Rinelle Grey's Blog, page 18

I’ve noticed a trend in romance books lately, perhaps you’ve noticed it too? I remember ‘borrowing’ my mum’s Mills and Boon as a teen, and reading them under the covers at night, and the trend was pretty similar. The characters met, got to know one another, then towards the end, when they were sorting things out, they slept together.

These day’s, you’re just as likely to find a sex scene in chapter 3 as in chapter 23. Sex is no longer the culmination of a relationship, it’s present in the beginning. Of course, this mirrors the change we’ve seen in society at the same time. Sex is no longer just an expression of a couple’s love, it’s part of getting to know one another.

And as such, it makes sense that it’s place in romance novels is changing. People like reading about sex, and it’s place in romance, and readers are seeking out romances that are high on the ‘heat’ scale.

But, is this level of heat necessary for a good romance? Can a romance novel have a slower build up, with a couple getting to know one another before they decide to ‘go all the way’? I have to admit, I’m a little biased. The romance between Tyris and Marlee in Reckless Rescue has a slow build up. It takes the characters a while to realise that they do, in fact, care for each other, then a little longer to decide that they want to commit to a relationship, despite the possible risks of being separated again.

What do you think? Does a romance novel have to be ‘hot’ to be good? Do you have a preference to heat level, or do you enjoy a variety of different styles of romance novels?

(Sorry if this post isn’t up to my normal quality. I’m rather miserably sick at the moment, so just typing this out and posting it as it is!)

So excited to open this package! An it arrived 2 days ahead of Amazon’s estimated shipping time!

I do need to make a few changes, then order another proof copy, so having an actual print version for sale is probably still going to take a month (due to shipping time), but soon you’ll be able to buy a print copy of Reckless Rescue.

I’m still debating about whether to opt for expanded distribution. It will mean the price will probably have to go up a little, but for buyers in Australia, it will end up saving them a fortune if it can be bought from Book Depository, as Amazon shipping is crazy!

Do you still buy print books? And if so, where do you buy them – Amazon, Book Depository, or somewhere else?

Still working away on Twin Curse. I think I’m nearing the ending, though there are a few twists to come yet! And of course, as I write, I keep discovering new ones!

I thought today, since I’ve told a lot of Brianna’s story, that I’d switch to my hero, Lyall. This is his introduction into the story. He has a few secrets of his own.

Lyall stamped the mud off his boots and slipped back the hood of his cloak as he walked into the inn. The warmth inside was a welcome change from the rain splattered streets, and for a moment, he allowed himself to let his guard down. He had stayed in this inn each time he visited the city. He felt as safe here as he could anywhere this far from home.

Little had changed since his last visit, nearly twelve months ago. It was a Tuesday night, and the common room was relatively quiet, only a few patrons enjoying a late dinner, and one lone bard playing a ballad half-heartedly on the dais.

A kitchen maid came over to him, looking bored and tired, and asked, “Can I help you?”

“Yes, dinner and an ale please,” Lyall asked, ever polite.

The woman nodded, and headed back towards the kitchen doors.

Lyall’s attention was arrested by a sudden scent, so unexpected here that it took him a moment to process it. The scent of power.

He looked around the room, taking more notice of the people he had all but ignored before. That would teach him to be complacent. But what was a mage doing here, so far from home? And was it a friend, or foe?

Was it the bard? The couple necking at the next table? No. where could he find that elusive scent? He was just about to convince himself that he had imagined it, when it teased his senses again. The serving maid slapped his meal wordlessly down in front of him, and there was no mistaking it.

His eyes glanced up at her. She was younger than he had first imagined her, barely into her twenties, and behind the bored expression he sensed something lurking. Something other than the magical power he sensed clearly in her.

Involuntarily, his hand snaked out and grasped her wrist. She glanced down at him and he was surprised to see no fear in her eyes, only annoyance. “I’m not on the menu,” she said stiffly.

