Everybody Needs A Little Romance

Valentines has already started for me.   And it is much more fun to be with friends than a boyfriend in my opinion.  I have a lot of wonderful plans for the entire week, and they are all with my friends.  Tuesday evening will be spent with one group of friends I have on campus, Wednesday is girls movie/pizza/wii night, Friday evening may be spent with some friends of mine, and Saturday is the writers meeting and a Valentines party with some wonderful friends that night. 

A good Valentines Day treat for myself would be a day at the spa.  Maybe a good back massage and to have my nails done would be the perfect treat.   Then, maybe I should go and buy a sexy and classy new outfit. 

Then, I also have to concentrate on getting plenty of writing done this week.  That’s where the romance comes in, LOL!  I think I may have a steamy love scene this week.  What a perfect time to write one!

Last week,  me and my girlfriends were watching the Michael Jackson movie.  I didn’t really care for the movie, but we had so much fun!  It felt so much like high school.  We paused and rewinded the part where it showed the muscular men dancing.  I believe our Valentines Week started right there!  LOL

How are you going to treat yourself for Valentines?  Any plans?

Well, it is one exciting night!  Super Bowl 44, is that right?  Man, that’s along time.  I went into it kind of neutral.  I wanted to the Saints to will because they’ve never had the opportunity before, but I’ve always like the Colts.  My immediate family was split on who they wanted to win, so I decided to just play referee and make sure no one got hurt. :)  We used to watch pro football all the time when I was younger.  As things changed and teams switched all over the place, I lost interest.  This year it has been really exciting to see the Saints make it all the way.

 Every year I’m amazed and maybe even shocked at times by the commercials.  Where do people come up with this stuff?  This year my favorite was the Doritos commercial where the little boy slaps the guy about to take his mother out on a date and tells him about his two rules.  “One, stay away from my momma.  Two, stay away from my Doritos.” LOL

 All these commercials got me to thinking about promotion.  The how, where and especially when to start making a name for yourself.  I’ve read a lot about getting started before you sell.  It makes sense.  Get your name out there and recognized.  A good brand is one of the most important things an author has to sell her books.

 We aspiring authors can get a jump on our PR and make our life a little easier when we finally do get “the call.”  Google is great resource to check and see if your tagline, slogan or name is unique.  Go ahead and take that next step and at least lock in your domain name, especially those of you with common names.  I really didn’t think I’d have a problem since mine is so different, but I did find one other person with my “exact” name living in Czechoslovakia.  Now, wouldn’t I have been shocked if I had waited, only to find my name unavailable when I went to set up my website?  I shudder to think. LOL

 Golden Heart winner Jenn Stark has some helpful tips on her site about branding. (http://www.JennStark.com/).

 Well, halftime is over!!! Back to the game.  The score is 10 to 6 at the moment.  A real nail bitter.  

Any tips or experiences with promotion you’d like to share?

Yep, it’s that time of year again. Valentine’s Day. Sometime, somewhere, I’m sure I’ve read the story of the origin of Valentine’s Day, but I’m not buying it. I think it started with some bored Greek deity who looked down at the world and said, “You know, those couples look much too happy. It’s so dull. I think I’ll make up a day where they all have to be romantic. Hah! Nothing like romance on demand to really mess with a relationship.”

Not that I have anything against romance. (Yes, I did notice the title to this blog before I joined.) It’s the on demand part that screws it up. First of all, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s February. I find it difficult to feel sexy while wearing wool socks. A candlelit dinner? That would be fabulous. First, though, there’s that hour’s drive to the nearest restaurant. And after dinner, a treacherous stroll across an icy parking lot to a vehicle whose interior bears a striking resemblance to the freezer compartment of my fridge. An hour of dodging deer, cows and snowdrifts on the way home, only to climb out of the now warm car for a subzero hike to the house.

And me in my strappy little stilettos. Snort!

If by some miracle I’m still in the mood for a little lovin’ after all that, the sight of my husband stripping down to a baggy, one-piece wool blend union suit will probably finish it off. That, or the amount of work involved in peeling off five layers of my own clothes. Face it. Romance is much simpler when it’s warm outside. If we must do this Valentine’s thing, could we at least bump it into July?

Not that we’re much better at romantic occasions in the summer. One day last June, my husband called me at work.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Just wondering if you had any plans for this evening.”

