All posts by Denny S. Bryce

Those Darn New Story Ideas: Catch ‘Em, Store ‘Em, or Let ‘Em Go?

I’ve been up to my brows recently editing, writing, crafting, and talking about editing, writing and crafting, and thinking about editing, writing and crafting. Yep, there’s been a lot of ‘ing-ing’ going on in my house the past few weeks. I’ve also had a lot of new story ideas coming my way, too. And it’s making me crazy (or more crazy – your call:).

I can only write three stories at a time, not the ten that jump into my head every other day and take hold for a few minutes that sometimes stretch into hours, hours I should be working on my current manuscript or the other two WIPs that still have life in them.

What do you do with these story ideas? Where do you keep them? And yeah, I could jot them into a diary, or a journal, or keep a file on my computer that says story ideas. But then I’m afraid I’ll spend hours sorting, researching and Googling, because I have this ‘ing-ing’ problem anyway, and then I’d have to add another ‘ing’ to my repertoire – the one called screaming!

Seriously, what do you do when you have these new story ideas that just won’t stop, well, like this one…

One night last February while taking a break from writing, I was watching a television show called Justified staring the yummy Timothy Olyphant (photo, however, is from Deadwood).  In it a character has a line that went something like this: “Denzel should do a movie about him.” Of course, with my past history with Denzel (see my bio here if you want details, but it’s not that relevant), I perked up at the mention of Mr. Washington’s name and had to look this ‘him’ guy up.

So, I Googled Bass Reeves (great name by the way). Interesting. Black man who was a U.S. Marshall who was a quick-draw in the Old West. Very cool. Within a few minutes – in my head – he went from being the man with a way-too-thick-mustache in a photo to a man who looked like Idris Elba (see photo stage right) in a Stetson (a big good looking man in a big sexy hat – I mean, seriously, that’s yummy), and then I remembered Bass was a kick-butt US Marshal, so I decided he also had to be a time traveler (especially if he looks like Idris:).

Bass/Idris then meets up with a daredevil sexy clairvoyant chick who plays heavy metal violin (like this gal, Tina Guo), and then I decided it should be a romantic suspense and I found this website…and my story had to be set in the world of Steampunk!

Jeez…what do you do with these ideas?

Okay, I stored this one (by writing about it here:)…But I’ve got fifty more that take up good brain space, and the attack of the new story ideas always raises its head as I’m going strong with the writing, editing and crafting of my current manuscript and those other two WIPs (with life left). It’s as if writing is always about new ideas, and I need for it to be about finishing one damn book, you know?

Oh, sorry, I went into my rant about finishing, but I’m back.

The bottom-line is what do you do with your story ideas? Or give me a one-liner about your wildest, silliest, or most brilliant idea (in your humble opinion) which you still may write one day…and oh yeah, if you want to steal my US Marshal Time Traveler who looks like Idris Elba in a Stetson, who then kidnaps a heavy metal violin-playing mind-reader to protect her from vampires in a Steampunk romantic suspense – well you can’t have it, because I wrote it here first!

Waterworld Mermaid Friday the 13th Scary Books Giveaway Winners Announced!

Happy Monday!

The Waterworld Mermaids are thrilled to announce the winners of the random drawing for the Friday the 13th Waterworld Mermaids Scary Books Giveaway!

Please email me your address at denny at dennysbryce dot com and we’ll get your books in the mail this week:

Brenna Ash – Giveaway Bag #1

Jane Sevier – Giveaway Bag #2

Kanya – Giveaway Bag #3

Congratulations and thank you for swimming in the Waterworld Mermaid’s scary pond on Friday the 13th (and over the weekend!)…Oh, one ‘title’ is only available as an e-read, but I’ll let you know which one after I comb through the stacks of books!. We’ll send you a coupon for that book!

A huge thank you to all who dropped by to swim in the Mermaid’s scary book pond!

A Friday the 13th Treat: The Waterworld Mermaids Scary Books Giveaway!

Today’s giveaway is all about celebrating the scary, creepy, but not too creepy, things that go bump in the night (or swim in the dark:). If you enjoy reading paranormal, urban fantasy, romantic suspense, thrillers, horror, mystery or cool children’s books from the world of science fiction or fantasy–Friday the 13th is your lucky day! Why?

Last night, the Waterworld Mermaids broke into their underwater treasure chests and discovered our biggest book giveaway ever!

13 books on Friday the 13 to 3 lucky winners!

