Category — Writing

Changes ahead!

Maria has done it. And I’ve been thinking about it for a little while now. What am I talking about? Changing my blog theme. So consider this advance notice that things may look a little screwy over the next week or so while I get the hammer and pliers out and try to knock things into place.

Apologies in advance for any mutant effects.

So I’m discussing the term “lucked out” at Novel Spaces today. Remember, that blog runs according to a US Eastern clock, so it won’t appear until after lunch, south-east Asian time. But if you have some insight, I really want to hear about it.

How does “lucked out” mean something positive? I go through some of my ruminations and I’m really after enlightenment here, so if you can help out, please do.

Hearts and tigers!

So, both Valentine’s Day and CNY fall on Sunday this year. This means a double celebration for all those people of Chinese descent and all those hangers on (like me!) who just like to gorge on Chinese food goodies! However, I will say that this is NOT the time to go shopping. It’s a jungle out there!

After being solemnly informed by The Wast that J and I are not entitled to celebrate Valentine’s Day (“You’re already married, so you can’t celebrate Valentine’s Day and you only give flowers to girls you want to marry”), we probably won’t do very much. Our son’s right of course; Valentine’s Day is a day for lovers, not grumpy married couples with kids and warring domestic pets, so I hope that all lovers everywhere have a great day.

As for Chinese New Year …. Although I’m not an adherent of things mystical, I really do hope that the new year brings a change of luck for me. The last decade hasn’t been fantastic and I could do with being thrown balls of a different spin. To everyone celebrating CNY, have a great time and do take care on the roads, won’t you?

Monday and Tuesday are public holidays in the region, so I’m not sure if I’ll be sufficiently motivated to do a post. We’ll see.

And, in writing news, edits for “Singapore Sizzle” have come and gone, and I’m working on the second book in the “His Bodyguard” series and having a good time. Sian Bernardine and Chris Lance are quite different to Helen Collier and Yves de Saint Nerin, and so is the setting. More on that, maybe next week.

Have a good weekend everyone and have some fun.

Come back Leo, all is forgiven!

You may remember that in February of last year, I did a bit of a post on SAP poster-boy, Leo Apotheker. Most notably, besides his name, I honed in on his speech where he essentially bitch-slapped SAP’s partners.

What I unfortunately didn’t know at the time, which would have made the post a little more titteringly delicious, was that this must have been one of Leo’s first speeches as SAP’s Biggest Wiggest. (I know, I know, it’s his name. It’s making me giddy.)

Well, The Register has now reported that Leo has left SAP. Key phrases include “surprise departure”, “leaving the top job, and the company board”, “immediate” resignation, and “contract not extended by mutual agreement”.

Wonder if the partners Leo slighted had anything to do with it? Hmmmmm.

(ADDITIONAL: ZDNet tells me that Leo had poor “internal staff ratings” , and Bloomberg adds that his “market changer” BusinessByDesign offering (a monthly subscription model that he must have pitched before being made CEO, judging by the timeline) will be implemented “three years later than planned”. I’d also like to think that dissing every partner out there in the marketplace didn’t help.)

If you’ve wandered over here on Wednesday morning, US Eastern time, you’ll also find a post from me up at Novel Spaces. I continue to be awed by the range of experience in the crew and can only manage some small, derivative prose in their presence.

And I’m finishing up the edits for Singapore Sizzle, my new short story to be released by Total-E-Bound in May as part of the “Cougars & Cubs” anthology. With any luck, I’ll have an excerpt up at my website soon.

Giving you a break

All I got at the moment are psychological or political analyses and, after Monday’s tasty morsel, that’s probably enough for this week. So, I’m blogging at Novel Spaces today but, because Novel Spaces runs  on American Eastern time, it means you won’t get to see it for hours and hours! 4:15am EST … ish.

Please do get along though because I’m talking about a short story that just got accepted into an anthology. Multicultural as well as something else. Hmmm…… Believe it or not, this is the first short story that I ever purpose-wrote for an anthology so I’m obviously very chuffed (after being obviously very nervous) about it being included, and I hope I’ve piqued your interest enough to make you go blog-hopping.

