First Word

Now bad reviews happen with books. Not everybody has the same tastes. Even some of my favorite books and movies get panned. In fact, a good "panning" is to be expected every now and again. What I am not fond of seeing are reviewers, who pan one of our books, and then turn around and question the validity of the positive reviews. I've seen this happen a number of times. It doesn't seem to be enough for the reviewer to say he or she didn't like the book and here's why. What doesn't work for me are those reviewers who not only dislike a book, but go out of their way to act indignant that the book received praise -- and of course, the praise must be faked! Even when there are professional reviews saying good things surely these were faked as well. The author bribed them or they are friends and family. If I hadn't seen this assertion more than once, I would not be bringing it up. Just because a reviewer doesn't like a book doesn't mean that everybod...

How much of the artist is poured into the work? I get asked if I'm my heroine Brea Harper in California Girl Chronicles . I am not Brea. It's not an autobiography. But how much of the book reflects something about my life and psyche? I once took a great class in college about the psychology of authors and how you can see what was going on in their lives through the lens of their work. We studied many of the great authors and read about their lives and then read one of their greatest works. One of our assignments was to read about D.H. Lawrence and then read Sons and Daughters, which reflected back on his family life . In comparing the life to the work, we did pull out relevant events and factors that were in the stories. Of course, the author brings his or her "world" to the story. We are better writers when we come from a place of authenticity. It's harder to write about the richness of an experience when we've not had the experience. When I have very young a...

If you've watched our so-called scandalous California Girl Chronicles trailer on You Tube, you may have noticed it was very sexy, and yet not one moment of actual "sex" was described. We had a few viewers comment about its intoxicating allure and more than one comment that it was "soft core". I feel the need to point something out about this trailer. I has no skin, profanity or description of actual sex. The scene describes nothing more than a first encounter and a kiss. You listened carefully right? Brea is describing the first time she kisses Kale and how she feels about it. In describing her feelings, it's evident she is turned-on and would like there to be sex, but there is none ... yet. When you write alluring scenes, it's about writing it with the "feelings" and thoughts in mind. You pull the reader into the desires. You do not need to describe an act to make it sexy and titillating. Sometimes writers make the mistake of just getting do...

I love spoilers -- there I said it. I like to have at least some clue where my favorite shows are heading in the new season. Well, they just released the new trailers for True Blood, Season 5 and how lame! Come on now, let's see some better clues than your past catches up with you or doesn't stay buried ... or whatever. Let's see some hints with the actual actors and not the mundane set pieces we've all seen a hundred times over. I want some action here! Some clues! A spoiler or two or three. We already know that Bill and Eric are on the run and sharing some boo-hiss "bromance" time (yuck). Does Tara get turned into a vamp or zombie. I vote zombie, that's way more off-kilter and interesting. Mark my words, Tara isn't gone. Will we get to see any Eric-Sookie loving at all? I hope so. Here is an idea, let's send Bill off to meet the sun while Sookie and Eric make mad passionate love on Eric's Barbados estate (we know he has one from Season 4...

The following is an excerpt from the second book in the California Girl Chronicles: Brea's Big Break . If you read the first book, Brea and the City of Plastic, you are probably eagerly awaiting to see what trouble Brea gets into next. A small promotional print run was done this month. If you send me an email at info@3LPublishing.com , I will let you know how you can purchase your own copy way in advance of the official release date this summer.  Prologue My name is Brea Harper, and I am the quintessential California girl. I am blond, fabulously tall, pretty and smart. I’m a screenwriter, but often get mistaken for an actress since I live in Los Angeles among the other pretty people. My desire to write screenplays has nothing to do with fame or glamour. I love to write. Period. It’s how I express my creativity and fulfill my artistic impulses. I live in a small apartment near Hollywood with my best friend Denise, who as you might know already, is quite a live wire and loads of...

As a publisher and editor, I can literally tell on the first page of a manuscript whether the book is going to end on the acceptance or rejection pile. I'm sure all you authors out there are eager to hear what to avoid if you want to get through the gatekeeping process. Tell it all on page 1 . How could you possibly do that on a single page, well, you would be surprised. Some authors give the book's big reveal on the very first page. They think this technique effectively draws in the reader -- and it could if you're a master of the storytelling process. Truth is, most new authors are not masters of that process, and the big reveal only serves to ruin the book's chances of getting accepted. So unless you're super talented and can pull that one off in some clever, interesting way, I don't recommend you approach your book's story that way. Passive voice and cluttered writing . Two-hundred adjectives strung together with a lot of passive voice is a big no, n...

Well, I am not really a big mainstream TV watcher. I love movies. I watch the premium channels, and the only mainstream show that I will watch to its conclusion is House , which ends this year. I enjoyed my days spent with the cantankerous diagnostician. My fondest memories are when two fall seasons in a row, I visited my favorite aunt in New Hampshire and propped my laptop with DVDs of the show running on the bed late at night and watched episode after episode. I completely associated this series with those crisp New England fall evenings even though the majority of the time I actually watched it in my own bed in California. Now the summer HBO Sunday night show season is about to start, and I bet all of you fans out there know what I'm looking forward to now ... True Blood Season 5 . I've read some of the spoilers and expect to see a season loaded with some engaging story lines to keep me hooked. I also have spotted the trailers for the new show Girls in which I am marginally...