Terri Molina - Could it be magic?

Could it be Magic?

Last summer I entered an online writing contest sponsored by Gather.com and Pocket Books. It was a first chapter contest for romance writers. Normally I don't enter contests because I just don't do well in them...especially if they're RWA sponsored.

Anyway, there were around 300 entries, I think, and the voting was done by the readers. It was pretty much a popularity contest...which I didn't know until after I'd entered. Anyway (sorry I say that a lot!)...thankfully a lot of it was about how good the stories were, and my novel DARK OBSESSION, a paranormal romantic suspense, moved onto the top 25 for the second round. I was pretty happy, and as per the rules, I had to post my second chapter to be voted on. The readers vote//rate your entry 1-10....10 being the best, of course, and in the end, only the entries with the most 10's will count and send the top FIVE onto the final round---which is to be judged by Gather and Pocket Books Editors. (did I lose ya??)

Anyway, I came in around tenth place overall...like I said, it was a popularity contest and I wasn't as popular. Haha

A n y w a y....During the contest I would peruse the Gather site stopping to read other non contest articles and I came across something from a woman who's topic was about Magic and whether or not you believed in it. I sent her a comment stating that, yeah, I think everyone has a sense of magic in them. But, by my definition, magic doesn't mean having the power to cast spells or make yourself float in midair. To me, magic is about emotion-- how strong your heart is, how strong your bond is with everyone and everything around you.

I've always felt I've had a strong intuition ( a strong sensory perception) and it's gotten me out of some pretty hairy situations. And I use this intuition when I write....which makes me a "panster"-- meaning I write by the seat of my pants.

In my novel (and contest entry) Dark Obsession I end chapter two with the sentence *It was the look of someone who had just seen the dead.*Since , the voters in the Gather Contest are encouraged to leave comments on your entry (which also help with the voting), I received some wonderfully encouraging feedback that both pleased and mostly overwhelmed me.

In a very glowing and very kind comment, a reader named Sammie A said::
Quote: "I love this ending. It really ties this chapter in with the first one with such a perfect twist of irony after him seeing his dead grandmother. I wonder, did you intend that when you wrote it, or was it just something that you realized afterwards?"

And well, I guess I have to say, yes and no. When I write, I always, always look for a way to end a chapter that has the reader saying "No..don't stop! What happens next?!" because your goal as a writer is to keep those pages turning!

The best compliments any writer can get is...."I lost sleep because of you!" or "I burned dinner because of you!" It's what we thrive for....what I thrive for. So, when I'm giving you a story I want to make sure that you're forgetting everything around you!

Anyway....I rambled....as for Sammie's question and that particular scene, I based it on something I once experienced when I lived far away from my family. (you know what they say....WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW)

I was working at a grocery store (in NY) and stocking shelves one morning when I turned around to see a woman standing in the aisle....she was shopping...not doing anything creepy like staring at me...but I had to do a double take when I saw her because she looked exactly like my aunt Delores....my mother's older sister who raised me from the time I was sixteen until I moved out at eighteen (I had lived with another aunt and uncle a few years before that---it's a different story though).

Anyway, the woman continued shopping and I followed her into another aisle, but when I looked at her again, she didn't look anything like my aunt. A few days later, I found out that my aunt had a heart attack (she'd been ill for a few years already but had been healing fairly well).

Growing up (and most anyone of Mexican/Latina decent will confirm this) we heard a lot of stories about ghosts and spirits and magic. It made for fascinating ways to scare each other, as well as build our imaginations at play time (since we didn't actually have toys to play with). And, as I mention in another WIP, you can't be born or raised near Mexico without believing the possibility that the magic existed. So, I've used this magic to help build my stories of suspense (sometimes around a central love story) and keep the reader intrigued, turning pages, and burning dinner.

To learn more visit me at my website www.terrimolina.com