Dear Readers:

It occurred to me when I first read our blog name of Nobody Writes It Better, you might assume that this group is made up of members pretty full of themselves.  But then I started looking at the facts, and I wanted to share with you that most of us on this blog are modest, intensely care about the world around us, and others, but still purport to be outstanding writers with some extraordinarily inventive imaginations.

Still think I’m over the top?  Well, what would you say if I told you out of 1100 entries, 67 of us were named finalists to Romance Writers of America’s renowned Golden Heart competition.  Many of whom have gone on to publish, while some still continue the pursuit.

What’s more, we all write so differently.  I’d like to give you a few examples.  In alphabetical order:

Trish Albright — Siren’s Song — Published July, 2008 by Leisure Historical Romance, her second release Siren’s Secret came out in May, 2009

Albright was a 2007 Golden Heart finalist in Long Historical.

Adventurous Alexandra Stafford can escape slave traders – no problem, captain a ship on storm-tossed seas – piece of cake.  But ask her to put on a gown and attend a ball with London society, now that’s terrifying.  Particularly when the new duke of Worthington’s in attendance. Worthington knows Alex is trouble the moment he lays eyes on her.  Even when she’s stalked by a relentless enemy and enmeshed in a powerful prophecy, he can’t keep away from her.  To earn her love, he’ll risk his life — again and again — and completely surrender to the Siren’s Song.

Marilyn Brant  -  According to Jane Coming October 1, 2009 from Kensington Books

The winner of of the 2007 Novel with Strong Romantic Elements, Brant’s story emerges when Ellie Barnette’s English teacher assigns Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, and the author’s ghost takes up residence in Ellie’s mind, with every intention of staying there. Jane’s wise and witty advice guides Ellie through adolescence and beyond, her counsel constant.

Carolyne Fyffe – Where the Wind Blows – Published July 2008 from  Dorchester Publishing

The winner of the 2007 Golden Heart Short Historical, Fyffe creates a story that will warm reader’s hearts.

Chase Logan liked being a loner, a drifter.  But one look into Jessie Strong’s sky-blue eyes, and in the span of a heartbeat, he found himself agreeing to be her husband — and a father.  In a true pioneer spirit, Fyffe writes about tough times, short supplies and danger just outside the doorstep.

Maureen McGowan — Lost and Found – Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance — Dec. 2009

McGowan, a 2007 Golden Heart Finalist in Romantic Elements, has sold a time travel as part of an anthology.  It’s a mash-up of The Time Traveler’s Wife, Ground Hog Day and Life on Mars. No matter where Jake is when he falls asleep, he wakes day after day in the same place, on the same day, wearing the same clothes he wore that fateful day in 1968, only the year keeps changing.  Can Kara’s love hold him in time?

Elisabeth Naughton – Stolen Heat - Out Now! - from Dorchester Love Spell

A 2007 Golden Heart finalist for Single Title, Naughton’s story surrounds antiquities dealer Peter Kauffman.  Pete walked a fine line between clean and corrupt for years, until Egyptologist Katherine Meyer changed all that.  But lies and half truths caught up with him, and Katherine died in a car bomb.  Now Kat’s back with lies of her own, and the only way they can seek the truth and evade a killer is to work together — as long as they don’t find themselves burned by the heat each thought was stolen long ago.

Robin Kaye – Romeo Romeo – Sourcebooks

Winner of the 2007 Single Title Golden Heart Competition, Romantic Comedy Author Kaye has been a prolific with the creation of Romeo, Romeo, Too Hot to Handle and out in December Breakfast in Bed.

Her first book Romeo Romeo made her a star, though.  Career-driven Rosalie Ronaldi doesn’t have a domestic bone in her body and has sundry lingerie scattered throughout her apartment to prove it.  Nick Romeo is every woman’s fantasy — tall, dark & handsome AND he loves to cook and clean.  So what’s the problem?  Just a little matter of mistaken identity, corporate theft, a hidden past and one big nosy Italian family too close for comfort.

