The Secret Life of Romance Writers

Living in a storybook setting

2009-04-24T11:30:00.018-05:00

[Cathy] I saw an article in a magazine that said Dracula's Castle was for sale for something like $50 million dollars. My first thought was Who would buy it?, followed quickly by: Just think of the stories you could tell if you owned it!

I could just see my son inviting his friends over to creep them out during Halloween.

What do you think, Dani? (*eye brow wiggle*). Could you live in Dracula's Castle?

[Dani] Only if a whole lot of servants came with it. And probably not even then. A place like that would probably qualify as a historic landmark, and that could lead to complications. What if you wanted to paint the place in a color that wasn't historically accurate? And I'd be afraid to sit on the chairs or eat off the dishes -- they'd all be priceless museum pieces. Have you seen me handle china? Now that would be truly scary...

It's probably a good thing that the family that was selling the 14th century castle recently decided to keep it and open it for tourists instead. Now the place -- actually called Bran Castle -- can remain pristine, yet people are able to look at it and appreciate it. (PS - Vlad Tepes, the historical figure who inspired author Bram Stoker to write Dracula, didn't actually live in Bran Castle. Legend says Vlad may, however, have spent a night there.)

Me, I'm not a bit surprised they couldn't sell the place. It's not the price -- there are still folks with $50 million or more to throw around. Nope, it's the vibes. Can you imagine how intense they'd be? My mind can conjure all sorts of things to keep me up at night in my own house. In a place like Dracula's castle, the most unimaginative soul on the planet would be hard-pressed to get a good night's sleep.

[Cathy] I tend to be someone who is easily creeped out, so I probably couldn't really live in Dracula's Castle either. But it made me think of other places that I would love to buy if I struck it rich.

How about a castle in Scotland high on a wind swept hill? Or maybe you'd like an English Manor house complete with a title. I've heard that those go up on eBay sometimes. J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, has a beautiful estate in Scotland and a Georgian house in London.

There's always old celebrity homes. My parents winter out in Palm Springs, California. My mom loves to drive around and show me houses that once belonged to movie stars. Or you can even find furniture in consignment stores out there that come with great stories. (Although I could make up better ones than the guys at the store. LOL. I'm thinking something cursed...)

Oooh, speaking of cursed, what about some house made infamous by a terrible crime. It would be cool to rattle off your address and have people's eyes go wide --- like you live there??

[Dani] Myself, I'd be one of the neighbors petitioning to have such a house demolished. Bad vibes, very bad vibes. I like your celebrity house idea though. That's a much nicer conversation piece. I could get into the idea of living in a house where, say, Lucille Ball, had lived. Or better, a place where a movie I liked had been filmed. For instance, I might pick the Ennis House in Los Angeles. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1920s, this "Mayan Revival" style home has appeared in countless movies, commercials, music videos and television shows. (Including a season of my favorite, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, LOL)

It's too bad that many movie settings don't exist in real life -- or don't exist as we know them. The Gone With the Wind mansion? Most of that particular house was created on a Hollywood backlot -- still, there's no shortage of real antebellum houses from that romantic era. In fact, didn't you visit one, Cathy?

[Cathy] I met a lady who lived in a beautiful old mansion in Georgia. She was so sweet -- she showed me the whole thing and told me stories about it. Her house was the inspiration for my book, The Bargain. I'd love to live in a house like that! It even had a secret passage! In fact, maybe for a writer, that's the most fun of all -- to live in a place that inspires stories.

[Dani] I can agree with that. If I could live anywhere, it would have to be a place that prompted me to write. Which makes me think of a little coffee shop in Squamish, British Columbia (hey, it's my fantasy -- I can live in a coffee shop if I want to).

[Dani] and [Cathy] So what do YOU think? Is there a famous (or not so famous) place you'd like to have for your very own? Drop us a comment and tell us your dream.

Dani Harper http://www.romancingthewolf.com/

Catherine Stang http://www.catherinestang.com/

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Cathy is hitting the road

2009-04-23T13:10:00.005-05:00

Cathy is chatting tonight with DeNita at Author Island http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AuthorIslandChat/ from 8-10 p.m. EST. I'll share about new books and catch you up on what's going on with me. I know DeNita has some fun stuff planned, so grab a beach blanket and come on over.

If you're in the Kansas area, I'll be doing a program at The Great Bend Public Library at 1409 Williams in Great Bend, Kansas on April 26th at 2:00 p.m. CST. I'll give you an inside look at my life as a writer. I'll even let you peek at my art sheet and galleys. There will be a booksigning, too.

And to give you a heads up... I'm doing at booksigning at The Bookshelf, 206 N. Main in McPherson, Kansas on May 9th from 10-12 a.m. I'll be joined by poet and author Diane Winters.

When watching TV is a GOOD thing...

2009-04-03T11:13:00.026-05:00

[Dani] There's a notion that if you're a writer, then you're some sort of literary snob who couldn't possibly stoop to watching television. But the truth is, TV is a huge part of our culture and it has more to offer a writer than you might think.

I grew up in a household where the TV was on from before I woke up until long after I went to bed. It provided the background music for most of my childhood (but not all -- thank goodness I played outside a lot, LOL). While I devoured books by the dozens, television still provided some of my later inspiration.

[Cathy] I'm glad you said that -- now it doesn't sound so funny when I admit that my writing has been influenced by watching soap operas. Yup, I was a soap fan for a loooooong time.

Most of you who have read my books know that I love to weave several plots into my stories, and that I usually have more than one couple seeking a happy ending. I think that came from my love of soap operas. I'm sure that's why I nearly always have a large cast of characters. I see story lines as being interconnected.

Of course, once I create a community, I want to revisit. That's what gets me plotting connected books and whole series. Where did I learn that? Soaps, of course!

So, Dani, now that I've confessed to the world that I learned to write from watching soaps -- it's your turn. What television programs influenced your writing?

[Dani] I've loved all things supernatural from Day One. I never watched soap operas and didn't read romance either. I was hugely into science fiction, fantasy, horror -- anywhere I could glean my paranormal fix.

There was a channel that featured all the old black and white horror movies, and I watched them religiously every Saturday afternoon. There were repeats of old Twilight Zone episodes and Outer Limits. And then there was Nightstalker, Night Gallery, Lost in Space, Star Trek .... all of it marvellous fodder for an imagination the size of a small country. As a kid, I wrote countless stories along these lines.They were terrible of course, but I had so much fun!

Of course I watched Star Trek in all its reincarnations. Then there was Quantum Leap and X-Files (ooooh, I LOVED X-Files!) However, the TV series that probably most influenced what I write today was Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My daughters and I avidly watched every single episode of this television series together for seven years!

[Cathy] I don’t really know much about that program, but I know it was hugely popular.

[Dani] I’ll bet you know the star, Sarah Michelle Gellar, because she started her career in soap operas! And each episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a self-contained story but was part of a larger, serialized story. So it has some similarities to the soap opera format.

The appeal of the story? There are so many layers... An ordinary girl discovers she has extraordinary powers – and there are huge responsibilities associated with them. How do you mesh saving the world with everyday life? The emotional issues are complex. There’s good versus evil, but it’s not always easy to discern which is which. And sometimes you have to make sacrifices for the greater good, even if it breaks your own heart.

Okay, now you have to tell me about your favorite soap! What was it and why?

[Cathy] Hmmm ... I liked several, but two of my favs would have to be Guiding Light and As The World Turns. I loved the ongoing stories and being able to follow characters for a long period of time. It was like a window into their lives, almost like reality TV, LOL. The plot twists and surprises were great -- it always seemed like the worst possible thing would happen at the worst possible time! (Talk about a writer torturing their characters!) I fell in love with some characters and I even loved to hate the villains. And it seemed like no one was ever gone forever. Somehow, they'd find their way back into the story.

Many romance novels focus on the hero and the heroine and there are very few other characters. I get teased sometimes for "Cathy's Cast of Thousands" but I adore multiple romances and multiple plots. I'm certain I developed a taste for a rich and complex story directly from watching soaps. And everybody knows I love writing series!

[Cathy] and [Dani] So what about you? Are there television programs that are near and dear to you? Do you think they've influenced you in any way?

Dani Harper http://www.romancingthewolf.com/

Catherine Stang http://www.catherinestang.com/

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Dare To Love is out today!

2009-04-01T11:30:00.004-05:00

I'm so excited that Dare To Love is out today. It's the second book in my Finding Home series that started with The Bargain. I have to confess that I fell in love with Tyler from the moment Rachel found him half-dead in a field in The Bargain. I knew that I had to see what happened to him.

Here's a blurb for Dare To Love:

Here’s a blurb: Be careful what you wish for….

Jessica Monroe is up to her neck in problems when her father dies leaving her with a house full of orphans, a widow and her twins, and an ex-madam, plus a horse farm to run. She wants her brother, Caleb, to come home from the war to help her. She should have been careful for what she wished for because Caleb didn’t come back alone. With him is his band of ex-raiders turned mercenary.

Now they expect her to look the other way while they use the edge of her land as a base to commit their crimes. Well, she won’t do it. While trying to help a neighbor fend off the raiders, she ends up bringing home a wounded stranger who appeared out of nowhere to help them. Just her luck, handsome Tyler Beaumont is a marshal intent on bringing down her brother and his outlaw friends.

