Alright, 2016 is finally coming to an end. I didn’t get to read nearly as many books as I wanted to this year, but I did read some really good ones. My favorites of 2016 don’t all have 2016 release dates, but this year is the first time I read them. They’re numbered because it’s a top ten(ish) list, but they aren’t listed in order of favorites. I think I’d cry if I had to make that distinction. 1) Omega Series: First Omega, Second Alpha, Third Mate by Rebecca James Since I binged all three of these at once, I’m listing them all together. I’ve only recently started reading m-preg. And I loved this series. There was just something about the rough alphas and the adorable omegas. I was legitimately scared when two of the characters were in trouble in the human world. And somehow, even though they didn’t get much screen time, Leo and his little mate, Sam, were my favorites. 2) Grand Opening from the Kiss of Leather series by Morticia Knight I’ve enjoyed the other books in this series so I was excited to read this. And I’m a sucker for stories with established couples who are trying to work through problems in their relationship, like Master Josh and David. There was lots of tension as the Masters work to get the club opened and Josh and David try to get their relationship back on track. I particularly loved Master Gavin assisting Josh. That was perfect! No offense to Master Josh, but when he learned his lesson I was cackling with glee. And of course, I’m panting with excitement for the next in the series: Gaining Trust. Like Ms. Knight said, Master Jordan and Chuck are about to set the air on fire, and I can’t wait to see it. January 24th, baby! 3) Don’t Twunk With My Heart by Renae Kaye When I want fun and flirty, Renae Kaye is one of the authors I turn to. Don't Twunk With My Heart delivered on that. But there were more serious parts to the story as well: domestic violence, body issues, and ageism especially. I appreciated seeing those real-life issues handled in a way that wasn't too heavy, but still gave them the attention they deserved. And of course when I wanted the cute, Twunk was there with sideline warfare and dance parties. 4) The Slave, The Soldier, The Master from the Free Men series by Kate Aaron This was a wonderful series. And again, I binged it all at once, so I’m listing them together. The Soldier and the Slave were particularly well done as characters. But the stress the Master carried made my heart ache for him as well. I thought the pacing in the buildup of both their relationship and the overarching story was perfect. The world building was really well done as well. And I was so very happy with the conclusion. 5) Guarded by Cat Grant & L.A. Witt Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. I read this to the end. Then I immediately paged back to the beginning and started it over. That’s how much I enjoyed this one. Oh man, the vulnerability in rock star Jordan Kane just broke my heart. And Jase! So sexy. Such a good match for the rock star. It was a gorgeous story. Please read it. That’s all I have to say. Except, BRB about to go and read it again. ;-) 6) The Captive Prince Trilogy: Captive Prince, Prince’s Gambit & King’s Rising by C.S. Pacat This came into my sphere of reading at just the right time. I’ve been wanting to start reading historical and historical fantasy books again. I asked for a rec on Facebook and several people suggested this series. I was completely enthralled. Laurent was my favorite. I really liked his cool precision and distance with passion and vulnerability hiding beneath. One of the books in the series was nominated for Goodreads Romance of the year (sorry I’m spacey and forgot which one). It got my vote. 7) Aces & Eights by Rain Carrington I found this on Twitter after I saw Lyssa Dering live-tweeting her love for it. I checked it out and was in love! Eight was a little rough, but that’s just who he was. Besides, his roughness was what Kale wanted, and there was love underneath it. The side story was awesome too and I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series. But my favorite part was Eight calling Kale his Chiquito. SWOON. 8) Given the Circumstances by Brad Vance I’ve seen Brad Vance’s name all over the m/m romance world but for whatever reason, I’m just now getting to his books. What I like most about the story, was how well the characters were drawn. I feel like I got so into the characters’ heads, especially Roger. He was just such a wonderful man. Even the way the author wrote him as a kid was just damn adorable. And Brian. Brian drove me crazy with his self-destruction. But he made me want to cry with what he needed to be a good man. Such a simple thing! Roger and Brian had a few missteps, but their love was beautiful. The ending was a little bittersweet, but I still super-duper loved it. 9) All Note Long by Annabeth Albert I discovered Annabeth Albert thanks to her story in the 2015 Goodreads M/M Romance Don’t Read in the Closet event. And I’m so glad I did! Her stories are perfect in having characters who make me want to wrap them up in a blankie and feed them cookies and hot cocoa. Michelin Moses, the accidentally outed country music star, was that character for me. And Lucky was just so damn cute with his goals, personal acceptance, and ability to help Michelin while still needing love himself. I’m not sure if this is the last in the Perfect Harmony series. If if is, it's the perfect end cap. 10) For Real by Alexis Hall First things first. This was a good, meaty, long book. And I love a good, meaty, long book. And I loved the story. A nineteen-year old, trying to learn who he is, and an older man rediscovering himself. It was a wonderful book, with beautiful language and emotions. And as far as the sexy times go, I’ll quote Aaliyah here – “Age ain’t nothing but a number, throwing down ain’t nothing but a thang.” Whew! *Honorary All Time Favorite Re-Read: Johnnie by Cardeno C.
