All posts by Carlene

Happy New Year’s Dedications

mermaids, Writing, , ,

Welcome back to the pond everyone!  I’m honored to have the first blog spot of the New Year!!   Beings this is the first post of 2012, I thought for sure it would be a great idea to write about our resolutions.  I’ll be honest; my first resolution was to be less judgmental.  Then I spent the day at Arlington Cemetery and found it impossible not to be in judgment of those around me who couldn’t put down their cell phones while on the sacred grounds, or couldn’t wait until later that day after they’d left the tomb of the Unknown Soldier to tell all those hilarious, laugh-inducing jokes to their buddies.  Oh, and those who apparently had no clue what the “Silence and Respect” signs posted all around President Kennedy’s gravesite meant.

Since I couldn’t stick to that first resolution, I came up with a second one.  To be more thoughtful of others.  I like this one.  I can do this one.  And I can tie it into both writing and music.

In order to kick start this New Year’s mission, I’m spending today thinking about you all, and then dedicating a song to you by my favorite band, Depeche Mode.  I’ve started with my fellow mermaids and then if you’d like to join in on the thoughtfulness parade, leave me a comment letting me know how you’re feeling today and I’ll come up with your DM song dedication! All songs written by Martin L. Gore.

Princess Alethea: “Little Soul” You recently mentioned letting our inner lights shine through.  This song has you written all over it!

Avery: “A Question of Lust” Two words for you: Claire and Jake from your fabulous Up a Dry Creek novel!  They would never let what they’ve built up crumble to dust…

Dana: “Here is the House”  When I hear this song, I can’t help but think of your short story, Garden of Knight, and Grandma Emily and Great Aunt Margaret’s home where so much happened to Gemma.

Denny: “Stripped” On the surface, with words like metropolis and breathing in fumes when we kiss, I instantly think of your hip, urban writing style.  But also, as my critique partner, I appreciate the underlying message of this song which is to strip things down so the truth can be seen better.

Kerri: “Precious” Those writers as special as you deserve to be taken care of.  Period.  And with a splash of glitter just for good measure.

Kim: “Get Right With Me” Ever since I read your “Things You Love to Hate” post, I have appreciated your spunky sense of humor.  This song tells it to us straight with cleverness and subtlety—just like you!

Loni: “I Am You” With this song’s chants about dark obsession and hearts bound by chains, I think of two things that remind me of you…your Wanted: One Ghost story and your love of Sherrilyn Kenyon and all things paranormal!

Masha: “It Doesn’t Matter Two” This is such a powerful and well-written Depeche Mode song.  A little harder to explain, but your wonderful intensity and way with words reminds me so much of it.

P.H.: “Little 15” This song not only honors you but your audience.  I smile when I think of those who will escape into your writing someday!

Robin: “Dressed In Black” When Martin L. Gore writes that it’s all there to see if we’ll only give in to the fire within, I’m reminded of the time you said you love the push and pull of attraction, whether it’s acceptable or not.  Fearless and refreshing, just like you.

Susan: “I Feel Loved” This is one I cannot explain but it comes from my heart.  There is just something about you, Susan, that makes us feel at ease–loved, if you will.

So Happy 2012 everyone!  Don’t forget to tell me how your day is going so I can hook you up with just the right song!  And feel free to share your resolutions if you’d like!

 

Megan Hart Swims with the Mermaids

Interview, mermaids, Writing, , ,

The moment I walked by the shelf and was stopped in my tracks by the beautiful, haunting cover for Megan Hart’s novel, Precious and Fragile Things, I knew I had stumbled upon something special.  I was not leaving the store without that book.  That was last year’s New Year’s gift.  This year’s will be Megan’s upcoming January 1st release, All Fall Down.  The thing I admire most about Megan and her writing is that she’s refreshing and honest and not afraid to go where the story needs to go—beginning, middle and end.  Oh, and did I mention she’s a fellow Depeche Mode fan?  Yep, she’s just sort of fabulous like that.  Without further ado, let’s welcome Megan to the pond!

