Sayonara Japan

I fly out of Japan today, three years after arriving. It doesn't seem like such a long time until you start to think about all the things that have happened. In August 2003, when I arrived, my very first book - Desert Warrior, had just been published. And now it's three years, several books, a thousand new experiences and uncountable new friends later.

The truly happy thing is that this town has become such a home to me that I feel like I could return at any time and settle back into life here. I wish I could thank all the people who've made this experience such an awesome one. This includes all of you out there, who kept me from feeling isolated as a writer. So a great big thank you to all my friends, near and far, those I've met and those who are only names. You are, each and every one of you, absolutely wonderful.

I'm going to leave you all with a fact and a question.

Fact: Nalini was in a helicopter yesterday.
Question: How in the world did Nalini end up in a helicopter on her last Sunday in Japan?

Speculate away. And I'll be back in a couple of days time to tell you who got the closest.

Saturday Afternoon Philosophy

My house is clean. Very clean. In fact, I have no furniture. Living in an empty house is interesting - gives you a whole new perspective on things. It's kind of like when you begin to write a book - it's an empty house waiting to be filled with personality, with a thousand small touches that turn a house into a home. Some homes are cluttered, while others are very minimalist, but which is better depends on who you are. Exactly like a book.

That philosophical piece of writing comes to you courtesy of all the carbs in my system. I just returned from a pancake breakfast that streeeetched past lunch. All the food was golden brown - muffins, pancakes, corn bread and even the peach sauce, and the company brilliant. A great way to spend my last Saturday in Japan.

What're you up to? Any philosophical thoughts?

Characters vs Plots

I am too exhausted to read. This is an extraordinary level of exhaustion, one I never believed possible. As a result, I'm making a mental list of books I'm going to read soon as I arrive home in NZ. Help me out - what are some good books you've read recently?

And just generally, what makes a book good for you? Is it the characters, the plot, the humor? For me, I think it'd have to be the characters. You can have a great plot but if the characters don't grab me, I probably won't pick up the next book (if it's a series).

Only one book I recently read broke that rule and still grabbed me by the throat - The Da Vinci Code. For me that was a very plot-heavy book, with less emphasis on the characterization. But it worked. However, it was very much an exception to the rule. I'm more likely to remember people, not plots. For example, I love Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake series because of the very well defined characters - from Nathaniel (whose character arc is getting mucho interesting) to Jason to Edward. (I haven't read Danse Macabre yet so no spoilers please!)

Because I tend to concentrate on the characters, it makes me crazy if they act out of character just to advance the plot. Right now, I'm halfway through a Desire novel and I'm loving the bad-boy hero. I'm hoping like mad he doesn't magically transform into perfect huband material in the second half cause that would take all the fun out of it.

So, what hooks you into a book/author? And what drives you crazy (open-ended question *g*)?

Cleaning Is Fun

Today I'm afraid you're going to get a housecleaning post. All my big furniture is being shifted out tomorrow, which means today I have to clean, clean, clean.

Done so far

1. Fridge & Freezer - yay!
2. Microwave
3. Kitchen cupboards
4. Living room
5. Bedroom cupboards

Which leaves not that much to do but it's just taking time to get all the little things done. Wish me luck!

p.s. Tomorrow's post will be late because of the furniture shifting. (And I'm going to lose my air con too.) Eek!

Things you can do while people are away at the RWA Conference

1. Tell embarrassing stories about said people *g*
2. Learn Stuff
3. Win Stuff
4. Catch up on things you put aside because you were reading too many blogs
5. Begin a savings fund for next year's conference

What else???

Good News & Procrastination

Let's start of the day with some good news.

First - Rosario did a great review for Awaken to Pleasure. :-)

Second, Harlequin Japan just forwarded me the results of a reader poll for books published in the first half of 2006, and guess what's #3 on the list for Best Book? Craving Beauty! But wait, I have to tell you who #1 & 2 & 4 are so you'll truly get my excitement.

1. Diana Palmer
2. Beverly Barton
3. Me! Me!
4. Sharon Sala

I cannot believe the company I'm in. So a big shout out to my Japanese readers - you guys rock!

