The Makeover – Literary Style

By Robin Weaver

All of us watch those shows (even if we don’t always ‘fess up).  You know the ones I mean.  A frumpy stay-at-home mom and a Goth-looking college student walk onto the set. An overly bubbly announcer introduces some wonderful product and an amazing makeup artist. Then, voila.  A curling iron and a bottle of hair gel later, Frumpy and Dumpy are now the hot momma who could play Mrs. Robinson and the fraternity girl most likely to get an STD.

I am, of course, talking about the infamous makeover. I can’t tamp down my skepticism enough to believe Frumpy and Dumpy really looked that bad prior to the makeover.  Surely the show’s producers intentionally frizzed hair for those hideous “before” images.  Maybe they even put gray paste on the To-Be-Made-Overs’ faces.  I’m also certain some production assistant scoured thrift stores in search of the worst clothing possible.  When the assistant finds her prize, she stomps on the shapeless dress or baggy jeans with combat boots prior to dressing the poor “volunteers.” When presented in cocktail dresses for the REVEAL, like any woman who goes from Goodwill to couture, the makeover models look one heck of a lot better. 

Seriously, though? Short of surgery or drastic liposuction, how much can you really do in a short period of time to improve your looks?

Fortunately, for us writers, fiction is different. Forget hair products. You, the great and powerful Wonder-author, have magic at your disposal. With a few strokes of your literary pen, you can take a bad manuscript and make the tale into a fascinating story.

Have a heroine you don’t like?  Kill her off on page one and promote the amazing sidekick to leading lady. Are you main characters boring? Just add equal parts tension and quirkiness, and Ozzie and Harriet morph into Morticia and Gomez Addams.

You can even reshape your basic plot into a totally different story. Believe it or not, you can do this with minimal rewrite.

In Forbidden Magic, my first novel, I created vampire-type characters living in a world without warm-blooded creatures.  My vamps existed on a mineral mimicking the properties of human blood. Naturally, the mineral was becoming depleted (aka external tension). Unfortunately, no one wanted yet another vamp story.

So, I instigated a makeover.  First, I made my characters Dökkálfar and —ancient elves.  Since my hero and heroine were no longer vampire, they no longer needed blood. Thus I needed another rare substance necessary to my characters’ survival. To keep my external conflict from disintegrating, I decided the sun on my fictional world wouldn’t have the spectrum of Earth’s solar unit.  Naturally, I made this missing spectrum necessary to elfin survival.

So what could emulate sunlight? What else? Crystals. And all the quartz had been mined.

I kept the same plot. My characters’ goals, motivation, and conflict didn’t change. Yet my novel had a completely different look. A makeover.

If your novel isn’t getting the attention it deserves, if your manuscript is dated, or if you just need more oomph, you too can perform the same type of literary makeover. No license required. Remember, a good story (regardless of genre) needs great characters, with great conflict, and a goal worth achieving. The rest is just…well, hair product and cocktail dresses.

How about you?  Performed any literary makeovers on your manuscripts?

Hottest New Trends in Romance Publishing

by Madelle Morgan

I was fortunate to be one of the more than two thousand authors attending the sold out RWA 2015 Conference in New York City in July. Aspiring and published authors packed the room for a panel discussion on the hottest new trends in romance publishing. Panelists included high profile bloggers, romance novel reviewers, public relations experts, and those representing the library point of view. The session was not recorded.

Important caveat: what I heard from the eight panelists and describe below is filtered through my own interests and is my own interpretation of their statements. They may have meant something a little different from what I understood. That's why I don't quote a particular panelist. With that in mind, here's my synthesis of their remarks.

Genre-Blending

Authors are writing books that mash up two or more genres (e.g., Paranormal Romantic Suspense). It's difficult to categorize these crossovers for library or retail shelves. In general, popular culture is driving trends. So, authors, there's your justification for watching the latest hit TV series. Game of Thrones, anyone?

Coming Around Again

Romantic suspense is on the upswing. Vampire fiction is back. As we all know, vampires don't die! A micro trend is Gothic Romance. Who remembers Dark Shadows? I betray my age when I tell you I watched the original television soap after school in the late '60s. The 2012 movie of the same name starred Johnny Depp. In the spirit of genre mash-ups, could we call it a "Vampire Gothic Comedic Romance"?

It Ain't Over 'til it's Over

Small town contemporary series, and series in general, continue to be very popular. Interestingly, street teams and readers commenting on social media are driving additional books in a series. When readers clamor for a favorite secondary character's story, indie authors are responding by adding more full length novels and novellas to a series. So make your wishes known, readers. Authors are paying attention.

