Pull That Thread!

Remember the first time you found a loose thread on your sweater and wanted to pull it to see what would happen? Did you follow that impulse and unravel the sweater?

I’m not going to talk about the dangers of loose threads in your story. I’m the rebel who is going to encourage you to pull that thread.

After publication of my first novel, I was happily writing my shiny new follow-up story that focused on a male character that everyone loved in book one, writer Jack Hart. My plan was to follow the pattern set up in my first novel of dipping into a past life for greater insight into my main character. And, because of his character arc, I decided Jack needed to have a past life as a samurai. Wanting something other than the usual samurai stereotype, I chose a little known period in Japanese history, the Heian era, before samurai formed clans of their own.

And, this time I was going to plan my novel and not go all pantser. But I was forty pages in and BAM! Something happened that changed everything.

There was a loose thread.

  ... the rest of the story is on John Daniel's Blog--including a call of submission for a 99 word story. Be sure to check it out at the end of my post there.

 

Remember Robert Frost’s adage, “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.”

The Road Less Traveled

Do you have a curious mind? Want to find out what’s underneath rocks? In dark caves? In forbidden rooms? Me, too. Oh, wait, did you say, No? Well think about this. If we don’t test ourselves, challenge ourselves, go into unfamiliar places, try hard things, uncomfortable things, then we atrophy. And we miss wonderful opportunities for love, life, happiness—even wealth.

As soon as you begin putting up walls in your thinking, nothing new can get in, and that may well be to your detriment. As goes the mind, so goes the body. That’s a coraism. (I decided I needed to start coining my sayings. Ha! Even though that’s been said in different words--nothing new under the sun and all that)

So, with this as my philosophy, I challenged myself this year by taking on a couple of different studies and a pinch of adventure—I love adventures. Don’t you? As a result, I have a new perspectives and new ideas feeding my writing brain and my life.

The first part of 2015, I took on shamanic journeying. The whole drumming, traveling with spirit guides to learn a different kind of wisdom than this world has to offer, thing. If you’re already thinking I’ve got a screw loose, or maybe you think I’m consorting with evil spirits—that’s the kinds of walls I’m talking about. See paragraph #1 & 2. Open your mind! (And read on to learn what else I’ve been up to)

So what did I glean from that? New, fresh ways to view the world around me—and how to look and deal with situations (in life and in writing) in new ways. I saw the walls I had put up around parts of myself, learned new techniques to tear those down and bring into focus the strengths and powers I had hidden in dark rooms (hey, I’m a poet and metaphor is my go-to whenever I get into areas where there are few words . . ..

This was probably why I didn’t blog much this year (I really love Anne Allen’s term, ‘slow blogging.’  (Don’t run yourself ragged trying to blog every week if you have nothing to say that’s useful—another coraism) Sometimes, I feel like I don’t know much. And when I feel like that, I don’t blog. You don’t need to hear my ramblings when I ramble.

Next, I began classes with Tai Lopez on getting what you want out of your life and career—even get rich if that’s what you want. And you know what? It wasn’t a scam. (Go back to paragraph #2.)  I’m learning to view the world differently—relate to it differently. I actually see progress in the way I’m thinking . . . and, it has strengthened my creativity, my writing, and my health.

And, I had two mini adventures this year as well. The RWA (Romance Writers of America) had a conference in San Diego which I attended. It was okay—I learned stuff. 

Doug Richardson, Gene Perret, Jonathan Maberry on panel of 6

But the Central Coast Fiction Writer’s Conference at Cuesta College this past month was totally amazing. The talent was over-the-top! My head is spinning with all the new information. I can’t go into all the speakers that gave me more than my money’s worth, so--

I’ll pick one, Jonathan Maberry (NYT best-selling author who writes horror).

What did I learn from him? I learned I have a bit of the horror genre in me! It’s been there all along and I didn’t recognize it as that. My short stories reflect it (in the anthology, Valley Fever, Where Murder is Contagious, free on Kindle Unlimited right now). I even use the tagline on this blog that I write stories of romance and, “suspense that straddles the edge-whether that edge is the paranormal, a deadly decision or the place where science ends and magic resides.”

How can I be a horror writer if I’m writing Romance and Romantic Suspense? (see that last word—yup, it’s in there—genre crossover. When ‘suspense’ comes to mind, so does Hitchcock). And I even had one short story on line in the erotic horror genre. I surprised myself with that one.

“The more pervasive the paranormal is, the more you fall into horror,” Maberry states. . . and ghost stories aren’t necessarily horror.

