FCRW’s 2003 Board of Directors

President: Kat McMahon (407) 857-8644

Vice-President: Pamela Cross (904) 824-4333

Secretary: Shannon Juliao (904) 321-0419

Treasurer: Donna Owens (904) 215-6036

PAL: Vickie King (904) 260-6401

Membership: Cheri Anne Brodeur (352) 384-0790

Newsletter: Cheri Clark (386) 758-7935

Historian: Tara Greenbaum (904) 220-7664

From The Editor

By Cheri Clark

The newsletter is a bit late this month, both because your editor was out of town, and we’ve had a last minute crisis regarding the meeting place. We’re still at Hops, writers, with their fabulous lunches but, unfortunately, crowded room. But we’ll make do, because it’s worth it to get together and have a great workshop. I hope to see you there Saturday the 11^th at 11:00 or whenever you can make it.

Thanks to my angel, Trish Eachus-Crabtree, for her help in monitoring the EditorLink listserve. We all appreciate the articles you post to FCRW@yahoogroups.com, Trish, so hugs, kisses, and thanks.

Cheri

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM FCRW!

October birthdays:

2 Gail Ranstrom

26 Kathleen McMahon

27 Dianne McGibeny

HUGS AND KISSES

KISSES to Judy Leigh Peters, whose first published novel, A Father’s Hope, is now available at Wings ePress!

KISSES to Cheri Clark, aka Vanessa Hart, on her 4 stars review of Love Lessons in the upcoming issue of Romantic Times.

HUGS to Vicki Hinze on hurting her back. We won’t ask how you injured it, Vicki<g> but remember we’re romance writers with imagination!

Please send your HUGS & KISSES and other member news to Cheri Clark by October 23, 2003 for the November issue of the newsletter.

MESSAGE FROM THE PREZ: Kat McMahon

Dear FCRW Members,

October is election month. Please take the opportunity to review the duties of the board members and consider whether or not you have the time to volunteer. If you would like to discuss it privately please feel free to e-mail me at mcmahon5@earthlink.net.

I am extremely disappointed to report that I was forced to cancel the contract with Ramada for our regular meetings. It came to my attention and that of the sales representative too late that the kitchen could not accommodate us. The kitchens are now closed on Saturdays. The Ramada was willing to cater our meals. However this required my selecting the entire meal for everyone ten days in advance each month. Given the fact that several of our members have special dietary needs not to mention personal preferences.... Needless to say I actually burst out laughing when that suggestion was made.

To add to the misery the cost of the meals would have to be paid in advance. Another "I DON'T THINK SO." In turn members would have to pay in advance and lose the cost of their meals if they were unable to attend. This scenario just did not fit with the needs of our chapter. As such and after much discussion, the Ramada deal was nixed. The Ramada staff was very cooperative and professional.

WE ARE BACK AT HOPS. I sincerely regret any confusion this may cause, but this was a decision I had to make. If any member as any other concerns or questions they may email me directly.

QUERY LETTERS This month’s workshop is on query letters. Let’s look at the nuts and bolts of pitching your book. The query letter may be the only thing the agent or editor reads. It's your opportunity to catch her eye.

I hope everyone can make it. This will be a hands-on workshop so don't forget your notes.

See ya there,

Kat.

Grammar Guru

SPLIT DECISIONS

By Cheryl Norman

I’ve had questions about when one should and should not split an infinitive. First, what do I mean by infinitive? By definition, an infinitive is the simple form of the verb used as a modifier or as a substantive. It’s easier to remember that, in most cases, it’s a verb preceded by the word “to.”

To write

To understand

To run

Splitting an infinitive means injecting a modifying word or phrase between the “to” and the verb. In most cases, this is unwise and makes for amateurish writing. Consider:

To endlessly write

To thoroughly understand

To quickly run

You’ll notice in these examples the infinitive is split by an adverb. What do writers know about adverbs? They should be used sparingly, and they “tell, not show.” Also, splitting an infinitive can increase ambiguity.

To write as if your deadline is tomorrow

To understand everything he said

To run like the wind of a hurricane

These phrases show us something. There are exceptions, of course, in the interest of flow and effect. However, it’s a safe rule of thumb that a writer needs to avoid split infinitives and use adverbs judiciously.

Cheryl Norman’s Full Moon Lullaby is available from www.wingsepress.com. Her grammar columns are available at her website at http://www.cherylnorman.com . She welcomes grammar questions at Cheryl@cherylnorman.com.

