ON THE SHELF: SACRED FIRES

Books by RWANYC Members are available at your local bookstores and online.  Happy Reading.

SACRED FIRES
by Catherine Greenfeder
Secret Cravings Publishing


With the law on their side and a love so strong it is sacred; soul mates Miguel Stephens and Casey McConoughy reunite while investigating the theft of Aztec antiquities. From modern Mexico City to tropical Acapulco, SACRED FIRES paints a story of greed, betrayal, revenge, and love.

To learn more about RWANYC and its members, visit www.rwanyc.com.



RECOMMENDED CONFERENCES

by Jenna Weart



Would you like to meet editors and agents? Schmooze with fellow writers? Learn about craft, marketing, or promotion? Some annual events in our area can provide what you need. Based on my experiences in previous years, I'd recommend the ones described below; although, none of them are right for everyone. You'll need to check the websites and decide which conference(s) is right for you.

The American Society of Journalists and Authors Conference, in Manhattan, is probably the world’s premiere conference for journalists. Some writers make transcontinental trips to attend.. Senior editors and other top panelists rapidly share knowledge and ideas during a stimulating day. Although it‘s oriented toward nonfiction, the tech track and some other topics can be useful for novelists. Sree, a computer expert, is excellent.  You might talk briefly to an agent or editor before a panel leaves a table.  For information, visit http://www.asja.org/.

Mystery Writers of America Symposium, in Manhattan, offers fewer panels, so some years the topics might interest you and other years, not. Mary Higgins Clark, Steven King, and Janet Evanovich have spoken there. The audience includes award winners and beginners. Last year's non-member price was $125.  The agents and editors party is open only to members (who may be writers or fans), and space is limited. Some people have met agents there, but the agents are vastly out-numbered by writers, and some agents beeline to editors.  For info, visit http://www.mysterywriters.org/.

The most gracious place to make contacts is the Long Island Romance Writers Luncheon, scheduled for June 8 at The Fox Hollow near the Suffolk and Nassau Counties border. The ladies' hospitality could qualify them to be heroines of a high-society romance. The reception and lunch give opportunities for leisurely social conversations with editors and agents. For more info, visit http://www.lirw.org/.

An excellent venue for agents is our chapter's Golden Apple Awards,reception, scheduled this year for Sept. 13. The culinary delicacies are an attraction, but obviously agents come mostly to meet our talented members. For more info, visit http://www.rwanyc.com/.

The New Jersey Romance Writers “Put your heart in a book” Conference will be in October.  The one I attended was well organized, with a large choice of workshops. I learned something from all of them, but the quality varied. You get a ten-minute conversation with an agent. At least one of our members, Lis Eng, met her editor there. (The Wild Rose Press offered her a contract.) If you want a particular agent or editor, sign up early. For more info, visit http://www.njromancewriters.org/.

The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators holds its New York conference in January. It has top speakers, but since topics include everything from picture books to teen novels, not all the sessions can be right for you. If you're writing for readers below age sixteen, consider joining this worldwide organization. For more info, visit http://www.scbwi.org/.


Will an event be worth the price to you? Or can you learn enough by ordering tapes or discs? The websites can help you decide. At Shawguides.com you can find a list of more conferences, near and far.♥




Jenna Weart's enjoyment of writers' conferences began with one, years ago, for reporters for high school newspapers. She has worked as a journalist and a teacher. Although she is currently revising a historical novel, she's published stories in Woman's World, USA, and in That's Life! Fast Fiction, Australia.
  

ON THE SHELF: Dale and Tarr

Find these books by RWANYC Members at your local bookstores or online.  Happy Reading.

