Make-Believe Mondays With Rene Lyons

Today on Make-Believe Mondays our guest is Rene Lyons.

Rene, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you're working on now.

Renee: I'm working on finishing up The Awakening, which is my first endeavor with Tease Publishing. Also, I've started Eternal Sin, the fourth installment of the templar Vampire series for Samhain and an untitled book that's the first in the Order of the Rose. That one I plan on shopping around to an agent.

Debra: Plenty of stories in the works, then. Fingers crossed for you on the agent search.

Ray Bradbury said, "We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out." How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Rene: For me, it's all about mood. I play music. I look at certain art. (Luis Royo is my favorite artist) or I just watch one of my favorite movies such as Kingdom of Heaven or Braveheart. One of those things usually works!

Debra: You are right about mood being essential. Music and art calling forth those responses and the creative flow.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or image that later wound up in one of your books?


Rene: Oh my God, all the time! My books usually play out like little movies inside my head that I then try to write down as accurately as possible.

Debra: It's funny how so many of us do this, those little movies playing. For me it's like a daydream sometimes.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Rene: When I was really young it was The Last Unicorn. As I grew up and discovered romance novels, I have to go with Saving Grace by Julie Garwood. That book just drew me in and to this day, hasn't let me go.

Debra: Then I simply must read that one.

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Rene: I've done that with my Templar Vampires. With them, I've found my imagination. I plan on going further with their world with the Order of the Rose.

Debra: I look forward to reading it.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Rene: Never be afraid to write what you feel. You'll never know where it might take you!

I'd love to hear from readers. I'm online at my website,

http://www.renelyons.net

At my blogs: http://renelyons.blogspot.com/ and http://doubledarkness.blogspot.com/

My Forum (with Stella Price): http://renelyons724.proboards91.com/

And on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/renelyonsauthor

Rene, thank you for joining us here on this Make-Believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing wi our readers.

Rene: Thank you for having me!

Make-Believe Monday break this week

Make-Believe Mondays is on break this week, but I will direct you over to
http://www.titlewave.blogspot.com/
where my Title Wave Sisters and I are blogging about our offices.
Today was my turn.

Make-Believe Mondays will resume next week.

Make-Believe Mondays With Antonia Pearce

Today on Make-Believe Mondays our guest is Antonia Pearce.

Debra: Antonia, first, tell us a little bit about the manuscript you're working on now.

Antonia: I'm working on a number of projects right now. I have an erotic suspense with paranormal elements trilogy called, Nemesis: The Legacy, Nemesis: The Wraith and Nemesis: The Successor in the works, also and erotic contemporary called, "Rub Me Right," and erotic paranormal called tentatively, "Windward Destiny" and a Celtic/Gael inspired Medieval fantasy with a working title of "Sword." When I become blocked on one story or get an idea for a scene for a different story, I have to switch. Unfortunately, the only way I can stay true to one story is when I am meeting a tight deadline.

Debra: Yes, it's a great way to keep from getting blocked. And it's always nice to know I'm not the only one who works on multiple manuscripts in this way.

Ray Bradbury said, “We are cups, constantly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out.” How do you keep your creative cup filled?

Antonia: Reading books, watching people around me, movies, music, just living life. I never have a problem coming up with a new idea for a story, unless the parameters for that story are extremely narrow or center on something I know nothing about. My husband says I "do the 'what if' scenarios." Yes, duh, I'm a writer, that's how I write my stories. Years ago, in my other life, I was a nurse. If you are a nurse and don't plan for contingencies your patients could be in real trouble and how would you know what those might be? I'm a "what-ifer" and proud of it!

Now, letting "the beautiful stuff out," that's the real trick, isn't it? As I said before, I have no problem getting halfway through a story. Then I'll usually hit a wall and I have to push a bit to get going again. I don't outline, but I do always know where I want to go.

Debra: Those murky middles that so many of us strufggle with. "What if" is the way all my stories start too. :) I agree it is a thing to be proud of.

For some writers, dreams play a role in creating fiction. Has this been true for you? Have you ever dreamed a scene or image that later wound up in one of your books?

Antonia: Oh, absolutely. I have used characters, concepts, plot devices or even whole scenes that I got from a dream. The trick is getting them in the computer before I forget the details.