Getting a tattoo of your favorite band, or any tattoo for that matter—a yes or a no?

I’m all for tattoos, but I’d caution anyone thinking of permanently marking their bodies to make very, very, very, VERY sure that what they decide is something they can live with forever. 🙂

You strike me as a girl who may have a soft spot for the darker things.  So…in Phantom of the Opera, would you have chosen the Phantom over Raoul?  Why or why not?

Hmmm. I’ll admit, I’m only vaguely aware of the Phantom of the Opera’s plot points, so I can’t say for sure I’d pick the Phantom. I do have a soft spot for the darker things, no doubt on that. But I’m also practical. Not so sure I could stand living in the catacombs or sewers, or whatever…!

While writing Precious and Fragile Things, (I’m being careful not to put a spoiler in here.) did you ever consider things ending differently between Gilly and Todd? 

No. There really was no other way for it to end.

Are the processes any different for you between writing your mainstream fiction and romance? 

Not really. I approach them the same way, how am I going to tell this particular story. What is important about it. What do I need to include (or not!) to tell the story in the best way possible.

How do you feel about happy endings? 

I think they’re great! But not always realistic or truthful. Or necessary, really. Not everything has to be tied up in a perfect package to be meaningful. Sometimes we learn more from things that end badly.

Do you have a favorite constellation?

I guess I’m partial to the Little Dipper since it’s the only one I can really ever pick out. But I always can.

What was the last book you read that you’d recommend?

I just finished Hourglass by Myra McEntire about an hour ago, and really enjoyed it. I re-read The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub just before that, and I would always recommend it.

What is your favorite Depeche Mode song and why?

That’s a tough one. I love so many of them. I really like World in My Eyes because it’s very sexy. The entire Violator album is. I guess you’d have to ask me if there’s a Depeche Mode song that is NOT my favorite, really. And I can’t say there is!

I love the warning on the back of your erotic novel, Passion Model.  That being said, is there any topic you would feel uncomfortable writing about?  If not, kudos to you!

I wouldn’t write about degradation. I like a little D/S in my fiction, but not of the “grovel at my feet you worm!” sort. I’m just not into humiliation. I think it would be a tough stretch to get me to incorporate any sort of super hardcore kinks or fetishes in my erotic writing, too. Beyond that, I don’t think I’d limit myself too much.

What can you tell us about your upcoming novel, All Fall Down, to be released January 1, 2012?

All Fall Down is the story of Sunshine and her three children, who are told to leave the commune where she was raised by her mother just before the entire commune commits suicide at the request of its leader. Sunny ends up living with her biological father and his wife, who desperately wants children but discovers getting what you want can be worse than not.

 

***Megan, you’ve made many a mermaids’ day by stopping by our pond today!  Thank you so very much!  I absolutely cannot wait to pick up All Fall Down in ten days!!!!  Happy Holidays!

Find out more about Megan and her fabulous fiction here.

 

 

 

The Doodle Fairy

mermaids

One of the top questions we love to ask our cherished
authors is, “Where do you get your ideas?”

The idea fairy visiting while sleeping has to be my all-time
favorite answer.  But I believe they come
from all over the place.  And it’s different
for everyone.  Sometimes ideas come to
the writer and sometimes we have to search them out.  One story may seem to have bubbled up
directly from your creative soul, every turn it takes feeling organic, perfect,
meant to be.  The next book’s nuggets may
have to be labored over and over and over until you have just enough to make
something of it.

I haven’t been at this long enough to have a fabulous answer
to this question of where my ideas come from.
But I do have an example so without further ado, I present to you,
“There’s a Doodle in My Noodle” by Carlene Mermaid.

