Kristina Knight - Aspiring Romance Author

Deep Breath - and JUMP!!

2009-10-05T14:42:00.002-04:00

As I was checking email this morning a new message arrived - from an editor with Mills & Boon. A few weeks ago I sent them a partial manuscript (three chapters) and they like it enough that they're asking for the full! Read the rest of this post here.

And don't forget, this section of the blog will be shutting down soon - so update those links to the new blog address which is: http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com/blog.

How Weird - and Nice, too!!

2009-09-30T12:22:00.003-04:00

So I'm geeking around the internet and find out that my blog has been nominated and accepted as one of the Top 100 Romance Writing blogs by The Daily Reviewer. Nice! And a little bit strange...but I'll settle on nice!

And, I'm blogging over at WordWranglers about influencers in our lives ... stop by and check it out!

Finally, don't forget, I'll be moving the entire blog to my new site - www.kristinaknightauthor.com/blog - very soon so update your links...and thanks for stopping by!!

More Alpha-Talk!

2009-09-18T16:35:00.001-04:00

More Alphas! More Alphas! Talking more alphas - including the similarities between Charmers, Bad Boys and Swashbucklers - at the new home of Kristi's blog.

And, remember, that this blogspot blog will be shutting down soon ... so update your links and blog feeds to the new address (http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com/blog) ... I don't want to lose touch with any of you! :)

Remembering Patrick Swayze

2009-09-15T11:26:00.003-04:00

I was going to delay the beginning of my blog series on Alpha Male Romance Heros this week after hearing about the death of Patrick Swayze. Why? Because I'd planned to use his roles in films such as Red Dawn, The Outsiders, Roadhouse and even Ghost as examples of the Alpha Male - Chief persona exemplified in our novels. So I was going to hold off and not start the series. And then I thought about it some more and decided to plunge on. Because remembering the roles in which Patrick touched our lives is a good way to remember the man, too.

Read the rest of this post here and remember, this blog will be shutting down soon so up date your links to the new blog: http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com/blog.

An Industry Update!!

2009-08-27T11:16:00.001-04:00

Update: I've got a new blog home, update your links and information as this one will be closing down shortly. Here is the new blog link: http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com/blog or just click here to copy it from the URL.

Snagged from Publisher's Lunch, which is a great place to do a little research before sending your manuscript-babies out into the big, bad world! Click here to read more.

New Digs for the Blog!!!

2009-08-25T16:45:00.002-04:00

Update: I've got a new blog home, update your links and information as this one will be closing down shortly. Here is the new blog link: http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com/blog or just click here to copy it from the URL.

Hey everyone, did you think I forgot about you? Nope, I did not, but fun things have been happening here at KristinaKnightAuthor, not the least of which is new writing! Yes, this summer I've been hard at work sunbathing writing fiction.

Why refocused? Well, because over the past year Personal Life - in the form of an adoption and the on-going adoption-related stress and turmoil of going through the State System - has taken all of my energy and Professional Life has fallen by the wayside. But, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting much, much stronger and a lot of the stress is easing up. And that has opened up the worlds living in my head...and they need an outlet. So, writing has begun again. Crazy how that works, isn't it?

In addition to that, the website has undergone an overhaul which not includes this handy-dandy, new, I'm In Charge blog. Yep! I control everything from the fonts to the color scheme to the pictures and the category types. Let me tell you, this is fun! I'll still be posting here for a few weeks, until everyone gets used to coming to the main blog. And I'll pull over a few 'Best of' posts from the old blog before completely shutting it down. But, update your links to the new blog.

What can you expect from the new blog? More of the same - I'll be talking about the romance industry, publishing, contests, writing ... and chronicling my journey to publication...so give me a little cheese with the whine from time to time..and Enjoy!!!

All of this to say, I'm back, I'm writing and I'm having a ball - again!

This Is Why I Love My Industry...

