Happy Holidays!
Throughout this holiday season, I’m reminded of how my readers have become precious and treasured friends. I am thankful for each and every one of you! It’s been a while since I’ve created a post to bring you up to date — so there’s a lot of news to share.…
The Snarky Editor goes wide
Snarky becomes a new Substack venture In the last few years, I’ve had a lot of fun by putting on my hat as The Snarky Editor and commenting about the awkward, silly, and sometimes hilarious editing errors found in published books. Now I’m expanding the Snarky Editor to a larger…
It’s done!
Almost two years ago, my agent notified me that the rights to one of my books were due to be returned to me, and all I had to do was formally make the request. While I was at it, I went ahead and asked all my publishers to return the…
How ya gonna keep ’em down on the farm …?
Even though I grew up on a working Midwestern farm, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t get into the mind of a farmer enough to make a farmer character sound realistic. But I have to cackle like a hen when I run across the occasional big-time agricultural blooper. Everybody knew the…
Putting your ducks in a row
A/K/A, getting the modifiers and the clauses to line up right so everything makes sense There’s a natural flow to English – some kinds of descriptions simply sound better in one order than in another. The big brown dog sounds right; The brown big dog doesn’t. And the more complex…
Redundancy and other repetitions
Lately the Snarky Editor has been running across an unusual number of repetitive phrases. Most of them are thoughtless, because the author is just cruising along telling the story without stopping to think if the phrasing says something more than once. But all these repetitions cause the story pace to…
“Every working woman….”
“Every working woman needs a wife!” My first editor was the one who uttered that memorable phrase, in an interview with a local television station when she was visiting my hometown. But honestly, hasn’t every working woman said (or at least felt) much the same thing? I know I have.…
When expressions go astray
When an author thinks he or she knows the reference, and doesn’t stop to check, the results (like these examples from published books) can be amusing … and sometimes disconcerting. …your client will be waiting, hoping for her day in court where she might win a landfall. Unless she’s a…
Mr. Darcy’s Noble Blood
“He is a gentleman. I am a gentleman’s daughter. So far, we are equal.” – Elizabeth Bennet to Lady Catherine DeBourgh, in Pride and Prejudice Well… kinda. But the fact is, though Mr. Darcy himself can only claim the distinction of gentleman, because he doesn’t have an actual title, his…
Sir What’s-His-Name
Nothing says “lack of research” faster than getting the titles wrong in a historical novel set in England. When a hero is referred to as Lord John Smythe one minute and as Lord Smythe the next, or he’s Sir John Smythe sometimes and Sir Smythe at other times, or the…
If you can’t spell it…
Just make it up! At least, that’s what a few authors seem to think is appropriate. Here are some examples from recently-published books: When his dad died from sorosis of the liver and Bobby went to clean out his place, he only took one of his father’s personal effects: the…
Look it up!
Years ago when I was writing a romance about a television reporter, I tried and tried to remember the name of the award in television that’s the equivalent of a Pulitzer. It was the Dark Ages B.G. (Before Google) – and in those days if you didn’t already have a…
Creating Suspense in Fiction
Suspense is what keeps the reader turning pages, anxious to find out why and what and when and how. Suspense is what makes the reader worry about the characters — whether they’ll be all right, if they’ll finally reach their happy ending. Now, we’re not necessarily talking about suspense in…
So close, and yet so far
When almost the right word just isn’t good enough… A few head-scratching examples, found in published books, of how the author almost got it right. “I can practically feel the vitamin D soaking into my pours” Pouring down on her pores, perhaps. “My heart swelled at the name, but I…
Secondary Characters
A question from a reader about creating and using secondary characters prompted me to think about the people in a book as though they were actors in a movie — complete with pay scales. If an actor speaks in a movie, even if it’s just one line, the actor’s union…
The importance of being edited
Lately I’ve been spending a fair bit of time with my e-reader in hand. And I have to say it’s been … educational, and entertaining. And also a little sad, to see all the careless and well-meaning errors which escape today’s authors and editors. “Two girls entered, both wearing skintight…
Splitting Heirs
Under the aristocratic system of primogeniture, followed almost religiously during the Regency period, the eldest son is the heir. He gets the title, the fortune, and the land. But what if there isn’t an eldest son? If a title-holder has no legitimate children, or has only daughters, then the lot…
Creating Extraordinary Characters
For an interview today I was jotting some notes and talking points about characters — a subject which can and does fill entire books. But here are the three traits which came to me as most important about characters in fiction: HEROIC. Characters in fiction – and especially in romance…
Mourning Customs
As a fan of Regency romances, I’ve always been interested in the mourning customs of the day — black clothes and veils most of all. Then I discovered that my friend Loren the historian is even more of a nut than I am about the process of grieving a loved…
Dear Margaret Mitchell
How would modern romance publishers react if Margaret Mitchell was submitting Gone With The Wind today? From: Today’s romance publishersTo: Margaret MitchellRegarding: Your submission, currently titled Gone With the Wind Dear Ms. Mitchell: Thank you for the opportunity to review your Civil War novel. We regret that we must take…