Okay, enough of the manic excitement. Today let's talk about procrastination. I love writing too much to procrastinate overly about it. But what I do procrastinate about is the business-side of things. Getting correspondence written & answered, things like that. As a result, the first thing I'm going to do when I become a bazillionairre is hire a personal assistant.

What do you procrastinate about? And on a tangent - what would you get/who would you hire if you became a bazillionairre?

Cellphone Withdrawal

I just cut off my cellphone. It really feels like I'm leaving now - one week to go before I'm on a plane outa here! They call cellphones 'keitai' in Japan. And everyone has a keitai. I mean everyone.

I barely used my cell in NZ but man did I ever grow attached to my keitai here. I feel like I'm cut off. In the wilderness. I'm sure it'll pass (she says hopefully). Now I just have to find a new place to hang all my cool, sparkly keitai dangly things.

So, do you have a cell? And are you unnaturally attached to it?

Jump-Start

I've been a bit slow to get going this morning, so first some links I found while trying to get the brain kick-started.

Paperback Writer did a really interesting blog post on Wickham/Darcy and Pride and Prejudice - check it out if you're a fan. She talks about the possible secret that could've motivated Wickham's actions.

Cute Overload is a site that everyone should visit. I dare you to not start grinning as you go down the page.

And oh look what I accidentally found 'cough', a 4.5 star review for Slave to Sensation from Romance Junkies!!

Lucas has a sensuality that will curl your toes and speed up your heartbeat. Sascha is a courageous heroine that you just know has an inner passion waiting to be let out and when it does, watch out. Together this couple is dynamite and you don’t want to be anywhere near when the explosion goes off.

Tawny Taylor's Mark of the Beast & Tag Lines

This is a book being released by fellow Romance Diva, Tawny Taylor. It's coming out July 26th. I'm putting it up because I like the cover. Yes, I'm shallow like that sometimes. ;) But seriously, hot cover, no?

I also like Tawny's tagline - Red Hot Fiction With Sassitude. Anybody want to come up with a cool tagline for me? Just generall, do you think taglines work??

Here's the blurb:

City girl Abby Clumm wouldn't normally travel to remote cabins in Alaska alone. But with the expectation that her friend will be arriving shortly, she makes the journey to their rented cabin solo. Unfortunately, things don’t go as she plans--no real surprise there, when do they?--and her first night she finds herself alone in the boonies, a shotgun she doesn’t know how to use and a failing wooden door the only things standing between her and some kind of very hungry animal outside. She’s now caught in a battle for survival.

Research scientist Tarik Evert has no idea what’s wrong. He’s suddenly driven by a need so urgent it’s painful. The scent of a woman nearby beckons him, sends him staggering outside into the cold. And then somehow he’s at her door, not sure what just happened...or what is about to happen if she lets him inside.

He only knows one thing--the hunger that brought him to her in the first place.

So, have you seen any nice covers lately?

Random Thoughts About Facial Hair

So the Smart Bitches snarked these covers and it got me thinking - facial hair. Does it work in romance heroes? And if not, why? I don't think it works personally and a quick scan of recent releases which have herocentric covers shows that most authors agree with me. But why? We all know men who have beards etc. From the covers posted at SBTB, it appears that they did work in the past, but no longer do. Why? Thoughts?

~~~

I'm not going to Atlanta. Who else isn't going? Things tend to die in the blogsphere over the RWA conference, so in the efforts of keeping this blog going, I reckon we should throw a party. A big, giant party that'll make everyone else jealous. I've got a pink sombrero and a pina colada. What've you got?

