We need more stories like this for old broads like me.  It made me think of writing Jasper and Katherine’s story (see Thorne/Ward series ) and publishing it online myself.  What do you think?

Posted in fun stuff, my work, romance ]]> http://deesavoy.com/2010/01/12/my-love-is-too-complicated/feed/ 1 writerds its complicated 2 http://deesavoy.com/2009/09/24/hooray-for-bollywood-in-a-book/ http://deesavoy.com/2009/09/24/hooray-for-bollywood-in-a-book/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:36:29 +0000 writerds http://deesavoy.com/?p=709 ]]> That’s how Shoban Bantwal describes her latest book, The Sari Shop Widow (Kensington Books, ISBN:  13: 9780758232021). You know from my Vibrant Voices (which I’ll be starting again in February) that I love hearing from ALL sorts of folks.

I haven’t finished the book yet, but I wanted to entice you with a bit of a blurb for the book and a bit of video.  Here first, the blurb:

Pungent curry. . .sweet fried onions. . .incense. . .colorful beads. . .lush fabrics. Shobhan Bantwal’s compelling new novel is set on the streets of Edison, New Jersey’s Little India, where a young businesswoman rediscovers the magic of love and family. . .

Since becoming a widow at age twenty-seven, Anjali Kapadia has devoted herself to transforming her parents’ sari shop into a chic boutique, brimming with exquisite jewelry and clothing. Now, ten years later, it stands out like a proud maharani amid Edison’s bustling Little India. But when Anjali learns the shop is on the brink of bankruptcy, she feels her world unraveling. . .

To the rescue comes Anjali’s wealthy, dictatorial Uncle Jeevan and his business partner, Rishi Shah-a mysterious Londoner, complete with British accent, cool gray eyes, and skin so fair it makes it hard to believe he’s Indian. Rishi’s cool, foreign demeanor triggers distrust in Anjali and her mother. But for Anjali, he also stirs something else, a powerful attraction she hasn’t felt in a decade. And the feeling is mutual. . .

Love disappointed Anjali once before and she’s vowed to live without it-though Rishi is slowly melting her resolve and, as the shop regains its footing, gaining her trust. But when a secret from Rishi’s past is revealed, Anjali must turn to her family and her strong cultural upbringing to guide her in finding the truth.

Here’s the book trailer:

Not for nothing, but isn’t Uncle Jeevan a dead ringer for Lazar Woolf from Fiddler on the Roof?

To find out more about Shoban and her books, check out her website.

Oops.

I hadn’t planned on disappearing. Unfortunately, my gmail account got corrupted in a way I still don’t understand and can’t access on the computer I used to use in the same way.

I have had sooo much going on that real life overtook the life of my fiction and my communication with you all. I’ve had to deal with folks getting ill, folks falling down and not getting up, myself catching the (ahem) tail end of the piggie fluj-like that afflicted us here in New York. On the flip side, I’ve also been healed of an illness I’ve been dealing with since childhood and discovered I have a calling  I hadn[t anticipated (more on that at a later date).

But I’m back hoping all of you will forgive me for not posting the results of the contest sooner (again, couldn’t access mail) but it is up now. Congrats to our winner Phyllis Lamken.  Way to go!

I’m also announcing the classes I’ll be teaching this summer and fall. First, we’ll have a little summer suspense thing. In September I’ll focus on helping you make your love scenes sizzle.

So thanks for your concern folks. You can always reach me on my contact me page.

Until next time –
Dee

Many, many, (many to the tenth power) years ago, I was young, adventuresome and caught in a downpour trying to get from Vineyard Haven where my cousin and I had gone to swim back to Oak Bluffs where we were staying (this is Martha’s Vineyard folks).  We had walked there but now we were soaked.  So my cousin decides what we really need to do is hitchhike the rest of the way.

Now, a few years back, when we were teenagers we’d hitchhiked as a group.  Our caveat was that we we only allowed to accept rides from little old ladies.  Yeah, we followed that.  But on this particular day I was convinced that no one was going to stop for two soaking wet women but an ax murderer with a gun under his seat.  You can see that at an early age I had a flair for murderous fantasy.