The following article was printed in the July 2003 issue of Smoke Signals, newsletter of the Smoky Mountain Romance Writers.
Times Past: From the Bedroom to the Hospital
By Juli Heaton

For as long as there has been sexual tension, and the almost inevitable result, sex, women have been coping with pregnancy and childbirth. Throughout history, women have given birth in their homes with the help of midwives or healers.

Today, midwifery is well-respected. However, midwives in the past were not necessarily well trained. They did not follow the approach of
letting nature take its course. According to Kate Sheppard Midwifery, midwives in Europe and England intervened in childbirth, "constantly
tugging and hauling at the birth canal." Urban midwifes were supervised by professional bodies and were well-trained. Traditional midwives practiced in rural areas without supervision or organized training.

Inventions led to the "medicalization" of childbirth. The design for forceps was published in 1733. In 1810, the speculum was invented.
Kate Sheppard Midwifery cites these two instruments as being "responsible for the marginalization of the midwife" because they
"enabled the circumvention of the prohibitions on touching the female genital organs by men."
In the nineteenth century, physician involvement in childbirth increased. In the Victorian Era, doctors performed blood-letting to ease labor pains. According to Lacey Reneau, physicians drew as much as 50 ounces of blood. In 1847, anesthesia was introduced during childbirth, and in 1853, after Queen Victoria used it during the birth of her eighth child, the practice became accepted.

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, maternity hospitals and maternity wards opened, but most births continued to take place in the
home. Mortality rates in these hospitals was between ten and twenty percent. Some sources place the rate even higher at 25 to 30 percent.
Yvonne Knibiehler attributes this in part to the fact that women with rickets and tuberculosis were often frightened and sought care.
However, the primary cause of death, according to Knibiehler, was puerperal fever, a Streptococcus infection of the uterus of postpartum women. The physicians and their students "moved from autopsies right on to vaginal examinations without precautions of any kind."

An Australian physician in the 1840s reduced the mortality rate in his clinic by requiring his staff to wash their hands. Between 1870 and 1900, hospitals instituted antiseptic practices and the maternal mortality rate decreased to approximately two percent. In 1918, infant mortality rates were high in the United States.
Physicians, blaming home births and midwives, recommended that all births occur in a hospital setting. Hospital delivery soon became the
norm. By 1939, fifty-percent of women were giving birth in hospitals.

Infant and maternal mortality rates improved in the 1940's after the introduction of antibiotics and blood transfusions. By the 1950's and 1960's, ninety-five percent of births took place in hospitals. Then, in the 1970's, the popularity of natural childbirth and midwives began to rise.
Today, women have many options for childbirth. The infant mortality rate in the United Kingdom is 5.45 per 1000 live births. The infant
mortality rate in the United States is 6.69 per 1000 live births. The maternal mortality rates are 7 in 100,000 and 12 in 100,000 respectively.

Works Cited:
"A Brief History of Women and Birth." 1999. Lamaze Training for Families: Childbirth Information for Men and Women. June 21, 2003.
<<http://www.leslynotes.com>>.
"The History Behind Midwifery." Kate Sheppard Midwifery: Specialists in Birthing Care. June 21, 2003. <http://www.ksmidwifery.co.nz/history>.
Hoh, Daniel. "A Brief History of the Medical Treatment of Pregnancy and Childbirth." Discovery Communications, Inc. 2001.
Discoveryhealth.com. June 21, 2003. <http://health.discovery.com>.
Knibiehler, Yvonne. "Bodies and Hearts" in A History of Women: Emerging Feminism from Revolution to World War. Eds. Georges Duby and Michelle Perrot. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1995.
Reneau, Lacey. "Motherhood: The Victorian British Aristocracy vs. Modern Day Britain."    Women's Issues Then and Now: A Feminist
Overview of the Past 2 Centuries. May 2, 2002. University of Texas at Austin.   June 21, 2001.
<http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~ulrich/femhist/motherhood.stml>.

NEXT MEETING:

SATURDAY

October 11, 2003

Hops

9826 San Jose Blvd.
Jacksonville, FL

WORKSHOP FOLLOWING

LUNCH AND MEETING

NOVEMBER MEETING

TBA

Juli Heaton spends her days writing legal decisions and escapes intoromance writing after five. She loves the guaranteed happy endings in romances — a stark contrast to the real-life plots in her day job. She is the current SMRW Secretary.

