After a three-month span that included the sudden and early deaths of both the canine companion he called “daughter” and his beloved father, indie lit penmaster Nelson Pahl deserved a break.
He finally got one&ndasheven if it pales in comparison to his heartbreaking winter.
Pahl’s Bee Balms & Burgundy, published on independent imprint Caf
After a three-month span that included the sudden and early deaths of both the canine companion he called “daughter” and his beloved father, indie lit penmaster Nelson Pahl deserved a break.
He finally got one&ndasheven if it pales in comparison to his heartbreaking winter.
Pahl’s Bee Balms & Burgundy, published on independent imprint Caf
Feb
16
Is it possible to achieve a higher romantic love than the resigned complacency we see all around us? If so, can it be sustained for long? Would many people really want it? Sure, nonfiction literature is replete with books, courses, and seminars on how to achieve romantic or marital bliss. But few of us seem to achieve it, and fewer still ever sustain it. Worse yet is that many people seem disinterested or, worse yet, disheartened.
Far fewer are works of fiction that explore such higher love as literature for readers to savor and enjoy. Coinage of Commitment was written to explore this rarified territory. It attempts to go where few have dared to tread, testing the limits of what a couple can achieve, the altitude of orbit they might be able to soar to.
Don’t be misled. This is not an easy topic. Life imposes a lot of restraints on reaching the emotional altitude we are discussing. And it cannot be obtained for free. It requires thinking as well as feeling, planning as well as carefree fulfillment. It requires risk taking, and there are payments and sacrifices that have to be made. So would it be worth it? What would you be willing to give to obtain it? What if there was just a chance to obtain it? What then?
How does this particular romantic ambition affect story production? Well, for one thing, at least in my view, it means that the main characters need to take an intellectual as well as an emotional journey to attain the level they seek. They need this just to get prepared and be capable of what they want to experience emotionally. And this opens up all sorts of literary issues to explore. How do our characters come to want such an exalted level of fulfillment for themselves? What conditions in their lives produce a hunger for it? What do they do to nourish its development? Just how do they find their way? How are they different from their peers?
Deciding to write a novel featuring higher love made the manuscript harder to sell. This is not standard fare; it defines a new category, hence it was viewed with suspicion as a risky project. Many agents dismissed it out of hand and refused to read sample chapters. Others who did, refused to change their mindset, and misunderstood the work. One criticism I got was that the characters didn’t seem quite…typical. Duh? Of course they’re not typical. How could they be?
Another criticism was writing style. Coinage has plenty of plot movement, including some exciting heroics, but it features more reflection on the main characters’ feelings and their emotional evolution and turning points. Agents and editors who criticized this approach as unfashionable had nothing to offer as an alternate to describing characters loving at a higher level. Simply describing plot developments from an action standpoint won’t cut it for a work with this ambition.
I portray higher love as something feasible, but difficult to achieve, hence likely to be attained by very few. When Wayne and Nancy achieve it, they feel that they have no one to compare themselves with. I think that is the correct answer for our current culture and societal situation, but there is no data on this that I am aware of, hence it is difficult to rely on anything but your own experience. I heartily welcome reader views on this topic.
Feb
12
Is it possible to achieve a higher romantic love than the resigned complacency we see all around us? If so, can it be sustained for long? Would many people really want it? Sure, nonfiction literature is replete with books, courses, and seminars on how to achieve romantic or marital bliss. But few of us seem to achieve it, and fewer still ever sustain it. Worse yet is that many people seem disinterested or, worse yet, disheartened.
Far fewer are works of fiction that explore such higher love as literature for readers to savor and enjoy. Coinage of Commitment was written to explore this rarified territory. It attempts to go where few have dared to tread, testing the limits of what a couple can achieve, the altitude of orbit they might be able to soar to.
Don’t be misled. This is not an easy topic. Life imposes a lot of restraints on reaching the emotional altitude we are discussing. And it cannot be obtained for free. It requires thinking as well as feeling, planning as well as carefree fulfillment. It requires risk taking, and there are payments and sacrifices that have to be made. So would it be worth it? What would you be willing to give to obtain it? What if there was just a chance to obtain it? What then?
How does this particular romantic ambition affect story production? Well, for one thing, at least in my view, it means that the main characters need to take an intellectual as well as an emotional journey to attain the level they seek. They need this just to get prepared and be capable of what they want to experience emotionally. And this opens up all sorts of literary issues to explore. How do our characters come to want such an exalted level of fulfillment for themselves? What conditions in their lives produce a hunger for it? What do they do to nourish its development? Just how do they find their way? How are they different from their peers?