Starting Out

A subset of contemporary romance is New Adult. I learned that New Adult is the offspring of Young Adult (YA) and Chick Lit. New Adult is less light-hearted and more emotionally intense, because, basically, the economy sucks. It's more difficult these days for twenty-something women to launch their careers. Money is tight. There's also a trend to first person point of view in New Adult, driven by its use in YA and fan fiction.

Historical Romance Marches on...Into the 40s

We've already seen many recent historical romances set in the 20th century up to the 1930s, thanks to the popularity of television series and films like Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey and The Great Gatsby. Panelists are seeing historicals set during World War 1 and World War II.The 1940s decade is now considered an historical time period. Gads!

Diversity Rules

As our culture becomes more openly diverse and multicultural, romance is trending to reflect the evolution. Panelists are seeing more romances with diversity of all kinds - physical and mental disabilities, inter-racial couples, LBGT, etc. Readers are looking for romance that mirrors society. Older readers are looking for issue-related stories such as those dealing with PTSD, autism, etc.

Leader of the Pack

What do biker gangs, shapeshifter werewolves, the military, and sports teams have in common? They're all pack, with their alpha males, hierarchies, and codes of conduct. One panelist predicted the up-and-coming "pack" heros in romance are men involved in organized crime.

The 1964 #1 hit by the Shangri-Las reminds us that the romantic "pack" hero is nothing new. 

Panelists are starting to see more sports-themed romance novels in print, especially with hockey player heros. Print publishers are catching up to the popularity of ebook romances with sports heros.

Short, Fast Reads of Excellent Quality

Much of the growth of reading on devices is driven by the fact that so many books are digital first. The trend to shorter (novella-length) is partially driven by the growing popularity of reading or listening on devices, and partially by time crunch. People are busy. Audiobooks are popular with commuters. With little time to sift through all the options available, people value recommendations on curated lists. And with a hundred books at a reader's fingertips, authors need to hook her in the first few pages or else she's on to the next book.

Last but Not Least...

Panelists are seeing a lot of red-haired heroines. Hey, am I on trend or what! My heroine, a feisty geologist, happens to have red hair.

Are You a Book Reviewer?

Diamond Hunter, a romantic suspense set in Canada's Land of the Midnight Sun, is on NetGalley until the end of August. It's available to reviewers for free upon request.

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Madelle

www.MadelleMorgan.com

Wake me up when the vampires get back...

I miss vampires.

Yeah. BDSM billlionaires and bad-boy bikers – and what are these guys but vampires without the bloodsucking? – they just don't do it for me.

Bring back the alpha vampire, and all the cliches that come with him. Undead angst! Destined mates! Fighting the inner monster! I'm getting all nostalgic here. Ready for some vampire silliness?

First of all, let's talk about vampire sex.

1) Your vampire should be extremely well-hung. Apparently this is an important criterion for choosing who should join the ranks of the undead. I'm not sure who checks these things – is there an inspection, or what? – but they're doing a great job.
2) Blood sucking is orgasmic. Instantly. Yes, apparently fainting from extreme and rapid blood loss feels gooood, baby.
3) The healing power of saliva. All bite wounds will close on contact. Probably it kills pain, too. This is amazing. Where do I get some?

Now for aesthetics. You have to get the look right.

Preferably, he should dress like a refugee from the Village People. Y'all know what I'm talking about. Black leather jackets and bare chests all the way. If he can wear some desperately manly jewelery, so much the better. And no facial hair. Ever.

See where the biker thing comes from? Mr. Vampire will definitely live on the shady side of life. Never just works a regular job. No middle management vamps need apply.

Probably he owns a nightclub, or at least spends a lot of his time in one. Still, it's not really clear why he should need to do anything to make a living. He's had centuries to make his fortune; he's the definition of filthy rich (billionaires, anyone?).

Oh, and he'll have a long-standing blood feud that must be satisfied. With werewolves. Or dark fae. Or another, More Evil Vampire. Anyone will do, really. Gives him something to be angry and brooding about while he's raging against his Inner Monster and falling for the heroine, who will of course be Too Delicious To Resist, no matter whether said vampire hero feeds on a dozen beautiful women a night, or has lived like a monk for a thousand years. He will totally lose his cool over her.


See, this is all a lot more fun than control freaks with whips, or tattooed petrol-head rock stars, or whatever they're buying in contemporary these days. I miss vampires. Wake me up when they get back.

How about you - do you miss vampires? Still reading paranormal, or have you switched to contemporary? Or do you still read both?

