Traveling the Web : At Daily Dose of Decadence: Required Reading is Done!

I'm over here on the Daily Dose of Decadence site today for a special weekend blog. It's all about leaving required reading behind for the summer, and finding pleasure reads in the world of ebooks! Come join in! Your book may have been put on my promotion blog too!

Here's the link!
Daily Dose of Decadence: Required Reading is Done! Pleasure Reading has Beg...: Buy The Harvest Queen's Tutor HERE! By Lisa A. Adams

Historical Writing: Not as Easy as you may Think!

Today's rant is about accuracy!

 

Luckily for me, I have a passion for history. Not only that, but I taught Ancient History through the

Medieval Times for five years. To top it off, I taught Middle School! Just as a taste, "But why?" and "How?" were questions I was asked on a daily basis... like every twenty minutes.  I believe that my love and my "training" has given me a profound edge in my historical writing. And I will forever be grateful to all of my students who questioned me, and made me dig deeper. " But Why?" do you ask.

Historical novel research is critical! 

Names and Clothing,

From the name of your characters to the clothes that they wear, every aspect of the historical novel must be accurate. You would find someone named "Septimus" (Ancient Roman) living say in Scotland in the 1600's.  He wouldn't speak with a English accent, and wouldn't wear jeans either. (Now, I know I'm taking things a bit far. If someone were to write about our dear Septimus in Rome, I'm sure they wouldn't put him in jeans. But, you may be surprised.)

But my biggest gripe? LANGUAGE!

There are a great many words that we use today that are variants of previous words and cultures. Many weren't even used until the 18th and 19th centuries. So to speak of a "tramp" in Ancient Roman times... She would have been called a "lupa".  The literal translation of this is "She-wolf". (Yep, a pretty good start to someone being a prostitute.) 

So where is this going? 

The other day, while complaining on twitter about not being able to find a word while I was editing, a great writing friend of mine, @CairnRodrigues, lead me to a wonderful site for word genealogy. So without further ado.....

Online Etymology Dictionary!

Look It Up!

Editing woes. Walked vs STARTED Walking

Every editor is different!

I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with three different editors so far for my releases. Each had their own style and I truly feel blessed that I have seen how very special and unique each editor's vision for my writing style shapes the story that I have written them.

But...

I am having an issue. Often in my writing, I am being "hit" on the use of the word "started" in front of a blurb. One of my editors told me that it was a useless word and I should cut them all. If a character has "started" an action, then they are doing it, so just say they are doing it.

Example:

Jimmy turned and started walking to the refrigerator.  (My rough sentence.)
Jimmy turned and walked to the refrigerator. (What is preferred.)

Unfortunately, I see these as to very different sentences. I could be the only one, but lets see what you think. In my sentence, (present tense) Jimmy has just turned and is just taking his first two steps to the refrigerator. In the second sentence, Jimmy has turned and walked (past tense) to the fridge. This means that his journey is complete. He made it to the fridge. I see this as a distance issue.

If Jimmy is still walking to the fridge,  something could happen in between. (His girlfriend swings him around by the arm to face her.) If Jimmy has made it to the fridge, then there is distance between them unless the girlfriend is following.

I don't know. Maybe its just me. But we "START" actions all the time. Some of us never do finish them. Because in any action, "TIME" is involved. There is a beginning and end to everything.


So what do you think? Is there a difference in the two? Should EVERY "started" be cut from a manuscript?  Let me know what you think in the comments below.

See you soon,
Lisa

Traveling the Web : At Daily Dose of Decadence: The Seduction of the Massage

Today I'm on the decadent Publishing Blog - A Daily Dose of Decadence. Please come in and visit. Today is about the "Seduction of the Massage!"

Daily Dose of Decadence: The Seduction of the Massage: By Lisa A. Adams

Enjoy!

It's Release Day! The Harvest Queen's Tutor is available!

Please welcome, The Harvest Queen's Tutor!

About the book:

From idea to completion, The Harvest Queen's Tutor was an "out of my element" experience. Previously, I had sunk in pretty hard to historical romance. And was loving every minute of it. My Ancient Rome series "Caledonia's Captives" saw the release of book 1 "The Legionnaire's Prize" on January 18th, 2013. Since I taught ancient world history, this has always been my comfort zone.

However,  my oldest daughter was dying to read it, and I wasn't sure I really wanted her to. So, I started The Harvest Queen's Tutor. It is technically considered a New Adult Sweet Romance. My main characters are starting off their first year of college, and it's a young blooming love.

To keep the manuscript PG-13 and at an appropriate level for my daughter, there is the hint of a "closed door" act. But, I wanted to pull my readers into the connection and passion that the characters would share. So, I introduced a very sensual, almost full body, massage. The chapter was breath taking, even as I wrote it, and I hope you enjoy it as well.

Book Blurb:

Sophie Carmichael is flunking out of college. Returning home to ride in a parade is the last thing she needs. But, running into Michael “Mick” Shover, once known to be the town bad boy, suddenly gives her an idea. Could Mick really help her? And what will be his price?

Excerpt:

“You honestly don’t think I can just let you in and leave you here unsupervised, do you?”

She needed time. “Okay. You can tutor me for an hour, and then I get to study for an hour by myself.”

Michael flipped his hand through is hair. “Deal. And the best part, it will only cost you dinner.”

“Dinner? Are you serious?” Sophie couldn’t believe her ears. First, he offers to help. Now, he wants dinner. But, he would be giving up his night to help me. I guess it’s the least I can do. She’d only have to buy a meal. That was actually a good deal. “Okay, what do you want me to pick up?”