Deciding to write a novel featuring higher love made the manuscript harder to sell. This is not standard fare; it defines a new category, hence it was viewed with suspicion as a risky project. Many agents dismissed it out of hand and refused to read sample chapters. Others who did, refused to change their mindset, and misunderstood the work. One criticism I got was that the characters didn’t seem quite…typical. Duh? Of course they’re not typical. How could they be?
Another criticism was writing style. Coinage has plenty of plot movement, including some exciting heroics, but it features more reflection on the main characters’ feelings and their emotional evolution and turning points. Agents and editors who criticized this approach as unfashionable had nothing to offer as an alternate to describing characters loving at a higher level. Simply describing plot developments from an action standpoint won’t cut it for a work with this ambition.
I portray higher love as something feasible, but difficult to achieve, hence likely to be attained by very few. When Wayne and Nancy achieve it, they feel that they have no one to compare themselves with. I think that is the correct answer for our current culture and societal situation, but there is no data on this that I am aware of, hence it is difficult to rely on anything but your own experience. I heartily welcome reader views on this topic.
Py: How did you get your pen name as Maruerite Arotin?
Marguerite: My real name is Dana but when I decided to write romance, I always knew Dana would be too unisex for the romance market. So I thought about my nickname. My grandma used to call me Daisy and my hubby eventually picked it up too. Marguerite is french for Daisy and I’m part French so I loved that ;-). Arotin was my late mother-in-law’s maiden name so I took the name in honor of her and plus it flowed nicely with Marguerite. I will be marketing all books under my pen name of Marguerite Arotin.
Py: When did you start reading romance novels?
Marguerite: It was just after I met my hubby that I picked up my very first romance novel. I think meeting someone so perfect for me taught me that true love does exist and that maybe those romance novels I always thought were so sappy could come true. But then I met Phil and the attraction hit me like a ton of bricks. I can’t imagine any other guy who can fulfill my needs as much as he can and I wouldn’t want to satisfy any other man but him. Since I was a bit of a history nut, I picked up a historical by Linda Lael Miller and then got addicted to the genre.
Believe it or not, prior to meeting my husband, Phillip, I was a bit of a young cynic when it came to romance and relationships. I met Phil when I was nineteen years old and prior to that, well I seemed to end up with a lot of jerks. At least I had a sense of humor of my unfortunate social life: I kept telling everyone I might as well adopt a bunch of cats and become the world’s youngest spinster.
Py: What inspired you to write your romance story, The Locktender’s Daughter?
Marguerite: It wasn’t until the unthinkable happened, when my hubby lost his job and I just had a baby, that I even considered writing my own my romance novel. I’ve always loved local Ohio history. I would walk the old towpath trail wondering what life was like back when the mules pulled the boats through the murky canal water. I happened to find some notes for a story I wanted to write, a historical romance set along the Ohio & Erie canal, and decided I would write it. By the time my hubby found another job, I was too caught up in the story to stop writing. As I learned more about my craft, I realized how crappy the first MS I completed was and decided it wasn’t worth revising. But that first story led to a sequel, called The Locktender’s Daughter, and I loved that tale :-). I knew I didn’t have enough experience yet to try a large print publishing house or even go for an agent, but I submitted my tale to a few e-book/POD presses and TheLocktender’s Daughter found a home with Wings.
Py: Any tips for romance writers?
Marguerite: I’ve learned that everyone has their own writing techniques and they have to use what works best for them. Some people just allow the story to roam freely and other’s tend to go all out and do full outlines. I do a mixture of both.
I want to add here is how important it is never to give up on your dream. It took me a good two years of submitting The Locktender’s Daughter before I found a home for it. I knew I had a great story, I knew it my heart. I loved Bethany and Tyler too much to give up them. Writing is one of the toughest jobs out there and those rejection letters can hurt. But you have to put it aside and remember that people behind those rejection letters, agents, editors, etc, are not rejecting you and if you love your story and characters enough, you have to keep trying no matter what. I did and I found a great home for Bethany and Tyler :-).
Py: Your Contact Information and your giveaways to readers?:
Marguerite: My first historical romance novel will be published with Wings Press ( .wings-press.com/) in May of next year. My site at .ohioromance.net
As far as giveaways, I have the first three unedited chapters of The Locktender’s Daughter posted at my website .ohioromance.net/excerpts.htm
I’ve really got to update my page because it says that TLD is still in the hands of the editors at Wings and it’s already been contracted. Guess when you spend too much time writing, you forget about simple things like remembering to update your site. I’ll get it updated before Sunday. I do post free excerpts in my myspace blog from time to time and have been posting a lot lately from my teenage sorceress for my NANOWRIMO YA project. Also I will be running a contest around May in conjuction with the release of my story, I have no idea of what I’m going to do yet but it will probably have something to do with canal history :-).
