Wild Card Weekend : Write What You Know

Please welcome Gail Barrett to the PHS this weekend with a great post about writing what you DON'T know!

Write What You Know. Every time I hear that timeworn advice, I cringe -- because frankly, I don’t really “know” anything, or at least not anything I can use in a book.


Honestly, I have very limited areas of expertise. I can speak Spanish. I used to play the bagpipes. Having taught high school for years, I know the ins and outs of a typical school. But none of that helps me write romantic suspense. I should have become a smokejumper instead of a teacher. I should have joined the military or the FBI -- something that would have provided me with actual gun-shooting, villain-capturing skills. At least then I could write with real authority instead of spending so much time researching my books.

To make things worse, I’m invariably drawn to foreign settings. With parents who love to travel (they’ve visited thirty-six countries to date), I guess that was inevitable. The problem is, as much as I’d like to visit every place I set a book, I don’t always have the money or time.

Take my current book, THE ROYAL AFFAIR, book three of my miniseries, THE CRUSADERS. I decided to set it in the Himalayas for historic reasons. (The Roma, the main characters of the Crusaders series, originally came from that corner of the world.)

Of course, the fact that I know nothing about India or Nepal didn’t stop me. After lobbying my husband to take a trip there (no go), I resigned myself to doing research online. Fortunately, people post everything on Youtube these days -- from videos of snake charmers to scenes of rush hour in Kathmandu. I spent hours watching overcrowded buses careen through traffic, imagining the diesel fumes and noise.

The more I researched, the more I wanted to go there. Every photo, every exotic detail intrigued me more -- and sparked ideas I never would have thought of on my own. When my characters needed to sneak into a heavily-guarded monastery, for example, a photo I found online provided the solution -- they posed as villagers carting loads of straw.

Photos of sadhus (ash covered ascetics sporting dreadlocks and face paint), gave me another idea. I decided to have a sadhu guard the cave which contained the secret they needed to solve.

At other times, I had to ignore what my research revealed. I completely overlooked caste issues because they were beyond the scope of the book. I also had to minimize the horrors of the underbelly of Himalayan society. The heroine of my story, Maya Chaudry, rescues women being trafficked into the sex trade -- truly hellish stuff. (If you want more information, watch The Day My God Died, a heart-wrenching video funded by the Bill Gates Foundation - www.thedaymygoddied.com).

By the end of the book, I knew more about the Himalayas than I did at the start -- some of it intriguing, some of it appalling -- all very enlightening.

So while I didn’t write what I knew, I learned as I wrote. And maybe that’s the point, after all.

Check out Gail's THE ROYAL AFFAIR, out this month from Silhouette Romantic Suspense!

Must Watch Friday : The Painted Veil

Medicals Author Anne Fraser joins us this Friday with The Painted Veil!

First of all thank you to The Pink Heart Society for inviting me to be a guest blogger. It's a pleasure to be here.


A brief introduction for those folk who don't know me: I had my first medical romance published by Mills and Boon in October 2007 and have just completed my tenth book. (Which still feels unbelievable to me.) I used to be a nurse and am married to a hospital doctor, so I have no shortage of medical drama to use in my books.

As a writer of medical romances perhaps it should come as no surprise that my must see film is 'The Painted Veil', based on the book of the same name written by W. Somerset Maugham.

This film has everything for people who love romance (that would be all of us then); unrequited love, loss, redemption, change. Add in luscious scenery, (almost half of the film is set in the most stunning part of China) and then what is there not to love?

The film is about a British doctor who goes to rural China to fight an outbreak of cholera. He forces his spoiled, unfaithful wife to go with him risking her life along with his. He loves his wife but has always known she didn't love him when they married. He's kind of uptight so he never sweeps her off her feet. When he discovers that she is having an affair he is too British to confront her, so decides to punish her instead.

In China, they gradually begin to see each other in a new light and ...well I won't spoil it. I'll just warn you that you'll need a hanky.

This film has all the elements of a great romance. The characters learn something over the course of the story which fundamentally changes the way they see themselves and each other.

