Hatching a plot

Yes, that’s right. Vacation is over and it’s time to write again. I’m so excited!

So let’s talk plotting. Whether you sit on your idea and incubate it like a prized egg or you dream up your idea from a mere sliver of a concept, you’re all doing the same thing: plotting.

It’s simple to say no book can exist without a plot. I know you want to say “Duh, writer girl” but you’d be surprised about how many books, novellas or shorts are published daily and there’s no common thread, no spine, to hold them together.

Without a spine, you’ve got a lot of loose ideas flowing around and nothing to anchor them in. Your story requires a butterfly net in order to keep a reader’s attention and that is not a good thing.

Plot can either be character-driven or event driven.

Hmm, I can hear the groans now. Need an example? (Here’s me rubbing my hands together and cackling) Now remember, I'm by no means an expert and this is just the concept as I see it. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong :-)

Let’s say our hero is your average guy, content with his life working in a bookstore. Now let’s say this bookstore specializes in the rare and the obscure. Life’s great for our guy. In walks a customer. Normal, unassuming woman who’s innocently browsing the books, looking for oh let’s a say a reference book on ancient curses and hexes since she’s a writer. Because she’s got no clue about the darker side, she cracks open a spellbook, reads one of the entries aloud—and opens up a swirling vortex of a time portal which immediately suck our hero and his unwitting sidekick inside.

That’s an event. With huge potential. How to get back home? How to deal with the new world on the other side?

Or, if you want the more mundane, hero is behind the counter, heroine is browsing books and an earthquake happens, leveling most of the street, putting countless lives in danger. Another event where countless things could take place. How will the h/h survive the trauma? Will they help people along the way? Or perhaps hero needs to reach a loved one across town.

Need another example?

Let’s say our heroine is a chef of small acclaim. She rules the roost of a local bistro. Life’s good until our hero shows up with more credentials to his name and is there to critique her work and teach her the finer points of cooking.

Reaction between the two is fast and immediate. She hates him because he’s arrogant and bossy, flaunting his skills around. He dislikes her because she refuses to learn and thinks her way is the best. Tying the two together is sexual tension and the common thread of shared interests—cooking.

This is character driven. The story hinges on emotions and reactions to each other and will drive your plot forward toward a common goal—dominance in the kitchen and the relationship. Working together to make a better product.

Sure, in both of these examples we don’t know the characters’ back story, but that’s the fun part for a writer. Your plot is built up of conflict, great or small.

Man vs. Man—the battling chefs. They both want to bring the other down but they’re also battling their feelings toward each other.

Man vs. Nature—the hero in the bookstore when an earthquake happens. This will require your hero or main characters to acquire confidence to overcome the situation and call on inner strength to survive

Man vs. Self—Let’s say our hero is afraid of natural disasters because he lived through a hurricane or some other major event. Or let’s say our heroine was abused by men all her life and wants nothing more than to succeed in a man’s world.

Man vs. Work—Or, especially in sci-fi, let’s say our hero has done experiments with genetic bending on himself. The results of these tests makes him a monster, bent on killing, etc. Or let’s say he’s a biologist who’s released a contagion into the water supply of the city, as an experiment gone wrong.

I could go on and on, but then you’d get bored.

Anyway, speaking of plot, might I remind you that I’ve got a book releasing on Friday? THE ART OF FANG SHUI is finally going to be set free into the world for all of you to read and enjoy. I’m very excited about this because it was super fun to write and it’s the book that triggered my love of the paranormal.

Wanna know more about it? I’m talking it up at the Nights of Passion blog. Please join me over there! http://nightsofpassion.wordpress.com/

Or you can already purchase it for your Kindle through Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Art-Fang-Shui-ebook/dp/B0032AMDGY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262747302&sr=8-3
Until next week, happy writing and reading kids!

Interview with Susan Hanniford Crowley

Hi Susan, thanks for being here with us!!

I'm excited to be here.

Do you have a favorite holiday?

Halloween. My family is really into it with decorating and costumes. You know, the usual digging of graves, putting in stones, hanging ghosts from the trees.

