Iestyn Who?

Sometimes a character strolls on to the page and then won't leave your imagination or your heart...

From the Children of the Sea prequel "Sea Crossing" in the anthology SHIFTER



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma's heart beat like a frightened rabbit's. She wrapped her arms around her waist, tucking her hands under her armpits to hide their trembling.

She was a teacher in a girls' school. She was not used to violence. Male violence. The men's casual assault and her rescuer's swift reprisal had shocked and shaken her.

The bigger man--the one who had grabbed her--led his limping companion away. Emma fought a shiver of reaction. Revulsion. They were no worse, really, than the men in the boarding house she had learned to lock her door against each night or the ones who called and whistled after her on the street. No worse than Paul.

They had not raped her.

Although they could have.

Another shudder shook her. Thank God she had been rescued. He had rescued her. Again.

He stood planted, unmoving, his eyes narrowed as the other two men staggered
from the hall. Emma's gaze slid over the hard slabs of his torso to the ridges of his abdomen and felt a clench in her stomach that might have been fear. He wasn't even breathing hard. If not for the dark hair covering his powerful chest, the breeches clinging to his thighs, he might have been a statue.

"You," he barked.

Emma jumped.

But his attention was on the boy, the one with the odd colored eyes. The
only one who hadn't run when those two men cornered her.

"What in Llyr's name were you doing?" the big man demanded.

Emma moved instinctively closer to the boy. He was only a child. He--

"She was all alone," the boy said with dignity. "I thought--"

"You did not think. Murdoc could swat you like a fly. Next time you see the prince's peace disturbed, you call me or one of the other Wardens, understand?"

Wardens? Emma shied at the word like a horse from the bite of a lash. What was this place? A jail? An orphanage?

Her chest hollowed. An asylum?

The boy's thin face flushed. "Yes, sir."

Emma's protective instincts roused. Orphaned or crazy, the child meant well. "He was only trying to help."

Her rescuer turned his dark, brooding gaze on her, and she felt again that quick clutch in her belly. Tension rose off him like steam.

Her mouth dried. She should not have come down. She was not safe here.

She lifted her chin, refusing to be cowed.

"You wanted to help," he said without expression.

He was speaking to the boy. Emma gathered she was irrelevant.

The child straightened his narrow shoulders. "I--Yes."

"Right. Make yourself useful, then. Fetch a girl to attend the lady."

The boy nodded and darted away.

"Wait!" Emma called after him.

The child paused, almost quivering in his desire to be gone.

"What is your name?"

He shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Iestyn."

"Thank you, Iestyn," she said gently. "I am Miss March."

"Yes." His smile flashed. "Thank you, miss."

He ran off.

Her Viking was still watching Emma with an intent, cat-at-a-mousehole look that made her palms grow damp.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Guess who's all grown up now and getting his own book? ;-)

Forgotten Sea Giveaway!

THREE WEEKS until the Forgotten Sea release! Hooray! And look what showed up on my doorstep!

I have three copies to give away.
Who wants one?

Oooh, oooh, meant to add: Please include an email addy so I can get in touch with you if you win. You can obscure it by writing out "at" or "dot" or whatever so evil bots won't find it. Example: virginia (at) virginiakantra (dot) com.

Write on Wednesday: the Pitch Appointment

Romance Writers of America meets in NYC next month! So it seems a good time to reprise my advice about editor and agent appointments.

I met my first editor, Mary-Theresa Hussey, at a pitch appointment back in the days when she was a lowly assistant editor at Silhouette and I hadn't yet completed my first manuscript. (This was so long ago you could get away with that.)

Mind you, it took me four years to write a story she could actually buy. But that meeting gave me hope and was the start of a working relationship that lasted ten years.

So let's say you're headed to New York. You score an appointment with the agent you most covet or the editor you want at the house of your dreams. You have ten minutes to convince her that you are a perfect match. Now what do you say?

