Sexy Saturday

I don’t know if you are all aware of it but besides my Twitter and this blog, I have a yahoogroup as well and every Saturday is known as Sexy Saturday.

What happens on Sexy Saturday you might ask? Well, what doesn’t. I talk about books, post excerpts and generally try to have a fun time with it altogether. I mean, why shouldn’t we? It’s all about sexy men and wonderful romance stories, right?

I am also likely to post something from my works in progress there to see what the audience review just might be, same as here. But it’s more of a way to talk to you, one on one, about life and everything else that happens to us.

Here’s just some of the things which have happened on Sexy Saturday so far:

I have posted the following excerpts:

An Elf’s Desire
A Love for Eggther
An Elf’s Magic
Night of the Blue Moon

There has been an announcement for a blog-a-thon that a friend is happening. There has been some chit-chat.

I’m getting ready to start posting some sexy videos, some sexy pictures and talk about writing and the RWA conference which I didn’t get to attend.

All great stuff in my book. LOL!

I’m also going to talk about getting an agent, the next conference I’ll be going to which is CopperCon as well as one in October in Ohio if I can get it together in time, and I might even talk about my grandkids and Twitter.

See...this is a full disclosure place...LOL! So drop on by today and get the inside scoop about me. I hope to see you there!

Here’s the link for those of you who haven’t subscribed yet:

XtraOrdinaryRomance-subscribe@yahoogroups.com  

All you have to do is to send me an email and I’ll approve you the moment I see it. I will also give you five more entries into this month’s contest which ends tonight at midnight. Remember that there are three separate prizes: one chosen at random to get a $20 ARe gift certificate and a book from my backlist, one for the person who comments the most which is a surprise and maybe one more...I’m not sure yet. I’ve had a lot of comments this month and I really want to give everyone a chance at a prize. Yeah, I’m a sucker that way. LOL!

Until tomorrow!

Lynn

This and That Friday

Welcome back to this and that Friday. Here are a few of the things which have gone across my desk this week. Yeah, there's an extra one but I think it's worth it.

Great fast tracked at Harlequin with your medical romance. Makes me want to write one. LOL! http://harlequinblog.com/2010/07/mid-summer-madness-were-fast-tracking-submissions-at-medical-romance-in-august/

This is a great discussion of paranormal romance.

http://romanceuniversity.org/2010/07/09/paranormal-romance-hot-not/

If you love Eureka! then this is for you!

http://scifiwire.com/2010/07/10-developments-will-chan.php?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Another one about small press and epublishing:

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2010/07/04/the-future-of-publishing-small-presses/

Fantastic article about the e-world and e-publishing...go check it out!

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20100705_E-readers_are_on_the_rise_thanks_to_older_readers.html

Another great link on finding agents. This one I literally have to tear myself away from as I always want to read it top to bottom. Yes, it is that good.

http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/

Oo..someone else who loves the link thing like I do. He has a lot more in his weekly than I’ll ever have. LOL! Still, a great source of information.

http://www.bradsreader.com/2010/07/friday-link-love-79/  

Here’s one for a writer’s self esteem. Yeah, having the potential to get kicked back a few paces every day might take a toll on someone.

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2010/07/strategies-to-help-build-your-self.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DumbLittleMan+%28Dumb+Little+Man+-+tips+for+life%29&utm_content=Google+Reader  

A perfect way to handle a revised submission to an agent.

http://agencygatekeeper.blogspot.com/2010/07/heres-my-revision-will-you-read-it-how.html

I want to know who thought this one up. LOL!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/24/the-stupidest-womens-prod_n_623150.html

If you don’t follow this blog, you should. Go see what Steve has to say about epublishing:

http://www.thepublishinginsider.blogspot.com/

That's about all for this week. See you next week with more links. Have a great week! See you tomorrow for the regular blog.
 
Later...
 
Lynn

Gaelic and Me

As many of you know, I am thoroughly in love with Scotland. On any given day, one may find me perusing the reality for sale in some of my favorite spots in the country. This summer is very sad for me because I was supposed to spend the whole months of June and July on a farm near Stirling then join my husband in Vienna, Austria the middle of August.

