#romance author

When Nicky is done reading his newspaper, he likes to take a moment of his morning to do the word jumble. But this one seems to be about him…? How many Two Against The World related words can you find?

Sergio has been called to go back into the office - no more WFH attire for him . Personally, we think he looks rather dashing without his pants - what do you think?

If you aren’t familiar with Nicky yet, take a look at this post… and then go hang out with him in our story, “Two Against The World”!

It’s been a close call for our hero, only just winning the vote by 1%, but here are the results for who you would like to cast as the real life cast of Two Against the World!

Photo credit left to right: EVAN AGOSTINI, Riker Brothers, Getty

Floyd Capo is one crime family boss you don’t want to cross! What would you do if you met him in a dark alley?

Have you read Two Against the World yet? If not, now is the perfect time to meet Nicky and discover where a trip to the theater will take you! If you have, why not see what happens if you make different choices!

It’s here it’s here it’s here! IF I TOLD YOU is available now! All links here, available in paperback, audio, and ebook. I can’t wait for you to meet Paige + Alex.

Tomorrow! I’m revealing the title of my next book!

Will you come to this dance?

It’s some spring formal dance…

It’s March 1st, and it’s cheese.

But it’s fun and it’s free…

Do I even write musical theatre romance books if I don’t acknowledge there’s a dance tonight?

(My new superpower revealed.)

Have you ever wondered about that mysterious part of a writing journey between story development and fixing your grammar? A magical place exists called line editingorsubstantive editing, in which an editor goes through your writing line by line to make your writing stronger, clearer, more elegant, with flow and rhythm and shine.

It’s rewording a description, switching a sentence around, eliminating wordiness, creating emphasis, fixing the tone, and trying to find the perfect word choice. It’s half technical and half creativity.

Simply put, it’s a case ofwrite what you mean. 

And this becomes quite difficult when words have shades of meaning. “Cheap” doesn’t have the same elegance as “affordable.” “Scream” has a startling effect compared to “shout.” It can be problematic to write “I reached out my hand to the side” which could mean anything but in the context it really means “I took my son’s hand.”

Writing doesn’t always get clarified and tightened properly through regular grammar fixes. Or worse, you don’t even realize you have a writing issue until someone brings it up. Like bad breath. (Shit. Does anybody have a mint? Or an editor?)

What do some of these sentence-level issues actually look like? And how does line editing help?

The Implausible Action Sequence

“Opening the door, I clicked on my seatbelt.”

I like to think of this as the rubbing your belly and patting your head game. There are some things you can do at the same time, and there are many things you can’t do at the same time.

First you open the door, then you put on your seatbelt. The change may seem insignificant, but the difference is characters who move awkwardly, and having seamless action.

Backing into the Sentence

“Running down the stairs, grabbing lunch, and opening the door, I smiled.”

This type of structure can be difficult for readers to get through. They don’t know who is doing all of these actions until they get to the end. And it feels like your brain is losing oxygen. This is a real clarity issue and messes with the flow of storytelling.

Objective Descriptions/Ambiguous Intentions

“He brought his arm up, with his palm open toward the front of the classroom.”

We aren’t aliens studying the human species on planet Earth. Maybe I am. But because I’m trying to blend in with the human race, I’d simply say, “He raised his hand in class.”

And this provides an intention to the action—he has a question. We don’t get that intention in the first example.

Again, seems silly, but I see it quite often in books. This issue puts a barrier between the character and the reader. Micro-actions feel murky and we miss the opportunity for rich characterization on the page (intention).

Turn-by-Turn Action

“I splashed water on my face. Then I put on my apron and got out the cutting board and knife. I took out the ingredients of lemon, fish, and herbs. Then I started heating up the pan. I salted and peppered the fish and sliced the lemon into wedges. Myra called and asked what she should bring. I told her a bottle of white wine. When the fish was prepped, I added a few sprigs of rosemary to the pan. Then I sautéed the fish. After two minutes, I flipped it.”

There’s a more elegant way to handle these lines. We need to examine what’s relevant for readers to know and what goes without saying. This issue lags the story pacing and may cause readers to lose interest. In the meantime, we should leave the turn-by-turn account to a GPS.

That’s why I’m offering a line editing service.It’s a beefier level of attention to your words that surpasses grammar editing and makes you a better writer. You can strengthen not only your manuscript but your skill—and take it with you for the next book. And the next book. And the book after that.

