Did you know...?

Hello again everyone! Only one more day before we level up in our seemingly endless 2020 Jumanji game. In my determination to keep things light (because we all need a break, don’t we?), today I’m sharing some fun, little know, trivia about my books.

Last year I was pounding away at the keyboard writing the most recent novella in my Prophecy series. The working title was “Maggie’s Story.” How’s that for creativity? Ahem, yeah. I was also working on the fourth book in my Prophecy series, entitled…wait for it… “Lost.”

The Three-syllable Series

I know, I know.

I put my husband to work thinking up suggestions that might jar loose some ideas in my head. A while later he asked, “Did you know the titles in your series have three syllables?” Well, no. No, I didn’t. So mentally went through them: Prophecy, Salvation, Collision. Yep, all the novels did have three syllables. Huh.

So, what about my series short stories and novellas in this series? Blue Christmas, Space Ranger, All of Me. Well, look at that, also three syllables. What a weird coincidence. So, the gold standard for titles in this series has now been set. Three syllables. No more, no less. And no pressure, right?

The good news is that Maggie’s Story was released last year as Skylar’s Gift.*. (Three syllables, yay!) And Lost is now Paradox**. Go on, count ’em, there's three. Boom!

(Side note: I’m still working on Paradox. It’s a complicated story because it’s an SFR time travel and has lots of layers, as you can imagine. And because the hero, Juan—the son of the H&H from Prophecy—seems to enjoy tormenting me.) 

Moving right along! One of my current projects is writing three books for the Intergalactic Dating Agency. The Silverstar Mates series releases in September, October, and November, and there is a subtle something about these books too. No, these books do not follow the three-syllable standard, so what’s so quirky about them? It’s not that the heroes all have wings and other bird of prey like features, or that all the protagonists are 50+…although, it is fun to write about people in my age group.

The neat little thing I added to this series is that all the heroines have “bird” names. Robyn, Meryl, and Nixy. Nixy? How is that a bird name? I’ll give you a clue: it’s short for something. Can you guess what it is? (One of the blurbs will give you the answer.)

Speaking of my new series, check out the covers. All three books are available for preorder now.

Above the Storm * Wing and a Prayer * Trial by Fire

A few other exciting tidbits for you:

This SFR first-in-series sale ends tomorrow, 7-31-20.

 My ebook version of Prophecy is on sale also through 7-31-20.

Sign up for my monthly newsletter and receive a copy of my short story, Space Ranger, for free.

That’s all for this month. Tune in on August 30^th for more fun stuff from me!

XOXO

~Lea

*Special thanks to my awesome friend Rosalie Redd for brainstorming this title with me. If you haven’t read her books yet, check ’em out. They are a-maz-ing!

** Hugs and kisses to Mr. Kirk who did manage to jar loose this title. 

~*~*~*~*~

USA Today Bestselling Author, Lea Kirk, loves to transport her readers to other worlds with her sci-fi romances. 

When she’s not busy writing about the blue and green aliens of her Prophecy series, she’s hanging out with her hubby, five kids (the nerd herd), and a spoiled Dobie mix pup.

She is currently working on the fourth book in her Prophecy series, and three new books for her Silverstar Mates series featuring age 50+ protagonists coming this fall. (Part of the Intergalactic Dating Agency)

For more on Lea's books (past, present, & future), check out her:

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Descriptions are Fun to Write?

As a paranormal romance writer, vivid descriptions are a must. All writers have to describe their world to a certain extent so that the readers are grounded in it. But paranormal romance requires figuring out all the rules and details that make that world unique. 

For example, I have a new dragon shifter series coming out in September (Fire's Edge... more info coming next month!). I've spent countless hours digging into what makes that world tick in a unique way that sets the right tone for my stories and lends to the conflict for my characters. 

I'll be honest... This is a love it/hate it thing for me. A writer can easily get bogged down in the details until they stop writing and are only making notes. They can also put so much description of their world in the book that they lose the reader. At the same time, it's easy to go too light and the reader either can't picture it or doesn't understand what's going on.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share some of the tricks I use when writing and self-editing to help me with the descriptions....

When writing, you want to make sure you get the descriptions in there in the first place. Many writers don't set a scene or characters have no clothes (I do this all the time). You also want to get the description right. By right, I mean, they convey good information and build your world, but at the same time don't drag down the pacing of your book or are appropriate for your genre. Here are some things to look at when writing/editing.

Your Character's Lens (Deep POV)

Ask yourself if the description is coming from your POV character's lens. If you walked into a new room or met someone new, what you notice will differ from what someone else would notice. Why? Because you have different interests, history, backgrounds, preconceptions, goals, etc. Or if the description is about the character (clothing, personality, physical characteristics), make sure it matches who your character is.

Are your descriptions generic, or do they reveal something about your character?

http://rebeccazanetti.com/writing-craft/deep-point-of-view/

Context

How is what you are describing affected by the context? For example, would a character's frame of mind impact how they see something? What about the plot? What about the genre?

Look & Feel - Add Emotion

Don't just describe how something appears. Get the emotional impact in there. What does the character feel about that description. Does it resonate? Impact their emotions? Help or hinder?

