Skip to main content

Love at First Flight Launch Fun Continues!

By: Marie Force

Good morning! As you read this I'll be on my way to Washington, D.C. for RWA's national conference. I'm roadtripping this year with two of my New England writer buddies. One of them, Kristan Higgins, won the RITA last year for contemporary for her fabulous book "Catch of the Day." If you haven't read it, be sure to check it out! Over the last year she and I have become informal critique partners, a first for both of us. So I worry for Mike, our third passenger, because Kristan and I can talk our faces off, and he might wonder what he's gotten himself into! Mike can more than hold his own with us, however. He's the one who went up to Nora Roberts at RWA last year and said these famous words: "I've never read a word you've written, but I hear you're quite good. My friend here would like to meet you." Nora got such a kick out of him, she bought him a drink. Now THAT is networking! I'm sure my sides will be aching from laughing before I even get to D.C. with Mike and Kristan for passengers. If you see the token guy at the conference, chances are it's my friend Mike. Have a chat with him and be prepared to die laughing!

I'm in the final stages of the blog tour for Love at First Flight and wanted to post a couple of reminders, especially for those of you who have already read it (and thank you for all the lovely emails!) As I've mentioned here before, I broke a few rules with my first two books by having a sports hero in Line of Scrimmage (supposedly a no-no in romance circles--sooooo glad I was a late comer to RWA and never heard that before I wrote the book!) and now in Love at First Flight where my hero and heroine are with other people when we meet them. And when I mean with, I mean with... as in sex in Chapters 2 and 3 with their current significant others. LOL! What do you think about romances that break the rules?

I'd consider myself a renegade, except I had no idea there were rules when I wrote these books. Goes back to my "hands-over-ears dont. want. to. know." strategy. The less I know, the better off I am! I blogged this weekend about "unlearning everything I ever knew." Do the writers out there ever feel like they are spending too much time hearing about how other people write? For me, it's hands over ears, LALALALA. I'm very protective of a process, be it unconventional, that works for me. How do the other writers feel about this? When I go to conferences such as RWA, I tend to avoid the "how-to" workshops and focus more on things such as business, promotion, etc. Most of the time, I end up skipping the workshops altogether so I can spend more time with friends I only get to see once in a while. I don't have an ounce of guilt over this. It's my conference, and I'll play hooky if I want to!

If you wish to discuss all the rules I broke in Love at First Flight (and Line of Scrimmage), join me Monday, July 20, at 7 p.m. EDT on my blog for a Book Club discussion. Warning, there will be spoilers, so make sure you read the book before the party! I’ll be giving away some great prizes to participants.

Once you’ve read the book, come by my website to find out how to enter the contest for the Love at First Flight Grand Prize gift basket. I’ll accept answers to the seven questions about the book through July 15. The winner will be announced during the July 20 Book Club Meeting. The competition is heating up with new entries coming in every day, so be sure to get your answers to me by the 15th to be included.

I'm over at Love Romance Passion today giving away more free copies of both my books if you want to stop by to leave a comment and to see a previously unpublished excerpt of Love at First Flight.

Look forward to seeing many of the Casa Babes at RWA! Let the fun begin!

Comments

  1. See you there soon, Marie! And Force-Fennell; we'll be hanging together at the SB signing on Sat. We can have a "moment"! Congrats on L@FF. Can't wait to read.

    ReplyDelete
  2. There are some rules I really dislike. I once heard that you can not use the word piss pot, so I wrote almost an entire scene using one.

    I've never heard of not using a football player. I have heard that you can't use rockstars. *rolls eyes*

    ReplyDelete
  3. I got to use the word Chlamydia in the work in progress last night. Tee hee! I love fiction. Will check in later from DC!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'd love to see a list sometime of all the things a writer mustn't do. But only for curiosity.

    About "how to write" workshops--I frequently advise coming-along writers to discover THEIR process and then guard it.

    I write slowly and would love to write faster, but whenever I have disregarded my own advice, the result was that I wrote even slower because I was now fighting myself while trying to create.

    The way I write is inefficient, but trust me, wrestling with myself while wrestling with the muse is worse.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The only important rules are those you intend to break. LOL!!!

    Seriously, though, I find I can't pay attention to 'rules' or it stifles me.

    ReplyDelete
  6. There are all kinds of things I didn't know about romance novels. Not writing in first person was the biggie, but I'm sure there are others. I didn't learn the rules first, I just started writing the books I wanted to read, which is probably what we all do.
    Can't wait to see you tomorrow!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. MM,
    Nothing wrong with being methodical (a better word than slow, no?) No sense wasting time wrestling with the muse. What works for you is the "right" way!

    Donna,
    Stifling the rules is the best way to go! Good for you, girl!

    Cheryl,
    Lots of people like first person just fine. It's often personal preference. Kristan, who I mentioned in this posting, does an excellent job with first person. Can't wait to see you too! I can't believe it's TOMORROW. We've been pals for what seems like so long. We are way overdue to meet in person! Call me when you get in!!

    I saw Aunty in the lobby tonight and had a grand old reunion! AC, we'll always have that kitchen in San Fran!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment