If You Chat They Will Come

REMINDER!

Chat tonight with moi at http://www.writerspace.com/ at 9pm. Please do join me if you can and yes, I'll be answering any silly questions, especially about sexy vegetables and kilts ;-).

Here's yet another review of VIRTUALLY HIS at Loves Romance And More. The review was fair and I love how the reviewer summed up the different aspects of the plot. I also appreciated that she GOT the fact that this is the FIRST part of a series, that the relationship between Hell and her monitor is just at the beginning stages. She called it "the opening act." PERFECT! Thank you for the very balanced review...but can I umm...ask for a teeny bitty correction? The title of my book is VIRTUALLY HIS, not Virtually Yours ;-).

EDITED TO ADD: The link to this site suddenly doesn't work any more (was working fine last night). So here is the CACHED PAGE instead. Click here to read the review for now.

That's the tough part about starting a series with a repeating title. Like the In Death series--I can't remember the titles/plot besides the first one, Naked In Death. Everything else is sort of a mixed of title and plot. However, the positive is, the brand recognition is immediate--you see an IN DEATH book, you know it's part of the series. And it makes me pick up the book to read the blurb to make sure I haven't bought this particular one yet.

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Reading-wise, I just finished Madeline Hunter's Lessons of Desire (yes, I have the ARC, bwahaha), the second book in her Rothwell series. Phaedra, the heroine, was different because she was brought up by a very suffragette-like mother, who'd taught her that free love is better than being tied to a man like a possession. Lord Elliot, the hero, found the combination of independence and open sensuality very intriguing. Through circumstances brought on by their parents' past, these two found their lives changed forever.

I enjoyed the second half of the book more, when the heroine began to find out more about her dead mother's past and the secret lover. The passion between the main couple, however, was very muted compared to past Hunter books that I've loved, like By Arrangement or Lord of a Thousand Nights, both of which I've recently reread because the tension in them was teh hawtness.

I was a tad disappointed with how this story about a remarkably strong woman ended. Don't want to spoil it, so you'll have to read and discuss it with me ;-).

What are you reading right now? Disappointed or satisfied?

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Breakfast and Bobbleheads

Another great review of Virtually His! It's at Suspense Romance Writers. I so love the different takes by the reviewers from different sites! In this one, the reviewer called some of the commandos "Flyboy, Big Swimming Guy, and Denim Clad alpha male." Heh heh heh. I love it.

All in all, I'm very excited about the reviews Virtually His has gotten. With the gamble I took, building the suspense through cutting edge technology such as virtual reality and brain entrainment machines, I had my fingers crossed every day for the past year and the half, praying that readers are ready for something a little different. Hail the Techy Goddess!

Question: Do you read reviews? And how do they influence you?

Putting this link on the right of the blog under VHIS cover for easy access....

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Sarah from NZ, this is what Hawaiian bread looks like:



I eat mine with chocolate and strawberries. Sometimes I have sweet grated coconut inside it (we have a version of that in Malaysia too--coconut bun). Best breakfast in the world. Ha. And coffee. Don't forget Da Coffee.



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RB aka Da Gremlin is returning to Dr. Mengele to fix his mangled bottom teeth today. Send him luck and...more luck. I wouldn't have gone back.

He amused me yesterday when he was telling the waitresses at Shit and Grits about his experience and ended it with, "And then she gave me the ultimate insult. She asked me whether I wanted prescription painkillers." (See me roll my eyes here. RB and painkillers are like hotdog and filet mignon) "Why not? I'd have wanted some," asked the waitress innocently. "Don't you know the warrior's creed?" roared Da Gremlin through lisping teeth, "Pain is beautiful. Extreme pain is extremely beautiful."

Oh yeah. I handed him a piece of steak. "Try gnawing on this, Mr. Extremely Beautiful."

Got him back.

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And now, for an icon like Nora Roberts, collecting reviews of her books is just passe. If you're in Hagerstown, the first 1000 at the Minor League Baseball game where she'll be making the first pitch, will get your very own Nora Bobblehead.

Now that's something to aspire to--my very own bobblehead doll!

Way to go, Nora! (What's she holding in her bobblehands?)

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I So Wrote A Romance Too!

