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.

Who's that Girl??

**This is a repost from an older blog floating around the internet

As a writer and a Gemini, I'm considered to have double personalities. So, I thought I'd sit down with myself and ask the questions you're all dying to know!

Q:         So....I'm here today with Terri Molina enjoying a cup of herbal tea...
Terri:    Uh...excuse me...Herbal Tea?? Do I look like I drink Herbal Tea?? Where's the coffee?

Q:         Sorry. She's having coffee (like she needs the caffeine) I'll have the tea....anyway....let's get started with the interview. So, let's start with the most often asked question:  When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
Terri:    I don't think anyone really decides to become a writer...they just do. But, my wanting to become an author began about 15+ years ago when I decided I finally wanted to share my work with the public. It was shortly after my Aunt Gail and Uncle Tony died (within a couple of hours of each other on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day). My first novel was actually a dedication to them, but I never finished it (long story). Suffice it to say, I wasn’t ready to be a writer. After a few years of studying the craft  I decided to write another book. I sat at the computer every night for two months and wrote the first draft of book one then put it away and spent the next two months writing the first draft of book two. I never dreamed I'd ever complete them, much less sell them...but I did. Crazy, huh?

Q:         Why did you choose the style or the sub-genre?
Terri:    Style? There's a style? Actually, the first novel I tried to write was a family saga (explained above). I never completed it, but I may return to it one day. Anyway, a couple of years after "training" myself to write I decided to try my hand at writing a suspense. I'd been a big fan of Nora Robert's single titles (Montana Sky being my all time fave!) and just loved how she mixed the suspense and romance into such a great story, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I took an incident from my (younger) life and expanded it with What If..... To be honest I didn't consider making it a romance, it just kind of happened. My second book, which is Dark Obsession, also a romantic suspense but with paranormal elements, happened the same way. (Chalk it up to a traumatic childhood----uh, therapy anyone?)

Q:         What's your favorite line from one of your books?
Terri:    Hmm....I guess the one in chapter one of Dark Obsession. My character Ray is awoken at three in the morning by the spirit of his great-grandmother and when she appears to him he thinks "Great, thanks to too much bourbon and Bruce Willis, I'm talking to dead people."

Q:         When do you find time to write?
Terri:    I’ve been a stay-at-home mom since child three was born, mainly because my husband was in the Coast Guard and we moved every two years. Our children were still in elementary school when he retired and got a civilian job and it was just easier to not work and cart them all around, plus child two has health issues so I spent a lot of time with her at various doctor appointments....ANYWAY...despite my rambling, my inspiration usually hits late at night or when I'm in the shower. Go figure.

Q:         You don’t consider yourself an erotic romance author, yet your stories (save one) each have very sensual love scenes. Is it hard (no pun intended) to write outside of your comfort zone?
Terri:    Actually, yeah. The love scenes weren’t even in the books (as detailed as they are) in the beginning and I only added the eroticism because my first agent asked me to. I have to admit I still feel a bit awkward when I write them. But I was really out of my comfort zone when I was asked to write Her Will His Way (by an editor--now formerly from Kensington). She had three stipulations. (1) it had to be contemporary. My books and future books are all suspense/mystery (2) it had to be erotic. She had read my other books, LOVED the "sex" and wanted me to made the new story even HOTTER (3) the story had to be 60-65 pages. That may sound like a lot, but it isn't. I was completely out of my element. But I managed to get the story done.

Q:         What do you do when you're not writing?
Terri:    I pretty much just take care of my family. I also like to read and I'm currently putting together my summer reading list. I also try to keep up with my friends all over the US. Since the kids are older (teens and younger twenties) and have their own lives my husband and I have date night on the weekends. Usually dinner and a movie.

Q:         What are your goals as a writer?
Terri:    Hmm....I'm not really a goal making person. But, I guess if I had to make one it would be to write what I most enjoy reading and not worry if it's ever going to get published. Is that a goal? Uh... I'll let you know when that's working out for me. Oh...wait, I do have a goal I'm currently working on. Trying to hit the top 100 in Kindle reads at Amazon. Yeah....it's a bit lofty, but ya never know....with the great reviews I've been getting and more word of mouth...it could happen. (have I mentioned I can be a bit of a dreamer at times??)

Q:         Uh....yeah. Moving on. I know you are an active member of RWA, what are some of the things you have done with RWA?

Terri:    I joined RWA in 2004 (after an agent I queried wrote on her rejection letter "RWA is in Houston-JOIN") and figured, even though I'm basically a shy person, I needed to jump right in if I wanted to be published like the rest of them. I went to my first National conference in Dallas that year and was instantly recruited to work the Lit signing. The following year, Angie Platt grabbed me in Reno and it was a given that I work again in Atlanta. I served a year as president of the NW Houston chapter before our family moved to Arizona, where I also served as chapter president. I'm still a member of the Houston chapter because I still have friends I adore there. I’m still active with the national organization and this year will chair the literacy signing in Atlanta.