We all have them. The books that we pull up when we need to settle down and read something we know we’ll love. Our security blanket books. I have a few, but Johnnie by Cardeno C is one of my favorites. I adore Johnnie. He was so sad, yet selfless. And Hugh was wonderful in how he took care of his pride. But as he got to know Johnnie and realized there was a real bond between them, he didn’t fight it. He studied it and then went with it. And their building relationship was beautiful. And hot. Ugh, I love them together so much! And that's my Top Ten(ish) M/M Romance Reads of 2016. A fine list. But now I need to get started on my 2017 reading list. Especially since I've set a goal of reading 50 books. So if you have any reads you'd like to rec, especially those with POC MCs and/or in the fantasy sub-genre, I'd love to hear them! Comment below with your favorite books, and in return, I might help you get started on your 2017 reading list! One commentor will be randomly selected to win a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble. Just think of all the lovely e-books you can buy from your TBR! Your comment must be entered on this blog post to count. One comment entry per person. Leave your email in your comment or check the "Notify me of new comments to this post by email" box on your comment so that I can contact you if you're the winner. Contest ends January 11th and winner announced January 12th. Prize will be sent as an electronic gift card to your email. Good luck! Thanks for reading! Christa www.ChristaTomlinson.com Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads View my titles on Amazon You see, I know 2016 has been a heck of a year. But for me personally, 2015 was worse. I had surgery on my knee to repair a torn ACL. I was glad to have it done, but I didn't realize how much it would effect me having two major surgeries in three years (I broke my ankle in 2012). I was bummed that I'd have to take time off from playing roller derby, but also frustrated that I had to go through the whole physical therapy rigmarole again to be able to walk normally.
I was also struggling in my writing. I'd hit that place where I was scared of success and scared of failure. And I was working a day job that made it difficult to write. All of that added together had me withdrawing into the tiniest of hermit crab shells. This year is different. Although I am stressed about a few things, I'm not letting that stop me from connecting with friends and family. It took me a while, but I realized that withdrawing and trying to struggle through on my own isn't healthy. Family and friends are there to help, even if they don't realize they're doing so. Just being in their presence, talking to them and sharing bits of my life helps my mind and my heart. So this year, I'm home in St. Louis to celebrate Christmas. The holidays can be hard! I understand that all too well. If you're having a rough time this year, my wish is that you find love and peace, whether it's with friends, family or snuggled up on your own with a good book. And speaking of reading, I have a free Christmas short on my site. It's titled O' Christmas Tree, and I hope you enjoy it. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas! Christa *Originally published on the Cafe Risque Blog www.ChristaTomlinson.com Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads View my titles on Amazon I’ve been a wrestling fan since I was a little girl. Some of my earliest memories revolve around wrestling. My dad was really into it, so he would watch on the weekends and take us to the shows when they came to town. Going to wrestling matches at the old Kiel in St. Louis was the best. We always had to take a nap beforehand, to make sure we’d stay up for the night. I can remember being in bed in the middle of the day, where I was supposed to be sleeping because my stepmom told me to, but peeking out the window and seeing my dad in the driveway. He waved and grinned at me. I waved back, then flopped down on the bed because I heard my stepmom coming. I remember running up that long flat, spiral walkway in the Kiel to get to the nosebleed section. We sat that far up because my dad had several tickets to buy, so sitting any closer was out of the question. I remember pouting and asking why I never got to get in the ring and dance with Junkyard Dog or get Bret Hart’s sunglasses and my dad laughing and saying they weren’t going to come all the way to where we were sitting to pick a kid. I remember leaving the arena and being stuck in the crush of people all trying to get out at the same time. And my dad would hold my hand super tight to make sure I didn’t get swept away by the crowd. And then later in the parking lot, the honking of horns and people shouting out their truck windows who their favorite of the night was. There were a lot of go Dusty chants. I remember watching Hulk Hogan on Saturday mornings (talking only, the champ didn’t