I'm Escaping!!

The weatherman said this morning parts of Northern England were experiencing -19C temperatures (while grinning madly).

I shouted at the TV, because frankly, what’s there to grin about? I'm tired, tired, tired of this snow and cold and general yucky weather!

On the train to work, I started thinking about my current wip (what else is there to think about in such dreary weather?) and my heroine who's made her home in Bali, Indonesia.

And I got a little jealous. So, I thought, why should my hero and heroine be the only ones to experience wall to wall sunshine, lush palm trees swaying in a gentle breeze and golden, decadent luxury? Why can't I have a bit of that?

At exactly 8.44 this morning, this is where I eneded up…

At 9.27 I woke up.

But hey, it was fun while it lasted...

Happy fantasies to everyone!

Maya

Language of Love – What’s Yours?

I love languages. Have done since…way too long to remember. I loved French at school and often kick myself for not pursuing it (I’m sure my French teacher would love to kick me too!).

I guess that's why I so love reading Presents.

Aside from the delicious characters, the decadent scene setting and powerful emotion, rich language features very highly for me and the more foreign (to me), the better. That's not to say good old fashioned English doesn't do it for me. Because really, nothing beats a powerfully delivered, "I love you."

But I must admit my heart does beat a little faster if that I love you begins with a "Cara mia", "Mi corazon" or a “Glikia mou”. I have yet to read a “ya tebya lyublyu”, but with all the fresh ideas coming from the amazing new breed of Presents authors, I doubt it will be long before I do.

So, what's your language of love?

You know you’re a writer when…

Reading Jackie’s "What Would An Alpha Male Do? blog post (a hilarious but unfortunate incident at a restaurant) prompted me to re-muse on random moments we all have as writers. Well, moments I've had in my writing life, if I'm honest, but it was a relief to know I wasn't alone.

Wait, I digress.

I have a long commute to work (hour and half most days. Each way). And as an avid people watcher, (I make no apologies for this, for it is all in the name of research), I have constructed many a scene by letting my imagination run riot.

Some of those moments have involved some unlikely scenarios – girl with spider tattoo on her foot prompted an arachnophobic heroine trapped in a bathroom full of spiders who needs rescuing by a hero who happens to be passing outside her window when she screams. Hmmm, that story is still in stasis.

But I've had other moments when I’ve had a thought, shaken my head and said to myself, “only a writer will think like that!”

Here are a few examples:

A stunning woman with crutches struggling up a long staircase. Cue - what would my hero do? Would he sweep her off her feet and carry her up? Convince to stop in the middle, share his freshly-bought Starbucks coffee while they get to know each other? Or just stomp past her because he's sworn off women since...(insert preferred woman-hating scenario here)

Or

Seeing another equally stunning woman wearing tight jeans (cue insane jealousy on my part) and wondering whether my hero would be repelled or attracted.

Or

Seeing a man and woman walking side by side but not quite touching or looking at each other and wondering if they've had an argument/are secret lovers/are at the end of their relationship and wondering how to resolve that particular conflict.

So…have you had moments like these? I’d love to know!

Or if you've written a book based on such random thoughts, let us know. I love a great read!

Happy reading and writing.

Internal v External

Yes, once again we return to the age-old question of internal v external – conflict, that is. Going over my current ms for HP, I realised something. My internal conflict is very much present, but my external is, well, not so much!

This got me thinking (and re-reading said ms furiously), is it possible for the internal conflict to also be the external, or am I just deluding myself completely? See, my hero has made certain decisions which he's doing his utmost to stand by. And of course these beliefs are keeping him and the heroine apart, ergo, internal conflict.

But by failing to adhere to his beliefs in the past, he has created a situation where he has to confront his conflict.

All well and good so far, but can the result of this failure be an external conflict? I sincerely want to believe so, because if I'm wrong, then I'm totally screwed (to put it mildly).

So, any thoughts? Internal and external conflict should work off each other, but can they be one and the same?

Am I making any sense at all?

Should I start panicking?