Alas, this did not happen for a couple of reasons. Money being the main one. I started looking for cheap airline tickets almost eighteen...yup, that’s right...eighteen months ago so I could get the best deal. The unfortunate thing is there was no best deal. The cheapest deal I could get was roughly $1400 to cross the big pond.

Now I have never paid more than $500 for a ticket to Britain and I wasn’t about to start now. I was so certain something would come up that I didn’t panic. About six months ago, I started looking weekly and for the last three months, daily. There was nothing to be had. Nada. Zip. I was out of luck for my trip this year.

The other reason was closer to my heart. My two bundles of joy called Michael and Joseph made the pain a little less because I’ve gotten to spend more time with them. They are adorable and I’ve been having fun as have the rest of the family.

What does this have to do with Gaelic you ask? Well, last year in September I started taking a class in Gaelic and loved it. If I had actually gone to Scotland this year, I was going to do an immersion class on the Isle of Skye. Unfortunately, I had to drop out in November because I got really sick and couldn’t participate.

I bet you’re wondering just how I participated in a Gaelic class. Being the native language of Scotland, you could assume I would need to go there to enjoy such a class. Not anymore. I had looked for years into finding a Gaelic class near me to no avail. It just wasn’t going to happen. Then came a wonderful thing called Skype. The whole class was done with Skype. We had lectures, question sessions, practice sessions and everything in between.

Matter of fact, the first thing the instructor told us was that we would be taking the class again. Most people have to take every class at least twice because it is that difficult because of pronunciation. A person basically has to retrain their tongue to make the sounds needed in Gaelic. Some do it naturally but most have to take things slow. My instructor at the time said he had been speaking Gaelic for a fair portion of his life but had to take most of the classes twice himself.

Gaelic is like any foreign language and has a whole different set of grammatical rules to learn. The one I had to remember always was that there are male and feminine ways to say things. An example would be the Mac names like MacLeod, MacKenzie and so on. MacLeod is for a male and NicLeod is the female version. I had so many questions during that lesson it wasn’t even funny. LOL!

Again, I’m sure you’re still wondering just what this has to do with you. Well, as you know I am trying different things with the blog: Wednesday’s Classroom, This & That Friday...well...I thought that I would occasionally give you some Gaelic phrases to munch on for Thursdays. So here goes.

Now this is for all the tweeters out there:

English: Thanks for tweeting. Gaelic: Taing airson tweeting. Pronounce: Taheeng ersson tweeting.

Yes, I will use it...I promise...but if you’re not following me on Twitter, you’ll never know. LOL!

So, here’s one more for you:

English: Perhaps. Gaelic: 'S dòcha. Pronounce: Iss dohkha

When hearing Gaelic, I’m reminded of the Nordic languages. After all, many of the Scottish people did come from the Vikings. To me it sounds a lot like Swedish or Norwegian. There are even some sounds, which come across like Finnish to me. Believe it or not, if you saw Lord of the Rings, you’ve heard Finnish as the elven language is based upon it. I answered a question correctly in Scotland because I could identify what language a man doing a demonstration. I had to ask him to repeat the phrase but once I really listed to him, I knew right away what language it was. Gaelic has the same guttural flow. Sometimes it’s beautiful, sometimes it’s harsh.

All I know is that I have at least ten books where I use it. And if I have my way, I plan to use many, many more.

What languages have you studied in your life? Do using an authentic language puts more into a story or takes something away? Can’t wait to hear what you all say.

Have a great evening...see you all on Saturday...enjoy This & That Friday!

Lynn

Wednesday’s Classroom

Last week I told you I would be adding a free class to my lineup of fantastic blogs. I remain true to my word. Here is the agenda for the class which will be held over the next nine weeks. We will be doing a unit every week for the next nine weeks. They will go along with this agenda and the only thing I would like from you is participate. Just comment on the class and participate by doing the exercises at the end of each lesson.

Also, you can ask me any question you wish as I am available any time I’m at my computer. That’s every day, almost nine to midnight. LOL! It really depends upon the family and if I can keep focused. Sometimes when a story is close to the end or I have to work out a scene, I will often break for a day. But I always check my email.