2009-08-03T14:55:00.004-04:00

I love writing romance. I love reading romance. I love the escapist quality (although I find that in all genres, really), I love the settings, I love the love-conquers-all theme. I'm just feeling the love, I suppose.

That was really brought home to me over the weekend when I attended a book signing at The Book Exchange in Port Clinton, a nearby town. Attending (amongst others) were Tori Carrington, Shiloh Walker and Mandy M. Roth. It was a fun event - the authors were approachable, they chatted and took pictures and were just generally having fun. With readers, with book store employees, with one another. I sampled Tony's baklava (ooooh, bahhhhhkalavaaaaaa), learned that Mandy lives very close to me and that Shiloh was recovering from a week at a couple of amusement parks. It was a fun atmosphere, and isn't that what a book signing (or any appearance) should be? Yeah, I think so, too!

A couple weeks ago I was at another book signing - literary authors and a few non-fiction authors thrown in. Totally. Different. Atmosphere. And, I was ashamed to be an aspiring author because of the actions of a few authors there. They were horrible to their fans. Flat out mean, judgmental and argumentative with people who bought their books. Were the fans out of line? I don't think so. The 'offensive' comment from one fan was (seriously), "I love this series. Are you planning to write any more?" And the author may as well have taken the poor guy to the woodshed. He yelled - seriously, yelled! - that whether he chose to continue with the series or not was his choice and no 'ignorant reader' was going to force him to do anything. Uh, overreact much?

Which brings me to my point. Romance authors are approachable. They're normal people with fun senses of humor who are lucky enough to do something they love and get paid for it. I'm proud to be an aspiring romance author. I'm proud to be a writer and I'm so glad that the men and women (at least those I've met) already published in the genre are approachable, friendly and generally nice to the people who cut their paychecks - the fans. Let us all remember that the fans of romance are the people who keep us in pens, ink and paper!

Some Deal News...

2009-07-22T11:28:00.001-04:00

...snagged from Publisher's Lunch. If you're not already, subscribe...it's a great way to see what's selling and to whom.

The Key
"nice deal" $1 - $49,000
"very nice deal" $50,000 - $99,000
"good deal" $100,000 - $250,000
"significant deal" $251,000 - $499,000
"major deal" $500,000 and up

FICTION
Debut
Susan Heyboer O'Keefe's THE PATCHWORK MAN, building on the classic Frankenstein, exploring what would have happened had the monster survived the icy tundra at the end of Mary Shelley's landmark novel, moving from a decaying Venice, to the British countryside, to the Orkney Islands, and finally to a Northumbrian coal mine, to Heather Proulx at Three Rivers Press, in a pre-empt, by Steven Chudney at The Chudney Agency (NA).
Film: eddie@gotham-group.com

Taylor Stevens's THE INFORMATIONIST and a second thriller featuring a privately contracted information-gatherer with an uncanny knack for languages and a killer's instincts, whose own troubled past will come back to haunt her as she follows the trail of an oil billionaire's missing daughter into the lawless regions of Central Africa, to Sarah Knight at Shaye Areheart Books, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2011 and 2012, by Anne Hawkins at John Hawkins & Associates (World). kschulze@randomhouse.com

Lisa Brackmann's ROCK PAPER TIGER, in which an Iraq war veteran is down and out in Beijing when she meets a mysterious Uighur fugitive and is suddenly pulled into a rabbit hole of conspiracies, to Laura Hruska at Soho Press, with Katie Herman editing, by Nathan Bransford at Curtis Brown (World English).

Chandra Hoffman's CHOSEN, a novel pitched as in the spirit of Jodi Picoult and Anna Quindlen, in which a young caseworker increasingly entangled in the lives of adoptive and birth parents faces life-altering choices when an extortion attempt goes horribly wrong, to Sally Kim at Harper, by Maria Massie at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (NA).