5 Senses

You want to incorporate more than sight into your descriptions. Use all 5 senses (sight, touch, taste, sound, and smell).

Some editors say to incorporate all 5 senses into every page. I find that overkill (and often impossible, unless he/she is a snake shifter tasting the air every 30 seconds). My rule of thumb is a sense per page and all 5 senses per scene or chapter.

If you really want to go crazy, check out the other "senses". Many scientists have classified additional senses to the traditional 5. Not all agree on the lists or classifications yet, but check out the ones they do agree on most. Try incorporating these in!

• Temperature – Hold/Cold
• Balance
• Pain
• Sense of where your limbs and body parts are
• Thirst
• Hunger
• Time

http://hms.harvard.edu/news/harvard-medicine/extra-sensory-perceptions

Telling vs. Showing

The key with descriptions is to help the reader experience that thing--the setting, meeting another character, going through an experience, etc.

Description Length

Look at the length of your description. Is it too short? Not conveying enough information? Is it too long and pacing is suffering? Do you REALLY need all those details right at that moment? Consider what/who it is you are describing and why? Does the description impact the plot or character?

Spread It Out/Break It Up

Spread out descriptions. Whether you are describing characters, settings, the character observing a scene in action, the actual action, etc., it helps to break it up. Don't just dump it all in one long paragraph. Try to sprinkle the descriptions throughout.

What About You?

Fellow PNR authors, I'd LOVE to hear your tricks and tips. What is your process when it comes to descriptions and building your world? Readers, what do you prefer to see in descriptions?

Pacing, Pacing, Pacing... Fixing

My entire summer will be spent editing and revising 2 of my dragon shifter books for Entangled. First drafts are done, now it's time to make them good books and not just words on virtual paper. Lol.

One of the things I'm running up against in one of them is pacing. I didn't realize it was an issue until my first read-through after I finished the first draft.  It's hard to tell over the weeks/months I write the first draft how the pacing is going because I'm "reading" the book over such a long period of time. So I was surprised to find it needed help in this area. I feel like lots of things happen to move the plot forward, but the pacing is still bogged down. So I turned to my lists (I'm a major lister) for help. 

Here are some ways I analyze and adjust the pacing of my books...

Quick Read

One way to look for pacing problems is to do one fast read-through of the book. Pay attention to where things feel rushed and where thing slow down and you're tempted to flip ahead.

Understand the Key Events & Timing

What are the six or seven key events in your book and when should those happen in the course of the book to keep the reader going? You can go by instinct and stay simple with this, or you can subscribe to various beat-related techniques. Look into "Save the Cat" or workshops by the likes of Michael Hague or Larry Brooks.

Every Scene is Relevant

Look at every scene in the book and ask yourself if it's relevant to the story and moves the plot forward. Cut or fix anything that doesn't. Be ruthless.

Create Stakes/Time-Limits/Tension

An easy way to up the pace is to add more stakes or give the characters a time limit. This will make you as the writer write to their new pace, and the reader will feel it.

Passive vs. Active Scenes

Make a list of all the scenes in your book (not chapters, but scenes) and identify them as passive (mostly discussion or thinking) vs. active (snappy dialogue, action, new revelation, etc.). Look for large chunks of passive scenes in a row and see how you can squeeze in a more active scene or two to break them up.

Skip the Boring

If you're bored writing a section or reading it, likely your reader will be bored too. Sometimes that scene can be skipped altogether. If you can cover it in a few short sentences, then skip it. 

Scene Cuts & Temporary Cliffhangers

Break up scenes by cutting to a different scene or different POV which can change the dynamic. Even better? Incorporate a small cliffhanger in the scene you are cutting away from. If you do that, though, make sure the scene you cut to is equally compelling.

Scene & Chapter Hooks

End scenes and chapters with a hook, something that, if you were the reader, would make you want to continue reading, even if it's 3am and you have work tomorrow.

Chapter & Scene Length

Look at your chapter and scene length. Compare to similar genres or if it's a slow spot, consider breaking it up or shortening.

White Space

Look at how the page looks. Is there very little white space for long chunks? You might have too much description or introspection. Is there tons of white space? You might have too much dialogue with not enough information in between. 

Sentence Structure

Look at your sentence structure. Are most of your sentences short and choppy? Or longwinded with a lot of commas? Do they all start with the subject? Or do you mix it up? Aim for a good mix of sentence types.

Hint: Do a search for "He" and look for places where there are a ton (more than 3) grouped closely together. Consider revising a few to mix it up more. Do the same with "She."

Info Dumps & Overwriting

Look for long passages of information or descriptions that go on and on. If you can't say it in a few sentences or 1 paragraph without breaking it up with dialogue, action, or something else, you might be spending too much time on descriptions or information or introspection.

Author friends, what techniques do you use to help you with pacing problems? Finding new ways to approach my writing is one of my favorite things about this career. I will totally conquer this issue before the book goes to my editor!

Little Things Can Make Your Ordinary Characters Memorable

By Maureen L. Bonatch 

Every time I see a butterscotch candy, or bread with an inch of butter piled on it—lots and lots of butter—I think of my grandmother, who we called, Nanny. 

