Hullo there!
I’m blogging today at Rosa is for Romance about Safe Sex in Erotic Romance - why it’s important to me and my characters, and how to make it more sensual.
Please stop by and let me know what you think! Thanks to Elise, we’ll be talking in both Italian and English.
Diane
Hi, friends!
I’m blogging today over at Title Magic about how totally scared I was when I had the chance to pitch the book of my heart to the only editor who might publish it. I wound up using some techniques from my day job, which combined into what my friends call “The Sure-Fire Six Step Pitch.”
Please stop by to talk about great ideas, long manuscripts, editors’ short attention spans, and how to hopefully come up with a good pitch!
Diane
While I was riding the subway the other day, I saw a young couple holding each other. His arms were wrapped around her and he was bent half over her, protecting her from the nasty winds swirling over the platform. She had one arm around his waist but was looking across him, protecting him from seeing the utter desolation on her expression.
They were taking the train to the airport and yet they were the most united couple I’ve seen in years. They were also just outside a major military base.
They haunt and inspire me. I’ll use their incredible emotion in a story one day, just to make sure their love reaches a safe harbor.
Hullo, friends!
I’m blogging today over at Romance: B(u) the Book at Lifetime TV about BOND OF FIRE, historicals, romances, and the apparent rules in writing them.
You will need to register at LifetimeTV.com to be able to comment. This isn’t a sales tool, but is a way of allowing comments, and disallowing offensive commenters. 
You can reach “Let’s Talk Romance” through the blue “Blog Box” in the lower left-hand corner of “Romance: B(u)y the Book” at LifetimeTV.com . Register in the blog comments area to take part in the discussion. (Tips: Leave no spaces in your UserName. Non-U.S. viewers, use CA/90210 as state/zip code).
Please stop by and join in!
Diane
I’m blogging over at Circle of Seven on motivating your characters - especially when an author wants to try something new. It really helped me write THE IRISH DEVIL.
Diane
Some authors are plot-driven, others are character-driven. If you think that really means driven to insanity by voices in their heads, you’re probably pretty close to the mark. It’s probably why we learn to write books out of pure self-preservation: got to get those voices out of our skulls and down on paper!
But bless those darling characters’ hearts, they don’t talk all the time - especially when you’re staring at a page with a deadline looming over your head. That’s when I sometimes think I’m fumbling around in my brain’s dark caverns, hollering, “Yoohoo! Anybody want to come out and play? How about sharing a nice bit of gossip on your nearest and dearest? Or maybe your worst enemy? Hmm? Willing to listen to all your problems?” And all I hear is the echo of my own voice, drat it all!
Fortunately, my heroes and heroines can [usually] be lured in by playing their theme songs. Each theme song tells me quite emphatically what their core issue is in the relationship - and it’s not always what I expected when I started the book. Mercifully, they always tell me early on what their theme song is. (Well, except for one heroine - and that book is known to my friends as “The Tale of the Ever-Morphing Characters.”) Once I have the theme songs, I can play them and my hero and heroine will talk to me about their emotions. It’s a blessing that’s kept me going more than once.
Last week, I blogged over at Brava Authors about The Irish Devil’s theme music.
As befits an entirely different book, BOND OF BLOOD’s hero expressed his preference for an entirely different theme song. Don Rafael chose “Drowning” by the Backstreet Boys. Absolutely and unequivocally.
“Girl, you leave me breathless
But it’s okay
‘Coz you are my survival.”
You can read a more precise version of the lyrics here.
The Backstreet Boys’ video is very elegant and romantic.
As befits a Spanish knight who’s lived for more than seven centuries, Don Rafael likes many more artists than the Backstreet Boys! He opened my eyes to a wonderful of artists, while I was writing BOND OF BLOOD. But that’s a subject for another blog, just like the theme songs for my other characters.
Hope music brings you as much joy and comfort!
Diane
I’m blogging tomorrow at Brava Authors about music and my books. Please stop by and keep me company!
Diane
Diane Whiteside
THE IRISH DEVIL and BOND OF BLOOD, mass-market reissues - October 2007
“Caught by the Tides” in BEYOND THE DARK - December 2007
BOND OF FIRE, Texas vampires trilogy volume 2 - January 2008
www.dianewhiteside.com
