Petra Cor's first book is now available on Amazon

YAY!!!!!

It took me forever to get here, but it's official. A Mate for the Minotaur by Petra Cor (my pen name for this genre) is finally available on Amazon. It's a short beast-erotic-romance and only 99 cents.

For everyone who was encouraging and had faith in me - THANKS!

Fingers crossed now for some sales :)

Introducing Petra Cor

I’ve been finishing my mythic creature short stories that will be published under a pen name of Petra Cor. Why use a pen name? So, those style of stories (which are creature/human erotic romance) are not confused with my regular romance that will be under my own name. Obviously , I wouldn’t be blogging about it if I were worried about people knowing that Petra Cor is a pen name I use. Like Nora Roberts writing her Eve Dallas futuristic cop stories under the name of J.D. Robb. We all know they are both Nora Roberts, but the genres are different enough that she probably wanted to avoid confusion for her readers.

Readers can be really loyal beasties and we fear change, so if you write something different than what we’re expecting, we may come at you with pitchforks  and fire reminiscent of the mobs going after Frankenstein’s monster (or maybe that’s just me).  So looking at it from the reader’s perspective, I am using a pen name.  Coming from the writer side, it makes little difference to me.

So, I guess what I’m saying is that coming in the near future will be some Petra Cor (aka me) shorts. Yay! I’m excited that I’m finally being productive and will finally have something published to show for it.

Depression is a terrible thing that robs one of all motivation even for the things that one loves.  So, when one (aka me) finally starts feeling better and finally finds a little motivation and finally is being productive and finally feels as though the cloud smothering your brain has dissipated, then one has to celebrate. So here I am talking about myself in some weird 3^rd person fashion celebrating with you that I’m feeling more human every day. Yay and YAY!!

I’ll let ya’ll know when something is officially out and available for sell. And thank you to everyone who was encouraging or supportive in any way (past, present or future).

2012 Goal: Write THIS Blog regularly

It's so stupid that I keep ignoring ya'll... since of the blogs I do, this is my favorite one to write.  I like all of my blogs, but this is truly my favorite.  I was going to make this my resolution until I read a friend's blog and firmly agreed that goals is mo' better :)

In the last month, while I was shamefully ignoring ya'll, I went and saw a few films, started writing again and began an affair of the heart/mind/body.

First the movies (since not all of you will be interested in the other stuff).  I saw the second Sherlock Holmes movie Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.  This one was as good or better than the first and I loved that one, so it's saying something.  Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law are their usual genius (and sexy) selves but we also got Stephen Fry (LOVE this guy!) as Mycroft Holmes, Jared Harris (you may not know the name but you'll know his face) as Moriarty, and Noomi Rapace (SERIOUS lady crush on her) who you may remember me raving about from the Swedish film trilogy versions of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books.  Kelly Reilly is also terrific as Dr. Watson's beleaguered new bride.  If you liked the first, just go see it (since I'm late on this you most likely already have), and if you didn't..... .

The second was the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Really good...the role of Mikael Blomkvist  is perfect for Daniel Craig.  It has a pretty stellar cast including Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Plummer and Robin Wright.  Rooney Mara was good but I thought Noomi Rapace was better.  I  didn't get as much emotionally from Rooney.  But I still loved the movie.  I may have said it when I reviewed the Swedish films too - but truly, read the books, see all the films - this is a story not to miss in all forms.

Next on my list - my writing.  For Christmas, I got a couple writing t-shirts.  One says, "Even if it's crap, just get it on the page" and the other says, "Writer's Block: when your imaginary friends won't talk to you".  Both were valid reminders of my writing during November and December.  If you want more on what happened, it'll be in my other blog shortly. Anywho - A couple things coalesced into me writing again and my imaginary friends are chatting cheerfully away at me right now, so HAPPY DANCING for that!

My love life is also part of the writing story, so more on the other blog, but I will say this.  It's a wonderful thing when you meet someone who inspires you to smile every day at every thought of them, laugh a ridiculous amount when you're together, and act sappy to the point of your friends throwing up around you (an exaggeration - but not by much).  It's wonderful.  