wrestle on plebian regular TV), then going outside to see my dad carrying his big red tool box and telling him that he was as strong as Hogan. I remember when Hogan was crushed by Earthquake, I wrote him a get well letter, my stepmom mailed it, and I got a thank you post card in return. These are all wonderful, good memories. I don’t have too many memories of women in wrestling from that time, other than the saga between Elizabeth, Macho Man and Scary Sherri. And that’s okay. As a kid, it didn’t occur to me to question that. It was what it was. I didn’t know any better. I stopped watching wrestling for a while, mostly because WWE switched to RAW on Monday nights and I didn’t have cable at the time. Then, I got back into it around 1998, in the middle of the Attitude Era. And I loved wrestling again. The characters were crazy. They did outlandish things like riding tanks (Jeeps), spraying beer on their boss, and kidnapping women to sacrifice to errrmmm… I’m not clear on who Stephanie was being sacrificed to. As a teenager/young adult I thought all of that was awesome and funny and cool. I didn’t like the bra and panty and pudding matches much, but I wasn’t angry about them. And I have to admit, I thought the Godfather’s Hos were hilarious. In fact, on one of the WWE’s trips to town I heard an advertisement on the radio to come down and audition to be a Ho. I wanted to go, but didn’t have enough confidence to do it so I skipped it. I was young and didn’t know any better. But when Chyna, and later Lita, came on the scene, I perked up. What? This woman can protect HHH & HBK and kick the men’s asses? I loved Chyna’s signature low blow, and she looked so bad ass in her leather, dark tights and gloves. And what? This woman can flip off the top rope onto the boys and do a sassy hair flip afterwards? How cool is she? I thought both women were amazing. And as a female wrestling fan, it meant something to see women doing more than standing ringside and looking concerned.
Then I stopped watching again. You can thank the Stone Cold heel turn for that. When I came back to wrestling – CM Punk gets the thanks there – I was a fully formed, logical, mature and empathetic adult. And there were some things about wrestling that didn’t sit well with me. Minority characters still weren’t getting much shine (that’s a whole ‘nother post). And the women “wrestled” but were clearly seen as a joke. Their matches were two minutes. They slapped each other on the ass. *side eyes Layla* They pulled hair, were bitchy, called each other fat, fought over boys and had a sparkly butterfly belt that Barbie is too mature to wear. And I gotta say, I didn’t like it. These women were supposed to be athletes. They are in the same ring and on the same show as the men, so why aren’t they having the same types of feuds and matches? I’m not saying no woman behaves the way the Divas did. But c’mon. I played roller derby. It’s a hard core full contact sport. Yeah, I wore fishnet tights and glitter eyeshadow, but I’d also lay a motherfucker out on that track. I didn’t train for three days a week to go out there, spank an opposing player on the butt, yell at her for stealing my man, then skate away after pulling her hair for two minutes. What I’m saying is this: Women can be typically feminine with sexy or cute outfits (the men most often wear way less anyway) and ALSO kick ass in the ring. It was frustrating to watch this thing that I loved with my adult eyes, and see it being so problematic. Then the “women’s revolution” came along. It hasn’t been perfect but things have improved. The women are getting way more time than before. I haven’t seen any of them slap each other on the ass in over a year. They’ve main evented and that pink belt is no more. All good things! Yay! Loud noises! Confetti explosion! But. We still got a coupla issues. Like Enzo. What the fuck, Enzo? I can forgive a lot in wrestling, because I understand it’s all nonsense. But why does Enzo, who for all intents and purposes is a good guy, behave the way he does? He makes no attempt to be a normal polite human being and cover his naked junk when he runs into Lana. After saying he wants to help her get through her problems, he rolls his eyes and makes it clear he doesn’t actually want to hear her talk, he wants to do other things. *wink-wink* He goes to a married woman’s hotel room. He doesn’t see why he might need sensitivity training. And he hits on a woman in the workplace, when she’s just there to do her damn job. (FYI, don’t do this. We’re polite because you’re the customer, so we have to be. But it makes us feel trapped and uncomfortable) And Enzo’s not the only good guy to be a jerk to the women on the show. Cena has said some questionable things to the women on the roster and he’s the baby face of all baby faces. The Rock’s comments to Lana were so nasty I get sour faced even now when I think of them months later. If Enzo were the bad guy, I wouldn’t have (as much) of a problem with him being a dick to Lana, because like Noam Dar, it would make sense for his role. But he’s not! He’s the cool, crowd-sing-along, Schmoney dancing guy. Even after his bad behavior, Enzo is presented as sympathetic since he keeps getting beat up by the evil foreigner. And it’s wrong. It helps validate the culture of men hitting on women who don’t want to be hit on. Of people shaming women for being sexual. Of women valued only as the property of their menfolk. I don’t want to see this, especially with it being a real life problem in our real life world. It also perpetuates the attitude of some male fans that women who are into wrestling are all rats. That the only reason we watch is for the oiled up half-naked dudes. Spoiler alert, I don’t sit through three hours of wrestling for naked dudes. I can barely make it through five minutes of oiled up dudes in gay porn before I’m bored. I watch wrestling for the wrestling. The muscles are a side bonus. I don’t come to this make-believe show where everyone is greased up and rolling around in their underwear to be presented with people like my old boss, who thought women should have long hair and wear make up to work, or of the guy who called me a stuck up bitch because I had the nerve not to stop when he ran up on me with his ‘Hey, baby’ routine as the good guys. (Another FYI, that shit is scary. Don't do it.) And no, the solution isn’t to “stop watching.” Fuck that. If we’d stopped watching after Nikki rolled up Paige in twenty seconds we wouldn’t have gotten a bloody faced Sasha tapping to Charlotte after a thirty-minute Iron Woman match. People were so mad at “Roman Reigns being shoved down our throats” and Batista winning the rumble that there was a Cancel the Network movement. People booed and whined in wReddit Squared Circle, and on WWE’s Facebook posts, and Twitter, and podcasts about it so damn much, that Daniel Bryan was put into the main event of Wrestlemania (Yeah, Trips says that was the plan all along. But he be lyin’) People are still booing Roman in arenas. And I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a RR fan. I think he’s bland and he’s not the type of wrestler I favor, so I get it. So how is it okay to express your displeasure in that storyline and character, but attack feminist fans when we don’t like something? The point is, I love WWE wrestling. I have since I was a kid. I love texting with my Dad about it. I even plan on going home to St. Louis during Mania just so I can watch it with him. I’ve got a drawer full of t-shirts, I pay for the Network, I attend live events, and I’ve gone to several meet and greets. They are getting my money just like everyone else’s. All I ask in return is for them to get fully on board with the “women’s revolution.” And for certain fans to try and understand why their attitude and treatment towards some of the women on the roster bothers us so much, instead of calling us cunts and telling us to stop watching. Be adults. Have empathy. Maybe the flaws in the Enzo/Lana storyline aren’t a big deal to you. And that’s fine. But it might be a big deal to the next Sasha Banks, Bayley, or Charlotte who is watching at home and thinking she might want to become a wrestler. That girl might change her mind when she sees Lana being likened to a whore, or sees male fans on Twitter calling women fans bitches, social justice warriors, rats, and cunts. So don’t be an asshole, okay? We love wrestling just as much as you, and would like to watch it without seeing the equivalent of real life jerks touted as cool baby faces on screen. Being called names and generally made to feel like shit for daring to express our displeasure in a storyline sort of takes the fun out of wrestling. And it’s supposed to be fun, right? Thanks for reading. Enjoy RAW.
Before you can get to editing, you have to get your first draft out. I call this the vomit draft. Why? Because when I’m writing a first draft, I don’t stop to do paragraphs or even punctuate. I leave sentences half-finished if I can’t immediately decide what I want to say because I don’t want to break my flow. And I definitely don’t stop to look anything up. If I’m unsure of a fact or need a character name, I just type XX as a place holder. (I learned this tip from another writer, but I can’t remember who. Thank you, smart writer!) It’s easy to find with Word search features because there are few (maybe none?) words that have XX in them, which means you won’t get a lot of unnecessary results. When I’m finished vomiting on to the page (yuck!) I take a break and get away from it for a while. **Side Note! Should you edit while writing? I don’t recommend it. Writing and editing are two different brain processes. And if you stop your writing to edit, it will take you forever to actually get the completed story out because you keep nitpicking over little bits. Let your brain tell the story. Then go back and whip it into shape.
