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Tag Archives: Megan

Class Warfare

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Many of the Riskies–probably all, when I review all of our books–have had our heroes and heroines cross class lines to find love.

Right now, I am revising a manuscript where a genteel woman meets and falls in love with a member of the aristocracy. And I am reading Loretta Chase’s Silk Is For Seduction, where a dressmaker meets–and presumably falls in love with–a member of the aristocracy. A duke, no less.
Now, we’ve all discussed how dukes are very thick on the ground in our romances, and that it would be near impossible for a duke to actually marry someone who didn’t share some of his aristocratic blood lines. So just pretend the hero or heroine is a member of the aristocracy, but not as high as a duke; can you suspend disbelief enough to think they’d fall in love? I know it happened in real life, if rarely, and could those couples look forward to a married life of ostracism from the ton? How different would their worlds be?
In my heroine’s case, she’s never left the small village where she grew up, and now she is heading for London, where she will be introduced as the hero’s wife. I’m wrestling with how much she would know already, in terms of polite behavior, and if she would be absolutely freaked out upon encountering London. She does take things in stride, generally, but it would still be a shock.
Last question, do you like reading romances where the couples cross class lines? Which are your favorite?
Thanks!
Posted in Reading, Writing | Tagged | 8 Replies

Writing and Worrying

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A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.Thomas Mann, German writer (1875 – 1955)

I can’t do this. I can. No, I really can’t. This is terrible. Why am I wasting my time? Why can’t I be as good as [insert fantastic author here].

Yeah, welcome to the inside of my head. I’ve been working on a second Regency-set historical, and it is about 2/3rds of the way done. But–and this is a big but–I’m not sure if it’s good. I’ve got a lot of ends to tie up, some to undo in the first place still, and I worry I’m just writing loads of words where nothing happens.

My case is not unusual. In fact, I doubt if there are any authors out there who haven’t had the same derisive little voices lodged inside their heads (well, all except Barbara Cartland, who apparently thought she was all that and a side of fries). So–given that giving up is not an option, how do we rise above (which, of course, reminds me of hardcore band Black Flag‘s song “Rise Above,” which is an anthemic triumph. But I digress–a natural problem when one is beset by insecurities.

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image or idiom will make it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”, 1946, English essayist, novelist, & satirist (1903 – 1950)

Last week, I printed my whole manuscript out and read it over with a pen and some post-its in hand. I edited, wrote down themes and plot points I needed to bring in and/or flesh out, and this week I’ve been incorporating the smaller edits and am getting prepared to dive in for the bigger stuff. But what if it still stinks?

Keep writing. Keep doing it and doing it. Even in the moments when it’s so hurtful to think about writing.Heather Armstrong, Keynote Speech, SXSW 2006

My mind has been chasing itself in circles, nutty dog style. Can I assemble a plotting group? Should I revisit the synopsis and try to nail down my story? Do I just plunge back in and start writing again and see where the story takes me (“. . . to Stinkyville,” my mind answers. Shut up, mind!).

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you’re working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success – but only if you persist.
Isaac Asimov, US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 – 1992)

Stay tuned. I guess if I were secure, I’d be content with my stinky story, and wonder why my readers (if, indeed, this manuscript reaches the point of publication) didn’t like it as much as I did.

We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.
W. Somerset Maugham, English dramatist & novelist (1874 – 1965)

And now–back to the work-in-progress.

Megan

www.meganframpton.com

Posted in Writing | Tagged | 7 Replies

Cara Elliot at Lady Jane’s

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Amanda is off dealing with computer stuff, so I am filling in today!

Let me tell you what I did last night. Nope, it wasn’t stay at home and cajole the middle-grader to get his homework done; that’s every other night!
I went to Lady Jane’s Salon, a monthly event in New York City that has since spread to other metropolises. Lady Jane’s is a social gathering where romance authors come to read from their upcoming or current works, usually about three authors in total, and always a vast mix of genres.
Cara Elliot, whose Too Tempting to Resist is out April 24, was one of the three reading authors last night, and her scene, where the heroine inadvertently gets herself stuck into some velvet-padded handcuffs, was delicious! The hero attempts to get her out of them–you know, as heroes do–only he is entirely unclothed, they are in his bedroom, and they’ve already shared one passionate kiss.
Ahem. Let’s just say, it was one frisky scene.
We’ve talked about it before, but let me reiterate that there is something profoundly special about spending real time with people who read and love the same things you do. Having authors share their passion to a room full of devoted romance readers is an incredible experience, and I am preordering Cara’s book today.
Have you gotten to see any authors read before? Who was it, and did it give you a deeper understanding of the book?
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Megan Sells Some Books!

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I am at the Romantic Times conference this week, and so far have not indulged my introverted side and broken down in tears. Yet.

And this week the news is out and official–I’ve sold two Regency-set historicals to Random House’s Loveswept line:

Megan Frampton’s new Regency-set historical romance, HERO OF MY HEART, the first in a back-to-back Soldier Series wherein an opium-addicted marquess suffering from PTSD and a vicar’s daughter enter into a twisted marriage of convenience to save each other, to Sue Grimshaw at Loveswept, for publication in early 2013, in a two-book deal, by Louise Fury at L. Perkins Agency (world).

I am working on the final revisions now, and then I’ll be starting to write the second book in the deal. I still can’t quite believe it, and I’m so thrilled readers are going to be able to meet Alasdair and Mary. I love these two, even though he is an autocratic selfish jerk, and she is far too chipper in the morning.

Megan

Posted in Risky Book Talk | Tagged | 17 Replies

“The Night They Drove Ol’ Dixie Down”

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Earlier this week, Levon Helm passed after fighting throat cancer for ten years. Helm is most known for being the drummer and singer for The Band, the group that backed Bob Dylan when he went electric and who went on to release several albums on their own.

The Band was–and remains–one of my favorite bands ever, and there’s not enough room, time, and your patience for me to explain why. But this clip, showing one of their most famous songs, can do a lot towards a decent explanation.
First off, Helm’s voice is ragged, rough, and earnest, and the song itself tells a story in just about four minutes it might take us novelists at least a lengthy novella to do. The music is just as ragged, rough, and earnest, but all five of The Band’s members were distinct in their playing, and at least three of them (Garth Hudson, keyboards, Helm, drummer, and Robbie Robertson, guitar) were brilliant musicians. The song takes the unpopular losing side as well, making the Rebel side more human because of their…humanity.
I know some of what informs my writing is what I took from what I loved about The Band. I am glad to share my love of them here, and am grateful Levon was around so long to share his music.
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