MOVED

Please come visit my new site! Point your browsers to www.lynnrayeharris.com or www.lynnrayeharris.com/blog to go straight to the blog.

I have seen the new design

Y'all cannot possibly imagine my excitement right about now. I have been let into the inner sanctum (aka the admin login) and allowed to view my site in progress. I can't wait to share it with you! You will notice, if you try to go to my website now, there's going to be something that tells you the site is being redesigned. No website at the moment, but we're very close to the new launch.

I'm thinking about what to give away when it launches. We must have a contest. We must have prizes. It's a requirement! I don't want to say anything about what it looks like just yet. But I was surprised by something completely coincidental that I'll explain on my new blog when the time comes.

Keep checking back!

Moving soon!

Start preparing yourselves, dear friends, for the relocation of this blog! My new website will be going live soon, and you'll want to update your links. I'm giving you the blog link now, but be aware it is not live yet.

http://www.lynnrayeharris.com/blog/

All the posts that are here will be moved. Nothing will be different except the link you use to get to me, and the look of the site. I can't wait to share my new design!!

When the new site is up, I will change the header of this blog to reflect that (and hopefully link to the new one).

Letter to Amazon

Unless you live in a cave, you've probably heard about Amazon and the unranking of books they deem unsuitable. To say I'm horrified is an understatement. To say I'm mad and disappointed is another understatement. I buy most of my books from Amazon. I love that I can browse online and then they show up at my house two days later. Unfortunately, I can't in good conscience buy from them anymore. Not until they fix this mess.

It's not just books with gay and lesbian content, but some of the hotter romances getting caught in the fray.

Here is a letter to Amazon. Took me a while to find where to send it, but I did.

I have ordered many, many items from Amazon over the years. But as an American, as an independent person, as a writer, and as a reader, I have to express my utter disappointment at Amazon's recent high-handed actions regarding delisting books YOU deem unsuitable. Who are YOU to determine this? Why is Mein Kampf suitable, but an erotic romance is not? We do not live in a dictatorship, and until you fix this policy, I've just received my last order from you. Man, I wanted that Kindle too. Not happening now. Your behavior is un-American in spirit, not to mention unbelievable for a company engaged in SELLING books. What's next, a bonfire? Ever hear of Fahrenheit-451 by Ray Bradbury? Suggest you give it a read.

One of the hallmarks of a free society is open discourse. You may not like erotic books, or gay books, but you have no right to unrank them. And, if you check my long history with you, you'll see that I probably haven't bought any of these books (with the exception of romance novels you might now find too tawdry for your tastes) -- but I want the right to buy them, and the right to see how well they are selling without regard to their content. Shame on you!

Lynn R. Harris, a disappointed (and now former) Amazon customer

What we already knew

This certainly isn't news to die-hard romance readers, but it seems as if people like happy endings when times are bad. Duh.

At a time when booksellers are struggling to lure readers, sales of romance novels are outstripping most other categories of books and giving some buoyancy to an otherwise sluggish market.

Harlequin Enterprises, the queen of the romance world, reported that fourth-quarter earnings were up 32 percent over the same period a year earlier, and Donna Hayes, Harlequin’s chief executive, said that sales in the first quarter of this year remained very strong. While sales of adult fiction overall were basically flat last year, according to Nielsen Bookscan, which tracks about 70 percent of retail sales, the romance category was up 7 percent after holding fairly steady for the previous four years.

I'm not surprised. Are you? I pretty much always want a feel-good read, but maybe I was inoculated to human suffering and angst-ridden unhappy endings during my years spent getting first a BA and then an MA -- years in which I read tons of "classic literature." Been there, done that. I still like a good literary story, don't get me wrong. Ann Patchett and Audrey Niffenegger amaze me, for instance. Wonderful writers.

By and large, give me that happy ending though. You can read the full article here. For once, the NYT wasn't in the least snooty -- unlike the LA Times columnist this week who reported on this phenomenon, put down romance, and then admitted she'd never read one. Ludicrous. Would you let someone tell you what your opinion should be, and then espouse it as your own? I wouldn't, but she sure doesn't have a problem with it. Someone told her romance was dumb at some point -- so she jumped on the snotty bandwagon and starting beating the drums. Thank God for individuality, right?

