Alison Kent

Back to my hero. He scares me. Not in the brooding, damaged way I mentioned a few days ago, but in that I’m afraid to write him, afraid I won’t be able to pull him off the way I imagine him. He’s been wandering around in my creative mind now for a year and a half, and I’ve seen him all this time looking one certain way, acting one certain way, etc. I’ve written several scenes previously where he appears in a cameo and all was well. But now that I’m getting into his head? Argh! He’s making me crazy by refusing to be the man I thought he was!

My husband and I went out to a Chinese buffet this weekend and got the biggest kick out of our fortunes.

Mine - Hilltop and seaside resorts are where you’ll live for life.

His - From the floors of the ocean, the waves of the tide, a vacation awaits you far & wide.

I guess I’ll only be seeing him about six months out of the year!

My favorite fortune ever which I’ve kept for a couple of years now says - “Butterflies of delight will fly up you tonight.”

Uh-huh.

I’m lagging again . . .

I keep a list of things I want to mention here that are a part of the whole of writing, and then I can’t find the energy to get to the computer . . .

But how am I writing if I’m not at the computer, you ask. Well, it’s an interesting conundrum. I have never been able to sit at my computer and write. Edit, yes. Or write on my laptop at Starbucks or on the bus or on the sofa while watching American Idol. Recently, I’ve been writing on my Alphasmart, but since I’ve been having trouble getting into this story anyway, I’ve reverted to my pre-Alphasmart days of writing by hand. Of course, this requires having the right pen or pen or pen on hand. I used to be all about the paper. Now I’m all about the pen.

That said, I’ve spent the last week handwriting in teeny tiny cursive writing on a plain lined blue junior legal pad. Writing tiny makes me feel like I’m getting a lot done. It’s a concentrated sort of feeling. Of course it’s the pits when I try to transcribe it.

And speaking of transcribing, this time I’ll be trying something new. I’m really excited about this as I used to dictate a lot of my writing. Yes, I’ve done everything. If you happened to see the CBS 48 Hours episode, Isn’t It Romantic?, that aired in October 1995 (so long ago!), you would’ve seen me driving to work and dictating a book that was eventually published!

But to get back to the actual writing, I’ve put up a sneak peek character photo for my current hero. The reason I’m having so much trouble writing and getting into the beginning of this book (which is s.o.p.) is that my hero is not behaving. He’s supposed to be damaged and brooding and he’s coming off as a smart ass! I know I’m just going to have to let him go and be who he is, but he’s wreaking havoc with my plans! Still, he’s sexy and fun and he’ll turn out all right!

Suckitude. Apparently, I have it in a major way!

The RITA contest, the contest judged by writing peers and sponsored by RWA, instructs author judges to score books numerically from 1 to 9 - 9 being (paraphrased) the best example of a romance novel in the category entered. I entered my Blazes in the Long Contemporary Category, which pits books from series lines such as Blaze, Special Edition, Intimate Moments and Superromance against one another. Though, if I remember correctly, the instructions state that the books are to be judged on their own merits, not against others in the judges packet. (Most judges get around 6 - 9 books to read.)

Remember a *9* denotes *best*.

Here are the scores I received for this year’s books: THE SWEETEST TABOO - 7,8,9,7,7 / NO STRINGS ATTACHED - 5,6,5,7,5 / ALL TIED UP - 7,5,6,4,4 / BOUND TO HAPPEN - 5,2,6,3,5

All I can say is that I’m so glad I’m writing for readers and not for my peers!

Today I read the journal entries from a new author who is going through the process of her first book’s publication. I cracked up seeing so much of my own insecurities in her words. I don’t think it ever gets better, unfortunately. The insecurity part, anyway! There is eventually more understanding of the process, though even that varies between publishers as I’m learning. I know exactly when I’ll need to get my art information in for my Harlequin books. But now that I’m doing a single title for Kensington Brava, I’ll be going through an entirly different process as well. I have to admit that the newness is a lot of fun, bringing back all the intial excitement that can fade in the familiarity of line edits and galleys and art fact sheets . . .

