Why I Write Romance

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We’re three short days from the release of Little Bird and I’m a basket case. It’s a little bit scary to think about. I want people to read and enjoy it, of course, but it’s intimidating to think about them doing so. And, to make matters worse, Mr. Gaines is out of town this week for work so it’s just me and the dogs, wallowing around in my neurosis.

This is Lola-dog’s “get over yourself” look. She’s been giving it to me a lot lately.

One of the things I’ve been thinking about over the last few days is why I write romance. When I first sat down in front of my laptop with that terrifying cursor blinking at me in contempt, I thought, “Okay, Liza, what are you going to write?” I was asking myself what kind of characters I wanted and what kind of plot could I throw at them. But the question of genre never even occurred to me. I just knew I would write romance. Why is that?

An easy answer would be that romance is the top selling genre. By a lot. Of course, I realize writing romance is no guarantee of success just because the genre as a whole is wildly successful. But it can’t hurt. It’s an economic argument and, thinking about it now, it makes a lot of sense. But at the time, when I was first getting started, it never crossed my mind. Romance could be the worst selling genre and it’s still the genre I would choose.

For me, I think a lot of that has to do with my long history as a voracious reader. In a good week, I can read seven or eight books. In a bad week, it’s still at least two or three. While I do read a bit here and there in other genres, I primarily read romance and it’s been that way since I was a young teen. Okay, I just checked the publication date of a Danielle Steel book I remember stealing from my Mom and reading as a new release. It was published when I was 13. The first romance I remember reading was a Kathleen Woodiwiss that I’d plucked off my Mom’s bookshelf. After that, I progressed to Mom’s Danielle Steele and Julie Garwood collection and Jennifer Blake novels borrowed from my Aunt C. There was no turning back.

My cousin CC (Aunt C’s daughter) and I tore through books as fast as we could get our hands on them, reading and rereading them and incessantly talking about it. Before long, we were writing fan fiction (although we didn’t know that’s what it’s called) about boy bands and movie stars. (Steven Seagal? Really, CC?) I was a romance writer even then!

I loved the books but I equally loved that I was part of a community – even if it was population 2, CC and me. The books were great but what made it even better was that I had someone to talk about them with. CC and I swooned over hero’s, analyzed plots, and reimagined some of the stories in whole new ways. My reading experience was so much richer for having someone to enthusiastically share it with. This kind of experience is also common in other genres, especially SF/F, but romance was the bug that bit me.

And guess what? Not much has changed. CC and I might live 600 miles apart now but when we talk the conversation always comes around to romance novels. Even as I write this, my author pal Vanessa North is nagging me to hurry up and finish reading a book she recommended to me, so we can talk (okay, let’s be honest, gush) about it together.

It’s always irked me that some people are so dismissive of romance as a genre. And now that I’m involved in the larger romance community, interacting with other authors and readers, it’s even more irritating. Romance is full of flat out amazing books that are sex positive, challenge boundaries, and explore a wealth of complicated and complex characters.

Do they sometimes have problematic themes? Sure. But even then, there is open dialogue in the community discussing those issues. I think the depth of conversation that goes on at places like Dear Author and between authors and readers on Twitter would shock the hell out of people who easily belittle the genre as porn. Listen to this podcast and then tell me, with a straight face, you think romance is shallow. More than once, I’ve walked away from a book examining my own thoughts and feelings on sex, gender, race, class and any number of other topics. It might or might not change my mind but it gets me thinking and that can only be a good thing.

So, after all of that, the ultimate answer to the original question is twofold. I started writing romance because it’s what I read and I will continue to write romance because it is a thoughtful, dynamic, nuanced genre full of incredible books and people.

I think next time someone asks me why I write romance my answer will be, “Why would I ever write anything else?”


Summer Vacation in Pictures

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This is sort of like one of those back-to-school essays in grade school where I tell you all about what I did over the summer. Except with pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.

Mr. Gaines and I went on vacation with my family in the upper peninsula of Michigan. We rented a cottage right on Lake Michigan, not far from the Mighty Mac. This was the second time we’d rented the same cottage as it’s just perfect for our small yet annoyingly loud and rambunctious group.