Define horror? Maberry points out that when he gets together with other horror writers, even the experts can’t agree on a definition. For him it’s, “whatever makes us afraid and gets a reaction.” 

The horror genre diminished in the 1980s when it began to get into extreme horror; movies concentrating on blood and pain (focused on women and children). Many people were turned off and stopped buying into it and the horror genre tanked. Publishers stopped buying it.

But serious writers then began writing under supernatural thriller, suspense, and crossover fiction (Urban fantasy, dark fantasy, sci-fi—think Stephen King; he writes to the mainstream audience but with elements of sci-fi, fantasy and horror). 

And don’t belittle the horror genre. The Road by Cormac McCarthy won the Pulitzer for literary fiction and was horror.

Lest I get too far astray, I won’t go on about the horror markets and Maberry’s advice for writers (unless enough people want to know more and tell me in the comments below).

Needless to say, all these experiences this year have affected me and my writing—deeply. And it’s only September. Can’t wait to see what Oct., Nov., and Dec. will bring!

Keep tearing down those walls that keep you from your good.

Were there any walls you tore down this year that you can share?  I’d love to hear about them.

The Mesoamerican Biggies

Or, Maya, Aztec and Olmec civilizations - Part 3 in the series of the trip (Part 1) that led to the inspiration (Part 2) for my first novel.

The Maya first settled around 2600 B.C. in early Mesoamerica (what is now Mexico and Guatemala). They became more sophisticated in the latter years (A.D. 250 through A.D. 900) from the influence of the Olmecs who came on the scene later (1400 B.C.—lasting about 1000 years).

The Olmecs built no major cities or pyramids as the Maya did, but were good farmers, artists, mathematicians, and astronomers. They wrote in hieroglyphics, as did most of the cultures that followed them. The giant round Olmec heads (3-meters or 9 ft. tall) resemble African warriors. The name “Olmec” was derived from Aztec writings. We don’t know what they called themselves.

Only after the Maya adopted much of their culture from the Olmecs, did they go on to create their impressive legacy that today extends through Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize and Honduras. They were ruled by powerful war lord kings and priests. What happened to the Maya as a great civilization is still a mystery with many theories (though their descents are still alive today).

The Aztecs followed about 400 years after the Mayan civilization began to shrink. In the early 1300s, so the story goes, the wandering tribe of Mexica people were looking for a home. Persecuted and cast out from other nations, they believed that their god, Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, the sun and human sacrifice, would show them a sign to guide them to their new settlement. Huitzilopochtli is said to have directed the wandering tribe to look for “the prickly pear cactus upon which they would see an eagle perched,” and that's where they would build their new city (the symbol used on the

Mexican flag).

They found such a place on a small, swampy island in the middle of (what is now known as) Lake Texcoco and founded Tenochtitlan, in A.D. 1325. Later, the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs and they built Mexico City over Tenochtitlan.

There is evidence of a connection between the Aztecs and Native Americans. Obsidian and macaw feathers from further south in Mexico have been in found in the Southwest United States—so there were obviously trade routes between the two areas. Southwest Native Americans built ball courts and doorways in styles similar to their counterparts farther South in Maya territory. The ancient world was definitely connected.

The setting for my novel, Dance the Dream Awake, is on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula near Tulum—Maya country. Both present day and past life take place around the Cobá pyramid complex (a large metropolis composed of many cities within the eastern Yucatan).

Although only a few of the estimated 6,500 structures have been uncovered on Coba’s quiet and peaceful grounds, it may have once had the largest population (an estimated 100,000 people) living in its domain of all the ancient Mayan cities (600-900 A.D.).

My novel about to be released this week (May 9) is a romantic suspense, so today I’ll share a snippet of the romance that begins to brew on the plane to Mexico City when Tessa first meets Nick, an archaeologist with a dig at Coba, close to where she will be staying.

*

The final boarding call was being announced when I reached the half-empty plane late that night. I felt stressed and wanted a last cigarette. Quitting was the pits.

As soon as the plane was in the air, I ordered a gin and tonic and buried myself in a magazine until the flight attendant returned. After downing half my drink in one gulp, I sat back, took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying not to want that cigarette.

“Can I buy you another drink? You’ll be through that one pretty quick.”

I looked into the palest green eyes I’d ever seen. I hadn’t noticed the man who’d slipped into the seat across the aisle.

He smiled. “You look super stressed,” he said. “If it’s the flying, another drink will take the edge off.”

I sat a little straighter. He was tall, I could tell by the way his tanned legs spilled out of his khaki shorts and straddled the seat in front of him. The rolled-up sleeves of his blue, cotton shirt revealed muscular arms.

