Taste of Kiwi

I found this list about why authors receive a rejection on their manuscripts when I was tidying up my office, so I thought I’d share. For some reason I’ve run across a lot of writers blogging about rejection and how to turn unpublished into published this week. Here are links to some of the great posts I’ve found.

At Passions Muses, Rowan West is talking about rejection. At Escape into Fantasy (Marilu Mann’s blog) Karen McCullough has suggestions on how we as writers can handle rejection. At Title Magic Dianna Love AND Mary Buckham have suggestions on how to break out of the pack of hopefuls to become a published writer.

Reasons Manuscripts are Rejected

1. No Beginning Hook
The author hasn’t started the story in the right place. They’re thrown in the main characters’ backstory plus the kitchen sink instead of starting at the place where the main conflict starts or changes.

2. No Strong Conflict
Each story should have internal and external conflict as well as sexual tension. Without conflict there’s no point to the story.

3. Underdeveloped Characters
Perfect characters are boring. Each character should have flaws, habits, and negative traits along with a good side. Even a villain should have a few good points.

4. Too Many Points of View
In a novella or category length book, two points of view are probably enough—that of the hero and heroine. In long novels it’s possible to have more POV but the point of view characters should play an important part in the story.

5. Too Much Telling
Show your characters in action rather than telling us about what they’re doing during the course of the story.

6. Mechanical Errors
Things like grammar, punctuation, spelling errors, typos, misused words etc could lead to a rejection.

7. Historical Inaccuracy
It’s important to double check facts, especially in historical novels. This also relates to contemporary novels. Check and recheck where necessary.

8. Dialogue
Avoid awkward or inappropriate dialogue. Make sure your characters don’t all sound the same.

9. Not Tightly Written
Every scene should work to drive the story forward. Delete all unnecessary words and scenes.

10. Not a Compelling Read
The main story idea needs to be strong enough to sustain an entire book.

11. Voice
The writer’s voice isn’t engaging.

QUESTION: We all face rejection in one way or another, be it as writers or as individuals going about the process of living. How do you handle rejection? How do you face rejection in your personal or business life? In your writing life?

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My special guest today is Amy Ruttan. Amy has had two releases this month. The first was Love Thy Neighbor, a contemporary tale from Ellora’s Cave. Check out the blurb and excerpt here, but today she’s talking about Fox’s Bride, her first release from Cerridwen Press.

I’m looking forward to reading this book very much. Not only does it have a great cover but there’s pirates. Arr, me hearty! Ship ahoy! Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Um…getting a bit carried away here. I think I’ll turn you over to Amy.

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This week I read about a British couple who have recently celebrated eighty years of marriage. I think this is amazing. Their story inspired me to search for ways to make a marriage last through the years.

1. Spend at least 10 minutes a day focused on one another without the distraction of your kids, the TV, the phone etc.

2. Say I love you. My hubby will ring up and tell me just out of the blue. It always makes me feel good.

3. Affirm something your spouse said or did and say something nice.

4. Laugh together.

5. Don’t criticize your spouse.

6. Kiss your spouse in the morning, before leaving the house, when you go to bed, and several other times during the day and evening.

7. Do a few things together, like working in the yard, taking a walk, watching a favorite movie or planning and cooking dinner.

8. Fight fair.

9. Be willing to forgive.

10. Plan and have a date with one another.

11. Don’t try to change your spouse. Note – it doesn’t work! He can’t change me either.

12. Don’t expect your spouse to be a mind reader and don’t try to be a mind reader.

13. Accept that there will be some small issues that you two will never resolve and that it’s normal in successful marriages.

I’m sure there are heaps of other things I haven’t mentioned. If you have another suggestion, please add it in the comments section.

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When I used to go to primary school (longer ago than I care to admit) we used to make and play with poi. The word poi refers to a Māori dance or game performed with a ball-like object, to which a cord of varying length is attached. Poi refers to both the ball and the dance, which normally includes hitting and swinging the ball on its string, usually accompanied by music or a chant of some kind. These days poi are used in live performances world-wide where they are either set on fire or contain lights. Luckily, I didn’t attempt either fire or lights with my poi. My mother would have had something to say about that. I distinctly remember breaking a light shade with my normal set of poi. I’d been told to practice outside but didn’t listen. After the light shade episode my poi were confiscated.

