Sandy Blair says We Love it, But...

We’re downsizing. Our home is on the market so instead of writing I’ve been out straight with painters, decorators, appliance installers and all manner of beasts who make messes wherever they go.

Worse, being the seller in a “buyer’s” market is much akin to being an author. Rejection becomes part of your everyday life. While someone looks at your “baby,” you hope, you pray and then you get those 4 dreaded words, “We loved it, but…”

In the case of a book, the but might come in the form of “we just bought a similar plot,” or “there wasn’t enough emotional depth.” In the case of this house, the but(s) amounted to “it’s too formal,” “it’s too white”, and “it needs updated appliances.”

Our agent has been as kind as can be—as any agent or editor worth the name should be—when delivering the bad news, but it still hurts.

So, like any good author--or desperate home owner—I went into revision mode. I took what the buyers said to heart, made some changes on my own then called in a “young” decorator. One whose taste would hopefully shout from my lofty 24 ft ceilings, “Hey, I’m hip and trendy.”

Five serious digits later, we now have an all stainless steel kitchen with built in wine cooler, new light fixtures, textured walls, fresh paint in colors that would make any coffee shop proud (Toffee crunch, Cocoa Latte, Espresso bean), not to mention the furniture has been rearrange to such a degree that we don’t dare walk around without a light on for fear of killing ourselves. Yes, neither Scott not I recognize the place.

And so now we’re back to waiting some more. Hoping. Praying.

Bottom line: I’ve tweaked this place so much in the last few months that I’m sick of it. Can’t wait to be rid of it. Have you ever done that to a home…or manuscript?

Sandy
http://www.sandyblair.net/

Jelly Beans or Chocolate - Sandy Blair

Which will it be: Jelly Beans or Chocolate?

Prior to becoming published, I was an RN, certified diabetes educator. Part of my training included following a registered dietician on rounds. One of the questions she asked every patient prior to creating their meal plan was, “Which would you prefer: chocolate or jelly beans?” Stunned the first time I heard this; I waited until we were out in the hall to ask, “Why? You’re not planning on feeding them jelly beans are you?”

She laughed and said, “No. I just need to know if they crave sugar or fat, so I can modify their diet accordingly and they won’t feel deprived.”

Turns out the jelly bean eaters are after fast sugar highs and would grab a real Coke and cake when under stress, whereas those who preferred chocolate would gravitate toward ice cream, burgers, fries and the like.

Readers and authors could be described in similar fashion when it comes to their taste in books. The jelly bean gang prefers fast paced plots with lots of dialogue. They often gravitate toward contemporaries and really don’t care what color the sofa is or what the wallpaper looks like. They just want to be entertained or kept in suspense until they discover if the guy gets the girl.

The chocoholics—like yours truly--prefer books with more detail. We gravitate toward historicals and sagas and do want to know what the castles’ interiors look like and how they made mead. And while you’re at it, why not tell us how they constructed and cleaned those garderobes. (Well, maybe not that much detail, but you get the idea.)

That’s not to say historicals can’t be fast paced. They are if the author knows what she’s doing. (Julie Garwood, Diane Perkins and Lorraine Heath immediately come to mind.) The best historical authors provide the richness we historical junkies crave while providing us with a thrill a page that keeps us up all night.

So, I’ll admit it. I’m a Heresy’s Kiss kind of gal. Which are you?

Sandy

To win an expense paid trip to the 2007 Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Houston, TX go to http://www.sandyblair.net/