K.C. Burn – Erotic Romance Author

Whew. Super short post today. I’m still catching up from edits (my ‘cursed’ story and my upcoming release for Carina press) and preparing for vacation.  However I’ll be participating in a huge M/M Chat at Literary Nymphs on Thanksgiving Weekend with an enormous number of fabulous and talented m/m authors, so please stop by!  The festivities begin 9 am (eastern) on November 26 and extend through November 28 on the Literary Nymphs yahoo chat group.

I’m hoping to relax a bit over the next couple of weeks and get started on a new project, which was supposed to have been the first time I did NaNoWriMo.  Ah well, there’s always next year to try!  This story should be less vexing and go more smoothly than the ‘cursed’ one — seriously, never again am I using that word in a working title for a story!  But it is done & submitted, so we’ll see how it goes.   Of course, I submitted it with a completely unworkable title.  If it gets accepted and they don’t make me change the title, I will probably fall over and die from the shock.

And on that happy note, hope to see you at the Literary Nymphs chat!

This Saturday, November 6, if you’re in central Florida, stop by Altamonte Mall for Romancing the Holidays! From 2-5 pm there will be over 20 romance authors on hand to meet readers and sign copies of their latest books in support of Central Florida’s Adult Literacy League. For more details, check out the CFRW site. And the first 100 book buyers will receive an awesome goody bag! Hope to see you there!

Also, for the month of November, Coffee Time Romance is hosting a contest for me, where I’ll be giving away MIA Case Files: Blood Relations and signed copies of MIA Case Files: Wolfsbane. Stop by and submit an entry!

YAY!  I just got my cover art for the next MIA Case Files book!  I think it’s awesome – Croco Designs did my cover art, and I couldn’t be happier.  It’s supposed to be released soon, so I’ve posted a blurb below.  No excerpts yet, but I hope to be able post one shortly.

MIA Case Files: Blood Relations – coming Fall 2010 from Loose Id

Blurb:

Agent Cooper Wallace doesn’t expect meet the love of his life while hunting an Umbrae-possessed vampire.  Nor does he expect a scorching one night stand to lead to a lasting relationship.  Meeting Frazer Nyland changes a lot of Cooper’s expectations, though.  Unfortunately, Cooper also doesn’t expect his investigation of missing men to lead him to Frazer’s home town and the discovery that the disappearances can all be connected to Frazer.

The police suspect Frazer is a serial killer.  Cooper’s agency suspects Frazer is a vicious, bloodthirsty vampire.  Cooper is determined to prove them wrong, despite an obsessive cop who’ll stop at nothing to take Frazer down.  But the clues mount up, and Cooper begins to believe Frazer might be the vampire.  The realization comes too late, because Cooper’s already done the unforgivable – he’s fallen in love with an Umbrae.

If Cooper does his job and closes the Umbrae’s portal, at best, he will destroy Frazer’s memories of their love.  At worst, Cooper’s action will kill Frazer.  Can Cooper do what’s right and save the lives of nameless, faceless innocents if the price is the death of the man he loves?

I’m blogging today at Flirty Author Bitches about my first apartment and how it served (and still serves) to provide inspiration… when it wasn’t scaring the crap out of me.  No, wait, that was still inspiring!  Anyway, please stop by.

I’ve been so busy with edits and various other obligations that I think I failed to post about my upcoming releases.  Now that contracts are all finalized & whatnot I thought I’d drop a short post about them.  The sequel to Wolfsbane, MIA Case Files: Blood Relations, is scheduled to release this fall from Loose Id.  Although Adam and Carmichael both appear, the story focuses on one of Carmichael’s colleagues at the agency.  I’ve posted a blurb on my Books page.

I also have a futuristic novella due to release in spring of 2011 from Carina Press.  It’s called Spice ‘n’ Solace, and I had a blast writing it.  Quick and dirty?  It’s a case of mistaken identity where a high profile negotiator assumes a brothel owner is his escort for the night.  Hijinks ensue.  Okay, not actual hijinks, but the phrase amuses me.  There’s a blurb for it on my Books page also.

In the past three weeks, I’ve also completed the first round of edits for both, so I’m sure you can understand why I’ve been so busy!  I’ve been pretty lucky, in that all of my books so far are keeping the titles I gave them.  Several author friends have bemoaned the necessity for changing titles.  I anticipate joining them with my next submission.  The name in my head for my current WIP is probably not viable from an editor’s perspective.  But we’ll see… that’s assuming an editor likes the story… *wink*.

