I was going through some files yesterday and stumbled upon the first three chapters of a story I had started, and finished, submitted once and promptly forgotten about. The chapters had handwriting on them, and not in my hand. Then I remembered, an author I admire had been instant messaging with me back in the day and had offered to read the first few chapters and give me some feedback. It was her handwriting on those pages. Her notes are the reason I hadn't tossed these chapters when I did my usual purge of old versions of finished stories.
The story is about second chances and had a suspense feel to it. I was trying too hard to imitate some great authors out there and lost my way with the story. But those first chapters, they were really, really good. And as I read through the pages and L's notes I recalled one of the songs that had been my inspiration for the romance arc and wove a thread through the story.
I'm a huge fan of the family of Irish musicians known as The Corrs. I first heard them in 1996 when I was laid up in the hospital for 9 days due to severe deep vein thrombosis. Thank God for cable TV in hospital rooms! I have most of their albums and when I need to escape I will often play something of theirs. What Can I Do has a deceptively upbeat tempo for a song that's about wondering why a relationship isn't working and figuring out how to let go. But it works. And it works as a theme in that story I wrote those many years ago.
For today's Soundtrack Friday I give you The Corrs and What Can I Do. Enjoy!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Friday, April 03, 2009
Soundtrack Friday
Cyndi Lauper was this rebel child of a singer. Somewhere between pop and punk in her dress and definitely pop in her music, she was someone you couldn't mistake for anyone else. Maybe that was what she was going for. I used to sit and listen to She's So Unusual for hours, memorizing her turn of phrase, her tone, until I could almost mimic her. Almost. At least in my mind. I loved the fun songs like She Bop and Girls Just Want To Have Fun and would dance around my bedroom like a mad woman. Uninhibited. Not a care in the world.
But I didn't quite know what to think of Time After Time. Was it a love song? Was it about love lost? Was she talking about leaving that little place we call home to find something more in the big bad world and yet knowing that our hearts will always remain connected to home? The video didn't really help. Some of it coincided with the lyrics. Other parts of it just seemed sad. Short sighted.
Now, over 20 years later, I listen to the song and hear something different than my 15 year old self heard. I don't really need to know what Cyndi had in mind when she wrote the song. For me, the song is about an anchor. Someone who will always be there no matter how far I travel. No matter what mistakes I make or roads I go down. You know the saying, "All roads lead to home?" Well, that's what I picture when I listen. All roads lead to this anchor, this person who will always be waiting. Loving. Caring.
This song is in my playlist for Mallory's story for that very reason. She needs an anchor, and doesn't realize that she has one -- or two -- who have been and will continue to be around for her, even when she has been unable to be there for anyone else. I listen to the song, and I see her anchor, clear as day, waiting for her to wind her way back home. It's a wonderful picture. I wish you could see it, too.
For today's Soundtrack Friday I give you Cyndi Lauper and her 1984 hit, Time After Time. Enjoy the video!
But I didn't quite know what to think of Time After Time. Was it a love song? Was it about love lost? Was she talking about leaving that little place we call home to find something more in the big bad world and yet knowing that our hearts will always remain connected to home? The video didn't really help. Some of it coincided with the lyrics. Other parts of it just seemed sad. Short sighted.
Now, over 20 years later, I listen to the song and hear something different than my 15 year old self heard. I don't really need to know what Cyndi had in mind when she wrote the song. For me, the song is about an anchor. Someone who will always be there no matter how far I travel. No matter what mistakes I make or roads I go down. You know the saying, "All roads lead to home?" Well, that's what I picture when I listen. All roads lead to this anchor, this person who will always be waiting. Loving. Caring.
This song is in my playlist for Mallory's story for that very reason. She needs an anchor, and doesn't realize that she has one -- or two -- who have been and will continue to be around for her, even when she has been unable to be there for anyone else. I listen to the song, and I see her anchor, clear as day, waiting for her to wind her way back home. It's a wonderful picture. I wish you could see it, too.
For today's Soundtrack Friday I give you Cyndi Lauper and her 1984 hit, Time After Time. Enjoy the video!
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Cool Contest
I love to read. Have I mentioned that before? I also love to enter contests. Not that I often win or anything. Well, some of my favorite contemporary romance authors are holding a great contest! I have added info to the contest on my sidebar, but wanted to share it with you in all it's glory here as well. Jill Shalvis and Alison Kent have saved me from being too productive at work many a time. *grin* I love their books and I run to the bookstore or the library when I know a new book is going to be released. In fact, I have Jill Shalvis's Instant Attraction in my to-be-read pile by my bed right now waiting for the weekend.
If you don't mind some heat in your romance, give these authors a try. And enter their contest. You know I wouldn't post it here if I didn't think it was a good idea. *grin*
If you don't mind some heat in your romance, give these authors a try. And enter their contest. You know I wouldn't post it here if I didn't think it was a good idea. *grin*
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Books Read In March
Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh -- A wonderful new take on the vampire mythos and involved otherworldly creatues known in the book as angels. I can't wait to see where the series takes me. Very inventive and well written.
Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl -- Victoria's first contemporary novel, this book explores what happens when a woman who feels she must hide her successful career as an erotic romance novelist from friends and family returns to the small, secluded town she grew up in, falls in lust, falls in love and falls back into the clutches of her stalker ex-boyfriend.
Hot by Julia Harper -- Elizabeth Hoyt's contemporary alter ego. A great read that are at turns hilarious and touching.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen --
Wicked Game by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush -- These two sisters combine their efforts for the first time in this book. As the beginning of a creepy, suspenseful series, it's a solid introduction to the mysteries of The Colony of Deception Bay. The second book, written by Nancy Bush, is due out in April.
Scandal in Copper Lake by Marilyn Pappano -- Book four of Marilyn's Calloway Brothers series, this books delves into prejudice and interracial relationships in a wonderfully introspective way. No preaching in this book. Just a solid love story between two people who are, in their own ways, both outcasts and the golden children.
Mosiac: Pieces of My Life So Far by Amy Grant -- A touching and honest reflection of pieces of Amy Grant's life and how both the good and the bad shaped her into the woman she is today.
Got Your Number by Stephanie Bond -- Stephanie's second romantic suspense. It's been sitting in my To-Be-Read pile since it's release in 2001 and now that I've read it, I wonder why I wated so long.
Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl -- Victoria's first contemporary novel, this book explores what happens when a woman who feels she must hide her successful career as an erotic romance novelist from friends and family returns to the small, secluded town she grew up in, falls in lust, falls in love and falls back into the clutches of her stalker ex-boyfriend.
Hot by Julia Harper -- Elizabeth Hoyt's contemporary alter ego. A great read that are at turns hilarious and touching.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen --
Wicked Game by Lisa Jackson and Nancy Bush -- These two sisters combine their efforts for the first time in this book. As the beginning of a creepy, suspenseful series, it's a solid introduction to the mysteries of The Colony of Deception Bay. The second book, written by Nancy Bush, is due out in April.
Scandal in Copper Lake by Marilyn Pappano -- Book four of Marilyn's Calloway Brothers series, this books delves into prejudice and interracial relationships in a wonderfully introspective way. No preaching in this book. Just a solid love story between two people who are, in their own ways, both outcasts and the golden children.
Mosiac: Pieces of My Life So Far by Amy Grant -- A touching and honest reflection of pieces of Amy Grant's life and how both the good and the bad shaped her into the woman she is today.
Got Your Number by Stephanie Bond -- Stephanie's second romantic suspense. It's been sitting in my To-Be-Read pile since it's release in 2001 and now that I've read it, I wonder why I wated so long.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Soundtrack Friday
My husband and I don't always share the same taste in music. Oh, there are some bands we both adore and will rush out to buy their newest album or try to score tickets to their concerts. But then there are the groups I love that he thinks are awful. And the country he loves that I cringe at every time he puts on the CD. But we love each other so we allow each other to have their musical tastes and not try to change it. Much.
When I first heard today's Soundtrack Friday song, it was at my husband's urging. He had heard it on the radio and was blown away by the lyrics, the vocals, basically everything about the song. It haunted him and exhilarated him. I think I was drawn in by the haunting nature of the song and that excitement that just poured off him in waves. It's not often he gets that excited about something that doesn't involve tools. *grin*
On that day a few years ago, Mindy Smith became a part of our lives. We own all three of her albums and Come To Jesus is a song that figures prominently in the current story I'm writing. I don't care if you believe in God or the lint in your navel. The song talks about loss and fear and comfort and let's be honest, in this world, we all need a little something to hold on to. So, as you enjoy today's soundtrack, remember what it is you hold on to for hope and comfort.
When I first heard today's Soundtrack Friday song, it was at my husband's urging. He had heard it on the radio and was blown away by the lyrics, the vocals, basically everything about the song. It haunted him and exhilarated him. I think I was drawn in by the haunting nature of the song and that excitement that just poured off him in waves. It's not often he gets that excited about something that doesn't involve tools. *grin*
On that day a few years ago, Mindy Smith became a part of our lives. We own all three of her albums and Come To Jesus is a song that figures prominently in the current story I'm writing. I don't care if you believe in God or the lint in your navel. The song talks about loss and fear and comfort and let's be honest, in this world, we all need a little something to hold on to. So, as you enjoy today's soundtrack, remember what it is you hold on to for hope and comfort.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Congratulations!
I read and write romance in all its various subgenres. Voraciously. So, every year around this time I wait with baited breath to see if my favorite authors make the cut for the romance publishing industry's most prestigious award - the RITA.
