Jane Porter - How to Use Emotions to Power Up a Story

Bestselling Romance author Jane Porter was the speaker for the January meeting of the San Diego Romance Writer's of America..  Porter's presentation was about how to use emotions to power up a story.  Here are ten tips from yesterday's presentation.

1. State the emotion.  Porter said that this technique, while the most basic, is best used when the author is writing in 1st person.
2. Explain the emotion by stating it and then conveying details.  "Frank was angry and his fists were clenched."
3. Use dialogue to show the emotion.  Porter told the San Diego attendees that if a wife says, "Forget it!" to her husband, this conveys a great deal of emotion in two short words.  Such exchanges are "bullet like" and make great dialogue.
4. Using actions such as in a love scene can convey what characters are feeling without the need for words.
5. Introspection is another way to help readers understand a character's thoughts.  Perhaps a character is doing one thing while thinking another.
6. Porter also said that she uses opposing goals for characters to set up emotional conflicts.  She finds that this technique brings readers in touch with the characters' emotions right away.
7. Certain settings also enhance emotional scenes.  For instance, a love scene set in the desert at night becomes suddenly much smaller due to the dimness and twinkling stars.
8. Emotions will ring true with readers when they are authentic.  Stripping emotions bare is even more effective, yet melodramatic outbursts or descriptions have the opposite effect.
9. Suppressing emotions can be very dramatic.  Porter says that she uses this technique with male characters or with female characters who have "shut down."  Underneath, they feel their emotions, yet on the surface they refuse to show them.
10. Mix it up.  Be sure to use a variety of techniques and not get locked into using the same options all the time.

Special thanks go to Linda McDonald for taking meeting notes.  One special piece of advice that Porter passed along to the San Diego writers in attendance: "Draw on the emotion from your own life to power your writing." Source:  San Diego Examiner.com

Jane's latest women's fiction is She's Gone Country.

Shey Darcy is a thirty-nine-year-old model who once graced the covers of Vogue and Sports Illustrated. She has led a charmed life in New York City with her photographer husband and three sons. But when Shey's husband reveals that he's leaving her for a man, her world falls apart. Unable to find solace amid the noise and confusion of the city, Shey moves back to her family ranch with her kids. However, the quaint small-town Texas setting doesn't offer the type of relief she hoped for. Shey's mother and brothers can't help meddling and to make matters worse, her ex-crush has walked back into her life. Shey is strong-minded and independent, and all she wants to do is figure out how to get through this rough patch alone, without the help of her family or the sexy, rugged cowboy Dane Kelly. Despite her efforts, Shey's life just seems to get worse. Her sons are failing in school and want to move back to New York, and their money situation isn't improving. Shey soon realizes that in order to reinvent herself, she must let go of an uncertain future and a broken past, and allow for the possibility of new love in the present.

Jane's Website

Contemporary romance author Jane Porter shares some essential lessons on emotional writing for aspiring authors.

The following is from a post at Romantic Times:

Writing women’s fiction is about writing stories that are relevant to our women readers. According to Donald Maass, in Writing the Breakout Novel, today’s readers want an authentic experience. So if many modern-day readers expect to live the story through the mind of the character, than its our job as writers is to make the experience as real as possible. We must infuse our characters with depth and emotional integrity.

Last August in New Zealand I attended an all day seminar given by Christopher Vogler. It was an amazing session and he talked about how people are always looking for meaning in life, and how we especially look for it in stories. Readers crave stories that help them sense of life. Readers want to connect emotionally and spiritually

So how do we write emotion? How do we show rather than tell?

I. KNOW YOUR CRAFT

There are six different techniques for conveying emotion in fiction writing:

1. Stating emotion - The easiest means of adding emotion to a story is for the narrator to simply state the character's emotion.

