tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38992904837137088212024-03-08T05:25:59.297-08:00Tatiana MarchAuthor of romantic novelsBlog adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624650809529523834noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3899290483713708821.post-83553665938519189182020-11-18T07:28:00.001-08:002020-11-18T07:29:45.421-08:00Writing again<p><span style="font-family: arial;">After taking a break of nearly three years from writing I've started again. Harlequin Historical is currently not publishing Western Historical Romance, so I've gone back to romantic suspense.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">My first new release is available as Kindle ebook, including Kindle Unlimited.</span></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XQG7zEPiuTM/X7U2wWyAIHI/AAAAAAAAAkg/SSDqNYJCA6E3GD1SildqKtP31f1okidjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Cover%2BFinal%2BChapter6%2Bcopyborder.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1393" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XQG7zEPiuTM/X7U2wWyAIHI/AAAAAAAAAkg/SSDqNYJCA6E3GD1SildqKtP31f1okidjgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Cover%2BFinal%2BChapter6%2Bcopyborder.jpg" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The Final Chapter is quite a complex story. In addition to the romance it has a strong focus on a conspiracy involving the Roman Catholic Church and the Book of Revelation. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">The heroine, Amanda, is an English lawyer, aged 32, and she has just been dumped by her fiance. The hero, Karel, is a Czech cop, aged 37. He used to be a world class athlete but had to retire from sport due to injury, and he still carries that sense of disappointment with him...until he meets Amanda and decides she is everything he has ever wanted in life.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Here is the blurb:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">Caught in the Prague floods of 2002, London lawyer Amanda Redfern
witnesses the death of an old man and becomes embroiled in a fifty year old
conspiracy involving the Roman Catholic Church and the Book of Revelation.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">Karel Nentvich, a Czech police officer, rescues Amanda from an evacuated
building, and from the first moment he sees her, he decides she is the woman
for him.</p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;">To win a future with Amanda, Karel must help her to overcome the hurt of past
betrayals, and keep her safe from the evil that circles around them while they
unravel the obscure history of the group of old men who call themselves <i>The Chosen Ones.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0cm;"><i><br /></i></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">You can read two excerpts <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/page/edit/3899290483713708821/9121822085481365299" target="_blank">here</a></span></p><p><br /></p>Blog adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624650809529523834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3899290483713708821.post-12078754843031236752017-01-08T06:13:00.000-08:002017-01-12T10:33:46.154-08:00HIS MAIL-ORDER BRIDE coming out from Harlequin Historical<div abp="574" align="center">
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<span abp="589" lang="EN-US"><em abp="1720">Release date March 2017. Available to pre-order now:</em> </span></div>
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<span abp="589" lang="EN-US"><a abp="591" href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mail-Order-Bride-Fairfax-Brides-Book/dp/0263925684" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a> <a abp="780" href="https://www.amazon.com/His-Mail-Order-Bride-Fairfax-Brides/dp/0373299192" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> <a abp="784" href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/his-mail-order-bride-tatiana-march/1124363352" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a></span></div>
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Blog adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624650809529523834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3899290483713708821.post-69002497378227529602014-09-21T09:24:00.001-07:002014-09-26T23:22:41.562-07:00Circle Star re-released<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ah2tqiP-4ik/VB72_R5gP8I/AAAAAAAAAWU/g3OBwGPt530/s1600/Cover%2BCircle%2BStar%2Balt%2Btitle%2Bcopy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ah2tqiP-4ik/VB72_R5gP8I/AAAAAAAAAWU/g3OBwGPt530/s320/Cover%2BCircle%2BStar%2Balt%2Btitle%2Bcopy.jpg" /></a>I've finally completed the revised edition of Circle Star, a full length western historical romance. I wrote Circle Star in 2006, immediately after finishing Klondike Dreams, a long historical novel set in the Klondike gold rush. I did a huge amount of research for Klondike Dreams, my first historical novel, and I wanted to put some of that knowledge to use in another work set around the same period.<br />
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I also wanted to write a historical romance that fitted as closely as possible to the popular category romance formula—alpha hero, spunky but feminine heroine, and a nasty villain.<br />