I’ve been giving some consideration to the publishing timeline for this novel, and at this stage, I’m hoping to have it out by Christmas, though depending on finding editing, it could be early next year. If you want to be notified when it comes out, you can sign up for my mailing list below.

With the increasing awareness of global warming and peak oil, not to mention an exhaustion with the pace of the modern world, many people are turning to a simpler life. There are many parts to this, analysing consumerism, reducing waste, recycling where possible, owning less, making it yourself, growing a garden, eating fresh or unprocessed food, and reducing water usage.

There are a lot of benefits to simple living, and I like a lot of the concepts myself. There’s something pretty amazing about eating food you’ve grown in your own garden or baked yourself, or wearing clothes that you’ve made yourself. And reducing your shopping not only simplifies your life, it saves you money as well.

But there’s a fine line between the benefits of simple living and the benefits of the amazing technology in the world we live in. And it’s different for everyone. For me, I’m not prepared to give up my computer or the internet. And running water and electric lights are pretty cool too.

For the characters in my novel, Reckless Rescue, they don’t have these choices. Forced to leave their home planet and all the comforts it contained behind, they could only take what they could carry with them in their spaceship. It was the ultimate in simple living. They learned to build their own homes, grow and prepare their own food and clothes, all without electricity or the internet!

So the question is, when another ship unexpectedly crash lands on their planet, you’d think they’d be excited about the possibility of leaving, wouldn’t you? But are they? Check out Reckless Rescue if you want to find out.

What about you? Do you like the idea behind simple living? How do you simplify your live, and what aren’t you prepared to give up?

I discovered Pinterest long before I was ready for marketing and writing, and was very quickly hooked. It was like a giant, visual bookmarking program. In a few short weeks I pinned literally hundreds of cool craft ideas, and became quite addicted.

When I started researching marketing for my novel, I naturally thought Pinterest would be great. So I signed up for an account for my writing (my personal one is far too cluttered with craft activities for anyone to see anything else!), and started making a few boards, and adding friends from facebook and twitter.

But unlike my personal account, this one just didn’t take off. People didn’t re-pin my pins, and I struggled to find boards to follow that gave me interesting new pins to share. For a while, I focused on twitter and facebook and didn’t visit Pinterest, since I didn’t seem to be able to crack the code there.

Then something made me come back. I can’t remember what. Perhaps I was just pinning one of my blog posts, or perhaps it was the fact that I was getting some consistent blog traffic from a couple of my pins. I spent a bit of time adding some new pins to my board, and every time I found an interesting pin, I’d look at other similar pins, and click follow on most of the ‘this pin is also pinned to’ boards. I followed more people from twitter and facebook.

Suddenly, my pinterest started to take off. I was being followed back by authors, and I was invited to pin to a couple of group boards. I wouldn’t say it’s a huge marketing strategy just yet, but I’m beginning to think it’s worth the time.

If you want to check out my boards and follow me, I’m at http://pinterest.com/rinellegrey/

How do you use Pinterest? Do you find you use it as a reader or writer, or for something else?

I’m still working on Twin Curse. I’ve hit my 20k goal, and upped it to 30k. (I must be crazy!) I’m really enjoying this story though, and looking forward to seeing it finished!

Today’s scene is just after Brianna has left her home. Her twin sister, Mianna, finds the note she left, and jumps to just the conclusion Brianna intended.

The sun was high in the sky by the time Mianna woke the next morning. She stretched luxuriously in bed, remembering the night before. She and Terion had slipped away from the festivities for a while last night, and had walked some of the quiet streets, hand in hand.

She knew that Brianna still wasn’t keen on him, though she had said otherwise last night, but she hoped, given time, that her sister would come to care for him as she had.

Bri! She sat up in bed, but the bed beside her was empty. Not in itself an unusual occurrence, for Brianna often woke before her to ride, or practice with the sword. She smiled in fond amusement at the bed, sheets flung back. Bri hated housework with a passion, but usually good naturedly put up with her twin’s insistence on keeping their room neat. Apparently she had been in too much of a hurry this morning.

