Wild Card Weekend -- Oops!

Welcome to the weekend Pink Hearters! It's been quite the week in the news. It seems everyone is tripping over their own feet. As the reigning queen of sticking my foot in it, I thought I'd recap some folks who made some very public mistakes...

Michael Phelps :: I'd say poor guy, but he's made millions in endorsements since rising to Olympic fame. I wish he hadn't done it, and I'd bet so does he.

Stephen King :: Apparently, he's not so impressed by Twilight phenom, Stephanie Meyer. I don't think there was malice in it, but he does have a point. There are great writers and there are great storytellers; magic happens when the two meet.

Barack Obama :: Is it wrong that I loved when he admitted to screwing up? We tell men all the time to just own it and apologize. I'm thrilled one listened.

Christian Bale :: The dark knight decided to share with a camera guy who got in his way his entire vocabulary of profanity. Apparently, there's some history between the two, but still. Unless you've spent the day with puking toddlers, there's no need for a tantrum of that magnitude. Not that I would know...

Teleflora :: They ran a spot during the Superbowl that dumped on romance novels...and cats. There are going to be some mighty confused men this Valentine's Day who order flowers and find them in the trash. On the up side, a friend of mine who wrote to complain about the spot got a $15 gc.

?? What about you ?? Ever made a mistake you wish had stayed your little secret?

Jenna is hard at work on her next title for Mills & Boon Modern Heat. In the meantime, Her Cinderella Complex is available with a millionaire, secretary, engagement of convenience, private island, and a hot pool scene. To find out what Jenna is up to now...check out her website or blog.

Must Watch Friday - John Adams

Jenna posted not long ago about her new fascination with HBO, and I second it! I don't actually watch a lot of tv but HBO series grab my attention big time.

So when HBO Canada broadcast John Adams, I kicked my dvr into gear and taped all the episodes.

I will admit I was riveted. An unlikely cast makes up the ensemble - Paul Giamatti is Adams, Laura Linney plays his wife Abigail, Stephen Dillane is Thomas Jefferson and Rufus Sewell plays the opportunistic Hamilton. It's rounded out by David Morse as Washington (tall as a barn door), Sarah Polley as "Nabby" Adams and Tom Wilkinson as a crusty, shrewd Benjamin Franklin.


It is based on the biography by David McCullough - that won a Pulitzer Prize. With Tom Hanks on board as executive producer, there was no doubt it was going to be good. So good that it went on to win several awards.

The series is made up of seven episodes, the first one titled "Join or Die" and begins just before the official beginning of the American Revolution. It sees John join the newly formed Continental Congress and his departure for Philadelphia. It then follows his journey through the beginning of the war, the Declaration of Independence, his ambassadorial visit to France and then to the Netherlands. It continues through his return to the US, his impotent position as Vice President under Washington, and an ill-fated Presidency with Thomas Jefferson as his second. It follows him through his defeat in the election, his return to Peacefield, and how he lived out the rest of his days.

The series also illuminates his personal relationships which more often than not suffered greatly because of his political career. He was at his best when his wife was by his side...she was his greatest advisor and their love story is considered one of the greatest in American history. But there were long stretches where he was absent from the family - truly, the hero of the revolution was not just Adams but the strong, wise figure of Abigail. He was impassioned, didn't know how not to speak his mind really, which at times was a blessing or a curse. At times it rallied the people together, and at other times it alienated sides when he desperately needed to negotiate for votes. Especially during his presidency, he stood by his guns, and it cost him his career. But even then, he acknowledged that he had done what he had set out to do and if this was the result then he would live with it.

But that uncompromising streak alienated those he loved. His son Charles suffered, longing for a father's attention and never getting it, not even after his death. While Abigail grieved, Adams proclaimed he could not forgive Charles. When his own assistant, Col. Smith, married his daughter Nabby, he refused to use his name to secure a position for his son in law. In fact he went so far as to make it impossible for Smith to remain with the family and Smith went west, leaving Nabby and children behind. Thomas and John Quincey were sent to the Netherlands because it was expected and it was their duty. Adams could be a hard man, and at those moments I did not like him very much.

I do believe the intensity of his career took its toll, because the John I wanted to see happened after his presidency was over, in the final episode. Here it was plain he loved his wife, loved his children, and was proud of them. Nabby's story in particular is heart wrenching, and I was pleased that a man so sure of being right all the time was able to take steps to mend fences with Jefferson (who probably didn't deserve it). Their friendship withstood political splits and personal differences, and it is a bit creepy and neat to realize they died on the same day. (Note: I actually found Stephen Dillane fairly sexy in this. He had this quiet charm that was magnetic.)

A very well done mini series with a different perspective on the revolution and following years.