In my current book which is out now, Miracle: Marriage Reunited (a 2-in-1 with the wonderful Kate Hardy's The Doctor's Lost and Found Bride), the hero doesn't really 'see' his second wife. Like the hero of A Painted Veil, he is too wrapped up in his job (as a fertility doctor) to understand her pain and her sense of dislocation. (She has left her family and everything she knows back in South Africa to be with him.) Similarly she doesn't let him close enough to share her anguish when her pregnancy ends in miscarriage. Although he deals everyday with women suffering from the pain of not being able to have children, he is not able to talk to his own wife, and she is too proud to tell him how she really feels about being a second wife in a country which is not her own. Eventually, sharing their experiences of women with infertility, they start to learn about each other again.

If I could write a love story half as good as The Painted Veil, I'd be delighted. If you've seen it, do let me know what you thought of it, or if there are other films you would recommend let me know.

Best Wishes

Anne Fraser

What are you reading -- Michelle Styles?

PHS Editor and Harlequin Historical author Michelle Styles divulges the contents of her various reading Mountains.

I often have a variety of books on the go. A number of different mountains if you will -- books for pleasure, romance to relax, research books and craft books.

At the moment, on a whim, I have started Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. It is the fictionalised account of Thomas Cromwell's life. It won loads of prizes last year, but it is not for everyone. It is a hard read in many ways as it is written in present tense and the narrative jumps time so I suspect there will be a number of people who start the book and don't finish. But Mantel has created a fascinating protrait of the time period. A few years back, I went through a real Tudor phase and read a lot of non fiction about the period, starting with Peter Ackroyd's Life of Thomas Moore. I gave Wolf Hall to my husband for Christmas and he kept staying up late at night to read it. I am about half way through and it does immerse you in the world. Mantel really does give a sense of place and time.

However, much of the time, I don't want challenging things to read after a long day's writing. I like to be entertained. And so I read series romance as I know that I can be swept away in the author's world.

Top of my list for want to read is Donna Alward’s latest Her Lone Cowboy. I met Noah in a very rough form and I am excited to find out what he turned out like. I loved the wedding dress scene and I want to see the added touches that Donna always gives things. Donna has promised that she has sent me a hardback copy...I am waiting on the Postal Service...I have been waiting for awhile...

I recently read Kate Walker’s The Konstanos Marriage Demand. It is vintage Kate Walker and well deserved its top pick from the RT. A true Romeo and Juliet story, Kate sucked me into her world from the very first page. But in truth it is more than vintage Kate Walker, it is a classic Presents story and will be loved by anyone who enjoys an intense read.

Kate Hardy’s Good Girl or Gold Digger (hated the title, loved the book) had me turning pages late into the night. She is the perfect author for waiting rooms. So I read her latest Medical The Doctor's Lost and Found Bride about two A& E doctors who divorced but encounter each other again while I waited for my youngest to take his guitar exam. Annoyingly the examiner was running close to time and so I had to finish it at home that night.

With writing craft books I recently discovered Elizabeth Lyon’s The Manuscript Makeover and think it is the best book on writing that I have read in a long time. It really helped me pin point where I had been going wrong and why. I also learnt the POV that I write in – dual and the importance of psychic distance (ie how far away is the camera). It is a book that lives on my desk when I am revising and editing. And I just sent my editor a copy. Thanks to Lyons' book, discovered The Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock which gives a more feminine perspective to the whole concept of the protagonist’s growth arc. It chimed with me in a number of ways — not the least with her depiction of true versus illusionary romance. It all stems on whether or not the relationship is a partnership or one where a deity is worshipped. No prizes for guessing the vast majority of the romance genre is centred around partnership rather than the deification of some male demi-god.

