Monday, June 21, 2010

Kris Kennedy and Homages

posted by Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

Today I'm thrilled to be welcoming Kris Kennedy back to the Lair to celebrate the release of her second historical for Kensington, The Irish Warrior. We had a blast when Kris was here last year touting her debut novel The Conqueror and we're so glad she was able to join us today. She's going to tell and show us some of the writers who have influenced her.

Take it away Kris!

First, a big “Thank-you!” to all the Banditas for having me back again this year to celebrate my second release, The Irish Warrior, which just came out 1 June! I’m super excited about this one, which was the 2008 Golden Heart® winner for Best Historical. Which of course means I’m also super nervous.

In part, this is because I’m a newbie to the publishing world, and I know nothing. Every so often, I fool myself into thinking I know something, but I’m quickly confronted by the truth, or alternate viewpoints, or new ideas, which show that my knowledge is rather . . . Umm, let’s say rudimentary. In other words: I know nothing. But hey, at least I know I know nothing!

One of the ways I navigate this “know-nothing’ state is I listen, and I learn. I try, as often as possible, unless someone is paying me to teach a class, to keep my mouth closed. And I absorb. And one of the best things to absorb is great writing.

In The Irish Warrior, I decided to pay a few little homages to some of the stories that have influenced me, either in a deep moving way, or in a lighter, fun way. Some of the stories that have stuck with me, deep inside.

I think this happens both unconsciously and consciously. We are deeply taken by some turn of phrase or stylistic approach or plotting choice, and it penetrates so deeply it becomes our own. Imbued with our own sensibilities, of course, changed from the original, but part of our own natural repertoire of storytelling. And then there are the conscious homages. The stylistic turns of phrase or characterizations or set-ups that we adopt knowingly.

In THE LORD OF THE RINGS movies, in the first one, when the hobbits are on the road and they sense a Black Rider is coming, Peter Jackson used an old Hitchcock film technique, of that foreshortening, where the world seems to tunnel in and get at once closer and further away.

Later, Peter Jackson showed up in a scene in the film as an extra, just like Hitchcock used to do. All these were little homages to a great who came before him. A nod. A thank-you.

That's what I'm talking about.

I wonder if this is easier to do in film, in part because we all are (or should be) concerned withy anything that smack of plagerism. Additionally, each author has his or her own distinctive Voice. We don't want to copy someone else's.

But homages are different. They are tributes, and thank-yous, and I put a few of them in The Irish Warrior.

One is to the LITTLE HOUSE books.

Laura Ingalls had such a way with descriptions. Simple and potent. I felt as if I was riding on her wagon, all the little jiggles and shuggles of the endless bumpy ride, and the great bowl of the blue sky atop her head. The ponies running along the edge of Silver Lake, and releasing the baby Great Auk on the melting lake. The stocked larders in winter and the crunching snow underfoot, the long hot rustling grasses during haying season, and the thick-walled muskrat homes Laura and Pa are looking at in the opening of The Long Winter.

There's a couple passages in The Irish Warrior that adopt this style. One is right after the hero and heroine have stolen a boat, and just before a dangerous brush with soldiers, and in between two hot, sexy close-calls between the two of them, there's one little passage that closes out a chapter: "They floated off, the old man watching them, until the tall grasses swallowed him up and the only thing to be seen was the blue bowl of sky overhead and the long, stretched-out wings of a dark, silent cormorant that flew overhead.”

Not sure if it comes across to the reader, but to me, that was Laura Ingalls writing.

I also paid tribute to THE SECRET GARDEN in one little line. Or rather, part of a line.

The hero and heroine have escaped the bad guy and been on the run, and are finally lying down to rest. Senna, the heroine, is well aware her life in in danger . She knows she’s “fleeing for her life with an Irish rebel, out on the wildside, beyond the Pale, past rescue, past safety, past any future she’d ever dreamed of.” And yet . . . something has been awakened inside. Yes, she’s more frightened that she’s ever been before, but she’s also more alive. She lays down next to Finian, “near him but not touching. She put her head on the hard ground and smelled the cool dirt and pale green points of grass, then looked up into the sky and watched the day take its bright, wild shape.” And those pale green points of grass are just what Mary Lennox finds after she follows the robin into the secret garden and starts her own little secret garden, watching the pale green points poking through the dirt, a process which is awakening everything inside of her as well.