How important are titles, anyway?  Do words or titles using other languages create a barrier to book purchases?  Or do they create an allure, a mystique, that entices readers?  I know I’ve bought books based on cover art, and I’ve bought books where I’ve only read the first sentence of the back cover blurb, but I don’t recall if I’ve bought/dismissed books based solely on the title. Will using non-English words in a title lead people to assume the book isn’t written in English?  I’m guessing you can see where I’m going with this.  The title I have in mind is a non-English art term.  I believe it’s a relatively well known term (I don’t care to share yet… I have weird hang-ups about titles) and I’m hoping to have some ammunition when I submit.  Alas, I know I am not the final arbiter of titles — will having to change the title change the way I perceive my book?  Probably.   I’ll keep you posted!

I’m working on a paranormal novella right now, and one of the heroes was born in the early 1900’s.  The pertinent flashbacks occur during the Great Depression, when the one guy is in his early thirties.

Anyway, I thought I try to find some slang to add some colour to the flashbacks.  Apparently I’m failing at Google 101.  I can find tons of slang related to riding the rails and the politics of the time, but my hero wasn’t riding the rails.  What I REALLY want to know… did men of that era refer to the bits & bobs & verbs associated with sex in the same delightfully coarse way I do in my writing?  I’ve been able to ferret out that gay may have been used – ambiguously & rarely – to refer to homosexual men, but I’ve found other terms that were more common.  So that’s a start, I suppose.  Over the years, I’ve managed to build up a wee lexicon of various sexually related euphemisms for several eras, such as Victorian, Regency, Edwardian, and Medieval.  But early 20^th century?  Not a clue.

So, I clambered back into some naughty books I own were written in the Victorian era.  There are references to the same terminology I use, although they’re interspersed with many other, more delicate terms (ones that may carry the stigma of purple prose today).  Maybe I’ll borrow a few of those, but if our current four letter words were good enough for the Victorians, they’ll do for my Depression era hero.  Although, as I write this post, I’m thinking I might be able to use “riding the rails” in a much naughtier way than originally intended.

Perhaps I should try to bring back priapus.  I would have thought with the advent of ED drugs and their potentially unfortunate side effects, priapus and other related terms might have become more common.  Good thing I didn’t place any bets on it!

If you were hoping for some Canadianisms, I haven’t got any.  As far as I know, Canucks call sex & the dangly bits the same things they’re called in the States.  Although my husband has occasionally written ‘junk’ as ‘junque’ for the amusement factor.  (For those of you who might not know, certain types of checks are spelled cheques back home.)

My conclusion?  The hero born in the early 1900′s will use slightly less coarse terminology.  Seems as though it will fit, even if it’s not nearly as much fun.    Whether it would have been true or not, I don’t know.  I hadn’t intended to spend that much time on research – I even set the thing in Toronto so I could reduce the amount of research I’d need to do.  Although, I’ve come across some interesting tangents, unrelated to vocabulary.  We’ll see if they make it into the novella.

Just got back on Sunday from the Romance Writers of America National Conference in Orlando.  I’m still exhausted, but I had a great time.  I got to meet a few fellow Rainbow Romance Writers at the Literacy signing – where over $55K was raised for literacy organizations – pretty spectacular!  I got to meet new and aspiring authors, connect with others I’d already met and hung out with good friends.  I also had dinner at the same table with the fabulous Angela James during the Carina Press dinner.  Yes, you read that right.  There was a good reason (I’ll be posting details shortly) I was attending that dinner!  That same reason also entitled me to go to the Harlequin party… hoo… some wild women there!  It was a HUGE blast.

I’m not a conference virgin, exactly, although my previous conferences were much smaller – in the realm of 300 participants.  This was 2100.  Lots of standing in line, although not for the restrooms.  The majority of the men’s rooms were turned into women’s by hotel management – the few men in attendance had quite a hike every time nature called!

There wasn’t enough time to do everything, whether from conflicting commitments or from the absolute, undeniable need for a nap.  And even though I’d decided I wasn’t going to kill myself trying to make it to all the workshops, I was still overwhelmed.

Writing is a solitary endeavor and although conferences are a fantastic way to connect with other writers – ease the solitude a bit – many of us have the same trait.  We’re happiest inside our own heads, which can make it difficult or stressful to socialize, especially with 2000 strangers!  I’m shy and get a little freaked out by crowds.  However, I was able to avoid cowering behind planters, for the most part.  And I’m looking forward to attending next year’s conference in New York City.

One really awesome thing?  I was (mostly) forthright about what genre I write in.  I didn’t get the stink eye from anyone.  When I was at a smaller conference last year, I not only got the stink eye, but the ‘cut direct’ I do believe it’s called, by two women at dinner one night.  Of course, that was before I had my contract with Loose Id, so I was unable to justify sticking out my tongue and giving them a raspberry.  Probably I should have anyway, but I do occasionally make attempts at decorum.  Everyone I met at RWA was, if not truly accepting, then at least they hid it extremely well.

