Return to Me You’ve got Mail Sleepless in Seattle While you were Sleeping These are just a few of the wonderful favorite romances listed over the My Book Therapy discussion board. And they all contain the 10 elements of a Romance I went over last week – here’s a quick review: Boy Meets Girl – An event, goal or circumstance occurs to bring our hero and heroine together Interest/Need – Something about their own situation makes their heart vulnerable to romance Why Not – Obstacles between the hero and heroine, and True Love conspire to separate them Wooing – Events or situations allow the hero and heroine to fall in love Sparks – Dialogue and action create romantic tension Kiss – Leading to sexual tension Breakup – The biggest Why […]
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Advice from Sandra Bishop, awesome Literary Agent!
Susie here: So, one of my favorite agents is Sandra Bishop with Chip MacGregor Literary. I’ve gotten to know her a bit this last year – and not only is she mega fun, but she also has a great eye for a story. I love talking books with her and getting her insights. She shared this great bit of advice for writers yesterday over at Chip MacGregor’s blog….she gave me permission to pass it along to you! Thanks, Sandra!! BOOK REPORT: What Sandra Learned This Summer Okay, so summer isn’t the vacation it used to be, is it? I’m still in denial about that. When my kid gets out of school in June, I’m still of the mindset that life should be should be all about popsicles, […]
Read the RestMBT Interview: Thomas Nelson Senior Editor, Ami McConnell
I’ve been privileged to work with some wonderful editors in the CBA. For the past four years, I’ve been under the tutelage of Thomas Nelson’s Senior Acquisitions Editor, Ami McConnell. She’s such a gift to me as a writer and story teller, helping me hone my skill and art, but by being my champion. When I sold my first 2 books to TNI, the ACFW Conference was in Nashville that year, home of country music and Thomas Nelson. The conference hotel was right across from the fiction (then West Bow) offices! Ami had just given birth to her third child, a beautiful girl. Even though she was on maternity leave, she took time to meet with me, picking me up from the hotel, driving me to coffee, and spending a […]
Read the RestDialog, Subtexting, Talking Heads
Let’s talk. Dialog. My passion. When I was a preteen, my friends and I created worlds where we were scientist, teachers, single women living in a loft in Minneapolis. (Mary Tyler Moore anyone?) Weight Walkers, our twelve year old version of Weight Watchers. We played out our scenarios in my friend’s basement. In our bedrooms. Outside, riding our bikes. (The Weight Walkers version of make believe.) And without a doubt, the only way our pretend world worked was with dialog. We could motion, gesture, observe each other, pass notes, write on the chalk board and speed past one another on our bikes calling out, “race you!” and never created a make believe world. We had to make up dialog. We had to become characters in our play world. This is […]
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