Meeting Jayne Ann Krentz

JAYNE ANN KRENTZ alias JAYNE CASTLE alias

AMANDA QUICK

I was fortunate recently to have an upfront and personal encounter with this lovely lady. She was on a Holland America cruise that took in the east coast of Australia as well as New Zealand, and I’m sure many an avid reader or writer of the romantic suspense genre will also mention the fact that they, too, attended a book signing with their favourite author.

I’ve many times mentioned that Jayne, in all her guises, is far and away my favourite author. She has a unique ability to stay true to her core story as the setting changes from the past, (Crystal Gardens) to the present, (Copper Beach) to the future (Dark Light). Her heroes are staunch but misunderstood until they link up with heroines who understand them because they, too, have qualities that which are not generally appreciated. And another unique talent that Jayne has is to link family traits down through the generations e.g. the Coppersmiths.

I've attached one of Jayne's book covers, something else Jayne chooses well. I'm not a fan of hot clinches on the covers of books, and I feel that Jayne's covers are classy and depict the romantic suspense genre accurately and with a little mystique. 

However, the most important comment (in my view) that Jayne made during her talk was that she always tries to remain true to her core story and core characterisations. And in a flash it hit me why I was having so much trouble finishing a story I’ve been writing aimed at the Lobster Cove section for the Wild Rose Press. Because I’m heavily into suspense and mystery I’ve allowed myself to get side-tracked into that side of the book and can’t wind it up satisfactorily. I’ve meandered away from my core story.

Thank you, Jayne, although you’ll never know that you helped me in this respect.

FREE COOKBOOK!!!

Yup, that's right. A bunch of authors got together to set up a cookbook for their readers. Some international recipes here - we come from all over. Best of all - it's free!

 https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/751324

Let us know what you think!

Interview with Regency writer Regan - Events during that era

Here's a link to where I discussed events during the Regency era and the heroine of DANGEROUS HOMECOMING tells it like it is:

 https://getlostinastory.blogspot.com/2017/11/regan-walkers-best-of-regency-with.html

WRITING LYRICS AND DEVELOPING CREATIVITY

WRITING LYRICS

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Recently I embarked on a new journey with a like-minded partner. David writes the music; I write the lyrics. Now David is different from most composers. He likes to have a bunch of words in front of him before commencing to write music. So, my lyrics come first.

And let me tell you, as a poet from way back, writing lyrics is very different from writing poetry. You need to have an appreciation of music so that some sort of song sings through your head as you write the words. Will the words sound out of place when set to music? Is the rhythm of the words conducive to the synapse transmission to music rather than just sound? 

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We write all sorts of songs, some with a view to providing them to our local singing group. As we singers are all over 50 (and that’s a polite euphemism), we are tolerant of not-quite-right rhythms and phrases. But David and I also  produce songs best tackled by a soloist and accompanist such as Dark & Light, our present offering. David has roamed all over the keyboard with this one so I’ve suggested a little less minor angst and more…well, light.

And sometimes my words puzzle David and he suggests not that I change them, but that I switch them around for clarity. I’m still learning, you see, that poetry and novel writing is not at all the same as soaring lyrics that can’t wait to be sung.

And then there’s words like Constantinople that need a stress on the first two syllables and demisemiquavers for the …ti-no-ple. But I leave the hard yards to David. After all, he chose to fit his music around my words and boy, is he paying for that little brainstorm. One day he’ll compose a stupendous song that I have to fit the lyrics to in the more normal fashion. Challenges, challenges… Creativity is never-ending.

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DANGEROUS HOMECOMING

Sloane has done me proud on her blogpost. She has posted an interview with the heroine of DANGEROUS HOMECOMING and also posted an excerpt from the book. Lookee here:

 https://sloanetaylor.blogspot.com/2017/07/sass-and-brass-but-always-lady.html

Eight Months

Yep. Against all the laws of blogging, it's been eight months since I posted something on my own site. I've been busy blogging on other people's sites, thanks to their generosity. The best thing an author or marketer can do is to find a group of like minded people and work with them in this regard. Authors Moving Forward is my group of choice.

You know why I haven't posted anything? Got nothing to say. Which, when you think of it, is not a fault. There are thousands of people out there blogging about whether they prefer whole milk or skim milk, or whether dogs are better for people in high rises than cats and...You get the drift. And when I'm notified of these blogs I DELETE THEM. Yep. The same way many of you will do when you see this.

And that, friends, is why my blog is silent.