If any of you guys would like to tweet, twould be tweriffic:) LOL
https://twitter.com/traceyhkitts
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Is there any more room for me in those jeans?
I'm having a pervy moment here. lol One of my favorite movies is Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. Both actors who star in this film are sexy. (In my opinion) But Don Johnson just does it for me.
Honestly, minus the beard, he's how I picture Marco ... right down to the jeans. If you ever watch it, I'm sure you'll appreciate the way those jeans wear him. I was just watching some of the movie again, just to watch him walk. I can't help but wonder ... Is there any more room for me in those jeans?
Honestly, minus the beard, he's how I picture Marco ... right down to the jeans. If you ever watch it, I'm sure you'll appreciate the way those jeans wear him. I was just watching some of the movie again, just to watch him walk. I can't help but wonder ... Is there any more room for me in those jeans?
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Eden is out and it's dedicated to all of you
This book is dedicated to my readers. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading my work and for encouraging me to continue doing what I love.
Catrina’s world is turned upside down the moment she agrees to Viktor’s plan. Who even knew that Abraham Van Helsing had a younger brother? Not only that, but a brother who was turned by the King of Vampires and who held such obvious power. Now she must deal with the consequences of her actions and an attraction she can no longer deny.
Rating: Spicy/Carnal.
Purchase a copy of Eden: http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/eden.htm
To find out more about me, along with my other books please visit http://www.traceyhkitts.com/
To find out more about me, along with my other books please visit http://www.traceyhkitts.com/
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
You don't write fiction the way you write a literary novel
It just doesn't work that way. I have been reading so much lately (mostly online) about how a novel should be written. Geez. Every time I start to think I might know a little bit about what I'm doing I try to improve my craft by reading some "how to" stuff. Immediately I get confused and figure I know nothing, because everyone has a different idea of how things should be done.
The subjects I have been looking at lately are about point of view (when to switch within a story or to switch at all), grammar, punctuation, dialogue tags (he said, she said, etc.) and on and on. Well, some things are pretty cut and dried, like dialogue tags. You don't want to go on and on. A simple "he said" should work. Or you could convey emotion in what he does in the rest of the paragraph and completely leave out "he said" because obviously he is the one speaking. (Still a bit confusing, I know, but I am half asleep here.)
There is one person (and I'm not naming names) but every time this person says something, it's to go on and on about how something should be written. Proper sentence examples, grammar exercises, etc. (No, none of it is aimed personally at me. I have just made this observation.)
I do try to improve myself, because I feel it is necessary to stay in this business. And I do want to stay in the business. However, I feel that too many writers (and maybe a few editors) have forgotten that we are writing popular fiction here, not literary novels.
Here's a good example of what I'm trying to say (but probably messing up because it's after 1:00 in the morning and I'm exhausted)
http://drunkwritertalk.blogspot.com/2007/06/grammar-in-popular-fiction.html
As you can see in this blog post, everyone has a slightly different opinion on how things should be done. It's the same everywhere I look.
Okay, so here's what I've decided. I'm going to continue telling the stories that I feel need to be told. I will tell them in first person or omniscient, since those are my preferred styles. And I DON'T think that omniscient is "head-popping." My high school English teacher explained it to me years ago as "it's like God is telling the story, because only He could know everything."
I also think it is perfectly acceptable to switch point of view in a paragraph as long as it flows and readers can clearly understand who is doing what. A good writer can do this. I see it all the time, so I know it can be done. My goal is to be good enough. I enjoy reading books like this. Not convoluted head popping, but a flow of action, emotion, and dialogue.
I also think it's perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with "and" in a popular fiction novel. Popular fiction (to me) is written more like how people actually speak rather than how they should speak. That's probably the best way I can sum it up. That's also what makes popular fiction so easy to read and so ... well, popular.
Most "great literary works" bore the living shit out of me. If that means I'm uncultured and/or retarded then so be it. I hate that crap. I hate having to worry about perfect comma placement too. I'm not trying to be the next Jane Austen, I'm working on being the first ME. I had an English teacher in college who said that a comma should be placed where there would be a natural pause in the sentence. Like if you were speaking aloud rather than writing. Now THAT made sense. And that's what I try to do.
Then again, every friggin English teacher (just like every article I've read online) said something different.
I have come to the conclusion (purely my own) that there are no hard and fast rules. I strive to tell a good story in a way that the reader can connect with. I try (through numerous self edits and a crit partner's gracious help) to have as few errors as possible in my work. But if I focused on every little nit-picky thing to do with grammar instead of the story, then I would never have written a single page, let alone just finished my 13th book. With nine of those under contract (I have only submitted nine for publication) I must be doing something right.
To hell with trying to understand the rules.
The subjects I have been looking at lately are about point of view (when to switch within a story or to switch at all), grammar, punctuation, dialogue tags (he said, she said, etc.) and on and on. Well, some things are pretty cut and dried, like dialogue tags. You don't want to go on and on. A simple "he said" should work. Or you could convey emotion in what he does in the rest of the paragraph and completely leave out "he said" because obviously he is the one speaking. (Still a bit confusing, I know, but I am half asleep here.)
There is one person (and I'm not naming names) but every time this person says something, it's to go on and on about how something should be written. Proper sentence examples, grammar exercises, etc. (No, none of it is aimed personally at me. I have just made this observation.)
