June Wedding Guest Post -- Romance Author Kate Walker

Thanks Denise and Donna for offering me the Guest Post today. I've been specifically asked to talk about...

Weddings  I've Created -  for my hero and heroine, that is!

The cliché about a romance novel is that they all  start off with the hero and heroine at odds with each other, deep in some form of conflict. That conflict is resolved as the story progresses – and then there is the traditional  Happy Ever After ending,  one that inevitably, naturally, leads to a wonderful wedding at the end of the book.

Well, yes, that’s how it is sometimes. I’ve written 61 romances for Harlequin, some for the Romance line,  but most for  Presents  (Modern romance for Mills & Boon in the UK) and over the years I’ve created all sorts of stories, with all sorts of heroes and heroines, and yes, they do all end up heading off ‘into the sunset’ and their 'happy ever after.' But the ways they get there, the stories that  are behind them, the conflicts they have to deal with, are all very different,  unique to the man and woman in the story.

And as a result, the wedding ceremony in each story can be very different too. 

Sometimes the wedding is right there, centre stage,  described in some detail.  The wedding in The Konstantos Marriage Demand was like that.  My heroine, Sadie, was a wedding planner and the hero – Nikos Konstantos, whose family had held a long-running feud   with Sadie’s  – had tricked her

into coming to his private island on the pretext that he wanted her to arrange his wedding for him.  Of course, in the end, the wedding she ends up planning is her own, and the final scene in which the couple is  married in the tiny chapel on the island was needed to round off their story and show that as well as their happiness being complete, the feud has ended too.

But sometimes the wedding isn’t even ‘on stage’ in the book. If the story is a reunion story, where the hero and heroine have been married before, then that wedding may have taken place some years before and the couple have split up, even be on the verge of divorce. This is the way that The Proud Wife begins  or perhaps the novella The Duke’s Secret Wife. In this story, the  hero and heroine were secretly married (well that’s obvious from the title isn’t it!) two years before. That was when the hero,  Luis de Silva fell madly for  Isabelle and rushed into marriage with her. A sadly short-lived marriage when very soon he believed that she had been unfaithful to him. But now, because

he is  to inherit  the family dukedom  after the death of his brother, he has to have a wife to provide him with an heir and as  his family doesn’t  accept divorce , he comes to find his ‘Secret Wife’ to ask her to marry him all over again.  (At least that’s what he claims, but anyone who reads the book carefully will see that really he has never been able to forget her and that this is the only way he can think of  of  getting her back.) Here I had some fun playing with the contrast  between the wedding that Luis and Isabelle had had in the past – sweet,  simple and innocent – and the formal, elaborate ceremony that is being prepared for the Duke and his  Duchess.

Of course, the ceremony of a wedding, the way that  everyone is gathered together to enjoy the ceremony gives such potential  drama, particularly when that drama is acted out in front of a large crowd of family and friends.  I’ve always wondered  - as I’m sure you have – just what could happen in those silent moments when the celebrant says the words - ‘If any person here present knows of any reason why these two should not be joined. . .Then let him speak now  or forever hold his peace . . .’  

What if  someone did step forward  - and even worse, what if they said :

‘I do . .  .  I know of a reason why these two should not be joined together in holy matrimony.’

I

It was such a wonderful scene that I just had to write it  - and the of course I had to think of just who would step forward and say that. And I had to think of a reason why   they would say it.  Inevitably, the person saying those words  had to be the hero, the wedding he broke up  and ruined was the heroine’s  - and the reason why he said them? Ah, you’d have to read the book to find out.  That book was Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride – and if I tell you that it starts with another, very different wedding – again a simpler, more innocent one like the one in the Duke’s Secret Wife, perhaps you can guess why my hero, Guido Corsentino, is so determined to stop this ceremony.

Weddings have this huge  scope for emotional upheaval and drama.  Everyone is hoping that the day goes perfectly, the bride will be beautiful,  the  groom handsome and strong, the flowers gorgeous,  the ceremony fabulous . . . so it’s great to throw a spanner in the works and watch the resulting explosions!  Romance writers are such sadists, really. We love to make out heroes and heroines suffer.   We put them into forced marriages as the result of blackmail, marriages of convenience like the one in The Hired Husband where the heroine thinks that the hero is agreeing to a marriage  in name only – to discover that that’s not what he has in mind at all, and she’s committed to a very real and very sexual relationship! Or what about the  bride in The Hostage Bride, who gets into the car that has come to take her to her wedding only to find that she is being driven in quite the opposite direction – by a handsome,  sexy chauffeur!

