Deirdre Martin | Crushed

I'm 46 and I still get crushes.

I'm not talkin' seeing a Russell Crowe movie and thinking,"Hootchie Mama, that's one fine lookin' Aussie." I'm talkin' lying on my bed mooning. I'm talkin' trawling the internet for info and pictures. I'm talkin' the full Tiger Beat treatment. And you know what? I think they play a pivotal role in my writing romance.

I got my first crush when I was five. It was Davy Jones of the Monkees. Those big brown eyes. That British accent. Of course, if I'd known he was only 4'3", I might not have felt the same. But when you're five, you don't wonder why your idol is the same height as you.

Next? George Harrison. He had the best Beatle hair and I thought he was deep. I actually credit George with launching me on the road to writing romance. In sixth grade, I used to write G-rated stories about me and George. I still have them and they’re hilarious.

Then came Pete Townshend of the Who. I know: His nose is so big he could smoke a cigar in the rain; but he's so smart, with the most gorgeous blue eyes…. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones followed. So what if his teeth were rotting, he shot heroin, and combed his hair with an eggbeater. Keith was cool, my first bad boy.

You may detect a pattern here: musicians. As an adolescent, music was my sanity saving device.

I'm not sure why, but eventually, my taste moved on to athletes. Pale, skinny guys with guitars just didn't do it for me any more. I needed to go alpha.

And boy oh boy, did Mark Messier, former Captain of the New York Rangers, fit the bill. He had a body built for sin, and a primal intensity that has never been matched in the history of sports. As a leader, he was unrivaled. Lots of female hockey fans had it bad for "Mess," despite the fact he's kind of, well, simian looking. It was Messier's animal magnetism that prompted me to create the character of Ty Gallagher in my first book, BODY CHECK, so my crush on Mess actually helped me get published.

I almost fell for British soccer star David Beckham but there are a couple of problems "Becks": first, he seems as dumb as a bag of hammers, and second, he's got a high pitched cockney voice. I pictured him taking me in the arms, but when he'd say, "You're the most beautiful woman in the world," in that Mickey Mouse voice, my libido took the last train to Clarksville.

I know lots of women who can appreciate guys purely as eye candy, but I can't. If the object of my desire doesn't have a brain, I'm not interested. In fact, it's often the brain that drives the crush for me rather than the other way around. If they have a sense of humor, too, so much the better.

This explains my current crush on Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords. Yeah, he's got a great bod and luscious lips and cool Elvis Costello glasses; but the main thing is, he's funny and smart—and he plays the guitar, an added bonus. The kiwi accent doesn't hurt, either.

I've stopped being embarrassed about my crushes because…they're fun. They make me feel tingly all over, like the first time a guy I really, really liked asked me out. They expand my imagination. They jump start my libido and help me write those hot sex scenes in my books (At least, I hope they’re hot). People who say crushes are immature don't know what they're missing. Crushes keep you young. As I cruise into middle age, I'm glad I still have the capacity to get giddy over some guy who floats my boat, even if it's only in my dreams.

Now excuse me while I go online to see if I can find any new pictures of Jemaine….

Deirdre Martin is a New York Times Bestselling author of six romances. Here latest book is JUST A TASTE. You can visit her website at: www.deirdremartin.com/.

Maggie Marr | The Dirt: A Woman In Hollywood

Like most women, I need my friends to sustain me but unlike a lot of women outside Hollywood, I also rely on my friends professionally. Making a film or television show is a collaborative process, and in Hollywood, it is often my friends who support my work. We work and play together. Do the lines get blurry? Yes, of course. But entertainment is The Industry where I found both the friendships that nurture me and the dirt that inspires me. Because to write Hollywood Girls Club and Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club, I needed both the friendships and the dirt.

Friendship in Hollywood you say? Why that’s preposterous, unheard of, impossible. Those moviemaking madmen are a cutthroat bunch, an impossible lot. No friendship to be found there. But in Tinseltown, like anywhere, there are friends to be made and this undeniably Midwestern girl, did in fact collect a group of friends. On my first day of trudging through the long agency hallways, pushing my mail cart, dropping off letters (oh so glamorous the agency life in the beginning) I noticed two things. First, most agents were male and second, so were most their assistants. But I needed female friends. Sure guys are great, and don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of good lovin’ in Hollywood Girls Club and Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club but I needed women to gab with, shop with, kvetch with and just be a girl with. So, I searched and I found friends.

And these friends, the women I collected on my way up the agency ladder, now as I write my books and produce my films are still my friends. Some, as is the way in Los Angeles, left ‘the biz.’ We are a transitory bunch us moviemakers. But my close friends that remain in The Industry are no longer assistants, they are now producers, studio executives, agents, managers, directors, actresses, and writers. Having completed our time in the trenches as assistants, we now enjoy the fun of Hollywood together. The glamour, the red carpet, the premieres, the film festivals, the parties and the swag. Oh yeah, great swag.

And the dirt? The Secrets? Well like any good friend, I can never, ever name names…buuut, I can tell my insider tales, and keep my friends, as long as I change the names to protect the innocent…or not so innocent…I mean, this is Hollywood.

