Giving thanks for readers

This fall, my debut sci-fi romance, GHOST PLANET, turned 5. As a big thank you to the SFR reading community, I'm offering it free for the first time ever. My talented cover artist even created a sweet anniversary badge just for the occasion. The sale ends today, so if you haven't yet read it, now is your chance!

At the same time, I have a Kindle countdown deal going on my other two sci-fi romances, THE OPHELIA PROPHECY and ECHO 8. It's a great time to stock up on reading material for your holiday season.

For all of those who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a lovely and safe holiday weekend. Below I'm sharing my family's favorite pumpkin pie recipe. I've never had one I liked better, and it's very easy. It was created by a friend of mine who blended a couple of her favorite recipes.

What can make this recipe even more special is taking the time to use real pumpkin. Pick up a sugar pumpkin (also called a pie pumpkin) at your local market. Halve it (and clean out seeds), and place the halves skin side up in a pyrex baking dish with some water in the bottom to keep it from drying out. Bake at 350 until tender (how long will depend on size). Then mash it with a fork and you are good to go! I do this part the day before Thanksgiving and store the pumpkin in the fridge until I'm ready to make the pie.

Lisa's Pumpkin Pie

2 cups pumpkin puree*
1 cup cream
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
3 eggs

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a deep-dish pie shell. Bake at 450 for 8 minutes, and then 325 for 40-45 minutes (until a knife inserted just off center comes out almost clean). Cool to room temperature, and serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream (I use maple syrup)!

*NOTE: If you use fresh baked pumpkin, AND you plan to make the pie in a blender, you can just mash the pumpkin with a fork before putting it in the blender. If you plan to use a mixer to make the pie instead, you'll want to puree the fresh pumpkin first, or it will be a bit stringy. (The canned kind will be ready to go either way.)

I also shared this recipe in my newsletter, The Cozy Read, where every month I include recipes and other recommendations for creating cozy reading experiences. You can check out the newsletter and sign up here.

REVIEW: The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood's THE HANDMAID'S TALE was the first dystopian novel I ever read. It was a book my mother recommended, and like some of my Mom's other recommendations, I found it both brilliant and brutal. As a matter of fact, Atwood as an author is both brilliant and brutal. She takes a hard look at humanity's worst tendencies, and she builds grim and harrowing narratives from them. The hardest thing about Atwood's fiction, in my experience, is how possible it all seems.

All of that aside, she is a fabulous author. Her characters are real and compelling, and her storytelling keeps you turning pages. Want to see one of the things I'm most proud of as an author? From RT Book Reviews five years ago (shameless plug alert!):

It takes guts to kill your heroine before page one, and Fisher has that in spades. Paying special homage to Stanislaw Lem’s Solaris (in particular, the moving Steven Soderbergh/George Clooney film adaptation) and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Fisher’s sci-fi romance debut thoroughly impresses. In Elizabeth’s struggle to reconcile the mystery of her existence as a ghost, Fisher offers a pitch-perfect balance of a cohesive scientific vision with poignant, naked emotion.

Seeing Atwood's name in the review for my debut was pretty special. There is a Latin phrase that Offred (June), the handmaid, discovers scratched on the wall of her closet that I had my heroine Elizabeth also inscribe in English in her "closet": Don't let the bastards grind you down. (And by the way, happy bookaversary, GHOST PLANET!)

In case you haven't read THE HANDMAID'S TALE, or know little of the plot, I will give you the setup. This summary is based on the Emmy Award winning Hulu TV adaptation of the novel, which I am reviewing here. It won EIGHT Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, out of 13 nominations.

The story focuses on the trials of Offred ("of Fred"), whose real name is June. After a US civil war, the nation of Gilead is established by a fanatical religious group. Due to environmental factors, it has become very difficult to conceive and carry fetuses to term. Fertile women (whether married or single) are rounded up by the new government and farmed out to the ruling families to be used as surrogate mothers. This slavery is justified in many cases by the fertile women being judged "fallen." In June's case, she has had an affair with a married man—they eventually married and had a child. Her family attempts to escape to Canada, but they are caught. June's husband is shot, and her daughter is taken away from her. June is given an ear tag (yes, like a cow), sent to Handmaid school for a horrifying glimpse into her new reality, and finally placed in the home of Commander Fred Waterford and his wife Serena Joy. Serena was once a career woman and author, and she served as a founding member of this new society—one in which she is no longer permitted to read, write, or participate in government.

The Hulu adaptation stars Elisabeth Moss (MAD MEN's Peggy Olson) as June. I watched this 10-episode series over the course of the last couple of weeks. I have to say, I would totally have binge-watched this show, grim as it was, had my husband been interested in watching it (coward!). It was beautifully shot, with superb performances from Moss and from Yvonne Strahovski, who played Serena Joy. Both faced the challenge of portraying women who themselves were always acting. In fact, all the women in this series were superb, and I must also give a nod to Madeline Brewer, whose performance as the broken Janine was heartbreaking. My one small knit was I did not find the male characters as compelling, though Joseph Fiennes is chillingly unpredictable and hypocritical as Commander Waterford.

The way they drew this single novel out into a full 10 episodes was to show the back story of a number of the characters in flashbacks. Particularly interesting was the history of Serena Joy, who had been an activist at one time in her life, and in this new world is relegated to the roles of hostess, domestic manager, and wife (though sex for fun is no longer allowed, so she is wife in name only). She also only gets to wear green dresses! She's lucky it's a good color on her. At the end of the series you are left wondering, was that monster always inside her, or is that just one of the potential side effects of constricting and oppressing such a bright and passionate woman? 

Since so far all I have talked about is scifi, I will say there is some romance in the series. Through flashbacks we see how June met and fell in love with her husband, and in the current storyline there is a character she turns to for comfort—and that relationship turns out to be key in a number of ways. But this is no SFR, so be ye warned.

I finished the series last night, and the ending was similar to the novel's. I know there is a second season coming, so I am left wondering what it will be about! I assume that it will explore beyond the ending of the book, and based on the quality of this first season, I will definitely be tuning in.

New Blurb! New Cover! Big Sale! on Award Winning SFR

Happy Monday! Today, we have some big news to share about a major multi-author promotion for Science Fiction Romance e-books happening this week.

September 19- 23

All books are 99 cents or free!

And as part of it...

The Lowest Price EVER on Two RWA Golden Heart© Nominees

Sharon Lynn Fisher's Golden Heart© and RITA© Nominee, Ghost Planet, and
Laurie A. Green's Golden Heart© Nominee, Inherit the Stars.

Inherit the Stars

 I didn’t just love this, I simply couldn’t stop reading it.
--Reading Reality Reviews

2016 Carolyn Readers Choice Award Winner
2016 Aspen Gold Award Finalist
2011 RWA Golden Heart Finalist
2009 Heart of the West Winner
2009 Southwest Writers Winner

A+ rating on Reading Reality Review Site
Smart Girls Love SFR Site: A Favorite of 2015
Whiskey With My Book Reviews: 5 Stars
4.6 average Amazon rating

And as part of the announcement today here's a special bonus. The first look at the brand new blurb for Inherit the Stars...

SUBTERFUGE AND SACRIFICE

In all the vast galaxy, the fate of one fugitive stud-slave shouldn’t matter, even though Sair has broken free from the household of the Alliance leader himself. All he needs is transport to the netherstars and time to heal a devastated heart. But with a price on his head and a face half of civilization hates, he’d find little help even with the coin to pay.

The ship that docks in his escape route is no ordinary courier, though. The Specter is the stuff of legends, a prototype with unknown capabilities. Her captain, Drea Mennelsohn, is just as remarkable. Powerful, uninhibited, and ready to take what she wants, Drea reignites a desire Sair thought he’d never feel again. And the fare she asks is his willing body…

Days of risky travel and Alliance attacks explode into lust and connection when they’re alone. But as they race for safety, Sair begins to suspect Drea is far more than just a preternaturally talented pilot. And his own flight from bondage has upset much more than a few guards’ suppers. Together, Drea and Sair might transform the Alliance, perhaps even the fate of humanity itself. But the effort could cost them the only solace they’ve ever known…

 

* * *

Ghost Planet

An absorbing and exciting story full of science, sex, and intriguing plot twists.
—Publishers Weekly

Felicia Day's Vaginal Fantasy Book Club pick 
2013 RWA RITA Award Finalist – “Best First Book”
Two-time RWA Golden Heart Finalist 
Two-time 2013 SFR Galaxy Awards Winner

A WORLD IN PERIL. A BOND DEEPER THAN LOVE.

Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world--a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these "ghosts." She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet.

Reincarnated as a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy--creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids him to acknowledge or interact with her. Confused and alone--oppressed by her ghost status and tormented by forbidden love--Elizabeth works to unlock the secrets of her own existence.

But her quest for answers lands her in a tug-of-war between powerful interests, and she soon finds herself a pawn in the struggle for control of the planet...a struggle that could separate her forever from the man that she loves.

* * *

Some of the other authors included in this special promotion are Lea Kirk, S. M. Schmitz, Jessica Subject, Sabine Priestley, Diane Burton, Veronica Scott, Aurora Springer and many, many more.

The promotion also includes the full Portals seven volume line up (SFR first chapter samplers, all free, multiple vendors) and the Romancing the Stars SFR short story anthology published by authors of the SFR Brigade.

Click the titles above to go directly to these books on Amazon, or click here to see all the current Science Fiction Romance books at 99 cents or free!

RT Booklovers Convention...Here I Come!

MISSION SUCCESS
Laurie's Journal

This week's post will be short and sweet being that I'm juggling multiple writing and personal life priorities, but I wanted to announce that I've just signed up for the mid-May RT Booklovers Convention in Dallas, which will be my first RT evah! (Or in Rocky Horror speak...Virrrrgin!)

You can view the conference details on the RT Booklovers Convention site, or check in via Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/RTBookloversConvention

I'm excited about the event, but even more enthused that I'll also be meeting longtime critique partner, fellow CCer and general online cohort Barbara Elsborg, for the very first time. Barbara and I go back to the early days of my quest to pursue publishing in 2007. (She's long since accomplished her goal and now has some 30 novels and many short works published.) She's also a frequent patron here at Spacefreighters Lounge.

*waves to Barbara and slides a frothy Billins down the bar to her*

I've never been to Dallas other than a very short stint to a non-hub area where I spent all my time inside a (non-writers') conference hotel, so I hope to enjoy some sightseeing and general tourist geekery, too.

IN OTHER NEWS

I'm pushing forward for my January/February author debut with a SFR novelette, Farewell Andromeda--a story that takes place in the same universe as my coming full-length novel, which will be first in a new SFR series.

Progress report: Both works will be going out to editors in mid-October.

If you missed my big announcement in a past post, you can view it and get a sneak peek at the series and opening chapter of the first novel here:

Announcing Launch of a New SFR Series

I'm considering putting the cover for my first novel out to competition through 99designs. I've a vague idea for an image concept, but I'll leave it up to a variety of talented graphic artists to interpret my idea or create their own design that will capture the epic feel and scope of the work.

Fellow Spacefreighter Sharon Lynn Fisher went this route for one of her novels and I fell in love with the cover she ended up selecting for the first installment of her erotic short story series. Check it. Garden Rules cover design.

PING PONG

Congrats to Donna on a successful move and for her daughter's marriage this weekend. She wrote a lovely blog post about the event on Friday: Every Bride Needs a Hero

And three cheers to Pippa for her latest cover reveal, Rafflecopter giveaway and Scream! For the Cure charity event. Read all the details here: Make a Halloween Wish Title and Cover Reveal

Kudos to Sharon for continuing to juggle two very successful careers as both a RITA-Award nominated published author and a professional editor for SilkWords. Sharon's next SFR from TOR will be out in February! In case you missed it, here's the past news: Echo 8 Release Date: February 3 

And don't miss this! Sharon's first SFR novel from TOR, Ghost Planet, is now up for a drawing on Goodreads! Halloween is the drawing deadline.

Ghost Planet was both a RWA Golden Heart finalist and a RITA finalist for Best First Book!

Good Reads Giveaway: Ghost Planet

Are you planning to attend the Dallas RT in May? Please comment and let me know. I'd love to meet you there!

Have a great week!

GONE GIRL: A LESSON IN POINT OF VIEW

Once in a great while you see something done so well you just have to stand on a virtual street corner and grab everyone by the sleeve, yelling, “Look! Can you believe it?”