But I’m not high-brow about my homages. :-) I gave a little nod to TREMORS as well. Remember that movie? Com’on, you do. I loved that movie when I was a kid. And I thought the way they had to leap across those huge boulders to escape the . . . worm-y thing, was so ridiculous and fabulous. So, in The Irish Warior, the hero and heroine have to make their way across a river, and they do it by . . . jumping boulders. They didn’t have those long vaulting-type branches they did in the movie, but I definitely had them make their “leaping, slipping, flying way across the boulders” just like they did in TREMORS.

And depending on how loosely we define ‘homage,’ it’s possible that every book of mine so far, including the one I’m writing now, pays homage to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, via my heroes. They are Aragorn-inspired. ;-)

Some of the next ones on the “You Have Moved Me So I Will Pay Homage” list: Anne of Green Gables books. E.M. Forester. Agatha Christie.

I have to fit my next homages into a story which is set on the eve of Magna Carta, about an audacious knight who comes up against a woman on a mission. She upends his world, but unfortunately, their missions collide, and jeopardize the kingdom one of them is trying to save.

Thanx so much for joining us today, Kris, and for giving us some insight into your writing! I've definitely paid homage to some of my favorite writers.

How about you? Do you ever do homages to other writers or storytellers in your writing? Ever think you see it in books by authors you love? One commentor will win a signed copy of The Irish Warrior!

67 comments:

Deb said...

Hey, GR, are you visiting the Hins today?

Deb said...

Hi, Kris! Congrats on the release of TIW!

I don't mind if an author pays homage to another author or a movie, etc. (I'm not very good at picking up on them sometimes.) It does bother me, though, if an author thinks they are paying homage to another writer, but uses words that are exact, actual words of another person's, even if the text is turned around. Seems to be bordering on the P word, to me. But, maybe not; that's just my thought and opinion.

I can't wait to pick up TIW!

Cassondra said...

Whoa, Deb!

Way to grab the rooster!!!

Nancy said...

Deb, congrats on the GR! I hope you have a good time with him. Don't let him give you any lip.

Nancy said...

Kris, welcome back! The book sounds fabulous.

I don't deliberately do homages. Everything I write is influenced by a lifetime of reading, of course, but I don't consciously play off those things, possibly because I'm just not thinking about them when I'm writing.

I do use pop culture references but very sparingly, usually to things that have been around a very long time and look good for lasting still longer, so the book won't seem dated.

I've noticed that Kryptonite seems popular in the romance and fantasy genres, for example.

Good luck with the book!

Cassondra said...

Hey Kris, and welcome back to the lair.

I don't do conscious homages. Maybe because I'm just not confident enough to do it. I'm always afraid nobody will recognize it as such and think I'm just pulling good writing from somewhere rather than creating my own.

Maybe one day I'll be secure enough to do something like that. Alas, not now. In fact, I even refuse to read in a particular genre if I'm writing in that genre at the time. For instance, I'm working on a futuristic, but I won't read futuristic ANYTHING until I get at least the rough draft out and the world building done. I'm too easily influenced and never certain I'm not drawing directly from someone else's work, and I never, never NEVER want anyone to think I'm doing that. And I know me. If I love an author's work, the voice, the world--ALL of it--will pull me. Pull me off of my own voice at times.

Love the sound of your Irish hero and the obvious difficult choices your heroine must make. That makes for heart-rending reading.

Congrats on your second release!

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

WTG on capturing the GR, Deb!

Don't let that rascal pull any fast ones today. I have a feeling he may be on a sugar high after all those Tim Tams he consumed at Helen's house. ;-)

WELCOME BACK, Kris! So glad you could join us, and SUPER CONGRATS on the release of The Irish Warrior.

AC

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Nancy,
I know what you mean about those pop culture references. I'm always worried that they'll be hopelessly outdated before the book ever hits the shelves.

And speaking of hitting shelves, aren't both of Kris' covers YUMMY?!?! I think just the book will fly off the shelves on the basis of the cover alone. :-)

AC

Donna MacMeans said...

