Are authors allowed to write from their imaginations any more?

I’ve had a few fan emails recently that made this a very interesting question.

The first one was a few months ago from a woman who said she enjoyed both my erotic and non erotic books and thought my F/F scenes were very authentic, but wanted to ensure I was a lesbian for her to continue reading my books. I thanked her for her kind comments, but told her I was happily married to a man. She told me (sadly, she assured me) that she couldn’t continue reading my books since I was heterosexual. Then just a few days ago I had an email from someone on Facebook asking me to confirm if I was a Christian, because she couldn’t in good conscience continue to read my paranormal erotic romances (which she said she truly enjoyed) if I wasn’t a Christian. I answered her nicely saying that I really appreciated her kind comments about my work, but that I hoped my fans enjoyed my work for my characters, worlds and stories and that I didn’t feel my spiritual beliefs entered into the equation. She answered back saying that if I were truly a Christian that I would’ve proudly stated it and promptly unfriended me. I won’t even get into the sad irony of that particular argument :) which would be an entirely different blog...

Neither of these are the norm within my fan mail, gladly, but I thought they were both rather interesting. Both readers clearly stated that they enjoyed my books, which to me speaks for itself. After all, when I read a book, I read it for enjoyment.

Have we really reached a point where personal affiliations and life color the actual writing to that extent? I’ve read some Stephen King, but I truly hope that within his personal life he doesn’t go around murdering people in macabre circumstances, and I can’t imagine sending him a “fan” mail saying as much. I think I could understand if I was being outspoken about something that they found personally offensive – fair enough for them to choose with their consumer dollars where not to spend their money. After all, that’s the beauty of consumerism. But both of these situations left me a bit puzzled and bemused since that’s not the case. Now let me state, I’m not ashamed in any way of my personal choices or state of being. I just feel that if people enjoy my writing, those things don’t matter or come into play. I’m a good person and am tolerant of others and their views, and I suppose, naively I expect the same in return from others.

Am I being shortsighted? Is this the new face of being within the industry?

I’d love to hear your thoughts...

Tina/Cassie

www.tinagerow.com

www.cassieryan.com

Celebrating Milestones

Yesterday I emailed off my finished manuscript of Sleeping With Shadows to my agent.

I’ve spent the past four months of my life slaving over that book--living it, dreaming it, constantly thinking about it, scribbling ideas on receipts, napkins or even my hand when I wasn’t home near my computer. And at ten am yesterday I finished my final read through, had tears in my eyes when I read the Happily Ever After ending (yeah, I’m squishy about the HEA’s, what can I say??) and gave a big happy sigh as I closed the file, and emailed it off to Paige, so she can shop it around.

Then as I closed my laptop I realized I had no writing goal for the day, my brain hadn’t yet become too ensnared in the upcoming next book, and I wanted to celebrate and enjoy my accomplishment! There is nothing like that feeling of exhilaration that goes through you when you reach a milestone—no matter what type. A few weeks ago when I sold the two book deal to Berkley I was also doing the big happy dance. Granted, that one was a little more intense happy dance, but the aftermath of feelings are pretty much the same.

Although I’ll admit, I choose carefully who I ask to help me celebrate my milestones, because there are those who tend to suck the joy out of it for me or downplay it until the celebration seems selfish of me to have, or just an everyday thing not worthy of celebration. Obviously it’s much more fun to spend it with the people who are truly happy for and with me and want to celebrate as much as I do! I think it’s important to have that celebration and take time out to appreciate the accomplishment and all the blood, sweat, tears and effort spent—no matter how big or small the milestone. Wouldn’t it be a terrific world if we celebrated even the small ones? Hmmm...I think I may have to start having mini celebrations for finishing chapters now! Mwaahaaahaaa!

Anyway, I was able to do a mini celebration yesterday and today I’m doing the “not a damn thing” method of relaxing :) Because tomorrow I get to start on Jane Doe Succubus, which is the first book of the two book deal I sold to Berkley. That story has been noodling in the back of my head for a while—ever since I wrote the proposal (which is only a synopsis and one chapter), but it took a back seat while I was ensnared in Sleeping With Shadows. Now it can come out to play and become my new “obsession” for the next few months :) Ahh, the life of a writer.