Once I’m finished with a few rounds of self-editing, I have the For Your Eyes Only draft. At this point, I’m ready to send it off to someone else to read. That can be one of two persons, a beta reader and/or an editor. I’ll break and explain what each one is and does. Beta Readers. They are precious cinnamon rolls of perfection. These are people who already read your genre that you can give your manuscript to for reader feedback. Why is it important for them to be fans of your chosen genre? Because they have an innate ability to know what to look for as far as what they’ve already seen and enjoyed or hated in similar books. With that knowledge, they can tell you if you’re in the ball park or way off in a park of your own. Their job is to tell you things like did I enjoy this book? Are the characters likeable? Were there any parts I didn’t like? Their job is not to edit your work as far as grammar, sentence structure, spelling, time line, etc. Editors. These are the folks with the red pens. It is their job to find grammar mistakes and work with you on sentence structure. They address plot holes, eliminate passive voice, point out time line mistakes, etc. It is not their job to fix or re-write your book, which is why you don’t give them a first draft. The editor only receives a book after you’ve made it the best you can make it. They can turn silk into a purse, but they can’t do the same with that pig’s ear of a first draft, you know what I’m saying? I’m going to detour for a moment here to address a debate that I see often and have been a part of. The Do I need an editor? debate. (This is for self-published authors. If you’re with a publishing house, you will be assigned an editor.) In my opinion: yes, you do. You shouldn’t take a story that only your own beautiful eyes have looked at and send it out into the ether. Just like people can’t see if they have an ugly baby (even though all babies are beautiful!) you can’t see if your book baby is ugly. But. If you’re self-publishing, it can be difficult to find an editor. Or, maybe hiring an editor isn’t financially feasible for you. If that's the case, there are other options. Remember those super-duper lovely beta readers? Some of them actually do edit. You can also work with people like English teachers or majors, or even try a swap with another author. Will your results be as good as working with an actual trained editor? Nine times out of ten, the answer there will be no. It’s a risk you take. But again, the point is other eyes besides your own (and your loving mother’s) must take a look at your story. Finally, the day will come when you get the email that your beta and/or editor has sent with your document corrections and suggestions. After taking a day to work up the nerve to open that email, you start reading through the edits. Do you have to take all of the suggestions? No. But this is where it’s important not to get Writer’s Big Head. Your first reaction to suggestions may be, “What do you mean you don’t like that I gave the hero purple arms? That’s who he is as a purple armed man!” It can be hard to change something that you birthed in your brain. But take a second and think about it. If multiple readers don’t like, or are squicked by something in your story, that may be an indicator that it needs to be changed. If your editor tells you that you spent too much time getting from plot point A to plot point Z, or worse, got to point Z with very little explanation how, that might be something you need to address. The betas and editors are there to enhance your story, not tear it apart or make it their own. (If you get a meany-faced beta/editor who does want to rip up your story, run away) Alright, you’ve made the suggested changes so that means your book is ready to go. Haha! J/k. Now it needs to be proofread. This is where someone goes over the manuscript with laser eyes to look for incorrect names/words, missing punctuation and other tiny errors.
Having someone else do the proofreading is the best option. But if that isn’t an option for you, here’s a little trick. Change up the format you’re reading the document in. If you’ve been working in 12 pt Times New Roman Black, change the font to 16 pt Courier Purple. Even better, save it and read it as a PDF. Even triple better, make an e-book version of it (you can do this in Calibre) and read it that way. The change in the way the WIP is formatted will help you slow down and catch errors, rather than speeding over the words because your eye is so used to the way they look. Okay, now you’re ready to upload that manuscript for sale. Whew, that was a lot of work! And crazy enough, even after all that you still might have an error or two. That’s okay. We’re not book writing robots and readers are generally kind enough to understand that we aren’t. Thank you, readers! So, that’s editing! Friendly reminder that I’m not an expert and I’m just sharing the knowledge I’ve gained so far. If you’d like more knowledge, check out Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing and Write and Revise for Publication. And if you have any questions, feel free to let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading! Christa www.ChristaTomlinson.com Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads View my titles on Amazon I’ve been nominated for two awards in the M/M RomanceGoodreads Members Choice awards! I’m so happy. The Detective’s Pleasure was nominated for best BDSM, and Showing Him the Ropes was nominated for Best Athletes/Coaches. Yes! I don’t expect to win at all, but knowing that readers enjoyed those stories enough to nominate them in a Best category makes me all scrunchy-faced happy. Thank you, Readers! But. Oh, but. Knowing that there are readers who enjoyed Showing Him the Ropes so much puts me in quite the pickle. You see, as much as I loved that story, I have to admit that it didn’t do very well. In fact, it did so poorly in sales that I was big, tearful anime eyes sad. Which leaves me with a dilemma.
