Preparing for Christmas

Christmas season is officially here as far as Fio goes. She's pulled the trash bag stuffed with tinsel down from its garage shelf so she can decorate the trees lining the driveway, and she's settled on a design for her annual card (non-political this year). After she's finished off these two projects, she'll put the traditional tree together and lure people over to the house to help her decorate it. Then there are the window and fireplace decorations, the doorway swags, more outdoor stuff, and a second tree down in the south meadow. 

And, by the way, if you're looking for a good Christmas-themed book, try Jeanell Bolton's WHERE THE HEART LEADS. You can find it on Amazon for just $2.99.

Name Game

Fiorella admits it--she likes to play with her characters' names.  For instance, all three of her Bosque Bend heroes (Jase, Rafe, Bram) have single-syllable names  spelled with an "a."  And, in Where the Heart Leads, she named one character "Marcy Ann," then gave her the nickname of "Rocky,"  which Fio's father, a boxing fan, would have appreciated. Fiorella also listed all of her paternal cousins, aunt and uncle in a crowd scene in that book, and the crazy horse was named "Bella" after a crazy dog Fio and Husband had to have put down.  And in What the Heart Wants, Fio named the pound dog "Hugo" after her own sweet, dear-departed pound dog.

Sometimes Fio pulls names from classical mythology, although she had to  change one character's name from "Isis" to "Astrid" when the political scene heated up.  And did you notice that Vashti's musical daughters were named "Carmen" and "Micaela" after the leads in Bizet's opera?

Yes, name-wise, Fio is shamelessly derivative--enjoy!

+ opera?

Otherwise, Fio gets her names from baby lists according to year of birth, obituaries, and remembrances of classmates from her elementary-school days. And, for no particular reason, her lawyers are always named Charles.

Name Time

Fiorella confesses that she has far too good a time naming the characters in her stories.  Thus, in Where the Heart Leads, she gave the great-grandfather of the hero the name of one of her favorite college teachers, Gilbert McAllister.  And the hero's mother was named after an old friend of Fio's, Enid Hallock.  And the pianist's daughters, Carmen and Micaela, were named after the female leads of Bizet's opera.  And the reason the hero's sister-in-law was nicknamed "Rocky" is because her birth name was Marcy Ann--think about it.

Knowing no shame, Fio borrowed the names of kids she went to elementary school with for the Bosque Bend police captain (Mervin) and the local drive-in burger joint (Hardy Joe).  And a crazy whitish horse was named Bella in memory of a crazy whitish cocker spaniel mix that Fio's family once owned.  To top it off, Fio named the kinfolk the hero ran into at a Halloween carnival after her own cousins.

There's more, but that's enough to give you the idea.  Manipulating reality can be a lot of fun.

Happy Days!

Fiorella's world has turned rosy again.  Her offspring are safely home from Hong Kong, Husband has been warming the house with firewood from their copious home-grown supply, and she herself woke up feeling G-R-R-R-E--AT!  Now, off to conquer the world.

Yes, Fio is mailing five copies of WHERE THE HEART LEADS off to national Romance Writers of America today, the final step in entering the the yearly contest for published authors.  Let's face it--Fio doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell, but she's thrilled to be a contestant.  But maybe in the future . . . .

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Fio's books arrived yesterday morning, the ones she'd bought from her publisher at her author's discount price. Two boxes were perched like orphans on top of the garbage bin next to the street, and Fio threw them into the trunk as she and Husband left to drive off to her brother's for the family Thanksgiving feast. The first thing she did when they arrived in Austin was to open both boxes to see if the rain had damaged any of the books, which it hadn't.  Then she autographed a book as a gift to her brother and his wife.

Later that evening, when Fio and Husband were home, Husband claimed a book for himself, asked Fio to autograph it, and started reading--and kept on reading, which was a joy to Fiorella.

Two books down, twenty-eight to go.

Whoopie!

Friend Jeanell's new book is riding high, wide, and handsome! Yes, Where the Heart Leads is selling, selling, selling, and sales of What the Heart Wants have jumped up also!  Fiorella is happy because  now the messages of both stories are reaching more people. Remember,  Jeanell's purpose is to not just entertain, but to uplift.  She's out to save the world, one sex scene at a time.


*

LAUNCH DAY!

Moira Farrar has survived the worst Hollywood had to offer, and now she's come to

 Bosque Bend to make a fresh start as the director of the local civic theater guild.  Rancher Rafe McAllister, the chairman of the board, has a more personal interest in her, but will he feel 

the same way when he learns what she left behind?

Goodreads Choice!

