For the record...

Writing sex scenes is a pain in the ass.

Join The No Kiss Blogfest!

I should do this stuff more often. Yesterday I got the most comments in the history of this (or any that I've done) blog.

So that's why I'm joining in on the No Kiss Blogfest! Inspired by yesterday's Kissing Day Blogfest, Ms. Mallis over at Frankie Writes decided to go almost all the way with scenes that show not kissing, but the famous (or perhaps infamous?) "almost kiss."

Oooooh, can you feel the tension? I've got a good one planned, oh yes indeed. In fact, I got so excited about it, I actually have it set up already. It's just on automatic schedule thanks to Blogger, so once the date rolls around, at about 10:30ish am, it's going up!

So January 2, 2010, post your almost kiss and join in on the fun!


So close!

The Official Kissing Day Blogfest!

I found this while reading through the daily Yahoo Groups email from my fellow WPF alumni, and though Kaye Ducas's blog, found out about the Official Kissing Day Blogfest as started by Sherrinda. So I decided to jump into the fun. Took me some time to finally pick something out, and as much as I wanted to post one particular scene from my WIP, it's just not done yet, so I can't. *sad* Instead, I decided to go with another scene from the same WIP that happens much earlier.

Remember kids, WIP. It ain't perfect.

And for the record, he's not a serial killer. It was just a massive misunderstanding, so don't worry.

“I am not going anywhere with you!” I jerked out of his grasp. “You are crazy! This isn’t normal! Any of it!”

“Look, I am the only one that can find that girl and if you want to find her too, then you’ll have to stick with me, do you understand that?”

“Oy! Who are you talking to out there?”

We froze. A few of the giants climbed to their feet while the others leaned over to look outside the cave.

“No one!” Wolf called. “Just, ah, my mate! We were both looking for the morsel, but we’re going now!”

“I think not. She sounds an awful lot like that scrap we caught earlier. Let’s see her.”

I stared at Wolf, petrified.

“No, no!” he yelled back, his hands on my shoulders. “She’s got this silly fear of giants, says they’re too big for her taste.”

“We insist.”

The command was low, dangerous. Wolf gave me a tiny nod and gently pulled me forward so the giants could see me. The one with the club grunted.

“Thought so. Why didn’t you tell us you was a she-wolf?”

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Wolf pinched me in my side.

“Oh!” I half-shouted. “I, um, was too scared.” I laughed weakly. “Concerned about my…food. At the time. Sorry.”

Their stony faces remained unconvinced.

“Show us your side then,” said one of the standing giants.

I gaped again. My side? What did that mean? My wolf side?

“You can’t,” Wolf said, his voice barely audible. “Run.”

They’ll just follow us. I racked my brain for an idea. I had no idea what they were looking for, but so far it didn’t sound much like humans were fond of wolves. Maybe…

“Well,” I spoke haltingly, “would a human woman do this?”

I looked up at Wolf and braced myself. Oh Caroline, you’ve gone off the deep end.

I grabbed his face and brought his mouth down on mine. He was surprised, but quickly recovered and put his arms around me, kissing me back and milking it for all it was worth.

This is so crazy. I’m kissing a possible serial killer. Ew. God where did I go wrong? This is so beyond screwed up...he tastes like berries and mint...

Finally I pulled away, collecting my bearings again. I’d just kissed a psycho who’d held a knife on me not so many hours earlier in order to stay away from giants. I wanted to move farther away, much farther away, but Wolf held me where I was, his forehead resting against mine looking for all the world like he’d just had the best day of his life.

Whoo hoo! Go mistletoe and kissing!

Yes? No?

Sometimes I simply don't understand agents.

I don't get mad about it. Instead, I just chuckle to myself and shake my head. I mean, really, could they confuse us poor authors any more?

For those starting out trying to create the "perfect" query letter, it can take them a bit of time before they realize that it doesn't exist. Or...perhaps it does. You just have to craft it to suit each and every agent's individual needs. And just as agents often talk about how they have so little time to read the hundreds of query letters they get each day (and they do), so can most of us writers talk about how we have so little time to specially tailor a query letter to every agent.

Now that's not to belittle agents. Likewise, that's not to say that most of us don't often tweak a letter here and there to make it more suitable. No, what I'm talking about are broader ideas.

I found a great example today while searching for agents to query.

One agency states, right on it's front page in their tips for queries, "Don't try and sell your work; that's our job!" True enough, it is their job, and yet every single person I have ever talked about with on the subject of query letters is that you need to sell your novel. That's the whole point of the query letter, is it not? Make your work so irresistible that the agent has to bite?

Indeed, not long after visiting them, I found another agent with an entire 3-page file devoted to crafting a great query letter (or at least a better one) and on the second page in big, bold font it says, "How to use selling points in your query letter" and by that they mean "all the book's major selling points."

Ha. Now this is NOT to alienate any agents out there, and I am NOT trying to be rude or snarky or anything but, gosh guys.

Could you confuse us any more? ;)


You know, I don't think agents even know what makes up the ideal query letter...