FemaleFocusFriday: What I NEED to know about ROMANCE from WOMEN!

Oh Laaaadies! Holla if ya heeeeaaarrrr meee!

I have no idea why I did that but it just came to mind as I started to type. Could you imagine living with me never knowing what to expect next? I’ve asked a range of advice questions for y’all before on some many things but today . . . a rarity is occurring. Ronovan . . . is . . .

UP-squirrel-dog-animated-gif

 

 

 

. . . focusing.

 

How to ask you Out In Person, Phone Call, or Text Message

That’s right ladies it’s

ROMANCE DAY!!!!

(Yes I can feel the sizzle now. And strangely I like it. Who brought jumper cables?)

romance_Bullock

Oh yeah, focus, Ronovan . . . focus. Be the romance to be the romance. Philosophically that makes sense to me but in print it looks rather odd. Much like my photo. Hmm. Oh yeah, focus. So in person, on the phone or . . . yeah Kelly done told us about the third one.

no_texting_date_kelly_Rowland

I just want to make it clear that I obviously don’t really need help in this area, ahem, but my men friends might appreciate some advice.

Blue Jeans or Slacks/Pants or Saggin’ & Draggin’

What do you want your date to dress in? I know, I know, you’re going to say it depends if you are going to a rodeo or some other place. Let’s pick some other place for this. No Bostonian leather shoes and double breasted suit at the poop palooza. You don’t want to be seen with a dork. I get it. Okay so I know which one you might do away with automatically. Unless the mood is a bit other than romantic and well . . .

saggin_and_draggin

Natural Musk, Cologne, or Duck Commander Date Repellent

You know, it’s a difficult question for us. Seriously. What if you are allergic or asthmatic? What if and what if? We don’t want to be in the middle of  a date and have to rush you to an emergency room, that would just waste of the all you can eat taco buffet at the Huddle House Mexican Night. I am guessing here, just guessing which one you would say no to.

He_Just_Peed_On_Me(And if anyone knows of an all you can eat Taco Mexican Night at Huddle House, please let me know. I can get frog legs at the local convenience store. I kid you not.)

 

Flowers or Nothing or What

Maybe it’s an old fashion thing to ask, but what would you call Romantic or even would like to see happen? We might think of flowers and then freeze at the thought you might be allergic or hate the flowers we pick out. Then if we bring nothing do we look like a cheapskate? Then what if we brought some alternatives? Like maybe a cat toy?

cat_squirrel

Car, Truck, or Something Else

Now when considering this you need to consider other options like where you want to go on the date and do you want to climb up in the muck hauler or ride in the over compensating mobile or do you want to get a work out in the something else? Considering the attention some women put on calorie intake I am not certain about discounting number three, if it were disguised perhaps as as pedal car.

foot_power_car

Candle Lit Dinner or Picnic in the Park or Do Ya Want Fries Wid Dat

Now that is unless he’s dead broke, it’s the anniversary of your first date ever and he’s recreating it, or you just don’t care and want to be with each other because that’s where the true romance is at. Taco Bell served me well in those early days. I think I know we can probably rule out number three as being Romantic. See even that guy agrees.

RonaldSlap

Dancing, No Dancing or Whatever

This one might be a little difficult because of various situations. For one, even if women can’t dance they can dance. But men when they dance, well. They think they dance like this . . .

dancing_spin

But in reality dance like this . . .

nerd_dance_giphy

Kiss Good Night, Hand Shake, Or Something Else

We have come to the end of the evening, I know . . . I know . . .  there are some steps missing like a stroll along aromantically lit street that seems to transport you back in time, or a classic movie being shown special on the big screen, or a concert that is difficult to ge t tickets for. Then of course perhaps coffee or something and the ride home.

Now we  come to the second most important moment of the second most important moment of the night. The kiss . . .  oh the most important? Well how to handle going to the potty, especially if it’s number 2. How romantic is that? But you asked.

There are people out there who still live with their parents. It doesn’t matter what age the dat eis, they live at home for some reason. A kiss? Okay, a soft, tender but intent kiss is a good start if you mean it. Or a lingering gentle hand shake, bu the there is the one that probably mean can relate to . . . The father inquisition . . .

baby-oil-slap

Men need to know what you expect. It would be nice if their were  a manual but so many of you are different. So I want to hear from you. I mean I reiterate that I PERSONALLY don’t need in the help in the romance department if you know what I mean but there are some out there that do. What are your answers? We NEED to KNOW!!!!

Cause all I got are . . .

free_shrugs

ron_bloglovin2

Much Respect

Romance Man

Ronovan

(Yeah, I could have given the guys the word but you know, I can’t be sharin’ my secrets. Anyone seen my Atari 2600 Joy Stick? It’s my turn to play Frogger. Freakin’ Alligator.)

2014 © Copyright-All rights reserved by ronovanwrites.wordpress.com

She was easy . . . they all knew it: A 3 Minute Book Review of The Convenience of Lies

Book Review on my new LitWorldInterviews site. Come check it out and Follow the site.
Much Respect Ronovan

Ronovan's avatarLit World Interviews

Title: The Convenience of Liesgirl_crying.jpg

Author: Kimberly Castillo

ISBN-13: 978-1492314943

ISBN-10: 1492314943

Website http://kimberlycastillobooks.blogspot.com/

Pages: 171 pages with a Discussion following

Genre: Young Adult (YA) Romance/Suspense/Drama

What’s it about?

New girl in town, Mackenzie and local girl, Kira are best friends forever, and then there is Ramon, a crush and ex-boyfriend in a small California town. The three send us on a trip of real teen life and feelings mixed with some unexpected surprises along the way with a group of vandals and thieves thrown in who make their attacks personal. Who has it in for these three friends?  This story is told in an authentic teenage voice as Mackenzie Fairbanks recalls that particular summer before her senior year in high school.

Highlights of the Book

The book flows well taking the reader  from one chapter to the next. It is an absorbing  read, well written…

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My Thirst For You

An excerpt from a novel I am currently revising. The words are those of the leading man writing to the woman he loves during a low point.  I am finally embracing writing Romance and Love that I have been avoiding writing in novel form for so long. The book was written last year, but has been marinating since then. Now I am ready to make a go of it. Wish me well on this journey.

 

quenching_thirst

2014 © Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com

Life’s One Need-A Poem

Hearts were made to feel,

Good, bad, found or even lost,

Love is life’s one need.

 

 

 

2014 © Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com

A not so good poem, but one none the less.

Romance Sign

There are moments in life

When the quiet overtakes

When the still is calm

And your heartbeat breaks

 

The ache is not unwelcoming

It’s a dream is come true

It’s the new found feeling

That love is felt for you

 

Some may fight it

They don’t want the feeling of love

Feelings of deep rolling emotion

Is something they cannot approve of

 

I understand this

A feeling of a loss of control

You are on an express way

Afraid you cannot pay the toll

 

There is nothing to fear

This is something that is a must

Sometimes there may be some bumps

But find the right one you can trust

 

Easier said than done I know

Trusting is such a task

In times of so much trickery

One must always ask

 

I have found that it is worth it

The risk I must take

For aching for just the sake of it

Is something I wish to shake

 

Is it better to have lost and loved

Than to never have loved at all

A very good question

But I think it’s worth the risk of a fall

 

 

2014 © Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com

Female Focus Friday Book Review: DECEPTION by Eloise De Sousa

I am not a professional book reviewer, if there really is such a thing. I have read books for more decades than I wish to reveal, and I have been writing for more than two of them. My mind knows the difference between a good story and a bad one.

 

I am not using a particular format from anyone, nor did I look for one. As always I decided just to jump in and do this my way and see how it turns out.

 

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Title: Deception

Author: Eloise De Sousa

Pages: 236

Genre: Filed as an Adult Crime Romance

Formats: Paperback and ebook

Publisher: Lulu.com

Date of Publication: May 2014

Purchase: Amazon, Amazon U.K., Lulu.com

Author Website: EloiseDeSousa.wordpress.com

Author Twitter:

Eloise De Sousa

Eloise_De_Sousa

Story: Deception is about Amanda Glenson who has a nice life in a law firm in London where she is raising her 5 year old son Zachary. Unfortunately for her a past that sent her fleeing from her home, her country on another continent has finally caught up with her and there is no way around facing it, she must return home to Zimbabwe. But she doesn’t have to face it alone.

 

Enter Alex Edwards the handsome man that enters Amanda’s life with electricity in a moment only to discover he will be along for the ride into her past, a coincidence that fate brings about. Two people with tainted pasts joined together in quest to find truth. What will each do when they find out what that truth is?  Will Alex be able to forgive Amanda quick enough to help her before she loses everything?

