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April 2009 - Vicki Lewis Thompson February 2009 - Victoria Strauss 2005 - 2006 Sandbox Interviews I first met Sabrina Jeffries when she came to speak at a Heart of Dixie Readers Luncheon. Thus I always reintroduce myself to her as “the pregnant redhead”, because I was seven months pregnant when I organized that event. I’ve heard her speak a few times since then, so I can attest to the fact that she is a warm, funny woman, on top of being a fabulous historical romance author. And I’m impressed by her positive attitude. I hope you enjoy getting to know Sabrina as much as I have. Angel: How did you get started on your writing journey? What led you to the wonderfully vibrant characters and settings of your historical books? Sabrina Jeffries: I started really, REALLY early, at the age of twelve. I started making up stories and told myself that one day I’d write them down and sell them (even then I knew that commercial fiction was the only way to go). They were all romances -- cowboys and knights and rock stars and lords, products of the romances I’d read since early childhood. I tried my hand at short stories and poetry in college (and wrote a very bad children’s novel), but that was unsatisfying. Then, after grad school, I sat down one summer to develop a publishable academic work based on my dissertation and found it so boring that I started writing a romance instead (a category romance, the only one I’ve ever attempted). It made me realize two things: 1) I was definitely a novelist rather than a short-form writer, and 2) I still loved romance. So I dumped the academic career, took a job as a technical writer, and wrote novels at night until I sold my first historical (my second romance). As for how I got to where I am, I’m not entirely sure. Despite all the hard work and years of struggle, I still feel that my books are deeply flawed. So I’m always pleasantly surprised when readers like them so much. I do my best to write characters who seem real to me while at the same time including my most favorite romance tropes and a dollop of humor. And like my grandmother, I believe that “everyone needs a little spice in their life,” so I don’t stint on the sex. Angel: On your website, you are very open about your life with your autistic son. How do you juggle your home life and writing deadlines? SJ: Very carefully. *G* Seriously, it’s gotten a lot easier as he’s aged. He’s very well-behaved now and easy to handle. But I do have to make adjustments. I have to stay on top of the writing. I can’t just let it build up, then do a blitzkrieg to finish the book. Despite being an adult, my son is always needy (he’s severely disabled and we do all his grooming, etc.). He can’t be put off the way most people can put off their kids (“I’m busy, so go play with your friends”). And when I lock myself into writing mode for days on end, he gets cranky and harder to handle. So I have to stick to a fairly rigorous daily writing schedule. I’m sure that has contributed to my success -- I rarely miss deadlines, which is always an advantage in publishing. Recently, however, my husband retired, which is proving a godsend, since he has taken over even more of the childcare duties (and he was already doing a good bit). I’m hoping that will free me up to write more books. Angel: You had a major medical surgery last year at the same time you were pushing against a writing deadline. Do you feel the physical upset and recovery affected your creative process? SJ: Oddly enough, no. I had gastric bypass surgery, and although the first two weeks were harder than I expected (I actually had to TAKE those pain pills they prescribed), I rapidly adjusted. I not only finished my book on time, but got it to my editor a day early, which was a good thing, since Pocket had moved up the release date two months to June 23rd! It’s amazing how deadlines can motivate you. Honestly, though, it’s not a bad surgery. I did get tired a lot, but my husband was very supportive and between him and the fact that the book had been going well, it wasn’t too much of a problem. In the long run, I think having had it will HELP my creative process, since the excess weight really saps your energy. Having lost 100 pounds (60 from the surgery), I feel better than I have in years! Angel: You mentioned once that you were a slower writer (I can fully understand, as I am in the same boat). How does that influence the number of stories you tackle each year and your career planning? SJ: I write about two books every fourteen months (except for last year, when I wrote two in a year). I think that’s plenty fast enough myself, but there are authors out there writing a book every few months. Some of them are my friends. L I try not to hate them for it. To be honest, it would take a major change in my life for me to tackle more than two a year. I’d have to quit doing any kind of promotion, and give up the few pleasures I do have, and I’m not willing to do that. But I suppose it could happen! Angel: After 30 books, what do you find is the best promotion for your time and effort? What do you enjoy the most? SJ: The best promotion is personal contact with readers, whatever that might be -- a website, a blog, a newsletter. I do them all. I probably enjoy the Goddess Blogs the most, because the authors and the readers are such fun. Angel: What piece of advice would you like to impress upon newer authors? SJ: Write what you love to read. You’re going to be making a career out of this. Your publisher will want more of whatever you sold them initially, so if you sell them something you’ve written solely because it’s part of a trend, you’ll have a hard time keeping up your enthusiasm (if you even sell the first project at all -- editors AND readers can tell a faker in a heartbeat). I love to read Regency historicals, and they were always my first choice to write. I STILL haven’t tired of them, which is a good thing, since that’s what my readers seem to want from me. Angel: Recently you revamped your author website. What prompted this decision? What did the project involve? SJ: I’ve always believed that a site should be freshened up every few years or so, and it had been four for me. I hadn’t done a new design since before I started the School for Heiresses series. With the two final books coming out, I really wanted to have something new and spiffy. I wrote a good bit of the new material, and my brilliant publicist, Jeanne Devlin of Nancy Berland Public Relations, did the design. FiveK put it together. It’s got fun stuff about the series (heiress trivia and advice, etc.), my Will and Jane comics, and lots of pretty period images, among other things. I think it turned out very well, but as always, it required more effort than I expected. Angel: Tell us about what’s coming up for you. SJ: The last two books of the heiress series are coming out back to back -- Don’t Bargain with the Devil on May 26th and Wed Him Before You Bed Him on June 23rd. Next year, I begin a new Regency historical series, this time a family series. My last true family series was quite a while ago, so I’m enjoying this one. Plus, it’s a family with both sisters and brothers (like my own), which is something I haven’t done. The first book comes out in March 2010 and the second in October 2010. For Fun: Angel: Tell me about your ideal day. SJ: Any day where I get to eat out, have coffee, watch a good movie, and do a jigsaw puzzle is a great day. Oh, did you mean a writing day? :) Angel: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? SJ: Please say you don’t expect me to limit it to one! Scotland and Ireland would be tops on my list, along with Italy, Spain, and Greece. I’d love to see India, too, and I wouldn’t mind a visit to Morocco. And even though I just got back from a trip to England, I’d happily go on another. Angel: What has been your biggest SQUEE moment so far? SJ: Meeting Judith McNaught at a conference years ago. I’m such a HUGE fan, and to be standing there talking to her as if we were equals (which we absolutely are not -- I think her books are brilliant) was a big thrill. Oh, and the first time a fellow writer I didn’t know told me she loved my books, I was over the moon. Other writers are the harshest critics, after all. You can find out more about Sabrina Jeffries at www.sabrinajeffries.com or check out Sabrina and her friends at The Goddess Blogs http://thegoddessblogs.com . This month, the Playfriends are pleased to welcome historical author and USA Today Bestseller Elizabeth Hoyt. Grab your pail and shovel and hop into the Sandbox with us for a great interview. Smarty Pants: Welcome to the Sandbox, Elizabeth. The swing set has been a-twitter with your upcoming visit. To start off, how about a little background? Your website says you have a degree in anthropology and you married an archeologist. How did you get from there to the USA Today Bestseller list? Elizabeth Hoyt: Thank you for the welcome, Smarty Pants! As for my route from Anthro major to professional writer, it was somewhat circuitous. I spent many years first in rather menial jobs and then as a stay-at-home mom before deciding to try writing. SP: What was the spark that caused you to make the leap and write your first book? What motivated you to keep writing over the years until you finally sold? EH: Well, there I was, a full time mother and my youngest child went to Kindergarten. It was at that point that my own mother strongly hinted that perhaps I should look into a paying job. It occurred to me that this was kind of a unique time in my life—I didn’t already have a career that it would be hard to abandon. So I told Mr. Hoyt—who has always been wonderfully supportive—that I wanted to take five years and see if I could write a book. As it turned out, the knowledge that I’d have to actually find a real job if I DIDN’T finish a book, was wonderfully motivating. SP: You started writing historicals with your Prince Trilogy, then began writing contemporaries as Julia Harper as well. What changes do you have to make to your writing/thought process in order to write contemporaries versus your historicals? Is it hard to transition from one to the other, say, when you’re doing line edits on one and writing another? EH: When I’m writing my contemporary romances I’m using modern language of course, but my contemporaries are also faster-paced than my historicals. There are more characters and the plot is much more involved in my contemporaries. My historicals tend to be more emotionally complex. Despite all that I actually don’t have a problem moving from writing contemporaries to historicals. ;-) SP: Your new release schedule for 2009 includes the third and fourth installation in the Legend of the Four Soldiers series. Could you tell us a little about the series and the characters featured in these last two books? EH: The Legend of the Four Soldiers series revolves around four men who are veterans of a regiment that was massacred six years before the series starts. Each man has come home with his own war wounds and issues that stem from that horrific incident. In addition they are hunting for the man who betrayed the regiment so long ago. In TO BEGUILE A BEAST, the hero, Sir Alistair Munroe, is a naturalist who was captured and tortured. Because of this he’s scarred and he lives by himself in a rather run down castle with only his Deerhound dog and a single servant as company. One dark and stormy night Sir Alistair opens the door to a beautiful woman who claims to be his new housekeeper. She’s Helen Fitzwilliam who along with her two young children is on the run from her powerful lover. Sir Alistair’s castle is the perfect place to hide…if she can resist its surly master. TO DESIRE A DEVIL is the last book of the quartet and features Beatrice Corning, niece of the Earl of Blanchard. For years she’s fantasized about the portrait of the previous earl’s heir, Reynaud St. Aubyn, which hangs in her sitting room. When Reynaud stumbles into a tea party, bearded, raving, but very much alive, Beatrice is forced to chose between her beloved uncle and the true Earl of Blanchard. SP: Each of your historicals are based around different fairy tales. Can you tell us a little about how you came up with these stories and the idea of using a fairy tale as part of the books? EH: I’ve always been interested in fairy tales—both as a child and as an adult. When it came time to write my first book it just seemed right to add a fairy tale at the beginning of each chapter as sort of a complement to the main story. I did have several readers who didn’t quite “get” it, but I’m very glad that I went with my gut instinct on including the fairy tales. As to how I actually come up with the stories, believe me once you’ve read a couple hundred fairy tales it isn’t that hard to make up one yourself! ;-) SP: Let’s talk about process. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Which comes first for you—characters or the situation? EH: The characters always come first for me, although they may come with a specific situation that I then flesh out. For instance, I always knew that Simon in THE SERPENT PRINCE was on a mission of revenge that was killing him spiritually, though I didn’t know exactly why he was doing this at first. My first several books were very thoroughly plotted out. The ones I’ve done lately are less so—I find that about a third of the way through the book I need to replot anyway due to changes in the story as I write it. Not sure which way results in a better book, lol! SP:What was the best advice you received as you were starting out (you don’t have to tell us whether you heeded the advice or not, but we’d love to know!)? EH: Listen to your own gut. Those weren’t the specific words, but I did read about agents and editors worried that critique groups were changing early manuscripts too much. In the end it’s your book. Don’t let anyone else change your vision or voice. SP: What was the one piece of advice you wish you’d ignored? EH: Well, I was told by many respected people that the only way to compute manuscript word count was by the old page formula (Courier, 25 lines per page double spaced = 250 words per page x the manuscript pages = word count..) Then I got an agent and she’d never heard of such a thing. Neither had my editor. They both went by computer word count…which was 10,000 words LESS than the page formula word count. SP: Complete this sentence: My readers… EH: are brilliant! hee! SP: Ok, now for a couple fun questions...Coffee or tea? EH: Both, depending on my mood. SP: Something most people would be surprised to know about you? EH: I’m a killer Oh Hell card game player. SP: Hmm... never played that one. Dream vacation spot? EH: Scotland! SP: If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you do for a living? EH: Staring at my toes. Alas I’m not very employable outside writing. SP: What are you working on now? EH: Right now I’m starting a brand new series which I’m very excited about! The books will be about London and delve a bit more into the underworld of Georgian England. The book I’m working on now has a heroine who runs a foundling home in St. Giles. The hero is an aristocrat whose mistress was murdered. He’s now roaming the streets of St. Giles to find the murderer, but he needs the heroine’s guidance so they strike an uneasy bargain. This isn’t writing related, but I do want to mention that we’re doing a complete make-over of my website. It goes live April 28th, so if readers haven’t visited in a while, they might want to stop by! SP: Thanks for stopping by, Elizabeth! Come back any time. Be sure to check out Elizabeth’s upcoming releases – To Beguile a Beast, available in stores now and To Desire a Devil, coming in November 2009! You can also learn more about Elizabeth, her writing, and more at http://www.elizabethhoyt.com. April 2009 - Vicki Lewis Thompson This month the Playfriends are proud to introduce the talented and gracious Vicki Lewis Thompson, whom we’ve enjoyed getting to know over at her Soapbox Queens blog. Vicki is a prolific author and an 8 time RITA nominee. She was also the 2008 RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award recipient! I’ve heard from Queen Rhonda that Queen Vicki is as marvelous in person as she is in the blogosphere, and I’m thrilled to get to meet her this May at Heart of Dixie’s Romance Readers’ Luncheon. If you live in the south, consider joining us at this wonderful event. Angel: Welcome to the Playground, Vicki! Can you tell us a little about your writing journey? What made you decide to take that first step and put a novel on paper? Vicki Lewis Thompson: I was incredibly lucky and met another romance writer who moved to Tucson and started an RWA chapter here. If not for her – she wrote as Tate McKenna and as Mary Tate Engels – I would still be slaving away as a reporter, dealing with icky facts instead of being able to make things up all day. Angel: Humor plays a large role in your voice. What is the key to writing humor well? VLT: I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you, LOL. Ack! I don’t know the answer! I was asked to give a workshop on humor and almost went into cardiac arrest because I have no clue how I do what I do. Fortunately a friend loaned me a book by John Vorhaus called THE COMIC TOOLBOX, and John made it all clear to me, at least clear enough to quote John for the workshop. I recommend his book. Highly recommend. Next question? Angel: Your NERD series brought you a great deal of recognition. Could you tell us a little about the decision to move on to paranormals? Was that always an interest for you? VLT: I’ve always loved magic. Vampires, not so much. I devoured the Harry Potter series and realized how cool it would be to make up EVERYTHING in a story, including twisting what we call reality into something different, with dragons and stuff. So I decided to try that because the nerds had sort of had their run. Angel: Where did the idea for Big Knob and the cool, magical creatures that inhabit it come from? What’s coming up next for this crew? VLT: First I decided to create a match-making witch and wizard. At first I thought they’d live in Sedona, but no, that wouldn’t be funny. What if they had to live in a very conservative little Midwest town? So I created Big Knob. But halfway through the book, I realized I needed something else, something more exciting. That’s when the dragon showed up, and I wanted him to be funny, so I made him ADD. That gave me the real reason for Dorcas and Ambrose to be in Big Knob – they’d been banished there for a magical infraction and sent to wrangle George, who was a problem. Halfway through the book, and that’s when it all took shape. I’m a pantser, in case you couldn’t tell. Angel: Even though your plots now include paranormal elements, I’ve noticed the nerds are still around. What draws you to that type of character? VLT: I’ve always loved the reluctant hero, the one who’s not quite sure of himself, but who comes through in the end like the true hero he is. I’m in love with the Clark Kent/Superman image – always have been. Angel: You are a prolific author with over 70 books and novellas in print. Is your process the same as it has always been or has it changed over time? VLT: It’s changed ENORMOUSLY. I started out with a stone and chisel, but now . . . Actually, I did start with a typewriter. Moving to a computer changed the way I wrote. I could revise! Recently I’ve decided not to print out anything until it’s finished, which means it stays in the computer, and it’s mine, all mine, not anyone else’s, which makes me feel it’s safe to take chances, to screw up the story, write whatever I want, because it’s not cast in stone. Like my first books were, ha, ha. Also, I’m a LOT less disciplined than I used to be. Angel: Have you ever struggled with writer’s block or a difficult book? If so, how do you recommend dealing with it? VLT: I go with Nora Roberts on this one. If my muse deserts me, I drag her skinny ass back to my office and tie her to the chair. I figured out that writer’s block is the quest for perfection, and I sure can’t ever hope to achieve that. Another wonderful writer, Barbara Samuels, says that writing for her is ruining one good story idea after another. I agree – the story is never as good as I’d hoped. I do think keeping the story in the computer and not printing it out helps with difficult books, though. If it’s not going well, no one needs to know. Somehow, printing out chapters seems to make the story less fluid. It becomes more rigid, and if I don’t like something, it’s more of a challenge to change it. Angel: You are a part of a fabulous blog over at The Soapbox Queens. I’ve heard you, Rhonda Nelson, and Jennifer LaBrecque talk about your writing retreats. Can you tell us how those came about and what y’all do there? How beneficial is it for authors to talk over their ideas with trusted partners? VLT: When we decided to form a group, we set up some expectations, and one was that we’d get together in person at least twice a year. We don’t critique each other’s work, but we do brainstorm plots. We also give liberal career advice to each other, and help each other set goals. We also eat great food and laugh a lot. It’s extremely beneficial for all of us, but I would put the emphasis on your phrase “trusted partners” because that’s so important. I learned to trust Jen when we went on the kayak trip from he – uh, from heaven. You had to come out of that fast friends or bitter enemies. There was no in-between. I didn’t know Rhonda as well, but Jen vouched for her, and that was all I needed. Angel: Your website is marvelous, with lots of new information arriving monthly. Do you spend a lot of time updating it and keeping up with other promotional obligations? How much of that burden falls to your assistant? VLT: Oh, the entire burden falls to my assistant, LOL. She’s fabulous, and I’m so lucky to have given birth to her. For fun: Angel: What possessed you to buy that snazzy convertible you drive? (Y’all should read her blog post about bringing home a Christmas tree in that thing!) VLT: I’ve always loved convertibles. My dad let my sister and me drive his during my senior year in high school, and I never got over the thrill of it. I also love sports cars. Before this yellow baby I had a Mazda RX-7, but I craved a ragtop, so when I made the Times list, I treated myself. There’s nothing like driving around with the top down and the radio up. Angel: Chocolate or vanilla? VLT: Are you serious? Chocolate! It’s the nectar of the gods! Angel: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you want to go? VLT: Oh, that’s a tough one. I have a list of places I want to see and it’s longer than a dead snake. Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, China, India, Sweden, the South Pole, Africa. I guess if I could only choose one thing, I’d choose a cruise down the Amazon. Angel: Favorite movie hero? VLT: Colin Firth as Darcy. Yummylicious. Angel: What would you do on your ideal day? VLT: I would be staying at my cousin’s beach cottage with a few good friends. I’d have lots of good food and wine, but I’d also have some alone time to write out on the porch, which faces the water. Then I’d have some reading time, too. I guess these good friends would need to be writers – I’m thinking Jen and Rhonda would work out really well in that scenario. You can find out more about Vicki and her books at her website: www.vickilewisthompson.com or at the Soapbox Queens blog www.soapboxqueens.com . If you live in the south, you can also meet Vicki, along with the rest of the Playfriends, at the Heart of Dixie Romance luncheon. Click here for details. It's been a while since we've had an editor stop by the Sandbox, and I'm thrilled to welcome Lucy Gilmour from the Harlequin Mills & Boon London office! Yes, she has a wonderful accent (and she doesn't tease me about mine), but, more importantly, she's a fabulous editor. She's also beautiful, young, and thin (sigh), but don't let that distract you from her editorial brilliance. Scooch over and give Lucy some room... Problem Child: Hi, Lucy! Welcome! Let's start with some basic background on you... How'd you get started in the business? Did you always want to be an editor for Mills & Boon? How long have you been an editor? Lucy Gilmour: I joined the Harlequin Mills & Boon London office four years ago after finishing my classics degree and spending two glorious years working in the French Alps. I’d dreamed of working for Harlequin since I spent my first-ever allowance of pocket money on a much-treasured Harlequin Presents® at the age of thirteen. PC: What do you love most about your job? What do you like least? LG: I love almost every aspect of my job; from the fantastic variety of talented authors I get to work with to reading the books themselves! I work across all the UK acquired series, which gives me the chance to work with all of my favourite heroes — the Alpha males of Harlequin Presents® and Harlequin Romance®, the devilishly handsome doctors of Harlequin Medicals® and Harlequin Historical®’s Regency Rakes! What could possibly be better than falling in love with a new hero every day?! However, if I HAD to choose a favourite part of my job, I really love brainstorming the continuities we do such as The Royal House of Karedes (out in Presents from July!) where the editorial team comes together to create a series of linked stories. This is such a creative time for the department, and there’s always a real buzz in the office. In terms of my least favourite – it’s probably that my To-Do List is never empty! There just aren’t enough hours in the day! PC: Can you tell us what a typical day is like for you? LG: Honestly, there is no set pattern! The editorial department is small and friendly - so I always end up having a cup of tea before settling down to read my e-mails. I can tell you that the office is busy, busy, busy from the moment you walk through the office doors. Each day is made up of a variety of reading and editing manuscripts, writing revision letters, brainstorming titles, working on back cover copy (one of my favourite bits!) briefing art details for book covers, proof-checking, e-mailing/speaking to authors, judging competitions, and of course reading manuscripts from newbie authors – it’s so varied and I love it! PC: Someone reading this is going to query you... are you actively acquiring? What advice would you give them? Any pet peeves of yours? What kinds of things are guaranteed to get a rejection from you? LG: We are absolutely acquiring for all the series edited here in the UK, which are Harlequin Presents, Harlequin Romance, Harlequin Medicals and Harlequin Historicals. Our first piece of advice for aspiring authors would be to read as many of the current releases for the line they’re targeting as they can, as this helps you to understand what the readers, and therefore editors, are buying. My second is to keep your synopsis short – ideally no more than two pages. Thirdly, just don’t worry too much about what font you send your submission in, or any of the other niggly formatting concerns I know people have. As long as it’s double spaced the story will speak for itself. PC: Anything in specific you're looking for? Anything you'd like to see more of? Anything you'd like to never see again? LG: A dream author is someone who, when you read their manuscript, transports you into a completely new world. When you can’t remember that you’re sitting at your desk in the office because you’ve been swept up by the story, that’s when you know you’ve found a real gem of a manuscript. We do see a lot of cliched beginnings – where plot is used as a vehicle to get characters together rather than looking at the characters’ reaction to the situation. The problem with these is that the reader doesn’t really get any sense of character, and there’s often too much focus on mundane details. We’re looking for individuality in detail and voice. So choose your set-up carefully and be aware of why you are using it. Question if this is the best way to bring your characters together? PC: Mills & Boon ran two major contests in 2008 – the Presents “Instant Seduction” Contest and the Modern Heat “Feel the Heat” Contest. I know you all had a ton of entries to read. Were you expecting that big of a response to the contests? What possessed the editors to take on such a task? Any plans to make these contests a regular occurrence? LG: We were absolutely thrilled with the response to both those competitions. In fact last year alone the UK editorial department judged over 1200 competition entries! We ran these competitions to find new authors – and it worked! We’ve bought stories from the winners of both competitions now, which we’re thrilled about. Obviously we can’t guarantee that every competition winner will be bought! But we’ll be sure to keep you posted about any future competitions… PC: If you could give newbie writers one piece of advice they had to follow, what would it be? LG: Don’t let your characters act out of character just for the sake of moving the story along, or explaining the back story. PC: If you could stomp out one rumor about writing/publishing once and for all, what would it be? LG: That editors are scary! Remember, we want to buy new authors, and we view the Slush pile as a gateway to discovering new talent. If we think you have potential we really want to work with you! PC: Was RWA San Francisco your first RWA conference? Was it what you expected? Any newbie authors stalk you or try to pitch to you in the ladies' room? From an editor's perspective, what's fun and not fun about a conference like RWA's? LG: Yep, San Francisco was my first conference – and it was absolutely amazing. I don’t think anyone could have told me what to expect! It was very busy, but the entire conference was absolutely exhilarating and so much fun. The Harlequin party was great, it was lovely to see authors really letting their hair down and enjoying themselves. The dedication of aspiring authors was incredible, the editor-agent appointments were genuinely a highlight thanks to the sheer enthusiasm of each and every person I met. But by far the best bit for me was meeting all of my authors that live overseas face to face. It makes such a difference to get to know them personally. PC: What do you read when you read for fun? Is it hard to read “just for fun” now that you're an editor? LG: When I’m at my desk, I’m definitely reading in ‘work mode’ – but as soon as I’m reading for pleasure it’s exactly that. I’ve enjoyed reading books to relax since I was little, and that most definitely hasn’t changed. There’s nothing I love more than knowing that you really should turn the lights out and go to sleep…but you just want to read one more page. And another. And another… PC: Any plans to write a book yourself? LG: I would absolutely love to. I have the utmost admiration for anyone who can write a book - I think it must be so much harder than everybody thinks. PC: Some just for fun questions: Beer or wine? Definitely wine for me – red, white or rose…I’m not too picky! Mountain-top cabin or beach-front house? I lived in the French Alps for a couple of years, and as beautiful as it was, I think I’d have to go with beach-front house. Living in London we’re lucky if we get much hot weather in the summer, so I crave the sunshine. In fact when I met Kimberly in San Francisco I made her sit in the blazing sunshine with me while we drank our coffee and chatted (and chatted…and chatted…) as I was desperate to return home with at least a tiny bit of a tan. Sorry Kimberly! (Note from Kimberly – it was in the 70’s. I think I was wearing a sweater.) High heels or ballerina flats? Ballerina flats all the way. I’m quite tall anyway, so don’t desperately need the height (although heels do fab things to elongate legs!) But as soon as I start to wear heels my feet begin to hurt. In fact, almost the first thing I did the moment I walked back down the aisle at my wedding was take my shoes off! Cats or dogs? Sadly my London flat barely houses my husband and I – so there’s definitely no room for pets! Thanks so much for being here! Come back any time! Thank you very much for having me, I’ve loved it. Happy writing – and reading - everybody! Lucy x For more information about submitting to Harlequin Mills and Boon, see the guidelines at http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/aspiringauthors.asp or http://www.eharlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=538&chapter=0 February 2009 - Victoria Strauss Smart Honorary Playfriends already know the name Victoria Strauss. Maybe you’ve read her books (like The Burning Land or The Awakened City), but Victoria is also well-known for her tireless work on behalf of all authors -- busting scams, reporting the sharks in the water, and generally sharing good info everyone needs as we navigate the wacky world of publishing. Everyone push over and make room in the Sandbox for Victoria. Problem Child: Hi, Victoria! We’re so tickled to have you here. Let’s start off by talking about your books. You write fantasy for HarperCollins. How’d you get started? What do you love most about writing this genre? VS: My favorite reading as a child was fantasy (especially Arthurian fantasy--one of my all-time faves is T. H. White’s The Sword in the Stone), fairy tales, and historical novels. Perhaps not surprisingly, my first novel was a historical with fantasy elements. After that, I gravitated toward fantasy--always with a historical bent (people tell me that my books read like historical novels about places that never were). Apart from the ability that fantasy gives me to explore interesting themes, I love the sense of wonder that rises from magic and adventure in imaginary worlds. It’s my goal to share that with readers--really, to write the kinds of books that I myself would like to read. PC: What’s next for you? VS: I’m returning to my roots with a YA novel about art and astrology, set during the Renaissance. It’s similar to my first novel in that it’s mainly historical, but with a fantasy twist. PC: You wrote some YA fantasy first. What brought about the change from YA to adult? Any plans to write more YA? VS: I switched from YA to adult because I wanted to write longer, more complex novels, dealing with darker themes. This was years before J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter completely changed the face of YA fiction. Pre-Rowling, the genre was a good deal more restrictive in terms of length and subject matter, but those restrictions have now largely vanished. A lot of really challenging and ambitious--and dark--writing is coming out of the YA market. As I said above, the novel I’m currently working