“The usual. Ride my horses, maybe rope a few calves. Why?”

“I thought I should check. Your mom says it’s our anniversary.”

Huh. News to me. After eighteen years, it all starts to get a little hazy.

I admit, it wasn’t always this way. On our first Valentine’s Day together, my future husband had a dozen red roses delivered to my office. I was suitably impressed, if a little concerned about the cost. At the time, the cattle market was bumping along at record lows. I married him anyway. A couple weeks after the wedding I picked up the mail. There was a bill from the florist. I peeked. It was for my Valentine’s flowers. The next month, it came again.

I couldn’t stand it. I paid the stupid thing.

“From now on, I’d rather you didn’t get me flowers,” I told him. ”I can’t afford it.”

***

This year, my husband gets a pass on Valentine’s Day. Maybe even my birthday. Because yes, he finally did it–I have a new hot water heater. It was not an easy process. It involved painting walls, moving appliances, building a cabinet. And tools. Lots and lots of tools:

But now it’s done, and I gotta go. I need to take another shower.

Wednesday sneaks up on me sometimes…I just remembered it was Wednesday, like, ten minutes ago. But like many of you I just meet myself coming and going. Didn’t make it home last night until after 9:00 and then I had to get the kids in bed. By that time I was exhausted – took bath, slipped into bed, and stared at ceiling.  I couldn’t sleep.

So you know what I feel like this morning.

But I wanted to talk today about a little experiment I’ve undertaken with my writing. And really, the idea came from Keri. You see, I’ve been sluggish with my writing. It’s been tough to pull it from inside my head and put it on the paper. I have no idea why. Just is. So Keri tells me about this chat room thing she’s been doing where they chat for a little bit and then write then go back and chat about what they wrote.

So I thought, “Hey, that’s a good idea!”

I call my friend who I often lunch with on my Thursday Lunch Bunch (members of my chapter meet up and have lunch together and talk writing). She and I had made a pact about being really serious about writing this year, but thus far, neither one of us had enough of a fire lit under our butts to move forward. So in the call I tell her I have an idea.

We’re going to try the chat room thing, but we’re gonna move it to Starbucks. We’ll bring our laptops, we’ll chat about what we’re writing and trying to accomplish in the scene, and then we’ll write for twenty minute. Break for ten, chat, write for twenty.

Know what? I ‘m on chapter seven of my wip that I started on January 4th. I average about 1200 new words at Starbucks. And we’re doing it on Monday, so it’s like a kickstart to our week. And she’s been about the same in her productivity. We’re soooooo making progress. Plus, who doesn’t love Starbucks? The coffee, the funky music, all those twenty-somethings mulling over their college textbooks. It’s a recipe for inspiration. Experiment successful!

So what about you? Are you up for trying new routines or a new experiment in writing? Have you been productive so far this new year?

I’ve made so many changes this year that I am having to get accustomed to this new life of mine.  But, hey, I’m lovin’ it!  I am more dedicated to my writing, I have more time with friends, I got rid of the chaos in my life, I’m going on a new diet and losing weight, I moved, and I even changed my hair color.  Sometimes, the right changes just make all the difference in the world. 

Everyday, there is something to do for me. 

I’m either writing, working, doing really fun things with my friends, reading, jogging, or joking around with Uncle Jack, Papaw, and my big brother(who is really my partner in crime, LOL).

There is SO much time to write, and I LOVE it!  I am almost done with my paranormal, and the annual writers conference is approaching, and I’m VERY excited!  

One of my writer friends in our group who is VERY dedicated to her writing career gets 10,000K words done a week!  That is my new goal since I am starting to take this so seriously, and I am not procrastinating anymore!  Stress WILL do it.

I am a biggie on having routine in my life.  Last year, I never knew what was going to happen from one day to the next, and I always had writer’s block.  Now everything is level, and my writing takes up more time than anything else.  

Since I’m almost done with this book which I love writing so much-I am kind of sad.  I enjoy writing it, and I absolutely love my characters.   I enjoy so much that I hate to finish it.   I wish it could keep going.  Do you other writers ever get the same feeling with a book you love so much that you’ve put your heart into writing? 

With this new routine, I’ll be done with it in no time!  How do you adjust to new routines?  Do you like drastic changes?

Hey, Romancers. Please help me welcome debut author Christi Barth!