Erica
www.ericahayes.net

MY SUNNY VAMPIRE by Debut Paranormal Romance Author Stacy McKitrick

STACY MCKITRICK

Sarah and Judith, thank you so much for featuring my debut novel. It’s been a very exciting time for me!

Prior to 2008, I was a horror reader. Oh sure, I read the occasional romance, but they were mostly historical and started to all sound the same to me. Then in 2008 my daughter introduced me to Twilight. Good vampires? With romance? Really? This was my introduction to paranormal romance and I was hooked.

So hooked that in 2009 I decided to write my own. The surprising part of that decision is that I’d never written a book before. I just loved to read them. So what made me think I could actually WRITE one?

Well… I didn’t, but the urge just wouldn’t go away. So I bought books on the craft and read numerous blogs by writers on writing. I knew my first draft would suck (and boy, did it!) and I knew when I handed that first book to my daughter to read that it still needed work. What I didn’t know was whether or not I should bother working on it anymore. Did I show any promise?

Luckily for me, she thought I did. That’s all I needed to hear. I promptly joined Romance Writers of America® and set out to become a better writer.

My Sunny Vampire came about from the Aspiring Authors Workshop I attended at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in 2010 (Columbus). For the plotting portion of the course, students were asked to volunteer the names of their hero and heroine and the initial problem. I had those, so I volunteered. I learned from that class to always volunteer your stuff in class. You’ll get feedback! I also learned that I am NOT a plotter, but the story took hold in my head. Five months after that class I started writing the book and six months after that I had my first draft. Strangely enough, my daughter told me that that would be the book that got me published. Did she call it or what?

I had a lot of fun writing about Jack and Sunny. And I picked one of my favorite cities to feature them in--Pittsburgh. Here’s the blurb for My Sunny Vampire (available soon from Lyrical Press, an imprint of Kensington Publishing):

After centuries alone in darkness, how far will a vampire go for Sunshine?

 Jack VanAllen has spent his long life following the rules and, as a member of the Vampire Committee, he also enforces them. So, when he awakens in an alley next to an illegally-turned vampire who resembles his late wife, he must prove his innocence or suffer the punishment: death. The problem? He doesn’t remember a thing.

Sunshine Petersen’s life as a vampire isn’t getting off to a great start. She’s got no control over her powers, can’t find a job, and sexy Jack is being stand-offish. The only thing she’d like more than catching the creep who turned her is getting Jack into the closest bed. But, could Jack be the one who turned her?

When he and Sunny team up to find the culprit, Jack discovers feelings he hasn’t had in years. But once Sunny finds out he’s keeping a major secret, she disappears. Unfortunately, the man who turned her still has plans…

CONTENT WARNING: Some graphic violence, sensual sex scenes, and a vampire who’s finally found his ‘sun.’

You can find me on-line at:
Website  www.StacyMcKitrick.com
Blog www.stacysrantings.blogspot.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stacy.mckitrick.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering…that first book I wrote will eventually be published, too. It just has to wait its turn.

Thanks for reading all the way to the end! To generate comments on my blog, I usually end with a question so here’s one for you. What is your favorite type of romance?

SCREWING WITH THE INEVITABLE

By Linda Lovely

This month’s blog topic is Death and Taxes—the Inevitable. Since spring has arrived in my neck of the woods and it’s too pretty to spend time expounding on death or taxes, I decided to focus on some of our notions of inevitability and how they can help writers brainstorm.

As authors, we have the power to cancel and/or screw with the inevitable to delight and surprise our readers. Here are just a few “givens” that writers can alter to create new worlds and reader experiences:

• The sun always rises. For the sake of argument, let’s say we wake up one morning and there is no sun. The earth has stopped revolving. Our half of the planet is plunged into perpetual darkness, while the other half bakes under a ferocious sun that refuses to set. Not a bad premise for a science fiction novel that lets us explore how people react when natural disasters change their world forever.
• We age. Or maybe we don’t. Lots of literary takes on ways to reverse this truism—from a pact with the devil to pharmaceutical intervention. Perhaps our hero/heroine finds the fabled fountain of youth, or discovers a way to switch off a gene that allows select individuals (but not all) to stay young forever. What if our hero can elect to stay young, but he’ll have to watch the love of his life become an old woman and die? What if women can bear children in their seventies (State of Wonder by Ann Patchett)?
• Spring follows winter. This one’s almost too easy for a writer to exploit. A new ice age descends. How do we cope? Do scientists try to intervene, and, if so, will their meddling cause an even greater catastrophe for life on earth?
• Eggs and sperms unite to create new life. What if nature quits functioning in this manner? What if women don’t need men to conceive? What if women can be cloned successfully, but male clones don’t survive? How would the world work as women assume power and men become an endangered species?  
• Death is inevitable and ends an individual’s earthly journey. This is perhaps the most popular “inevitable” for authors to upend. Options include ghosts (angry and/or friendly), vampires (who I guess can live forever with an adequate fresh blood supply), and reanimated zombies.
• Romances have happy ever after (HEA) endings. Okay, if you’re a romance writer, this is one inevitable you don’t dare screw with. BUT, when the “black moment” arrives in your book, you can almost convince your readers that an HEA is impossible.