A PROMISE OF SAFEKEEPING
By Lisa Dale

Nine years ago, Lauren Matthews prosecuted the case of a lifetime. But her error in judgment sent an innocent man to prison. Now Arlen Fieldstone’s finally been released, and Lauren has only one thing on her mind: asking forgiveness. But how can she make up for nine years of his life?
           To get to Arlen, Lauren must first get through Arlen’s best friend, Will Farris. Will hasn’t forgotten Lauren from those days, and hasn’t forgiven her for destroying his best friend’s life. He is Arlen’s keeper—protecting him from suspicious neighbors as well as from Lauren.
           In the steaming summer streets of Richmond, Virginia, three people’s lives collide. Lauren needs forgiveness. Arlen needs hope. And Will? He needs something too, something that no one can know—especially not Lauren….

TEMPTING
by Hope Tarr


Simon Belleville is supposed to be closing down brothels-not consorting with the "ladies" who work in them. But one glimpse at Christine Tremayne's sweet, innocent face, and he is enraptured.
           Set in Victorian England, TEMPTING is the story of aspiring Member of Parliament, Simon Belleville, and Christine Tremayne, a former dairymaid whom dire circumstances have landed in the attic of a Covent Garden brothel. As Simon soon discovers, polishing this roughly hewn diamond into a gem of a lady is no small feat, especially with the opposing political party sniffing for scandal. In helping Christine, Simon knows he is putting his hard-won reputation and a lifetime's ambition at risk. Little does he suspect that his biggest risk is losing his heart.

To learn more about RWANYC and its members, visit us at rwanyc.com.

CRAFT CORNER: Point of View

    
by Isabo Kelly

THIRD PERSON  vs  FIRST PERSON  POV

One of the first questions an author must ask when starting a new project is: what type of point of view will this story be in? For most commercial genre fiction, the choice is between Third Person Subjective and First Person. But which is best?

Like all things in writing, the answer depends entirely on the story being told and the author doing the telling. In the current market, either is acceptable—if done well. And some authors even manage to write comfortably in both third and first person. So which is right for your story and your voice?

Consider first which comes more instinctively. When you sit down to write, do the words flow out in first person (I said, I went), or do you just naturally turn to third (he said, she went)? Often, a writer has a preference for one or the other and that’s just how they write.

On the other hand, if you’re having trouble deciding which POV will best suit your current work-in-progress, consider these pros and cons.

Third person subjective (also referred to as “limited” or “deep” third person POV) takes a reader into the head of your main character or characters and keeps her there. This is as opposed to third person omniscient, which takes readers into all heads and sometimes steps farther back to talk to the reader directly—think Jane Austen; this style isn’t seem much in commercial fiction. Similarly, but even more deeply, first person forces the reader to view the story strictly through one character’s perspective.

So if both bring the reader into the head of the point of view character, what’s the difference between using “she” and “I”?

Third person POV provides a little more distance from the character than first—this is both a pro and a con. A bit of distance gives the author more freedom in conveying events of the story and filtering those events. But the reader doesn’t get the immersion into a single character that they feel in first person.

Flexibility in storytelling, pacing and a larger perspective on the story are all easier to accomplish in third. An author’s voice can be distinct from the voice of the main character. The narrator can also be more easily disguised. If, for example, you’re giving the perspective of the antagonist, but you don’t want the readers to know exactly who that person is yet, third person gives the distance necessary to make this work. The language chosen can be prettier and more elaborate as well.

On the other hand, third person POV lacks immediacy. There’s a distance from both character and story, a kind of buffer that you may not want. It’s also entirely too easy to head hop, jumping from one character to the next even within the same paragraph, because the author is seeing the story through several different characters’ perspectives. Slipping into the omniscient POV is also much easier to do by accident, and this will put even more distance between the reader and characters. Avoiding these problems is something an author must keep in mind when using this POV.

So is first person better? Depends on what you’re going for. In first person, you have an immediacy—into both story and character—you don’t necessarily get in third. The prose must move quickly, which doesn’t mean the action or plot has to be quick, but the language used to tell the story does. It’s easier to have an unreliable narrator when filtering the story through a first person perspective. And back story is easier to deal with.