Nanny has been gone for many years, but these simple things evoke my memory of her.

Visualizing a Character

I visualize Nanny's appearance in my mind, but I don’t describe her that way. I could describe her typical cotton dress, and her ever-present panty hose rolled down to ball just under the knee. I could detail her cropped, curly, white hair, and heavy glasses perched on the end of her nose. Or how she always cut the sides of her shoes to make room for her bunions.

Building a Setting

I could describe how she depicted her devout roman Catholic beliefs in her home. Or perhaps how she was always in the kitchen. That her freezer was never without ice cream and how she opened her heart, and her kitchen, to feed every person that walked in the door. 

Focus on Key Characteristics

But those aren’t the first things that come to mind. It’s the butterscotch candy resting in the glass dish in the parlor, and the mounds of butter stacked on a slice of thick bread that stuck with me for all these years. Those would be key elements if I was making my Nanny into a character. The rest might be essential in developing character backstory to help me understand the character better, but sometimes just a few little things can make a character memorable. 

My Writing Process

When a new character introduces themselves, they get right to the point. They start telling me their story. I might notice a few memorable characteristics in their personality, body language, or speech mannerisms and—off I go to wrap the character around those traits. It’s kind of like I found the egg and work backwards to find the chicken that created it. 

True confessions of a panster.

If you’re a heavy plotter, you might find this next paragraph upsetting and want to skip it. Since my writing begins with these few key elements, I’ve sometimes discovered I’ve written an entire book without identifying the color of the heroine, or the hero’s, hair or eyes. That my stories lacks those key descriptions. 

That’s because as a reader, I like to picture some of those characteristics myself. How I see them. Everyone doesn’t read/write that way, so I keep that in mind and go back and add some extra details.

In your Reading and/or Writing, What Comes First—the Egg, or the Chicken? (I.e: The Character or the Characteristics)

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter

When You Win NaNoWri You Need to Stand Up & Pull Out Your DIY Treadmill Desk With Maureen Bonatch

By Maureen L. Bonatch

Okay, so I gave it away- I won #NaNoWri! (National Novel Writing Month). But after my endless flapping about it last month, it would be a bit embarrassing to admit defeat. Although I truly believe anyone who commits to participate and puts any words to the page is a winner.

But to win and get the very rough draft done for Sister From Another Mister (Book 2 in A Touch of Magic Series), and for most of the year, I’ve spent a lot of time with my “butt in the chair”. 

This means I also win extra backaches and must constantly fight the force of gravity on my dedicated behind. 

Exercising has gotten more difficult as the cold weather closes in on Pennsylvania, but I’ve developed a few solutions over the years that I’d like to share with you.

Drag Out That Old Clothes Hanger

You know what I’m talking about, your treadmill. Many of us have one that we’ve either held onto over the years, or have gotten rid of and reacquired each time we renewed our exercise efforts.

Most writers, and many other people who work at jobs that result in a lot of sitting, struggle to get enough exercise throughout the day. Plus, it’s difficult to carve out the extra time for exercise. 

Hence, the treadmill desk. When I first learned about such sorcery, a desk that you can write and exercise at the same time, I was amazed and immediately put it to the top of my ‘want’ list.  Then I looked at the prices…and the treadmill dropped a few pegs on my list.

Until This Non-DIYer Made a DIY Treadmill Desk

I am not a crafty person. I don’t make things, I buy them. But turning my treadmill into a treadmill desk was incredibly easy & I had everything I needed already. Cost= Nada.

I’m nothing special. If you Google it, tons of people have done similar DIY Treadmill Desks.

What I Used:

•       Treadmill
•       Old Extra Large Shelf from my Daughter’s Room
•       2 Big Ass Belts I’ve hoarded from the 1980’s (don’t judge- I didn’t say I’ve worn them…lately) 

My DIY Treadmill Desk & My Poor Photography Skills ;)

When I’m ready to do some editing (writing is a little more challenging), or check my email, marketing etc. then I grab the loose wood shelf and lay it across my treadmill arms and hook the 2 belts around the hand bar. Viola! I can walk at a slow pace—so I’m not breaking any race records, but I am off my butt. 

Speaking of Sitting

Then there’s the study most of us heard about a few years ago published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that had everyone talking about how sitting is the new smoking and how sedentary lifestyles were killing us. That increases in physical activity has less of an impact that merely reducing the time sitting.

  

So there are plenty of Standing Desks on the Market as well, but I didn’t have room for one, and didn’t think I’d use one enough to make it worth it. A little thinking out of the box, and digging through my closet I found my solution.

As a writer, I have multiple laptop tables, so I pulled one out that had legs to use in bed and sat it on top of my current desk. Place my Laptop on Top + Stand Up to Write=Standing Desk.

Now…to stand up and write on!

Do you have any tips to share for maintaining movement while creating or escaping into a good story?

                                                                                                                                                                         Check out 

Grandma Must Die

 & all of my stories on my Amazon Author Page

About Maureen

Maureen writes stories in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania that boast laughter, light suspense and something magical in the hope of sharing her love of finding the extraordinary in the ordinary world. She writes Paranormal Romance and Fantasy.

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