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While I was writing the story, the heroine’s best friend gained a more prominent role than I had intended, which resulted in a book with two intertwined stories about two different couples fighting the same villains.<br />
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I submitted the book to Harlequin, but by the time they got back to me almost a year later with some potentially good news, I had become tired of waiting and had offered the book elsewhere. It was published in 2008—my first published novel—by Resplendence Publishing. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iA0x3Uor0AE/VB76bHpJetI/AAAAAAAAAWo/yXupRRtaATc/s1600/Ranch%2Bhouse%2Bfront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iA0x3Uor0AE/VB76bHpJetI/AAAAAAAAAWo/yXupRRtaATc/s1600/Ranch%2Bhouse%2Bfront.jpg" height="151" width="200" /></a>Although the book received mainly positive reviews, some readers disliked the way the focus shifted to a different couple halfway through the story. A few years later, I withdrew the novel from publication, with the view of revising the story to separate it into two parts.<br />
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This turned out more difficult than I had expected. I broke up the story but it didn’t work. I put it back together but made the two stories intertwined from the beginning. That didn’t work either. I separated the stories once more and mulled over them for months. The only way to solve the dilemma was to add several chapters of new material to Susanna’s story, and edit Claire’s story to delink some of the overlapping events.<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xArfwVxEwPY/VB76y6i8yGI/AAAAAAAAAW4/UDpXgmAWHAk/s1600/Texas%2Brangers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xArfwVxEwPY/VB76y6i8yGI/AAAAAAAAAW4/UDpXgmAWHAk/s1600/Texas%2Brangers.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><br />
Better? Or just different? Every writer wrestles with those doubts during the rewriting and editing process. I hope that the days and weeks I spent on the revisions have made the story more enjoyable. <br />
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CIRCLE STAR will be available on Kindle, $ 3.99. It will be available to borrow in Kindle Owners' Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited.<br />
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If anyone who bought the Resplendence Publishing edition would like a copy of the revised edition, please email me on tatiana.march@yahoo.com and I'll send you a PDF file.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NT6MKF0">Buy from Amazon.com</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Circle-Star-Tatiana-March-ebook/dp/B00NT6MKF0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1411798902&sr=1-1&keywords=circle+star">Bur from Amazon.co.uk</a>Blog adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624650809529523834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3899290483713708821.post-75541846340789042522013-12-03T02:22:00.001-08:002017-02-11T10:56:39.095-08:00Writing of Ballet Shoes and Engine GreaseI have read several books where the hero stands to inherit a fortune provides he gets married. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R5Uogm96yE4/Up2wQpXhdbI/AAAAAAAAAV4/bt6K5sQozqQ/s1600/Ballet+Shoes+cover+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R5Uogm96yE4/Up2wQpXhdbI/AAAAAAAAAV4/bt6K5sQozqQ/s320/Ballet+Shoes+cover+copy.jpg" width="217" /></a>He finds a female who -- against a suitable financial compensation -- agrees to become his wife for a stipulated period, usually one year. Although he eventually falls in love with the heroine, he resents her for being a money-grabbing opportunist who was willing to sell herself into marriage.<br />
<br />
And yet, wasn't the hero doing just the same? He was getting married for no other reason but financial gain. It was simply that his price tag was higher, and he thought that he was somehow entitled to the fortune he would inherit if he satisfied the conditions in his father's / grandfather's / uncle's will.<br />
<br />
I wanted to bring a new twist into that situation. What if the hero had enough stubbornness in him, enough moral backbone not to allow anyone to dictate his life? What if he said NO to the marriage and instead chose to walk away from a fortune? <br />
<br />
I added another complication by requiring the hero to marry a particular woman before he could inherit, and then created a situation where the hero would have to work together with the woman he'd spurned. <br />
<br />
I don't normally put real people in my books. (The only exception is COSMIC FORCES where the hero, Drake Lundberg, is based on someone I know.) However, I often use actual events, little bits of real lives that I've learned about.<br />
<br />
In this book, I used two such incidents in the backstory of the hero and heroine.<br />
<br />
One of my cousins has a friend who used to be a ballet dancer, but had to give up her international career after she developed a dust allergy. And, one of my co-workers walked away from a car wreck after an accident, only to discover the following day that he had lost movement in his legs. Fortunately, he recovered after medical treatment and intensive physical therapy, just as the hero in my book did.<br />