Q:         I noticed on a few websites you will give a writer feedback on their posted samples. It's been said you're a very straightforward person, some would say blunt, especially when it comes to critiques.
Terri:    Straightforward? I guess at times I am...but those who actually know me would find that statement extremely amusing. Lol  However, I don't offer my opinions or feedback on someone's work unless I am asked and I will not give dishonest feedback when the whole purpose is to learn. I've been doing this a while, I've been cut to the bone by harsh critiques. I [was] even told (by another writer) that I'd never get published and I would never say that to anyone. So when I offer my suggestions (which is all they are) I do so with the intention of helping that person see what they could do to improve their manuscript and get it ahead of the slush pile. Of course no one likes to hear their work isn’t ‘there’ yet so on occasion it’s not worth the time. But I am proud to say that there are a few authors out there who’ve sold after my help.

Q:         Is it hard for you to receive critiques of your work, especially if you don't agree with them? How do you handle that?
Terri:    Of course. It's hard for anyone to receive critiques on a work you spilled blood for. I don't take them personally unless they're delivered as a personal attack...in which case, I'll vent to a friend or two and wait for them to "talk me down" from my anger. But a critique, whether delivered by me or you or anyone, is just an opinion offered to help. I listen to all the feedback I'm given on my work...I don't necessarily follow it unless it's said more than once. But, the bottom line is, the book belongs to the author who wrote it and only he/she knows what story they want to tell.
Now...enough of those questions! Ask me something fun!

Q:         Okay. Tell us something interesting about yourself no one else knows.
Terri:    Oh...uh...well....hmmm....when I was thirteen I stayed the summer with my aunt and uncle in Angleton (Texas). We went to New Braunfels for a week (to ride the rapids). I lied and told them I knew how to swim. It wasn't until I fell into the deep end of the swimming pool and nearly drowned when they realized I couldn't. Luckily my aunt was sitting right there and reached in to grab me....by my hair. And that is also one of my most embarrassing moments.

Thank you for taking the time to talk to yourself....like that never happens. Haha

And thank you all for reading. As an added treat, here’s an except from my latest release House of Cards—a romantic suspense about a young woman trying to find her missing sister and prove her brother-in-law is a killer.

Excerpt: House of Cards

By five o’clock, the story was all over the news. Within two days, it had gone nationwide. Every television reporter from CNN to Fox News had arrived in town setting up camp in the quiet neighborhood of Rancho Viejo and their hunger for a story left little room for the truth.

Michael settled at his desk with a mug of coffee and opened the file they had started on Alicia Vega. Behind him, the late afternoon sun radiated through the open blinds, reflecting off the veneer top of his desk.

Over the past three days since Alicia Vega had been reported missing, they’d set up a recovery center, made several hundred flyers with her picture, launched a door to door search of the neighborhood and started a hotline offering a ten-thousand-dollar reward to anyone with information leading to her safe return.

He’d given a brief press conference on the evening news and because Michael knew the importance of the media in these situations, he’d encouraged Jesse and Marcus to use the press as well. However, since Jesse refused to stand with Marcus, Michael accompanied her to the local ABC affiliate to give a video interview with Diane Sawyer for Good Morning America while Oscar appeared with Marcus on the Today show.

Jesse had kept quiet throughout most of the discussion, leaving him to answer a majority of the questions. He could see she was trying her best to keep her hostility toward Marcus in check, but when the journalist asked point-blank if Jesse thought her brother-in-law had something to do with his wife's disappearance; she'd looked directly into the camera and said yes.

Had Michael known Jesse would outwardly accuse her brother-in-law of murdering his wife he’d have kept her under lock and key. Now, because Marcus had friends in LULAC--The League of United Latin-American Citizens–the police were not only being accused of discrimination, but LULAC was using its influence to make sure Vega wouldn't be railroaded.

Though the case had yet to be classified as anything more than a missing person, Michael planned to follow his gut and record everything he could about Marcus's behavior. Because, if he really did kill his wife, Michael was going to make sure there was enough evidence to put the son-of-a-bitch away. Regardless of whom his friends are.

**If you want to learn more about Terri you can find her at any of the following:

www.terrimolina.com

http://right2write.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/terri.molina

https://twitter.com/#!/Terri_Molina 

http://www.amazon.com/Terri-Molina/e/B004S2VMV2/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

 

It's Not a Mystery Where Ideas Are Born

As writers we’re often asked, “where do you get your ideas?”  Okay...so far, no one has asked me that, but I’ll tell you anyway. I think my answer is the same as everyone....life.  Stories are everywhere and all it takes is an active (or warped) imagination to bring them to life.  Take any scenario within your life or the person’s beside you, and ask “what if this happened?”  There, you go...you have the basis of the story.  Okay, it’s not really as easy as that. There’s a lot of research involved when developing a novel, especially if you’re planning to make it a suspense.  

