My Character Hijacked My Muse

Hello and welcome to my thoughts. Thank you Delilah for allowing me to be a guest on your blog. Sometimes, I wonder if I am doing the right thing when I venture out like this. You see; my topic for today’s post addresses characters who hijack my muse.

With that being said, I fear that I might be visited by men wearing white lab coats carrying a net and that might try to fit me with one of those white jackets with extra long sleeves. Especially after I tell you that my characters talk to me.

When I begin a project, I interview anywhere from five to seven characters including the protagonist(s), antagonist(s), comic relief and a few secondary characters. They provide very important clues that allow me to layout my book. From this, I build an outline. Now, I sit down in front of the keyboard and start writing my story.

Once I start the first draft, my characters assist me on my journey through their world. Whether it is a main character or a secondary character, I become the character and write in her/his point of view. They guide my thoughts because it is their story that I am telling in the first place.

Now, to the crux of this blog post: be wary of some of those secondary characters. On more than one occasion, a character had hijacked my story. Usually it is a secondary character, but once it was the antagonist trying to portray himself as a hero.

I have to keep my eye on the characters, yet they do hijack my muse. The thing is that the characters can do it so quickly. I am more apt to be hijacked once my muse starts to flow.

My most memorable hijacking occurred years ago while I worked on my first book. The scene involved space travel and a secondary character. Before too long, the words flowed onto the screen. My fingers flew across the keyboard as this character dictated the words.

At this point, my secondary character stepped up and took control. I did not realize that he had hijacked my work until I reread what I had written. This is when I found that the character had inserted himself as the protagonist of the story. The secondary character redirected the direction of the story so that it revolved around him.

By that time, I had entered 20 pages of his muse into the word processor. It took a bribe which included his own short story series in order for me to wrestle control away from this secondary character. Once I got him quiet, I (along with some of the main characters of this book) pushed him into a closet and locked the door. Then, I continued working on my original story idea.

As for the 20 pages of his story, they reside in a file on my computer. I intend on keeping my promise to work on the story in the future. Until I do, I get weekly reminders from this character when he beats on the closet door wanting out. It can get really noisy when the others stuffed in the closet with him join in.

My main characters help keep the renegades corralled in the closet. They know if the secondary characters get out, they may end up in the closet. What an incentive for them.

Now, I’m not saying “don’t allow your characters to assist” because it can be fun. As I said earlier, it is their story and they can guide you through it. My characters will tell me when I am not writing their story. I usually yield to their wisdom.

Do you ever converse with your characters? If you do, do they provide you with valuable information? I do on occasion but never in public except in my car. In that case, most people assume I have Blue Tooth and I am talking to someone via my cell phone. That way I can converse with my characters or dictate notes and use my voice recorder to capture the information.

That is why that I know this post may make me sound a bit on the crazy side but one of my favorite phrases I picked up over the years is “One does not have to be crazy to live in this world, but, man, it sure does help.”

Dennis Clarkston likes to read romance, science fiction, mystery and comedy – preferably all combined together. He likes to write the above genres but finds that most of his works end up being mainly science fiction/action adventure. Dennis writes under the pseudonym of Clark Stone and is currently pre-published.

Web site is www.clark-stone.net
Blog: blog.clark-stone.net
Contact: garnara@gmail.com

Researching Sin in Sin City

When I had the idea for my “Dr. Ally Skye, Sex Therapist” R-rated, comic romantic mystery series, I knew the perfect setting for the books was Las Vegas. The town is known for its sexual excesses, although the 25+ legal Nevada brothels are actually located in twelve rural counties—not in Sin City itself. Still there are plenty of carnal delights in Vegas to keep my sex therapist amateur sleuth busy with both her patients and her new hobby: helping her police detective lover solve sexual crimes. In addition to plotting the perfect murder, I enjoyed creating two fictional casino hotels as part of the setting: one pirate-themed and the other an Arabian Nights fantasy.

As most people know, sex is big business in Vegas.

There are “gentleman’s clubs” like Cheetahs, as well as low-class strip clubs, topless female revues and Chippendales male strippers. Even Cirque du Soleil has a titillating live show.

While prostitution is illegal in Las Vegas, those looking for sex can easily find paid companionship. There are plenty of free newspapers (sometimes called “bachelor guides”) and fliers touting paid “models” and “escorts”. Of course, if you hire one of them and get ripped off—left high and dry, so to speak—who are you going to complain to? So it’s “buyer beware” for those looking for sex in Sin City. Sometimes it’s even murder, which inspired my “Dr. Ally Skye, Sex Therapist” series.

Researching these books has led me to some very interesting websites. In addition to solving sex-related murders, Ally has her therapy patients with their own issues. Several are interested in trying things beyond their “vanilla” lifestyles, such as BDSM and role-playing, while others just want to bring the spark back to their intimate relationships. My heroine isn’t shocked by anything sexual between consenting adults, so as the author, I also keep an open mind while researching kink.

