Plot Monkeys

Our series of guest bloggers talking about the craft of writing has been going very, very well, so thanks to all of you who are spreading the word! As you read this, I’m probably at my TARA meeting. Roxanne St. Claire is out meeting speaker and we all know how fabulous she is when she visits here at Plotmonkeys…well, she’s even better in person! I love my TARA meetings because I get to hang out with the coolest people. Remember CL Wilson? She guest blogged a few Saturdays ago and then celebrated making the USA Today list here? Well, she made the New York Times list for her second book! There’s going to be some serious celebrating at our TARA meeting!

Next week, Carly invited YA author Ally Carter to stop by and please forgive me if I’m a total fangirl. I love her Gallagher Girl books. Have you read them? You should!

I wanted to take this weekend, however, to do a little brainstorming with all of you. What topics would you like to see addressed one of these days? Anything specific? Maybe a free-for-all? Ask any question about writing/publishing? Or do you have specific questions I can pose to our guest bloggers?

We’d love to hear your ideas. Our Saturday blogs, as I said, have grown in popularity and I want to make sure we keep it worth your while to come back on Saturdays!

So…toss the ideas around! We want to hear what the aspiring authors in our readership want to hear about!

Have a GREAT Saturday!

I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but as I type I realize it is only TWO weeks until Thanksgiving! Can you believe it? I haven’t even finished cleaning up from the Halloween party!

I love Thanksgiving a LOT. While Halloween is all about throwing open the doors and scaring the little children, and Christmas is about celebrating and gifts, I always find Thanksgiving to be the most quiet, gentle holiday. My strongest holiday memories of my Mother surround Thanksgiving and I am so happy to finally be having a Thanksgiving dinner in my own home again.

To celebrate, here’s a little something to store one of those yummy holiday pies (pecan is my favorite!)

(can be shipped to U.S. winners only)

And if OVEREXPOSED has become known as “the cannoli book” I suppose SHE DRIVES ME CRAZY would have to be called “the pecan pie book.” So I’ll throw in a copy of that, too!

You know what to do–just comment and you’re entered.

You can probably guess by the title of this post that I’m not in Southern California anymore. No, I didn’t move . . . at least not yet. Let me explain. My husband USED to work for Wonderbread bakeries, and he WAS the chief engineer of a plant here in Southern California. Notice the use of the words “used to” and “was”. Past tense. That’s right . . . a few months ago Wonderbread decided to completely shut down all their Southern California bakeries/plants because they were just losing too much money. So, that left Don unemployed, while recooperating from his foot surgeries, no less.

There’s been some job offers that have come in for him, and one of them is for a bakery that is NOT in California, but out of the state. Don and I have talked about the possibility of moving if that’s where his new job took him, so yesterday this new bakery flew us in and put us up in a hotel for three days for Don to go through a formal interview process, as well as for us to check out the area, housing, schools, etc.

Of course I can easily tell you where I am, but I thought it would be much more fun for all of you to guess what city and state I’m in. Below, I’m going to give you some clues of where I am, and the person who guesses the closest will win a free autographed book of their choice from my backlist (I’ll post the winner on Sunday and let you all know where I am!). You only get one guess, so your first guess will be the one I’ll consider — so feel free to post about other things, since I’ll use that first guess of yours. If more than one person guesses exactly where I am, then I’ll draw a random winner from those people.

Remember, you need to post the city AND state where you think I am — and it’s not necessarily a big city!

1) This place is located in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

2) Rain, rain, and more rain.

3) This place got its name because of the settlement’s proximity to a large body of water resulting from beaver dams.

4) This city is home to the world headquarters of Nike, Inc

5) Residents of this city/state are able to enjoy many outdoor activities with ski slopes and ocean beaches a little more than an hour away.

6) Ranked #3 city to live in by Frommers.

7) This city is recognized as the 2nd safest city in the Pacific Northwest.

You know I couldn’t make the facts so easy that everyone was able to guess where I’m at. Do your best, and post your answer below. I’ll try and check in today if I can!

