Category Archives: Contemporary Romance

August 21, 2014 · 9:05 am

How, exactly, do you do research for a Romance Novel?

Think about that question. Go ahead. I’ll give you a few minutes….

There are a thousand ways I can can answer it. Sarcastically, humbly, physiologically, literally…but you get it.

Author Jill Shalvis was recently asked this question in an interview and she did a pretty good job answering it. Because what, exactly, are people wanting to know when they ask that research question? We all have a pretty good idea. They don’t want to know how you got your info about being a master chef, the FBI, corporate raiding, or anything else that’s in your story. They want to know  how you did your research on…how you came to know about the…wait for it… SEX.

This is what the average lay person ( no pun!! Well…maybe) thinks a romance book really is. A sex novel. A book strife with page after page of position changes, body noises, multiple loud orgasms, and descriptions of unmentionable private body parts. The kinds most people don’t discuss aloud. But they do read about them. Frequently, if the romance novel selling stats are to be believed.

I’ve tried to answer this question as off handedly as I can when asked it. I really don’t know what people expect as an answer. Maybe they think I’ve visited a brothel and watched (Eeew!) the going’s on. Maybe then think I’m a secret porn video watcher, hidden in my bedroom, the lights and blinds drawn, the tv sound muted, just watching and categorizing what’s happening on the screen. Again, eeew! Maybe they think my husband and I are wild and crazy “swingers,” (Eeew, squared!) Whatever people think or believe, here’s the truth according to me, so therefore, here’s MY truth.

I’ve been a romance reader since my 20’s. I  like every kind of romance from sweet ( no sex) to sensual ( a little) to NC17( one step down from Erotica.) My research, for lack of a better word, has been done by reading the genre and getting to know the books and authors who write them.  And P.S. I am married and have had a child so I think I know how  the act is accomplished.

Sex is sex. It’s not hard ( insert pun), nor is it brain surgery. It’s a natural, beautiful expression of love, commitment, and basic biology. We need sex for propagation of the species, folks. We haven’t evolved into a species that reproduces its young in test tubes yet – please, God, that never happens.

What the book buying public has to be made aware of with regards to romance novels is that they are not about the sex. That is just a small component of the story. Romance novels are about the emotions of two people falling in love, the challenges they face along the way to their happily ever after, surviving those challenges and spending their lives together.  They are stories of commitment, emotional growth, self discovery, and yes, they have some variant of sex in them because they are about people and people have sex!

So the next time you meet an author who happens to write in the romance genre, DO NOT ask them how they do their research unless you are referring to how they learned to handle guns, rappel down a mountainside, drive a speedboat while being chased or came to understand survival training. Or anything else related to the story other than the sex question.

You can, simply, ask this: “So, what’s your book about?”

Believe me, the author will tell.

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August 16, 2014 · 8:48 am

But what do you do?

Ever been asked this by someone you’ve just met at a party or an event? I have. Too many times to count. My usual response is,  “As little as possible.” Snarky, I know, but hey…it works for me.

When it comes to what your characters do in life – specifically your heroines – there’s a wide range of fun and exciting occupations you can give them these days. Gone is the literary era where a woman could only be four things in a romance novel: a nurse, a teacher, a nanny, or a secretary. Not that those aren’t noble and good occupations. I’m a nurse, so I know that. But nowadays, to grab a reader and keep them occupied throughout your 200 plus page story, you need to be creative.

The world is wide open for our female characters, and hopefully gets wider every day we are on the planet.  There are more jobs and careers open to women now than at any other time in our history. And girls are going for it. They are smashing through that glass ceiling and coming through stronger, more united, and better educated than their mothers and grandmothers.

The gals in my stories usually have some kind of artistic bent. I like the way the artistic brain looks at the world. They’ve been professional photographers, portraits artists, murder/mystery writers, sculptors, and chefs. But I’ve also written stories where my female lead was a precog psychic who helped the police find missing children. One novel involves an FBI profiler who has intelligence off the chart, but can’t cook worth  a damn or even program her computer. One’s even a veterinarian.

