New Year's Eve

Ringing in the new year is always a special time. A moment to reflect on the past and anticipate the future.

Every year I make New Years resolutions, whether written down on a piece of paper -- soon to be lost in a wave of endless clutter on my desk -- or locked away in the file cabinet of my mind.

This year I'm feeling particularly hopeful toward my resolutions and about keeping them. One resolution I have made over and over for the past dozen years or so, is about my writing. My lists have included various columns that have read something like this: Write everyday, write more, finish book, start new book, finish 1st book, think about next book, think about another book, write down ideas, learn to write, give up writing, don't give up writing, send out queries, write a synopsis...

During the past couple of years, I have finally achieved several writing goals. I have a novel completed with a second one nearly finished, and the beginnings of a third. I write almost everyday -- no matter what. I have been more consistent with my blog postings, and have a finished synopsis for my completed novel.


I definitely feel a sense of accomplishment in my world of writing. There is more work to do and I still have writing resolutions on my 2009 list.

Another aspect of my life that requires attention is my weight and health. My lists over the years regarding this area have included the following: eat less, exercise more, lose weight, walk everyday, walk three times a week, walk two times a week, walk sometimes, drink more water, give up ice cream, no more candy, cut down on beer, buy skim milk, eat more salads... hmm. Well, you get the idea.

I won't bore you with my actual list of resolutions for the coming year, just know it will include the obligatory weight and writing items. :)

Also, a special thank you to my little buddy, Mickey, for keeping me in the race, heading for the goal.

Have a happy, safe New Year's Eve!!

Merry Christmas

Happy Holidays from Anna Maria

Island, Florida!

Writing Space

I can write anywhere. Taking pen and paper in hand, I can settle into a cozy chair, a park bench, on the beach, a corner table in Borders, or anywhere my imagination takes me. I love scratching out ideas for characters, plot lines, and settings.

However, the real down and dirty, nitty gritty work of writing happens at my desk on my computer. When I'm hunkered over, pounding at the keys, checking my scraps of paper, flipping through my "ideas" notebook, this is when the writing is happening.

Writing is just plain hard work. Whether you write short stories, poetry, screenplays, novellas, or a long, complex novel, the process of writing and getting the work done has to happen.

Each writer has to discover what process works for them. What time of day do you write? Morning, afternoon, late into the night? For most of us, we have busy, complicated lives where finding the time and place to write is a monumental hurtle to overcome. We squeeze in a few minutes here and there, an hour or two in between working, commuting, socializing, and the day to day business of living. Often we are slaves to whatever our hectic schedules dictate.

Over the past year, I have pushed myself to write everyday, no matter what. Even if it's only five minutes before I go to bed, or ten minutes before I head off to the day job, I force myself to write. Doing this I have developed a process of writing that works for me. With writing everyday, I keep my work-in-progress fresh in my mind and the desire to forge ahead keeps me focused.

Okay, my desk rarely looks like the photo above.





Admittedly, this is the usual organized chaos that is my work space. Perhaps someday I'll have a laptop computer to haul around everywhere. For now I'm satisfied with my spiral notebook and my personal computer sitting on my desk.

My Writing Journey -- Continued

My frustrations over not finishing my YA novel Backstage Summer culminated with my discovery of reading romance. I picked up my first "romance" novel sometime in the mid 1990's. I love to read and spent years reading all sorts of fiction and literary novels. One overcast Sunday afternoon, I was in the local grocery store picking up something for dinner for myself and my husband, and as was my habit, I would peruse the paperback section to see what new and interesting stories were on the shelves. I never paid attention to any of the books with obvious bodice-ripped covers, or anything I considered romance. I didn't know anything about the genre so I was a romance novel snob.

I stood and stared at the variety of books when an interesting cover and title caught my attention: The cover was a solid pale-blue color with a small picture of an antique shop. Hmm, intriguing. The title was Hidden Riches. So I picked it up and read the story blurb. It was about a woman in her late twenties who runs an antique/curio shop and rents a room to a troubled ex-cop. Together they become involved in uncovering a smuggling ring, and fall in love in the process. Hmm, sounded promising. I bought it, took it home, and read it.

