BookingIt

Now that my oldest is five, I've been letting him watch a bunch of Disney movies, especially the older ones. The other day I was thinking about my favorite movies as a kid, and why I liked them. I realized that the movies I loved all had something in common. The hero. Yes, my twistedness started young. Some of my favorite heroes were Charlie the ex-con dog (All Dogs Go To Heaven), Butch the street-smart dog (Lady and the Tramp) and Robin the saving-the-poor and antagonizing-the-rich fox (Robin Hood). These characters are wild and flirtatious. Charmers . What do your favorite childhood cartoon heroes say about you? Have your tastes matured? (unlike mine? Heehee.)

I wanted to do another post on dialogue, but family is in town and I have a feeling I'll be absent from the blogosphere. That said, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday week and weekend, and I'll see you Monday! Or sooner, if my blog addiction can't be contained. LOL

Writing dialogue can be a lot of fun but it can also be tricky. Dialogue is not the same as conversation. It is not question/answer format. Dialogue should lead to questions. It should entice the reader to turn the page. It should move the plot forward. I've never heard dialogue called oblique before chapter eleven in Stein on Writing . According to Stein, this type of dialogue is indirect. His example of oblique dialogue: SHE: Hi, how are you? HE: Oh, I didn't see you. The man doesn't answer the question. He circles around it and says something else. That's oblique. Have you ever heard of oblique dialogue? Or maybe you've heard it called indirect? For an exercise, here's some dialogue. Can you turn it into something oblique? HE: Heard you had a party last night. SHE: Yep.

Today ( for some reason I originally wrote tomorrow, lol ) my mom and I are making the rounds! Anyone else trying to save some money on presents? Am I completely cheap to do this?

There are some changes in publishing. First, Christian publisher Thomas Nelson is partnering with Author Solutions in a new venture called WestBow Press . This will be Thomas Nelson's self-publishing arm. You can read some details at Writer Beware !. Now I've just found out that Harlequin is a part of a new press called Harlequin Horizons. There's some talk about whether it's a Vanity or Self-publisher. Lots of talk, actually. Check out Dear Author for a short post about this, and then in the comments a Harlequin representative answered some questions. As a capitalist, I think these publishers are innovative and smart to do this. As a writer, I'm concerned. These are new territories and it'll be interesting to see where publishing heads. What do you think about these traditional publishers using traditional names for their self-publishing ventures? How about agents receiving referral fees? Do you think these changes will really affect those of us who are aiming ...

Thank you to Steph , who inspired this banquet! :-) There are so many of you who deserve an award. I could never name all of you, but I appreciate every single person who comments on this blog. I tried to match up the awards with blogs that I think embody the feel behind that award. Also, I didn't follow the rules for any of them. Sorry about that! And if you've already gotten the one I gave you, I'm sorry, and if you don't post it or play with it, that's totally fine with me. So here they are! Kathryn Deb Tabitha Danyelle Donna Keli Susan Elana Terri Tiffany Tamika Jeanette Karen Penny Angie Janna Jody MaryBeth Dara Sarah Kristen Wendy Genny Anita Eileen Katie Sandie Sherrinda Have you received any awards? Which one is your favorite? Which one do you wish someone would give you? Do you even care?

I have more thank yous! And then, on Tuesday, I'm going to have an awards banquet (the idea was inspired by Steph In the City , so thanks!)In the meantime, I know I haven't played the rules for all of these, but that's because I forget what they are. I'm looking forward to passing these on verrrry soon. *grin* Thank you, Julie ! Julie's blog has been spotlighting her Nano experience. Interesting stuff for someone like me, who's never Nanoed. Thank you, Stephanie ! She has a new blog and always posts interesting, conversation-starting topics. Thank you, Jennifer ! Her blog always has a weird news report and it usually makes me laugh. Thank you, Dara ! Dara posts about some really cool Japanese myths, names and facts. Thank you, Jeanette ! Your friendship really has "hit the spot." :-) Thank You Mary at Writer's Butt Doesn't Apply to Me (and boy, don't I wish that were true for me, LOL) Thank you to Tara at the BloodCrossed Writer ! I haven...

