Nat the Builder!

Can she fix it???
=> YES SHE CAN!!!
Apologies to Bob the Builder - at our second birthday party of the day on Sunday, a wee friend gave us a CD of some of his all time faves and included was the Bob the Builder theme song - the dance mix in fact ;) Awesome!
So appropriate becuase I am in the midst of revisions on book three.
There weren't nearly as many as I'd expected - phew! But to be honest I LOVE revisions - love them. My ed sees so much more than me (I think I get too close to it). I'd felt like I'd gone into a deep dark ditch - ok, the abyss. She assures me I haven't and has handed me a torch to find my way out (of the small to medium sized tunnel).
So expect pretty much nothing from me for a few days while I get to fixing.
Fingers crossed I can nail it!
:)

Party Time!!!!

OK so the whole work thing went by the wayside anyway becuase tomorrow is the boy's 3rd birthday... cue crepe paper decorations and battles with water bombs...
The pinata is drying and is stuffed with things we never normally let the kids have... but hey, its a party and if you can't then when can you?!
You know, I have these 'great' arty-crafty ideas but must confess when it comes to implementation, MAN I am crap! I blame my left-handedness. I am seriously cack-handed. Can't sew, can't knit, can barely cut paper in a straight line...
ah well, he's three. It doesn't matter!
Even funnier is watching hubby try to fill the kazillion water bombs... I think we're getting old...

Inspiration Point...

Look at this wonderful award winning photograph of Richie McCaw (All Blacks Captain and hero inspiration - see my first ever blogpost). This pic was taken by Peter Meecham of The Press (- see more here).
So here's Richie outside his hotel in Paris. And there are some lovely Parisienne women waiting for him - look at their smiles - can't say I blame them.

Anyway, Rhys' physique might possibly be based on Richie's. Good eh? I'm about to reveal that physique to my heroine. Lucky gal.

Meanwhile, these last few weeks my usual writing regime has taken a battering. Generally I write in the evenings once the children are in bed. BUT I confess I've been very tired recently and struggling to focus... cue lots of time wasted surfing etc.

Now apparently the best hours of sleep are those banked before midnight. So I need to get to bed earlier. So now I'm attempting to get up earlier and do the majority of my daily target in the a.m. Tricky because then I have a very long day ahead of me with the kids (hubby has always done the ultra-early breakfast run for me so I can snoozle in after the inevitable nocturnal interruptions). But I know I am more productive first thing so even if it is for less time I can (hopefully) get as much done. Then maybe I can do a little more before bed but get to bed a little earlier.

So anyway, we'll trial it and see what happens.

For those of you who fit writing around a fulltime job (be it kids or outside the home or both) when do you fit the words in? When is the time you find your concentration is at it's premium???

Any thoughts/suggestions welcomed!!!

In essence...

Marcy notes:

From the author response it appears that this is one of those topics that everyone likes discussing...

- yeah. I think that's it... and like writing about :)

Donna your new hero sounds wonderful - gentle in big, strong Mr Gorgeous is irresistible.

Righto - off to research something new and interesting (I think)... more on that later!

And here's Heidi!

... another 'newer' MX author like me and infact we're going to be shelf buddies in the UK in November so be sure to grab both 'The Mile High Club' (Heidi's latest) and 'Bedded by Arrangement'...

In a nutshell, sex in MX is like sex in any other romance novel -- it's just another aspect of the characters emotional journey. However hot or not your sex scenes are (and that would depend on your voice, your characters, etc) it has to be relevant. Of course MX are looking for uber-sexy romances and I doubt if you'd get away with 'closing the bedroom door' so to speak. But 'sexy' to my mind is all about sexual tension and heat between the characters not mechanics. I've just finished reading Julie Cohen's All Work and No Play and that is one sexy, sexy book. If you want to know how to put enough heat on the page to burn it to a crisp while staying true to your characters that book's a great place to start. (And thanks a bunch Julie, now I'm going to have to overcome a long-standing prejudice and buy a copy of The Sun this Saturday for my free copy of Spirit Willing!)
The only other thing I'd say is have fun writing your sex scenes. I love writing them (and not just for the vicarious thrills). When your characters are making love they're at their most emotionally raw, their most exposed (both emotionally and physically). Think of all the great character development, conflict, tension, revelations etc you can build into those scenes and let rip I say.

All of this talk just makes me want to get my hands on the latest books by all these fab, fab, fab authors - don't you agree?!

Here's what Nicola says..

