Falling In Love With His POV

Most of our reading habits are formed when we're children. My childhood included lots of Nancy Drew, every horse book I could get my hands on, The Boxcar Children, and The Hardy Boys. I collect Nancy and the Hardys.

In mulling over my POV preferences after being disappointed with Gabriel's Ghost, I had several light bulb moments. I talked about one last week, and today I'm going to explore the other big one.

I started reading Nancy and the Hardys when I was around eight or nine. The Secret of the Old Mill is my favorite classic Hardy Boys book, while Campaign of Crime, Strategic Moves, the Phoenix Conspiracy trilogy, and Brother Against Brother are my favorite Casefiles.

Frank is my favorite brother. Especially in the Phoenix Conspiracy trilogy. A side of him comes out that's never been seen before and it's amazing. I own nearly a full set of Casefiles too, and way more of them than any other format.

My first forays into the writing world were in Hardy Boys fan fiction. Of course I was writing in largely his POV. And I loved it. I still love it. Hardy Boys is the only fan fiction I've read mountains of, and it was because I knew I was getting majority his POV. Most HB fan fic skews heavy to Joe, but that's okay. There's very little female POV.

I think my early love of the Hardy Boys--something I have not outgrown--is a big part of why I love his POV so much. It's probably a big part of why I write heavily skewed to his POV. I practiced the basics of writing fiction in something that's 90% male POV.

I dabbled in Thoroughbred fan fic too, after I stopped writing HB fan fic. But even then I was fascinated with a secondary boy character named Tor. I won a TB fan fic short story contest with something written in Tor's POV.

What I'm calling my SFR/paranormal mash-up, The Slipstream Files, was partly inspired by the Hardy Boys. I realized this a couple weeks ago when a HB fan fic friend was in the hospital. My main characters are two brothers, and I realize now their relationship is somewhat patterned after my favorite fan fic portrayals of Frank and Joe.

I wonder if the arrival of Luke and Cole has anything to do with the new Hardy Boys Adventures series and the fact I'm actually enjoying it...

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When A Romance Is Not A Romance

I'm a girl with strong opinions, and those opinions include the kind of books I read. I'm a romance writer, and a romance devourer. Because of that I have very specific things I want in a romance. The most important is hers and HIS point of view.

I've never been fond of first person point-of-view. It usually locks me into the head of the person I care the least about. I gravitate to books with strong male leads, and I prefer for the male lead to have the majority of the POV scenes. I know I'm in a minority on this and I deal with it. But I feel cheated when I start on something billed as a romance and I find out his POV isn't there.

This happened to me a couple weeks ago, and I'll name the book. Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair. Intriguing set-up, loved the plot blurb, right up my alley, conspiracies aplenty, telepaths. And first person POV. For some reason I didn't bother to look at the first page when I left the library with it. Linnea's one of the queens of SFR so I thought I'd give it a fair shake.

Couldn't do it. The further I got into it the more cheated I felt. I didn't finish it. It was easy to abandon when The Darkest Kiss arrived at the library, and easy to abandon again when The Darkest Whisper arrived Monday morning. I flipped to the last chapter and read it. The revelation there made me really wish Sully's POV had been in it. But it wasn't. I probably won't read the second one, because it's the same MC in first person. I didn't connect with her at all. Honestly, she got on my nerves. I wanted to be in Sully's head and Ren's head. Not Chaz's. The third one is in third person, so I may give it a try.

Now, to contrast this with two third person series with one POV that I did enjoy. First up is Sara Creasy's Scarabaeus books. I knew they had a romantic sub-plot, but it was by no means a romance. The feelings Edie has for Finn could be removed and it's still a great book. I inhaled both books back to back. I bought them, in fact, and they will be read again.

I devoured The Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells and they were 100% his POV. There was a nice romance subplot and I stayed up too late for two weeks inhaling these. I finished the second one at 10:30 one night, hopped on Baen and was reading the third one in less than 10 minutes.

There are two important differences here. One, they're not billed as equal parts SF and romance, or with the Raksura books equal parts romance and fantasy. It's romantic SF and romantic fantasy. Two, it's third person. I adore third person. It's my favorite and it's what I write.

