Baaaaaad Reviews: Teaching Perseverance

Many blogs and groups bemoan the presence of bad reviews. And they are terrible. I got a one star on Goodreads once and was devastated. However, we can learn from them (at least, some of them) and learn to rise above them. For example, one reviewer said I referred to the heroine’s pulsing Adam’s Apple, pointing out women don’t have Adam’s Apples. I checked this out. They do have Adam’s Apples, they just aren’t as prominent as men’s. And it was only mentioned twice in the whole book. But I do know not to use that comparison anymore. And I am learning to make the heroine as likeable as possible, based on what a few reviewers said, even though she may have a few flaws.
And for fun, I checked out the reviews for one of my favorite books, Nora Roberts’ “The Reef.” There were plenty of negative reviews. I thought how could there be? This book was excellent. Yet there they were. Almost thirty three, two and one star reviews—one person even called it the worst book they had ever read, another said it was disappointing and yet another said the story didn’t go anywhere! It just goes to show you everyone sees things differently, has a different opinion, just like taste buds, and there is nothing you can do about it, except move on and not let any of it get to you. And don’t take it personally, unless there are some despicable ad hominem attacks, which are uncalled for and can be removed from the review sites, upon request.
When we put a book out there, it’s in the public eye, whether we like it or not, kind of like running for office. And all of our good points and our bad are up for inspection. Most people tend to concentrate on the good things and offer constructive criticism, but some wish to only focus on the negative. They may be motivated by a variety of things. Maybe they’ve wanted to write a book and couldn’t or maybe they’ve just had a bad day. The important thing is to keep your “eyes on the prize” and don’t let anyone deter you from your goals. It’s amazing to read the biographies of famous actors who have been rejected hundreds of times but keep going or if they finally do get a part, they describe the dozens of bombs they’ve appeared on, either on stage or in the movies. The same is true of writers. Jack London collected 266 rejection slips. When HG Wells wrote “War of the Worlds,” some described it as “horrid.” The first “Chicken Soup” book was rejected 140 times until it finally found an independent publisher.
We can’t erase very bad review, no matter how much we want to. We can cry, yell, pound our fists, flail our arms, and swear like a sailor. But we should never, ever stop writing and doing what we love. If there is any valuable constructive criticism in the review, we can learn from it. I will never stop writing, no matter what. I love putting myself in the main character’s role too much. I love slugging it out with the bad guys and the good guys, putting my heroine in jungles and snake pits, and enjoy writing the sexy love scenes. So stay strong and persevere, no matter what anybody says!
What’s the worst review you’ve ever got? You don’t need to mention the book. And what is it that they hated the most? Or if that’s too painful, I understand. How about describing your reaction and what you did in response? Did you learn anything?
Next week: What is your Heart’s Desire?
Also: Book Giveaway of “The Montezuma Secret.”
Five Stars on Amazon and Goodreads

Welcome Vonnie Davis and Storm's Interlude!

Sandra, many thanks for having me here today. Since the release of my debut novel, Storm’s Interlude, I’ve morphed from a fulltime writer into a blogging and promotional fool with little, if any, time for writing. Thank you for making me one more degree the fool.

Frankly it would be easier for me to fly a propeller airplane with a banner trailing from the back like you see at the seashore. “Eat at Joe’s…dial 1-800- TOMAINE” Only mine would say, “Beach read hot enough to melt sunscreen!”

Silly me, I thought all I had to do was write a book, find an agent and get published. My books would be in bookstores everywhere, and the publisher would promote me.

So, here I am blogging, posting on facebook, tweeting and keeping my fingers crossed that someone will buy my book.

I read somewhere that the best way to sell books is to write a good story. Now, we’re talking! Don’t we all love a romance? One populated with people who charm us, shock us and, at times, irritate us. A couple who fuss and fight on their way to happily-ever-after. Don’t you just love a good lovers’ spat? Followed by some mighty fine making up, of course.