Speaking of art fact sheets, Harlequin authors are now able to input the information in an online form and I love it, adore it, am lost now without it. I have no idea why it’s easier for me considering much of the text information I have to enter is the same as that I entered on the previous paper forms. I guess I’m a product of the online age and enjoy the instant gratification. And, yes. I need to finish up the ones I’ve started for the current book. I had to put off completing them until I knew what I was doing with the story!

Today was awesome. Just awesome. I didn’t write a single page! (At least not yet - okay, I wrote a half of one!) But I have most of my plot’s turning points laid down (inciting incident, 1st turning point, mid-point, 3rd turning point - my plotting method “tm” to Jolie Kramer) and a GREAT new character. I’m a character-driven author, so I owe my subconsious an “attaboy” for this one. (Well, and then there’s Jan and Nancy who both gave me the feedback that allowed my muse to gurgle and belch out what I think will be an incredible story. ) I’m so excited to dive back in. I’m going to write a secondary character who is an anti-hero in all the best ways. She will lie and connive and cheat her way through her sub-story and her motivation is slam-dunk there! (And since I’m waiting for an auction to end on eBay, I will definitely be up another hour writing!)

Amazingly bad day yesterday so I’m combining entries to catch up.

Today, April 22nd, is the 9th day of this experiment and I can only say that it’s going much better this morning than it was twelve hours ago. Twelve hours ago I couldn’t have been more down in the dumper. Not so much over story elements, but over life getting in the way of my writing. Damn the IRS for taking all my money! Now my freedom from the day job is even longer delayed. Sigh. It’s getting harder and harder to keep up my current schedule when my heart is solely in one place. (And my interest is not in accounting!) I have so many stories percolating . . . when am I going to find the time to write them all when I’m away from home ten to eleven hours a day? Poor pitiful me. LOL!

That said, anyone who is interested in writing, and those of you who want to to know the secret, here it is. You must have a writing partner, a career partner, who knows you and your writing so well that she (or he) can read your inane rambling pleas for help and respond with such brilliance that your enthusiasm for the story is revived. It amazes me how my career partner can see things I can’t - and I’m supposed to be the author here. I sent her my thoughts and ideas on the story and she took what I gave her and ran, returning with an idea that never would’ve occurred to me. She’s absolute brilliant. And I feel like her name should be beside mine on the covers of my books!

I’ve started the second chapter and am slowly making my way into this hero’s viewpoint. He really scares me, in that I’m afraid I’m going to wimp him out when he’s total alpha male!

Did I mention how much I love the internet? How did writers ever fare before? Wow, just needing one tiny piece of information and, bam, it’s there. Like the fact that a geisha wears a shimada-mage hairstyle, and before applying the white foundation to her face and neck, preps with bintsuke-abura, an oil/wax combination that allows the pigment to adhere. And then there is the issue of how many lines she leaves free of color on the back of her neck, and why. Not to mention the addition of red to her eyebrows and eyelids. Fascinating stuff. And, yes. I used some of that! It wasn’t just random reading!!

Can I admit that I didn’t write but 5 pages today, and instead finished reading two books I’d started weeks ago? Bad, Alison, bad! But I did finish the chapter one sex, whoo-hoo! And now it’s more about where I’m taking this book from here. I brainstormed out some ideas in an email to a writing buddy today, so I think I’m feeling more confident about having attacked a story that hasn’t yet revealed much of itself to me!

A bit of a bust as far as writing went, but I did finish one website and updated another that I was behind on. Very glad to get that out of the way, and very bummed that I haven’t had time to finish the new sleek design I’ve put together for the Blaze Authors site. Actually, the design is done, it’s just all the content that needs to be transferred and that takes time. (Please do not hold the current design against me! I was young, I didn’t know what I was doing!!) If not in time for the June books, then definitely for July.

Also, while randomly surfing, I found that my Brava novella is listed for sale at Amazon, but the listing is lacking my name, sigh. I sent a correction and hope it comes through. I also added a link to buy it (hint, hint!) and a sneak peak at the cover on my Books Now / Upcoming page.

So, here’s the bit of description I teased about yesterday. Out of context, it’s nowhere near as sexy, but I still like it:
His skin still glowed from three years spent under the Caribbean sun. His hair, bronzed and wildly untamed, hung to his shoulders. His ropey muscles spoke of hard labor; his physique hummed with a lean perfection. He’d left the States a know-it-all frat boy and returned with the hands and mouth of the devil.