I had time to kill before the show started.  My adrenaline glands must have thought we
were preparing for battle because I was a little too pumped up.  This was to be an intimate guy-sitting-on-his-stool-humming-his-sweet-folk-songs
type of show.  Relaxing.  So why was my foot tapping a hole into the
floor? My eager eyes darted around the dark table for something to occupy my
sweaty hands. That’s when I saw it.  The
blank napkin.  I immediately dug through
my purse to find a pen.  Got it.  This would calm me down.   I knew
what it would be, what it always is when I have a few minutes to spare.  A half face.
Always a half face.  Whenever I
try to force the other half out, it’s wrong.
No symmetry, not even human looking.
Feverishly at first, I inked the left side of what came to be a man’s
slightly feminine eye.  But it was a man,
I knew it.  So I gave him a bushier
brow.  And a thinner lip.  A stronger jaw and the hint of a cleft chin.  Shadows casting themselves from the table’s
candlelight showed me exactly where my half-face man needed shading.  I took in a deep breath and let it out with
satisfaction.  Another interesting
unfinished doodle.  I sat back, able to
appreciate the candle on the table, the otherwise dark room, the big empty stool
awaiting its artist.

Finally the show started.
The first act was a big beautiful man whistling and playing his guitar,
singing of birds, dreams and a woman named Olivia.  Then came the next, a hidden face behind a
curtain of long bangs but a soulful voice.
In a song, he told us he’d lost his British soul.  With each, I couldn’t help but sketch a
little something that would remind me of the night.

And in the presence of these two who had bared their souls
for us, I had no choice but to give my half-face man the other side of his
expressions.  Nervous that I would ruin
his one-sided beauty, I did my best to bring him to paper.

After a few minutes, I saw him for the first time.  He stared back at me.  He is someone.  Someone I know.  Someone I have to write about.

Thank you Doodle Fairy. 
I believe, I believe, I believe.

Please share where your ideas come from!

Death and the Happy Ending

mermaids,

Three years ago tomorrow, my dad was killed.  November 4, 2007.  Crap. 
It was actually four years ago.  Wow,
the time has really gone by fast.

Seven months after that, I read my first romance novel.  “Seize the Night” by Sherrilyn Kenyon.

I fell in love with about a million things from reading that
book.  I could not believe the topics she
wrote about.  Gosh, it’s still
mind-blowing and beautiful.  And then I
read more.  And more.  And then other romance authors.   (My husband was deployed during all this so
I was really living it up in romance-land.)
I loved that I had stumbled upon this genre where so many things weren’t
forbidden.  I won’t lie.  One of my first realizations was that here
was finally a bunch of people who could write about the one thing we all need
to happen for our lives to begin.  Nature
doing exactly what it pleases.  Two
people having sex.  And hopefully falling
in love.  And needless to say, I love
this community and the open-minded people who write all these inspiring stories.

So, it kind of breaks my heart to have to say this, but here
it goes.

I know of a young man, a hero.  He started out that way at least.  Sizzling good looks and a heart of gold to go
with it.  But in 1969, many heroes like
this young man left to fight for our country, experienced ungodly horrific
things, and returned home to a very un-heroic welcome.  And for this young man, it broke him.  For the next several decades, he spent his
days and nights as one big ball of conflict.
Battling those war-born demons.  Trying so hard to be worthy… his good heart
suffering for the pain no decent man could possibly know how to deal with.  There were wives, divorces, kids.  Pain.
Suffering.  But like any bonafide
hero, that little light living buried in his heart never went out
completely.  Finally, after years and
years of wandering around, a hero inside a lost and battered soul, he found the
love of his life.  His soul mate.  Slowly, the hero found his way back to the
forefront.  Yes, it took some work.  And a health scare.  Nothing like your own mortality to make you
see a bit more clearly.  Focused.  Now this hero’s life was filled with love—from
his wife, his children, his friends.   Forgiveness he worked so hard for came from those
he had hurt in the past.  He was happy.  Finally.  And then this hero was killed.    At 58
years old.

If ever a hero deserved a happy ending, isn’t it him?  He turned his life around.   Sacrificed.
Found love.  Treasured and
cherished it.  Learned all his
lessons.

Are we really willing to deny him his happy ending simply
because he died and left behind the love of his life?

I’m not.

