I’m reading a novel right now that’s the first in a series, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out for the longest time what was bugging me about this book. It’s a new-to-me author and the cover is intriguing, so I was really looking forward to the read. But although the author has a good voice and knows how to string her sentences together and has a knack for scene endings, the book isn’t…moving for me. This is when I realized that the pacing suffers in this story. I’m at the halfway point, and I feel like it should have occurred 25% through the book instead of 50% through. I’ve read a lot of what feels like filler, including flashbacks I am finding completely unnecessary (and in fact wonder if an editor asked for them to be included, so clearly do they point to their intention) that then lead up to a great scene ending compelling me to read on…and then my interest lags again until the next scene ending that piques my interest.

My obsession with the pacing of this novel got me to thinking about trends in publishing and how, when a trend in writing is hot and especially if there’s an author out there currently making a killing off this trend (because they broke the ground) and publishers want to cash in, well, sometimes novels are bought that wouldn’t otherwise get bought. I’m not familiar enough with this author’s sub-genre that I can comment on whether or not I feel this book should have been bought. Publishing is subjective, after all. But the big feeling I do have from reading this book is that, okay, just because your novel is the first in a series featuring the same characters does not mean it’s okay to take up the entire first book  ”introducing” the characters and their world. Because that’s what this book feels like to me. Like the author knew full well going in that the hero and heroine’s relationship would continue in Book 2, and thus the slow build-up. The VERY slow build-up. The completely avoidable very slow build-up. It’s driving me nuts. And yet I’m continuing to read just so I can find out, when I finish the book, if pacing really is the issue with this book…or it’s my limited attention span.

I’m halfway through formatting a requested manuscript to a publisher’s specifications. My eyes are literally crossing, so I decided to take a break. Remember back in the old days when you just typed up the manuscript and mailed it in? And the typesetters worried about formatting? It still works that way with a lot of publishers, but more and more publishers are asking writers to submit their manuscripts pre-formatted to their specs. Not “just” epublishers, either. Because I’m a Capricorn and prone to paying attention to details (when I feel like it), formatting a manuscript is something I don’t take lightly. If an editor is seriously considering two manuscripts, and one is wonderfully, perfectly formatted while the other is chock-full of mistakes, which do you think she’s more likely to acquire? I fool myself into thinking it would be mine.

So, what are my writer buddies up to? Any submission tales to recount? Can you identify with my formatting issues? Or is it something you don’t even consider when you submit a manu?

I haven’t totally familiarized myself with Windows 7. Formatting and submitting the manuscript has to take precedence. Now that I finally have all my old programs loaded (and it appears that all will work in Windows 7, although one or two might be tad glitchy), it was time to take a break from playing with the new operating system and get back to work. I’ve charged my new netbook, but I’m a long way from checking her out.

Oh, I have to buy a new scanner. Mine is too old for any Windows OS since XP. I’m giving it to My Liege…for his office (I like to call it his “hovel”)…in the crawl space. Yes, indeedy, my husband’s home office is in the crawl space. That’s where I worked between computers. It’s really quiet in there, but you can’t stand up straight. And the dog always wanted me to lift her in. Which of course I did. She laid at my feet beneath M.L.’s desk as I worked on his docked laptop.

Don’t ask my why his office is in the crawlspace. It’s not like I forced him to work there. Okay, maybe I did.

Once I get this manuscript off and have played with Windows 7 to my satisfaction, I’ll take some pictures of the hovel and post them for your enjoyment. I think I already have a picture or two somewhere in my files, but the eyes remain too crossed to go look for them.

I’m back on-line!

I’m in the process of setting up my new Dell (named Dylan, a unisex handle). When I finish that, I have to set up Daisy, my new netbook. I’ve never even had a laptop before, so I’m excited. Daisy is purple. She’s a Garbera daisy. (Not sure of the spelling there).

I like Windows 7, but I need to familiarize myself with it—badly. Today I mainly installed my virus software, then figured out how to update the license so Daisy can use the same software. Then I got a handle on my overflowing in-box. My local geeks (I’m not insulting them—their business name has Geeks in it) initially told me I wouldn’t be able to run Eudora on Windows 7, but when I went to pick up the computer, lo and behold, Eudora was installed. I don’t know if this is because Eudora CAN run on Windows 7, or because I purchased the Professional edition, which allows programs that aren’t compatible with Windows 7 to run on a Virtual XP thingie.

