Ms. Aletha Kontis, Author, Enchanted (Woodcutter Series, Book 1)

Alethea Kontis, Author of “Enchanted”

TRI: Tell us about Alethea Kontis, the woman and the writer.   i.e., where are you originally from, how did you get started in writing, etc.

Alethea: I was born in South Burlington, Vermont. My half-French, half-Greek family of storytellers gave me the name “Alethea”, which means “Truth.” The curse of this beautiful name (other than the obvious) is that for some reason no one can pronounce it or spell it correctly.

My father read to me every night when I was a baby, so I was reading at a very early age. I was an avid reader by the time I was five, and I began writing when I was around 8…mostly for class assignments. My Greek Grandmother gave me a blank book that I vowed to fill with poetry and my French Grandmother gave me a giant tome of unexpurgated Grimm & Andersen Fairy Tales.

I submitted writing all the time to contests and magazines: everything from TV Guide to the box of Cracker Jacks. I kept all my rejections in a shoebox, and when they depressed me, I would throw them all out and start again. When I was bored, I would sit on my mother’s feet and ask her what to write. One day, she told me to write her a new fairy tale. I could not think of a better lifelong goal.

So by the age of twelve, I was fairly committed to a career as a writer. I had big plans to grow up and be Joan Wilder. Still working on that.

TRI: Do you have philosophy for your writing career or life?

Alethea: Other than “Shut Up and Write,” my biggest philosophy is “Every stranger is a best friend I haven’t met yet.” Like Sherrilyn Kenyon always told me, you make your fans one at a time. I’ve learned from experience just how true this is.

TRI: I like that…What drives you to write?

Alethea: I want to write books just like the ones I loved when I was a kid, reading my way through the juvenile section of the library. Someday I want to mean to someone what Tamora Pierce and Robin McKinley and Dianna Wynne Jones and Meredith Ann Pierce and Lloyd Alexander all meant to me.

TRI: How much of your writing is driven, influenced by your readers?

Alethea: At the moment, very little. Even though I’ve been hard at this for almost a decade, I am still effectively at the beginning of my career, telling the stories in my head that need to be told. As I grow and interact with my fans and they become part of my life experience, I’m sure that will definitely inform and affect my writing. It will be interesting to see how.

TRI: Is there something that you would like to share that your readers or peers do not know about you?

Alethea: Goodness, I’m such an open book that there’s little people don’t know about me…you can find anything these days if you have the patience to look for it. Things the romance folks might not know: I have a teddy bear named Charlie, my first best friend was a tree, and I never played at being a princess when I was a kid. I much preferred dressing as a gypsy and running through the fields speaking in a British accent that drove my little sister crazy. The only Princess I ever pretended to be was Princess Leia, when I played Star Wars with Danny. I didn’t come into my princesshood until I was 30.

TRI: Very cute…Who is your favorite fantasy writer? What draws you to this writer?

Alethea: I could no sooner pick a favorite star in the heavens! But the book I buy extra copies of to give to friends is William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. It is a brilliant masterpiece of storytelling, and if you’ve only seen the film then you have no idea what you’re missing. Just read Chapter One. I promise. You won’t regret it.

TRI: I think I shall…We know that authors love all of their creations, but is there one of yours that is your ultimate favorite? Why?

Alethea: Right now, my favorite is a story called “The Unicorn Hunter”, which is still available to read free online (http://www.scribd.com/doc/70431258/The-Unicorn-Hunter). It is the story of what really happened to Snow White, between the time she left the huntsman in the woods and the time she found the dwarfs. It’s such a beautiful bittersweet tale of love and friendship…I cried when I finished writing it, because I lamented those characters being on the paper now, instead of in my head.

But worry not, for they will return in the Enchanted universe…oh yes, they will.

TRI: Tell me more about Enchanted. I read excerpts from it and felt as if I was reading a song.

Alethea: I admit: I had way too much fun writing Enchanted. It was the story I’d been waiting to tell all my life, in the way only I could tell it. What I didn’t realize back when I was 12 and writing fairy tales was that in order to tell a fairy tale properly, I had to live one first. I’ve gone from being the engineer’s daughter in the house at the edge of the Wood to being a princess, and the long, hard road in between has been fraught with magic and monsters.

Enchanted takes the premise that all the fairy tales we know came from one family: the Woodcutters. They have seven daughters: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Sunday is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, who has a magical little book in which the things she writes come true. She shares her writing one day with a frog in the Enchanted Wood who becomes her friend. And when her kiss finally does work, the frog turns into a prince…one her family has long despised. So he goes back to the palace and decides to hold three balls and invite all the eligible ladies in the land…a subversive effort to get Sunday to fall in love with him as a man.