Fiorella is ecstatic!  Friends Jeanell's new book, Where the Heart Leads, which comes out on November 17, is top-listed by Goodreads as "to-read!"

And, ahem, it's so well-deserved.

Where Fio Is Now

Howdy, there, folks!  This is the day before the due date, and Fio is in semi-good shape. She finished marking the whole manuscript yesterday and also added in the necessary bits and pieces.  She even finaled out the first three chapters.  Today she tackles the last nineteen. Yes, it's lock-yourself-in-the-tower-room day because she has to send everything in by 10:00 on Tuesday.

God bless electronics, which is something you never thought you'd hear Fio say.  She is able to make corrections using computer keys rather than retyping an entire page, and she can send a three-hundred-page manuscript off to New Yawk City in a second rather than having to bind it up, cart it to the post office, and pay the freight.

See ya tomorrow.

My Uncle Omar

Fiorella slept well, but fitfully, last night.  Her brain was struggling with a problem generated by a correction that her line-editor suggested in WHERE THE HEART LEADS, which will come out November 17.  Let Fio explain.

The hero has an uncle named Omar, whom he refers to, of course, as "Uncle Omar"  or "my Uncle Omar."  The editor suggested I change the latter reference to "my uncle Omar," which didn't sit well with Fiorella, but she couldn't put her argument into logical form till she woke up this morning.  Yes, the ol' pop-up toaster brain did it again.

Fio's construction is a REFERRAL, not an APPOSITIVE.  Would you write "your queen Elizabeth," or "my president Obama," or "my cousin Itt?"

What Has Fiorella Learned?

Fiorella has learned a lot about herself while writing WHERE THE HEART LEADS.

Craft-wise, she realized that she's been writing as a poet--agonizing over each sentence and every word as she goes along--which has seriously slowed her down.  As a novelist, she must write quickly to get the basic story down, then go back and add the curlicues.

Voice-wise, she realized that she is funny, sardonic, and quite dark.  She can't resist word plays, likes turning characters inside-out, and puts her heroine through hell before giving her a well-deserved happy ending.

Personally, she  learned that  if she stays up half the night finishing off a book, she's gonna pay for it the next night with a major attack of fire in the gut. But the good thing is that her take-no-prisoners approach has reaffirmed her belief in herself.  Fiorella is made of steel.  She can do anything she puts her mind to.

Writer in Throes

Fiorella's life is a see-saw.  She's either hard at work on household affairs or hard at work on her writing.  Right now, the household stuff is shot to hell.

Yes, Fio is in the throes of final (or semi-final) revisions, which means she is tossing golden words--remember, Fio is a poet at heart--and rending the fragile cloth of her story from end to end.  Also upping the heat index.

WHERE THE HEART LEADS--written in blood.

KImiko, Lady Eglington, vs. the Flight Attendant

I love this scene, but my editor wants me to cut it from WHERE THE HEART LEADS to reduce my cast of characters. Therefore, I'm giving it to you to enjoy:  

     Moira lounged about on the couch, reading a paperback romance she’d picked up at HEB.  Today had been easy.  She’d cleaned the house, washed some clothes, made sure the gown she wanted to wear tonight still fit, and even watched daytime television.  Life was good. 

     The phone rang.  Had she jinxed herself?  One of the principals could have come down with laryngitis or Vashti could have sprained her wrist. .

     But it was worse.  Her mother.  The catchy, cutesy breathing was the give-away.

     “Moira?”  Kimiko’s voice, the carefully-maintained pitch of a twenty-year-old,

had acquired a British upper crust cut-glass accent.

     “Moira, Suh-weetie Pie, I’m so, so sorry, but I won’t be able to make it to—uh—Texas

this trip.”

     An airplane engine roared in the background, and Moira could hear a flight attendant instructing passengers on the correct use of the drop-down oxygen mask.

     “You understand.  I’ve been talking to Covergirl about representing their line of skin products for—um—mature women.  Dawh-ling, I’ve let my hair go white—it’s the new blonde, you know, and makes my skin looks gorgeous”  Her voice dropped to a whisper.  “Hold on a minute.  There’s a hatchet-faced stewardess looking my way.  I’ll have to put you down and get a Vogue to hide behind.”

     Pages rattled and Kimiko picked up her cell again. 

     “I’m back.  Anyway, I’m on my way to New York to sign the contract before I fly back to England to attend a little birthday gathering for Princess Alexandra’s daughter.”

     “What about Arne?”

     “Arne?”

     “Your son.”