But perhaps the most intriguing wedding – for a writer anyway – that I created for my heroine  in Saturday's Bride - was the wedding that never was. The one I   almost had to write backwards.  Puzzled? Well, so was my hero!  Connor Harding came back to the town in which he’d grown up to discover that the girl he’d never been able  forget- Jenna Kenyon- was getting married in a week - to the wrong man! But he knew that Jenna was determined to prove him wrong, despite the passion still smouldering between them. Connor decided that all was fair in love and war. Only five days remained before Jenna became Saturday's bride, but that was more than long enough for him to persuade her to change her mind.

The truth is that the wedding’s actually  for Jenna’s sister but all the way  through the story I had to make it look   as if it was going to be Jenna’s big day until the truth finally dawns on Connor. So I had to make sure that every scene fitted with the ending I had already planned- right at the gate to the church!

Of course royal weddings have  a very special impact – all that glamour and ceremony – at least here in the UK. The coaches, pulled by beautiful horses, the jewels, the military uniforms,  the crowded streets, the cheering crowds.  It was as a result of the marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton in 2011 that I wrote my first ever ‘Royal Romance’  - A Throne for The Taking -  the book that is out in the shops just now. I  was asked to teach some workshops on writing a royal romance and that set me thinking. Of course I could  never had planned the fact that it came out just as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting the arrival  of their first baby any time soon - that was just good luck!  But it fits wonderfully into the time of celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the Queen’s coronation  and the expected arrival of the new baby prince or princess.

I have a special reason to celebrate this year too, and that expected date of the royal baby’s arrival has a real significance for me. It’s the date of  my wedding day – and this year it’s really special. My DH  and I are celebrating our Ruby Wedding – I was a child bride, honest!

So as I’m celebrating and I’d love to share the joy with you – I am offering a giveaway to one person who comments on this post.   I have either a copy of A Throne for The Taking  or one of those other books where I’ve talked about the wedding ( The Duke’s Secret Wife, The Konstantos Marriage Demand , Sicilian Husband, Blackmailed Bride –sorry, I don’t  have copies of the others) to give away. Just tell me which of these weddings you’d most like to read about – or perhaps which wedding in a novel you’d most like to have been at!  And I’ll get Charlie the Maine Coon on the job of picking a winner.  (If you’d like to know more about Charlie he has his own post on the Pink Heart Society blog tomorrow.)

If you want to know more about my books then please check out my web site   - or there's my personal blog where you'll find all the most up to date news.

Thank you Kate. Always a pleasure to host you here at RFW, where it's all about weddings this month. So RFWers and visitors, leave a comment for the chance to win one of Kate's books. I've read plenty of her romances and they're wonderful. I also swear by her '12 -Point Guide for Writing Romance.'

Donna and I hope you're all busy planning your entries for June Wedding for the 21st posting date.

Just to keep you in the romantic mood, here is Harrison Craig, a 19 year old who is tipped to win The Voice Australia next week. Amazing voice!

Guest Author Post - Linda Katmarian on Self-Publishing

Adventures in Self-Publishing: Laying Down the Bones

Some say self-publishing is for the brave of heart and the foolhardy. I say it’s for the adventurous and never mind those who disapprove. In my opinion, traditional publishers have pretty much closed the doors on authors, especially debut authors. As I see it, their way of doing business often erects an obstacle course for writers. Self-publishing has its drawbacks too, but it does offer some hope and reward to writers who are willing to engage with this new trend in publishing. My advice? Be a pioneer.

That said, there are basic things you need to do to publish your masterpiece. (I am assuming here that you have a completed manuscript that you have work-shopped it thoroughly.) There are no hard and fast rules for starting off on a self-publishing venture, but here are some things to consider.

EDUCATION

The first thing you need to do is educate yourself about self-publishing. God knows there is plenty of information out in cyberspace, but it’s a little daunting sorting through it and making sense of it all. Some of it is not good advice and some sites are plainly devoted to making money for themselves rather than helping authors.

I suggest you start out with a Self-Publishing Roadmap course that is offered from time to time by Joel Friedlander at The Book Designer (http://www.thebookdesigner.com ). This six-week course is not cheap, but you will be paying for the expertise that Joel offers. It’s a big time saver in terms of acquiring the information you need and being eventually able to discern what is good information and what is bogus. Joanna Penn at The Creative Penn (http://www.thecreativepenn.com/) also sells a course on publishing which is more affordable, but not as detailed as Joel’s.

