Wearing My Scarlet R in SFF Circles

Winter is an excellent time to discover the joys of curling up by the fire with a delicious book - either one we're reading or one we're writing.

Jackson, of course, is above both activities, as he needs to devote time to thinking Deep Thoughts.

I was having a conversation with a writer friend a bit ago about how I see my career, particularly as a cross-genre writer. For those who don't know, I have a Fantasy Romance series (Covenant of Thorns), one that's more solidly Fantasy, with romantic elements (The Twelve Kingdoms) and right now I'm working up a proposal for an Epic Fantasy with my agent. At the same time, I also write contemporary erotic romances (the Facets of Passion and Falling Under series). I also have a few books that even more gleefully blur these lines, being both erotic and fantastic (Master of the Opera, Petals and Thorns and the Blood Currency series).

Because of all this, I belong to both RWA (Romance Writers of America) and SFWA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America). I've been in RWA much longer, largely because I could join as a newbie, where SFWA requires stiffer publication credentials. So, I'm still learning my way around the SFWA community. While most everyone has been wonderful and welcoming, I am sometimes aware of the scarlet R on my chest. Nobody has openly scoffed or insulted my Fantasy books, but people have kindly said that they don't read books like that or that they don't read romance. With one male fantasy writer I've long admired and read, I screwed up my courage to show him a copy of The Mark of the Tala, telling him it's up for Book of the Year with RT Magazine. He didn't even read the back cover copy - admittedly, this was at an RWA event, so my scarlet R was blazing bright - and he handed it to his wife, saying that it might be the kind of book she'd like.

Yeah, okay - that made me want to kick him.

Still, I know that I can't go around kicking everyone who so blithely dismisses my books because of my scarlet R. I'm pretty sure that doesn't build relationships. I'm really okay with people reading my books and not liking them (I might sulk a little and weep into my whiskey, but I'm reasonably Zen about it), but it irks me to have my books dismissed out of hand. So, while I nursed the hope that The Mark of the Tala might be nominated for a Nebula Award, I wasn't all that surprised that it didn't make the final cut. After all, I'm pretty sure not many SFWA voting members read it.

(The Nebula Awards are different in that we can't enter our books for consideration. They have to be nominated by other members, and then receive enough nominations to make the top six. Unlike RWA's RITA awards, where we pay to enter our books and judges receive a stack to read and score.)

So, as my friend and I sat and drank wine, talking about our writing careers, she suggested to me that I'd have an easier time of it if I downplayed the romance in my fantasies. Or took it out altogether. Believe me, I know plenty of women SFF writers who've done this, in order to be taken more seriously. Oddly enough, I don't know any male writers who've felt they had to do this.

And I think she's right. I could do that. But I'm not going to. People who know me well will tell you I'm stubborn. They'll say it with both love and exasperation. More than once it's been suggested to me that I should be less stubborn. I'm stubborn about that, too. Being stubborn means sticking to what I believe is right, to how I want my books and my stories to be. I see absolutely no reason why I can't have romance in my fantasies. I think men could read my fantasies and not have their masculinity or SFF integrity reduced. I think a man can do better than glance at my book and hand it to his wife before the girl cooties rub off on him.

Thus, I wear my scarlet R openly on the SFWA forums. I refuse to apologize for it, or even downplay that aspect of my work. Yes, it's a more difficult path, but I feel anything less is admitting to some kind of shame or embarrassment - or that romance is somehow a lesser genre. I know some people think that. I don't.

When I explained all of this to my friend, she said, "You should write a blog post about this."

So I have, here at Here be Magic - where romance and SFF meet, blend and have a helluva party. 

I am pleased to announce...

... that I was lucky enough to win 3rd place in the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter's yearly Prism Awards for "Blood of the Pride"!

The finalists were:

Light Paranormal
Blood of the Pride	Sheryl Nantus	Alissa Davis	Carina Press
Cynful	Dana Marie Bell	Tera Kleinfelter	Samhain Publishing
Immortally Yours	Angie Fox	Monique Patterson	St. Martin's Press

It goes without saying that I was thrilled to be in the final three and happy as all get-out to win 3rd place! I can't think of better company to be in!

This isn't my first tilt at the Prism Awards, to be honest - in 2011 "Blaze of Glory" and "Wild Cards and Iron Horses" both finaled as well but I'm still looking for that elusive glass pyramid for my cabinet - maybe next year...

 

My thanks to everyone at FF&P, RWA and those who took on the job of judging so many great entries and making the contest work - and for those of you looking for some fantastic reading, please check out all of the fine authors and their works!

Are Middle Books in Fantasy Trilogies Always Bridges?

That's me in the mirror at Pappadeaux in the Houston airport yesterday. I flew to Atlanta for the Romance Writers of America (RWA) National Convention.

This is probably my favorite convention, because it's really just other writers. Other people who are absolutely my tribe, lovers of stories and romance. But it's not all floral chiffon and Harlequin covers. There are a significant number of people here who write various forms of speculative fiction - from paranormal romance to fantasy romance to science fiction romance. For many, the amount of romance in their books varies considerably. Still, because the some of the perspectives on science fiction and fantasy tend to veer away from anything "too girly," a lot of those writers have found their tribe amongst the romance writers.

For a really interesting article on women sci fi authors by a "hard" sci fi editor, go here. It's worth reading all the comments. I agree with what commenter Erin Lale says, the women authors have gone to romance.