The link to Novel Spaces is here but remember that it won’t be live for a few hours. In the meantime, why not trawl through previous posts on the site? I’m proud to be part of the NS group. They are all entertaining, knowledgeable people who aren’t afraid to state their opinions up front, and you know how much I admire such people, even if I don’t necessarily agree with them. Long live strong opinions. Long live Novel Spaces. Go have a read and lose yourself in a few other genres at the same time.

Catch you Friday … with a recipe!

Protecting His Heart? Riddle of the Mandala? Ninja Attackers of Death? Who knows

I thought I’d do something a bit different this year and tell you what kind of writing stuff I’m working on from time to time.

At the moment, I’m writing the first draft of the sequel to Guarding His Body, working title Protecting His Heart.

We meet a new set of characters in this book. Chris Lance is a British IT consultant, based in Singapore. One of his newer hobbies is collecting Asian works of art and, from a tip-off, he flies to Hong Kong to bid on an intricately-patterned mandala that’s unlike anything he’s seen before. When he returns with it, however, he finds the mandala — and himself — the object of some nasty attention.

Laurie Bernardine is a martial artist who initially breaks into Chris’ apartment in order to steal the mandala from him. However, she isn’t the only one with that goal in mind, and the artefact ends up getting snatched by a mysterious gang instead, headed by a ruthless meglomaniac. (Aren’t they all?)

But, if the mandala is already gone, why is Chris still being targetted with violence? Laurie knows she must keep him safe while she figures out the riddle of the ancient mandala.

That’s the story in a nutshell. I thought I’d like to base more books in south-east Asia, as a counterweight to the many books set in Western countries and Singapore seemed like the natural choice since it’s so modern and yet with twists of Asian culture permeating its fabric. Also, I’ve lived there and can pop back every time I need to imbibe some “atmosphere”.

Maria tells me that I’m a quick writer, although that could be because I like sitting in front of a computer for hours on end whereas she actually has a life, taming her ranch, doing a fantastic job of furniture restoration and yelling at her husband, Greg, after he’s gone and got himself hurt in various endeavours. In any case, my current schedule has me completing the first draft of Protecting by the end of February. Then it’s a rest while I work on something else. Then it’s edits. Then I’ll send it to Total-E-Bound and see if they like it as the second book in the His Bodyguard series. With any luck, I’m hoping the finished novel will see the light of day by the end of the year. Keep your fingers crossed and I’ll remind myself to update you as I go along.

Have a good weekend all, and if you’d like to add yourself as a Friend via Google (see sidebar), feel free! Would love to see more avatars there.

Like a snail on opium

But first, a finger update. One thing I’ve realised is how much your fingers depend on all your other fingers when you touch-type. So, having my left index finger out of commission has been having an annoying ripple effect, yea even unto my right hand. Bollocks. After four days, I finally went to the doctor yesterday. He essentially asked me what the hell I was thinking, taking so long to see a medic (“It’s infected, lah!”), drained all the various multi-hued fluids, cut off about a third of my fingernail and bandaged the rest. He also injected so much painkiller into my finger that I felt it was orbiting the Moon by the time he was done. I liked that doctor!

(And, may I say, the one thing I also like about visiting doctors in Singapore/Malaysia is that the dispensaries are attached to the clinic. So you get treatment then slip to the next window once you’re back in the waiting room to get your “loot”. In my case, it was the ubiquitous course of antibiotics, painkillers, tablets to control the swelling, ointment, a small bottle of antiseptic wash (twice a day) and a stack of dressings. You pay for everything at the final counter (as a foreigner, I paid an escalated total fee of RM196 / SG80 / AUD64 / EUR40 / US57) and you’re out. No indecipherable prescriptions to misplace. No frantic scouting for an open after-hours pharmacy if it’s night-time. Although I know it can (and has) been prone to abuse, I like the one-stop-shop approach they take here to medical treatment.) So I’m back, I’m slow, but at least I’m not cringing in pain. Huzzah! But, onto the actual topic for this last week — and post! — of 2009!