Thanks to Nicola Marsh - fresh home from hospital with her new baby boy. She's author for both Romance and Mod X...
My take on sex in MXs? For me, writing these books isn't about the sex, it's about the fun, flirty relationship between the characters. It's about a modern woman, an irrisistible guy and the sparks they generate. The sex just seems to be a natural extension of their relationship.It isn't about the quantity, it's all about the quality and the characters know what they want and aren't afraid to go out there and grab it with both hands-so to speak! And I love the fact that every MX I've read and written are so different in their approach to "the deed" :)
- I think Nicola hits a really important point - although we're all in the one 'line' and there is a common 'vibe' we're all 'different in approach' - I guess that's the best advice. You have to write in your voice and in the way that's right for you.
I *think* the Eds buy voice over story - story can be fixed, voice is unique.
Write it how you want to write it.

But wait! There's more!

So now we have Julie with us - one of the most prolific MX authors to date (and btw, if you live in the UK buy a copy of The Sun this saturday and get your voucher to get a FREE copy of one of her books - awesome!). And she says this:

I totally agree with you, Nat, with what you said in your first post about this topic--it depends, and it's character-led. In fact you said it so well I'll be referring people to your answer if I'm asked the same question.
I've had six MXs published so far and every one of them has a different amount of sex in it, and in a different place in the book. Two of them have sex in the first few chapters, and that sex creates huge problems. Another puts off the sex until the last quarter of the book. It's all about the characters and what's right for them.
I agree with what Jude said about it being about voice and character and "feel" rather than mechanics or percentage.I wrote a post about this recently on an erotica-writers' blog, and I think it was quite interesting to read what erotica writers had to say.
http://lustbites.blogspot.com/2007/03/sexier-than-you-think.html

Thanks Julie! And we love links to other interesting places...

Even more...

So now the illustrious Kelly Hunter joins us (yay Kelly!) and says this...
(I don't know if quoting from the comments is the done thing blog-wise but TOUGH - it means you don't have to open another window and I am lazy and besides, what she says is important!):
What really makes a sex scene sing for me is when I have an emotional connection with the characters the author has built. Where are they emotionally before they move into the scene? How do they react coming out of it...? Don't forget that it's just as important for the characters (and the reader) to experience the aftermath of a sex scene as it is for them to experience the sex scene itself. Who's in denial? Who knows they've met 'the one'? Who retreats? Who wants more? Who tries to control it? And how does this change the story? A sex scene is a turning point. A writing tool if you like. Position it for maximum impact. As for the sex scene itself, I'm a firm believer that it's the author's job to sucker me, the reader, into that scene boots n all, right from the go get. I don't care how you engage me; with humour or with snark, naughtiness or a fun premise, sensuality or sadness, just give me something to connect to on an emotional level. Because if you don't I'm going to skip that scene and pick up the story again after it's all over. Tab A into slot B stuff doesn't interest me. Emotions do.
Perfect. And she's so right re the immediate aftermath - that's just as important as the actual bit if not more so. And it can be so hard to get right (thinking of WIP as I write) - especially if the sex scene is early on. Lemme tellya, the immediate aftermath in Wife for a Week is a horrible wee misunderstanding of intention that leaves both characters feeling pretty ratshit - its good stuff!
And yep, the emotional drive is the key. Again I think this comes back to characters - if you're just describing what hand goes where you could be talking about any old Joe - it needs to be real for those individuals - they'll act or speak or think and feel in their unique way. If the reader is connected to them, then they can go with it. Otherwise it can get boring.
Ultimately the degree to which you describe is up to you.
Enough for now.
Meanwhile, my call story is up at the Pink Heart Society - come say hi!
http://pinkheartsociety.blogspot.com/

More on the sex thing...

So Jude added:
...for what it's worth my take is that it's not necessarily the 'quantity/type' of sex featured in a ModX (though those points that Nat makes are certainly valid and useful) it's the sexy/sassy/young tone and vibe. In essence it's character over the physical act - i.e. today's Mod X readers want to read about the woman they aspire to be so let that be your guide. Kelly Hunter's debut wasn't sex filled and the heroine was a virgin but what developed was 'totally aspirational sensuality' for today's young woman. I know I've read Mod Xs across the gamut of 'degrees of sex' so I don't think there's a barometer on it. It's about attitude and convincing, real characters. I.e. the kind of thing we want in a good book anyway, it just so happens that these books have a particularly young fresh voice - but never fluffy or whimsical. I would tend to say - go with what you're comfortable with and focus on your characters/storyline/voice being the essential 'traits' of a Mod X.

