Newbie authors are always instructed to remember to include scents and sounds into their writing, but of the many seminars and writing classes I’ve attended, I’ve never heard mention of colour. Which, upon review, seems odd. If we are describing the world of our characters, should we not also be splashing it with appropriate colours, as well as the sounds and smells? Oh sure we almost always know the heroine’s hair is the colour of “spun gold” (not that I have ever seen spun gold to be able to compare it to) or the hero’s eyes were “black as night”. (Really?) But what about the rest of the fictional world? What colour is her apartment? Her office? His car? As with everything, the colours surrounding the hero and heroine also add to the romance or mystery.

After researching colour psychology for a design project, it occurred to me the list could easily transition from design to writing. You’ve seen many of these colours used to represent companies and business, but why not the world in our books?

This is a great little chart to show off some of the emotions associated with a few of the major colours. I thought it was worth sharing.

~ Nika

From Dragons, vampires, werewolves and fairies to flying carpets, lost cities and modern-day mysteries, this delightful compendium of over 250 weird and wonderful legends, myths and monsters will entertain and astound anyone enthralled by the unknown.

My plot bunnies are going to devour this whole.

~ Nika

Ruined children's books

Growing up, my small town had a tiny library, which shared space with the Post Office. Once I realized what a treasure I had with all the books and stories, I started at the top of one shelf, and read my way up and down the aisles. To this day it is still how I choose library books. Shelf by shelf. To think of having all those empty shelves, especially the children’s books, is very disheartening.

I showed the pictures to my 7 year old son, and he agreed to go through his book collection (he has quite an extensive one) and pull out a stack of mint-condition children’s books we could send to the kids in Upper Jay. This afternoon I’m sending off close to forty kids books to help repopulate the shelves.

Please check out the information at Kate Messener’s website on how to send a donation, or where to send new children’s picture books, or new/used picture books.

~ Nika

I, of course, being the “Author”, and the person in charge (ha) decided I liked what I had, and declined to make any concessions. They, in turn, refused to get out of the middle of the street where I’d left them standing after a particularly riveting scene.

At least I thought it was riveting.

They seemed to think it was hokey and out of character.

For two days I’ve tried to ignore the fact they are standing in the middle of the road, hoping the silence would change their minds. Unfortunately for me, they were not willing to budge, and I was unable to continue with the story.

So I’ve ceded defeat to the fictional characters living in my head.

After rapidly brain-dumping over 30,000 words into this manuscript by letting them tell the tale, I suppose it’s only fitting to let them continue. After all, they do know themselves best, right?

~ Nika

Self-Published Author Gets Unusual Book Deal

Self-publishing author John Locke has a made an untraditional deal with a traditional publisher.

Simon & Schuster announced Monday that beginning early next year it will distribute physical editions of Locke’s Donovan Creed thrillers, which have sold more than 1 million copies as e-books.

Locke will continue to publish and edit his work, through his own John Locke Books, and the author will maintain full control over the digital versions. His novels include “Lethal People” and “The Love You Crave.”

In a statement issued by Simon & Schuster, Locke called the agreement an “exciting departure from the norm” of giving the same publisher rights to both e-books and traditional books.

as published on ABC.com

Texas sues author over ‘Don’t Mess With Texas’ romance novel

A recently filed lawsuit gives a whole new meaning to the “Don’t mess with Texas” slogan.

The Texas Department of Transportation has filed a request for a restraining order against a group of defendants, including major book stores, over a romance novel titled “Don’t Mess with Texas.”

The book, available in paperback and electronic form, is written by Christie Craig. It costs $5.99 and includes a cover illustration with a shirtless man cradling a woman wearing cowboy boots in his arms.

“The book contains numerous graphic references to sexual acts, states of arousal, etc.,” the lawsuit states.

The trademark infringement lawsuit alleges that the “Don’t mess with Texas” slogan was used without permission or a license. TxDOT is requesting that the book be recalled from distributors, destroyed and retitled, according to the lawsuit.

Craig, the author and one of the defendants, could not be reached for comment.

as published on bizjournals.com

In the upcoming book A Billion Wicked Thoughts, neuroscientists Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam studied thousands of romance novels looking for clues about social expectations.

After analyzing 15,000 Harlequin books, they came up with the most popular professions for heroes in romance novels. The complete list follows below–what do you think?

Follow this link to read an excerpt from the book. They also write about these topics in a Psychology Today blog by the same name.

1. Doctor
2. Cowboy
3. Boss
4. Prince
5. Rancher
6. Knight
7. Surgeon
8. King
9. Bodyguard
10. Sheriff

The only question is, what if the doctor is a surgeon who’s also your boss? Does that count as 1 slot on the list, or 3? ^_^

Now that I have officially backed out my plot bunnies are peaking their heads out from the dark holes where they were hiding. I feel a slow resurection of ideas and a desire to crack open the files on my laptop and slowly make my way back into the wonderful world I’d begun to create.

Luckily my characters don’t seem too overly upset by my absence. Perhaps they even missed me.

So here’s to finding a lost muse and returning home to my misplaced worlds.

- Nika

Highway flares make red the streets,
My fingers spin the dial again
But every station’s on to me
Another song about the rain
~ Cracker

There’s something decidedly depressing about rainy days in Autumn. It’s almost as though the entire world has been placed on pause. Time passes much more slowly when it’s dull and grey, yet despite the faded light and the desire to curl up on the couch with a blanket and the TV remote, rainy days (to me anyway) are the best time to write.

Perhaps it’s because time moves slower under the clouds, or maybe it’s just the lack of desire to be ‘out there’ having fun, but I always seem to have more of a battle against the plot bunnies on overcast and dreary days than I do when the sun is out.

Something tells me this is why I’ve always loved the other seasons much more than summer. It’s Mother Nature’s way of giving me a good reason to stay inside with a cup of hot tea and my laptop.

Now if only the rest of my life would agree.

The daunting task now comes in re-writing 253 pages of manuscript. I’d be worried — except I’m so damn pleased to have finally figured out what the problem is.

Let the writing continue!

Nika