Fiction allows our imaginations to explore wonderful, improbable, and sometimes terrifying worlds. What “inevitable” laws do you enjoy seeing authors commute? Can you think of other “inevitable” premises that can be reversed in books to entertain readers?  

Death and taxes: paranormal-style

Death is a major theme in paranormal romance. Yes, our genre canvasses the big issues. Questions that concern ordinary people every day. Such as:

Is death the end? Hell, no. People die in paranormals all the time and get resurrected, or transformed into something new, better and more gruesome. Often, to get the very best paranormal jobs – vampire death prince, zombie overlord, etc. – death is compulsory. Like multi-resurrected ancient Egyptian priest Imhotep said in The Mummy: 'Death is only the beginning.'

Can love survive death? All the time. The odds that you'll get haunted in some fashion by a dead loved one or a potential non-living boyfriend are pretty much unbackable. Ghosts, stalker vampires, lovesick walking corpses. They're all over the place. In fact, if you're NOT being hassled by a hot dude from the other side, you're probably in need of a paranormal heroine makeover.

Can you be dead and alive at the same time (otherwise known as undead)? This one has lost popularity since the days of Dracula and Boris Karloff wrapped in toilet paper. Mostly because romance writers realized that guys with no heartbeat are going to have trouble, er, rising to the occasion, shall we say. The solution? Vampires have heartbeats, and blood pressure. Even though they're dead and have no pulse or body heat. Or something.

Or else, it's magic!! and to hell with explaining it. I'm good with that.

The connection between Sex! and Death! Will sex kill you? Will dying turn you on? Is there, in fact, something wrong with you that you enjoy this? This is kind of what paranormal romances are for, right? The danger element, the demon lover, the monster only you can tame. I mean, what's the point of a vampire hero who isn't on the edge of tearing your throat out? Or a demon boyfriend who doesn't occasionally fantasize about sucking out your soul? Might as well make him a lumberjack.

Or, he could lie in a meadow and sparkle. That'd be excruciatingly lame. Excuse me while I nip away and write a bestseller.

Lastly, and most important of all:

If you're immortal, can you get out of paying tax? If death isn't inevitable, what about taxes? If you're planning to live forever – and most self-respecting immortals amass an indecently large fortune – that's a whole lot of money you'll have to give over to the IRS between now and the end of the world.

But never fear! There are a number of popular options for preserving your endless slush fund:

- Become a mobster. Everyone knows mobsters don't pay tax. With your supernatural powers, you'll be able to wipe out your enemies in no time.

- Better still, become the billionaire CEO of an evil multinational corporation. They definitely don't pay tax, and there's the added bonus of all those virginal, latently submissive interns who will trip over you in the lobby of your skyscraper. Happens all the time.

- Hide your money in gold bullion, deep in the vault of a haunted castle in Eastern Europe. Then, hire a gang of seductive killer minions to protect it and invite enemy accountants and lawyers for a holiday. An oldie but a goodie.

- Keep your supernatural empire a secret from humans, and own a bunch of dark and desperately hip nightclubs. For some reason, immortal heroes love to own nightclubs. I assume it's because there are tax advantages.

- Use your magical powers to fool the tax people. For instance, try the Jedi Mind Trick when they come to audit you. 'These aren't the capital gains you're looking for. Nothing to see here. Move along.'

In my book REDEMPTION (this month's new release! Yay!) my immortal hero is a fallen angel warrior. Angels don't pay tax. It's just a fact of life. Where do they even get money? They don't have day jobs, or trust funds…

How do they pay rent, buy dinner, keep themselves in cool clothes and the latest fiery weapons of demon doom? Do they conjure cash from thin air? Is there a holy Visa card? Or do they just go around blessing people into giving them things for free?

Like I said. Paranormal romance: we canvas the big issues.

P.S. You can check out the first few chapters of REDEMPTION for free (yay!) on my website, or for Kindle.

So you tell me: if you were an immortal, ultra-powerful paranormal dude (or dudette!) how would you thwart the IRS?