• Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Elizabeth Drakes's Site

Fantasy Romance

  • Blog
  • Books
  • Sign Up
  • About

Reading

Book Review: Romancing the Duke

November 27, 2019 by Elizabeth Drake

RomancingtheDuke
Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare

As said by one of the greats, and quoted often:

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
― Stephen King

But as a writer, I need to do more than just consume fiction. Consuming it is easy. But much like watching great movies doesn’t make me a screenwriter, I also need to do more than read great books. I need think about what makes them great. To understand what I liked about them, and even what I dislikes about them. But more than that, I need to think about the how and why the author does what they do.

Tessa Dare is an amazing author, so I decided to really think through one of her books. I just finished this one, and it is was a nice read. I started it on Friday night and finished it on Saturday morning.

As a said, it’s a solid read, and I would recommend it.

As I think through it, here are a few things she did particularly well I can learn from:

  • She doesn’t reveal things too quickly. Why is the heroine afraid of the dark? You’ll find out, but not too quickly. And when you do, it moves the romance along. She does this repeatedly, seeding story points early and bringing them to fruition later.

 

  • Her characters are not perfect. The heroine isn’t insurmountably beautiful. The hero is scarred. Literally. And blind. She uses this to build tension naturally. There are very few external events, which is perfect.

 

  • She uses these flaws to create tension. The characters do talk to each other, and sometimes they say mean things. But this fits with the flaws. Never too much to make them irredeemable, but you can see them working through their pain and flaws to earn their happily-ever-after.

 

  • Her characters all have agency. Each one chooses their path. They act with self-interest as well. Sometimes blatantly, but never maliciously so you still love them.

 

  • Her steamy scenes are concise but impactful.

 

Reading the work of a master always helps with your own work. Building a world. Crafting a story. I am particularly mindful of how she builds those character flaws and allows them to guide the story.

Something more for me to ponder.

Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: characters, duke, flaws, Read Critically, Reading, Romance, romance author, Romance Novel, Romance Writer, steamy scenes, Writing

5 Reasons I’m Ignoring Stephen King’s Advice

May 17, 2018 by Elizabeth Drake

Most writer’s have heard Stephen King’s famous writing advice.

stephenkingwriting

I’ve read Stephen King’s book On Writing. It’s an interest read, though I confess, I haven’t reread it since 2008.

5 Reasons I’m Ignoring Stephen King’s Advice

1. Consuming is Easier than Creating

It’s not easy to admit, but I can be lazy. Reading is easy. Writing, at least for me, is work. Hard work. If allow myself to be lured in by this, I will spend all of my time reading.

2. Time Is Scarce Commodity

I’m not saying I don’t read. I read a lot. But I don’t read nearly as much as he recommends. By the time he wrote On Writing, he’d been a full time author longer than I’d been alive. It’s a lot easier to say you don’t have the time to write if you don’t have the time to read voraciously when writing is your day job.

bedtime2
This might give me more time as I would never be able to sleep again.

3. I Lose My “Voice”

Voice is an author’s unique way of writing. It changes over time, grows, matures, but it still is what makes their work unique.

But when I read a lot of another author, I see their voice bleeding into my work. May not be a big deal if I’m reading someone like Tessa Dare who I’d love to emulate, but…

4. My Favorite Genre Can Be “Spotty”

I love fantasy romance, but there are a lot of newer authors in the genre. That can be both fabulous and awful. I can find some really great stuff out there, and then some not so great stuff. One book I got 25% of the way through and finally gave up because errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling kept yanking me out of an already mediocre story.

5. Learn by Doing

As great as reading is, and as much as I love it (I will NOT admit how many times I’ve gone to bed late because I was reading), reading only gets me part way there. I also need to apply bottom to chair and write. I’d rather have the brain surgeon that’s performed 3,000 successful surgeries as my doctor than the one that has read about it 5,000 times. It’s a skill, and for me, sometimes the only way to learn it is to do it.

learntowalk

 

I’ll keep reading my couple of books a month and make time to write.

How about you? Ever ignore expert advice? Why or why not?

Filed Under: Advice, Uncategorized Tagged With: Consume, Create, Learning, Reading, Stephen King, time, Writing, Writing Advice, Writing help

5 Reasons I Love Audio Books

February 6, 2018 by Elizabeth Drake

The number of audio books out there continues to grow, and Amazon has made it easier than ever to get them. Even my library has audio romance title that I can borrow.