Get your copy of FIRST CHAPTERS!

FIRST CHAPTERS, by Elizabeth Sinclair, is a step-by-step instructional booklet on writing the first chapter of your novel and including all the elements that an editor looks for before she requests the full manuscript. It covers: hooks, inserting background info judiciously, forming the reader-questions that keep them reading and much more. A bonus section explains the difference between cover and query letters, when to use which, and how to write them. $7.95 including postage
Order at www.elizabethsinclair.com

BREAKING IN, OUT or UP! Part 3

Straight Skinny on Breaking Up

There are a lot of different types of severances during a writer's career. The pleasant ones aren't a challenge. We all know how to handle mutual
partings. It's the ones that aren't mutual that can be difficult, and in cases, devastating.

It's difficult to qualify break ups as low or high impact, because events and emotions can drive them and skew any attempt to define a "norm." A break up with a critique partner can be equally devastating to losing an editor or
agent, given specific circumstances and conditions. Gossip and vengeance can
generate significant challenges.

So let's start with a few basic "good sense" rules:

1. If you choose to sever a professional relationship, be direct and honest.
Treat the other person as you hope to be treated. There need not be tantrums or emotional outbursts or even a detailed accounting of your
rationale, and there should certainly never be a laundry list of the other person's offenses. Why? Because no good comes from it. The object is to sever the tie, not to inflict injury or harm.

2. Fulfill your obligations and responsibilities to the other party. Severing doesn't mean that you skate out on anything. You hold up your end of
all agreements. You abide by the terms and conditions set between you and the other party.

3. If you're severing with an agent and/or editor, follow the method set forth in doing so through your written agreements. If you're obligated to send an option book, do it. And handle all of this correspondence in writing. Most contracts call for registered or certified mail. Follow the rules--not only because it's the right thing to do (you did make the agreement) but because not following the rules as you agreed to do can have damaging legal ramifications.

One of the most dangerous times for an author is when she changes publishers. Let's say an author has done four books for a publisher and isn't moving up the list. Knowing she must move up or be left behind, she makes a business
decision to change houses. Her contracted book is accepted and she has sent in the proposal for a new contract.

This is a good time to make the move. While the author will be leaving a book orphaned in production, the break will be less painful for everyone involved, if it's done on contractual differences. So if the publisher makes an offer on the new proposal, the author can reject it or negotiate for better terms. If she rejects it, then the relationship is severed.

Now many authors are reluctant to decide to sever unless they know where they're going. (A situation that holds true for agents as well.)

This poses an ethical challenge. The author must choose:

A. To be honest and go out on a limb--jump without a safety net of having someplace to go already set, or B. To lie to her current publisher (who has exclusive first rights) by submitting the new proposal to what she hopes will be her new publisher.

Different authors handle this challenge in different ways. Obviously the transition can be much smoother for the author to follow the second option--and many feel it's no more unethical than looking for job while you have a job.

Others refuse to lie because of personal ethics. They take the harder path because for them it is the right thing to do. I wouldn't presume to tell
anyone else which choice to make. I will say that this--option A--is the path I chose, and I can attest that it carries distinct challenges and disadvantages, not the least of which is anxiety of the unknown, neglect of books left in
production that takes years of hard work to overcome with the booksellers, and a long lag-time between books being published. Frankly, I'm still working to overcome some of the challenges. Again, some don't see this as an ethical challenge, but I did and do. That binds me to honor those ethics--even when it
makes my life a lot more difficult. In all honesty, it has. Would I do it again this way? Absolutely.

As I said before, your relationship with an agent is much like a marriage. Your relationship with your editor is, in a sense, too. Both are your
strongest advocates, and that's great when times are good. But when it's time to part company, it can get emotional.

My best advice: This is a professional association and you must treat it as such. Just because you end a professional association, it doesn't mean you have to be angry or nasty or vindictive or bitchy. You once liked and
respected this person's opinion, remember? (If you didn't, why are you there?) Strive to remember the good in the person and always, always respect the human being even if you no longer wish to work with her/him.

BOTTOM LINE ON BREAKING UP: It doesn't matter why you're parting ways. It's a business decision. It's not personal.

