Subtext: Adding Hidden Layers to Your Story

Have a lull in the action? Tired of opening presents? Jump over to Romance University to read my article about subtext. I promise it's not as boring as it sounds.

Winter Wonderland in Chicago

Welcome to Chicago. The land of high humidity, dead grass, plunging temperatures, mounds of snow, and ice. Lots of ice today.

The road crews have done an amazing job keeping up with the inch of ice piled on top of three inches of snow. It's beautiful and treacherous. And my boxer/husky mix is wondering what kind of nasty trick we're playing on him as he does the Bambi dance outside our backdoor.

Take a look at these photos...

You can really tell what direction the wind was coming from.

These river birch are straining against the weight

Beautiful, isn't it?

Have a safe and happy holiday, everyone.

Tracey

Romance University Blog

After months of long-distance brainstorming and ironing out the multitude of details, we're one month away (May 18) from launching our new group blog, Romance University.

Who's the "we," you ask? Fellow writers (aka Faculty Members) Adrienne Giordano, Kelsey Browning, and yours truly, that's who.

We started with a kernal of an idea, which blossomed into an exciting, breath-taking project. RU is dedicated to helping writers establish and advance their careers, introducing readers to a variety of authors, and delving into the ever-inscrutable male mind.

Quite an undertaking, don't you think? Well, we're going to have a wee bit of help from a multitude of authors, agents, editors, and whatever insanely caveman-like guy we can pick up off the street.

Here's the class schedule:

Mondays: Crafting Your Career (Covers the business of writing)

Wednesdays: Anatomy of the Male Mind (Any number of crazy topics can come up)

Fridays: Chaos Theory of Writing (Focuses on the elements of manuscript writing)

Check out our new logo and "alumni" stamp for Visiting Professors (guest bloggers) to put on their web sites, or put in their recycling bin--whichever works best for them. :)

We were fortunate enough to work with the amazing Jeannie Ruesch for an image that reflected romance and learning, but one that wasn't genre-specific (i.e., romantic suspense, romantic comedy, historical). We wanted something with clean, simple lines. I think we succeeded.








Please stop by on May 18. We're working on a great line-up of visiting professors. You won't be disappointed.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Me

Last Saturday, I attended Susan Elizabeth Phillips' (SEP) one and only book signing for her re-release, Glitter Baby, and her new release, What I Did For Love. Her wit and gracious attitude held over 100 fans' rapt attention for almost an hour.

SEP generously introduced her Windy City RWA sisters, and joked with her forum regulars. While SEP read hilarious passages and challenged the crowd to name the book, her husband tossed Starbursts to the lucky winners without poking any eyes out. Amazing.

Some technical genius streamed the whole program live on the Web, and SEP answered questions from the audience as well as folks writing in from the Web. Isn't technology wonderful?

At the end of the hour, she signed a ton of books and smiled for fan photos. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon.