I do not write that stuff!

I do not write that stuff! by Maree Anderson for Writers Gone Wild

I just had a teeny tiny rant on my website on the subject of people who've never read my erotic romance novella, and yet are more than happy to announce in public to all and sundry that "she writes porn".

Irritating much?

Oh, yeah!

And I usually try to deal with it by courteously explaining the difference between porn, erotica and erotic romance -- which is not easy when I'm inevitably dealing with a bunch of grinning males who just want to heckle me some more and spew smart-assed comments, rather than actually listen and try to understand my point of view. And, as you can probably imagine, public places such as my dance class, or Denny's, or over the dinner table at a dinner party, are not generally the most appropriate of places to be having this conversation!

Anyway, I think I've managed to express myself adequately and explain what I believe the differences are, and why I believe I'm writing romance, not porn. What I'm hoping is that in future, if someone jokingly announces that I do write porn, I'll have the presence of mind to do one of two things:

1. Enquire very politely whether they've actually read anything I've written.
2. Hand them my business card and direct them to my website post, Porn vs erotica vs erotic romance, and tell them to get back to me if they're still unclear about what I write after reading the post. Oh, and reading my novella.
   

But the purpose of this post is not to hash out definitions.

What I'd reeeeally like to know is how you all cope with this sort of thing.

How do you respond in a way which is polite, informative and not likely to alienate the person who's asked such a provocative questions, when what you would secretly like to do is scream?

If you're a romance author, what's your response when someone smirks and refers to what you write as "that porn for women stuff"?

If you're a romance reader, what's your response when someone smirks and refers to your beloved romances as "that porn for women stuff"?

Would very much appreciate your responses so that I will have some pre-prepared ammunition up my sleeve next time it happens to me.

:-)

Maree

What I'm Thankful For

This year has flown by at lightning speed! I can't believe tomorrow is already Thanksgiving (for those of us in the States). Last night the hubby and I watched the movie Four Christmases and it reminded me of us at holidays. NOT that our families are remotely that insane, just the running around from house to house, and trying to see everyone part reminded me of our situation. The one thing that drives me a little nuts is when my cousins try to guilt us for leaving early. It's not like we have a choice. My parents are divorced and both of our families are big anyway and both my parents are incredibly understanding that we have to split our time up. If they understand, everyone else can get on board too, lol.


I don't really talk about it much, but last year around this time my husband lost his job. It was expected due to the industry he worked in at the time, but it was still a huge adjustment. He's still in school full time and he's done a bit of contract work (I've mentioned his stints overseas in other posts), but nothing steady. To say it's been frustrating would be an understatement. But, I still have a lot to be thankful for. So, when I get stressed, I have to remind myself of those things.


What I'm Thankful For

1. My hubby is home safe for the holidays (he was supposed to be gone, but his contract ended early)
   
2. My sister married the man she loves this year
3. I have great parents who never made their divorce difficult for their children
   
4. I have a roof over my head
5. Even though we didn't get to take a vacation this year, one of my best friends got to come visit me.
6. I have TWO amazing critique partners. I'd be satisfied with one, but I've got two of the best.
7. My MIL and FIL are awesome. I love the in-laws and wonder how I got so lucky.
8. I have my health
9. I'm seriously thankful for the good coffee I drink every morning.
10. I'm very thankful for all my friendships, both IRL and online.
    

I could go on, but that's my short list. What are you thankful for this year?

Finding that middle ground

Madison Scott for Writers Gone Wild

I was chatting with a writer friend of mine about heroes. She writes the best alpha's because these men are strong and dominant. They're blunt when it comes to sex and how much they want the heroine, which is damn hot, IMO, but they also have those sweet moments. Those moments where they can give in a little bit and be romantic and...in a way...soft. I LOVE that. I think it takes a strong writer to pull that off in a hero and to me, it's the best kind of hero. We don't want hard all the time, and if you can pull off that dominant alpha hero with a soft spot for his heroine, you've sold me!

I think that middle ground is some times hard to find. Where do you draw the line? You don't want a hero who is always dominant or hard or he can come off as a jerk. But then, we don't just want that sweetness either, at least I don't. I like my men cocky, dominant, with those hard edges, but with the ability to, at the right moment, be softer for he heroine.

What king of hero do you love? Who are some of your favorite heroes that walk that middle line?

Let Sleeping Demons Lie

The latest on Let Sleeping Demons Lie!

Hi y'all!

Since it's hot off the press -- er... make that hot off my email in-box -- I thought I'd show you the cover for my next Demons novella, Let Sleeping Demons Lie.

Ta daaaaaa!



Considering the Tall, Blond and Handsome? post I did a couple of months back, you might think it's ironic that my cover hero has longish blond hair. Well, perhaps more tawny-blond -- exactly like a lion's mane. But that's precisely the kind of hair I wanted him to have, given that he is a lion shape-shifter.

And the heroine is a stunner -- pretty much exactly how I pictured her when I wrote her. She's certainly getting high praise from the guys who've seen the cover. Hmmm. I wonder why? ;-)

Actually, she's looking pretty damn composed considering what I put her through in this particular story. She’s been stripped of everything — her memories, her demonic powers, and her clothes! — and dumped in the Lycan Realm. And those of you who’ve read the first novella will doubtless have an excellent idea of just who might be to blame for her plight, too. But shhhhhh, that’ll be our secret ;-). To add insult to injury, our Lycan lion hero nicknames her “Kitten”!