“Maybe one more. Thanks.” His manner soothed me.

“Vacationing in Mexico City?” he asked.

“I’ll be staying in the Yucatan.”

His face brightened. “What a coincidence. I’m headed for the Yucatan, too. I’m meeting up with some of my colleagues down there, on the peninsula in Coba. Anthropological research on the Maya.” He lowered his voice and leaned close. “We have a new archeological dig in the jungle near one of the older pyramids.”

“The Maya?”

“Yeah, there have been some exciting new discoveries recently and we’re right in the thick of it.”

His enthusiasm reminded me of a boy opening a packet of gum, hoping to find his first Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron baseball card, or whoever it was that young boys looked for these days. He rattled off some technical details to impress me. I half-paid attention to what he was saying, wondering at this uncanny coincidence. I observed the lock of sandy colored hair that danced above one eye as he talked. Occasionally he’d brush it back, but it belligerently worked itself loose as he continued talking. I took another sip of my drink and tried not to stare.

As if he’d picked up on my thoughts, he suddenly cocked his head and studied me a moment. I caught a twinkle in his eye, “Maybe we’ll bump into each other there.”

The thought had already crossed my mind. “Can I ask you a question? Did the Maya have sacrificial rituals like the Aztecs?” I looked interested, like I didn’t already know.

“Did they! They were obsessed with sacrifice. They had some masochistic practices—” He hesitated, glancing at my white linen suit and the hair I’d done in a long, conservative braid. He must have decided what he had to tell me would either shock me, disgust me, or some such thing. “Let me just say they were very religious and serious about their sacrifices,” he continued with that pleased look a man gets when he feels he’s been gallant about shielding a woman from locker-room language too distasteful for her tender ears. Old school—polite and respectful, I liked that. He ordered another round of drinks and extended his hand. It was warm, firm, with calluses from working in the earth. “My name is Nick Richardson.”

“I’m Teresa Harper. Just call me Tessa.”

*

If my novel and the Maya interest you, I will be sharing more on my Facebook Author Page and here on my blog in future posts. 

Questions? Comments? -- leave them here or on Facebook.

Does Erotica Shock You?

Today I am over on Romance and Beyond, talking about,"How did you know writing erotica was right for you?" In the post I am announcing:

The first book in the DANCE series has a new cover and a new publisher, Black Opal Books.

Dance the Dream Awake

To be released on May 9, 2015

 

Can a past life intrude into a present one to right wrongs and fulfill desires yet unsatisfied?

 

Tessa Harper’s relentless nightmares are driving her to fall apart in her present day life as co-owner of an art gallery in San Francisco. She is experiencing a Mayan sacrifice night after night that defies a modern solution. 

Seeking relief, she decides on a vacation to Mexico in a house by the ocean on the Yucatan Peninsula. On the way she meets three men. Which one can she trust? Will she have to lose the one she’s fallen in love with to find her answers?

The third man, her neighbor, takes Tessa to a party given by the 'loco gringa' and she meets two curanderas, native medicine women. They force her onto a path that shakes up her view of reality and initiates some astounding revelations that get to the heart of her nightmares. 

The seemingly innocuous beads Tessa mysteriously acquired before her trip, a Mayan dig in the jungle, a black market of ancient artifacts and an unexpected love—all have a tie to that ancient past that ratchets up the heat before the dream is danced awake. 

*

The next book in the DANCE series is an erotic love story set in ancient Japan, called Haiku Dance. It will be released later this year, hopefully late summer. 

To learn more about how I came to write erotica, visit  Romance and Beyond on the subject, on Friday, March 27, 2015.

*

Do you read erotica?  Write it? 

In the words of Mae West, "Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often."

Dance the Dream Awake - Snippet

I'm joining the Weekend Writing Warriors today to share a snippet of my novel Dance the Dream Awake:

*

I was flat on my back when I came to with Louisa was looking down at me, her eyes like black pools with no bottom—windows into another time.

“You have something that must be completed, a loose string that must be tied up and imperative to your happiness. We cannot talk now, but soon,” she said while closing my eyelids with the tips of her fingers.

When I opened them again, Nick was kneeling over me, calling my name and patting my cheek. I raised up on one elbow and asked, “What happened?”

“The curanderas were drinking some sort of psychotropic mixture and you barely had a few sips before passing out.”

“Did you pass out, too?”

“No, but it’s been a very interesting two hours.”

*

DANCE THE DREAM AWAKE: Romantic Suspense with paranormal elements.

Visit and see more snippets by other authors at the Weekend Writing Warrior site.