Thriller
Bestselling author in Russia Lena Meydan's TWILIGHT FOREVER RISING, pitched as "Anne Rice meets The Sopranos," a contemporary urban thriller/vampire-human love story set in the midst of a brutal struggle among powerful vampire families and full of new vampire mythology, to Stacy Hague-Hill at Tor, in a pre-empt, by Robert Gottlieb at Trident Media Group (NA). Film rights are with United Talent Agency.

General/Other
Mark Haskell Smith's BAKED, an amateur botanist's life is turned upside down when his "heirloom" marijuana wins first place at the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, with the seeds now worth millions, the legitimate and illegitimate market forces of the world's biggest cash crop close in on him, and he is forced to befriend a Mormon Missionary and disguise himself as a bicycling proselytizer for the LDS as he dodges deadly assassins on the streets of Los Angeles, to Jamison Stoltz and Morgan Entrekin at Grove/Atlantic, for publication in September 2010, by Mary Evans at Mary Evans (NA).
merrylit@aol.com

Joseph Monninger's TENDER RIVER, pitched as Chris Bohjalian and Nicholas Sparks by way of Walden Pond, about a man and woman who meet by chance on a wild Maine river and fall deeply, unexpectedly in love; but when she discovers that she's living with a progressive, terminal illness, she vows to die -- as she has always lived -- on her own terms, to Kathy Sagan at Pocket, for publication in February 2010, by Andrea Cirillo and Christina Hogrebe of Jane Rotrosen Agency.

Keith Lee Morris's TELL ME WHY YOU'RE HERE, a collection of stories about men lost in the liminal spaces between adolescence and adulthood, to Lee Montgomery at Tin House Books, by Renee Zuckerbrot of Renee Zuckerbrot Literary Agency (world English).

Creative consultant and poker guru John Vorhaus's THE ALBUQUERQUE TURKEY, a follow-up to his forthcoming THE CALIFORNIA ROLL, again featuring a world class con artist, this time masquerading as a mythic Las Vegas high roller, again to Sarah Knight at Shaye Areheart Books, for publication in 2011, by Betsy Amster at Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises (World).

New York Post opinion columnist Ralph Peters' THE OFFICERS' CLUB and THE HOUR OF THE INNOCENTS, to Bob Gleason at Tor, by Robert Gottlieb and Scott Miller at Trident Media Group.

Rand, Helium Book Partnership

2009-07-21T10:26:00.002-04:00

So, this isn't exactly romance related but correlations can be drawn between the non-fiction and fiction realms on this one. Basically non-fiction publisher Rand is partnering with Helium, an online content hub, to find new authors for 25 pre-selected titles. Cool, eh? Here's the press release:

RAND Publishing Taps Helium to Source Writers for New Skinny On™ Books

Selected Authors will Earn up to $5k per Title

ANDOVER, MA – July 21, 2009 — Helium, the world’s largest writing community, today announced a partnership with RAND Publishing, publisher of The Skinny On™ series of illustrated non-fiction books. Under the partnership, RAND Publishing will leverage Helium’s social publishing platform to identify the most appropriate authors for up to twenty-five new titles, such as The Skinny On Finance for Young Adults and The Skinny on Social Networking. Selected writers will be chosen by Helium and paid between $3,500 and $5,000 per title.

First launched in 2008 by acclaimed author, attorney and motivational speaker Jim Randel, The Skinny On series is designed to provide time-starved and information-overloaded readers with "the skinny on life's most important lessons."

“The Skinny On series offers a new breed of book, striving to disseminate information to an audience increasingly used to consuming content on the internet and cell phones,” said Jim Randel, founder and Chairman of RAND Publishing. “Helium’s unique community of talented, motivated writers presents a gold mine for us to source the best authors for our future titles.”

Inspired by the Japanese literary form, Manga, a whimsical, illustrated modality for story-telling, and easily read in about an hour, each Skinny On subject is explored through the lives of ordinary people - normal in all respects but one: they happen to be stick people.

“The Skinny On™ books challenge the traditional publishing model for non-fiction works,” says Peter Newton, vice president of business development for Helium. “We look forward to helping such an innovative publishing company quickly and cost-effectively source new authors so they can continue to grow and scale their business.”