Finding Home Series, Book 2 Dare To Love
Sometimes home is where you least expect it.

I have excerpts on my website www.catherinestang.com and to learn more about my Finding Home Series visit my blog www.cathystang.blogspot.com It's available in print & e book from www.whiskeycreekpress.com

** This book is dedicated to my dad, who taught me love westerns. He always wanted me to do a "real western" with outlaws, marshals and bounty hunters -- so this one is for you Dad...

The end of handwriting?

2009-03-22T17:27:00.014-05:00

[Dani] Like many writers, I make notes incessantly. Scraps of paper fall out of my pockets, there are wadded up sticky notes rather than bills in my wallet and my glovebox is filled with steno pads. The bottom of my purse is a Bic graveyard. My desk is heavily armed with every writing instrument known to man. Multiple coffee cups bristle with felt markers and colorful highlighters, interspersed with slim pencils and extra-thick ergonomic pens.

It’s a shame my handwriting is all but illegible.

Once upon a time I had lovely handwriting. The a’s and o’s were lushly rounded, p’s and y’s had graceful tails, t’s were crossed with just the right amount of flourish...

Today, only the first letter of each word is distinguishable. At best, the rest of the word looks like a child’s drawing of a snake, or perhaps waves on the sea. At worst, it looks like a centipede met with a terrible demise.

[Cathy] I think a lot of people are handwriting-challenged these days. It probably has a lot to do with technology. Everyone is texting or typing. Except me, I think. I'm not sure I'll ever get the hang of texting. It's faster for me just to make a call.

[Dani] You still enjoy writing on paper. And your handwriting reflects it. It’s unique to you yet neat and legible.

[Cathy] It can be when I take the time to make it that way. Most of the time, handwriting for me is just a way to get my thoughts down before they are lost. Like you, I write down notes. I tend to scribble them down on whatever is handy.

My husband always laughs or gives me one of those looks when he finds a quick note of mine on the back of something. (He's learned not to throw out any piece of paper without asking.) I'm just lucky he's the one finding my notes and not someone else. Especially when they say something like 'kill so-and-so off' or they have bits of dialogue on them, or (his favorite) part of a love scene. He loves teasing me about that!

[Dani] That's hilarious -- I can just imagine the police showing up at your door, with a warrant based on one of your notes. Your Honor, the details of the murder are in Ms. Stang's own handwriting... If you ever get arrested, we'll all know why!

[Cathy] Honestly though, I still depend on paper and pen. I plot and plan on paper – I feel that I can “see” the story better that way. Blank screens scare me to death, but blank paper is different. Somehow the ideas flow better from a pen. Maybe it's a holdover from my early days of writing in notebooks (not the computer kind. LOL). I don't know. All I know is that when I'm stuck or just getting started, I pull out paper and pen and words just flow. Then I type them into the computer.

[Dani] I’ll take the blank screen any day. I use pen and paper simply because I haven’t figured out how to live without them yet. My laptop isn’t with me 24-7. For instance, it would have been somewhat awkward at the restaurant this morning when my hubby and I were having Sunday breakfast. (As it was, I wrote a few words on a napkin and jammed it in my pocket.) And in the middle of the night, the steno pad by the bed is somewhat faster for recording an idea than waiting for the laptop to boot up. Not to mention that the notepad takes up a lot less room on the nightstand, LOL.

[Cathy] You definitely want to get those ideas down while they are still racing through your mind.

[Dani] And racing is the operative word. I swear that my brain runs around in my head like a hamster in a wire wheel. And luckily, I can type almost as fast as I can think. Handwriting? Painfully, frustratingly S-L-O-W.

Don't get me wrong. I still have a love affair with paper -- the feel of it, the smell of it, the sheer potential of it. I adore stationery stores, and I never leave one without an armful of notebooks and pens. I'm overwhelmed with all the possibilities. And yet, I can't seem to persuade my hand to produce something that does justice to that beautiful, beautiful paper.

[Cathy] I love stationery, too. However, there's one exception to my preference for writing on paper -- writing letters! I'd MUCH rather type those (so I can go back and correct it - thank goodness for spell check!). Or better yet, email. Or even better yet, instant message. It's so easy and fast that I've come to love the convenience. And in the end, I guess that's what it all comes down to -- we lead such busy lives that we're likely to choose whatever is quickest and easiest.

[Dani] & [Cathy] So what do YOU think? Is handwriting a dying art? Has technology caused your penmanship to suffer? And how much does it matter? Will the focus on handwriting in schools shift to keyboarding skills at an earlier age?

Dani Harper http://www.romancingthewolf.com/

Catherine Stang http://www.catherinestang.com/

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Behind every great hero....

2009-03-08T15:56:00.009-05:00

[Cathy] Behind every great hero, there's an equally stubborn heroine. Well, at least in our books. Right, Dani?

[Dani] We like strong heroines. And readers do too. A major shift in the romance industry came when heroines began to be more assertive, tougher and less in need of rescuing.

Today’s heroine is an equal partner with the hero. She brings a lot to the table, and he needs her every bit as much as she needs him (although it may take him a while to realize that, LOL).

[Cathy] I often write historical romances that take place in times where women were expected to be weak. But my heroines are always strong-minded and determined.

For instance, Cassandra (The Bargain) has managed to hang on to her farm despite the war raging around her. She isn't afraid to ask for help when she needs it. Take the way she puts herself on the line in making a bargain with Joel.

[Dani] Cassandra was determined to hold up her end of the bargain too. She didn’t flinch or shirk for a second.

[Cathy] Serenity (Sweet Serenity) isn't going to let her brother force her into accepting an abusive marriage in order to save her reputation.

Then there’s my latest heroine Jessica (Dare To Love) She isn't afraid to fight to protect the ones she loves and to defend her land.

[Dani] These are women we can respect and even look up to. That’s what I want when I read a romance. Somebody who has a difficult situation on their hands and works through it is far more interesting to me than someone who waits for someone else to save them. That’s a true-to-life heroine.

[Cathy] The fantasy part comes in when there’s a happy ending to the story – because in REAL real life, that doesn’t always happen.

[Dani] Today’s heroines are worthy of their heroes. They’re not singing “Someday My Prince Will Come”, they’re out there battling dragons. If a hero comes along and helps them do that, it’s a bonus. I see heroes and heroines as full partners in whatever struggles they’re facing.

[Cathy] Do you find that even in paranormal stories? I mean, if one character is a shapeshifter and one is fully human, does that make a difference in their partnership?

[Dani] A werewolf has an all-too-human heart. So the hero and heroine can be full partners in their relationship, and a determined human is going to fight just as hard for the one they love. So yes, there’s still an equality, even though one of them has more spectacular abilities.

Jillian, in Heart of the Winter Wolf, is a talented veterinarian. She’s also a survivor and has come through her own trials and trauma. She’s strong and smart. And more than a match for James, the werewolf hero.

[Cathy] Your Christmas story was like that too. The heroine taught the hero a few things.

[Dani] That was Kerri in The Holiday Spirit. And yes, she had a lot of knowledge to offer. She fought hard for Galen, the hero, too.

I think it’s important to point out that having a powerful heroine doesn’t make the hero weak. A real man respects and admires a strong woman, and isn’t threatened by her. And they balance each other. Their strengths are not usually in the same areas, so there’s a give and take. Plus, there’s a much greater tension in the story – mentally, emotionally, sexually.

[Cathy] and [Dani] How about YOU? Do you like strong heroines? Tell us some of your favorites!

Dani Harper http://www.romancingthewolf.com/

Catherine Stang http://www.catherinestang.com/

Let's talk heroes...

2009-03-05T20:36:00.022-06:00

[Cathy] My heroes in my stories are like the real men in my life. Some talk to me easier than others. LOL.

The one that gave me the most trouble as a writer was Barclay (Ravensthorpe Legacy). Since he was a duke, he didn't think he had to explain himself. I was worried that he'd go to prison for a crime he didn't commit ... if he didn't hurry up and explain to me what happened.

How about you, Dani? Which hero was the hardest for you to get information from?

[Dani] I've got a well-dressed werewolf right now that refuses to talk to me! His name is Joe Lassiter and he is the most close-mouthed hero I've ever run into. It's tough to get to know him. No wonder the heroine thinks he's the most stuck-up man she's ever met!

[Cathy] Behind Barclay in the stubborn department was Ross (Secret Wishes). He thought he knew what was best for Emma. Followed by Nick (Locked In His Heart). I wasn't sure he was ever going to let Melanie in.

[Dani] Stubborn doesn't begin to describe James Macleod (Heart of the Winter Wolf). He was so certain that he had to protect Jillian, whether she wanted him to or not. And so convinced that he couldn't have happiness.

[Cathy] Some heroes are fun. One of my favorites was Burke (Ravensthorpe Heir). As a known rake, you never knew what he'd say.

[Dani] My favorite in the fun category has been Galen (The Holiday Spirit). He had a great sense of humor, but more than that, I could never shut him up! I first got the inspiration from the story when I "heard" Galen arguing with the heroine, Kerri.

[Cathy] Ooo I loved Galen! Burke (Ravensthorpe Heir) was like that. He had this darkly, wicked sense of humor. I just never knew what he was going to say.

How about the heroes who aren't quite what they seem? My Flynn was a bodyguard with a hidden agenda (In The Blink of An Eye)

[Dani] Rhys from A Leap of Knowing would certainly qualify. My heroine had a tough time accepting his incredible story -- she was certain he was crazy! And that he'd stolen her dog!

There are other types of heroes though -- how about the brooding, or tortured ones? My James from Heart of the Winter Wolf has both qualities in spades. But the one that squeezed my heart the most was definitely Rhys (A Leap of Knowing). He'd been a prisoner for so very long...

[Cathy] There are many types of prisons too. Nick was definitely a prisoner of his past in Locked In His Heart. I keep telling Dani that Nick and James could sooo understand each other.

[Dani] One of the best question I've ever been asked about writing is "Do you fall in love with your heroes?" And you know, I DO fall a little in love with every one of them. But then, such a lot of what makes them loveable comes from my real life love -- my husband. He has no idea how much he inspires me!

[Cathy] There's a big soft spot in my heart for each of my heroes too. And since I'm a reader as well as a writer of romance, I've got a lot of keeper stories on my shelves with heroes I've loved. A few of my favorites are Karl Lindstorm from LaVyrle Spencer's The Endearment, Wulfric Bedwyn from Mary Balogh's Slightly Dangerous and Cosmo Ritcher from Suzanne Brockmann's Hot Target. And of course who couldn't love Brockman's Jules Cassidy, who meddled in romances including Max and Gina before finally getting his own chance at love.

[Dani] I've got some I sigh over too. I adore each and every one of the vampire heroes in JR Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood, but Butch and Vicious are my favorites. (But then, I'm the gal who thought Buffy should have picked Spike over Angel. Apparently I've got a thing for bad boys...)

[Cathy] and [Dani] Now it's YOUR turn. Tell us about the heroes you've fallen in love with!

Dani Harper http://www.romancingthewolf.com/

Catherine Stang http://www.catherinestang.com/

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Hunting the Internet - tips for finding what you want

2009-03-03T14:04:00.006-06:00

[Cathy] I swear my teenager can find anything on the Internet. He finds things in a matter of seconds. Me.... I end up at Barnes & Noble or Amazon or Ebay. That's probably why I don't do as much research as I could there. I'm still one of those book people. I can find things in a library ten times easier than I can it on the Internet.

Of course, this naturally leads to having a lot of books. I have some favorite discount book catalogs that I order from. My office is full to the brim with books about all different time periods from the Civil War and the American West, to Regency, Medieval and many interesting times and events in between.

But even with groaning bookshelves, I often find myself needing a vital bit information that they don't have. Admit it... how many of you book researchers run into this problem too?

So I've been trying to get into Internet research.

Do you many of you find that utterly frustrating? I can get lost for hours or even all day on the Internet and never find what I'm looking for.

Now, Dani, my writing buddy, amazes me. She's like my son. While I'm talking her on the phone, she can find anything in just a few clicks of her mouse. I'm going to put her on the spot here and see if I can coax her into giving us non-internet researchers some tips on how to find something. When she and I talked about this topic, she didn't think she had anything to share. So I thought I'd compile a list of questions that might getting her thinking.

My first question is: How do you start your search? What are some tips for getting a search going?

[Dani] LOL, Cathy. I'm really not an expert, but working at a newspaper helped me become familiar with Internet research. I've been working with the Internet for fifteen years and I absolutely LOVE it! It's exciting to have worlds of information at your fingertips. But it's definitely a jungle, and navigating it takes practice, a sense of adventure and a few basic rules.

A search begins with a good search engine. I use Google, but any search engine depends on YOU choosing good keywords. Here you have to be very specific, and you'll likely need to use more than one keyword. (This was a surprise to a friend of mine who thought that you could only put one word in the Google search box. Surprise! You can put as many as you want to narrow down your search.)

For instance, typing in the word "dog" will get you over 423 million sites! While they'll probably be interesting, they won't get you one bit closer to what you need. It's WAY too general. Type in a specific breed like "pug" and you get about 13 million sites. If you just want to learn more about the breed, that's fine, but what if you want to know the answer to a specific question like what colors do they come in? Then you type in "pug" and "colors". Now you have less than one million sites because you've targeted your search.

[Cathy] So, the more keywords you add, the more specific your results are going to be. That's still a lot of sites, though.

[Dani] The good news is that you don't have to check out all those sites! In fact, usually you're only going to pay attention to the first page or two. In each search result, there's always a little excerpt showing how your keywords are used on the site. Scanning a few of those is usually enough to tell you if you're getting the kind of info you want or if you need to refine your keywords.

Google's search results lists all kinds of Internet sites -- news, blogs, images, videos, etc. And this is where you really have to exercise some discernment, because you're looking for credible sources.

[Cathy] That leads to my second question: How do you tell what's credible? There is always some question about if what you're reading is true. Are there any tips for knowing a legit site from from one that isn't?

[Dani] Now THAT's the money question. Not all Internet sites are created equal. I remember a neighbor years ago who was convinced that if something was said on television, it had to be true. It just isn't so, and it's doubly not so when it comes to the Internet. Anyone can post anything they want. So the trick is knowing who to believe.

Fortunately, that's not as hard as it sounds. When I'm looking at search results, I look at the name of the sites and automatically reject anything written in a blog as personal opinion. They might be right -- but they might not, and I'm not taking the chance. Likewise I reject anything that appears on MySpace, Facebook or any other social network. I also reject any site that's trying to sell something.

Because I'm doing research (and I take my research very seriously as a writer) I definitely don't go to sites that offer unsubstantiated info, like Yahoo! Answers or WikiAnswers. Don't get me wrong -- I'm all for people sharing what they know, and to be fair, sometimes readers of these sites can point you in a useful direction. But there's nothing to say that an answer you read on an open site like this is correct. Sadly, this goes for Wikipedia too. Because it's an open site and anyone (I mean ANYONE) can change, edit or add to any entry, I don't regard the information I get there as unquestionable. If I use Wikipedia at all, it's as a jump-off point, a place to get ideas of where to go next in my Internet search or sometimes good keywords to use.

Going back to the original question of looking for what colors pugs come in, I try to consider who are the experts in the field. I'm thinking pedigree dog breeder directories, because breeders know their dogs. I'm thinking encyclopedias, because their info is reputable. I'm likely to look down the list for the AKC (American Kennel Club) or CKC (Canadian Kennel Club). Or in the interests of time, I might add AKC to my original keywords and do a new search.

[Cathy] My third question is: What if you stall out and can't find what you want?

[Dani] It all goes back to keywords. Maybe I need to substitute a different word that means the same thing. I was recently researching the history of trains in the southwestern United States. I didn't get very far until I used the word railroad instead of train! So you have to think laterally sometimes.

[Cathy] Aha -- it's like using the Yellow Pages! Where you think you know what something is called, but they categorize it somewhere else.

Okay, last question. How many sites do you need to find to back up a piece of information?

[Dani] That's a great question. If I was doing a thesis, I'd want a whole page of them! But since I'm usually just trying to verify some historical facts for a story, my rule of thumb is that if three credible sites agree on something, it's safe to take it as true. (By the way, watch out for sites copying each other's text -- it doesn't count as a source if they've borrowed the same information from another site!)

[Cathy] Thanks Dani. I'm printing this off!

[Cathy] and [Dani] Is there anybody else out there who would like to share their tips on finding things on the Internet?

Dani Harper http://www.romancingthewolf.com/
Catherine Stang http://www.catherinestang.com/
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Lions and Lambs and Luck ... Oh my!

2009-02-26T22:26:00.009-06:00

Mention the month of March and some things immediately spring to mind. St. Patrick’s Day definitely. Easter in some years. And there’s the old weather-predicting adage – If March comes in like a lamb, it will go out like a lion. If it comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb.

You might even recall that famous line from Shakespeare, a warning from a soothsayer to the ill-fated Caesar to “Beware the Ides of March”. Ides, by the way, are simply a division in the old Julian calendar, marking the half-month point. In some months, the Ides fall on the 15th and in others, the 13th. Until Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, March 15th was a festive day dedicated to Mars, the god of war for whom the month was named. This celebration was said to insure peace in the city for a year.

You might not know that March is associated with many superstitions. For example, the first three days of the month are considered unlucky. So are the last three days. And in some cultures, the whole doggone month is a write-off. Maybe it’s just the depression that sets in after so many months of winter, when human beings are wondering if spring is ever going to arrive. Whatever it is, March is not a popular month. (I know I’d vote to go straight into April after Valentine’s Day.)

For instance, good weather in February will apparently be punished with bad weather in the following month. Have you heard this old saying? When the north wind does not blow in February, it will surely come in March. Or this one? When the cat lies in the sun in February, she will creep behind the stove in March.

Apparently if you’re lucky enough to have good weather in March, you’ll pay for that too: When March is like April, April will be like March. Anything that grows in March will fail to thrive according to these adages: March grass never did good ... A damp rotten March gives sorrow to farmers. (Actually, it goes without saying that a damp, rotten March gives misery to everybody.) Yet March sunshine has been something to be dreaded since ancient times. In Europe there’s this saying: Better to be bitten by a snake than feel the sun in March.