With research books, I keep going to the Lit and Phil and discovering wonderful books. One was the Woman in Fashion by Doris Langley Moore. Moore was one of the first femaleFashion historians as well as being a respected Byron scholar and costume designer ( she did Katharine Hepburn's wardrobe for the African Queen). Her collection of dresses provided the nucleus for the Fashion Museum in Bath. In 1949 with the publication of The Woman In Fashion, she proved that the 18 inch waist was a myth. It was down to fetish writing, people’s faulty memories and clever cutting. She did this by measuring as many surviving dresses as possible. Much is down to the shape of the foundation garments... The models in the book were all Society women, actresses and ballerinas from Moore’s day and the dresses actual ones from the period. It was great to see Lynne Redgrave as a young girl and Vanessa Redgrave as a pre teen. All the bridal gowns are modelled by ballerinas including Moira Shearer. Vivian Liegh looked ravishing. To my intense personal satisfaction, she refers to reticules and not ridicules, plus shows examples of them from different periods. Moore was a stickler for accuracy and it is largely thanks to her efforts that fashion history came to be researched.

I have also been reading books on Lady Hester Stanhope, including the letters she and her lover wrote. At age 31, Lady Hester, a spinster took 20 year old Michael Bruce as lover because as she wrote to his father she adored his beautiful body. A thoroughly fascinating woman.

Michelle Styles's latest North American release A Noble Captive is out now in Harlequin Historical Direct. Her last UK release Compromising Miss Milton is out in paper in May 2010.

Writer's Wednesday - Industry Insider with Marti Corn!

This Wednesday we're pleased to introduce you to a name that might sound familiar...someone who works behind the scenes in the Romance Industry and, if you're a member of RWA, visits your home every month in the form of the RWR.  A big Pink Heart welcome to Industry Insider guest, Marti Corn of Corn Creative!

Thanks for joining us Marti!  How did you get involved with producing Romance Sells and Romance Writers Report?


I met Alison Kelley and Charis McEachern, the editor of Romance Writers Report (RWR), a dozen years ago thanks to their printer with whom I also had a working relationship. I have been working with RWA ever since, acting as their primary graphic designer—creating the monthly issue of RWR and, for many years, creating all the print advertising and marketing materials for the annual conferences. It has been a marvelous opportunity to work with so many amazing talents in the association and to witness the growth and developing vision of the association.

In 1999, I was asked to design a new publication that would be called Romance Sells (RS). The idea was to provide a marketing source for RWA members to announce upcoming novels and novellas to the bookseller and librarian community. The first issue was published in 1999 with 80 advertisements. Today, the issue boasts 170 or more ads each quarter.


What exactly is Romance Sells and why is it important?

Romance Sells is a quarterly publication filled with advertisements from romance authors who are about to release, or have just released, a new title. This is a 5.5 x 8.5 booklet with a full-color cover and black and white inside pages.

The first pages include articles—a letter from the RWA president discussing relevant events of the association and pieces from booksellers and librarians on how to boost sales and readership within the romance genre. The balance and bulk of the issue is a collection of full-page advertisements broken down by sub-genre. These ads include the book cover art, sidebar information providing all the needed sales information, and space for a synopsis, marketing plans, reviews, and/or an author biography.

There are several brilliant benefits to this publication. First, it is sent to 6,500 booksellers and librarians across the nation who have specifically requested this magazine to assist in their buying decisions. I mail each of them a free copy. Instead of scouring through dozens of flyers and foldovers from distributors and publishers, they have the opportunity to peruse a potentially comprehensive listing of upcoming romance releases.

Romance Sells is only $200 for a full-page advertisement—That’s three cents per bookseller or librarian!

Because of a common design format, Romance Sells provides an equal opportunity for exposure whether the advertiser is a RITA-award winner or a first-time published author.


If many booksellers and librarians have category romances on subscription, what advantage does RS give a category/series author?

Timing is everything. With that in mind, Romance Sells is not a perfect fit for category romances since it is released once every three months. I suggest keeping a close eye on the publication date and make your decision to advertise accordingly.

Include information about your previous or upcoming books in the series. This will increase the chance for orders. Also, please consider that while the timing may not be perfect for promoting your new series release, Romance Sells is a wildly effective way to promote name-recognition.