I’m on a hellacious deadline. Somehow, this book got away from me and on Monday, I had to cut about 2500 words that simply were not working and go back to the drawing board. I’m only now catching up. So it’s little wonder that I spent a bit of time Monday night fiddling and procrastinating and generally making myself laugh hysterically because after cutting 2500 words from a book I’m barely going to finish on time, I needed to laugh myself silly.

Enjoy!

Hopefully, Brenda will not hate me forever.

Nah…she’s been working with me for ten years…the woman has an excellent sense of humor!

So…what do you do when you need a laugh???

It’s a miracle I haven’t killed myself yet.

Honestly, I’ve injured myself in so many ways over the years, due to a combination of klutziness, lack of caution and a short attention span. Y’all probably know about the back–blew out two discs had to have emergency spinal surgery. This summer I had the mallet finger. I started physical therapy today for the rotator cuff…the problem there started when I electrocuted the stuffing out of myself right after we closed on the house. (Stuck my wet, paint-covered finger into an open electrical outlet and blew myself across the room.) The physical therapist confirmed for me today that the electrocution probably caused the muscle inflammation, covering my entire shoulder, my clavicle, going up the back of my neck. 8 weeks of therapy to start.

So what happens when I get home from my first therapy appointment? (Which I went to after flying back from a quick trip to Florida this weekend?) I come home, drop my bags, then turn around to go back out and get the mail…slip on the door mat inside the front door, go stumbling out the door and fall down the front steps off the porch, landing flat on my face, cutting myself up and spraining my ankle.

My family has decided that I need to just wrap myself in bubble wrap whenever I leave the house.

Which wouldn’t have helped my sprained ankle today since it happened right outside the front door.

Le sigh.
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REMINDER:
Come visit Carly today and all this week:
NOTICE:

Carly Phillips GuestBlogs Tuesday Nov. 6 at LifetimeTV.com!

Carly is this week’s featured author at Romance: B(u)y the Book at LifetimeTV.com! Watch as Carly dishes with LifetimeTV.com’s romance expert, Michelle Buonfiglio, in exclusive video interviews. Read a sexy excerpt from “Sealed with a Kiss.” And visit with Carly Nov. 6 at Michelle’s blog, “Let’s Talk Romance,” as Carly takes over the joint for a day of fun.

Join the fun at http://www.lifetimetv.com/lifestyle/entertainment/romance-buy-the-book Please: You must register to comment at the blog. Tip: Don’t leave spaces in your UserName. Non-U.S. Viewers: Use CA/90210 as state/zip code. Sign up for the RBTB romance newsletter when you register. Carly’s featured this month!
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Please give a warm jungle welcome to our guestblogger, talented romance author and wonderful person Kelley St. John! Kelley writes for Harlequin Blaze and Grand Central Publishing. She’s also running a contest today - lucky YOU! - And you can visit Kelly at her home page, www.kelleystjohn.com or at her fun page www.theguycheats.com

Which Hugh Would You Do?

A big thanks to Carly for asking me to guest blog with the plot monkeys! What’s not to love about hanging with some of your favorite authors for a day?

And now to the subject. Like a lot of writers, when I picture a hero for one of my books, I often see him as a celebrity. And to be even more truthful, I often see him as one particular celebrity…Hugh Jackman. Pardon me while I sigh, quiver, drool….

Hugh. Ahhhhhhh…Hugh. Okay, I’ll stop quivering long enough to type the remainder of the blog.

I’m sure you’re thinking, “But each hero is unique.” My answer? “True. But so is each Hugh.”