Weather is a recurring theme in March superstitions. If the weather is very foggy during a crescent moon in March, heavy thundershowers and hailstorms will follow.

How about this variation on the lions and lambs theme? If March comes in with adder's head, it goes out with peacock's tail.

March is generally considered to be an unlucky month to be married in, except for the 27th and that’s only good if it falls on a Wednesday. And this saying might apply to construction or relationships: February makes a bridge, March breaks it.

The Encyclopedia of Superstitions, Folklore & the Occult Sciences lists “53 Fortunate Days of the Year”. Only two are in March – the 10th and the 24th. Of the “56 Unfortunate Days of the Year”, eight occur in March: 1, 2, 5, 8, 12, 16, 28 and 29. (And don’t forget there’s a Friday the 13th in March this year!) There are even two “Fatal Days” in March, the first and the fourth! Apparently the 22nd isn’t a great day either, according to this old saying: If a death occurs on the 22nd of March, two more will soon follow in the neighborhood.

And here’s a saying that carries a weight of warning: Never speak ill of March. (“or else” is clearly implied!)

So is there anything good about March at all?

In some countries, young girls use this month to try to predict who they’ll marry. Before going to bed, they place their shoes so as to make a letter T, and recite the following: Hoping this night my true love to see, I place my shoes in the form of a T. Their future husband is said to appear to them in a dream.

And you don’t have to be afraid to open the bedroom window in March. If the March wind blows across the bed, you will sleep well all the year afterward.

March is a good month to be born in. Who in this world of ours, their eyes in March first open, shall be wise, in days of peril, strong and brave, and wear a Bloodstone to their grave. (Bloodstone is a green stone with red spots and is one of the birthstones for March. It’s said to be associated with courage and justice.)

Christianity has brought a measure of reverence to the month of March. It's possible for Lent to begin as late as the 10th of March. Even if Lent begins in early February, the forty-plus days are certain to linger into March. And there’s Easter. It’s not on a fixed day, but sometimes it’s in March. (Not this year, though – Easter falls on April 12.)

The spring equinox occurs in March, a date when day and night are of equal length. Equinox falls on March 20th this year and also marks the first day of Spring.

And there’s always St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, celebrated by those who are Irish and those who wish they were. But that one deserves a blog of its own.

Dani Harper http://www.romancingthewolf/
Catherine Stang http://www.catherinestang.com/

About the image: March from The Shepheardes Calendar (from The Works of Edmund Spenser, Volume I, printed in 1930.)

Drawing settings from real life places

2009-02-23T09:48:00.024-06:00

[Cathy] Most authors will admit that there are pieces of themselves, their lives and the places they've been in all of their books. I'm the same way. My sister laughs when she reads my stories and says that it's like finding the movie director's cameo in their movies. She gets a kick out of finding bit and pieces of my life in my character's lives.

[Dani] It's not necessarily a conscious inclusion. While my settings are deliberately chosen, other aspects of the story are not. My daughters have had a field day pointing out things they recognize from our lives together in my stories -- and I didn't even realize those things were there!

[Cathy] I worry sometimes what my stories say about me, LOL.

[Dani] Me too -- especially last year when a certified psychologist picked up and read Heart of the Winter Wolf! Luckily for me, she loved the story and we've been great friends ever since. So I guess I'm not too crazy. Yet...

[Cathy] (*chuckling*) Didn't you set that book in a real place?

[Dani] Mostly. Heart of the Winter Wolf is set in northern Alberta, Canada, in the Peace River country where I lived for many years. The settings are a compilation of places rather than any particular ones, although I borrowed many of the interesting place names. It was easy to be inspired by that entire area, where some of the northernmost farmland on the planet lies right next to raw wilderness. I even had the chance to see real wolves there and the experience definitely influenced my writing.

[Cathy] When I wrote Crossing The Line and In The Blink of An Eye, I set them in a part of California where my parents were wintering. I even used the condo area that my parents were living in at the time. (Their dog, Winston, also showed up in that book.) I was inspired when we made our Christmas trip out there to visit them.

My Ravensthorpe books came from a trip that my sister and I made to the mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. (If you've never visited this area, I highly recommend it. It's worth the trip.) My eccentric earl character in these stories was partly inspired by someone I know whose house is like a museum. That, plus a cartoon I used to watch as a kid (which no one else but me seems to remember, LOL).

[Dani] Cathy's trip to Newport has influenced me too -- a book that I'm working on takes place in that area!

[Cathy] They say to write what you know... I used to live in Kansas City and in Iowa. Those cities became backdrops for Locked in His Heart. I drove many times in the snow through Iowa, Missouri and Kansas to get home for the holidays.

[Dani] Aha! So you had lots of material for that Thanksgiving encounter between Nick and Melanie!

[Cathy] Believe me, I have snow stories galore... but I'll bet you have lots of material too. The veterinary clinics in Heart of the Winter Wolf and A Leap of Knowing seemed awfully realistic to me.

[Dani] They have their basis in real places. I had a small farm, and was trying to gain extra experience so I could enroll in an AHT (animal health technician) program. A good friend helped me gain a volunteer position at the local clinic for a few months. The wonderful vets there looked after my pets and livestock for many years, plus I got to work with a number of vets and techs at the local agricultural college as a writer. I eventually decided against the AHT program, but I feel like I got an education in the subject just the same. I still do a lot of research though, because it's important to me that the details in my stories are accurate.

[Cathy] Research is really important to me too. In addition to my everyday life experiences, I visit a lot of museums and places when I'm researching a story. My son is the only one who'd probably recognize those in my books. He's taken many a day trip with me when I was exploring a location or trying to find out some bit of historical detail. Along the way, I've sort of turned him into a history buff. I'll miss our adventures when he goes off to college in the fall. (Don't tell him, but I'm secretly thrilled that he's picked colleges near places I still want to check out some more, LOL. So his days of day tripping with mom might not be quite over yet.)

[Dani] My husband and I are history addicts. Museums are big magnets for us, and our recent trip to Mexico took us to some great ones. I just know all that Aztec culture is going to influence future stories for me! (By the way, the photo in this blog is one I took of the sunrise in Barra de Navidad!)

[Cathy] Sometimes you don't have to look very far when you need a setting for a story. The places we live are often very exotic to others. Kansas isn't usually thought of as an exotic locale, but when I'm writing westerns, it's perfect. The history here is truly larger-than-life. The border raiders in Dare to Love (coming out in April) are taken from my local history.

[Dani] I feel really lucky to live in Alaska right now. I'm on an island, which is even more exotic, and I don't have to go more than a few feet in any direction to find something WAY cool to put in a story. The advantage for me is that I'm still new enough here to see the place with fresh eyes. So yes, Alaska is already finding it's way into my work.

[Cathy] Sometimes, though, you just can't go where your characters live. I'd love to go to London, England and get a hands-on feel for the history of the place. More Than a Wife takes place in the Regency era there, and I've had to do a lot of research on that time period. I own a lot of books about it, and I'm always looking for more. Thank goodness for the Internet too, although I'm still far more comfortable with the printed page when I do research.

[Dani] I absolutely LOVE the Internet. Through it, I feel like I can travel to any place and time. I think my background in newspaper has made me comfortable with electronic research, and it really comes in handy now. A Leap of Knowing took a lot of research into Roman-occupied Wales and Celtic history, and I was able to accomplish it mostly through the Internet. Gotta be careful to get credible sources though -- you can't believe everything you find on the 'net. Still, there's no substitute for the real thing. I REALLY want to visit Wales now!

[Cathy] You're right about there being nothing like the real thing. Finding that beautiful old plantation house in Georgia was an unforgettable experience for me. Being able to actually walk through it, hear the creak of the floors, see the way the rooms were laid out and so forth really influenced my story, The Bargain. I had no trouble visualizing the characters moving in and around that house. And of course, I had to include the secret room that the owner showed me!

[Dani] There really was a secret room? How cool is that?

[Cathy] Apparently it was very common to have one or more in those big old houses. But actually seeing one was amazing.

[Dani] and [Cathy] (*to readers) YOUR turn now! We're certain that many of our readers have places they've visited or lived that would make great settings for stories. How about sharing them?

Dani Harper http://www.romancingthewolf.com/

Catherine Stang http://www.catherinestang.com/

And what do YOU do for a living?

2009-02-18T10:57:00.027-06:00

[Cathy] I've blogged in the past about about the early days of my writing career when I used to struggle with what to put on the forms I filled out at my son's school. You know, the part where it asked for mother's occupation. I used to write mom/writer and then gradually moved to writer/mom. Then when I finally was published, it was just writer. I got comfortable with that.

Recently, however, I've had to deal with a flurry of college applications for my son and the darn question came up again. What does mom do? Ummm... I'm a writer.

Why the hesitation? Well, for some reason, it's an answer that gets me odd looks, especially in the doctor's office, the grocery store, or wherever I happen to be. I get the usual What do you write? followed by raised brows when I say romance. It definitely makes for interesting conversations.

[Dani] I always think of that old Rodney Dangerfield line: "I don't get no respect." In the past, I received a certain amount of respect as a newspaper editor (lots of criticism too, but at least it was respectful, LOL). But now as fiction writer, particularly a writer of (gasp) romance? Not so much.