2. Explaining emotion - One step beyond simply stating an emotion is to explain it or tell about it.

3. Dialogue - Emotion can be conveyed though dialogue. The language we use says it all, literally.

4. Introspection - Emotion is also conveyed through a character's thoughts.

5. Bodily reaction - Bodily reactions to emotion range from subtle to extreme: goose bumps, blushing, sweating, increased heart rate, laughing, crying, upset stomach, shaking, tingling nerves, vomit, etc.

One of the reasons body reactions are so useful for us as writers is because we frequently react to emotion physically before we've had a chance to process information rationally.

6. Action - Emotion portrayed through physical action. Action that expresses emotion may range from subtle to pronounced. Love scenes are one way to express emotion in action.

II. MAKING CHOICES THAT WORK FOR YOU

Depending on your scenes goals, you will sometimes use one or two techniques more than others, but you’d never want to use just one technique exclusively.

I also have other tips and tricks that reveal, or heighten emotion, including:

Opposing goals

In Robert McKee’s book Story, McKee talks about the need for "opposing goals." Give characters a conflict. Make sure characters goals aren’t easily met. When a character is thwarted, there is emotion. Emotion is revealed in conflict. Tension heightens emotion, too. One way to generate this tension is through opposing goals.

Setting

Setting is another way to enhance emotion in scenes. Certain settings like closed rooms, the night, remote foreign places, troubled social or political periods heighten one’s sense of vulnerability, both emotionally and physically. Use these. It’s not a trick. It’s a technique.

Authenticity

The emotion has to be authentic. It has to be true. Melodrama doesn’t create genuine emotion. It creates melodrama and clichés, and once a reader smells a cliché, they disconnect emotionally.

Suppressed Emotion

There are times you want a lot of emotion, and then there are times that suppressing the emotion in a scene creates tremendous emotion because you are creating tremendous tension within a character.

If you can not cry in any circumstance, there’s a lot of inner activity and push and resistance which makes a scene interesting and builds emotion for a stronger climax later.

III. CONCLUSION

To sum it up, we create emotion through good choices, and later through careful revision. You can write powerful, emotional scenes that capture a reader’s heart. It takes practice and time but once you master writing authentic emotion, your readers will never forget you, or your stories

Author Jane Porter Talks About Writing and She's Gone Country!

BIO:



Born in Visalia, California, I'm a small town girl at heart. I love central California's golden foothills, oak trees, and the miles of farmland. In my mind, there's nothing sweeter in the world than the heady fragrance of orange blossoms on a sultry summer night.



As a little girl I spent hours on my bed, staring out the window, dreaming of far off places, fearless knights, and happy-ever-after endings. In my imagination I was never the geeky bookworm with the thick coke-bottle glasses, but a princess, a magical fairy, a Joan-of-Arc crusader.



My parents fed my imagination by taking our family to Europe for a year when I was thirteen. The year away changed me (I wasn't a geek for once!) and overseas I discovered a huge and wonderful world with different cultures and customs. I loved everything about Europe, but felt especially passionate about Italy and those gorgeous Italian men (no wonder my very first Harlequin Presents was Italian).



I confess, after that incredible year in Europe, the travel bug bit, and bit hard. I spent much of my high school and college years abroad, studying in South Africa, Japan and Ireland. South Africa remains a country of my heart, the people, the land and politics complex and heart-wrenching.



After my years of traveling and studying I had to settle down and earn a living. With my Bachelors degree from UCLA in American Studies, a program that combines American literature and American history, I've worked in sales and marketing, as well as a director of a non-profit foundation. Later I earned my Masters in Writing from the University of San Francisco and taught jr. high and high school English.



I now live in rugged Seattle, Washington with my three young sons. I never mind a rainy day, either, because that's when I sit at my desk and write stories about far-away places, fascinating people, and most importantly of all, love. I like a story with a happy ending. We all do.





