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My favorite teen reads

February 16, 2010 – 10:21 am

I read my first Harlequin when I was in middle school. I wonder if I gravitated to reading romance at an early age because I already read through the young adult section at the library. (That makes me sound like a voracious reader, but the truth is that the library just didn’t have that much of a selection!)

I kept checking out books like Fifteen by Beverly Cleary and The Pink Dress by Anne Alexander. Both of those books were outdated when I got a hold of them, but I didn’t care because the teenage angst was timeless! Sweet Valley High hadn’t been created yet, but the Sweet Dreams series was popular among my friends. I recently visited a site dedicated to Sweet Dreams. Wow, did that bring back memories!

What did you read during your teen years?

By Susanna >> Posted in Reader's Life >> Comments (4)

Love around the world

February 15, 2010 – 12:01 am

Congratulations to the authors who have been shortlisted in the Australian Romance Readers Awards and the Romantic Novelists’ Association Awards in the UK!

By Susanna >> Posted in Recommended Reads >> Comments (0)

Happy Valentine’s Day

February 14, 2010 – 12:01 am

Whether you have big plans or hoping for a quiet evening, I hope you have a wonderful Valentine’s Day. If it’s too late to make plans, I recommend curling up on the sofa to watch a romantic comedy, read a romance novel or listen to your favorite love songs. Treat yourself on this Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

By Susanna >> Posted in Uncategorized >> Comments (3)

Planning Your Novella

February 13, 2010 – 10:40 am

If you have an idea for a novella and are about to dive in, think about plotting out the story or at least the plot points. A novella offers no room to go on tangents. If you write intricate plots, do world building, or often go over your word count, you will definitely need to plot out your novella ahead of time.

Some other points to consider while you’re planning your novella:

  • Tell a story where the main characters already know each other. Establishing a relationship takes a lot of pages.
  • Consider having the hero already in love with the heroine (or vice versa), and then the story gives more time to show the other character’s journey of falling in love.
  • Keep the time frame very tight. Some novellas take place in the course of one night, but the average is a week or two week period.
  • Don’t change the setting too much. It eats up the page count.
  • Double-up. If you write sexy romances, have the premise or high concept sexy. Or, have the goal, motivation and conflict directly linked to the sensual journey.
  • Keep the secondary characters to an absolute minimum.
  • Don’t skimp on the characterization. Develop the hero and heroine the same way you would for a full-length story, but keep their journey linear.
By Susanna >> Posted in Business of Writing >> Comments (0)

The 25 Worst Romantic Comedies

February 11, 2010 – 12:01 am

Entertainment Weekly just listed The 25 Worst Romantic Comedies. I’m not sure how these movies were judged. I do know that I’m a fan of romantic comedies but I haven’t heard of some of these movies. Maybe I’m not as much of a fan as I thought I was!

 In fact, I’ve only seen 4 movies on this list.  Alex and Emma reminded me of Audrey Hepburn’s Paris When it Sizzles. They were both bad movies. Who’s that Girl is supposedly a remake of Bringing Up Baby, but it didn’t anywhere close to that. Maybe Hollywood should refrain from remakes.

I don’t think All About Steve was a romantic comedy as much as it was a woman finding her place in the world, and I’m trying to remember what provoked me to see The Beautician and The Beast in the first place.

Is a romantic comedy you absolutely hated on this list?

25.  Rumor Has It (2005) starring Jennifer Aniston

24.  Blind Date  (1987) starring Kim Basinger and Bruce Willis

23.  Simply Irresistible  (1999) starring Sarah Michelle Gellar

22.  Employee of the Month (2006) starring Jessica Simpson, Dax Shepard and Dane Cook

21.  Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988) starring Liza Minnelli and Dudley Moore

20.  Alex & Emma (2003) starring Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson

19.  Haunted Honeymoon (1986) starring Gilda Radner and Gene Wilder

18.  Two of a Kind (1983) starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta

17.  Who’s That Girl (1987) starring Madonna and Griffin Dunne

16.  Over Her Dead Body (2008) starring Eva Longoria

15.  Down to You (2000) starring Julia Stiles and Freddie Prinze Jr.

14.  My Boss’s Daughter (2003) starring Tara Reid and Ashton Kutcher

13.  Say It Isn’t So (2001) starring Chris Klein and Heather Graham

12.  I Love Trouble (1994) starring Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte

11.  Good Luck Chuck (2007) starring Jessica Alba and Dane Cook

10. All About Steve (2009) starring Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper

9.   Summer Catch (2001) starring Jessica Biel and Freddie Prinze Jr

8.   Because I Said So (2007) starring Diane Keaton

7.   Mannequin: On the Move (1991) starring Kristy Swanson

6.   Dirty Love (2005) starring Jenny McCarthy

5.   The Beautician and the Beast (1997) starring Fran Drescher and Timothy Dalton

4.   Mr. Wrong (1996) starring Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Pullman

3.   From Justin to Kelly (2003) starring Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini

2.   The Hottie and the Nottie (2008) starring Paris Hilton

1.   Gigli (2003) starring Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck

By Susanna >> Posted in Movies >> Comments (6)

6 minutes

February 10, 2010 – 12:01 am

There seems to be some synchronicity in the air. Yesterday I was chatting with someone who turned out to be a specialist in stress reduction. She suggested reading was a great way to relax and recommended setting aside a consistent time every day to read for 15 or 20 minutes.