But other evils are afoot, and many other fairy tales are hiding in the woodwork. Enchanted really was a five-year labor of love. I’ve listened to the audio-book three or four times now, and I still sometimes can’t believe I wrote it.

TRI: Tell us about discipline in your writing career?

Alethea: On a perfect day, I run four miles and write at least 1000 words before Joe and the girls come home from work and school. Not every day is the perfect day. Thus the “Shut up and write!” post-it on my monitor.

TRI: As a writer do you feel you have come full circle?

Alethea: Not in the slightest! I feel more like I’ve spent ten years preparing and Gandalf has finally knocked on the door of my Hobbit hole to take me off on The Grand Adventure.

TRI: Any words of wisdom for newbies?

Alethea: Never stop writing. No, it never gets any easier. So just shut up and write. *hugs*

TRI: Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.

Alethea: Thank you!!

Author Anne Cleeland on Writing Regencies: How Accurate Should You Be?

Dear Readers,

I am  pleased to welcome Ms. Anne Cleeland, author of the soon to be released, Tainted Angel (June 2013), Murder in Thrall: An Acton and Doyle Scotland Yard Mystery (July 2013), and Daughter of the God-King (November 2013).

Ms. Cleeland holds a degree in English from UCLA as well as a degree in law from Pepperdine University, and is a member of the California State Bar.  She writes historical fiction set in the Regency period as well as contemporary mysteries set in New Scotland Yard.  A member of the Historical Novel Society and Mystery Writers of America, Ms. Cleeland lives in California and has four children.

So without further ado, here is Anne Cleeland to talk to us about historical writing and their accuracies or lack thereof.

TRI: Welcome, Anne. I am so pleased to have you here and look forward to your thoughts on writing historical novels and the importance of accuracy, regardless of the period in which one’s story is being told.

AC: Thank you so much Lina for both the welcome and introduction. And the opportunity to talk about a topic dear to most historical writers: accuracy.

I have a Regency adventure series debuting in June, and I’ve attended a few panels on the knotty problem of how accurate you should be when writing historicals—particularly because Regency readers tend to be very knowledgeable—so for those of you who read or write historical novels, I thought I’d pass along what I’ve gleaned.  I would also like to give away a copy of the first novel of my series, Tainted Angel.

In the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, neither Elizabeth Bennett nor Mr. Darcy wear gloves to the formal Netherfield ball—an omission which would have been unheard of at the time.

In Downton Abbey, one of the streets in the town has a double yellow line–not exactly Edwardian.

The movie Braveheart tells us that the future Edward III was the product of a liaison between William Wallace and Isabella of France.  The problem is, Wallace was executed seven years before Edward was born, and Isabella of France was nine at the time Wallace was executed.

Are the stories any less compelling? The answer probably depends on your perspective.  If you are a history buff, these anachronisms may completely ruin the story for you, while someone with a more cursory knowledge of the period may not even notice, let alone mind such liberties.  The trick to writing a story from an earlier time period is to find the right balance between dry-as-dust history and an engaging story, and how accurate you need to be, I think, depends on your target readership.

If, for example, you are writing “hot” Regencies, strict accuracy is necessarily abandoned unless you write about the demi-monde, because nice young ladies didn’t fool around (and were definitely never given an opportunity, even if they were so inclined.)   Along the same lines, nice young ladies didn’t pursue their dream of running an orphanage, painting for profit, or scheming to rescue their ne’er-do-well brother after he fell into the clutches of the moneylenders. Instead, they’d have been chaperoned within an inch of their lives until they were handed over to a husband with the correct pedigree.

Since this is not a very interesting storyline, the question is not whether to take liberties with historical accuracy, it is how much liberty to take. My own rule of thumb is to never write anything that would “jolt” the average reader out of the story’s time frame—not the average history professor, just the average reader.

Here are some things to ask yourself:

(1)  Have you tied yourself down to a certain year? Is there a commonly-known historic event in your story?  If so, it is probably necessary to be a little more careful in your accuracy, which is actually a lot easier than you think, thanks to Google and Wikipedia. Is the War of 1812 going on? Then there would have been no visitors from America. Were there gas stoves, yet?  Did beds have bedsprings?  And be especially careful about weapons—the gun people are sticklers.

(2)  Does the history overwhelm the fiction?  There is always a temptation to include all your bright, shiny, hard-earned research and bog the story down. Does the reader really need to know how the candles were made, or the ingredients in negus punch?