on is YA. YA is my first love, so it feels like coming home--even more so because the market is so much more varied and exciting than it used to be. I’m also, to tell the truth, burned out on big doorstop fantasies. My last two books were both around 200,000 words. It’s great to be writing something that’s not so dense. PC: We’re fascinated by process around here. Can you describe your writing process? Any tips or hints you’d like to share? VS: When I first started writing, I winged it--no planning, no outline, no nothing. Around my third novel, I got tired of writing myself into corners and down dead ends, and decided that something had to change. These days, I begin with the germ of an idea, and spend some time opening it out in my head, coming up with a basic plot structure, getting a sense of my characters, and deciding what research I need to do. Once I’ve done the research (and I always find I need to do more in the process of writing the book), I create a detailed synopsis. This isn’t so much an ironclad template--I always wind up deviating from it--as it is a way of making sure that I can get from beginning to end without any major plot holes or character inconsistencies. Once the outline is done, I put it away and write the book without looking at it again. This leaves room for the diversions and digressions and “aha!” moments that make writing fun--but because I have the basic structure clear in my mind, the diversions serve the story, rather than derail it. It’s the best method I’ve found for preserving spontaneity, while keeping my tendency to digress in check. I begin each writing day by reading over and editing what I wrote the day before. As I finish each chapter or long scene, I revise that before I continue, and if I think of something in previous chapters that needs to be changed, I take care of it immediately, rather than making a note and dealing with it later. Many established writers urge aspiring writers to write straight through from beginning to end and revise only when the first draft is finished, but I’ve never been able to write that way. If I don’t feel confident about what I’ve already done, I don’t feel confident about continuing. My stop-and-start method means that I take longer to finish a book--but once I'm done, the book is essentially in final form, and doesn’t require heavy editing. VS: “Write the book you yourself would like to read.” My mother, a very wise editor and still my first reader, told me that. PC: What one piece of advice would you like to pass along to new writers? VS: No one writing method works for everyone. Every writer has his or her own process, and it can take a lot of trial and error to discover what’s best for you. Don’t force yourself to stick to a process that doesn’t feel natural or comfortable just because some expert told you it was the “right” way of doing things. Experiment! You’ll be glad you did. PC: You also seem to do a lot of reviewing. How’d you get started doing that? I’ve heard that reviewing books often changes the reviewer’s perspective – did reviewing change how you read for fun or even how you approached your own books? VS: I’m an opinionated reader, so reviewing seemed like a natural fit for me. Around the time I began writing adult fiction, I contacted a major science fiction/fantasy review website and offered my services. They sent me a few trial books to review, and decided they liked my work and wanted to make me a regular staff reviewer. That connection led to a number of other review gigs. Reviewing hasn’t changed the way I approach my own books, since I approach reviewing from a writer’s perspective. Unfortunately, it has changed the way I read. It’s become harder for me to turn off that analytical mindset, to read uncritically and for pleasure. Also, after 10 years of reviewing, I’ve begun to feel that I don’t have anything new to say--and to be honest, I’m awfully tired of having to read books I wouldn’t necessarily choose for myself. I’m currently taking a hiatus from reviewing, and hope eventually to return to it revitalized and refreshed. PC: Since I first learned about you via Writer Beware, let’s talk about that. What drives you to spend your time on behalf of clueless newbies? (Not that we’re not appreciative. J) VS: Corny as it sounds, I like the idea of paying forward. I myself was never scammed by a literary agent or publisher--but I easily could have been. When I began trying to sell my first novel, there was very little information about writing scams and pitfalls (of course, back then, there weren’t anywhere near as many as there are now). Writers need reliable information about what to watch out for--and that’s what Writer Beware endeavors to provide. With Writer Beware, I feel that I am actually making a difference for people--and that’s an incredibly good feeling. I also have to admit that I’m fascinated by the psychology and methodology of scammers and schemers. The shadow-world of fraudulent and amateur agents and publishers and writers’ “services”--whose only point of connection with the real publishing world is the authors it entraps--is an endlessly bizarre and wacky place. Every time I think I’ve seen it all, something new comes along. It certainly keeps things interesting! PC: How do you juggle your time between writing (and promotion etc, etc…) and Writer Beware? VS: Precariously! Writer Beware really is like a part-time job--with blog posts, correspondence, research, and website updates, I can spend as much as 20 hours a week on it (don’t tell my agent!). Generally, I do Writer Beware stuff in the morning, and my own writing in the afternoon and evening. PC: How do I put this delicately…? Um, I imagine you’re not real popular with some people, or that some folks have been upset about what you’ve written about them. Do you get a lot of hate mail? VS: Not as much as you might think. The scammers prefer to pretend we don’t exist, or to vent their ire on their blogs or in their own private correspondence, rather than confronting us directly. Also, now that we have our own blog, angry people mostly comment there rather than emailing us. We do occasionally get lawsuit threats, but those rarely go farther than nasty emails. Believe it or not, a good amount of hate mail, or angry mail at any rate, comes from writers who are distressed that we’ve “outed” whatever disreputable company they are hooked up with but can’t bear to admit is questionable. “Shoot the messenger” is something we encounter a lot. PC: What’s your Pride-and-Joy moment from the work you’ve done with Writer Beware? The one scam you busted that still warms the cockles of your heart when you think about it? VS: The Martha Ivery scam. There’s a full account on the Writer Beware website (http://www.sfwa.org/beware/cases.html#Ivery ). Martha Ivery, a convicted check-kiter and bigamist, ran a vanity publisher under her own name, and a fee-charging literary agency under an alias, Kelly O’Donnell. As Kelly, she’d reel victims in via the agency, charging them “submission” fees and selling them her own substandard editing services (she was barely literate). When they’d racked up enough publisher rejections to start feeling desperate, she’d pass them on to the vanity publisher without revealing either the connection between the businesses or the fact that “Kelly” and Martha were the same person. Basically, the whole thing was a Ponzi scheme--the “investments” of new agency/publisher clients paid for the services provided to existing clients. When the scheme started to collapse, and she didn’t have the money to produce the books new clients had paid her to publish, Martha began demanding even more fees--warehousing fees, marketing fees, even an author cruise for more than $1,000. Not surprisingly, the cruise was canceled, and authors never got their money back. Writer Beware got scores of complaints about Martha. Through intensive lobbying, we were able to interest the FBI in her case. We helped the agent in charge of the case locate victims--eventually, more than 300 were identified, for a total “take” of over $700,000--and gather documentation. Martha’s premises were raided and her businesses were shut down. Eventually, she was indicted and convicted for fraud, and is currently serving a prison sentence at a Federal correctional facility. PC: I imagine that every time you list a bad agent, expose a vanity publisher, or uncover a crooked scheme, that someone will come to the defense of that agent or publisher, claiming you’re wrong. Why do you think so many people are unwilling to face the truth? Is it just the need for validation of their dream or a defensive “I-didn’t-get-scammed” posture? VS: I think it’s both. Bad agents and questionable publishers do validate writers’ dreams--often, they’re the only ones who ever will. That’s incredibly hard to let go of, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. And I do think people are resistant to, and also ashamed of, admitting they got snookered. Deep in their hearts, they may recognize the truth, but be unable to acknowledge it. We often hear from writers who are uneasy enough to contact us, but don’t want to accept the information we provide. When that happens, we try to be sympathetic rather than confrontational, because we want the writer to feel free to return to us for help and advice if they ever become ready to accept the truth. PC: And this ties into my question above, why do you think –with all the good information that’s out there – that so many writers are still easy targets? VS: The information is out there--but writers either don’t pay attention to it or don’t bother to search for it. It absolutely boggles and amazes me how many writers think they can start submitting their work to publishers and agents without knowing anything whatever about publishing or the process of getting published. In my opinion, the single biggest reason that writers are targets is ignorance. PC: Who (or what) is the one worst agent/publisher/scammer/whatever you’d love to be able to stomp down once and for all? VS: Answering that question would open me up to a lawsuit. But hopefully we’ll be doing some major stomping in 2009. PC: If you could make one rule all newbie writers had to follow, what would it be? VS: Educate yourself!!! If you want a writing career, you need to know something about the nuts and bolts of the profession before you embark on it. Publishing is a hugely complicated field, with customs and processes that don’t exist anywhere else, and a thousand schemes and scams just waiting to prey on the uneducated and the unwary. You can’t just plunge in and expect to learn on the fly--you need to arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible ahead of time. If all writers followed this rule, Writer Beware would have considerably less work to do. Some Just for Fun Questions: Rock or Country? Rock. High Heels or Flats? Flats! Though not by choice. I have bunions. Harry Potter or Twilight? Harry Potter, hands down. I’m allergic to vampires. Beer or Wine? Neither. I hate the taste of alcohol. Finish this sentence: My readers…are why I’m a writer. Thanks so much for hanging out on our Playground with us! Please come back any time! More information on Victoria and her books can be found at her website: http://www.sff.net/people/victoriastrauss/. Bookmark the Writer Beware blog at http://www.accrispin.blogspot.com/ -- between the posts and the links, you’ll learn loads… Award winning historical author Anna Campbell hails from beautiful Australia, where she pens novels of determined heroines and the men who crave them. In 