Just a Little Industry News...

2009-07-02T14:10:00.002-04:00

So, as I'm perusing the Internet (okay, digging, digging, digging) this morning I came across a few interesting tidbits that I thought I'd share because...well, I like to share!

For instance, did you know that in 2008 more than 74 million people read at least one romance novel? Yep...I guess tough times really do put all of us in a happily-ever-after mood, huh?

And, I now have another reason to trade in the old cell for an iPhone - books! ScrollMotion and LibraDigital have finally agreed on how they will supply books, newspapers and magazines to iPhone users. Cool, huh? I wonder if I could use that as a tax deduction?.......

And finally, a contest! Dorchester Publishing is partnering with Textnovel on a new writing contest! Authors over the age of 18 can take part in America's Next Best Celler ... here's how it works: entrants publish at least 20 chapters (6,000 words) of a romance novel to TextNovel by November 1, 2009. The winning manuscript gets a $2,000 advance and will be published by Dorchester in 2010! Read the full rules here. Subgenres: Romance Suspense, Historical, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, High Fantasy, Futuristic and Humorous Contemporary.

To E-Book or Not To E-Book...

2009-06-29T14:14:00.002-04:00

Nope, this isn't a post about whether or not to go after an e-book publisher for my next novel. This is a post about which e-book reader is right for me because (gasp) I'm taking the plunge! Yep, I've hemed and hawed. I've considered and reconsidered and finally decided it's time to buy an e-book reader. Now I just have to figure out which one.

Why now? Because I have only so much space in my home for physical books and because e-books are quickly taking over the universe. One report from marketing firm In-Stat reports that e-book sales will reach $13 billion by 2013. That's a lot of books ... and that also means some titles will probably only be available in e-book format so...I'm jumping in.

I've done my research and I like both Sony's e-book reader and I like Amazon's Kindle/Kindle2. My question is for those of you with e-book readers - what version do you have and why did you choose that particular version? What makes it different/better than the other readers out there?

Author Interview: Monica S. Martinez!!

2009-06-17T08:00:00.001-04:00

Hey, gang! I had the chance to chat with latina author Monica S. Martinez, who has a new book, Tantalizing Erotic Thoughts & Encounters, coming out soon! Check it out:

Q: Where are you from?

A: I was born and raised in Queens, NY. I grew up in South Jamaica, where I attended elementary and junior high school. I then moved on to Forest Hills where I went to high school and met my first husband.

Q: What kinds of books do you like to read?

A: I enjoy reading fiction, Urban writing, Poetry, Murder Mysteries and also some non-fiction such as memories, biographies.

Q: What are some of your favorite authors?

A: James Patterson, Dean Kootz, Anne Rice, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Ivan Sanchez, and Esmeralda Santiago.

Q: What inspired you to write?

A: I’ve always written, since I’m twelve. I was once sexually repressed and when I turned thirty and remarried I was able to let my inhibitions go. I opened an Adult Novelty company back in 2004 where I would go into women’s houses and educate them on how to keep their sex lives interesting and fresh. It was an eye opener as to how many women were really unhappy with their sex lives. I became sort of a sex therapist and I found myself writing stories to help ignite some passion into their lives.

Q: When will Tantalizing Erotic Thoughts and Encounters available to purchase?

A: Readers can go on my website or grab a copy at Amazon.com.

Thanks, Monica, for dropping by the blog. Readers, if you have a question for Monica, ask away!

Monday Means A Goal...

2009-06-15T12:32:00.001-04:00

Do you have a goal?

I've been a little lax on posting my goals on the blog lately, but I have been making them and trying to meet them. Have finished the first WIP and am now revising and editing, have hit a stopping point on the second and need to figure a few things out. But, with family in town for the week, I'm not certain of my progress in either. So, one with the goals:

get through 3 chapters (editing) and figure out my problem point in WIP #2.