Debra: Yes, that's the tricky part. Holding on to them once we wake.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Antonia: The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett was quite memorable. The imagery of that story stays with me today. Also, the Bobbsey Twins mysteries, the Trixie Beldon mysteries, the Nancy Drew mysteries. Also, the Cherry Ames nurse series. I was always in an imaginary world, LOL. Usually hunting for a real mystery. Then I discovered Georgette Heyer, Barbara Cartland, and Gothic romances when I was about eleven or twelve…

Debra: The Secret Garden is a wonderful story.
If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of what kind of story would that be?

Antonia: One I love to explore is the death experience. Is a dead character really finished? Or can they stay in the story? What is death? What are ghosts? My fantasy story, "Sword" pretty much pushes the boundaries with this. Plus, it has the whole Celtic/Medieval ambiance going on and lots of horses, swords and sword fighting. I adore swashbucklers and paranormals, so this is going to be my version of that combination.

Debra: Very interesting questions to play with. Oh, I can't wait for that one!

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Antonia: Control your internal editor. It can stop the creative process dead in its tracks. Don't let that cool dream or that great story idea go to waste because you tell yourself it's dumb, or you think person X might not like it. Also, you have to be willing to let your imagination do its job. It's a scary thing to do and you may face criticism from critique partners, reviewers, editors, etc. No question about it. You are putting yourself out there on a limb. You have to learn to sort through the negative things and use the constructive points to improve your writing and marketability and put the rest away.

I'd love to hear from readers.

I'm online at my website, http://www.antoniapearceromance.com

At my blog: http://antoniapearceromance.blogspot.com

And on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/antoniapearce

Debra: Antonia, that is such excellent advice. Thank you for joining us here on this Make-Believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Antonia: Thank you again for inviting me, Debra! What great questions! It's been a pleasure visiting with you and your readers.

Debra: Thanks, Antonia. It has been my pleasure as well.

Make-Believe Mondays With Janice Maynard

Today on Make-Believe Mondays our guest is Janice Maynard.

Janice, first tell us a little bit about the manuscript you are working on now.

Janice: I just turned in a book at the end of February that will be out in January 2008 - tentative title "The Perfect Ten". It's about three female cousins who own a shop called "Lotions and Potions". When hunky, wonderful men suddenly start showing up in their lives, the women wonder if a new lotion they have created just might be an aphrodisiac!

Debra: Oh my. Women would swarm to a store that had a lotion like that. ;)

Is there a point when your characters begin to come alive and you can see and hear them?

Janice: My characters walk around in my head like a movie. When I am in the midst of writing a book, it is sometimes hard to sleep at night, because when I close my eyes, I keep writing dialog and scenes in my head...

Debra: I understand that. I'm more likely to get caught up in the writing at night, too. Sometimes it's better to just stay up and get the words out.

As a child did any particular book or author pull you into their imaginary world?

Janice: As a child I read anything and everything! I loved Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys. The entire Little Women series... some nurse books about Cherry Ames. And an older author called Maud Hart Lovelace who wrote the Betsy, Tracy and Tip books. I really enjoyed the Five Little Peppers books...the Borrowers series...

I could go on and on!

Debra: Oh, I had forgotten about the Borrowers. What a fascinating series that was. So imaginative.

If there were no categories for books, no reader expectations to meet, and you could create the wildest work of imagination that you could think of, what kind of story would that be?

Janice: I truly love writing "plain old" romance. Boy meets girls with really hot scenes and a happy ending! Although I enjoy reading many subgenres such as Erin McCarthy's vampires and Mary Janice Davidson's Betsy books, the stories I most love to write are about that magical journey for a man and a woman who are falling in love! People like you and me. :)

Debra: I agree. There is no better story than that magical journey of falling in love.

Is there anything else you would like to add about the role of imagination, and dreams in creating fiction? Any other message for our readers?

Janice: One of the best part of being a writer is finally getting to tell the stories that I've imagined for so many years. That's magic!

Debra: Janice, thank you for joining us here on this Make-Believe Monday to share a little bit of the magic of writing with our readers.

Janice: Thanks for including me in Make-Believe Mondays!

Please visit Janice at www.janicemaynard.com and www.vampsandscamps.blogspot.com