<br />
I didn't have to do a huge amount of research for Ballet Shoes and Engine Grease. A bit about ballet, and antiques, and making dolls' houses. I already knew something about Grand Prix motor racing, but I had to deepen my knowledge, and I had to study companies that manufacture and market luxury, limited edition cars. Business and law used to be my field, so those aspects only required a small amount of fact checking. <br />
<br />
For the location, I made up a fictitious small town in New York State, an area I'm reasonably familiar with. The general location is not important to the story, but I wanted to include the contrast between living in a big city and a peaceful small town where everyone knows everyone.<br />
<br />
To fit in with the small town atmosphere, I gave the families an important role in this book. The cool, sophisticated mother of the hero, and the raucous, uneducated mother of the heroine, each have their own little side plots. Both have to adapt to their circumstances, accept the past and learn to overcome the knocks life has dealt them.<br />
<br />
There are also numerous supporting characters. For me, the most memorable one is Soames, the inscrutable butler who runs the stately home where some of the events take place.<br />
<br />
I hope you'll enjoy reading the book and meeting the cast.Blog adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624650809529523834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3899290483713708821.post-41317907899903892042013-10-31T04:24:00.001-07:002017-02-11T10:54:25.755-08:00Writing of Klondike Dreams<br />
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8QtdlGrXXqc/Upcs6H7blVI/AAAAAAAAAPE/jVyuvvpNWkA/s1600/Cover+Klondike+Dreams+plain+titles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8QtdlGrXXqc/Upcs6H7blVI/AAAAAAAAAPE/jVyuvvpNWkA/s320/Cover+Klondike+Dreams+plain+titles.jpg" width="200" /></a>My interest in the Klondike gold rush began by accident. I was hiking in a historical gold mining area, when my companion wanted to look at some books in a tourist office. While he was browsing in the wildlife section, I started leafing through a book about two brothers who made their fortune in the Klondike.<br />
<br />
I was instantly hooked. When I got home, I read everything I could on the Internet. I ordered books on Amazon, and scoured second hand book shops for copies of out of print editions. It was a fascinating, fascinating event, a captivating slice of history, the last of the great gold rushes, taking place at the cusp of the great social change that lead up to modern times.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P8qd2nm_vcA/Upcx-7jd8gI/AAAAAAAAAPU/ZuOT6FD0NBM/s1600/Mining+deed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="206" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P8qd2nm_vcA/Upcx-7jd8gI/AAAAAAAAAPU/ZuOT6FD0NBM/s320/Mining+deed.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
In my research of letters and diaries, I was surprised to learn how close the language of the period was to today’s usage. The world truly was hurtling toward a new century. Women were clamouring for emancipation, railroads provided efficient transport, newspapers spread information rapidly around the world. The cheap camera had been invented, allowing travellers to take snapshots which supplement the records of professional photographers.</div>
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According to estimates, roughly 300,000 people set off on the journey toward the Klondike and 30,000 made it to Dawson City. Of those, only around 3,000 found gold and perhaps 300 struck it rich. One day, I hope to hike the Chilkoot trail, tracing the footsteps of Cora and Johan. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9HFo3Rd5hUk/Upcx_3VtmpI/AAAAAAAAAPY/8t4ehlhtVFU/s1600/Turf+cabin+in+Lapland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9HFo3Rd5hUk/Upcx_3VtmpI/AAAAAAAAAPY/8t4ehlhtVFU/s320/Turf+cabin+in+Lapland.jpg" width="320" /></a>Below is a list of some of the main sources that helped me with the background. There is plenty more, these are just a sample of where to start if you are interested in learning more. I’ve listed the editions I have, there may be others available. </div>
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My favourite book is the one by Pierre Berton, a beautifully written history of the gold rush, packed with factual information and anecdotes. I’m sure some of its influence can be seen in the scenic descriptions of my book. I recommend the Canadian edition, which contains several hand drawn maps not included in the US edition.</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Books:</span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 18pt 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<ul>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Pierre Berton: Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush 1896-1899, Anchor Canada 2001</div>
</li>
<li>Frances Backhouse: Women of the Klondike, Whitecap Books 2000</li>
<li>Tappan Adney: The Klondike Stampede, UBC Press 2003</li>
<li>Jeremiah Lynch: Three Years in the Klondike, Narrative Press 2001</li>
<li>William Bronson: The Last Grand Adventure, McGraw-Hill 1977</li>