BOOK DESCRIPTION:



Shey Darcy, a 39-year-old former top model for Vogue and Sports Illustrated led a charmed life in New York City with a handsome photographer husband until the day he announced he'd fallen in love with someone else. Left to pick up the pieces of her once happy world, Shey decides to move back home to Texas with her three teenage sons. Life on the family ranch, however, brings with it a whole new host of dramas starting with differences of opinion with her staunch Southern Baptist mother, her rugged but overprotective brothers, and daily battles with her three sons who are also struggling to find themselves. Add to the mix Shey's ex-crush, Dane Kelly, a national bull riding champ and she's got her hands full. It doesn't take long before Shey realizes that in order to reinvent herself, she must let go of an uncertain future and a broken past, to find happiness—and maybe love—in the present.



Jane, I would like to congratulate you on your August release of She’s Gone Country. For many years, I’ve personally been such a fan of your Presents and now your women’s fiction. Jane, thanks for taking time out for this Q&A. Is there a “Behind the Book Story” for She’s Gone Country?



Jane Porter: Hi Marilyn, thanks for having me here. She’s Gone Country is a book I’ve been wanting to write for a very long time. I love Texas and I love the country and every year we spent Easter on our Parkfield ranch, the ranch my late grandfather left to his grandchildren. The ranch was a working cattle ranch before his death and has thousands of acres of rolling hills and wildflowers, corrals and windmills and grain silos. So in a way, this book is an ode to my rugged Texan grandfather as well as to my grandmother who had to live with this tough man!



This is also the first book where I’ve made boys the focus. Shey is a mother of three sons and the younger sister of three brothers. I loved writing about our contemporary male culture and the pressure on boys and men today.



Do you plot your stories or let your characters lead you?



Jane Porter: My characters always come first, and they very much lead me in terms of emotion, but I do have a plot that’s born with each character.



What are you currently working on?



Jane Porter: I’ve just wrapped up my 26th book for Harlequin Presents, an intense very sensual story set in Sicily, and am plotting my next single title while preparing for my SHE’S GONE COUNTRY book tour.



Of all of your characters, do you have a favorite you identify with and why?



Jane Porter: I love Marta in Odd Mom Out because she’s so independent and so determined to be herself. I admire women who don’t feel like they have to fit in, or play a game. I wish I had Marta’s confidence to thumb my nose at society more. Instead, I worry about what people think and how to keep everyone happy. Perhaps in my next life I’ll be a Marta instead!



What is the best thing about your job as an author? What is the hardest thing?



Jane Porter: A tough question! You know, I don’t think I could pick just one thing that’s best about being an author. There are so many reasons this is the perfect job for me. Just being able to write is one. I love creating new stories, exploring new characters, facing their challenges, and then finishing a book. I’m fascinated by the publication process and enjoy watching my manuscript go through the various production stages, and then seeing it hit shelves. I also love, love, love hearing from my readers, too. It’s always a thrill when a book touches someone’s deeply, or makes them laugh out loud. It really is an incredible job!



The hardest thing about the job is not having enough time with my boys when I’m on deadline, and then the worst is leaving the kids when I have booktours or other business travel. My youngest son is still a baby to me—15 months old—and leaving him behind for a week at a time just about breaks my heart.



What is something you definitely want readers to know about you?



Jane Porter: That I care passionately about writing great books. I want every book to be as strong and wonderful and magical as possible. I’m such a reader myself that I know what a great book should deliver and I try so hard to not just meet, but surpass, my readers expectations every time.



When the time comes for you to retire from writing, what would you like your readers to remember the most about you and your writing?



Jane Porter: Well, I hope that time doesn’t come for many years yet because I’ve got so many more stories inside of me, but I suppose I’d want to be remembered for writing stories that touched my readers’ hearts. My stories are meant to entertain, uplift, and ultimately, empower women. When my reader puts one of my books down I want her to feel better than when she started it.



What are you currently reading?



Jane Porter: I haven’t had a lot of time to read in the last few weeks due to traveling and looming deadline issues but I started The Help and it’s amazing, and books I have packed to take on the road include Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells, Sally Koslow’s With Friends Like These, A Kiss At Midnight by Eloisa James and so many more.