I’d originally planned for Chance and Devin’s story to be the first in a series set in the world of professional wrestling. But with the reception so poor, I’d hate to spend the time and money taking it any further. But (so many buts) I’d also hate to disappoint readers who were actually happy to read a story in a setting that they enjoy. If I wrote for a publisher, the series would be killed dead. But I don’t. That means I have to make the decision on my own. Waaaah! I want to fight for the series. Make some improvements to Ropes and the subsequent novels and give it another go. But I also have to make smart business decisions. Sigh… We’ll see. I’ll at least do one more story to wrap up the mini cliff hanger. Partly because I loved the Showing Him the Ropes, but mostly as a thank you to all the readers who loved it and nominated it. I love you guys! Whatever happens with the series, I'm super duper happy that I took the risk and wrote about professional wrestling, which I love. And I fell so in love with Ryan and Sam, Ryan in particular, that them receiving a nomination is the cherry on an already awesome sundae. So thank you again for the nominations! P.S. To celebrate, I’ve put both The Detective's Pleasure and Showing Him the Ropes on sale for .99 on Amazon, B&N, ARe, and Kobo. If you haven’t read them, now’s your chance. And if you enjoy them and are a member of the M/M Romance group, I’d love to have your vote. Thanks for reading! Christa *Originally posted on the Cafe Risque Blog www.ChristaTomlinson.com Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads View my titles on Amazon Hey, it's Sunday! This week I'd like to share with you an unedited excerpt from my WIP - part two of Logan and Clay's story. Enjoy! "Come here." Clay followed the gentle pull Logan gave his hand to drop down to the couch and straddle his lap. "You're my lover. My submissive. It's my right and my pleasure to protect you always." He brought a hand up, his thumb sliding across the metal collar that circled Clay's neck. "I won't let anything or anyone hurt you or take you away from me." A thrill shot through Clay at that declaration. Logan was unapologetically possessive of him. It had caused problems early on in their relationship, but they'd worked on it and come to an understanding on boundaries. Now, he was able to revel in Logan's possessiveness and caring, because he knew it wouldn't get out of hand. Clay pressed his forehead to Logan's and closed his eyes. "I love when you talk to me like that." Logan's hand moved to grip the back of his neck. "Do you?" His eyes still closed, Clay nodded. "Tell me why." "Because it makes me feel like the most important thing in your world. I've never felt like that with anyone." "It's true. You are the most important thing to me. Having you in my life, wearing my collar, means everything to me." Clay opened his eyes and looked into his lover's gaze, seeing the sincerity there. Not that he doubted him. Logan had proven time and time again how much he loved him. "I feel like I don't deserve you. Like I don't do enough to show you how much I love you in return." "That's not true. You don't have to do anything to deserve me. I'm with you because I don't ever want to be with anyone else." "Well, maybe I can show you tonight." He brought a hand up to rub the pad of muscle on Logan's chest. "Physically." Awww, they're so lovey-dovey. For now... *insert evil author laugh* I've got a title and a sexy cover and I can't wait to share them with you. Hurry up 2017! If you haven't read The Sergeant series, catch up with the first three books. Thanks for reading!
