Michael Hauge

And now for a special presentation of...

 On the Road with the LIRW! 

      Recently several members of the LIRW- Jen McAndrews, Robin Ruinsky, Monica Spence, Donna Velleman, Pam Burford, Myra Platt and Yours Truly- went on a road trip to Meriden Connecticut! There we participated in an excellent workshop presented by screenwriter consultant Michael Hauge. Hosted by the CTRWA, this fabulous event was well worth my five hour drive and the Port Jefferson Ferry ride. Which, by the way, is magical at sunset. 

      If you haven't experienced a Michael Hauge workshop you are missing out. In this special presentation geared to romance writers, he used examples from popular movies and romance novels to illustrate key points of story writing such as plot structure and character arcs. In particular he focused on the movie "Shrek" and an adorably sweet novel "Catch of the Day" by romance writer Kristan Higgins. 

     Using humor, visual aids, and a bit of psychology, Mr. Hauge showed what makes a story grab the reader from beginning to end. His books are incredible and I was so inspired I talked about writing the entire ride home. I feel badly for my carpool buddy, Donna. 

     A special thanks to everyone who made this event possible. The lunch was delicious, the company fantastic, the questions insightful, and I'm running out of adjectives so, one more time, Thank You! 

XOXO,

Dawn

P.S. I have a new hero and his name is Michael.   

Thomas Nelson - introduces self publishing arm

Publishers Weekly recently noted that Thomas Nelson, a 200-year old printer and publishing firm - mainly in the Christian fiction/nonfiction market - has launched a Christian self-publishing imprint, West Bow Press.

Quote: "Nelson will monitor WestBow Press titles with an eye toward signing authors whose books sell well. ASI will manage WestBow on behalf of Nelson. It is the parent company of self-publishing imprints AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford Publishing, and Xlibris, and brought to market more than 21,000 new titles in 2008."

From some comments in the blog universe -- it seems the current stable of fiction authors are not exactly happy with this West Bow Press imprint. I can certainly see their point - so now, when you say you write for Thomas Nelson, someone is going to think, oh, yeah, you self publish.

Others may simply be glad there is a another avenue to self-publish a book, especially if it is an imprint affiliated with a long-established "reputable" publisher. Consider the tale of Christopher Paolini, who self-published "Eragon" and went on to be published by a mainstream publisher for follow on books.

I wonder what others think? This move to some may smack of a "try before you buy" attitude on the part of publishers. In other words, the authors themselves are taking the financial risks to self-publish with Nelson pubs, and once they have established a following, then the publisher will deign to accept future manuscripts? I know -- seems impossible to imagine. But with ever-shrinking budgets at publishing houses - is this the wave of the future?

In this digital environment we live in, is self-publishing becoming a more accepted alternative to traditional publishing in getting one's voice out there? Amazon has "createspace"/BookSurge, Barnes and Noble has "fictionwise", there's lulu.com and the list goes on and on. Isn't the whole point of being a writer, to get one's work out there and to be read by the public?

Bag O' Books

The LIRW has been super busy lately.  So, for now, I'll try and entertain you with a day in the life of Dawn. 

When I'm finished reading books, I donate them to the Riverhead Public Library. In the summer they open this little yellow barn and resell romance books for 25 cents to $1.00. I know. I know. Romance writers are cringing. But I can't keep all the books I read and I love searching for rare and inexpensive history books, which I use for research. 

Two weeks ago they had their end of the summer "Bag Sale". Two dollars for an entire bag of books. Am I killing you yet? The paper alone was worth more. I'm waiting at the checkout, trying to hold onto my four bags of books and the eight dollars in my hand, when I hear the librarian begging someone to take a free book. 

"We have twenty copies," the librarian said. "Everyone gets one free with their purchase."

"But I all ready read it," the man whined.

"Well, here." The librarian turned to a customer whose clothes looked years out of date. "Do you want it?"

The customer stared at the pristine hardcover and shook his head.

"How about you?" she asked the woman in front of me. I glanced over a tweed covered shoulder and glimpsed the familiar eyes of the Mona Lisa. 

"No thanks," tweed shoulder said.

Sighing, the librarian barely looked at me when she took my money. 

"Poor, Dan Brown," I whispered.

She looked at me with hopeful eyes. "You want one?"

"Well, I haven't read it, and I heard it was good, but as you can see I have four bags of books."

The librarian nodded sadly. " It was so popular and now I can't give them away."

"It's humbling. As an author, you wonder what it all means. Trying to get published--I wonder how Dan Brown would feel if he knew this?

She shrugged. "It's the way of things. At least books aren't like old computers and televisions. Someone will want these books and be happy to get them. Poor people without money shouldn't be deprived of good things and good books never go out of date."

I nodded at the librarian's wisdom as I stared at outdated-clothing man. Someone would want those books. But it was a mistake taking my eyes off her. The crafty librarian threw the book in my bag before I could blink. I titled to one side and like a hunchback slowly limped to my car. 

