Raine Balkera - Romance Author

I pronounce it with the L, but whatever A woman is at the club with some friends when she notices a guy staring at her, and he smiles. Minutes later, the guy approaches the woman and asks if she'd like to dance. The woman politely declines and the guy walks away. Stalker stalking? No. A woman is at the gym and a guy in another section notices her, makes eye contact, smiles, walks up to her and asks how she's doing, is she single, and would she like to go out sometime. The woman smiles to be polite, says she's seeing someone right now, but thanks for the compliment. The guy says No problem, he's getting together with some friends later on, and if she's interested, here's where the party is at. He then leaves. Stalker stalking? No. A man on a bus/subway train/plane notices a woman seated nearby and is instantly attracted. After summoning up his courage, he approaches the woman, asks her if she'd mind if he sits beside her -- or he a...

Every Tuesday, members of  RWW  get together for a blog hop. We are a terrific support group for fellow Romance Authors and love to share our experiences, and we give/receive help with our writing dilemmas. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM HANDYSIDES ! I hope you arrived here after having visited with Veronica Forand .    This week, Tracey Gee poses the following: As we all know, authors put real people and situations into their books. Let's look at the times we've pushed through the pain by putting bad experiences or relationships into our works whether for therapy, or just as a way to close the door. The minute I read this week's question, it immediately struck me that yes, I do, in fact, inject bits and pieces of me into my characters! (long, silent pause in shamed reflection) (then laughs like an idiot at self)   = ) ) I do lean on my past horrors even when I don't want to -- injecting my own pain, suffering, and sadness into my charac...

Since it came up a few times in critique of my work, I did some studying / reading up on show vs. tell. Until now, I've mistakenly assumed it meant tell: author speaks, show: character speaks. What I discovered, along with some pretty hilarious examples, is that show is actually metaphor/simile, and the reason why it is an issue in my own writing is because I don't like it. Just think LIKE and AS and you get the idea. Her memories were lost forever like the treasures buried with the Titanic. As she kissed her way down his manly chest, he felt his Amalgamated Crane Company stock increasing in value. I'm borrowing some interesting  show  from  The Daily Blowhole  since I suck at coming up with my own or remembering any from every body of work I've ever read. Metaphors can be good, however, and should be used once in awhile to convey a deeper, more tangible meaning to whatever is occurring or being seen/discovered in a key scene. A thought that bears ...

Thank you for hopping over from J.J. Devine's post. Her novel, Into the Darkness , is available at Amazon. Vampires and Witches: Are they mythical creatures or something that walks amongst us every day without our knowledge?  To Raven, a twenty-five-year-old, extremely sheltered woman, they are nothing more than something to be read about in a book. To Dragon, an eight hundred-year-old vampire, they are a way of life.  Raven truly believes she is going mad. Erotic dreams fill her nights, causing her to question her sanity by the light of day. They lead her into a world she never knew existed and a heritage that can only be found in nightmares.  Dragon wants nothing more than to own the mortal soul of the beautiful Raven, a woman who can make his ancient scars disappear, proof that she is far from mortal.  Together they seek out the dark heritage of her past. What they find is much more than either of them bargained for. A destiny lies at her doors...

So, in line with the above quote and the a nti-mimesis  title, I will begin by explaining that I have always had an immature time trying to deal with reality/life/problems, etc. What I hope isn't the case is that the same holds true for the characters portrayed in my novels. The issues I inflict on my characters, their personality traits, the struggles they'll face, and even the roads they'll take to solve the issues . . . I know them. I understand the emotion involved. And, if I haven't been there personally, you can bet I know at least one person who has and that they unburdened their soul to me at some point. Even knowing, understanding, and having experienced life, I still struggle in reality and in my writing to come to terms, deal with, handle in a mature fashion, and rise above them -- as do my characters. I'd like to believe it all makes sense when I write even if none of it does in reality, but more often than not I've had to go back and re...