Overheard on . . . Romancing the Genres

“After seeing the other side, I have a new perspective on this life.”

It was the first time I had met someone with a near death experience. We were at PF Changs having dinner after a long day of writing-related sessions at the Emerald City Writers Conference in Seattle. The woman across from me was really interesting on a number of levels. Traveling to the U.S. from Budapest, she was on an extended tour to promote her books. She was also an incredibly spiritual woman who had wonderful stories to tell about how her near death experience changed her life. The highlight, though, was when she read my palm.

It wasn’t the first time that day I had run into someone with a perspective on my character. At lunch we sat with a woman who knew how to do handwriting analysis. She showed us how to determine whether we believed a statement about ourselves to be true. Like, “I will be a New York Times best-selling author.” Try it! Write something you want for yourself. Now, are you done? Okay, if the letters are all evenly spaced, you believe it. However, if there is a space between the words ‘will be’ and the next part of the sentence (in my case, ‘a New York Times best-selling author’,) it means you don’t believe it. Apparently I have a ways to go in building my self-confidence around this statement:>)

Then, after analyzing my signature, she told me I was a cheerleader. I probably should have clarified whether she meant in the 'mean girl' way, or in the 'supporting your friends' way. I’ll take it as the second though.

So anyway, back to dinner and my palm reading. My new friend from Budapest told me I should not be afraid to take risks because I was well protected from the other side. It was the perfect timing for this insight too, since I am experimenting with a new-model publishing company for my third book, Molto Mayhem.

Set in Italy, and filled with rich descriptions of food and place, as well as hilarious characters, Molto Mayhem is a story about finding unexpected love on a difficult journey home. Like my second book, Untangling the Knot, it delves into deeper topics while still maintaining a light, humorous touch.

I am thrilled that it was accepted by Inkshares Publishing and set up for the funding stage. Inkshares selects only those projects they think will succeed, helps them raise money for all of the services required to publish a book, and then handles all of the publication, distribution, and publicity much as a large NY publisher would.

My campaign is only a few weeks in and I have already reached almost 20% of my goal. I have a lot of plans to get the word out there but I’d love to have help. Here are two ways you can support my effort to get this wonderful story published.

1.       Check out my funding page at Inkshares, where you can read the full synopsis, learn more about Inkshares, and even pre-order Molto Mayhem to help fund the book. https://www.inkshares.com/projects/molto-mayhem

2.       Help spread the word. Here are Facebook and Twitter blurbs you can use to let your friends know about Molto Mayhem and Inkshares.
Facebook: I just found a cool new book project called "Molto Mayhem" on Inkshares!  The first chapter already looks hilarious, so I can't wait to see it published! You can find out all about the book (including an overview) at:  https://www.inkshares.com/projects/molto-mayhem
Twitter: I can’t wait to see this book published. It’s set in #Italy & the food descriptions make me want to lick the pages: https://www.inkshares.com/projects/molto-mayhem

Now I’m off to bungee jump since no one said my risks have to be just with my writing. Besides, famous author John Burroughs said, “Leap, and the net will appear.” Here’s to everyone who takes risks without a net and to your next Journey Inspired by Love.

Deanne

Overheard on . . . Romancing the Genres

“Ciao…”

Being that I was in Italy for this overhear, I certainly could have chosen many other Italian phrases. But, aside from the fact the most of them I didn’t understand and couldn’t duplicate, this word just fit my post today in many ways.

First, next month Romancing the Genres will spotlight guest authors of YA (or young writers themselves). Now for me there are three times when you do not want to get language usage wrong while writing. 1. When you are using foreign terms, like Ciao. 2. When you are writing for the young adult audience. (Which, let’s face it, can often sound more foreign than another country’s language.) and 3. Anytime you reference another literary world. (Do not, for example, use Thumping Willow when referring to the Harry Potter Tree that tries to smash people.)