<li>Manual for Nursing, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1878</li>
<li>Lavinia Dock, Material Medica for Nurses, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1898</li>
<li>Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd: King’s American Dispensary 1898</li>
<li>Penguin History of the USA 1865-1900</li>
</ul>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 12pt 0cm; text-align: justify;">
Articles and documents available on the Internet:</div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt; text-align: justify;">
<ul>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
Ruth Mellor: History of the VON Klondike Nurses</div>
</li>
<li>Mary Hitchcock: Two women in the Klondike</li>
<li>Alice Edna Berry: The Bushes and the Berrys</li>
<li>Sylvain Cazelet: History of the New York Medical College and Hospital for Women</li>
<li>Jack London: Economics of the Klondike</li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
In addition, there are journals and diaries and pamphlets and official documents and transport timetables and restaurant menus and all sorts of interesting details available on the Internet, as well extensive photographs collections of the Klondike gold rush. I spent a lot of time studying the photographs by Eric Hegg, Frank La Roche, and Asahel Curtis, available in the digital collections of the University of Washington Libraries.<br />
<br />
My other research included history of New York City and Chicago, US railroads, Finnish history, South African history, history and techniques of gold mining, Victorian era dress, hairstyles, and social etiquette, history of nursing in the US and Canada, history of pharmacy and drug dispensing in the US, history and treatment of the medical conditions of spinal meningitis, scurvy, and typhoid fever. <br />
<br />
I have tried to incorporate actual events into my story, such as the avalanche on 3 April 1898 that killed a number of stampeders on the Chilkoot trail but allowed an ox to survive, the rigged race to stake claims on Dominion Creek, the typhoid epidemic that raged through Dawson City that summer, and the fire on the night of 26 April 1899 that destroyed much of the town because the fire fighters had gone on strike. The Tacoma is not a real boat, but a composite of two different vessels which are described in some of the sources. And there really was a man with cats, although I could only find brief references to him and had to use my imagination to fill in the details. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
I hope that my extensive reading helps the story to sound authentic, and that you find the history of the Klondike gold rush interesting</div>
Blog adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624650809529523834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3899290483713708821.post-52998622890107281742012-11-02T08:19:00.000-07:002012-11-02T08:19:44.786-07:00Writing of Trading Favors
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7R0OjbidcJU/UF9iqNGSUAI/AAAAAAAAADg/6IMgAyH9QwQ/s1600/Cover+Trading+Favors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7R0OjbidcJU/UF9iqNGSUAI/AAAAAAAAADg/6IMgAyH9QwQ/s320/Cover+Trading+Favors.jpg" width="217" /></a><span lang="EN-US">I wanted to write a short piece about a
woman at a low point in her life. Death is too somber a topic for lighthearted romance,
so I picked divorce. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Maddie Livingston has been dumped by her
husband. She is unable to have kids. The builder working on her house has
walked off with her money. She is reduced to living in a heap of rubble with a hole
in the roof and can barely afford to pay the bills.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">The story kicks off when Maddie goes into
nightclub to drown her sorrows on the day her divorce becomes final. In the
bar, she spots the builder who cheated her. She lets him hear what she thinks
of him. She’s got it all wrong—the builder is a nice guy. He takes pity on her
and tries to get her back on her feet, not only by fixing her house, but by
boosting her confidence as a woman.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">A blue-collar man and an upper class woman
with discerning tastes. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">How will they get on?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">If they are good in bed, is it enough
foundation for lasting love?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">What about their friends and families? How
will they react?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">It took me a few drafts to get everything
to my liking. Initially, I wanted some element of class prejudice but nothing
too heavy—just enough for it to be feasible in the modern world. I also struggled
to get Maddie’s character right. Despite being at a low point in her life, I
didn’t want her to come across spineless or full of self pity. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">I wanted an underlying layer of optimism,
which I hope I’ve achieved.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Trading Favors didn’t require a much
research. A bit on construction, a bit on fertility treatments, a bit on
antiques. While I was revising, I realized I hadn’t given a specific location.