Here’s an excerpt from Storm’s Interlude. Rachel is in a major snit after seeing Storm talking to his ex-fiancée. Not that she’s the jealous type, but she saw Storm tuck the lady’s hair behind her ear and stroke his knuckles down the side of her face. Once they get home, the fireworks escalate.

When Storm pulled in front of the ranch house, Rachel was the first one to barrel out of the SUV. Before she’d made it a dozen steps, Storm grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder like a bag of grain. “Put me down, you lunatic!”
“Like hell.” He stormed into the house, his boots echoing off the hardwood floors of the large foyer. “We’re going to have this out right now. I’m tired of your peeling my hide with your accusations.”
Jackson rushed out of the den into the large hallway. “Storm? What the hell?”
Storm had one hand on the doorknob to his office. “You got all the security measures in place? Anything that demands my immediate attention?”
“Put me down this instant, you…you caveman cowboy!” He smacked her bottom. She yelped. Once he put her down, she was going to tear him apart, limb by cheating limb.
Jackson had a hand over his mouth to hide his laughter. “Have at it, buddy. I’ve done my job.” He took a sleeping Sawyer from Noella. “Sunny and I will put tiger here to bed.”
Storm opened the door to his office, waiting until the couple had the sleeping boy upstairs before he yelled his announcement so the entire first floor could hear: “Anyone who knocks on this door before Rachel and I have worked things out takes their life in their hands. Is that clear?” He slammed the door shut behind them and turned the lock before setting Rachel down on the floor.
She was so incensed, so humiliated, so livid she couldn’t speak. She kicked him in the shin with her sneakered foot. Storm winced before stalking over to the liquor cabinet.
He poured himself two fingers of whiskey, neat, and downed it. He poured another and downed it, too. He hung his head, his hands fisted on the cabinet. “You can make me so damned mad I can’t see straight. No one has ever pushed me over the edge the way you do.”
She fisted her hands on her hips, hiked her chin and glared at him. “Yeah, well, I’d like to slap you into next week, you lying, cheating, poor excuse of a man. You told me things. You told me you loved me. I surrendered to you. I had sex with you.”
“Would you just listen to me for five damn minutes?” He turned to face her and ran both hands through his hair, a sign of frustration.
She folded her arms under her chest. “Okay, but this better be good.”

Buy Links for Storm’s Interlude:

http://amzn.to/pkkcLq -- Amazon.
http://bit.ly/pb9DQd -- B & N. – Nook only
http://bit.ly/rcCIMa -- The Wild Rose Press

Thanks, Vonnie for the hot, hot, cowboy story and thanks for being such a great guest!
Next Week: Gloria Marlow

Welcome Sue Fineman and Happy Fourth!

I fell in love with a pretty blue convertible.

The fireworks show had ended, but traffic over the bridge toward home had come to a full stop. So my friend and I turned in the other direction, toward the beach.

I saw the pretty blue convertible parked at the drive-in restaurant. Two men sat in the car, but I didn’t pay much attention to them. At that point, I wasn’t interested in men. My last boyfriend had been arrested for selling something that didn’t belong to him, and I refused to have anything to do with him again. I wouldn’t even take his phone calls.

I worked as a secretary at Patrick Air Force Base, and there were plenty of Air Force guys around, but they didn’t make much money in those days, so the guys were usually broke. Some of the men who worked in the same office building hit on me, but most of them were married, and I absolutely refused to date a married man. An old boyfriend proposed and I turned him down. He was a sweet guy, but I didn’t love him, and his family made me uncomfortable. The engineers who worked downrange were so love-starved, it was like dating an octopus, and I wasn’t that kind of girl. I was so discouraged, I’d just about given up on men altogether that Fourth of July when I saw the pretty blue convertible.

These guys in the blue convertible were looking pretty good, so I pulled in beside them and my friend and I ordered something to drink. My friend complained about the song blaring from the jukebox, and one of the guys in the blue convertible walked up and selected another song. Baby Elephant Walk. It was quite popular that year.

The two guys in the blue car struck up a conversation. They slid into the backseat of my Corvair and we talked for over an hour. They said they were in the Navy, stationed at Patrick Air Force Base, and they served on the Polaris submarines.