So, you are associate editor for Space and Time Magazine. What is that like? How do you approach reading and critiquing other people’s work versus writing your own?

An associate editor at a magazine reads and then rejects or sends forward with recommendations to the Fiction Editor. If he likes it, it goes on to the Editor-in-Chief who buys the stories. I approach every story with the expectation of loving it. Unfortunately too often that's not the case, and I have to send a rejection letter. If a person is so close they might get in if they changed one section, I discuss it with the Fiction Editor. If he agrees with me, then I send a detailed letter telling the author exactly how to change it and to get it back to me yesterday. I'm aware not all associate editors at other magazines are as specific in their help to the author as I am, but knowing what it's like to be in the author's shoes, I do what I can to help. In reviewing other people's work, I often clearly see mistakes I've made in the past and can be line by line specific in what to do to fix it. Generally I don't critique every submission, as there isn't time and there are so many submissions.

Speaking of your work, can you tell me about A Vampire for Christmas?

A Vampire for Christmas published by Tease Publishing LLC is about Trevor Stenwood, a sophisticated New York vampire, who finds himself tongue-tied every time he's near the woman of his dreams. This is very bad as he's an Arnhem Knight vowed to protect supernaturals from harm, and Georgia Blake is a Harmony who is marked for death by demons. He has messed up so much with Georgia that she thinks he's a stalker. A Vampire for Christmas is available right now at All Romance Ebooks http://www.allromanceebooks.com

Can we see an Excerpt?

Sure.

It wasn't the job Georgia longed for, but it was something. As she stepped out of the coffee shop a few minutes after eleven, a passerby grabbed her purse.

"No," she shouted, clutching the leather strap. He pulled so hard, she toppled over. But Georgia remembered her lessons at the dojo and struck at the robber with her feet. He tripped sideways.

Then he pulled a knife. In a blur, the strange man from the store window had one foot on her attacker's hand and the other on his throat.

Georgia scrambled to her feet and in a fit of rage yanked her purse free then punched her rescuer in the jaw.

He swayed a bit but remained steadfast on her attacker. Shocked, Georgia rubbed her knuckles. She'd broken boards with that fist, so it should have had more impact.

A siren later and the police arrived. They arrested the mugger, and the questions began. Georgia was very interested in the stranger's answers.

"Your name, sir?" asked the female officer.

"Trevor Stenwood."

"Occupation?"

"CEO of Stenwood Garments."

"Could you tell me, Mr. Stenwood, what happened?"

"I was just walking by when I saw this woman being robbed."

"He was stalking me," Georgia interrupted.

"I was not."

"Yes, you were."

The officer glared at him with raised eyebrows. "Were you?"

"I just wanted to ask her out to lunch."

The officer turned her attention to Georgia.

He just didn't seem very threatening now.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," said Trevor.

He seemed so sincere. Georgia smiled.

"I’m sorry I hit you."

"You struck him?" The officer turned to Trevor. "Do you want to press charges, sir?"

"No." He chuckled. "Do you have anymore questions, officer?"

"Where can we contact you, Mr. Stenwood?"

He gave her his business card.

She turned to Georgia. "Ms. Blake?"

"I work at Donut Haven in the morning, and I live at 328 Cedar, Apt. 3B."

"Phone number?"

"I don't have a phone."

"Thank you. We'll be in touch."

Trevor smiled. "So where would you like to go for lunch?"

Georgia's heart pounded like a drum. She was about to say something when she realized the sleeve of her new coat was torn. "I can't believe I ripped it."

"I know an excellent tailor who could repair that in no time."

Before Georgia could respond, a dark sedan pulled up and Trevor Stenwood opened the back door. She slid across the soft gray, plush upholstery and he climbed in beside her. A panel of glass separated them from the driver.

"Keith, Mr. Robers, please." The car pulled away from the curb and into the traffic.

Georgia's thoughts took a moment to catch up with events. Why did she get into a car with a stranger? Trevor sat a distance away and made no move to get closer.

Without giving too much away, can you tell me what you’re working on now?