Things move relatively slowly in a writer’s world. It takes months to write a book, followed by months to properly edit, followed by months to submit, maybe re-submit, and get accepted (or rejected) by a publisher, etc. etc. Or maybe it’s more correct to liken the process to the experience of a combat pilot; i.e. hours of tedium broken by seconds of sheer terror.

So, in looking back at 2009 — which was a darned sight more externally productive than 2008 — here’s what happened, in a slightly particular order:

+ My space pirate novella, “A Pirate’s Passion” was released electronically by Total-E-Bound.

– — – – Various short stories got rejected by Interzone, Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons and GUD, not necessarily in that order.

+ My very first action contemporary novel, “Guarding His Body” was released electronically by Total-E-Bound.

+ I joined the varied and very talented group blog crew at Novel Spaces.

– – Neither of my hint fiction submissions made the cut for an upcoming anthology.

– I managed to interest a publisher in a novel but decided to pull out before signing because I was not completely happy with the (non-negotiable) contract terms.

– – Two more literary romance short stories did manage to make the cut for an upcoming anthology, but then the publisher ran into financial woes, so the project has been shelved indefinitely.

+ My very first published novel, “Guarding His Body” was released in print by Total-E-Bound.

– Got a request for a full from a publisher, then the publisher folded.

? Got a request for a full from a different publisher; waiting on decision.

many –s I failed to find an agent (general summary of positive feedback: like your writing, can’t sell the book if my life depended on it, what else you got? Admittedly, the last one was a minority-within-a-minority view).

+ Tangentially to writing, but not to books, I began a sideline in narrating ebooks. This looks to continue in 2010. Whew!

+ + – Updated website and blog designs, but put podcast on hiatus because it takes such a damn long time to process each interview.

Now, you may have noticed that there are more negatives than positives in the list. (I know people say you should always turn the negatives into positives but sometimes, people, when a rejection throws you into the pits of depression, you just have to take some time out to Wallow, know what I mean?) If any of you are thinking of becoming writers, please bear that in mind (the rejection bit, not so much the wallowing). Every year is probably going to have more negatives than positives. You have to ask yourself if you’re happy with that, because writing is a hard game and, in addition to talent, the willingness to learn, and many many mental and physical props (okay, much alcohol), you have to have a thick skin, a productive muse, and a sometimes ridiculous belief in your own self-worth.

So now that I’ve covered this year, let’s see what 2010 brings. Are you with me? Did anything happen in 2009 you’d like to mention? This blog doesn’t get much traffic, so your secret’s safe with me! Besides, this will be a miserable New Year’s — because, since I’m on antibiotics, I won’t be drinking any alcohol until well into 2010 (well, at least the 6th or so of January, if I counted the tablets right)! The horror!!! — so I need all the vicarious living I can get. Spill the beans, have a great time and I’ll catch you on Monday.

A brief romp through history

Some historical romances have been reviewed recently at the most popular review sites. And they include the usual Napoleonic smackdown. And it got me thinking. What is this huge romance (no pun intended) with English nobility that favours it above more Napoleonic egalitarianism? I mean, if you asked your average modern person which world they’d prefer, I think they’d actually like Napoleon’s a whole lot better than aristocratic England. Let’s go through the easiest (Wikipedia) references first:

The metric system. Napoleon.

(Margarine, btw, came at Napoleon III’s insistence, not the one we’re currently talking about.)

Granting Jews rights to property, worship and careers. Napoleon. (Sorry, were you thinking it was the House of Frickin’ Lords??????)

Meritocracy in jobs. Napoleon.

Decriminalisation of heresy, blasphemy, witchcraft and homosexuality. Napoleon.

Factor in the abolition of feudalism. Napoleon. This is where I get really confused with all these American authors thinking Napoleon is vile and the British are wonderful, when the British still laboured under a grossly inequitable feudal/aristocratic structure while Napoleon nurtured the very class that these American authors — and most of us — hail from.

Going further afield through various books we own, Napoleon streamlined government bureaucracy. The cantons in France are an example of this because Napoleon didn’t believe that anyone should be more than a two day horse ride from a seat of arbitration or governance.

