Please welcome Rachel Haimowitz to the blog, author of the upcoming novel Crescendo: Song of the Fallen Book II. Thank you for agreeing to answer my nosy questions! I’m thrilled to have you visit my blog today.

Q: To begin, please share which genre(s) you write in…
A: I write gay romance in a number of genres, mostly speculative fiction (fantasy, alternate universe, etc.) and BDSM.

Q: How long did you write before you received your first contract for publication?
A: I’d actually been writing professionally for years, but primarily in nonfiction. I was an early columnist for the Huffington Post, and did some ghostwriting, primarily in the small business and personal finance space. In terms of fiction, I’ve been writing that ever since I can remember, but my first concerted effort began at the age of sixteen when I started my first novel. Took me nine years to finish it, and goodness was it ever tripe! But of course I didn’t know that at the time. Six years later, I sold my first novel, Counterpoint: Book I of Song of the Fallen.

Q: Out of all the stories you’ve written, which is your favorite?
A: Actually, my favorite is always the next one—the one I haven’t written yet. It’s that sense of energy and excitement, the thrill of mapping a new world and new characters and the anticipation of getting the words on the page in just the right way.

Q: Do you need to be in a specific place or atmosphere before the words flow?
A: No. Certainly sometimes writing is easier than other times—sometimes the muse lights a fire under your ass, and it’s all you can do to type fast enough—but I’ve been writing professionally for about a decade now, with editors and clients who took no care for my state of inspiration and daily deadlines I had to meet, and I’ve learned it’s just a matter of discipline. Writing’s a muscle like everything else; if you do it enough, with enough focus and enough training, eventually you reach the point where you can sit down and write every day whether you’re inspired or not, and nobody will ever be able to look at the outcome and tell how you felt the day you wrote it.

Q: What’s the strangest source of inspiration you’ve found for a story?
A: Inspiration comes from everywhere—people I know, things I read, snippets of conversation, random links I click in Wikipedia… who knows. You never know when something might strike, but nothing’s ever struck me as particularly strange. I guess I just sort of take it as it comes.

Q: If you could offer one tidbit of information for new writers, what would it be?
A: Focus on craft. Stories are a dime a dozen, and telling a good one is easy. Telling a good story well, on the other hand, is something very few people ever manage. And unfortunately, no matter how brilliant or creative or inventive your stories are, if you don’t have the sentence-level foundations of craft—grammar, structure, flow, voice, pacing, POV, tone, show-versus-tell, passive-versus-active, all that jazz—then it’s very unlikely your story will ever get heard.

Q: Do you have an evil day job or do you write full time?
A: Kind of both? My EDJ is writing and editing on a freelance basis. I don’t make enough money off my fiction to live off the royalties yet, but I sure would love to! After all, I’d much rather write for myself and my readers and my own passions than write for clients.

Q: Name one thing readers would be surprised to learn about you.
A: I once (well, okay, three times a week for a month) performed naked on stage in a traditional production of Hair.

Q: What’s your favorite dirty word?
A: Fuck. It’s not very creative, but it’s eminently versatile. It’s basically every part of speech, and appropriate for every situation in which a dirty word might be called for.

Q: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
A: My ears are pierced and have been since I was maybe five or six. That’s it, though.

Q: If you could be intimate with three people (not necessarily all at one time *g*) without getting in trouble with your significant other (or theirs), who would they be?
A: Michael Fassbender because the man is sex on legs and also totally silly and seems like the kind of guy who’d really get off on getting you off; James McAvoy, but mostly I’d probably just sit back and watch him get plowed by Fass; and an old ex of mine whose name I’ll leave out to protect the innocent, because we’ve never really stopped loving each other, even though circumstances were such that things just couldn’t work out (and, LOL, now they’ll all think it’s them I’m talking about :-p).

Q: Which household chore do you abhor and why?
A: Laundry. I’m pretty sure this requires no explanation :-p

Q: What’s your favorite comfort food?
A: Oddly enough? Rice Krispies in whole milk. I never actually eat this except maybe at a continental breakfast at a hotel or something (I don’t keep whole milk in the house), but it’s definitely one of my all-time favorite things.

Q: Do you have a favorite book or movie?
A: My favorite book ever is probably Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, and my favorite movie is probably a tie between American Psycho and Memento. These all follow a fairly consistent trend for me: I love entertainment that makes you think, makes you uncomfortable, and maybe makes you laugh at some uncomfortable and thought-provoking things.

Q: If you don’t mind sharing, would you tell us about your latest work in progress?
A: I’m in the plotting stages of a novel I’m co-writing with Cat Grant that we affectionately refer to as The Big Perv Book. It’s basically going to be 80,000 words of all the darkest, kinkiest power-exchange desires we’ve ever had, and involves one guy basically “buying” another guy for six months of voluntary TPE submission, even though the bottom doesn’t want to admit—even to himself—how much he actually enjoys bottoming. This is sort of a gross oversimplification, but it’s something of a journey of self-discovery for both of them as individuals, and for the two of them as a couple, as well. And like most romance, the road may be—will be—rocky, but they’ll follow it into the sunset together at the end.

