Sara Reyes | Do Special Events Make for a Better Relationship with Artists Creation?

And by artists I am referring to authors and film makers this time around. We'll leave the musicians, painters, sculptors, and programmers out of the conversation. If you know me well, you'll find I consider almost all producers of a "thing" including code as "creative artists" but I will not digress today. Back to the topic of "does meeting the artist make you like or appreciate the work better or less?"

Lone Star Trilogy (May, June, July:


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Here's the deal. Today we're having a high tea with Susan Mallery. It's a special private tea with just our book club and Susan. We've been looking forward and planning this event for months and no matter what happens it will be a day we'll remember for a long time. Seriously, we still talk about dinners with authors from ten or twelve years ago, reminiscing over the time spent with them, their books we've read since and for those who didn't attend, lamenting over their missed opportunity. In some way that private time spent with the author gives them a very special relationship with our reading group and individuals enduring long past the actual event.

Earlier this week, I went to a film viewing of The Maiden Heist at the USA Film Festival in Dallas. The director, Peter Hewitt and producer Rob Paris were in attendance and introduced the film, then talked about it after the showing. I went because I adore Christopher Walken and I wanted something fun to lighten up my week. Although the film was an amusing escape from my reality, the addition of the filmmakers created a sense of "specialness" that will last a long time. When "The Maiden Heist" goes to wide distribution (it's tentatively scheduled for a fall release) I'll spend another $10 to see it plus will probably buy it in DVD. I've already bored my husband and daughter and a few friends about it (including you, dear blog readers) and don't see myself stopping anytime soon. Go see it, a great ensemble comedy with a stellar cast including Christopher Walken, Morgan Freeman (God), William H. Macy and Marcia Gay Harden--her Rose is wonderful! It's what happens when the forces that be try to take away a person's obsession!

Back to today, our event with Susan will make her upcoming trilogy very special to the members of the DFW Tea group, even besides its Texas setting. Even the ones who can't come today are even beginning their laments (as well as directives to get books signed, sending along stuff, etc). Those of us there will probably fall in love again with Susan and will reminisce for years to come about our special day and tea with her. And she'll make new fans out of people who probably never met her before.

So what is it that makes works of art even more "special?" Is it the interaction on a personal level you have with the creator? Perhaps at a signing or talk? Or a private function? Or with the ubiquitous Internet, an email message, a group chat, a blog comment, or even, gasp, a Twitter? Or does all these up-close-and-personals turn you off? I know that liking, loving and hating are just different degrees of the same thing, so perhaps too close is too much?

Anyway, to reward your efforts this weekend, we'll be giving away to someone who comments on either this or Sandi's blog on Sunday a very special grab bag -- it will be something signed (or several somethings signed) by Susan Mallery during our time today. So don't be shy and do check out our photos from the event. We'll be Twittering them as well as posting later today on our photos section. And to all who can't make it in person, we'll send out some delicious cyber scones to ya!

Until next time...
Get out there and READ a book...
Sara Reyes

DFW Tea Readers Group
Join us at Readers 'n 'ritas November 13-15, 2009!

Amy J. Fetzer | The Challenge of Writing a Series

Jack of all trades…

A master of none? Well not quite. I don’t consider myself a master of anything, even writing novels. Each one is challenge. I’ve written 36 books in about five subgenres of romance; Historical, historical time travel & paranormal, Desires, Intrigues, even a Bombshell, but my favorite to date is my romantic thrillers, Dragon One.

The idea for Dragon One arrived in a hotel room at RWA national with my roommate, Maureen Child and one of those black and white speckled notebooks. Writing about Marines had to wait until my husband retired, otherwise, the Public Affairs Office had to read and approve anything I wrote. Not going to happen. Yet being the daughter, wife and mother of Marines, the advantage of living around predominantly men my entire life is I know them. I’m not saying I’ve figured men out, but I understand how military men will react to the most common events. The rest, I make it up.

It doesn’t hurt to sleep with your source, either. =)

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Bella Andre | The one where she becomes a romance writer....

My mother and I don't always see eye to eye, but the one thing we always have agreed on are romance novels. We absolutely love them. One of my main memories as a child was going to the library with my mother every Sunday, where she'd exchange her stack of hardcover romances for a new stack of books. As soon as I was old enough to have run through the Judy Blume books, I made my way over to romances. And was hooked. Little did I know that I would be writing them one day. (And that my mother would be reading them. But that's another article, entirely!)

Like many writers, I took the long way around to becoming an erotic romance author. I graduated from Stanford with an Economics degree in 1994, but really, I knew I was never going to become a management consultant. No, I wanted to be a rock star. So I recorded 4 CDs, played 1,000+ shows throughout North America, had a turn at being a star in Brazil, and then said, "Okay, what's next?" Somewhere along the way when my bank account was looking worse for the wear, I worked as a Director of Marketing for a dot com. No, I didn't get rich, but I did decide that come hell or high water I was going to make a living with creative pursuits. So I wrote two books on the music business, sold them, joined a local writer's group and uttered the words, "I could never write fiction. I can't believe that characters just start having a conversation in people's heads. How weird."

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Jennifer Ashley | Unusual Heroes: Who Do You Love?

As most readers know by now, my May 2009 release, The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, features an unusual hero. Ian Mackenzie has Asperger’s Syndrome, which is considered to be high-functioning autism. Traits include the inability to make eye contact, trouble with nonverbal cues and subtext, obsession with detail (but missing the “big picture”), and others. Not everyone who has AS exhibits the same traits, and the syndrome tends to present differently in men than women.

I’ve been recently praised for the risk I took writing Lord Ian. Which surprises me a little (though I don’t mind the compliments!), because when I sat down to write the story, I never thought: “Hey, I’m gonna go out there and take a risk! I’m going to do something different.”

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Kathryne Kennedy | What type of shape-shifter are you?

A reader commented that after finishing one of my books, she started looking at people differently. Started noticing that many people reminded her of certain animals. And then she had fun guessing what type of shape-shifter they might be.

So let me back up for a moment. My Victorian fantasy romance series, The Relics Of Merlin, features all shorts of shape-shifters. In Enchanting the Lady, my hero is a were-lion. In Double Enchantment, my hero is a were-stallion and his sister is a were-swan. In my newest release, Enchanting the Beast, the hero is a were-wolf, and my heroine’s assistant is a were-snake.

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Trish Milburn | The Power of Music

It’s amazing how much emotional power can be packed into song lyrics. I admire anyone who is a good songwriter, creating a story out of a few short lines. I like to incorporate music into my stories to show a character’s feelings or to set a mood. Though I’m careful not to venture into copyright infringement by using actual song lyrics, I do reference them.

For instance, I was recently working on a young adult story (Winter Longing, Razorbill, Summer 2010) in which my heroine has experienced a significant loss. As teens often do when they’re hurting, she listens to certain music over and over. For my heroine, Winter, it’s the songs of Breaking Benjamin, a band that I like and whose lyrics really speak to what she’s experiencing.

Winter is enduring a loss, so when she hears Breaking Benjamin’s “Breathe,” the lyric “You left a hole where my heart should be” really packs an emotional punch. Later, it’s the band’s song “So Cold” that takes on new meaning when heard in the new context of her life. Though I don’t quote the lyrics, it’s the lyrics “You're so cold, but you feel alive; Lay your hands on me one last time,” that serve as an important turning point for her.

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