     Kimiko’s voice rose in indignation.  “Suh-weetie Pie, he absolutely defied me!  Said 

he hated me, and he didn’t want to leave his school.  School!  I could have introduced him to the world!”  Her voice lowered to a hiss.  “I’ve got to go.  That damn stewardess has spotted me. ”

     A stern female voice informed Kimiko that use of electronic devices was prohibited during take-offs or landings.
          “But, dah-ling, I’m flying first clawss!” were Kimiko’s last words before the call clicked off.

Prose to Poetry

Here is the first page of WHERE THE HEART LEADS in iambic pentameter:

In autumn, when the leave were turning brown,
Moira drove her aging car to town
And parked it in a lot across the street
From a museum where she'd finally meet
With her employers, a civic theater guild
Who'd hired Moira, sight unseen, to build
Their fledgling act into a point of pride
For Bosque Bend and all the countryside.

Dance and Sing

Dance and sing, clap your hands, leap for joy!  Fiorella's revisions are few and far between!  Yes, she has received the critique of WHERE THE HEART LEADS from her editor, and whole clumps of pages go by without a single red mark!

Now to tackle those pages that do have red marks on them.  And to consult the critiques her beta readers turned in.  And to finish writing COMFORT OF THE HEART, or whatever she's going to name the novella.  And to celebrate Father's Day and Husband's birthday.  And to clean up the house.  And to go through all the old photos and label them.  And to repair some old oil paintings,  And to get those little booklets made up for the NRWA conference.  And to revise and publish her short stories and her poetry,

Somehow, your Fiorella will work it all into her schedule.

Literary Research

Fiorella will tell you that the reason she writes contemporary romances is because she doesn't want to bother with research, but don't believe her.  She might not have to research petticoats and bloomers, but she does have to learn about such things as the places her characters live, what they do for a living, what cars are  appropriate for them, and their supposed backgrounds and life experiences.

For Where the Heart Leads, which will come out on November 11, Fio peppered five rancher friends with endless lists  of questions about life among the cows.  She also consulted an architect, a nurse, a firearms expert, two friends with Master's degrees in theater,  a high school principal, a foodie, an expert on Britishisms, a fire builder, and a wine expert.

And tomorrow, for Phillipa's unnamed novella, she's going to sally forth and visit a place that sells landscaping materials, drop by Dairy Queen to check out how a Blizzard and a small ice cream cone would be eaten, and stop at Walgreens to pick up a home pregnancy test.

Don't ask.

Aim

You know my name
You know my game--
Fortune and fame,
That's my aim

WHAT THE HEART WANTS--$2.99 digitally, about $15.00 for the print version
WHERE THE HEART LEADS due out on November 11

Laying Plans

Fiorella was disheartened to learn that WHERE THE HEART LEADS will not come out until November, but then she realized that, because the story takes place in October-November-December, the release date will be perfect.  Added to that, Friend Denney said the date would work well for her because she could give copies of the book to people as Christmas presents.

But in the meantime, Fio needs to be writing something else.

Salvation Through Sadism.

You've heard Fio sound forth on this issue before, and now you'll hear her again.  She will never write a "romance" like Fifty Shades of Grey, no matter how much money it would pull in, because she thinks the book sets up a bad role model for impressionable women--i.e., all of us.  It's way too inviting to give up one's personal independence to a man who values you so much that he wants to own you, especially if that man is young, handsome, and rich, rich, rich--and it's thrilling to think that one can "heal him" by doing whatever he wants you to.

But sadists do not heal through acting out--they only get worse.  

Unlax, Fiorella, it's just a book of fiction, you say.  But, Fiorella replies, we model our lives and our values on the basis of fiction, which is why Fio's current book is anti-BDSM.  In fact, your faithful correspondent has been known to refer to WHERE THE HEART LEADS as her "up yours" to Fifty Shades--a position, she understands, that is quite familiar to Anastasia Steele.

Steppin' Out

Fiorella got out for the first time since she went into isolation to complete the book, and it was glorious.  She stopped by the bank to deposit a check for one of her books, then kept her appointment with her INR nurse, who has read WHAT THE HEART WANTS three times already.  After that, she drove over to Georgetown High School and asked to see the principals' office because she's using one in WHERE THE HEART LEADS and want her depiction to be real  The principal and his people at the school were very gracious and will get a nice than-you note from Fio.

Next, Fiorella dropped by Starbucks to buy gift cards for the RWA raffle baskets and to look the shop over for another scene in her book.  Then it was on to HEB for a list of groceries and Target for electrical tape and Walgreen's for hair spray.

Four hours of go, go, go.  The rest of her week will be spent writing, writing, writing.