Mianna rose and made her own bed, before crossing the room to make Brianna’s, still feeling kindly towards her sister after the previous night. When she found a note on the pillow in her sister’s neat, no nonsense print, unease settled over her. She skimmed the words, and unease blossomed into panic.

Dearest Mia,

I wish you happiness with Terion. He is a good man, and I hope he will give you the life you want.

I still cannot forget Kylis and even if I could, I just don’t feel the same way about Terion that you do. But it is not fair that you should have to give up your dreams for me.

If only it weren’t for that stupid, antiquated law. But it is so, and thus, I see only one way for you to have what you want.

Don’t grieve for me sister, for I am also doing what I want. I have long wanted to do something to avenge Kylis, and though I can stand no hope of prevailing, at least the weight that has been on my chest since his death will be gone.

I love you. Be happy enough for both of us.

Bri.

“NO!” Mianna’s scream echoed around the room, and bought her mother running. Unable to speak, Mianna thrust the note at her.

Her mother skimmed the note with the same rapidity that Mianna had, then read it again more carefully.

“When did she leave?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” Mianna said hopelessly.

Terrile turned on her heal, and left the room. Mianna pulled on her dressing gown as she raced after her mother, running to keep up with her long strides. Down the stairs, outside and across the yard to the stables they went.

Brianna’s horse was gone.

Terrile threw a saddle onto her own mare, and mounted. “Tell the warriors to follow me,” she ordered. And she galloped out of the town, towards the ridge.

Mianna raced to obey, and soon almost an army of men were following Terrile out of the town, leaving Mianna with nothing to do but wait.

The wait was painfully short. Within the hour, all had returned.

“What happened?” Mianna asked her mother.

“There was no sign on her on the path. She must have already crossed the ridge before the sun rose.” Her mother’s words were short, and only the fact that she must be hurting as much as she was stopped Mianna snapping at her. Instead, she collapsed into a chair, unable to believe that her sister was gone.

No one ever came back once they crossed the ridge.

This novel is still a bit of a way off being ready for publishing, but if you want to be notified when it comes out, you can sign up for my mailing list below.

Today I’m participating in Indie Life, a feature run by Indelibles. Basically, everyone posts about something related to indie publishing, and visits everyone else. To see who else is involved, check out the linky list.

It feels like I haven’t written in ages. And it’s mostly true. Though I have re-written bits and pieces, for the most part, I’ve spent the last six or so months editing my barren planet romance series.

The editing process, both what I’ve done myself, and what I’ve worked through with editors, has taught me a lot about writing and what goes into making a good story. I’ve read a lot of writing books, and learnt more.

So this month, with Reckless Rebellion off to the editor, I figured I’d give Camp NaNoWriMo a go, and work on a fantasy romance story that’s been sitting half finished on my hard drive. I kind of thought that all this learning I’d done would lead to writing a better story right from the start. You know, instead of coming back and having to change all that telling into showing, I could just do it right the first time.

I tried, really, I did. But it just didn’t work. I spent so much time worrying about what word I was using, that the story just wasn’t moving. So instead, I’m back to just writing it down however it comes to me. I can change words in editing. The story is the important part, and getting it down in a way I’m happy with is making me feel far better than having the perfect phrasing does.

And it’s working. I’ve nearly hit my initial goal of 20,000 words (I’m at 17,000 at the moment), and feeling so motivated I upped my goal to 30k. Hopefully I’ll make it. Of course, getting up early, and banning myself from Facebook until after I’ve made my goal are probably helping too.

Do you do any of the NaNo events? Do they work for you, or not? Do you find you can write a good draft first go, or do you let it all pour out, and fix it later?

Sorry, my Saturday post disappeared in the agony of trying to decide what I was going to do about editing for Reckless Rebellion, so I figured that I could at least use the experience to write a post! From my (very small) pool of experience, I thought I’d share some tips on how to choose an editor.

Since the advent of self publishing, there has been a huge number of editors offering their services with a varied range of experience, price, attention to detail, and style. Finding and then choosing one isn’t always easy, and can be very daunting the first time.

1. Decide what sort of editing help you need

All editing is not created equal. Editing types range all the way from content/developmental edits, which will give you a general idea of where your story is strong and where it is weak. I usually start with this kind of editing. On the other end of the scale, is proofreading, which only picks up obvious spelling and grammar mistakes. In between, you can get various forms of line and copyediting, and I’m not completely sure of the difference! Most editors will tell you what services they offer, and the different prices they charge for each service. Some will offer a mix of styles.

Once you know what sort of editing you need, you will be able to ensure that the editor you choose can do the things you need to improve your story. You may need more than one editor/edit pass on your book. I usually have two, a developmental/story edit, then a copy/line edit.

2. Don’t just use Google to search for ‘editors’

Yes, if you do this you will get a LOT of search results. And the ones up the top will be the most popular, most expensive, and probably booked months in advance. If you have the money to spare, by all means, pick the best! If you’re like me, and on a budget, this will probably just discourage you.

Turn away from Google, and head for your favourite writing forum. NaNoWriMo, Goodreads, Kboards, World Lit Café, the official Kindle boards, and many others, all have boards where people can advertise their skills, and you will find many posts with people offering their editing services. If you can’t find one, start one to ask for recommendations! You should be able to quickly build lists of edits that are suitable, and hopefully some that are in your price range.

Which brings me to my next tip:

3. Know your budget

Before you choose an editor, or even before you look at too many, you need to decide how much can you afford to spend on editing. Be realistic. If this is your first, or even your second book, don’t decide how much to spend based on how much you’re hoping to earn! (Unless your first book sold thousands of copies, in which case, ignore me and go write more books!) The reality is, that a $2,000 editor probably isn’t going to mean you earn an extra $2,000 on your book! Editing is important, but it doesn’t sell books on it’s own (cover and story are far more effective at this).

Once you have an idea of your budget, stick to it. The first thing I look for when I go to an editors webpage is the price section. If it’s out of my budget, I close the page and go on to the next one. If they don’t tell me what their price is, I do the same, because it’s almost certain to be out of my price range! Generally I have a range – what I’d like to spend, and what I’m prepared to spend if I find an editor I just love.

Editors charge in different ways. Some (very few) will list prices for certain word counts, some will offer a price per page, and some will offer an hourly rate. If the price is per page, make sure you ask the editor what constitutes a page, as this varies! Some count 500 words as a page, other’s just count pages, but when your manuscript has certain margins, font size and line spacing. Work out how much your whole manuscript will cost before you commit.

4. Consider your timeframe

When I first started looking at editors, I was surprised at how quickly they booked out. Many are booked out months in advance! If you’re trying to find an editor at the last minute, be prepared to either pay a lot more than you wanted to, or to make do with an editor who wouldn’t be your first choice. The earlier you can book an editor, the better.

Of course, this never works for me, because I’m just not good at figuring out how long it will take me to get my book to the point where I need an editor. I’m hoping I’ll get better at this with more books/editing experiences under my belt. This often means I’m having to choose between working with the editor I want, and getting my book out in the timeframe I want.

5. Ask the editor if they will do a sample edit

I cannot stress this enough! Before you hire any editor, they should be prepared to edit a sample of your actual novel for you. Actually, you should ask three or four editors for a sample edit before you make a choice.

This will give you an idea of what sort of things they will be looking at, how many issues they pick up, and whether their style meshes with yours.

6. Be aware that it will hurt

Editing is tough. You don’t want an editor who will sugar coat the changes you need to make, and no matter how good you think you are, an editor will find things you need to change! Every time I get an edit back, even a sample one, it hurts. I have to take a couple of days to go over the changes, and think about them, before I’m ready to make a decision. Don’t rush it. Let the hurt pass, and don’t pick the editor who makes you feel good, pick the one who will make your book the best it can be!

Have you ever had to pick an editor? Do you have any tips to share with us?