IMO, THIS is one of the better written reviews of Virtually His. The reviewer did an excellent job summing up Book One in the first few paragraphs, something that I* had trouble doing for my proposal, LOL. I should hire her to sum up my other Virtual books!

This is the review that says that Virtually His isn't a romance because there is no romance found inside the pages. I can see where the reviewer is coming from, of course, because there is no direct interaction between Hell and her trainer, and even though Jed DOES appear physically several times, it was more as a tease for Hell while she tries to figure her trainer's identity. In that sense, there's no romance within the book.

But, if one loosely generalizes the parts of a romance as:
1) set up
2) heroine meets hero
3) sexual tension
4) conflict (external and internal)
5) bonding
6) revelation,

I can defend that these elements are present in Virtually His. Granted, they don't exactly "meet" in a physical manner, but hey, there was a romance recently that was written mostly in email form between the protagonist, yes? Sexual tension is always present in a romance but can it be sustained throughout a series? For me, in many books, once the hero and heroine start going at it like horny rabbits, much of the tension afterwards is lost.

As for the romantic conflict, well, for me, and obviously for Hell, is what she is feeling real? That is the main conflict and will still be the real conflict in Book Two. Even after she meets Jed in person, there is this itsy bitsy problem of the sexual trigger. And her accidental bumping into another remote viewer and absorbing his perverted sexual "cache." And the knowledge that she is one independent GEM operative. It's a BIG itsy bitsy problem in a budding romance.

The bonding and revelation. There was a physical get-together. Did you think Jed was just going to be normal about their sexual encounter? Not the first time, surely. Nor the second or the third. He's going to be his manipulative self, always looking for a way out of saying that it is anything but sex. Is the reader going to dislike him? Well, that's the gamble when I chose Jed as the hero to this series. He's not a LIKEABLE fellow. Lickable, yes ;-).

The final revelation isn't "I love you" or "Will you marry me" or any other committed phrase. It's Hell finally finding out, through her remote viewing skill, who her trainer is. Yeah, I could have been more succinct, written in a confrontation. There were different ways to end it but no matter what, it was going to be a cliffhanger anyway. Even if Jed walks enters her apartment in the flesh and says, "I'm Jed and yes, I'm your trainer," and I end there, some readers would still want more.

As it stands, the way I ended it was a writer's decision to make it look like a TV season finale. Sort of Jack Bauer-ish ;-). Because, as you know, I love that TV series (except for Day 6, when I just love parts of it).

Although I really enjoyed this review, I've to disagree with this sentence from the last paragraph: After investing a great deal of time reading this almost 400 page book that sets the stage for the climactic revelation of identity of Hades, the story just stops, and we are left hanging in midair wondering who Hades really is. IMHO, I think that it was quite clearly Jed McNeil who is the monitor. Throughout the book, I took pains in describing the eye color or clothing of every of the commando that was introduced. Flyboy with the blond hair and blue eyes. Armando with his Asian features and cloak. Jed and his silver eyes and those jeans. Heath and his chocolate melty eyes. Diamond and his nakedness ;-). Where the story ended, with Hell seeing silver eyes and blue jeans, well, take a wild guess as to who the hero of the next book is...go on...;-P.

Question: Did you have trouble guessing the monitor's identity? Did you get the clues (or were you too busy drooling over them like Hell, heh heh)? And if you know Jed from the other books, do you agree that he acted consistently?

I want to thank you Romance Reviews Today for reviewing the book and giving me a great blogging entry! In Virtually Hers, less techy, more Jedness!

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Not A Romance or Not Romantic?

The Malaysian Abroad article about me was supposedly going to be up today. I couldn't find it.

Romance Reviews Today was going to post a review of VIRTUALLY HIS yesterday. The reviewer brought up something interesting that I never considered. She said Virtually His wasn't a romance, or rather, there was no romance in the story. But the review isn't up at their site yet, so I can't bring that up for discussion.

The review itself was very well written and recommended Virtually His. I liked it that the reviewer relayed what worked and didn't work for her, so readers can see the different elements of the story. I knew there would be lots of hate generated from the techy stuff, but never ever did it cross my mind that I wasn't writing a romance. It's not romantic, yeah. Well, it's book one and the start of a very strange relationship, so there can't be too much "I want you, I love you, you are mine" declarations.