2008, she was nominated for 2 RITA awards—a Best Regency Historical Romance each for Claiming the Courtesan and Untouched. We’re so excited to have her visit here on the Playground, several of us having loved her books and eagerly awaited this month’s release of Tempt the Devil. Angel: Anna, your third historical release, Tempt the Devil, is out this month. It and your two previous books have had unusual characters, especially for historical romances, including several courtesans and an accused mad man. Were these unusual elements a hard sell for editors? Did you have any concerns or encounter any problems writing outside the box? Anna: Hi Angel! Thanks so much for letting me play in the sandbox. I promise not to throw stuff or eat the sand! What a great question! Actually I think as far as publishers were concerned, the unusual elements were a plus rather than a minus. The differences made it easier for Avon to position me as a new voice in the market – and I also think there was a shift in the market where people wanted more sexually experienced heroines so the whole courtesan thing was a case of lucky timing. I actually hit more problems with the unusual characters before I sold when I was on the contest circuit. The occasional judge got hung up on the supposed ‘rules’ of romance writing. Verity/Soraya in Claiming the Courtesan hit a bit of resistance because of her profession and a couple of judges considered Matthew, the hero of Untouched, weak because he wasn’t your typical alpha. To me, he was always incredibly strong, if only because he managed to survive his ordeal, and that, thank goodness, seems to be how most readers see him. Angel: What do you think makes these characters and situations work? Anna: Ooh, Angel, I don’t know! I’m probably not the person to ask that. After all, the final verdict is always with the reader. I think when I give these characters these awful problems to solve, I don’t pull my punches. So I try to imagine, for example, what would be the long-term emotional consequences for a girl from a sheltered, religious background forced to sell herself to keep her family from starving? My characters are real people to me so they’re a mixture of good and bad, dark and light. But they’re always brave and strong and smart so eventually the light wins. Perhaps that’s just a story shape people respond to – you know, that mythical journey to the underworld then returning to the sunlit surface. I think the bigger the obstacles, the greater the catharsis at the end when the characters triumph. Angel: You’ve had some beautiful covers, the first with vibrant colors, now a hero-focused picture (and a handsome one he is, too!). Were you allowed any feedback on them? How did they come about? Anna: Angel, they are lovely covers, aren’t they? I’ve loved both formats. I think the first two really reflect the gothic atmosphere of the stories. And as you say, TEMPT THE DEVIL features a very handsome fellow! I don’t have an awful lot to do with the covers – they’re the work of the brilliant Avon art department. Angel: Your books have been proclaimed “devastatingly intimate” by Michelle Buonfiglio of Lifetime TV, and I heartily agree. You said you wrote category and other historicals first. What led to finding this deeply intimate and emotional voice? When did you know you’d gotten it right? Anna: Thanks, Angel. It’s a lovely description, isn’t it? Learning how to write emotion was one of the last things that fell into place before I sold. It certainly didn’t come naturally! All my Harlequin submissions got the dreaded “lacks emotional punch” letter. It’s only now when I look back that I know what they’re talking about. Actually I think the deeply emotional voice came out of a sad event in my life – my father, to whom I was very close, passed away in 2001 and for quite a long time I couldn’t write at all. Then when I came back to writing, my style had changed completely and (with work – it’s still tough to get to the depth I need to) I could access an emotional range that had never been there before. Claiming the Courtesan immediately garnered reactions from readers that I’d never received. There was an excitement from crit partners and contest judges that you could feel. So I guessed I was onto something! Angel: I’ve heard you discuss in the past how long it took to achieve publication. Can you tell us about your writing journey? Anna: I count my writing journey from when I wrote my first romance (a medieval) between finishing high school and starting university. It was 27 years from that day to when I sold to Avon. The weird thing is I wrote that book wanting to become an Avon author so the dream eventually came true! In between that, I took a lot of false trails. I wrote category books, I wrote sagas, I wrote serious historical fiction, I wrote books set in a lot of different periods and places. I started and didn’t finish numerous things. Towards the end of my 27 years, I’d actually decided my future lay in Regency romantic comedy. I’d written a book called The Magnificent Marriage which did well in contests and ended up finaling in the Golden Heart in 2006. But I had these two characters in my head who just wouldn’t leave me alone, even though their story called for a major shift in style and some very challenging writing! Those characters were Verity and Kylemore and eventually they took me across the line between published and unpublished. Angel: What most helped you keep your faith during the submission process? Anna: Well, I didn’t always keep the faith. About 17 years in, I gave up for 18 months. Which was actually really good for me. It made me aware that I wrote because I needed to, not just because my ego required the validation of publication. It also made me work a lot smarter by joining Romance Writers of Australia and eventually Romance Writers of America. I had been very much Robinson Crusoe before that and suddenly finding people who ‘got’ what I was trying to do made a huge difference. Otherwise there was my own stubbornness (which isn’t always a useful quality although it was here!) and the encouragement I got from contests. I can’t speak highly enough of how writing contests helped me to keep going! Angel: Your books have been nominated for numerous awards, including a double RITA nomination in 2008. Can you tell us about that experience? It must have been a joy of a phone call! Anna: Angel, it was an absolutely fantastic surprise. Lorraine Heath who has always been a wonderful supporter for me (she gave me a quote for Courtesan) called to tell me. The funny thing was we’d been talking about Australian lingo for a book she was working on so I thought she just wanted more words like dingo and drongo and bonzer. It never occurred to me I was a RITA finalist! I mean, it’s one of those things you dream about when you’re unpublished, hopes like that keep you going. And then not once, but TWICE! Until 30th December, I have great pleasure in telling people that 100% of my published work has been nominated for a RITA! LOL! Then it was such fun going to RWA as a double finalist! Truly a dream come true experience! For fun: Angel: What is your favorite food? The one you could eat every day and never tire of. Anna: Sadly, anything to do with potatoes! Roast potatoes, potato chips, mashed potatoes, you name it. Sigh. Wish it was something with no calories! Angel: How would you spend your “perfect day”? Anna: Good friends, laughter, good food, lots of champagne (hey, it’s my perfect day, let’s make it French!), a sea view and a great book to go home to. Hmm, can I fit Richard Armitage in there somewhere? Angel: Can you tell us a few books currently residing on your keeper shelf? Anna: My keepers live on a special bookcase in the bedroom. There’s the complete Laura Kinsale collection, the complete Loretta Chase collection, all the Jane Austens, the three Charlotte Brontes, War and Peace, and everything Dorothy Dunnett ever wrote. Angel: What is your “ideal” work space? Why? Anna: I have an absolutely amazing space where I am at the moment (compared to a desk squeezed into the corner of my bedroom which I managed with for years). It’s a proper office with lots of cupboards for storage and a big bookcase and inspirational pinboards and two big desks and filing cabinets. It gets morning sun and afternoon breeze and looks out onto a very lush garden full of native birds and trees. Seriously, I’m happy as a pig in mud and all my writer friends turn green with envy when they see it ;-) You can find out more about Anna Campbell and her books, including this month’s Tempt the Devil, at www.annacampbell.com . December 08 - Author Juliet Burns & Malle Vallik Harlequin Director of Digital Content & Interactivity Juliet Burns, also writing as Jillian Burns, has been a friend of the playground for quite some time. I met her several years ago as a member of the Brainstorming Desirables and cheered with her success as she sold her first novel to Desire. A member of the Sizzling Pens blog, she’s always been open, friendly and extremely supportive. Now, I’m excited to welcome her as a line buddy - her first Blaze release, Let it Ride, comes out in May 09. Please join me in welcoming Juliet to the sandbox! Instigator: Juliet, many of our readers are aspiring writers. Can you share with us a brief description of your road to writing? JB: Hi Kira! Hi everyone. First, I’d like to say thank you to the playground ladies for inviting me to come play today. In: Many of our readers juggle not only a love for writing but also family and full-time jobs. How do you find that balance between your writing and life? JB: I’m really lucky that I don’t have a full-time job outside the home. I do have 3 kids and the littlest was only one when I started writing. I’m also lucky to have a mom who lives close, and she used to take the kids one day a week for me before they were all in school. She still likes to have them for a whole week in the summer if I have a deadline or go to conference. But mostly what works for me is writing from about 10 pm – 2 am. I’m a night owl, and that seems to be the quietest time in my house. In: Along with writing steamy romances for Blaze you have an upcoming December release with Red Sage Secrets, The Spy’s Surrender. What do you find are the differences between writing a category length novel and a novella? Any tips or tricks to making the transition between the two lengths? JB: First, I tend to write short, so the length of a novella was comfortable for me. Also, knowing I only had to write 25K words liberated me to try something I never would have felt brave enough to do in a full length novel: a Historical. Historicals are my first love for reading. After all, I cut my teeth on Austen, the Bronte’s, and Woodiwiss. Since category romances for Harlequin are also fairly short in length (55-60 K words) the main difference between category and a novella is, in the novella, you must keep the plot simple, the timeline shorter, and secondary characters (if any) limited to absolutely necessary scenes. In: Between Blaze, Secrets and Desire, you seem to gravitate towards the steamy end of the spectrum of romance. Why do you think that is? Why do you think these stories appeal so well to readers? JB: I love sex, what can I say? I’ve always been boy crazy. I can remember chasing boys around in Kindergarten. I think my personality is very passionate, and I’m a highly sensual person. I think that has made my 20 year marriage better, too. I enjoy reading steamy, erotic sex scenes. And I don’t think I’m alone, otherwise Ellora’s Cave wouldn’t be