This is the view of Lake Michigan from the deck.
The view of Lake Michigan from our deck.

One day – Wednesday, I think, but honestly the days all kind of ran together – we went up to Sault Ste. Marie to see the Soo Locks. After we were done in Sault Ste. Marie, we drove along the Lake Superior shore for awhile, enjoying the pretty views and occasionally getting out to wade in the ice cold water. Mr. Gaines and my dad had decided on a test of manhood, which involved seeing who could go the furthest into the lake before getting too cold. (My brother did not participate in the test of manhood. I’ll let you decide whether that’s because he is smarter than my dad and my husband or whether it’s because my brother is a chicken.)

Calling it a Draw
My dad (left) and Mr. Gaines (right), each having gone equally far into Lake Superior, decided it was a draw and headed back for shore. So much for the test of manhood.

Mr. & Mrs. Gaines
This picture, also taken at Lake Superior, is the lone picture of Mr. Gaines and I together. This is because:

1. I’m usually behind the camera; and
2. I hate most all pictures of myself so any other pictures of me that may or may not have been taken on this trip are classified.

While seeing the Soo Locks and Lake Superior were nice, the primary reason for our day trip to Sault Ste. Marie was the West Pier Drive-In. You see, my dad had recently read an article in the Flint Journal about the top ten burgers in Michigan. West Pier Drive-In ranked second on that list so Dad was determined to see for himself.

Everyone ordered a cheeseburger except Mr. Gaines and my brother, who both ordered double cheeseburgers. It turns out, this is what the double cheeseburger looks like:

Double Cheeseburger
It’s a one lb. (after cooking!) monstrosity.

My brother said the waitress had warned him about how large it was when he ordered it. Mr. Gaines received no such warning. When he asked the waitress why not, her response was, “You seemed so confident, I thought you knew.” Needless to say, Mr. Gaines wasn’t able to finish his but my brother, able to unhinge his jaw like a snake in starvation mode, managed to get the whole thing down. We all would have been impressed but for the fact we’ve seen him perform similar acts of heroic eating on countless occasions.

And, as an aside, now seems like a good time to mention that I might, under other circumstances, feel badly about comparing my brother to a snake. However, in a campfire conversation about what our names would be if our family were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, my brother suggested that I would be a dwarf named “Sleazy”. (If you must know, Dad was “Grumpy” and my brother was “Too Tall” which, while not seemingly fitting in the dwarf-y naming pattern, is appropriate because he is 6’4″ and I may have once, in an half asleep stupor, told him he was “too tall to love.” Unfortunately, I don’t remember what everyone else was named because, once I was assigned Sleazy I was too delighted to pay much attention to the rest of the conversation.) Anyway, the point here is this: I REGRET NOTHING!

One of the most delightful parts of the trip, for me anyway, was the Bald Eagles that paid regular visits to the lake and forest around our cottage. There were several of them and it was pretty amazing to watch them most mornings while we sat on the deck drinking coffee and trying to wake up. I am definitely not a wildlife photographer but I think the pictures are pretty cool anyway.

Eagles

More Eagles
Bald Eagles aren’t born with the white head and tail – it develops as they age, becoming fully white when they reach sexual maturity around four or five years old. So the bird on the right in this picture is a young-ish eagle.

Eagle
Another young-ish eagle.

We were also visited by several Blue Herons and Sandhill Cranes. Unfortunately, none of the pictures of the Sandhill Cranes turned out very well but here’s a fairly decent one of a Blue Heron.

Blue Heron

Another highlight of the trip for me was being able to watch the dogs run and play in the lake. Big isn’t much of a water dog but Lola and my dad’s dog, Bo, spent a lot of time splashing around in the water and even Big had to get in on it a little.

Dog Race

Water Dancer

Lola

Lola loved rolling in the sand…
Roll

That is, until her big brother came along…
Provocation

And provoked a game of bitey face!
Bitey Face!