But I'm calling this When A Romance Isn't A Romance. For me it boils down to this: If you're telling me a book is a romance and all I get is her POV, it's not a romance to me. A romance is about two people falling in love. I want to see BOTH of them on that journey. Not just her. My bias toward the male POV is more fine with a romance subplot being told entirely through his POV than hers. Edie and Finn have begun to fade from my memory, but not Moon of the Raksura. Never once in any of those did I find myself wishing for Jade's POV (Moon's love interest).

When I started writing My Name Is A'yen I decided I was going to write it exactly how *I* wanted to read a romance. A'yen dominates the story. If I go by just his and Fae's POV scenes it's something like three to one in his favor. My secondary POV's are also male characters. Ditto for the second book. I'm in the third one now and, again, it's majority him. I have six POV characters. Only two are women.

Don't try and sell me something as a romance if it's only her POV. I couldn't care less about seeing it through her eyes. Even when reading a traditionally structured romance I miss his POV if I go too long without it and I'll start skimming hers so I can hurry up and savor his.

Call me weird, but there it is.

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Of new computers and Windows 8

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic
freedigitalphotos.net

Imagine my face in that picture. For the last three months. Because of my laptop. You see, it was old. Eight years old. Young to a human, dinosaur for a computer. It ran Windows 7 and we got along fine for two and a half years. I loved its massive hard drive, my desktop gadgets, the fact that it was free. Mostly because it was free, a hand-me-down from my mom.

But, being a dinosaur, it weighed a ton. As in more than eight pounds. That's a ton when you're kicked back on your bed writing. Needless to say I didn't do it much. It also ran SUPER hot and a cooling pad was a necessity.

It started acting up. Freezing, hanging up, not doing what I told it to do. The first time it took me TWO DOZEN clicks to get it to restart I told my dad I might need a computer soonish. He agreed, said he was thinking about upgrading his laptop and I could have his old one. Free computer, I can totally deal with it being bigger than I want.

Except things kept getting worse. And worse, and worse. Until I could only run two programs at a time. I'm a multitasker and a writer. Two programs doesn't work for me. I couldn't stream Pandora or Netflix. Oh the horror! But I couldn't afford a new computer. So I talked to my parents, they agreed to replace it for me, and I started researching. Decided I wanted an ultralight. Found one on NewEgg, researched it, asked questions. Was settled on it, in fact. The thought of Windows 8 didn't bug me, because I'm a geek, and I know my way around Windows. Mostly.

Then I decided to look around town and see what was here. Went to Best Buy first this past Friday, intending to work my way back home. Sitting on the display shelf was a sleek little HP. On clearance. For less then the one on NewEgg. With a better processor and real dual memory slots. I picked it up. Heaven! Weighed less than four pounds, same size as my dinosaur. A really sweet older gentleman employee came to see if I needed any help and we set off looking for the battery life. Never did find it.

But we kept chatting while we looked, I shared my woes. Asked how many of this model they had in stock. Just the one on display. But he'd take another $30 off if I bought it that day. So I did. I was beginning to fear I'd wake up some morning and find my dinosaur DOA.

Called my mom, said I'd be longer than planned because they had to wipe the demo stuff off of it. No biggie. I had a book in the car and needed some food. Came home. Handed it to my mom to see her jaw drop at how little it weighs. Texted the product card to my dad, and Saturday morning at work he researched my processor and geeked out over it being top of the line in this category.

Friday night and Saturday I set up, installed, copied files, and gushed about the awesomeness of my new computer. Showed it to EVERYBODY who's come in the house. I actually kind of like Windows 8. I don't find it heinous or The Worst Idea Ever. My Netflix is blazing fast. I can run Chrome now. I have a battery that'll last four hours if I'm not surfing the 'Net.

So what did I get? An HP Sleekbook 14. For under $300. With TWO USB 3.0 ports. I am one happy writer.

Isn't it awesome? His name is Zanzibar.

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Obsession

From Sherrilyn's site

It's been a long time since I got sucked into an author's voice, style, and universes to the point where I want to read every single thing the author has ever written So long I can't remember who it was.

I discovered Sherrilyn Kenyon last month. I know, I know. I'm probably the last romance reader in the universe who'd never read one.

To make matters worse, I also discovered Gena Showalter last month. I read her first. Checked out The Darkest Night at the library and happily fell in love with Maddox and the Lords of the Underworld.

While I'm reading that one, one of my friends is reading Born of Night, and badgering me without mercy. You HAVE to read Born of Night! It's like A'yen and you're going to love it. If I didn't know better I'd think you got the idea from this book. (I wrote My Name Is A'yen when I still had no clue Sherrilyn Kenyon even existed.)