so successful. Women (in general) are just as highly sexual beings as men, only we tend to need more than porn. That’s just about putting tab A into slot B. Erotic romance gives women the satisfaction of combining the act of sex with the emotion of love. Steamy romance is about a relationship, a commitment between two people that is brought to completion by making love. In: You currently write for two different publishers and have written for different lines within Harlequin. What have you found most difficult about switching from one to another? Do you find you approach a project differently based on the intended line/market? JB: Absolutely. In my opinion, especially if you want to write for Harlequin/ Silhouette, your manuscript should be geared toward a specific line. Each line at Harlequin is completely different. And even though you can read the guidelines on the eharlequin.com website, the only way to get a true feeling for what a line is like is to read as many new releases as you can get your hands on. When I first sold to Desire, I assumed I’d be a “Desire” author. But then the guidelines changed just as I was submitting my option book, and I knew that book would no longer work for Desire. I tried one more story for Desire but it was rejected, and I realized I needed to try something different. Desire is hot and steamy, but its tone is much more melodramatic, where Blazes are more hip and urban. Since my voice tends to be more melodramatic, I had to read a lot of Blazes and really get a feel for the different tone and the more edgy language used by the characters. I’m still working on that. As for switching from publisher to publisher, that’s been easier for me because I write Historicals for Red Sage. I assume because I’ve been such a huge Historical reader all my life, the language and tone for those comes more easily. It’s only the required research that’s more time consuming. Oh why did I choose the 17th century for my Pirate story? In: Could you share with us what books/authors currently reside on your keeper shelf? JB: For Historicals I keep Mary Balogh, Laura Kinsale, Loretta Chase, Elizabeth Hoyt, and Lorraine Heath. For contemporaries I keep Jo Leigh, Evelyn Vaughn, Geralyn Dawson, and for paranormals I like Susan Squires (very erotic vampires) and of course all the volumes of the Secrets anthologies. In: We always like to ask some questions just for fun – is there anything special you like to do after completing a book? JB: Sleep. I tend to burn the candle at both ends when I’m on deadline. Needless to say, I’m not a fast writer. I’ll never be a 4 book a year person. In: If you could vacation anywhere in the world where would you most like to go? JB: England, Scotland, Ireland and France. They’re on my Bucket List. In: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to learn about you? JB: Hmm, I’m mostly a “what you see is what you get” person. My life is an open book, know everything about me the first 5 minutes you meet me type, so, a secret... How about this: I’ve been chased by the police and almost went to jail because I wouldn’t pull over. Not a moment I’m proud of, but I told you I’m highly emotional and one morning my sister (lives about 30 minutes away) called and said her husband had just died, and all I could think about was getting to her. Thanks for visiting with us Juliet! Don’t forget to check out Juliet’s upcoming releases – The Spy’s Surrender available this month and Let it Ride available in May. And be sure to stop by Juliet’s website www.julietburns.com and her blog sizzlingpens.blogspot.com. Thank you!! As the Director of Digital Content & Interactivity at Harlequin, I have a super cool job that encompasses two of my passions: editorial (there is nothing I adore more than a great story, especially one with a happy ending) and relationships (which is what digital interactivity, also know as social media, is all about). Relationships between author and reader; between reader and reader; publisher and reader are amazing, powerful, informative connections. As a publisher, Harlequin is one of the rare few who has a direct relationship with its readers. We have had an online community for over ten years. Jayne Hoogenberk, our community manager, is one of North America’s leading experts on how to build and maintain an authentic community and the active discussions on the boards between readers, authors, editors is incredible. Moreover, Harlequin has bought a first novel from fifty community members in the last decade. Yes, that is right. Fifty! In fact, this week, the UK editorial team bought a first novel from the winner of the Harlequin Presents writing contest on the Presents blog! So, whether it is through community, our blogs (www.iheartpresents.com and www.paranormalromanceblog.com), our podcasts (Meet the Editors and Harlequin Author Spotlight), our initiatives in Second Life, Myspace and Facebook pages or book widgets, the digital space allows us more ways to connect with readers. And it offers more ways for authors and readers to connect as well. We were the first publisher to publish its entire frontlist in eBook format and have been publishing digital-original titles since August 2007 with Spice Briefs. We launched Nocturne Bites in May 2008 and will be launching Harlequin Historical Undone in November. We loved Gena Showalter’s original digital prequel to her Lords of the Underworld series, called THE DARKEST FIRE, and have more planned in 2009! As well, Jenny Bullough, manager Digital Content & Interactivity, is always experimenting and looking for the next bright idea. One of these bright ideas was the enriched edition of Nicola Cornick’s book UNMASKED. Digital publishing lets us experiment with editorial – should it remain only text or do we add more; will more attract younger, multitasking readers? Questions like these are part of our ongoing mandate. We have several more enriched books planned for 2009 starting with a January Harlequin Presents title by Kate Hardy called HOTLY BEDDED, CONVENIENTLY WEDDED. And the February Linda Lael Miller title will showcase more gorgeous heroes than the “traditional” print book. The shorter format in our original digital program works well because in our time-pressed lives it is a nice option to have a “break” – a quick read you can finish over lunch! It is also a nice introduction to the technology-challenging world of eBooks. Readers are faced with multiple choices of formats and reading devices so this is a way to ease oneself into the experience. I also have to say that I absolutely love eBooks! I have worked in publishing for over twenty years. I am an avid reader and have been since I was a child but now that I have a Sony Reader my life has been transformed (it’s better than getting a TIVO). In fact, my device was stolen from my car a couple of weeks ago and while I wait for my new reader to arrive I am back to reading and buying print books. It’s okay, but I prefer my electronic device! I can carry forty books with me at a time, I can download a title at any time of day. I just love it. (I’m sure I would also love the Amazon Kindle but they don’t sell it in Canada.) What the field of digital publishing offers readers is more. First, while traditional print book readers insist they love the look and feel of print books and can’t imagine switching, I strongly believe the digital option will become just another format choice. Do I want the mass market, the hardcover, the audio or the digital? And once skeptics experience the joys of carrying multiple titles on a good reading device, they will be hooked. Authors, however, can be a little overwhelmed by this new world, especially when you throw in all the social media opportunities (my earlier reference to building relationships). The most important part of any author’s job is writing. Great books build your readership. But digital also offers the opportunity to reach a wider audience using less time. A website is essential, but so is creating a google alert for your name so that you can keep up with any blogs or website who mentions you. You then visit and comment (i.e. build a relationship). We also recommend authors create at least one social media profile (and for Harlequin authors we highly recommend creating a profile in our community) and remind everyone that there is nothing wrong with repurposing content. The Playfriends also asked about my background and my experiences as a writer and editor. I was an editor elsewhere and then at Harlequin for over ten years. I have had seven published novels, most with Harlequin Temptation (pen name Molly Liholm). I think understanding both sides of the writing business is a great plus. I can certainly appreciate the agony of waiting to hear about a submission but also understand book marketing and the business of publishing. I think these experiences have served me well in digital, whether it was as a producer for online content for eharlequin.com or launching eBooks and now original digital content. It’s still about telling a great story. We now have new formats and new tools to reach readers. But it’s still about the story. A few personal notes: After a long day I have several favorite ways to relax: going out for dinner, watching television and reading! The ideal evening includes all three. My ultimate vacation day is being at my cottage reading two or three books a day. And ordering sequels via my computer to my reader without having to drive a hundred miles to the closest bookstore! On my next trip I hope to visit Scandinavia and St. Petersburg, but the favorite trip I have ever taken was a safari to Kenya and Tanzania. Like most Canadians, I adore fall because the colors are spectacular and the crisp air makes me feel so alive. I can’t select only three keeper books, so some authors I could not live without: Georgette Heyer, Lois McMaster Bujold, Donald Westlake, Gena Showalter and C.E. Murphy. The digital team at Harlequin is always happy to hear from readers with ideas. Do please feel free to contact me and I will forward to the appropriate person: malle_vallik@harlequin.ca And you can follow us at Twitter! Linda Warren hails from deep in the heart of Texas and writes for Harlequin American and Harlequin Super Romance. Her books have received numerous awards, been on the Waldenbooks Series Bestseller lists and received top reviews from Romantic Times. You can visit her online at www.lindawarren.net. Please clear a space by the swings and give a warm Playground welcome to Linda. Playground Monitor: Welcome to the Writing Playground, Linda. Could you give us some background information about yourself and your journey to publication? Did you always want to be a writer? Linda Warren: Thank you for inviting me. I love to play and I’ll try not to bore everyone. I was born and raised on a farm/ranch in Smetana, Texas, a stop in the road. A lot of characters from my childhood show up in my books. I never planned to be an author. I just loved to read. I went to college to become an RN. In my first year at Sam Houston State University I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I was eighteen and this hit me out of left field. When I could no longer walk to class, I had to come home and deal with this crippling disease. During this time a friend gave me a box of Harlequin books. I was hooked and became an avid Harlequin romance reader. I loved those happy endings. My family encouraged me to write a book, like the ones I was always reading. I thought they were insane, but I did try, mainly to fight depression. I spend a lot of days writing in a