And quite right she is too - esp re the comfort factor there isn't a barometer - you have to write what you feel comfortable with and some MXs are more explicit than others. And if you try to write something you're really not comfortable with it will come across and won't work. Ultimately it does depend on your characters and the situation you've put them in as to the when/where and how. But it is inevitable.
Thanks for bringing up Kelly's book - because this is one of my all time favourites and Marcy keep an eye out because I believe its coming to the US soon and hopefully that means Canada too. Anyway, I would say that book is a very sexy read - take the beginning plot points - the heroine meets the hero in the first scene - they also kiss in the first scene (twice in fact!) - the sparks are flying from word go and are shown to fly even more in the next couple of scenes - when they're on the airplane she positively torments him! He really struggles to keep his hands off her and vice versa! I don't want to give too much away because you really SHOULD read it Marcy - but they do 'get it on' pretty early in the piece and in fact it is the heroine who drives this - so even though she's a virgin she isn't a shrinking violet and she refuses to miss out on a piece of the hero. It is very sensual and also very funny. I guess yes, not that explicit but I mean, hey there's a discussion of SIZE in there - its not that prim either! ;)
I guess it shows that you don't have to write all the ins and outs but you do still need to have sensual, confident characters. I know for a fact the eds don't want Miss Goody-Two shoes heroines. They want heroines with a bit of gumption who'll go for what they want - whether they should or not...
You can read an excerpt from Wife for a Week on Kelly's website here : http://www.kellyhunter.net/books.html

The SEX question...

So Marcy asked this...
How much ..umm..s-e-x do you have in your mss? ...I need to add in some sex, but not sure how much. I'd love to hear how much you use.
And Rachel said this...
I finished All night With The boss yesterday. WHOO HOO - loved it! Rory is just my kind of hero,impossible not to fall in love with. And Marcy, get hold of a copy, the S-E-X was very good! No spoilers but I've read quite a few Moderns and this book went one step further on that front than I had encountered before.
Which tickled me pink and totally made my day and Kat said this
Is there a certain number of sex scenes per book that you need to include? Was thinking thats probably hardest bit to write- all those diff synonyms and adjectives and verbs you have to come up with. Ha ha!!! Anyway loved it loved it
Which just made me giggle.
So I’ve spent the day in bed trying to rid myself of this hideous cold (lurgy = bug, Marcy – in this case a common cold). I have that horrible blocked sinus thing and bad head with it. But ENOUGH. I’m not allowed to get sick. Hubby worked from home today but must return to office tomorrow and so I need to be back on deck… blah, blah.
Let’s get to it! ‘Cos to be honest I’ve been thinking over this and laughing away in bed most of the day… such fun.
So how much sex does there need to be in a Modern Extra/Sexy Sensation?

Let me begin by warning you I am NO EXPERT - about the sex in books that is, in real life I have four kids… ok, not going there ;)
So, I’ve sold two books to them and have more in the works – but these are not definite sales at ALL. And these are my first ever books and I am completely green when it comes to it. So this is just my personal take and not to be taken as anything remotely authoritative.
In short, my answer is (and you’re gonna hate me for this)…. It depends!
LOL.
OK. Seriously – there is no ‘set number’ of love scenes required, it doesn’t have to happen by page whatever, there really is no rule.
BUT having said that let’s remember the focus of the line. The hero and heroine are invariably (mine anyway) in their twenties. They are confident. She is the hottest thing he’s ever seen and he’s the hottest thing she’s ever seen. No way is she going to pass up a night with him – even if she knows she really, really, shouldn’t get it on with him, she’s going to - because he’s too fine not to. We’re promising the reader a sexy read – our hero is younger but still alpha – he knows what he’s about – and she’s gonna have some of that thank you very much and we’ll sneak along for the ride. Ultimately (and maybe sooner rather than later) they can’t keep their hands off each other.