For a chance to win four (and someone wins five) fantastic books selected by the Mermaids from their personal bookshelves, you only have to leave a comment here in this blog post. If you’d also like to let us know what book or film keeps you up nights – we don’t mind offering a fin (or at least a fishy eye) to keep you safe from the big bad.

Now it’s time to tell you what’s in the goodie bag? Here’s the list of books and the Mermaid who contributed one or more of her favorites!

Giveaway Bag #1

  • Alethea Kontis – Haunting of Cassie Palmer by Vivien Alcock and Stranger with my Face by Lois Duncan
  • Avery Flynn – Misery by Stephen King and Ghost Moon by Heather Graham
  • Carlene Love Flores – Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Giveaway Bag #2

  • Dana Rodgers – Phantoms by Dave Koontz
  • Diana Belchase – Silent Joe by T. Jefferson Parker
  • Kerri Carpenter – Black Magic by Cherry Adair
  • Kimberly MacCarron – What the Knight Knows by Dean Koontz

Giveaway Bag #3

  • P.H. Dunn – Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  • Robin Covington – Mummy Dearest by Josh Lanyon
  • Denny S. Bryce (that’s me:) — A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Don’t forget to comment below for a chance to win. We’ll select winners randomly and announce the three lucky ones in this thread this weekend (Don’t forget to sign up for notifications or to track comments posted to this blog)!

NOTE: Winners will be emailed separately for your shipping information. It will be our pleasure to get these books to you!

NYTimes Bestselling Author Francis Ray Swims with the Mermaids

I am absolutely thrilled to have one of the legends in contemporary romance joining us today at the Waterworld Mermaids’ pond. So please spend a few minutes learning more about her, or if you’re already a fan, asking her questions about her upcoming releases. And if you’re very good, she may share a bit more about the ingredients that have helped her remain at the top of your game for 45 titles! So, ladies and gents, NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author, Francis Ray.

She is a native Texan and lives in Dallas. A graduate of Texas Woman’s University, she was nominated for Texas Woman’s University Distinguished Alumni Award.  She gave the winter commencement address winter 2010.  Ms. Ray’s titles consistently make bestseller’s lists such as Blackboard and Essence Magazine. INCOGNITO, her sixth title, was the first made-for-TV movie for BET. She has written forty-five titles to date. Awards include Romantic Times Career Achievement, EMMA, The Golden Pen, The Atlantic Choice, Borders 2008 Romance Award for Bestselling Multicultural Romance and Written Magazine 2010 Book of the Year.

Her latest release is A SEDUCTIVE KISS with a January 31, 2012 release date!! She is currently working on AFTER THE DAWN, the third book in a new mainstream series. Her publisher is St. Martin’s Press, and her editor is Monique Patterson, Senior Editor. Since March 2010 her agent has been Holly Root with the Waxman Literary Agency. She has been writing since the early 90’s.

THE TURNING POINT, her first mainstream, was a finalist for the prestigious HOLT Medallion Award. At the release event for THE TURNING POINT in May 2001, she established The Turning Point Legal Fund to assist women of domestic violence to help restructure their lives.

Three ‘KISS” books will continue the Grayson Friends series – A SEDUCTIVE KISS – January 31, WITH JUST A KISS – February 28, and A DANGEROUS KISS – June 26, 2012. WHEN TOMORROW COMES, a mainstream, will be in stores June 5, followed by another mainstream as yet untitled in January 2013.

Q.  What’s the best-kept secret about your writing process?

Francis said: I don’t have a secret. Wish I did. It might make this process easier.

Q.  What character have you written or are writing that keeps you up at night – just one, please:)?

Francis said: Lilly Crawford in TROUBLE DON’T LAST ALWAYS was probably one of the most difficult characters to write because of her transformation from being a victim of domestic abuse to a strong survivor.

Q.  What real person, television or fictional character has had the greatest influence on your writing style and why?

Francis said: Dwight Swain’s Techniques of the Selling Writer probably influenced me the most in my writing because the book and meeting Mr. Swain gave me a greater understanding of characterization.  Characters, to me, are the backbone of a good book.

Q.  What book title is the current “hot read” on your bookshelf?

Francis said: I’m waiting for Bette Ford’s CAN’T STOP LOVING YOU due out late January.

Q.  What has been the biggest change in contemporary African American romance/multicultural romance in the last five years, last decade?

Francis said: Borders was really African-American author friendly. Each year at RWA they gave an award for the best selling Multicultural Romance of that year. No other retail outlet did this. Borders also sent out coupons that made it worth readers while to shop there for their books. Unfortunately, I’m not sure other chain bookstores know our products as well or will have frequent discounts. Many of my readers tell me they’re buying less books because of Borders closing. Yes, many have ereaders, but many of us still prefer books.