Before I let you go is there anything I forgot to ask that you want the readers and fans to know?



Jane Porter: I’ve got two fantastic contests happening on my website right now including one with a chance to win a cowgirl adventure for two at Rancho Cortez in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. There’s lots of fun stuff happening so I hope you’ll all come visit my site and enter to win some cool prizes! I’m also starting my book tour in a few days and I’ll be visiting California, Nevada, and Texas in the next several weeks so if you’re in one of those states, please come see me!



Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me!



Jane’s Blog

Jane on here



Thanks to Jane Publisher, You can win (5) copies of She's Gone Country. Enter here

August-September Contest - She's Gone Country - Jane Porter

Thanks to Jane's publisher, I have five, yes five copies to giveaway of She's Gone Country.



This contest is open to USA and Canadian residents only. To win a copy I want you to help me get the buzz out. For everything you do to help get the word out, you'll receive additional chances to win a copy of the book.



Post this contest on your website, blog, Facebook or Twitter. Come back here and post the link and your email. This contest will end September 30, 2010. Please don't forget to post your email so that I can contact you!



Book Description:





Shey Darcy, a 39-year-old former top model for Vogue and Sports Illustrated led a charmed life in New York City with a handsome photographer husband until the day he announced he'd fallen in love with someone else. Left to pick up the pieces of her once happy world, Shey decides to move back home to Texas with her three teenage sons. Life on the family ranch, however, brings with it a whole new host of dramas starting with differences of opinion with her staunch Southern Baptist mother, her rugged but overprotective brothers, and daily battles with her three sons who are also struggling to find themselves. Add to the mix Shey's ex-crush, Dane Kelly, a national bullriding champ and she's got her hands full. It doesn't take long before Shey realizes that in order to reinvent herself, she must let go of an uncertain future and a broken past, to find happiness--and maybe love--in the present.

Meet Jane Porter:

Born in Visalia, California, I'm a small town girl at heart. I love central California's golden foothills, oak trees, and the miles of farmland. In my mind, there's nothing sweeter in the world than the heady fragrance of orange blossoms on a sultry summer night.



As a little girl I spent hours on my bed, staring out the window, dreaming of far off places, fearless knights, and happy-ever-after endings. In my imagination I was never the geeky bookworm with the thick coke-bottle glasses, but a princess, a magical fairy, a Joan-of-Arc crusader.



My parents fed my imagination by taking our family to Europe for a year when I was thirteen. The year away changed me (I wasn't a geek for once!) and overseas I discovered a huge and wonderful world with different cultures and customs. I loved everything about Europe, but felt especially passionate about Italy and those gorgeous Italian men (no wonder my very first Presents was Italian).



I confess, after that incredible year in Europe, the travel bug bit, and bit hard. I spent much of my high school and college years abroad, studying in South Africa, Japan and Ireland. South Africa remains a country of my heart, the people, the land and politics complex and heart-wrenching.



After my years of traveling and studying I had to settle down and earn a living. With my Bachelors degree from UCLA in American Studies, a program that combines American literature and American history, I've worked in sales and marketing, as well as a director of a non-profit foundation. Later I earned my Masters in Writing from the University of San Francisco and taught jr. high and high school English.



I now live in rugged Seattle, Washington with my three young sons. I never mind a rainy day, either, because that's when I sit at my desk and write stories about far-away places, fascinating people, and most importantly of all, love. I like a story with a happy ending. We all do.

More chances to win, follow Jane's Facebook page or Jane on Twitter and comments and/or comment on her blog. Don't forget to post your links for your additional chances.



Jane's website



Jane's Blog



Jane on Facebook



Jane on Twitter



Jane is a personal favorite of mine. I love her Harlequin Presents and her women's fiction. My favorite women's fiction and her first was The Frog Prince. It was such an emotional read for me and I could identify with the story.