Hi Kris! Welcome back to the lair.

Deb - way to be quick on the draw!

I don't think I deliberately do homages, but I think our style does develop out of the things we read and love. There's some basics that are hard to ignore - like Hitchcock's macguffin when writing suspense.

I agree with AC - love the covers. Glad to see medievals get some love. We could use some more on the stands IMO.

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Cassondra,
I'm like you. When I'm writing contemporary (which is all the time, since that's what I write :-P) I don't READ contemporary, I tend to read historicals. Wouldn't want something to inadvertently slip into my storyline. :-)

GOOD GOOD LUCK on your futuristic! Hope it's got lots of great BOOM in it.

AC

limecello said...

Hi Kris - I've been hearing so many great things about your book, and am glad you're visiting with us today!
I'm not a writer, so no homages, but yes I definitely see them in books I read. Lots of stories based on the classics, or ancient myths. Sometimes closely, sometimes not, and how I feel about it really depends on the premise and the way it's written.

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Hey Donna,
I agree about needing more medievals on the shelves! Oh yeah! LURVE me some knights with big shiny swords...

Er, um, yes of COURSE that includes gladiators Demetrius, Lucien and Marcus!

AC

Helen said...

Well done Deb yes he did have a few Tim Tams yesterday so he may be hyped up you had better watch him perhaps get him working?

Hi Kris

I am not a writer so no paying homage to other great writers isn't what I do but I do think it is a great way to acknowledge awesome writers from days gone past. I get so into a book when I am reading one that I in all honesty probably wouldn't notice if someone had done that unless I was watching for it after reading about it in the acknowledgments.
Congrats on your 2nd release sounds like another fantastic book. Thanks Aunty Cindy for inviting Kris back today.

Have Fun
Helen

Lady_Graeye said...

Hi Kris! Congrats on your new release. I don't mind if authors pay homage to others and I am not good about doing it on my own without cues from other. I just go with the flow I guess. Best of luck and much success to you.

Michelle Santiago said...

hi kris! welcome back to the lair :)
i read a book (seduce me by robyn dehart) a couple of weeks about and the ending is an homage to star wars and it was unexpected but fun. i don't mind when authors do homages at all especially when authors pay homages to books and movies i love too.

congrats on nabbing the gr deb!

Christie Kelley said...

Welcome back to the lair, Kris. Great post. I honestly don't think I've consciously written in homage to another writer. But maybe subconsciously!

I still have your first book sitting in my TBR pile. I think it's time to pull it to the top. I remember when you were here the last time how good that book sounded.

Good luck with The Irish Warrior!

Christie Kelley said...

Deb, congrats on grabbing the GR.

Gillian Layne said...

Goodness, Kris! ""They floated off, the old man watching them, until the tall grasses swallowed him up and the only thing to be seen was the blue bowl of sky overhead and the long, stretched-out wings of a dark, silent cormorant that flew overhead.”

Sold! What evocative writing! And I used to read my LIW books until the covers fell off.

I'm not certain I consciously thought about doing this, but I must have. What a thought-provoking post.

Aunt Cindy, let me publicly say--my Mom latched on to my copy of Treasures of Venice and she just cannot quit talking about it! Every time she calls me I get another chapter update. I'll be lucky to ever see it again. :)

Blodeuedd said...

Mmm Irish :)

I am sure I have seen it around, but I guess I never really think about it. I am too lost in teh story

jo robertson said...

Hi, Kris, welcome back to the Lair. Can you tell us a little more about the storyline of THE IRISH WARRIOR? Ask anyone, in the Lair we adore the Irish heroes.

What a fascinating topic. It's far easier for me to see the "homages" paid to filmmakers by other filmmakers.

I'm thinking of the classic scene in THE UNTOUCHABLES where the baby carriage rolls down the steps. DePalma borrowed this scene from a 1920's Russian filmmaker who used the same idea of being caught in random violence in his Odessa steps sequence.

Unknown said...

Congrats Deb on the GR, have fun with him!

Congrats Kris on you release! Great post! I love the cover or your book and the title! This looks like my kind of read and I can't wait to get it!