What are the lead times for ads in Romance Sells and for the RWR?

There is about a two-month lead-time for Romance Sells. Here’s the schedule for the remaining issues this year:

Summer 2010:

Registration opens: March 23 (but the registration information is updated March 8 for those wishing to register early.)

Registration deadline: April 19

Release date: June 4


Fall 2010:

Registration opens: June 28 (but the registration information is updated June 7 for those wishing to register early.)

Registration deadline: July 19

Release date: September 3


Winter 2010:

Registration opens: September 28 (but the registration information is updated September 6 for those wishing to register early.)

Registration deadline: October 18

Release date: December 3

Regarding the RWR, the lead time is closer to three months. You may go to http://www.rwanational.org/cs/rwr_advertising for more information. Alternatively, contact Tiffany Light at RWA at tiffany.light@rwa.org.

Can you briefly walk us through the process of putting a RS edition together?

RWA sponsors and markets the publication to the membership. I, in turn, work directly with each author from start to finish, handling the registration process, billing, design, proofing, and finally, overseeing the printing and mailing. It is a daunting process, but I must admit, I love every moment working with these authors.

Once the previous issue is released, I update the registration information on my site. Authors, p/r agents, publishers, and publicists can then go to www.corncreative.com to register ads for the next issue. The process is actually quite simple—the form is filled out, the copy and artwork is e-mailed directly to my office, and payment can be made by check or via PayPal. I am always accessible to answer and assist at any stage of the process.

Once the deadline is reached, I begin the design process. While I design each ad, my sons join in helping by organizing all of the paperwork and creating a spreadsheet of the advertisers’ information. This takes a full 60-hour week. Stephani Fry, my liaison with RWA provides me with the articles that are to be placed. It is always a puzzle fitting everything within the confines of eight-or 16-page signatures. So, the number of ads dictates the number of pages allotted for articles. When all the ads are designed, I create pdf’s of each and send proofs to the advertisers for their review. I make all requested changes, Steph proofs the articles, and I proof the issue in its entirety once more. The issue is then ready to send to the printer. I collect the files, fonts, artwork and such and upload that data to the printer. I check the printer’s proof and then it’s off to press and then to the mail house for distribution.

At that point, I take a deep breath after spending more than 120 hours on the publication, and pour a glass of wine grateful for another issue under my belt.

And a few fun questions:


You do work for other organizations as well. How has Corn Creative grown since its inception?

I started my business in 1989. Wow, that dates me. I was living in the Washington, D.C. metro area. My clients primarily were in the bio-tech industry. Society for Neuroscience was my first big client. Can you imagine, they had 20,000 attending their conferences. This spread to more association work. So, when I moved to Houston in 1996, I was primed to work with RWA.

I thought it would be exciting to see if I could grow my studio into an advertising agency, and for a short time I had a partner and several designers. But I realized I was not able to remain in the thick of the design process and missed having the close connection with each of my clients, so I chose to return to being a small boutique studio, hiring designers project by project when needed. My main focus remains working with authors, though I do work with local restaurants, law firms, galleries, and musicians as well.

You’ve recently returned from a work trip to Africa! Can you share a bit about your experience there and why it was a dream come true?

Oh Africa! When I was young, I dreamed of going to Africa and working for an NGO. I even took Swahili in college. It has taken 25 years to realize this dream, but I was invited to Kenya by a woman who provides micro-loans to women both in Kenya and the Middle East, and of course, I jumped at the opportunity.

Many of you may not know, but I have a passion for photography. I love making environmental portraits, most particularly of women.

I spent two weeks in the slums of Nairobi and in the rural countryside of western Kenya, beside the Ugandan border, photographing women whose lives have been transformed because of the work of Pangea Network (www.thepangeanetwork.org).

I also had the thrilling opportunity to meet with the Kenyan Director of Amnesty International and donated images for them to use for their Demand Dignity Campaign.

