My Big Fear

I'm afraid of going to the dentist. I'm going to the dentist tomorrow, no, today, because it's one a.m. and I can't get to sleep because I'm going to the dentist.



Even though I go to 'Dentistry...Asleep' where every patient there is afraid of going to the dentist, and we get put to sleep for our dental work, and no one makes fun of us for being afraid - I'm still afraid.





I don't get to eat for six hours before the dental work and I don't get to drink water for four hours before, because my dentist will be knocking me out before he preps two, not one but two, teeth for crowns.




He isn't the Nazi from Marathon Man. He isn't the crazed dentist from 'Little Shop of Horrors.'

OR IS HE????

Man Candy Monday

OooOOOooo. Looks like he's got something interesting down there. And if he finds it interesting, I bet we Man Candy Monday types would, too.

I don't know who this fine fellow is, but I know this - I'd love to play 'you show me yours and I'll show you mine' with him. Or is it 'you show you yours'...I'd play that, too.

Man Candy Monday - Maddy's Baaaaack

Here's a sexy shirtless soldier in Israel. I plucked him from a website called army-boyz.com. There's plenty more where he came from...

There's something about a muscled guy in khaki, isn't there? The picture makes the imagination run wild, which is just the thing for Monday Morning Madness.

Don't forget to visit the home of Man Candy Monday: Erotica Cover Watch... aka BICEPS.

xoxo Madeline

My Editor Likes My Book - Hurrah!

I live with Felix Baron, who writes erotica for Nexus Books, an imprint of Virgin Press/Random House. There are a lot of good things about living with another writer: an understanding of each other's lifestyle/deadlines/process, a second opinion always available, a mutual interest in all things new and all words, period.

Then there are the not-so-good things, like poverty and jealousy. When Felix submits a book, his editor (and his editor is my editor, too) writes an email gushing with praise. This email includes quotes from the actual book.

I've written three books for Black Lace. After I submitted the first I waited confidently for my praise-filled email. When it failed to materialize in my in box, I sent one of my own, asking his opinion. 'A good first effort' was the eventual reply. OW!

After I submitted the second I waited not-so-confidently for his response. When it failed to materialize, I asked his opinion. Still no answer. I asked again. Still no answer. By this time I knew him better. He hates to criticise his authors. That's the reason, I'm sure, that we don't get rejection letters for our short stories. We get silence. Silence = nyet.

This time, I submitted my novel and went to work on a pilot script for a series proposal. I didn't ask. I knew if he liked I'd hear and if he didn't I wouldn't.
I checked my email every day. That's about all I did besides sit in front of a computer with a headset on and a mike to my mouth, brainstorming myself into oblivion.

When I emerged from my creative cocoon, I discovered I was unsteady on my feet and five pounds lighter and dizzy and - that there was an email from Virgin in my in-box.

Yes! Praise from my editor! Yes! A quote from my actual book! Yes! More praise! Oh frabjous day!

And so to bed. Headaches, weirdo dreams, aches and pains and - my editor liked my book! Kaloo Kalay!

Hey! Editors can be wrong, you know. While I agree that my first book was 'a good first effort' I think the second one is really sexy and tells a darn good story. So don't go thinkin' you needn't bother reading them, because really, you should. But the third one? Well - My editor likes it!

SHE CHORTLED IN HER JOY!!!

Preorder Sarah's Education now in the US! Follow the link....

Preprder Sarah's Education now in the UK! Follow the link...

I'll be back on Monday with more tales from the weird world of Skype team writing, hopefully a hot guy for Man candy Monday, and other tasty titbits from Madeline's tickle trunk.

Dreams Come True

Uh oh. We're only two weeks into the New Year and I've already broken my one and only resolution - no more writing on spec.

I'm not talking about fiction, here. I'm talking about TV/Movies. Those of you who were faithful fans of Lust Bites might recall two pieces I did for the blog - Writing for TV and Writing For Film.

The decision not to write on spec was made whilst reading The Devil's Guide to Hollywood: The Screenwriter As God by Joe Eszterhas.

Care to see the face of one of Hollywood's most successful screenwriters?






Here's Joe!



No more spec became my mantra. No more spec became Felix's mantra. NO MORE SPEC.

Then along come an American Independent Film Producer with a Dream. A Vision. Even better - A Business Plan!

Three times I talked to her with the intention of saying 'No, I cannot collaborate on a rewrite of your pilot script for deferred payment!' Three times I said, instead, 'Count me in!'



If she can talk me into writing on spec, maybe she can talk her potential investors into ponying up the cash!

As well, she's optioned on of our favourite scripts - for a dollar. Of course, it's an American dollar, but that ain't what it used to be and anyway, one doesn't buy a lot on either side of the border.

Why did we sell her an option for a dollar?
Why am I working on spec on her pilot script?

Because we like her. Because we believe we can trust her. Because the contracts she sent us are business-like and fair. Someday, we just might get paid a decent amount of money for this work.

And because Felix and I love writing screenplays. We're mad for movies and we dig great TV. We want to be part of that scene.

And because this IS how The Business works. An Independent Producer needs a product to show investors. The producer needs the script before he or she can get any money, even start-up funds. That's the nature of the beast.

And because dreams come true. Anyone who watched the Golden Globes last Sunday knows it. Best Picture went to - Slum Dog Millionaire.



Not Benjamin Button or Revolution Road or any of the other big Motion Pictures up for the award. The award went to a movie shot in India starring a bunch of unknown Indian people. HUH?

IN 'THE BUSINESS' DREAMS COME TRUE!!!!!


Wish me luck my friends. I start Monday Jan. 19. You may not hear much from me for a few weeks, but I'll be back...



xoxo Madeline