YOU ARE A BUSINESS

The second thing you need to do is look at self-publishing as a business. You may protest that you are a writer, but in this day and age you must also be able to wear a business hat no matter which path you take to publication, traditional or self-published. I, more than anyone, would love to just be able to focus all my energy on writing, but that is not the world we live in. We are light years away from that old-fashioned notion of the creative writer plunking out his or her stories on an old Olympic typewriter and placing the finished product in the hands of an eager publisher.

So if you are a business, what are the initial things you need to do? This varies from country to country, so check out the rules in your own country. I can only speak for what is required in the United States, but some of the information is relevant and just good business sense wherever you come from.

•  Choose a publisher name. In the United States, you will need to file a business name notice. The name I chose for my DBA is Scheherazade Bookworks.
• Publish your statement in a locally-approved newspaper for the required 30 days. (Not a requirement in all countries.)
• Be prepared to keep track of income and expenses from book publishing. Open a business account at your local bank using your publisher name. You may want to consult with an accountant or your tax preparer.
• Keep a list of expenditure. You may be able to claim deductions at tax time.
• Set a budget. Self-publishing can cost you anywhere from $1000 to $50,000 dollars. You will have to make realistic decisions about your goals and what you can afford and what you can forego. You are going to have to evaluate how you can get the most bang for your buck. Most importantly, you will need to be aware that there are people out there who will happily separate you from your money. In setting a budget, you need to understand which services you can do yourself and which you will pay someone else to do. There are many things to consider such as book cover design, editing, formatting, distribution, marketing, and so on that can be quite costly. If you don’t see the point in laying out money for at least cover design and editing services, you may live to regret it.
• In the United States, open an account with Bowker and buy your ISBN numbers. (I assume other countries have a similar method of maintaining a publisher database as ISBN numbers are accepted worldwide.) It’s not cheap, but you might as well buy a set of ten because print and e-book formats all require their own ISBN. Currently, it costs about $250 for ten in the US, whereas I’ve found it is considerably cheaper in Australia, for instance, ($80). Some author services will furnish you with a free ISBN. That’s fine, but realize that they will probably be listed as the publisher and that may not be something you want on your book cover, etc. You also want to retain editorial control of your book's metadata in Bowker, which you can't do if you are not listed as the publisher. 

So there you have it from a newbie—my quick and dirty version of laying down the bones, the first steps in creating the structure from which you will launch your self-publishing venture. Once you get past these first steps, there are many other things to consider such as:

·         preparing your manuscript for publication

·         setting up your author platform

·         utilizing social media and so on. (This is usually required from the traditional publishers. How much more important it is for those of us going the self-publishing route.)

These are complex decisions and part of that initial self-publishing education I suggest you get for yourself. Take one step at a time and remember to breathe. Eventually the dust will begin to subside and your decision-making path will become clearer. Uh, at least that’s what I tell myself.

Author Bio

Linda Katmarian grew up in the Midwest and graduated with a Master’s Degree in French literature from Illinois State University. In June, 2012, after a long career as a technical writer, she was able to finally commit herself to writing fiction full time. She lives in Southern California and is working on publishing her debut novel, ‘Dreaming of Laughing Hawk’.

You can find Linda herea;

http://www.lindakatmarian.com or

http://www.scheherazade-thewritinglife.blogspot.com/


For further reading, I suggest you go here...to one of the sites Linda mentioned, The Book Designer. This is a direct link to checking if you're reading to self-publish and how to go about it.

And here is another link with real-life stories about self-publishing from a wonderful blog I follow, How to Plan, Write and Develop a Book.

Thank you for sharing, Linda. It is especially exciting when a RFW member embarks on the exciting journey of becoming a published author.

• Any questions for Linda? She'll pop in from time to time to take questions from the floor. I know you're just bursting to know more about self-publishing, so fire away.

See you on Friday for our next prompt - Birthday Madness! Check out the guidelines on the Challenges Page.  Consider posting the badge in your sidebar if you haven't already, or mention it in a post... 

...followed by House of Horrors, our Halloween challenge. See Challenges Page for more details. Pass the word along. People love to write Halloween stories!

Linky for Birthday Madness goes up this Wednesday AEST.

#RomanticFridayWriters - Wrap Up Post - FW - Challenge No 44 - I Should Have Kissed You! Next Challenge Guidelines

Hello Members and Friends!

Donna here. Is it just me, or did this Challenge inspire a lot of 1^st person and male perspective?  The turn out this week was amazing; the excerpts well written with lots of sensory details – and steamy.  Nearly a week later, my lips are still puckering in anticipation of that life changing kiss.

We gained several new followers over the last couple weeks:  with Ghazala, Jasze, Elen, Nilanjana and Yolanda swelling our members list also.  Kavita, Suzy, Raelene, Michael, Anne and Vikram have also signed on as members.  