Do you have a favourite historical docu-drama?

Donna's latest release is The Rancher's Runaway Princess, out this month in Australia and New Zealand!

Writers' Wednesday - Sagging Middles

Today, Fiona Harper, moans about sagging middles (hers, mostly) and wonders why there isn’t a Weight Watchers for books to help her out when they go all soft and soggy in the middle.

Unfortunately, not every diet works for every person. Stories are much the same. They can be just as moody and temperamental as a cranky dieter as we try to bash them out on our keyboards. Similarly, not every writing tip works for every kind of story, but I have one trick up my sleeve that seems to help me when I’m stuck in a saggy-middle type rut.

Acting up
First things first. When I say ‘sagging middle’, what do I mean? I tend to think of the middle as the second act in a three-act story.

Act one is the set-up – your hero and heroine are introduced to the readers and usually meet by the end of this act, if not before. There’s plenty of things going on in Act One, so there’s not really much time for it to get boring, unless of course, you break the one of the writerly ten commandments and fill it with backstory – but that’s another blog subject all together!

Let me jump to Act Three. This is the end of your story. The final goal is in sight and the hero and heroine are almost certainly in love with each other by now. All they have to do is clear away the final obstacles so they can reach the climax of the story and fall into each other’s arms.

In between these two action-packed sections is Act Two and, somehow, you’ve got to get these two people from maybe only just having met each other to being on the verge of embarking on a future together before the act closes. This is why the second act is normally quite a bit longer than the first and the third acts – and I think this extra length is why it has a tendency to lose its way occasionally.

Keep on turning…
At the end of each act there is a turning point that sets the story going in another direction and keeps it moving. I find it much easier to keep my second act rolling along if I have a turning point in the middle of this act too, which also tend the be the midpoint of the story as a whole. Having said that, it’s not always exactly 50% of the way through the story – I often find my turning point scene happening somewhere between half way and two-thirds of the way through this act. Different stories may require different approaches, remember?

Some books on story structure actually divide the second act into two individual acts, with the mid-point as the turning point between them. I don’t actually think it matters how you think about it. Just remember this: putting a high point in the middle of Act Two keeps your readers interested by building towards a dramatic peak before everything starts rolling towards the final act.

In his book The Writer’s Journey, Christopher Vogler calls this mid-point The Ordeal, a central crisis that is an important emotional high point in the story. It’s the hero’s big test where he gets a chance to realise the goal he’s been chasing. Vogler calls the place where the ordeal happens the ‘Innermost Cave’. Often at this point in folk tales and fairy stories, the hero must venture alone into a dark and dangerous place to find whatever he is searching for—a prize, the treasure, a magic potion.

The Big Romantic Scene
And what is the prize for hero and heroine in a love story? The love of the other character! Therefore, this scene often has some kind of romantic significance – they must cross a threshold and their relationship must take on deeper significance. Sometimes, after this deeper commitment on the part of your characters, a love scene will follow - as a kind of reward for their courage.

After I read Vogler’s book, I thought about the books I had already written and realised my mid-point scene almost invariably found the hero and heroine alone together. Maybe not in a cave, but things got intimate. Funnily enough, I often find that I instinctively lower the lights at this point, or have my hero and heroine away from the rest of the world – an office after everyone else has gone home, or a ghost train that has broken down and they’re the only ones left sitting here.

In one book, my hero and heroine were in an orchard at night, but the moon had gone in and they were totally in the dark. What should have been a wide open space was suddenly a very intimate setting where they could concentrate of the senses of touch and hearing and smell, rather than be distracted by the world around them.

In other words, the mid-point is often a great place for a romantic scene, a moment when your characters stop struggling with each other (or with themselves) and get a glimpse of what life might be like if they were brave enough to let go of their fears and love this other person.

And when I say 'romantic scene', I’m not talking champagne and flower and sunsets – those are external things, window dressing. What you want is a moment of deeper connection between hero and heroine. Without that, your big romantic scene will lose its impact and no amount of roses and pretty scenery will save it.

Script consultant and screenwriting lecturer Michael Hauge calls this mid-point of the story the Point of No Return. And, when he teaches on love stories specifically, he says this Point Of No Return is a place for a deeper commitment to the relationship – a time for ‘firsts’. First kiss, first date, first time they make love or declare their feelings. Sometimes the love scene just doesn't follow the turning point; sometimes it is the turning point.


Here are some movie examples to illustrate what I mean (because we've probably seen more of the same movies than read the same books...):

Pretty Woman: deeper commitment, followed by a love scene:

Vivien is cross with Edward for telling his friend she is a hooker and she seeks to end the agreement to be his 'beck and call' girl by leaving. Edward pays her, but she’s so upset she doesn’t take the money. He comes after her and apologises, and begs her to stay. At this moment, their relationship moves firmly from a business relationship into something more personal. And, not long afterwards, their lovemaking takes on a new dimension as they finally kiss each other.

