Lori Devoti, paranormal romance and urban fantasy author

It is that time again–time for a new pillow. The pillows we have were great when we first got them–life changing. They were also expensive, somewhere in the $100 area, but they were fab and my husband and I both slept great. But now they have lost their fabulousness. And their lives sadly were short–a couple of years maybe?

It seems pillows should last longer than this. When I was young, I don’t remember every getting a new pillow. But I guess when I was young I slept through a lot more than I do now. So, with old age comes the need for better pillows replaced more regularly.

But what type to get? First consideration probably should come with how you sleep. My husband is pretty much a side sleeper. This article has three suggestions. I think the key is that they are firm. I am a side/back sleeper. Same place has suggestions for back sleepers.

But pillow selection goes beyond that and beyond cost. It’s very personal–feather, down, fiberfill? My mother has horrible taste in pillows. When I stay at her house I have trouble getting to sleep and constantly wake up with neck pain. She has tried to buy good pillows; she doesn’t scrimp, but I just can’t sleep on them. I have started taking my own.

Perhaps the problem is a basic misunderstanding of each other. She is a fiberfill person. My dad is feathers all the way. I’m with him–feathers or down. It’s what I grew up with. Actually, I grew up sleeping on pillows that were so old the only thing left inside was the stick part of the feather. They used to poke me in the middle of the night. That is my dad’s favorite kind of pillow–the oldest, most broken down thing you can find–feathers only.

My dad and my shared love of feathers probably dates back to something else we shared–Baby Pillow. I know most kids have blankets or stuffed animals they take with them wherever they go, but not me–no I had Baby Pillow. He started out as my dad’s, back before people realized having a baby sleep with a pillow was a bad idea. I inherited him, and I loved him. He had three changes in pillow cases–I still have two of them. And I still have him. I did not share him with my own kids. Maybe I should have, but then again, it probably only would have given them the same obsession I have in finding the “perfect” pillow. Because, seriously, when you’ve had a pillow who understands your every hurt, who is there for you when the shadows in your room grow claws, and who fits neatly into any suitcase even when you are twelve and well past the age of needing a security item, how can any normal pillow live up?

Baby Pillow in one of his outfits.

Baby Pillow flashing his true self.

Guess I’m going to have to settle, again…

My husband is a big fan of Glen Cook’s Dark Company. I thought this interview was hilarious. :) Pat's Fantasy Hotlist: New Glen Cook Interview.

Not THE talk, the talk….kind of a warm up (what will be one of many I’m sure) to that talk.

The girl is going on a sleep over tomorrow. She has done overnights with just one friend before and we had a couple of girls sleep over for her last birthday, but this is a much bigger group. So, I felt the need (much to her horror) to have a “talk”.

Because, let’s face it, girls get goofy and sometimes mean. And in today’s world there are all kinds of things that can happen…I’m not really worried about any of the things I talked to her about happening (cigarettes, alcohol, improper pictures, even anyone getting picked on), but at some point she will face these things. I might as well start preparing her now. And it isn’t like you are going to know when that time will be. As far as I know no one has invented any kind of “trouble ahead” flashing button we can slap on their foreheads.

I think the talk went well…she came out from under the covers eventually. At least I think she did…

Anyone else delivered a “talk” lately? Remember receiving any of yours?

How great is that? Harlequin turns 60 today and they are giving away free eBooks. You can’t get a better deal than that. :)

My last book almost killed me. I thought I had things plotted, but it was weak, weak, weak. The thing about a weak plot is that after you get through the first act, it rears its ugly head and refuses to be beaten down until fully addressed. I kept slapping bandages on it. My hero wasn’t alpha enough. Fixed that, and kept writing…hit another wall. Honestly, it was until I only had about two chapters left to write that I figured everything out.

Then I had to go back and fix everything. This is not my preferred way of writing. I like to write linearly. I don’t have to know every detail of what is going to happen, but I do need to clearly understand my characters goals, motivations and conflicts. And for a book to be the easiest to write these have to be strong. A book with a weak conflict is not only a boring book to read, it is a darn hard book to write.

So, today I am plotting what will be my last book in my current contract–book 6 in the Unbound series. I know the hero–he first appears in Dark Crusade. I know the heroine–she also appears in Dark Crusade. Now I just have to nail down what both of them want and what is stopping them from getting it. That is the goal (what the character wants), their motivation (why they want it) and their conflict (what is stopping them from getting it). If they don’t REALLY want something, hopefully NEED something, there is no book. If their reason for wanting this something could easily go away, there may be a book, but it is going to be weak–probably an eye roller. If there is nothing stopping them from getting it–then what is the point? You are just reading a day in the life…or a travelogue. There is nothing compelling about either of those.

So, today I will set down with my stack of paper. I will define what each of these characters want and why. And I will decide who and what is stopping them from getting it–and try to make all as desperate and strong as I can. Then I will start what most people probably think of as plotting. I’ll use my handy dandy form for turning points, and write out ideas for major scenes. Each of these scenes will have to rotate around those goals, motivations and conflict. And I will hit a few walls, so I will take a step back and think some more. Then I will write a very rough synopsis. And then, by Monday hopefully, I will start writing the book.