Adding Steam to Your Love Scenes – Free Workshop

© 2010 Lynn Crain

I have been asked recently by more and more people just how I add steam to my many love scenes. In the course of a few years, I have put together what works for me. I’m hoping to share those ideas with you all over the next few weeks in this free workshop. So please, pass the word around to all your friends. We’ll have fun!

Here’s what we’ll be covering with each week building on the previous one:

Set the mood for both you and your characters.

• Read books the day before in the genre for which your writing.
• Listen to music while you write that all important scene.
• Look at phrase books. 
• Look at sexy pictures.

Use your own experiences

• I don’t mean literally…you all remember that blush first being in love…use it.
• Most women remember their ‘first time,’ so use it.
• Most women remember the first ‘real’ date they were on, so use it.

Add love scenes when the characters want to make love, not when you want them to make love.

• I’m a pantser and all of my stories are character driven.
• What is right for the characters needs to be right for you as the writer.
• Listen to your characters as they will tell you what they need.

Get some good research material.

• Good research books are invaluable.
• For erotic, things like the Kama Sutra are a must.

Details are everything.

• If a character is fantasying about a certain body part, can you imagine what happens when they actually get that body part?
• Know the temperature of their skin – hot, cold, clammy or warm and inviting.
• Know how the characters should look when making love – pink cheeks, rosy lips, closed eyes, opened eyes.
• No wandering body parts.

Don’t ever write sex to fill up pages.

• Sex needs to happen when it needs to happen and not before.
• Readers can tell when a writer has had to ‘force’ a love scene.

Remember that as an erotic romance writer you are writing hot, sizzling love scenes and not just sex.

Sometimes less is more.

Make each love scene emotional.

• At least one of the two characters has to have some sort of emotional attachment to the reason they are having sex.
• It’s not always who you think it should be and it doesn’t need to be revealed right away.

Take note of the anatomical details.

• Characters have to be anatomically compatible.
• Huge men will never fit into a small, child-like woman. Not happening.
• Know what is and isn’t humanly possible.

I hope to see you all next week when we begin setting the mood!

Have a great week! Until then…

Lynn

The Writing Life

This week has been a busy week so far and it’s only Tuesday. Actually, it started last week as we looked at houses because we’ve decided it that we may want to expand. I’d personally like my own bathroom and a pool. Tired of sharing with the guys. LOL!

Then on Saturday, my youngest decided to twist his ankle and it’s a weird sprain. It still pains him but it’s not bruised or swollen for the most part. But he can’t walk well and this will necessitate a visit to the orthopedic surgeon. Sigh.

Monday was a writing day although I tweeted more than I wrote it seemed as I had the kid and the dog to contend with. The dog you ask...yeah...the dog. Seems that when Kyle got hurt and was Jekyll and Hyde on us, the dog freaked and decided he needed to chew a bit of his own flesh off. He needs to go to the vet but he made for an already hosed day.

I so hate Monday’s for the most part. Instead of complaining I decided to do a little cop out and find a quote, which I think absolutely appropriate. Here it is.

"Life is always going to be stranger than fiction, because fiction has to be convincing and life doesn’t." ~Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman wrote Stardust for which I am very grateful. I love that story and follow him on Twitter. He is so dead on with his quote that the moment I saw it this morning, I knew I had a winner.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told people when they’ve asked me what’s up, that they wouldn’t believe me. And Neil has told me why. LOL!

What has been your worst people-will-never-believe-me day? Tell me and you’ll get an extra ticket tossed into the hat...so to speak...LOL!

Have a great day...don’t forget...tomorrow is Wednesday’s Classroom and Lesson #1 of Adding Steam to Your Love Scenes will be posted.

See you on Thursday!

Lynn

End of a Journey

Happy Monday everyone! I’m sure one of your questions might be...does she really mean it? Yes, Mondays are meant to be happy but this one is especially good for me.

Today is the day that I start winding down this phase of my diet. Yes, it’s been totally hard since the calorie count is low but I have seen results. Lots of results...to the tune of thirty pounds...yippee! Yes, you read that correctly. I’ve lost thirty pounds in thirty days. To find out more on the specifics, go to my other blog, http://journeyfromfat2fit.blogspot.com/, to find out how I did it. I’ll even make you a deal...if you go and read and comment on my other blog today...I’ll add your name into the hat again.