However, there is no separation between narrator and character, so the author’s voice needs to mesh well with the character’s. If as an author your style is flowing and languid but your character is sharp and quick-speaking, the two styles will come across as discordant notes to a reader. Using pretty or elaborate language is much more difficult and frequently doesn’t work.

You can only tell the story through one person’s perspective, so only one person’s thoughts and experiences can be shown on the page. If the entire story is in a single character’s POV, the story can only be known through that character so if something happens in the plot outside the character’s experience, you’ll have to find ways for your character and the readers to realistically learn this information. Not being able to “show” the scene on the page limits the scope of your story. Taking all these things into consideration, also remember that there are no hard and fast rules as to which POV you use. This has opened up in modern fiction and using a mix of several first person or first and third person POVs in the same novel is acceptable. This gives the author a great deal of freedom.

If no POV comes naturally to you, or your story doesn’t call out for a specific one, try both. Take a scene and write it both ways to see which feels right. This technique can also help if you’re struggling with the voice and tone of a novel. Attempt to write from the opposite POV—if writing in first, switch to third or vice versa—and see if the story flows easier.

In the end, only an author can decide which style of writing is best for their novel. Making an informed choice between these two possibilities will help move your novel that much closer to The End.♥


Useful Links on POV:

http://hubpages.com/hub/third-person-writing

http://www.suite101.com/content/writing-in-first-person-a33907

http://www.suite101.com/content/writing-in-third-person-point-of-view-a96644

Isabo Kelly’s latest fantasy romance, Brightarrow Burning, did have a few anti-info dumps that needed to be filled out. She’s eternally grateful to her editor for catching them. For more on Isabo and her books, visit her at www.isabokelly.com, follow her on twitter @IsaboKelly or find her on Facebook www.facebook.com/IsaboKelly.

WRITERCARE: Travelers' Thrombosis--A Concern for Writers?

By Elizabeth Knowles Palladino

Computer users may be at some risk of Travelers’ Thrombosis, a threat for airline passengers who sit immobile for long periods of time in cramped positions. Blood clots can form in the deep leg veins when a person sits still too long without stretching or walking. Most of these clots dissolve on their own, but there is some potential for unhealthy complications.

Writers who spend long hours at the computer can protect themselves from this potential health issue. First, they need to take regular breaks, getting up and moving around. At least every thirty minutes while seated, they should do some of the following exercises several times:

1. Raise and lower the heels while keeping the toes on the floor. Then raise the toes while keeping the heels on the floor.

2. Extend the legs and flex the ankles, pulling up and spreading the toes, then pushing down and curling the toes. Rotate the ankles, making circles in the air with the toes.

3. Exercise the thigh muscles by sitting with the feet flat on the floor. Slide the feet forward a few inches; slide them back, and repeat. Extend the legs; then flex and release the thigh muscles.

Don’t let a deep vein thrombosis clot your writing career!♥



Elizabeth Knowles Palladino lives in Kingston, New York, where she works in health care and writes medieval romance.

INSPIRING PASSION: Love Scenes in Christian Romances

  
by Margaret Birth

"The woman of all Clay Lazarus’ lustful fantasies had just entered the room.” Words out of a racy romance novel? Think again. This is the opening sentence from my novelette MAN OVERBOARD—a Christian romance story.

Anyone who’s unfamiliar with the Christian or inspirational romance subgenre might imagine descriptions of love that are so sanitized and toned down as to lack any sense of passion or physical desire—but they’d be wrong. Yes, Christian romances “keep the bedroom door closed” (as some writers and editors put it), but innuendo is still allowed and there’s a lot of desire that can be shown between characters who are fully clothed.

So, this is the first point I’d like to make: A love scene in a story doesn’t need to be a sex scene—just as not every sex scene is a love scene. If you read or write romance fiction, you know: These are love stories; hot or sweet, love is the basis of every romance story.

