow, each book must stand
alone.
Which means the overarching series
story cannot overshadow the hero and/or heroine in a category romance or in the
bigger, broader story of a single title. No secondary character’s problem can
be shown so much or focused on so much that readers groan when their story
isn’t resolved. (Though you can give them a sufficient problem that readers see
it should be resolved and “hope” for a sequel!) And the hero and heroine must
have a separate story that doesn’t depend on the series story. Darius and
Whitney’s story is the story of Whitney getting over a life tragedy as they learn
to be parents and fall in love. (I’m not going to tell you everything! You have
to read the books. LOL)
And that means information about
the secondary characters is sprinkled into scenes that pertain to Darius and
Whitney’s romance. (In a single title, they would be sprinkled into scenes that
pertain to the main story of the single title.)
In book 1, we learn that both Nick
and Cade were married. Nick is now divorced. Cade’s wife died and he’s clearly
still grieving. I show them impacting scenes of DARIUS AND WHITNEY’S STORY when
they finally come to the mansion to see Gino. Nick flirts with Whitney while
Cade defends her, asking about Darius’s intentions. Readers don’t just get a
taste of Nick and Cade’s personalities, they also form a bond with them, and
even hope that they find their own heroines, but not so much that they are
disappointed when neither secondary character finds his perfect match within
the pages of Darius and Whitney’s book.
In her bestselling
SEAL series for Ballentine, Suzanne Brockman strung readers along with Sam and
Alyssa’s story to the point that she actually had Sam marry a woman he got
pregnant and cause readers to worry Sam and Alyssa wouldn’t get a story!
(Crafty lady!)
But she didn’t do it at the expense
of the current story. Because the series was single title, Sam’s pregnancy
story was a subplot. In fact, it was a subplot in two books that worked to
enhance each of those stories, and continue reader interest in the series as a
whole and wonder…Will Sam and Alyssia ever get together?
Still, it never
overshadowed the romance of the hero and heroine or either of the bigger,
broader single title stories!
So that’s how you
create book 1, setup. You subtly tell the beginnings of the overarching series
story through the romance of the hero and heroine (if you’re writing a
category) and through the main story of a single title (thriller, mainstream,
mystery, suspense, women’s fiction).
You create the
main characters for the next books (either the hero or the heroine…or sometimes
both) and give readers enough information and “personality” for those
characters that they are interested in seeing how they find their perfect
matches.
You tie up your
story as you would if there was no series story also being told, so that your
story is complete. And no one is left hanging. Except that you’ve dropped clues
that something about the overarching story isn’t over. It feels done. The
conclusion is satisfying. But when book 2 opens and the next phase of the story
begins, readers nod knowingly and say, “I thought we weren’t done with that!”
That’s it for article
1 of a 3-article series on writing a series. The next two ezines will contain
articles 2 and 3!
Happy Writing!
Cat Tale
My cat Sophie is a bit of a nut. She's always believed she was a member of our family. In all my years of having cats, I've never been able to teach one tricks. But Sophie loves tricks. We blink at each other and she mimics the wink or blink I make. It's hysterical. But her cutest trick is the way she runs up the stairs when anyone says, "Do you want to go to bed, Sophie?"
She hasn't been outside much since the neighbors got their dog, but I'm wondering if the dog isn't just an excuse since she's getting older and hunting rodents isn't as much fun as it used to be. LOL!
Excerpt
Nanny for the Millionaire's Twins
My cat Sophie is a bit of a nut. She's always believed she was a member of our family. In all my years of having cats, I've never been able to teach one tricks. But Sophie loves tricks. We blink at each other and she mimics the wink or blink I make. It's hysterical. But her cutest trick is the way she runs up the stairs when anyone says, "Do you want to go to bed, Sophie?"
She hasn't been outside much since the neighbors got their dog, but I'm wondering if the dog isn't just an excuse since she's getting older and hunting rodents isn't as much fun as it used to be. LOL!
ExcerptNanny for the Millionaire's Twins
Chapter 1
Chance Montgomery pulled his SUV up to the big black iron gates
that protected his mother’s estate. He punched in the code she’d given him, and,
after the gates opened, drove along the winding lane, not surprised that nothing
had changed. The leaves on the tall trees that lead to the mansion had turned
red, yellow and orange, the way they always did in October in Pine Ward, Pennsylvania.
