Are You a "Real" Writer?

The New Year energy continues today with my guest appearance at the wonderful erotica writers' blog, "Oh Get a Grip."  This week's theme is "a letter to myself," and I decided to write to my younger selves, who wanted to be a writer but weren't sure I had the qualities to succeed by the conventional definition.  Now that I am older, wiser, and have 150 publications on my resume, my definition of a "real" writer has changed and matured.  I'd be curious what you think!

Legacy of a Catholic Girlhood

My grandmother used to have religious pictures like this all over her house, and I'll admit I found them both soothing and strange, as if the past and my future in heaven (or so I hoped) existed in cartoon-like color. My Catholic upbringing lingers on in my memory in other ways as well, some that definitely inform my writing today! If you're curious just how that might be, check out my guest post over at the ever-provocative blog Oh Get a Grip!, entitled "A Dash of Delicious Sin: The Legacy of a Catholic Girlhood."

Now you don't have to have been raised Catholic to enjoy dashes of delicious sin, other religions qualify, too, so head on over to the Grip and vanquish your guilt the gourmet way!

I Love Sex With Strangers

Well, not exactly, but "Sex with Strangers" is title of my guest blog over at the wonderful "Oh Get a Grip!" today. I weigh in on the relative merits of sex versus love in erotica and life, and of course, given my focus on writing new stuff, I tie it all into the theme of "keep writing." I guess I'm just an obsessed would-be second novelist! And special thanks to Ashley Lister for inviting me to be part of the blog, and helping me to decide where I come down on the choice of sex or love. My answer surprised me!

So, I actually made some good progress on my outline this week, thanks to green tea. Honestly, I bought some new premium green tea at my local Japanese grocery store (you all have one of those, too, right?) and the first morning, I was so clear-headed I just sat down and typed out a skeleton outline. I can see why the medieval Japanese monks loved this stuff for meditation! Coffee just makes me jittery. Snapple makes me feel like an aspartame addict. But green tea--the best. And this time my novel isn't even about Japan. In the process, I got a much clearer sense of one of the lovers, almost as if he was sparked to life in my head and started talking to me.

Hmm, I know this makes a writer seem a bit crazy, and maybe we are, but it's a good crazy, ya know?

I hope you all had a good writing week. If you're so moved, head over to "Oh Get A Grip," leave a comment and check out the other wonderful posts on this very pertinent topic.