And The Winner Is...Pinch Hit!!!

Pinch Hit...where are you?! You've won the fabulous stuffed lips for your terrific tchotchke comments!

I tried to reach you with my comment on that blog but hadn't heard from you...so thought I'd make the announcement a bit splashier...LOL!!!

Email me at ddscott@ddscott.com with your address and contact info so I can arrange to ship the lips to you!!!

And thanks to all who commented. I'll be back in a few days with another chance to win oh-so-wonderful prizes!!!

Sexy, Sassy, Smart Wishes --- D. D. Scott

Labels: And The Winner Is...

The Men Who Complete Them...Or Not...

Navigating one of many airports I conquered this past week, I had the fabulous fortune of meeting two terrific ladies who blessed me with a profound aha moment I'm anxious to share with all of you out there in blogburbiaville...

I'd 'carded' the ladies (with my business card) while traveling in the underground monorail system between concourses. Upon reading my tag line "It's all about sexy, sassy, smart women and the men who complete them", they waited for me at the top of the escalator beyond the monorail and suggested I might add "...and the men who complete them...or not...".

We all got a great laugh out of the idea, but as I waited at my gate - after spending $27 for two cheese, cracker and grape plates to tide me over for the next two flights (sorry...I digress) - I gave their sexy, sassy, smart comment the thought it deserved.

I'm always amazed and delighted by the God's Laughing Timing of how new information hits us as human beings. I'd been studying up all week on how to turn my chick-lit-toned novels into romantic comedies to position myself a bit stronger in acquisitions. Asking myself what it was that made a story more RomCom than Chick Lit. Thanks to one great screenwriting and story analyst legend Billy Mernit and these two 'ladies of the airport', I had my answer.

So here it goes...well, at least my D. D. Scott definition of what makes for a fabulous Romantic Comedy:

We see the Hero and Heroine meet that first time and feel the sizzle of that first spark between them. (For those of you who've read the excerpt posted on my website, that means, as a romantic comedy version, you're now going to see when Roxy rear-ends Zayne's tomato truck. Talk about fabulous fun...I laughed-out-loud adding the new chapters one and two!!!) We also get a lot clearer picture of why Roxy is who she is, and I like that. We immediately get a sense of why they complete each other as a romantic couple, even if they don't get it at first or get it but choose to downplay their attraction.

I've also used the three dogs in the story to a greater degree...so I upped the ante of my canine cast! LOL!!!

After studying Billy Mernit's take on RomCom, I feel exhilarated in that I've discovered that perhaps my true genre fit or natural proclivity as a writer is to create farcical Romcoms using a bit of satire and biting wit to expose just how much of an idiot we as human beings risk appearing and/or become in the name of love.

Fun stuff!

Okay...so there you have it...the D. D. Scott take on romantic comedies...and boy did the 'ladies in the airport' nail it...it's definitely the "men who complete them (my sexy, sassy, smart heroines)...or not...because it's that "maybe not" factor and the idiots we become to make it "you're mine, Baby" versus "maybe not" that keeps us turning the pages 'til the happily ever after...and then some.

Sexy, Sassy, Smart Wishes --- D. D. Scott

P.S. I do, for sure, keep my sexy, sassy, smart chick-lit edge and tone though throughout my novels. That's where my voice comes through loud and oh-so-catty-clear!!!

P.S.S. What keeps you as readers turning the pages? Is it humor? Fabulous characters? Can't-wait-to-see-what-happens-next plots? Settings you can 'see' on every page? An emotional connection with the characters allowing you to live vicariously through them?

Labels: My Muses (The Carrie Squad)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Our Justice System Hard At Work

This is coming from the lobby of the Red Lion Hotel in Denver, Colorado. I am attending a Jail Administration class this week.

When Jail Commanders and Instructors get together, there is alot of information sharing. Here's some of what I have learned:

- A correctional officer sued his employer for contracting MRSA while at work and then infecting his wife and children. The federal court dropped the officer's claim, saying exposure to the infection is a risk assumed by the officer when he took the job. Makes sense. OK, but this part of the decision I'm having a tough time finding the "sense"...the portion of the suit that involved the wife and children being infected BY THE OFFICER was allowed to proceed. Huh?!?

- If an inmate comes into the jail with a hearing aid, the taxpayers have to pay for batteries to keep the thing operable. Or, replace it...

- One jail had a woman who had seven, yes seven, babies whose births were paid for by the taxpayers. She would wait until her last trimester then do something to get arrested. She would then have the baby while in jail. Yes, fellow taxpayers, we foot the bill for things like that.

Hearing things like this frustrates me to my core. I like to think, however, that stories like these are not the norm. There's something that needs to be remembered. The rights of the individual citizens of our great country are of utmost importance, and guaranteed. In order to maintain the rights of the good, honest, hard working people that are productive members of society, some things are bound to fall through the cracks. We're not perfect. But, we still live in the greatest nation on earth.

What not to say to a police officer: "Hey, you must've been doin' about 125 mph to keep up with me. Good job"!

Let's be careful out there.

SM

Labels: Sweet Man's Cop Talk

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Tchotchke Call-Out

I've been gearing up to get my name and brand out there...taking my D. D. Scott Sexy, Sassy, Smart Stories' Marketing Plan into big-time splash mode. And I need your help.

What kind of tchotchkes would you find irresistible?

In other words, what trinket would be a fabulous, must-have freebie you'd be thrilled to take home?

Here's an example: I'm designing a Sexy, Sassy, Smart Stress-Relief Squeeze Ball with my name, brand, and URL.

How about bookmarks? Notepads? Coffee mugs? Fancy pens and pencils with boot and/or stiletto tops?

Any of these hitting 'fabulous' and 'irrisistible' to you?

Remember, they're all free...a way to connect you with me and my books and give you a bit of something fun to brighten your day.

So talk to me...tell me what you like and what you don't. And as a thank you for giving me your opinion...I'll be sending one lucky commenter a huge pair of stuffed lips...so start flapping your jaws and tell me what you think...

Sexy, Sassy, Smart Wishes --- D. D. Scott

P.S. We'll announce the winner Thursday, March 12th!!!

Labels: Getting My Name and Brand Out There