Also, disgusted by the way his generals used to divorce their wives, take up with sweet young things and then die, leaving the trophy wives everything, Napoleon revamped inheritance law so that ex-spouses and their children also got a fair share of the deceased’s estate. This system is still in place in France.

He instigated the introduction of the Civil Code, which gave equal treatment of the law to all citizens. Up till that time, laws differed from town to town and even from day to day, depending on the whim of royalty.

He established the French secular school system that, for the first time, separated state from religion, something that USAians seem to bang on about all the time.

So, in light of all this (and I know I’m only scratching the surface), why is Napoleon painted as such an unmitigated tyrant? Given their ideologies (his versus the British), I know whose side I’d rather be on. And I’d warrant so would most Americans. Even the sympathetic French characters in historicals think Napoleon is an ass. I mean, excuse me? Do you have any idea what the man did to completely revamp the political landscape of Europe that was then mired in the kind of feudalist claptrap that we seem to be in danger of sinking into yet again? I’m not saying, of course, that he was a saint, but a little more balance would be a refreshing change. Wonder if anyone’s up for the challenge?

It’s retail therapy time for the Augustin clan!

I’m over at Novel Spaces today, talking about why, if you love an author, you should buy direct from her/his publisher, rather than going through, say, Amazon. There’s some quick and dirty maths I set out, but I think you all can cope!

And today is a public holiday in Malaysia and Singapore. It’s Hari Raya Haji, which marks the end of the two-month pilgrimage period to Mecca. I found a site that has a great explanation of the festival, so go here and have a read.

Selamat Hari Raya Haji and have a good weekend everyone. I’ll catch you on Monday.

Thanks to Victoria Strauss

Now that I’ve had another day to think on the RWA / Harlequin Horizons thing, I have a chance to be more sceptical … about RWA.

You see, RWA has been playing it one way (sloooooow, prevaricating, mealy-mouthed) for so long, it was a real shock to see them come out and actually be responsive for a change. There have also been numerous, long-running, clear-as-mud controversies over RWA’s stance on electronic presses, erotic romance writers, and writers of GLBT romance. So what’s different this time? How come they’ve come out with such a quick, unequivocal response? To be honest, I was expecting something along the lines of: “RWA is aware of Harlequin Horizons, a new publishing venture from Harlequin Enterprises. At this time, the Board will be convening and discussing what this means to the general membership. We will be posting a response within thirty days.” You know, the usual.

But nope, what you get is a smackdown within twenty-four hours (give or take) of the Harlequin Horizons press release announcing their launch. Strange, much?

Victoria Strauss also brings up this topic, so an entwined thought on this has occurred to others as well. Why no smackdown for Thomas Nelson (owns Westbow) or Random House (49% owns Xlibris) authors? Why the frighteningly quick response on Harlequin instead?

As I said on Strauss’ post, I think it’s a dummy spit. I think it’s a clique of influential Harlequin authors getting hurt and huffy over the announcement. First, the anger — “How DARE they?”. Followed by the retribution — “We’ll show them!”.

I didn’t put this on Victoria’s blog, because I didn’t think I had the time, but now that I decided to blow this up into a post here, let’s go have a look at the current RWA board, shall we?

• Michelle Monkou, President. Oh look, a current Harlequin author.
• Dorien Kelly, President-Elect. Yep, Harlequin makes an appearance.
• Lorraine Heath. She mentions Avon Books and Harper Teen. I had a quick look at her website…no mention of Harlequin.
• Stephanie Feagan. RomanceWiki tells me she writes for Silhouette (owned by Harlequin).
• Terri Brisbin. Harlequin.
• Jeanne Pickering Adams. Zebra.
• Ruth Kaufman. Look, I don’t want to go offending Ms Kaufman, but I couldn’t find any obviously published books, either on her website or at Amazon. I think she’s still working her way to publication.
• Cindy Kirk. Silhouette/Harlequin.
• Trish Milburn. Harlequin.
• Sara Reinke. Zebra.
• Terri Reed. Steeple Hill (Harlequin with prayers).
• Maggi Landry. She entered the 2009 Molly for unpublished writers, so I’m assuming she’s unpublished.
• Sharon Kay Sala. Aka Dinah McCall. Harper…I think.
• Vicki Lewis Thompson. Harlequin, more than 100 times!
• Sylvia Day. Kensington and Tor.
• Julie Hurwitz. Unpublished, from the sounds of things.
• Sharon Sobel. Signet/NAL.
• Terry McLaughlin. Harlequin.
• Cynthia D’Alba. Not PAN yet.

