Colleen Unleashed, my bid to raise $1,000 toward fighting Cystic Fibrosis, ends tomorrow, Sept. 30.

So far, thanks to the generosity of blog-readers, fans, friends, and family, I’ve raised $1,300! Unbelievable!!!! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

I also pledged to write at least 30,000 words, and as of today, I’ve written 31,560 words! Yay!!!

But….(there’s always a but, isn’t there?)…my team is still lagging behind on its goal to raise $3,000.

This is your last chance to support the efforts to make CF=Cure Found, and to help my team meet its goal.

AND….to be entered in a drawing to win one of three advance copies of As Shadows Fade.

If you’ve been waiting till the last day…if you’ve forgotten about it…if you’ve put it off…well, now’s your last chance.

Go here to donate. Last chance.

Pirate Boy and I thank you and everyone who’s donated for all the support!

Trish Mi (as we call her, to differentiate between Trish Mo [Trish Morey, another author]) is one of my best buds in the Wet Noodle Posse. We angsted for years as we wrote book after book and received rejection after rejection. Sigh.

But Trish is the epitome of never, never, never give up….after writing for many years and probably over a dozen novels, she finally sold her first book…and then a second (to a different publisher)…and there are more to come! Yay Trish!

Her first published book (not first sold; that one comes out this summer) was released earlier this month. Put your hands together and give big welcoming hugs to Trish as she writes about The Power of Music.

(We will be giving away a signed copy of A Firefighter in the Family to a commenter. It’s a fun, quick read with a good mystery subplot.)

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It’s amazing how much emotional power can be packed into song lyrics. I admire anyone who is a good songwriter, creating a story out of a few short lines. I like to incorporate music into my stories to show a character’s feelings or to set a mood. Though I’m careful not to venture into copyright infringement by using actual song lyrics, I do reference them.

For instance, I’m currently working on a young adult story in which my heroine has experienced a significant loss. As teens often do when they’re hurting, she listens to certain music over and over. For my heroine, Marissa, it’s the songs of Breaking Benjamin, a band that I like and whose lyrics really speak to what she’s experiencing.

Marissa is enduring a loss, so when she hears Breaking Benjamin’s “Breathe,” the lyric “You left a hole where my heart should be” really packs an emotional punch. Later, it’s the band’s song “So Cold” that takes on new meaning when heard in the new context of her life. Though I don’t quote the lyrics, it’s the lyrics “You’re so cold, but you feel alive; Lay your hands on me one last time,” that serve as an important turning point for her.

Because making pop culture references tends to be more common in YA novels than adult romances, I use them when they seem appropriate to the story. I try to either reference bands and/or singers who I think have staying power and aren’t one-hit wonders, or I use older artists as deliberate out-of-fashion favorites of the characters even though they might not be popular in the real world anymore. It’s also my way of giving shout-outs to some of my personal favorites.

While doing these revisions, I discovered a band called Anberlin. Their song “Last First Kiss” fit into a new scene I was writing. And in an odd twist, while searching for photos of a Piper Super Cub, a plane that is often used in Alaska, where this story is set, I happened upon a YouTube video that used a beautiful hymn by Chris Rice called “Come to Jesus.” Once again, the lyrics spoke to a specific aspect of the story, so I mentioned the song.

We all know that music can heighten emotions we already feel. So it only seems natural that they would do the same for the characters we create. They help squeeze even more emotion out of the men and women we write. And listening to the songs these characters are listening to can help bring new depths to a scene when we’re writing it.

And hopefully that will translate to a highly emotional read for the reader.

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So…was there a song in your life whose lyrics made a difference to you? Helped you make it through a tough time, or some sort of turning point? Tell us about it (or make another comment) and we’ll put you in the drawing for a copy of A Firefighter in the Family.

For more info, check out Trish Milburn’s Web site. She will be releasing a new book this summer called Heartbreak River, written for young adults, under the name Tricia Mills.

Sigh. He really is beautiful, isn’t he?

Just heard he’s going to be playing the Mad Hatter in a Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland …and Tonto in an upcoming Lone Ranger film. Yum. Oh, and a fourth POTC.

Sigh. Did I mention I just watched What’s Eating Gilbert Grape recently? He looked good enough to eat, if not a bit immature. But now…he’s looking very manly.

The movie was very interesting. Had no idea that was Leo DiCaprio co-starring (though I knew he looked familiar) until the end.

…And in other news…the winner of the Marta Acosta book from yesterday is:

Valerie

Congrats! Please email me at books at colleengleason dot com for details.

Looks like I’m going to see Burn After Reading this afternoon with Music Man. Will report back.

