Starting today, I have an interview up at Deep In The Heart Of Romance, a fantastic authors' site. I read a lot of author interviews, because I want to know more about the persons behind the prose. I’m intrigued with how other writers see things, do things.
Take a few minutes and go check it out.
http://www.deepintheheartromance.com/search/label/Belle%20Sloane?max-results=20
Have a wonderful rest of the summer and Read On!
Belle
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I always feel a renewed sense of hope, of wonder and possibility when those wonderful signs of Spring begin to make their presence known.
Yesterday my husband and I took our Lab up into the foothills of the beautiful Manzano Mountains and let her run. She loves our sojourns into the higher country. She gets to sniff, and poke, and explore to her heart’s content. The sun was shining. There was a strong but comfortable breeze. The temp was around 70. I saw definite signs of budding on the vegetation all around me. A jack-rabbit made his presence known about 30 feet down in an arroyo. Luckily the dog didn’t notice him, or our outing might have been longer than we’d planned. J
It feels as though my writing ideas and energy begin to bud and stretch as freely as the cactus and juniper when Spring comes. What seemed so difficult and remote in the end of January, is somehow completely assessable now that the out of doors is coming back to life.
I have a meeting this morning with my editor from Siren Audio studios. http://www.sirenaudiostudios.com/ We’re converting one of my contemporary paranormal romances into an audiobook. This particular company doesn’t just have someone read the work, they have multiple voices, sound effects and music. This is audio theater -- similar to the radio shows of the 1940s. It’s an exciting process. Can’t wait to hear those characters come alive, for real!
‘til next time,
Belle***
Happy New Year!
I know, I know -- I’m a late with this, but it’s still heartfelt and real, and I believe the year is still young enough to say it with validity. J
In our neck of the woods we’re enjoying a great deal of snow at the moment. Something that doesn’t happen all too often in this high desert. In spite of the difficulties considerable snowfall can present, I LOVE IT! I love sharing the anticipation and excitement I see in my children, (though they are taller than I am now), at the chance of a snow day. I love the feeling of well-being that accompanies the lovely snow covered view outside the window of my toasty warm kitchen. I love how I can check the horses out back without benefit of artificial light at one in the morning. And on a practical note, we haven’t had a decent rain in months so all this moisture is a very, very good thing.
We have a good sized wood stove that has been stoked constantly for the last several days. While sitting there I starting thinking about the characters in my WIP, as though they were real people, something I find myself doing on a regular basis. I tend to set my stories in desert regions, because that’s where I live. Then I realized I mostly set them in times of year where the weather is the kindest, Spring and Fall, because I don’t’ want my people to be miserably hot or cold. Crazy, huh? Just goes to show you how REAL your characters can become to you.
I give them a break in the personal comfort area, but I’m pretty mean when it comes to their personal conflict. Makes me sound like a masochist, but I believe in the adage I learned from a wise and dear old man years ago, “The truth will set you free -- but first you gotta’ suffer.” And suffer they do. The thing is, the more our characters suffer through their conflicts, the more they learn, and the sweeter the reward in the end. That’s what we all want from our “satisfying endings,” right? I still have a ways to go with the inflicting of suffering.
J.R. Ward, ( one of my favs) is superb at yanking her characters through the proverbial keyhole. Her folks go through hell and back before they get their happy ending, and boy, by the time they get there, you are jumping up and down for them because they absolutely deserve the goods!
So I continue to work toward that goal – to be a tougher task master with my characters! What are you focusing on with your writing? Leave a comment, tell me about one of your writing goals.
‘Til next time,
Stay warm, and dry.
Belle
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