Sometimes I get lucky and find myself in the company of someone who actually reads romance novels and is receptive to what I do. We have a great conversation from that point on, sharing favorite authors and books. Murphy's Law seems to operate in this area however, and I'm usually in the company of teachers, social workers and medical professionals when the question comes up: "What do YOU do?" Some are receptive. And some give me that same odd look that Cathy was talking about, a cross between a glazed expression and a "my goodness, I can't believe you said that" look.

[Cathy] Sometimes when I say I'm a writer, people come back with "I was thinking of doing that." or "I have an idea for a book." Sometimes they even ask for help getting published.

[Dani] I always try to be encouraging. I think it's important for everyone to explore their talents, and I think everyone has a story to tell. But there's a little part of me that giggles a bit because I know if I'd said I was a neurosurgeon or an accountant, not many people would say "Oh, I'm thinking of doing that."

[Cathy] LOL, that's true. I think a lot of people believe that writing is easy, too. They don't know how much time and work goes into it.

[Dani] And disappointment. There's plenty of that too. Rejection letters, poor sales, bad covers, and even failed publishing houses are all part and parcel of the business.

[Cathy] The romance genre is probably one of the least respected too.

[Dani] True. I wish I didn't feel sometimes that I have to justify what I do, or try to explain it. I think the romance genre has a lot to overcome from its early days, especially those old "bodice ripper" book covers. I was once taken by surprise in a time management course when the female instructor emphatically stated that reading romance novels was a waste of time that could be better used elsewhere!

People who don't read romance don't realize how far the genre has come and how good the writing really is. They also don't have any idea that romance accounts for over 50% of today's book market. That's one of the things I try to mention when someone makes a less than positive comment about what I write. Mostly, though, I steer the conversation in another direction. If someone doesn't read romance, I don't think they can understand how someone could love writing it.

[Cathy] I think that that romance readers may be made to feel uncomfortable sometimes too. I know people that only buy their books online because they don't want to be seen looking at them in a bookstore --- or (shudder) taking them to the counter! Especially if the cover is racy!

[Dani] Thank goodness there's another side to the coin. For all the people who have a "superiority complex", there are lots MORE people who are respectful of their fellow human beings in general, no matter what they do for a living (or what they read!). And I need to say here how much I appreciate my friends and family, and the love and support they give me.

[Cathy] Me too! There's nothing more important to a writer than to have the support of the people -- and the dogs, LOL -- they love.

[Dani] and [Cathy] Now it's YOUR turn. Have there been times when people have been less than respectful about your occupation? Or your choice of reading material? How do you deal with it? (Anybody got a snappy comeback?)

Dani Harper

www.romancingthewolf.com

Catherine Stang

www.catherinestang.com

Love & Friendship, Long Distance Style!

2009-02-17T10:24:00.004-06:00

[Cathy] Thanks to the wonder of the Internet I have friends whom I talk to all the time, but have never met in person. Dani is one of my one long distance friends. She is in Alaska while I live Kansas. We chat daily on the phone and online, and work on projects together.

[Dani] When I was a kid, it was popular to have a pen pal. Someone far away that you exchanged letters with. While I knew one or two people who traveled to meet their pen pal when they grew up, most of those paper relationships didn't grow much and didn't last. The Internet has changed all that by expanding not only the ways in which we can communicate but the speed.

[Cathy] We can exchange photos, have a conversation on IM, email instantly and more. Oh, and if we had a web cam, you and I could see each other too!

[Dani] OMG, I'd have to do my hair and put on my makeup a LOT earlier in the day. I remember watching The Jetsons cartoon as a kid and their phones had video screens --- but they also had masks of themselves that they could wear while talking! Jane Jetson was chatting with a friend whose mask popped off during the conversation, revealing that she was still in her curlers and bathrobe. That would be me!

[Cathy] That would be me too, LOL. I'd put my dogs in front of the camera instead!

[Dani] Oh no, not that --- Scooby already has his own web page and email address. If he got on the web cam to talk to your dogs, there's no telling where it would end!

[Cathy] I think the Internet has opened up a lot of possibilities for people. They can find others who have interests in particular areas or share hobbies, and swap information.

[Dani] That's true. I belong to a pug chat group! And that's how I found and adopted Fiona, Scooby's new assistant.

[Cathy] It can help people find each other too. Online dating sites have become very popular.

[Dani] That's how I met my husband! We met online two days before Valentine's Day a few years ago. There was an instant "click" and we emailed, messaged and phoned madly for the next four months until we could meet in person. I wouldn't have believed it was possible if it hadn't happened to me.

Mind you, I hadn't had a lot of good experiences with online dating up to that point. Sadly, it's easy for some people to hide who they are and pretend to be something they're not. So although the Internet brings us immense possibilities for new relationships, we still have to exercise a little caution and common sense. It's important to ask a lot of questions. Cathy, you're not an axe murderer, are you?

[Cathy] Not that I know of.

[Dani] That's a relief. Because Cathy's become one of my very best friends. So the Internet has brought two great people and a great dog into my life.

[Cathy] That would make a great advertisement. You could be a spokeswoman for AOL or something.

[Dani] ROFL -- only if I was a whole lot more photogenic! Quick, pass me one of Jane Jetson's masks!

Dani Harper
Catherine Stang

YOUR turn --- has the Internet brought new connections, possibilities, relationships or opportunities into YOUR life?

What do you know about Valentine's Day?

2009-02-13T11:24:00.011-06:00

Dani & I thought we'd play a game today. All you have to do to play is leave a comment with some fact about Valentine's Day. (It would help us contact you if you sent an email to catherinestang@cox.net and let us know you played.)

We have a Valentine goodie bag to give away. I'll pick a winner from all the comments and post the name on Monday, Feb. 16.

To get the ball rolling here is our bit of Valentine trivia....

In Medieval times people who couldn't write their name signed them with an X in front of a witness. The X was then kissed to show sincerity! Many believe this is how the letter X became synonymous with a kiss.

Okay... it's your turn... Let's hear your fun facts about Valentine's Day! Good luck and have a romantic Valentine's Day!

Catherine Stang

Finding a Dog Muse

2009-02-09T09:50:00.006-06:00

It's no surprise to any of you who know Dani and I that we are dog lovers. Dani has two Pugs, Fiona and Scooby, which she introduced you to in an earlier blog. I have four dogs. Three are Papillons -- Rudy, Remy and Samantha. Plus I have one little Yorkie named Riley. (In the photo you can see Riley and his siblings. Riley is the corner, looking at us. Thought this picture might put you all in puppy mode.)

Since this is National Adoption Month, I thought I'd share a bit of what I've learn about adding dogs to your dog family. I've had dogs all my life. My husband and I are both multiple dog people, so we started our marriage with a puppy and added others over the years. As our dogs grew older and passed away, we started over. It's hard to do when you've had a dog for 17 years, even before we had our son. You can't replace one dog with another. I wouldn't even try. Like people, each dog is unique and they add something special to your life. Losing one of them is like losing part of the family. You shouldn't feel like you should rush into getting another dog before you are ready.

I know there is a debate about about getting dogs from a breeder or from the Humane Society or a rescue. I've done both. The most important thing about getting a dog is finding one who matches your life style and that will fit in with your other pets and children in your home. Animal Planet has a great test you can take to find out which dog breed best fits you http://animal.discovery.com/breedselector/dogselectorindex.do

If you are looking to adopt one through a shelter here is a link that might be helpful http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/KS77.html It has links for rescue programs.

Our Humane Society has a program called The Best Chance Rescue program. It was founded in 1999. The program was developed between the Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility and Golden Belt Humane Society. Basically, they take dogs that need homes and pair them with a someone at the Facility. A trainer brings the dog out each week. They complete at least 10 weeks of training, including basic obedience, socialization and house training.

This gives the dog a chance to bond. It is also good therapy for men who work with them. Sometimes both the dogs and their handlers just need to be believed in. These programs are growing across the nation. You can find other ones at link above.

The main thing with bringing a new dog home is to remember that you all need time. It takes a good month or so to settle in. So be patient.

On my blog http://www.cathystang.blogspot.com/ I have pictures of all my dogs. I have links on my website http://www.catherinestang.com/bio.html for the Therapy Dog group that I belong to (That's an whole other blog!) and for Niki, who I got my Papillons from.

Please share your dog stories. We'd love to hear how you got your dogs.

Writing down Mexico way

2009-02-03T15:26:00.015-06:00

Someone said that if you suffer from writer's block, you should try a change of scenery. I didn't think I had writer's block, but I have tried a BIG change of scenery -- I've been in a little town on the Mexican coast for the past couple of weeks. And I've been shocked at just how much my writing has improved.

Maybe it's because my manic routine has been blasted out of the water in favor of a kinder, gentler way of life. At home, I'm up around 5:30 and write most of the morning. Mexican mornings are a magic time of day and beg to be enjoyed. The sun is up around 7 a.m. at this time of year – it has to come over a hill, so it’s still cool for a little while in this little coastal town. The people are out washing and sweeping the sidewalks and the roads. Many restaurants have sidewalk tables, and it’s very pleasant to linger over breakfast and coffee there.

