HEARTSTRUNG Book 3 of the Invisibles Series My new book is a sequel to Return to Lerici, Book 3 of The Invisibles series. I’m now in the process of finishing the manuscript. The story follows Daniel, a young man who was sort of adopted into the Greene family of The Invisibles and Return to Lerici. Daniel is n love, and he travels with his girlfriend Lara on an adventure to India, following what Lara calls her…
I’ve been looking at lists of great first lines — in novels, poems, plays, essays. Most lists online include classics. I like the lists with a theme, such as Funniest First Lines. When I’m browsing books and looking inside, the first thing I notice is whether the first line is a hook or teaser style. Most lists of great first lines tend to emphasize that approach, summing up of the story ahead with a cliffhanger.…
Writing Love Scenes Some of the most challenging writing is creating compelling love scenes. Originality and emotion are the keys to selling a love scene. Readers will instantly be put off by predictability and cliches. What position does the love story occupy in the overall story arc? In a romance, the love story is the big story. In other genres — women’s fiction, mystery, thriller — it may be a sub-plot. They’d be handled differently…
Is It Romance or Women’s Fiction? The overlap between romance and women’s fiction is a juicy territory. It’s where characters grow deeper, learn more about why love is important, and develop into better human beings. The story may show how they plunge off a looming cliff of disaster but grow wings as they fall. In the overlap between romance and women’s fiction, a story involves the main character’s growth as a person.
Love stories — why do we adore them? Three reasons: 1) love is essential to every life — love of someone or something 2) stories of love help us understand our relationships 3) every love is unique. Story Genius author and master storytelling coach Lisa Cron thinks humans evolved by learning problem-solving by hearing stories. And if there’s one big problem in your life, it probably has something to do with “LOVE” — or lack…
Writing Tips from Jane Austen? Yes, please! Virginia Woolf observed about Austen, “Of all great writers she is the most difficult to catch in the act of greatness”, and that made me study Jane Austen for writing tips. I’m a devoted Austenite (for example. I have upstairs and a downstairs complete sets of her work). I’m writing a book whose characters are based on the Dashwood sisters from Sense and Sensibility. I’m not the first…