I'm working on the sequel to A Vampire for Christmas in addition to my other novella When Love Survives. These two as well as my novel The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais are all part of my Vampires in Manhattan series. I'm working on the next novel too. All adventures. All vampires. All romance.

You’re such a big supporter of other writers. Personally, I can’t imagine launching a book without coming to Nights of Passion. Tell me why you like working with other writers so much.

In my humble opinion, writers are the most interesting people in the world. Not only do they tell great stories but they come from diverse backgrounds, which is often just as interesting as their books. And they are all committed to a common goal of getting their stories out to world. It's a bit like knighthood; they're that devoted.

If it's all right with you, Rebecca, I'd like to tell everyone about a huge event happening from Feb. 13-17 on Nights of Passion blog. We're celebrating the blog's birthday (Feb. 14) by having lots of romance authors guest blogging and doing giveaways. If you're a published romance author out there with a book to promote and you'd like to be part of this huge celebration, please, email me at onlyladyknight@yahoo.com and put Blog Birthday Party in the subject or else you'll end up as spam. I just wanted to get that in.

Where do your ideas come from?

I'm a very aware dreamer. I dream all my stories and wake up in the morning and write as fast as I can every detail. Some of my stories take weeks of dreaming to finish. Then I research all the parts and fill in even more. A friend of mine recently suggested I use a minor character from my novel The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais. I hedged on that one. Then I had a dream with that character, so yes, it will be a book.

I always ask everyone the next two questions:

Tell me about your muse. What is she like?

My muse is more like an editor, who tells me what works and what doesn't. He actually pushed me to write about vampires. Sorry, my muse is a he.

Finally, what do you do to combat writers block?

I get writer's overwhelming. I usually have too many stories coming in at once. I have a notebook where I write each summary if that happens. When stories start to collide and I need a break, I make jewelry. Working with beads allows me to focus on the strongest concept. Then I go back to writing.

Thanks for being with us Susan. We’re so glad to be able to have you here!

It was great being here. Ask me any time.

To find out more about Susan Hanniford Crowley, visit

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

Her Nights of Passion blog: http://nightsofpassion.wordpress.com

Are You BAIT?

Wanted:  Vampire Lure

No experience needed. Being attractive a plus. The ability to run fast a requirement.
Responsibilities: Lure a targetted vampire to follow you to pre-ordained spot for execution and survive.
Excellent pay. Travel to exotic location. On the job training. Call Red at 555-1231.

Available from Liquid Silver Books tonight after 7PM.

What kind of person would want such a job? Somebody insane, or with an agenda, or maybe someone with a death wish?


Live bait made all the difference, pretty much a no-brainer. If the prey hungered, it was best to use someone like me.
Connie Bence.

Blurb:

Sent on a mission to lure Budapest’s vampire Overlord into a trap, Connie Bence is instead caught red-handed by the dark Casanova. Her employer has concrete proof of the dubious leader’s misdeeds but she is surprised when this ruthless killer, Rurik, offers her protection and rescues her from his own kind. It plants seeds of doubt in her mind and she begins to question his guilt. Now she is thrown into his world where blackmail determines her every move and where she must betray those she cares about or let them die. The stakes are high. She either puts her trust in Rurik or leads him to his execution.

Love or life.

Excerpt:

Rurik maneuvered me deeper into the hall. We passed more guests too busy amusing themselves to pay us any heed. They lay in a pile of tangled bodies on a nest of cushion, feeding. I imagined it would be different. Hands stroked through hair, lips met, and fangs pierced smooth skin. No one fought or screamed, just quiet sensual touching.

Almost erotic.

I didn't notice that I'd stopped to watch until Rurik whispered in my ear, "We can sit and enjoy the show if you'd like. I'm really in no hurry to return to that bitch." His warm breath brushed against my skin.

"No." My voice sounded hoarse. The eerie scene made me morbidly curious, like watching at a car wreck. They all seemed to enjoy themselves, but the blood and the bites appalled me. "You said Lizzy wouldn't kill the boy because she wasn't allowed. What about them?"

What about him? We hunted Rurik for just that crime.