A milestone that is no less important, but got lost during my deadline frenzy is the release of Trio of Seduction, the third book in my Seduction Series written as Cassie Ryan. Here’s an excerpt if you’d like to take a look – Excerpt. Or if you’d just like to hop on over and buy it, here’s that link too – Buy. :)

So here’s my questions to all of you. How do you celebrate your milestones, writing or otherwise? Is there anyone in your life that tends to suck the joy out of your accomplishments? If so, how do you handle that? Is it important for you to take time off in between projects? And here’s the fun one – what WAS your accomplishment, so we can celebrate with you! :)

Raising cyber Butterscotch Martinis to all, and might even find some real ones sometime today! :)

Tina/Cassie

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’ve compiled a list of things that the children of writing mother’s everywhere can learn from us.

- Follow your dreams—no matter what your age.
- Never give up, even when things are tough.
- Believe in yourself, even when no one else does.
- You can be both very creative, and a very savvy business person.
- Learn to take criticism and use what will help you, and let the rest go.
- Learn how to handle rejection and learn from it, without letting it define you.
- Learn how to make friends and contacts wherever you go.
- It’s okay to play “what if” and live inside your imagination. It’s even better to get paid for it!
- Don’t let anyone steal your dream, no matter how well-meaning they might be.
- Anything worth having is worth working hard for.
- Don’t let anyone tell you how to live your life.
- Learn how to adapt to the many changes life throws at you.
- How to meet deadlines.
- How to plan workflow and work effort.
- You can make money doing something you love.
- There’s a whole lot less stress in life if you follow your passions.
- Fill your life with people and activities that give you joy.
- Don’t spend all your time worrying about what others think of you.
- Being a strong parent means doesn’t mean martyring yourself for your children.
- It’s okay and even necessary for a healthy person to set boundaries.

I’m sure there are several more. So I welcome comments and additions to this list.

A big Happy Mother’s Day shout out to all of you for having the courage to live your dream!

Tina/Cassie

Annual Haunted Writer's Retreat

Sorry I’m so late posting tonight, but I just got home from the annual Haunted Writers Retreat in Jerome, Arizona.

Every year we head to some haunted locale and spend a few days writing, brainstorming, shopping, drinking and usually laughing our butts off. This year was no exception. This was our second year at the Jerome Grand Hotel, which used to be a hospital back when Jerome was a booming copper mining town. It went from a boom town to a population of 12 people virtually overnight when the mine closed. Now it’s a great little tourist town with the steepest roads I’ve ever encountered and some cool creepy hotel rooms!

Anyway, I went up on Wednesday, which was before anyone else. My roomie, Isabella Clayton, came back from her last trip under the weather and hadn’t quite recovered yet, so I had lots of quiet writing time until Kayce Lassiter and Angie showed up on Thursday night. My room had its own private balcony with comfy swivel chairs a table and footstools (you can see it in the picture of the hotel in the link above - my room is on the far right of the balcony that runs the length of the building, but it's separated off so it's private.) The balcony overlooked the front of the hotel, as well as most of the town of Jerome (it’s up on one of the highest hills in Jerome, which is really saying something!!) As you can imagine, the trek down the hill for Breakfast at the Mile High deli or to lunch at the Haunted Hamburger café was quite a stretch of the legs—although the walk back UP was the one that often kicked my butt! Dinner was usually at the hotel at the very nice (and pricey) restaurant called the Asylum...lol.

I got tons of writing done and I loved sitting out on the balcony at night watching the stars. Since the buildings are sparsely located up there and most things shut down at night, the stars were absolutely amazing, and I often slept with the windows and the patio doors open.