Christa Originally posted on the Cafe Risque Blog www.ChristaTomlinson.com Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads View my titles on Amazon Hello there! Thanks for joining me as I continue to talk about writing. Today’s post is aimed at answering a few common questions on what makes a romance novel a romance novel. As I stated before, I’m not an expert. But I am a giant nerd. I will research things until the cows come home. If I had cows. I don’t, so I research until my brain feels appropriately full of knowledge. I know the world of publishing is always a-changing, but these are fairly basic guidelines to follow when writing romance. Question 1 - What is a romance? A romance is a story that predominately focuses on the growing relationship between the main characters, or MCs. It HAS TO END WITH EITHER A HEA - HAPPILY EVER AFTER OR HFN – HAPPY FOR NOW. Yes, I wrote that in all caps. Yes, I bolded it. If the characters aren’t together at the end because one of them dies or they decide to go off on separate paths or whatever, it isn’t a romance. It’s fiction with romantic elements. If you would like more official wording, the below descriptions are from the Romance Writers of America - the professional organization for the romance genre: A Central Love Story: The main plot centers around individuals falling in love and struggling to make the relationship work. A writer can include as many subplots as he/she wants as long as the love story is the main focus of the novel. An Emotionally Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love. Readers purchase a romance because they want assurance that they are buying a love story with a happy ending. That’s not to say you can’t write a story that doesn’t have that happy ending. You can, but you will have some dissatisfied and possibly pissed off readers if you write that story and list it as romance. A romance reader isn’t looking for the bittersweet ending. They want the fluff and happiness. They’ll be confused if they go into a book expecting a happy ending and don’t get it. The HEA/HFN rule is important. Don't get special snowflake syndrome. You can't sidestep this rule because your story is amazing and you think readers will appreciate your new twist on the genre. If you’ve written a story where the characters do not end up together, that’s great and I’m sure it’s lovely. But please, market it correctly as fiction and not romance. Question 2 - What’s the difference between a HEA and a HFN? With a happily ever after, the couple is together for the long haul. They either get married or the writer makes it clear that there will be a wedding or commitment ceremony of some sort. With a happy for now, the couple (or throuple) is committed, but there may not be any talk of marriage. They are happy and monogamous. Question 3 - What’s the difference between erotic romance and erotica? Hey, you can make your characters super-duper nasty who boink on every damn page if you want. But if the story focuses on the sexual journey and it doesn’t end with a HEA or HFN it’s erotica. If the characters have lots of graphic sex but also an emotional story arc and are committed to each other at the end, it’s an erotic romance. Question 4 - How long should a book be? This one is a little trickier and there’s lots of wiggle room. And of course, it varies by genre. You wouldn’t expect a children’s book to have the same word count as an adult romance.
Question 5 - What’s the difference between a serial and a series? A book in a series has a complete ending. A real THE END. In romance, the lovers are together. There may or may not be a cliff hanger for other plot points. A serial is an ongoing story. The characters may not be in love and committed until the final book in the serial. Dear god in book heaven, please let your readers know if your story is a serial. I can grudgingly deal with a cliff hanger on non-major plot points, but starting a story only to realize I’ve gotta wait for and read multiple other books to get to the end of the main story? I will jump through my Nook to come after you if you swerve me like that. Question 6 – Can I write cheating in my romance novel? Oh, boy. Well, you can. *ducks barrage of flaming arrows from readers* But it’s not appreciated as a plot point. The general rule is that the MCs do not share intimacy with anyone else once they have met and established a connection with one another. I may have broken this rule in Bad Boys Need Love Too. But he’s a bad boy! He’s supposed to break the rules! *ducks another barrage of flaming arrows from readers* Romance readers DO NOT like cheating in their novels. It’s one of the few things they are unlikely to forgive a hero for, so think hard before you decide to write any kind of cheating scene. And be ready for those flaming arrows to come your way if you do. That's the romance novel in a nutshell! If you'd like to know more about what makes up a romance or how to write one, I recommend reading On Writing Romance by Leigh Michaels. It's a great how-to book for the genre. If you have any questions for me or blog post topic suggestions, please let me know in the comments. Next week I'll be back to talk about drafts and editing. Thanks for reading! Christa www.ChristaTomlinson.com Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads View my titles on Amazon To be a writer, you have to learn how to write. I’m not saying you have to go out and get an MFA – although that is a wonderful thing to have. But if you want to write stories for other eyes to read and enjoy, you must learn the craft of writing. Now, I’m not an expert. But I have learned a few things that I’m happy to share with you. So, here’s my top ten list of things you can do to become a writer. 