New: Site Feed

I've added the ability for my regular readers (all five of you) to sign up for a site feed from my blog (see the side bar, under Links. The feed service is called Atom). That way, whenever I post something new (rare, but it does happen), you'll automatically be notified. Don't ask me how I did it (or how it works, frankly), because I am becoming more and more technologically challenged as I get older (my young 'uns now have to set the DVD player up for me before I can use it). However, I was reminded of the old adage of leaving 1000 monkeys alone in a room with a typewriter--eventually, one of them will produce something worthy of Shakespeare. On the other hand, have you seen what a thousand monkeys can do if left alone in a room together? Yecch, the very thought. Can you say, poop patrol?

Hey, speaking of monkeys, I just finished reading Brenda Scott Royce's Monkey Love, and I loved it. The woman has a weird way of looking at life, especially monkey's. And socks. Check it out if you haven't had the chance. I understand the sequel, Monkey Star, is coming out soon as well. I'm looking forward to it.

TJB

This, ya gotta read

I was hanging out over at the Boxing the Octopus blog, and came across Joni Rodgers' rant about people who post opinions on Amazon.com and the like and call them reviews. Her take on how some folks think they have the right to judge the writer by the amount of "stuff" they put into their books is hilarious. Check it out.

Creating characters through pictures

I have an article on my website, written by me for the LARA Confidential, that describes how I often use photographs of actors or models to create my characters, sometimes using qualities of the character being portrayed to add multiple layers to my own characters. Since a picture speaks a thousand words, here are a few I thought you might like.

I didn't have a picture for my hero Wolf in The Legacy when I was writing the book, and I often felt hampered by that. However, years later, I did discover a picture that not only fit Wolf perfectly, he fit the character of The Justice Seeker in my paranormal manuscript by the same name. Here's the gentleman, and I only wish I knew who he was. I got this one out of a GQ Magazine:

I always had an image in mind of my heroine, Sabina. She was Liv Tyler, looking variously as she does in Lord of the Rings,

but not always. Here is a shot of her smile, with which Wolf is particularly enamored.

For my second manuscript, Alonsa's Choice, the hero's physical description is based on Viggo Mortenson's character of Aragorn in Lord of the Rings. Yummy. Who cares what my heroine looks like? LOL!

Finally, in Dreamweaver, I got to spend lots of time looking at pictures of George Clooney, who became the model for my character of Rome, the LAPD detective. In fact, I describe this exact picture when Rome visits the apartment of my heroine, Jessie:

I even used this backdrop of the apartment to represent Jessie's style (with some feminine additions).

So, writing is about imagination, yes, but it's also about making things (and people) seem real. What inspires you when you write?

TJB

Miss Snark, the literary agent: Miss Snark is Retiring

Miss Snark, the literary agent: Miss Snark is Retiring

Say it isn't so! Miss Snark is retiring.

Miss Snark, the Literary Agent and fellow George Clooney worshipper, is hanging up her gin pail. Her wisdom, foresight, and tough love have saved countless writers from nitwittery. If you are a writer just starting out in this business, be sure to careen through the blog before sending out one thing to an editor or agent in order to save yourself from making the most obvious of mistakes (you'll make some anyway, but this will narrow the odds a bit). She has graciously decided to leave the blog up as a historical record of all the clues she shot with the clue gun. Both she and Killer Yap will be sorely missed.

Goodbye, Miss Snark. Parting is such sweet sorrow...yada yada. :-)

TJB

My new cover is here!

Well, much to my surprise, my cover has arrived early! Oh, the excitement. It makes me want to go out and sniff the flowers in my garden. LOL! Here's the full cover, front and back:

The motif is evocative of a running theme in the story involving gardens and roses. Through various stages of the story, the symbolism of death, rebirth, renewal, and growth carry throughout. When my heroine first gets a look at her new home, it is winter, and the house is surrounded by the blunted stems of dead rose bushes. She sees them as a promise of renewal. Very soon after, she and my hero have a conversation about the transient nature of life, and relate it to a flower. In the early spring, my heroine begins working in the garden, planting seeds as her hope buds over the possibility of a real relationship with the man she's married. The last scene of the book finds my heroine standing in a full-blooming rose garden, her face turned up to the sun.

So, it is nice that the artist chose this particular theme to feature on the cover of my book. My book has a cover now! It's really, really real! Gushing here...

What do you think?
TJB

www.tjbennett.com

Been getting a lot of compliments on my new website designed by CMA Webs . I love the lush colors and the rose and candle motif. I think my designer did a fabulous job representing my style and personality, and I know we worked hard to create something of which we could both be proud. I hope the articles and links will be useful to visitors to the site.

I did want to point out that my historical romance, The Legacy, coming from Medallion Press in April 2008, doesn't actually have any cover art yet. What you see on my site is a mock-up the designer put together just for the site. I don't expect the real cover art for several months, but I'll have some fanfare and such when it comes out. I have no idea at this point what it will look like. I know I shared some preferences with the art department, but the ball is in their court now. Medallion Press has been generating some fabulous covers this year, so I'm in great hands.