More Bitey Face!

After such a rousing game on the beach, both dogs were ready for a nap.

Big naps on the picnic table bench
Big, being dignified and, well, sort of finicky, thought it best to sleep on the bench of the picnic table rather than on the somewhat damp ground.

Lola naps
Lola on the other hand, being all around less civilized, wandered into the weeds, tromped around in a circle until she’d made a nice fluffy weed bed for herself, and settled in for a snooze.

Finally, although this post is already quite lengthy with all the pictures, I can’t resist adding these final two – quite possibly my new favorite photos of Big and Lola.

Big

Lola

Believe it or not, there are even more pictures. If you’d like to have a look at them, go here.

Now, you go…what has everyone else been up to this summer?


We have a winner!

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Using a random number generator (random.org) the 6th comment is the winner. Congratulations, Nancy! I’ve already contacted her via email.

Many thanks (and better luck next time!) to all who entered.


Ohhh, look! A contest…

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Today must be a big day to deserve two blog posts. It’s definitely been productive. I go the excerpt up, I’m working my way through galleys, and this came in the mail today:

Swag! Wildflower honey and caramel flavored lip balm.

Swag! Wildflower honey and caramel flavored lip balm.

Both the lip balm and the honey are from eBeeHoney, which is owned by my step-sister, Becky. When I got married, Becky provided these adorable little jars of honey and lip balms with a picture of my husband and I on them as favors for our engagement party. They were a huge hit so when it came time to think of some creative swag for Little Bird I knew exactly who I needed to talk to. Aside from the honey favors and lip balm, Becky also sells a huge variety of honey (the Tupelo is my favorite) and honey products. If you’re interested, please do check out her website.

Soooo, since I got these to giveaway and I’m too excited to wait how about we have one now? The only criteria for entry is to leave a comment on this post. You can tell me about your summer plans, your favorite book, or what you plan to do with the honey if you win. Unless you’re related to me, in which case, I probably don’t want to know your plans for the honey.

I will randomly select one winner who will receive:

1 – 6 oz. jar of wildflower honey
2 – caramel flavored lip balms
Some Little Bird bookmarks
AND an ARC (advance reader copy) of Little Bird, as soon as it becomes available

Contest closes at 11:00 p.m. EST on Friday, July 19, 2013. I’ll contact the winner by email and also make an announcement here on Saturday. I will ship internationally so feel free to enter regardless of your location.

Ready, Set, Go…


The Little Bird Excerpt is ready!

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Since line editing is done now and release is only a month away I finally got around to choosing the excerpt for Little Bird. I knew almost from the start this was the scene I wanted to use but I waffled a little due to it’s length. I think I’ve managed to pare it down without losing important context.

I hope you enjoy it!

Lee shut the door behind them and flipped the light switch. This cottage was identical to his in layout. Although being a rental, the furniture and decor were more spartan. Savannah followed him into the kitchen where he dropped her bags before tossing the keys on the counter and scribbling a number on a piece of paper. “There’s my number. Put it in your phone so you don’t have to fumble with it in an emergency. I don’t think they’ll be back this soon but you never know.”

 

Savannah nodded. Now that she was about to be alone out here, she was starting to feel a little scared. She gave him what she hoped was a brave smile. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I don’t suppose you’d consider leaving Toby with me, though?”

 

“He wouldn’t stay. Remember, he was the coward who ran off last time there was trouble.” Lee gave her a searching look as he lifted up the back of his shirt and pulled out the nine millimeter she had seen that morning. “I was serious earlier, though. I’ll leave this here for you if it would make you more comfortable.”

 

Savannah shrugged, trying to appear calm and collected. “You can leave it if you want. I don’t plan on needing it though.”

 

Lee took her arm in his hand and turned it over, his rough thumb softly caressing the delicate underside of her wrist as he placed the gun in her palm. Savannah shivered as she felt the metal, still warm from its prior position against his skin, and surprised herself when she heard her own breathless sigh. Suddenly she felt completely overwhelmed by his close proximity, the smell of him, the feel of his fingers on her wrist, the sound of his voice with that lazy southern drawl. When she found herself leaning toward him and wondering what he would taste like if she were to kiss him, she knew she was in very big trouble.