The guy who drove the car invited me to go to the movies with him the next evening, and I accepted. He seemed really nice, and I figured anyone who owned a car like had to have something going for him. He was good looking and had the sexiest brown eyes.

Two weeks later he sold the car, but by then I was already smitten. We only dated three and a half weeks when he proposed. I said yes, then had second thoughts. He was Jewish and except for one boy in my high school class and some merchants in Miami Beach, I’d never known anyone who was Jewish.

I went to the library and tried to find books on the Jewish religion and traditions, but this was Central Florida. In the early 60’s. The schools were still segregated. I couldn’t find any books to tell me what I’d be getting myself into if I married a Jewish guy. No surprise there. If you weren’t a white Christian, you didn’t fit in.

I didn’t know if his family would accept me. Would they expect me to raise our children Jewish? I had no idea. He said it didn’t matter, he loved me and wanted to marry me, and I could raise our kids however I wanted. So we set the date.

We only knew each other six months when we married in January, 1963.

If I hadn’t pulled into the drive-in, we wouldn’t have met. And if he hadn’t been driving that pretty blue convertible, I probably wouldn’t have paid much attention. Now, instead of driving a pretty blue convertible, he drives me crazy. But after 48 years, we’re still married. I don’t know what I’d do without him.

That’s my Fourth of July story. What’s yours?

Sue Fineman lives in Central Washington State with her husband of 48 years. They have three grown children, one adorable grandson, two cute little doggies, and multiple grandkittens and grandpuppies.

Sue has written over two dozen books. The Gregory Series: ON THE RUN, ON THE LAM, and ON THE EDGE, are available exclusively at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. THE MITCHELL MONEY is available through The Wild Rose Press, DigiBooks Cafe, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.

Win a free Kindle at DigiBooks Café. You can find the link and a clue to the puzzle for the contest on my blog at http://suefineman.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Sue, great post!
Next week my guest is Sharon Noble

Should you Write what you Enjoy or what you Think will Sell?

If you want to imitate someone else, you probably will have a tough time. But what you could do is study the techniques of writers you enjoy and then see if there's something you can borrow from them and then restructure or rewrite it in your own voice. In advertising, there's a saying: "deconstruct" (the original idea) and "reconstruct" (refashion and reorganize it in your own words with a fresh idea).

You know that if you want to write something as long as a novel, you have to write about something you enjoy. That's really why we all started writing, isn't it? For me, it was writing about mysteries and suspense with a romantic twist added to heighten the tension and raise the stakes. The subject you write about should be something you feel comfortable with, because of your own personal experience--loss, divorce, vengeance--or something that fascinates you and you've studied or want to study. It could be a particular period in history or a place you've visited. If you've ever read the biographies of many famous authors, you realize how much of themselves they put into their work. And then you understand the focus of their writing--divers write diving and archeology books, attorneys, stories about law, etc.

No offense to vampire novelists out there, but I wouldn't have the faintest idea how to write a vampire story and the few times I've been bitten, I haven't enjoyed it. But if that's your bailiwick, go for it! It's a hot genre and if you like writing about it, great. I have always enjoyed suspense stories, not the slasher movie, car-chase, everything blows up kind, but the edge of your seat Alfred Hitchcock kind. Will the bomb go off or won't it? Will she see the murderer in the closet or won't she? Wringing out every last second of tension so that we can't turn the pages fast enough. I recently enjoyed reading Sandra Brown's Chill Factor where the main character was snowed in with someone she thought was a serial killer. Was he or wasn't he? It was a great book.

I also enjoy reading stories about lost treasure, World War II, unsolved mysteries and disasters and political assassinations--Titanic, Hindenburg, JFK, etc. I like the concept of the innocent person getting caught up in a maelstrom of trouble through a simple mistake or through no fault of his or her own. Amnesiac stories are another favorite and stories that center around vengeance, getting back at the person who wronged you. Or "Little Match Girl" stories where the heroine is a pitiful, ugly duckling mess in the beginning and then through her own gumption and tenacity, transforms herself into a tough, smart beautiful woman. I guess you could call them rooting for the underdog stories.

Just because someone made a fortune writing books about vampires or time travel or some other subject doesn't mean it can work for you, especially if you don't enjoy reading those kind of books. And perhaps that's the best advice of all--write about what you enjoy reading.

June 17, AJ Nuest will be my first blog guest!

Metaphors and Similes: The Bane of My Existence

I don't know about you, but I've always had a problem with metaphors and similes. First, telling the difference between them, and then coming up with imaginative ones to make my writing pop.
Why are metaphors and similes so important? According to Aristotle, figurative language can lend "metaphorical life to lifeless objects." And isn't that what we, as writers long to do, create something from nothing, make readers believe the truth of our story and our characters' story world? Make things come alive so that the reader can shout "Yes, that's right; that's exactly how it looks! That's exactly how I feel! I can identify with that!"
Aristotle said language should be appropriate in "sound and sense" and make the audience see things by using expressions that represent things in a state of activity. In other words, not just create word pictures, but moving pictures.
Here's the difference between a metaphor and a simile.
Simile: uses like or as (I try to remember the "s" in simile as referring to the "s" in the word "as". If you have a better way, let me know).
Example: "Your hair is like a river."
Metaphor: "Your hair is a dark river."
My next problem: How do you think of creative similes and metaphors? The simplest way and one that helped me is to ask: "What does this object remind you of?" Do the clouds remind you of gum drops? Do fireworks look like shimmering fairy dust? I just finished reading Sandra Brown's "Chill Factor", a wonderful book I recommend. She describes a face that looked like wild dogs had been gnawing on it and a falling power line tower as resembling a landing spacecraft with red warning lights flashing.
Here are some other ways that can help (From a marvelous book called "Word Painting" by Rebecca McClanahan):
1. Create your own "Constellation of Images" based on an event in your life. For example, the author lost her twin sister and found her writing laced with images pertaining to that loss--like sidekicks, twins, doubles, rubber dolls.
2. Play mind games with common objects like a colander, an egg beater, or chopsticks. The chopsticks could look like drumsticks or oars to you.
3. Spend time with children and watch how they create things from unusual sources: forts from Popsicle sticks, swords or riding horses form broomsticks.
4. Read a lot of poetry rich with metaphorical images.

If you have other ways for creating colorful metaphors and similes, let me know. I would love to hear them!

Next week: Keeping Track of your Plot Ideas

Memories of the JFK Assassination or How to Learned to Love History

"The Kennedys" mini-series on REELZ channel concluded last night with the assassination of JFK. All in all, I thought the series was entertaining, well-acted, and reasonably accurate, drawing on well-respected JFK biographies. But I was disappointed that the assassination in Dallas was more or less glossed over, with Lee Harvey Oswald depicted as the only assassin. Also, there were factual errors. For example, Abraham Bolden, the first African-American secret service agent on the Kennedy detail, only served JFK in 1961. In the movie, Bolden was shown as still serving in 1963. Bolden was reassigned to duty in 1961 after he complained of racism. In November 1963, he learned of a plot to assassinate JFK in Chicago. JFK's visit was cancelled. When he tried to inform the Warren Commission in 1964 of the Chicago plot as well as misconduct (drinking on duty) by his fellow agents, he was arrested for allegedly taking a bribe and served a six year prison sentence. The principal witness later recanted and Bolden claims he was set up. No information about the Chicago plot was released to the public, probably because two Cuban nationals had been under surveillance. They were never captured. Please read "Echo from Dealey Plaza," Bolden's account of all this for more information. An excellent read. Anyway, "The Kennedys" was still a good show. It brought back my own memories of the assassination nearly forty-eight years ago:

12:30 p.m., November 22, 1963. Set for a long boring afternoon of history, social studies and geography with our equally boring homeroom teacher. 12:40 p.m. The teacher from across the hall enters, looking upset and leans against the wall whispering to my homeroom teacher. Something is wrong. They both look disgusted and my teacher says "Was she hurt?" I think he means our star gymnast, who was carted off in an ambulance after a bad fall earlier that week. Then my mind blanks. Years later, my friends remind me the teacher had told the class the President had been shot and had a TV wheeled into the room. The principal had allowed us to go home early. But I don't remember any of this. All I remember is not taking any of it seriously and goofing around with a girlfriend as we walked through the park in the rain. And it was raining when I crossed a busy street to get to my house. I remember the headlights shining on the dark pavement as I ran across. The porch light was lit and my father was already home, the old 1957 green Buick Riviera parked outside. When I sat in front of the black and white TV, the plane with the President's body was just returning to Washington, DC. It was five o'clock, Central Time. And my father said "You're watching history being made today." I didn't know what he was talking about. It only meant another death and I didn't want to be reminded of it because I had just lost two grandparents recently. I hated cemeteries and I hated death, picking weeds around the graves. It was so depressing. But the next day I watched. And the next day. And the funeral on Monday, when we had off from school. I was riveted and sad but I couldn't stop watching. And my memory of it raining Friday is correct because it did rain on Saturday, November 23, in Washington, DC, when visitors viewed the President's body. The rain that had been in Wisconsin the day before.

From then on, I was hooked, devouring every new book about the Kennedys and the assassination, becoming a skeptic like much of the population--two-thirds according to a 2004 poll--that didn't believe in a single assassin or the single bullet theory. What I don't understand is why two assassins were considered so dangerous? So two people concocted a scheme to murder the President. Why does the existence of only two people signify a sinister conspiracy? Unless there was more to it than that. Why was the government so insistent on covering up evidence of any additional participants and we know they did because they were afraid of possible links Oswald had to Castro and to Russia. Coming just after the Cuban Missile Crisis, this could easily have ignited World War III. And the Kennedy administration was allegedly planning a coup against Cuba set for December 1, 1963. (See "Ultimate Sacrifice" by Lamar Waldron, another excellent read). And why was Lee Harvey Oswald allowed back into the country so easily after defecting to our arch enemy, the Soviet Union? I remember thinking that even as a teenager. It defied common sense. Obviously these questions still stir controversy.

But in spite of the awful events, I became obsessed with history and tragedies and how they could have been prevented, whether it was the Titanic, the Hindenburg, the assassinations, September 11, or the rise of Hitler. I majored in political science and history in college. And it also helped me to develop my 'what if's?' when I write books. Like what if a Presidential candidate long thought dead (RFK) was still alive? ("Sworn to Secrecy") What if the assassination of the Secretary of State was all a mistake? ("A Question of Conspiracy") What if a foreign leader was killed on American soil? ("Time of the Eleven") And my treasure hunt books: "The Secret Sentinel" (Lost Confederate Gold), "The Montezuma Secret" (Montezuma's Lost Gold-One of the Top Five Missing Treasures). Amazing to think how a little twist of history could have changed the world. And when I visited Dallas and stood where Abraham Zapruder stood and afterwards met Robert Groden, a consultant on Oliver Stone's "JFK", he signed one of his books for me. And when I toured the Sixth Floor Museum in Dealey Plaza, I wrote in the guest book that my love of history had come from the day my father had said…"You're watching history being made today."

Next week: "The Top Ten Conspiracy Theories-My Take"

The Kennedys and Romance

With the debut of "The Kennedy's" mini-series on the REELZ cable channel timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's inauguration, it's time to return to Camelot again. While this one does not reveal anything new, it's fun to visit, flaws and all. After all, no one's perfect. The Kennedy family did problems, some of their own making, some not. The period of the early 60's is always viewed with a sentimental eye, blotting out some of the more troublesome things--the struggles over integration and civil rights, the fights over Berlin and Cuba, the latter nearly escalating to nuclear war. Times were not as placid as we think looking back. And having just read "One Minute to Midnight," Michael Dobbs' gripping account of the Cuban Missile Crisis, I realized just how close we came to annihilation. If not for JFK's restraint and insistence on diplomatic solutions in defiance of his generals, none of us would be here today. Yet we do romanticize those times, largely because of the Kennedys' appeal. They represented youth and beauty, grace and style and yes, romance. Beautiful dresses, wonderful culture. They were special times, we believe, innocent times, an era before Vietnam, Watergate, and 9/11 terrorism. Even though, behind the scenes, things were not as perfect as we hoped, we wanted them to be. And still do.