Here are a couple of examples from my books: In KISS AND DWELL, Ryan Chappelle was a sexy roofer who happened to die before his time (hence the reason he’s glowing on the cover). Who did I see as Ryan? This Hugh (we’ll call this Hugh #1):

In my current release, TO CATCH A CHEAT, Trent Jackson is a sexy-as-all-get-out blast from my heroine’s past who, in my mind, is Hugh #2:

This will give you yet another (and another, and another) indication of the many faces of Hugh…

Hugh #3:

Hugh #4:

Hugh #5:

So many Hughs, so little time. And in case you’re wondering, I’m totally planning to feature as many versions of Hugh as possible in my books. But I do have a favorite, and I’m sure you do too. So here’s my question to you – which Hugh would you do?

CONTEST – one commenter will win an autographed copy of my new release, TO CATCH A CHEAT, featuring Trent Jackson (Hugh #2)

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NOTICE:

Carly Phillips GuestBlogs Tuesday Nov. 6 at LifetimeTV.com!

Carly is this week’s featured author at Romance: B(u)y the Book at LifetimeTV.com! Watch as Carly dishes with LifetimeTV.com’s romance expert, Michelle Buonfiglio, in exclusive video interviews. Read a sexy excerpt from “Sealed with a Kiss.” And visit with Carly Nov. 6 at Michelle’s blog, “Let’s Talk Romance,” as Carly takes over the joint for a day of fun.

Join the fun at http://www.lifetimetv.com/lifestyle/entertainment/romance-buy-the-book Please: You must register to comment at the blog. Tip: Don’t leave spaces in your UserName. Non-U.S. Viewers: Use CA/90210 as state/zip code. Sign up for the RBTB romance newsletter when you register. Carly’s featured this month!
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NOW REMEMBER TO PICK WHICH HUGH WOULD YOU DO!

FRIDAY’S CONTEST

Teresa W. (Comment #17)

CONGRATULATIONS Teresa! Please contact me at carlyphillips@optonline.net with your mailing address, and to let me know which one of my backlist books you’d liked autographed. (Depending on availability. Sorry, but CROSS MY HEART & SEALED WITH A KISS are not available at this time.)

And now, a Sunday funny:

A VERY ugly man walks into the bar with a big grin on his face and orders a draft beer.

“What are you so happy about?” asks the barman.

“Well, I’ll tell you,” replies the ugly man. “You know, I live by the railroad tracks. Well, on my way home last night, I noticed a young woman tied to the tracks, like in the films. I, of course, went and cut her free and took her back to my place. Anyway, to make a long story short, I scored big time! We made love all night, all over the house. We did everything, me on top, sometimes her on top, every position imaginable!”

“Fantastic!” exclaimed the barman. “You lucky bastard, was she pretty?”

“Dunno…Never found the head!”

There is an inestimable amount of talent among the writers known as the Blaze Babes. It’s easy enough to guess who those writers are, yes? I’m always blown away by the talent of the women who write for Harlequin’s hottest category line. A few weeks ago, I picked up SEX AS A SECOND LANGUAGE by Jamie Sobrato and was once again amazed at the sheer fun of Jamie’s work–this book was like eating the best gelato in all of Rome (the book’s set in Rome, hence the simile!) and I just adored the characters, the plot, the style–but mostly, the writer’s voice.

So I asked Jamie to guest blog with us and she agreed! Thanks, Jamie! She has a book out now called THE SEX BOMB (see the cover below…it’s one of the hottest EVER!) so be sure and check it out! My copy should be arriving soon via Amazon–and if you click on the pictures, yours could, too! She’s brought us some very good advice this Saturday…and clearly, Jamie knows what she’s talking about…

The Art and Craft of Knowing Nothing

One of the most profound realizations I’ve had recently is that, um–excuse me while I finish this Snickers bar–the candy accumulated for and by trick or treating causes me to eat way too much chocolate. Oh, and also that when I’m writing, nubile young servant men will never come scrub my floors unless I pay them, and where does one find hot male maids for hire, anyway? I mean, legally.

But no, neither of those are the profound realization I’m thinking of. Our dear Plotmonkeys have invited me here to discuss a writing craft related topic, and this whole concept always makes me laugh. Me? Have something useful to say about the writing craft? You must be kidding.