 

“Do you know how to use it?” As Lee spoke his lips twitched before turning up in a knowing smile. Savannah didn’t know how he could have guessed what she’d been thinking but that look, a little dangerous and a whole lot of sexy, definitely said he had.

 

“The gun?” Savannah cringed at the sound of her own voice, all fervent and yearning.

 

“Yes.” Lee’s quiet laughter rumbled beneath his ribs and Savannah realized with some shock she was leaning against him, her free hand on his chest. When had that happened?

 

Lee’s fingers tightened briefly around her wrist before he released it, plucking the gun from her hand. He twisted against her and she heard the clatter of the gun as he laid it on the counter. Turning back, Lee reached behind her, pulling out the ponytail she’d made that morning. As Savannah’s hair fell around her shoulders he dipped his head, his lips brushing over her jaw, his beard tickling her sensitive skin. Lee’s hands moved down her back, softly touching her, until he reached her waist where he pushed them beneath her shirt and settled them on the flare of her hips. The ends of his fingers slipped beneath the waistband of her shorts as his thumbs leisurely stroked her skin. His lips skimmed her neck, the combination of his warm breath and scratching beard giving her goose bumps, and she moaned in eager response. His mouth moved lower still, grazing Savannah’s shoulder and then her collarbone as he tugged on the bottom of her shirt.

 

When Lee’s tongue flicked against the small indentation at the center of her neck, Savannah came undone, pressing her hips against him as she gasped, “Oh, yes.”

 

“Yes, what?” Lee raised his head to look at her, not so subtly pushing against her so she’d feel his erection.

 

His question hung heavy in the air and Savannah panicked. What had she been thinking? She didn’t even like this guy and Mike had explicitly warned her not to become involved with him. And now here she was, not twenty minutes after Mike left, with Lee’s impressively large hard-on pressing against her stomach. Jesus, she’d made a mess of this.

 

“Yes, I know how to use the gun.” Savannah was dismayed her voice quaked as she spoke.

 

Lee gave her a curt nod and set her away from him as he bent to pick up her bags again. His voice was gruff as he said, “Good. I’ll just put your bags in your room and leave you alone to get some rest.”

 

Savannah retrieved the gun from where he’d left it on the counter and followed him into the bedroom. Lee turned on the light and placed her bags on the floor at the end of the bed. Stepping around him to put the gun in the nightstand, Savannah got her first look at the bed. She was pretty sure it was a king.

 

“Whoa!” Lee gave her a questioning look and she hastily added, “Oh, sorry, it’s just I have a twin bed at home. I don’t think I’ve ever slept in a bed this big before.”

 

Lee flashed a sexy grin at her. “Well, you’ve got my number. You just give me a call if you get lost in that big ol’ bed by yourself.”

 

Just like that, he gave her that seductive look again and goose bumps rose on her arms as she remembered the feel of his lips on her skin. She had to get a hold of herself or she would never make it through this unscathed.

 

With a deep breath, Savannah finally managed to sputter out, “Go home, Levon!”

 

Laughing, he turned and headed for the front door, calling over his shoulder as he went, “Goodnight, sweetheart!”


My First Cover Reveal

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I’m going to be honest here. I was a grump this morning. No particular reason for it, but I was just in a rotten mood. But that has all changed because I just got the finalized copy of the cover art for Little Bird and, let me tell you, there is nothing to cheer a girl up like cover art.

So, without further rambling on my part, here it is. I hope you love it as much as I do. And, don’t forget, release day is August 16, 2013!

Full Size - 510 x 765, 72 dpi


Chris Noth Tweeted Me

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Like many women of my generation, I was a huge Sex and the City fan.  So much so that when I got a puppy in 2002 I named him Mr. Big.

Mr. Big

Adorable, right?

That isn’t really relevant to this story though.  Mostly I’m just telling you that part because I wanted to post a picture of my dog.