I have she's Gone Country on my tbr pile and I'm so looking forward to reading this book!

2010 Rose City Romance Readers Luncheon (Portland, Oregon)

2010 Rose City Romance Writes Readers Luncheon




2010 Rose City Romance Writers


10th Annual Readers Luncheon

Portland, Oregon

Keynote Speaker: Jane Porter


Saturday, April 17, 2010
9 am - 2 pm
The Governor Hotel
614 SW 11th Avenue, Portland Oregon


Rose City RWA is looking for donations for their event and you can see the details on their website.  I attended this function last year and absolutely enjoyed myself with the host of my table being the lovely and talented Deliah Marvelle.  You can't believe the raffle baskets they have.....incredible.

Jane Porter and new son Mac

(Jane, Ty and baby Mac and his two brothers Jake and Ty)


My sincere congrations to Jane Porter and Ty Gurney on the birth of their son Mac. Details can be found here

Robert Buckley and Heather Locklear - Movie Premier December 6, 7 and 8 on Lifetime TV - Jane Porter's Flirting with Forty

Jane's book will debut in a Lifetime TV movie, beginning December 6th at 9:00 PM.

The book has received excellent reviews, more than 50 on Amazon.

As for the movie, it's been discussed on the New York Times, Variety and today on Hollywood Today both the movie and book.
To see Garbrielle Pantera's reviews, Hollywood Today.

LIFETIME TV DEBUT - JANE PORTER'S "FLIRTING WITH 40"

LIFETIME TV DEBUT - JANE PORTER'S "FLIRTING WITH 40"

Stars: Heather Locklear, Robert Buckley
Premieres Dec. 6 at 9 pm et/pt

December 10th Update:

You can now watch the movie if you missed it on Lifetime TV.

A divorced mother of two on the brink of her 40th birthday who, while on vacation, enters into an unexpected romance with a much younger man and learns that life can begin at 40.

Note: Stop by Jane's website for contests and if you're thinking of hosting a debut party, details provided on her site.

Review
"Porter’s thoughtful prose and strong characters make for an entertaining and thought-provoking summer read. Strongly recommended." -- --Library Journal

'This book fits the bill as a calorie-free accompaniment for a poolside daiquiri' - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 'Porter has a great ear for dialogue' - SEATTLE TIMES

Product Description
He got the second home and the Porsche. She got the kids and a broken heart. Now Jackie, post-divorce and heading toward the big four-oh, is on vacation in sunny Hawaii and staring down her upcoming birthday-alone. But not for long. She's soon falling for Kai, her gorgeous, much younger surf instructor, and the wild passionate fling they have becomes the biggest surprise of Jackie's life.

Back home in Seattle, Jackie has to struggle with single parenthood...and memories of Kai. He hasn't forgotten her. Yet thousands of miles of ocean-not to mention an age difference that feels even wider-separate them. And, of course, her friends disapprove. When a choice must be made, can she, will she risk everything for her chance at happiness?

About the Author
Jane Porter is the author of Flirting with Forty, Odd Mom Out, and The Frog Prince. She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her two sons, where she is currently working on her next book. Visit her website at www.janeporter.com.

Jane Porter Book Signing to Benefit Seattle Children's Hospital

What: Meet the Jane Porter, local author of two books based in Bellevue, Mrs. Perfect and Flirting with 40, buy the signed books and support Children’s Hospital.


When: Wednesday, October 1, 7 p.m.

Where: 11019 NE 100th Place, Kirkland WA 98033-5133

Cost: $15 to attend, checks payable to Star Guild – Includes food, wine and door prizes.

