Valentine’s Day–What’s in a kiss?

I saw an interesting article in the New Zealand Herald the other day, and bookmarked it for later reading and blogging about. With it being Valentine’s Day here in NZ already, what better day than today?

In the article it states that 90% of human cultures kiss (which begs the question, what do the other 10% do?) and then propounds the theory that this practice may have come from mothers chewing up food for their children and giving it to them by mouth (I’m kind of gagging at this point.) Thankfully, someone has busted this theory and researchers Susan M. Hughes, Marissa A. Harrison and Gordon G. Gallup Jr. found that kissing is in fact part of an evolved courtship ritual. Thank goodness!! Because let me tell you, when considering the former, it’s enough to put me off kissing The Man of The House forever!

Plus, there’s further evidence that women use kissing as a way to monitor the status of their relationship, and to assess and periodically update the level of commitment on the part of their partner. Who knew?

Actually, who did know? Any thoughts? What’s in a kiss for you?

Realistic research (be careful how you go about it)

 

I hadn’t heard this story before and thought I’d share it with you. Apparently, Ian Rankin, Scottish crime writer, became a suspect in a serial killer investigation…if he can be relied upon to be telling the truth. Check out the (short) story, here:

http://stuff.co.nz/4283469a1860.html

Which brings me to the whole big brother thing and how freely available information is over the internet. I remember, some time ago, reading a story in a Romance Writers Report about a romance author whose home was virtually ransacked by a Government agency who suspected she was involved in some form of terrorism. Screeds of notes she had been compiling on her work/s in progress (romantic suspense) were confiscated, her home and her privacy were invaded and her computer taken, and while she was eventually cleared she didn’t receive back all of her possessions. Worst of all, she lost her sense of security and her sense of freedom to research at will for upcoming manuscripts. She, and her family and even her pets, ended up being terrorised by the investigation.

Now, of course, had she been bent on terrorism or criminal behaviour we’d all be feeling alot more secure that whatever nefarious schemes she’d been cooking had been thwarted, but in her case she ended up being the victim and firmly advised writers that if you’re researching something which could be classified as sensitive to be very, very careful how you go about it. She now advocates the use internet cafe computers or library computers and rather than taking volumes of information out at the library under your library card, photocopy the information you want while you’re there instead, etc. In fact, if my memory serves me correctly, the books she’d been taking out of her local library were flagged by the Government and this is what brought her to their attention in the first place. Basically, she recommends you do all the sorts of things a ‘person of interest’, who really does have something to hide, might actually do!

 And reading Ian Rankin’s story, and remembering the romance author’s experience, reminded me of how easy it is to trace what we do on a daily basis, through all the things we do and take for granted in our every day lives–cell phone use, eftpos transactions, internet use, electronic time cards at work, images caught on CCTV or security footage, etc. And it makes me wonder just how closely we are being watched in what we believe are our private lives. Paranoia? Maybe. Is there some sense of security in this for us? Yes, I believe so, but at the same time it’s still kind of invasive too.

What do you think?

E-Books or Paper Books? That, is the question.

 

I’ve spent a bit of time today searching different e-book readers, and while I’ve found one that I find aesthetically pleasing, not to mention has all the functions someone like me who is generally a techno-phobe might like, I was was disappointed to learn that you can only download to it from that manufacturer’s connection site.

So, the big question here is (as I face looming piles of books I have read and don’t want to keep anymore, as well as looming piles of books I want to keep forever) which do you prefer? Using a digital book reader or holding a genuine paper book? And if you chose the former, can you pretty please tell me why you chose the reader you prefer?

And what about DRM? Will you still be able to read the book of your choice ten years down the track?

Here in New Zealand there appears to be a dearth of information on the subject, or actual product, so I’m open to all suggestions about the various types and styles available.

Can’t wait to hear from you all!

Struggling authors writing in their garrets..?

According to published results of  a recent survey by the New Zealand Society of Authors our writers are, on average, earning around $8,000 less than the minimum wage in this country. Which begs the question “Why do we write?”

Realistically, I’m not so certain that those polled are, in fact, full time authors, and that some of the figures gleaned via the survey have come from one off sales of works, i.e. book-length manuscripts, articles, short stories, children’s books and stories, etc., which to my way of thinking are probably not an accurate reflection of results. But still, without the carrot of livable income what drives writers?

Is it ego? The belief that we have a better story to tell than anyone else out there?

Is it drive? The fact that no matter what else we do we are constantly driven to give ‘voice’ to the stories/characters etc in our head?

Is it hope? That one day we will be famous and revered for our ability to tell a story?

Or do we write just because we want to. Because we like to.

And if we get to earn a living, either meagre or affluent, then is that just a bonus or is it a result of good planning?

One of the things that constantly surprises me is how, when people hear you’re an author, the first thing they want to know is how much you earn. Personally, I would never ask someone I’ve just met such a personal question. I am unashamedly old-fashioned in that I believe matters financial are the very personal and private property of the individual concerned. But what makes people think that because your writing is in the public domain, that your income should also be open to their scrutiny? Maybe I should direct a few people to the article link above . The only thing is, maybe it might make people view the quality of your writing as being less than if they thought you earned mega bucks. There are many authors who do earn mega bucks, just as there are CEOs who do the same, but is their work valued more by readers because of what they earn?

What do you think? Does a good story have a price? Does a good author?

Confessions

Now, I think this is supposed to be a bit tongue in cheek, to be honest, but in preparation for Harlequin’s 2008 Romance Report they’re conducting a survey.  Check it out and see what you’re prepared to confess!

Insufficient Research Bugbears

There’s nothing worse than when you’re reading a book and the author has you lost in the world she’s created and her characters say, think or do something just instantly yanks you out the story.

I had this today when reading an author I hadn’t read before. Interestingly the storyline was very similar to another book I tried to read this week but the storytelling of that particular novel didn’t grab me and that book’s on the to be passed onto someone else pile, unfinished. The big difference for me was the way in which this author told the story and she had me hook line and sinker into the flow of the character’s reunion and conflict, until she made the error of insufficient research exposure by suggesting that because the hero was one of twins that explained why his ex-lover had given birth to twins–his twins.

Now, I suppose it’s a fairly common assumption that a man influences the birth of twins, and yes it can if he’s from a familial line that produces fraternal twins, and he passes that legacy onto his children. However, he doesn’t determine whether or not his wife bears twins. Even if he’s a twin himself. This is a bugbear of mine as our family learned all about twins when my dh’s sister-in-law carried twins. Twins run in her family. She released more than one egg at ovulation, therefore when two were fertilised at once, she conceived, carried and delivered two beautiful babes instead of just one. Now, identical twins are a different matter. In this, the egg splits into two after fertilisation. But again, even if the father is a twin or not it has no bearing.

Reasearching this information in lay man’s terms is really easy either using the internet or libraries, or even a call to the nearest Multiple Birth Society in your area. But when I, as a reader, am yanked out of a story because author intervention uses a twin scenario incorrectly I am really disappointed and it spoils my reading pleasure of the story.

Okay, so now I have that off my chest, I’ll finish the book because I love the way this author has set everything up and how her characters are developed and I’m thinking all the time, how is she going to resolve this?

And it leaves me curious. What is your biggest insufficient research bugbear when reading a book?