"Killing attracts too much public attention to our kind." He pressed himself against my back as he quietly spoke into my hair. I watched this intimate moment between predator and prey while I felt his warm breath against the nape of my neck. It gave me a flutter of confusing emotions.

His firm body along mine aroused me. When he continued his explanation, I almost missed it. "Our governing body has worked very hard over the centuries to make mankind dismiss us." His hands wandered down my hips, gathered the hem of my dress, and touched my skin. The brush of his fingernails along my thighs caught my breath. "We need to protect our obscurity, even if it is against our nature."

"You agree with this?" If he did, maybe Colby had mistaken his target and I could seduce Rurik to keep me for himself instead of passing off as a present. Distract him long enough for my rescue to find me.

"I don't have to agree with it, just abide by it. We are predators, Connie. We need the hunt...” He leaned in closer from behind so his lips brushed the base of my neck, running his fangs along my skin. “And the chase." He continued tasting me until he came close to my ear once more. "We all have our weaknesses, our favorite types of prey. You caught his attention at the hot springs last night and fit his tastes. He won't be able to resist you.” Rurik took a deep shaky breath and stepped away from me. “It's why I brought you here."

I turned to face him and slid my hands along his chest to his shoulders. If I stood on tippy toe my lips almost touched his. "You could keep me.” It wouldn’t be all bad to let him have me, as long as I could get past the fangs and keep my dress with the tracking device close by.

His expression changed from a flirtatious playboy, to one of regret. "No, I can't.” He stared toward the back of the basement then back at me and scratched his chin. “I’ll make you a deal, though. If you do your best to please him, I'll help you survive the night."

My heart skipped a beat and I plunked back onto my heels. "How?"

"I’ll watch over you."

“You won’t dump me for Lizzy first chance you get?”

His cold stare told me his opinion of that action.

I got the impression Rurik didn't mean a little flirting when he said ‘please him’. “What do I need to do?”

How far would I go? I’d like to think I’d keep my dignity but knew I’d dance the can-can, naked in a pool of chocolate syrup, to save my ass.

“I need him to feed from you. It’s what he’ll want the most."

"You'll make sure he won't drink me dry?" I hated the insecurity in my voice, the sound of my plea.

Rurik stroked my cheek. "It's against our laws and we’re at a public event. He should behave himself. I'll make an effort to stay close to you and intervene if he starts to harm you."

That didn't comfort me. Fighting was suicidal, nowhere to run, and no one to care about my cries for help. It came down to placing myself on the menu while I waited for my rescue by Colby. Damn, I was screwed.

I'm running a contest from my blog. Come check out the details.
Another Excerpt available at www.annienicholas.com

2010 is here!

Happy New Year!

May you all have success and prosperity.

Resolutions, everyone will be talking about them, making a bunch, and hopefully, keeping many. This would be my favorite holiday if only it fell in June, July or August! It’s cold out there so I plan to snuggle up and watch TV…

The MUMMER’S PARADE to be exact.

This parade is phenomenal. When I lived in California, I searched the airwaves and never found it. When I talked about it, west coasters looked at me like I’d grown horns. After all, they are Rose Bowl babies and wouldn’t know what to do out in this weather. (Not sure I understand what I’m doing living in it sometimes!)

I was fortunate enough to work the parade once as a production assistant. I ran coffee back and forth to the local stars who commented for the day. Once, when the producer wasn’t back on time, I got to do the 3…2…1 countdown before the cameras rolled! Sounds simple, right? Guess it was, but I had to know which camera was running first, location of the camera, but yes, it was easy. Still it meant a lot to me because this is my favorite parade in the whole wide world. I think to understand that—you have to be Philly born-and-bred.

The parade itself began in 1901 and draws visitors from around the world to see the costumed entertainers ring in the New Year. However, Philadelphia Mummery goes back much further. You can find some very interesting facts at: http://www.phillymummers.com/history.htm and take a 6 minute strut with a couple videos dated 1956. (Heck, I was 2!)

There are various divisions of the parade consisting of the Comic, Fancy, String Band and the Fancy Brigades (which have moved inside now and it is a spectacular show of color, imagery and sound.)