RSVP: Dana Lofton Danal@StarGuildFashionShow.org or 206.668.0715

London's Pink Ribbon Run - Breast Cancer & Mills and Boon

FROM AUTHOR JANE PORTER'S BLOG

For my Harlequin readers around the world, or those who are passionate supporters of breast cancer research as I am, I thought you might enjoy hearing that the Harlequin Mills & Boon editors and staff in London are participating in a 5k run supporting Breast Cancer. The goal is to have one hundred staff members, friends and family join in the run on September 7th. Why 100? Because it’s Mills & Boons’ 100th birthday this year and just makes the event more special.

A number of the Harlequin Romance and Presents authors have made donations to the event and I just made a donation, too. As most of you know my amazing former mother-in-law, Jackie Gaskins, fought breast cancer successfully twice before cancer claimed her life 18 months ago. Mrs. Perfect was dedicated to Jackie and I even named the character Jackie in Flirting with Forty after her. Jackie Gaskins was an incredibly vivacious woman–sunny, loving, optimistic up until the end. Best of all, she was the ultimate grandmother, the kind that baked cookies for the boys, played cards for hours, loved board games and movies and just sitting around talking. My boys can’t talk about her without tearing up. They don’t like me to mention her because it hurts too much. I don’t blame them. It does hurt too much.

Let’s fund more research for breast cancer. Let’s find that cure, too. I don’t want any more children to grow up with out a mom, grandchildren without a mother, or husbands and family without a wive or daughter or sister.

If any of you would like to make a donation to support the Mills & Boon editorial team, visit the online donation page set up: http://www.justgiving.com/millsandboon. The page accepts credit card donations so you can donate from anywhere in the world, or better yet, if you happen to be in, or around, London on the 7th, why don’t you run? If you do, let me know and I’ll support you, too! Jane

GREAT READS FOR MOMS - See Jane Porter and her recommendations!

While attending the Romance Writers of America conference recently in San Francisco, Jane Porter was on a location tv station.

Help Jane Porter Name Her Next Book

My July ‘09 book about Tiana Tomlinson, the entertainment host of America Tonight, needs a great pithy title. Everyone at my publishing house still gushes over the title, Flirting with Forty. In their minds, its the perfect title and they’d name all my books Flirting with Forty except we’ve used it already and can’t use it again. So what we need is a great, punchy, catchy, commercial, fun, title for Tiana’s book and we need it soon.

To thank you for your help brainstorming, everyone who makes a suggestion gets entered to win the Title Me! prize of a plush tropical Pottery Barn beach towel, a signed copy of The Frog Prince, a $15 Starbucks drink card and my JP summer water bottle.

If my publishers actually pick your suggestion as the new title for my book, that contributor would win a signed copy of Mrs. Perfect, a handblown blue glass ornament from Murano, Venice, and a $50 B&N gift card, and a sneak peek at the book before it’s released.

So there’s two ways to win something fun, and most importantly, you’d have my eternal gratitude.

A little more on Tiana’s story which is set in Los Angeles: She’s a 38 year old beauty who has hosted America Tonight for seven years and has been single since being widowed as a newlywed. She’s dating a hot young actor in the beginning of the book but behind the tabloid pictures things aren’t going so well. Her show ratings are down and she’s losing her younger viewers. Management wants to overhaul her show and bring in a younger female anchor to co-host. Her agent is pressuring her into getting her face done. Her hot sexy boyfriend is behaving strangely. And things unravel from there.

Update on Flirting with Forty Movie - Jane Porter

Heather Locklear’s Bikini Beach Shoot - Jane Porter's Flirting with 40 from Gossip Girls:

Looking terrific at 46-years-young, Heather Locklear hit the sandy beaches of Hawaii while filming her new movie “Flirting with 40” on Wednesday (April 23).
According to an onlooker, “Heather spent all day filming various scenes in and out of the water. At one point she hurt her neck while purposely falling off the surfboard. The aging beauty then changed into a skimpy red bikini for a sunset shoot.”

The movie “Flirting with 40” is about a woman (Heather) who goes on a vacation to Hawaii after a divorce. She takes surfing lessons and falls in love with the instructor - with romance and comedy ensuing.
Alongside Heather, Robert Buckley is playing the part of instructor. Vanessa Williams also has a role in the film based on a novel by Jane Porter.