How about you?

Thursday Thirteen - All About Procrastination!

2009-06-11T13:24:00.006-04:00

Yep, having one of those days. Can't you tell? It's 1 PM and I'm just now posting my Thursday Thirteen! What's been going on? A bunch of nothing, all of which has been keeping me from my desk - kiddo needed some extra lovin', preparing for a party this weekend, lunch date, working out...and the list goes on.

Which brings me to the point of my Thursday Thirteen - Procrastination!

header by Samulli

Thirteen Things.....I Do To Procrastinate, And Ways I Stop The Procrastination Circle!

1. Checking email. Incessantly.

2. Scheduling too much. When I'm stressed out, I find it easier to overbook myself rather than dealing with the stress.

3. Reading. I could read all day every day. Not great for the writing.

4. Catching up on blogs. See #3.

5. Thinking. When I'm stuck, I think, but I've found I can think myself into a corner. Again, not great for the writing!

6. Doing too much market research rather than writing books from my heart.

So, how do I stop the procrastination madness?

7. Turn off email, phone, cell, text. I actually disconnect my phone, wireless router and turn off the cell. It works!

8. I've signed up with an RSS feeder so I don't have to go blog to blog...they're delivered to my email and I can read whenever I have time.

9. Setting aside a special time to read/research.

10. Plain old sweat and tears - whether I want to or not, I make myself stop researching and start writing the book already!

11. Talk to the CPs.

12. Set goals - it's hard to procrastinate when a big red circle is drawn around your calendar dates.

13. Like the Nike slogan - Just do it.

Isn't It Funny...

2009-06-10T15:35:00.004-04:00

how the most mundane things can get you in a writing mood? Actually, I'll rephrase that (because we don't wait to write until we're 'in the mood' right?). Isn't it funny how the most mundane things can turn on the lightbulb and push you into a revelation about a character?

I've been struggling my heroine's motivation in Chapter 1 of the wip. I knew what I needed her to do to get the story going, I knew what her overal motivation was and I knew her character arc. However, getting her to Point A of the story was killing me. She was just there. Yeah, it was a decent opening chapter, but there was no real emotional risk to why she decided to go to the hero's office in the way she did. I needed that emotional connection because the chapter was falling a bit flat. Just ask the CP.

And then I did the most mundane thing - I tried a new candy bar. I know, what?!? Hershey's has a new candy bar out called the Thingamajig, very similar to their sister candy bar the Watchamacallit. Yuuuummmmmmyyyy. Anywho, as I was munching and thinking, thinking and munching I realized that her emotional pull into the hero's office was to show him that even though she needs him to come with her on this adventure in the most desperate way, she wants him to know that she oh-so-does-not need him in any other way. Not even a little bit.

So, I'm off to switch things around a little bit - she'll begin the wip in a different place than the hero's office...but she'll find up there all the same.

My First Podcast!

2009-06-03T15:41:00.002-04:00

It's up and live!

As my webmaster and I were brainstorming ways to keep the content fresh on the main site (obviously, the blog's content is refresed every few days) we decided that a podcast was one option. So, we came up with a plan, recorded a simple Q&A session to get started and - it's live! You can listen to the podcast here on the main website.

For the initial 'cast I covered some basics - like organizations, places to find legit publishers, where ideas come from. In future months, we'll cover subjects like character building, world building, archtypes, submissions hints...and the list goes on.

If you have an idea you'd like to see covered in a podcast, or if you're an author who would like to be a guest on the podcast to promote a new release, contact me and we'll set something up!

A Better Time for Books?

2009-06-02T19:02:00.003-04:00

2008 numbers are in from Bowker, which reports that although production of news and revised titles fell 3%, on-demand and shorter run books grew by 132%, which is good news for writers in the e-realm. Along with the news from Bowker are earnings reports for the first quarter of 2009 from Barnes & Noble (4% decrease is sales), Books-A-Million (2% sales increase) and Borders (12% decrease in sales). Although this isn't great news, it's interesting to note that Barnes & Noble had originally predicted that sales would be down as much as 10%.

