YA author KELLY PARRA is guest-blogging at the CHICAS site today!

On more than one occasion on this rocky road…er, path…er, hiking trail to publishing, I have been guilty of assuring myself of the following:

“All you actually need to do is find that special someone who really, really loves your voice. That’s the key. Someone who reads your stuff and gets that inner KNOWING that they click with you, that the writing is exceptional, just SINGS for them, that this is a mutually beneficial relationship they’d really like to cultivate.”

Er…wrong.

I’ve actually been fortunate enough to stumble upon a person or two along the way who actually liked my voice.
It’s not enough.
It’s sort of a package deal. They not only have to like your voice, they have to like the story.
No problem, right?
Er…wrong.
They’ll want to like the characters. The tone. The conflict. The pace. The hook. The ending. Etc.
No problem, right?
Er…wrong.
They not only have to like the story, they have to think they can sell it. It may strike the truest of chords with them personally, be so great they want to sleep with it under their pillow—but if they don’t think they can sell it, it’s not gonna happen.

It’s not so tough, really. It’s sort of like finding Mr. Right. He can’t just be a guy who only makes you laugh, or only fixes things around the house, or only appeals to you in the sack. You want a package deal.

How hard can it be?

Er…have I ever mentioned that I’ve never found Mr. Right?

I found this photo and article on The Times Online, and couldn’t resist it—and no, I’m not making it up!

“NASA scientists have been puzzled by the peculiarly life-like image which has been beamed back to earth by one of their two robot rovers that are currently trundling about the surface of the red planet, on the hunt for clues of life on Mars.”

Is this cool, or what?

Meanwhile, I’m slinging smut at the CHICAS site today.

Dee Tenorio, the author of this beautiful book, is guest-blogging at the CHICAS site today.

We dearly love our romance heroines.
They’re strong. Steadfast. Capable. Good-hearted.
They’re generally beautiful, and even if their figures aren’t perfect, they turn out to be just what the hero wanted after all. They fall in love, and when it’s good they give their all—and when it’s bad they manage to survive, but the love still remains true in their hearts, never becoming bitterness, stalking rage, or set-his-Lexus-on-fire ire.
And just to spice things up occasionally, they’re endowed with a few extra pounds, rough childhood, bad previous relationship, clinging mother, pesky urge to suck blood, etc.

As long as she’s not TOO extreme, she’s still safely inside THE BOX. After all—we want to identify with her, don’t we?
(more…)

Had a devil of a time making up my mind about this post.

At first I included this photo of Dr. King. I found the stark nature of the photography striking. Painful. Poignant.
Then I changed my mind, reminding myself that this day was to be a celebration of his birthday. It hardly seemed appropriate.
Then I changed my mind again.
Because as long as there is injustice and intolerance and cruelty—and yes, apathy toward these conditions in ANY form, the work is not finished. It’s something to remember, even as we congratulate ourselves on how far we’ve come.
Please. Remember.