Having lived through those years, but at a very young age, and studying about such mundane matters as the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Aswan dam, we seemed to be insulated from the crises in Berlin and Cuba, but not from the duck and cover drills we all took in stride. When one history teacher suggested a future war might occur in the Middle East, I thought it was nonsense, since everyone in that region was our ally. History can be unpredictable.

And frankly, I wasn't aware of the Kennedys' superstar appeal during their reign. That came later. Since then I've read and re-read every book about the Kennedys and the Kennedy assassinations, (both JFK's and Robert Kennedy's), seen every movie, documentary and mini-series multiple times. I've seen Jackie's dresses up close and personal at the Field Museum in Chicago, I've toured Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas. I've come to believe in the magic of those times, even though I know down deep they were far from perfect. I just want to believe. I've always been a cockeyed optimist and a romantic. And what's wrong with that?

Next week: Memories of the JFK Assassination

The Problem with Amanda Hocking's Success

We’ve all heard about the “99 Cent Millionaire”, Amanda Hocking, who has sold hundreds of thousands of self-published e-books online and become a millionaire in the process. While this is good news for Amanda Hocking and good news for writers and the e-book/e-reader explosion, there is also a downside. Because of her success, everyone tries to emulate it. What did she do? How did she accomplish this monumental feat, especially in a down economy? I remember years ago when John Grisham became an instant millionaire when he was offered huge advances for his legal thrillers. Everyone wanted to get in on the bandwagon whether they were good writers or not. Publishing houses and agents were flooded with thousands of manuscripts from would-be authors, many of which were poorly-written, full of typos, and amateurish attempts to cash in on the big bucks. Because of this, more publishers clamped down, requiring agent-only submissions. Agents clamped down as well and it became much more difficult for good authors to rise out of the slush pile. I’m afraid the same thing is happening to e-books. Already, over 800,000 e-books are available for download on Amazon. It has become difficult, though not impossible, to stand out from the crowd. Amazon does not charge for self-publishing, but it does take a share of the royalties. And while there are many, many talented writers out there who are now being given an opportunity to share their writings with others, including Ms. Hocking, there are also many writers whose works are less than stellar and should never have seen the light of day. Complaints abound about the quality of some of these self-published e-books. While I hope that Amazon and others do not crack down on the self-publishing craze, it does raise concerns about quality, especially with everyone wanting to become a “99 cent millionaire.”

How to Create Satisfying Endings or Avoiding the Paper Tiger

How to Create Satisfying Endings or Avoiding the Paper Tiger
By Alison Chambers
www.alisonchambersromance.com
The Secret Sentinel Now Available from The Wild Rose Press
www.thewildrosepress.com
Go on the Treasure Hunt of a Lifetime!
5 Stars and a Top Pick Night Owl Reviews
4 Stars The Romance Studio
Watch for The Montezuma Secret Coming Soon!


Ever notice when a movie ends abruptly without a satisfactory ending, the audience groans or elicits sounds of surprise, as though they’re unhappy? Books are that way too. Have you ever finished a book and been so disappointed with the way the story ended that you slammed it shut in disgust or worse yet, threw it against the wall or into the trash?

What causes such disappointment in readers?

1. Characters act irrationally, i.e., out of character. A weak character suddenly becomes strong or vice-versa, without any explanation concerning why he or she is suddenly changing and turning into Superman or Superwoman.
Solution: Characters should have proper motivation. If a character is about to do battle with snakes in the ending and hates snakes, foreshadow that fear by mentioning it in the beginning of the book so readers know what to expect and it makes sense. If characters change, explain why they are changing throughout the book.
2. Things are tied up by coincidences, i.e. deus ex machina: “A plot development that didn’t previously exist and has no logical explanation behind it; a coincidence that is too unlikely to be believed.” The phrase comes from the Greek where the god suddenly appeared through a trap door in the stage to solve the writer’s plot problem.
Solution: If it seems too unlikely a solution, it probably is. Don’t get your characters into a situation you cannot logically get them out of. If they’re in a cave hunting treasure, don’t let them accidentally find a weapon that will allow them to escape. You don’t want readers to say: “What a lucky break!” or “I don’t buy that!”
3. Loose ends are not tied up, leaving questions in the reader’s mind. Readers are scratching their heads, asking themselves whatever happened to this or that character or subplot line.
Solution: Carefully review each scene and character to make sure everything is explained in the last few pages.
4. Paper Tigers
You think the characters are dealing with a terrible villain or problem. They are facing insurmountable odds. You can’t wait to uncover the solution in the last chapter. When you learn the problem is not as great or as dangerous as you’d feared, that’s called a paper tiger and that’s when you want to throw the book against the wall. You say to yourself: “What a let-down!” The story is forever diminished in your eyes, you feel as though you have been tricked, and you vow never to read a book by that author again.
Solution: Make sure your problem or your villain is truly dangerous, the situation is life-threatening and the stakes are high so readers are not disappointed.

And remember, romances always have a happy ending. When you bring your characters back together in the end to live happily ever after, you should have a good reason in mind. They shouldn’t reunite just for the heck of it. Again, good character motivation and logical reasoning is the key.

Let your readers close their books with a smile, satisfied they have just finished a great ride and hopefully, they will remember your name and want to read more!
You owe it to them and to yourself!

Does Romance Slow Down the Action?

Does Romance Slow Down the Action—Adventure, Danger and Romance—Maintaining A Balance
By Alison Chambers, author of The Secret Sentinel
5 Stars and a Top Pick Night Owl Reviews
www.alisonchambersromance.com
Available Now from the Wild Rose Press

Writing critics often maintain that love scenes tend to slow down the action, deaden the suspense and bring the plot to a screeching halt. I disagree. Since the romance is so closely interwoven with the suspense, one offsets and complements the other. If neither story is dull, both will work well together. But it is a delicate balancing act. You are essentially telling two stories—one built on top of the other. Keep them both lively, keep the reader guessing and in love with the two principal characters. Make sure something is happening at all times and not bogged down with excessive backstory, information dumps and useless conversation.
And since even the best writing instructors suggest that the reader take a breather after a particularly gripping and suspenseful moment, what better way to do that than with a romantic scene? However, many readers of romantic suspense (and there are countless millions) contend that this type of ‘action’ is very bit as exciting as the suspense that preceded it. Often this type of scene prolongs the suspense. The readers are not only stewing about the danger the characters just faced and what will happen next, they are also wondering about the romance just beginning to ignite.
Here are a few tips for keeping the reader turning the pages to keep the adventure, danger and romance blazing hot and working:
End as many chapters as possible with a cliffhanger.
Make sure the romance as well as the suspense continue to build, always keeping the outcome in doubt.
Make the backgrounds exciting and ever-changing—the desert, the jungle, a cave, an abandoned mansion, a raging storm—the more dangerous the setting, the hotter the romance. Let the emotions explode!
Make sure the romance and the suspense are both integral to the plot, never thrown into the pot, just to make it sizzle.
When you do have a romantic scene, tease the reader, adding a little bit at a time—the classic ‘will they or won’t they?’ Remember, the romance should be shrouded in mystery too.
Keep your eye on each main character’s goal. Desire should be strong and each chapter should make the goal less attainable, not more.
The main characters should be strong and ever changing for the better as the book progresses, though this doesn’t always happen in a straight line.
Set the romantic climax against a background of danger, smack-dab in the middle of the ever-deepening puzzle, then separate the lovers afterward to create the two ultimate black moments in the reader’s mind:
How will they ever survive? (answering the suspense question)
How will they ever get back together? (answering the romantic question)