Tag Archives: robin covington

Love It or List It?

Motivation, Writing, ,

I am an unapologetic HGTV-slut.  I. Love. That. Channel.

It doesn’t matter what is on – I’ll watch anything – but my favorites are House Hunters and Property Virgins.  But, a new program has caught my eye and I’ll definitely be tuning in when it premieres later this month – Love It or Leave It.

The premise is that when homeowners live in a house long enough and they lose the lovin’ feeling the question pops up as to whether they renovate or move.  In this show, two real estate professionals take opposite viewpoints and try to convince the homeowner to either stay in their home or list it for sale.  I think it looks fabulous!

It also reminds me of a recent writing dilemma I had about an old, unfinished manuscript. Now, I’m a little type A (don’t snicker, those of you who know me well) and I just can’t leave things unfinished – it drives me crazy.  But, this ms started out so strong and then, like a literary barracuda, I was distracted by a bright shiny object and put it aside.

Now, here’s my confession: It was easy to put it to the side because I’d hit a snag in the ms, wasn’t feeling the love for it anymore and . . . well, the other story was SO shiny!

So, I recently pulled it out and took a look at it to see what I wanted to do with my poor little orphaned baby. It still has the problems I hated before and shockingly the little writing elf did not finish it for me as it languished on my hard drive.  Sigh.

So, what do I do?  I’m working on my NaNo project right now and that takes immediate priority. But November will end and I’ll finish my WIP and the orphan will still be sitting there.

I need to decide if it’s worth picking up or if I should just shelve it for a different time – which might be never. Do I love it?  Do I list it?

I honestly don’t have a clue.

Do you have any advice? Have you faced the same question about one of your babies? When is it time to let a book go?

Robin

The Story Behind The Fourth Date’s the Charm and Come Inside Our Garden

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This week featured The Fourth Date’s the Charm by Robin Covington, which marked the end of the Come Inside Our Garden Anthology from the Waterworld Mermaids.  Recently, we cornered our fellow mermaids in the lagoon and got the story behind their stories.

The Fourth Date’s the Charm by Robin Covington

The garden heats up when lust and the promise of love collide in this steamy tale of when opposites attract.

What inspired your Waterworld Mermaids: Come Inside Our Garden story?

Robin: What gave me the idea for my Garden Story?  I love a story of two people who from all appearances should not be together.  The exploration of the push and pull of attraction in spite of what you believe to be “correct” or “acceptable” is fascinating to me.  To see Jake, the ambitious and intense surgeon, finally let go and focus all of his sexy energy on persuading Piper to give into the incredible attraction between them was just delicious.

And . . .  when the Mermaids thought of putting together this special project, someone (I can’t remember which one) joked that I would be hard-pressed to put one of my sex scenes (I lOVE writing sex scenes) in the middle of a garden. I took that as a challenge and this was the result! ; )

Come Inside Our Garden Anthology by the Waterworld Mermaids

Romance blooms in the garden when seven mermaids weave together tales of love lost and found among the roses.

What inspired you to put together the Come Inside Our Garden Anthology?

Waterworld Mermaids: Insanity? Ha. No, really, it’s because we all love to make up stories. We are lucky to have such a talented bunch of writers among us who were willing to give up what little free time they had to create this anthology. Each story is a unique take on love with the garden setting tying them together. Even though we didn’t plan it, each tale is from a different romance sub-genre, which just goes to show that romance stories are as varied as love itself.

Thank you so much for taking the time to come inside our garden. We hope you’ve enjoyed the journey.

 

 

The Fourth Date’s the Charm (Part Two) by Robin Covington

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(Mermaid Note: If you haven’t already, please read The Fourth Date’s the Charm (Part One) first. Also, this spicy story has the water bubbling, so be warned.)

Oh no. Not the nibbly thing.

Piper arched her neck into the caress of his lips. Jake wasn’t playing fair. He knew she turned to mush when he did that little nippy thing with his teeth on her skin. He was just trying to keep her off-balance in order to stop her from pointing out how this thing between them was a bad idea.  He was doing a great job because she’d somehow ended up on her back with his hard length pressing her into the soft turf.

“Jake.”

“I love it when you call me that.”

Continue reading →

The Fourth Date’s the Charm (Part One) by Robin Covington

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(Mermaid Note: The water’s bubbling with this spicy tale. Be warned.)

Where the hell did she go?

Dr. Jacob Ash peered into the evening twilight, the music from the party drifting up from the Rose Garden Terrace on a light summer breeze.  There were only so many places to go on this path leading through the National Botanical Gardens and he was quickly approaching the end marked by the amphitheater and the water feature.