~~~

If you're looking to develop your writing muscles, check out Scrambled Sage on Toast, which has just been launched and offers writing tips and exercises.

~~~

Okay, back to the all-important question of facial hair. Do you want it on your heroes or not?

Sig Lines

Thanks to everyone who's shared my excitement over this sale - you guys are the best! Okay, now back to our regularly scheduled programming. Today's scintillating topic is...sig lines. You know, those lines of text that regularly appear at the bottom of an author's signoff on emails.

While this is not something I usually spend much time thinking over, an author on one of my email groups actually threw this question out there - how long is too long? And I thought it'd be interesting to discuss. To begin with, here's my basic sig line:

Nalini Singh
SLAVE TO SENSATION - Sep 06
www.nalinisingh.com

Sometimes, I put Berkley Sensation in there, or very occasionally I'll add the blog if I think we're discussing something others might be interested in. But my limit is four lines. Three is better but four will do. Anything else and my eyes glaze over.

I totally understand the urge to put everything and the kitchen sink in there, I do. And if you're doing it for yourself, as a motivational thing - a sort of "ha, I did it!" - then go for it. I see nothing wrong with a really long sig line. Enjoy your success. Wallow in it. I certainly did some wallowing yesterday.

But if you're using that sig line as a promotional tool - ie. if you're giving people notice about your upcoming books, then prune, prune, prune. Personally, I think if you go much over four lines, people don't even notice the sig line. It becomes a meaningless block of text.

So my answer to the question would be that five lines is too long. I might of course be completely wrong, which is why I'm writing this blog. I'm interested in others' take on this too - as readers and as writers, how long do you think is too long?

Sales!

Here's my news!

I just sold two more paranormals to Berkley Sensation!! The first is currently titled Caressed by Ice and is part of the same series as Slave to Sensation. Wheeeee!!!

___________

p.s. None of my Yahoo Groups are letting me post, even from the website, so I'm not ignoring all you guys, I just can't get through!

Old Coffee & Evil Laughter

I spent the weekend cleaning out my apartment and getting about 70% of it done. For the first time, I'm regretting having a huge place. There's stuff everywhere. Including in cupboards I don't recall putting stuff. And surely six year old coffee is good? (Don't worry, I threw it out, though if I'd been this guy, I would've probably drunk it).

This morning it took me 3 hours to respond to all the emails that had come in during my hermitage, including the ones from my web designer Gabrielle. You guys are going to love the new site! And if you don't - lie. Just kidding. ;) It should be up sometime in the next couple of weeks so look out!

I've been meaning to put up the link to Teach Me Tonight, which discusses romance novels from a literary perspective, for ages. (Brenda Coulter's post at RTB reminded me to do it).

What else? Oh yeah, I might have something to tell you this week. And that's all I'm going to say...(cue evil laughter).

On Tour: Your Planet Or Mine By Susan Grant

Here's today's tour book. Have you guys checked out Susan's blog - Come Fly With Me? Have a look - she posts while flying around the world.

~~~

YOUR PLANET OR MINE by Susan Grant

(HQN Books, July 25, 2006)

Think the grocery store is a great place to meet men?

Hunky interstellar fugitive, aisle 5.

With outrageously false accusations piling up against her famous political family and an ex-fiancé in hot water determined to take her down with him, the last thing Jana Jasper needs is more trouble--especially man trouble. But when she heads to the grocery store for an ice cream fix, not only does the muscled hunk in the frozen foods section ranting about spaceships and invasions look crazy, he looks... familiar.

Cavin of Far Star has never forgotten the girl he met during his weeks spent on that quaint little world, planet Earth, the girl who didn't believe he was real. And now he'll risk his future to save her. All she has to do is take him to her leader. Simple enough plan--although Jana isn't so easily convinced. Hell-bent on charming his way past her defenses, he's determined to stay one step ahead of the galaxy's most feared assassin--and may just capture his favorite Earthling's heart in the process.

Excerpt

ABOUT SUSAN GRANT

One of the first women in history to attend the US Air Force Academy, a former Air Force instructor pilot, and currently a 747 jumbo jet pilot for United Airlines, New York Times best-seller and RITA winner Susan Grant loves writing about what she knows -- flying, adventure, and the delicious interaction between men and women.

REVIEWS

"...one of the best books of the year!" - Mary Janice Davidson, New York Times bestselling author

“...a cute, quirky otherworldly romance that’s totally delightful to read!” -- Tanzey Cutter

“Veers uncomfortably close to our actual plans to invade your pitiful little planet. Pull this book from the shelves immediately or I shall have it vaporized!” -- General Neppal, Supreme Commander of the Coalition fleet

Website: http://www.susangrant.com

I'm Back!