Link: Heather Locklear’s Bikini Beach Shoot

Jane Porter Book Launch Mrs. Perfect

Benefit fundraiser for Page Ahead Children's Literacy Program & Jane Porter’s book launch of Mrs. Perfect


Brenda Gurung Community Relations Training Manager for Bellevue Barnes and Noble is hosting a benefit fundraiser for Page Ahead Children's Literacy Program.

This fundraiser is in conjunction with the launch party for Jane Porter's new novel, sequel to her previous, Mrs Perfect, which is set in Medina, Clyde Hill & Bellevue! Launch party on Tues, May 6th at 7:00 pm, if you'd liked to attend.

Fundraiser: Tues, May 6th - Wed, May 7th, 9:00 am - 11:00 pm

Simply shop for Page Ahead at Downtown Bellevue Barnes & Noble.

• Mention to your cashier that you'd like to support Page Ahead, or give them this invitation. At least 10% of such purchases will be donated to Page Ahead.

• Most purchases apply: books (including adult, children's and audio), DVDs, gift items & magazines! Mother’s & Father’s Days are just around the corner. (Though purchases made with Institutional or Corporate Discounts are not eligible to support Page Ahead.)

• Also consider donating a new book for a child served by Page Ahead.

Barnes & Noble Downtown Bellevue
626 106th Ave NE * 425 / 451.8463
Phone orders welcome, (425) 451-8463.


Brenda Gurung
Community Relations Training Manager
Barnes & Noble Downtown Bellevue WA
626 106th Ave NE
Bellevue WA 98004

tel: (425) 453-7958, direct; (425) 451-8463, store
fax: (425) 451-4083
crm1915@bn.com (Brenda's email)
www.bn.com
www.barnesandnobleinc.com

Jane Porter - Odd Mom Out

Jane Porter has a book soon to be released this month (Odd Mom Out) and let me tell you every mom, daughter, niece, cousin, etc. should read it! It's about the "alpha mom", the single mom, the little girl trying to fit in with the popular crowd, it's simply wonderful women's fiction.

Here's an article which appeared in the Seattle Times I thought Porter fans would enjoy। By the way, if you live in Washington State, Oregon, California, Texas, New Jersey, Rhode Island or Hawaii, Jane will be signing and appearing with Odd Mom Out.

"Odd Mom" idea knows no boundaries

By Sherry Grindeland
Seattle Times staff columnist

The women, all poised, beautiful and elegantly dressed, sipped cosmopolitans. The Mom's Night Out party in Medina on Sunday looked like a cross between "Sex and the City" and a sorority meeting. The guests' cars cost more than I earn in a year.

My first thought: "What the heck am I doing at this party?"

I felt like I had just stepped into the pages of "Odd Mom Out," a novel by Yarrow Point author Jane Porter. Like Porter, I was a celebrity guest at the literary event. Guests purchased party tickets at last spring's Medina PTA auction.

Although the book won't officially be released until Thursday, each guest received a pre-party copy as a gift. A party perk was after-dinner dishing with Porter about the book.

Marta, the heroine in "Odd Mom Out," wears combat boots and drives an old truck. She doesn't fit in with the blond, perfectly dressed mothers at her daughter's elementary school. Independent Marta wouldn't care except for the daughter who feels left out and friendless.

The frosting on this chick-lit story is the Eastside setting. I sometimes shop at the QFC mentioned. All 18 party guests recognized the stores, restaurants and icons such as Microsoft's Bill and Melinda Gates and Steve Ballmer.

Our big question was, who was the model for Taylor Young, the ringleader of the book's troupe of perfect wives and mothers? We all swore we knew someone just like her.

We were wrong. Porter, a former teacher, explained the nemesis was an exaggeration from her own imagination.