The first thing I need to do tomorrow is change the screen resolution. It’s too tiny for eyes “of my age.” And then begins the slow, laborious process of installing programs. I figure, between two new computers, I should be all caught up by the weekend.

Okay, I just hit some weird button on this crappy entry-level keyboard that is changing all my apostrophes into è. I donèt know how this happens, but I made the same thing happen on the full size keyboard My Liege has hooked up to his old laptop. Itès irritating. I have to restart the computer to get it to stop happening.

Ièm not used to a regular keyboard. I use an ergonomic keyboard. However, lo and behold, when I went to hook up my old ergonomic keyboard, I realized Dylan only accepts keyboards with USB connections. The nerve! My old keyboard had a circular connection. With Dylan requiring a USB connection for the keyboard, I realized that 4 USB slots in the back would not be enough for my purposes. I need 5: scanner, printer, modem, keyboard, mouse. The nerve! So, seeing as I needed a new keyboard anyway (I was told I could buy a thingie to convert my circular connection to USB, but half the letters are worn off the old KB anyway), I had to decide between buying a new, wired ergo keyboard along with a USB pod so I would have more USB connection slots OR buying a new wireless ergo keyboard with wireless mouse that only requires 1 USB  port between them. I opted for the latter option. Ièd better set it up first tomorrow, because I never accidentally make my apostrophes turn into è on ergo keyboards.

The nerve!

Seeing as my buddy, my pal, my lifelong friend (and most excellent critique partner, or “cp” as we like to call each other) Kate St. James doesn’t have a blog (for shame!), I promised to pass this along for her.

Kate’s blogging in the contemporary area of RomConInc today! And giving away a copy of Secrets 28: SENSUAL CRAVINGS, which includes her most excellent erotic romance novella, Kiss Me at Midnight.

Leave a comment for Kate at RomCon for your chance to win!

By Shobhan Bantwal

Author of THE SARI SHOP WIDOW and other novels about India

Despite my nearly 36-year-old arranged marriage and my conservative childhood in small-town India, I’m a hopeless romantic. Surprised? Why else would I write books that most people think of as “Bollywood in a Book,” stories bubbling with drama, emotion, colorful characters, rich cultural elements, and most importantly romance?

Contrary to popular western belief, modern Indian arranged marriages are indeed rooted in mutual liking and respect. Most couples have the choice of rejecting each other if they take an instant dislike or have serious doubts about a future together.

I firmly believe it is possible to have romance in a relationship built on a practical foundation. In fact, when parents of potential brides and grooms do a lot of discreet research before finding suitable mates for their children, they  invariably choose someone with similar tastes, family values, and compatible economic and social backgrounds.

When there is so much going for a couple, not to mention support from both families, the chances of a smooth transition from single to married status are likely to be very high. Adjusting to someone who has so much in common with oneself is easier, and so is the potential for falling in love.

Many seem to view arranged marriage as a quaint and antiquated custom of two strangers hopping blindly into a loveless union forced by their elders. Nonetheless, from personal experience as well as the experiences of my near and dear ones, I can safely say arranged love is a safe kind of love that may be slow to ignite, mature, and stabilize, but it is an abiding love that often lasts a lifetime. I call it “arranged love.”

Statistics have proved that arranged marriages have a much higher survival rate. Besides, isn’t every marriage or long-term relationship a gamble to some degree, no matter which way the partners meet? I have to confess though, that my fiction is vastly different from my personal life. In my stories, the hero and heroine fall in love and at times go against society’s dictates.

I would love to hear your thoughts on arranged love. Do you think there is some merit to this archaic concept, and is it conducive to romance, or is it a recipe for disaster?

***

Leave a comment or question for Shobhan to enter to win THE SARI SHOP WIDOW. If you’re reading Shobhan’s post through a feed on Facebook, Goodreads, or another social network, please visit the comment trail at Muse Interrupted to be eligible for the draw.

To read Shobhan’s bio and the back cover blurb for THE SARI SHOP WIDOW, please see yesterday’s post. To learn more about Shobhan and her books, check out her website.

