Welcome one and all to Frances Stockton’s blog! If this is your first visit to my posts, I hope you will take a moment and look back at previous topics. If you’ve visited before, thank you for returning. I truly appreciate that you’ve taken the time to visit today.
The other day I started thinking about a topic to write about in this post. A topic that is near and dear to my heart, something I’d like to share with you all. I freely admit that my favorite genre to read is romance! Whether I’m reading a sub-genre such as paranormal, historical or romantic suspense, the primary thing that attracts me to those books is that the stories involve the complexities of a relationship, the beauty of falling in love, and the joy of believing that the hero and heroine will live happily ever after. While it’s true that I’m a romantic by nature, some of my favorite things are drinking Chambord and champagne with my husband on a quiet New Year’s Eve, going for walks on the beach, spending that precious time together when our daughter goes to bed at night. The little surprises he brings home from business trips, his quiet, supportive manner toward my writing, all of this made me fall in love and have my own happily ever after.
Ever since I was thirteen, and read my first Silhoutte Romance by non other than the fabulous Nora Roberts, I was hooked and I finally put pencil to paper, literally, I did not think at the time that I could be a real writer unless I used long-hand. Which is funny, because my handwriting is, admittedly, pretty bad. I was fortunate that I had a teacher show me how to turn my paper in a way so that instead of writing across the page, I wrote toward my body. It was a trick I’d perfected in those early days of writing romance. Now I can’t claim that the book I’d written at thirteen was very good, it was rather like a modern day Laura Ingalls Wilder meets Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. But what was amazing was that I’d attempted to plot, to develop tension and conflict before I understood what that meant. The funniest thing about writing back then was my complete lack of understanding the fine art of describing a kiss. For those scenes, and I admit there were quite a few pages of them, but I’d decided the best way to show the reader the hero and heroine kissed was to put the word ‘kiss’ next to the dialogue. That told me as the writer, this is what happens here. The tricky part came when I had the couple sharing a passionate kiss, in other words, a long kiss. So, thinking I understood how to get my point across, I spread out the word kiss. Turning it from ‘kiss’ to ‘ki–ss’, and sometimes ‘ki———————–ss’. I know this seems a bit silly now, yet I believed I’d accomplished something amazing. In fact, I think I did. Because of that story, I wrote more. Many years later, shortly after moving to New England with my husband, I joined RWA and the New England Chapter. It was a decision that would change my life. Because of my chapter, I learned about POV switches, GMC, creating and writing a synopsis, query letter, and short proposal. Because of the friendships I’d gained, my understanding of the publishing industry become clearer. One thing led to another and I sold my first book to Ellora’s Cave Publishing for Cerridwen Press. I was so happy when I heard the news, I was literally dancing around the house as I called my husband right away and my parents. My father was speechless. My parents were proud.
For some reason I cannot understand, there seems to be some who think a publisher like Ellora’s Cave, which specializes in digital format, then later puts the books out in trade paperback form, is just an epub. Frankly, I don’t think any publisher today is just an epublisher or a print publisher. More and more readers are buying Kindles, Sony readers, and other means to download their favorite books and keep them all in one spot. Eventually, I’m going to buy a Sony, (though between you and me, I’m hoping for one for Christmas next year) because the idea of traveling with a Sony filled with lots and lots of books, but authors I know at Cerridwen Press and Ellora’s Cave, appeals to me. I hope you too will give digital books a chance and help to save a tree in the process.
If you read this post, please feel free to share your thoughts. Tell me some of your favorite things, for I’d love to hear from you. Also, don’t forget the Cerridwen Press Spring Scavenger Hunt going on right now, featuring several amazing CP authors. If you’d like to find out previous clues, please visit www.cerridwenpress.com and follow the links for the CP blog to keep abreast of what’s been posted already. Or, visit http://www.jayellwilscon.com/clues.htm and you’ll have everything you need to participate in this fantastic contest.
We hope to hear from you. Thank you once again for visiting and come back soon to read more. Also, if you’re on MySpace, send a friend request. I’d love to add you!
Until next time, write well and read often,
Frances Stockton
http://www.myspace.com/francesstockton