The quicker you accept that and complete the severance, the better for all involved. Don't be foolish and burn bridges. This is a billion-dollar-a-year industry but it's a small, tight-knit group. Editors often change houses to get promoted. Agents often merge with other agents and you end up interacting with estranged people all the time. There's no constructive purpose in ending professional alliances in ways that damage personal interactions. To do so
can have destructive consequences.

Next month, I'll conclude my notes on this topic with Part 4. I hope this helps!

Blessings,
Vicki

©Vicki Hinze

In Search of a Hero:

Thelma & Louise Hit the Road in a Green Minivan

By Catherine Mann & Joanne Rock

Some people look forward to professional affirmation when they sell their first book. Others dream of the day they’ll see their name on a bookstore shelf. For Catherine Mann and Joanne Rock-- long time critique partners and mothers to a combined seven children between them-- the magical “I’m an author” moment fully hit home when they set out on their first official author road trip . . .

Day One -- The Interstate

Can’t peel out of the driveway fast enough. Gummy bears and juice boxes are a thing of the past for a blissful four days. Starbucks, here we come!

Thus began a critique partner road trip spanning three states, two conferences, and endless brainstorming. Halleluiah! With umpteen upcoming books between us, as well as two online serials and a Christmas anthology to plot out, we’d better get busy.

Day Two – New Jersey

No great ideas yet.

Have consumed massive amounts of Jelly Bellies and gallons of Starbucks coffee to no creative avail. Instead of enjoying the ride along with us, our Muses have opted to hitchhike.

Fortunately, we participated in a highly successful book signing at the New Jersey Romance Writers conference with sixty other authors. Spotted many goddesses of the romance genre from across the room—Nora Roberts, Suzanne Brockmann, Teresa Medeiros.

“We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!” our Muses whimper from the road side with thumbs jutting out.

Day Three -- Philly

And we don’t mean cream cheese.

The City of Brotherly Love welcomes us for a bookseller’s tradeshow and we drag our stubborn Muses to the Hard Rock Café for a final attempt at culinary bribery. Plates full of nachos don’t seem to be helping, but then a cerulean-eyed waiter with a backwards baseball cap winks and the Muses sit up straighter. Aha!

“Perfect!” croons Joanne’s sultry Blaze Muse. “He can sneak champagne to my heroine while they explore the sensual wonders of making love in a supply closet.”

“Angst!” insists Catherine’s pensive Intimate Moments Muse as she stabs another bite of taco pizza. “I must have more angst! He’s not really a Starbucks waiter, but an FBI agent working undercover to protect a high-power female politician from a sniper. How could he think of sneaking champagne to anyone at a time like this?”

We grab a doggy bag and dash back to our keyboards at the mercy of Muses on a Mission.

Day Four – Hero-Laden Highway

The final hours of the tradeshow introduces us to boatloads of wonderful librarians and booksellers. We gain new appreciation for these romance supporters out in the trenches. As we sit in a Cracker Barrel on the way out of town, we have a heart to heart with those fickle Muses and explain how important it is that we don’t let these folks down.

Back on the highway, the minivan now overflows with fictitious heroes, past and future, until testosterone all but oozes from the hubcaps. Earlier story hunks come along for the ride, Joanne’s snowboarder hero having strapped his board to the roof. A do-rag from Catherine’s military flight surgeon hero waves in the wind tied to the antennae.

New heroes jockey for attention from the backseats. A military guy peers over the top of his aviator sunglasses with a wink, and it’s hard to see the road over the backward ball caps crowding the vehicle. We ignore the masculine pleas to detour around Giants Stadium as we head home, restless with new creativity.

Cost of Starbucks and other food bribes for recalcitrant Muses— a delicious $230.

Cost of impetuous shopping sprees and room services—shhh! We’ll never tell!

Cost of critique partner brainstorming—priceless.

*********

RITA award winner CATHERINE MANN writes contemporary military romances for Silhouette and HQN. Look for more of her bestselling “Wingmen Warriors” series with STRATEGIC ENGAGEMENT 11/03 from Silhouette Intimate Moments, followed by her single title debut, ANYTHING ANYWHERE, ANYTIME 3/04 from Silhouette Books. Visit Catherine at: http://catherinemann.com.

FCRW member JOANNE ROCK writes sexy contemporary romance for Harlequin Blaze and Temptation. Catch her “Single in South Beach” titles in both lines during fall 2003 and spring 2004. Also, don’t miss her historical debut, THE WEDDING KNIGHT, from Harlequin Historicals in February 2004. Visit Joanne at http://joannerock.com.