Your  hosts appreciate every contributed piece, and want to thank you all for your consistency.  With that in mind, here is our joint wrap-up of this week's submissions in order of posting:

Charmaine: I fell straight into love with Rosie, the dame. Rosie was more complicated than she seemed - she was quite rightly disgruntled when men were judgmental of her generous curves, but had a double standard -she was quite ready to hightail it when a less-than-perfect date arrived on the scene. Quite hilarious as she passhes the earstwhile 'red silk tie' guy by mistake. Can't blame her really for not wanting to hang around - but...but...that's when her mochachino finally arrives! Now we have a deep problem! Stay or Run? (550)

Anna: To everyone's delight (who has been following Anna's tragic story of Paul, Jenny and Priscilla), Anna delivered a flashback in diary style, a prequel to events most of us are now familiar with. Perfectly fitting for the theme as there is that regret for the missed kiss. (598)
Nilanjana: Nilanjana delighted our senses with her poem right from the start when she '...offered up bruised berry lips'. How smoothly it flowed. I loved the imagery, such as: 'drunk in the morning musk.' I also love the two POVs. I preferred No 2 for some reason, although both were a delight. Very true to the theme with the prompt words occurring regularly at the beginning of stanzas. (419)
Raelene: The Pre-Nup was fabulous! Let's leave the groom waiting at the aisle while Dave surprises himself with the slip of the tongue - 'I Should Have Kissed You.' Oooh, so not done as the bride is about to marry another man, especially if you're the officiating Reverend/Priest! Some great attention to detail. I loved the congregation watiing in 'murmuring rows.' (No Word Count given, but well under...)
Francine: Our very own Regency romance author, thrilled us yet again with an excerpt from Venetian Encounter, with a menage a trois mentioned, oh Lordy! The excerpt was replete with the colourful characters from a past time, with Francine setting the scene of the era. That Therese with her 'china blues' is quite a character. I am left wondering, will the Countess bow to the  charms of Lieutenant Herne? (596)
Sally: Sally does nostalgia so well! For this prompt she gave us a glimpse of a bygone era, when young ladies were shy looking at young men (overtly anyway!) A lot of emotion can be had when rail commuting five days a week to school! Sensory descriptions abounded: 'rumble of train wheels', 'musty smell of scratchy fabric of the seats...' Very Rosamund Pilcher. So frustrating when she missed out on that kiss! (598)
Denise: filled our hearts with the lust of returning love, then built cultural, career, and continental barriers as obstacles for the lovers to overcome.  Passions run wild, but the heartbreak of reality couldn't be washed away by the changing tides of a summer fling.  (596)
Nancy: Brenda is still longing for John from her past and asks herself why wasn't she brave at the time?  She still remembers the sensory details even though she is now married with children. Why? Young love stays with you - she 14, he 17. Very poignant. It looks like Brenda is only ever going to imagine John in her dreams. (574)
Madeleine: I felt the romance between Jessica and David. Many contributors wrote of the regret of missed opportunity in the throes of young love, but David takes the initiative. Obviously a close couple, he's changed his mind rather than live with a lifetime of regret. He's going to act - he's going to follow Jessica to her new job rather than look back years later. (411)
Heather: Remembrance. Bitter-sweet memories, but highlighted is a lack of communication skills. Could things have been different if they talked things through? Maybe then the closeness that felt so right wouldn't also feel so wrong. A different future may have been imagined, but would it have been better than the present? (398)
Roland: :used a scene from an earlier writing; one of heart break at death's door, with the lovers' confessions witnessed by their failed protectors.  Roland leaves us hanging as to whether Blake indeed dies without tasting Fallon’s kiss, or if her love brings him back from the brink once more.  (750)
Kiru delighted us with a caramel kiss, feeding our desire with a steamy memory, and refusing to fulfill the anticipation in the present.  My thigh is still feeling the heat of his palm. (over 600)

Adura: Michael and Sade. Adura's prose is surging along, with the same rhythms she delighted us with in her prosetry. Michael's overwhelming feeling for Sade is tangible as he was '... morphing into an animal lunging at her like she was prey.' Never mind separate offices; separate cities would be a more secure solution. (550)

Yolonda: broke our heart with her reunion theme; sent tremors of longing and passion with a greeting embrace, bumped us out of the expected kiss, and shattered our wistful expectations of renewal with bad news.  The closed avenue brought tears of regret. (596)

Janu: sent us down memory lane with a diary entry; the endearing friendship that kept the lovers apart, a life that took the usual paths of uncertainties, and finally the heart is rewarded with a unexpected marriage proposal.  So unexpected, the kiss was forgotten in all the excitement; and fate cruelly intervened to keep it from ever being fulfilled.

