Notes from a Drama Queen

COUNTDOWN

Monday, June 21, 2010


I’ve been in this business a long time. I’ve written all my life, and received my first paycheck for it when I was seven years old (I had connections). I’ve been published as a romance novelist since 1974 (I was very very young) and since then I’ve been writing constantly, books I’ve been fond of, occasionally book I’ve hated, more often books I’ve loved, and on vary rare occasions, books so good they can cure cancer and bring about world peace.

I’m not being facetious about that — if you read a book that’s absolutely perfect for you at the time, just as if you heard a piece of music or saw a painting that transported you — then it fills your body with endorphins, it removes you from illness and pain and starts the healing process. It’s been documented that watching comedies can cure illness. I believe the same is true for books.

But that’s not what I’m writing about. I’m on the countdown for three books (well, three and a little treat) that I’m in love with, and I’m facing the usual mix of hope, fear, a burgeoning sense of triumph and a deeply hidden fear of total disaster.

In a way I’ve triumphed already, because the three books are just so damned good. I got it right this time, at least as far as I’m concerned, and what more can you ask for in this life? It’s a gift to have written three really wonderful books slam bam thank you ma’am, and I should celebrate that.

And I do. But that toxic cocktail of emotions still roils inside me. What more can you ask for in this life? Everything.

I’ll need handholding. I’ll need people to celebrate the triumphs. I’ll need shoulders to cry on if disaster strikes. I’ll need strength to bind my wounds and head into the fray again.

Sometimes I wonder how many more times I can do it. I’ll never stop writing, of course. It’s what I am, who I am. A storyteller. But maybe there comes a time when you can’t bounce back from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Who knows.

I’m a survivor. No, I’m more than that. I triumph. Over and over again circumstances can flatten me, and I always bounced back up, like Wile E. Coyote after he’s been run over by a steam roller. I get so tired of the battle, though. Sometimes I’d just like to say “fuck you” to all those things that are out of my control and yet I care about so deeply.

Not this time, however. This time I’ll gird my loins, straighten my shoulders and march into battle with a steely glint in my eye and a smile on my face. No one’s going to see the doubt and panic bubbling beneath the surface.

But maybe the one thing I can do is focus on the books. Books that I love, characters that I adore. So I’ll tell you a little bit about them, week by week, starting with the prequel, THE WICKED HOUSE OF ROHAN. The three books are the stories of three generations of the Rohans, a very wicked family of English aristocrats. I got the name from an old James Mason movie, The Man in Grey, forgetting entirely about Lisa Kleypas’s delicious gypsy, Cam Rohan, but in a way that’s ok. It’s an unconscious homage to Cam, who’s one of my favorite heroes.

It’s also the story of the fictional Heavenly Host, based loosely on the Hellfire Club, a much-maligned club of jaded aristocrats who had too much time and money. And the prequel, written over a few crazy days in South Lake Tahoe and San Francisco, is the story of the origins of that group, as well as the story of Alistair Rohan and Miss Kathleen Strong. Somehow I managed to a whole love story packed into ten thousand words, and it’s all for free, at Amazon, on eHarlequin, at my website. I’ll have a link available starting July 1st, but trust me, it’s wicked and funny and sexy and hey, it’s free.

So that comes first. A month later the first of the trilogy, but more about that later.

In the meantime, be prepared to hold my hand.

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9 Comments:

Blogger FiveAcres said...

Hand holding commencing....

11:41 AM  
Blogger Carla Swafford said...

How about you leaning on my back?

That way I can hold you up, leaving one hand to work the mouse as I read and the other to cover my mouth to keep from drooling (as I usually do for your heroes).

YEAH! I can't wait.

Hugs.

10:07 PM  
Blogger Mary Stella said...

That cover is outstanding. I love it and will download it to my Kindle as soon as I get home.

Looking forward to the trilogy.

You so rock!

9:20 AM  
Blogger RayRay said...

Anne - I would be pleased to hold your hand. It would have to be from afar of course. Unless you live in AZ.
Your description of your trials and tribulations sounds a lot like mine. And your temptation to just say "Fuck off! I get the same way, but my 4 year-old little girl and my 7 year-old son keep me standing up and fighting the good fight. The past few years have been hell; Divorce, bankruptcy, loss of job. My children, my writing and my reading have been my only insane sanity.
My children's book has been publiseh for about a month now and I only sold one copy - the one I bought. It must really suck!
I put a couple of short stories on Triggerstreet and they got great reviews, but now I'm leary of publishing anything.
Can't wait to see what the future holds.
Good luck Sweetie. Ray

7:34 PM  
Blogger Vi Dao said...

I am a devoted follower. I own all of your books except for the first Maggie Bennett book. (I am sure you know why I voluntarily chose not get it.)

I am so excited about your upcoming books!

11:10 PM  
Blogger Rosa Alexander said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

1:33 AM  
Blogger Rosa Alexander said...

The cover is beautiful!
Looking forward to read this book.
Good luck!

1:36 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I guess you could say I'm new to you and your books but you can diffently say I'm hooked to your writing! I do so hope you don't give up and if ever you do feel like giving up or need to rant, anything at all just blog us, we'll be here for you^_^


So here is my nerd moment (yea what I wrote before is me trying not to be a nerd) You. Totally. Rock.

XOXO,Brittany

8:51 PM  
Blogger JenWy said...

You are the best and don't worry...We'll buy the books and give them as gifts, too. Re: your music post-Check out Florence and the Machine. Very cool and exquisite lyrics. It doesn't hurt that she looks like one of your redheaded heroines.
Never stop writing!

7:08 PM  

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