Or maybe it's the coffee. Like many writers, I live on the stuff. Mexican coffee is strong and flavorful when it's black. With sweet cream and raw sugar, it's pure ambrosia. Even Starbucks can't begin to touch it. My own coffee at home is going to taste awfully bland from now on!

Everywhere I turn there is something exotic to look at. The palm trees and the flowering plants. The buildings -- colorful stucco walls come in pink, orange, blue, yellow, citrus green, and any combination thereof. Thatched roofs are interspersed with clay tile roofs. Tall hotels sit next to tiny sidewalk cafes and souvenir shops.

Even the sounds may be boosting my creativity. Roosters start crowing behind the hotel at 3 a.m. and reminds me of a time when I lived in the country. There’s a tree frog somewhere in the tree above our courtyard that chirps all night too. The trees are full of birds, plus many people keep birds as pets in their shops -- amazon parrots, conures, parakeets and macaws. Even the mariachi band that began playing a few houses away at 2 a.m. was inspiring. Surprising and pretty loud, but inspiring.

By noon, it's too hot to be out and about. Time to enjoy my air-conditioned room and just write. And I do. I've gotten much more done while on vacation than I have at home in recent months. I'm relaxed, my characters are relaxed, we're all talking to each other and the story flows...

Around 4 or 5, it's time to swim and then shower. By six, it's time to find a spot to observe the nightly ritual -- instead of watching the news, many people watch the sun set. Usually we pick the beach but last night my husband and I went up to a rooftop bar on the tallest hotel to watch the event. I got some great photos of the town, and the sunset was amazingly clear. There’s usually a haze at the horizon but if the atmospheric conditions are right, just as the sun disappears, there is a split-second flash of green along the horizon just the width of the sun itself. And it happened!

At seven, it's time to look for supper. We have several favorite places now, all family vendors who operate tiny sidewalk restaurants. Forget everything you learned at Taco Bell. This is like going to a favorite relative's house to eat. Barbecued chicken with tortillas and rice or maybe shrimp or octopus burritos (it's a fishing community). Simple food but great. Wonderful people.

In fact, the people may be the very best thing about the trip. Not only am I deeply impressed with the residents of this little town, they surround me with story ideas everywhere I go. I love to watch them and interact with them. I have been drawn out of my comfort zone and welcomed into their world. They say that travel is broadening -- I didn't know the half of it.

This trip was an unexpected blessing (believe me, we hadn't planned to go anywhere, haven't for years, and might not get to do it again either) but I can see that it'll continue to be a blessing for a long time to come, simply from the creative boost it's given me plus a whole different perspective. Gracias, Mexico.

Dani Harper

Your turn -- Have you had a trip influence your inner muse or your outlook on life?

MORE THAN A WIFE by Cathy Stang & Donna McAteer

2009-02-01T18:05:00.009-06:00

I'm soo excited that More Than A Wife is out today!!

This is the beginning of The Bliss Society Series, which I'm co-writing with Donna McAteer.

Meet the daring ladies of The Bliss Society – They want what their husbands give their mistresses… pleasure!

Andre Duncan, Earl Westbrook, discovers how complicated life can be when you marry your mistress. Many of the things he loved about Corina when she was his mistress embarrass him now that she is his wife. Can he really have both a wife and a lover all in one?

Convinced that she can’t be a proper wife for Andre, Corina moves out and tries to persuade him to let her go. Her stubborn husband won’t agree, risking further damage to his standing in society.

Enter two outspoken women of the ton who call themselves The Bliss Society. They offer Corina an exchange: her knowledge of sexual expertise for theirs of how to be a respectable ton wife. Does she dare hope that she can overcome a bad beginning? Will the ton allow her to?

Available in print & ebook at http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/

I have postcards and bookmarks for all of my books. (and Dani's too!) If you'd like some email me at catherinestang@cox.net with bookmarks in the subject line.

To read excerpts and check out all out books visit http://www.catherinestang.com/ and http://www.donnamcateer.com/

Cathy Stang

The Bargain is up for LASR's best book this week

2009-01-31T16:12:00.003-06:00

The Bargain has been nominated by Long and Short Reviewers as one of the best books they reviewed this week. You can check out my great review and vote for The Bargain at
http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/recentrev.htm

The voting runs 1/31-2/1

Thanks for taking the time to vote!!

Of dogs and writing...

2009-01-29T16:37:00.013-06:00

We are writers who have dogs. Or, more accurately perhaps, our dogs have writers. Myself, I'm owned by two pugs -- Scooby, who occupies the position of Official Muse, and Fiona, who is Scooby's personal assistant (apparently because it's a lot of work to be my Official Muse).

Most of my writing life is spent on a laptop and I prefer the couch rather than my desk. Rather, my pugs prefer it. That way, I can have one snoring on each side of me like furry armrests.

And oh yes, they can SNORE. Like twin mufflers on a Sherman tank, their constant zzzZZZzzzZZZzzz... provides the theme music for every word, every edit, every idea and yes, every frustrated cuss word when one of my characters refuses to go along with the plot. The pugs graciously provide the white noise that blocks out everything else but the screen and keyboard in front of me. (It's a little distracting however when I'm writing a sex scene...)

So now, I'm not sure I CAN write without that noise now. Even my characters are used to it. But the writing life of a canine-owned author doesn't always run smooth. That's because the job of an Official Muse and his personal assistant is see to the writer's well-being and enhance the creative process. Whether you want them to or not...

To unlock writer's block, my pugs pretend they have to go outside. Now. Now, now, now, now, now. That gets the writer out of the seated position and moving so that blood can recirculate to the brain. If the writer's block looks severe, my pugs will create a diversion by jumping on each other or barking at the tv. Or at dust motes in the air. Anything to get the writer out of that plot rut.

And then there's the protection. My pugs loyally believe that their writer must be defended at all costs by barking furiously out the window. The mailman is a definite danger -- what if he's carrying a rejection letter? The newspaper boy certainly can't be allowed to bring a distraction into the house. And the wiener dogs next door? Just because. Apparently you never can never be too careful about wiener dogs....

Writers seldom lead well-balanced lives. My pugs remind me that there's more to life than my keyboard. Walkies anyone? The pugs also provide a terrific listening ear -- I can test out lines of dialogue on them (Okay, Scoob, see if this sounds good to you...). Plus, I've been known to give rejection letters to my pugs to destroy. (Bad letter. Bad, bad letter.) Their enthusiasm for destroying the offensive piece of paper is way more satisfying than the paper shredder.

Unknown to most, my pugs are devoted to a higher cause --- to make the reading world a better place. This is accomplished by subconsciously influencing their writer to include more dogs in her stories. Everyone knows that a really good plot includes a dog, right? (Where would A LEAP OF KNOWING be without the giant black dog that predicted the heroine's death? Or what would THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT be without George the Pug who was pals with ghosts?)

Maybe the biggest contribution to my writing life is that my pugs add a sort of Zen. Each pug creates a zone of positive energy and by sitting between them, I figure I'm bound to produce a bestseller one of these days.

Dani Harper

Your turn --- do you have dogs? Tell us about your canine sidekicks!

Connection Addiction

2009-01-26T11:29:00.015-06:00

[Cathy] I never thought I'd say this, but I'm addicted to being connected to the world. It's funny, because I don't consider myself a tech-type person. I went kicking and screaming into the digital age. But now that I'm there, I don't want to go back.

I'm not as bad as my sister, who admits that since she got her new I-Phone that she checks her email all the time --- even in the ladies room! (We had a big laugh about that the other day.)

I don't check email on my cell phone. But I do carry my laptop when I travel. I'm always pulling it out at the airport to check my email. It drives me crazy when I can't. I'll admit that when I look at hotels, I check to see if they wireless connections in the room. That's one of the first things I do after I get settled is get on line.

[Dani] I carry my laptop with me too. Although I do a lot of writing with it, I recently got to experience just how utterly dependent I am on having an Internet connection. In mid-January we had to travel to a very small town in Alaska for a family event. I thought I'd be fine -- after all, my laptop is equipped for wireless, right? Wrong. I was horrified to discover that the technological tsunami has NOT reached every corner of the world.

There were two places in the town that I could connect to wireless -- but only if I signed up for an account with the local phone company. Which was pointless, since I didn't live there. We stayed with a friend who had a ten-year-old computer that featured (gulp) dial-up. At least sometimes it did. The machine locked up while trying to display most sites, including of course, my blogs, my MySpace, my email and my website....

It was possible to book appointments for internet time on the local library computer --- when the library was open and when internet time was actually available, which was seldom ---but no downloading, uploading, use of a flash drive or anything else. I had blogs and graphics on my laptop and no way to get them posted onto my sites. Couldn't even hook up to a printer so I could print out the text and re-type it directly on a site!

By day two without Internet, I was frustrated. By day three, I was frothing at the mouth. By day five, I was in the fetal position, sucking my thumb....

[Cathy] It's amazing how dependent we are on being able to connect with the outside world. I feel lost without email. I swear if it's down I'm on the phone with my provider in a flash to get it up. I'd rather have no television than no internet. What did we do before internet? I think I've almost forgotten.