For the vast sea of participants alone, and just plain old fun, this parade should be seen at least once. The Mummer’s Strut (2 Street Strut), the music, and above all the costumes, which have become more elaborate and expensive with each passing year, you should consider visiting in person. I read at the site above a captain’s costume can now cost as much as 10K!

Here are just a few pictures from: http://www.myphl17.com/community/mummers/photos/ Really, take a look at the String Band and Brigade pictures from 2009, the amount of detail for a parade just floors me. Although I guess with the Brigades being inside now, it's more of a show than a parade, but it's still awesome. Hey, I'm from Philly!

Fancy Brigade: Shooting Stars

More Shooting Stars

Fancy Brigade: Satin Slippers

String Band: Duffy

String Band: Ferko

String Band: Woodland

Yes, I’ll be letting the champagne wear off and helping that along with lots of hot blueberry flavored coffee! And no, I didn’t make any resolutions. I’ll do that in the spring.

Growl and roar-it's okay to let the beast out.-© J. Hali Steele

Never After Anthology ~ A Recommended Read

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a wonderful end of the year. 2010 is just around the corner and I'm enjoying my T-Zone marathon. Hope you guys are getting everything in before the end of the year.

I thought I'd end the note on a nice read that I recently finished and thought I'd pass on to all the paranormal lovers out there.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Marjorie M Liu awhile back after her interview and really enjoyed an insight into her writing habits. During her interview she mentioned this book among her new releases and I thought it would be a good time to check her work and some of the other authors I haven't read yet (Shinn and Galenorn).

Although the spine labels this as urban fantasy to appeal to the UF/PR crowd, I'd say this was more fantasy/fantasy romance which is one of my top fave genres. Only one story is really urban fantasy (Galenorn's) and it was one of the standout stories. Each tale deals with a princess who attempts to make her own Happily Ever After. I have to say Liu's & Galenorn's stories Were my favorites. Both were delightful reads with great world building, a wonderful array of characters and a nice twist on and old theme.


Can He Bake a Cherry Pie by Laurell K. Hamilton

This was my least favorite, the shortest and least coherent one which is strange because it's the main draw. Despite the continuous proclamations of the heroine being strong and so awesome, there was never anything she particularly did to face and conquer each trial. The story felt like someone was telling it to you third party and left out much of the juicy details. More subtlety would have worked here along with a stronger heroine to "show" rather "tell" her intelligence and skills. I do like the fact that a bake-off was sort of the final battle. That was different.

This story exemplifies one of the main problems I have with Hamilton's writing. The "heroine" doesn't really do anything but she and everyone around her shouts how wonderful she is because she is female. I'm all for female empowerment but even more so I want a lead character to root for. The princess in this story never does anything to prove that she is a hero. She doesn't fight her way through or face any adversity all the while being showered with praise.


The Shadow of the Mist by Yasmine Galenorn

I love this title btw. :-) I read this one third after Liu's 'Tangleroot' story. I really liked this story of a young pregnant woman escaping her violent former fiance. After moving on with a new life and a wonderful new fiance who cares for her, he finds her and threatens to force her into marriage. I haven't read any of Galenorn's Otherworld series but if it's anywhere near as suspenseful and well paced as this one, I'm definitely going to dive right on into them. I liked the fact that each sister that helped the main character Siobhan (herself a Selkie) had different powers and paranormal backgrounds. Each character was interesting and even though they only popped in for a few moments, they had their own mark on the story through their personalities. The villain, Siobhan's ex, was a vile one and I was glad when he was defeated. Great urban fantasy story.

The Tangleroot Palace Marjorie M. Liu

What a gorgeous story! I loved the world building here which was haunting and very beautiful. This was definitely a fantasy romance I wanted to get lost in and the story turned out at a suspenseful pace that kept me flipping pages. Although the twist at the end may come as no surprise to most folks, I have to admit I was nicely taken off guard. This story deals with a princess on the run from an upcoming engagement who she deems to a barbarian. While she is escaping, she meets a traveling entertainment act (their scenes and dialogue are one of my faves in the story) and a magical forest. There's a nice scene at the climax where the heroine comes out a true heroine and it didn't seem heavy handed or forced at all. Really enjoyed this fantasy romance.

