Well, first let me say that I can’t believe how quickly this week is zipping by! Has the young man arrived yet with your groceries? I sent over some ice cream and chocolate sauce. You know what to do”¦.
I’ll tackle the POV question first.
When I initially started writing in first person POV it was a challenge. As you pointwd out, it makes conveying what other characters are really thinking or feeling tricky at best. I don’t do any head hopping at all. I stay very firmly inside my characters head, viewing the world and making interpretations through his eyes.
I very much enjoy this style of writing. Personally, I find it more intense and more real. In real life, that’s how we perceive and experience things. We don’t have the luxury of popping in and out of other’s heads.
My biggest challenge in writing the Forbidden series? Writing sex scenes from a man’s point of view. I worked very hard on those initial scenes and I was very nervous about them. When my hubby and my friend, Scott Carpenter, gave them their seal of approval I was very pleased.
And, speaking of nerve wracking””Comic-Con. One very wild weekend. 142,000 people. The night before my urban fantasy and paranormal romance panel I had dinner at a local restaurant that I like called Parallel 33. There’s a section of it called The Blue Lotus, which I absolutely adore. It was my inspiration for a scene in Forbidden: The Awakening. Margorie Liu, Carrie Vaughn, Jeanne Stein and I met around six and we stayed there for hours eating, drinking, and visiting. Carrie had a friend in tow (Max) who was wonderful. Jeanne brought two dear friends of hers along as well (Ron and Louis). A great time was had by all. It was relaxed, friendly, and we discovered that we all had a lot in common.
But by the following morning I was so nervous that I kept asking myself why I’d agreed to the appearance. Jeanne and I hung out for a while before the panel, commiserating and reassuring one another that we would live through the afternoon. Jeanne is a delight and so down-to-earth. If you haven’t read her Anna Strong series, you’re missing out.
We spoke to a standing room only audience and the wonderful Mary Elizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy Books moderated the panel. I sat next to Marjorie Liu. Margorie is very bright and articulate, not to mention strikingly beautiful. She’s a hard act to follow. Then there was Carrie, Laura and Laurell”¦they all had a ton of experience speaking to big crowds and they weren’t even a bit nervous. Laurell was especially gracious. It’s so apparent that she loves what she does and appreciates her fans.
After the panel discussion, there was a book signing. We were supposed to sign for an hour. Because time was limited, tickets were given away ahead of time and then a lottery-type drawing was conducted. At the end of the hour, there were still people in line that had “won” the autograph spot, so we ended up staying double the time. The energy during the signing was great. We all had a blast and since the panel was over I was able to relax and spend time chatting.
My Comic-Con high points? Meeting Laurell was definitely one. I’m a fan and hadn’t met her before. I’m now the proud owner of the bound set of her initially released Anita Blake Comics and a very cool 11X15 glossy limited edition Marvel print of John-Claude. Lunch after the signing with Jeanne Stein and my family. Introducing my son to the crowd during the panel (Laurell asked if any of us were moms and what we did with our children when we had to travel for promotion, etc. I said that since it was summer time, my son was here and he got to stand up and wave. Everyone in the audience applauded. I was his hero for three days. He went from thinking that no one knew who I was to thinking I was famous.) Getting in to the Joss Weadon panel. I stood in line for hours and it was worth every second.
Perhaps best of all was that my father surprised the heck out of me by telling me the morning of the panel that he wanted to come. He NEVER comes to these things and he’s never read anything that I’ve written. Right before Comic-Con he had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the bladder and prostate. Getting there and walking through the convention hall took a great deal of effort, but he wanted to do it. He sat through the entire panel discussion and then sat off to the side during the book signing. Dad underwent major surgery last week and I’m now taking care of him at home. Thanks to the skill of his physicians and the wonderful care he received in the hospital, he’s expected to have a full recovery.
P.S. If you pop over to my blog on MySpace you’ll find pics from Comic-Con.
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