 Piper Hill couldn’t have just vanished. She was just a girl. Although, there were times when he believed she was part fey creature and had bewitched his soul and — let’s face it — some other parts of his body located a bit farther south.

Continue reading →

Come Inside Our Garden

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The true beauty of a story is that through the written word we can travel anywhere, be anyone and experience anything.

As Waterworld Mermaids, we don’t normally find ourselves in a garden, unless it’s of the seaweed and coral variety; so, for our first anthology of short stories, we decided to tie each tale together by location and an exotic one to us – a garden.

What will you find in our garden during the next few weeks?

Alethea Kontis brings you a fantasy story of two ethereal beings who live only in dreams, without any of their own, emboldened by love to take the biggest risk of all.

Avery Flynn takes you on a steampunk journey to Victoria City. When the fate of the word is at stake, a freedom fighter and the man hunting her must work together to foil a would-be tyrant.

Carlene Love Flores will envelope you inside a moody thriller. A grief-stricken and sleep-deprived mother struggles against the family who thinks she’s gone mad until a mysterious man comes to her aid.

Dana Rodgers spins a paranormal tale of a lonely girl who discovers her family harbors dark secrets and finds salvation in a knight’s garden.

Denny S. Bryce ratchets up the tension, in the romantic suspense tale of an FBI agent in a post-apocalyptical world hunting an orchid thief who has stolen her heart.

Kerri Carpenter brings you the contemporary world of two long-lost lovers who find themselves together again surrounded by nature’s beauty, wondering if they can find nature’s greatest gift – love.

Robin Covington heats up the garden when lust and the promise of love collide in this steamy tale of when opposites attract.

The Come Inside Our Garden anthology of free reads will last from Oct. 3 to Oct. 26 with something new each day. Please enjoy your time in the Waterworld Mermaid garden and tell your friends about the new worlds you discover.

Getting To Know You

mermaids, , , , , , ,

Okay – I’m at the crossroads in the cycle of my writing life. I’m done with one manuscript (although I may switch some chapters around do some rewrites – but I digress) and chomping at the bit to start the next one. And, this is my honeymoon period, my magical time when I am getting to know my characters and seeing where they want to go with this story. Why do they need this story told?

I have a process for this and a place where I deposit all of this crazy information that I glean and will probably never use.  I dump all this stuff – photos (Like the inspiration for my latest hero), maps, research – into Scrivener for Windows in the WIP Notebook I bought from Jeannie Reusch and loaded into the Scrivener tool.  This allows me to keep track of the details of names, places etc of the main characters and the secondary characters as well. It’s a little anal but it keeps from calling the mailman Bob in Chapter 1 and Skippy in Chapter 6.

But, this really doesn’t help me get under the skin of my character. Yep, their eye color is important but it doesn’t get to the essence of my character.  So, I’ve developed a few questions that help me get down to the grit of who the hero and heroine are:

1. What do you want out of life?

2. What is keeping you from achieving that goal?

3. What is the one thing you wouldn’t want the hero/heroine to know about you?

4. What is your biggest regret?

5. What are you most proud of in your life?

6. What are you most ashamed of in your life?

7. When you walk in a room, what are the three things people will notice about you?

8. What would you be willing to lie about?

9. How would you like to die?

10. What are the most important traits in a true friend?

That’s my list.  Pretty grim but I think that the darkest parts of ourselves are what really counts – the rest is a facade for the comfort of other people.

So, what are your questions? What is your process?

Robin

 

 

My New Snoopy Lunchbox

mermaids, Motivation, , , , , , , , ,

For a week now I have been in limboland – in between writing projects and recharging my battery.  I’ve caught up on some TV (Royal Pains and Rizzoli & Isles), read some great books (“Plus Ones” by Hank Edwards and “Everyone Loves a Hero” by Marie Force), studied some craft (Save the Cat!) and indulged in a little Jake Gyllenhall nudity in “Love and Other Drugs”. (and, in answer to my Main Man – no you cannot wear out a DVD by watching it constantly – I think.)

But now I’m ready to start on the new book targeted for Harlequin Blaze and while I’m not going to go too crazy – I’m going to do things a little differently this time. While I usually create a loose outline (I’m a plotser), I’m going to write my synopsis first.  Now, I hear the groans out there, but I don’t mind writing a synopsis but I usually leave it to the end. I just want to see how it works for me this way.

