Anniversary Lost
How writing together keeps us close — probably too close.
Note: Kathleen and I wrote this blog for Ravencraft's Romance Realms
Our thirteenth wedding anniversary was two weeks ago. Thirteen years! Hold your congratulations, though. We both forgot it. We had been so busy, consumed, editing our next novel Blood and Whiskey that the day caught us unawares.
It was one of those awful, sitcom moments. Kathleen called Clark at work to find out when their anniversary was and both realized, with slowly dawning horror, it was that day.
Then we laughed about it, made plans to pick up some champagne and spent the night editing.
(Note: We did celebrate the next weekend with more champagne — we’re sensing a theme here — and candles. Call it “research” for love scenes.)
Writing off into the sunset
We are a rare breed – writers who collaborate and cohabitate.
We started working on The Cowboy and the Vampire before we were even married. After a fiery and passionate first meeting, we took a two-year break to heal our scorched hearts and figure out how to contain the passion between us. When we rekindled things, we decided to work together on a creative project. That’s how TCATV was born.
It was an amazing process in which the lessons we learned writing together — how to give and take, how to collaborate, how to trust your partner — shaped our relationship and vice versa. The book was published in 1999 and sold well, but we lost momentum. Life got in the way and even though we had to shift energy to our professional lives — Kathleen works in communications for a medical university and Clark works in communications for a national financial services company — we continued writing together and continue drawing sustenance from the creative energy crackling between us.
Romance writing: a double-edged sword
Almost ten years to the day TCATV came out, the popularity of Vampires (maybe you’ve heard of a little series called Twilight or True Blood) prompted a re-release with a sexy new cover and a strong marketing push. Keep in mind that when the book first came out, there was no Facebook (check out our Facebook page) and building a webpage was an ordeal (check out our webpage, too). Based on this renewed success, we’re hard at work on Blood and Whiskey and deeply enjoying writing together.
But it is a double-edged sword. Between the creative work, the marketing and our “day jobs,” there never seems to be enough time for each other. We find ourselves writing of a passionate love for the ages — between Tucker and Lizzie, our heroes — while our own relationship is sometimes left idling in the parking lot. Shades of “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” by Nowlan (a great, short poem if you haven’t read it).
Still, the energy and passion that goes into every page, the way Tucker faces down armies of Vampires to protect Lizzie, and the way she catches his gaze across the room to let him know she wants him, well, those are echoes of our own feelings. And working together on a fictional romance gives us something to aspire to when it comes to real life.
We may miss a few anniversaries, but that’s only because we’re focused on writing and deepening our own relationship. Plus, we always know the perfect gift for anniversaries missed or celebrated — paper. No matter what the etiquette guides tell you, paper is always the perfect gift for a writer, even if it’s a virtual page in an eReader. Paper, and more time.
Note: Kathleen and I wrote this blog for Ravencraft's Romance Realms
Our thirteenth wedding anniversary was two weeks ago. Thirteen years! Hold your congratulations, though. We both forgot it. We had been so busy, consumed, editing our next novel Blood and Whiskey that the day caught us unawares.
It was one of those awful, sitcom moments. Kathleen called Clark at work to find out when their anniversary was and both realized, with slowly dawning horror, it was that day.
Then we laughed about it, made plans to pick up some champagne and spent the night editing.
(Note: We did celebrate the next weekend with more champagne — we’re sensing a theme here — and candles. Call it “research” for love scenes.)
Writing off into the sunset
We are a rare breed – writers who collaborate and cohabitate.
We started working on The Cowboy and the Vampire before we were even married. After a fiery and passionate first meeting, we took a two-year break to heal our scorched hearts and figure out how to contain the passion between us. When we rekindled things, we decided to work together on a creative project. That’s how TCATV was born.
It was an amazing process in which the lessons we learned writing together — how to give and take, how to collaborate, how to trust your partner — shaped our relationship and vice versa. The book was published in 1999 and sold well, but we lost momentum. Life got in the way and even though we had to shift energy to our professional lives — Kathleen works in communications for a medical university and Clark works in communications for a national financial services company — we continued writing together and continue drawing sustenance from the creative energy crackling between us.
Romance writing: a double-edged sword
Almost ten years to the day TCATV came out, the popularity of Vampires (maybe you’ve heard of a little series called Twilight or True Blood) prompted a re-release with a sexy new cover and a strong marketing push. Keep in mind that when the book first came out, there was no Facebook (check out our Facebook page) and building a webpage was an ordeal (check out our webpage, too). Based on this renewed success, we’re hard at work on Blood and Whiskey and deeply enjoying writing together.
But it is a double-edged sword. Between the creative work, the marketing and our “day jobs,” there never seems to be enough time for each other. We find ourselves writing of a passionate love for the ages — between Tucker and Lizzie, our heroes — while our own relationship is sometimes left idling in the parking lot. Shades of “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” by Nowlan (a great, short poem if you haven’t read it).
Still, the energy and passion that goes into every page, the way Tucker faces down armies of Vampires to protect Lizzie, and the way she catches his gaze across the room to let him know she wants him, well, those are echoes of our own feelings. And working together on a fictional romance gives us something to aspire to when it comes to real life.
We may miss a few anniversaries, but that’s only because we’re focused on writing and deepening our own relationship. Plus, we always know the perfect gift for anniversaries missed or celebrated — paper. No matter what the etiquette guides tell you, paper is always the perfect gift for a writer, even if it’s a virtual page in an eReader. Paper, and more time.
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