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Author: Mary Anne

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I don't want this to come off as a "woe is me" post. It's not about the 'woe.' It's about how you know...

I've been in the world a while and for most of that while I've been typing on a keyboard. One thing that's not good for is the wrists. Yep, carpal tunnel.

The funny thing is that it started with my left wrist. And I'm right handed. Go figure. But I went to CVS and picked up a brace for my left wrist. For a while I wore it all day. But it was tough to do things. So finally, I just wore it at night.

Guess what? Today, I finally had to break down and buy one for the right hand. Yep. My dominant hand is playing follow the leader. Seeing a doctor for tests and prescriptions or having surgery isn't an option currently.  Today's about "do it yourself" treatment.     

I tried wearing both of 'em for a while. But you know what? They get in the way. And they get in the way MORE with my right hand. So, I decided I'll put 'em on at night, sometime after my bath, when I'm starting to wind down on writing for the day. Because if it interferes with writing, then it's gotta go.

I joke all the time about how I'd love not to be doing my day job. And carpal tunnel is one of those things that could be disabling. So I could apply for disability. But you know what? That wouldn't be a dream at all. It'd be more of a nightmare. How could that possibly be, you ask?

Well, it's because hurting a little or a lot - I'd write. I'd write whether anyone bought my stuff or not. Because - I'm a writer. It's not what I do. It's who I am.

People in the e-age have some perception that writing is glamorous or that it'll make you rich. Truthfully, writing is not a'tall glamorous. It's something you're doing while the clothes are in the washer. And you're usually in sweats and a comfy shirt. And your world shrinks to the size of a computer. There are no photographers chasing you or fans begging for an autograph. And no Brinks truck is showing up to throw money at you. I'm still tickled every single time a number changes at Amazon or Smashwords. Every sale makes me say a silent "thank you" to the reader.

While I wouldn't mind making a lot of money, I'd sure hate to lose that sense of wonder every time some mysterious person somewhere in the world hit the buy button. And I could think about that reader just starting a journey over the top with a love story by the crazy Duck Lady.

If you're writing because you're chasing fame or fortune - then you're not going to be writing long. Because writing is not a means to an end - writing is the end itself. Writing is not the vehicle that will get you to riches and independence. Writing is riches and independence. It's more than the journey - writing itself is the reward.

Mostly, writing is just me, my imagination, my aching wrists and the machine. And that's better than okay. That's everything.

Although writing full time is my dream job, it's more than that. It's not just what I do - it's who I am. That's what I wish for my sons. Find what makes you who you are and then try to make money doing that. Because whether it's a hobby or a career, your life won't be the same without it. There might not even be life without it. You are who you are and I am who I am. Let's celebrate that. Let's pursue that.

But, if I get stuck in my day job for the rest of my working life, I'll still come home at night, sit down at my laptop and write stories where two people find out that each is the other's happily ever after.

Don't write because you can. Only write if you have to. There are many easier routes to fortune and fame.

Only write if you're a writer.

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A pair of women - a Mormon psychologist and a Wall Street Analyst turned author -  desperately wanted to sell their non-romance books in a romance novel world. Clearly, they'd do better if all those darned women would just stop buying romance. How to accomplish that?  Well, they came up with a bizarre theory - romance novels can be as addictive as pornography. 

Yes, all of us deviant romance readers have been silently suffering under the weight of a horrific and dangerous addiction - reading romance novels.  The diabolically deluded duo say that reading romance promotes dissatisfaction with your real life relationships and may even lead to an affair.  But fear not, say the diabolically deluded duo - they have a plan.   What is it, you ask?

To overcome addiction to romance, you should READ BOOKS OF A DIFFERENT GENRE.   And again, what do the ladies who came up with the theory do?  They write books.  And what kind of books?  Not romance novels.  Yes, Virginia, these authors really did think women were stupid enough to fall for that load of self-serving swill. 

Did anybody fall for it?  Not so much.  However, lots of folks had a really good time with the whole idea that romance is as addictive as porn. One of the best places to express pithy punditry these days is Twitter.  The fiasco spawned its own hashtag, #romancekills.  Below are some of my favorite tweets from that hashtag. I'm listing the author of the tweet as best I can tell - I've told y'all before (on the Marianne's Blog) that Twitter is the "Bing" commercial, on steroids.  It can be hard to follow. If I've misquoted or incorrectly attributed anything, it wasn't out of malice. It was Bing-Bong Syndrome. 

Check out these tweets and if you have a Twitter account (and you should) after you follow me, you should definitely follow every one of these folks!   Now, without further ado - because I've a-done enough already - here are my personal favorite tweets from #romancekills. Enjoy!!

@ChristinaDodd: Every time a woman reads a romance novel, her lover dies…slowly, and with great pleasure.