(3) What will you do about language?  Do you use the period’s awkward phrasing and now-outdated words, or do you update the language so the story moves along more easily? Do you use cant or slang phrases? My rule of thumb is to use period phrases and words, but only where the meaning is clear from the context—there’s nothing more wooden than having a character explain what she meant.

(4) What will you do about societal strictures and sex? Courtship usually went according to a strict format—will you ignore this, or incorporate it into the story? One of the reasons we are drawn to Jane Austen’s stories is because the context sets up an immediate tension—there were strict rules about interaction between the sexes.  Will you incorporate it into the story to create an external conflict, or will you inject modern manners into the past?

(5) In writing Young Adult, extra caution is probably needed because the younger readers may not have an understanding of the actual history, and might take whatever you say at face value.

(6)  Finally, will you confess any liberties you take with historical accuracy in an author’s note?  Again, this probably depends on what your readership is expecting. If they are expecting a loose rendition of history, there is probably no need. If you are crafting a detailed work of historical fiction, then they will expect an equally detailed author’s note.  I’ve used an author’s note only once, so far, and it was because I’d taken liberties with the historical timeline.  There’s no fudging the timeline, so I felt I had to confess.

How much accuracy do you like to see from your favorite Regencies? Can you think of any other examples where an anachronism “jolted” you out of the story?

*****

This definitely gives us food for thought on some of the do’s and don’ts of writing a historical. I hope you enjoyed the piece. Ms. Cleelan will be back to talk to us about ”The Saucy Housemaids and Ne’er-do-well Brothers: the use of secondary characters in Regency Fiction” so please stay tuned.

Sincerely,

…Miguelina

Washington Romance Writers’ 2013 Retreat

Dear Readers,

Once again I was honored with the opportunity to attend the Washington Romance Writers’ retreat. I enjoyed seeing the ladies I got to meet last year and after multiple hugs we were able to catch up on what was  happening with them and me. The retreat has now taken place two years in a row at the Best Western, in Westminster, Maryland. The service and staff were exceptional and they truly pampered the members.

I got to see Leigh Duncan, author of Rodeo Daughter. Her fourth book, Rancher’s Son hit #1 in Kindle sales of all Harlequin Americans. She signed a contract for 4 more Harlequin Americans, including the one she just turned in, Major League Dad. The next three of her books will return to the Circle P, the setting for Rancher’s Son. All four of them are slated for release in 2014. She has a new grand-dog and was very proud to show pictures.

I happened upon Sally MacKenzie, author of Bedding Lord Ned, who had been enjoying a soda with Alix Rickloff, who writes as Alexa Egan, and is the author of Demon’s Curse, discussing the industry and was invited to join them.  Sally informed me that she turned in Loving Lord Ash, the last book in the Duchess of Love series. She is currently working on a new book. This was my first time meeting Alix Rickloff and it was a real pleasure. One of her books “Demon’s Curse” has been quoted by NYT bestselling author, Grace Burrowes as  “A luscious, well-told story.” Check it out.

Alison Leotta joined me for breakfast and it was really nice to see her again. She just turned in her third book, Speak of the Devil, due out August 6, 2013  and is now under contract for two more with Simon & Schuster.  Publisher’s Weekly announced: Former Washington, D.C. federal sex crimes prosecutor and author of Law of Attraction, Discretion, and the forthcoming Speak of the Devil, Allison Leotta’s fourth book in her “Anna Curtis” series follows the young prosecutor as she’s summoned to Michigan to defend her sister from the charge of murder.  The two books are due for summer 2014 and 2015.

Shiloh Walker, author of Stolen was a keynote speak and gave members a humorous, poignant and realistic outlook on the life of a writer.

There was yoga again for the ladies on Sunday morning, taught by Kimberly Kincaid, author of Love on Line, her latest book about an amnesiac detective and his partner’s culinary chef sister. I suspect things are about to get hot not only on the streets but in the kitchen as well.

The weekend sadly ended too quick, but happily with lots of raffle prizes wins, including me. The ladies who donate these baskets, each year, really go all out. I hope next year to donate one.

I highly recommend that if you are a member of the Romance Writers of America, that you find your local chapter. The local chapter is a great support group of other writers who help each other.

Last, but not least I want to thank the ladies of the “Retreat Committee” who give up their spare time to make the retreat a very fun loving and exciting experience for all of us at WRW.

Sincerely,

…Miguelina

Bob Mayer – Write It Forward

Washington Romance Writers hosted a two day workshop, “Write it Forward” taught by Bob Mayer, Author of the “Area 51” series and over 50 books. Mr. Mayer is a West Point Graduate, Former Green Beret, CEO of Cool Gus Publishing and a NY Times Bestselling Author.