I do try to improve myself, because I feel it is necessary to stay in this business. And I do want to stay in the business. However, I feel that too many writers (and maybe a few editors) have forgotten that we are writing popular fiction here, not literary novels.
Here's a good example of what I'm trying to say (but probably messing up because it's after 1:00 in the morning and I'm exhausted)
http://drunkwritertalk.blogspot.com/2007/06/grammar-in-popular-fiction.html
As you can see in this blog post, everyone has a slightly different opinion on how things should be done. It's the same everywhere I look.
Okay, so here's what I've decided. I'm going to continue telling the stories that I feel need to be told. I will tell them in first person or omniscient, since those are my preferred styles. And I DON'T think that omniscient is "head-popping." My high school English teacher explained it to me years ago as "it's like God is telling the story, because only He could know everything."
I also think it is perfectly acceptable to switch point of view in a paragraph as long as it flows and readers can clearly understand who is doing what. A good writer can do this. I see it all the time, so I know it can be done. My goal is to be good enough. I enjoy reading books like this. Not convoluted head popping, but a flow of action, emotion, and dialogue.
I also think it's perfectly acceptable to start a sentence with "and" in a popular fiction novel. Popular fiction (to me) is written more like how people actually speak rather than how they should speak. That's probably the best way I can sum it up. That's also what makes popular fiction so easy to read and so ... well, popular.
Most "great literary works" bore the living shit out of me. If that means I'm uncultured and/or retarded then so be it. I hate that crap. I hate having to worry about perfect comma placement too. I'm not trying to be the next Jane Austen, I'm working on being the first ME. I had an English teacher in college who said that a comma should be placed where there would be a natural pause in the sentence. Like if you were speaking aloud rather than writing. Now THAT made sense. And that's what I try to do.
Then again, every friggin English teacher (just like every article I've read online) said something different.
I have come to the conclusion (purely my own) that there are no hard and fast rules. I strive to tell a good story in a way that the reader can connect with. I try (through numerous self edits and a crit partner's gracious help) to have as few errors as possible in my work. But if I focused on every little nit-picky thing to do with grammar instead of the story, then I would never have written a single page, let alone just finished my 13th book. With nine of those under contract (I have only submitted nine for publication) I must be doing something right.
To hell with trying to understand the rules.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
How can one witch get so lucky?
This is the very first review of Bitten and I am thrilled! I am so glad that people are enjoying this book, because I LOVED writing it:)
http://www.paranormalromance.org/reviews/review.php?id=31135
http://www.paranormalromance.org/reviews/review.php?id=31135
Monday, April 20, 2009
Catching up
I didn't realize it had been so long since I blogged. Nothing is wrong. Actually, quite a bit is going right:) I've just been really busy. I finally finished Wicked City and it is AWESOME. LOL Seriously, not just because I wrote it, but I loved this story so much. I really got into the characters and it has the happiest ending I've ever written:) How could such a dark story have such a happy ending? You'll just have to read it and see. lol That is once I finish editing it and decide where I'm submitting it.
Plus, one of my cats just had two kittens. I have been busy playing nanny and loving every fuzzy minute of it. I love animals:) Anything cute and furry gets my attention. They are 15 days old and their heads are still too heavy to walk much. lol It's so friggin' cute watching them try.
That's right, I like werewolves, vampires, even an occasional zombie ... and kittens. hahahahaha I'll try to post some pictures in the next few days.
Plus, one of my cats just had two kittens. I have been busy playing nanny and loving every fuzzy minute of it. I love animals:) Anything cute and furry gets my attention. They are 15 days old and their heads are still too heavy to walk much. lol It's so friggin' cute watching them try.
That's right, I like werewolves, vampires, even an occasional zombie ... and kittens. hahahahaha I'll try to post some pictures in the next few days.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
New Contract!
Great news!!
My novella Once in a Blue Moon has just been contracted with Noble Romance Publishing.
Here's the blurb:
Tara has always wondered what it would be like to meet a real live werewolf. Little does she know, her wish is about to come true. Now she must decide if she can see past the beast in order to love the man.
This is my first contract with Noble Romance and I'm looking forward to working with them:)
Plus, I can't wait for you guys to read Once in a Blue Moon. It is highly erotic compared to my other works, so I hope you like it....
There's a hot werewolf and he's naked through most of the story. What's not to like? lol
My novella Once in a Blue Moon has just been contracted with Noble Romance Publishing.
Here's the blurb:
Tara has always wondered what it would be like to meet a real live werewolf. Little does she know, her wish is about to come true. Now she must decide if she can see past the beast in order to love the man.
This is my first contract with Noble Romance and I'm looking forward to working with them:)
Plus, I can't wait for you guys to read Once in a Blue Moon. It is highly erotic compared to my other works, so I hope you like it....
There's a hot werewolf and he's naked through most of the story. What's not to like? lol
Friday, April 3, 2009
Contest for April and May
I'm running this contest for two months because it's even better than the last one:) I want to give everyone a chance to enter. In addition to the usual goodies (pins, postcards, bookmarks and various pieces of autographed swag) this month's give-a-way includes a free book!
A signed copy of Kissing Casanova by Crystal B. Bright! So, leave me a comment and you're automatically entered to win:)
A winner will be selected randomly at the end of May. Have fun:)
A signed copy of Kissing Casanova by Crystal B. Bright! So, leave me a comment and you're automatically entered to win:)
A winner will be selected randomly at the end of May. Have fun:)
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