When I was writing my first novel Forget Me Not, I did a lot of reading about police procedurals and serial killers. For book two, Dark Obsession, I looked into the world of black magic within the Mexican culture. Since my novels are considered ‘Latina Lit’ because they involve Latina (or in my case, Mexican) characters, they contain some of the beliefs and superstitions found within that culture. Of course, it is fiction, so much of it is artistic license.  Anyway, the more information I gathered, the more my story came to life, but not only that, the wheels started spinning in my head for another story, and soon, my research started branching out into other areas I found just as fascinating (if not disturbing). 

On the 15th, I released my third novel, House of Cards. The story is about a young, pregnant woman, who goes missing and her younger sister’s fight to prove her brother-in-law is a killer. But she can’t get anyone to believe her because everyone believes she’s mentally unstable.  I based this story on three of the news articles and stories I came across during my research and of course I asked ‘what if?’.  

And, just to whet your reading appetite, here’s a sneak preview.   

CHAPTER ONE

The needle wavered at sixty-five miles per hour. The engine gunned and the car shuddered seconds before the tires left the pavement. Metal crunched against metal, sparks igniting across the highway. Jesse squeezed her eyes shut and braced for the impact. Her body bucked against the backseat as the car rolled, the seatbelt strap pinning her against the vinyl and cutting into her neck. Glass shattered against her skull as the car tumbled to a stop in a shallow ravine. Jesse struggled with her seatbelt, fighting to unclasp the latch.  The burning odor of gasoline stung her eyes. 

Outside a shadowed figure stepped forward and crouched beside her door.

“You should have left it alone,” the voice said.

Even through her petrified fear she heard the unmistakable scrape of a match. The figure took a step back and tossed the tiny stick into the car. 

Her scream woke her. 

Jesse bolted up on the sofa, her arms flailing, fighting the restraints of the chenille blanket tangled around her. The soft glow of light from the laptop on the coffee table caught her attention and it took her a moment to realize it had been a dream. She wasn’t that helpless child anymore. She wasn’t trapped in a burning car with her parents. She was at home, in her apartment where she’d lived for the past five years.

She shoved the blanket off and pressed the heel of her hands to her eyes to push back the burning tears. She was safe. She was fine. She was alive. She tried to repeat the mantra but the images from her nightmare continued to play in her head. 

“Damn it.”

After giving herself a moment to steady her pulse she slapped the computer closed and staggered into the kitchen. She didn’t need to look at the clock above the sink to know what time it was. Three o’clock in the morning. Same freaking time every night for the last two weeks.  With a frustrated sigh she yanked open the refrigerator and grabbed a water bottle.  She took a long drink, the cold liquid soothing the rawness of her throat.  Outside lightening flashed, followed by the sonic boom of thunder. She jolted, her heart slamming against her breastbone like a sledgehammer. The dream flashed in her mind. The car tumbling across the highway. Her mother’s terrified screams. The explosion that turned her parent’s flesh to bones and ash. 

Jesse closed her eyes and held her breath, counting against the thump of her pulse. After the accident the doctors had told her she’d lead a normal life; that her injuries, though life threatening at one time, wouldn’t keep her from doing whatever she wanted to do. She slowly exhaled and slid a look at the orange pill bottle on the window sill. They just didn’t say anything about her mind debilitating her.

She took another pull from the bottle, her gaze shifting to the blinking light on the old answering machine buried under a newspaper. The calls she’d ignored earlier. She mentally ran through a list of possible callers–her boss at the paper, a student from her computer research class wanting her notes again, or her friend Amy dying to tell her about her latest date. Most days she enjoyed living vicariously through Amy’s erotic encounters, since Jesse hadn’t had a serious relationship in over three years but, thanks to her nightmare, she was no longer in the mood.

“Whoever you are can wait.” She finished the bottle and tossed it in the recycle bin before leaving the room.

After a hot shower, where she stood for half an hour to let the beating spray massage the tension in her muscles, she poured herself a glass of wine then pressed play on the answering machine. A soft rustling sounded before a voice came on the line.

 “Jesse. Are you there? Pick up. I know you must hate me and I’m sorry. You were right. I should have believed you. I’m so sorry I didn’t listen. Please, pick up the phone. Mierda. Where are you?  I need you. Ay, dios mio, I don't know what to do. Please Jesse, you have to help me. I think he’s going to kill me.”

From now until the end of October, I will donate $1.00 of every book sold to the Texas EquuSearch Organization. Just click on the link to learn more about them.