 

Alex helps, but Amanda doesn’t rely on him completely as she tries to do it all on her own. This is her problem and she wants to take care of it.

 

Deception has a great storyline that flows well and keeps you reading. 236 pages of every kind of emotion keeps you reading and thus can be read in one sitting because it does make you want to know what happens next. Who did what? How are Amanda and Alex connected? What is the true Deception? And how does little Zachary play a role in the story?

 

De Sousa brings a realistic feel to the story and her imagery is perfect. She writes what she knows–London and Africa, two places she knows. You don’t get a feeling of someone trying to make up something to describe, she carries you along on a tour of her memories. This in part is what makes it a good read, an easy flowing read.

 

The deception title is all through the book in so many ways you have to keep guessing what is the deception, what is the one that causes all of the anguish in so many lives. You won’t guess but you will try.

 

This is an enjoyable read, and the emotional responses between the two main characters are excellently handled in a realistic but still electric way. Romance, desire, heat, and all done well and taste and with great imagery that gives you just enough to let you become part of the story, but not so much to drive you away from it. Very well done, classy.

 

And read to the last word or you will miss an ending I wasn’t expecting.

 

Reader Recommendation Rating-3.5-4 Stars

Why not 5? Being a man, I would have liked to see more of the internal feelings and trials of the male character Alex. It’s Amanda’s book and story, so I get it, but I thought more of Alex might have brought the book to the next level. (So sayeth a hopeless romantic.)

 

 

 

Much Respect to Eloise De Sousa

Ronovan

 

2014 © Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com

 

 

 

 

Her title:My Valentine’s Day plans… My title: Men Find Out a Secret

Saw this earlier in the week and made note to share it with everyone on Female Focus Friday here on RonovanWrites. The lady has a hilarious style and some real advice men should take. Honestly guys, if your love life is suffering read this and maybe it will give you some ideas.

Man of few Words

Man of few Words

 

A man named Ego

Stood before the Queen

His arrogance of self

Bordered on the obscene

 

“You wish to be spared,

But what use are you to me?

What can be had from you

That all these others cannot be”

 

“I am a great man,

A man for all seasons

Name any one

I will give you the reasons”

 

“It is now Spring

What will you do now?”

“I will plant your fields richly

Without even using a plow.”

 

“What then of Summer

When the Spring will turn?”

“I will use my broad shoulders

To protect your tender skin from the sun’s burn.”

 

“And of the Fall?

When the sun is no more to do?”

“I will pick the rose petals

To accent the glow of your hue.”

 

“Then Winter will come

With no planting, sun nor rose,

That is when I will show you

This man Ego can melt . . . whatever is froze”

 

She saw the look in Ego’s eye and looked around.

Surrounded by the court each her subject,

Except for one who was visiting among them,

A man whose gaze upon her was never in neglect

 

He was a visiting Prince,

Who had come from a distance.

She looked at him,

His appreciative smile was of consistence.

 

“Prince I ask you,

What do you say to this,

These words of advice,

From this man Ego came hence?”

 

The Prince stood up,

And approached the queen.

“A lot of words spoken,

But very little to be seen.”

 

“You speak with a confidence,

Quite deep from the thoughts in your head.

What would you propose

If not his words instead?”

 

The Prince did not hesitate.

He embraced the Queen.

His lips pressed hers.

Their bodies with nothing between.

 

He leaned back and looked into her eyes

“Will that do my Queen . . .  instead?”

She pointed to Ego without a glance

Then said, “Off with that blathering fools head.”

 

 

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com.

When a Song Comes Along

Sometimes you want to say it but you can’t. You just don’t have the courage. You’re embarrassed. Then a song comes along that does it for you.

Music Tunes

When a Song Comes Along

by: Ronovan

All my Friends here that wander by know I love music. I cannot listen to it often, if at all, but there are still those songs of long ago that I will see a lyric or it will slip into my mind as I write a word and it comes back to me. There are even songs from more recent years that have found their way to me even without my having been on the look out for them.

 

You may wonder how can I know they are from recent years when I have the whole memory thing going for me. I can look up a song lyric and find when the song was recorded. I do happen to play around with computers every now and then. Just saying. (I say that a lot, don’t I?)