Still I wasn’t too worried since not a soul stopped for us . . . until a lone car slows and eventually stops in front of us.  The first thing I notice as we approach the car is that there is a baby seat in the back.  So okay, how bad could he be if he’s got a back seat stuffed with baby toys?  Still, as the two of us squeeze into the front seat, I tell my cousin to get in first since this was her idea.  If this guy starts anything I’m throwing myself from the car.

So we’re finally in and I’m so squished I can’t see who’s driving.  I can only hear his voice, which sounds oddly familiar.  He’s telling us about how he only stopped for us because he was lost and he was hoping we could tell him how to get back to where he was staying.

And it hits me who the voice belongs to.  I can’t see him, so I have to ask.  “I may be completely crazy, but are you Richard Dreyfuss?”  He laughs and says, “Yeah, and my hobby is picking up strange women in the rain.”  My cousin elbows me and tells me she was trying to play it cool.  Oh, well.

Well, we show him where to go, then he drops us off at our B&B (The Pequot, by the way, only two blocks).  We try to tell him how to get back to where he’s staying.  From the befuddled look he gave us we figured he’d be looking for some other drenched folks for further instruction.

The funny thing is, this happened a couple of years after Jaws was filmed on the island.  So it couldn’t have been his first time there.

But THAT is where I got the idea for my hero Jarad Naughton’s faulty sense of direction in Spellbound.

And, yes, I did climb the mountainside at Gay Head on a dare.  What the hell was I thinking?!?

It’s a lighthearted romp around the island where I spent the summers of my misspent youth and where I started writing.  It’s the story that made me the debut Rising Star author at Romance in Color and the book that spawned the series that included Holding Out for a Hero, Lady in Red and the upcoming Forbidden Games.

If you’ve read this book and loved it, please share it with a friend (makes a great holiday gift).  And don’t forget to enter my new contest to win an autographed copy plus an iTunes gift card.

Most readers are not too fond of the TSTL heroine unless she manages to redeem herself (or she’s Stephanie Plum–sorry, I couldn’t help myself), but since they’re only fictional folk, there’s not too much damage done, except to the psyches of the young girls who admire them.

But I was tooling around the blogosphere today and I happened on an article at the Women in Crime site talking about gullible real-life women who risk much to be with men who mistreat or kill them. Case in point: Sandra Boss and her daughter who was duped by a supposed Rockefeller, a man with no social security card, no job or history of having one, no real family. How the hell did this guy fool a supposedly smart woman duped into sharing their lives and their fortunes with reprobate men.

A big part of the equation is that these men don’t want you to know. They go to great lengths to preserve their con. This is their whole life and when it starts to unravel, they usually do one of two things–kill to cover their tracks or disappear. Luckily for little Reigh Rockefeller (now Boss) her dad chose the latter route even if he took her with him.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that there is something lacking in these women that these men pick up on and exploit. I would agree with that. When you consider that many of these type of love stories begin with the same formula: a whirlwind courtship followed by a quick marriage. Then the woman finds herself separated either emotionally or physically from her family and friends. It’s the same way many abusers and other predators behave: separate the weak one from the herd.

Another part of the equation is the pervasive sentiment that we women are still not complete without a man. We spout crazy statistics like we are more likely to get hit by lightning than to find that man after a certain age. Like a demented game of muscial chairs women are afraid to be the one left without a place to call their own. So, many close their eyes to signals anyone else would see. They don’t want to admit, until perhaps too late, that their (possibly) one shot at love isn’t who or what they claim to be.

But I think it’s also true that some folks take the fantasy of the romance novel and the movie theatre too literally. Some guy sweeps into their life and rather than being suspicious about why some man with millions wants ordinary ol’ you, you swoon. It’s not like Cinderella stories never happen, but more than likely the heroine ends up in divorce court trying to salvage some bit of her life, in a shallow grave–or, perhaps, my next novel. We’ll have to wait and see.

I finally got my author copies, and I must admit the book looks good–if I do say so myself. But I walked into my local Barnes and Noble and was disappointed not to find it. So I’m calling on you folks. Do me a favor and let me know if you spot it.

By the way, we got our first review from APOOO (at least the first review I’ve seen) Here’s how Sharel Love starts her 5-star review:

Soldier Boys is a wonderful book of short stories that pays great tribute to our servicemen, and lightens the heart with a story of romance and love.

