Welcome to My Official Web Page!

Welcome to My Official Web Page!

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Dick & Jane


We writers are a versatile bunch when it comes to writing POV's from both genders. I struggled to write a male POV, but my readers tell me I'm pretty good at it. The writing is more succinct.

Why?

In my experience, men tend not to overanalyze. They don't talk like girls talk. Women like to talk things over, rehash the event, imagine different outcomes, blah, blah, blah. Sometimes this works well in real life, but not on the page.

Example:

Dick: Vroom, vroom! (Plays with car.) Crash! Kerplowy!

Jane: Barbie is the meanest girl. (Playing with three dolls: two Disney princesses talking about Barbie.) She's as mean as Medusa. Medusa has snakes for hair and she turns people into stone, but a warrior cuts off her head. She can't have a prince at the ball. She should go back to dancing.

(Okay, that last one was actually a conversation my daughter had with her dolls today. She's three.)


Now, I know that men can write women quite well. I don't know their secret, but I do know my favorite book on earth is Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Of course, that's all from the POV of Sayuri, a Japanese geisha. It's exquisite.

But...

I hesitate to buy a book from a female POV written by a man.

Hear me out!

I can think of three books off the top of my head where the female protagonist read like a male (but I'll be polite and not ream them here). One novel featured three POV's- two men and one woman- but they all read the same, identical voices and all nonstop sex. And this was in historical fiction!

Blecch.

When I start thinking, "There's no way a woman would do that," there's a problem. It's the same when you're watching a sappy romance in the theatre and think, "A guy would never act like that, no matter how much he loved the girl." That may be how women want guys to act, but that's not reality.

It all comes back to believability. So when I write men I have to ask myself if a guy would really do what I've written. I've nixed several scenes that were too mushy because they didn't fit. It made for a stronger character.

What about you? Are there any books or movies you read that stretched the genders a bit too much? Have you struggled to write the opposite gender's POV?

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Gender Wars!

Most fiction readers are women.

From a consumer's perspective, I can guess that most historical fiction is geared toward women.

First clue: Almost all the protagonists are women.

Second clue: There is always some sort of romance.

I've had both men and women read HATSHEPSUT and it's interesting to note the differences in their comments regarding their favorite parts. They are pretty much polar opposites. My favorite part is the romance, but I had a ton of fun writing the war. Hatshepsut gets to cut off the hands of her enemies- what's not to like?

My women readers adore the love angle while the men tend to like the politics and the war. I've tried to balance both, but there are definite sections that will appeal to women more. And they're my target audience so that's okay.

I've also get a male POV that gave me fits to write, but seems to be part of my strongest writing. Go figure.

What about you? Do you write more to one gender or the other? Do you stick to one gender's POV?

And here's a preview of Friday's blog topic: Do you have issues when men try to write female protagonists or vice versa? I've got a definite stance on this one, but I'm curious to see what you all think!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Greece!

Our big trip began when TSA confiscated my daughter's jar of peanut butter (yes, I was highly annoyed), but picked up from there. We made several stops in Greece last year, but this time decided to hunker down on one island- Crete. Home to the ancient Minoans, Crete could really be its own country and a pretty diverse one at that.

We traipsed through Hania's picturesque Old Town, found a gelateria (heaven in a cup!) and some lovely souvenirs,


Explored the ancient palace at Knossos (get there early to avoid heat and crowds),


Meandered through Aptera, an ancient and totally deserted Roman site (complete with giant wasps, but still my favorite part of the whole trip),


Hiked the 10 mile Samaria Gorge, Europe's oldest gorge, with our three-year-old (yeah, she's awesome!),


and swam in the Libyan Sea.

So yeah, the trip was awesome!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Contest Winner!

Drumroll please!

*imagine drumroll*

And the winner of the Greek Swag contest is...

MEDEIA SHARIF!!

Yep, I'm leaving ancient Egypt for a while to play in the early Middle Ages, focusing on one super awesome woman. I still have to finish Book #2 (so close, and yet so far) before I can start writing, but I outlined almost all of Book #3 on the very, very long airplane rides (Alaska to anywhere takes an eternity). And I get to research a geographic area I'm not an expert on- I just discovered I get to write about bubonic plague!