Maggie Marr
www.maggiemarr.com/

Jenna Black | Too Stupid To Live

We've all "met" her in romance novels: the heroine who is Too Stupid to Live (or TSTL, for short). I read a novel recently that I really loved--except for one scene where the heroine had a TSTL moment. The book was good enough, and the TSTL moment came late enough, that I was able to forgive the author and still enjoy the book. I'll even buy her next one. But how I wish I could have been her editor for just a few minutes and convinced her to change that one scene.

Often, a heroine has TSTL moments because the author needs to get her into danger for plot reasons. Perfectly understandable, particularly in suspense plots. But I think most of us as readers prefer the heroine to get into danger for reasons beyond her control. We want to think that she is too smart to make any of these kinds of mistakes--even though we know that even the smartest people do occasionally make mistakes.

There is, however, one character whom I greatly enjoy who has constant TSTL moments. If you've read any of the Stephanie Plum books, you know that she's often having battles between “Smart Stephanie” and “Stupid Stephanie.” Inevitably, Stupid Stephanie wins. And yet, those moments never bother me. I put some thought into it--why don't these moments bother me, when in some other books, if the heroine did the same thing, I'd throw the book across the room? I came to the conclusion that Stephanie doesn't bother me because she never seems to get in trouble because of her Stupid Stephanie moments. When she does something potentially stupid (like breaking into the bad guy's house, for instance), she gets away with it.

Why does that make a difference for me? Because a big part of why I don't like those TSTL moments is because I feel like I can see the author's puppet strings. The author needs the bad guy to capture the heroine, so she has the heroine break into the bad guy's house and get caught there. Which means that the moment the heroine embarks on her quest, it's like there's a big, flashing sign telling me exactly what's about to happen. So not only is the heroine doing something stupid, I've lost all sense of suspense, because I know she's going to get caught. What makes Stephanie work for me is that that assumption doesn't hold true. Something suspenseful might happen, but it won't be whatever I'm expecting, and that makes the stories still enjoyable to me.

I'll leave you with a question that I've been pondering lately about those TSTL moments. When I've heard the term used, it's always describing a heroine. I don't see readers complaining about TSTL heroes. It makes me wonder whether we have a double standard. If a heroine knows she's in danger, but gives her bodyguard the slip anyway, she's TSTL. If a hero does something like that, I suspect we'd see him as “macho” or “alpha,” but not necessarily stupid. So what do you think? Would some of those TSTL heroines merely seem brave, rather than stupid, if they were male?

Jenna


http://www.jennablack.com/
Hungers of the Heart, coming April 29 from Tor Books
The Devil You Know, coming July 29 from Dell Spectra

Sandra Hill | Can we talk?

About book covers, I mean.

Oh, I know, this is a subject that has been beaten to death, but I've had some experiences of late that make me rethink some of my previous preferences. I love the covers for my Jinx treasure hunting covers, including my current WILD JINX, but I am being told by the powers that be that the big buyers do not consider these good sellers.

Huh? I think they're beautiful, and the colors make them pop. But, no, they claim that, unless you are a huge name, readers want to know exactly what the book is about, and that means people. In my case, probably shirtless hunks. Yikes! Talk about a blast to the past.

I've been published for fourteen years, and I have twenty-five books under my belt. For years I got hunk covers, sexy hunk covers, some of which were downright embarrassing. Not so extreme as the erotica ones today, but sexy nonetheless. A few of them I call my "bag over the head" covers...ones that I would have to wear a bag over my head if I were doing a booksigning in the mall. I couldn't wait until I became a big star and could have theme covers...you know what I mean, the pretty Adirondack chair on the beach, the sword and flower, the rugged castle on the moors.

Be careful what you wish for.

My second book, THE OUTLAW VIKING, had John D'Salvo in a blond wig and a fur thingee that must be in the closet of every cover artist in New York.
When a publisher says he needs a cover for a Viking book, Iswear, they just pull out that darn fur thingee. Better that than a horned helmet, which Vikings did not wear. Ever. Except in operas. But, despite my ducked head, this was a very successful cover. It sold lots of books. Funny story, though. I gave a copy to my hair dresser who I expected to make fun of the fur thingee, but instead she said, "Whoa, did you see what's peeking out of that fur?"

Whaaat?

I looked and I looked. Didn't see a thing. It was sort oflike those Curious George books where you can't find the monkey, and you can't find the monkey, and suddenly there the monkey is,and after that, it's the only thing you can see. Yep, I saw the monkey. Probably a trick of lighting. Ha, ha, ha.

Did I happen to mention that my fans check out my covers with magnifying glasses?

Which brings us to SWEETER SAVAGE LOVE. Whoo-boy! Where's the bag? And, yes, the magnifying glass folks claim that...well, never mind!

I have to say that we writers are as scornful of these types of covers as all those fan websites, but guess what? When I do a booksigning, even at a writers' conference, yep, SWEETER SAVAGE LOVE is the first to sell out.