Just because one half
of your heart leaves this earth and goes to that unknown place beyond–doesn’t
mean you didn’t earn your happily ever after.
If you’ve lost your soul mate—I am going to stand up for you right now
and declare, “And they lived happily ever after.”

it’s never The End…until
we meet again

rip dad

The Comfort Boy (Part Two) by Carlene Love Flores

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(Mermaid Note: If you haven’t already, please read The Comfort Boy (Part One) first.)

The plan.  That’s what was crazy.  This man’s plan to stay the weekend while observing her unnatural sleeping patterns and questioning her on why they were.

But what choice did she have?  None.

“This first night, I suggest we set up wherever you’re most likely to fall asleep.  Whether it’s your room or the couch or that recliner.  Wherever, your choice.”

My choice, what a joke.  But she had already condemned herself to participating at all cost.

“Okay, I guess Gram’s room.  That’s where I keep my stuff.”  Six months and she still couldn’t bring herself to claim the space as her own.

Alice followed closely behind, his proximity creeping her out a bit, as they walked the short hallway to the last door on the left, passing Alec and Andrew’s room on the way.  Sanden swallowed her sadness at what had become of their little family.  No one to call daddy, no Great-Grammy to sing them to sleep.

Once inside, she flipped up the light switch and made her way to the farthest side of Gram’s tall bed.

Alice stayed propped in the doorframe, his head only inches from skimming the top.  Would he tell her to lie down?  There was no way she’d be able to fall asleep in this strange circumstance with her mother’s confidant hovering in the doorway.  Was he expert enough to recognize if she faked it?  He couldn’t have that many years of practice, couldn’t be much older than her.  His clothes were too stylish, his brown hair a few strands too unruly and his skin too smooth to be past thirty-five.  The very unsettling way he patiently stood there made Sanden want to climb the wall.  But she wouldn’t let that happen.

She lifted herself onto the top mattress with a hop and then sat feeling uncomfortable in her own skin.

“So I didn’t realize shrinks made house calls.”

“I’m not a shrink.  I’m a sleep therapist.”  Alice paused and for the first time bowed his head as if he was the uncertain one.  “Sanden, I’m here as a favor to your Grandmother.”

Continue reading →

The Comfort Boy (Part One) by Carlene Love Flores

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Sanden’s mother had just finished cleaning the house.  With the room straightened, things looked odd and out of place.  The large, clear vase that had been used as a deposit for stray coins or buttons or anything small enough to toss in until they found a better place for it was now empty.  Sanden shrugged and plopped two artificial flowers and a handful of loosened dirt she had brought in from the backyard into the vase.  Thinking better of it, she tucked the marble she was about to toss in with them into her pocket instead.  She looked up and caught her mother frowning.

The silky, once white peonies, covered in a light shadow of dirt and yellowed by the sun, were the only things that looked right in the room at the moment.  It was clear her mother was on a mission to wipe Gram’s memory clean from the house.  Sanden stood nearby the junk vase and waited for her mother to toss the sopping sponge she was wringing into the sink.  Miraculously, she didn’t mention the fake flowers.

“Well, that’s that.”  Mother paused, inspected the sink as if looking for Gram’s reflection, wiped at the stainless steel basin, and then continued on with a doubtful kink knitted into her brow.  “The boys’ packs are in the trunk like I asked you?”

Continue reading →

It’s Written in the Streets

mermaids,

Are you suited to be a writer?

 Of course you are!  That’s the thing about this job, whatever you bring to the table, it can be used, explored, torn apart and bettered.

 For this post I asked myself that question even though I think it’s a little dangerous because it’s so wide open.  You could go in so many different directions with it.  There is what you perceive of yourself, what others think about you, and then the mish-mash area where it all collides leaving us either without any doubts or completely unsure.  For me, I see writers as being the most accepting of others but on the other hand, we know a villain when we see one.  Because we have to deal with our character’s personality types, shouldn’t we be the best at dealing with the good and the bad? 

 That led me to the answer of whether I’m suited to be a writer or not.  Yes.  I am.

