My Favorite Flower: the Forget-Me-Not by Lynn Lovegreen

If you know me well, it’s not too surprising that my favorite flower is the forget-me-not. It’s kind of old-fashioned, more of a wildflower than a cultivated one, and it’s also petite. Plus it’s closely associated with Alaska. Please allow me to explain.

The forget-me-not has a sentimental name that goes back a long time. The definition in  Dictionary.com states, “the flowering plant Myosotis palustris, 1530s, from Old French ne m'oubliez mye; in 15c. the flower was supposed to ensure that those wearing it should never be forgotten by their lovers. Similar loan-translations took the name into other languages.” That romantic name is one of its attractions for me. 

Plus, I feel the flower physically resembles me a bit in that it is petite and it grows well without a fuss. I am a bit under 5 feet tall, and forget-me-nots grow in tiny clusters. I have forget-me-nots in several places around my house, but the locations it really likes is in gravel between a garden bed and a brick path, and between stone steps. It doesn’t need to be coddled, and neither do I. Neither one of us is hothouse material.

And, of course, it is the Alaska state flower, and I am a diehard Alaskan. You can find forget-me-nots growing wild throughout the state, and forget-me-not designs on t-shirts, postcards, Alaska Native art, you name it, all over Alaska. 

I always smile when I see a forget-me-not. I hope this post’s photos make your day, too!  

Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. Her young adult historical romances are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com.

Hey! That's My Book!

       Belated Happy New Year Everyone!!  In case you're a new reader, let me introduce myself. I'm Terri Molina. :-)

So, the other day I was reading the January issue of RWR .....Romance Writer's Report....it's the magazine issued by Romance Writers of America. Anyway...there was an article in there by ErinQuinn and Kris Kennedy about the similarity of some books. For instance, when Erin was writing her Mists of Ireland series, she read Karen MarieMoning's Fever series and started freaking out about how similar the stories were, down to having the exact same character!  If you have the issue, read it, it's a good article. 

So, while I was reading, I kept thinking...Yep. Happened to me too!  Shortly after I completed my novel Forget Me Not, I met Allison Brennan at an online forum. She had just released her first book, The Prey (great first book!).

Because Allison was one of the first "real" authors I'd interacted with, I bought the book... well, that and because I love romantic suspense and was looking for new authors to read besides Nora Roberts and Jayne Krentz (not that I don't still LOVE them). 

So, anyway, it was several months before I had down time to sit back and read.  Forget Me Not was making the rounds and I'd already completed Dark Obsession (coming soon) so I figured, let's read Allison. Well, you can imagine my heartbreak when I started reading. Not only were the plots similar (kinda, sorta), they practically opened the same way!  Of course, they weren't the same book...exactly. But the similarities were close enough that my second agent (who turned out to be a waste of two years) didn't want to submit the book to anyone.  It was five years after Allison's book came out that my book finally got published.  But, another heartbreak happened even after that and again, it was from another one of Allison's books...or rather a non-book.  Shortly after Forget Me Not published I'd gone to read a blog post Allison did at the MurderShe Writes blog. She was talking about the first book she'd ever completed. The one that was so bad it was under the bed, gathering dust, and would never see the light of day.  Then, she proceeded to describe the plot and some of the really bad scenes and...

I. Thought. I. Was. Going. To. Die!

The scenes she described (in some not so nice ways---I think too convoluted was mentioned once or twice) were some of the same scenes I'd written in my book!  Right down to end!  Needless to say....I didn't mention I'd written the same book.  haha

But, really, there's no getting around writing a book or characters similar to someone else. As Erin says in the article, you're likely both researching the same thing so it's likely that the research will end up in your story.  Plus, there are no original plots or archetypes.  Just like there are no original titles.  If you go to Amazon and plug in your title under Books, you'll find hundreds if not thousands of titles that are the same.  Yeah, that can be frustrating too.  In fact, shortly after my novel House of Cards debuted, a TV show on Netflix called House of Cards launched and became a big success.  Thankfully, the plots aren't the least bit the same.

So, what do you do if you find you're writing a book that's already been written?  Well, for one, don't read that book! And, two, just write yours. They may be similar, but, unless you're copying the other one verbatim (plagiarizing), your story will still be different because it's you writing it; your voice, your style, your story.

Holidaze (& a Contest)

It’s hard to believe next week is Thanksgiving (for those of us in the U.S). Seems like just yesterday we were ringing in 2011, now we’re about to ring in 2012. The years rush by so fast, it’s enough to make your head spin, ala Linda Blair in the Exorcist but on speed.  I’d barely grabbed the candy off the shelves for Halloween when the stockers started pushing me aside to make room for the Christmas displays!  Even the local radio station has started its round-the-clock holiday music….which doesn’t quite help with the Christmas spirit when it’s still 80 degrees outside. And, the department stores, along with the grocery stores are a mad house…almost makes me want to lock myself away until it’s all over…almost. 

Okay, I confess, I’m not really complaining too much. I--like 99% of the world--love the end of year holidays, because it means lots and lots of great food and sweets! My kitchen is going to be a wonderland in itself because of all the baking my kids and I will do.  In fact, I’m planning to include some fresh baked treats in two baskets I’m giving away in a contest.

From now until December 15th, I’m having a contest to help promote my novel Forget Me Not. You don't have to go to my blog but if you want to enter the contest you just have to email me the answer to this question:  

In the story Forget Me Not, Casey is on the phone with her sister-in-law. With Scott on the extension, Casey says something in Spanish to Jennifer. What does she say?

 Again, email me the answer at TerriMo2 @ yahoo.com (remove the spaces) and you'll be placed into the drawing to win one of two gift baskets. Basket one will contain a Kindle, some chocolate and the yummy baked snacks and Basket two will contain a $25 VISA gift card, a mouse pad, chocolate, and some yummy home-baked snacks. ;-)

The drawing will be midnight, December 15th and the baskets will be mailed by the 18th to arrive by Christmas....hopefully.

If you haven’t picked up your copy of Forget Me Not, you can order it here: http://www.decadentpublishing.com/product_info.php?products_id=361&osCsid=3ef4da97661f7125bf680f5f9fb4e060

Or here:  http://www.amazon.com/Forget-Me-Not-ebook/dp/B005T4XVC6/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_t_1

Have a wonderful and joyous holiday season!!