 

Sometimes that melody or groove just can’t be denied. Maybe that’s the only thing you enjoy and the lyrics don’t matter. Sometimes you really do want to ignore the words or it ruins the whole experience. (JS) See what I did there? I got that acronym thing going now. Oh yeah.

 

But then we have those songs that . . .  just can’t be denied. Yes, the melody catches us but then the lyrics keep us and carry us away to another place. And the good ones just say what you always wanted to say.

 

That brings me to the song.

 

You want to say those words to the woman in your life and the woman in your life wants you to say them. This hit record wasn’t just from luck. The man picked  a song that was universal and every man and woman could listen to and get lost for several minutes. Your heart softened your eyes got a little dreamy and the corners of your lips turned up slightly as the song took you away and you just fell in love all over again. Just be sure when you hear the song come on, you pull over and stop before your eyes close as you just slip back into that dreamy land of love of . . . yes . . . you can sing it . . . your eyes, your hair, your smile . . . you’re amazing.

 

 

Please enjoy the #1 hit . . .

Continue reading

Southern Magnolia Desire

 

 

Southern Magnolia Desire

by: Ronovan

Southern Magnolia

Some women of the South are called Southern Magnolias

Their smiles are more dazzling than any snow

Foliage gathers round them setting off smiles

All working together to make all the men to desire to know

 UGA RonovanWrites Mangolia Open

 

 

 

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-July 05, 2014.

How Long Should Your Chapters Be?

How Long Should Your Chapters Be?

by: Ronovan

 

Pick up any two books you have and you’ll likely find they vary in chapter length. Each author has their own style and preference.

 

To be honest this article isn’t about telling you which length is best. The story itself tells you where the cut off points are for a chapter. Don’t listen to a teacher or whoever about that. Sure an editor can help but when you are writing, get out of the way of the story.

 

I’ve written chapters 19 pages long and there wasn’t a place to break it up because everything needed to continue in order to flow properly. But then I’ve written chapters three pages long . . . maybe even less.

 

How do you pick a length? I mean there has to be some idea, right, some method?

 

As I’ve been writing for over 20 years now, I won’t mention that includes three different decades . . . uh oh, almost four, I’ve discovered methods are like opinions, and to paraphrase an old saying; “Methods are like belly buttons, everyone’s got one.” Okay, so there is another version of that old saying but I went with this one.

 

Let’s discuss briefly how you would approach determining chapter lengths before you begin writing.

 

The way I look at it, I would say this, if the action is fast, the short ‘em. If not and perhaps a lot of emotion and all that lovey-dovey stuff, then long ‘em.

 

The thing is, you’re going to have some of both in a novel. And that is what you really want. Chapter lengths that are uniform throughout a book can lead to boredom. It’s kind of like when you write an essay, or if you write a blog, keep the lengths varied, but not too long.

 

This doesn’t mean to intentionally alternate between the two, just let the story dictate it. That would be like sing-songing it. Don’t get pitchy dog. Word.

 

In conclusion?

 

Action-Short Chapters for me. This keeps the pace quick and exciting.

Suspense/Horror-Longer Chapters to bring in all the nuances that you need to pull a person into the scene. Chapters can be shorter once you’ve established character and made the reader comfortable.

Romance and Mystery-It all depends on what you have going on in the scene. Often times you may want to pull at the heartstrings with Romance more so you may need longer chapters at times. A good writer may not need to do it, but don’t short cut it. Mystery has a lot of examination involved thus longer chapters as well.

Ultimately, the story will tell me when to stop a chapter. It almost jumps on you and says STOP! You just have to learn how to listen.

What’s my personal preference? Good question. But the real question is this; What’s your belly button on the chapter length debate? Share.

 

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites©.wordpress.com-June 25, 2014.

Silver Kisses

Silver Kisses

by: Ronovan

Moonlight on sea
gettyimages © Original Photo by John Clutterbuck

 

Moonlight bathes the sea,

With beams of silver kisses,

The night slips away.

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-June 19, 2014.

Brown Eyes

Brown Eyes

by: Ronovan

 Brown Eyes

Sweetness of Maple Gold

Richer than any money

The depths of the soul

Reflected in Amber Honey

The Blues and Greens

They have all been written

Epic love stories and poems

And battles by men smitten

For me I say no

I am trapped in your deep

That mysterious depth

That liquid mahogany of your keep

Eyes the shade to see my smile

Not lost in the hues of skies and seas

The beauties of the world

Have eyes such as these

 

Who is the first brown eyes many men my age or older fell in love with? Yes, Audrey Hepburn.