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Hey Deb~
Well, yes, you're 100% correct--plagiarism, or anything that smacks of it, is no good. If all someone want to do is rewrite another person's work, that an entirely different matter. :-)

Glad you're looking forward to picking up the book!!

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Nancy and Cassondra~
I have to say, I didn't intentionally set out to do any homages in this book.

The written lines that remind me of LITTLE HOUSE books and THE SECRET GARDEN, they happened without intent. They were the unconscious, but when I re-read, I saw the 'source' of them so clearly.

The TREMORS one was somewhat intentional, insofar as I had to get these people across a river, at night, on the run, with no bridge, and no time to plan out something elaborate. The moment they started having a conversation about boulders, I thought, "Oh, I know how they're going to do this!" LOL

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Limecello~
Oh, yes, myths! And fairy tales, including those with a twist. :-) Eloisa James has a Cinderella-story coming out soon.

I guess we could discuss whether they're simply adopting a style or set-up to facilitate a story, but I think when we do that, we're de facto paying tribute, don't you? Whether we intend to or not.

I'm so glad you're hearing good things about IRISH! Hope that makes you want to read it. :-)

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Donna~
You are so right--some contributions certain artists have made to craft have become structural so to speak. They have added or framed/explained/named something fundamental to the craft, that when we use them, it's like using a spoon: it simply must be.

Very glad to hear the medieval-love! If you pick it up, I hope the story makes you happy. :-)

I'm so excited people are into the Irish-ness of stories like mine and Aunt Cindy's too!

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Helen & Lady Graeye~
I'm actually the same as you! I never notice anything homage-y in the stories I'm reading or writing until after, or whens someone points it out.

Then I saw it in IRISH, and I thought, "Wow, I wonder how often this happens, that the stories which had deeply moved *us* get into our storytelling cells? And what if I paid closer attention?"

But in truth, I am exactly like you. I always took extra Lit classes in school, yes, because I loved the stories, but also b/c I realized there was *no way* I was going to see all these layers on my own. I still love GRAPES OF WRATH, and it's for one reason: I had a great teacher, who ushered me 'into' the story.

:-)

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Donna & AC~
Btw, meant to say: Thanks for the cover love!!

I'm totally in love with the cover of IRISH. If I could eat it, I would. I want it to be the cover of every book I write from now on, no matter the setting or period. LOL

http://kriskennedy.net said...

ChelleyReads~
How cool is that?! An ending that's an homage to Star Wars. :-)

And yes, when the 'nod' is to someone or something that we understand or like, it feels almost as if we're sharing a private joke with the author, or that we share a sensibility. It heightens the fun of the read.

Thanks for saying hi!!

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Okay, kiddos~

I have to run for a little while and do kid stuff. (Wait. I mean, do Mommy stuff with my kid.)

I'll be back later!!

Kim in Baltimore said...

Aloha, Kris! Congrats on your newest release - I've seen lots of positive hype about it! Plus your cover (like the previous cover) is HOT!

I enjoy seeing/reading homages in movies/books ... it adds a special something to the story!

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Hey Gillian,
SOOO happy your mom loves TToV! But sorry you may have lost your autographed copy forever. ;-)

I'm about to start my blog tour for TWIS. Maybe if you win a copy of that one, you can swap with her. LOL!

AC

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

ROFLOL Karyn, about whether The Irish Warrior and his big ole sword will fit in your mailbox! :-)

Speaking of TToV... (I just was in my comment to Gillain) I did pay homage to Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet in that one. I even had Sam and Keirnan quote from the play a couple of times. Just couldn't resist making reference to "star-crossed lovers."

AC

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Morning Jo-Mama,

Thanx for the insight in The Untouchables. I remember that scene so well, but didn't realize it was from a much earlier Russian film.

Sometimes techniques directors use almost become cliche they are copied so often. Was it Hitchcock who first shot the scene looking up (or was it down) the spiraling staircase in the tall building? I swear I've seen that shot sooo many times the DH and I now refer to it as "the obligatory staircase shot." :-P

AC

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Morning Virginia!

Glad to see you and I know, I know, just what you needed. One more book in your TBR pile. Don't we all?!?! LOL!