 I am very…Cest la vie.  Meaning I can deal with just about anything happening.  This past December, I was walking the streets of Philadelphia on my way to dinner with family while it was cold, dark and damp out.  A car went gleaming past and ran right through a puddle close to the sidewalk I was on.  Yep, I got splashed with yucky, dirty street water.  In my hair, all over my outfit.  That was when I flipped the script from laid-back Cali girl and went crazy in the street, cursing and putting on a great show of supreme pissed-offed-ness.  Just kidding.  That’s not me.  (Although as a writer, I can appreciate someone who would react like that.)  I just laughed it off.  It really was kind of funny if you think about it. 

 I fall in love with everything but am keenly aware of what could hurt me.  Yes, I do mean everything.  I feel a connection to trees, my car whose name is Fancy, songs, struggling worms about to dry out if they don’t make it to the grass in time, rappers cursing out their demons.  If you have a heart, I feel you.  I love interactions most of all because they are my fuel for writing stories.  You can bet if I have met you even once, I’ll have pulled something from it and have held on to the moment.   

 Those two things are what suit me most as a writer.  What makes you great for this job?

F.I.G.J.A.M.

mermaids

Hillary Clinton Retired!!!!

Are you surprised to read that?  I was too a few weeks ago when the words splashed across my TV screen as I sat watching a Spanish language news channel with my mother-in-law.  Mi suegra (my mother-in-law) is much more comfortable with her native language so out of respect to her, when she comes to visit, we become a Spanish-speaking household. 

Back to Mrs. Clinton—I couldn’t believe it when I saw the short bit of her giving a speech which had been mostly muted by the news station and the word retiro below her.  When I later found my husband to tell him about the shocking retirement, he—a politico junky—obviously didn’t believe me.  I insisted I’d just seen it plain as day on the news.  I told him in Spanish, “Hillary Clinton retiro!”

He said, “Gueras (blondie—my hubby’s nickname for me), that means she went on vacation.  As in a relaxing retreat.”

“Oh.”  Ooops.  And I consider myself fluent in Spanish. 

Are you like me?  Fascinated by other cultures, hypnotized by different accents?  Are you prone to introducing your American girl-next-door to the ultra-magnetic Aussie, Brit, or Latino?  And when they enter into conversation, have you researched your characters enough so that you are confident they are not saying something their great-great-grandparents might have said back in, oh I don’t know, the really old days? 

And is internet research really enough?  I once wrote about an Aussie who was supposed to be from this century and in a rock band.  I could hear his voice, with all the rhymey things he did to the end of his words, but I wanted the phrases themselves to be authentic.  The online Australian urban slang website I was using to find these terms spit something out at me one day.  It said, Carlene, try “Fair dinkum.”  I don’t know about you, but does a guy who wears his wallet on a chain, Doc Martens, and has a neck tattoo peeking out from his always black t-shirt sound like he’d utter the words, “Fair dinkum, mate.”?

Exactly.  There was only one way to be sure.  Accost the mom on my son’s football team who happened to be from Australia without seeming like a crazy person.

As far as I can tell, living breathing people are my best tools for researching authentic cultural dialogue.   But when there’s no one in your rolodex from Ireland, Jamaica or Brazil, what do you do to ensure you’re getting it right?  Seriously, I need to know!  Please do tell.

And for the readers visiting this blog, do you worry about this when you read a story?  Or do you leave it to the author’s artistic license?  Is it really that important to you?

The first person to leave a comment answering what FIGJAM stands for gets a Mermaid surprise!

Gone Fishin’: An Authentic Male Voice

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Legend has it that some mermaids were benevolent creatures, granting wishes to sailors who helped them.

I’ve assembled a panel of real guys and today, I’d like to welcome one such brave former sailor to Waterworld Mermaids.  I hope all his wishes come true for helping me out with today’s blog.  Fellow mermaids and guests, let’s give Cody a warm welcome!