What is relevant to the story is that one night about a month ago I was IMing with my friend Vanessa North.  It’s possible we’d both been drinking a little and it’s possible that we were being sort of pervy.  And it’s possible that I said something lewd about Chris Noth, along with a comment that perhaps I shouldn’t have mixed alcohol with my muscle relaxant.  Because I thought my comment was so hilarious, I decided to tweet it, too.  And then I shut down twitter and started to do something else.  Something undoubtedly productive because my “golden hour” seems to be the middle of the night.  Whatever it was, it was going well until I got the following IM from V:

Chris Noth just tweeted at us

I scoffed.  Surely she was pulling my leg.  And I believe my response was something along the lines of, “Oh, stop it!  No he didn’t!” with an f-bomb between almost every one of those words.  After a few messages back and forth with V, I decided I was going to have to log back into Twitter and see what the dealio was.  I was all prepared to be filled with righteous indignation that she would ruthlessly punk me about such a serious topic.

And then I saw it.

This screencap is actually courtesy of V because I was far too twitterpated to accomplish it myself.

This screencap is actually courtesy of V because I was far too twitterpated to accomplish it myself.

Much squealing and giggling ensued.  I was more than a little embarrassed that Mr. Noth saw the pervy thing I said about his eyebrows but that was overshadowed by the fact he actually tweeted us.

Now that I’ve had some time to reflect on it a little I’m worried, though.  Maybe that was the pinnacle of my career on Twitter.  What if I’ve peaked too soon?  Where is there to go from here?  Why is Nathan Fillion ignoring me?  These are the things I think about when I should be writing.


News and Plans for 2013

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First, the news.

I am very excited to announce that my first book, Little Bird, has been contracted for publication by Musa Publishing. It’s scheduled for an August 2013 release so unfortunately there’s still a bit of a wait ahead but I am beyond excited about this and will keep you posted as more information becomes available.

As for my plans and goals in 2013…

Well, that’s sorta hard to pin down. I’ve always wanted to write and have started and abandoned dozens of books previously but I wasn’t even attempting to write anything a year ago. For some reason, I got a wild hair and decided it was time to try again over the Fourth of July weekend. The first draft of Little Bird was completed in mid-August. Then I rewrote and edited and rewrote some more until finally I was ready to send it out on submission. I was offered the contract in the second week of December. So, it took me six months, more or less, to get Little Bird from plot bunny to contract. I was also working full time at my day job, Little Bird was my only project, and I really had no idea what the hell I was doing. Because of that, I don’t really feel like I have adequate experience to try and set realistic goals for myself in 2013. I just don’t know what to expect. Especially when you factor in wait times with various publishers while things are out on submission.

Effective January 7, 2013, I am cutting my day job back from 40+ hours/week to an average 28 hours/week. This will give me more time to focus on my writing so I’m hopeful I’ll be able to accomplish a number of things in the coming year.

First, I’m working on a bittersweet little Christmas story that I plan to submit to an anthology for Christmas 2013. I’m challenging myself a little with this one but if it turns out the way I hope it will I think it will be nice. If it isn’t accepted for the anthology I have in mind I’ll submit it elsewhere, hopefully still for a Christmas 2013 release.

Second, I’m working on a paranormal short story with a werewolf heroine who happens to be a dog trainer. So far this is a fun little story, more lighthearted than anything else I am working on. At the moment, I’ve written myself into a bit of a corner with this one but I hope to get that sorted out in the near future. I’d like to get it contracted in 2013, hopefully for a late 2013 release. But I’d be satisfied with a contract in 2013 and a 2014 release.

Third, Vanessa North and I are working on a joint project. I’m having a ridiculous amount of fun with this and I really have high hopes for our little love child. If we keep our current pace, I expect this to contract in 2013 and hopefully release in 2013, as well.

So, that’s what I know I’m working on for 2013. I also need to start the first follow-up to Little Bird and I have several other plot bunnies hopping around all willy-nilly. If I’m lucky, I’ll trap a few of them, too!


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