So, here it is - my 2012 Goal for this blog: Stop ignoring, postponing, and delaying writing it.  I will  write regular and perhaps more often than you will want, but there it is.  Happy 2012, ya'll!  Go attack this year with a cheerful vengeance.

"Bent"

I'm doing a separate post just for this movie because it deserves it. The movie in question is Bent starring Clive Owen and Lothaire Bluteau, who are both so incredible in this film. Smaller roles are played by Mick Jagger, Ian McKellen, Paul Bettany, Jude Law, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. It's the story of a gay man, Max (Owens) in Nazi Germany. I'd seen this years ago and recently decided to re-watch it. In the course of one day, I watched it twice. It's so powerful. When Max is caught by the Nazis, he is forced to ignore his lover who has been beaten nearly to death and deny even knowing him or suffer the same end, and he must rape a young girl to 'prove' he is straight, thus earning him a yellow star (Jew) to wear. He meets Horst, who wears a pink triangle (Gay man). Max keeps telling Horst, "I'm going to survive" while he battles his own self-loathing over what he is doing to accomplish this. Eventually, the two are given the job of moving rocks from one pile to another and then repeating it in reverse, day in, day out for months on end. They do this task together away from everyone but a guard who watches them. Every two hours they have a three-minute 'break' where they are allowed to stand at attention, not moving. This is where the film really gets me. On a visceral level. As a writer, I know the power of words. This is the film where that power moves me with such strength of force, I am helpless to do anything but absorb and feel. I feel that strength surging through my chest right now just thinking about it. During these breaks these two men fall in love although Max is incapable of admitting he loves anyone including himself - this is the lesson he must learn. The two express that love the only way they can. They can't touch, they can't look at each other, but they can speak. Making love, holding each other, comforting and keeping one another safe and warm - these things they do through nothing but their words. I cry every time I watch it, I'm crying now remembering it. It is this that allows them to remain human in inhuman circumstances, hope when despair could devour you, and survive when everything is trying to crush you. Horst says to Max at one point (and I paraphrase), " A man killed himself last night. They [the Nazis] hate that. It;s an act of free will." This is a movie that is hard to watch. Man can truly be so horrible to one another, it sucks all the air from your lungs, but we also have such a capacity for love, hope and survival that it fills you up. This movie takes you to both places. It is not for everyone, but if you take this journey, I hope you will get as much from it as I did. It is terrible, wonderful, decadent, loving, sweet, sad, and inspiring. Max will eventually learn what love is, that he does love, and that we all always have a choice.

Books and First Lines

I just read ten blog articles on the importance of first lines in books. They're important. A lot of suggestions were thrown out. I liked many of the ones they named. I couldn't think of any that stuck in my mind, but I may not be paying attention.

If I'm ready to read your book based on the blurb or excerpt, then you pretty much have me committed for at least the first 30-50 pages (less if it really, really sucks). If it kind of blows, then I'll stop. But as long as I really like at least one character, or the premise, or the story, or the writer's voice - I'll finish it. Some get better as the book goes on, some don't. Some I end up loving after being dubious for the first 50 pages. You just never know. It's only a handful that I don't finish at all - but boy-o, if you are one of them, I will never - never ever - read your writing again. Period.

Back to topic... I read the back cover blurbs, I read the tag lines, but I have never read the first line or even the first few lines and thought, 'Boring, I'll move on'. Many people do, apparently. So, I see the importance. You don't want to lose those readers.

But in all honesty, the first line is important, the first page is important, the first and last lines of each chapter are important. They say that the last page/paragraph/line of your book sells your next book. Don't ask me who they are. So, what part of your book isn't important? You gotta love the characters. The setting can pull you in. The dialogue can be authentic or witty. It all has a place and the combination of these elements is what makes you great or not.

This was compared to pick-up lines in a bar. I get that - to some degree. If a guy walks up and says, 'what's your sign, doll?' - I may think he is a jerk, but if he's cute enough or smells good enough or is wearing the concert tee that I have too - then I may give him a few more moments to prove that perhaps he is just clueless about meeting girls, but has charm lurking somewhere.

I am not dismissing the important first line. I want mine to be great whether it is the basis by which my entire book is judged or not. So, what's the point of my musings? I dunno - maybe that's it, just thoughts. I wasn't consciously aware that first lines mean nothing to me as a reader until I started thinking about this. As a writer, well...that's a different story.

