First Word

I had a dream last night. I was walking through a local library and spotted California Girl Chronicles , book 1 and 2 on the shelves. They had been well worn and read. I also noticed that they had a hard copy of book 2, Brea’s Big Break . I wondered, “Who got this printed?” What a strange dream. I felt proud the books had been obviously read a lot since they were tattered up. I’ve always called California Girl Chronicles like chewing bubble gum – it’s sweet, fun and a way to pass time, especially on the beach. Both books are sexy, funny and frivolous in many ways. I was in a different frame of mind when I wrote these books. Today five years later after so much in my life has changed, I’ve considered whether or not I need to get a little more frivolous again. I was driving UBER and put the books behind the seats in the little pocket. A passenger picked up the second book, which says “It’s Sex in the City meets Entourage.” The girl says, “Oh cool!” Now that is an i...

One of the hardest things to do when writing fiction is to create unique voices for each character. If you make all the characters sound alike it makes the writing flat and uninteresting. It also makes it difficult to get to know a character -- they all sound like the same person. When I teach my fiction writing workshops, I always teach writers the following concepts to help create a voice for each character. Phone a friend -- I'm being cute ... what I really mean is pick someone you know in real life. Hear how he or she talks. Take this person's voice and apply it to one of your characters. If you don't know someone who would "fit the part" then take an actor or actress or even a public figure and listen to how this person talks. Mimic their inflections and phrases in your character(s). My biggest insight: really listen and repeat. People have their own ways of saying things. So, you want to capture the unique essence of the voice. Formalism in modern writ...

Time to give you my take on the evil-doers.  The purely evil, sociopathic villain can border on a cartoon character. You do not want to paint a black character with no heart or soul or motivation for his or her evil nature. A great villain is the one that is fully fleshed out, relatable and understandable. A one-dimensional villain is actually quite boring.  What you really want is to write a great antihero.  In fiction the antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character, in some regards, is conspicuously contradictory to the archetypal hero. In some cases, the antihero is the antithesis to the hero. Some people believe the antihero could be classified as the antagonist or villain. An antihero, however, is not a strict villain and typically elicits sympathy or admiration. The antihero is sometimes the character you love to hate and love at the same time. So here are my favorite antiheroes: Rev. Steve Newlin, True Blood -- I'm not sure we can find ...

#1 Eric Northman, True Blood Without a doubt, Eric Northman topped the list in 2011. As played by the incomparable Alexander Skarsguard, Season 4 of True Blood delivered a vulnerable, emotive and sweet performance of amnesiac Eric. I liked Eric Northman in the earlier seasons, but he did not begin to capture my attention until Season 2's episode "I will rise up" when Eric begs his maker Godric not to kill himself. The utter devastation and emotion portrayed by Skarsgard broke my heart. Season 3 delivered a consistent showing and sealed this character as a complex hero (not villain). While I enjoy True Blood , it is Eric Northman who keeps me coming back for more. Skarsgard has amazing chemistry with Anna Paquin's Sookie, and this year we got to see lots of it. One of the sexiest pictures I've ever seen (above) was captured when they moved into the house. Skarsgard uses his hands, and those hands are all up in her hair. The photo is stunning, beautiful, raw and e...

So, in this recent small spat of mean-spirited critiques on my book from people who are such pussies they can't leave a legit name on these attacks, I decided to take a closer look at California Girl Chronicles . First, I am almost out of the first print run, and I thought this would be a very good time to assess it. I received some valued comments from some readers I respect. I decided I agreed with these educated and respectful opinions that were not delivered to me in a thinly veiled hate message. I actually got very excited to make these revisions. I love the fact that this information came to me right as I was preparing to do the print run to provide the books for the Oscar parties. As a writer, I also encourage my authors to do focus groups. I also think you have to open your heart to make changes that would improve your work. I don't think I am the last word on what makes a great story or even a great book. I'm fishing through creativity like the most of you. One l...