One week ago, I returned and am still processing all that I witnessed and experienced. The one thought that keeps crossing my mind is that these people who live in unimaginable conditions never ask for pity. They only ask for someone to believe in them and to offer guidance and training so that they can place food on their table and the possibility of affording to send their children to secondary school.

If you are interested, you can read my blog at http://www.marticornphotography.com/. I continue to add stories and will be including a body of photographic work to the site once I find the time to edit the more than 2,000 images taken.

Thank you so much for this time to allow me to talk. If anyone has any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me at marti@corncreative.com.

Cheers, Marti Corn

Corn Creative

Travelling Tuesday : : NYC Walking Tours

Anne McAllister is busy packing for yet another trip to the Big Apple. This one's for a wedding. But she'll be there for nearly a week. What's a girl to do?

I love New York. It's my favorite big city in the world. While I don't "live" there, I visit there regularly and I stay with friends on the Upper West Side, so I consider that "my" neighborhood.

But I like to learn about other areas of the city as well. One of the ways I've done it over the years has been to set books in various parts of NYC. That means I have to learn about what it's like to live there. And one of the ways I do that is make friends with the locals.

But another way is to go on walking tours.

Walking is definitely the best way to see New York. And walking tours -- following along and learning about a particular neighborhood or time in the city -- is a way to pound the details into my brain as well as my shoe leather.

I've done walking tours of Greenwich Village, of the East Village, of Yorkville, of Chelsea, and one Thanksgiving I did a particularly memorable tour of Mark Twain's New York.

Some of the tours I've done on my own with a guide book. Some I've done with experts in New York history. They each have their good points. Traveling with a guidebook means I can stop and explore along the way, take my time and poke around the areas that particularly interest me instead of being hauled along at a pace that might be fast than I want to go. But going with an expert has its pluses, too. They provide great stories that make the neighborhoods come alive, and they point out things on the spur of the moment that a guidebook can't be expected to.

This visit to New York, I'm hoping to go exploring again.

I'm particularly interested this time in looking at the Brooklyn Museum and the Botanical Gardens there. I'd also like to take a walk around Brooklyn Heights. My husband's family come from Brooklyn. They've been there for a long time -- not quite as far back as when the Dutch bought Manhattan for $24, but almost.

So one of my goals this time is to check out old family addresses and learn a bit more about the history of the borough. And now that I've learned that at least some of the Antonideses are Dutch (those who aren't Greek), I think I might explore that aspect, too.

I've also been looking at a variety of "specialty" tours. New York abounds with them.

There are "tea" tours and there are "chocolate" tours. There are specialty food tours of Chinatown and tours of the Chelsea Market and meatpacking district. There are food tours of Greenwich village and if food isn't your main goal but you like writing and drinking, you can take literary pub crawl.

If you have a historical bent, there is a tour of revolutionary war New York. The history of Wall Street is also available. If you find the more flamboyant and bohemian New York holds more of an appeal, there are tours that will show you that side of the city as well.

There are libraries and historical societies and museums that offer glimpses into the history of different aspects of the city and its famous personalities. It's not all MOMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Check out the New-York Historical Society, the Museum of the City of New York, El Museo del Barrio, the Pierpont Morgan Library, the lovely manageable Frick Museum for places that can be enjoyed without your feet feeling as if they wanted to fall off.

If money interests you, see if you can tour of the gold vault at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. If crime appeals, you might be able to sit in on a trial. And if you just want to shop, well there are actually shopping tours that will show you not just the famous department stores, but smaller boutiques and specialty shops that you might not find without a guide or guidebook.

All this writing about New York is whetting my appetite. I have so many things now on my 'want to do' list that I know I won't get them all done in the 6 days I have there.

Which ones appeal to you? Are there ones I've missed that you recommend? Please let me know. I'd hate to miss the best that New York has to offer!

Anne is packing her bag -- singular, because she doesn't like paying for suitcases to fly. They don't appreciate the view. Her next book, Harlequin Presents and Mills & Boon Modern, The Virgin's Proposition, comes out in May in UK and July in US. It doesn't take place in New York, but the hero grew up there. He's given her several recommendations, too.