"Adam" and a note that Authors are Rock Stars!

I was just going to do a whole blog about how authors are rock stars, but then I watched Adam and now I have to talk about that. But before I rave about the amazingness that is Adam, I will explain why authors are rock stars. And, possibly why I am being amazingly, positively redundant.

I was sitting in a bar recently with some best selling authors and low and behold - who was working in the bar... readers, uber-fans. Me and the best-selling authors I was privileged to be partying with had been in this bar the day prior, so this particular night, the uber-fans had books, pens and cameras at the ready. Personally, in the past - I have been feet away from Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith on a Chicago street (I was giddy). Let me assure you, never have I been more geeky-fan crazed than when I got to meet Sherrilyn Kenyon this last weekend (hint: she's an author). Seriously, just take it from me - Authors are ROCK STARS!!!

Now, onto Adam. This is a romantic dramedy about Adam (Hugh Dancy) who has Asperger's Syndrome and a gal he meets, Beth (Rose Byrne). It is about their relationship. I learned a lot about being human, about understanding, and about the stuff between the obvious. But additionally, what I took away from it was how brilliant Hugh Dancy was in this role. Rose Byrne was wonderful too and the chemistry between them was so tangible. But, Hugh was deeply emotional while having to act emotionally shut off. He was funny and charming and adorable while acting incapable of understanding others emotions. He was brilliant. Really brilliant. I watched the movie, watched every smidge of bonus material, and then ordered it online, so I can forever own and watch this moving movie about a man unable to be moved like the rest of us.

I'd also like to give a shout out to Annette Benning for winning a Golden Globe for The Kids Are Alright. And for the film winning Best Movie. It was a terrific film with a terrific cast who acted terrifically!

In answer to my redundancy, sometimes you just need to say the same things in the same and different ways over and over and over and over again. : )

Business and networking

I just finished a grueling and wonderfully amazing three day seminar: The Superstars of Writing. I am wonderfully exhausted from an intense overload of information and networking. I loved every minute.

As a writer, I am constantly working to improve my craft through reading books, taking classes and workshops, attending conferences, and of course by writing. But one thing that is hard to find is other writers sharing with you the business of being a writer. How do you find successful people willing to give you hints, debunk myths, give you a behind the scenes view, and tell you the straight 411 on any business. That is what this seminar does. That is what five immensely successful, NY Times best-selling authors shares with you. I believe in this enough to endorse it.

The authors involved are Kevin J Anderson, Brandon Sanderson, David Farland/Wolverton, Eric Flint and Rebecca Moesta. They are all SciFi / Fantasy writers, but what they share is valuable to any writer, whether you write non-fiction or fiction in any genre. If you do not know who they are, I recommend checking them out - you'll be impressed.

Now, onto some general thoughts. There are professions in this world where networking is crucial. Writing is one of them. Yes, it is an art and you have to be able to craft an appealing product that people want to to read. But getting that writing published and in the readers' hands requires a lot of networking. Doing it without the networking is possible, but it makes your job about a thousand times harder. So, a writer needs to attend conferences and meet industry people.

Another type of networking is that with your peers. This is the kind also done at conferences, but done too at writing groups of a wide variety. Peer networking gives you new friends and new resources for specialized information in everything from legal to medical to puppetry advice. These will be your peers that come up through the ranks with you. Before CS Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia) and JRR Tolkein (Lord of the Rings) were the epic writers known the world round, they were peers sitting in a coffee shop talking writing with each other (fact).

I am talking writing, but this applies to life, my friends. Meet and be nice to one another, you never know when you have met someone who will play an important role in your journey through this world.

Author Victoria Dahl

It is a lovely morning here in Salt Lake. Yes, it's cold and the ground is covered in snow, but I am huddled inside in comfy clothes writing and I have finally completed a challenging task that procrastination and illness have kept me from completing for several weeks - I wrote my fist synopsis. I am basking in the glow of this accomplishment. But thinking of things writerly, I want to share with anyone who enjoys romance an author that has quickly crept to the top of my list of favorite authors: Victoria Dahl.

