You've all heard the--ack!--cliches:
"You're never given more than you can handle."
"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
"That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
I've been having that kind of month--the "how much streeeeetch is left in this rubber band, anyway?" kinda day-after-day. I offered to trade w/Atlas. He said no thanks. If one more person mentions a light at the end of the tunnel or the end of the rainbow, I'm gonna scream! <LOL>
But weirdly enough, you can use it as inspiration for writing. Because all the "experts" tell you that whenever you get into a writing rut, "up the stakes." Which is basically, making it WAY worse for your characters than it already was. Up the stakes. Increase the tension and the drama. Make it way more interesting for the reader, even as your characters plot to stab you in your sleep...
You really have to look at the level in the cup and decide how the character would view it. The level of "can do." Because wallowing is human nature, but at some time the heroine has to put on her big girl panties and say, "Know what? This PITA situation's not gonna resolve itself, and I'm sick of the way things are." She either fixes it, or throws it aside and moves on. Change is scary, but the best kind of character to cheer for is the one who TAKES ACTION. Even if they don't succeed at everything (hard to relate to that perfect superwoman), you want your readers to recognize a character's humanity and be able to relate to them.
I want to be a good role model for my kids, be someone they can look up to and admire. I know my
situation's not the worst in the world, but it's causing some hard choices and that's not necessarily a bad thing for kids to see and realize that nothing comes without cost--for everything you get or do, something else has to be let go. Prioritize. Plan long-term. Teach them to survive. Teach them the difference between want and need.
Characters are the ideal--you can let them have the victories that elude you. You can tie up all their loose ends. No matter the setting or time period or scenario, people all have certain things in common. What Campbell used to call universal truths. Nothing's more inspiring than taking a bit of heart from a story or legend to get you over a bad spell. When things happen, how you respond is what keeps you growing and changing and moving forward.
Be the hero in your own story. Give yourself something to look back on with pride. Be the kind of grandma your kids tell tales of to THEIR kids!
Never quit.
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Friday, October 19, 2012
Men That Inspire My Imagination
Sometimes you can just look at a man and see him as the perfect hero in a certain situation... at least I do. One of the fun things about being a writer. I don't just admire men for their good looks. I size them up for hero-quality.
The first hero-quality man on my list is Joe Thomas (note: Facebook link). I met him through Luis Rafael's facebook page (I'm a subscriber). Joe Thomas is YUMMY with a billboard-sized Y. I leave comments on all the pictures of him that Luis posts and I know Joe has gotta be laughing at me. But I don't care. Totally worth being silly over.
Joe Thomas is total shifter material. Not something as frail as a wolf. Not with that body. Maybe a bear or a tiger. I would love him as a tiger. But yeah, definitely one of the bigger carnivorous animals. I can't see him as anything else but a shifter. And while I don't have him in a story yet, it's on the horizon. :D
But Joe is my latest crush. Before him, I was all Luke Goss all the time. I first saw this man as Nomak in Blade II and then again as Prince Nuada in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Is it sad that I was rooting for Prince Nuada to win? Somebody that good looking should never lose. It's not fair.
I actually have already used Luke Goss for a hero model for Lucien in my book Eris written under my other name. Lucien is an immortal and a very strong presence. I couldn't imagine any other model than Luke Goss. If the magical day comes that the book becomes a movie, I'm putting him being cast as Lucien as a clause in my contract. Yes, I dream big.
Not all of my hero inspirations are real men. Some are characters created for other people's stories. Either their look or the personality (or both) inspired me to find a heroine and a story from my universe that would suit them.
The first on that list is Sesshoumaru from the anime Inu Yasha. I love the strong (usually moody) silent type. He has a bad attitude and will kill someone at the drop of a hat, but that just makes him the perfect alpha male. I also love the way he looks. Anime boys can be so pretty. :)
Speaking of pretty anime boys, the next is Yue from Card Captor Sakura. Look out, it's another strong, moody silent type. What can I say? At least I'm consistent. Since his personality and looks are so close to Sesshoumaru (it's a staple anime archetype), I would probably end up amalgamating them to create my hero.