Here’s a YouTube of the New Zealand folk song Poi E, which was written by Dalvanius and performed by the Patea Maori club. It was a big hit in 1984, and I still tap my feet everytime I hear it. If you’re interested in the words or a translation to English and learning a little about the background of the song go here. Oh, and don’t forget to check out the dog and the breakdancer in the video.

For those of you with children here are some instructions from pupils at Awakeri School on how to make your own set of poi. Here’s another set of instructions from the Auckland Museum. Check out their Magna Muffins on the sidebar as well. They look like a fun thing for kids to make on a rainy day.

NOTE: Mothers, if your children make poi, encourage them to practice outside. Poi have the uncanny ability to attack lightshades and other delicate/breakable things without warning.

I’m also blogging over at Dynamic Trio today about a special interest story I heard about this week.

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On the surface a dentist has nothing to do with the Indianapolis 500, however both things happened to New Zealanders over the weekend. I ate a chocolate and broke a filling (if there’s a moral in there I don’t want to know!) and Scott Dixon won the Indianapolis 500. I’m now booked in for a long overdue dentist visit while Scott Dixon is a few million dollars richer.

Here’s the link for the story on Scott Dixon’s win. We’re all very proud of him.

I’m also blogging over at the Danger Zone today. My post is on extreme sports.

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Out on tour this week is author Sharona Nelson with her book Cover Me. Here’s the blurb:

COVER ME—the story of a single mom, a single man, and a health insurance plan…

Single mom Sunny Montgomery survived a lousy childhood with hippie parents as well as a terrible marriage with the cheating Kirk Stanley (AKA Kirk the Jerk), so she figured she could deal with whatever life threw at her. In short order, however, Sunny loses her job, car, health insurance, and life’s savings.

What’s a single mother to do? Get married, of course—though not for love.

Sunny accepts a marriage-of-convenience offer from her landlord, Ben Hart, so that she and Libbie, her asthmatic daughter, will have health insurance. The only problem is, she’s falling in love with him—despite the fact she thinks he’s gay. And, while she sometimes craves more distance from the temptation known as Ben, heaven knows that good, affordable apartments in Boston are as rare as winters without snow.

Through it all, Sunny perseveres. Whether beset by estranged hippie parents, money troubles, a creepy new boss, an is-he-or-isn’t-he faux husband, or the Boston mob, Sunny sustains herself with her inner strength, her best friend Dulcie, odd-duck neighbor Ray, and lots of mac-and-cheese, hot dogs, and ice cream. Oddly enough, what Sunny’s daughter, Libbie, wants—comfort food and plenty of SpongeBob SquarePants on the tube—aren’t fundamentally different from what Sunny wants—happiness and love.

Sunny’s struggles teach us that making lemonade from life’s abundant supply of lemons isn’t too difficult, as long as we follow our hearts…

I caught up with Sharona and asked her a few questions:

1. Where did you get the idea for your latest book?

A long time ago, I was living with the man who’s now my husband. We’d never felt any special impulse to tie the knot, but when my ex said he planned to remarry, that meant I’d lose my health insurance. So, my live-in of nearly ten years and I got married. Though we do love each other, we had some fun with the wedding, including putting the initials of the health plan on the arch over the bride and groom atop the ice cream cake (ice cream cake because my daughter doesn’t like regular cake.)

I told the complete story of my wedding to someone once, and they said, “You should write a story about someone who gets married for health insurance.” The idea appealed to me, and the inspiration for COVER ME was born.

I spent most of my adult life in the Boston area, so setting the story there was a no-brainer. By the way, the information about health insurance options for the unemployed was accurate when the book went to press. But now Massachusetts has a completely different system. (Just wanted Massachusetts readers to know that yes, I do the research, but the Commonwealth changed the game on me when it was too late to revise the manuscript!)

2. What makes a hero for you? Do you see them on the street, or are they simply in your head?

Ah, heroes. They’re almost always completely in my head, though occasionally inspired by men I’ve known.

While I sometimes write those alpha he-men guys, I tend to prefer someone a bit less, um, alpha in my real life. Ben’s sort of an amalgam, a bit more beta than I normally care for. However, he reminds me of some hard-science academics I’ve known and loved.