Am I sounding too much like a typical reporter? Yeah, I thought so, too, but it's hard to not sound like a reporter when you're reporting statistics!

Overall, I'd say that these numbers are just another hint that books (romance, sci-fi and literature) are still selling, which is great news for all of us authors, both the published and the unpublished. As I was looking up the numbers, I realized something - I haven't stopped buying books at all. Not even a little bit of a decrease, despite all of the sky-is-falling warnings about the economy and the state of things globally.

And that made me wonder - have any of you stopped buying books? Or is that one 'extra' that you feel is a good investment?

Changes and More Changes...

2009-06-01T15:07:00.002-04:00

So sorry to go MIA on you guys the last week and a half or so. We've had lots of changes here at Writer Central (AKA, Kristi's Desk). Namely that I've decided that I had too much on my plate and I'm cutting back. Not on the fiction, but on the non-fiction! I'm still going to be writing for a few publications, but as lessening the time spent so that I can focus on fiction a bit more.

Why? Because I've been running myself ragged trying to get everything in..and something had to give, so I gave up on a little nonfiction work. Why, again? Because, although I love, love, love freelance writing, fiction has my whole heart. Romance fiction, in particular, and to focus on it, to give it the attention it needs I need more time. And since I have no magical powers to make each day last 28 hours, something had to give.

So, I have a new writing schedule and I'm launching a new feature on the website later this week...more about that tomorrow!

Thursday Thirteen - Books!!

2009-05-21T09:09:00.007-04:00

I was going on about books I couldn't put down a couple of weeks back and decided there was a Thursday Thirteen in there! So, this week:

Thirteen Books I Couldn't Put Down:
1. To Kill A Mockingbird - read it Freshman year (High School) and loved it!
2. Snow Bride by Margery Hilton - one of the first Harlequin's I read ...
3. The Wind In The Willows
4. Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews (too scary to stop in the middle!)
5. Without A Trace by Nora Roberts (started reading on the way to school and was finished by lunch! My teachers hated me that day!)
6. True Devotion by Dee Henderson
7. The Present by Johanna Lindsey
8. Home for the Holidays by Johanna Lindsey (picked them up on the Bargain shelf at Thanksgiving and both were read by the next Sunday)
9. Flirting with Danger by Suzanne Enoch (and the other 3 in the series, too!)
10. The MacGregor Series by Nora Roberts
11. Palomino by Danielle Steel (hid out in the school library to finish that one!)
12. The Night Drifter by Susan Carroll
13. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

A Post from Vay-Cay!!

2009-05-18T11:43:00.002-04:00

Just a quick drive-by post to say Hi and I'm still here! Have been on the road since last week and will be back at my desk on Thursday. You know what? I MISS WRITING! Seriously! I'm missing the nonfiction, I'm reallllly missing the fiction ... I just miss writing. So I've carved out a bit of time today and tomorrow to work on the WIP and ignore the family. hehehehe!

In the mean time, wanted to pass this along: a new writer's blog called Romance University. They have a ton of good info and a fun contest going so stop by. The blog launched today! Here's a bit from their press release:

RU Ready? Romance University blog will launch May 18, 2009.

Romance University’s three weekly topics include:

Monday – Crafting Your Career

Wednesday – Anatomy of the Male Mind

Friday – Chaos Theory of Writing

RU’s purpose is to:

Empower Writers. Entertain Readers. Understand Men.

Don’t miss our upcoming visiting professors: Lori Foster, Jessica Inclán, Donald Maass, Brenda Novak, Alicia Rasley, Christie Ridgway, Blake Snyder, Theresa Stevens, Leslie Wainger, and several men who will share the male perspective on romance, love and sex.

Stop by Monday to chat with Brenda Novak, who will head the class with details about her road to becoming a New York Times bestselling author. Leave a comment and your name will be entered in a drawing to win a $50 gift certificate and a tote full of goodies.