And what type of story would I put them in? Hmmm... it would have to be fantasy because he would be a magic user. He and the heroine would be reluctant partners (love that storyline). Above all, at no point would he stop being moody. No mushy declarations of love from this hero. In fact, talk of the softer emotions would make him moodier. The heroine would have to learn to interpret his grumpiness to discern his emotions.
It's a plot full of strife and arguments, but those are the stories I have the most fun writing. There are many, many other men in my list, but I'll save them for another time.
----
Zenobia Renquist
Discover Different & Unique Romance
http://about.me/zenobiarenquist
The first hero-quality man on my list is Joe Thomas (note: Facebook link). I met him through Luis Rafael's facebook page (I'm a subscriber). Joe Thomas is YUMMY with a billboard-sized Y. I leave comments on all the pictures of him that Luis posts and I know Joe has gotta be laughing at me. But I don't care. Totally worth being silly over.
Joe Thomas is total shifter material. Not something as frail as a wolf. Not with that body. Maybe a bear or a tiger. I would love him as a tiger. But yeah, definitely one of the bigger carnivorous animals. I can't see him as anything else but a shifter. And while I don't have him in a story yet, it's on the horizon. :D
But Joe is my latest crush. Before him, I was all Luke Goss all the time. I first saw this man as Nomak in Blade II and then again as Prince Nuada in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Is it sad that I was rooting for Prince Nuada to win? Somebody that good looking should never lose. It's not fair.
I actually have already used Luke Goss for a hero model for Lucien in my book Eris written under my other name. Lucien is an immortal and a very strong presence. I couldn't imagine any other model than Luke Goss. If the magical day comes that the book becomes a movie, I'm putting him being cast as Lucien as a clause in my contract. Yes, I dream big.
Not all of my hero inspirations are real men. Some are characters created for other people's stories. Either their look or the personality (or both) inspired me to find a heroine and a story from my universe that would suit them.
The first on that list is Sesshoumaru from the anime Inu Yasha. I love the strong (usually moody) silent type. He has a bad attitude and will kill someone at the drop of a hat, but that just makes him the perfect alpha male. I also love the way he looks. Anime boys can be so pretty. :)
Speaking of pretty anime boys, the next is Yue from Card Captor Sakura. Look out, it's another strong, moody silent type. What can I say? At least I'm consistent. Since his personality and looks are so close to Sesshoumaru (it's a staple anime archetype), I would probably end up amalgamating them to create my hero.
And what type of story would I put them in? Hmmm... it would have to be fantasy because he would be a magic user. He and the heroine would be reluctant partners (love that storyline). Above all, at no point would he stop being moody. No mushy declarations of love from this hero. In fact, talk of the softer emotions would make him moodier. The heroine would have to learn to interpret his grumpiness to discern his emotions.
It's a plot full of strife and arguments, but those are the stories I have the most fun writing. There are many, many other men in my list, but I'll save them for another time.
----
Zenobia Renquist
Discover Different & Unique Romance
http://about.me/zenobiarenquist
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Inspirations for Undercurrent by Zenobia Renquist
Sorry. I'm late. To be fair, it's 3AM in Hawaii. But on with the show. :D
Let's talk about inspiration for my newest release Undercurrent. A few people have asked where I came up with the idea of a water spirit. Undercurrent is part of the Changeling Press multi-author series Wet. To be included in the series, the story must include a main character who inhabits water. Of course, the first thing people think of is mermaids. But I already had a mermaid story and I wanted to go beyond that.
That's when I remembered several things.
#1 - Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, an animated film by Dreamworks featuring Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Loved this movie. It was action-packed and hilarious with a love story. I highly recommend it. In this movie, Sinbad's crew encounters Sirens. But these Sirens were not mermaids, but women made of water.