As women forge forward in the corporate world ( Lean In, girls!) you can devise any kind of career  from CEO of her own company, CFO of a huge foreign conglomerate,  head of the IT devision, or even make her in charge of a military operation. Doctors, lawyers, politicians. All are there for the taking for your female leads.

The basic premise behind the romance – boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl – stays the same. So why keep your heroines in the same occupations we’ve seen forever?

Here’s a brief ( 2000+) list of occupations to peruse. Find one that fits with your heroine.

And don’t forget: no matter what job/occupation/career you give your girl, the cake of the story is the romance. The career is the frosting.

What kind of careers/jobs/occupations do your female leads have? Let me know and we can discuss!

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August 12, 2014 · 9:59 am

When the HEA, isn’t….

With the sad news of Robin William’s passing, I’m reflecting today on what makes each person’s happily ever after ending, and why, when it seems like someone has everything, they still have despair in their hearts.

I know he suffered from deep depression. My background, as some of you may  know, is in psychiatric nursing. I’ve been around deeply depressed people for most of my life both professionally and personally, and I know the real horror when someone feels there is no hope left and suicide is the only option to end  the pain and suffering.

Mr. Williams was a man who, on the outside, appeared to everything his heart could desire. An icon status career, multiple professional accolades and awards, three beautiful, loving children and a spouse who adored him. His talent was beyond description. He was the end goal every comedian wanted for themselves: talented, rich, respected, successful.

Why then, wasn’t  this enough?

Or, was it too much?

Was it, in fact, too much to deal with? Having a stellar career,  constantly being  in the public eye, never knowing who really likes you for you and not because you’re famous? I tend to think when people have achieved such a pinnacle of success the only place they feel for them to go now is downward. That thought alone can spark a depression that is biting.

Actors aren’t the only people who are held to levels the average mortal isn’t.The list of iconic writers who have killed themselves because of depression is a long one. It includes, but isn’t limited to, John Kennedy Toole,  Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, Hunter S. Thompson, This is a short list of 20th century writers who found the path to death easier than dealing with life. Unfortunately, a Google search will give you many – too many – more.

We never really know what goes on in another person’s mind. We can try to walk in their shoes and attempt to understand what they are going through, but we will never know the true sense of what they feel, experience, and fear.

Happily ever afters occur in books, Romances,in particular. But in real life, the ever after is fraught with sometimes insurmountable  life situations and concerns.

If you know someone who is depressed or suffering from depression-like symptoms, extend a hand, mentally and physically. Sometimes, the time frame between a person acting on their thoughts and being helped is a millisecond.

Everyone deserves their HEA, in fiction and real life.

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August 10, 2014 · 5:11 pm

Settling in, kinda

I’m finally coming down off cloud 9, where I’ve been for the past week since I heard my book is going to be published by The Wild Rose Press. It’s been a loco week with family, friends and writing friends Facebooking and Tweeting me. Can you make Facebook a verb? I think I just did.

Anyway.

I’m not sitting back and enjoying this 24/7. I’ve been concentrating on pulling together several other stories I’ve written in the hopes of getting them into print as well. I’ve logged a lot of typing miles on my laptop this past week and I’ve got a lot of work to show for it.

This got me thinking: I have two real jobs now – the one I get paid for every two weeks and now this writing/publishing hat I’ve put on.  Where am I going to get the time to do both jobs well, plus maintain my life? How am I going to be able to  budget the time to do all of this: life’s dream and the reality of still pulling in a paycheck. Not to mention laundry, housework, cooking, seeing friends and family and being a great wife?

It’s a little mind boggling when you think about it.

I can usually multitask well – or at least it was well until I hit menopause. Now, I’m scattered at times and not easily able to get it all back on track. There are only so many workable hours in the day, and even though I don’t sleep well – or a lot – it’s still going to be a major adjustment to find the time that  I will need to devote to edits, when they arrive, and then do all the marketing and publicity necessary in order to actually sell a few books.

Or a million.

I need a plan. Any ideas? I appreciate any and all responses no matter how trite or intricate they seem to be. And thanks in advance.