Oh well. More tomorrow if the article is up by then. I'd love to hear your thoughts whether you consider VHIS a romance. Not whether it's romantic, which is a different creature entirely. Also, were the clues to the trainer that vague to the reader not familiar with the COS commandos? I'm biased, of course; I thought with all the eye colors I kept throwing out, and the revelation of the monitor's eyes at the end, it's pretty obvious that the trainer/monitor was no other than Jed McNeil himself.

The review ends with a question, wondering how the author (me) was going to handle the disclosure of Jed as the trainer.

Ah. Well. I can disclose that no problem. Courtesy from Lauren Dane, there will be lots of this:

(AND AIMEE, HE IS MINE MINE MINE, so you can't have him!!!! Not after this short video! Heh.)



Yup. And nope, it's not going to be romantic sex either. Solly. Jed doesn't do romantic sex. ;-P And if you think the sex between Stefan (Jed) and Sia-Sia was a bit much in The Protector, what with the use of the drug and chains, I'm afraid to think what you're going to think about Jed and Helen's sexual scenes. Because in Book Two, there's no reason to hold back. Right? Ahem. RIGHT?

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So I Started The Uber Speech

The things I have to do to get into a speech-writing mode:

Quick, quick updates on Virtually His:

Check out this VHIS AD that Reader to Reader Book News sent out in their bulletin. Isn't it KEWL? I love it!

Also Romance Designs is featuring a whole week of Virtually His excerpts.

The newest review, from ROMANCE JUNKIES makes me jump up and down like a kid ;-). The reviewer loves the techy stuff! Yipppppeeee! Thank you for the kick-ass review, Romance Junkies!

I'm also the guest blogger for Romance Readers At Heart this Friday, May 11. No, I don't know what my topic is yet, so any suggestions? ;-)

While all this is going on, I'm getting ready for the Colorado Romance Writers Conference. I put up the addy for the hotel, as well as the time and date, if you're interested in coming to the signing (OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!). There will some big authors, among them Susan, Wiggs, Linnea Sinclair and Bob Mayer!

The weather here finally warmed up today and I can even wear shorts! So I put on my CIA hat and did a nice jog around the park behind the house and played with two very beautiful kiddos!



As you can tell, I'm working really hard on my speech ;-).

I do have a beginning, you know. It starts with:

First comes the dream. (wow, I can see everyone nodding off already....)

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More RT in Houston Adventures!

WRITING BUSINESS FIRST ;-).

First, a wonderful review of VIRTUALLY HIS is up at The Romance Readers Connection. Read it HERE. Thank you, Wendy Keel, for taking the time to write such an in-indepth critique of Hell's first book!

Now this put me in a GREAT MOOD! Until...I received this (edited) email last night:

----- Original Message -----
From: Mr. Ednace ***
To: jenn@gennita.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 8:22 PM
Subject: virtually his
This book is terrible! It is totally based on sex! There is about 1/2 chapter based on any kind of plot! I have been gypped! If the government ever gets to this REM it better be based on more than screwing each other! You are supposed to have a book based on some type of plot...where is it? I kept reading thinking that surely it would get better...nope! did not happen! This girl needs to get another job!

Oooh ouch! So I checked the Properties of this wonderful email and found that this person's email addy was Snuffy@blahblah and I couldn't help but snigger at the thought of a man named EDNACE whose email is SNUFFY. I'm thinking, maybe some prankster? So, I decided I'd send out a "polite" response, using his moniker:

To: Mr. Ednace ***
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 8:39 PM
Subject: Re: virtually his
Dear Snuffy,

So sorry. Can you please return this book to the romance section of the bookstore? It must have been shelved under government documents by mistake.

Thank you.

Gennita

I don't think he appreciated my calling him Mr. Snuffy because he replied with this (edited):

----- Original Message -----
From: Mr. Ednace ***
To: GENNITA
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2007 8:50 PM
Subject: Re: virtually his
I don't want a refund. I just do not expect that kind of trashy writing! This is the first time that I have ever sent an email such as this, but that book was so offensive that I could not comment! There are readers out here that recognize the difference between writing and trash. If this is what you want for a future then grow up!

and...