I have now finished reading every book she has out (except the stories in anthologies - working on those next) and love them all - okay there is one I like a lot but don't love like I love the rest. But of her eight novels and one novella (not including the anthology stories), I think that's some pretty good stats. She writes both contemporary and historical. Her characters are rich and believable, the stories engrossing and funny, the sex steamy (sometimes uber steamy) and her voice is like wrapping yourself in a comfortable blanket you know and love. And since I've met her, I can tell you she is a genuinely nice person. She has a new trilogy coming out in 2011 I can hardly wait to buy and read as well a sequel in the wings I am eagerly awaiting.

If you like romance and great writing - do yourself a favor and check out Victoria Dahl at http://victoriadahl.com.

'Going the Distance', 'Easy A', and GMC

Let's start with Going the Distance, a movie starring Justin Long and Drew Barrymore and a host of other terrific actors. Very funny. Lots of colorful language, sexual situations, raunchy humor, and some drug use - there's your disclaimer if you needed one. But it's a very funny movie and I laughed lots. Justin Long is just so stinkin' cute - it's officially a crush (ok, it has been for a while now). Drew Barrymore - I didn't realize she had this side to her, but I like it! The supporting cast is awesome - this was well worth watching, if you don't mind any of the disclaimer stuff.

Easy A starring Emma Stone, who somehow manages to be beautiful, sexy, and cute all at the same time, is amazing. Also starring Thomas Haden Church in a smart and fun role (kind of sexy even) - not his usual dumb guy funny, Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci are hilarious as the parents, and Amanda Bynes as a raving nut job. In small roles - Lisa Kudrow, Malcolm McDowell, Fred Armisen, and Cam Gigandet (you remember James from Twilight). This one seriously had me laughing thru the entire movie. It has a good message too, but don't hold that against it....it's so funny. Must see.

Now, I shall give a shout out for a writerly type book that is Awesome (yes - capital A Awesome). It's Goal, Motivation & Conflict by Debra Dixon. If you have a writerly bent of any kind be it novels, screenplays, whatever...this is a must read. No kidding. It may be saving my plot as we speak. I'm serious. I won't bore you with my plot trauma, but trust me it was there and between this book and the genius that is Clint Johnson (thank you, thank you, thank you, Clint) I may have found my tree in the forest or my forest in the trees - however that works. Problem solved is the point. 'Nuff said. I thank you all - now, go read, write or view some creativeness.

On Writing and "Shutter Island" and Larry Brooks

Friends, today we are digressing slightly from the norm. This is not exactly about Shutter Island the book or movie. It isn't even about the structure of the story by Dennis Lehane as deconstructed by Larry Brooks on his website, storyfix.com (if you write or aspire to write - StoryFix is a must read). I guess it's really about the benefit of deconstruction in general and specifically as done by Larry Brooks.

First, let me begin by saying that I think Larry Brooks is a genius (or at least a really, super smart guy). I've just learned a ton about writing, structure and other writerly things due to his blog.

He recently, as in just finished it in the last couple days, a series of posts deconstructing Shutter Island. I think I have a fairly analytical mind, but I aspire to his level of skill in breaking apart a story. I am getting better at it as I read more of his deconstructions and deconstruct more stories for myself, but I still have a long way to go. As a writing tool, deconstruction is brilliant. I can't even read a book now without looking for the four structure parts, the plot and pinch points, it's really changed how I read. I want to see what the published authors are doing at the specific points in their stories that transition the four structure parts from one to the next.

Before Larry, I had never actively, consciously, thought about the parts of the story as he puts forth: the set-up, the response, the attack, and the resolution. And that each of these has a specific goal or mission to accomplish had sort of passed right by me as well. Now, they do not. I watch for them, I notice them, I appreciate them more when they are done well, and I'm excited by my new found recognition of them because they are improving my writing tremendously.

As a side note - Shutter Island... Leo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese and a really amazing cast- seriously crazy amazing. Do I really need to say it? Watch the movie, read the book, do both, do one twice - you really will need to invest in more than one visit to Shutter Island (remember The Sixth Sense and you had to watch it twice? Think that one on wicked good steroids - no kidding).