The brown and gray stone mansion, his childhood home, looked exactly as it had
on his eighteenth birthday, when he’d run away.
He’d run because his life was a mess. A rope of days, months and
years braided together with betrayal and lies. Ironically, he was returning for
the same reason. The woman he’d thought was the love of his life had left him
when she realized she was pregnant with his twins. She’d never loved him, only used
him as a stepping stone to get where she wanted to be in her career. Nine
months later, she’d had their babies and seemed to mother them adequately for
six or so months. Then suddenly two weeks ago, she’d brought them to his house
and said she didn’t want them back.
Odd that it took her giving
up the kids to reinforce the valuable lesson he’d learned when he’d discovered
his adoptive father was actually his biological father. People couldn’t be
trusted. Most looked out for themselves. He should have remembered that when
she told him she’d only been with him to use him. But, no. He’d actually held
out hope that even if she didn’t love him, she could love their kids.
He was an idiot.
He pulled the SUV in front of one of the garage doors, clicked
off the ignition and jumped out. As if she’d been waiting for him, his mom hurried
over.
“Chance, darling!” Her snow white hair was cut short in a neat
and elegant style. Her black trousers and black turtleneck with pearls made her
look like the socialite that she was.
She enfolded him in the kind of embrace only a mother can pull
off without looking foolish. When she stepped away, her eyes were filled with
tears. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
He cleared his throat. He wished he could say the same, but the
truth was he wasn’t happy to be here. He wasn’t happy he couldn’t handle his twins.
He wasn’t happy his babies’ mother didn’t want to be in their lives. He wasn’t
happy that every person in his life hurt him, cheated him or lied to him –
Except Gwen Montgomery. The devoted
wife his father had tricked into adopting him. A woman who, even once she’d
found out he was her husband’s bastard son, hadn’t stopped loving him.
“It’s good to be home.”
Okay. That was a bit of a lie. But how could he tell the happy
woman in front of him the truth? That this house reminded him of a dad who
couldn’t be trusted. That his life sucked. That he’d lost his faith in humanity—
He couldn’t.
She clapped her hands together. “So let me see them!”
He reached for the back door of the SUV just as a tall redhead
walked out walked out of the mansion. He would have been lying if he said he
didn’t notice her face was pretty. Big brown eyes, a pert nose and full, lush
lips always added up to pretty. But she wore a plain white blouse, gray pants
and ugly – truly ugly – black shoes.
His mother said, “By the way, this is Victoria Bingham. She
likes to be called Tory. I hired her to be your nanny.”
Normally, he would have reached over and taken the hand she
extended to shake his. Instead, he turned to his mom. “I told you, Mom. I want
to raise the kids myself. I came here for help from you, not an outsider.”
She straightened as if he’d mortally wounded her. “Well, of
course, I’ll help you. But you also need a nanny for things like diapers--”
“I can change diapers. I’ve changed thirty thousand in the past
two weeks. These kids were abandoned by their mom. They’re not going to lose
their daddy too.”
Gwen laid her hand on his cheek. “Oh, darling. We are not going
to let these kids go without love. You had a nanny until you were four. And you
don’t think I love you any less than a baby raised without a nanny, do you?”
“No.” Gwen’s love had been proven a million times over when she
accepted her husband’s infidelity a lot better than Chance had.
“So, you see? Nannies are perfectly suitable help.”
He mumbled, “I suppose,” turned to the SUV door, opened it and
revealed his two true prides and joy. Little bruiser Sam yelped indignantly as
if he resented being stuck in his car seat while everybody else talked. Cindy
gurgled happily.
“Oh, darling! They’re gorgeous!”
They were
gorgeous.
Standing off to the side, Tory
Bingham stared at the two blond-haired, blue-eyed babies. She hadn’t wanted
this job. After years of surgeries and the resultant therapies to repair her
left leg, which had been shattered in a motorcycle accident, she could finally
walk with the support of orthopedic shoes. She could also drive. Her plan had
been to spend her days with her fiancé, who hadn’t fared as well as she had
after their accident. But her parents had other ideas.
They wanted her to get a job. Worse, they wanted her to get on
with her life. While her fiancé lay in a personal care facility struggling,
they wanted her to move on. It wasn’t just ridiculous; it was horrific.