[Dani] Actually our little addiction to the internet is mild. Think of what it would be like if our kids were suddenly unable to text message! What if they couldn't check their Facebook? Or download music? The horror, THE HORROR!

Good, bad or ugly, the way we connect with our world has changed forever.

[Cathy] and [Dani] Now it's YOUR turn! Are you "internet dependent"? What do you think about the new methods of communication?

Give me a camel...

2009-01-21T16:01:00.013-06:00

[Dani] It’s my first vacation ever since I took my first vacation ever... During that initial one, I traveled to Sitka, Alaska from Canada. There, I met and fell in love with my husband (talk about souvenirs!). So I live in Alaska now too.

This is our first vacation TOGETHER and it’s taken us all the way to the west coast of Mexico. We didn’t plan to take a trip but some good friends had airline tickets they could neither use nor obtain a refund for. Thanks to their generosity, here we are. I’m loving it so far. Very hot and very sunny – making it extremely different from Alaska, LOL – but it’s a welcome change. (I’m hoping to store up enough Vitamin D for the next five years until we take another vacation...) We’re having fun.

What isn’t fun is all the flying to get here. I absolutely hate airline travel. No fear of flying on my part, but I do have an aversion to the whole take-off-your-shoes-and-jacket thing. Take out the laptop. Show your passport and boarding pass, then if your number comes up, submit to a pat-down. My carry-on luggage was searched this time too – and I had a bag with underwear and tampons, which ended up spread out all over in front of other passengers. Thanks a bunch.

[Cathy] LOL. I've been there too. Isn't like an unwritten rule that it's always your time of month when you fly. It's always seems to be mine. And that's the bag they want to open.

I'll tell you what's worse is flying with your teenager. Heaven only knows what is in their carry-on bag! When we went looking at colleges this summer, we left right after he came back from Debate Camp. He never unloaded his backpack, so there were scissors in there. Yikes! Don't even get me started on the electronic devices they have to pull out...

[Dani] I thought things would improve after I got on the plane, but they didn't. Physically, the set-up is nothing short of ridiculous. A 15-inch seat crammed between two other 15-inch seats? I have more personal space in a movie theatre. I haven’t got enough room to bend down to get my things that are stowed under the seat in front of me. (Just thinking -- Cathy's teenager is way taller than I am -- how the heck does HE fit in such a small space? He'd have to fold up like origami...)

[Cathy] It gets pretty squashy once the people in front of us recline their seats! Another thing I don’t like is not being able to access my other carry-on once it’s in the overhead compartment. Seems like there's always something I wish I had from it.

[Dani] Like many writers I know, I’m a coffee hound. (Okay, maybe not Cathy -- she's a tea hound!) I hate waiting for a coffee (or anything else) until a stewardess* offers one from a cart, and then I really hate the teeny weeny cup. I suppose it’s just as well, because if I had the size of coffee I’d really like, I’d have to make the looooooong trip down the aisle to visit the teeny weeny lavatory – and that’s an immense exercise in frustration and banged elbows. That’s if the sign says you’re allowed to leave your seat at all.

(*Kudos to the stewardesses however --- most I’ve met are quite wonderful, so no complaints about them. They have no control over what the airline is offering. Or more to the point, what it is NOT offering.)

[Cathy] I always get stuck next to my son, who pulls his laptop out. Heaven forbid you aren't busy every moment of the trip, LOL. Some how I end up with his stuff and my stuff shoved in front of me. I also end up with his drink and mine. Sometimes I've ended up between my son and some business guy. That's why I try to get the window seat. So only one person is elbowing me. LOL.

[Dani] I suppose I could handle a lot more of the discomfort of flying if it wasn’t for the inconvenient connections. The first leg of our trip was a late afternoon flight. By the time we arrived at our first stop, we couldn’t get to the hotel until after 10 pm. That wouldn’t be so bad except we had to get up at 3 am to make our next flight. Trust me, I don’t do well without enough sleep. And the next flight was even longer and right on the heels of the one we just finished. My legs hurt. My back hurt. My butt hurt.

Once the plane lands, the ordeal is not over. Until the airline is “ready for you”, you are going nowhere. The plane has powered down and there is no longer any air conditioning but you are a prisoner. You start wondering how many minutes of oxygen are left, divided by the number of passengers (and of course the plane is packed). The relief is huge once that outer door opens and the passengers jammed in the aisle start shuffling forward.

Maybe someday I’ll become rich and famous enough to have my own private jet, or at least fly first-class. But until that happens (and I’m not holding my breath), and if I get a chance to have another vacation in the next few years, I’m opting to travel by boat, car or camel!

[Cathy] Oooh, wouldn't that be nice to have your own private plane. sigh. I tend to drive. Then you have to count on several days to get someplace, but ... it's sooooo much nicer.

[Dani] I'm with you -- driving is my first choice. I love driving. However, there's only 14 miles of road on my little Alaskan island!

[Cathy] and [Dani] Your turn – how do YOU feel about flying on today’s airlines? What do you like or dislike about it? What’s the most enjoyable method of travel you’ve experienced? The least?

Catherine Stang

Dani Harper

The Flu Blues

2009-01-21T15:57:00.009-06:00

[Dani] You know me – I adore the paranormal. But this holiday season I encountered something far scarier than werewolves, vamps and ghosts put together: THE FLU

Yes, I’ve been among the numberless hordes of flu victims this year. Three and a half weeks of respiratory flu, and then, just as I was feeling like I might live, WHAM! Everyone’s favorite, the gastro-intestinal bug, came to visit. And by way of trivia, apparently it’s a misnomer to call it a stomach flu because the term flu (short for influenza) refers to respiratory ailments only. I don’t care. I had a damn miserable please-shoot-me stomach flu and so did a big chunk of the population this winter.

According to a Dutch proverb, Sickness comes on horseback and departs on foot. Frankly, that’s much too mild a description. The stomach flu hit me with all the impact of a dinosaur-obliterating meteor. It took me almost two weeks to climb out of the impact crater. Add to that the downtime caused by the previous flu and I was missing in action for more than an entire month.

Sickness is the vengeance of nature for the violation of her laws. (Charles Simmons) If that’s so, then I figure I must have pissed off Mother Nature big time. Was it that plastic bottle that accidently got into the trash instead of the recycling bin? In the middle of a week-long snow storm I may not have made sure my tires were at optimum inflation for peak gas mileage. Or perhaps it was the tomato I forgot about in the fridge until it turned white and fuzzy, and then added to my sin of wastefulness by failing to compost it. Someone please tell Mother Nature that whatever I did, I’m very, very sorry and promise never to do it again.

There’s always light at the end of the tunnel of course. I remember the first dizzying day of feeling okay enough to walk around the house without clinging to furniture (okay, okay, I was about as coordinated as a newborn giraffe but it felt pretty darn good not to be prone). I had hope. I had energy. I had---

--- a helluva lotta work piled up and waiting for me.

Sigh. My blog is behind. My emails are behind. My online course is incomplete. The wheels fell off the writing projects I have underway and they’ve been laying upside-down in a ditch waiting for a tow truck to get them back on track. And then there’s the house. The dust on the furniture bears a strong resemblance to aboriginal sand-painting, and there are dust bunnies the size of tumbleweeds made completely out of pug hair. Wait, I think one of those may be Scooby...

Of course it’s my very own fault I got the flu in the first place. Next year I plan to take proper precautions, such as:

GOOD) Wear latex gloves and a face mask to the grocery store, the post office and my place of employment.

BETTER) Lay in a six-month supply of firewood and canned goods, then duct-tape the doors and windows shut until summer.

BEST) Leave the country for someplace hot and sunny from September to May.

Your turn --- were YOU afflicted with the flu this winter? Or recently suffering from it like my writing buddy, Cathy Stang? (I swear I didn’t give it to her. Honest! I’m in Alaska and she’s in Kansas. Can it travel by email?) Tell me how you survived the flu!

[Cathy] Oh yeeaah.... I had it too. The dogs and I slept in a big warm ball on the bed with The History Channel going or endless hours of House Hunters. (I love that show, but they never pick the house I like. LOL.) I knew I had to get better when I realized I'd seen the same episodes several times.

It's your turn. Go ahead and whine a little. We just did and boy, sometimes does that feel good. Come on... we won't tell...

Dani Harper
Catherine Stang

Sneak peek at Cathy's Feb. release

2009-01-21T07:13:00.004-06:00

Meet the daring women of The Bliss Society — They want what their husbands give their mistresses: pleasure.

Coming in February 2009!

More Than A Wife

A Regency Romance
by Catherine Stang & Donna McAteer

Andre Duncan, Earl Westbrook, discovers how complicated life can be when you marry your mistress. Many of the things he loved about Corina when she was his mistress embarrass him now that she is his wife. Can he really have both a wife and a lover all in one?

Convinced that she can’t be a proper wife for Andre, Corina moves out and tries to persuade him to let her go. Her stubborn husband won’t agree, risking further damage to his standing in society.

Enter two outspoken women of the ton who call themselves The Bliss Society. They offer Corina an exchange: her knowledge of sexual expertise for theirs of how to be a respectable ton wife. Does she dare hope that she can overcome a bad beginning? Will the ton allow her to?

Click here to read an excerpt
http://www.catherinestang.com/wife_excerpt.html

About blogging....