I guess I probably do, but trying to extract it from my brain is no easy process. I’m an intuitive learner, I space out when I try to read writing craft books, and I hate structure so much that I write all my books in messy, out-of-order pseudo-scenes that would make my editor scream and cower in a dark corner of her office if she ever saw them in first draft form.

But over the years, I’ve boiled my writing craft philosophy down to something I can sort of articulate to the world outside my brain. I call it The Art and Craft of Knowing Nothing, and it goes kind of like this. You work hard and write tons of stuff and do what you can to learn whatever your overworked brain can absorb, but mostly you just trust your storyteller’s intuition. This is a skill it can take years to master, but it’s probably the most important one to have aside from being able to type in English and find your writer’s voice and all that jazz. And the thing you have to do to master it, is the thing you love to do most–keep telling stories.

When you let too many other people’s opinions and ideas and how-tos and must-dos get in your head, you blow the magic that is your own incredibly unique way of doing this business we call writing novels. So you tell all the nagging voices to shut up, because it’s just your job to write. And then write some more. And some more.

I could have boiled it down even further to these two simple words, if I weren’t so wordy: trust yourself. But that would have made an exceedingly short blog post. And now I’ve made a too-long one, which is much more my style.

Thank you, you lovely Plotmonkeys and fans of Plotmonkeys for having me here today! It’s been my pleasure. And now that you hereby have my permission to toss aside all the craft tools and rigid rules, which one are you going to hurl most gleefully off the nearest tall building?

Enter to win this cool metal Funky Monkey Bookmark and your choice of a Carly Phillips’ backlist book - Signed!

You know the drill, post a comment to enter. And remember, entrants outside the US eligible to win a $20 online gift certificate to winner’s choice of either Barnesandnoble.com or Amazon.com. Good luck and Happy Friday!

* Cross My Heart and Sealed with a Kiss not part of backlist choice*

Reminder - SEDUCE ME - originally published as Erotic Invitation, Harlequin Blaze by Carly Phillips will be reprinted in January! For bookmarks and a magnet send an SASE to:
Carly Phillips
Seduce Me/Plotmonkeys
PO Box 483
Purchase, NY 10577

Hope you all have a good day!

Can you all believe that it’s already November!?! Where has this year gone? I’m so not ready for all the holidays that are just right around the corner!

That’s not what my blog is about today — I just had to get that off my mind.

Last week, when I was dealing with all the fire stuff going on here in Southern California, I was on the phone with Carly quite a bit, since she checked in with me on a regular basis to make sure that everything was okay where I live. Unfortunately, I do live in a very fire prone area, and we’ve had our share of very scary wildfires that have prompted evacuations. Thankfully, we always had a house to come home to, unlike some people in these recent fire storms that swept through Southern California.

It seems like every year in October we deal with fires. It’s something that we’ve come to expect (but never get used to!), because everything is usually so dry from the hot summer months and October is the month that the Santa Ana winds kick up. Those two things together make for ideal fire conditions, and all it takes is just the smallest spark to create a huge, out-of-control fire that can go on for days. I do have to say that this past week was by far the worst fires I’ve ever seen in Southern California — at one point there were over 20 major fires spreading and it was literally like the whole entire state was on fire!

Last week, when I was talking to Carly on the phone after we had a very close call with a fire near our track of homes, she made the comment that she just didn’t know how I dealt with it every year — the fires, that is. I told her that it’s not easy, and a lot of times it is scary, but I think that every state or area has their own natural disasters that they have to deal with on a yearly basis. Hurricanes. Tornados. Floods. Fires. Droughts. Earthquakes.

Oh, and speaking of earthquakes, our house sits directly on the San Andreas fault line that is due for “the big one” any time now. We know that, and here in Southern California earthquakes are the norm. We get little shakers here and there, and they’re definitely unnerving, but it’s all a part of living in California.

So, my discussion with Carly made me think about all the other natural disasters that people have to deal with. I’m curious to know where you live, and what natural disasters do you have to worry about?