Cindy Procter-King

Procter-King’s 2007 Long Contemporary Romance Golden Heart final Her Hometown Man, is on an editor’s desk as I type.  It’s about a woman who returns home to repair a relationship with her mother, and, in facing her past, discovers her first teenage crush is the one who can heal her heart.

Procter-King is also the author of two available romantic comedies, one pictured below.  She also sold the Japanese manga (comic book) rights to Ohzora Publishing in Japan for Head Over Heels.

Alix Rickloff –Lost in You – Kensington Books

Rickloff’s 2007 Short Historical Golden Heart final led to the sell of her first book Lost in You and now her second is out Dangerous as Sin.

Cornwall, 1815.  Beyond country balls and genteel society of Regency England lies another realm.  Conor Bligh is one of the Other — part human, part Fey, gifted with powers unseen in ten generations.  But to destroy a malevolent demon, Bligh needs much more than strength, he needs quick-witted and beautiful Ellery Reskeen whose powers lie dormant and unknown within her.

Have I whet your interest yet?  Well, wait, there’s more.  There’s the books that aren’t even out yet.  Keep your eyes peeled for…

Kristina McMorris — Letters from Home – Kensington, Feb. 2011. (Cover not yet available.)

2007 Golden Heart Finalist in Short Historical, McMorris recently announced that she’d sold Letters from Home:  A Cyrano de Bergerac love story set against the emotionally charged backdrop of World War II.

Barbara Wallace — Secretary Bride — Harlequin Romance — Due out in 2010 (Cover not yet available.)

Wallace was the 2007 Golden Heart Winner of Best Short Contemporary.

Emma O’Rourke doesn’t believe in fairy tales and romance.  So when businessman Gideon Kent, heir to the Kent family fortune, sweeps her off her feet, the secretary tells herself it can’t last.  Gideon Kent doesn’t believe in fairy tales either, but something about the no-nonsense Emma makes him want to.

Finally, Dear Readers, if you peruse through the blog of Nobody Writes It Better, you’ll see that I’ve just scratched the surface of this talented bunch.  Many of our authors already have two or more books out.  What I hope you will notice is there’s a whole lot of variety among us.  We hope you’ll stay tuned and add many of the 007 authors to your “to-be-read” list. 

What’s your favorite type of romance? Perhaps we have one or several in our storytelling bazaar just waiting in the wings.  ~ Happy Reading!

I’ve been complaining since I gave birth to my son that I can’t get “motivated” to work out like I used to. But that’s not really true. I am motivated, and when I do workout, I love it. When I don’t, I miss it. My problem isn’t motivation; it’s habit. I used to be in the habit of working out six days a week. An hour of my day was reserved for that little pleasure.

When I had my son, my whole life flipped upside down. Suddenly, any and all “me” time wasn’t fulfilling; it was filled with Mommy guilt. So, I limited “me” time until I gave myself none, and found myself sinking into depression like I hadn’t experienced since I was an undergrad. It took me awhile to recognize what I’d done, but I’ve spent the last year remedying that. I started small and with the “me-time” thing that always meant the most to me: writing. I told myself I had to write 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. It was hard at first, but it wasn’t long before I was smiling a little more often, and feeling encouraged about my decision to make more time for non-Mommy activities. I really was a better, more present mother when I was taking a little time for myself.

My writing time grew, and I’ve found a pretty good balance now. I’m productive because I created a new habit in my crazy new life as a mother.

I’m a blog junkie. I was reading this blog the other day that suggested people who want to begin incorporating exercise into their lives start with ten minutes a day. The idea, the blog explained, isn’t that ten minutes is really enough to make you fit, healthy, and trim; it won’t. It will, however, establish a new habit, and once the habit of exercising daily is established, it’s easier to stretch that ten minutes to fifteen, then twenty, then thirty or more.