#2 - PornoMation #3: Dream Spells, a 3D animated porno (yes, porn) that featured a woman engaging a man made out of water who crawled out of her pool. Very fun. :P
Instead of having a main character who lives IN water, I decided to have a character made OF water. Thus Hotsuma was born.
But what else? That's only part of the story. What makes Hotsuma so special? Besides being made of water. Why is he made of water? Was he always that way? And how does he meet Lulu, the story heroine?
The answer for this came from a manga (Japanese comics). I am a serious manga fanatic and I review most of the manga I read on my blog. One title I had reviewed prior to writing Undercurrent was Living For Tomorrow by Taishi Zaou. Zaou-sensei told the story of a boy who is the son of an ageman (ah-gay-mahn) -- a Japanese woman who brings luck to those she touches.
The story goes on to detail his trials and tribulations with finding love while people try to take advantage of him since he might have inherited his mother's powers, which upsets him since ageman are usually women. It's a great story if you enjoy comedy and male/male stories.
Anywho, that gave me my jumping off point. Hotsuma is a living good luck charm for his family and they have trapped him in water to make sure he never leaves the family. Lulu stumbles across Hotsuma and a way to free him, thus their relationship begins.
I enjoyed writing the story and characters so much that I ended up giving it a sequel -- Overflow (release date TBA).
Undercurrent
Wet, Book 3 (multi-author series)
by Zenobia Renquist
Changeling Press
eBook BIN: 05924-01900
Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance, Magical Creatures, Interracial/Multicultural
Price: $4.49
Length: Novella
Still water hides deep passion.
Lulu was sent to spy on the competition so she could find out the secret of their success. Her search turns up Hotsuma, a man bound to water so he can use his power to bring good luck to those who imprisoned him.
Working to set him free ignites a passion in Lulu only Hotsuma can quench, but they can't afford to let sex, no matter how good, distract them. Hotsuma's captors aren't about to let Lulu leave with their property, and they're willing to use deadly force to stop her. They'll need more than luck for their new love to survive.
Buy Now
http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1900
Read full first chapter online
http://www.drb1stchp.com/2012/09/undercurrent-by-zenobia-renquist.html
--
Zenobia Renquist
Discover Different and Unique Romance
http://about.me/zenobiarenquist
Let's talk about inspiration for my newest release Undercurrent. A few people have asked where I came up with the idea of a water spirit. Undercurrent is part of the Changeling Press multi-author series Wet. To be included in the series, the story must include a main character who inhabits water. Of course, the first thing people think of is mermaids. But I already had a mermaid story and I wanted to go beyond that.
That's when I remembered several things.
#1 - Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, an animated film by Dreamworks featuring Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Loved this movie. It was action-packed and hilarious with a love story. I highly recommend it. In this movie, Sinbad's crew encounters Sirens. But these Sirens were not mermaids, but women made of water.
#2 - PornoMation #3: Dream Spells, a 3D animated porno (yes, porn) that featured a woman engaging a man made out of water who crawled out of her pool. Very fun. :P
Instead of having a main character who lives IN water, I decided to have a character made OF water. Thus Hotsuma was born.
But what else? That's only part of the story. What makes Hotsuma so special? Besides being made of water. Why is he made of water? Was he always that way? And how does he meet Lulu, the story heroine?
The answer for this came from a manga (Japanese comics). I am a serious manga fanatic and I review most of the manga I read on my blog. One title I had reviewed prior to writing Undercurrent was Living For Tomorrow by Taishi Zaou. Zaou-sensei told the story of a boy who is the son of an ageman (ah-gay-mahn) -- a Japanese woman who brings luck to those she touches.
The story goes on to detail his trials and tribulations with finding love while people try to take advantage of him since he might have inherited his mother's powers, which upsets him since ageman are usually women. It's a great story if you enjoy comedy and male/male stories.
Anywho, that gave me my jumping off point. Hotsuma is a living good luck charm for his family and they have trapped him in water to make sure he never leaves the family. Lulu stumbles across Hotsuma and a way to free him, thus their relationship begins.