There is the danger that people will take you for an online homeless person, ranting about the end of the world.  But there is the greater hope that your readers will follow your lead and find something wonderful.

In this case, I’m not alone in thinking Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, is a fantastic read.  The book, published in 2012, spent eight weeks at Number One on the NY Times Bestseller List and is still in the Top Ten on that list.  The mystery/psychological thriller/sly commentary on the state of modern society will keep you up late at night for lots of reasons, not least of which are Flynn’s page-turning pace, frequent plot twists and horrible-but-can’t-take-your-eyes-off-’em characters.

As a writer, though, and one who has used point-of-view to special effect in my own novels, I have to applaud Flynn’s stunning use of POV in Gone Girl.  For any of you struggling with POV in your work, I strongly recommend reading this novel, but I warn you:  Do not try this at home!  Flynn’s high-flying stunt work is only for advanced students of the art.

For those who have not read the novel, Flynn has written the first part of this tale of a marriage gone wrong and the disappearance/possible murder of the wife in the couple from two points of view:  Nick, the husband, in first person, in “real” time as he discovers his wife’s disappearance, and Amy, the wife, in first person, in the “past” as part of her diary, as she tells how they met and fell in love.  Analyzed from a writer’s perspective, each of these voices is clear and distinct.  We really “see” these people and feel for them.  

From a reader’s perspective, we sympathize with both POV’s and believe both of them.  That’s key to the mystery Flynn is building.  Did Nick kill Amy?  But Nick has a defense of his own, which he begins building in his POV as the first part of the book continues.  The reader vacillates, depending on which POV she’s reading. Nick/Amy.  Amy/Nick.

Only a writer could have any idea just how difficult this is to pull off.  Consistently.  Engagingly.

Then Flynn makes it even harder on herself.  She adds yet another POV.  “Real” Amy’s.  In “real” time.  To explain how she does that would be to give away the book.  I’ve already said too much perhaps.  But, wow.  Just, wow.  And this POV is just as distinct, just as clear.  And messes with our little reader brains even more.  The only thing we can be sure of—and this persists to the end of the book—is that these people are screwed up!  (If Flynn fails in anything, it is that she carries this premise through to its miserable conclusion.  The needs of fictions are probably not best served by her consistency.)

Obviously, what Flynn has done with Gone Girl is light years beyond the basics of POV.  She could not even begin to attempt something like this if she did not know everything about Nick, everything about Amy.  She could not afford to “head hop” from one POV to another in a paragraph, a scene or even a section devoted to a single POV.  She had to be ruthless about maintaining that POV in every emotion expressed through dialogue or body language, every piece of knowledge revealed.  The one thing that made this easier was that there were clear segments devoted to each POV, to each voice.

As for the basics, here's the rule: The best, easiest and clearest way to deal with POV is to give each of your major POV characters his or her own scene, separated by a line space or other indicator from the next scene.  That way, your readers can’t be confused as to whose POV it is.  IMHO.

But even when we don’t have those sections marked “hero” and “heroine” in our manuscripts, we need to speak loud and clear in their individual voices.  We need to make sure we know who our characters are, so their voices are so distinct in their creators’ heads they can’t come out on the page in anything but the words and tones that are unmistakably their own. 

--How About This?  Gone Girl was a selection of the Cultural Expressions Book Club of Richmond, Virginia, of which I am a member.  Which gave me an idea.  Those of us who read and write science fiction romance are always looking for ways to discover and get the word out on great SFR.  Why not do what readers have been doing forever and form a book club of our co-bloggers and special guests—right here in the Spacefreighters Lounge?  On a regular basis, we could select a book to read from a list of common suggestions—maybe from our followers—then meet online to chat about it.  What do y’all think?

--Congrats to blog partner Sharon Lynn Fisher on the one-year anniversary of the launch of her RITA-nominated SFR debut novel Ghost Planet!  Can’t wait for The Ophelia Prophecy!

Happy birthday to GHOST PLANET (with giveaway of THE OPHELIA PROPHECY)

One year ago today, Tor released my debut novel, GHOST PLANET. I ate cupcakes, drank champagne, signed books while impaired, and wore a gigantic gold tutu.

See, I wasn't kidding.