The second thing is that I am going to try and write this book in the Scrivener for Windows writing tool.  My friend, Gwen Hernandez, challenged me and so I’m going to venture out of Word and take the plunge. And I’ll admit something here but only to you  . . .  so . . .  lean in closer while I whisper . . .

*it’s kind of freaking me out*

But, not in a I-need-to-call-Dr.Phil kind way.

It’s kind of exciting and edgy and  . . .  yes, I need to get out more . . . it’s really getting my creative juices flowing and my fingers itching to hit the keyboards. It’s similar to the thrill I got with my new school supplies. I  just KNEW that the Wonder Woman folders, new pencils and Snoopy lunch box were going to make school so fun and easy.

It’s THAT kind of exciting.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

What writing methods do you have and do you ever shake them up?

Robin Mermaid

 

 

 

 

 

#amwriting Word Metrics

Project: Exposure

Deadline: Oct. 31, 2011

New Words Written: None. Pre-plotting.

Present Total Word Count: zippo.

A Place To Write

mermaids, , , , , , ,

You may remember that back on June 6  I posted about my task to get back on track with my writing and to start putting together a do-able schedule to ensure that I could have time to write and to balance my other duties as a wife, mother, attorney and friend.  So, I read this book:

It was enlightening and helped me focus on my writing style and a realistic set of goals for myself.  I’m an “after-hours/any time opportunity” writer – meaning that I write when everyone else is down for the night and also when I can snatch time during the day. So, I’ve a whole new set of goals and a schedule posted on the fridge and it appears to be working. I’ve met and exceeded my daily word count of 1000 words for the past two weeks and it feels great!

So, the next thing I need to tackle is where I write. Right now it is anywhere I can grab a quiet place and take the laptop.  Usually that’s the sofa in the sitting area in my master suite or down in the “grown-up” living room. But, my husband pointed out that I need a dedicated space where I can go and know that it’s “writing time” – what a guy, right? (Actually, he said, “I’m tired of watching you wander around the house like a homeless Stephen King.”)

So, we have new project – Operation Bestseller (catchy, huh?).  We’ve identified the location and what we need to do get there.  Here’s the location:

That’s my closet. It is 19 feet long –  yep, you read that right. It is the result of adding a third bay to the garage when we built the house and the last 8 feet is going to my new writing space. It will have a small lounge chair, bookshelves and PRIVACY. Aaahhh . . .

And – here is the change:

A closer view. I opted not to have a desk – it felt too much like being on the day job.

I track contests, deadlines and plots on this board:

My wall of inspiration:

Inspiration up close:

I made this – isn’t it cute?

I already need another bookshelf. These are black cubicles from Target.

Part of my Harlequin Blaze collection:

I can feel the creative juices flowing just thinking about it! It so quiet and secluded and I can go in there and focus – What. A. Concept.

Where do you write? Do you have a special place?

Robin

#&*$%@$ Day Job!

mermaids, Motivation, , , , ,

I know, I know . . .  potty mouth.

But, lately I’ve been very frustrated with the amount of time my day job is taking away from my writing life.  Now, I love my job and it is very fulfilling – I’m an attorney for U.S. Navy and you couldn’t have a better group of clients.  And, this working thing isn’t new. I am not independently wealthy and while my husband is a few years older than I am – he’s no Sugar Daddy. (Although I hear that “the Hef” is now available and apparently has room at the mansion and rockin’ party already planned and paid for)

So, when I began down the path of publication and took this compulsion to write seriously, I always had to work it around the day job.  I write in the evenings after the kids have gone to bed and I can usually get in a good 2-3 hours before my comfortable bed beckons from across the room. And, sometimes I can squeeze in extra time on my regular day off and my lunch hours.  Not bad for a full-time, working mother.

I have excellent time management skills. I juggle my work and the supervision of three others and I fill-in for my boss when he is out.  I’ve done this for years . . .  so, what gives?

Beats me.

Lately work has been crazy and I’ve had a terrible time focusing when I do get a chance to sit down in front of the computer.  Not a good thing when you’re trying to maximize your writing time.

So, I’ve decided to go back to basics and seek some help. Obviously, my life and workload have shifted so I need to re-adjust my time allocation and techniques to maximize my writing time. And, like any good attorney, I went looking for some research tools – some advice from others who have been there and bought the t-shirt.

So, I have started reading this:

We’ll see if it helps.  It’s gotta be better than crawling into a fetal position and crying over blank pages.

What do you do to make time to write?  What do you do when life throws you a curveball?

Robin