Inspirational romance has continued to grow in popularity; according to an article by Lyn Cote at http://www.virginiaromancewriters.com/Articles/inspmarket_cote.html, between 2005 and 2008, the share of Christian romances among all romance novel sales in all subgenres grew by 30%. And, as the market has grown, it has also continued to push the boundaries of what is “acceptable” in stories labeled as “Christian” or “inspirational.” Readers can now find books that run the gamut from squeaky-clean G-rated romance to grittier depictions of characters who struggle to keep their basest weaknesses and desires under control—and maybe don’t always succeed at that.

How can a love scene communicate passion if it doesn’t show a hero and heroine sharing physical intimacy? I’ve heard that question before. But I’d turn that question around: How can a love scene communicate any kind of intimacy if its primary focus is the physical rather than the emotional? This is the second point I’d like to make: Deep, lasting intimacy (the kind that results in happily-ever-after) results from developing trust and feeling cherished—emotional stuff.

Love scenes in inspirational love stories focus on the emotional part of romance. The characters’ physical longing for each other is always within the context of their emotional connection; spiritual connection may also be a part of their closeness, but when it comes to a love scene, that spiritual connection is likely to be shown as part of the complexity of their emotional connection. Some love scenes even culminate with the suggestion that the hero and heroine have some kind of physical dimension to their relationship; usually, physicality is reserved between a husband and wife, but in so-called edgy inspirational romances, it’s sometimes even suggested as a physical temptation between single characters. But it’s never described in an action play-by-play; these are love scenes—not lust scenes.

MAN OVERBOARD’s hero, Clay Lazarus, may have boarded the cruise ship with the agenda of seducing a beautiful woman—but, as he learns, lust is just a hollow yearning . . . without the emotion and the spirit of love.♥



Margaret Birth is a Christian writer who has been widely published in short fiction, short nonfiction, and poetry, both in the U.S. and abroad; in addition to working as a freelance writer, she's spent over a decade freelancing for multiple publishers as a manuscript reader, proofreader, and copy editor. Margaret has short stories coming out in True Story (March) and True Confessions (March and April).
  

ON THE SHELF: COWBOYS & MOVIE STARS

  
Members "On the Shelf" this month are C.H. Admirand, Jennifer McAndrews and Margaret Birth.



DYLAN
By C.H. Admirand
Sourcebooks

Dylan Garahan might be an old hand at lassoing fillies, but one night at the Lucky Star club, and he ends up wrapping his rope around someone that even his formidable strength can't tame. She's wily and beautiful, and she's his new boss. Dylan's had his heart broken before, but even an honest cowpoke has to wrestle with temptation....  Ronnie DelVecchio might be fresh off the bus from New Jersey, but she's a hard-edged businesswoman and has had her fill of men she can't trust—although she might consider getting off her high horse for that big, handsome rancher with a Texas drawl.

DEADLY FARCE
By Jennifer McAndrews
Avalon Books
 
When Hollywood heavyweight Shepard Brown fears someone is trying to kill him, he asks newly licensed private investigator Lorraine Keys to keep him safe. Friends with Shepard since elementary school, Lorraine knows he can be more than a little melodramatic. Though she agrees to meet him on location in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to review the situation, the last thing she expects is to find truth in his claims. After all, a poisoned pizza?   But after getting caught in the center of yet another attempt on Shepard's life, Lorraine is forced to admit he's right about the danger--and determined to find a way to protect him while searching for the culprit.  With her meddling friend Barb along for the ride, and her boss anxiously tracking her every move, Lorraine must juggle the chaos of a film set, the lure of the casinos, the mutual attraction of a hunky co-star, and a minefield of Shepard's ex-girlfriends all while keeping Shepard safe and uncovering the identity of the killer -- before she becomes the next target.

Margaret Birth has two stories out this month. Look for “Switched at Birth” from True Confessions and “True Blue” in True Story.