And you know what? No wonder they turned the book into a movie. I loved the Da Vinci Code!

So, Mr. Dan Brown, if you read this someday, please don't feel bad. One of your babies found a good home. I swear. 

XOXO,

Dawn 

Did you enjoy the Da Vinci Code? Angels and Demons? Have you planned your fall reading? I have bags of books for my winter on Long Island! 

Summer Inspiration (Part 4)

Summer is almost over. Sigh. But at least I can squeeze in one more Summer Inspiration blog post! I saved the best for last. 

One of the greatest places for inspiration is my mail box. Yep. It's a magic box that delivers joy, sorrow, stress, relief--every emotion I can think of. And yesterday, well, I received inspiration. 

My critique partner sent me a postcard from Peru explaining the story behind Mornia Juanita. (The remains of a woman  sacrificed by the Incas.) It immediately caught my imagination. The picture of the mummified body, Kate's handwritten words on snail-mail, which reached me long after she returned to the states. I immediately googled Johan Reinhard, who found the snow preserved body in 1995. My mind took flight. 

                                                                              

So this blog post is dedicated to mailmen everywhere who take the time to deliver cardboard inspiration to me. But also to my critique partners, a constant joy and source of creativity. Kate, Penney, Sara, Donna, I Love you guys! 

To learn more about Kate's adventures in Peru, visit her blog:    

Adventures on the Road to Success.  

And for more inspiration check out:

The Fictional Life of Penney

XOXO,

Dawn

P.S. Stay tuned for my next romantic comedy: A young native, destined to be sacrificed like Juanita-- only a near-sighted, Lego Champion can save her, if he doesn't fall off of  a ruin at Machu Picchu first. What do you think? :) 

Summer Inspiration (Part 3)

Nope. I'm not crazy.  LOL! Much. Graveyards are a great place for inspiration. What? You don't believe me? I bet the paranormal writers are nodding their heads. Apocalyptic tales? Vampires? Zombies? Demons? What better place for inspiration? Staring at moss-covered, tombstones...old, ancient...the twisting tree whose roots run deep--I can walk for hours in a graveyard. What tale shall I weave? Religious rituals, mythology, tales of the afterlife. So many possibilities, so many paths to travel. Are you feeling inspired?

What is your favorite place for inspiration?  The crazier the better! 

XOXO, 

Dawn

Summer Inspiration (Part 2)

Train stations are a great place for inspiration! I love to make up stories about the people I see.

 That man in the baseball hat--he's up to something. And the shifty woman with the big bag--she must be his accomplice, or is she? Hmmm. Maybe it's the woman with the children? She's surrounded herself with innocence, but I'm on to her. What are they up to...

But it's not simply the people who inspire. There is something magical about a mass-transportation gathering place. For a moment in time, everyone has a similar goal. And that goal is: "Let's get the heck out of here!" No, just teasing. It's more and less than that. It's why countless writers have incorporated train stations into their books. In fact, the station pictured above was recently mentioned in, Come the Night, by Susan Krinard. Great book. I can't help but wonder if she sat at Bridgehampton Station once. Maybe it inspired her romance. Do you have a good train story? I want to know! 

XOXO,

Dawn

P.S. If you want to go to Sagg Main beach, this is the stop. And don't forget to check out the following books.  All aboard!

Great Beach Reads:

The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston (with Maria Spezi)

In Over My Head by Judi Fennell

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter

Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child

Menu for Romance by Kaye Dacus

Offcomer by Jo Baker 

Summer Inspiration!

This is Sagg Main Beach.  I don't write much in the summer. It's too nice to sit in front of my computer. But I use the time to lie in the sand and plot, no, dream about, my next project. The beach is a great place for inspiration. 

So, to all you surfers, it might look like I'm reading my book but I'm really checking you out. Not that way! It's research for my next story, I swear. Those broad shoulders and killer abs might wind up on my hero. And to all you women, in your string bikinis, my heroines never looked so good, or so tan. 

Now, I know what you are thinking, a perfect looking character can seem unbelievable. So, maybe I'll add the scar on your leg, the one from that close call with the reef. Or maybe I'll add the mole on your shoulder, the one you want to get rid of, but are strangely attached to, and besides, you already named it and everything. The missing leg that the shark bit off, the patch that covers your mismatched eyes, the-oh, wait. I think I'm describing a pirate. Well, you get the point: Too much sun can lead to really weird stories. So here's to summer and Sagg Main Beach, where all the magic takes place. And, just so you know, I haven't written a pirate story-yet. 

Do you like the beach? Do you read there? What book are you reading? Do you daydream instead? People watch? Is there a place that inspires you? I would love to know. 

XOXO,

Dawn

P.S. Any resemblance between Sagg Main Beach go-ers and characters in my stories are completely fictional/coincidental. I only use parts of people, kind of like Frankenstein...Ok, I'll shut up now and let you talk.