Q. What would you write, or are planning to write, other than contemporary romance or erotic romance (which you’ve also written:)?

Francis said: If I had the time I’d write another historical, and have a Christian fiction series.

Q. As a highly successful romance author who has published more than 45 titles, what advice would you give writers breaking into today’s publishing industry?

Francis said: Learn the genre, read widely, don’t compare yourself to anyone, and join a writing organization.

Thank you so much Francis for joining us today.

Now fans, it’s your turn. Francis will be around to answer questions or talk about her new release or any of her 45 titles. So comment, comment, comment!

Also, we have a copy of A SEDUCTIVE KISS, Francis Ray’s new release for one lucky visitor! So please comment below for your chance to win!

This is My Brain…(This is My Brain on Vampires)

I don’t care what you say – we all write fantasy, time travel, dystopia, urban fantasy, paranormal romances, steampunk (okay, maybe not steampunk)…but more importantly, all of our heroes are vampires.

What? No, you say? I don’t write that. I write contemporary romances about contemporary heroes and heroines be it series, single title, romantic suspense, romantic comedy, historical or novels with romantic elements. (Calm down!). So maybe you don’t write fantasies or supernatural stuff. But all of your heroes are still vampires.

(This is My Brain, okay?)

I see vampires in every character written, and I bet if you were to take your contemporary romantic hero or heroine and give them fangs, you’d discover I’m right. Or just leave off the fangs, but drop them into an urban fantasy, and I bet your hero would end up the hero at the end.

Try it, seriously. Think about the simple things that make every day people vampires.

  • Businessman – a thirst for power
  • Cowboy – a master of the reins…(hehehe)
  • Marketing/Public Relations Manager – an obsessive, multi-tasking, neurotic organizer (okay, that’s me in my day job:)…
  • Doctor – too easy
  • Lawyer – way too easy
  • Romance Writer… also too easy…
  • Or….Rat Catcher!

I recently finished reading The Strain, the first book in a trilogy co-authored by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, and what did I learn? Rats are freaking cool—scary, filthy, and blood thirsty, but cool. Especially when the habits, skills, and survival techniques of rats are the foundation for the mythology of a vampire epidemic in NYC. By the end of the book, I was actually smitten with a contemporary character who was a rat catcher. Seriously. Not a vampire, or vampire hunter, not a wise old yodalike figure, or super smart doctor-type, but a rat catcher, a strong, funny, handsome male hero smart enough to know how to kill the bad guys.

(remember, my brain:)

I recently watched some of the BBC’s Doctor Who, the most recent five seasons, after never having watched Doctor Who before. And what did I discover? OOoo…Doctor Who…filled with irony, conflict, obstacles, all wrapped up in the ‘last’ Time Lord, nearly 1,000 years old, a master of forever (vampire); incredibly lonely, incredibly selfish, incredibly loyal (vampire), obsessed with his companions (mesmerizing vampire personality), and might well have killed more creatures than any creature in the history of the universe (or in all of time)…. so, yep…Time Lord aka vampire, vampire, vampire.

But what if Doctor Who was Dr. John Smith, a contemporary doctor at Hospital X who meets a widow while on vacation–and its a romantic comedy! Give him all of those traits in the paragraph above without the supernatural or science fiction twists and turns, and you’ve got a multi-layered deeply textured contemporary character – or another word for (wait for it!) — vampire (and yes, it’s a comedy).

I adore the strange, the dangerous, the underbelly of society, and I like writing stories about fringe personalities with bad habits who live in familiar cities, that I tweak to be a bit different, askew, not quite right.

I also love romance. Destined, and hard fought, funny, sad, sincere, beautiful, ever lasting, that grows out of camaraderie, similar goals, and the same foe—you know—daredevil lovers who are daring and/or real devils, but also sexy, weak, strong, and exaggerated – so think about it – everyone, everywhere writes about vampires (at least in my brain, they do:)…

How about your hero – vampire?

(Just say yes.)

Some of my favorite vampire books, films, television:

  •  Gone with the Wind
  • A Tale of Two Cities
  • A Wrinkle in Time
  • Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
  • Anything by Stephen King
  • Anything by J.D. Robb
  • The Godfather
  • Bambi
  • The Sound of Music

Comments? Questions?

(Please stop by tomorrow, Friday, February 3, when there will be no mention of vampires – NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Romance Author – Francis Ray – will be this month’s interview at WaterWorld Mermaids – Don’t Miss It!)