@JoJosBook Corner: Woot Our she-army of oversexed females shall conquer the Earth. Men shall fear (and desire) us.

@TessaDare: Every time a bodice rips, a kitten cries.

@LimeCello: Know why Thomas Hardy wrote the original cliff hanger? He was reading a romance novel & couldn't be bothered to finish writing

@CourtneyMilan: Romance novels killed the radio store, and blamed it on video.

@LimeCello: You want to know why Atlantis is no more? Romance novels. Sorry archaeologists & historians

@PamelaCayne: For $19.95 I will cast out the romance reading demons from your soul, banishing the bodice ripping monkey on your back forever

@TallStoriesBook: "The Titanic hit that iceberg because the lookouts were too busy reading romance novels," - Amy Boggs

@TallStoriesBook: Jason Pinter : "the destruction of Alderaan was due to Darth Vader reading too many romance novels"

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The romance world is buzzing over biggie Courtney Milan turning down a contract from Harlequin for her next 2 and self-publishing them.  Why?  She gets better terms on the deal.

There was also recent news about Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath signing deals with the new publisher on the block - Amazon. Previously, both had turned their backs on traditional deals with Barry having most recently walked away from a big un.  Why the change?  Better terms from Amazon that will help promote the titles they are self-pubbing. 

A little while back you'll recall that indie phenom Amanda Hocking inked a multi million dollar deal with a big publishing house for 4 books.  Why? She was raking in the money as an indie.  Well, because the terms were better for her.

All of 'em say they'll continue to self-publish as well and Courtney says she may publish with a big house or publisher again. And you know what? Joe and Barry say their deal will help promote and publicize all their books - and that's very true for them and for Amanda and Courtney.

The blogosphere has been buzzing.  Lots of indies are portraying all of 'em as traitors. I've been a big time fan of indies, but you know what?  I cheer for Courtney, Joe, Barry and Amanda.  Because I see this as meaning that finally - at long last- authors are holding the power.  The deal they'll make is the one that is best for them. It may be a big publishing company, the Rebel new powerhouse (Amazon) or going it solo.  Whatever it is, it's long past time that the people producing the work have the power to control how they'll make money with it.

I know that despite all my cheering for indies, I'd look at an offer from Amazon or a big publisher. What I did would be decided by what's best for me and my family.  Despite all the rampant shouting, I think any writer would make the choice the same way - which is just what Joe, Barry, Courtney  and Amanda did.  Which is as it should be.

So the newest wrinkle in the indie revolution is that POWER HAS SHIFTED.  Writers now have "hand."  Joe and Barry's piece phrased this best: "If you're selling eggs, don't piss off your chickens."  

Publishers have long sold the eggs without respecting the chickens.  Now the tide has turned and that's the best possible result of the indie revolution.

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Romance Novels Can Be as Addictive As Pornography?

The piece cites that romance sells more than inspirational/self help, notes that women prefer romantic stories to porn and points out that some women who read romance leave their hubbys - so it's an addiction.

Absurd.  Completely nuts. And that's the Duck Lady sayin' that!

If you're addicted to romance - DON'T TREAT IT, FEED IT - BUY MORE BOOKS & MAKE SURE A LOT OF 'EM ARE OURS!!

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This post is just a quickie.  AOFM may post a better one later today - or maybe not. It's a holiday weekend at Casa de Graham too. 

It's finally happened. E-readers are starting to be priced within even the greatly reduced budgets most of us have today! Buy.com is selling the Aluratek Libra eBook Reader Pro for only $49.99 after a $20.00 rebate. 

I don't own this one but it looks like a great deal.  The E-Reader handles Epub - which is the industry standard in most places. You can buy Epub books at B&N, Sony, KOBO, Smashwords, eHarlequin, Google, All Romance Ebooks and just about everywhere else.  But the unique aspect of this device is that it will handle non-drm mobi files.  Mobi is the Kindle language peeps.  That means that you can also buy from Amazon - but only the ebooks without drm.  A bunch of 'em at Amazon have drm, but not all - so this reader gives access to some of the vast Kindle ebooks. 

It comes pre-loaded with 100 free ebooks and has the epaper technology and supports BMP, JPG, and GIF.

Check it out. If your budget hasn't allowed an E-Reader purchase before, this one might be one of the best bargains around for what you get - universal Epub access and even some limited Kindle availability.  That's big peeps.

Sounds like a lot of value for a mighty affordable price.  This deal may not last so if you're interested, you better put your boogle in high gear and race over to the link to pick one up!!

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This Grey's Finale, "Unaccompanied Minor" had a big ole' meaning that none of the fans were aware of until a day after the episode ended. When Shonda Sunshine revealed the secret, many of the fans were still in shock - a little like those relatives of the plane crash victims. While fans still reeled from the emotional trauma, Sunshine dropped the big one. This epi was written to begin the end for the original cast. Most of the Grey's originals' contracts have only 1 season to go. Some of them, like Ellen Pompeo - Meredith - have indicated that they don't plan to renew.