AC

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Hey Kris,
Hurry back, we have cyber bubbly to distribute to celebrate The Irish Warrior!

I forgot to mention that Tremors is one of my all time favorite movies! I absolutely LURVED all the ingenuity it took for them to kill all those worm-y monsters. And what a great bunch of quirky characters! I adore Kevin Bacon... THERE! I said it and I'm PROUD!

AC

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

ROFLOL, Kris!

I'd gladly take your cover of The Irish Warrior for any other book *I* ever write too! (Aunty fans self vigorously) That is ONE HAWT man... er, um COVER!

AC

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Aloha, Kim!

Great to see you this morning, and I must agree. When I recognize homages it gives me this feeling of being just a wee bit special. ;-) Well, unless they are cheesy or forced, then UGH!

AC

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Ac~
Woot! Another TREMORS-lover! It's been 150 years (about) since I last saw it. I've decided: I am going to rent it this weekend, much to my husband's head-shaking. He doesn't get how I can re-read and re-watch things like I do.

And as far as IRISH's cover: I know. I mean, if you're going to do a cover, that's one DONE cover. ;-)

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

Hi Kris! great to have you back with us! Welcome.

I think homages are both wonderful and delicate things. Good for you to think of that "thank you" to your influences.

This book sounds as good as your debut. Wow.

AC, you're making my TBR mountain teeter again! Sheesh.

Kris, I had to LOL about Tremors. Cheesy, off the wall and impossible to resist watching. Yep, that's Tremors! hahaha

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Christie~
Aw, I'm so glad to hear THE CONQUEROR made it to your TBR! have complete sympathy for your toppling TBR pile. Mine is a variety of piles, arrayed like standing stones around our bedroom. They have a mystic-like power, drawing me to them when I ought to be doing other things . . . :-)

IRISH is a bit different that THE CONQUEROR in ways. More adventure-y, more sexy, more . . . Irish-y. LOL

Hope you love 'em both!!

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

You're very welcome Duchesse...
About the TBR mountain, but honestly, I don't think you needed any help from me. ;-)

And you summed up Tremors so well! Except you forgot to mention all the great BOOM!

AC

Janga said...

The Conqueror made me a Kris Kennedy fan; The Irish Warrior made me reconsider my take on Medievals. If there are other Medieval heroes out there just half as compelling as Finian, I'm cheating myself out of some great reading by avoiding most Medievals.

I think all writers, consciously or unconsciously, pay homage to authors they love. Readers, and perhaps writers as well, generally recognize only the most obvious. I love Eloisa James's Essex sister books, but I don't think I would have seen them as EJ's homage to Little Women had she not said they were.

I needed a fictional record company for the hero of my first ms. I chose "Valentine" as a conscious act of homage. If my ms ever reaches publication, I'll be interested to see if any readers recognize the company. :)

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Gillian~
Many thanks for such a wonderful compliment! I'm so pleased you liked the Ingall's-inspired line. And you know, all my LITTLE HOUSE books are tattered and torn as well. :-)

I have to admit, I know it's sacrilege to some, but I love a tattered book. Esp if it's still in the original owner's possession.

To me, it means true love. It's the torn, stinky old bunny stuffie of our reading heart. ;-)

Oh, this is reminding me of the polar bear stuffed animal my brother and I had when we were kids. Tattered, literally hanging together by threads (specifically, his head and his right arm), his flattened dingy grey fur, although I'm sure it once was white. And his little rounded ears, one grown fat with stitchings due the repeated surgeries he had to endure.

(Stuffed animals work hard for their children.)

I loved him so much, I can still *feel* him in my hands.

Yeah, I'm a fan of tattered. ;-)

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Bloduedd~
Hi there! You know, getting lost in the story sounds about right to me.

And I had to say, much as I love talking about this kind-of thing, I do not want it to imply that I'm *good* at noticing it myself. I generally need someone to point it out to me. One of my greatest talents is being rather obtuse at times. ;-)



Virginia~
Oh, I'm very glad IRISH sounds like a good read! If you check it out, I hope you love it. :-)


Kim in Hawaii~
Thanks for kind words about the cover. I wish I had something to do with its goodness, but it's all Kensy's Art Dept. All I can do is sit back and enjoy. :-)

Hope you check out the book, and I hope you love it!