And then there is THE BEWITCHED VIKING. Fan sites love to ridicule this cover, and that website that gives new titles to romance novels based on cover art is actually very funny about this one. But I love this cover! And my fans do, too. And it sold tremendously well.

Yes, it's hokey...that crooking finger...or is he giving the finger? Either way, if you'd read the book, you would know that the mischievous Tykir would do exactly that.

Disclaimer here...I've also had some great cover art, like the stepback for FRANKLY, MY DEAR. Striking. And beautiful.

Fast forward to today and the dilemma over what sells in cover art, especially in this tight market. If my pretty Jinx covers aren't the answer, what is? Do barechested hunk covers really sell romance best? Are readers really sick of the theme covers that don't represent the book? And don't even mention cartoon covers!

What do you think?


Sandra Hill

Lois Winston| Write What You Know?

"Where do you get your story ideas?"

"Are any of your characters based on yourself or people you know?"

The above are the two most frequently asked questions I hear from readers. The third most frequently asked question is, “How do you research your sex scenes?” This question is never asked by someone who has read my books, always asked by a male, and usually is asked each year at my husband’s company Christmas party. The question is always preceded by over-imbibing on the part of the buffoon asking the question (usually to the embarrassment of the long-suffering wife at his side) and is always followed by a wink-wink, nudge-nudge from said buffoon. Depending on my mood, I will either glare, scowl, look down my nose at the fool (not an easy task for this vertically challenged writer,) or offer his wife a sympathetic eye roll.

But I digress (Can you blame me? What are those dimwits thinking???)

Anyway, there’s a writing axiom that states, write what you know. To some extent this is a sound guideline to follow, but it’s also extremely limiting. I have a very good friend who writes stories populated with vampires, werewolves, selkies, and other assorted weird creatures of the paranormal world. My friend is neither a vampire, a werewolf, nor a selkie, and I have it on good authority that she’s never met any such creatures, either. So obviously this very successful author is not writing what she knows from first-hand experience.

In LOVE, LIES AND A DOUBLE SHOT OF DECEPTION I wrote about secrets and revenge and the lengths some people will go in order to bury the former and achieve the latter. The plot is ripe with scandal. Drugs. Violence. Blackmail. Political machinations. Attempted murder. My heroine is a wealthy widow whose abusive, cocaine-snorting, deceased husband was about as low as a low-life can get.

Write what you know?

Hmm...I’ve never done drugs (sinus meds don’t count), never blackmailed anyone, never tried to kill anyone, never been involved in politics except to vote, and my husband is the complete opposite of my heroine’s husband. The guy even still helps me on with my coat and opens doors for me after all these years! Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m also far from wealthy. Very far. As a matter of fact, if the economy doesn’t pick up soon, I may be facing retirement living in a cardboard box, but at least I’ll have my darling husband to keep me warm.

So no, the characters in LOVE, LIES AND A DOUBLE SHOT OF DECEPTION are neither based on me nor anyone I know, and the story line is far from autobiographical. However, some of the plot lines in the book are loosely based on actual events, just not ones involving me.

I get my ideas for my characters and my plots from the world around me. I’m a die-hard news junkie who has always believed that truth is stranger than fiction. That belief is reaffirmed every time I pick up a newspaper or turn on the evening news. I’ll hear a news byte or read an article, then give the event a “what if” spin. The voices in my head take over from there, and the next thing I know, I’ve got the plot for another book.

I do have a confession to make, though. In TALK GERTIE TO ME, Connie, my heroine’s mother, develops an outrageous craft project involving plaster of Paris and a certain body part (No, not that body part! My, you all have dirty minds!) Many years ago I knew a woman who came up with the idea and wanted to demonstrate it on The Tonight Show. Unfortunately, Johnny Carson’s people weren’t interested. But in TALK GERTIE TO ME (with proper credit being given to the creator of the concept on the acknowledgements page,) David Letterman’s people are. Connie winds up demonstrating the craft on Late Night, using a certain sexy movie star from Down Under as her guinea pig assistant.

Write what you know? Hmm…to some extent -- with a little help from those voices in my head.
* * *
Award-winning author Lois Winston writes humorous, cross-genre, contemporary novels and romantic suspense. She often draws upon her extensive experience as an artist and crafts designer for much of her source material. Her first book, TALK GERTIE TO ME, was released in 2006 and was the recipient of the Readers and Bookbuyers Best Award, took second place in both the Beacon Awards and Laurel Wreath Awards, and was nominated for both a Reviewers’ Choice Award and a Golden Leaf Award. Her second novel, LOVE, LIES & A DOUBLE SHOT OF DECEPTION, was a June 2007 release and so far has been nominated for a Golden Leaf Award. Lois contributed to DREAMS & DESIRES, VOL. 1 and 2 and is a contributor to HOUSE UNAUTHORIZED, a November 2007 release. When not writing or designing, you can find Lois trudging through stacks of manuscripts as she hunts for diamonds in the slush piles for the Ashley Grayson Literary Agency. Visit Lois at http://www.loiswinston.com/.

Lois Winston