Welcome to Rachel Speaks

She's speaking -- just not as often here as she used to!

Last night I spoke in public, in fact -- something I don't do very often. But a local writing group, Tulsa Night Writers, invited me to speak to them on writing romantic suspense. In a weak moment, I accepted, then faced the awful truth: I don't KNOW how to tell someone how to write romantic suspense. It's just something I DO. In fact, when sister Leah heard I was speaking on the subject, she laughed. She claims she doesn't know anyone who understands what I do less than I understand it, and she's pretty much right.

Still, I'd committed myself, so I had to sit down and actually think about all the elements that make up a romantic suspense. I read some articles that helped me get my thoughts straight -- read some, too, that made me want to smack the writer. Giving no advice at all is better than giving bad advice.

Anyway, I finally put together a sort of outline-script that ran 15 pages long!! The talk wasn't really that long -- I had to print it in a large enough font that I could read it even I forgot my glasses, which I do way too often. (You'd think being able to see would rank right up there with being able to start the car and pay for a meal, but I leave the house without glasses all the time, while I never go out without keys or money.)

Night Writers meets at an east Tulsa library, and there was a nice crowd, with a few familiar faces. Shelby Beckett, author of BETWEEN (you can find both a bit about her book and a photo of Shelby and me in last year's archives here) was there, and so were several friends from my romance writers' group -- Jackie Kramer (whose last book with the fabulous cover has won top awards galore) and Ashlynn Pearce (thank you both!) as well as Linda Trout and three of the four Foxy Hens, who are members of both groups.

Don't know if I've mentioned the Foxy Hens here before -- Peggy Fielding, Sharon Ervin, Jackie King and Paula Jean Watkins. They did an anthology earlier this year called CHIK-LIT FOR FOXY HENS. The stories are about women of a certain age finding love and great sex and happily-ever-after, and they are very entertaining -- both the stories and the Hens.

Anyway, after a wonderful introduction from Linda, I got up with my fifteen pages of notes and, sometime later, sat down again. I hope I was coherent. Hope I didn't talk too fast, which I have a tendency to do when I'm nervous. Hope I made sense and didn't scare anyone off from trying their hand at romantic suspense.

I'm glad I did it. And I'm really glad it's over!

I won't even tell you now that I'm going to be posting more regularly here. I'll try, but you know what they say about the road to hell. Sometimes I just don't have anything to say -- yes! me! -- and sometimes I'm too busy or too lazy or would really rather watch my ten thousandth episode of Cops. Sometimes sleep sounds so much more enticing, or I'm too pooped from yelling at the dogs. But I will TRY to be better. Maybe I'll make it. Probably I won't. Who knows?

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A sign outside a Tulsa school: Childhood Developement Center. Sheesh, I hope they're not trying to teach them to spell, too. Rachel11:09 AM