When people ask me about writing, my advice is the same: establish a habit. I remember a colleague who was blown away when I broke it down for her. “You write a single page every day,” I told her, “and that book you always talk about will be done in a year.” Her eyes grew and she smiled so big, as if I’d just offered her the greatest gift. Suddenly, she believed she could achieve this goal she’d been talking about for years.

Habits are powerful. We make a habit of exercise, and our bodies transform. We make a habit of eating nutrient-rich foods, and our skin glows. We make a habit of reading to our children each night, and they become educated, inquisitive, confident adults.

The habits we don’t have, we deny ourselves for a reason. Sometimes, we feel guilty for taking the time for ourselves. Sometimes, we don’t feel worthy of the transformation we seek. Sometimes, we fear the very change we long for.

What habit have you been putting off forming? Want to join me as I start in forming a couple new (old?) ones of my own?

A few weeks ago, I started training for a half-marathon that will take place in January. (To the left are my new shoes—and normally it doesn’t take five months to train for a half, but I’m new to the sport, so I figured I’d allow plenty of practice time rather than pass out midway through the race.) I keep track of my runs on a great website called Daily Mile, and a while back, someone left a post on the forums titled “I Run Because…”.

What a wonderful way to remind ourselves of the reasons we pursue our passions. No matter how difficult or hopeless things seem sometimes (writing, anyone?), the need to continue is so much stronger than the temptation to quit.

Let’s see. I run because it feels good to be active. Because I want to accomplish as much with my body as I have with my mind. I want to get out from behind the computer and into fresh air. And maybe most importantly, I run because finishing a race is a goal completely under my control—there aren’t any editors on the other side telling me my story isn’t quite right, no judges deciding I didn’t make the team or cute guys saying I’m not cool enough to date (that is, before I was married, lol). For once, I’m the only person who has to approve my efforts, and if I put one foot in front of the other to the tune of 13.1 miles, I’ll do it. Period.

What do you do for *you*, that no one else can stop?

Just how far will you go to achieve a goal?

We all have goals in life.  Landing a dream job, competing in a triathalon, tracing your family roots and finding long lost relatives (which I’m currently doing).  Every time I start writing a new book, my goal is to write the best book possible, which involves conducting extensive research.  I’ve done some interesting things for the sake of research, like being blasted with pepper spray, test driving a Vespa scooter—when I’d never driven a motorbike in my life—interviewing a mortician and touring funeral homes and crematories, and lots more. 

If you read my last post about my encounter with Johnny Depp, you know just how far I went to conduct “character research” for that book.  :-)  The book, about a Parisian puppeteer, is the book of my heart and I’ve gone to great lengths researching every aspect of it, including traveling to Paris. Although I didn’t make the trip abroad merely for the sake of research.

Two years ago my husband and I visited Prague and Budapest and I decided to layover a few days in Paris on the way home, since it was no additional airfare cost.  I’d been to Paris several times so I didn’t need to do the touristy things.  Nope, my sole purpose for visiting the city of love was to infiltrate hospital maternity wards, take in puppet performances, and polish some minor details—like hanging out in parks and chatting with Parisians about their furry friends and browsing the shops in Pigalle—the red light district.

I needed to know not only the layout, but the security level at hospital maternity wards in Paris.  When I toured a maternity ward in Milwaukee I had to be buzzed in and out and signed in.  Babies wore security anklets and if they got near an exit the entire floor shut down.  Very high tech security. 

When I went to the main children’s hospital in Paris, comprised of approximately ten buildings , a security guard gave me a map, circling the building which housed the maternity ward.  Heart racing—afraid I’d get stopped and have to explain myself in broken French to Hospital Security—I bypassed the front entrance and went around to the back of the building.  I waltzed inside like I knew exactly where I was going and found the reception desk unmanned.  I hiked up the stairs to find a flimsy wooden gate across the entrance to the third floor.  A man in scrubs approached, but rather than asking if I was there to visit a mom or swipe a baby, he opened the gate with a pleasant bonjour, allowing me access to the floor.  I strolled down the hallway past nurses, rooms with mothers and newborn babies, and rooms with babies alone.  Taking it all in, I slowly walked back down the hall and out of the building, virtually unnoticed.  Mission accomplished.  I’d learned what I’d come for.  Security at maternity wards in Paris—at least this hospital—was non-existent! 