The first night I was there I heard something fall in the middle of the night. I figured it was something in the bathroom like my curling iron or some makeup. I got up to go to the bathroom and found nothing out of place. But when I came back into the room from the bathroom, I noticed the TV remote (that was previously on the cabinet next to the TV) was now sitting in the middle of the floor halfway across the room. Couldn’t have fallen there, it was too far across the room for that. Oh well, I put it back and went back to bed. After all, this wasn’t anything after last year’s paranormal happenings in my room. Then, throughout the night I kept being woken by what appeared to be camera flashes. I couldn’t find the source and they always seemed to be right in my face no matter which way I was facing (including face down in my pillow...lol) Those happened all freaking week! I’m just glad I’m a heavy sleeper and can go back to sleep quickly.

Thursday morning, I got up, showered, trekked down the hill to the Mile High for some breakfast and enjoyed a leisurely meal with a good book. Afterwards, I did some shopping and then trekked back up the hill and out onto my balcony for some writing. There was a gentle breeze and I got some great writing done out there, but after a few hours, I got a little cold, so I decided to finish up my chapter inside my room before I went down for lunch. I had just gotten settled in the chair when the remote went flying off the cabinet next to the TV and landed in the middle of the floor. Nothing felt creepy, but the thing just flew across the room to land on the floor. So, I finished my chapter, picked it up and put it back.

The bulk of the group showed up on Friday afternoon/evening. We took up most of the third floor and part of the 2nd, but there were two rooms right next to me that had a bunch of younger guys and girls in them. They got drunk and were really unhappy that others (namely most of the romance writers) had access to the shared balcony that ran behind their room and behind the rooms of several of our group. In fact, at 2am, one of the drunk guys spent 10 minutes trying to unlock my room door. I watched him through the peephole, trying not to laugh. Let’s just say his biggest issue was even trying to get the key in the lock (okay – other than being at the wrong door!)

They stood out on the balcony complaining to Kayla Janz about those “damned romance writers” who got better rooms than them—that is until Kayla told them she was one of the “damned romance writers.” They left the next morning looking pretty ridden hard and put up wet...lol. I know because I was once again out on my balcony writing. When I went back in the room to recharge my laptop and head down to the Haunted Hamburger for lunch, the remote went flying again, and I put it back.

Saturday night was a total riot – but since my friend Kayce Lassiter blogged about it, I’ll let you go check out her account on our critique group blog - http://www.butterscotchmartinigirls.com/?p=398

Last night there were more flashes throughout the night, but I slept pretty well other than that. This morning after breakfast, I came back up to the room to pack and just as I was zipping my suitcase, the remote went flying again. Yup, you guessed it, I just picked it up and put it back. I’m sure the ghost is pretty frustrated with me that it didn’t freak me out, but oh well. Last year I woke up to see a man’s face right in front of mine and after screaming, “Don’t DO THAT!” and scaring Isabella half to death, the face disappeared. Then Isabella was in the bathroom and I was sitting on the bed texting my husband and we both heard the other talking to a man with a deep voice and we heard the other answering – but neither of us had said anything! She opened the door and we both asked the other who they were talking to. Creepy! So, a few flying remotes are nothing to sweat over...LOL!

Anyway, we blocked the entire 3rd floor for next year’s Haunted Writers Retreat and I booked room 30 again :) Maybe I’ll train the ghost to bring me water on the balcony instead of just tossing around the remote :)

Tina/Cassie

Plotter or Pantser, that is the Question...

If you sit and listen to any group of writers talk, eventually, you'll hear the familiar question of, "Are you a plotter or a pantser?"

No, this isn't some secret handshake or a writing outfit, it's something which was created to bring torment and evil down upon every writer's head!!! (Okay, got a little carried away there, sorry...) But seriously, plotter, is just what it sounds like - a writer who plots out their book, some meticulously, some loosely. And a pantser is someone who has a vague idea what their book is about, and who the characters are, and just sits down and writes and sees what happens as it goes.

Now, I have tried both of these methods, and thought I'd share my pain and suffering so you would be better able to compare and contrast.

I started out trying to be a plotter. After all, I mistakenly figured all writers were. I mean, how could they write all those intricate twists and turns and then bring back in something that happened on page 4 without careful planning, right? So, when I got an idea for my very first book, I scribbled down scene and plot ideas on a piece of paper and had the entire book planned out before I even tried to write one chapter.