I enjoyed writing the story and characters so much that I ended up giving it a sequel -- Overflow (release date TBA).
UndercurrentWet, Book 3 (multi-author series)
by Zenobia Renquist
Changeling Press
eBook BIN: 05924-01900
Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance, Magical Creatures, Interracial/Multicultural
Price: $4.49
Length: Novella
Still water hides deep passion.
Lulu was sent to spy on the competition so she could find out the secret of their success. Her search turns up Hotsuma, a man bound to water so he can use his power to bring good luck to those who imprisoned him.
Working to set him free ignites a passion in Lulu only Hotsuma can quench, but they can't afford to let sex, no matter how good, distract them. Hotsuma's captors aren't about to let Lulu leave with their property, and they're willing to use deadly force to stop her. They'll need more than luck for their new love to survive.
Buy Now
http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1900
Read full first chapter online
http://www.drb1stchp.com/2012/09/undercurrent-by-zenobia-renquist.html
--
Zenobia Renquist
Discover Different and Unique Romance
http://about.me/zenobiarenquist
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Authors that Inspire Me
From the time I began to read which was about 3 all the way till now, I can think of a multitude of authors who shaped my thinking. As a child, I loved reading anything by Dr. Seuss and the Brothers Grimm fairytales. Back then, there were also books where your parents could put your name in the book and make you part of the story. Just found out those still exist. *giggle*
When I was a teen, I read Edgar Allen Poe, VC Andrews and got into some of the romance novels by Barbara Cortland and Fern Michaels. I used to sneak and read the smut from Jackie Collins. *laughs* Also around that time, I got into Anne Rice, reading her books from cover to cover and when I was finally old enough, I got into more dirty, smexy books. The Penthouse letters, stories in Playgirl, more Fern and Anne and much later, Zane.
This is when I finally began writing erotica on my own. Albeit horrible since I hadn’t thought about writing mechanics or even half the things I do now. I joined a mailing list online called Erotica Readers and Writers Association and read early works from the likes of today’s famous romance and or erotica writers in their beginning stages like Jolie DuPre, TreSart Sioux, and my editor Sascha Illyvich. I also gained the thick skin I do now because some in the group were hard core critics. They’d tell me straight up if the story was unreadable which in a few cases it was.I considered that a valuable lesson and still part of that group today.
Back to reading and fast forward. These days I still read a lot but mostly m/m. My favourites are Sue Brown, Tara Lain, LA Witt, and GA Hauser but I’m also into Carol Lynne, Remmy Duchene Cassandre Dayne, Patricia Logan and Lisa Worrall. A lot of them are my peers but from each one I know I’ve learned something valuable. In my mind, every author, no matter what stage they’re in can teach you something about your own and since I’m a newbie I still have a lot to learn.
Going back through the history, I suppose I could say I’ve picked up something from everything I’ve read. I love humor, romance, hot sex, complex characters, and vivid descriptions. From all of these brilliant writers and others I’ve picked up those traits. I hope to improve on my own so one day I too can inspire another writer.
Author Sharita Lira: The Triad, otherwise known as the characters in the head of Sharita Lira are three separate muses that are the driving force behind her small amount of success. Misses Lira sees her own life as one that is very ordinary, so instead of presenting herself out to the world, she created three personalities that continue to haunt her all hours of the night to get several WIP’s done at the speed of light, and push her to the brink of sheer exhaustion, but she loves it and that’s the reason she hasn’t told them to get the hell out her head.
Michael Mandrake, BLMorticia, and Rawiya collectively have written over 30 stories published in e-book and or print through 7 different publishers. Right now as it stands, Mrs. Lira and the muses have 6 sole author books with much more to come in 2012 and beyond.
She is a happily married mother of two that writes m/m, m/f, ménage, paranormals, contemporaries, and for fun some fan fiction. She is a proud member of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association, as well as an advocate for rights of LGBT citizens, and a big fan of 80′s and heavy metal music. She’s also a contributor to the heavy metal ezine Fourteeng.net.