Tomorrow women’s fiction author Shobhan Bantwal visits the blog! Shobhan’s blogging about romance in arranged marriages and is giving away a copy of THE SARI SHOP WIDOW, her September 2009 from Kensington Publishing.

About THE SARI SHOP WIDOW:

Pungent curry, sweet fried onions, incense, colorful beads, lush fabrics. Shobhan Bantwal’s compelling new novel is set on the streets of Edison, New Jersey’s Little India, where a young businesswoman rediscovers the magic of love and family…

About Shobhan:

Shobhan Bantwal calls her writing Bollywood in a Book, commercial fiction about India, women’s issues & socio-political topics, with romantic & cultural elements. Her articles have appeared in Romantic Times, The Writer, India Abroad, Little India, New Woman, and India Currents. Her short fiction has won awards/honors in contests by Writer’s Digest, New York Stories, and New Woman magazines. Her debut book, THE DOWRY BRIDE, won the 2008 Golden Leaf Award.

Visit Shobhan’s website to learn more about her and her books!

I received my RITA books to judge today, and I’m a happy camper. Last year was my first year to judge, and I was sent 9 books. This year I was only sent 6 books. That’s much more manageable. Last year, even though I signed up to judge 3 categories, I received 8 books from one category. Not an ideal situation. This year, I have books from 3 categories, and some are different categories than I judged last year, so I’m greatly looking forward to it. 

I’ll dig in this weekend. I’ve ordered my new computer, but it won’t be here for two weeks. I also ordered a netbook as a belated birthday present from My Liege. He wanted to take me to an electronics store and help me pick one out, but I already knew what I wanted and it was just so easy to buy the netbook while ordering the new tower. I got a better deal by ordering both from the same supplier, too.

Now M.L. has to go out and buy me a little something extra, because it’s just not right that I should buy a birthday present for myself. Aren’t I clever?  

I’m back to editing the requested full manuscript. Today I’m on Youngest Son’s laptop. Yesterday, I was on M.L.’s. Y.S. has Word 2007, so I’m experiencing a learning curve, that’s for sure.

It’s official—my computer  is dead! Delbert needs a new hard drive (on top of the virus issues which first sent him to the shop), and now that Windows 7 is out (Delbert had XP), My Liege and I decided it’s time I get a new tower. I don’t need a monitor, speakers, etc., so it shouldn’t be too much damage. The cost of replacing the hard drive is too high to seriously consider for a 5-year-old computer.

So now I’m researching new towers while continuing editing/polishing the requested full manuscript on M.L.’s or Youngest Son’s laptops. The computer dying lost me a good two days on the manu request, which was further complicated by the fact that I went to Mexico to celebrate a milestone birthday in the company of my parents. I had a wonderful time and just returned Friday night. Will post pictures once I have my new computer. I’ll probably get another Dell. This will make our second Dell desktop purchase and we’ve also made two Dell laptop purchases in the past. M.L.’s job offers a discount that is usually too good to pass up. The computer techs who looked at my hard drive told me they see the fewest hardware failures on Dell above all other brands (no, they don’t sell them),  so that gives me good incentive to be a repeat customer.

In Mexico, I was able to check on my email using my father’s laptop, but somehow couldn’t find time to research Delbert replacements or work on the requested manu in nice, sunny weather. Instead, I read a ton of books, spent quality time with the ‘rents, and visited an out-of-the-way beach (IOW, not the beaches in front of the hotels). I haven’t gone somewhere in the winter for 13 years, so it was a nice change. Unfortunately, M.L. had to stay home for business considerations, and it was a good thing he did. The weather is wreaking havoc in my part of the continent, alternately freezing and melting. We had a huge melt while I was gone, and M.L. spent my birthday attempting to protect our basement from flooding. He did a great job, but the old detached garage that houses his motorcycle suffered some damage. Better that than our house!

If he had gone to Mexico with me, I can’t imagine what a mess the basement would have been in when we got home.

Anyway, this is my convoluted way of saying that I’ll be scarce on-line until I have my new computer all set up and files transferred, programs loaded, etc. I do have a guest blogger visiting next week, and luckily I scheduled her posts before I left. So that guest blog and book give-away will still go ahead. I won’t be visiting blogs, etc., myself until I’m on my own computer again, but I promise I’ll catch up with my blog and Twitter and Facebook (Scrabble!) friends when I can.