Q: In closing, tell us a bit about your latest release (& share a yummy excerpt for those who aren’t yet familiar with your work)
A: Crescendo is the follow-up to Counterpoint, Book I of Song of the Fallen, and completes the story between Ayden and Freyrík. It’s a rough road for both of them in Crescendo, but they do get their long-awaited happily ever after, and they might even manage to fix more than just what’s broken between themselves. Here’s a blurb:

History made them enemies. Chance made them master and slave. Love overcame it all. But love isn’t always enough….

Bridging the hatred of centuries did not come easy for Freyrík Farr and Ayden Vaska. As prince of a war-torn human province, Freyrík could ill afford to fall for an enemy. And Ayden, and elven warrior with three hundred years of bitterness in his heart, wanted no part of love—not elven, and especially not human. Yet they came together despite themselves and despite the will of their peoples, joining heart and mind to fight a race of Dark Beasts threatening the extinction of mankind.

But the Dark Beast threat pales beside the dangers of the human High Court, home of the Aegis Exalted and the harshest test yet of Ayden’s and Freyrík’s fledgling love.

While Ayden is stripped of his magic, Freyrík is forced to choose between his love for elf, Aegis, and brother, all the while seeking the one uncertain path that might save his doomed race. Time is fast running out for mankind, and only by making peace amongst themselves and with their ancient elven enemies can they end the Dark war—and undo the tragedy that’s plagued humans, elves, and Dark Beasts alike for the last three hundred years.

To learn more about Rachel Haimowitz, please visit the following sites:
Website: http://rachelhaimowitz.com
Blog: http://Rachel-haimowitz.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rachel.haimowitz
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RachelHaimowitz

To purchase a copy of Rachel Haimowitz’s latest release, Crescendo: Song of the Fallen Book II, go here: http://stormmoonpress.com/books/Crescendo.aspx

On a personal note, I have some big news to share…

Twinkle twinkle little star

How we wonder what you are…

We hoped and prayed it

Would happen someday

And oh, we’re pregnant by the way…

John and I are expecting our first baby in April

Getting Sweaty with Your Clothes On: How to Write Action Scenes
By S.L. Armstrong

No matter what genre you write, eventually, you’ll find yourself staring down the barrel of an action scene. Maybe it’s a fight, maybe a chase scene, or maybe it’s just the race to get to the airport before the character’s one true love leaves them forever. Whatever the reason for it, the action scene is a fast-paced way to jump the tension level up in your story, and is a valuable tool to have in your writer’s toolbag. So, what I want to do is offer up a few tips on writing a thrilling and compelling action sequence.

The first way to create a sense of action and motion in your writing is to stick to short, direct sentences. Now is not the time for lengthy descriptions, weighty dialogue, or internal monologues. By using a series of short, almost choppy, statements, you create the illusion of speed. Consider the way sports commentators call a play-by-play:

“Adams passes to Barnett. Back to Adams. Back to Barnett. Barnett sets up the kick. A beautiful block by Carruthers! But Barnett picks it up. Back to Adams. Barnett. Adams. Adams with the kick. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!”

Now read the same scene written with more elaborate sentences:

“Adams passes the ball to Barnett, who passes it back to Adams. Now Adams passes to Barnett again. Barnett pauses for a moment and stares down the goalie. He’s taking his shot on the goal, but Carruthers, the goalie, leaps in the ball’s path and knocks it away! Barnett chases the ball down and regains control. Now, he passes it to Adams again, but Adams quickly returns the pass to Barnett. Once more, Barnett kicks the ball to Adams. Now it’s Adams lining up for a shot on the goal. He kicks, and the ball slips past Carruthers and into the net!”

Both scenes describe the exact same series of actions, but how much more tedious was the second set than the first? It feels like a much more sedate game. Similarly, the length of your sentences helps to set the pace of your scene. At the same time, though, make sure you include some slightly longer moments that allow your reader to catch their breath, especially if the action continues for more than a few paragraphs. Otherwise, your reader could get too overwhelmed by everything that’s happening and completely lose the thread of the scene.

A second way to ratchet up the tension in your action scene is through the use of dynamic verbs. This would be one of the few good times to lean a little on your thesaurus. Move beyond the standard action verbs into truly active verbs. Look at these two sentences:

GOOD: John McClane ran into the street and jumped onto the hood of the car.
BETTER: John McClane raced into the street and threw himself onto the hood of the car.

As above, the two statements are saying the same thing, but the second uses more visually dynamic verbs. John’s need to catch that car feels more palpable, more visceral, simply because of the choice of words. A six-year-old on a playground runs and jumps; using strong, active verbs ensures that the reader assigns much greater importance to John’s mission than that. On the other hand, you don’t want to delve too deeply into your thesaurus, or too often, or else the constant barrage of flowery verbs can wear down your reader’s patience:

TOO MUCH: John McClane galloped into the street and catapulted onto the hood of the car.

Finally, if you’re having difficulty describing the action sequence unfolding in your mind, don’t be afraid to get out of your chair and act it out! Sometimes, the best way to work out the dynamics of a scene is to physically act them out yourself, and then write that down. Pay attention to the way your body reacts to certain movements. It could be that the way you see it mentally just isn’t the way a body is capable of actually moving!

Keep these tips in mind, and in no time, your action scenes will keep your reader furiously turning the page, anxious for what happens next!

Where you can find S.L. Armstrong:
Website: http://www.slarmstrong.net/
Twitter: @_slarmstrong
Publisher: http://www.stormmoonpress.com/