Thursday Thirteen!

2009-05-13T23:33:00.004-04:00

Header by Samulli

I should probably be sleeping. Seriously. Sleeping. But we're headed out for a little vacation and I can't make my mind slow down enough to actually sleep. That and Criminal Minds was thought provoking tonight. I know, network television, who'd've thought?

So, here I am, thinking up topics for this week's Thursday Thirteen. Which leads me to an interesting topic...

Thursday Thirteen
Thirteen Topics I Discarded....

1. 13 Graduation Don't's - because there are waaay more than 13!
2. 13 Good Shows on Network Television - there aren't. I counted.
3. 13 Nicknames That Shouldn't Be Given
4. 13 Reasons I Didn't Write This Week (because I did write, I did!)
5. 13 Things You Don't Want To Hear At 1:00 AM
6. 13 Things You Should Never Forget to Pack
7. 13 Reasons Not To Worry About Selling The Book (here's just one)
8. 13 Reasons I Will Never _ ___ ___ (this is a family friendly blog ... I can't print that)
9. 13 Reasons My Car Won't Start (hopefully the mechanic tells me the real reason tomorrow)
10. 13 Books I Couldn't Put Down (think I'll do this one next week)
11. The 13 'Worst' First Jobs
12. 13 Funniest Things Seen People-Watching
13. 13 Reasons to give "Free Radio" a try - there's only one: It. Is. Hilarious.

Disappearing Posts...

2009-05-11T08:09:00.001-04:00

Blogger burped sometime over the weekend ... and I lost Friday's check-in post. So I'll post her that I exceeded my goals last week! By 500 words each, not bad if I do say so myself. :)

Goals for this week: Get to the end! Both manuscripts have about three more chapters to go, so probably 6,000 words each (Yikes!) but part of the week we'll be on the road, which means writing in the car so I think I can do it!

What are your goals for the week?

A Chat with Author C.E. Chaffin

2009-05-10T06:34:00.000-04:00

C. E. Chaffin is a well-known poet, especially on the net, who has been publishing for 40 years. His new book, his first since 1997, includes a section of over 20 love poems, based on the miracle of his falling in love at 45. He's been in love ever since—almost ten years!

Why did you call your book “Unexpected Light?”

In a fallen world where we're often surrounded by darkness, as if in answer to prayer unexpected light often leaks through just at the moment when we fear we can no longer go on. It can be sunlight on a leaf or a late phone call from an old friend, but that's how most light comes in my life.

Furthermore the actual title is mentioned in the last line of the poem, “Prayer to la Virgen,” detailing how Christ was lucky enough to receive a donated grave.. But more so, when I fell in love at 45 for the first time (and it has continued ever since), I was shocked out of my mind. It was truly unexpected light! A whole lighthouse worth of it.

Trained as a medical doctor, I had always been rational about love, thinking (in C. S. Lewis's words) that love should be the result of, not the reason for marriage. All that changed when I met Kathleen. And right after I met her my second wife e-mailed me that she was leaving—such synchronicity!--leaving me a perfect opportunity to experience romantic love for the first time, a gift I wish for everyone. And true love is not just infatuation but an abiding love, a love that puts on overalls and boots in the service of the beloved.

How did you come to write “Unexpected Light?”

I've been publishing poetry for 40 years, and this is my second book. My first was published in 1997. This book was 12 years in the making. It deals with many themes, including the usual four in poetry: God, Death, Nature and Love. The last section of the book, in fact, is devoted to love poems. And that was a main impetus for the book. I had compiled a manuscript entirely of love poems but no publisher showed interest, so I limited the love poems to my very best 20 or so and added poems on other themes, and voila! I had a publisher go all the way for me, including royalties—for poetry, imagine!

Who are your major poetic influences?