This year some of my favorite authors did make the cut, a few of them in the same categories. I won't bore you with the categories, but here are the books (and authors) I read last year and loved! Some of the authors below have more than one book nominated, but if they only show up once in my list, it's because I haven't yet read their other book(s). So many books to read, so little time!
Congratulations, ladies!
Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas
Bantam Dell Publishing Group (ISBN: 978-0-440-24431-8)
Caitlin Alexander, editor
Twin Targets by Jessica Anderson
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Intrigue (ISBN: 9780373693283)
Allison Lyons, editor
Snowfall at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs
Harlequin Enterprises, MIRA Books (ISBN: 9780778324935)
Margaret O'Neill Marbury, editor
Sweet Talk by Susan Mallery
Harlequin Enterprises, HQN (ISBN: 978-0-373-77297-1)
Tara Parsons, editors
Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas
Bantam Dell Publishing Group (ISBN: 978-0-440-24431-8)
Caitlin Alexander, editor
Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas
St. Martin's Press (ISBN: 0312949812)
Jennifer Enderlin, editor
The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation (ISBN: 9780425219607)
Wendy McCurdy, editor
The Paper Marriage by Susan Kay Law
Penguin Group USA, Berkley (ISBN: 978-0-425-21935-5)
Jackie Cantor, editor
Tribute by Nora Roberts
Penguin Group USA, Putnam (ISBN: 978-0-399-15491-1)
Leslie Gelbman, editor
Where Serpents Sleep by C.S. Harris
Penguin Group USA, NAL Obsidian (ISBN: 9780451225122)
Ellen Edwards, editor
Mine to Possess by Nalini Singh
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation (ISBN: 978-0-425-22016-0)
Cindy Hwang, editor
Friday, March 20, 2009
Soundtrack Friday
For my birthday this year I received a compilation of songs from iTunes to add to my iPod. A gift worth its weight in gold since I listen to my iPod all day at work and while I'm doing chores around the house. I even stuff the headphones under the pillow so I can go to sleep listening to music or a movie.
Well, in this compilation of songs were even more songs of the 80's. My teen years were in the 80's so I know the music well and Bonnie Tyler was one of my favorite singers. Who wasn't moved by Total Eclipse of the Heart? I danced one of my first slow dances to her rendition of Sometimes When We Touch and I had my first kiss (if you could call that miserable peck on the lips a kiss) while It's A Heartache was playing in the background. Bonnie Tyler has been there through some major moments in my life.
But it's this song that I remember above all others. Maybe it was because I had a crush on John Erik Hexum while he was staring in the ill fated TV show Cover Up, but I loved both the show and the theme song Holding Out for a Hero. In fact, that song became sort of a theme song for my friends all through high school and into college. You see, we were bound and determined to find ourselves real men. Heroes. Men who weren't afraid to be manly and sensitve. Men who would take a bullet for you or open your door. A man who would take on the horrors of shopping without out complaint but who could still kick ass when playing football with the boys. You know the type.
I was lucky enough to find a man who is my personal hero. No, he's not all the things listed above, but he is a hero in so many of the ways that count to me. His strength of character, his kindness, his ability to step back (usually) before reacting. His gentleness. His generosity. I held out and I got me a hero.
Okay, enough of the mush. Today's Sound Track Friday is the ever campy, ever sassy and the horribly bad Holding Out For A Hero by Bonnie Tyler! And don't complain to me about the video! Bonnie obviously didn't ask me to be her director. *shudder*
Enjoy! And have a great weekend.
Well, in this compilation of songs were even more songs of the 80's. My teen years were in the 80's so I know the music well and Bonnie Tyler was one of my favorite singers. Who wasn't moved by Total Eclipse of the Heart? I danced one of my first slow dances to her rendition of Sometimes When We Touch and I had my first kiss (if you could call that miserable peck on the lips a kiss) while It's A Heartache was playing in the background. Bonnie Tyler has been there through some major moments in my life.
But it's this song that I remember above all others. Maybe it was because I had a crush on John Erik Hexum while he was staring in the ill fated TV show Cover Up, but I loved both the show and the theme song Holding Out for a Hero. In fact, that song became sort of a theme song for my friends all through high school and into college. You see, we were bound and determined to find ourselves real men. Heroes. Men who weren't afraid to be manly and sensitve. Men who would take a bullet for you or open your door. A man who would take on the horrors of shopping without out complaint but who could still kick ass when playing football with the boys. You know the type.
I was lucky enough to find a man who is my personal hero. No, he's not all the things listed above, but he is a hero in so many of the ways that count to me. His strength of character, his kindness, his ability to step back (usually) before reacting. His gentleness. His generosity. I held out and I got me a hero.
Okay, enough of the mush. Today's Sound Track Friday is the ever campy, ever sassy and the horribly bad Holding Out For A Hero by Bonnie Tyler! And don't complain to me about the video! Bonnie obviously didn't ask me to be her director. *shudder*
Enjoy! And have a great weekend.
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