*swoon*

Yes, I love plague. LOVE it!

Thank you to everyone who guessed in the contest- I'll post my full report on Crete next week so if you have any questions you want answered, just let me know!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Greek Swag Contest Ends Tomorrow!




I'm back! Due to a case of super jet lag (I was up at 1AM doing laundry) I'm waiting to post pictures from Crete, but you've still got one day left to enter to win some awesome Greek stuff (as seen in the picture).

The super-easy rules:

1. Follow my blog.
2. Leave a comment on this post (or the original contest post) with your email address.
3. Take a wild guess as to which historical era my third book is going to tackle. All eras are fair game!
4. Want an extra entry? Blog about the contest and you can have a second guess!

The winner will be the person who guesses the correct historical era first.

The prizes:

1. A copy of Alcestis by Katharine Beutner. (A retelling of a classic Greek myth.)
2. $10 Barnes & Noble Gift Card.
3. Some serious Greek swag. I picked up a handmade oxidized bronze Greek horse statue by artist Ch. Sklavenitis and some yummy thyme honey. (Great on baklava!)

The winner will be announced on July 22nd. Until then, happy entries and happy writing!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

I'm Going to Greece CONTEST!

The isles of Greece, the isles of Greece!
Where burning Sappho loved and sung,
Where grew the arts of war and peace,
Where Delos rose, and Phoebus sprung!
Eternal summer gilds them yet,
But all, except their sun, is set.”
-Lord Byron



Why have I been so quiet lately? Because I'm going to Greece on Sunday!



We're staying a week on Crete- there will be ruins, beaches, hiking, caves, and a whole lot of food. (But no cat, thanks to Gary's warning.)

In honor of my vacation, I will not be blogging, but I am holding a CONTEST!

The super-easy rules:

1. Follow my blog.
2. Leave a comment on this post with your email address.
3. Take a wild guess as to which historical era my third book is going to tackle. All eras are fair game!
4. Want an extra entry? Blog about the contest and you can have a second guess!

The winner will be the person who guesses the correct historical era first.

The prizes:

1. A copy of Alcestis by Katharine Beutner. (A retelling of a classic Greek myth: Read all about it here.)
2. $10 Barnes & Noble Gift Card.
3. Some serious Greek swag. I'm not talking a T-shirt, but some pretty awesome goodies (plural!) that I will find along my journeys and send straight to your mailbox.

The winner will be announced on July 22nd. Until then, happy entries and happy writing!


Photo from Valery Tours.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Exhaustion




A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. ~William Styron


I love the idea of exhausted readers, not only because they've lived several lives, but also because they were up until the wee hours of the morning with a good book. Here are some of my favorite books that were downright exhausting.


The Hunger Games & Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (I won't give you a synopsis on this one- if you haven't read them yet there's a problem.)
Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Boy on boat with a tiger, dying zebra, and hyena. The ending is a killer.)
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (PLAGUE!)
Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George (Ummm.. Pretty self-explanatory.)
Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn (A gritty look at ancient Rome; a Roman gladiator and slave fall in love, but are torn apart.)
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (A college student joins the circus during the Great Depression, falls in love, and trains an elephant.)


So I enjoy fighting to the death, being shipwrecked, nursing people with festering buboes, ruling Egypt (duh!), being mistress to the Roman Emperor, and working for a corrupt circus during the Great Depression.

What about you? Who do you enjoy being? What are your favorite, and yet exhausting, books?

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Hello, My Name is Stephanie And I Have An Addiction

I cannot live without books. -Thomas Jefferson

I have a somewhat addictive personality.

This is not to say that you will become addicted to my sunny disposition after meeting me, but instead that I tend to become addicted to certain things.

Example? In high school I drank 3-4 bottles of Mountain Dew a day. Every day.

Thank goodness I got strep throat and couldn't drink the stuff anymore- I think it was probably eating a hole in my stomach lining.

I'm currently addicted to red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. (And working out every day to counteract its effects on my waistline.)

But the one thing I've always been addicted to?

Books.

I'm too lazy to count them (I'm on summer vacation so you'll have to cut me some slack), but I did an estimate today and I own 500+ books.

It's not enough! I need more!

What about you? Are you a book addict? How many books do you own? Or better yet, how many do you think you've read?