So, what happened? I hated it and considered throwing myself on my sharp pencil and putting and end to my suffering. It just wasn't any fun for me to plan out everything first, because by the time I started writing, I was sick of the story!

But, I wanted to be a writer, so once I finished the plotting, I sat down and wrote the first three chapters. Granted, they were three of the most horrible chapters known to man, but hey, they were my first three chapters of a book that I was GOING to publish, so I was doing a happy dance.

Fast forward to my first meeting with my critique group. They all read my chapters and besides telling me things like numbers are spelled out, okay is spelled out and not written as "ok," the hero and the heroine should probably meet in the first three chapters, no head hopping and etc, they weren't warm and fuzzy with my plot either. Too contrived, too predictable, too cliche. And I have to admit looking back, they were totally and completely right.

I rewrote those chapters and struggled through several dozen more rewrites to finish that book. I did sell that book, it came out as Into a Dangerous Mind, which was an RT Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Small Press Contemporary Paranormal for 2006. It's currently with my agent so we can resell it. But the moral of that story is, the book did turn out okay.

BUT - I found out the hard way that as I wrote, I would find better ideas and I would end up deviating from the plot, and then I would spend countless hours going back and refiguring out the plot. GRRRRR!!!!

For my second book, I decided that plotting was not for me, so screw plotting. I was now a self-proclaimed pantser. So, I sat down to write what would become Stone Maiden. I wrote and wrote and my plot meandered and curled and twisted and I ended up rewriting and banging my head against the wall to get out of dead ends I'd written myself into. But, on a bright note, I liked this better than plotting! The book did well, and finaled in the Golden Quill contest and was nominated for eCataRomance Reviewer's choice award. Yet, I knew I hadn't quite found a solution which worked for me. On one bright note - I found out that you can still make those twisty plots happen and tie in things you did on page 4 because your subconscious is really great about remembering those things and bringing them to the surface when you need them!

By the time I sat down to write Fire Maiden, I was leery of trying either of the methods above. So, I tried my best to combine the two. I brainstormed with my critique group and scribbled down important things I knew I wanted in the book and didn't want to forget. Then I did some character sketches - birth to present, which really helped me get to know my characters and to write in their voice. Only THEN did I sit down and write. This allowed me enough structure to not totally flounder, since I knew a general direction I wanted to go in, but also allowed me the freedom to use new ideas as they came to me. Woo Hoo! I had found my style.

Is it perfect? Hell, no. I still bang my head against the wall on plenty of occasions, but it's a good fit for me and taking the best parts of both worlds has helped me finish all my other books to date.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not touting that this is right for you. I've tried to show you a little of my painful journey above so you can see that everyone is different. I have a good friend who plots every minute detail - to a point which would drive me insane. But it works for her and she gets books done - that's what counts. I have another good friend who is a writing machine, and she doesn't plot at all. She comes up with an idea and some general character ideas and she sits down to write and the story spins out under her fingertips.

None of us are doing it wrong, we are doing it right - for us. Don't let anyone tell you that X is the gospel of how to write, I don't care what it is. Everyone is different, their brains work differently, their work styles and comfort levels are different and we all can't be neatly compartmentalized into the same box. This same logic goes for "writing rules" which I hate. For every writing rule which states, you can NOT do X or you'll never sell, I've seen people break it successfully. Just make sure you know the rule well so you are breaking it on purpose and not accidentally!

Well, there's my wisdom for the day. I'm off to work on my WIP. If you want something steamy to read to perk up your weekend, head on out to my newest release - Ceremony of Seduction, written as Cassie Ryan. You can find it in any of the brick and mortar stores and in most places they are face out with my steamy cover :) Just be forewarned, it's a VERY hot book. So, if you like that - go grab a copy and I'll go finish up the sequel. :)

Tina/Cassie

The Fine Art of Procrastination...

The title of this post may be deceiving. I'm not a big procrastinator. In fact, my best friend lovingly calls me a hopeless overachiever. Which, I suppose I am, and have always been. I'm the type of person who finds her edits when she gets home at 8 pm one night and stays up until 1am just to get them done and off her plate. (Yeah, it would've bugged me just sitting out there in the living room, knowing I had to get them done...sigh!)