Sunshine says that's why this epi set next season's focus to be on the original cast members.  This is how the end begins for Grey's Greatest. If imagining Shonda's version of riding off into the sunset doesn't get your creative juices flowing then call the coroner -- you're most likely dead.

So, lets dust off the swami turban and recall where this epi left everyone and imagine how Sunshine may be setting up their exits. Before we begin individual prognostications, it's important to check out the writer's blog, Grey Matter, done by Debora Cahn, who did an ab fab job of writing this tearjerking episode. Debora says that the heartache flu that swept Seattle Grace's favorite couples was caused by something fans have adored about Cristina and Meredith from day one: their independence. If the cause is who they are, then is there a cure? Perhaps Sunshine envisions Mer and Cristina growing into old crusty ladies who can never give enough to a partner to stay in a relationship.

Are Mer and Cristina destined to spend forever alone together, growing ever older and crustier?

...continue reading "This Is How The End Begins For Grey’s Greatest"

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Boogle on over to the Marianne's Blog - All Day, All Night ... Romance Divas. 'Tis my day to blog. You know the song that says You Give Love A Bad Name? Well, I'm blogging about a book that I gave a bad name.

Check out the post and HOLLA back with suggestions for a new title!!

http://alldayallnightromancedivas.blogspot.com/2011/05/title-trouble-rescuing-good-book-with.html

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Published on 2 Comments on Idol Thoughts – Why Can’t The Best Win?

Chris Daughtry. Adam Lambert. Now, James Durbin.

In a lot of folks' opinion, mine included, each was the best of the best of their season. None of them won and only Lambert made it to the finale. Why can't the best performers win American Idol?

The best of the best - those who are great, rather than merely good - well, they tend to be different. The greatest don't grow in the middle of the road. Their lives, their views, and their beliefs don't mirror Middle America. Like their personalities, their staging and performances tend to be over the top.

Since that's how I describe my writing style, I can relate to their over the top styles, even if I only wish I could relate to the performer's overall "greatness." But the bottom line is that the middle of the road is where most of America can be found.

And those folks in the middle - they want an Idol who is like them. So, invariably, that's what they get. The winner of American Idol will be a good singer, a good performer - but not a great one.

At least this year, I was hedging my bets. I voted for James each week, but I also voted for Scotty who is from "right down the road" in Garner, North Carolina. I think that Scotty has a good chance to win Idol, if the curse of my support doesn't ruin his chances. If he wins, I'll be very happy for Scotty and his family. And I'd think he deserved to win - out of the crop that was left.

But the finale won't be the same without the best competing against each other. A James Durbin/Scotty McCreery finale would have been a battle of the best. I think Scotty will be diminished by not having the chance to go against James in the finale.

There's always next year. Is it possible that America will ever recall that if the best of the best didn't win we wouldn't have electricity, the telephone, or penicillin?

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As promised, this is a short note to advise that I've just published Part 3 of Duke, the final part - to Amazon. It should be available very soon.

I'll now take the full book and do an edit. It will be published to Amazon sometime fairly soon - within the next 4-7 days, most likely. The full may include some edits based on reader comments - so don't miss it.

I'll let you know when the full book is published. But Part 3 will be up as soon as Amazon's KDP wizards work their magic.

Let me know what you think of the ending!

Published on

This is a quick update for the fairly large number of folks waiting for the last part of The Duke Of Eden which I've been serializing on Amazon. Last night, about 10 pm, I finally typed those precious words - THE END.

Today I'll be editing Part 3. When it's done, it'll go to Hubby The Magnificent who will wave digital chicken bones over it to get it formatted. Then we'll post Part 3 - exclusively to Amazon - and we'll update the blog to let fans know it's on the way.

After that, I'll go back to do a full edit of the entire manuscript. It'll take longer, but when it's done, we'll publish it on Amazon. Then Hubby The Magnificent gets out his heavy-duty digital Voodoo equipment to format it for Smashwords. The meatgrinder there is tough, boys and girls. After we have it formatted and it's ground into their system, it'll be available at SW and distributed to B&N, Apple, Sony and Kobo.

But good news - in the very immediate future - sometime between tomorrow and Wednesday (Good Faith Estimate) - fans will be able to pick up the last part, Part 3, of The Duke of Eden. It could go up and be available as early as late tonight, but that would be a bit of a stretch since we don't have the Professional Voodoo package to work with and yours truly is a slow editor!!!

But Part 3 of The Duke Of Eden will be appearing on Amazon VERY, VERY SOON.

Keep your eyes on this blog because when we hit publish, we'll let you know right here.