HAPPY READING!

  

LEGAL ISSUES AND THE WRITER

by Lise Horton


“The path you walk will be thorny, my son, through no fault of your own!”   ---- Maria Ouspenskaya to the Wolfman

Our path as writers can be truly thorny, too. The publishing world is changing like a nervous chameleon and we have to keep up with all these changes if we want to keep our careers from running afoul of monstrous mayhem. You’ll need to educate yourself to make sure your career is on track and you are maximizing your investments of time, effort, talent and money.

One of the trickiest areas to navigate is the legal arena. It can be tough on the best day, in the best circumstances. But as more and more authors opt to publish with digital publishers – the majority of whom don’t require an agent to get “in the door” – they are doing so without the benefit of knowledgeable agents (or publishing lawyers) to help them understand the contracts they are signing, to advise if the terms are “industry standard” or somehow aberrant, and to clue them in to the potential adverse effects when something goes wrong.

On a lot of RWA loops I’ve encountered discussions of the confusion over publishing contract terms (as well as a lot of erroneous “facts”). Likewise I’ve seen a lack of understanding of what is standard in our industry. And the proliferation of publishers has left some authors contracting with operations that are not operating as efficiently – and in some isolated cases, as ethically – as they could be. Then there are the day to day legal issues writers are faced with which are often misunderstood or ignored completely.

The only way to make sure you are on an even keel is to get as much education as you can from reliable sources. And even then, you need to be able to recognize when you are simply in over your head and need professional guidance. You take a chance on missteps that may adversely impact your career, and just make you an unhappy camper if you don’t have this self-knowledge.

So to get an idea of how much you know – or don’t – check out the following questions having to do with things legalistic and contractual:

- What is the difference between an option and non-compete provisions?
- Give an example of a case of material breach of a publishing contact.
- What legal concept covers passing a living author’s work off as your own?
- True or False: You can use song lyrics in your story as long as you give appropriate credit.
- Do you have any recourse when signing a publishing contract if you do not want the publisher to include another author’s ads in your book?
- What does it mean if a work is “in the public domain”?
- Can you copyright a book title?
- When can you trademark a book title?
- What is “Fair use”?
- Give an example of when an author might be required to return an advance.
- Give two examples of when rights in a book might revert back to an author.
- True or False: The following subsidiary rights always belong in total to the publisher –
          o Book club sale
          o Foreign rights
          o Audio rights
          o Dramatic rights
          o Merchandising rights

- An “advance” paid to an author is (choose the correct choice) –
          o A signing bonus
          o An advance against any royalties an author might make on sales
          o A portion of guaranteed income on sales of a book

- What is a “work-for-hire”?


These are just a few of some basic questions an author should know the answers to before she signs any publishing contract, and, in fact, as she moves forward to becoming a published author. Do you know the answers? If you do, congratulations you savvy professional, you! Are you scratching your head and wondering if MAYBE you THINK you know a few of the answers? Then you need more knowledge. This business can be unforgiving if you inadvertently err. Make sure you are making the most of your career – and not mistakenly putting yourself in jeopardy.

Familiarize yourself with the basics. Recognize that contracts are not static, and are changing incredibly fast, as the business changes. “Industry standards” are changing by virtue of changing technologies (not just digital publication, but enhanced eBooks and what they mean, what “out of print” now means and how it continues to evolve). And new opportunities can also present new dangers.

I am not a lawyer, but I’ve been listening to enough situations where authors have gotten mired in difficulties and frustration because they didn’t know enough – and didn’t know they needed to know more.

Don’t let that happen to you!

Lise Horton is the President of RWANYC, and has worked as an assistant in entertainment law, including publishing, for over 20 years. She freely admits she continues to learn new details every day – and urges everyone to seek out this knowledge to protect yourself and make the most of publishing success. For more information on the publishing industry, check out her blog, The Publishing Game, http://publishinggame.blogspot.com/.