Titanic: love scene as the turning point:

At the mid-point of the film, Rose and Jack make love. They are now joined together in a way they never were before and we know that Rose is fully committed to pursuing a life of passion and adventure – if she can get off the darn boat alive, that is…

Fiona's upcoming book, Blind-Date Baby is part of the Blind-Date Brides mini-series that will be launching in Harlequin Romance this April with Nine-to-Five Bride by Jennie Adams. Fiona's book is out in May, and the trilogy finishes in June with Melissa McClone's Dream Date with the Millionaire.

Three women, three countries, three exciting love stories...

Temptation Tuesday - Hero Careers with Jen Lewis

We're happy to have with us Jennifer Lewis, with an angle on why those heroes are so darn irresistible!

Go on, admit it: There are some heroic occupations that light your personal rocket boosters. You only have to look at the covers of romance novels to see that there are certain recurring themes—cowboy, doctor, sheriff, duke…. Clearly these sell like hotcakes and have continued to do so for many years, which is why they’re still lining the shelves.

Why do some careers (or callings, since you can’t really choose to be a duke…) have such timeless appeal? Cowboys wear that irresistible air of independence that probably comes from having all that open range to gallop over. Doctors save lives. Sheriffs fight bad guys and wear cool hats. Dukes, well, they’re rich and have big fancy houses and have you noticed the way their shirts are often falling off them?

I write Silhouette Desires, and for my current book I had to change the title to Millionaire’s Secret Seduction from Tycoon’s Secret Seduction because there were already too many tycoons coming out this month. Clearly I’m not the only author who likes to manhandle a tycoon. I love a self-made man who knows how to run an empire and still drive a woman wild in bed ::wicked grin::

The tycoon in question is proprietor of a chain of specialty food stores called Trader Dan’s. Sounds somewhat familiar, you say? Yes, my current hero is inspired by the genius who founded Trader Joe’s. I admit I’m not sure there’s an individual behind Trader Joe’s, but if there is he’s a true hero to me. I cannot even imagine what I ate before that store opened near me. I certainly wasn’t enjoying delicious pesto sauce for $2 a jar or drinking shade-grown coffee while munching on ginger flavored Jo-Jo’s, that’s for sure. I ::heart:: Trader Joe’s and whoever came up with the idea and continues to produce such delicious and dirt-cheap delicacies is my kind of guy.

This book is the first in the three part series, and the hero of the second book owns a vineyard in Argentina’s wine country. I notice that vineyard owners (sounds sexier than vintners, don’t you think?) are a popular perennial in romance. For me there’s just something delicious about the mixture of lush grapes, hard muscle, sun-baked earth and, well, wine. The third hero is a restaurateur. Since I hate to cook I love the idea of a man who provides endless opportunities for eating out, or who can at least bring his own chef.

What’s your favorite type of hero? Is there a career or job or calling that you haven’t seen yet in a romance but that you’d like to? Go, on, fess up! One person who leaves a comment will win a signed copy of Millionaire’s Secret Seduction.

Jen

http://www.jenlewis.com/

Male On Monday : David Sutcliffe

Pink Heart Society editor Jenna Bayley-Burke thought she was on to a fresh new guy for her Male On Monday slot...until she realized she'd missed out on a lot of great TV...

Imagine how excited I was to find a drool worthy actor while I was spending too much time with HBO (see here). I started Google-ing for pictures and discovered my hot find was really only new to me...

David Sutcliffe is adorable...and Canadian which will thrill Donna...but completely new to me. The rest of the world knows him as for playing Christopher Hayden, who had an on and off relationship with Lorelai Gilmore. But I never watched the Gilmore Girls (throw tomatoes if you want).

I loved him in Cake with Heather Graham and sought him out in Under the Tuscan Sun with Diane Lane. I'm even tuning in to Private Practice to see him as a police officer smitten with the lead character Dr. Addison Montgomery

In addition to being delectable, he plays poker and hockey, has trained for a marathon, and majored in English Lit.

Isn't it funny how all it takes is a cute boy and I'll change my viewing habits? Not sure what that says about me...

What about you? Has there been an actor who has managed to pull you in and tease you into watching their other performances? Is it the same as reading a great book and going out in search of the author's entire backlist?



Jenna is hard at work on her next title for Mills & Boon Modern Heat. In the meantime, Her Cinderella Complex is available with a millionaire, secretary, engagement of convenience, private island, and a hot pool scene. To find out what Jenna is up to now...check out her website or blog.