I attended several puppet performances throughout Paris, finally encountering a traditional show with hand puppets just off of the Champs Elysees. 

After the show I grabbed something to eat then returned for the second performance.  The puppeteer was taking money and asked me if I hadn’t just been at his last show.  I responded as best I could in French, explaining that I was researching puppet shows.  With an intrigued glint in his eyes he told me that I needed to participate in a performance to get a good feel for it.  I was giddy with enthusiasm as he led me around to the back of his shed and allowed me access while several envious children looked on.  I sat inside on a bench during the performance, taking in the sound of the puppeteer’s animated voice, childrens’ laughter filtering into the shed, the handmade puppets lining the wall beneath the stage…  I committed every sight, sound, and smell to memory. 

As I mentioned in my last post Johnny Depp was the inspiration for my puppeteer.  This puppeteer wasn’t exactly Johnny Depp, but still, what a guy!

My research in Paris was a huge success!  I went home and spent several weeks polishing every little detail of the book, which I hope will one day sell!

So have you ever had a goal that you’ve gone to great lengths to achieve?  Maybe even done something kind of crazy to achieve it and were later like Wow, can’t believe I did that?  What was it and what did you do to obtain it?  Fellow writers, what are some things you’ve done for the sake of research?

Okay, I’ll admit it. The beginning of last week’s Romance Writers of America® National Conference depressed me. This was my eighth National, my first being in Anaheim in 1998. I’ve been a contest winner seven times and a finalist twenty-five more times (including twice in RWA’s Golden Heart®). Heck, I make my living in publishing industry helping others sell their books. I wrote and sold a couple of short stories some years back and I’m published in different fields, but I still haven’t nabbed a sale contract for my novels. Despite being a cheerleader for other writers, it sometimes feels like my brass ring will always be too slippery to grab.

But by the third day of the conference, I was getting some a-ha moments. (I invariably do, which is one reason I go despite it all.) But this year’s a-has didn’t come from workshops — I hardly attended them. Nor did the a-has come from the luncheon speakers, as great as they were, or from the glamorous Golden Heart® awards ceremony in which I was once again a finalist.

The a-has came from my friends.

I’ve come to know a lot of people at these eight Nationals. Some I met first online, and others while at the conferences. I’ve enjoyed connecting with many current and former clients of my ex-agents. Some pals I’ve met through friends, and now I gladly consider them my friends, too. And two wonderful sisterhoods formed among the Golden Heart® finalists from 2007 and 2009.

My a-has came during chats with these many buddies at meals or at the bar. We swapped tips on industry shifts, promotion, agent and editor leads, and reading suggestions. We shared commiseration about the downsides of the publishing business and the hard work, talent and luck it takes to break in. Best of all, we shared joy when a published but struggling 2007 finalist was offered a contract at the dessert reception on the last night of the conference.

And that, I realized, was the best a-ha of all: friendships. There are people who truly gave a damn that I succeed, and I give a damn that they do, too.

Oddly enough, I wasn’t nervous at the awards ceremony. The first time around, I could have sworn the entire auditorium heard my banging heartbeats. This year, I was calm and enjoyed it all. I woohooed for my pals as their names and manuscript titles flashed onto the huge screens. And when my photograph and title lit the screen and my friends cheered out in the audience of 2000, I felt…well, loved.  It wasn’t about the award or a possible win. It was about rooting each other on. Encouragement through both the bad and the good.