Inspiration

I'm working on Book 3, getting deep into character and motivation, and generally having fun exploring the relationship between these two volatile people. And when I ran across this picture, the light bulb went off -- this is my hero. Cristiano is strong, sexy, and tortured by the past. And he's absolutely determined to get what he wants from the heroine -- and to leave her with nothing when he's done.

Oh be still my heart! Wounded heroes are so sexy to write.

Yeah, I love this job. :)

In other news, the website is inching closer to reveal day! I'm so excited about it, and can't wait to share it with you all! There will be a new website, blog, and newsletter. And when it goes live, I'll give away some goodies. :)

One last thing -- my book is up for pre-order on Amazon, but now it has a cover -- and that makes me delighted to share the link with you!

Today's post is at Romance Magicians. We're talking about creative breaks. Please come by and say hi!

Friday round up

1. Is there a rule that says once you hit a certain age, you must cut your hair short? Because I attended a function the other day where every single woman there, with the exception of me and one other lady, was upwards of 50. And they ALL had short hair. Short. Gray, white, brown and blonde -- didn't matter, every lady had short hair. Nearly gave me a panic, I tell you. I've already made the switch from long to layered, but I'm holding the line on that above-the-shoulder stuff. If it looked good on me, I wouldn't be so worried. But it doesn't. Trust me.

2. I am a horrible, horrible gadget-loving person! It's all my hubby's fault! I want a new MacBook Pro. I love my 13.3" white MacBook, but I want a bigger screen. I've fallen in love with the sleek look of the new Macs.

3. By the same token, I want a new iPod shuffle. Why? Heck if I know! I already have an iPhone and a 32 GB Touch. I also have a first generation 4 GB Nano that I never use anymore. So why would I need a shuffle? Don't know, but it's so cool and little! And it talks!

4. I have already mentioned the Kindle. Still want.

5. Hubby is a shoe ho. He rivals me, though he swears he does not. The man made an *impulse* shoe buy the other day that rather surprised me. I am still recovering from the sticker shock. I could have bought a Kindle! (Well, I'd have needed to add some money, but still!) The man is insane.

6. We're having bad weather. Tornadoes possible. I really hate this time of year. :(

7. I *love* the person who copy-edited my last book. My voice is intact, and she barely touched my words. Love that!!

8. Love the ideas I brainstormed with my editor for book 3. Need to get busy rewriting and moving forward.

9. Taxes. Holy cow, it's time!

10. Dinner out with parents tonight! Dinner with friends tomorrow! Diet on Sunday!

What's up with you?

Got angst?

I'm working on Book 3 and I could tell something was missing. As much as I loved the characters, and the situation I'd gotten them into (oh it is delicious, but I cannot tell you!), there was some niggling little thing bugging me. Something wasn't right.

Fortunately, my editor saw it too. And after a conversation with her yesterday, I now have new direction. What I was missing, apparently, was some deeper angst. In a short category novel, those backgrounds are key. What happened to these people in the past to make them who they are now? What about their pasts prevents them from being together or from seeing they are right for each other? What must they help each other to realize before they can live happily ever after?

It seems straightforward enough, but it rarely is. My characters are real to me, and until I know what their problems truly are, it's impossible to just make a bunch of stuff up that doesn't fit. Seriously. I guess that sounds silly, but it's true.

My editor hit on something perfect that fit the hero so well I wondered how I hadn't realized it about him before. Combine that with some other things I learned about him, and with the heroine's background, and we've got one dark book. But I'm up for the challenge! I'm looking forward to the revisions to the first three chapters, and what will happen as I move forward from there. I'm excited about it again, and not worried that something is missing. It's a great feeling.

And, once again, there's a deadline staring me in the face. So time to get busy!

How do you know when you have all your elements in place? Do character backgrounds take you a while to learn? Or do you know everything right away?