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Karyn~
Hey there! Good to 'see' you. Hope the book arrives soon--I have someone who send them out for me.

And don't you worry . . . Finian will make sure his sword fits anywhere he decides it needs to be. He's determined like that. You'll see . . .

;-)

Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse) said...

AC Said: Except you forgot to mention all the great BOOM!


Oooh, of COURSE! :>

Anna Campbell said...

Hey, Deb, cool magool on the GR! I hope he's behaving.

Kris, congratulations on the release of your second book! Sounds delicious!

Loved your post on homages. I think I do a homage every time I write anything - I was such a reader, a lot of that stuff just got in the bloodstream, you know? Some of the influences I can pick, some I can't. As far as conscious homages go, Tempt the Devil was a Regency Affair to Remember, although I think only I would pick up the connection. And there's a scene in that when they kiss in Hyde Park that was a tribute to the wonderful final kiss in North and South, the BBC adaptation. Completely different people and completely different situation but the tenderness and passion of that kiss on TV really worked for me and I tried to capture on the page.

Minna said...

Whoopee, I'm finally connected again! My old computer decided to die and I had to buy a new one.

Well, it depends on the book, but usually it doesn't bother me if an author pays homage to another author, movie or something.

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Hi Jo~
I think I agree. This seems easier to see--and do--in film. And what a great example of a film scene that's become iconic.

Thank-you for asking about IRISH's storyline. :-) I can give a little synopsis . . .

It's about a man on a mission form his king to recover dangerous military intelligence. He is captured by treachery, and stuck in the prisons of a Really Bad Guy.

Thanks goodness for wool merchants trying to sell their wool. :-)

The heroine is said wool merchant, trying to save her business by negotiating a deal with with the Really Bad Guy. But once she arrives in Ireland, she quickly realizes he wants a great deal more than her wool, and none of it is good.

What's a girl to do? Well, clearly, she has to free the Irish warrior chained in the prisons and flee across the war-torn land of Ireland together, right?

Soon enough, a lot of powerful people are in on the hunt, because it involves military weapons that are easy to hide, easy to use and utterly lethal.

And Finian comes to realize that Senna herself lies at the heart of this matter, and even he may not be strong enough to save her.

So . . . how's that? :-)

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Janga~
You sweetie! That is so wonderful to hear! Thank-you thank-you!

I'll try to fit more exclamation points in my next comment!

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Jeanne~
Yay!! Most glad IRISH sounds good, and that CONQUEROR did as well. :-)

And yet, I feel your TBR pain. It's almost self-preservation to stay offline and NOT hear about new books, ya know?

http://kriskennedy.net said...

AC~
LOL. Maybe we can take turns using him as the cover model for all books to come.

I mean, really, he'll work anywhere, right? They can Photoshop in new backgrounds, although I would advocate they all have a stormy-blue-black feel to them.

Picture a cityscape. Works, right? A mountain range and a barbed wire fence, maybe a mustang running free? Totally works. A carriage and the heeled slipper of a lady stepping down? Yowzah.

He'd work in all them, with his sword and open shirt, looking to the side with his hair flowing out.

What a versatile guy. :-)

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Anna~
Yes. Exactly. It's in the bloodstream. The storystream. It's *cellular.*

I love your examples from TEMPT THE DEVIL. I know what you mean, that no one else might pick up on them, but we know, even if it's after-the-fact, that we are saying "Thank-you" with that line or scene or sometimes, the whole damned story. :-)

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Hi again!

Sorry I disappeared for awhile... family stuff, BAH, humbug!

BIG thanx to Kris for spending time with us today. And YES! I totally agree that your cover model could work of just about every book. ;-)

And BIGGER THANX to everyone who dropped by today.

Deb, I hope the GR didn't cause any trouble there in Iowa. I'm almost afraid to listen to the news reports...

AC

Susanna Fraser said...

Kris, I have TIW on my Kindle and must get to it soon, because any writer with such good taste in works to pay homage to must be one that I'd love! :-)

I've put Buffy homages along the lines of what you describe in several of my manuscripts, and I've borrowed character names from everything from Iron Chef to my beloved Seattle Mariners.