‘Adding in some sex’ is not possible. If your characters have sex it will utterly alter your manuscript – it can’t not – because sex always, always complicates things. It totally changes the relationship between those characters – even if they refuse to see that for a while. The change, often, is for the worse - even if they keep having sex (which mine tend to).
I think this is the hardest thing with MX – you have this gorgeous couple of characters, who fancy the pants off each other from the word go, and yet there has to be some really good reason why they can’t be happy ever after for a whole book – character driven conflict is the key and it needs to be sustainable. The other thing that is hard is maintaining the sexual tension once they’ve actually done it. Even if s/he decides not to go there again, s/he can’t not because the temptation is way too strong.
Again I think the answer comes back to the characters themselves and the core conflict that ultimately drives them apart – leaving them seemingly without hope of reconciliation. Even though they have great sex.
I can’t just write a sex scene – I have to know my characters very well before I have them get naked – even if they get naked in chapter one, I still know them well. Let’s face it – it is the most intimate thing you can do. And it reveals a lot about the person. What do they say? How do they say it? What do they do? Are their eyes open or shut? Is it all over in two minutes, do they take the time to ensure their partner is ‘cared for’? Writing about their love-making is a fabulous way of revealing more about your characters to your reader – and to the other character – things that the other one doesn’t really want to reveal. We’re at our most vulnerable in that moment. So even if they’re regarding it as ‘just a fling’ or ‘just a one night stand’ its not going to work out like that for them because that person is special, and sex is special. (See, I’m a romantic!). Of course, it tends to be the woman who realises this first – men seem to be able to bury their heads in the sand for longer. But ultimately they get it – the kind of intimacy and comfort (and ok thrill) they find with that one woman, is unique and irreplaceable and as precious as life itself.
This will no doubt disappoint my mother but I can’t imagine writing a romance and not describing a love scene explicitly because it tells us so much about characters and how they relate to each other and also let’s be honest – sex is pretty fundamental to a boy/girl relationship – no getting away from that!
Regarding describing the actual act – I think it can pretty much be as detailed as you like – barring a few choice words that really aren’t romantic. We still want the romance and the fantasy element. Raunchy but not kinky. Ultimately loving.
I also like playful and fun – this is important for me because I think fun and laughter is essential in a long term relationship and we want readers to really believe that this couple are going to have fun and be together forever and if they can’t have a laugh in the bedroom well there isn’t much hope I say! But again its not all hi-jinks and frolics – you can use a love-scene nicely to show the increasing intensity and seriousness of feeling one character is developing for another – and the fact s/he's feeling uncomfortable with that deepening feeling. It’s all about balance.
Bear in mind Modern Extra is not a long book (the required word count is now 50-55k) and you can’t really have nothing but love scenes from start to finish – some plot required! But I do think the sexual tension between the two needs to be obvious from the minute they meet (pretty much page one) and be on the boil fairly smartly. Then you can have lots of fun with the fall out.
Sigh. I don’t suppose that has helped at all has it? So nuts and bolts? In All Night with the Boss, Rory and Lissa have several quite raunchy encounters from word go before finally consummating their passion about halfway through the book. Then they have one very full on weekend – with some fun teasing… then a bit of a split before some pretty intense angry/make-up sex… then things get really complicated…
I think the progression for MX characters is they go from ‘having sex’ to ‘making love’… even if that’s the last thing they wanted to happen, because with this person, there is no other way.
And for me, I just have to, HAVE TO have happy ever after sex. I hate endings that aren't fully explored.
Righto – thus inspired I’m off to help Rhys get his kit off!
;)

You know, if you’re nice to me, I might give you a racy excerpt from book two… Bedded by Arrangement.
Want that? Do ya??!!

Marcy...

asked asked a really fun question! And I'm really looking forward to replying but I'm afraid its going to have to be tomorrow... I've come down with the lurgy... I don't usually get the lurgies but this is a bad one and I'm heading straight to bed same time as the kids and not doing a thing I'm supposed to...
anything to feel better...
check back tomorrow Marcy (Tues) and I promise an answer...

Yet another busy week...

Don't expect anything deep and meaningful from me at present (like you do at the best of times...) - going through one of those even-busier-than-usual phases. Actually, its not that much worse than usual its just that with the colds and a certain little miss teething there is not a lot of sleep to be had for me - I am ok if I get a 4-6 hour stretch in a row but when you're seeing every hour on the clock through the night - well then things get a little bit tricky.
I find it very difficult when I can't achieve all I'd like to achieve in a day - from parenting, to housekeeping to writing. There is always so much more I want to be able to do and do it better but I find I just can't because time is short or frankly, I am too damn tired.
Baby boy turns three one week today and so I am busy paper machie-ing (I know that's not spelt right - sorry) a pinata for him and making the take-home pressies for the friends coming to play. Talk about making a rod for my own back but I can't help it - I love the party thing and I'm not a fan of plastic tat from the two dollar store so I'm making my own tat... We're having a 'yellow' party - because all his life he's said his favourite colour is yellow and he wanted a yellow cake with yellow candles and yellow food - been saying this for the last six months. Until two days ago when he declared yellow was no longer his favouite colour....
Now his favourite is........ PINK.
Too damn late I say!!!! Having already purchased yellow paper plates, serviettes, and enough crepe paper to decorate a small town!!!