So, out of the fifteen published authors, nine of them have some history with Harlequin, including the President and President-elect. Is it any wonder, then, that a cutting riposte to Harlequin’s latest bottom-line venture was quick to emerge off the presses?

Actually, I think this is a bone-headed move on RWA’s part, and its uncharacteristic speed signals — to me — more of a knee-jerk reaction than a measured response from a so-called professional organisation. Yes yes, I know, you’ll tell me that I’m unhappy with RWA no matter which way they jump, but I was expecting at least some deliberation to take place, preferably over the space of a week, having had quiet and extensive discussions with Harlequin themselves. Isn’t that how professionals are supposed to conduct themselves?

As is usual with RWA, I think there’s going to come a time when they have to back-track on this particular decision, just because (a) it impacts so many of their core membership, and (b) the RWA isn’t as important as they think they are. And their current stance will end up looking impulsive and a little tawdry — exactly what it actually is — as a result.

Look, I can get the exclusion of Harlequin Horizons from any RWA recognition. That’s fair. But excluding all the other Harlequin imprints as well? Consider this.

RWA considers e-presses to be equivalent to vanity publishing. (Just ignore the overwrought language of the article.) Harlequin launches wholly-owned e-press (Carina Press), which — remember — RWA considers to be equivalent to a vanity press. Nothing happens to other HQN imprints.

Harlequin launches wholly-owned vanity print/e-press (Harlequin Horizons). Hell breaks loose, demons emerge from the earth’s cracked mantle, and every current HQN author gets bitch-slapped.

What’s the difference, from an RWA perspective? No, seriously, What? Is? The? Difference? If the other HQN imprints weren’t debarred when Carina was launched (and we all know how sub-standard those epub authors are, right?), why make such a speedy song and dance when Horizons is? It doesn’t make any sense. Unless there’s a personal angle involved. Like the word “Harlequin” appearing. And the word “print”. Ah, suddenly, RWA starts to behave as it has always behaved and the universal equilibrium has reasserted itself.

No, stalwart readers, keep your kudos for RWA to yourselves for the time being. Something is definitely whiffy in the state of RWA at the moment, and I’m not buying into this whole RWA-as-a-principled-body stance. To me, the RWA currently resembles a spoilt child. But, then again, I’m just an epub author, so what do I know?

THIS JUST TO HAND: Victoria Strauss has another post up, with the reaction to Horizons from the Mystery Writers of America. They say:

On November 9, Mystery Writers of America sent a letter to Harlequin about the “eHarlequin Manuscript Critique Service,” notifying Harlequin that it is in violation of our rules and suggesting steps that Harlequin could take to remain on our Approved Publishers list. The steps outlined at that time included removing mention of this for-pay service entirely from its manuscript submission guidelines, clearly identifying any mention of this program as paid advertisement, and, adding prominent disclaimers that this venture was totally unaffiliated with the editorial side of Harlequin, and that paying for this service is not a factor in the consideration of manuscripts. Since that letter went out, Harlequin has launched “Harlequin Horizons,” a self-publishing program.

MWA’s November 9 letter asks that Harlequin respond to our concerns and recommendations by December 15. We look forward to receiving their response and working with them to protect the interests of aspiring writers.

Now you see, that’s how I expect a professional organisation to behave — concerns outlined clearly, possible steps to mitigate impact, mention of a dialogue between the two bodies, and enough time for some meaningful interim discussions to take place. Not the huffy “all of you must die! now!” rhetoric from the RWA. The difference in approach is stark.