Why I HATE Marketing Journal Entry #2: My Website and Jetlag

This morning I don’t hate marketing as much as I hate jetlag, but that’s a story for another post…

I got back from Hawaii Tuesday night around 11 p.m. after several months, okay, I meant to write weeks, but I’m letting the slip-up stay because it provides an accurate take on how well my brain is functioning this morning. But yeah, Hawaii was fantastic, and I’ve got photos galore and stories to tell, and maybe even a book or two out of the experience, but what does my vacation have to do with marketing outside of the fact that mentioning it makes me happy?

Well, while I was away, my website designer (the good folks at Limb Design in particular Mr. Corey Chow) was busy working on my website. So I wanted to share a few things you might find useful.

The first question though might be do you even need a website and what does an author’s website look like these days? Well, most of them are built with the blog approach. So, when I say website, think blog with extra pages:). For those of you (and you know who you are) who don’t have a blog or website, but want to create a blog/site, or are looking to make changes to an existing site, you may find some tips here you can use. Especially if you’re looking to get it done quickly, while controlling cost and quality. Also, many of you may have ‘marketing’ on your New Year’s resolutions list. Except it might read something like ‘learn to tweet’ or ‘post more regularly on my blog’ or ‘I’ve got to get a Facebook account’. And if you’ve got good news to share like you have a new book release, or a first book sale, or a new branding look to introduce, you need marketing.

I’m going to plug WordPress now, but I think it’s okay since the Waterworld Mermaids’ blog was created right here in WordPress – land (Thank you Mermaid Alethea and that’s Alethea Kontis, by the way, who has a great website using WordPress!)! And yes, I’m building my site in Wordpress, too. And duh, I didn’t know until a few months ago that WordPress had templates for websites but Corey, my designer, suggested it as a cost effective approach to launching my new author’s site.

Although I’ve been working on websites in my day job for years, I learned recently that there are companies (lots of them) who have created affordable website templates and per my designer, WordPress is the BEST right now for offering variety, ease-of-use and flexibility, especially when on a limited budget. How limited? The layout I’m using for my new site cost me $35 (see link below).

http://www.mojo-themes.com/item/melee-minimalistic-wordpress-theme/demo/

And it was one of 9 pages of website templates at mojo themes that can be customized any number of ways…see link below:

http://www.mojo-themes.com/categories/wordpress/

If you’d like to give me some feedback on the graphics that have been created by Corey for my new site, please stop by my blog today and let me know what you think.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering why I want a website since I’m still unpublished. Easy. I’m an optimist, and today’s marketplace is demanding that authors have a brand identity in place (and a following doesn’t hurt either, especially for first novels).

Now don’t be shy, ask questions, scoff, or share what you’ve learned about creating your blog and/or website. Yes, you’ve got to write the best book you can write and then get an editor, agent or self-publish, but the bottom line is you’ve still got to market it. So what do you think about blogs and/or websites for published and/or unpublished authors?

(And also, Happy New Year!)

You Can Hate Marketing. Seriously. It’s Okay.

Today I am launching a new series at my blog about branding and website development. Why? Because I’m working with a design team on my new author website. It’s an exciting project, but it’s also something I need to do. Why? Because I believe effective branding, effective web presence, social media and finding my audience niche can’t wait until my first book is published (yep, without a single nibble I’m just putting it out there). I’ve got to get the waters primed, and now is the time.

Don’t believe me? Bored already with the constant chatter about what you need to do from what you don’t? If you write, and intend to get published or are published – you must market your brand. Period. No excuses (I won’t go on and on about how much I HATE excuses…but that’s for another journal entry).

I’ve met two people in my career (I’ve been doing the marketing thing for consumer products companies and nonprofit organizations for twenty plus years) who are standouts on the nuances of marketing. My mentor in Chicago, who tried to teach me as much as he could. Bless his heart. And a woman who started a nonprofit business and just didn’t give a damn about anything but selling her product. She was successful, but I’m not sure if the price was worth it (okay, I am sure, it was–for her).

The thing to know though is that neither one of these people were authors. They both are incredible writers, but not romance authors. That is a special world and as competitive as any other business niche in today’s marketplace – a marketplace that on the outside appears to be jammed with opportunity and easy access because of tools like the Internet and social media. But is that true? Nothing is easy, but for it to be right, it doesn’t have to be hard.

To get started on branding you need to know you — the author you.

