Staten Island woman has a life filled with love stories
Posted by eadanna February 12, 2009 13:27PM
Karen Cino
STATEN ISLAND, NY - FORT WADSWORTH -- They meet and fall in love, they
part and reunite.
That's the long-standing formula behind thousands, possibly millions, of
romance stories.
But filling in the details that make each romance unique takes skill, tenacity and
often, help from other writers.
Want to learn how to make Cupid your muse?
Tap Karen Cino of Fort Wadsworth, a self-published author who became
president last month of the New York City chapter of Romance Writers of
America (RWA).
There's a key to romance writing, says Ms. Cino: "Write from your heart."
Ms. Cino, 49 and a divorced mother of two, was in high school when she wrote
her first romance, "Second Chance," entirely in long-hand.
Since then she has written five novels, including locally set "East Shore Babe"
and "The Boardwalk," a forthcoming work that incorporates people and places
she's come to know through ritual morning walks on South Beach.
"People like to read romances because it makes them feel good," says Ms. Cino,
whose description of her main character in front of a mirror in "East Shore
Babe" could pass for a sketch of herself:
"Clad in tight jeans and a short black skirt she smiled in approval. At 43 years old
and after two kids she had a remarkable figure. She was petite, standing at five
foot one but raised her height by three inches in her high heeled shoes. Placing
her trademark dark sunglasses on to cover her big brown eyes, she was ready
for her regular Friday morning routine."
But rather than flying off in pursuit of "The Stallion," Ms. Cino's regular Friday
routine includes meeting a daily writing goal of about 30 pages, watching her
son's band and her daughter's baseball games, and coordinating speakers,
events, awards and monthly meetings for the RWA .
Her chapter's 80-some members include seasoned and novice writers of
romance novels and erotica.
"Some people are born to write about love," she said. "I just know when I sit
down that the books I'm going to write will be about love."
But if the disposition is innate, the skills are not.
Ms. Cino was an experienced author and a former freelancer with the Staten
Island Register, but she said she learned important lessons about writing
through the RWA - about showing, not telling, using strong verbs and avoiding
the passive voice.
She suggests all aspiring authors join a writer's group; if she found interested
Staten Islanders, Ms. Cino said she'd be open to running one herself as a means
of giving back to her longtime community.
"Everybody likes writing, nobody likes editing," she said. "The groups aren't
about criticizing, they're about helping each other out."
Ms. Cino says that she writes in order to share her passion with others.
"When you read a romance, you feel hopeful. You feel that the author has faith in
love," she said.
Visit the Romance Writers' local Web site at www.rwanyc.com, or E-mail Ms.
Cino at karencino@aol.com.
Updated: February 15th, 2009
Posted by eadanna February 12, 2009 13:27PM
Karen Cino
STATEN ISLAND, NY - FORT WADSWORTH -- They meet and fall in love, they
part and reunite.
That's the long-standing formula behind thousands, possibly millions, of
romance stories.
But filling in the details that make each romance unique takes skill, tenacity and
often, help from other writers.
Want to learn how to make Cupid your muse?
Tap Karen Cino of Fort Wadsworth, a self-published author who became
president last month of the New York City chapter of Romance Writers of
America (RWA).
There's a key to romance writing, says Ms. Cino: "Write from your heart."
Ms. Cino, 49 and a divorced mother of two, was in high school when she wrote
her first romance, "Second Chance," entirely in long-hand.
Since then she has written five novels, including locally set "East Shore Babe"
and "The Boardwalk," a forthcoming work that incorporates people and places
she's come to know through ritual morning walks on South Beach.
"People like to read romances because it makes them feel good," says Ms. Cino,
whose description of her main character in front of a mirror in "East Shore
Babe" could pass for a sketch of herself:
"Clad in tight jeans and a short black skirt she smiled in approval. At 43 years old
and after two kids she had a remarkable figure. She was petite, standing at five
foot one but raised her height by three inches in her high heeled shoes. Placing
her trademark dark sunglasses on to cover her big brown eyes, she was ready
for her regular Friday morning routine."
But rather than flying off in pursuit of "The Stallion," Ms. Cino's regular Friday
routine includes meeting a daily writing goal of about 30 pages, watching her
son's band and her daughter's baseball games, and coordinating speakers,
events, awards and monthly meetings for the RWA .
Her chapter's 80-some members include seasoned and novice writers of
romance novels and erotica.
"Some people are born to write about love," she said. "I just know when I sit
down that the books I'm going to write will be about love."
But if the disposition is innate, the skills are not.
Ms. Cino was an experienced author and a former freelancer with the Staten
Island Register, but she said she learned important lessons about writing
through the RWA - about showing, not telling, using strong verbs and avoiding
the passive voice.
She suggests all aspiring authors join a writer's group; if she found interested
Staten Islanders, Ms. Cino said she'd be open to running one herself as a means
of giving back to her longtime community.
"Everybody likes writing, nobody likes editing," she said. "The groups aren't
about criticizing, they're about helping each other out."
Ms. Cino says that she writes in order to share her passion with others.
"When you read a romance, you feel hopeful. You feel that the author has faith in
love," she said.
Visit the Romance Writers' local Web site at www.rwanyc.com, or E-mail Ms.
Cino at karencino@aol.com.
Updated: February 15th, 2009
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Karen Cino