I couldn't put it down, I loved it! The blend of suspense, mystery, passion, and compelling believable characters captured my heart.

It was my first romantic suspense novel and it's written by Nora Roberts. At the time I'd never heard of her. Now I've read several of the dozens of novels she's written.

I was still fiddling with Backstage Summer, still hiding behind the illusion of actually writing the YA book. Meanwhile I went on a romance novel reading binge. For several years, I read dozens and dozens of romance novels -- mostly longer ones -- and discovered I loved them. I adore the blend of sexual tension, conflict, suspense, and the emotionally satisfying ending. My preferred genres are contemporary, contemporary romantic suspense, and historical suspense. Although the paranormal genre has fast become one of the most popular in romance and YA, it isn't my cup of coffee. :)

In the Spring of 2003, I went through a divorce from my husband, sold my house, quit my job, and moved from Massachusetts to Maine. Each of these changes are monumental in of themselves, but doing them all in one month was life-changing to say the least.

Living in a small cottage in the woods of Maine with my two felines, Coco and Lilly, the idea for my first romance novel blossomed in my mind.

In March of 2004, I joined Romance Writers of America, and became a member of the local chapter located in Brunswick, Maine. I met several romance writers and authors in the group, and felt like I'd finally found my writing niche. I also bought two books on writing romance, and so began my new journey as a writer of romance novels. I worked for several months to understand the dynamics of writing a long, complex novel. I dissected two of my favorite books -- Hidden Riches being one of them -- to comprehend what made it work, and why it worked for me.

And then the long, arduous, difficult road of having a finished manuscript in my hand was before me. I was determined to write and rewrite, and continue on writing until I was finished. Three years later, my first manuscript Summer Light was finally completed. It is a 110,000 word passionate, contemporary romance with elements of suspense. Most definitely my cup of Starbucks coffee!

Summer Light:
Jackson Sweeney is one of the top movie stars in Hollywood; Angela McCabe lives a quiet, academic life. Their worlds collide, their passions ignite during one unforgettable New England summer.

In the fall of 2005, I moved again. I left New England for sunny Florida and reside on a small barrier island on the central west coast. It is the inspiration for my second novel, Island Moon. I have finished the rough draft and am in the process of revising and rewriting.

My third novel, Storms in Winter is set in Lowell, Massachusetts and is also a work-in-progress.

One day I hope to revisit Backstage Summer and complete the novel. My inspiration for much of my writing is still Betty Cavanna. I admire her lifelong dedication to her craft, and although dated, her stories still ring true with her vivid descriptions, rich characterizations, and the emotional connection to her readers.
Exactly what I hope to achieve with my stories. :)

Phantom's Touch

Just released...

Julie Leto, New York Times bestselling author, delivers an exciting new novel in her series about brothers who were cursed by Gypsies -- and the contemporary women whose passions touch their destinies.

http://julieleto.com/

Phantom's Touch is the second in Julie Leto's phantom series. The first in the series is Phantom Pleasures and what a pleasure it was to read.

Hot and sensual -- a phantom fantasy you won't want to miss! -- Author Carly Phillps -- NYT bestselling author.

Buy it now, and enjoy!! :)

My Writing Journey -- The Early Years

In first grade, I wrote and illustrated my first book titled Billy Goes to the Hospital. It was a gripping tale of poor little Billy who breaks his leg and ends up in the hospital. The nurses and doctors take good care of him, and soon he goes home with his mother and father. My first grade teacher helped me write out the letters for the text. Not bad for age six.

Back in my very young years, I was obsessed with all things "hospital". I wanted to be a nurse. By the time I was in the first grade, I'd had already had my one overnight stay in a hospital to have my tonsils removed -- that was all the rage back in the late fifties and early sixties -- so most of my early writing involved hospital stories. I then moved on to stories about school and camp. Having attended overnight camp at the age of eight, I was on my "summer camp" kick for a couple of years.

