No Regrets

My newest release will be out next week. The heroine in SAFE WITH A STRANGER, Clare Chandler, is a woman filled with regret. She married the wrong man and then compounded the problem by having his child. Now she is on the run in order to keep her son safe from his father. She wouldn’t trade her son for the world, but what would she do when faced with the opportunity to do it all over again?

There are other big mistakes people make in life, and that idea got me to thinking about forks in the road. Opportunities taken and regretted—or missed and lost forever. I wonder which is worse. The times when what we do doesn’t work out and costs us in the end? Or the times when out of neglect or fear we miss a chance that might’ve changed our lives for the better forever?

My husband and I were talking about just this topic the other day. We’ve made our share of mistakes in life. Plenty of them. But we’ve made peace with most of those. It’s the roads we didn’t take that seem to haunt us years later. The stock we weren’t quick enough to buy before the price doubled. The job offer we refused because another one sounded better. The town we ‘could’ve’ moved to except life threw us that curve. And the even more personal choices not taken that we don’t ever talk about. The old boyfriend or girlfriend we could’ve had once but turned down. The friend we lost because we were afraid to ask what was wrong. The things we ‘should’ve’ done with our kids and didn’t because we had no clue the time was running short.

Do you have any regrets? Things you should’ve done but were too afraid or slow to take the chance? You’re not alone. I’ll bet there are plenty of you who would like to write a novel but don’t out of fear of rejection. And how about those of you who have lost contact with an old friend because you didn’t take the time to phone or write. Even I have a couple of books spinning in my head that I wished I’d written but have been afraid to try. Do you think we can correct some of those missed opportunities? Can we change our lives even a long time later? I think we can. That’s why I write romance novels where people get second chances.

So, are you willing to share some of your missed opportunities? Nothing too personal—unless you feel the need to confess. LOL You’ll be in good company here no matter what it is. I promise.

To sweeten the pot and get you dishing, I’ll draw names tomorrow morning from the comments and send two winners an autographed copy of SAFE WITH A STRANGER.

Love and Hugs,
Linda

Linda Conrad's SAFE WITH A STRANGER is a June

release, currently available online and on the

by May 27, 2008. Check out what's new with Linda,

enter her contest, and read her Behind the

book page at: http://www.LindaConrad.com

Life Is Short

Many of you know I was involved in a bad car accident last month. It came as close to being an early end of me as I ever want to go. So along with the pain pills and the insurance hasseles, I've found myself rethinking my entire life. I suddenly want everything instantly. Don't put off doing anything pleasurable until tomorrow. Eat dessert first. Play today, work tomorrow and put off the rest entirely.

That's a huge change in my attitude. I grew up believing the 'ant' was the good guy in the story and the 'grasshopper' was the fool. Nice and steady wins the race. Blah! Not for me. Not anymore.

I was thinking of this change in my philosophy a few days ago during a discussion on one of my author loops. this private loop is for a group of Harlequin authors, and the discussion focused on how terrible it was that Harlequin has reduced their word counts across all of their lines. Long-time series authors bemoaned the loss of an extra twenty to thirty thousand words in which to tell their stories. They loved the old way when they had time to explore emotions, add in more points of view, include more bad guys, and generally take their time to wind through their stories.

I have to say, as a reader, I loved some of those old Harlequins too. Back when I had leisure time, I enjoyed picking up a book that took hours to read and kept me entertained and interested into the wee hours or for days. But sorry, authors, things have changed---in my life as well as in the world. Today when I pick up a Harlequin book, it's because I want a quick get-away with a guaranteed happy ending. I want to be able to finish it in one sitting. I want it fast, exciting, emotionally satisfying---and over.

The best selling Harlequins right now in the U.S. are the Presents line. That's always been the shortest Harlequin line available. Does that tell you something about what most readers want? For myself, I love reading a good Presents. I just finished both Anne McAllister's ONE NIGHT LOVE CHILD, a January Presents, and Katherine Garbera's THE WEALTHY FRENCHMAN'S PROPOSITION, a Silhouette Desire (which is another short line.) Both were wonderful books. And fast.

If I want or have time for more, say on a long plane ride or a vacation on the beach, I'll read one of the amazing variety of single title books available either in the bookstore or via e-books. By the way, many of these so-called single title books have also been shortened. Whereas a good best seller used to be in the one-hundred thousand word category, now many of them don't even make it to ninety thousand words. Minimum word count used to be ninety, today it's eighty or even seventy. Thanks due in part, I'm sure, to authors like Dan Brown, James Patterson, and Steven King who are masters at quick and exciting reads.

At one time I imagined all this focus on brevity was due to the price of paper. But today I'm sure that isn't even a factor. Not with all the e-books out there. Now that I've changed my opinion about life in general, I know better. It's the pace of our lives. Time is our single most expensive commodity.

As an author, I've never had any trouble writing short. It makes me work at finding just the right pace--just the right word. It's harder, yes. But it also makes me a better writer. I'm enjoying finding new ways of putting a little mystery/adventure, a couple of points of view, and a bad guy or two in with my sexy little romances. Writing a fast read is exactly what I need in my my life right now.

As a reader, I'm thrilled that all the lines are going shorter. I have always wanted a good thriller, mystery, paranormal, erotica, or family romance (depending on my mood) that I could read in a couple of hours and then go on with my life.

How do you feel about the shorter books? If you're a writer, do you find shorter is harder -- or maybe impossible? If you're a reader, have you given up reading Harlequins because they've gotten shorter? Or are you fining yourself picking them up again after falling away exactly because they are now easier to finish in the time you have?

Leave me a comment and I'll pick one winner from all the comments left before Tuesday February 19th to win a new Presents (my choice) or one of my backlist (your choice)

Linda's newest (shorter) Silhouette Romantic Suspense series, The Safekeepers, begins in June with SAFE WITH A STRANGER. Don't forget to drop by Linda's newly designed website to find out more about her series, check out her new extras, and register to enter her ongoing contest to win books, chocolates, and gift certificates! http://www.LindaConrad.com