L to R: Cate Rowan, Robin D. Owens, Kayla Westra, Caroline Fyffe

Whether you’re a writer or a reader, I’m sure there’s something you want — a long-term goal that makes you strive to succeed. And I hope you have kindred spirits with whom you can share the journey.

So thank goodness for the generosity of friends. You made my conference a sheer pleasure and you lighten my struggle toward that danged ring.

Here’s to you, sisters!

Galaxy Quest has always resonated with me. Sure it’s funny and entertaining, (not to mention I am a sucker for the underdog), but there are serious plot elements and real world applications to take away from the film as well.

Plot Elements of Galaxy Quest:

• The Reluctant Hero Archetype. The reluctant hero is an ordinary man in extraordinary circumstances who initially “refuses the call” but eventually follows his destiny. Tim Allen who plays fictional Commander Peter Quincy Taggart in the film, also plays actor Jason Nesmith our reluctant hero. ( From Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces, foundational for Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey.)

• The Fish Out of Water Theme. The producer, Mark Johnson admits to adding this element for a unique twist. The entire crew of the spaceship, the NSEA Protector, are actors playing a part. They are thrown into the water as the aliens from Thermian expect”the crew” to help in a genocidal war against Sarris, the reptilian warlord.

• The Transformation Plot. On a bigger scale Galaxy Quest is a transformation tale for the main protagonist, Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen). Ronald B. Tobias, in his book, 20 Master Plots: And How to Build Them, explains the transformation plot as a process plot, a constant cycle of action, reaction; cause effect. The plot will also rely heavily on character self-examination. Jason Nesmith transforms from a down and out actor who drinks too much and is embarrassed that his career has digressed to computer store openings to a man who leads his “crew” to save a civilization and believes in himself again.

• The Hero’s Journey. The Call to Adventure begins when the crew prepares to bail as they realize the Thermanian ship is real. Commander Nesmith stops them with a challenge to partake in the adventure of a lifetime. They hesitantly follow, becoming fully committed and reaching the Point of No Return when they see Sarris’ cruel attack on the Thermanian people. The death of Quellek brings the crew to The Black Moment and finally the Climax (resurrection, death and rebirth) as they activate the Omega 13. The Return of the Elixir occurs when the ship crash lands on earth, and onto the stage at the Galaxy Quest convention and Sarris is disintegrated.

Things I Learned From Galaxy Quest:

The plot elements of this movie are applicable to real life, whether you are a writer or a reader.  The universal truths are found in any journey towards your dreams.

• The road to publication (or any goal) is tough, but anything worth having is worth fighting pig lizards and rock monsters for.

• “By Grabthar’s hammer, by the suns of Warvan, you shall be avenged!” says Lazarus. Don’t let the bad contest judges, the inconsiderate publishing professionals, the mean reviewers get you down. Raise yourself up and prove them wrong as you go after your dream!

• Never underestimate the loyalty and smarts of your fans, and supporters. They’ll be there for you when you need someone to walk you through shutting down a neutron reactor. Or maybe they’ll just be the members of the book group who stand in line for your new release’s book signing, even if the Wal-Mart manager puts you at the back of the store next to the men’s room.

• TOGETHER we have more strength than alone. Remember the Mak’tar chant of strength: Larak tarath. Larak tarath.

• Activate the Omega-13 in your life. The Omega 13 is speculated to be either a matter collapser, a bomb capable of destroying the universe OR a matter re-arranger enabling a 13 second time jump back in time—the time to redeem a single mistake. It’s all about taking a chance. Because if you always do what you always do, you’ll always get what you always get.

• Don’t make things harder than they really are. Sometimes all you have to do is push the blue button.

• And finally my fellow, Questarians, remember: You have to make your own happy endings. Never give up, never surrender.

To celebrate the launch of Nobody Writes It Better, today I’ll be giving away a $10 Amazon gift card and a couple of surprise books to blog guests who post a note and leave their email address. Winners will be posted at 10 pm MST.