spiral notebook. Didn't have a clue what I was doing, but I was busy. And I enjoyed it. PM: Tell us about your typical day and your writing schedule. Do you have time for any hobbies? LW: It differs some, but I try to stick to a schedule. Three days a week I’m at the pool at 6:15 a.m. for aqua therapy. When I return home, I have breakfast and read the paper. Then I read emails, answer mail, do mailings and chores like that. I have lunch, rest and then write 2-3 hours. I stop to fix dinner and spend time with my husband. I’m back at the computer by 7 p.m. and I work until the pain tells me it’s time to stop. Tuesday is my day for errands and meeting friends for lunch, so I don’t usually write on that day. Weekends are never the same. With family, there’s always something going on. My hobby used to be reading and it’s a joy when I have time to indulge that. But my favorite thing is just to go out, get away from the computer and visit with my friends, laugh and have a good time. I have to do this every now and then or my friends get upset with me. PM: You have rheumatoid arthritis, which has required numerous surgeries and confines you to a wheelchair, yet you are a prolific writer with your twenty-first book hitting the shelves in September of this year. How have you dealt with the challenges arthritis has presented? What advice do you have for other writers who face physical challenges? LW: That’s hard to answer. Honestly, it’s a struggle. I’ve learned to stop, take a break and move my joints. That’s important. But it’s also hard when I have a deadline. In my younger days with this disease I was in the mindset of poor, poor pitiful me. Why me? That only made my situation worse. Accepting the disease and dealing with it was the next step for me. It wasn’t going to keep me down. I fight every day to make sure it doesn’t. I exercise, eat healthy and on those days when my joints are hurting and I want to stay in bed, I get up anyway. I’m determined that arthritis will not control my life completely. For anyone who has to face physical challenges I say stay positive—negativity will bring you down. Believe in yourself and you abilities or no one else will. Take care of yourself. Accept help when it’s offered. And smile a lot. LW: I tried the voice recognition software and it just couldn't understand my Texas twang. I had a lot of gibberish and I spent too much time correcting it. So I went back to my normal routine--two finger typing. I'm getting quite fast at it. They say the new version is better. I might try it. PM: Plotter or pantster? Which comes first for you – plot or characters? LW: When I first started writing and I had plenty of time, I plotted. And now I even write down what’s going to happen in each chapter. Then I write. That’s when I turn into a pantster. The story changes once I get into it and all my notes go by the wayside. But I need those notes on characters, setting and plot to get started. A scene usually comes first and then the characters. My March 2009 American, THE SHERIFF OF HORSESHOE, TEXAS, I created from a scene my husband and I saw as we traveled home one evening. A highway patrolman had a blonde in a red convertible sports car pulled over on the side of the road. His arm rested on the top of the windshield as he leaned in talking to her with a smile as big as Texas. I told my husband she wouldn’t be getting a ticket. The scene captured my imagination and I started creating characters. The blonde became a wealthy socialite and the patrolman became a sheriff. The whole story came together after that. PM: What’s next for you? Are you working on a book now? LW: As I just mentioned I have an American, THE SHERIFF OF HORSESHOE, TEXAS coming out in March 2009. It’s part of the promotional theme Men Made In American. My hero is a small town Texas Sheriff. The heroine is a party girl (think Paris Hilton). She’s speeding through the hero’s town in a red sports car. He stops her. She’s late for a party in Dallas so she figures a country bumpkin sheriff could use a little money. She tries to bribe him to let her go. He arrests her and the party really begins. Then I have a trilogy for Super Romance, Texas Belles. The first book comes out in July, 2009. A powerful Texas rancher has three daughters who he feels need husbands instead of running a ranch. The eldest sets out to prove him wrong. She just has one problem; the neighboring rancher who wants her land. And her. In his bed. PM: Now for some fun. Don’t worry; it’s harmless. Coffee or tea: LW: Both. Coffee in the morning with milk and sugar. Iced tea for lunch and dinner. PM: Chocolate or vanilla? LW: Chocolate! Always chocolate. Anytime—day or night. PM: Crispy or original recipe? Or maybe you prefer a big, juicy Texas-sized steak? LW: I’m not much of a steak eater and I’m a Texas gal. My husband makes up for me. I’m a sucker for the original recipe. Finger lickin’ good. Mmm! PM: What would our readers be completely surprised to learn about you? LW: I’m a great dancer. In high school my partner and I won a jitterbug contest and a polka contest. I was a dancing fool. Now, sadly, I’m just a fool. <grin> I love Dancing With The Stars. PM: Complete this sentence. My readers... LW: ...mean the world to me. They keep me writing. They keep me going. Readers and their wonderful letters and emails keep me smiling. Linda’s September Harlequin American TEXAS HEIR and her June Super Romance Everlasting ALWAYS A MOTHER are still available online from eHarlequin.com. September 2008 – Lynn Raye Harris Fellow HOD chaptermate Lynn Raye Harris is having the best year ever. First, she beat out 600 other entries to take first place in the Harlequin Presents Instant Seduction Contest, then she finaled in the Golden Heart with her romantic suspense manuscript. She’s well on her way to achieving her dreams of publication and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have her here on the Playground during these exciting times. We can say we knew her when... Smarty Pants: Welcome to the Sandbox, Lynn. You’re a fixture on our blog, but our website readers might not know you, so to start off, how about a little background on yourself? Lynn Raye Harris: Hey, I love the Playground! I started visiting before I moved to Alabama. It was like a lifeline as I came to a new place, and y’all have been nothing but welcoming since the day I arrived. So thanks for asking me to come talk about myself. :) I’ll try not to bore… I guess I should first say I’m a military brat who married a military man, so that means I’ve lived in a variety of places. I’m also an avowed shoeaholic (which is perfect for fitting into the Heart of Dixie chapter!). These days I make my permanent home in Northern Alabama with my handsome husband and two crazy cats. And I’m thrilled, believe me! Hawaii was awesome, Europe was amazing – but Alabama is where it’s happening (shh, don’t tell or everyone will want to come here). :) When I’m not shopping for new shoes or the perfect antique for my collection, I write about sexy alpha warriors (military and tycoons) and the heroines who bring them to their knees. SP: Can you tell us a little about The Spanish Magnate’s Revenge, the manuscript that won first place in the Harlequin Presents Instant Seductions contest? LRH: The Spanish Magnate’s Revenge was a gift. Seriously. When writers say they sat down and it poured out, that was what happened to me. But only with that winning chapter (maybe because I wrote it, submitted it, and went back to work on something else instead of finishing the story). The rest has definitely been a learning process. Basically, I wondered what would happen if an independent woman with her own international company learned that her business had been taken over by an ex-lover with a serious grudge. Since the story was for Presents, he had to be alpha, amazing, and exotic. Hence my Spanish magnate. When Alejandro Arroyo Rivera de Ramirez summons Rebecca Layton to Madrid as his new employee, the sparks are going to fly! SP: As the winner, you received the guidance of a Harlequin editor for an entire year. How has that process been? Have you learned a lot working with your editor? LRH: Working with an editor has been amazing! It can be intimidating too. I don’t have a contract, yet I write the story and get nearly instant feedback. It’s not like having a critique partner though. It’s something entirely different. My editor’s way of thinking about my story is more analytical, I guess. She makes suggestions, but tells me to use my own ideas. I have learned so much in the last few months, not the least of which is humility and patience. :) Yes, I can hammer out 50K in a matter of weeks. But then I get the revision notes and I see how I need to go deeper. SP: You’ve lived all around the world and traveled to places most people just dream about. What has been your favorite place to visit? How have these experiences contributed to your writing? LRH: I love traveling to new places. I’ve hiked up a Korean mountain to see a giant stone Buddha, floated in a gondola, and stood on the tallest peak in Germany. I’ve also been inside the Kremlin and ridden a train through Russia. I love something about everywhere I’ve been, but I probably love Venice the most for its uniqueness. I lived there as a local for a glorious week and got to see the city without its tourist hordes. Another favorite place is Madrid. Oh those Spanish men! So courteous, so masculine. I used Madrid as my setting in The Spanish Magnate’s Revenge. Living in so many places has given me a global voice, I think, which I’m able to explore as I write for the Presents line. SP: Your Golden Heart entry – Hot Pursuit - is actually a romantic suspense title. That’s a far cry from a Presents. I hear you’re also a fan of Historicals. Which genre did you start writing first? How do you manage going back and forth between the different styles of writing? LRH: I always wanted to write a novel, but I didn’t know how to do it. So I got smart. I went to the bookstore and took a look at the shelves. Romance novels had the lion’s share of the shelf space, and historical romance seemed to dominate everything. So I grabbed a few and went home to read. And, wow, I was hooked. Now I’d been a romance reader as a teen (Harlequin Presents in fact), but I’d never read a historical. So, once I did, I knew I wanted to write it. I loved history; I’d lived in Europe and been inside castles and walked through wonderful old cities like Paris and London so it seemed a natural fit. I forget how I chose the Middle Ages, but I wrote this huge sweeping (read: overwrought, melodramatic piece of crap) Medieval romance about a Welsh princess and an English knight. Making the switch to romantic suspense came a few years later. I’d stopped writing for a while (after writing a Regency and starting another Medieval), and when I got back to it, a contemporary story came out. The hero was in the military, though it took me another book to realize I should add suspense to the mix. That book was Hot Pursuit. I’m still able to switch between the military romantic suspense voice and the Presents voice – I even think I could write historical or paranormal if the idea was there. Because romance, for me, is about the characters. Especially the hero. My heroes, whether they are knights, dukes, commandos, or tycoons, are alpha males. It’s not much of a stretch from a military man to a tycoon—they are both, after all, alpha warriors determined to slash and burn and succeed no matter the cost. I love both types of stories because they allow me to write the kind of hero