...if you consider what you wrote romance, then I feel sorry for you. Raw sex has nothing to do with romance. How about Karen Robards, Anne Stuart , Brenda Novak, Kay Hooper. I think you need other role models. These authors have been around awhile. I have never even heard of Lora Leigh, Angela Knight or Laurell Hamilton. If you want a career in writing that will last, rather than a flash in a brief time span, then I think you need to revise your writing so that you have a plot that you develop that keeps a readers attention. Really, how long can you keep a person's interest when all you talk about is getting a man's head (or hand) between a woman's legs.

and...

Gennita, we live in a time when there is a great deal of interest in sex...there always has been but if you want to be a writer that last beyond 2010 then you need to study other authors. Ones that are not here today and gone tomorrrow.

Well. That was nice. ;-) I'll post my response tomorrow, just to keep you hanging. After all, I'm...uh...trying to be suspenseful here. LOL.

So, anyway, I need a HUGGgggggg. Or at least, some comments about my pretty RT pics below...

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Romantic Times Convention Day Three

I woke up early to get attend a workshop on Urban Fantasy. Marjorie Liu is on the panel, along with great writers of the genre: Charlaine Harris, Rachel Caine, and Jim Butcher!



That's Jim looking all serious, handing the mic over to Charlaine but he was really, really funny. And witty. When one of the audience asked each author to describe Urban Fantasy in one succinct line, he said: "Dirty Harry Potter." We all laughed, but I thought, "Perfect!"

So I took a pic with The Man himself:



I later bought a whole bunch of his books signed by him AND someone STOLE them. I am still mad about that.

After the panel, Liz Maverick was interviewing Marjorie Liu, so of course I have to sidle in and interrupt! Liz looked fabulous and she owed me a drink!. ;-)



Of course I had my mid-morning drink ;-). Then I had to go to Club RT to meet with some readers and what do I see? Bare chested men.



Well, damn. And this was just around noon, mind you. Of course, I have to do this to get pictures for the blog (really hard work!):



This is Chris, from Virginia. His talent: clapping with his feet. I have photos!



This is Brian and he has nice shoulders. And abs. And...never mind. I needed another drink after that particular pose.

So off I went with some readers for a quick luncheon drink and bumped into Angela Knight! Goddess! Angela looked fabulous and I snatched up a book from her ;-).



Later that evening, I behaved. I dutifully hugged the right guy.



Then more merriment followed. I shall post more pictures tomorrow!

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Virtually His in RT

In this month's issue, Romantic Times Book Reviews gave VIRTUALLY HIS four stars. There were no four and the half or top picks for the romantic suspense books out this month! Another shocking note: there are only TEN books reviewed compared to the dozens for paranormals. Wow. I wonder whether it's just a fluke that there are so few RS being reviewed? Indeed, there is a whole section talking about paranormal authors and how quickly they are rising as stars.

What are your thoughts? Are you guys reading less romantic suspense?

Also, I have a short "interview" on page 88. There is a typo there. It's brain ENTRAINMENT hypnosis, not brain ENTERTAINMENT hypnosis. Gah. Sigh.

P/S Jordan: Still trying to find a font/background solution to your RSS problem! For now, maybe you can just do a quick highlight of the feed. So sorry!

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Uber Brand Me!

The first review for VIRTUALLY HIS is out! Here's the link:

RRAH Review of VIRTUALLY HIS

Whew, one down ;-). I was telling my friends how nervous I am about this new book. It's been a year and four months since my last book and it feels like a first book--the tension, the anxiety, the niggle of doubt. Also, I know that many readers are thinking this is going to be my usual SEAL-type or undercover operative thriller. As you can see from the review, it isn't. It's more techno-thriller. Or spy-fi.

In the writing world, they're always talking about branding. Suzanne Brockmann--and you think of SEALs, right? Sherrilyn Kenyon--vampires with a Greek mythology, right? Karen Marie Moning--damn hot Highlander druids, yes? Gennita Low??? No freaking idea.

Hmm....

Gennita Low, sexy vegetables.

Gennita Low, hodgepodge of CIA/SEALs conspiracy thrillers.

Gennita Low, international espionage.

You see? I'm a horrible publicist.

But I do know how to celebrate each week ;-). It's STILL GERARD BUTLER WEEK! Gennita wants Gerard. I brand him MINE.

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