Of these three situations, I think the most difficult to get right is the language of youth. For one thing, it is entirely fluid, changing rapidly with both geography and time. More importantly, they don’t really like to share it with us mere adult mortals. Seriously! Ask a teenager what salty means and you are sure to get an eye roll rather than an answer. BTW – according to an article on Huiffington Post it is; “Someone or something who is overly pissed off, angry or annoying.” (Find more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/12/19/slang-words-2013-_n_4461422.html)

The best YA authors use slang that will stand the test of time, at least for a little while; like hashtag. Otherwise, they know that language isn’t simply the words we use, but how we frame sentences and conversations.  Tight, abrupt, short, could all be used to describe language as used by teenagers. Life feels too short and too busy to speak in long, flowing sentences. But don’t, please, take my word on this as I don’t write YA. Do come back in September when our YA authors can, I’m sure, talk more about it.

Since my post is getting long… I'll only say a bit about the other two reasons I chose the word ciao. As I mentioned, I was in Italy when I overheard it… and I have a lot, (a lot) more to say on the topic. Too much for here in fact! But now that my jetlag is finished, I’ll be spending lots of time with my computer posting all about my amazing trip on my personal blog, http://www.deannewilsted.com/my-world---blog.

Which… I do hope you’ll find. Since, I am sad to say, this is my final official post as a Genreista! I’ve decided, after a couple of years  of being part of this amazing group of bloggers, that it is time to let a new author have their chance at writing about Romance and genres and for me to focus on the reason for my European trip- my next book.

I truly appreciate all of the support for both my writing and my words over the last two years. And I plan to be a guest for RTG whenever I get the chance. I hope you’ve enjoyed my overhears… and for now, rather than say ciao I will say Arrivederci – which means, goodbye until we meet again.

Deanne Wilsted
www.deannewilsted.com
@dwilsted

Overheard on . . . Romancing the Genres

"We're proud to welcome members of our military for early boarding at this time. We appreciate your service."

Quick... picture a military novel. What do you see? A helicopter swooping low over a battlefield? A group of men crouched low in a bunker? A sexy female JAG officer questioning the ethics of a good-looking lieutenant?

Or.... two friends, dressed in uniform but jumping on-board a flight for a quick break in Arizona?

Sure, it is easy to fall into typical stereotypes when we write. One of the very positive purposes of using a stereotyped character or situation is that it saves words.... the reader automatically knows where we are going with something and so we, as writers, can move on to a bigger plot point or more important character.

Of course used as a main character or main plot point stereotypes become cliché, trite, and shallow. This is why putting our characters into an unexpected environment, or finding an unexpected character in one of our settings, provides depth and interest to our stories. At the same time, this isn't always easy to do. It requires that the writer take time to really understand that character or that environment.

I'm thrilled to say that in August Romancing the Genres gets to spotlight a bunch of Military writers who do just that. They have taken the time to delve beneath the surface of what military (whether in character or environment) means, and draw us into that world through excellent writing.

Come back in August for these guest bloggers:
08-02 - Matt Buchman

08-09 - Linda Lovely

08-16 - Terry Spear
08-23 - Jessica Scott
08-30 - Catherine Mann

And learn more about the reality of the military.... early boarding privileges and all.

Overheard on . . . Romancing the Genres

“What do you write?”
“Contemporary Womens Fiction with strong Romantic and Comedic Elements.”
<pause>
“So, Romance then?”

There are practically as many subgenres in Contemporary Romance as there are contemporary stories written. I have always found it difficult to tell people what I write. For the longest time my answer was Contemporary Romance. Then, at a workshop one time, I learned that my stories fit better into the Genre of Women’s Fiction.

Better… but not perfectly. My writing is a mixture of many different subgenres. Publishers aren’t thrilled by this. They like to know exactly how to market a book, where to sell it and where to shelve it.

From an early age readers are taught to look for books in narrow fields:  Fiction/nonfiction, Fantasy/history/speculative/comedy, etc. (For a thorough list of genres linkhere to Wikipedia )

Do you remember the Dewey Decimal System and the card catalogs? Well nowadays kids use a computer program very like Goodreads to find books. It allows them to search by grade or reading level. They can ‘like’ a book and find others like it. They can even recommend favorite books to their friends (within a closed school system for safety!)

Helping children use this system I discovered something interesting. Since these computer generated searches are based on user preference rather than pre-determined categories, diverse genres appear for a similar topic. For example, search on ‘lion’ and you might get poems about lions, non-fiction books about them, or a myth with a lion in it. While each clearly says what category it falls into, no longer are we locked into seeing topics in only one light.