Here’s the short ‘n’ sweet teaser I provided to Red Sage for publicity purposes:

Let Sleeping Demons Lie:
Kitten is stripped of her memories and transported to the Lycan Realm. Lion shifter, Brennan, claims her body… and her heart. When they learn what kind of creature she truly is, a match made in heaven goes straight to Hell!

Meow! Kitty vs Lion — watch the fur fly! *VBG*

Me? I'm totally in love with this cover -- as you can probably tell!

This particular Angels & Demons installment is set entirely in the Lycan Realm, which is a savage, untamed place. So I love the way that's been conveyed in the cover. Likewise, with the fiery sky and the flames at the bottom, which for me harken to the Demon Realm.

And before I sign off, I've gotta thank Tuesday, my cover artist from Purple Ink Graphics and Designs for doing fabulous job on this! (She also did my cover for Even Demons Get The Blues, BTW.)

So, whaddya think?

Cheers,

Maree

Weddings

If you read my personal blog, you know that my sister is getting married very soon (this weekend)! Of all people, I never expected her to get the crazy wedding bug. Not to say I didn't expect her to get married, I knew that was coming from practically the day she started dating her soon-to-be-husband. No, I just didn't expect her to stress out about what cocktail napkins to get, or the exact wording of her and hubby's names when the DJ will announce them...but she is (and then some). Don't get me wrong, she's not a bridezilla or anything, she's just stressing about every little thing and if you knew her, it would be beyond surprising. I don't know what it is about weddings that brings out the OCD in people.


I've always loved weddings. Free drinks, good food, dancing, what's not to love. The weddings I've been involved in (including mine) have gone off w/out a hitch. Of course there was unavoidable family drama and some other unavoidable mishaps before the actual ceremony, but nothing that couldn't be handled. Sometimes I hear crazy bridezilla stories (and sometimes groomzilla) and it always makes me sad b/c I think people are missing the point of why they decided to get married in the first place.


What is the craziest wedding story you've ever heard? Or, what's the craziest thing you've ever known a bride or groom to do before the big day?

Wicked Pleasures IN PRINT

I received news that Wicked Pleasures, my humorous erotic Western romance will be coming soon in print from Red Rose Publishing.

Here's the blurb from the publisher's site:
Honey Jordan is in trouble. Her Pa is giving her one week to find another place to live. Her fiancé has not finished their house. She discovered in telling her best friend about Granny Cordella's sexual legacy, a box of wicked pleasure, she now might be a criminal.

Can she escape the clutches of the law and marry Brock?

Can she find the topaz treasure, 'The Jewel of the Nile'?

Brock Ryan is in trouble. He’s about to lose his house and land because the will his Pawpaw left him is missing. His fiancée, Honey Jordan is in possession of certain sexual illegal items. His brother-in-law congratulates him and the Sheriff is threatening to haul Honey in for breaking the law.

Can Brock keep his fiancée out of jail and save his land?

Warning this title includes explicit language and toy play. Not for the faint at heart!

Publisher's link:
http://redrosepublishing.com/bookstore/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=56&products_id=55

Wicked Pleasures is based on a Dallas, Texas law. I searched but never found where this law had been repealed.
The law: It is illegal to possess realistic dildos.
And how do you go about enforcing such a law?

I hope you'll purchase your copy of Wicked Pleasures and give it a home on your keeper shelf.

Hugs,
Tambra Kendall

A Steaming Cup of Familiarity...

I've been thinking a lot about rituals lately. No, not the religious kind. But rather the kind we rely on, almost subconsciously, to give form to our days.

My favorite part of the day is actually the end of the day. One, because that means reading time. And two, because that's when the kids are all down and I treat myself to a long shower, put on my cushiest pj's and curl up in bed with a nice cup of tea--chamomile, of course--and my Kindle. I didn't realize how important this ritual had become to me until my husband left for Afghanistan and my oldest son went into a severe autism crisis at the same time.

That's when I found out we have those rituals for a reason. They comfort us. They provide the boundaries in this strange chaos we call life. My boundaries, my family's boundaries were missing during those long weeks of my son's meltdown.

And we missed them. Ached for them some days.

That time of missing my own personal rituals along with the family ones, got me to thinking about characters. Specifically, characters and their rituals.

I remember a movie, Mercury Rising. Not so much for the plot, but for a ritual that was important to Simon, the young autistic hero in the movie. Every day when Simon, who was nonverbal, came home from school, he and his mother would go through the ritual of making hot chocolate.

Later, when Simon's parents are murdered, Bruce Willis's character, who has been assigned to protect Simon (at least that's how I remember it) takes Simon back to his home in search of clues. The first thing Simon does is go to the kitchen and begin the ritual of making hot chocolate.

In that moment, we learned so much about Simon--and how necessary familiarity and boundaries were to him. In one gesture, we realized just how broken this child's world really was. To say this was a hand-me-the-tissue moment is the most pathetic form of understatement.

Rituals humanize us. And they can humanize the characters in the books we love, too.

Have you ever written a character with a personal ritual? Read about one that you simply can't forget? What about your own personal rituals. What function do they play in your life? What do they say about you as a person?

If you're an author, think about how you'd feel if your most cherished ritual was torn away from you. Then do it to your character.

I'd love to know how it goes for you.

***

Two more days until the finalists are announced in Dorchester Publishing's America's Next Best Celler contest at Textnovel. Wish me luck, because I'm up against--no, with--some fantastic stories, and I'd hate to be the editor in the position of picking the top ten. Gulp. :)