Books are Like Chocolates

I opened my Valentine's Day chocolates yesterday, and there were all those delectable-looking chocolates . . . with no helpful sheet of paper explaining what kind of filling I might find inside each one. Not right! Right? I mean, I love almost any filling, but what if I bite into one with coconut filling? Yuck.

And it occurred to me:

Books are like chocolates.

The description of the book is like the sheet of paper that tells you what's inside the chocolates. Helpful, yes?

But what if the description of a book is misleading? This is the case with short stories far too often. You go to, say, Amazon and find a short story that looks interesting, and you buy it. Then you read it, and it's not a story at all.

Because a story has a resolution.

Some of the short "stories" found on, say, Amazon read like the first chapter of a novel, leaving you hanging with no resolution to the plot. Argh.

A short "story" with a description that doesn't acknowledge it has no resolution is like a box of chocolates with no sheet of paper that describes the filling. In fact, without a resolution it's like a box of chocolates that have no filling at all.

Hey, publishers? If you're going to put a story up on, say, Amazon and leave off the resolution, do your readers a favor and let us know that in the product description.

I'm in the Ellora's Cave Submission Queue

About a week ago I sent a novella to the Blush line at Ellora's Cave. For those of you wondering about what sort of stuff I've been writing lately, Blush is EC's line of non-erotic romance.

I found this in my Inbox this morning: "Your manuscript has been read by our initial editorial reviewer and has been placed in queue for our acquiring editors to consider further."

I suppose it doesn't mean much more than "Your writing isn't complete drivel," but it sure was a nice way to start my day.

Review: In the Garden of Iden

In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was skeptical when I opened this book (because SF and cyborgs aren't really my thing), but only until I read the first couple of paragraphs. The main character's voice hooked me instantly.

The one aspect of the story I didn't care for [SPOILER ALERT] as a romance reader was that the romance thread had a horribly unhappy ending. Although, because of the time-travel aspect, there's a hope the love might be resurrected. [END SPOILER]

That said, the ending of the story delivered with satisfying irony, and it instilled in me an urgent desire to read the next books in the series. And the story actually concluded rather than feeling like a teaser for the next book, which was nice.

So I guess I might be a SF fan after all.



View all my reviews

How I Wrote a Fantasy Romance Novella in One Month

If you've been wondering where I've been lately: I've been writing like crazy. My RWA chapter had a writing marathon in October, and it was the first time I'd written every single day. I would never have believed the difference it could make in my writing, just keeping my fingers moving and the story flowing without breaking for two days at a time over the weekends. I wrote more—and, I hope, better—in that one month than I've ever written before.

It's a nice little fantasy romance novella, full of magic and eagles, and while writing it I found out what the Northern Lights really are. They have nothing to do with the earth's magnetic fields, either. (Yes, the things I make up for my stories become real to me. That's normal, right?)

So I decided this habit will have to continue. I'm a new woman, one who writes every day. : )

And my family didn't even come close to starving while I was doing all that writing. They seriously thought they would. That's been a relief all around, let me tell you, because I'm already well into another MS.

RWA Writing Workshop: Prune Your Prose with Linnea Sinclair

I like to participate in every RWA writing workshop my chapter offers (I belong to the online chapter). I always learn something new in them. If you belong to RWA but not to the online chapter, you might consider joining; the workshops are free to RWA Online chapter members and the annual chapter membership fee is about the cost of one workshop, so even if you participate in two workshops per year, you're getting a slamming good deal.


Check it out. : )


***** Permission to Forward Granted *****
RWA® Online Chapter presents:

PRUNE YOUR PROSE! Ten Tips to Tighten Your Fiction Writing
Instructor: Linnea Sinclair
August 16th – 29th, 2010
Registration Period: August 2-15, 2010
Fee: $15 Non-Chapter members. RWAOL Chapter #136 members; free. 
Payment method: PAYPAL is recommended! 

It’s safe and fast! Check and money orders also accepted.
Registration: http://www. rwaonlinechapter .org/campus.htm (without the spaces)

NOTE: -Use your real First and Last Name & Choose Pay Option.
ONLY Chapter #136 members choose the Chapter Member option button.
For more information: workshops@rwaonlinechapter.org

CLASS DESCRIPTION: As the saying goes, “Close only counts in…hand grenades.” Don’t let your manuscript bomb because of easily overlooked errors, or for lack of sophistication and polish. Learn how to make every chapter count, every scene earn its keep, every main character memorable. Award-winning Bantam Random House author Linnea Sinclair will take you though ten tips (and more!) that will make your story shine, move it out of the slush pile, onto an editor’s desk so that—when on the shelves—it can garner reviews that note: A must-read, by an author who never disappoints!

Attendees should bring sample pages of their work-in-progress (including their first page) and be prepared to share and improve!

BIO: Winner of the prestigious national book award, the RITA, science fiction romance author Linnea Sinclair has become a name synonymous for high-action, emotionally intense, character-driven novels. Reviewers note that Sinclair's novels "have the wow-factor in spades," earning her accolades from both the science fiction and romance communities. Sinclair's current releases are GAMES OF COMMAND (PEARL Award winner and RITA finalist), THE DOWN HOME ZOMBIE BLUES (PEARL Award Honorable Mention), SHADES OF DARK, HOPE’S FOLLY and REBELS & LOVERS. 
A former news reporter and retired private detective, Sinclair resides in Naples, Florida (winters) and Columbus, Ohio (summers) along with her husband, Robert Bernadino, and their two thoroughly spoiled cats. Readers can find her perched on the third barstool from the left in her Intergalactic Bar and Grille at www.linneasinclair.com. 

FORMAT: Course is conducted via online discussion (bulletin) board on the RWA® Online website. Non-chapter members MUST complete both the workshop registration AND the discussion board login registration for access. Instructions for login are presented after the registration pages (or to return to the login instructions, go to http://www.rwaonline...strationTY.htm. The workshop is available for up to one week after the end date and a downloadable archive of the workshop will be available the week following the workshop.

***** Permission To Forward Granted ***** 

Amberville by Tim Davys

Amberville by Tim Davys is a weird, weird book. I'm not sure it's fantasy, exactly, because it wouldn't be a huge leap to tell the same story with human characters rather than stuffed animals. The suspension of disbelief took a little while to kick in for me.

This book got mixed reviews because of the author's choice to populate his somewhat European setting (Germany, I think, or maybe England?) with full-size stuffed animals who are all relatively equal in size, with the unexplained exception of the character who's a smallish snake.

The main characters are twin bears, Eric Bear and Teddy Bear (groan, I know). Unfortunately for them, they love the same woman, whose father is a mafia kingpin and uses her to uncover the stuffed animal society's greatest secret: the Death List. The kingpin's name is on that list, and he wants it removed. The conflict and characterization are strong, and in the end, Eric Bear has to choose between two people (well, stuffed animals) he loves. Plenty of reasons to keep reading, and the twists keep coming.

A big part of Amberville is the question of the nature of good and evil. I can't say what I really want to say about that, or the vehicle Davys used to drive it home, without adding a spoiler.

I'm not positive the stuffed animals are necessary to the story. On the other hand, I found the plot and characters engaging, and I read the book straight through in one sitting. And it made me think.

Fantasy Romance on Goodreads

I was looking for a group for fantasy romance readers, and I found one (through a post on the Romance Divas forum) on Goodreads.