Mom, this one's for you. *wink* The other day we were on the phone and my mom was describing some of her ailments to me. She's normally a healthy person, but she does suffer from allergies and sinus issues. She's also a vivid person and this comes across in her language. In this case, she told me her pain was skewering up through her nose. Skewering. She never finished the description because I laughed. What a perfect word! Strong, to the point, I had an exact (if somewhat gross) image of what was happening. Do you have a vivid person in your life? Someone who thinks in ways you forget to? And in your WIP, are you using the strongest verb possible to convey EXACTLY what you mean?

Thank you so much, Laurie Alice, for sharing your story. You can find her at her website or her blog, Seize the Chance . Continued from Part One : Then tragedy struck. My best friend found out she had four months to live. She told me to go back to writing, to pursue that dream and not let that lousy agent stop me. My friend believed in me. Several other life-changing events occurred, too, and I found myself with a renewed relationship with the Lord, glad my secular stuff had gone nowhere, joined ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), and, by a pure miracle of the Lord, got an agent who believed in me. I had done my research on her. She was new, so no former clients, but also that meant she was hungry. No, she didn’t have great contacts in the industry, but she was outgoing and warm and had a desire to succeed. She was also a writer, so knew people in the business. She was also working with an experienced agent. Frankly, I felt that I had nothing to lose at this point. Ten years ...

Thank you to Laurie Alice for sharing her agent journey with us. Laurie Alice Eakes is the award-winning author of historical romantic fiction in both the sweet-secular and inspirational markets. After a slow start, her career took off this year with the sale of eleven books in nine months. She lives in Texas with her husband and sundry animals. Worse Than No Agent At All A bad agent is worse than no agent. For me, I learned this aphorism the hard way. I was so thrilled to get an agent I said yes to her representation without getting all the scoop on her. In truth, she’d come recommended by someone I respected. Things looked good for the first three months. This post is about what can happen if you jump at the first agent who offers to represent you, or if you submit to one without doing your research on her first, research such as finding clients who have left, as well as those who have stayed, what she represents, to whom she has sold, etc. And, because I am an unashamed believer ...

I loved the main character of this book. Ray Quinn is a cross between House and Ollie Chandler . I was intrigued immediately. The writing was spectacular. Author Mark Mynheir outdid himself and I was hugely impressed, not to mention hooked. A great read, imo. I've loved all of Lessman's books but this one topped them for me. While pushing the boundaries of sensuality for the CBA market, I also think it pushed the spirituality of today's Christian. The book overflowed with Godly principles and bible verses without ever becoming preachy. I loved it. This was a great ABA thriller. I couldn't put it down and even though I guess the killer, it wasn't until the very end. If you like suspense, I highly recommend this one. Interestingly enough, Castillo wrote category for years and I believe this might be her "break-out" novel. Jones is a new author for me. I sat by her at dinner one night at the conference. She was super nice, I'd heard great things about...

I might be absent from your blogs for a few days. Just depends on how much my adorable little nephews lure me away from the computer. :-) Can't wait to get back in the blogosphere. And so far I have one author willing to guest post about the writer/agent relationship! Woot! This just in! Apparently Travis Erwin is doing a series of posts about how agents have enriched writer's lives . It looks great. Check it out if you have time.

While there are plenty of things to watch out in our Great Agent Search, I don't want to leave everyone on a wary note. The thing is, a compatible, solid relationship with your agent can be the best choice you ever make for your career. Whether the relationship remains professional or turns into friendship, it can be wonderful. We know the things to look out for, but I'd love to hear about any great experiences you've had with agents. If you have a great relationship with your agent and are interested in doing a guest post about it, e-mail me at jessica_nelson7590 AT yahoo Dot com. Or you can share in the comments section. Here's a link to an encouraging and helpful post on picking an agent . I'm looking forward to reading some awesome comments/posts!