Romantic Novelists Association Celebrates being 50

Nina Harrington reports on the excitement and glamour that is the RNA's award lunch.

Champagne! Chocolate Cake! London excitement and Glitz!

They all featured in my very first book for the Mills and Boon Romance Line – Always the Bridesmaid, AND were very much themes for the Pure Passion Awards Ceremony which I was thrilled to attend in London on Tuesday 16th March.

Imagine pink champagne on arrival, a delicious meal with chocolate cake and a splendid venue at a prestigious hotel in Kensington, London.

The RNA celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2010 and the Awards Ceremony was a wonderful opportunity to share our passion for the genre and romance of all types in a splendid setting.

Always the Bridesmaid had been shortlisted for the Love Story of the Year Award by readers for the Romantic Novelists Association here in the UK – which was especially exciting for my debut novel.

Also shortlisted for this award was Harlequin Modern author Natalie Rivers with Claimed for the Italian’s Revenge, Harlequin Historical author Louise Allen with The Notorious Mr Hurst, along with Nell Dixon, Jan Jones and Sophie King for single title books.

Thanks to Kate Hardy for this photo of Natalie Rivers and myself chatting in the hotel foyer about the promotion for the shortlisted books.

The scope of this list was amazing and I certainly did not envy the work of the three professional judges who chose Animal Instincts, by my good friend Nell Dixon as the Love Story of the Year.

Although I did not take home the award, I was thrilled for Nell who has a lovely warm comedic touch and a feel good approach to her work. Congratulations Nell, and her publisher, Little Black Dress.

It was wonderful to be able to congratulate Nell in person –Nell is on the right.

I had to commiserate by comparing my shoes with the delicious mules with pink rosettes worn by my lovely Romance line editor, Joanne Grant from Mills and Boon Richmond.


On the more professional side of the day, six Additional Awards were presented during the event:

*Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The Romantic Novelists’ Association honoured two of the world’s best-selling and much-loved authors, Maeve Binchy and Joanna Trollope, with Life Time Achievement Awards at the 50th Anniversary Awards Ceremony. It was great to see Joanna Trollope in person at the event – Joanne is a wonderful supporter of Romance Fiction.

* The Romantic Novel of the Year

The RNA’s main award, the Romantic Novel of the Year, was won by Lucy Dillon’s Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts, published by Hodder & Stoughton. The perfect story for our nation of dog lovers, the novel focuses on the romantic sequence of events that occurs when abandoned strays are matched with new owners, whose lives become interwoven.

In honour of the 50th Anniversary, several new awards were also introduced this year:

*The Romantic Film of the Year was selected by the public via www.lovereading.co.uk. The winner was An Education, by Lynn Barber, published by Penguin. The film was scripted by Nick Hornby.

*The Romantic Comedy Award was won by Jane Costello’s The Nearly-Weds, published by Simon & Schuster and

*The People’s Choice Award, a new award recognising key new or developing authors in the romantic genre, was also selected by the public via www.lovereading.co.uk. The winner was Missing You by Louise Douglas, published by Pan.

*In keeping with the RNA’s desire to help emerging authors, The Harry Bowling Prize for New Writing, sponsored by Headline, recognises writing promise and is given every two years to the best first chapter and synopsis submitted by an author who has not yet had an adult novel published. Runner up for the 2010 award was Sunrise by John Barfield, and the winner was Fear No Evil by Debbie Johnson, whom the judges felt showed great comic potential.

All in all it was a wonderful occasion. Writing can be quite a solitary profession and to be able to chat among friends who know and understand the ups and downs of the writing life while celebrating the romance genre in all its scope, is a precious thing.

The mutual love of shoes goes without saying.

I had a great time.

You can find a lot more information about the Pure Passion Awards on the Romantic Novelists’ Association Website.

Nina Harrington writes sparkling romances for Harlequin Mills & Boon Romance. You can find out more about Nina on her blog. Her latest Hired: Sassy Assistant was January 2010 top pick from the RT.