In his workshop, Mr. Mayer introduces new writers of fiction and non-fiction his “Who Dares Wins: The Green Beret Way” strategy. According to his website, “Write It Forward is a holistic approach encompassing goals, intent, environment, personality, change, courage, communication and leadership that gives the writer a road map to become a successful author. Many writers become focused on either the writing or the business end…the program integrates the two.”

The first day of the course, Mr. Mayer focused on his “Who Dares Wins: The Green Beret Way” strategy, which is neatly broken into three Major Areas and within each area there are Three Tools that will talk you through the steps to achieve success as an author. Each tool comes with its own topic/lessons and exercises.

In the second and last day of the workshop, Mr. Mayer focused on the steps leading from idea/concept to a finished product and then publishing.

Outside of his paradigm, Mr. Mayer offered the group his thoughts and advice on the dos and don’ts of writing/publishing. The one thing that resonated with me was his concept of fear and how this fear keeps you from fulfilling your destiny as a writer. Some of the fears he mentioned were fear of failure, success, rejection, starting, finishing, fear of ourselves and criticism. He stated that: “…We bend our lives around our fears.” He does provide steps on how to overcome these fears.

He recommended that we do not spend time reading Amazon reviews and especially do not respond to them and as a group that we support each other, network and any information related to the writing and publish industry that we come across we should share with others. He mentioned that he did not believe in large writing support groups, but felt that creating a small circle with two writers will be more conducive to yours and their writing.

I found this workshop a valuable tool that made realize my fears and how these fears were impeding my success at writing. If you are serious about becoming a successful author, I would definitely recommend that you look into the online course or buy the book. The workshop is available at bobmayer.org for a reasonable price or if you prefer you can purchase his book, Write It Forward: From Writer to Successful Author.

Sincerely,

…Miguelina

Pieces of Me: An Anthology

Dear Readers,

I am happy to announce the release of my anthology called “Pieces of Me” expected to be released through Amazon.com in about six days.

Pieces of Me is an anthology of Essays, Poems, Prose and Short Stories written throughout the course of my life. The Essays are being written for many of my English classes as I pursue a Bachelors of Art in English. They have all been graded “A” with minor errors which I have since fixed.

I started out writing poems when I was a teenager, but gradually build up to writing prose into my 20s. Prose gave me the confidence to realize that I may have just realized my true calling. I found through writing proses, that my stories had a beginning, middle and end. They started out as short paragraphs and gradually ran up to a page long.

From prose I then started writing short stories. Until eventually I dared to dream of writing a novel. Along with a friend of mine, I became a huge fan of Jane Austen and the Regency period, and started writing “The Vicar’s Deadly Sin”.

Anyway, I am happy that I was able to release Pieces of Me. I still have other pieces of prose and short stories to finished, but I am trying to stay focus on finishing “The Vicar’s Deadly Sin” and its sequel “Angel’s Lust”.

Sincerely,

…Miguelina

Jill Archer

Jill Archer, Author of “Dark Light of Day”

Dear readers,

I’ve had the pleasure of doing a guest blog for Ms. Jill Archer, author of the upcoming “Dark Light of Day” – a fantasy novel that takes place in a world ruled by demons and the young woman who will try to bring balance back into that world.

Ms. Archer was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and earned a bachelor of science from Penn State University. She then moved to Baltimore to earn her law degree at the University of Baltimore School of Law. She graduated magna cum laude. 

Currently, she lives in rural Maryland with her two children and husband, who is a recreational pilot.

“Dark Light of Day” will soon be available through Amazon.com.

To learn more about Ms. Archer or read about my guest blog, please visit her at: http://jillarcherauthor.wordpress.com/

Sincerely,

…Miguelina

The Washington Romance Writers’ Retreat

April 27– 29, 2012

This was my first time attending the WRW retreat. I was apprehensive not because of the overwhelming energy and talent I was going to be among, but because of my shyness. I was afraid of getting lost in the crowd. Thankfully my experience was completely the opposite. Everywhere I turned or walked by I was greeted with a smile and a hello. It did not take me long to feel a part of the creative energy.

Before I go on about the program and the caliber of talents, authors, editors, and agents attending, I want to take this opportunity to thank the President of WRW, Ms. Amanda Brice, Author of “Codename: Dancer” and the WRW Board for having implemented a great program that allows WRW to award partial scholarships toward the cost of the retreat to members who cannot afford to pay the entire fee. I was honored to have been a recipient and very grateful.