“Actually, I was thinking more of the homemade type. Whatever you’re having for dinner, bring me a plate.” Michael gave a mischievous wink and unlocked the door.

“You can’t be serious.” Sophie crossed her arms.

“You bet I am.” Michael imitated her actions and faced her. “Those are the terms for tonight’s lesson. We’ll discuss other payment options tonight for the rest of your lessons.”

“I don’t know how else you think I can pay you, but if it’s what I think, you’re greatly mistaken.” God, could he be serious?

Michael cocked his head ever so slightly. “I’m not sure I follow your meaning.”

Sophie’s heart sped, and she could feel her face getting hotter. “You mean, you didn’t mean…?” Sophie covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t believe it. I’m so embarrassed.” Sophie turned and ran out the door into the open parking lot.

“Sophie. Wait.” Michael chased her but just as Sophie jumped into her car, he hit the side door. He tapped the window, and she lowered it an inch. “Sophie, calm down. It was funny, really. Meet me here at nine.”

Sophie’s stomach tightened as she gripped the steering wheel. She thought about her awkward statement, and then about how much she desperately needed someone’s help. “Fine. Tonight, here at nine. You’ll have supper, and I get my first tutoring session.”

“Great.” Michael stepped away from the car door to let her back up. “Hey, Sophie?”

“Yeah, Michael.”

“What are we studying tonight, so I can be prepared?”

Sophie choked on her answer at first, feeling herself redden. “Anatomy.”

The Harvest Queen's Tutor is available from the following sites, today!

Decadent Publishing  and BonoBookStore

Amazon.com

BarnesandNoble

AllRomanceEbooks

Smashwords

Just how far is TOO far?

A rambling on the prejudice of close-minded people -

Sure, I'm probably going to get some backlash for this post. Hey, everyone's entitled to an opinion. Feel free to express yours in the comments. I promise I won't yell, berate, or even take it personally. After all, I'm a professional, and I will thank you for just commenting.  That being said ~

Those who frequent here often, know that I write romance. From sweet contemporary to flowery language. I'm what you would call a level 1-2 heat romance writer. That's just my personal comfort zone in writing.

Many of my friends write much higher heat levels, and they are good at what they do! I absolutely LOVE reading their work, but deep inside I know that it is not in my comfort zone. So, I leave it to my expert friends.

On one of my publisher's author sites, I saw a post from a man who had just released his first book about a month ago. He writes a pretty solid level four heat, but has been recently discouraged on writing anymore. His book is awesome! Well thought out plot and intriguing characters had me turning through it quickly. However, he has received some HEAVY discouragement just because he is a MAN!

I don't understand. Really people! "Women write Romance, Men write Crime." In all bluntness, may I just say... "Bull Shit!" One of the most noted romance writers of our time right now is Nicholas Sparks. I mean who hasn't seen his books turn into blockbuster movies for more than 10 years.

The age old thought that "mean can't show their softer side because it shows their weaknesses" was said by a MAN! WOMEN love to see a man with emotion. We want to know that he actually does care about something, and sometimes saying words are simply not enough.

I guess I get so worked up, because as a women I have spent most of my life trying to change the image people stereotyped me as. I wrestled in high school. (Yep. I did that! The only girl on the team.) I joined the Navy and was billeted as the 10th female to graduate the Sonar ITASS Pipeline. (When I was placed on a ship, I was the only female on the team for Sonar). When I went back to get my college degree, I chose teaching. Yes a mostly female profession. But, I chose Middle School! Out of our 113 teaching degrees given out that year, only 17 of us were Middle School Certified.

People have the right to live the lives they want to lead. They have a right to be happy. If a man wants to write romance, he should! If a woman wants to be the next big Sci-fi writer, I say go for it!

If it's not hurting you, who are you to say anything to hurt them? If you don't like the fact that a man wrote it, don't buy it. But also, don't go around slandering his name. As authors we write for the love of it. If you haven't heard of us, it's because we make only small amounts from our writing. We do it to TELL a story. If you don't want to HEAR the story, please have the courtesy to be quite, so others may enjoy it.

Lisa  

Sorting my Writing Life

1st - Check out all my updated pages!

From new pages like the recently added "My Books", to all the rest. New information has been uploaded to each of my pages, so you can help celebrate or cry when the time comes. Thank you everyone for making 2013 an amazing year already!

2nd - A New Release is Coming!

From Decadent Publishing, this coming Friday, March 22nd, 2013. "The Harvest Queen's Tutor" a new adult contemporary romance will be available online! If you want to know where to find it, links will be posted on "My Books" page Friday morning. (That's 3 this year!)

3rd - New Goals and New Writings!

Book 2 of "Caledonia's Captives" has been accepted and we should be expecting it to come out soon. In the meantime, Book 3 is the new writing project. Latest goal date is April 15th, but I'm shooting for March 31st. Why do you ask?  because......

4th - CampNaNoWriMo!

CampNaNoWriMo starts in April. I hope to be able to devote the entire month of April to this endeavor and win with my new mss that I will be pitching to HARLEQUIN Editors May 8th! Yes, I have a speed date pitch session with a Harlequin Editor! I'm so excited.

So, that's what's new, what's coming up, and what's happened. Please keep in touch and I'll see you guys around.  You can find me easily on twitter @LisaAdamsWriter and help run an unofficial #writeclub sprint from 9-11pm EST (sometimes longer) every Tuesday night! Regular #writeclub sprints are Friday nights from 8GMT - 11PST. So pretty much all day! Come join us!

See you around and thanks for stopping by!
Lisa