Thank you so much for letting me visit today!  I shamelessly stole my topic right from the name of your blog, because for my money, truer words were never spoken.  Everlasting true love is great and all, but the mere existence of it isn’t enough.  You need a regular dose of romance to give you that gooey, melted feeling on the inside.  And that feeling is what reminds you just how crazy in love you are.

The thing to remember is that, although lovely, romance isn’t limited to champagne and roses (although far be it for me to ever turn them down!).  One dictionary defines romance as “to try to influence or curry favor with especially by lavishing personal attention, gifts or flattery”.   It can be easy to throw down a credit card and go the gift route (see the aforementioned champagne and roses).  But as romance authors, we need to dig deeper.  Our hero/heroine should ooze romance from their pores, and that means hitting all three areas, not just the old standby of gifts.

Gifts are still good, regardless.  I met a woman tonight whose husband bought her a Kindle last month because he noticed her lugging a bag full of books every time she traveled.  Practical, yet eminently thoughtful.  He gets a romance point for that!

Let’s turn to flattery.  This can be tricky, because flattery can often lean towards cheesy.  Here is a quote from my book Carolina Heat:

Mark covered her hand with his. “I don’t believe I’ve taken the opportunity to tell you how beautiful you look tonight. Your hair is like a molten sunset spreading across your shoulders.”

Annabelle’s vision blanked, then hazed over with indignation. “I’m going to come right out and tell you there is absolutely no chance I’ll sleep with you tonight.”

Sure, she overreacted a tad, but his line – so obviously a line – verged on the ridiculously smarmy.  And timing is everything.  They were on their first date, which was far too early to say something so over the top romantic.  Sadly, this kind of hyperbole isn’t limited to the overactive imagination of romance writers.  Years ago my best friend went to a concert in the park and hit it off with the man next to her.  They went to a late dinner, and he proclaimed on the way to the car, “This is the night dreams are made of!”  True story – I promise.  Needless to say, she decided he was a nutcase and promptly got rid of him. 

A little later, my hero tries again

“I don’t have time for a slow, conventional courtship.” Mark wrapped his arms around her snugly. “And I won’t try to monopolize every minute of your day. I know you have work to do, and as a matter of  fact, I have to work tomorrow also. But I’m thirty four years old, and you intrigue me in a way no other woman ever has. I don’t intend to miss this chance.”

Now this is well done flattery (and it earns him a kiss).  Definitely romance with a capital R.  But my personal favorite form of romance is the lavishing of personal attention. 

When it comes down to it, I just want my husband to be there, holding my hand, sharing life with me.  So when he joins me at a Junior League event – where he is completely out of his element and surrounded by near strangers – that counts as a romantic gesture.  When he sits next to me on the couch while I watch Greys Anatomy – that is romance.  And when he comes with me to the library (my holy of holies) even though he has very little interest in anything book related just to spend time with me – that is romance.

So let’s open this up.  What screams romance to you?  What grand gesture does it for you?  Or what not so grand, small yet significant thing dings the romance bell?

I don’t know about everyone else, but sometimes, I get these sudden urges to go on a vacation somewhere.   The cold weather has a lot to do with it.   A deserted island in the Bahamas, a romantic sunrise and sunset, jet skis, and a boat just sounds terrific.

I have made a lot of changes at the start of this year.  I dyed my hair its natural color, I am on a healthy diet, I’m exercising more and actually enjoying it with my new mp3 player, I moved to another house, I am paying off my car note, I am meeting a lot of new wonderful people, and numerous other things.  This year is a fresh new start, but a vacation in the islands would be terrific for freezing months like December and January.  Cold weather is not for this  gal! 

I have saved a lot of money this year.  I could afford to go on a vacation.  It would be worth it!  I just don’t know where I could go.  I would love to go somewhere alone to a cabin on the lake and finish my novel.  I don’t have very much left to finish. 

Then, a get away with a few of my friends would be nice.  Perhaps a  road trip to Tennessee with a couple of my buddies to visit our other friendwho we haven’t seen since 2007 would be awesome!  We did talk about getting together again sometime soon the other day. 

Then, there is the writers conference coming up in March.  That is always a little vacation for me!  It is such fun, and the other writers there are awesome!

If you could go on a vacation anywhere in the world right now, where would it be?  What would you do?