To Valentine...Or Not

So, it's Valentine's Day. The romantic in me is all, yayyyyy! A day to celebrate love! How awesome.

But then as I was walking through M&S this morning trying to find my favourite Brocolli & Stilton Soup to warm my cockles (they'd ran out, arggghhh!), I saw a few harried-looking men clutching at-the-point-of-wilting roses and, to be honest, I got a whole "what's the point?" feeling.

I felt sorry for these men who looked like shopping for roses was the last thing they wanted to be doing.

Don't get me wrong. I like the idea of Valentine's Day. I also like the idea of Pancake Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day and of course, Christmas. What I don't like is the ever-escalating whiff of desperation and commercialism that seems associated with V's Day. The half-dozen long stemmed red roses and card I received this morning from my DH made me happy. But last year I received...nothing, and I was still happy. Why? Because he shows his love every day and I don't want or need a special gesture to know he loves me.

So to all who stress about Valentine's Day (especially the guys) I say, please give yourselves a break. If you can have pancakes every day (I wish I could!), or call your mum or dad to tell them you love them, then you can celebrate Valentine's Day every day, too.

What about you? What are your thoughts on this so-called special day of love?

Maya x

PS - I didn't get my DH a card this year, and he's ok with it. I think...

Pinterest-ing

A few weeks ago, I noticed something on my Twitter feed. Every five or so tweets, I came across a link to something called Pinterest.

Then it became every three or four tweets. About a week ago, I realised literally every other tweet had a link to Pinterest. So what did I do? Yep, I clicked.

Sigh. No need to say it, I'm a sucker for something new and shiny. Then I noticed something else. This new, shiny thing could be great for me. Aside from the potentially huge timesuck I could feel myself getting (inevitably) drawn into, it could be the perfect forum for something which a lot of writers do but I haven't found the courage to attempt yet - storyboarding or vision-boarding!

Inspired, you say?

Well, we'll see. For now, I'm busy dragging anything that catches my ey from the internet onto my board via a simple Pin-It link and already I'm seeing the beginnings of my next-next story forming.

You can make your board as elaborate as you like - check out Nicola Marsh's board for Busted in Bollywood - wow! Or as random as you like, like, ummm, mine.

What? Don't scoff, I've only been signed for all of five minutes, so give me time...yeesh!

Seriously, I think this could work out perfectly for future stories and I'm quite excited about using this tool. Until then, I'm going to explore some more, find interesting Pinterests to follow.

If you feel like exploring Pinterest or following me, come join the timewasting...er, I mean, FUN!!

Maya x

"The End"!!

I finally, FINALLY typed these two magical words on my current ms on Wednesday. Notice how it's taken me a full day of recovery just to shout about it? First drafts are my one misery when it comes to writing. Invariably I reach a point (normally when I'm 75% through the ms) when I want to chuck the whole thing out the window and sob hysterically into my cornflakes. It can take days, sometimes weeks for me to get over the fear that everything's not crap.

But I pushed through, I persevered, I didn't retreat, didn't surredner, I...okay, I think you get the idea. I'm done, done, done and Sasha and Marco have been given their HEA!!!

Typing "The End" never fails to lift my spirits. And overall I'm happy to report, it doesn't read like a load of crap, after all!

So now I'm madly polishing to send off to the editor (no rest for the wicked!)

Cross your fingers for me that she likes, please?

A Pub-tastic 2012!!

I wanted to go with a 'Write-tastic' 2012, but then I thought, writing is the easy part (haha). It's the getting published with our dream publisher that seems to be the holy grail for most of us.

So, my dear fellow writers and sufferers-for-our-art, here's to a Pub-tastic 2012!!

May all our writerly (and non-writerly) dreams come true this fabulous year and may we all receive the elusive CALL!

I predict GREAT things for 2012! Don't let me down now...

Maya xx

A Very Merry Christmas

Wow, hasn't 2011 flown by fast??! It seems like only a few days ago I was wishing all my blog friends a happy new year and already 2012 is around the corner.

Anyhow, thank you so much for being here. Without you writing would be such a lonely journey so I appreciate your company :)

And as you get ready to welcome Santa, I wish you a very merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah! Stay safe, over-indulge to your heart's content and hug your loved ones close.

All the very best of the season...

Maya xxx

I'm Still Alive...

...barely!

As I tweeted this morning in desperation, there are only two more sleeps until the DH gets back from LE BUSINESS TRIP. Yayyy!! I'll be an even happier bunny this time Saturday!

But seriously, that's really no excuse to neglect the blog. The why? I have none. Nada. All I know is I was feeling out of sorts, in limbo, which is weird because I'm not waiting on an editor. In fact, *looks shifty-eyed* *whispers*, it's the other way round.

BUT, my out-of-sorts-ness was blown out of the water this morning when I look ed out my day job window and saw....this, in fifteen-feet high backlight!!

HELLLLOOOOO, SIMON CLARK!



My brain's been buzzing since with lovely, umm...let's call them ideas, on what sort of character Mr Clark would make. As I ruminate some more, I invite you to share what comes to mind when you gaze on this fine specimen!!

How Forgiving Are You?

The basic building block of any romance novel is – first the conflict, then the happy ever after. In other words, the pain before the gain. We take great pleasure in torturing our characters, making them sweat blood and tears for their happy ending. After all, the higher the stakes, the more emotionally satisfying letting them find their happiness will be.

In pursuit of this goal and in interacting with writers of other genres, I've come across a broad spectrum of “manoeuvrability” within books. There are the very obvious no-nos like infidelity (even though some writers have successfully tackled this subject), physical abuse and even sometimes emotional abuse (not to be confused with blackmail plots). There are also the secret babies which some people feel strongly about i.e. why the heroine almost always decides to keep the baby a secret. I know a particular reviewer who absolutely detests marriages of convenience and another who won't touch a revenge book.

But I’m more interested in the subjects that straddle the line and what you're willing to tolerate in any book. Nobody likes an ass-y hero. But what if your hero is behaving like an ass for a reason? What if your heroine is a complete bitch but is hiding a sensitive heart? In my latest new-to-me author, Nalini Singh's books, the male characters literally rip apart anyone who dares to harm their mates.

So, does a hero’s raised voice make you flinch? Does the sight of a heroine’s tears make you want to close the book? I must admit I read a book once where the heroine did nothing but cry from beginning to end and although the story was engaging enough, I had to "take a break" every time she let the waterworks loose because it was such a downer for me. On the other hand, I've read a historical where the heroine was being particularly hysterical and the hero slaps her back to her senses. Funnily, that didn't make me flinch because she needed that slap!

So, while the phrase "it's all in the execution" plays a part here, I'm curious to know, how much room will you give or forgive the characters in a book, and at what point do you write them off completely? Will you allow a heroine to slap a hero but absolutely detest a hero who shakes a heroine by the shoulders to make her see sense?

Discuss!