This does not mean I am done with changing the way I look or how I’m eating. All it means is that this journey is ending for this phase so I can set my new body weight in stone. Then after a few weeks, I’ll be at it again with a new mind. Carrying around less weight will do those things to you...LOL!

But still, that’s not really what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the end of the journey. Now, every journey has an end. Including the books that we write. The story has to stop and we must move on to other characters and different stories. Sometimes it is more difficult than others. There have been many times where I’ve wondered if I really want to leave a particular story. Then I realize, I must because there are stories still left to write. Lots of them if I have my way. LOL!

I know I am the same about movies. There are movies I just wish would not end. I want the story to go on. I want to be the characters in the movie, I want their character arc to be my life...well...maybe that’s going a little too far. LOL! But you get the picture.

Journey’s must end. Things much change. Sometimes the change is good, sometimes it isn’t but it always propels you forward into new terrority. And whether we want to admit it or not, it must happen for us to journey into the next part of our life.

My question for you...how do you feel about the end of a journey? Are you happy? Are you sad? Or are you like me and want to rewrite the whole dang thing sometimes? Let me know how you’re all feeling.

Until tomorrow...have a great night!

Lynn

The Perpetual Pendulum

Have you ever noticed just how fast time seems to fly when you’re busy? Or how it drags when you’re doing something you hate?

Yesterday morning I woke up with all sorts of plans on what I had to do as I had a talk at Talking Two Lips site. I started with Twitter, then moved on to email. I had a fun filled two hours with the few who showed up at Talking Two Lips. Then I decided I had to work on those pesky essays of my son so he could get into the local university. Thank goodness I was only doing the editing portion but I think they are crazy to think and 18 year old kid can write anything in a hundred words or less. Who are they kidding? LOL!

Somewhere in there, I had breakfast, lunch and dinner...then..bang. It’s already eleven o’clock at night and I realized I didn’t even get my bare minimum in for writing. Friday either. Well, Friday I had an excuse as we looked at houses. Since we live in the area where the repossessions have hit the highest numbers ever, we thought maybe it was time to look at getting a larger one with a pool. This is to accommodate my family as I have an aging father as well as two grandsons I would love stay over sometimes.

But what was today’s excuse? I could have said it was the curse words that greeted me as I pulled myself out of sleep this morning. My youngest had sprained his ankle bad and that caused me to get up then call our doctor immediately. The moment his foot hit the ground when getting out of his Dad’s car, I knew something was up. It also got me to listening half to him and not enough to my own inner voice to get a few things done.

But things move quickly in this house, sometimes too quickly. As I’ve grown older, all I want to happen is for time to slow down. I want time to smell the roses, take the trip of a lifetime, and write a book in a week! And it seems to be speeding up the older I get which to me seems very, very odd.

I mean, I schedule my time to the minute some days. Others I couldn’t even tell you what day it is or what time of day. I can tell you I’ve had my head in one of my worlds and I have no contact with my real one. So I know that on days I’m writing, I lose track of it all and sometimes have to ask more than once if I have the right day or time.

My father once told me that when he reached 65 that things just started to blur together. He remembers the things from when he was younger better than what had happened a week ago. Birthdays were just another day and holidays, well, those just didn’t seem to matter much anymore. He’s 76 this year and told me if I wanted time to slow down, I needed to enjoy it more.

And here I thought I was having the time of my life! LOL! Yes, I am enjoying my writing career and the other things in my life like my children, grandchildren and husband. I’m not necessarily enjoying getting older but nothing I can do to stop that one unless I build a time machine. Mmm…maybe a future project…LOL!

Now, I’m going to write something here that I have found to be true and I’m wondering if anybody else has noticed the same. When I was young, I just couldn’t wait for time to pass. I wanted to get older, I wanted to be able to make my own decisions and I wanted to know what those older people seemed to know. Time just moved so slowly and it seemed as if I would never get there.

Today, it’s all fast and I don’t want to miss a thing.

How each of you feel about time and how it affects your life? Just let me know and you’ll get an extra entry put into the hat!

Till next week…

Lynn