However, this does not mean we traded in our geek cards for boxes of bon bons. So, last night I found myself sitting in the bar (shocking, I know), talking with Amber Lin and Sarah Frantz. Because I knew Sarah would understand, I told her what's been preying on my mind - that I'm afraid I'm writing The Two Towers. Amber patted my arm and said, "That's okay. Lots of people say The Empire Strikes Back is their favorite movie."

This kind of conversation is what happens when you truly find your tribe. They're the people who truly get you.

For those of you who didn't follow this shorthand, The Two Towers is the second book in the famed Lord of the Rings trilogy (LOTR to its friends). The second book is so widely regarded as a "bridge" - a book that really serves only to connect the first and third books - that I was able to Google "the two towers book review bridge" and up popped numerous hits. In this one, they say:

This build-up of momentum, from the smaller-scale events of The Fellowship of the Ring to the huge face-offs in The Return of the King, only becomes possible with The Two Towers to act as a bridge between the other two parts of the trilogy. But because The Two Towers is a bridge, it doesn't truly stand on its own. If you want to find out more about how Tolkien saw this book fitting into his The Lord of the Rings project, check out our learning guide for The Fellowship of the Ring, where you'll find a full discussion.

 Some people even hate The Two Towers, for this very reason.

Amber's example of The Empire Strikes Back is, of course, the second movie in the original Star Wars trilogy. (Which were actually numbers 4, 5 and 6 in the overall series of 9 projected films.) Arguably The Empire Strikes Back is not a stand-alone movie. It really doesn't make sense unless you've seen Star Wars and the ending is a far-from-satisfying series of cliffhangers that are only resolved in Return of the Jedi.

But, is this bad?

Right now I'm writing the second book in my Twelve Kingdoms trilogy and I'm acutely aware of continuing the arc started in book one and of setting up the final conflicts that will occur in book three. This is only my second trilogy and I just finished the whole editorial process on book two of Covenant of Thorns, where I had many of the same problems, so I'm still learning how to do this. Maybe the middle books in trilogies are inevitably like this?

What do you all think? Are there examples of really strong middle books in trilogies that you know of? I'd love to know!

Meanwhile, I'll console myself that Amber is right. LOTS of people liked The Empire Strikes Back the best.

This One Time...at Book Camp (#RWA11 pt. 1)

Last week, I lost my Romance Writers of America national conference virginity in a hotel on Times Square.

This was the second trip to Manhattan I’d made in my entire life. During the first, I sprouted the seed of an idea that became Stone Kissed, so I knew chances were I’d get lucky in Manhattan. 

Lindsey,  me, Toni. The people behind us are fascinated by the singer passing plates with one hand while he belts into the mike with the other.

My first bit off luck was tagging along with Toni Blake and Lindsey Faber as we had dinner at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. Broadway hopefuls sang standards while we attempted to carry on meaningful conversation. At least I think it was meaningful. After a less-than-stellar ride from the airport, I had a more than my fair share of the wine on the table, so while I’m sure we solved the world’s problems and saved publishing, I can’t impart any wisdom to you.

Yes, the songstress is standing on the bench behind Toni. Things like this make it difficult to save publishing.

My roommate-extraordinaire and source of my Prize-Winning Hot Rollers (it will make sense in part two) was Gabriella Edwards, author of Until Emie. We worked Monday. We worked hard. I mean…HARD. Our first stop: The Museum of Sex. In the words of Jenn Spiller, we learned things that day we cannot unlearn.

Notice how I have no photos of this outing? None? That's because my three compatriots flat-out refused to let me get pictures of their smiling faces peeking out from behind the antlers of a life-sized statue of three stags engaged in sweet loving. It would have been the Brady-Bunchest photo of the conference, I'm telling you. But no!

Jenn, a recovering New Yorker, devoted herself to training Gabriella and me in the art of hailing a cab. That evening, I poured myself into my first round of spanx and we hailed our way to a special edition of Lady Jane’s Salon, which was a mad crush. Beatrice.com’s Ron Hogan was master of ceremonies, and we listened to readings from six amazing new and established paranormal and historical romance authors. I admit it. I was tired. That museum had drained me (insert your own joke here) so when I settled into the leopard-print bean bag to listen, it took the entire crew from Romance University to pull me back out.

Bordello-style decorating at Madame X, home of Lady Jane's Salon. Yeah. I could work here.

Tuesday morning, Gabriella and I decided to take a leisurely stroll through Central Park.  This is what happened:

                                                                       

Tuesday afternoon, we registered for the conference proper. From that moment on, the Name Tag Phenomenon began. Instead of making eye contact, strangers in the elevator stared at our chests. If they knew our names, they smiled and introduced themselves. If not…their eyes slid away. Which brings me to my first (and perhaps only) Advice to Future Conferees: 1. Make eye contact FIRST. 2. Smile. Then, and only then 3. Look at the name tag as you introduce yourself.

It takes practice. I had a hard time with it, myself (and yes, I managed at one point to re-introduce myself to someone I'd met only an hour earlier because I didn't not tag-skim first.)

But squinting at chests and then turning away is rude. Tired, cranky, introverted writers don’t want to give each other the impression that we’re not worth one another’s time, do we? Of course we don’t.

Wednesday, the conference began in earnest. 

Did you go? What advice do you have for Future Conferees?