And I'm hoping to do two proper posts today soon as I clear the backlog of emails. The first will be up soon - the lowdown on another tour book, while the second should go online this afternoon.

Jane Austen Article

Charlotte's subsequent life is a kind of decorous hell, made bearable by the fact that the alternative would have been worse. She is the stony reality at the heart of Pride and Prejudice. She tells a woman's story, but in a way that is utterly remote from feminine convention: with scant emotion, appealing to nothing other than rationality. And, like her creator, she has remarkably little to do with cosy readings of The Jane Austen Book Club and communal swoons over Mr Darcy.

This is a very interesting article that talks about Jane Austen and how she's been appropriated as a women's/romance novelist, when in fact, she's something else entirely, though passion does play a part in her stories. (Link from Bookslut.)

Personally I agree with the statement about Charlotte - she's always struck me as a very smart-thinking woman who does the best she can in the circumstances. However Austen very clearly bases most of her stories around a love story, so she is very definitely also a romance novelist. Does that fact necessarily take away from the other themes in her story? I don't think so.

What do you think?

Head's Up

Posts over the next three days will be late and might not appear at all, but I'll be back Tuesday for sure!

After The Sale

The line edits for Bound By Marriage just landed on my desk, and timing wise it's great since I've done the bulk of my cleaning/packing already. I'm looking forward to having a read of this manuscript again.

Getting this package yesterday made me think about the fact that pre-publication, most writers focus on just writing the book (as they should). But there are a heap of things that come after and demand your time. So in the interests of writerly solidarity, I'm going to put down some of them. These things will vary according to your publishing house, editor and whether you write category or single title fiction, but the basic steps will tend to be the same.

Manuscript

1. Revisions (a step that may be skipped)

2. Line/Copy Edits - The line editor (who's usually your editor) goes through the manuscript line by line and makes their changes. The copy editor checks the technical stuff (commas, grammar, repetitions etc). Your job is to go through that marked-up ms and agree/disagree to the changes, and make any last minute changes you have of your own. I once added an entire page at this stage to fix something.

3. Galleys - This is the last time you'll see your manuscript before it goes to print. You don't have the chance to make huge changes here, which is why the line edit stage is so important. Instead you focus on picking up typos, spelling mistakes, typesetting errors.

Non-Manuscript Things

1. Bio - you have to come up with some sort of blurb about yourself. I have a lot of trouble with this, which is why my website one is split up into sections. Makes it easier.

2. Author Photo

3. Conversations about cover art or completion of a cover-art form if you write for Harlequin (very detailed).

4. Talking about the back-cover copy (single title).

5. Promotion. Even if you're allergic to promo, you will have to at least come up with a website (which I personally think is so, so important in today's world).

Those are just a few of the things that come after publication and which new authors should be thinking about when they set themselves deadlines. I love every aspect of being a writer, but without adequate planning, you could stress yourself out.

Any questions? Any additions?

Help, I'm melting!

I'll take warm/hot weather over cold any day of the week. The idea of freezing my chops off does not a happy writer make. So you have to guess how hot is must be right now for me to be starting to think that this looks good.

This is me at the Sapporo Snow Festival - I'm such a dedicated romance writer that I found a symbol of romance even in below freezing weather. And yes, that is me under all those layers.

But I should be careful what I ask for - in a few weeks I'll be going from summer to winter. My body's already wincing. Anyway, this ramble on weather has a point. I thought we'd do a location/weather check today. Where are you posting from and what's the weather like?

Me first: Kyushu, Japan, Hot & Humid enough to melt tar (and possibly human flesh)

Food In Books

I have a question for you – do you notice food in books? Do the edibles of choice for the hero and heroine stick in your mind?

I’m asking you this because I received a very passionate letter yesterday urging me to remove all references to meat eating in my books. I have to say it left me nonplussed, because as a reader I rarely notice what the characters are eating, unless it has some bearing on the story ie. vampires drinking blood.

The only other time I recall being interested in the food was in one of Jayne Ann Krentz's contemporaries, because the hero drank green tea and ate soba noodles. I stopped, thought about it and decided it worked.

So what about you? What's the most memorable food moment you recall from a book? And if you don't remember such a moment, leave a comment about that too!