The story could have been anywhere in the US. It was winter, and there was no
snow, so I settled on North Carolina where I used to spend time in the
Raleigh/Durham area. I added a fleeting reference to the location, although it
could really have been anywhere.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">In the early drafts, the opening and
closing scenes showed the heroine reminiscing after the hero’s death. One of my
critique partners hated the idea. For her to know that the hero dies, even if
it might be twenty years later, ruined the story.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">So, I changed it. The heroine is still
reminiscing about the past, but in the closing scene the hero comes home and
reveals a something about their first romantic encounter that he had never
shared with her before.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">I’m glad I made the change. I love the new
ending. It leaves me with a warm glow about not just falling in love, but that
the right kind of love will endure.</span></div>
Blog adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624650809529523834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3899290483713708821.post-59053615838755466682012-10-23T08:21:00.000-07:002014-10-30T23:38:02.004-07:00Writing Cosmic Forces Extra Scenes<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G9_1L91Pf1o/UF9i8gYFoHI/AAAAAAAAADo/pXh2KnLYAWs/s1600/Cover+Cosmic+Forces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-G9_1L91Pf1o/UF9i8gYFoHI/AAAAAAAAADo/pXh2KnLYAWs/s320/Cover+Cosmic+Forces.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">I wrote Cosmic Forces shortly after I had
signed a contract to write a miniseries of short novellas for Harlequin Historical
Undone (Hot Scottish Knights miniseries will come out early in 2013). I wanted
to try the same limited word count in a contemporary setting.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Many contemporary romance authors write
short pieces. Often these stories are centered on a single event – strangers stranded
in an elevator, a rugged mountain guide and a city girl caught out in a storm. Some
short novellas feature characters who already know each other – a couple fallen
out over a misunderstanding, a heroine in love with her best friend’s brother.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">I wanted to write a story that takes the
hero and heroine from their first meeting to their Happy Ever After in 20,000
words. I also wanted the story to have a plot, and an interesting setting.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">It was difficult to fit everything in.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">I am grateful to any reader who takes the
time to review my books and provide feedback. Some have commented that in
Cosmic Forces the couple falls in love too quickly – although the hero and heroine
have spent more than two weeks together, they haven’t had intimate encounters until all
their feelings flood out in a very public situation.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">I started to think how I could have provided
the romantic push and pull readers like to see. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">This posed some problems: Drake guards
his heart too fiercely to initiate intimacy before he is sure Calista is
prepared to love him totally and completely. Calista can’t really chase Drake because
she is his boss and it might be considered sexual harassment. And, once the television
show begins, their relationship is going to be under spotlight, so the romance
needs to be resolved before then.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sha8p-WHip8/UIazlgoIg-I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/_dQke2LkUtE/s1600/Cover+Cosmic+Forces+Extra+Scenes+ARe+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Sha8p-WHip8/UIazlgoIg-I/AAAAAAAAAEQ/_dQke2LkUtE/s1600/Cover+Cosmic+Forces+Extra+Scenes+ARe+copy.jpg" /></a><span lang="EN-US">I toyed with lots of ideas. Nothing seemed
to work. To me, the explosive coming together during the meeting with the television
people is still the right solution for the hero and the heroine, but I could
see how it might have worked if they had been braver about revealing their
feelings earlier. I’ve written four extra scenes that go at the end of Chapter
Four. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Adding these scenes would need some tiny
edits in the first scene that follows but nothing the reader can’t easily
adjust for in their mind (the kiss on the dance floor is no longer their first
kiss, and Drake's behavior is a little more driven by anger). If get feedback that
readers like these extra scenes, I will incorporate them into the main file.
For now, they are only in this separate Free Read.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">However – apologies to the reviewer –
Calista refuses to give up her nice clothes. She loves glamour, she loves
fashion. Since she got her MBA, she has worked in business and is used to
wearing smart suits and heels. She needs to convince the astronomers that despite
her youth and inexperience, she has the management skills to rescue the
observatory from closure, and she doesn’t want to walk in looking like a student. She
dresses to impress.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US">Thank you for the feedback. I hope the new
scenes fill some of the gap. </span><br />
<br />
Note: In the current release everything is together in one file, edited to blend in the new scenes.<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>
Blog adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09624650809529523834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3899290483713708821.post-80956922034612693762012-10-13T03:18:00.003-07:002014-10-30T23:31:46.459-07:00Writing of Cosmic Forces<span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eej5yYcZjm0/UF8_vIHUMXI/AAAAAAAAADQ/KBQh1w1SejM/s1600/Cover+Cosmic+Forces2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eej5yYcZjm0/UF8_vIHUMXI/AAAAAAAAADQ/KBQh1w1SejM/s320/Cover+Cosmic+Forces2.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US">I wrote Cosmic
Forces very quickly in March 2012. (I hasten to add that I then spent several months revising the story and working with critique partners, editors and proofreaders). The BF was in Africa, crossing Western