Then today I visited my favorite blogs and I noticed that Lucy Monroe  posted a link on how reading cuts stress levels by 68%. That’s an amazing percentage! The experts quoted in the article say you only need 6 minutes of silent reading to slow down the heart rate and ease the tension in muscles. You can read the full article here.

I have to wonder what reading material they used for the experiment. Novels? Magazine articles? I can’t imagine they used newspapers. Whatever they used, I would need more than 6 minutes. You can’t read much (or relax!) in that short of time.

By Susanna >> Posted in Reader's Life >> Comments (0)

Do You Celebrate Valentine’s Day?

February 8, 2010 – 12:01 am

At first that might seem like a strange question. After all, Valentine’s Day is noted on calendars and discussed in the news. I can’t go into a store without seeing a red and pink display and there seems to be a lot of gift/craft/makeover/date ideas for Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day was a big deal when I was in school. It was one of those rare days when we had a party, although we were also required to give a Valentine’s card to every classmate. In high school, class parties gave way to the Valentine’s Dance. But once I graduated from school, I didn’t notice that many people observing this holiday.

These days my friends either make alternative plans (like a girl’s night out) or make Valentine’s Day a family event. A few have a romantic night planned, but most are ignoring it.

So I’m wondering: are you celebrating Valentine’s Day or are you ignoring it?

By Susanna >> Posted in Uncategorized >> Comments (5)

From the mailbag: Hardest part of writing

February 7, 2010 – 12:01 am

Question: What is the hardest part of writing for you? The easiest?

Answer: The hardest part of writing is the revisions. It’s painful. I think it’s because I have a set idea of how I want the story to unfold and now I have to look at it in a different way (and I usually have to make the revisions under a deadline!) The easiest part of writing is getting that spark of an idea and considering all the possibilities.

By Susanna >> Posted in Behind the Scenes >> Comments (0)

Writing Novellas

February 6, 2010 – 12:01 am

Every once in a while I get an e-mail from a writer asking about novellas. I guess it’s because I’ve published close to 20 novellas. I thought it might be helpful to post some common questions here, but I am the first to point out that what I say is based on my experience. Talk to authors who write in your sub-genre for the most up-to-date information! ~ Susanna

 

What is a novella? In the romance fiction industry, a novella is a complete story between 20,000 to 30,000 words. When the novella is part of a six-author anthology, the story is expected to be 15,000 to 20,000 words.

Why do authors write novellas? Novellas offer writers an opportunity of reaching different readers, have more releases during the year, and write for more than one publisher.

How can I write a novella if I haven’t been invited to contribute to an anthology? It used to be that contributing to an anthology was invitation-only, but these days editors buy unsolicited novellas. E-publishers will sell a novella as a stand-alone story, and they often have calls for submissions for specific anthologies.

What if there are no publisher guidelines? Study the market! Compare the anthologies by publishing houses and you’ll soon realize which publisher prefers holiday anthologies and which one won’t do them. Comparing anthologies within the publishing house will help you determine that your novella about common female fantasies would be a hard sell because they focus more on taboo fantasies.

Can I put together my own anthology idea? Many anthologies you see today are author-driven or literary agency-driven. Find out the policy in your targeted publishing house, or see if your agent puts together anthologies for clients.

By Susanna >> Posted in Business of Writing >> Comments (1)

When in Rome

February 2, 2010 – 5:51 pm

I just came back from seeing When in Rome starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. I hadn’t seen the commercials for this film, but I got the basic idea that it was about an anti-romance woman who steals coins from the fountain of love. The men who had tossed the coins are under a love spell and pursue her. The result is a light and silly movie (that was barely set in Rome!)

Was it funny? Yeah, it has some physical comedy (finally, the guy is the klutz!), some very funny moments, and some over-the-top ridiculousness. Most of the humor came from the weirdoes who were following the woman.

Was it romantic? Not really–although Josh Duhamel came across as adorable. I hope to see him in more romantic comedies.

Did it say anything new or different about relationships? Absolutely not. I think the whole point was that risk is a part of passion. This is something I’ve seen in many romantic comedies.

When in Rome is 1 out of 3 in my Romantic Comedy Meter. My opinion? Wait for it to come out on TV.

By Susanna >> Posted in Movies >> Comments (2)