I love: dark, dangerous, sexy, and wounded. Whether he wears Armani™ or camouflage, he’s still a warrior on a mission. SP: What was the RWA Conference experience like as a Golden Heart finalist? If you’ve gone to Conference previously, how did it differ for you? LRH: Oh wow, it was amazing. San Francisco was only my second conference. Dallas 2007 was my first. And I had a blast in Dallas! I decided, since it was my first, to go without any expectations or pressure to do anything. I had no pitch appointments, no meetings with agents or editors, nothing. Just an open schedule, some friends to see, and plenty of time to learn and be inspired by the experience. Now fast forward to San Fran 2008. I’d left Dallas fired up, and I went back to my book with a vengeance. I entered the Golden Heart for the fourth time, though it was the first time for this book and this genre. My other efforts had been historicals. When I got the finalist call, I was thrilled. And what an experience! Not just the conference, but becoming friends with the other finalists. The Pixie Chicks are an amazing and talented group of women. I was so thrilled to meet many of them in person after spending several months together on an email loop. (The loop is still going strong.) Attending the finalist reception in SF was fun; through no prior planning at all, Linda Howard ended up getting my finalist certificate to present to me. We had a Heart of Dixie moment, you can bet! There was screaming, hugging, and posing for a picture. It was awesome. SP: Writers can often get discouraged. This is a rough business. Your recent success is a shining example of what hard work and dedication can bring and yet, you were not immune to it and stopped writing for quite a while. Why did you stop and what made you pick up the pen and start writing again? LRH: I don’t think any of us are immune to the slings and arrows of a writer’s life. In my case, I was silly to stop for so long. I wrote a book, a terrible book, and didn’t sell it. Boohoo. But I had some other things happen that ground my confidence down and I just stopped writing. I moved to Europe and went back to school, so it wasn’t all a bust. I finished college and went on to get a master’s degree. And I wrote stories, but not books. I’d gotten away from romance for a while as I read a lot of depressing literature for my degrees. But then I had an idea, and I started writing that contemporary I mentioned before. It was a terrible idea too, but I rediscovered the joy in the process. See, I thought that real writers wrote these nearly perfect stories the first time out. And mine were such messes, in need of fleshing out and changing, so how could I be a real writer? But that was silliness. I am, unfortunately, a perfectionist. And I didn’t understand that those beautiful stories I read by my favorite authors had been reworked and reshaped until they were beautiful. So when I finally realized that, I rediscovered the joy. Here’s a quote I try to live by now. I don’t know who said it, but it’s important for someone like me to remember: Perfectionists always lose. SP: Let’s talk about process. Are you a plotter or a pantser? Which comes first for you—characters or the situation? LRH: I am a pantser. It’s unfortunate in some ways. I can’t plot a story beforehand to save my life. And I always get characters first. I have one I’ve been thinking of for years, but I don’t yet know who her hero is or what the problem is. But I know her name and some of her issues, though not all of them. One day, I might get the rest of the story. :) I suspect I’m going to have to fake plotting in the future. You can’t sell without a synopsis. I can make a lot of stuff up, but that doesn’t mean that’s how the story will turn out. Just ask my Harlequin editor. SP: What was the best advice you have received (you don’t have to tell us whether you heeded the advice or not, but we’d love to know!)? LRH: Don’t give up. Persistence is the key. Seriously, this is the best advice I know. I didn’t always listen, but I will now. No more giving up. The published writer is the writer who didn’t quit. I know someone who recently sold in a two-book deal to a major NY house. She’s been writing for 16 years – she always said she would give up if she hadn’t sold in 15. When 15 came, she stopped for a few months. But then she got an idea, started working, and sold it. NEVER give up. SP: What was the one piece of advice you wish you’d ignored? LRH: “Write what you know.” I didn’t feel like I knew anything! Okay, so I know one end of a horse from another. I can saddle one, etc. I know the military. I know moving around. I know how to drink wine. I can operate a vacuum cleaner and cook a mean Alfredo. But if I restricted myself to writing what I know, I’d have a very narrow path to tread! I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to write what I knew, but in reality I’ve come to discover you should write what you want to know. Someone said that, and I don’t know who, but I so agree. SP: What advice would you give to an unpublished author trying to break through in today’s market? LRH: Do. Not. Give. Up. Write what you love, accept thoughtful criticism, reject negative criticism, and don’t change what you know in your heart is right. Words, commas, sentences can be changed. Rock star heroes? If you love him, keep him. They used to say the same thing about sports heroes. Tell it to Susan Elizabeth Phillips or Rachel Gibson. Be prepared to accept rejections, but if you love what you write, keep writing it. Oh, and one more thing: don’t compare yourself to other writers. You will only depress yourself. You write your way, not Nora Roberts’s way, not Linda Howard’s way, not Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s way. Your way. So don’t compare. SP: Ok, now for a couple fun questions...Coffee or tea? LRH: Coffee. Preferably Kona, though I don’t often get that anymore since moving from the islands. SP: Something most people would be surprised to know about you? LRH: Surprised? Um. Hmm. I used to show horses and wanted to be on the Olympic Equestrian Team some day. Is that surprising enough? LRH: For once, I’m going to pick somewhere I’ve never been. Tahiti. I’ve been an island girl in Hawaii, but I’d like to visit somewhere even more exotic. SP: If you couldn’t be a writer, what would you do for a living? LRH: Olympic Equestrian Team? No? If I wasn’t a writer, I might like to be an editor. I once thought college professor would be cool. But then I realized I don’t like talking in front of an audience…. SP: What are you working on now? LRH: Revisions. *sigh* SP: Thanks for stopping by, Lynn! Come back any time. We look forward to hearing about good news in your future. As y’all know, my first book will be released in the UK in January 2009. Turns out, I’ll be sharing shelf space with best-selling and award-winning author Trish Wylie! If her fabulous books weren’t intimidating enough, her awards from Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice and CataRomance would tip the scale. Add in the amazing info on her website for aspiring authors, her personal blog that’s full of great info and fun stories, plus the Pink Heart Society Blogazine, and the woman is a force to be reckoned with. But she’s super nice as well—she’s made this newbie feel very welcome and a little less lost in the big world of publishing. I’m so tickled she’s making the trip to the Playground this month! So scooch over and give Trish a seat in the shade—I’d hate for that lovely Irish skin to fry in the Alabama sun. (Trish would like to point out this is a very real risk. One summer it hit 23 degrees at home and she walked into a chemist and asked them for an asbestos suit in a can. They didn’t have one funnily enough. Factor 50 Sun Cream anyone?!) Problem Child: Hi, Trish, and welcome! And can I just say again how super-fabulous you are? Trish Wylie: Only if you come with me when I’m shopping for clothes and say it regardless of how the sizes have changed since my last book… The sign of a friendship made in heaven I feel. Plus it’s important to take a friend to help you back OUT of the clothes you tried on in the size you USED TO wear. But thank you sweetie! In that intro you made me sound like I know what I’m doing (anyone who knows me has now choked on whatever they’re eating/drinking as they read…) PC: You are a very busy woman—I get exhausted just looking though your website and blogs. So I’ll ask the burning question: how do you make time for everything? Please share the secret! TW: Ahh now. Being as and how I write fiction for a living I could probably come up with something REALLY good here. But the truth is much more boring. Being single and sans children helps (an extra ten to twelve hours a day right there if what my friends tell me is true). Plus I live in the left kidney of the ***hole of nowhere and as its Ireland it rains 90% of the time so I’m a part time recluse. Oh and an insomniac apparently. This does however mean at conferences and the like I’m a tad hyperactive – so be warned! Bottom line; I tend to keep going till I drop and then I sleep to Olympic standards. PC: You write for both Modern Heat (released as Presents in the US) and Harlequin Romance. Is it hard to switch gears? I won’t ask you which one you like best (J), but what draws you to each of the lines? TW: Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get me to get into if I had to answer which one I like best? Just as well you didn’t ask really… I started out with Romance so I owe that line a lot. Without that first sale to them I wouldn’t be here so it’ll always have a special, irreplaceable spot in my heart. Modern Heat I pitched for when I was making the decision to give up work and write full time. So it was a financial decision as well as an excited interest in where the new line might go; I’ll be honest about that. Plus with my ‘day job’ I was working between a forty-five and sixty hour week and writing in the evenings and weekends so I was very, very worried about filling my days ;) But it did mean I was pitching *blind*. The books weren’t even on the shelf yet so I couldn’t read any to see what they were like and the editorial notes at the time were so open it was almost scary! In the end I just wrote something I’d enjoy reading myself and thankfully it sold. I LOVE Modern Heat and really do feel I’ve *found* myself there writing wise. (I even think my Romances have improved thanks to it) Right now I’m contracted for four books at a time (per contract that is, not four all at the same time *shudder*) so I alternate between the two; a Romance then a Modern Heat then a Romance then yada yada yada… As to switching between the two. Ah now. Used to be at the start I took a week and ‘switched voices’, cos I thought they had to be different but when I foolishly said that to the lovely head of the Romance line in idle chat at the Dallas Conference last year I was almost slapped for it (in the nicest possible way). Turns out the uber contemporary voice they like so much from me in Modern Heat is what she wanted from me in Romance too. So now the only real difference is the sex. And having said that, my Romance characters have decided in the last few books that they’d like to partake of a little themselves, thanks anyway. We just don’t go into the actual logistics of the docking procedure - if you get my drift… PC: Tell us about the Pink Society Blogazine. How did it get started? What are your goals for it? TW: LOL. Ohhhh you’ll LOVE how it got started. It came from a rant. I’m prone to them; it’s the Iri |