First of all, relax. No matter how you feel inside, this is not the do-or-die moment of your career. Remember that the editor wants to like your book. All you have to do is describe your story in words that will let her know what it's truly about. I can't find my own high concept with both hands in the dark. But I can talk succinctly about story because of Debra Dixon's wonderful explanation of goal, motivation, and conflict. Because of her, I can offer

Virginia Kantra's Cheat Sheet to Perfect Pitch

Start:"Thank you for taking the time to meet with me."Say a few words about the publisher or agent that suggests you've done your homework, read their authors' work. This means, of course, that you have done your homework, that you know that this agent represents your genre and you are not pitching your sweet Christian romance to an erotica publisher.

I've written a word count, subgenre
set in location and/or time period.

My Title is about a character tag (descriptive adjective and specific noun)
Fighting/striving/struggling for character goal
because character motivation
But conflict (why can't she have what she wants?)

The other primary character (hero or heroine)
is a character tag
who wants character goal
so that character motivation
But conflict.

A sentence about how the romance is affected by or impacts the plot.

A sentence about how the characters work together or at cross purposes to defeat the antagonist or overcome the conflict.

A sentence establishing your area of expertise or level of excitement about this story.

Finish by telling her what you want: "I would like to send you the story."

Don't be thrown if the editor asks questions about your story. This means she's interested.

You can ask questions, too. They probably get tired of, "What are you looking for?" But you could certainly ask specific questions about projects you have simmering on the back burner. Which brings me to,

Have a second pitch prepared in case the editor says this project doesn't meet the needs of her house at this time or asks what else you are writing.

As I mentioned above, you want to do your research before you even request any appointment. Make sure you have visited
Agent Query - An excellent guide to what an agent is and how to submit to one,
along with a free, searchable database of over 700 agents.

as well as Preditors and Editors
Another Realm hosts this guide to literary agents and publishing houses.

And good luck!

(You can find an earlier version of this post and other articles about writing on my website.)

Forgotten Sea - New Sneak Peek!

He was out there somewhere. She could feel him, just like this morning.

Lara skimmed along the tree-lined walk, her flat shoes crunching the pea gravel. She imagined Justin blundering in the dark, dazed and bleeding, hurt and resentful, a danger to himself . . . or to others.

She needed to find him. For his sake. For hers.

She had to tell somebody. Tell Simon.

Her stomach churned. The thought of facing the governors, of Zayin’s scorn and Simon’s disappointment, made her sick inside.

But she had no choice. A trickle of sweat rolled down her spine. Hurry, hurry, hurry.

The distinctive pitched roof line of the headmaster’s residence poked over the trees—six chimneys and a weathervane shaped like an eagle.

Simon Axton lived alone in the original Colonial farmhouse, set apart from the other school buildings behind the main hall. Lara had been invited inside exactly eight times. To the sunroom to take tea with her cohort on graduation day. To the book-lined library for cocktails with the schoolmasters and other proctors over the holidays. Once or twice to bring Simon a file he’d left at the office.

Lara approached the front porch, her steps slowing, anticipation burning a hole in her gut. Too late, she realized she should have called. But what would she say?
What could she say? She was supposed to be in her room.

Simon’s cool dismissal pounded in her head. “If you’re quite satisfied, I believe we’re done here.”

The thought of his displeasure dried her mouth. She stared up at the darkened windows, listening to the whisperings and rustlings and cracklings of the overgrown garden. A soft thump sounded from the back of the house, some small, nocturnal animal hunting in the night.

Her heart thudded.

Suck it up, she ordered herself. Get it over with.

Straightening her shoulders, she marched toward the steps.

That noise again, like a prowling cat or a raccoon testing the garbage cans or . . .

She caught her breath. Or like an escaped patient, skulking in the bushes.
Goose bumps rose along her arms. She stood frozen, her mind racing, her breath whooshing in and out of her lungs. He couldn’t be . . .

Here?
Maybe. Why not? How far could he get, with a skull fracture and the heth around his throat?

She thrust her hand into her skirt pocket, wrapping her fingers around the knife—his knife, Justin’s—and was instantly electrified as if she’d grabbed a live plug. Her nerves sizzled. Like a bug flying into a bug zapper.