What a year it's been! Some of the highlights include (as close as possible to chronological order):

• GHOST PLANET's cover appeared in an RT Book Reviews list of cool covers for upcoming releases.
• Authors Linnea Sinclair and Kat Richardson endorsed the book with glowing reviews. 
• In my first ever printed review, Publishers Weekly called it: "an absorbing and exciting story full of science, sex, and intriguing plot twists."
• RT Book Reviews gave it 4.5 stars and said "thoroughly impresses ... a pitch-perfect balance of a cohesive scientific vision with poignant, naked emotion."



Jack-O-Lantern approved

• Co-bloggers Laurie and Donna joined me in Seattle for my first release party. (Too far for Pippa - a hop, skip, and a GIGANTIC jump.) 

• The book was nominated for the 2013 RWA RITA Award for best first book, ON MY BIRTHDAY.
• The book was named the main pick for April of the Vaginal Fantasy Hangout book club (created by actress/producer/writer Felicia Day) - also ON MY BIRTHDAY. 
• Veronica Belmont (also of VF book club fame) named the book a suggested read for The Sword & Laser book club. 
• The VF gals gave the book a super positive review on YouTube. I ate more cupcakes. 
• The book was named one of the "best of 2012" by Regina Small, senior editor and reviews coordinator for RT. 
• My agency sold audio rights to Audible.com (for GHOST PLANET as well as my other two upcoming titles). 

Wow, what a great run. And we're just getting started! An audio book to come, and I'm still waiting for that movie deal. ;) 

My second book from Tor (THE OPHELIA PROPHECY) is due out in less than six months, and I'm working on revisions for a third book (ECHO 8). (Have a brand-new project in the works as well - stay tuned for more on that.) 

OPHELIA is a post-apocalyptic biopunk romance about some sexy transgenics and an archivist with a dangerous secret. E8 is a near-future, multiverse romantic suspense that explores possible connections between quantum physics and psi (also a Bermuda Love Triangle between a parapsychologist, an FBI agent, and an energy vampire). 

Thanks for joining the party! We have a door prize: Leave a comment for a chance at winning a signed ARC of THE OPHELIA PROPHECY (official release: April 1), hot off the presses. SO hot the only person in possession of one at this point is Jessica Subject, who won it in my first giveaway. [Usual fine print on this one: US and Canada only, so as not to require me to apply for a loan to ship it. And DON'T FORGET to leave your email address in your comment if you want to be included.]

Good luck! 

Tor Books - April Fool's Day, 2014

VFH Reviews Ghost Planet

Mark your calendars, sci-fi romance fans! Sharon Lynn Fisher’s GHOST PLANET (Tor) is the April 2013 selection for Felicia Day’s Vaginal Fantasy Hangout book club.

Actress-producer-writer Felicia Day is a true geek and a reader of science fiction romance. In addition to her many credits, she runs the Vaginal Fantasy Hangout, a lively, entertaining, and no-holds-barred online book club. Members include Veronica Belmont, Kiala Kazebee and Bonnie Burton. The VFH team is sassy, outspoken, and passionate about books.

The GHOST PLANET video discussion will go live on April 30 at 8 PM PST.

Watch the video and join other VFH viewers at the GHOST PLANET Goodreads discussion thread.

Want to know more? Visit the main Vaginal Fantasy Hangout Goodreads page. You can access all of the Vaginal Fantasy videoshere, including ones featuring science fiction romances by authors Linnea Sinclair, Nalini Singh, J.D. Robb, and Meljean Brook.

We hope the VFH team enjoys GHOST PLANET and would appreciate any support you can offer via tweets, posts, and any other way you like to spread SFR news!

GHOST PLANET

A world in peril. A bond deeper than love.

Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world - a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these “ghosts.” She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet.

Reincarnated as a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy - creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids him to acknowledge or interact with her. Confused and alone - oppressed by her ghost status and tormented by forbidden love - Elizabeth works to unlock the secrets of her own existence.

But her quest for answers lands her in a tug-of-war between powerful interests, and she soon finds herself a pawn in the struggle for control of the planet…a struggle that could separate her forever from the man she loves.

Visit Sharon Lynn Fisher’s Web site and connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

**Permission to forward granted**

Who the heck is Mary Sue?

