The Author as Therapist

I just turned in HOME FOR CHRISTMAS to my editor at SuperRomance and I'm feeling delighted! And nostalgic. I miss these characters and their struggle.

I miss Starlight Desert Mall, which is the setting for the book, the place that Sylvie had turned into a home. I've grown to love it, too, especially the island of plants in the center where my characters, um, got to know each other, um, better.

This is my first SuperRomance and I so want it to be fabulous!

It took me the longest time to wrangle Chase and Sylvie into shape. Actually, what I was wrangling was my own understanding of them--what they really wanted, why they'd hidden their true desires from themselves for so long.

It's hard to write about people who are different than you are. I'm pretty much out there with my feelings, but these two played their cards close to their vests and it took some time to convince them to spill to me, the author of their story.

I hope that doesn't sound too woo-woo. Sometimes being an author feels a lot like being a therapist, only you choose your "patients," they don't choose you. (Or maybe they do...now that's woo-woo.)

Anyhoo, you invite the characters onto your couch and ask them questions about their past, their parents, their goals and dreams, help them discover self-defeating behaviors and overcome them.

But, better than therapy, where the psychologist sends the client off with insights and tools to work it out for themselves, as an author I'm charged with doing the fixing. It's an honor and a responsibility. I hope I did Chase and Sylvie justice.

I hope you agree when you read the book, coming next November.

Best,

Dawn

The Thrill and Horror of Being in the Newspaper

When Karina Bland, a reporter at our daily paper, called me for an interview about how romance book sales are up in a down economy, I was thrilled...and horrified.

Thrilled because it's an honor to be quoted or written about and the chance to advance the cause of reading romance is important to me.

Horrified because I'm going to be quoted and written about in the NEWSPAPER!!

Where people will READ my WORDS and FORM OPINIONS about me. That can't possibly be good, can it?

See, I am an introvert with extrovert tendencies, which is agony, believe me. I love talking and meeting people and saying outrageous things and making people laugh and gasp, but then I'm mortified afterward.

Why did I say that? What was I thinking? I looked like an idiot or a fool or whatever. Weird, huh?

How do you feel about public speaking, cocktail party chatter, karaoke, and, oh, getting hypnotized to squawk like a chicken?

If you're curious how the story came out, here it is in her online column, where it was reprinted from the Sunday Arizona Republic: http://tinyurl.com/ya2ehvl. The cover of the book she mentions is here. It's still available online, by the way. The book offers a last hit of summer when the fall is upon us!

Best,

Dawn, who is now working on a Christmas book...jingle, jingle...

Love the Book You're With

I recently sent the book I've been working on to my beta readers for their feedback.

The book's working title is A HOME FOR CHRISTMAS and it's my first SuperRomance. It's set in a small, family-owned mall and it brings up all the joys and agonies of the holiday season--the traditions, the traumas, the surprises and disappointments, the lost loves reunited.

I loved that story as I wrote it. It was like a member of my family. And now I would be handing it over to strangers. (Well, not strangers, wise readers, but you know what I mean)

They'll look over my book with care, noting the good features, the broad shoulders, the kind eyes, the sensible attitudes, and they'll seek out his flaws and weaknesses--his muddy motivation, his unresolved conflict, his clunky dialogue. That is the point, after all.

The idea is painful to me as I stand in the post office with the red-white-and-blue Priority envelopes holding the pages still warm from the printer. What if they don't like it? I'll just die.

Luckily, time passes, during which my readers read and guess what I do?

I go to work on another book! Forgetting entirely about the story I loved so much. And guess what, I adore this one, too. Each morning I can't wait to take the characters a few pages farther on their life-changing journey.

That will all change next week when, armed with the critiques from my readers, I must set aside the shiny new book and fix up the book I so lovingly mailed away. Time to fix those flaws, spiff up those scenes, sharpen that dialogue, go for those missed moments.

Luckily, I'll fall right back in love again (cheating on the new book, of course), eager to spiff up my tattered beloved, smooth all the rough edges and soothe all the boo-boos before sending it to my editor for a last loving chance to make it better.

Then back to the new guy with, I hope, renewed love. And the entire process starts over.

It's a rollercoaster ride, all right, but then I've always loved a wild ride....

Here's hoping readers enjoy the results.

All my Best,

Dawn

The Sunshine Effect

First, news: If you entered my new-reader contest, watch your emailbox as I'll be sending out prizes soon. (I'll do this again, so check back.)

Onto my topic.... Here in Arizona, we're having the monsoons. These aren't the tropical horrors that make CNN. They're mostly friendly bursts of wind, rain, thunder and lightning. Just enough to be thrilling.

They can be awful, of course, with deadly dust storms and horrific flooding, power outages and downed trees, but on this early morning, I enjoyed coffee, an engrossing book and the brilliant colors of a rainbow against gray clouds, sunlight turning the mountain a painted gold. It was gorgeous and the smell of creosote and ozone are intoxicating to me.