My preferences are for artwork similar to what is on my site (the rose motif, maybe?), or a closeup of my ruggedly handsome hero's face (Jack Hartnett comes to mind--the way he looks on Sylvia Day's The Stranger I Married), or failing that, my beautiful heroine--FULLY DRESSED. I'm not much of a fan of the semi-naked cover, though I realize some beautiful artwork has been done in this area (see some of Hope Tarr's covers. The cover of Tempting won an award. Of course, she also had a bad, bad thing happen to her with Lord Jack). I despise the clinch cover as well (oh my gosh, is there ANYTHING right with that cover? I guess we know what Lone Arrow is proud of...). Interestingly, my designer chose a closeup of a woman for my mock-up, and the young lady featured is a good match for my heroine. It's not one I would have thought of myself, but I like it. Some other lovely historical romance covers featuring heroines can be found here.

The cover of a book can have such an impact on sales, so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. I want something wonderful and evocative, sexy yet not overtly so, romantic yet not corny, something that sells my vision of the book. I know, tall order. What I don't want is the kind of covers we see when good covers go bad, either there or here. Sadly, Medallion Press made the second list. However, Medallion Press also produced this and this, so there is hope for me yet.

I'm so anxious. Wish me luck.

TJB

Sir Spam-a-Lot

I'm sick of spam. Not the meaty kind, although I find that a little disgusting, as well. No, the kind that promises me I can see "nude pictures of Paris Hilton" and "penetrate my partner for hours!!" (Ouch.) I'm sick of Canadian doctors trying to send me medicine for my erectile dysfunction problem (seriously, this is a problem for me since I HAVE NO PENIS), and telling me my pharmacy order from Walgreen's is ready when I haven't even placed one. I know their stocks are HOT HOT HOT, and so are their Lolitas, but I'm just not interested, I tell you.

Why would they think I'm stupid enough to click on anything from Nigeria that promises me I can earn a million dollars if I'd just send them all my bank account information right away? And I know I haven't bought any tickets in the Royal London Bank lottery...lately...so why or why do they keep sending me this stuff?

I am happy to know that my home mortgage loan cleared for the bazillionth time today, and that I can get Calais at half price, but I'm a little nervous to learn that if I am a lesbian, I can attract any woman I want using Alpha Pheromones NOW. Still, knowing I can get clearance weapons at $1000 discount is probably even freakier--I'd rather make love, not war, but I'd really rather do that with my dear hubby and not Paris Hilton. Really.

However, on the positive side, I have found one use for spam. As a writer, I'm constantly in search of intriguing and different names. The list of names that masquerade in the "from" block of most spam mail is quite handy. So, next book I write, you'll be saying hello to Geneva Tereasa and Miss Betty Motumba. :-)

Good night, Geneva, wherever you are.

TJB

God is on my side

I want to say in advance of the story I'm about to tell you that I love my children. I'd throw myself in front of a bus for them. But every now and then, they act like...well, children, despite the lessons in conduct and deportment my DH and I try to teach them.

Well, one of my kids learned why NOT to throw a temper tantrum in Mom's room. I was in the middle of preparing my receipts for our taxes, while at the same time grading 30 very overdue essays to return to my students tomorrow. I decided my kids could eat frozen dinners today, and I had stashed two kid dinners in the freezer just for this purpose. I called to the kids, "Which kid wants what?" Well, the instructions I received were how I filled the orders. I left the plates on the table and hurried back to my bedroom/home office to complete the tax paperwork. One son then came stomping into the room, yelling, "I said I wanted the chicken nuggets dinner, not the corn dog dinner!" His brother yells from the dining room, "No, you said the corn dog, I said chicken nuggets." "NO I DIDN'T!" I turned to Number One son and explained, "Yes, you said the corn dogs." "NO I DIDN'T!!" "Yes," I explained, trying very hard to maintain my patience over this interruption, "you did."

Well, I guess he didn't agree, because he hauled off and kicked what he thought was a pile of soft pillows at the end of the bed in a fit of anger. Suddenly, he shrieked in pain and hopped away, grabbing his foot. I look over at the foot of the bed--the pillows had been concealing a small stool, which in his temper, he hit dead square with his big toe.

Well, I admit I did point out to him that the consequence of violence is often a return of violence, and that next time, maybe he should consider admitting he might have made a mistake and misspoken his request. I bandaged his bleeding toenail while he sobbed, and suggested an apology might be in order, and also the next time his dad says to let him cut his overly long toenails, he should let him do it without complaint. He glared at me, then sullenly hobbled off to eat his hated corn dog, mumbling a half-hearted apology as he went.

Does it make me a bad mother that I actually looked up to heaven and said, "Guess we showed him"? Or am I a good mother in that I waited until he left the room before I burst out laughing? Oh, somehow I think he'll think twice before pitching a hissy fit at me again. God, as I always tell him, is on the mother's side.

TJB

Yo Mama

As some of you may know, when I signed my book contract, I decided to take on a pen name (mainly because mine is unpronounceable). I Googled TJ Bennett before adopting it, and found that no other authors appeared to be using it at the time, and the only other usages I found were for a medical researcher, a cafe owner, and a high school athlete, none of whom I felt would confuse my fans, should I ever have any. So, I went with that.

Recently, however, my Google search revealed someone using the name in the exact same way (no periods after the initials) on a site called Yo Mama. I just want to take this opportunity to reassure everyone that I am not the author of any of the Yo Mama jokes. If I was, I'd have come up with the one that states, "Yo mama is so fat, she jumped up in the air and GOT STUCK!"

But, sadly, I am not. In the interests of full disclosure, just thought you'd like to know that.

TJB