Answering that question will help you build a brand, or strengthen your existing Internet presence by giving you more ideas on ways to reach your target audiences through those existing distribution channels (I just had to use that phrase:)…you know, blog, twitter, Facebook, etc (Social media stuff is always a good place to begin).

Check out some websites and blogs I think kick a** when it comes to branding.

Legend the Series – when I visited this blog in April 2011, the book deal had been announced a few months earlier (as much as a year earlier), and the site kept adding features until launch day.

Vanessa Barneveld – an unpublished author, but also a Golden Heart winner – her site has strong branding that let’s you know about the author and the flavor of the books immediately.

Romancing the Palate – a blog by a published author offering a topic/niche that dovetails into her stories, and thus helps to build a consistent identity for her ‘foodie’ angle included in her novels (she recently sold her first full-length book).

Quiet Laughter – a blog by an author who is interested in exploring the differences in cultures, catches the eye, but also imaginatively utilizes a simple blogger template.

Now tell me the first thing that comes into your head when you think about marketing…and no cursing (or at least not too much cursing)…

If you’d like to read a bit more about developing your brand, visit my blog and check out today’s post on BRANDING and Why I HATE Marketing:)…

Congratulations! The WINNER OF THE DECEMBER GIVEAWAY IS LANA!!! Please contact us today with your mailing address so we can drop the AMAZON gift card in the mail ASAP!

December Giveaway Day!!!

It is the season to be giving, right! So, we are giving away a $35 Amazon gift card!!!  

It’s December and the big holiday season is upon us. As you might imagine, the Waterworld Mermaids aren’t ones to swim away from celebrations, if you know what I mean. So, we want to add a tiny bit of holiday cheer and a big thank you to those who enjoy stopping by and visiting with us in our pond. Also, it’s fun to give stuff away! So here’s how we are going to play.

Since I’m posting and I’m all about urban fantasy novels (for the moment), I need your help. If you would like a chance to win a $35 Amazon gift card, please comment by answering one of the questions shown below (or both–we don’t mind):

What is your favorite urban fantasy novel or urban fantasy author of 2011?

What makes a bad boy hero sizzle or fizzle in a romance novel?

(The winner will be chosen at random from all ‘commenters’ who answer at least one of the questions above.  I’ll post the winner’s name here tomorrow morning when I blog the first in a series on brand marketing and creating the ultimate author’s website (how much fun is that!). To be selected for the $35 Amazon gift card, I am open to bribery, flattery, or general praise about anything I may attempt to do in the future or have considered in the past. Too much? Okay, So no, it’s pretty straightforward, nothing will help you win but the luck of the draw. So, good luck, have a great day, and enjoy the holiday season!)

J.R. Ward’s Covet – POV on the Deep Side

A book about redemption with an angelic twist—fallen angels with a mission, demons with secrets, and two people falling in love—lives intertwine at the right time in all the right ways as well as a few really wrong ones…

J.R. Ward’s Covet, the first book of her fallen angel series, is about “a savior who doesn’t believe and a demon with nothing to lose!”  (That’s straight off the back cover.) Released in 2009, it’s not spanking new on the bookshelves or via Whispernet, which may or may not be a prerequisite for writing a review, but I just finished it recently and loved it. But for me, at this stage of my writing career, I read with a purpose.  And with this particular book, I was struck by J.R. Ward’s choices with POV or point of view.  But I’ll get back to that in a moment.

Covet has a number of my favorite things—heroes with major flaws, heroes and heroines with hearts of gold, secrets, passion, fear, guilt, falling in love, falling in lust, and demons (yes, a good demon tale gives me a happy:). The protagonist in this story is Jim Heron. A journeyman, or so we are led to believe initially, who soon discovers he has a mission and he must straddle two worlds to complete it. Before we know it – we are hip deep in fallen angels, bad girls, good girls, and a man who needs Jim’s help, but has a lot to learn before he can be saved.

But what pulled me into this story, as a reader who writes, was the intensity of J.R. Ward’s characters (and not just the supernatural stuff). J.R. was able to immerse the reader (me) in her story with memorable characters that were people, funny, sad, silly, hot, brittle, and a major tool she used to accomplish this was her expert use of Deep POV or third person limited. She also used it selectively, and those choices enriched the story even more for me. Now, I am not an expert on Deep POV, but I hope to be in the near future:). In the meantime, I read and I write, and I read and I write. But if you’d like to explore  POV with an expert, I recommend Alicia Rasley’s book The Power of POV.

So tell me what POV do you find yourself writing in most often? First person, third person, Deep POV? Second person (oh my:)…here’s your chance…also, have you read J.R. Ward? Covet? What do you think?