Of course, I live in a place that has more days of sun per year than any other major city. Here, rain and clouds are an exotic delight.

I love Seattle and Vancouver and often wonder if I could take so many gray days and as much cold as they offer. I'm not sure.

In the meantime, I read an article about research on the effect of weather on attitudes and behavior.

Sunshine makes us nicer, according to research. On sunny days, people answer more survey questions and tip more generously.

Cloudy days make us drink more alconol, coffee, tobacco and cholcate to elevate our mood.

Consider college admittance. Applicants who are more academic get admitted more often on cloudy days. Social butterflies get ushered in on sunny days.

Sunshine boosts the stock market. Cloudy days make more people buy lottery tickets.

Here's something grim: Suicides go up in warmer months as depressed folks see what they're missing and have the sun-generated energy to take action. Yikes!

Do you buy any of that? How do the seasons, sun, rain or snow affect your moods and behavior? How do you compensate for bad weather?

Sun or rain, I hope you have lots of time to read.
Best,
Dawn Atkins
www.dawnatkins.com

Giving Books to Celebrate

I'm giving away books to celebrate! I've just confirmed that my next book, A Home For Christmas, centered on holiday time at a shopping mall, will be out November 2010.

That sounds really far away until you consider I'm just now writing the story, wrangling Chase McCann and Sylvie Stark into shape to make a life together.

Believe me, that's not easy, considering how these two feel about relationships--maybe later, maybe never. Not to mention their different attitudes about saving Starlight Desert Mall.

They'll get there, don't worry. (That's my job!)

Celebrating this news, I'm extending my contest to gain readers. (Click "contest" at dawnatkins.com for details and to enter. It's easy!)

I've had plenty of entries so far and enjoy the kind words about my stories. I'm feeling generous during this long, hot summer, so drop me a line about a book of mine you loved and win a second you'd like to try.

Best,

Dawn Atkins

Dawn's Blog on Working Through Troubles

Welcome to Dawn's Blog, newly added to my website, so pop over any time and you'll get my latest meanderings right here. Cool, huh?


I've been struggling with my writing lately, distracted, troubled by personal and family worries.

I seem to believe that if I work hard and take care of business, I'll arrive at some magical smooth spot in life and stay there. For good.

Nothing is constant but change, as they say, so it's clear that I will never be able to sit down for a day's writing with a clear head. EVER.

I'll be juggling concerns about my father's cancer, my sister's struggle with arthritis, my son's new journey to college this fall, what the heck is making my cat sneeze crazily, and on and on. Ad infinitum, to go all Latin on you.

That's not even counting my doubts about my writing--have I lost my touch, will I make this deadline, have I tapped out on story ideas?

So, the Zen of all this is to release expectations and go with the flow. Yeah, right. I'm such a go-with-the-flow girl. Not.

I write fiction because I want to control how things come out, darn it, not because I'm easy with the rocky shoals and roller coasters life seems to bring.

So, how do I set aside these worries and fears and gather some writerly calm to get my head in the game every day?

Some of it is habit. Like Pavlov's slobbering dogs, or the old Dalmatian who takes off whenever he hears the fire bell, I sit at the computer and start tapping keys, no matter what else is going on in my head.

Beyond that, I try music, deep breathing, yoga postures, candles, guided visualization or a meditation mp3 I own. Sometimes these techniques work, sometimes they don't.

So, tell me, what do you do to quiet what the Buddhists call "the monkey mind"? I'd love some new approaches to get me through the next few white-knuckled, white-water months.

All my best,
Dawn

Do opposites attract?

Jensen Eccles of Supernatural fame is the actor most like Chase McCann, the hero of my next book.

It's HOME FOR CHRISTMAS.

Now I don't mean the brooding tortured soul part of Jensen, but the easy-going rascal aspects.

My heroine, Sylvie Stark, reminds me of a young Cameron Diaz, with long curly hair, who's wound a bit tight and way too serious about EVERYthing. Sylvie is all career, all the time, absolutely dependable and utterly responsible. Chase, well, not so much. But he knows how to enjoy the moment like nobody else.

As I tell their story, they both have some rubbing-off to do. Uh-oh, now where is your mind? I MEANT their personalities. They have plenty of those sparks going on already.

Sylvie needs to loosen up a little in both work and her personal life and Chase needs to buckle down and commit himself in both work and love.

Oh, and there's a puppy who brings out Chase's sense of home and Sylvie's sense of fun, which works out handily for all three of them.

I've been thinking about compatiblity--hey, it's easier than working through the plot snag in the story I'm struggling with.

My husband and I have differences. I'm kinda Sylvie-ish and he's pretty Chase, but we make it work. In fact, our differences strengthen our relationship.

Is that always the case though? Do you think opposites in personality spice up a relationship or doom it to failure? Does it matter what those differences are? What are the must-haves in couple compatibility?

Oh, and, while we're on the subject of Supernatural, what did you think of the season finale closer??? Don't get me started....

Best,

Dawn Atkins