That same best friend and my husband also call me a hopeless planner. I can go with the flow when needed, but the planning saves me from stressing. A good example - two RT's ago I pulled out my little Excel spreadsheet that listed all the things I HAD to be at (along with location and any other needed info), as well as things I MIGHT want to attend. Needless to say, my go with the flow roomie freaked...lol.

Now, in my own defense, she soon found out that I didn't need that schedule glued to my hand, and I certainly didn't follow it like the gospel. But having everything in one spot where I could refer to it IF I needed to, took the stress out of it for me. (Although she still likes to tease me about it!) Also, I hate to be late - to anywhere - so I have a tendency to be early. Again - less stress for me.

So, why am I sharing my quirks with the world today, on the eve of my plane trip to RWA Nationals? Because I haven't done a damn thing to get ready - EEK! And my stress has begun.

Normally, I would already have a list of items I need to take, a list of To Do's that have to be done before I leave and most everything packed and ready to go, so the last day before the trip would be blessedly stress free. Well... Uh... What in the freaking hell happened?!?

That's the problem - I'm not quite sure. And in my true overachiever fashion, it would bug me until I tried to figure it out. So, here goes...

- I'm on a deadline - Vision of Seduction, my 2nd book for Kensington, writing as Cassie Ryan is due on August 15th, and I still have a good chunk to write. I've been writing every day, trying for at least 2K so I can make headway on that.
- My son just got back from band camp, and my house has been overrun by 13-year-olds swimming, spending the night and generally being, well... 13-year-olds, not to mention wading through his mound of laundry I found still freshly wadded inside his suitcase. Don't get me wrong, they are all good kids, but the noise and activity level in my house has increased exponentially.
- To avoid having to get a part time job which would eat into my writing time, I signed up to be a Pampered Chef consultant and held my first show a few days ago. I don't cook, which I was pleasantly surprised that you DON'T have to do for this. I can make the recipes during the show, and I love talking to people, and I really do like their products - so it's a really good fit. But still - it does take time.
- I did have my nails done yesterday in preparation for Nationals, and I meant to do sooo much more, but it just never happened. I was dragging a bit yesterday, so I just ended up hanging out with the kiddo and the hubby (and the other various and sundry 13-year-olds hanging around our house...lol)
- I sent out my monthly Tina Gerow newsletter earlier this week. That thing always takes me a minimum of four hours.
- I'm having both my Tina Gerow website and my Cassie Ryan website redone by Stonecreek Media, so I've been talking to them on both of those.
- I just had my book video for Ceremony of Seduction made (you can go see it at myspace.com/cassieryan44) It's wonderful :) ScrapFairy designs did a great job!

A thousand other things I've done over the past few weeks are flitting through my mind, but they are just making me more tired, so I'm not going to list them and exhaust you too! :) But I think I at least have my answer. I think I need a freaking vacation!! LOL.

Anyway, here I am, in stressville, with too much to do to stop for a nice butterscotch martini or even a glass of wine. To try and manage my impending coronary, I did sit down this morning and make my To Do list and my packing list and take stock of what laundry was done and what was still in huge piles on my laundry room floor. I also have a list of shopping and errands I need to do today - on a freaking Sunday! What was I thinking?!? And I have less than 24 hours to get it all done!

Do you know what the very first thing was on my list? It was, in fact, the alarm that pinged on my cell phone and woke me up at 7am this morning. LADIES OF THE CLUB BLOG DAY...lol. We all chose days to blog, and several weeks ago, I chose today because I knew I would have everything done and it would be a blessedly stress-free day. NOT! So instead of some insightful blog on writing HOT or fighting with my characters or even on belly button lint (that one still cracks me up, JC!), you get a glimpse of my stress meltdown, and the reason behind my above-listed neuroses.

On the bright side - I now have one thing crossed off my list. Woo Hoo! I'm on my way...

So, on that note - now that you realize a writer's life is probably more neurotic and boring than the so-called "normal" people, I'm off. Hope to see tons of you in Dallas!

Tina Gerow/Cassie Ryan
Overachiever/Planner/Stress Monster :)