T. S. Eliot, Robinson Jeffers, Robert Frost, Theodore Roethke, Mark Strand and Pablo Neruda, to name a few. None of these except Neruda is truly a love poet, and he has been the most influential on my romantic poetry. One of the poems in the volume is entitled, “To Kathleen, after Neruda,” for instance. As for poets in English, I like John Donne's love poems bests, though they are so intellectually dense one must assume the object of his love was some kind of a genius to consistently unravel his metaphysics.

Does poetry have a chance in this day and age?

Yes, for man does not live by bread alone, but by every word... There may be a smaller audience for poetry today, given the competition, and more poets publishing than ever. The Net has caused a proliferation of literary journals that is more democratic and participatory. There are probably more serious poets writing than ever before. And poetry is the miner's canary of the culture, in my opinion. It records the travails of the time and tries to connect them with eternity and history. Love is one of the four enduring themes of poetry and one of the most difficult topics to undertake.

Where can we get a copy of “Unexpected Light?”

It's available through Amazon.com and all the usual suspects and any bookstore will order it for you. Best to order it directly from the publisher. There's a page on my website where you can do that: http://cechaffin.com/light.html

It comes in hardback for just $20 and paperback for $12. I wish I could give it away but I can't afford it. Seven reviews have already been published, and I can say without embarrassment that they have all been glowing.

If you join the facebook group, “Unexpected Light,” you will automatically be updated regarding readings and new reviews.

Here's a short excerpt from one of the love poems, “Valentine 2008,” where the speaker imagines his love as a waterfall:

Inside the moss-lipped haven of your granite
I hide behind your thundering skirt of water.

Your clarity dissolves all self-deception.
I would not recognize myself without you.

The shelter of trees is never so generous
As your pouring and thinning of yourself

Into the forest air. I kneel and drink
And like the alder rise up satisfied.

Thanks for having me at your blog,

Craig Erick Chaffin

Thursday Thirteen ...

2009-05-07T15:12:00.002-04:00

I was cleaning up in the office this morning and realized I have way more things on my desk than I need...but I couldn't bring myself to get rid of any of them! Why? Because in different ways, these things all help me stay or become focused when I write. So this week's Thursday Thirteen is:

Strange Things On My Desk...

1. My chicken jar of pens. From the chicken lips to the color (blues!), it's fun to look at.
2. Pictures. I don't keep a lot here but the pics I keep front and center are some of my favorite places!
3. Folders. Yep, chalk full of ideas, magazine snips, nature images...you name it!
4. The catch-all - a small, square bowl with carved stones, thimbles and assorted 'stuff'.
5. Money. Should have put it in the wallet days ago ... but money is always inspiring!
6. The handcarved wooden bowl from our trip to Haiti.
7. My calendar. Images from the National Gallery of Art. Man, I wish I could paint!
8. A set of cups filled with writerly paraphernalia - pencils, scissors, markers, a few strange cords...lots of stuff to capture my imagination.
9. Pictures that need to be scrapbooked ... Maybe I should do that tonight!
10. My current quilting project (a baby quilt for my sister).
11. Snowglobe from Bermuda...does anyone else find it strange that tropical destinations all make snowglobes?
12. A miniature Christmas tree with lighthouses as decorations.
13. An old church bulletin...I swear, I have no idea why I kept it!

Mid-Week Check-In...

2009-05-06T20:35:00.002-04:00

Not bad progress so far. Just over 1000 words on WIP #1 and #2. So I'm feeling good that I'll make my goal this week. Not bad, especially, considering I have a looooot of nonfiction on my plate - have completed three interviews (now for the write-up), queried 2 new articles and done the usual soap opera stuff. Some days it seems like I live at the computer, and no that isn't a complaint. I love being a freelance writer, I love working on my books and I'm so looking forward to being published - hopefully very soon! :)

A few good links to pass along --

Jessica over at BookEnds is talking about submissions and the economy

Donna Alward, romance novelist, is talking about the on-so-dreaded Conflict

and Editor Brenda Chin is talking about author/editor relationships over on the Blaze Authors blog