Happy Hookers! Engaging the Reader from Start to Finish

Celtic Hearts Romance Writers Academy is proud to announce an upcoming online workshop for June/July.
Workshop Title: Happy Hookers! Engaging the Reader from Start to Finish
Presenter: Terry Spear
Date: June 16 - July 14Description: Slow starts and sleepy endings to scenes and chapters can ruin a manuscript's chance of being published.Conversely, solid hooks can make the sale - as workshop instructor Terry Spear demonstrates,with six publishers currently hooked for six manuscripts. Setting such practical matters aside, what author wouldn't be thrilled to hear someone say, "I couldn't put the book down"? Strong hooks are a vital ingredient in strong writing. In this online class, which features lectures, discussion, practical exercises, and handouts, she'll teach students how to captivate readers with great openings, scene hooks, chapter cliff hangers, and intriguing back cover blurbs. Participants will master the hook in all its environments, from the query letter through the novel.
About the presenter: Terry Spear has published in many genres, including romantic suspense, historical, contemporary, paranormal, and writes under the name Terry Lee Wilde for young adult paranormal and fantasyromances.She's the author of Winning The Highlander's Heart (Vintage)and one of the debut paranormal books with Sourcebooks, Heart of the Wolf, April '08, Don't Cry Wolf, Spring '09, and Deadly Liaisons(Samhain), Relative Danger, Deidre's Secret (Wild Rose Press).A young adult book is available at stores August 26, The Vampire...In My Dreams. She also writes nonfiction for numerous genealogy, WWII, teen, and family magazines, and has had romantic fiction published in True Confessions and True Romance.
Her website is: http://www.%20terryspear.%20com/
Deadline to sign up for this workshop: June 13.
Fee: $10 CHRW members; $15 non-members.
RWA Membership isn't required; anyone can take our courses. Celtic Hearts members receive 2 free workshops a year.
Where to sign up: http://www.%20celtichearts.%20org/chwksp.%20html
Please fill out the online form.
Thank you for considering our workshops!!
Vonda Sinclair Celtic Hearts Education Coordinator

The Frog Prince & Contest

I've been having weeks of troubles of one sort of another...the painter dilemma is nearly over with, I go out to mow and the lawn tractor isn't working. So what's new? I call the guy who fixes them for us, and of course my mother's and three others are ahead of mine.

In the middle of the night someone's in my bedroom, bumping around. The only one I can think of that might be making the racket, is my standard poodle, but she's been missing for going on three weeks now.

Not good. So I flip on my light switch and hope it's not a housebreaker, noisy one at that. Nope, it's my frog prince.

Actually a toad, but whoever heard of a toad prince? I'm afraid the way my luck is going lately, kissing a toad to turn him into a prince was not on the agenda. With my luck, he wouldn't turn into a handsome hunky prince, but I'd end up with warts on my lips. Call me a pessimist.

Or a realist. :)

Pucker up! Your dream love is only a kiss away. I took the coward's way out and cornered him into a wastepaper basket, then moved him outside, watching while my little horny toad hopped into the dark.

It's okay. He'll take care of a lot of bugs, and hopefully won't dig up my elephant ears. I doubt if I turned him into a prince, he'd be able to fix my mower anyway. See, I'm a realist....princes don't take out the trash either.

One other thing--the big letter "C" that appeared on my son's wall and I couldn't eliminate no matter how many times I painted over it--vanished.

Spooky music playing here.

Oh, and my mother just informed me the big head of Amazon, at least that's who she thinks he is, listed five books to read this summer on the big time news, but Heart of the Wolf wasn't on it. Thanks, Mom, I needed to know that. :)

So I toast to horny toad princes and vanishing letters that appear and disappear without reason and go back to the real world--writing Allure of the Wolf.....

Also, I'm guest blogging at Deadly Vixens today--check it out for a chance to win a free e-copy of The Vampire...In My Dreams or Winning the Highlander's Heart.

http://deadlyvixens.blogspot.com/2008/05/please-welcome-authorterry-spear.html

Terry Spear
Deidre's Secret, Relative Danger
http://www.terryspear.com/

http://www.terrywildeteenbooks.com/

My Closet Muse

A long time ago, someone brought up the discussion of muses on one of the lists. Silly, I thought. I deal in reality. Right…with my vampire, werewolf, fae, and--you name it-- stories….reality. So why does a writer who loves fantasy and the paranormal not have a muse? Because I’m the one who works hard to think this stuff up. No way am I going to give credit to some fantastical entity. No way.

And then one day one of my critique partners asked our group about everyone’s muse. She’d been to an RWA workshop, and felt like I did. She didn’t have a muse, didn’t want to think about it. Silly. But she really got into it, described her muse, and had a lot of fun doing it.

So for the first time, I began to think of my muse. She’s my height, same coloration, beautiful--just like me--only she’s thinner, younger, wears fairy-like clothes and hides in the closet.

And that’s why I don’t have a muse. What good is a closet muse? About that time I was having one of those, I refuse to call it writer’s block, but you know, something like that…when the words just won’t jump out of my fingers onto the keys and appear on the paper. I’m usually really annoyed with myself when I have this…this frustratingly annoying non-creative, non-productive period. Until I latched onto that muse and realized the problem. It was all her fault! She refused to come out of the closet.

I also had to blame my critique partner, because if she hadn’t introduced me to my muse, I wouldn’t have ever blamed anyone but myself for not getting back to my writing.

The good news is I’m busily at work again, despite the fact I have a closet muse. So remember, whether you have a muse or not, writing is an important part of a writer’s life and nothing should stop that natural drive, even if it has to be given a nudge every once in a while.

Sometimes I go months without thinking about my muse. It just happens. The idea comes to me, the words get written, the story is completed. I’m a writer. Other times, I have to drag the words out of the gray matter, hash and rehash the words on paper, and finally, with a great deal of effort, finish the story. I’m still a writer. Does my muse help?

You’d have to ask her. She won’t come out of the closet to speak to me.

Do you have a creative muse? What is she/he like?