Here are five reasons I love audio books.

 

1. Vacuuming Has Never Been Done More Often

Or any household task, really. Popping in my earbuds and working on laundry, cleaning the bathroom, or tidying the living room means more time listening to a book.

audiobookmeme1
Suddenly a more vacuumed house!

2. Long Car Rides Suck Less

I do not like long car rides, however, an audio book can make them more enjoyable. The first time I ever listened to an audio book we were driving out to rural Ohio to visit family. I’m sure if you have a long commute, this would be a good way to spend it.

 

3. Excercising becomes More Enjoyable

One of the things I hate about exercising is the excruciating boredom. I know this doesn’t affect everyone. Some people even enjoy exercising. *shudders*  But that’s not me. And while I will never enjoy my time on a treadmill or the elliptical, there was more than one day this week that the temperatures didn’t get above 0F/-18C with the windchill.

That requires indoor exercise. However, going down to the basement where we positioned a big screen TV in front of the treadmill and elliptical almost always results in the kids coming down with me and an episode of My Little Ponies or Octonauts on the screen. Not exactly something that takes my mind off the boredom. An audio book helps.

cardiomeme
How many of us feel about cardio.

4. Making Children’s Sleep Issues More Tolerable

Our youngest child has some sleep issues, and she struggles with falling asleep. Getting her more tired doesn’t work. Warm milk doesn’t work (assuming you can get her to drink it). She never consumes caffeine and gets very little processed sugar. The doctor says some kids are like that, especially kids that have suffered from night terrors. If we actually want her to sleep, we need to sit with her until she falls asleep. That can mean up to an hour of sitting in a darkened room. Yeah, audio books help.

 

5. British Accents

Lots of the books I’ve listened to are narrated by people with British accents. Yeah, enough said.

 

How about you? Do you listen to audio books? Do you enjoy them? Anything you like about them? Maybe something you don’t like?

 

 

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Audio Books, Books, Reading, romance author, Romance Novels

Looking for Fantasy Romance Recommendations

September 29, 2017 by Elizabeth Drake

I’m looking for recommendations for good fantasy romance novels.

enoughbooks

Okay, yes, I have a pile of Regency novels, but these aren’t my preferred genre. They are just easy to find.

I prefer high fantasy with elves, knights, dragons, wizards and the like. Though, at this point, I’ll take recommendations for anything.

Happily-ever-after is a must or it isn’t a romance novel.

I don’t care if it had graphic steamy scenes, but I’d prefer no graphic violence.

66dacbee5639277a8a7a3f98618ac03e
This is fine. I mean, it is fantasy.

I’ll even take something that fits this as a beta-reader or advanced copy reader and give an honest review in return.

Filed Under: Reading, Uncategorized Tagged With: Dragons, Elf, elves, fantasy, Knight, Reading, Romance, wizard

Beach Reading Without Getting “The Look”

August 21, 2017 by Elizabeth Drake

I want to be reading more, but it’s been a hectic summer with all the activities for the kids, DH having a much heavier than normal work schedule, and events for family and friends. Our vacation was less than spectacular, and we failed to potty train DD2 during it.

Now that summer is in its last throws and we’re gearing up for school to start, we’re taking one last long weekend. I haven’t gotten in much reading this last month with everything else going on, so I want to pack some beach reading.

vacation2
What I plan to be doing. Wishful thinking with a toddler, I know.

This means no iPad. While I do really like my iPad, it doesn’t like sand or water. And, it’s pretty tough to read in direct sunlight.

So, I have to find some actual, real paper books. I have mixed feelings on this. See, I love holding a real paper book in my hands. There’s just something about it I enjoy.

What I don’t enjoy is the traditional half-naked romance cover. On the beach. With the kids. And all the other snickers from family that come with it. Invariably, someone comments on it.

DevilinWinter
So, even dressed, still obvious.

I don’t *hide* that I love reading romances, though most people don’t think I’m your typical romance reader. They’d be wrong, as demographically, I fit the profile perfectly.

The iPad hides this cover beautifully, and no one ever need know I’m reading either a bit of Regency, a retelling of a fairy-tale, or if I’m really lucky, a love story with dragons instead of the Economist.