After all, we writers usually write what we know. :)

I was extremely lucky growing up. I had a mother and father, two older sisters, and a younger brother. I had a built in set of friends, and we all shared the thrill of creating stories in common. (see my earlier post A Family of Writers) There were many weekends that were very "Little Women" in our home. We would spend all day Saturday and Sunday writing a play, choosing the roles, memorizing the lines, figuring out the props and costumes, and then by Sunday afternoon or evening, our very supportive and patient parents would sit down and endure whatever production we presented to them.

All through junior and senior high school, I wrote short stories and poetry -- almost always keeping it private. At fourteen, I wrote a play for my ancient history class. I wasn't doing well in the class so for extra credit I decided to write a play. My teacher seemed to love it, so the next thing I knew I was in charge of producing, directing and acting in my own play. I had been taking acting lessons and had been involved in several plays (our home theater included) since I was six, so I embraced my production. After several weeks of rehearsals, and along with five of my classmates, my play was performed in front of an assembly of classes at school. Very cool. I do believe I received an A in ancient history that term. :)

My favorite writer when I was a teenager was YA author, Betty Cavanna. She wrote nearly a hundred books from the 1940's all the way into the 1990's. She was a wonderful writer of stories involving young adult women. Her stories were filled with beautiful prose capturing the emotional essence of struggling to grow up in middle-class American society. Her characters always felt like real breathing young women dealing with a myriad of problems and conflicts. Her stories reached beyond the ABC Afternoon Special pap. They were filled with vibrant emotions, endearing characters, stunning settings; heart-wrenching stories involving everything from racial tensions, sibling rivalry, school, death, divorce, and teenage romance.
Her books (many I still own and read again on occasion) also always have an emotionally optimistic ending.

I decided I wanted to write a book as memorable and poignant as Betty Cavanna!

So began my journey as a writer for young people. I became a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. http://www.scbwi.org/ Something I highly recommend for anyone interested in the pursuit of writing for young people. I worked for years on short stories for children and younger teens. Now they call them tweens, I believe. I also began to write my young adult novel, Backstage Summer.

Backstage Summer is about fifteen-year-old Jamie Sims who moves to a new town in Massachusetts and becomes involved in the local summer stock theater. She develops a friendship with the theater owner's teenage son, and a desire to perform in one of the summer productions. The plot thickens with the discovery of a mysterious boy hiding out in the theater attic.

My time (when not working at my day jobs in retail or banking) was filled with learning the skills I needed to write and complete Backstage Summer. I took writing classes, joined critique groups, attended conferences and retreats, and read a variety of books on writing. For years, I wrote and revised and rewrote the first ten chapters of Backstage Summer. I worked hard toward understanding the development of characterization and the complexities of writing a longer story. Although I continued to work on the book, I had trouble bringing it to completion.

I finally realized that I either had to finish the darn book, or reevaluate the kind of writing and stories that truly inspired me.

There was a current of change blowing on the wind...

Published Friends

In the past few weeks, several members of my local RWA chapter, Tampa Area Romance Authors, have had new books published.

First I would like to say a special congratulations to Elissa Wilds on the publication of her first book Between Light and Dark. Elissa's book is a paranormal story full of magic and romance.

C.L. Wilson's third book in her Tairen Soul series, King of Sword and Sky was released at the end of October. King of Sword and Sky continues the epic journey of Rain Tairen Soul through the mystical fantasy of the Fading Lands.

Two weeks ago, Virginia Henley's newest book, The Decadent Duke was released. No one can match Virginia's blend of historical accuracy and passionate romance. Her sweeping, sensual romances are always a delight.

Check your local bookstores for Between Light and Dark, King of Sword and Sky, and The Decadent Duke!

http://elissawilds.com/
http://clwilson.com/
http://virginiahenley.com/