For me, a real hero is a man who’s not afraid to take a chance and reveal his heart when it’s clear he’s fallen for the heroine. Ben was a little slow to risk it all, but in the end, he jumps off the cliff of love. He may not be Rambo, but he wants to help and protect Sunny and her child. He’s a genuine, 100% good guy. In a movie or TV show, Ben might be best played by the actor who plays Henry on “Ugly Betty” (Christopher Gorham). Gorham’s character looks very much as I imagined Ben would, and he’s got the perfect combination of awkwardness, nervousness, inexperience, and willingness to pursue the woman he loves.

3. What advice would you give to aspiring romance writers?

Write what you love, because if you become a hit, readers are going to want more books in the same subgenre. That’s one of the best reasons not to write to market in some genre you don’t enjoy—you might end up with a career in it.

I also suggest you take the time to school yourself on the basics of grammar and story construction. It’s rare for an editor to buy a story whose mechanics aren’t the best.

Also—as they say in “Galaxy Quest” (and what a wonderful, silly movie that is)—Never give up! Never surrender!

Don’t quit trying, no matter what.

4. Describe yourself in one word.

Independent as the day is long!

5. Do you have a favorite comfort food?

Like my heroine, Sunny, and her daughter, Libbie, I love most all comfort food: old-fashioned macaroni and cheese (not some low-fat imitation), ice cream, homemade soups, rice pudding with lots of cinnamon and raisins. I love pretty much anything chocolate, though peanut butter’s a close second, and I’ve been known to go ga-ga over a rich, cinnamon-y coffee cake, too.

And coffee—I love coffee (any anything mocha). I would drink it 24 hours a day if it didn’t destroy my sleep. Starbucks is on my speed dial.

About Sharona
I spent most of my adult life in the Boston area. (I miss the city, but not the winters. Heaven is eighty degrees and blue skies.) While in Boston, I was a jack-of-all-trades, mastering two: radio personality and technical writer/online help designer. I also worked as a taxi driver, clerical chartist for the Federal Reserve Bank, and temporary office worker for half a dozen companies. However, fiction writing is my first and longest-lived love.

My family and I currently live in one of the Middle Atlantic states, but are considering relocating someplace it’s warmer in the winter.

Sharona Nelson
Modern romantic comedy with attitude—because you don’t want to read your mother’s romances

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I have a new cover for Cat and Mouse, the fifth book in my Middlemarch Mates series. It will come out on 1 October from Ellora’s Cave. Here’s the blurb:

Every woman has sexual needs. Lana Sinclair, feline shapeshifter and widow, is more than ready for a fun night with a likeminded male. Hot lovin’ is compulsory because she’s determined to scratch the itch that’s driving her crazy. This time, career-girl Lana is picking a malleable male who won’t try to corral her into the housewife role.

Fellow shifter Duncan Ross is the perfect candidate. The cowboy follows the rodeo circuit and is only in Middlemarch for the bull riding. One night of mutual seduction, slick, naked bodies and pleasure then he’ll be on his way.

Duncan is astonished when Lana propositions him, but no one could ever call him stupid. He’s always desired Lana and now that she’s ready for sex, he’s all action. It’s time to lasso the woman of his dreams with some sweet lovin’ and charm, a sexy massage and ropes spliced together with addictive pleasure. He’ll seduce her to his way of thinking—a permanent arrangement. This is one go-round Duncan is determined to win.

I’m giving away a copy of Midnight Treat over at Author Island today – that’s the anthology with Sally Painter, Margaret Carter and me. (cover in the sidebar to the right) Make sure you hop on over and enter the contest. The winner will receive a print copy of the anthology just as soon as I get my hands on one. This book hits the shelves on June 10 2008.

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I admit to a fascination with camels and have come across them in many places through Asia and Africa and also Australia.

1. Camels are even-toed ungulates within the genus Camelus. The dromedary, one-humped or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the Bactrian camel has two humps. They are native to the dry desert areas of western Asia, and central and east Asia, respectively.

2. Camels have the reputation of being bad-tempered and obstinate creatures who spit and kick. In reality, they tend to be good-tempered, patient and intelligent. The moaning and bawling sound they make when they’re loaded up and have to rise to their feet is like the grunting and heavy breathing of a weight-lifter in action, not a sign of displeasure at having to do some work. Note – some do have bad breath!

