Friday, May 16, 2014

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of my Inaugural Post, by Donna Michaels


Hello!
Today is my first ever ROP post! I’m honored, and would like to thank all the wonderful ROP authors for including me in this great blog. How appropriate that we’re doing movie themes, because I’m and author/screenwriter, and I love watching movies as much as I love to read and write.
I promise to keep this brief, that is The Good part of my post. Have you ever been to a graduation where the guest speaker just goes on and on? Yeah, no fun. You won’t get that from me. I prefer to sit back and observe. Same goes for my writing. You won’t find a lot of ‘fluff’. I like to get right down to the important stuff and tend to keep my descriptions brief. Not always a good thing, but for me, it works. Sometimes garners me good reviews on pacing.
On to The Bad part of my post. This is where I admit, and apologize, for not reading a lot of ‘fluff’, either. All the hard work an author goes through and I just skim when I get to that part of the book. Yeah, my bad, but something happens in my brain, it kind of fogs over, so in order to keep my interest, I need to move on. This is not the author’s fault. It is all me and my hinky brain. Usually, The Bad in my books is a sexy hero who is too tempting to resist.
You’re probably wondering what is The Ugly part? There actually is no ugly part, at least, not like you think. Every book benefits from Ugly. You need a dark scene, whether it’s caused by an ‘ugly’ character, or an ‘ugly’ moment in a character’s past, or an ‘ugly’ revelation a character has about his or herself. This is the meat of the story. The defining moment, so we embrace the ugly with both hands. Encourage, and unlike the fluff, I don’t hold back. These are all good things, even if they are ugly, and that’s not bad.
You can find The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in all my full length novels, especially in my Harland County Series. Each contemporary western has the GBU, and are hot, humorous and heartwarming to boot! There are currently three books in the series, two of them are on the Kindle Countdown Promotion right now, in celebration of Book Four/Kevin: HER FOREVER COWBOY’s release this coming Tuesday, May 20th!
 
 
The countdown started at $1.99 and will work its way back up to $3.99 by Monday!
You can find all my books at my website here:  www.donnamichaelsauthor.com
I had a great time with my first post, and I hope you did, too! I’ll be back June 16th!
Thanks for reading,
~Donna

10 comments:

Jannine Gallant said...

You are soooo like me, Donna. When the action slows, I start skimming. Welcome to the group!

Donna Michaels said...

Thanks so much, Jannine! I'm happy to be here. :-)

Brenda said...

Excellent post.

I skim over fluff too.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Welcome, Donna. I agree. If it doesn't move the story forward, why read it? Love your attitude!

Leah St. James said...

Hi, Donna, and welcome! I skip "fluff," too, although our definitions might not be the same. I tend to write (and read) grittier, more emotional works. My sister is the opposite and thinks I'm crazy. She just wants a book to make her laugh. :-) Isn't it great there are so many varied tastes, for so many varied writers?

Alicia Dean said...

Welcome, Donna...I loved your inaugural post. I also LOVE movies...almost as much as books. Great advice. As Elmore Leonard said, "Leave out the parts readers skip." So yep, your advice is right in line with one of the greats. Your series sounds interesting. I'll have to check out the Kindle Countdown sale...best of luck!

Donna Michaels said...

~Thanks, Brenda! Yeah, I like to get right into the good stuff. lol

~Thanks, Margo! Just keeping it real. lol

~Thanks, Leah! I'm so happy to be here. I do like to read both, and yes, it's great that there are readers and writers for all genres.

~Thanks, Alicia! Love Elmore's advice!

Alison Henderson said...

Welcome to ROP, Donna! I hate to admit it, but I frequently find myself skimming love scenes. I appreciate how hard it can be to find fresh ways to describe intimate encounters, but I swear some authors don't even try.

Diane Burton said...

Welcome, Donna. So glad you're here. Sorry for being late to the party (as usual). But, hey, I get to have the last word. Maybe. Looking forward to your next post.

Donna Michaels said...

lol, thanks, Diane!