The Wrong Bridegroom by Sharon Shinn

Usually I don't generally like the first person narrative unless the narrator is a well written character. If not, they can be a bit of a pain to follow the story along with. Unfortunately that happened to me here, unlike with the Galenorn story where I can identify and sympathize with the main character's plight. Here, Princess Olivia was a rather unlikeable protagonist so it was hard to identify with her throughout the story. She had many moments musing about why certain people didn't stay in their place or fall over their feet whenever they were in her presence. She definitely embodied the spoiled princess personality. I had hoped she would be redeemed, maybe learn a bit of humility and grow up a little in the end, but instead we get some flashes of maturity and selflessness that may give us hope for her future. Thankfully the surrounding characters more than made up for it. This story is probably third on my list for this anthology. Although it was a fantasy romance, there were some themes that occurred in here that were just too modern for believability. I got the idea that this was in a world not unlike medieval times and the thinking would be entirely different when presented to some things occurring here. All in all, I liked the secondary characters and the descriptions of the towns, magic and world here which made the story enjoyable.


1 out of 5 Can He Bake A Cherry Pie
4.5 out of 5 The Shadow of Mist
5 out of 5 The Tangleroot Palace
3 out of 5 The Wrong Bridegroom?


Have a fabulous 2010 everyone!

Life in the Rear View Mirror

Imagine your life as a car. You are the driver. The car is your life. The road is your destiny which will fork and split depending on your decisions. Sometimes destiny is well marked as a good map. Other times, you may take a few wrong turns but will eventually find your way once more.

Regardless of the route you take, the one constant is the past, staring back at you in the rearview mirror. Why is this significant? Because only by keeping an eye on the past can you move forward with any kind of certainty.

This past weekend, I sat down and wrote out my goals for the 2010 writing year. Am I dreaming big? Probably. Am I shooting for possibly unrealistic goals? Most likely. But where would anyone of any kind of success be if they merely dreamed in mediocrity? I’m planning 4 full length (75K or over) books for 2010. At this point, only one novella is planned. Which is not to say I won’t write more or meet those goals but I’ll try.

That’s part of the challenge and all of the fun.

2009 was my debut year as a published author. To say it was crazy is a vast understatement of how it felt to live through the chaos. Yes, book releases for 2010 are stacked up like taxing planes in Charlotte’s airport but that is because I had a mess of “banked” work. I now need to refill the bank and wait for a lull in my release schedule—in 2011.

Why was 2009 important? Name recognition. As a new author, one of the toughest jobs you have is convincing folks to buy your books over someone who’s been tried and true in the industry. Have I accomplished this? To a certain degree but not nearly as much as I would have liked. With each new day, I make a tiny bit more headway in the crowded waters.

But 2009 taught me a hard lesson. Slowing down in 2010 is a must. Yes, those in my inner circle know I just cranked out a short story in one day. It was a one off sort of thing because my muse nearly strangled me. She was a bit miffed to be on hiatus for awhile. Not she’s been appeased and has flown off for the islands. I hope her bitchy self gets a sunburn.

My point in this ramble? Set a list of goals for yourself. You may meet all of them. You may meet none of them but at least you’ll have a road map to guide you through the pitfalls that will come your way on life’s highway.

As Kasey Kasem once said “Keep your feet on the ground but keep reaching for the stars.”

Power on and here’s to a successful and happy 2010.

2009, what a year

It’s freezing here today. I mean absolutely freezing. My darling husband had to go downstairs and stick the heat on before I could even get out of bed and now I am here listening to the sounds of the radiators pushing the heat through our newly renovated but still old, in some spots, 1920’s center hall colonial. The house may be warming but I am still cold.

The baby has been sleeping well through the night. I almost don’t want to jinx it by saying it aloud, but he has been as I have complained bitterly for three months, I thought perhaps I should give him credit where credit is due. The last five nights, he has slept all the way through.

My oldest son wrote his name Christmas morning for the first time and I was so tremendously proud of him. He’s four. But, now it’s really gotten me thinking about the passage of time, how quickly a year moves, two years…five…ten. My husband and I, between dating and marriage, have been together for the better part of this decade. Somehow I blinked and we have three children, two dogs, two cats, a house, cars, and jobs. Wasn’t I just wondering around Tulane Law School buying coffee at the PJ’s coffeehouse and looking around New Orleans for ‘real’ New York style bagels?

Just last February, I was unpublished. We were away, I was newly pregnant with my aforementioned sleeping child, and we were in Disney with the kids. I had submitted Her Wolf to Liquid Silver Books and they amazed me by buying it while we were on vacation.

Since then Her Wolf released as well as its sequel Summer’s Wolf. Love Beyond Time came out from Eirelander Publishing. January 4^th and January 11^th I have two new books coming out: First Dimension and Yes, Captain from Liquid Silver Books. Needless to say, writing wise, it has been quite a year.

From my family to yours, I wish you a happy, healthy, and blessed new year. 2010 should be even better!

Our Heroes and Self-Rescuing Princesses.

From the time I was very little, I'd developed a particular taste in heroes.

First came Robin Hood. My Great-Uncle used to read me Roger Lancelyn Green's Tales of Robin Hood. I couldn't have been much more than 5. Then came Zorro - old black and white serials shown on TV on Saturday morning. Robin was back when I discovered Errol Flynn, and again when Granada television brought out the magnificent "Robin of Sherwood" series in the 80s. D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers were another favourite. And Lord of the Rings, of course. I had a very strong obsession with Aragorn long before I ever laid eyes on Viggo Mortensen.

Lots of flashing swords, daring-do and larger than life romances made me a convert for life.



But it wasn't just the heroes I liked to be action packed, adventurous and determined. I wanted the heroines to be the same.



Now I have a daughter I've been introducing her to a concept very dear to my heart - "the self-rescuing princess". Give me a girl who can take care of herself and yet still retain (or regain) the capacity to love. The Xenas of this world, or any other world for that matter. Strong women, women who can solve their own problems, women you can respect, admire and want to be like.


That doesn't mean I want my boys to be any less. I'm an equal opportunities writer. I still want my Robin Hood. I just want Maid Marian to be just as good as he is. And maybe rescue him as well every so often.


Let's face it, there is nothing so attractive in a couple as lovers who have each other's back, who will support each other through thick and thin, who are in fact, a perfect match.


Which takes me back to Robin of Sherwood and Judi Trott's Maid Marian. She started off as the shy and retiring medieval maid, but Marian ended up being as much a part of the gang as any of the others. In fact, she ended up being the heart and soul of Sherwood. And just as able to fight her own ground.

Eowyn of Rohan was another female character who stayed with me from the first moment I met her on the pages of The Lord of the Rings. The aspect of unrequited love, of helpless longing in spite of personal strength, just made her more attractive to me. Her relationship with Faramir develops out of their mutual loss, and their respect for each other. It isn't the grand, passionate drama. It's quiet and subtle, as strong and enduring as they are. It's profoundly moving.

Princess Leia does it too, although when we first meet her she's about to be captured. That doesn't stop her fighting back though. And though she has to be rescued, she very quickly assumes command of the situation, ordering Han around, insulting Chewbacca, and delivering a killer line - "You came here in that thing? You're braver than I thought!". She even turns a bad-boy's head in Han Solo, able to meet him on his own terms, leading up eventually to the glorious lines from Empire.

"I love you.", "I know."

In Return of the Jedi those same lines are spoken, this time with Han leading, as they prepare to fight their way out of another hopeless situation. Those two scenes encapsulate their relationship for me. Strong, supportive, equal.

And of course, more recently, there is Buffy. Not a princess, not really, although... Hey, Chosen One! The whip smart dialogue and mix of comedy and drama sometimes masks the fact that Buffy deals with deep issues, terrible loss and sacrifice, and that she does it herself (or with her friends) without relying on a man (alive or undead) to come swooping in to rescue her. They might try. She generally has things covered.