2009-01-19T09:27:00.006-06:00

Dani is traveling today, so Cathy is on the loose. Hehehehe. You never know what I'll say. The question is what do we talk about. Hummm....

I was thinking about blogging. How did you get started with blogging?

I heard about it when I got asked to guest blog for Whiskey Creek. Thanks to Kate Scott, who made it painless and fun, I dipped my toe in the water. Then I heard more about blogging at a Romantic Times Convention. I went to workshop on it. That sounded like fun.

When I got home, I thought I'd give it try. But to be honest, it seemed a little overwhelming. I'm used to writing a story, not stuff off the top of my head. I wasn't sure I could write without my characters helping, but I tried and discovered that I enjoyed it. My blog has grown. You can check it out at http://www.cathystang.blogspot.com/

After Dani began visiting my blog, we knew we needed to try our hand at blogging together. It's been an adventure. We're stilling learning.

So how did you discover blogs?

Do you write one? If so share you blog link and tell us how you got started.

Do you like to read them? Share some of your favorite blogs.

Psst.... if Dani finds her way on line today, I'm sure she'll add to this blog, so be sure to check back and watch it grow...

Characters We Love To Hate

2009-01-14T09:15:00.007-06:00

[Dani] From the Wicked Stepmother and Voldemort to Darth Vader and The Joker, villains are an unforgettable part of many great stories. Whether they’re eventually redeemed or suitably punished, we’re fascinated by them. Not only do they provide complications for the hero or heroine, but often a proving ground and a crucible.

[Cathy] Oh, I love villains! They add that delicious shiver to story. Sometimes you find yourself rooting for them even when you don't mean to.

[Dani] Probably the villain I love to hate most would be Miranda from The Devil Wears Prada (2003 Laura Weisberger). To me, the scariest villains are the ones that can cause you to consider joining them, even if only for a split second. Even worse are the ones you've already joined, not realizing they’re villains, and you’re just starting to notice the price you're paying...

[Cathy] The best villains aren't all bad. I discovered that through writing mine. The best kind are ones you don't see coming. Rudgewick Tarrington from Sweet Serenity had everyone fooled including Serenity's brother Myles. The smoother they are the hard it is see through them right right away.

[Dani] How true. Villains can be very charming when they want to be and oh so tempting... Maybe the villain in question is offering something you want more than anything. Maybe they've got an argument for their case that just seems so darn reasonable. Or maybe they're drop-dead gorgeous. However they manage it, there's that instant in which you find yourself wanting to give them what they want --- whether it's your soul, logging rights to Yellowstone Park or the PIN number to your gramma's bank account. Now that’s true terror!

In my own novel, Heart of the Winter Wolf, James finds his villain in the obsessive Roderick Harrison. In the subsequent book (newly finished!) James' brother, Connor, will come face to face with not one but two villains.

[Cathy] In Ravensthorpe Heir the villain, Justin Langford, was close friend of Burke's or at least he thought he was...

[Dani] It's an interesting and somewhat disturbing experience to write a villain, especially when he almost writes himself. I always have to wonder --- what part of me is spawning this character? Is this a classic archetype imprinted in all of our human genes or some darker unknown part of my own psyche?

[Cathy] and [Dani] So here's the question for today: Who’s the Biggest Baddie in your books? Is there a villain (or two or three) in the stories you’ve read or movies you’ve watched that you’ll never forget?

Catherine Stang and Dani Harper

....................

From first grade reader to published author

2009-01-12T09:57:00.010-06:00

[Cathy] This is question I get asked most when I give talks -- When did you get started writing? Okay Dani -- When did YOU get started writing?

[Dani] (*lying on the couch*) It all began on the doghouse...

[Cathy] Your writing career began on a doghouse?

[Dani] I know, I know, it sounds Snoopy-esque. But honestly, that’s my earliest memory of wanting to be a writer. I was three years old and sitting on top of an enormous old doghouse – we didn’t even have a dog – and I had a sheaf of lined paper in my stubby little hands. I was “writing” stories with a bright orange crayon. Of course my handwriting was just random squiggles and loops, but the stories were real. I loved to create stories.

[Cathy] My earliest memory of trying to write a story was taking the sentence off the chalk board in 3rd grade. I wrote all day, through lunch, recess and when I should have been doing the rest of my work. I LOVED stories. I swear I always had my nose in a book.

[Dani] I remember the very first book that belonged to just me – a collection of fairy tales. My uncle gave it to me for Christmas one year when I was just two or three, long before I could read. I ADORED it. I remember getting in huge trouble because I took a pencil and “added” to all the stories! (Still have the book. Wish I knew what all my squiggles meant. Maybe I was editing?)

[Cathy] Hey, when you’re famous, maybe your scribbled storybook will be worth a lot. You know, kind of like Van Gogh’s kindergarten drawings.

[Dani] LOL, I wish... No, wait, I don't wish! Van Gogh wasn't famous until after he was dead!

[Cathy] You and I both loved books from an early age. Did you go to the library? I lived at the library. I did a book signing at the library where I grew up. It was a big thrill to go back where it all started. I spent as many hours there writing in notebooks as I did reading. (Man, I wish laptops had been around back then.)

[Dani] My mother took me to our little town’s public library before I learned to read, and I immediately fell in love with the place. I got some kids’ books, but I also remember the science section – there were some books that had lots of WAY cool illustrations. I remember dragging home an enormous book on electricity, and another on biology. Man, I wished I could read! Over the years, I did manage to read almost everything in that library.

(PS - That biology book came home a LOT and became a real favorite. Plants, animals, cells, heredity, microbes – I never tired of them. I was sorry, however, to discover that in spite of the exciting illustrations, the tome on electricity was unbearably boring.)

[Cathy] I always brought home (surprise... surprise) fairy tales. Even as a kid I went for those happy endings. I really loved those historical stories too. I read the covers off Laura Ingalls Wilder's books.

I know you like history a lot but I didn’t know you liked science too. Is that why you read so much science fiction?

[Dani] I think I got into science fiction only because that old town library had a big collection of it! It was only a matter of time before I read my way through it, LOL. Once I stumbled onto Ray Bradbury, however, I was hooked for life. Not only did I adore his stories, I wanted to become like him. I wanted to create worlds like that. He became my hero. My dream of being an author really gelled at that time.

[Cathy] Did you start writing a lot?

[Dani] I was always writing in my spare time. But I was still dabbling. And of course, there wasn’t a lot of support for what became known as “creative writing” because no one believed you could make a career out of that. And in the pre-Internet days, it was tough to get solid information on where to submit stories, although I tried a few places.

[Cathy] Once I got the writing bug, I wrote in my spare time, too. I carried around notebooks in my backpack and was always working on a book. Gosh knows what happened to those, but I wrote several books that way.

[Dani] Someone said “Life is what happens to you while you’re making other plans.” So I didn’t turn to writing fiction right away. I ended up writing scripts for radio – ads, entertainment and weather reports. And I went from there to writing for newspaper. Worked up from reporter to editor. Became a writer in a marketing department at an agricultural college. I was good at technical writing and magazine articles but it still wasn’t the stuff that my dreams were made of.

[Cathy] When did you make the jump to fiction?

[Dani] Two things happened. At the turn of the century (I love saying that!) I discovered paranormal romance. I was captivated by this new genre – and inspired. So after I came home from work, I started staying up late and writing. Within the first few paragraphs, my character turned into a werewolf! I wasn’t aiming to do anything but write for my own pleasure, which was a treat in itself. Writing what I wanted to write. But of course, I got busy and the project was laid aside like knitting. I’d pick it up once in a while, dabble a bit and put it down again.

Then I happened to be in a bookstore with my oldest daughter (and fellow book hound) and I was digging through a sale bin. Came up with a copy of one of Ray Bradbury’s more recent works. I didn’t even flip through it, just bought it and took it home.

The next day, I opened the book and discovered it was a signed copy! A signed copy of a Ray Bradbury book in a northern Canadian bookstore? What were the chances? The hair on the back of my neck stood up – it felt like Karma, like the Universe had reached out and thumped me on the head. I felt like it was a message that I ought to dust off my old dream and become an author. So believe me, I got serious about it! And my first werewolf novel was finished a few months later.

[Cathy] It took me a long time to get the nerve to share my stories. They were something fun and private that I did just for me. Then one day I went to a conference and heard other writers talk. It was as if a spark went through me. I suddenly knew that's what I wanted to do! Thanks to RWA, The Wichita Area Romance Writers and Romantic Times pre-convention writer's workshops, I learned how to take my stories from rough drafts to books that I could send off to editors.

Actually the very first book I wrote to send out was The Bargain. Which is now available in print and ebook from http://www.whiskeycreekpress.com/ I always wanted to make that story into a series, so I was thrilled when Whiskey Creek let me spread my wings and create the world the way I wanted.

[Cathy] and [Dani] So now you've heard our story. Let's hear yours. How did YOU get started writing?

Catherine Stang and Dani Harper

PS from Cathy -- I couldn't resist the picture I found for this week's blog. I thought "Hey, there's me working and talking to Dani". Many of our readers may not know that she's in Alaska and I'm in Kansas. Believe me, we're on the phone a LOT!