But she was twenty-five years old. She didn’t have any money.
She didn’t have health insurance. All of her medical expenses had been picked
up by Jason’s motorcycle insurance, but she was reaching even those limits. Her
parents might be friends of the Montgomerys but they didn’t have the money the
Montgomery family had. She had no choice but to take the job Gwen had offered.
But now the prodigal son didn’t want her.
Fine with her. She would find work somewhere else. Except—
Well, his babies were
adorable. The two sweet angels sitting in bear-print car seats caused an
unexpected tumble of her heart, and she couldn’t stop staring at them.
Chance ducked into the SUV. “Here, I’ll get them out.”
“That’s okay.” Gwen scurried around the trailer hitched to the back
of the SUV – the trailer hauling a big black motorcycle. “You get Sam. I’ll get
Cindy.”
She opened the door and leaned in to get the little girl, but
within a few seconds, she pulled out again. “Tory, can you help me with these
strap things? I can’t seem to get them unbuckled.”
Tory said, “Yes, ma’am,” and hurried around the trailer. Apparently
she wasn’t being fired after all.
But even staying as far away
as she could from the black beast on the trailer, her chest tightened with
terror as she maneuvered around it. She remembered her motorcycle accident as
something like a soundless blur that flashed into her brain at the oddest times
of the day and night. A blur that had all but destroyed her leg and nearly
taken the man she loved.
Gwen said, “Hurry, Tory!”
Tory scooted to the SUV
door, dipped in to undo the buckle and found herself six inches away from the
most adorable face in the universe. Big blue eyes blinked at her. Cherubic lips
blew spit bubbles. “Well, hello, there.”
The baby gurgled with happiness.
“Aren’t you just the
sweetest little thing?” She undid the last buckle and lifted the baby out of
her seat.
For the first time since the accident, Tory’s chest expanded
with delight. The baby patted her face and she laughed. But Gwen eagerly waited
to hold the little girl and Tory handed her over.
“Well, my goodness,” Gwen said. “It is a pleasure to meet you,
Cindy. I’m your grandmother.”
Tory’s eyebrows rose. Gwen had never met her own grandchildren?
She knew Chance had been away for a while, but she’d thought they’d reconciled.
Gwen walked around the trailer again. “Come on. Let’s get them
into the house.”
“Actually, Mom--” Chance winced. “One whiff of Sam and I can
tell he needs to be changed. Maybe we should just take them directly to the
cottage?”
His mom’s face fell. “Oh.”
“It’s been a long drive and once I change them I should feed
them.”
Gwen smiled as if she was so happy to have her son home she
would agree to anything. “Okay. Tory and I will come with you.”
He glanced over at Tory and she looked back at him. She’d
already noticed he was tall and lean. That his hair was black and his eyes were
blue. That a red flannel shirt suited him and so did butt-molding jeans. But
holding the gaze of his blue eyes, she saw other things. Subtleties. Those
pretty sapphire eyes had the wariness of a man who didn’t trust.
Which was just perfect. She
hadn’t ever worked fulltime beyond the job of watching the kids of working
parents for three summers when she was in high school, and her first nanny job
came with a distrustful father.
Well, she wasn’t going to beg him to keep her or even defend
herself. She didn’t really want to work for a grouch. Especially not a grouch
she didn’t know. Nannies lived with the family who employed them. If he kept
her, she’d be spending twenty-four hours a day with a grouch.
“Just think, Chance,” Gwen said teasingly. “If you have a nanny,
you don’t have to get up with the twins in the middle of the night – and, even
if you do, you only have to change and feed one baby.”
He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck, as if bone tired
and finding it hard to refute that argument. “All right. You both can come.”
After they strapped the kids
into their seats, Tory sat between the twins so Gwen could ride in the front
with her son.
As they made their way down
the slim brown brick lane that wound through the forest behind Gwen’s mansion,
Tory began to see just how private their living arrangements would be. The
trees were thick enough that it was nearly dark. Only occasionally did light
pierce the red, yellow and orange leafy overhangs and create shiny beams that
sparkled to the ground.
She swallowed. Maybe her first instincts had been correct? Maybe she
should have held her ground with her mom and told her she didn’t want a job.
She wanted to be with Jason, to take care of him, to help him recover. Not
trapped in a secluded cottage with a man she didn’t know.
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