Okay first off, in case you don’t know me, I’m Sharon. I blog here. Just not very often. Mostly I lurk and sometimes comment. By way of excuse I have a young child and a recent book release and just in general find it hard to get posts written on any kind of regular schedule.

On top of that, early this year a comet rocketed into my atmosphere: breast cancer. WHAM. 

A very rare form (adenoid cystic carcinoma), and very treatable. But regardless, it rocked my world. Have you seen the movie SLIDING DOORS? You could actually almost classify it as SFR, with the parallel timeline plot. Anyhow, at one point in the film -- I believe it’s shortly after the heroine gets fired, goes home early, and catches her boyfriend cheating on her -- this conversation happens:

HERO: You know what the Monty Python Boys say.

HEROINE: “Always look on the bright side of life”?

HERO: “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.”

Nope. They don’t. And I didn’t. And for several months, going to doctors and undergoing painful and stress-inducing tests and procedures -- and just trying to get my brain around all the information and the hard decisions I had to make -- was like a second job.

I’ve been pretty open about it from the beginning, posting about the diagnosis and the events that followed on my personal Facebook page. But this is the first time I’ve discussed it publicly. I don’t think we’re meant to go into a cave at times like these. We need each other. I feel like every good wish or positive vibration sent to me during that time helped me. I am eternally grateful for all the amazing love and support, from dearest friends and relatives to writing colleagues I may have only met once, or never.

So thank you friends, and thank you universe, for adding your strength to mine and carrying me through one of the more trying periods of my life.

And now you may ask . . . What does Mary Sue have to do with all this? Nothing, probably. Or everything, possibly.

 

My debut novel GHOST PLANET is April's main pick for the Vaginal Fantasy Hangout book club, created by actor/producer Felicia Day. (We’ll post more about the upcoming review this weekend.) Since this was announced, the reviews are POURING in. I have to thank Felicia for that, as well as for her hilarious series THE GUILD, which kept me laughing instead of freaking out the night before my surgery.

Anyway, one thing I have seen pop up a couple times in the book club’s Goodreads discussion thread, as well as a recent, wonderful 5-star review by Vaginal Fantasy reviewer and The Sword & Laser book club co-host Veronica Belmont – is the term “Mary Sue.” My understanding of the meaning of this term is when an author writes herself into a main character in an idealized way. (See Wikepedia.) Although it also seems often to be used in reference to a character who seems too perfect. Too . . . too.

George Eliot

My first awareness of this concept (though not by the name "Mary Sue") came when reading the introduction to one of my favorite novels, MIDDLEMARCH, by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans). The person who wrote the intro referred to the story's beautiful, intelligent heroine, and suggested the character was a stand-in for Evans herself, who was intelligent but apparently not considered physically beautiful.

The term Mary Sue has a negative connotation in most cases. In the aforementioned case I felt the intro writer was implying Evans should have been above such a thing. But I can’t help wondering – why so? For me -- and I would wager for a lot of writers -- development of authorly aspirations began with daydreaming, and with fantasies that prominently featured (drumroll) ME.

I know when I was writing GHOST PLANET, the first time I’d (1) attempted first-person point of view and (2) completed a full-length work, I found it much easier to get in Elizabeth’s head when the outside of that head resembled my own. There are resemblances between the insides of our heads as well.

Yours Truly

Would I like to be as young and pretty as Elizabeth? You bet. As bright and determined? Heck yeah! To have a brilliant, blue-eyed Irish psychologist for a boyfriend? Are you seriously asking me that?

Does that make my heroine a “Mary Sue”? Well, yes. Probably so. Am I bothered by that? No. Not even a little.

I would venture to guess that most authors’ debuts have someone very like themselves (but better!) somewhere in the story. And thank goodness for that! The first piece of advice you get as a writer is “write what you know.” And as for idealizing that person … last time I checked we were writing romance. We WANT to read about beautiful heroines, whether that beauty be outward, like Dorothea, or only inward, like little Jane Eyre.

Personally, I think readers can handle a Mary Sue. (Case in point: Veronica’s review uses the term and still gives GHOST PLANET the top rating.) What they absolutely can’t stomach is a passive heroine, or one without faults. (And that's a whole other blog post.) I think in some cases when readers use the term Mary Sue, this is really what they mean.

Okay, your turn! What does Mary Sue mean to you? Do you think it’s a bad thing?