Feb
1
Imagery and Characterization, can the two ever meet outside of an English class?
Seething volcano or skittish bird, what image best fits your characters and why would anyone care? Last time I talked about giving a unified imagery set to your main characters. I outlined how choosing basic element properties to your characters creates adds texture and EASE to a character arc. We went with the basic earth, air, wind, and fire possibilities. But let’s say you want to go one step further. How would that work and why?
Make your imagery more specific. First off, add metal to your list of elements. Then while you’re at it, maybe add all the elements of the periodic table. What if your hero is a tinman in search of a heart? Give him metallic colors to wear and surround himself in. Make him bendable, but when he adjusts to the heroine it gives him a sharp edge to his words and actions.
Now start picking out words to use for your hero. Match it with all five senses, but make sure to pick words that reflect both the good and the bad. You want to be able to indicate your character’s changes from a problem through growth into happiness (and love). Confused? Try these examples. For sight&ndashmetallic and reflective. When people look at him they see themselves reflected back, not the man himself. When you describe him and his environment surround him in chrome and give him a tin car toy collection. Let the heroine see him as childlike but cold. Then as he grows around her, you can add color to his clothing and surroundings.
Sound&ndashtinny, brittle. You don’t have to make his voice sound tinny or thin. That’s not hero-like! But he can speak with a brittle edge or it can grate like metal on metal. He can hit something that clinks. When he’s depressed he can have a hollow echo to his tone, but as he warms to the heroine, his voice gets depth and color. Eventually&ndashat the end&ndashsomeone hears his heartbeat. Even the music he listens to changes from Metallica to country&ndashor maybe that’s too much of a stretch.
Touch&ndashsharp but malleable. Initially his touches are cold and angry words hit like shards. But as he changes, his rough edges smooth. His face is not chiseled but pressed or shaped. Then when he smiles he shows a kind of light (heroine’s reflected light). She warms him (because metal doesn’t carry his own warmth), but he protects her and brings out her child-like qualities (because he’s a tin toy).
Now you add taste and scent. Truthfully, with a tin toy image, I stick with cold feel, metallic taste, and sterile scent. None of that is erotic or hero-like. So if you mention these things, keep them at the beginning of the book, letting the negative words drop away as he changes for the better. He is, after all, gaining a heart and growing into a real boy. But remember, he can be a geologist or a metal worker. He can work in a sterile room or be comfortable in clinical settings.
So now you get the idea, but don’t just stop there. Make your images very specific. My hero in Tempted Tigress is a Chinese ink and brush set. He’s a scholar and when he feels drained, I say that his words were like ink mixed too thin. His body is thin and pointed, and during the love scene, his touch paints words on her.
My heroine in Cornered Tigress is a cat. Every time she enters a room, she experiences it first through taste and scent. When she’s afraid she tends to go into tiny enclosed spaces. You can use anything that sparks your imagination, so…go wild!
Jan
27
Imagery and Characterization, can the two ever meet outside of an English class?
Seething volcano or skittish bird, what image best fits your characters and why would anyone care? Last time I talked about giving a unified imagery set to your main characters. I outlined how choosing basic element properties to your characters creates adds texture and EASE to a character arc. We went with the basic earth, air, wind, and fire possibilities. But let’s say you want to go one step further. How would that work and why?
Make your imagery more specific. First off, add metal to your list of elements. Then while you’re at it, maybe add all the elements of the periodic table. What if your hero is a tinman in search of a heart? Give him metallic colors to wear and surround himself in. Make him bendable, but when he adjusts to the heroine it gives him a sharp edge to his words and actions.
Now start picking out words to use for your hero. Match it with all five senses, but make sure to pick words that reflect both the good and the bad. You want to be able to indicate your character’s changes from a problem through growth into happiness (and love). Confused? Try these examples. For sight&ndashmetallic and reflective. When people look at him they see themselves reflected back, not the man himself. When you describe him and his environment surround him in chrome and give him a tin car toy collection. Let the heroine see him as childlike but cold. Then as he grows around her, you can add color to his clothing and surroundings.
Sound&ndashtinny, brittle. You don’t have to make his voice sound tinny or thin. That’s not hero-like! But he can speak with a brittle edge or it can grate like metal on metal. He can hit something that clinks. When he’s depressed he can have a hollow echo to his tone, but as he warms to the heroine, his voice gets depth and color. Eventually&ndashat the end&ndashsomeone hears his heartbeat. Even the music he listens to changes from Metallica to country&ndashor maybe that’s too much of a stretch.
Touch&ndashsharp but malleable. Initially his touches are cold and angry words hit like shards. But as he changes, his rough edges smooth. His face is not chiseled but pressed or shaped. Then when he smiles he shows a kind of light (heroine’s reflected light). She warms him (because metal doesn’t carry his own warmth), but he protects her and brings out her child-like qualities (because he’s a tin toy).
Now you add taste and scent. Truthfully, with a tin toy image, I stick with cold feel, metallic taste, and sterile scent. None of that is erotic or hero-like. So if you mention these things, keep them at the beginning of the book, letting the negative words drop away as he changes for the better. He is, after all, gaining a heart and growing into a real boy. But remember, he can be a geologist or a metal worker. He can work in a sterile room or be comfortable in clinical settings.
So now you get the idea, but don’t just stop there. Make your images very specific. My hero in Tempted Tigress is a Chinese ink and brush set. He’s a scholar and when he feels drained, I say that his words were like ink mixed too thin. His body is thin and pointed, and during the love scene, his touch paints words on her.
My heroine in Cornered Tigress is a cat. Every time she enters a room, she experiences it first through taste and scent. When she’s afraid she tends to go into tiny enclosed spaces. You can use anything that sparks your imagination, so…go wild!
Py: How did you get your pen name as Maruerite Arotin?
Marguerite: My real name is Dana but when I decided to write romance, I always knew Dana would be too unisex for the romance market. So I thought about my nickname. My grandma used to call me Daisy and my hubby eventually picked it up too. Marguerite is french for Daisy and I’m part French so I loved that ;-). Arotin was my late mother-in-law’s maiden name so I took the name in honor of her and plus it flowed nicely with Marguerite. I will be marketing all books under my pen name of Marguerite Arotin.
Py: When did you start reading romance novels?
Marguerite: It was just after I met my hubby that I picked up my very first romance novel. I think meeting someone so perfect for me taught me that true love does exist and that maybe those romance novels I always thought were so sappy could come true. But then I met Phil and the attraction hit me like a ton of bricks. I can’t imagine any other guy who can fulfill my needs as much as he can and I wouldn’t want to satisfy any other man but him. Since I was a bit of a history nut, I picked up a historical by Linda Lael Miller and then got addicted to the genre.
Believe it or not, prior to meeting my husband, Phillip, I was a bit of a young cynic when it came to romance and relationships. I met Phil when I was nineteen years old and prior to that, well I seemed to end up with a lot of jerks. At least I had a sense of humor of my unfortunate social life: I kept telling everyone I might as well adopt a bunch of cats and become the world’s youngest spinster.
Py: What inspired you to write your romance story, The Locktender’s Daughter?
Marguerite: It wasn’t until the unthinkable happened, when my hubby lost his job and I just had a baby, that I even considered writing my own my romance novel. I’ve always loved local Ohio history. I would walk the old towpath trail wondering what life was like back when the mules pulled the boats through the murky canal water. I happened to find some notes for a story I wanted to write, a historical romance set along the Ohio & Erie canal, and decided I would write it. By the time my hubby found another job, I was too caught up in the story to stop writing. As I learned more about my craft, I realized how crappy the first MS I completed was and decided it wasn’t worth revising. But that first story led to a sequel, called The Locktender’s Daughter, and I loved that tale :-). I knew I didn’t have enough experience yet to try a large print publishing house or even go for an agent, but I submitted my tale to a few e-book/POD presses and TheLocktender’s Daughter found a home with Wings.
Py: Any tips for romance writers?
Marguerite: I’ve learned that everyone has their own writing techniques and they have to use what works best for them. Some people just allow the story to roam freely and other’s tend to go all out and do full outlines. I do a mixture of both.
I want to add here is how important it is never to give up on your dream. It took me a good two years of submitting The Locktender’s Daughter before I found a home for it. I knew I had a great story, I knew it my heart. I loved Bethany and Tyler too much to give up them. Writing is one of the toughest jobs out there and those rejection letters can hurt. But you have to put it aside and remember that people behind those rejection letters, agents, editors, etc, are not rejecting you and if you love your story and characters enough, you have to keep trying no matter what. I did and I found a great home for Bethany and Tyler :-).