For more information, please visit http://www.thelitriad.com as well as her Facebook fanpage, The Literary Triad.
The Literary Triad - http://www.thelitriad.com/#!
Michael Mandrake – http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com
BLMorticia - http://blrawiyaerotica.blogspot.com
Rawiya - http://rawiyaerotica.wordpress.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/rawiyamikembl
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/TheLiteraryTriad
Above is my next book Smooth Like Latte and interracial m/m from NNP and part of the Something New on the Menu Series.
Brendan Walsh is an uptight business executive of works sun up to sun down in the heart of the Loop in downtown Chicago. Due to his relentless drive to succeed, he doesn’t really allow himself time for fun. His idea of this is sitting at home and watching his stock portfolio. Because of this he is always alone but since he’s always busy, he doesn’t allow any time to get to know anyone. Brendan also has a homophobic, overbearing father who he fears will not accept him for who he is. In the building where Brendan works, he meets a man by the name of Davori Jenkins, a happy go lucky guy who severs him his same cup of latte everyday just the way he likes it.
Davori likes Brendan and begins to deliver his latte to him personally up to his office in the towers with the intent to snag the hot business man for himself. All his friends say he’s barking up the wrong tree but Davori believes he’s too smooth for Brendan to ignore.
Brendan shifted and looked at Latte standing there, a styrofoam cup in his outstretched hand. “Your macchiato latte, sir.”
Brendan sighed and accepted the drink. He made sure he touched part of Latte’s fingers in the exchange. The moment their skin met, a bolt of electricity shot through his veins. His breath hitched and he swallowed hard. “I… um… thank you. You didn’t have to come out here and give it to me. I would’ve…”
“Nah.” He waved his hand. “A busy man like you? You don’t have time to stand in this line.”
I would’ve done it for you.
“Ahem, um, well, that’s very kind of you, Latte. Truthfully, nothing too important is waiting for me up there, but I appreciate it nonetheless.” Brendan felt the goose bumps prickle on his flesh as he gazed into those light hazel eyes. Being this close, he could tell how handsome Latte really was. No wonder the ladies had it in for him. Speaking of which… “Since you’ve made the extra effort to bring me coffee, can I assume you and I play on the same team?”
Latte blinked and smiled wryly. “Yes you can, sir. I do play on the left and I’m very happy to hear that you do too.”
Hot damn.
Suddenly, Brendan’s head didn’t hurt anymore and the conversation he’d had with his father was forgotten. “Great. I’m happy to hear that. I’ve got to admit, I was a little leery about leaving my business card in your tip cup yesterday, but I couldn’t help myself. I did it on impulse. I…” He stopped rambling. “You didn’t call me, though. I suppose you wanted to be cautious?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to be sure I wasn’t barking up the wrong tree. I mean, it could’ve been a professional reason and not a personal.”
“I suppose, but it wasn’t about business.”
“Then it would be my pleasure to continue to talk with you. Why don’t we try this again, since I have a free moment, and our conversation can’t be heard by nosy people. Your name is…?”
“Brendan Walsh.” He smiled and held out his hand. This man… God! So effing gorgeous. Brendan felt his face flush and his palms sweat. Latte’s hands were so soft. For a moment, he imagined those hands caressing his body. “And you are?”
“I’m Latte, good to meet you.”
“Same here, and is Latte your real name?” He just had to ask.
“No, but I figure we can talk more about that later when I call you.”
Brendan laughed and held onto Latte’s hand a little longer. He didn’t seem to mind, so he continued to hold on. “Okay then. What, is it a secret or something?
“Kind of, yes.”
“You don’t like your real name?” He took a drink from the cup and felt the soothing sensation of the warm liquid. “Mhmm, just like yesterday.”
“I hope better than yesterday.” He chuckled. “I like it, I just like Latte better. So… about what time should I call you?”
“This evening, around seven? Or would you rather I call you?”
“Doesn’t really matter. As long as I get to hear that sweet voice, love.” Latte finally let go and pulled the card and the phone from his apron pocket.