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Susanna!
A Mariner's fan! Yay! Wait, I mean...commiserations...what is wrong with us...?

So, who has an M's name in your ms?



AC~
Thank-YOU so much for having me here today!! I hope I can come back next release which, sadly, looks to be late 2011.

In the meantime, I will hope for an earlier release date, and keep writing. The current story is kicking my you-know-what, and has a July 1 deadline, so all is not fun and games in the Kennedy household right now . . .

Louisa Cornell said...

Way to go, Deb! Make him behave!

Hey, Pixie Sister! Don't enter me in the drawing as I won both your books on the Brenda Novak Auction!

I never realized it, but I do pay homage to some of my favorite authors in my writing. The Raven's Heart is definitely my homage to Jane Eyre - my very favorite Bronte novel.

And my current WIP - His Charming Seductress is my homage to one of my favorite television shows. I tell people His Charming Seductress is Pride and Prejudice meets the Addams Family!

Come to think of it, the first scene in the infamous Manwhore book (just finishing the polish on it!) is my homage to a Bandita. You'll have to tell me what you think, La Campbell, if I can ever persuade a publisher to buy it!

Congrats on this release, Pixie Sister! You make us all PROUD!

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Kris,
THANK YOU for being a fabulous guest! Just email me privately a few months before your release date and we'll fit you into the schedule.

And YOU CAN DO IT on the July 1st deadline! Who needs sleep? Food? Clean clothes? That's why we have "the writing caves" here in the Lair, so any Bandita on deadline can hide out and do nothing but WRITE! It might not be pretty, but we get 'er done. ;-)

AC

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Hey Louisa!
Congrats on you "win" on Brenda Novak's fab auction!

I think P&P meets the Addams family sounds like GREAT FUN! And I'd love to read that homage to our Fo. :-)

Keep writing Darlin' because I know your day is comin' and SOON!

AC

Linda Henderson said...

I don't know that I have noticed any homage to an author by another in their stories. Sometimes in the acknowledgements or dedications, but I think that's all I've noticed. Congratulations on your new release.

jo robertson said...

Thanks, Kris. I lurve the sound of it!

Anna Campbell said...

Ooh, Louisa!!! A homage a moi??? Formidable!

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Louisa~
I'm with Cindy--your day is SO coming.

Wait. That sounded like a threat. I meant it the good way!

Can't wait to read your Manwhore-ish homage to Anna . . . :-)

http://kriskennedy.net said...

LOL Cindy. I have been laying off everything but writing and occasional tending of the child.

The problem is, right now, I'm doing everything else better than I'm writing. You know things have reached a sorry state when you clean a bathroom more skillfully than you write a love scene. LOL

Thanks for the cheerleading! I am cave-bound.

Susanna Fraser said...

A Mariner's fan! Yay! Wait, I mean...commiserations...what is wrong with us...?

All I can think is all our good luck from last year came back as bad luck this time around.

So, who has an M's name in your ms?

My favorite of the Spanish characters in my Peninsular War romance is a Martinez, in honor of Edgar, and I've also got characters sailing off into the sunset on a ship named Felix.

Susanna Fraser said...

Oh, and I'd love to use Ichiro as a model for a hero, because I think he's sexy. But I write Regency, so a Japanese hero is a bit of a challenge...

http://kriskennedy.net said...

Susanna~
I still have my Edgar #11 baseball cap, but I don't wear it anymore, b/c I don't want to ruin it. LOL

Hmm...Regency era Japanese tie-in . . . . How can we get Ichi in your stories....?

In 1771, "the Japanese dissected a criminal's body while following diagrams and plates in a translation of a Dutch book on anatomy. Japanese interest in 'Dutch' learning is increasing and spreading." (From: http://www.shikokuhenrotrail.com/japanhistory/edohistory.html)

That could be a cool story kernel! Altho, I admit, at first I read it that *as* they were doing a dissection of a criminal, they found diagrams and books of 'Dutch' origins. Maybe not inside his body, tho... LOL Anyhow, that site has other events as well.

Good luck with your Carina book!