Summer reading, Nora Roberts, and getting over paranormals

I read Nora Robert’s Vision in White over the weekend. Spectucular guy, that Carter. Great, wonderful beta hero. Who does a beta male better than Ms. Roberts? He might be my favorite, ever. Wasn’t crazy about Mac, the heroine. She annoyed me a bit. Maybe because she got Carter. I didn’t believe the mom character, Linda. Over the top.

I can’t really remember the last book I read for pleasure. That is, not for review or for a critique partner. So this was a rare treat, as I took time from my own writing (and that’s probably going to come back to haunt me in the form of a lovely rejection when I could have been smurfing up my manuscript).

One thing I found exceptionally refreshing about Vision in White is that it didn’t have a demon, were, ghost, hint of the demon, vampire, hint of anything vaguely foggy. Misty. Foreboding.

I don’t often read romances (gasp). But I’ve decided that I like contemporaries the best. Hands down, demon-free contemporaries. Not even suspenseful ones. Now my question to myself: why haven’t you written a contemporary without a bit of the paranormal? Oh, I did, a few novellas that are under my name Therese MacFarland at Amber Quill. That was a long time ago.

Could I have been slacking by “using” paranormal elements to substitute for great plots and characters? Ah, next up: write a contemporary romance. How about you?

Missing my characters

Oh my, I’ve a bit of post partum whatnot. I wrote and revised and fell into my characters’ world, and now I can’t get out. Has that ever happened to you? I miss my characters. Things were just heating up as I ended my Steampunk Romance (name withheld for a very paranoid reason). The guys and gals were on their way West, with important developments and thrilling adventures around each corner.

I’ve never encountered this, but I think I need to start working on the next book in the series immediately. Because I want to. Yikes! I haven’t sold the first book yet. Perhaps I’ve been mesmerized by Miss Annalise Pettigrew, psychic and prognosticator, or hypnotized by Jasper Corwin aka Screw, magician to royalty. Or maybe I belong in the Jersey asylum with Dr. House.

Steampunk Watch Parts!

Things, wonderful things! I’ve dug out from under writing long enough to comb through my seemingly endless pile of watch parts for steampunk and altered art. They are listed on eBay under REALLY GOOD WATCH GUTS — if you enter that in search, you’ll see them. This is fun for me, and I hope you find the low priced stuff you need to make your beautiful art!

Verily, I sucketh

Want to know what you think about your own writing? Hit send. The book you loved an hour earlier becomes the biggest piece of shite in the universe–it’s about to take out Hubble.

I remember a few years ago when I really loved a book, I kissed envelopes and put stamps on upside down and did secret pagan naked dances around a fire under a full moon to MAKE IT HAPPEN. That book’s contract expired recently at a small press.

Now, older, wiser, and understanding just where I’m swimming in this pool of the unwashed masses, I plop my package in the mailbox without so much as a backward glance. Did I throw it in the trash instead? Eh, who cares. Did I proofread that email that accompanied the full? Why bother. Because I sucketh. If I keep saying that, then it won’t hurt when I get the rejection.

No? Wait a second. I must have put my copy of the Secret somewhere around here. Here’s the truth–the most pain comes when you aren’t in touch with reality. That’s one psychological theory, anyway. You probably aren’t the worst writer who ever lived, and if you’re reading this, you sure as hell aren’t the best.

So how do you, dear reader, armor yourself for rejection, or do you? Building a thick skin, we’re all told, is one of the foundations of craft (I still hate that word: craft). Tell me your method, and if it actually works for you.

Winners!

Thanks to those who entered for a chance to win a print copy of Mayan Secrets! The winners (picked at random) are Karin and LaughingWolf. Email me at ciar@ciarcullen.com with your snail mail addresses, please!