She strained her senses.

There? Almost. Almost . . . There.

A whisper of warmth, male, animal, alive. A swirl of wild energy, around the corner, behind the house. Intangible. Unmistakable.

Justin was here, somewhere nearby.

Clutching the knife like a divining rod, she plunged into the darkness at the side of the house, stepping over beds of hostas and lilies of the valley, creeping under the black and staring windows. It was like her Seeking—was it only this morning?—or the game she’d played as a child. Warm. Cold. Warmer. Hot.

She shivered. A dangerous game, with high stakes and an unpredictable playmate.

Warm, warmer . . .

A thick oak raised its arms over the backyard, obscuring the star-strewn sky. She stepped into the mottled light, her gaze scanning the dappled ground, the silvered plants, the velvet shadows. Against the foundation, the door to the storm cellar yawned open, a gaping black hole.

HOT.

The knife burned in her pocket. The air left her lungs.

There. Sprawled across the stone threshold, one arm reaching for the wooden door as if to shut it behind him. His hair was bleached, his skin pale in the moonlight. The bandage on his forehead was dark with blood.

Justin lifted his head and met her gaze, his eyes nearly black in the shadows, burning with intensity. “Help . . . me.”

FORGOTTEN SEA cover

Another fabulous Tony Mauro cover!
This one is for FORGOTTEN SEA,
out in June 2011.

Emotion Workshop Handout

Adding Emotion, Making a Sale - Workshop Handout
Virginia Kantra

New Jersey Romance Writers
October 2010


Solid writing skills don’t guarantee sales. An emotionally compelling story does. Award-winning author Virginia Kantra shares practical strategies you can use to hook readers’—and editors’—emotions.

BIG PICTURE

What the editor says/What you can do about it:
1. She says: “I don’t feel there’s enough keeping the hero and heroine apart.”
You do: Choose an essentially emotional conflict (based on well-motivated emotional need) that is more important than/aggravated by the external conflict.
It has to be deep; personal; increasingly complicated with rising stakes.
The conflict must pose a threat to the h/h’s very sense of self.
How? Goal, Motivation, Conflict; scene selection.

2. She says: “The plot overshadows the romance.”
You do: Remember, It’s the relationship, stupid.
Why must these two people - and not any others - be together?
What do they discover/appreciate/challenge in each other?
Scene selection.

3. She says: “I just didn’t care about the characters.”
You do: Create a likable, sympathetic heroine readers can identify with and a
sexy (redeemable) hero they can fall in love with
How? Show motivation to engage reader’s sympathy through backstory, dialogue
Using sequel structure to engage reader’s emotions.

IT’S IN THE DETAILS

4. She says: “I feel the characters need to communicate more.”
You do: Use dialogue to reveal character; to create and sustain conflict; to develop intimacy.
How? VK’s Rule of Dialogue:
“If your character can think it, she can say it.
It’s better if she says it to the hero.
Best of all if they fight about it.”

5. She says: “I just didn’t love this story enough.”
You do: BE the character. The story always matters to the central characters. The more we are the characters, the more we care.
Dialogue alone isn’t enough. Engage the reader on a visceral, sensory level.
How? Consistent dominant mood to avoid jerking the reader around.
Use significant, specific detail (including setting & symbolism) to add emotional truth, urgency.
Use Point of View. Deep POV; choice of POV; differences in male/female POV.


Big Picture Hands-on Exercise: “It’s the relationship, stupid.”

My hero admires my heroine’s ____________________________.

He uncovers/appreciates her ______________________________.

He’s challenged by her __________________________________.

Do the same for the heroine.
What are the scenes that move the romance forward by showing these qualities?

Developing the Romance in Your Romance Novel - Workshop Handout

Isn’t It Romantic?
Developing the Romance in Your Romance Novel
Virginia Kantra

RWA National defines a romance novel as “a central love story” with “an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending.” To be emotionally satisfying, the romance must be true both to what the reader knows and to what the writer has to say.