During Nationals there are several awards ceremonies held by various chapters related to writing contests, but the biggest one is the national contest – the Golden Hearts for unpublished writers and the RITAs for published writers.  As a large organization that’s been around for thirty years, RWA has made great strides in getting romance recognition as a valid genre.  But its size and longevity also means it’s not going to be as agile as everyone might hope to changes in the publishing world, specifically the explosion of ebooks.  I mean, neither contest has a category for erotic romances and I would be unlikely to enter a GLBT book at this time anyway.  But the acceptance I found from other writers at the conference gives me hope for the future… Is it wrong for me to covet one of the RITAs for myself?

I learned a lot while I was there – definitely things about craft and what publishers might be looking for – but here’s some practical advice from a now-expert Nationals attendee:  Bring comfortable shoes & a spare suitcase for books.

Wow.  Just about everything that’s happened with MIA Case Files: Wolfsbane has been awesome.  Getting an offer to publish it with Loose Id, being able to say I have an editor, going through edits (which I probably shouldn’t have found as pleasurable as I did), seeing my cover art, getting the final version, seeing my book on Loose Id’s home page… each and every one of those experiences has been pretty spectacular.  But I’d be lying if I said the allure of holding a physical book in my hand with my words printed on the pages had nothing to do with my desire to write for publication.   Of course, I wanted to share my vision and the characters in my head with the world at large, but holding a book in my hand feels like the culmination of that vision, and it’s an awesome feeling.  I may have… ahem… been fondling my author copies obsessively since they arrived. 
Print format available at Amazon and Books A Million.

Having a netbook has made me a lot more productive. Not having to lug about a 5 lb. laptop everywhere, with it’s limited battery life, has been a huge improvement. Considering my bag looks like I’m preparing for the Apocalypse, having a 5 lb. brick in it wasn’t doing my back any good.

I also spend time on the weekends with a couple of friends of mine in a cafe, and we all write in between chatting. With the big laptop, I felt a little bit like I was participating from behind a Dungeon Master’s screen.

So, smaller, lighter and better battery life equals more writing. Which is awesome. Now, I was still using my heavy laptop, with the netbook as a peripheral, partly because of the bigger screen, and partly because of the CD/DVD drive.

However, when the motherboard on my laptop died, I wasn’t exactly thrilled, but I wasn’t freaked out either (I had a backup of everything except my damned iTunes… but that will just be extra work, not expense because I own CDs of just about everything in my iTunes). I didn’t have to panic. I didn’t have to delay writing. I didn’t have to worry about appropriating my SO’s computer for my own nefarious ends In fact, I wondered if maybe I didn’t need to replace my laptop at all. But then, I discovered two very important things.

First, I had to work on a power point presentation for work. Using power point on a netbook is like Gulliver using a Lilliputian computer. I thought I only reserved cursing like that for driving. Incredibly frustrating. Spreadsheets kinda suck on the netbook, too.

Secondly, I discovered I HATE updating my site on the netbook. There’s just not enough screen. So, I went out this weekend to replace the laptop. Got one that seems okay, and was reasonably priced, but I couldn’t buy a three year warranty for it, only a two year warranty. Guess that means I should just start saving now for a replacement in two years, eh?

Regardless, I’ve managed to churn out about 100K words so far this year, as well as edit two manuscripts for submission, and I attribute that entirely to my netbook with its increased portability. If only I could as easily justify purchasing a smart phone…

Pens and pencils – are they completely defunct tools for a writer? I use a computer and netbook (although I’ve yet to get a multimedia phone) but I have to say, I’m still a little old school. Editing on the computer is almost impossible or me. I try to make the font and margins really small so I use less paper, but I NEED the paper.

I use a pencil to edit. One that needs sharpening. It just feels right in my hand, in a way that a mechanical pencil never does. Is that an echo of the uncomplicated life in kindergarten? Maybe. Probably. I may… er… have a large collection of sparkly pencils.

Pens I’ll use for writing longhand. I don’t write longhand very often (I’m not truly a dinosaur or a luddite) but there’s times when you gotta write even if using the darling netbook is impractical. Like when I’m flying. Invariably, I sit behind someone who needs to recline their seat. Which I’ve never understood. Do those two or three inches of “reclining” make any improvement at all? All it does is make it impossible to set up a computer on those itty, bitty table trays.

So, I write longhand on planes. Fortunately, my handwriting is sufficiently hieroglyphic-like that my seat mates are unlikely to determine what I’m writing about. It takes twice as long, because I also have to transcribe what I wrote. And sometimes I can’t even read what I wrote.

This weekend though, we went to a wedding in Detroit. On the way home, not only did no one sit in front of me, hubby and I got the row to ourselves, so I made him move over one. I got to use TWO table trays – and I transcribed the stuff I wrote longhand on the plane on the way to the wedding. Awesome.

I’ve thought about getting a digital voice recorder, but I can’t imagine too many situations where I could actually discuss aloud options for stories. Probably I’ll just stick with pen and pencil. And my netbook, of course. It’s worked so far.