What does this mean as readers and writers? Because of Goodreads and systems like the above we can begin to use a new language to describe books and our writing.

In April Romancing the Genres gets to spotlight some wonderful Contemporary Authors. I’m sure each of them, like myself, has a different take on this wide genre. So instead of asking them about what they write, ask them what their readers like about their books. You may find your own new way of categorizing your favorite reads.

Many Happy Journeys Inspired by Love -
Deanne
www.deannewilsted.com

Overheard on . . . Romancing the Genres

“A toast- To a romance that lasts longer than the best wine.”

Deep, intense, robust, delicate, full-bodied… these are all terms used to describe wine. Of course there is also, woodsy, fruity, earthy- but we won’t get into that in this post. Because what I have been thinking about lately is how the relationships we have with other things in our life can also be used to describe our romances.

… Such as our relationship with our home: comfy, cozy, grounding, nostalgic- or our school alma mater: loyal, supportive, gratifying, proud.

Even the form a story takes can be used to describe a relationship. Is it long and slow and deep, or short and fast and intense. Interestingly, either of these types of stories can be just as fulfilling to read, just as either type of romance can be filled with meaning and purpose.

The very best short story authors know this and develop the characters and their relationship in a way that leaves the reader better off for  knowing them.

During the month of March Romancing the Genres gets to spotlight some of these fantastic short story romance authors.
03/01 - Sarina Dorie
03/08 - Books To Go Now
03/15 - Sarah Raplee & Judith Ashley
03/16 - Kelly McCrady
03/22 - Jennifer Conner
03/29 - Wendy Clark

I’m intrigued by how at different times in my life I have been more interested in the short version of things, whether it is in my relationships or my reading choices. Looking at these periods I see that the two things have often balanced each other… so that when I was younger and just having fun dating, my reading choices tended to be bigger, longer romances, such as Anna Karenina. And now, enjoying and appreciating my own 15 year romance with my husband, I tend toward shorter, quirkier, more intense stories; even as condensed as a really great love poem.

And, while reading both short and long romances at the same time can be considered a talent, conducting short and long romances at the same time should be discouraged. Whichever you choose, though, here's to you own short or long journeys inspired by love.

Cheers,
Deanne Wilsted
www.deannewilsted.com

Overheard on . . . School Applications

“Describe how your family would contribute to a diverse school environment.”

What better day, than the Martine Luther King Jr. Holiday to consider the important topic of diversity. As a family we are in the process of researching and applying for schools as we put our plans in motion for our move to Seattle this summer. The process of applying has been an eye opener for me. For one thing, it is, for the most part, automated. Compared to my last formal school application process (graduate programs for me), the updated process is much more streamlined. But some things don’t change. And even at the middle school level the applications request essays and answers from parent and child.

As a writer, most of my answers flew onto the pages with little need for revision. But when I came to this question I was stumped. How would our seemingly bread and milk family contribute to a diverse school environment.

My husband and I talked about it. We considered our family backgrounds and roots. We laid out all of the ways that we, as a family, may be different than other families. Ultimately, it all ended up sounding contrived and a bit patronizing. How could we suggest that raising an only child compares to the experience of someone who’s encountered racial prejudice?

Eventually it was our daughter that enlightened us. “Mom, don’t you write about journeys?”

It is true, my tagline is Journeys Inspired by Love. My writing is about what I love, physical journeys, yes- but also journeys of the heart and mind. As a family I want us to explore all sorts of ways of living and being so that these journeys are informed by the diversity of an expanded world view, rather than a narrow one.

One way that we do this is through reading. February on Romancing the Genres brings us all a chance to hear from some great Multi-cultural authors including, B.A. Binns, Terri Molina, and ShobhanBantwal. Exploring their perspectives gives us a chance to expand ours, both as writers and as readers. So my challenge to you this week is to search on multi-cultural fiction at your favorite book site and then pick one of the books to read. Then, report back on what you thought of the book and how it did, or didn’t, send you on your own journey of growth.

Bon Voyage!
Deanne
www.deannewilsted.com