Isn’t It Romantic? How to Create Romance

Let’s talk romance.

Yes, men, stay with me. This is good for you too. Especially if you have any romantic thread in your books.

The romantic thread is key to almost every story. A few authors write with little to no romance but most of us have some kind of romantic tension in our stories.

Lately, I’ve seen a few reviews where readers felt the romance in the book was just physical. Nothing but kissing and touching, or nothing how the other “look.” The readers felt deprived of the romantic relationship.

Romance is more about heart than “hand” so to speak.

It’s about how the characters feel about each other. It’s emotion. Connection on a soul-to-soul level.

I remember while writing Diva Nashvegas, I felt the sexual tension between Aubrey and Scott long before they’d even held hands.

When they finally did hold hands, look out. Sparks! Boom! Fireworks!

In fact, we have to be careful not to be too enticing or sensual as we lead up to the first kiss or touch.

The romantic connection must have an emotional hook.

How do you do that?

One Thing Marketing: Ten Tips for Event Marketing Part 2

Two weeks ago we talked about the first five tips I picked up along the way as I planned for my very first book launch party. The party was a blast! You can check out Part 1 here. Five more event marketing tips coming at ya today:

6) Give people the opportunity to stay connected after the party

Something like a launch party or book signing can be a great one-time interaction between you and readers, but how much better is it if you can find a way to stay connected after the party? I mentioned in Part 1 that I did a pretty big giveaway as part of my launch party. We had five grand prizes, worth about $25 a piece. In order to enter, though, people had to sign up for my newsletter list. I now have an avenue for staying in touch with these readers.

Other ways you could stay connected: Send a “thanks for coming” eblast to attendees, give them an incentive to visit your website after the party, post party photos on Facebook and invite attendees to tag themselves, etc.

7) Collect information

Going along with that last tip, because your attendees cared enough to come out to your event, they’re people you’ll want to consider for future launch teams or other book promotion opportunities. So don’t miss this chance to data-gather. Collect names and email addresses, for sure!

Some Shameless Storycrafter Retreat Promotion!

Where did the time go? That’s the thought I had as I hung up with an aspiring writer after spending two hours helping her with a novel. We had so much fun brainstorming her book the time slipped away.

I love helping writers find their story. And I’m blessed when I receive feedback like this:

“Something in your approach (all those check points and lists) caused some pieces to click into place that hadn’t before so that I could think better about the process.”

My favorite moment in teaching – when I hear an “ah ha!” or someone looks up at me with a sparkle of understanding in their eyes.

That’s what the MBT Storycrafter’s Retreat is about – helping you unlock your story. Whether you’ve written a handful of stories or are just starting out, we’ll spend a weekend working together to help your publishing dreams and goals come true.

You come with an idea, and leave with a story.

I’m going to brag for a moment on a few of my former attendees:

Mulit-published non-fiction author Beth Vogt showed up thinking that she’d just listen in, pretty sure writing fiction wasn’t for her. After I barred the door and told her to “come to the dark side,” she discovered she had a fiction voice. Look for her 3rd novel with Howard to hit the stands this spring!

Marketing guru Melissa Tagg knew she had a story in her- but she just didn’t know how to untangle it from her brain. She wowed us with her first chapter – and walked away on fire to write. Her first book came out with Bethany House last month!

What Are You Harvesting?

Right now all over America, farmers are hard at work bringing in the harvest a year’s crops have yielded.

If they planned well, did their diligence and were fortunately enough to avoid severe storms, they most likely have a bumper crop.

Just like Farmer Brown in Iowa, you are harvesting as well. Maybe you’re not picking the last of the tomatoes but you are reaping the writing seeds you sowed way back when you began your year.

Hopefully, you decided on what you wanted to harvest right about now and planted the right seeds. You worked on that craft and made sure you got in your weekly word count.

Things come up just like on the farm. Perhaps you’ve dodged more than your share of early spring snows and late summer tornadoes. But what did you do after the storm? Did you care for your writing crop or did you throw in the towel?

The answer to that question determines what you’re reaping at this moment. If you are a farmer, you always farm. When things get rough and don’t go your way, you farm. When storms come across your crops, you still farm. When the tornado leaves, you pick up the pieces and, well, farm.

Writers—true honest to goodness committed wordsmiths—write. When things are good, they write. When things are bad, they still hammer out word counts. When the storms of life cause waves of despair to crash over them, they still write.

Why? The farmer can answer that better than I can. Right now—today—he’s very glad he kept farming because his silos are being filled, his cupboards are being stocked with food for the winter and his bank account is busting at the seams. He’s reaping what he sowed.

Featured Frasier Judge Kerry Nietz!

This year’s Frasier Contest has come to a close. Congratulations to the Semi-Finalists, and our Grand Winner! In order to have the Frasier each year, we introduce the Judges on our blog. Its our way of giving back a little bit to the published authors who help us help YOU! So lets meet one of the Judges that made it all possible: Kerry Nietz, with his new book Amish Vampires in Space!

Q: Kerry, would you give us a little blurb about your the story?

A:“Jebediah has a secret that will change his world forever and send his people into space. The Amish world of Alabaster calls upon an ancient promise to escape destruction. Then end up on a cargo ship bound for the stars. But they are not the only cargo on board. Some of it is alive…or used to be. Now, with vampires taking over and closing in on the Amish refugees, these simple believers must decide whether their faith depends upon their honored traditions or something even older.”

Q: What is one piece of writing advice you could give to the MBT Audience?

A: I’m sure it has been mentioned on this site before, but the key to being an author is perseverance. That applies to all aspects of a writer’s life.

You need to persevere in writing the book. You need to make the time each day (or at least, every weekday) to sit down and write the thing. Set a daily goal for yourself each day and reach it. Push through the difficult areas. Take advantage of those times it is smooth going—write more! But get to the end. Then persevere through the editing phase, even if it means you need outside help.