Ah well. Hubby is doing the reverse psychology thing which he is actually marvellous at so fingers crossed all will be well. So what with paper and paste and parties and stuffy noses my word count for Rhys is crawling up. I have reduced my daily target so I don't swamp and depress myself with unrealistic goals.
On the plus side I just did the 'cook for a day eat for a week' thing and now the freezer is loaded with casseroles and currys and baby food...

I have not been slack...

.... I've been busy doing behind the scenes stuff... line edits for book two mainly and a couple other wee pieces.... we have student nanny at the moment and she taught me and the kids how to make sushi today (she did 2 years cheffing training before nanny school - GREAT COMBO eh!). Yum.
5/6 members of our house have colds (guess who's the odd one running round doing all the nose wiping?!) and its chaos, chaos, chaos as ever.
So there you have it. I am officially boring.

Movie Madness...

... in the end I went to bed at 7:50pm. So knackered.
But I did watch some of Bond tonight - was in the room next door writing the gist of the racy scene and kept nipping in to watch when the music got exciting... We have moved computer number 2 from our bedroom to the 'front room' downstairs - this is good cos it means hubby can watch DVDs while I work on the computer next door. (We don't have a telly and so watch movies on the computer or listen to BBC radio over the web cos we are really a couple of complete geeks). ANYWAY the really good thing is computer number 2 is IS NOT CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET.
No more procrastinating!!!

p.s. my word count is going up (slowly) but I can't get into the wordometer site to adjust my wee worm...

Mother's Day...

... means it's MY turn to choose the movie!!!! I've decided to have the night off and left hubby and nanny bathing the kids while I nipped to the DVD store to choose... something suitably chicky (so I could pretend its research) but something that hubby will be able to sit through at the same time (none of those dance movies then).
Of course I got waylaid by the 4 DVDs for $14 deal...
4 movies means it mght have to be the whole weekend off... then again this really racy scene keeps playing in my mind and I might have to write it while it's fresh... my new hero has a nawty streak.
Meanwhile, I went with Bond.

My first review....

...is up at Cataromance. The very kind Julie says this:

All Night with the Boss is a fast-paced sizzler that is fresh, fun, feel-good and impossible to put down! In All Night with the Boss, readers are in for a treat as Natalie Anderson blends red-hot passion with electrifying sexual tension and intense emotional drama.
and
If you like your romances stylish, sexy and funny, run to the bookstore and buy Natalie Anderson’s wonderful debut novel. You won’t regret it!

You can read the whole thing here!

Stepping up to the plate...

I'm about to start word gathering again and must admit I'm REALLY looking forward to getting stuck in. These characters have been loitering around a while - pretty patiently - and now their day has come.
YIPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

TGI Friday....

I have to admit I am so OVER the week by the time Friday comes around.... its Fish & Chip night in our house - because, much as I do enjoy it most of the time who wants to cook come Friday?? Read any guide to raising twins book and they'll tell you to do takeaways at least one night a week - one night where no one has to cook and there's minimal mess.
On the way to get the F&Cs I called into the pharmacy across the road and jumped on the scales. What a damn stupid thing to do!!! Still, I am keen to get rid of twin tummy and now is the time. Twin skin will be with me forever sadly, but that (not so) little extra layer has its days numbered...
Guess who didn't have fish & chips???
OK, I know, I'm vegetarian and never have the fish anyway... but I didn't have the chips OR the sugar cinnamon donut I usually do...

Celebrations!!!!

Yay! Nothing like fun things to get the old ball rolling again....
I'm delighted to announce that the May Debs comp was won by:

JONNA SMITH of Kentucky, USA!!!

Runner Up prize goes to:

SHEINA ALINSUG of the Phillipines!!!

Your prizes will be headed your way shortly. Thank you to everyone who entered - it was fun and do'nt forget to keeping dropping by because more comps and giveaways are looming...

Meanwhile, life has gotten busy again as I've been doing some reading for my fab CP - Judie Jarvie - stop by her website or go to Moonlit Romance and get your hands on her book TAKING THE LEAP!!!

AND please find attached visual confirmation that ALL NIGHT WITH THE BOSS is on the shelves in the UK!!! Thanks to Pam and Jude for sending me these... groovy eh! (That's Jude flashing the pearly whites!)





AND FINALLY - please note the new word count wormometer! YES. I've been getting aquainted with Rhys - my new hero... ok. So there aren't many words yet, but there is a lot of prep going on behind the scenes... and its fun, fun, fun!