I recently provided Cody with a few scenarios and asked him to tell me straight up—what would a real guy say and do in these given situations?  I was curious to know if I was tapping into an authentic male perspective in my writing.  So he graciously accepted the mission and in my opinion, blew it out of the water!  Without further ado, I give you Cody, 37, outdoor enthusiast, federal agent, good guy.

Warning: As I said above, I asked Cody to be blunt in an attempt to give an authentic perspective.  Some portions below may be unsuitable for younger readers.

Scenario: Two city guys are at a bar, slightly intoxicated.  One has just been dumped unexpectedly by his pregnant girlfriend.  His buddy is there for him, drinking as well, but trying to stay slightly more sober for when they need to leave.  What would the buddy possibly say to his friend who just got dumped?  Let’s say he knows the girlfriend and she’s generally not a witch.  (I know what girls would do; they would be very consoling and compassionate.  But would two guys be that way?)

 Cody:  First off there is a myriad of different outcomes to your scenario.  It all depends on the guys.  You could write this any way you wanted, really.  The dumped guy could really be devastated by the incident if he genuinely wanted a family. So, he could be really distraught, or he could be relieved that he didn’t have to settle down and start a family; furthermore he could be angry and vindictive.  The friend could be all of these as well.  It all depends on the morality, upbringing, demeanor etc. of the guy’s character that you have developed.  So don’t have a tough, street hardened, emotionless guy sobbing in his beer that “he just isn’t good enough for her”, or “what am I going to do now that she’s gone”, you get my drift.  Likewise for the friend.  They could talk about different hair-brained schemes (and yes guys do this) to try and get her back.  Or the friend could be like ” Dude, forget that bitch.  I’m taking you to a titty bar.  You need to let off some steam and forget about that dumb &%$@% and find somebody new!”  Sadly I’ve seen this exact scenario go both ways. 

 In general, I am curious to know the following: (fill in the blank)

What would a real guy say:

 Cody’s Answers:

 –At a guy’s night out when he sees his ex walk in with someone new——-It depends on the age of the guy believe it or not.  A young guy with no real responsibilities would probably confront the NEW guy and start a fight because he really wants her back but won’t admit it and tries to show it by being the ALPHA and essentially win the girl back.  Never the less he is young and doesn’t know the first thing about women and thinks this will work, which it won’t.  An older more mature guy, set in a career that he cannot afford to lose wouldn’t do this (unless he is just wired that way and has a temper).  He would probably just comment to his buddies that she is really scraping the bottom of the barrel with the new guy, or he could catch her on the way to the bathroom to “try and talk some sense into her” and possibly back to his place because he doesn’t currently have anyone.  Or he could really care less because he has moved on.

 -While sitting on a boat fishing with his buddy——–Man take your pic!  Anything goes.  Just remember that if these guys are on a lake in their own boat they are probably not gonna be talking about politics or the stock market, or fashion.  Unless they are talking about the lack of clothing on the girl working at the bait shop they stopped at that morning!  Sports is always a good call.  More times than not they would be talking ABOUT FISHING.  What bait works best, what their dad taught them to use etc.  But usually the conversation turns to “So did you hook up with that chick last night or what…..”

 –When he knows a good buddy of his is being a jerk to his girlfriend———Again this depends on the guy’s character, what his buddy was actually doing, and how good of a friend his buddy is.  Is he a lifelong best friend?…..Or just his buddy.  He may tell him to knock it off, or he may just leave it alone because he knows his buddy better than anybody and he knows that he didn’t mean it.

 Last one…..do guys really cuss that much in their everyday conversations?  Are there times when it’s guaranteed that you’re going to use profanity?  ———-YES, but once again it kinda depends on Age, Military service or not, people around, the presence of women etc.  Speaking from experience, young military guys can’t help it.  It’s just part of you.  Guaranteed, if you’re in a bar, playing sports, or just hanging with your boys because nobody cares.

 Thanks for helping this mermaid out!   Please feel free to comment and thank Cody!

#amwriting

Project: The Desert

Deadline:  Aug. 31, 2011

New words: 0 today but it’s early!

Present word count: 296