“Latte, need ya back in here, man!”
Dammit, not now.
“Okay,” Latte answered and pressed the numbers on his handset.
“Sounds like you’re high in demand.” Brendan’s phone rang and he smiled at Latte. “Ahh, hello there.” He saved the number and name, and added a ringtone to it as well.
“Nah, they can wait. So, we’ll talk around seven but I was wondering if I could see you before then, so we wouldn’t be so rushed? Can I bring you lunch?”
Brendan grinned so much his face began to ache. “Uh, you mean, can we have lunch?”
“I wish I had time, sexy man, but I’m sure I’ll eat earlier than you wanna eat. No worries, we’ll have plenty of time to do that soon. Today though, I can bring ya somethin’, and another one of your favorite drinks if you like.” Again, that smile.
Brendan took another sip and moistened his lips. He wished he could whisk this man upstairs to his office just to talk and… Oh, who was he kidding? Brendan liked casual sex, but lately he wanted something more. However, if Latte would’ve asked for a quick fuck, no question he would’ve willingly given it to him. “Um, okay then, sure, but I hope we make a date to have a meal together.”
“Oh we will. What would you like me to get for you?”
“Um, she has a tuna salad in there I like, so why not that?”
“M’kay, I’ll get that then. I’ll bring it up to what floor?”
“Thirty-five.” Brendan finished the latte but held onto the cup to keep himself from making another impulsive move. “I guess I’ll see you then, maybe around two?”
“Yep, I’ll bring it up then. I better get back in here before…”
“Latte!” Cathy’s voice this time.
“Alright, I’ll see you at two then. Bye.”
“Later, gorgeous.” He winked and ran back into the shop.
Look for it at Amazon, ARe, Smashwords in June
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Plot Bunny: The Good and the Bad
The Plot Bunny: The Good and the Bad
Sharita Lira
Greetings! It’s April already? Good grief! A quarter of the year already gone, quite unbelievable that 2012 is flying by but we say that about every year. And here I sit at my computer with deadlines as per usual as well as the plot bunnies that continue to pop in my brain.
No, no, wait! I’ve got deadlines! Don’t you see? A book due 4/15, a short due in May, another in June, yet these little buggers don’t give a damn. They come when I write, when I sleep, sometimes while driving and I have to focus or else I might have an accident. What the hell? Do they plan these attacks? I certainly think they do. When I least expect it, I’ve got ideas from a photograph, a song, scenario, a sentence or word, and if it’s really good it’s ready to be written in synopsis form with a couple of pictures for inspiration. If not, the thoughts are scribbled in my notebook until they become full ideas.
Do those ever develop into stories? Yeah they do. My Lieutenant for one, started out as a very small idea that I wrote in my notes; an interracial couple that meets when one man notices the other's apartment getting burglarized. That turned into a full fledge book with a sequel and a possible series in the works. When will I have time for this? Dunno!
Yes that picture is true. And just when will I have time to write about the one plot bunny that haunts me because of this picture on the right:
An m/m story, penning my muse named Jayden becoming the obsession of his coworker who’s happily married but doesn’t seem to care about the consequences. Yeah some tension there! Something About Jayden has been on my mind since like last August but because of deadlines and stories that push ahead a little more, I keep putting it off. I better write it someday soon or this bunny will eat me, I’m sure of it.
The things multiply and can become vicious, but tell me, where would we writers be without them? When in a slump, some call it writer’s block, other’s call it, well, a slump, they need these to jumpstart their writing. If you’ve been devoid of ideas then they’re good to look back on. This has never happened to me. I think I may have enough stories to last me quite a while but if it ever did, all I have to do is look in the book and my ever growing synopsis folder which currently has 16 ideas in there. Oh and don’t even mention the ones that are started and unfinished. Those just need serious edits and would probably be ready if I took the time but again, when will this be?