We first meet Dr. Ally Skye in Sex & the Single Therapist, when one of her patients is killed and a good friend is the main suspect. Before Ally and her Vegas insider friends can solve the crime, her investigations take her through a maze of lies, rampant adultery, steroid abuse, child pornography, and another murder. Of course, she also falls for police detective Zack Crawford, so the benefits definitely outweigh the risks of her sleuthing.

I’m currently researching the second book in the series, which features a serial killer who targets phone sex customers.

My research led me to an organization for sex workers (or “adult industry workers”) in Vegas called SCAPA, which is associated with the national Sex Workers Outreach Project. The SCAPA site has resources and information for escorts, prostitutes, dancers, erotic masseuses, phone sex operators, and more.

The third book will open with the murders of a ménage of swinger club devotees.

Two of the most infamous swinger clubs in Vegas are the Red Roster and the Green Door. Each has a long list of rules, such as BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze) and No Means No. The Green Door appears to offer more BDSM props, along with the standard group rooms, hot tubs, and couples only areas. The victims in my third book are murdered in my fictional swinger club’s pool.

The fourth in the series will explore the world of the human pony fetish. And I have ideas for working plushies and furries into future books. I admit I find the research fascinating.

What erotic fantasies or kinks do you enjoy reading about? I’ll give away an e-book of my comic romantic suspense, At Her Command, to a randomly chosen commenter on this blog post.

Here’s the book blurb for Sex & the Single Therapist:

A crime of passion…

To clear an innocent friend, sex therapist Dr. Ally Skye investigates a patient’s murder. Soon she’s trading heated words and hot kisses with a sexy cop. Can this free-spirited amateur sleuth and her posse of Vegas insiders solve the crime before the killer targets her?

A sexy complication…

Cynical homicide detective Zack Crawford has the murder to solve. The last thing he needs is a red-hot sex therapist who haunts his dreams. Ally is trouble and, given her job and his luck, she’d probably grade his performance in bed.

A dynamic duo…

Zack and Ally form an uneasy and sexually charged alliance. Murderers, extortionists and psychos are no match for these reluctant partners. Crime-solving was never this sexy or this fun!

For an excerpt from Sex & the Single Therapist, click on this link: Sex and the Single Therapist

And please visit my website to sign up for my e-newsletter and enter my monthly contest!

Thank you, Delilah, for inviting me to guest-blog!
— Marcia 😉

Genre Rivalry

I discovered a new writer the other day that I really enjoyed. She writes cozy mysteries, for which I have a sneaking fondness, and I was getting a kick out of hers when I happened upon a passage that made me wonder seriously if I wanted to pick up anything else she’d written. It was a party scene, and one of the guests had been described in a way that made it clear she was a complete moron. She and another guest, a writer, began discussing books they liked. And, of course, the moron turned out to just love romance.

This isn’t the first time I’ve stumbled across a mystery writer taking potshots at romance writers. If a romance author shows up in a mystery, for example, she’s usually a ditz. Sometimes she dresses in peasant outfits or pink chiffon with a picture hat. She almost always wears too much makeup. And, of course, she’s almost always stupid, unless of course she’s the murderer, in which case she’s not stupid but evil.

I’m not sure why mystery writers feel they have to take shots at us. I’ve never seen a mystery writer or reader portrayed negatively in a romance novel (although given the thousands that have been written, there may be some somewhere). Yet some mystery writers seem to take particular delight in unloading on their romance writing sisters.

This is all the more puzzling when you consider that romantic mystery writers (like Carla Neggers or Tami Hoag) have their feet in both camps. It’s not like there’s a hard and fast line between us. Nonetheless, mystery writers apparently feel that romance writers need to be put in their place.

They’re not the only ones who feel that way, either. Phillippa Gregory, the author of The Other Boleyn Girl, and other historical novels, made an offhand comment recently commending a fellow historical writer for being attuned to the time period she was describing, unlike romance writers whom Gregory disdained for being dilettantes. Now I’m sure some writers of historical romances screw things up (so, I’m sure, do historical novelists), but I’m also sure that lots of them are meticulous researchers because I’ve read the descriptions of their research. I’m guessing Gregory’s main complaint is that historical romances concentrate on, well, romance, while Gregory and her fellow historical writers put their interest elsewhere.

The point here, frankly, is that this genre rivalry doesn’t do much for any of us. People who read Eloisa James, like me, aren’t going to drop her just because Phillippa Gregory says historical romance sucks. Mystery writers’ potshots don’t diminish romance writers or romance novels; they just make the mystery writers look petty (and some mystery writers could learn a lot about creating credible relationships by checking out romances).