Where does this leave the hero? Well I have a theory on the heroes for these heroines. In order to match up to a self-rescuing princess, a hero has to be able to accept her as she is. She doesn't need him, doesn't have to rely on him, so the fact that she chooses to be with him is a great compliment. It also means that he has to be man enough to accept it. Relationships in stories like this are a marriage of equals. He matches her, she matches him. She's strong enough to stand her ground. He's strong enough to give her the emotional support she needs while at the same time accepting it from her. Oh, and fight at her side.
There's nothing more sexy than that.
So what do you think? What makes a modern hero work for you? Who is your favourite Self-Rescuing Princess?

--

R.F. Long always had a thing for fantasy, romance and ancient mysteries. The combination was bound to cause trouble. In university she studied English Literature, History of Religions and Celtic Civilisation, which just compounded the problem.



Her Holtlands Novella The Wolf’s Sister: a Tale of the Holtlands and her novels The Scroll Thief: a Tale of Ithian and the paranormal romance novel Soul Fire are now available from Samhain Publishing. The Wolf’s Mate, sequel to The Wolf’s Sister is due out on 19th January 2010. The Scroll Thief came out in print on 1st December 2009, and Soul Fire will follow suit in May 2010.

You can contact her at her website, http://www.rflong.com/, (where you can find out all about her books, read some excerpts and even find her free serial "Old Friends" featuring her very own self-rescuing princess at the moment), or on Twitter (as www.twitter.com/RFLong).

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

There are hundreds of ways to say it and many languages to do it in. If you know more - add them!

JOYEUX NOEL!

Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!

Froehliche Weihnachten!

Buon Natale!

FELIZ NAVIDAD

Gud Yul!

PRETTIG KERSTFEEST

Nolag mhaith Dhuit Agus Bliain Nua Fe Mhaise

Chuk Sung Tan / Sung Tan Chuk Ha

Bachtalo krecunu Thaj Bachtalo Nevo Bers

Kala Christougenna Kieftihismenos O Kenourios Chronos

See more at: http://www.celebratelove.com/christmas150.htm and http://www.travlang.com/xmas.html

From my house to yours: Merry Christmas! Oh, and meow! meow! translates to anything where I live.

Growl and roar-it's okay to let the beast out.-© J. Hali Steele

The Nutcracker Ballet Tradition

Although I don't celebrate holidays, I look forward to this time every year. I'm a sucker for egg nog, candy canes, my pumpkin spice flavored coffee (and ice cream) and most of all the Nutcracker Ballet. Not just any Nutcracker rendition, mind you. By Mikhail Barishnikov and Gelsey Kirkland's version. Up until a few years ago, my local PBS station would play it without fail every year but for some reason it stopped.

For some reason, this version just stood out to me even though it was the same story. There was something magical about Tchaikovsky soundtrack mixed with the fantastical elements of the dream-like story. The costumes were elegant and the set were gorgeous. It even had a handsome prince.

I really wish this was broadcast on TV again for many more generations to come but at least there's the DVD to keep it alive. :-)




Le swoon. :-)

I hope everyone has a wonderful, warm and safe winter season!

Just an FYI, if you're a classical and sweet romance fan, my newest release Voice of Abandon will be available tomorrow in digital format at Smashwords and on the Kindle.

His music inspired her to live again. His heart inspired her to love again.


After losing her husband to a fatal heart condition, Her Serene Highness Julianna DeWinters falls into a depression. She lives her life on auto pilot, making preparations and setting things in order for her country but not for herself. Assisted by her in-laws on an evening visit to a classical concert, Julianna hears the most beautiful sound that awakens her to life once again. The violinist’s passion through his music not only livens her will but also her heart as she finds the ability to love. If she allows herself the possibility...


Andrew Graham never settled down and loved again after losing the love of his life. Throwing himself into his music, he fuels his passion through the strings of his violin. Once he stops in Welshire to play for the royal family, a beautiful princess captures his interest and his heart. Soon he finds himself on the edge of a romance that will test his ability to trust and love once again.


Voice of Abandon or, The Princess and the Violinist is a sweet, classical novella that proves life and love can begin after loss. Especially when you least expect it.