I wish Amazon sold romance books with an optional hide-what-I’m-reading cover. Make it a plain and boring cover without eve a title. Or a title like Complete History of the Napoleonic War. So us Regency readers know exactly what that means, but the rest of the beach can be blissfully unaware.

I don’t know why DH can bring a book with space ships and laser battles on the front, and no one looks twice. But a half-dressed hot guy and suddenly it’s nothing but snickers.

Stross
A book by DH’s favorite author. Less clothes than the romance novel, still gets fewer comments.

Oh well. Maybe I’ll have to borrow one of his space ship books. He’s been trying to get me to read more than the one book I did by Charles Stross anyway.

 

How about you? How do you read at the beach? Or on vacation? Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or a book? If you read romance, do you have any tricks to disguising your reading fare? Or maybe you just don’t care? Or maybe your family is less prone to teasing you?

Filed Under: Reading, Uncategorized Tagged With: Amazon, beach, Books, iPad, kindle, long weekend, paper books, Reading, Romance, Romance Novels, Summer, Vacation

Practice, Practice, Practice

July 3, 2017 by Elizabeth Drake

My daughter was recently in a dance recital.

She had begged to get to take a dance class, and knowing how much work she needs on her gross motor skills and coordination, we agreed to let her attend.

There is a huge recital at the end of the year that parents are required to attend. A four hour recital, but I digress…

dance1

After watching her dress rehearsal, and that of the group before and after her, she came back out from back stage and proclaimed that she was the best the dancer out there. I smiled. It’s not uncommon for children her age to be quite full of themselves.

When I didn’t agree, she asked me directly if she was the best.

I told her “no”.

Harsh, maybe, but I then explained that while she’d done a good job of going to class and listening to the teacher, she hadn’t practiced outside of the class. Her friend, who happens to be a year older, had gone home and practiced every night. It showed.

I told her if she wanted to be really good, she’d have to practice more than once a week.

She was not happy with me. She argued that she didn’t have a partner to practice with at home.

I agreed with her, but told her she could still practice her parts. She could always use a stuffed animal as a stand-in for her partner, like her friend had.

My daughter was still skeptical, but as we talked some more, she decided that maybe next year she would practice more. Which means she wants a second year of dance…

practice1

I know this sounds harsh, and this next bit may sound like a deluded parent, but DD1 is very bright. A lot of things have come very easily to her because of it. She’s not yet in kindergarten, but she’s reading at a 2nd-3rd grade level. Why? Because she wanted to read, was determined to read, and had taught herself to read by the time she started 4K. She was one of two children that could read at the end of her 4K year.

We encourage her love of reading, of course, but she’s the one that practiced and practiced. That pushed herself, especially when she saw some of the cool books out there that she wanted to read without help. She’s starting to eye up early chapter books as she saw a few of those that were My Little Pony.

TwilightSparkle
This one, to be exact. Which, of course, features Twilight Sparkle.

Her math skills have also came easily to her so far.

We practice a system of rewards for good behavior. She had six behavior points and knew she needed fifteen to get the treat she wanted. She was able to devise that she needed nine more behavior points to get the reward without any help from me.

Also, if you send her to her room and tell her to count to one-hundred before coming out, you must specify she must count by ones. Otherwise, she’ll count by fives or tens to get out faster.

So, yes, I’m glad she’s got drive and some natural gifts in these areas. I’m also not upset that she isn’t naturally gifted at dance. I’m glad she still loves dance and wants to be good at it. I want her to have to work for it, to have to practice for it.

I want her to see she won’t always be the best at something just by showing up. But I want her to have fun along the way.

She’s my Type A child. She’ll push herself hard, and I want her to learn that it’s okay to not always be the best. That it’s even okay to fail as long as she tried her best.

I bit of wisdom in there I should perhaps practice as well as preach…

 

How about you? Ever had something come easy? Something come hard that you really had to work for? Did the extra practice make you the best? Were you proud of your accomplishments even if you weren’t the best?

Filed Under: Family, Uncategorized Tagged With: children, dance, dance class, dance recital, Gifted, Kids, Math, My Little Pony, Practice, Reading, rewards, The Best, Work for It

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to Next Page »

Footer

Connect with me on social media

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Looking for something specific?

Copyright © 2021 · Author Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in