Because words aren’t just words. They orchestrate an entire reading experience.

Many weeks ago I was chatting with another editor, whom I greatly respect, about what’s expected of heroes to meet romance trends and get published.

Regarding an author’s manuscript, she thought it weird for the hero to be a dancer. That it didn’t quite fit with being a manly/attractive enough career.

I didn’t read the manuscript. Maybe she was right for that particular story. But the other part of me wondered, why can’t he be a dancer?

Although not a novel, but a romantic story nonetheless, I have two words:

Dirty Dancing.

The moment Patrick Swayze does his first hip thrust, I want to die a good death.

And have you ever seen a male ballet dancer up close? All that muscled grace…holy hell.

Or a Broadway star giving it his all? See Hugh Jackman on the Internet.

Dancers and performers are talented athletes. They practice, they sweat, they push themselves to incredible physical limits that would make me cry and give up after all the chest wheezing. The wheezing that makes me think this is it, this is how it ends.

Bottom line: I’d celebrate a dancing hero in a romance novel.

All of this got me thinking about what we expect from heroes. We love the high-powered bossman in a slim suit. We love the rugged rancher with calloused hands. We love the undercover operative who leads a mission. We love the prince who commands an army but secretly wishes for a normal life.

High-powered…rugged…leads…commanding. I’m noticing a theme here. These traits are used often for our beloved heroes.

Maybe we’re giving the people what they want.

But are we being unfair to heroes?

In real life, I’ve known men who cry, who feel unsure or shy, who don’t like to lead at all, who get lost in trying to find the right career. And who become hairdressers, assistants, waiters, and fashion designers, whether it’s temporary or they feel passionate doing what they do. These guys are all man.

Yet more often than not, it’s usually side characters and heroines who seem to fill these roles in novels.

Sometimes we create these stereotypes for ourselves, when we don’t have to.

If you write the best hero you can, motivated, sympathetic, and believable (even with traits like commanding or shy) then it shouldn’t matter if he has a “less manly” career—whatever that actually is.

We say all the time that heroines can do or be anything, from CEO to airplane pilot. That means heroes can do or be anything too. Even be a dancer. Yum.

Want to work with me? Head over to my website and say hello!

Maybe you have the meet-cute down, but struggled with the climax(ooh-la-la). Maybe your characters have wit but lack chemistry. Maybe the chemistry is hot, but the plot is lukewarm. Maybe you’re incredibly frustrated with not knowing what to revise.

Or maybe you’re the opposite: You have a solid novel with just a few kinks.

Whatever your writing woes entail, one thing is certain: Your book deserves a professional editor to give you quality feedback on the meat of your story, to unearth the excellentandeh about your novel, and recommend fresh and creative ideas for fixing problems.

Enter: The Developmental Report

Affordable developmental editing packaged into a lengthy letter. This report gives you amazing feedback about your story and the freedom to revise on your own. Painlessly.

Because when your story is bulletproof and quality, it gets you farther than the marketing blitz in an overcrowded industry.

Despite the dying cries of publishing companies and retailers, the market is saturated with new books every year—especially by the romance genre. In 2014, romance generated 1.44 billion dollars and is the highest selling genre worldwide. (Second highest is mystery, which made HALF that amount.)

That means you’re competing in an already fertile playground where intelligent, discerning readers have an abundance of traditionally published and self-published romances to choose from.

If your book isn’t standing out, then it’s dragging with the herd.

The single most important factor readers use when deciding to buy a romance novel is: the story.

And that’s what The Developmental Report is all about.

• Develop characters that make readers care.
• Perfectly time your plot and turning points.
• Move your plot forward with every single scene.
• Bring your fictional world to life with setting and sensory details.
• Pace your story, not too rushed or lagged, but just right.
• Give readers a satisfying ending they’ll never forget.

You can make sure your book is true to your vision and working for you.

This is the perfect opportunity to get me and my experience without a long editing process (which, as you may know, can cost thousands of dollars, and take months of your time).

I’ll share your goals, celebrate your strengths, and encourage your efforts. Because sometimes it’s nice to have a little extra support. Sometimes your life partner and friends are tired of hearing about your problem-child book. Sometimes it’s better to have a caring human expert on your side than to go it alone.

And sometimes…it’s just good sense to cover your butt before you publish.

Don’t miss a chance to get The Developmental Report for your manuscript.