Sahara in a four-wheel-drive, and I was alone at home. He'd done a similar trip
a few years earlier. That time, their vehicle broke down and they were stranded
for three days in the desert until another car came along and jump started
their flat battery. A bit nervous about something happening to him, I immersed
myself into the story. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">Some stories almost
write themselves, with the scenes flowing and the characters doing what you
want them to do. Cosmic Forces was one of them. I think research helps -
learning about a new topic seems to boost my creativity. Certainly, in this
case, the setting was a big part of the story. I spent hours researching astronomy
and got hooked. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 72pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">I hadn't realized there are special
telescopes to look at the sun. The one read about the most was the Swedish
Solar Telescope located in La Palma on the Canary Islands in Spain. This
avoided me looking like a fool by having the heroine (who studied the sun)
using a telescope not fit for the purpose.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 72pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">I hadn't realized that
telescopes can be housed in unmanned buildings and operated remotely. The La
Palma observatory with its multiple telescopes, each in a separate dome, looks
as if a gigantic child got into a tantrum and threw a bowl of vanilla ice cream
down a hillside, the individual scoops settling some distance apart on the
rocky slopes.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 72pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">I hadn't realized that most telescope
pictures are not 'live' or 'snapshots', but still photographs created with very
long exposure times to gather enough light to make an image.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 72pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-US">I hadn't realized that professional
astronomers rarely look through the eyepiece on a telescope these days. The
images are caught by a special camera and displayed on a computer screen, and
the computer output can be transmitted to astronomers around the world.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">For my story, I wanted
two people attracted to each other to spend time at night looking at the stars.
First, I thought the story idea would go nowhere, if professional astronomers only
look at the computer output the following morning. Then I found an article on
the web about observing through a 60-inch telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory.
I also found instructions provided by another observatory for disconnecting the
CCD camera from the telescope and attaching the eyepiece for live viewing. These
two articles gave me enough information on how the technical side might work and
a list of suitable objects in the sky for my characters to view.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">I had to study a
little more to make sure I used appropriate terms. For example, I started by
just picking a list of fancy-sounding objects to view. Protostars, brown
dwarfs, etc. Better check<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. Whoops.</i>
Protostars are surrounded by gas and dust and no visible light gets through. The
damn things can only be seen on an infrared telescope. Brown dwarfs don't emit
much light either, so not a good object to view. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">Further, I had to give
each of my characters a specialist area of astronomy to study, and some
academic credentials. I discovered that most major universities offer courses
in astronomy or astrophysics. Double planets (also called binary planets) gave
my heroine a project that sounded romantic. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">Finally, I needed a
setting - my observatory. I had been to Kitt Peak Observatory in Tucson, Arizona.
However, I needed a smaller setup. I Googled a list of observatories in
Arizona, picked a couple and checked the staffing levels and other useful
background. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">Arizona is the
observatory capital of the world. I remember looking at the sky at night during
a camping trip there a few years ago. I'd never seen a sky like that
anywhere else in the world - deep, dark black-blue, dotted with millions of
stars and the Milky Way clearly visible as a pale web stretching end to end.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left; text-indent: 0cm;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oUiAwL0rU_E/UH_SRYcuB9I/AAAAAAAAAEA/blPW0IOFy2c/s1600/Interratial+couple+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oUiAwL0rU_E/UH_SRYcuB9I/AAAAAAAAAEA/blPW0IOFy2c/s320/Interratial+couple+copy.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a><span lang="EN-US">I can't recall why
I chose an interracial couple. It might be because I'd been looking through
some old photographs a while earlier and came across a picture of me with one
of my old flames. Great guy. It didn't work out because we were both very
strong willed and constantly clashing. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">Our breaking up had
nothing to do with us being different race. However, I do remember a few
instances when it became an issue - a disapproving look from a passer-by, or a
shouted insult from a drunken lout, or a hesitant piece of advice from a
well-meaning friend. In my story, I didn't want to overlook the potential
difficulties of an interracial relationship. Even at the risk of sounding
politically incorrect, I wanted my couple to discuss racial prejudice, what it
could mean for them, and in clear words reassure each other that it didn't
matter.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">And it shouldn't
matter.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-indent: 0cm;">
<span lang="EN-US">But the world will
be a better place when such prejudice no longer exists.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Details of COSMIC FORCES on the "Contemporary</span><span style="font-size: large;">" page.</span></div>
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