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-June 10, 2014.

Writing Tip: Streamlining Your Scene

Writing Tip: Streamlining Your Scene

by: Ronovan

 

Kill the darlings! Kill them all!

Agents, writing coaches, and even the pros say “Kill your darlings.” It’s the truth. Kill ‘em. Every last lovely one.

Pause for the tears to fall.

Pause over.

Edited Sheet of Writing

I’ll tell you that I only learned about Flash Fiction a month or so ago, or actually learned that’s what a process was called, although I had been using it for years. You take a scene and break it down to its essentials in as few words as possible.

  • No extra adjectives
  • No extra adverbs
  • Tell the story in the dialogue what is happening
  • Do NOT get explanatory on the reader

They want the dialogue and to find out what’s going on. Yes, there are times when you have scenes with no dialogue. I’m going to give you an example of a scene without much dialogue, before and after cutting it down to the bare essentials. (I hope I didn’t copyright infringe there.)

Here is a romance scene that we’ll see if it can be cut down. I’m not a romance writer so don’t laugh too much. It is 216 words for a very brief scene.

The man looked across the shadowy room and gazed longingly at the silk covered form of what he had desired for so long. She had finally given in. After so many long and frustrating nights of games played and rejections he could tell that she wasn’t going to deny him this time.

He waited for her to come to him. The chasing had been his to do so far, now it was her turn. The moonlight shining through the window shimmered off the red form as she moved to him.

Her breathy voice was more than he had ever imagined it would be. Her red lips and whispered words tickled his ear in a way that he could feel it in his toes. A pain that was much longed for swept through his body.

“Why are you making me wait? You know I’m ready,” she said as her glossy nails slid down his chest, slowly finding their way.

He swallowed hard and slowly took a breath to gain control before speaking. “How do you know I’m rea…,” his voice was cut off.

“I know,” she said as the smile spread across her face. There was nothing more he could say. Silk slid under fingertips as the tender skin of her shoulder gave heat to his lips.

 

I don’t read romance novels, although I write them in my mind. So I don’t even know if I wrote that properly but it will give me something to go with.

Sexy woman whispering
gettyimages © Original Photo by Kent Larsson

Now here is the cut down version.

The man looked across the room at the body he had desired for so long. After so many  frustrating nights of games played and rejections he could tell that she wasn’t going to deny him this time.

The chasing had been his to do so far, now it was her turn to come to him. The moonlight shining through the window shimmered off red silk as she moved.

Her lips whispered words in his ear that sent a pain of longing sweeping down his body.

“Why are you making me wait? You know I’m ready,” she said, her nails sliding down his chest, slowly finding their way.

He slowly took a breath before speaking. “How do you know I’m rea…,” his voice was cut off.

“I know,” she said. She smiled.

Silk slid under fingertips as her skin burned his lips.

 

The word count for this scene is now 141 down from 216. I cut out a lot of unnecessary descriptions in the beginning that would be revealed along the way. I cut the description of the shadowy room, it was unimportant. I also left out the color of her lips. You tell me if the scene works now, just as well as before or better or worse.

Why all the cutting? To get to where the reader wanted to go while still giving the same mood and not wasting the readers time. Also I leave some things to the imagination of the reader. The physical descriptions of the two people are not given. This means they could be anyone and thus any woman or man can slip into the scene and imagine their fantasy lover.

I didn’t  have many opportunities at dialogue tags in this scene but in heavy dialogue scenes you need to occasionally throw in a he said or she said just to keep the reader on track.

  • Keep the paragraphs short, even if not traditionally grammatically appropriate.
  • This is not an English class.
  • Pull the reader to the next part and make them want to moved onward.

If this had been some psychological court case type thing, maybe there would have been more interior monologue, or maybe not. I tend to like the faster paced ideas when there are two or more people involved. A one person scene can get as ‘thoughty’ as they want to be. (Yes, I made up one of my new words.)

Yes, I would have done more with this scene if I were really writing it, but this was just for an exercise.

Let me know what you thought of the scene. Did either scene work? Was one better than the other? Why?

© Copyright-All rights reserved-RonovanWrites.wordpress.com-June 10, 2014.