Upon checking in, Friday afternoon, I was welcomed by the hotel staff. Once they handed me my room key I was given a goody bag that had been put together by the Retreat Committee. The huge red bag with the WRW logo was filled with books, magazines, trinkets and sweets.

The event got a great kick-off, Friday night, with an orientation, which I sadly missed because of work; and then a reception followed by dinner. Guests sat around dining tables of about 8 seats. The tables were beautifully decorated with water-filled vases and floating candles. The food and desserts were delicious and there was plenty.

After dinner the group attended a workshop paneled by the editors and literary agents. In attendance were: Ms. Jill Marsal, a founding partner of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency; Ms. Elaine Spencer, Sub-Rights Manager/Agent, The Knight Agency; Ms. Valerie Gray, Executive Director, Mira Books; Ms. Liza Dawson, President, Liza Dawson Associates Literary Agency and Ms. Jennifer Enderlin, St. Martin’s Press. Discussion at this workshop centered on the writing market and what editors and agents were looking for in new writers.

The important message that everyone walked away was: “Please do not write about a specific genre just because you think that is what is hot, but rather write about what is coming from your heart and write it well.” Ms. Valerie Gray commented that when she picks up a manuscript she wants to feel or be touched by what she is reading. There seemed to be a consensus among the other editors and agents on that thought. Do your research and then write – was another piece of advice. There was a discussion about social media: You should have your own website, Twitter and Facebook accounts. They suggest that you get active in your career by engaging people. Make friends with other authors, visit book store managers and offer to sign copies. Someone asked about the role of the novellas and there was a consensus that these were considered marketing tools. Ms. Gray said that they do have value.

Outside the dining room the small room was setup with a cash bar and wall to wall tables of books for the book swap and author displays. The evening ended with Karaoke. The spirit that night was all about having fun while getting to know your fellow authors.

Saturday morning began with breakfast, again in the same delightful manner of the dinner the night before. After breakfast the day was planned with workshops galore and as part of being a registrant you were allotted a 10 minute slot with either an editor or literary agent. In some cases you were given an interview with both ladies. Besides the agents and editors in attendance, WRW had also invited Ms. Robyn Carr, author of the Virgin River series and #1 on the New York Times; Ms. Mary Jo Putney who has made all of the national bestsellers lists: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USAToday, and Publishers Weekly; and Ms. Elizabeth Boyle, another New York Times bestselling author.

I was highly impressed with the caliber of hard work and venues made available for WRW members. It told me how deeply WRW President and Board Members along with the Retreat Committee and its leader, Ms. Mary Lenaburg care for the mission of the organization and its members.

One of the workshops on Saturday was a one-time-only special two-hour interactive workshop given by WRC’s own Dr. Kathleen Gilles Seidel along with Dr. Pamela Regis, Professor of English at McDaniel College and the Vice-President of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance called: “Death. Really? But I’m writing a romance! Capturing the Power of Ritual Death.” The workshop centered on not just the physical sense of death but the death that comes with changes.

Saturday evening began with dinner and then a wonderful talk by Ms. Carr. Who touched upon the commitment that goes along with developing a writing career while balancing the relationships that are formed with you and your agent/editor. After dinner the group gathered for a game of Romance Jeopardy. It was fun!

Sunday, the last day of the retreat, began with a great session of yoga, hosted by Ms. Kimberly Kincaid, Author of “The Moment of Impossible Movement” – A 2011 Golden Heart Finalist. Then breakfast followed by two more workshops, The first “How the Team is Suppose to Work” – focused on the relationship between you, your agent and editor. No matter what you need an agent. But according to Ms. Carr just because you need one it does not mean you have to put up a troubled one – Chemistry is key. While you do not get to chose your own editor, you still have to make it work, as did Ms. Carr. An ideal situation is where the editor and agent become your mentors.

According to Ms. Liza Dawson, she looks for a great feeling in the novel. Asks if the author is dependable. She also said an author’s career comes in waves. To Ms. Gray, an agent wants to her author to do well – she or he works hard for their authors. The second workshop “Go Forward.” The workshops were then followed by a wonderful raffle, with lots of prizes – all contributed by the members of WRW, which included critiques.

The retreat began and ended with great energy. I look forward to next year’s and hope to continue to foster the friendships and relationships that began, especially for those of us who attended for the first time. In the meantime I shall remember the spirit, energy and unity offered by those involved with The Washington Romance Writers group. Also remember to write from within – people want to be touched by the stories they read.

Sincerely,

…Miguelina