But this time, I am not going to force myself to keep writing if the GMC (goal, motivation, conflict) and the adversaries are not clear. Because it just isn’t worth it….

Today I’m at Romancing the Blog. Topic–Build a Better Bookstore!

I’ve been thinking about blogging a lot lately. I’m on two group blogs–Shapeshifter Romance and Romancing the Blog–right now. Next week I join a new one–Something Wicked. Off screen at Shape-shifter we’ve been discussing our look and our topics. We originally agreed to blog only on shape-shifter related things. This gets old…and hard. At Romancing the Blog it is supposed to be something book related. At Something Wicked it is a bit more loose–just a fun chatter kind of place with some organized weeks I think.

Then I have this blog and my LiveJournal. And I never really know what to say at either. I do like to post interviews–but those take a little time to get together and sometimes I don’t have it. And I post my book news. But after that…what? I’m not one much for Internet-induced outrage topics. (Although I could rant for days on that phenomena…) So, for days my blog will go blank. So my question is, what author blogs do you read? And why? What info do you enjoy seeing? And am I completely over thinking this? Should I just write about my obnoxious dog who yells at me 24/7 because he believes my number one job is shoveling out the cookies? Or why I fast forward through 80% of the morning news, because really, doesn’t everyone know that you should not drape your jeans over the space heater to dry? Or maybe reality TV–I have a scary amount of expertise on what is happening on reality TV….

Let me know.

And with that fab segue, today’s topic! Chocolate cake. Today is chocolate cake day. Did you know that? Honestly I am not much of a cake eater. Where I grew up we went to a lot of covered dish dinners and the older ladies were always pushing cake at me. I can remember their stares of horror when I said I didn’t care for it. Give me a pie instead any time. But there are two notable exceptions to this. Two chocolate cakes that are impossible to resist….

The first has the side benefit of being based on cake mix. That’s right mix. You gotta love this. I discovered this little gem after deciding baking a cake from a box just was not worth the effort. It needed spiffing up. In this recipe you add sour cream, hot water, pudding mix and chocolate chips. It is irresistible. I had to freeze the left-overs to keep from eating it all, because my bizarre children eat anything like this maybe twice and then are done. If I freeze it I can reintroduce it as new later.

The second is deadly. Coca Cola Cake also known as Cocoa Cola Cake. Have you had this? I think it is a Southern thing. I have not made it in years, because I am not a total masochist…I would have to eat SOME. However, if you have never had it…you really need to try it. Here’s one version…The picture looks exactly like the sticky sweet heaven I remember.

So, celebrate, and someone eat a little cake for me!

Publisher: Silhouette Nocturne
ISBN: 978-0373618095
Genre: Dark Paranormal Romance
Release Date: April 2009

Preorder from Amazon

Evil forces…a forbidden love…a deadly witch hunt.
Don’t miss Lori Devoti’s dark, mesmerizing romance..

Exiled rogue shapeshifter Kerr Vik once saw being transported to Gunngar as a fresh start. Until the one person he most regretted leaving behind—captivating witch Heather Moore—stumbles through the portal…and finds herself right in the middle of a witch hunt. Heather has courageously come to Gunngar to redeem herself. But Kerr knows that if she braves it alone…she will die. He must somehow send her back through the portal. And it’s not long before a collision of truth, love and duty complicates Kerr’s mission by forcing him to choose sides: should he save this forbidden love or protect his honor?

Juno Books, best-known for “contemporary fantasy novels that emphasize strong female protagonists in richly imagined contexts,” will become an imprint of Pocket Books, starting with Lori Devoti’s AMAZON INK in June 2009. They plan to co-publish one title a month together.

Juno started in publishing in fall 2006. Editor Paula Guran will work together with Pocket’s Jennifer Heddle on the line. Pocket publisher Louise Burke says, “We’ve seen great growth in this category, are delighted to now have a dedicated line, and look forward to helping to cultivate a wider audience for Juno’s terrific roster of authors.”

Guran adds that “both Juno and fantasy readers in general will gain immensely by sales and marketing reach of Pocket Books and Simon & Schuster, while still getting the best of our editorial sensibility.”

This is a plea for help…my web site got woefully out of date. So, today I sat down to organize it, but quickly became confused. Here’s the issue…I have my romantic comedies which are still available in print only as far as I know. I have my full length Nocturnes–all but one of which is part of my Unbound series, and two of which are only available in ebook right now. I have my Bite (short story) which is available by itself as ebook only or in print with some other Bites. I also have a story in the Mammoth book of Paranormal Romance. And now I have my urban fantasy Amazon Ink
up and available for pre-order at Amazon!

How do I organize this mess? My original thought was Books/(paranormal romance/urban fantasy/contemporary romance) Then list on the paranormal romance ALL of those, including the Bite, etc. But the page is getting a bit long. I COULD break out the Unbound world stuff because I could see readers just wanting info on those. OR I could break it out as “Available in Print” and “Backlist/ebook” But since ebooks are only going to get bigger that seems counter productive. What should I do? What makes sense? Who has done this well? Share!!!