Hopefully this summer! I purposely decided not to answer so many subcalls so I can feed some of those bunnies and give them their just due. Some of them, like the Jayden story are amazing. Others need serious work and maybe just maybe I’ll be able to get to those later on.
What about the rest of you? Authors, what do you think about the plot bunnies? Do you hold on to them? Have little scraps of paper waiting to be read? Tell me. Thanks for listening.
Official Blurb: Nathan Ellerby's apartment has been ransacked by his ex who didn't like the fact Nathan dumped him. Trouncing through the debris uttering a string of obscenities, Nathan's shocked to see Lieutenant Bryant Duncan at his door claiming he's already caught the offender. Sensing an instant connection, when Nathan finds out Bryant's divorced and he's straddling the fence between being gay or bisexual, Nathan finds himself in a quandary.
Although the Lieutenant does everything in his power to prove to Nathan he's worthy, Nathan is afraid to lower his defenses which leaves both men wondering if Nathan will allow love into his life even through his doubts.
Buylinks
Bookstrand http://www.bookstrand.com/my-lieutenant
Booktrailer
Author Sharita Lira: The Triad, otherwise known as the characters in the head of Sharita Lira are three separate muses that are the driving force behind her small amount of success. Misses Lira sees her own life as one that is very ordinary, so instead of presenting herself out to the world, she created three personalities that continue to haunt her all hours of the night to get several WIP’s done at the speed of light, and push her to the brink of sheer exhaustion, but she loves it and that’s the reason she hasn’t told them to get the hell out her head.
Michael Mandrake, BLMorticia, and Rawiya collectively have written over 30 stories published in e-book and or print through 7 different publishers. Right now as it stands, Mrs. Lira and the muses have 6 sole author books with much more to come in 2012 and beyond.
She is a happily married mother of two that writes m/m, m/f, ménage, paranormals, contemporaries, and for fun some fan fiction. She is a proud member of the Erotica Readers & Writers Association, as well as an advocate for rights of LGBT citizens, and a big fan of 80′s and heavy metal music. She’s also a contributor to the heavy metal ezine Fourteeng.net.
For more information, please visit http://www.thelitriad.com as well as her Facebook fanpage, The Literary Triad.
The Literary Triad - http://www.thelitriad.com/#!
Michael Mandrake – http://tabooindeed.blogspot.com
BLMorticia - http://blrawiyaerotica.blogspot.com
Rawiya - http://rawiyaerotica.wordpress.com
Twitter - http://twitter.com/#!/rawiyamikembl
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/TheLiteraryTriad
Monday, August 22, 2011
What's In Your Playpen? by Tim Smith
Every writer has a favorite place to meet their Muse. For some, it’s ‘neath the shade of a tree in the local park. Others may choose a cabin in the mountains. I know one writer who takes her laptop to the café at Barnes and Noble and pounds out stories while sipping Latte’s and munching biscotti.
My playpen is a spare bedroom in my house that evokes Fred Sanford’s junkyard. I like to think of it as organized chaos. The top of my desk is littered with papers that I’ve convinced myself are important, although at times I’m not sure why. I’m surrounded by posters from my favorite Bogart and Clint Eastwood movies. Alongside these I have a souvenir of one of my proudest achievements, a poster advertising a book signing tour I did in The Florida Keys a few years ago. There’s also a framed copy of a terrific interview I gave to a newspaper in The Keys.
Of course I have a bookcase filled with my favorite paperbacks by Mickey Spillane, Raymond Chandler and Ian Fleming. Another shelf is devoted to old books about movies. These fight for space with Roget’s Thesaurus, a dictionary, The People’s Almanac and a dog-eared copy of Catch-22.
There’s a couch that no one can sit on because it’s piled high with promotional materials, half-finished manuscripts I lost interest in, a few cameras and a stack of rare Sinatra LP’s. I believe there’s an e-reader in the pile, too, but I can’t say for sure. If I dug deep enough I’d probably find that overdue book the Library’s been hassling me about.