I’ve signed up for Camp NaNo again, with a 20k goal this time. I’m writing my twin story, Twin Curse, and I’m already halfway to my goal due to my getting up early and banning Facebook policy. So it was an easy choice for today’s excerpt.

This scene takes place not long after my hero and heroine first meet, and Brianna is about to discover that Lyall isn’t quite the man she first thought…

“I thought being a serving maid was beneath you. Mucking out stables is even more so.”

She glanced up and the man from last night, Lyall, leant against a pole, watching her. He was dressed as neatly as the night before, and Brianna was unsurprised at his comments.

She leant on the shovel, and said lightly, “Nothing is beneath me. How can you possibly understand a job, or ask anyone to do it for you, if you have not yourself done it?”

He looked at her in surprise, then a smile crinkled the corner of his mouth. “Wise words, beautiful Brianna. In that case, I think perhaps it is time I gave it a go.”

THAT was not what she had meant. She couldn’t imagine him mucking out the stable in his spotless breaches and creaseless shirt. But he was rolling up his sleeves, she saw with alarm. “You don’t have to do that. I…”

She stared at him in amazement as he came across and took the shovel from her. “You’ll have to give me some instruction though, I’ve never done this before.”

He shoved the spade into the muck, straight up, and Brianna stifled a laugh as he struggled to force it through the thick hay. For a few moments, she watched him, too amused to offer any instruction, until he gave up, and looked up at her. “Yes, I see exactly what you mean. I realised it was an unpleasant task, but obviously there is some skill to it that I lack. Are you going to teach me, or are you going to sit there and laugh?”

Brianna covered her mouth to hide the laugh, but it was unsuccessful. She took the spade from him, and starting at the edge of the hay, shoved it underneath and lifted and threw it into the wheelbarrow nearby with a practiced move. “You have to get underneath it, not on top.” She shovelled another couple of loads to show him, and he watched intently.

“I think I have it now, may I?” He held out his hand for the shovel.

“You really want to shovel dung?” she asked in disbelief. “Your pants will get all dirty.”

Lyall laughed. “I think it is too late to prevent that. And I am determined not to be bested by a girl.” Brianna was about to bristle at that, but he poked his tongue out at her, and she was so surprised she laughed instead.

“Be my guest,” she said, handing him back the shovel.

She watched him for a while, but he seemed to have it worked out now, and he fell to with gusto, so she fetched the second shovel, and they worked together in companionable silence.

I’ve been hanging out on various message boards/forums and more recently, Facebook, for about a dozen years now, and one thing I notice frequently is people complaining about their partners. Sometimes it’s how much they work, sometimes it’s how little. Sometimes it’s that they leave their socks on the floor, complain about the mess, don’t put their dishes away. It seems like it’s always something.

The prevailing message I see is, “If he loved me, he’d…” fill in the blank.

But why? Why should someone be expected to take out the trash to show their love for you? How does something so mundane and unromantic come to be a representation of love?

Each person, in a relationship or not, remains their own person – with their own wants, needs, priorities, and issues. While the dirty dishes left on the bench instead of in the sink really bothers you, to them, they didn’t even notice.

If it bothers you, fix it. Don’t turn a small issue into one that can destroy a relationship. If you can change your perspective, make these minor issues not about whether someone loves you or not, but about what it really is – a different set of priorities. Look at all the things your partner does do for you, and focus on those. Remember the things that made you love them in the first place.

Love isn’t about chores, or demonstrations. It’s about someone who makes you feel good, who cares about you regardless of your faults. It’s about having someone’s shoulder to rest your head on. Remember that, and don’t let anything get in the way of it.

I try to keep this in mind both in my own relationship (I’ve been married 11 years and counting), and in the relationships in my stories. Most of the conflict in my romances come from outside sources, and I very rarely use something like a misunderstanding or lack of communication as a major plot device. Characters are willing to talk about their problems, and forgive each other.

How about you? Do you find minor things about your partner frustrate you? Do you think re-framing how you see them could help them bother you less?