This whole “my genre’s better than your genre” thing is getting old. After all, many romance readers like me also read in other genres as well. And when I see romance readers and writers being insulted, it makes me a lot less likely to read that particular writer again. Think of it as the literary equivalent of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Meg Benjamin
megbenjamin.com

Have you ever looked at your significant other and thought, geez, that guy needs a makeover? And if they did, what would you change?

This is my heroine’s dilemma in my August release, REDEEMING THE ROGUE. The story begins in London, England in 1881 and moves across the Atlantic to Washington, D.C. Michael Rafferty is a sexy Irishman who is most comfortable in London’s dark underbelly, ferreting out violent Fenians (a group desiring Independence for Ireland) in the hopes of finding the one responsible for the bomb that killed his family. His black hair is unfashionably long and shaggy, his wardrobe is not that of the aristocracy, and he has no need for knowing about the fourteen types of forks and eleven types of spoons on a well-laid Victorian table.

However, when the British minister assigned to Washington D.C. turns up dead. Rafferty believes the one responsible is the man he’s been chasing. The Home Office decides the best way to catch a murderer is for Rafferty to temporarily assume the position of British minister and head of Washington’s ligation. He just doesn’t exactly look the part.

Enter Lady Arianne Chambers, who for reasons of her own, agrees to mold Rafferty into an acceptable diplomat. While they cross the Atlantic she modifies his appearance, teaches him etiquette – that is, when he shows up for lessons – and teaches him to dance in a sort of reverse Pygmalion.

Little did she suspect that Rafferty was transforming her as well. Together they face Washington society, find themselves involved in the assassination of President Garfield, and are forced to defend themselves against charges of treason.

So, my question for you is…if you could change your significant other, what would it be? His hair? His weight? His clothes? His manners?

Let’s talk and I’ll send one person leaving a comment a copy of REDEEMING THE ROGUE.

Donna MacMeans
www.DonnaMacMeans.com

“[Redeeming the Rogue] is pure joy; funny, sexy and exciting.” 4.5 TOP PICK! Romantic Times Bookreviews

“Irish rebellion, smuggled guns, and the assassination of American president James Garfield form a lively backdrop for this sweet, sexy, and smartly told Victorian romance.” — Publishers Weekly

Tomorrow, I head to Philadelphia for Authors After Dark. While I’m away, I have some terrific authors guest-hosting here—some you’ll know, some maybe not—to keep you entertained. Be kind. Post comments. And remember, the Fugly Ring contest continues. Every comment counts as an entry!

Here’s the lineup of guests I have for you:
Wednesday — Donna MacMeans
Thursday — Meg Benjamin
Friday — Marcia James
Saturday — Dennis Clarkston
Sunday —Alice Gaines

Enjoy! Today, I’ll be busy packing and checking my list twice!

Deadlines for submissions for my two Cleis Press anthologies are fast approaching!

I’ve started reading through the submissions for the first anthology I want to fill, Beastly Babes, my lesbian shapeshifter anthology. I’ve gone through 24 stories so far. Several are intriguing. I thought it might be helpful for any of you writers out there to hear some feedback regarding the stories I have and what I hope to still discover.

First, creature features for the stories I’m considering: I have birds (3), a phoenix, wolves (2), selkies (3), a fox, mouse, snake, panther and puma. That doesn’t mean you can’t still submit one of those kinds of stories, but yours had better knock my socks off before I’ll consider sliding more of those animals into the book.

Second, I have plenty of sweet, a couple of funny, what I really want to see are some darker, eerier stories with some edgy kink to help round out the collection. They still have to have that romantic Happy-For-Now. And again, that’s not to say I won’t take more sweet or funny, but your story has to surprise me.

If you have an idea and haven’t started writing it yet, and need a little more time, let me know. The deadline is August 15, but I do have a little wiggle room. If I’m expecting it, I won’t close the door.

For more information regarding the submission guidelines, check out this link:
Beastly Babes Rules

Let me remind you that I have a second collection I am looking to fill, this time hetero cowboy stories. That deadline is the end of this month. For more information, here’s that link:
The Cowboy Rules

In mid-September, I’m going to have a blog tour to promote Enslaved by a Viking. For almost thirty days, I’ll be a gypsy, wandering from one author’s or reviewer’s website to another, big and small. I will tell you where to find me every day, right here.

First, thanks to everyone who offered to host me. Second—what the hell am I going to talk about for thirty days?

That’s where you come in. Help me build a list of blogging topics. I’m used to getting up in the morning and blogging about whatever pops into my mind. Come September, I’ll have to prepare blogs in advance. No spontaneous thought. Yikes!

As for topics, they can be Enslaved story-related topics or not, or just things you might be curious about a writer’s life. Any and all suggestions will be appreciated as I build my list.