I devoured The Darkest Night the week of March 17th. I remember it because we spent the weekend at Hodges Gardens and I finished it there. To shut my friend up I agreed to get Born of Night next.

Oh. My. Goodness. Maddox was good, yes. But Nykyrian is so much better!!! I have a thing for brooding, tortured heroes with horrible pasts who need a good woman to see past it and give him a reason to live again. I love Nykyrian Quiakides. He hits all my hot hero buttons, and then some.

Plowed through that one in about three days. Back to the library for Syn. Then back for Devyn. Then Caillen and Darling. Darling's I read in three days. Yes, all 614 pages in three days. The men of The League cost me a lot of sleep. But they also helped me solve the problems I was having with To Save A Life.

I am definitely a Sherrilyn Kenyon fan. It's like she can read my mind about what I want a book to be. But, as a writer myself, I know I have a penchant for mimicking an author if I read a lot of that author in one fell swoop. I was in editing mode at the time, so had no problems inhaling five SK books in 21 days. But now I'm in creation mode again and need to mix it up.

The friend I mentioned who got me hooked on her? She's taunting me. Accidentally on purpose. I think it's a conspiracy. She's inhaling the Dark-Hunter series and badgering me about reading them, even though she agrees with me that I need a break. That's what friends are for right? I'm doing the same thing with her about the rest of The League. Between her Goodreads updates and the pictures of the Styxx manuscript on Sherrilyn's FB page, my resolve is being tested to its limits.

What's a girl to do? Try NOT to think about grabbing the first Dark-Hunter book, for starters. Second, read some more Gena Showalter. I inhaled Last Kiss Goodnight last week and want to explore the Alien Huntress universe. After I get to the know the Lords of the Underworld a little better. Lucien's book finally came back to the library, but I had to request Reyes'. Now if only it would get here faster!

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Birthing a Character

Since I have a manuscript sitting at Harper Voyager that's the first in a series I figured it was time to get going on the third one. I've been ruminating on it for about five months now and not really getting anywhere.

I knew a piece was missing, but it wouldn't show up. So last week I let my mind wander. I do that a lot and that's when I get my best stuff. I knew the main characters in this one are Ro and Jasmyn. They both show up in The King's Mistress and Ro is a secondary POV character. I knew his sister, Da'Renna, had to play a big part in the third one, because she's his reason for not killing himself.

Taran! Via Pinterest

With that information in the back of my mind I went to sleep. At some point on March 21st a man named Taran walked into my head. I knew that second he's the man Ren loves. The man standing between her and freedom, her and her brother. I let him play for a full week, hammered out a couple of scenes with him, let him evolve, and things started clicking.

I knew someone gets kidnapped, and I thought it was A'yen's daughter. Wrong! I'd already planted the seeds in the closing of The King's Mistress. So now I'm following the seeds, discovering the next layer of politics in my universe, and wondering how the hell Ren is going to choose between her brother and her lover, especially since her lover is owned by the Marcasian emperor's younger brother and fourth in line for the throne.

So now I'm fleshing out my bad guys and building an empire that combines the Roman empire and the days of the pharaohs. Whoo!

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In Which I Ruminate on Paranormals

http://sharetv.org/shows/angel

I'm really, really, REALLY late to the paranormal romance bandwagon. REALLY late. As in I read my first one two weeks ago.

There's a lot of talk in SFR circles about how we can become as popular as paranormals. It always comes down to the presence of the genre in other mediums, like TV.

So it got me thinking. How far back does the presence of paranormal romance on TV go? Pretty far back. Specifically I Dream Of Jeannie and Bewitched, sitcoms from the 60's. Sitcoms I watched as a kid. I remember when Elizabeth Montgomery died and Nick At Nite did a week-long marathon of Bewitched.

Then Joss Whedon came along with Buffy. I've never been a Buffy fan, but I love Angel. Especially starting in season two with Wesley, Gunn, and the semi-regular presence of Lorne, then Fred's arrival at the end of the season. The romantic in me loves Fred and Wesley's long-suffering romance. The hero lover in me loves everything about Angel. He's my perfect dark, tortured hero searching for redemption.

Other than Angel I've never been much into the whole vampire thing. My sister, on the other hand, is all about vampires. I gave her Varney The Vampyre for her birthday. She's all about zombies too.

Considering paranormal romance goes back further than most realize, with Jeannie and Samantha, it makes me wonder if SFR will ever have the pop cultural presence paranormal romance does. We don't have a Jeannie or Samantha, or even a Buffy. We could have if SciFi hadn't cancelled Farscape. Crichton and Aeryn were just getting started. There's never been a good romance arc on Star Trek either. About the closest thing we have is Fringe, but it's over now and was never really that much a part of pop culture.

What did I pick for my first introduction to paranormal? The Darkest Night by Gena Showalter. I plan to read the rest of the Lords of the Underworld, but at the moment I'm devouring Sherrilyn Kenyon's The League.

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SFR Brigade Presents: Worth Fighting For

I'm deep into edits on The King's Mistress, while still writing on the current WIP. The current WIP, Worth Fighting For, is what I've decided to share today. Here's the back cover blurb I'm working off of:

After pissing off his mistress for the millionth time she leaves Varune on his home world with a farmer. To teach him how easy his life is. Marcasian raiders kill the farmer and Varune takes his chance. He strikes a deal with the man's children: to lead them to safety in exchange for being reported as dead when they reach their aunt in Capital City.

Beth Harrison wants a better life for her brothers and sisters, not one with an abusive father who drinks too much. News of the raids in her home province send her home with one thought: find her siblings and get the hell off Corsica.

Finding her siblings in the company of a slave is the least of her problems.

Warring logging companies in the Corsican forests push her further from her goal, and Varune ever closer to his. Suspicion gives way to friendship and the possibility of something more. Beth's found something worth fighting for. The real question is has Varune?

This one is playing out a little different than I'm used to with a romance. Varune and Beth don't meet until chapter five, page 44 to be exact. That's just how it worked out. And so I introduce Varune, a man so set on being free that he may destroy the best thing to ever happen to him.

The oldest Harrison child held the key to freedom in his hand. “My father’s dead.”

“I’d say I’m sorry but I know you don’t really miss him.”

The boy slid back a step. Clenched the key in his fist. “How do you know how I feel about him?”

Varune studied the boy. No older than fourteen, all arms and legs, firmly in the most awkward stage of human development. “It’s how I survive. I’ve seen the way you protect your siblings from him and heard him yelling at you.” He eased to his feet. “Daniel, right?”

Daniel nodded. “My father said you’re dangerous.”

“I’m not.” He stood with his feet shoulder-width apart, hands in front of him, not moving. If he wanted out of here he had to win Daniel’s trust.

“I know he doesn’t own you. He can’t afford to buy a slave. Why are you here?”

Winning a child’s trust meant telling the truth. Telling the truth meant a chance to escape and disappear into the forest and mountains he loved. “I pissed my mistress off one too many times and she left me here to teach me a lesson about how good life with her is. I also know every inch of the forests between here and Capital City.”

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SFR Brigade Presents: MNIA Part 5

I was thinking about doing some from my current WIP, but what the heck! I'll do at least one more from My Name Is A'yen. It's been awesome getting feedback in the comments and seeing other people fall in love with these characters.

Here's part one, part two, part three, and part four.

This is longer than the 200 words we're supposed to do, but it's another taste of just how different A'yen is from the rest of his people.

The door slid open and he crossed the threshold. Dr. Hart looked up from the table, frowned and stood with her arms crossed, staring at him. “Dr. Cooper told me he saw you in the captain’s quarters.”

“Yes he did.”

“Why were you over there?”

Her tone made him bristle and he squared his shoulders. No human, man or woman, would ever break him. She had to know he meant his next words. “I told you, this ship is my second home. Cap and KK have always treated me like one of their children. Your presence isn’t going to change anything. My past is none of your business.”

To her credit, she didn’t back down. “When it affects my present it most certainly is. I know you heard Dr. Cooper on the shuttle yesterday. It was no idle threat. If you don’t toe his line he’ll have you locked down faster than you can blink and there won’t be a damn thing I can to do stop it.” Her arms relaxed and the fire left her eyes “I don’t want that any more than you do.”

“Why should I believe you?” Still keeping himself straight and tall he tried to let the tension flow out of him. If he didn’t he’d end up on the floor again.

“I can’t force you. I have a feeling I can’t force you to do anything.”

“Nobody can.”

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