Me and My Loves

So a reader emailed me the news that this magazine named this book one of five nominees for Best Contemporary Romance of 2009. There were 3,000 romance novels published last year. So that's pretty cool . . . and my company includes household names, so esteemed company, indeed.

But . . . I feel something special about that book. I'm shocked it was nominated. Because I don't overly swim in romance circles. But I do have greater affection for that novel.

Whenever I go to speak to school kids, they always ask what my favorite book is that I've written. It's hard to pick one. I love Magickeepers because I got to share that journey with my kids and their friends. I love The Roofer because it's so personal. I love Spanish Disco because it was my first. And Freudian Slip because I slipped into Julian's voice so easily and when I wrote it, the chapters literally flew out of me almost effortlessly. And because I loved Jules. He made me laugh and he made me cry. But all of them . . . it was about the characters. My loves.

I think when you write your first book, your second book, your third . . . you feel this great affection for your words. But over time, you start to sense when you have something special, or when you feel a greater surge of affection for the characters. It's not like parenthood, where you love your children with equal intensity but for different reasons. Maybe you know you found your groove, or your voice. Maybe it was an easier process because it was so comfortable.

So how do you know when you're writing that, Hey . . . my loves, we've got something here? And it doesn't matter if it sells or not. It's just that feeling. I usually know by page 30 if it's "something" or not. It's about the voice.

ADDENDUM: Visit me at the backspace blog.
http://backspacewriters.blogspot.com/

Our friend Melanie is in charge of the content!

The Perfect "Meet Cute" Story

Okay, so yesterday was the tale of how I almost committed the perfect murder. Now for the perfect "meet cute" story.

This is also absolutely true.

I was waiting tables. I had a "best customer." A man who owned a Cadillac dealership who always requested my table and always ordered the most expensive thing on the menu AND a pricey single-malt scotch. I ordered his meal at the window of the kitchen, signing my check with an "E"--slammed it on the counter there for the chefs to hang up and cook. Picked up the steak. Served it. I asked for it "mid-rare." It came out as shoe leather. Best customer was unamused. I, single mother, worried I had just been screwed out of my best tip of the night, AND had disappointed my best customer. I took said steak and FLUNG it through the kitchen window in a fury, narrowly missing the chef's head. He turned around. We've been together ever since.

A "meet cute" though slightly temperamental story (this was before I was all peace and love, you know?).

All romantic comedies--or most of them--pivot on that "meet cute" story. That "we hated each other at first sight but now we love each other." That "two strangers meeting in an unusual way."

So . . . no perfect murder today, but share your "meet cute" story if you have one. Or . . . from your work in progress. And if your meet cute morphed INTO the perfect murder, well, then share that, too.