3. Camels come in every shade of brown, from cream to almost black.

4. A camel’s ears are small. It has acute hearing. A camel’s ears are lined with fur to filter out sand and dust blowing into the ear canal.

5. Contrary to popular belief, a camel does not store water in its hump. It is in fact a mound of fatty tissue from which the animal draws energy when food is hard to find. When a camel uses its hump fat for sustenance, the mound becomes flabby and shrinks. If a camel draws too much fat, the small remaining lump will flop from it’s upright position and hang down the camel’s side. Food and a few days’ rest will return the hump to its normal firm condition.

6. Camels have broad, flat, leathery pads with two toes on each foot. When the camel places its foot on the ground the pads spread, preventing the foot from sinking into the sand. When walking, the camel moves both feet on one side of its body, then both feet on the other. This gait suggests the rolling motion of a boat, explaining the camel’s ’ship of the desert’ nickname.

7. A camel’s eyes are large, with a soft, doe-like expression. They are protected by a double row of long curly eyelashes that also help keep out sand and dust, while thick bushy eyebrows shield the eyes from the desert sun. Their eyelashes are very long and quite sexy actually! See the photo below – I got quite close and had a bird’s eye view.

8. After a gestation periods of 13 months, a camel cow usually bears a single calf. The calves walk within hours of birth, and remain close to their mothers until they reach maturity at five years of age. The normal life span of a camel is 40 years, although a working camel retires from active duty at 25.

9. Wild dromedaries are long extinct. Wild Bactrian camels still survive in the Gobi desert (between China and Mongolia), but they are endangered, the population being under 1,000. This wild Bactrian camels are not the race from which the domestic form comes. That type is believed to be extinct now in the wild. There are also wild camels in central and western Australia. They were released into the wild when they were no longer required as beasts of burden and have successfully bred. The camels I rode in Queensland were captured wild from central Australia and broken to saddle.

10. The camel’s mouth, stomach, and teeth have all developed to allow it to eat plants that are not palatable to other desert animals. The camel’s mouth is tough and rubbery so that thorns and branches won’t damage it. The thirty-four sharp teeth allow it to bite off tough bites of almost anything, and when forage is short a camel can subsist on meats, skin and bones. Camels are ruminants, similar to cows, with three stomachs. They don’t chew their food. They eat by swallowing their food whole and allowing it to be partially digested by the stomachs before being chewed as a cud later.

11. Throughout recorded history, the camel has been a helper to the desert dwellers. The camel assisted in providing transportation, shelter, fuel and food. The camel is able to carry loads as heavy as 900 pounds, although normally a camel will only carry a third of that. Camels were used on the Silk Road.

12. Fossil evidence indicates that the ancestors of modern camels evolved in North America during the Palaeogene period, and later spread to Asia. Humans first domesticated camels between 3,500–3,000 years ago.

13. This photo was taken in the Western Desert of Egypt.

This photo was taken near the St Simeon Monastery, Aswan, Egypt.

And this final photo of a pretty white camel was taken in Algeria – the Sahara Desert.

I’ve used some of my camel riding experiences in Wanderlust. Anna and her passengers go for a camel ride from the desert town of Jaiselmer in India. This ride was from personal experience and I remember having a sore ass afterwards and well into the next day. I wasn’t the only one who was walking like a duck either!
The camel I rode this particular time was called Michael Jackson and had a small plastic horn tied onto its saddle. This seems to be a very common name since the donkey I rode up to the Valley of the Kings in Egypt was also called Michael Jackson.

Have you ridden a camel? If so, whereabouts? Would you like to ride a camel?

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My guest today is Jenyfer Matthews who writes for Cerridwen Press. Her recent release, All The Way Home recently received a Golden Blush recommended read from Literary Nymph Reviews. The reviewer said, “In my opinion, a book as beautifully written, heartfelt and sweet as All the Way Home truly deserves the Golden Blush Recommended Read award. It just makes you hope that Ms. Matthews keeps writing with the tenderness, understanding, and compassion that she showed here. Brilliant!”

Today Jenyfer is talking about life in Cairo, Egypt and in particular transport.
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I received the cover for Lovers at Last a couple of days ago. It’s not long until Lovers at Last hits the cyber shelves – 4 June.

I also have a gemstone story for July, so I’m looking forward to that cover as well. To read excerpts for the two stories check out the coming soon page at my website.

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