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Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Life challenges, love, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, Skater's Waltz

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August 7, 2014 · 2:59 pm

Goals, deadlines and summer…oh my!

My big news of the past 24 hours is out. If you haven’t heard it yet, my novel SKATER’S WALTZ has been contracted for publication by The Wild Rose Press. To say I am over the moon is such an inadequate descriptor for what I am feeling right now.

What I am  feeling is: overwhelmed, not worthy, scared, fretful, fearful, impatient, shocked,uncertain, uneasy and worried. That’s 10 kinda negative emotions.

So here are ten positive ones – and these are definitely positive emotions: amazed, elated, gleeful, giddy, relieved, reborn, speechless (really!!??), flabbergasted, dumfounded and blown away.

Note to self: never ask a writer to describe something.

That sound you just heard was me falling on the floor. When I pick myself back up I have to start putting together a marketing plan. Books don’t sell themselves. You have to have a fully realized marketing and publicity plan in place before the book is even out.

I think I’ll stay on the floor a few more minutes and just bask in my glee.

More to come on this great news when I have it to share.

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Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, love, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, Skater's Waltz, Strong Women

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August 5, 2014 · 9:28 am

I’m a Writer…or am I?

I had this discussion with a woman today who isn’t a writer and never wants to be one. She asked if someone wasn’t published commercially, or getting paid to write, could they actually call themselves “a Writer?”  When my jaw came up off the floor, I resisted the impulse to hit her because I thought educating her might be the better way to go – plus, I didn’t feel like spending the afternoon in jail. To her ridiculous question, I asked one of my own: “Why is getting paid your benchmark for calling a person a writer?” She just stared at me. I could see the rusty cogs twirling in her head as she tried to formulate an answer. When she just shrugged, I knew victory was mine.

I gave her several examples to back up my assertion that getting paid for something  isn’t the end all be all of defining what a person does in life. Example number 1: Actors. I think  the statistic is something like 1 in 5000 people who put the profession ACTOR on their taxes, actually makes any or enough money to support themselves. But they are still actors. They train, educate themselves about their craft, go on job interviews ( called Auditions), do preparatory work on their bodies like keep in shape, and on their faces to keep looking good. They may not be getting the salary George Clooney is getting for their acting work – or any money at all for it – but they still define themselves a actors.

Example number 2: Artists – the painting and drawing kind. I can give all the same reasoning as in the above paragraph, and these individuals still call themselves artists.

Now, to writers, I told her. By now she was rolling her eyes and I could see she had regrets about ever asking me the question. I have been writing for almost 45 years. Of those 45 years, I can truly say I have never been able to support myself financially with my chosen profession. I have had a lot – A LOT – of stuff published. Some paid for, most not. The fact that I could not live on what I did make writing has not for one scintilla of a second ever prevented me from calling myself a writer.

I write. Every day.

It’s that simple.

I write this blog. I write romantic fiction. I write murder mysteries.

If I never, ever get a publishing contract, I will still write.

I write, therefore I AM a writer.

I don’t think she’ll be asking me that question again anytime soon.

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August 2, 2014 · 10:14 pm

Recuperating and rehashing…

I’ve been home from my conference for almost a week and I’m still flying on an intellectual, writing high from all fabulous writers I met and all the great courses I took.My mind has been spinning, running plot lines, searching for point of view continuity, trying to weed out the tells from the shows. For my first time, the conference was an amazing introduction to the world of romance writing and publishing,

But…

Back to reality. I still have to pound out those pages in order to actually give flesh to my characters and ideas.  Nora Roberts calls her writing ethic  “Sit your ass down in a chair and type!” This is my new motto and mantra.

In the Cindy Ratzlaff vein as well, I have developed a new Facebook page titled Peggy Jaeger, Author. You can click here and visit me. And I’m actually going to do a wee bit of begging and ask that you LIKE the page when you visit. I’ll be putting the majority of my writing stuff up on that page from now on.

And here’s a little tease just because…in the next few days -to-a-week, I’ll be putting  a MAJOR announcement of the site. No other hints. You have to keep gong back to my page to see it.