I was wrong about the crowd, too. As conversation swirled around Judy Sidell's living room, every woman identified with the odd-mom concept. We all had felt like an outsider at different times. Insecurities, it seems, know no economic bounds.

These women do good things, such as raising oodles of money for schools. One of the hostesses, Joan Lambert, moved to California between the auction and the party. She flew back for the weekend, just to help.

Even though I haven't been a PTA member since last century, these Medina moms were as lovely as the friends I still cherish from my children's school days. They schlep kids to soccer practice, to music lessons, to swimming. As I did, they agonize over children making friends and fitting in enough that they'll like school and get invited to sleepovers and play dates.

We had more in common than I thought.

("Odd Mom Out" is published by 5Spot Books. Porter will appear at 7 p.m. Thursday at Barnes & Noble, 626 106th Ave. N.E., Bellevue.)

Pop over to Jane's website www.janeporter.com for her booksigning tour.

Jane Porter - Interview on All Things Girl

ATG Interview: Jane Porter, Author

Jane Porter is the author of several books, including Flirting with Forty and the soon to be released Odd Mom Out. Recently, Jane spent some time talking with All Things Girl about herself, her books, writing, and simply living life.....

Link: http://www.allthingsgirl.com/wrg/as/007373.shtml

Harlequin Author Podcast

Well I'm going to check this out on Odeo.com. Here's the link and stop over at I (Heart).com for more information.

http://odeo.com/channel/503303/view/

Audio in this Podcast
1. Harlequin Author Spotlight 2: Brenda Novak, Cara Summers and Hope Tarr
Malle Vallik speaks with Brenda Novak about her latest novel, DEAD RIGHT, the last book in her St... (25 days ago)
2. Harlequin Author Spotlight 1: Deanna Raybourn and Jane Porter
Malle Vallik speaks with Deanna Raybourn about her debut novel, SILENT IN THE GRAVE, and with Jan... (34 days ago)
3. Harlequin Author Spotlight 1: Deanna Raybourn and Jane Porter
Malle Vallik speaks with Deanna Raybourn about her debut novel, SILENT IN THE GRAVE, and with Jan... (34 days ago)

CAFE MOM.COM

Jane Porter has started a Romance Book Group on Cafe Mom.com

Link:
http://www.cafemom.com/group/romancenovelbookclub

About Romance Reader Book Club

A book group for Moms who love romance novels and want to talk about what they're reading, as well as get recommendations on new authors and releases. For all readers of romance and women's fiction, including category romance, romantic suspense, historical romance, chick lit, and fun lit fiction. Join us to chat about books and a chance to meet some of your favorite authors, too!

Group Owner: JanePorter

I joined today as another way of "getting the buzz" out and recommending books. Hopefully you'll join as well!


JANE PORTER BULLETIN BOARD:

I encourage you to also check out Jane's Bulletin Board and Forum located at:
http://janeporter.com/board/index.php

JANE PORTER MOVIE DEAL

From Publishers Lunch...

Fiction Deals:

The Key: "nice deal," $1 - $49,000; "very nice deal," $50,000 - $99,000; "good deal" $100,000 - $250,000; "significant deal," $251,000 - $499,000; "major deal," $500,000 and up

Film rights -- Jane Porter's FLIRTING WITH FORTY, a coming of-middle-age story of a woman who is not ready to give up on life and love when her husband leaves her and the kids, so she goes to Hawaii and has a fling with her surf instructor, optioned to Sony Pictures, for producer Lucy Mukurjee, in a good deal, by Irene Webb Literary on behalf of Karen Solem Books webblit@verizon.net

JANE PORTER

Jane Porter News - Upcoming in 2007

Jane's finishing her book for next fall, Like Everybody Else, a novel that looks at the Mommy Wars and Alpha Moms and Helicopter Parents. It's set in Bellevue, WA but it could be in Dallas, San Francisco, or Boston. There will also be a sequel.