Everyone put their hands together and welcome Marta Acosta, authoress of the funny, charming Casa Dracula books and owner of the blog Vampire Wire.

She promised me she’d write about something that connected our books (besides the presence of vampires?) and she kept her word. Cool. We’ll be giving away a copy of your choice of one of her books to a commenter, so comment away, ladies and gents!

And now, without further ado, I give you….Ms. Marta Acosta!

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Like peanut butter and chocolate, Jane Austen and vampires are two great things that are great together.  So it’s no surprise that Colleen and I both followed our love for Austen into the vamp realm.  While Colleen paid homage to our favorite writer by creating a Regency world inhabited by slayers and vamps, I took a different route with an updated comedy-of-manners.  The vamps in my Casa Dracula novels are snobby overachievers who look down on my impoverished and clever heroine.

Despite our different approaches, we’re both honoring themes found in Austen’s witty, beautifully plotted novels.

Here are a few things that I’ve learned from Austen and tried to apply to my own Casa Dracula series.

•    A character doesn’t have to be the most stunning woman in the room to be the heroine.  A good nature enhances personal beauty, and a bad soul diminishes it.  The heroine of Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet, is criticized as merely “tolerable” when the proud Mr. Darcy meets her.  After further acquaintance, he says, “but that was only when I first knew her, for it is many months since I have considered her as one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance.”   Chic Caroline Bingley becomes less appealing as her unpleasant nature reveals itself.
•    Characters who have a sense of humor about themselves are excellent company.  When Mr. Darcy describes the extraordinary qualities necessary for a woman to be accomplished, Elizabeth brings him to reality, saying with amusement, “I am no longer surprised at your knowing only six accomplished women. I rather wonder now at your knowing any.”
•    Allow the tension build.  Austen takes readers through nerve-racking complications before her characters find their true love.  Her characters aren’t kept about by one drawn-out misunderstanding, but by a series of incidents.  The happy endings may be predictable, but the journey there is terrific.
•    Don’t neglect the minor characters.  Austen’s minor characters were always memorable and beautifully detailed, from pompous and obsequious Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice, to loud and garish Mrs. Jennings in Sense and Sensibility, to the overly romantic young officer in Persuasion.  But there’s no cruelty to her joshing, and we feel the humanity of these characters.  In fact, when Emma casually abuses the garrulous Mrs. Bates, Mr. Knightley scolds her for her unkindness.   Personality is revealed in the way the main characters interact with the minor characters.
•    Make your scoundrels deliciously complex.  Austen’s handsome scoundrels are full of flattery and high sentiments.  Deception is their stock in trade, and they’ll say anything to put themselves in a better light, as well as to destroy others.   The fun is how Austen keeps us unbalanced, wondering if our suspicions are correct about these sleek characters.  These knaves are often perceptive and often the first to notice the admirable qualities of her heroines.  In Mansfield Park, seductive Henry Crawford flirts with little, meek Fanny Price as a cheap amusement.  The joke’s on Henry when he falls passionately for the sweet girl, who rejects his advances.
•    Reward goodness.  I enjoy many books that deal with moral ambiguity, but I am comforted by stories that have a firm ethical structure.   Austen’s heroines will always make right choice over the convenient or financially rewarding choice.  In Persuasion, Anne Elliot rejects the advances of the wealthy, unscrupulous William Elliot.  Fanny Price is thrown out of her home when she refuses to accept Henry Crawford as a husband.   In the end, however, our heroines are rewarded for their noble natures with the love of a good man who truly respects them.
•    Trust in your readers.  In Austen’s most famous opening line, she writes, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a young man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”  She’s sharing a joke with us as her friends, and perhaps this is why we still trust and admire her in return.

Website:  www.martaacosta.com
Blog:  www.martaacosta.blogspot.com
Email:  marta@martaacosta.com
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MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/martaacosta

Remember those cutting insults from middle school when someone was staring at you? “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

Er, yeah. They sounded cutting at the time. (Maybe not in the ’00s, but in the ’80s they were. I think.)

Anyway, I figured I’d better take my own advice and take a few pictures of my minty-fresh clean and rearranged office. Because that will last longer than the organized cleanliness.

Thought some of you might be interested in seeing my workspace (where I at least write my blog and do email, if not actually write new pages for my books. Well, I do write some pages here, but not as many as I might elsewhere.)

Anyway, here’s where it all (some of it, anyway), happens.

So…is your office organized (and does it stay that way)? Or do you subscribe to the mantra: “A clean desk is the clear sign of a sick mind.” (No offense to you with clean desks. I love it when my desk/office is clean. It just doesn’t stay that way!)