And it only gets better from there. If you spot a review, please send it to Black Scarab Promotions. If you would like a copy of the book to review–and that includes blog reviewers–please e-mail D at Black Scarab Promotions with review copy in the subject line.

To Patricia I say, thank you, thank you, first for writing the post and second for allowing me to post it here and to feature it on my for writers page.

For more sage advice from Patricia, vist her blog. For now, enjoy her post on writing workshops.

Online Writing Classes, Do’s and Don’ts

I don’t know that anyone has ever published etiquette or guidelines for behavior related to taking online classes but I thought someone might find my observations and experiences helpful. So here’s my take on this:

First, the Don’ts:
Don’t take a class if you don’t have time for it.
Sure, you can get and print out the lessons but why not wait for a later time when you’ll be fully engaged? You and your fellow partiicipants will gain more from your full involvement. And, if there is limited class size, you won’t be taking up space that could be used by someone who’s ready to learn.

Don’t take a class and then share all the handouts with all of your writing buddies and critique partners.
Yes, the material was great and you just know all your writer friends will think so too. Encourage them to take the class. What did it cost you, 20 bucks? Support the instructor and class sponsor by encouraging others to enroll.

Don’t be afraid to participate.
You may find yourself in the company of other published writers, or at least a whole lot of folks who seem to know a lot more about this writing thing than you do. Don’t allow yourself to be intimidated! Sit at your desk, in your most comfy pjs, and jump right in! Ask questions, engage in discussions, and lend your support of the other class members, many of whom feel just like you.

Don’t take a class and assume you are now an expert on the subject.
This one can be difficult, especially if the material really resonated with you. Perhaps you really do have a deeper understanding of the subject mattter. Put it to work in your writing so that you can truly master it.

Don’t allow the class to overwhelm with what you don’t know.
Some of the classes are short, maybe only a week or two. At the end, you may feel no more enlightened than when you started. Keep studying until you hit the nugget of truth that helps you to get it.

Don’t assume what you just learned is the only way to approach the subject matter.
Writing is like baking a cake. There are many recipes, all of which result in delicious eating. If something doesn’t resonate with you, don’t bad mouth it. Realize you still got something out of the class. You learned what doesn’t work for you.

Don’t take the class as an opportunity to posit your own theory on the subject matter.
This is the instructor’s class, not yours. Input is certainly welcomed but don’t take up the instructor’s time nor that of your classmates, challenging every point the instructor makes. If you’re not truly interested in learning the subject matter as it’s being taught, or quickly discover that the class is not for you, simply bow out. Don’t try to hijack the course and change it into what you need it to be.

Now the Do’s…

• DO seek class recommendations.
• DO research the class and instructor before signing up.
• DO register before the deadline.
• DO devote reasonable time to the workshop.
• DO complete the assignments.
• DO engage in class discussions.
• DO ask questions.
• DO keep up with the pace of the class so your questions are timely.
• DO network with other class participants.
• DO use digest to manage the message volume.
• DO print out or download the lessons and handouts.
• DO soak up as much information as you can, keeping what will be helpful to you, and graciously discarding the rest.

Most of all, keep writing!

One last point. I find the majority of online classes are offered between January and September, with July being an “off” month due to the RWA convention. Plan accordingly.

Peace & Blessings,
PatriciaW
Stay focused. Move Forward. Believe.

“Why I Love the Book
Must I count the ways? I haven’t read any mysteries/suspense novels for a long time, but when I received Body of Lies from Ms. Savoy I couldn’t put it down. Suspense is this author’s forte. This story kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters aren’t cardboard cutouts: Although Alex was victimized as a child, she is not a victim. Although Zachery broke her heart years ago, the author doesn’t vilify him. Both characters learn from their mistakes and become better individuals.”

Just as I was basking in the glow, I came upon another review from Reading While Black. Again I was surprised and pleased. Here’s my favorite part of that review:

“One thing I can say for Savoy is that she doesn’t hold punches. This isn’t your Disneyland version New York or of a serial killer. She didn’t hold back on the reality of violent, destructive forces and gut-wrenching circumstances that affect the lives of everyday, ordinary people–especially your average cop.”

Ah, if only I could manage to get the smile off my face.