1) Read. Read everything. Read both in your genre and outside of it. Above all, this will help you to internalize the methods of telling a story. Reading in your genre will help you to understand the expectations of that genre and to discover what you do and do not like. It will not mean that you copy other writers’ work. Your first attempts might be heavily influenced, but as you learn and grow, you’ll develop your own voice. Reading outside your genre is important as well. Think of the athlete who does cross training to improve their overall fitness. The same is true for writers. Cross train in your reading so you can build up your writing muscles. For example, if you write science fiction, reading romance can help you understand how to develop a love story arc for your characters. 2) Read. Read craft books. Many people are natural storytellers. But if you want to go to the next level and are considering writing for publication, you’ll need to learn the mechanics of telling a story. You’ll learn pacing so you don’t bog down your first pages with a giant information dump, have a soggy meandering middle and then a hectic end. You’ll learn how to create characters as people, rather than cardboard cut outs of people. You’ll learn conflict and setting and so much more. 3) Pay attention to various forms of storytelling. When you’re watching a movie, take note of the little things. Did they make a point of showing a character’s red sweater tossed in the back seat of a car? If so, that sweater might mean something later on. This is foreshadowing and is a great device to use in writing. You should also go and see a play. It’s one of the best ways to see the three-act structure of storytelling (set up, confrontation, resolution) in action. 4) Pay attention to the world around you. This is a great way to come up with story ideas, settings and characters. For example, you don’t want all your characters to sound the same on the page, so listen to the way people talk. You’ll develop an ear for different rhythms and vocabularies and can use that to give your characters a unique voice.
6) Finish what you start. This is a tough one! It’s common for a writer to start a story with lots of enthusiasm and then get bored with it half-way through. Once that happens, it’s easy to be tempted away by the shiny allure of a new plot idea. But don’t do it! You’ll never complete a book if you jump from story to story. To avoid this, have a designated area where you can write down future story ideas so you don’t forget them. Do a quick free write of whatever plot bunnies are bouncing around in your head, then put it away and get back to your Work In Progress. This is important. You must finish a story. Otherwise you’ll end up with multiple half-finished WIPs and you’ll never have anything completed to share with the world. 7) Put your writing out there. Put it on Watt Pad, publish fanfiction on Fan Ficton.net or Archive of our Own, write your book in a series of blog posts on Tumblr or your personal blog, upload it to Goodreads. Do whatever you can to get your writing in front of readers’ eyes. You’ll have fun sharing your stories, gain confidence, build an audience of readers, and get feedback from people besides your mom. 8) Learn to accept criticism. It’s wonderful hearing someone loves your story. It’s awful hearing someone didn’t like your story. But you have to listen and learn so you can improve from that criticism. It’s the only way you’ll grow as a writer. For example, if someone tells you a plot point doesn’t make sense, don’t just get offended and blow them off. Yes, your feelings will be hurt. But take a look at that plot point and see if there is any merit to what the reader is saying. Maybe something was so clear in your head that you failed to realize it didn’t make it to the page for the reader to see. Or maybe you forgot to establish something early on in the story that would help a future plot point seem plausible to the reader. Basically, keep an open mind for opportunities to improve your craft. 9) Connect with other writers. This is helpful for many reasons. It’ll give you someone to help pep you up during writing slumps. You can make writing dates, whether in real life or online, to do writing sprints. They can serve as critique partners and they can share their knowledge. There are lots of benefits for connecting with other writers, these are just some of the biggies. You can find other writers by joining writing organizations. I just rejoined Romance Writers of America, as well as a few special interest chapters, and I’m looking forward to interacting with members. You can also follow the #writers, #writing, and #amwriting hashtags on any form of social media and find someone to connect with. And of course, you can chat with me. I think I'm pretty nice. 10) Be sensitive, diverse and fearless. When writing, take one finger off the keyboard and put it on the pulse of society. Keep the world in mind when creating your stories and characters. Your words have meaning and power so use them responsibly. Also, write diverse characters. Write women, men, GLBT, minorities, the disabled. Write everybody! Yes, you might need to do a little research to write someone who is different than you, but that’s okay. Research is fun. And last, be fearless. Tell the stories of your heart and never let fear stop you. Good luck and happy writing. I'll be back with more posts on the writing process. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments. I'll be happy to answer and it might be something I can add to my lists of topics to cover.
Thanks for reading! Christa www.ChristaTomlinson.com Follow me around the internet! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads View my titles on Amazon |
Christa's Blog
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