I have a credenza that’s filled with research material, including brochures, newspapers and photographs from places I’ve visited. Since I tend to gravitate toward romantic adventure stories, I have a book devoted to firearms so I can be accurate when describing what kind of gun the hero pulls on the bad guys. There are also a few how-to books, like Romance Writing for Dummies and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Published. I didn’t say I had all the answers. Another research book that’s useful is The KISS Guide to the Kama Sutra. Not only good for writing sex scenes, it’s warmed up a few winter nights as well.
I think most writers have notebooks filled with random thoughts that hit them while waiting in the Dentist’s office and I’m no exception. I looked through a couple of them and found the following nuggets, some of which I’ve used.
He had all the charm of a statue but not as much personality.
She was as nervous as a hooker in a Confessional.
The office itself wasn’t much – slightly smaller than the Astrodome, with a desk you could land a light plane on.
The men were going for the drug dealer wannabe look – Armani suits over white muscle shirts and garish jewelry – that concealed their drab lives as nine-to-five office dwellers.
“You think he’s telling the truth?”
“I wouldn’t put anything past him.”
“You’ll need to speak to my secretary, Singletary.”
Vic gave him a blank look. “Singletary the secretary?”
“That’s correct.”
“Must get confusing.”
So what’s in your playpen?
Tim Smith is an award-winning author whose books range from romantic intrigue to contemporary erotic romance. He is also a freelance photographer. More information about his books can be found at http://www.timsmithauthor.com/.
My playpen is a spare bedroom in my house that evokes Fred Sanford’s junkyard. I like to think of it as organized chaos. The top of my desk is littered with papers that I’ve convinced myself are important, although at times I’m not sure why. I’m surrounded by posters from my favorite Bogart and Clint Eastwood movies. Alongside these I have a souvenir of one of my proudest achievements, a poster advertising a book signing tour I did in The Florida Keys a few years ago. There’s also a framed copy of a terrific interview I gave to a newspaper in The Keys.
Of course I have a bookcase filled with my favorite paperbacks by Mickey Spillane, Raymond Chandler and Ian Fleming. Another shelf is devoted to old books about movies. These fight for space with Roget’s Thesaurus, a dictionary, The People’s Almanac and a dog-eared copy of Catch-22.
There’s a couch that no one can sit on because it’s piled high with promotional materials, half-finished manuscripts I lost interest in, a few cameras and a stack of rare Sinatra LP’s. I believe there’s an e-reader in the pile, too, but I can’t say for sure. If I dug deep enough I’d probably find that overdue book the Library’s been hassling me about.
I have a credenza that’s filled with research material, including brochures, newspapers and photographs from places I’ve visited. Since I tend to gravitate toward romantic adventure stories, I have a book devoted to firearms so I can be accurate when describing what kind of gun the hero pulls on the bad guys. There are also a few how-to books, like Romance Writing for Dummies and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Getting Published. I didn’t say I had all the answers. Another research book that’s useful is The KISS Guide to the Kama Sutra. Not only good for writing sex scenes, it’s warmed up a few winter nights as well.
I think most writers have notebooks filled with random thoughts that hit them while waiting in the Dentist’s office and I’m no exception. I looked through a couple of them and found the following nuggets, some of which I’ve used.
He had all the charm of a statue but not as much personality.
She was as nervous as a hooker in a Confessional.
The office itself wasn’t much – slightly smaller than the Astrodome, with a desk you could land a light plane on.
The men were going for the drug dealer wannabe look – Armani suits over white muscle shirts and garish jewelry – that concealed their drab lives as nine-to-five office dwellers.
“You think he’s telling the truth?”
“I wouldn’t put anything past him.”
“You’ll need to speak to my secretary, Singletary.”
Vic gave him a blank look. “Singletary the secretary?”
“That’s correct.”
“Must get confusing.”
So what’s in your playpen?
Tim Smith is an award-winning author whose books range from romantic intrigue to contemporary erotic romance. He is also a freelance photographer. More information about his books can be found at http://www.timsmithauthor.com/.
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