Good love stories are universal (tap into the readers’ shared emotions and experiences) and unique (use specific, significant details that belong to the story). Using examples from bestselling authors and Virginia Kantra’s own work, this workshop explores how combining universal emotion and unique detail in seven essential romance components results in love stories that are believable, memorable…and satisfying!

I. Physical awareness/attraction. You have to have it.
A. Universal: biology drives desire. What each sex finds attractive.

B. Unique: use observation and characterization to move beyond cliché and find specific triggers.

C. Level of awareness must be appropriate to

1. The subgenre
2. The characters
3. The stage of the relationship
4. The level of action/external conflict

II. Emotional conflict. (Not only external.)
A. Why can’t the h/h be together from the beginning of the book?
How must they change/grow before they can commit to each other?

B. Universal: usually issues of fear, trust, conflicting loyalties and/or control
“I’ll never love (or love again) because…”

C. Unique: motivation and specific supporting detail

D. Obstacles have to be big enough to sustain the book, but not so big they require years of therapy or challenge the HEA.

III. Scenes that develop emotional intimacy.
A. Universal:

He feeds/provides/protects.
She nurtures.

B. Unique:
Romance exercise: “It’s the relationship, stupid.”

My hero admires my heroine’s ____________________________.

He uncovers/appreciates her ______________________________.

He’s challenged by her __________________________________.

Do the same for the heroine.
What are the scenes that move the romance forward by showing these qualities?

IV. Dating/courtship scenes
A. Setting can be inherently romantic (tropical cruise, castle)
and/or foster intimacy through isolation/hardship (road trip, jungle)

B. Timeframe

1. Universal experience: the “date”
Pacing of novel rarely allows luxury of leisurely dating
2. Use accelerated timeframe/intensity of action to foster intimacy

C. Change of setting/pacing allows for “date” – scenes necessary to show that after the timeframe of the novel, this couple can enjoy one another’s company

1. Resting scenes. Can go conventionally appealing or mix it up (bar, ball game, family picnic) in a way which is
true to the situation
advances plot/shows conflict
reveals character/fosters intimacy (opportunities for dialogue)
2. Courtship rituals
Universal: flowers, food, alcohol, “dressing up”
Unique: objects that spring from characters/conflict.
Must be: sensually evocative, appropriate to story/credible, appealing.

V. Sex scenes
A. Universal: Biology drives desire, but not everyone finds same words/acts erotic. Hot sex without emotional context may show attraction or provide adventure, but it won’t prove the h/h are suitable life partners.
Need to engage brain, heart.
At some point, need realization of love and commitment. (See “Payoff”)

B. Unique:
What’s at stake with each kiss/love scene? Discovery, intimacy, communication, conflict, control.
How does the physical action reflect or impact (complicate or resolve) the emotional conflict?
How do the scenes change as the story and the relationship progresses?



VI. Lovers in society. No man is an island, and no couple can live on one forever.
A. Work
Values, gender politics and genre expectations
Couple must negotiate a settlement which satisfies each of them (and therefore the reader)

B. Family
Scenes which show integration into existing family structure (parents, kids)
Scenes which show formation of new family unit (primary bond/loyalty, kids)
Do not let matchmaking mother, insightful best friend, the adorable child do the work of the h/h.

VII. The payoff

1. The “duh” moment - realization of feelings
2. The “yes” moment - declaration of surrender
3. The “aww” moment – love, commitment, hearts, flowers, violins

The first two can create added complications and conflict. The third cannot.
External conflict must be resolved by H/H acting to defeat the antagonist. Threat of antagonist must be defeated/contained for credible HEA.
Epilogue satisfies reader expectations without sacrificing pacing, straining credibility

***


USA Today bestselling author Virginia Kantra credits her enthusiasm for strong heroes and courageous heroines to a childhood spent devouring fairy tales. A six-time Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist, Virginia has won numerous writing awards, including two National Readers’ Choice Awards.

Virginia has sold over twenty books to Berkley and Silhouette. IMMORTAL SEA, the latest book in her paranormal series, Children of the Sea, is an October 2010 release.

Visit her on the web at http://virginiakantra.com and on Facebook.