HeeHee. I just love intrigue.

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July 28, 2014 · 11:16 am

Post RWA 2014 Update

So, I had really lousy internet in the hotel sand I didn’t get to blog for over three days.

Three days!

To say that I learned a great deal at the RWA 2014 conference would be a gross understatement. I literally learned something new in every class I took, from craft, to marketing, to publicity.

The speakers were amazing and all highly entertaining – they are romance writers after all. From Jayne Ann Krentz and Susan Elizabeth Phillips I learned things they wished they had known when just starting out and things they were glad they didn’t know. From Nora Roberts ( sigh!) I learned to write the book I want and not the book that I think will sell, or the one that an agent or an editor wants. No. Write the book I want . ( And I will!)

The fabulous Holly Jacobs taught me how to be a fan favorite just by being herself – warm, witty and funny. The girl could make a stoic laugh, I swear.

From the other attendees I learned quite a bit as well. For one thing, we are all in this boat together and as such we should all be helpful, respectful, and open to one another. The first night I was in the lobby, waiting to meet up with some of my NH chapter-mates, Shirley Jump approached me to ask if I was having a good time and were people being helpful to me. Shirley Jump! She is a current board member and a PAN liason and saw that my name badge indicated I was a first time attendee. She went out of her way to make sure I was doing okay and being taken care of. Amazing.

The courses I took were varied in scope and concept. Everything from how to instill conflict in a romantic situation, to how to write hot sex. That was the actual name of the course: How to write hot sex.

I can truly say that this was the best spent money I have ever spent on a conference. It wasn’t cheap –not by a long shot- but it was worth the expense and time.

To be in the presence of such a wide array of published and commercially successful authors in a genre that has not been accepted by the mainstream publishing community to the level it should, was uplifting spiritually, and as an artist.

I can safely say that I came away from this conference with much more than when I went in and that as a writer, I have grown.

I can’t wait until RWA 2015. It’s in NYC!!

 

 

 

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July 25, 2014 · 1:32 am

Conference Chatter and Advice

Today was a chock-full day of information, advice, and networking.

In one session I  learned several tricks and tips for being a faster, more effective writer in a limited time span. This was a great class for me because I am not afforded the pleasure of being able to write full time yet. I still work away from the laptop at another job and my sitting at the desk writing time is limited. This class gave me some techniques for getting more words on the page at a faster rate and during unusual time frames that I wouldn’t have thought of, such as on lunch hours from work.

At another session with a behavioral psychologist, I was introduced to a concept called dialogue cues. These are useful, powerful words and phrasing that gives your writing emotional punch and gets it to the next level necessary for publication.

I attended a character class with writer Susan Elizabeth Phillips, in which we were taught how to describe our plots by using our characters and showing how their personalities relate to the plot and story line. This was a very good class for getting me to think about the show don’t tell aspect of writing that is relentlessly drilled into writers.

But the best part of the day? A chat with Nora Roberts. For an hour she fielded questions from the audience, and she actually called on me twice!! I was in heaven. Literally. Literary heaven.

I go to sleep tonight full of new techniques to employ for my writing, and ideas just swimming around in my head.

Tomorrow is another full day.

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July 24, 2014 · 10:27 am

Dreams do come true…

Yesterday, I had a dream come true. It was a small one, comparative to others, and might even be categorized as a bucket list item. I met NORA ROBERTS.

I know.

I not only met her, I spoke with her. And she was lovely. Absolutely lovely. I was shaking and sweating and as nervous as could be, but she was, just, lovely.

Meeting her alone was worth the cost of this trip to RWA 2014.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Jill Shalvis, Catherine Coulter, and the amazing Holly Jacobs.

But that wasn’t the only reason for the trip. Today the fun work starts. Beginning at 8:30 and and going straight up until tonight, I’ve got workshops planned on the crafting, marketing, and selling of Romance books. I am tired already, but I think it is just because I am coming down  my from exhilarating meeting. One of those workshops is with…wait for it… Nora.

Can this trip get any better?

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