Py: Your Contact Information and your giveaways to readers?:
Marguerite: My first historical romance novel will be published with Wings Press ( .wings-press.com/) in May of next year. My site at .ohioromance.net
As far as giveaways, I have the first three unedited chapters of The Locktender’s Daughter posted at my website .ohioromance.net/excerpts.htm
I’ve really got to update my page because it says that TLD is still in the hands of the editors at Wings and it’s already been contracted. Guess when you spend too much time writing, you forget about simple things like remembering to update your site. I’ll get it updated before Sunday. I do post free excerpts in my myspace blog from time to time and have been posting a lot lately from my teenage sorceress for my NANOWRIMO YA project. Also I will be running a contest around May in conjuction with the release of my story, I have no idea of what I’m going to do yet but it will probably have something to do with canal history :-).
Jan
24
Imagery and Characterization, can the two ever meet outside of an English class?
Is your hero a volcano, seething with fury and ready to burst at any moment? Is your heroine a skittish crane attempting to fly far, far away whenever trouble startles her? How about something more basic? Earth, air, fire, or water. When they’re angry, do they darken, flash, seethe, or boil? When they’re excited, do they thicken or sear, experience lightning or rivers of fire?
Talk about imagery and even writers roll back to their worst high school English class. That’s unfortunate because there is no easier tool for characterization than using good consistent imagery. How many of us have read something like this: His touch was like a hot brand against her skin. Her heart quivered with longing as he stabbed her with his arrow of luv. Okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. Cliche imagery for cliche stories.
So many romance novels end up with Ken and Barbie characters. Physically they’re perfect, emotionally they’re perfect&ndashexcept for their one scar that is the focus of their arc. Barbie needs to learn to trust because she’s been dumped before. Ken lost his last girlfriend to a fire because he was a coma at the time therefore it was all his fault and he now has a protect the world from its own stupidity. I’m making fun here, but romance readers know how the same emotional baggage in the hands of one author is farce in someone else’s.
So how do you make your characters deeply emotional people with real problems instead of Ken in a coma? Hard work. Ha! You thought I was going to say imagery. No, good imagery will not save a stupid book. But consistent imagery will deepen your characters and&ndashhere’s the good part&ndashkeep your themes in your head from the beginning all the way through to the end of the book. Yup. Since writing is HARD WORK, anything that makes it EASIER WORK gets a thumbs up from me.
Raise your hand if you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about. Think of your heroine. For this example, we’ll call her Better Than Barbie (BTB). What’s her character arc? What does she learn through the course of the book? How does she change? If you can’t answer that, sit down and think of an answer. You can’t write a credible book without it. Remember, the answer could be that she doesn’t change. Despite everything, she remains rock solid in her beliefs.
Great, now BTB has a character arc. Let say BTB needs to learn to forgive, not only herself for her bad choices but her Mother From Hell who set her up with the Fianc
Jan
19
Imagery and Characterization, can the two ever meet outside of an English class?
Is your hero a volcano, seething with fury and ready to burst at any moment? Is your heroine a skittish crane attempting to fly far, far away whenever trouble startles her? How about something more basic? Earth, air, fire, or water. When they’re angry, do they darken, flash, seethe, or boil? When they’re excited, do they thicken or sear, experience lightning or rivers of fire?
Talk about imagery and even writers roll back to their worst high school English class. That’s unfortunate because there is no easier tool for characterization than using good consistent imagery. How many of us have read something like this: His touch was like a hot brand against her skin. Her heart quivered with longing as he stabbed her with his arrow of luv. Okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. Cliche imagery for cliche stories.
So many romance novels end up with Ken and Barbie characters. Physically they’re perfect, emotionally they’re perfect&ndashexcept for their one scar that is the focus of their arc. Barbie needs to learn to trust because she’s been dumped before. Ken lost his last girlfriend to a fire because he was a coma at the time therefore it was all his fault and he now has a protect the world from its own stupidity. I’m making fun here, but romance readers know how the same emotional baggage in the hands of one author is farce in someone else’s.
So how do you make your characters deeply emotional people with real problems instead of Ken in a coma? Hard work. Ha! You thought I was going to say imagery. No, good imagery will not save a stupid book. But consistent imagery will deepen your characters and&ndashhere’s the good part&ndashkeep your themes in your head from the beginning all the way through to the end of the book. Yup. Since writing is HARD WORK, anything that makes it EASIER WORK gets a thumbs up from me.
Raise your hand if you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about. Think of your heroine. For this example, we’ll call her Better Than Barbie (BTB). What’s her character arc? What does she learn through the course of the book? How does she change? If you can’t answer that, sit down and think of an answer. You can’t write a credible book without it. Remember, the answer could be that she doesn’t change. Despite everything, she remains rock solid in her beliefs.
Great, now BTB has a character arc. Let say BTB needs to learn to forgive, not only herself for her bad choices but her Mother From Hell who set her up with the Fianc