Kerrin: gave us pure sex; and what is sex without kisses?  So many years of wanting that single kiss built a steamy, unrelenting need that once tasted, led to more, and more, until the next natural stage is begun.  (562)  

Rek: wrote of a moment in time, suspended for eternity, as the years change who she wanted to kiss into someone not worthy of the desire.  Yet the uncertainty remains, if the past had been different, so perhaps the future for both. (495)

Ghazala: made us feel awkward in our own skin with a story of gawky friendship and exploration between two classmates on separate growth and maturity schedules.  The awkwardness was intensified with the last line of the story, a brilliant stroke of emotion to tie it all together in an Ah moment. (553)

Anne: showed the nervousness of re-entering the dating world, and renewing cherished friendships in a change of life setting.  A comfortable past that runs it natural course, and a new beginning with no regrets to mar the future.  (597)

Michael: left us in a shadowed, smokey room filled with secrets and sensual desire.  A mystery, an old flame under scrutiny, and a timely admission to interrupt the pending kiss.  (500)
Donna:  What a riveting first line - 'I'm not afraid of dying; but I fear the dark.' Donna, too, has used many sensory details to delight the reader as the male narrator remembers a day at the beach. You can feel the joy, the sun, taste the Corona, feel the sweat...then great juxtaposition as the blazing day ends with reality - the coldness of the cell. Great twist. (590)

Crystal: proved that love is love, and the heart wants what it wants despite the obstacles in place.  Sometimes that kiss has to work hard to find the right moment, with more than just desire to overcome before it can work it magic to fulfill destiny.  (600)

Only two contributors went over word count, so that still leaves 18 awesome entries eligible for the Featured  Writer and Runner up awards. We ask that you remember how difficult is the choice between so many disparate stories and poems. At the end of the day it comes down to the personal preferences of your hosts.

After careful consideration (several readings and discussions between your hosts - this was way tough), and using the basic criteria of:  following the theme; within word count; polished; (easy to follow the story); has a romantic element; and completely blew us away in all other reader aspects (your comments on the posts factored into our decisions) . As Crystal said in the comments after reading everyone's entries - I've never seen such talent and amazingly beautiful words in all my life! It's hard to pick a favorite at this time. That's how we feel. So many on our short list...We HAVE to make a decision. So Denise and I present to you...(((drum roll)))

Runner up Madeleine Maddocks. Perfect flash fiction piece, followed the guidelines to a 'T'. Congratulations Madeleine! Please copy/paste the badge onto your blog, linking to your story.

and our FW...

Our FW for this challenge is Nilanjana Bose for her spectacular prosetry which adhered to the theme and was replete with beautiful imagery encapsulating the I Should Have Kissed You prompt.

Because there were so many on the short list, we would like to offer the Encouragement Award to:

Michael de Gesu for his wonderful noir piece (a little lacking in the romantic element) and Charmaine Clancy, whose perfectly crafted piece was just SO entertaining. Michael and Charmaine, please accept the Encouragement Award and  place it on your blog, linking to your story. 

For those new to RFW, the Encouragement Award is handed out to those whose writing just didn't quite make the finals of FW/RU but was featured in the final discussions as a contender.

Congratulations winners of the I SHOULD HAVE KISSED YOU challenge #44.  Proudly display your badges on you blogs.

Thank you everyone for participating; we look forward to reading more of your writings in the next prompts.

Please return on Monday 17 Sept for our Guest Author Post, Linda Gillard, multi-award-winning and much published author! Learn about how she creates her characters. You'll love what she has to say...

Also, we have moved the RFW Safety Post re Internet Stalking and other matters to its own page. If you haven't read it, take a few minutes to check it out! Thanks!

Also, be thinking about our next challenge - 

CHALLENGE NO 45 - Friday Sept 21

Beauty is only skin deep- and it's remarkable just how shallow that can be. But not being the centre of attention has its own advantages. 

What has your beautiful friend done to make you hate her?

Do your really hate her, or are you just angry with yourself?

Hate is such a confusing emotion...and we all know it's closely aligned to love.

Think about this prompt. You might surprise yourself with what you come up with. 

(We've added an image to this prompt which might help you focus.)

I'm pretty sure our stories/poems will all be different, how about you? There are so many different types of 'friends'... 

Pen your 400 words of prose/prosetry for this challenge! Any POV, not necessarily first person. And, as always, don't forget the Romantic Element. Remember the creative guidelines are merely suggestions. Write your story/poem your way.