Big Giveaway!!!

Could you use $25 to purchase books on Amazon or Barnes and Noble?  Well I have way for you to potentially win a $25 gift card to the site of your choice!!!


Ready for the details?  


It's very simple.
  
Read The Dark Gifts: Birthright.  Write a review and place it on either Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Good reads.  Should you choose to place a review on all 3 sites, that's extra points for you!!!  


Like my facebook page.


Come back to the blog and enter the raffle copter.


Already have reviews up for Birthright?  No problem!!!!  Just enter the rafflecopter with that info and you are good to go!!!


This giveaway begins today and will end April 30th!!!  Good luck!!!

Author Interview Fiasco #5

Good morning!!!  Today's awesome author is Tish Thawer author of The Rose Trilogy!!!!!

Welcome Tish!!!!  Sooooo cool to have you here!!!  Inquiring minds want to know, so I’m here to ask the questions. LOL 

1.  As a child, who was your favorite superhero and why?

Superman and he still is to this day. I just feel that his powers are genuine, where some of the others *ahem* Batman, weren't quite as legit. And others had to have something happen to them before developing their powers, (Spiderman). Now before anyone gets their panties in a wad - I am a lover of all superheros - but Superman will always be my fav.

2.  If you were going to take over the world, how would you do it?

From my video gaming days, I would have to say the best plan would be to secure a location that has a wide variety of resources and then systematically wipe out other low-key areas so that when there is a need of said resources - people are forced to come to you. (Obviously, my world consists of a very small bubble.) LOL

3.  Other than writing, what is your favorite thing to do?

First– reading. Second–watching TV and movies. Third–it starts with an "s" and involves a bed.

4.  Top 5 favorite bands/songs?

1. Everything by Lifehouse

2. Control by Puddle of Mud

3. Tonight, Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae

4. Crash by The Dave Matthew's Band

5. Black Betty by Ram Jam

5.  Top 5 favorite TV shows?

1. The Vampire Diaries

2. Secret Circle

3. Modern Family

4. Once Upon a Time

5. Dancing with the Stars

6.  If there was one statement you could make that the entire planet would hear and remember, what would it be?

Love your family with all your heart, strive to achieve all your dreams, and remember that your always surrounded by magic...all you have to do it look for it.

7.  Social issue nearest and dearest to your heart?

Stopping animal cruelty and the overpopulation of shelters. I've adopted the last six dogs that I've had, and have been rewarded with some of the best pets ever.

8.  In your opinion, what characteristics do the best bad guys have in common?

Sex appeal, confidence, that tender part that's buried deep within just waiting for someone like me to find it and make them see the error of their ways. :p

9.  What is most likely to put you in a creative mood?

A good night's sleep that has me waking up from a magical dream.

10.  Is there anything you’d like to tell us about your books?

Sure. You can find all the information about The Rose Trilogy on my blog at: http://tishthawer.blogspot.com

The first in the trilogy, Scent of a White Rose, is now available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble in eBook and paperback formats, as well as other eBook vendors.

And, you can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and Shelfari - just look for Tish Thawer.

Thanks so much for joining us!!!!!  We appreciate you sharing!!!!

Author Interview Fiasco #2

Today's author is the amazing A. Jacob Sweeny.

Welcome A.J.Sweeny !!!!  Awesome to have you here!!!  Inquiring minds want to know, so I’m here to ask the questions. LOL

1.  As a child, who was your favorite superhero and why?

Julius Caesar. I think it had to do a lot with my mother, who read to me historical books and even some of his own writings-and then translated them to child language so I could actually understand what she was reading to me. I remember feeling tremendous respect to the way he thought and all his inventions/innovations. I also respected the way he marched along with his foot soldiers as if he were no different them.


2.  If you were going to take over the world, how would you do it?

Very very sneakily....  ;) I might use some of Caesar's recommendations.


3.  Other than writing, what is your favorite thing to do?


I love to listen to music and I love the outdoors...oh and I love to cook.


4.  Top 5 favorite bands/songs?


That’s a hard one because I have a huge and eclectic collections of music.
I would still put The Beatles, and the Smashing Pumpkins high up there!


5.  Top 5 favorite TV shows?

I hardly watch TV but when I did these were my favorites:
Deadwood, (new)Battlestar Galactica, Supernatural, Sons Of Anarchy, and before it got repetitive, I really enjoyed Law and Order. Waiting for new shows to come on Netflix.



6.  If there was one statement you could make that the entire planet would hear and remember, what would it be? 

We are still sleepwalking our way through life. Listen, look, learn, and be patient before making your own judgements.


7.  Social issue nearest and dearest to your heart?


Women’s and Children’s welfare, and animal abuse.


8.  In your opinion, what characteristics do the best bad guys have in common?


They never know they are the bad guys ;)


9.  What is most likely to put you in a creative mood?


Music and a clean house :)


10.  Is there anything you’d like to tell us about your books?


Yes. They are complicates and are written on many different levels. If you’re looking for a quick in and out -please avoid reading my books! oh and they are pretty darn good...I put a lot of effort and research into them.



Thanks so much for joining us!!!!!  We appreciate you sharing!!!!


Thank you for having me here. Keep THE PULSE strong.

You can connect with A.J here 

There be sharks in them waters, Dearie!!!!

So you’ve finished your first novel and after several rounds of happy dances, you are ready to send your beloved out into the world for the masses to devour.  Then you run across this blog post by the ever so eloquent Emlyn Chand.  You read it and realize you need a little more work on your manuscript before you start looking for an agent.  But the time comes when your baby is as free of errors as you can possibly make it, and ready for its triumphant entrance.  Then what?

The then what can kill you.(Figuratively) It is imperative that you research every last agent and publisher you consider submitting your work to!!!!  Many times you will hear ‘people’ say personalize your query letters.  They aren’t kidding.  The fact is, by the time you actually send out that letter, you should know what kind of coffee they drink and what their favorite food is.  (Oh yes, I’m totally advocating stalking your perspective agent.  However, not in the weird, creepy, standing outside their house with a sign way, or sending mail to their home.)  Read their blog posts.  Find out what they enjoy reading, what they hate, and most importantly, what they are looking for.  And... research them.

Scamming new writers who are just getting their feet wet is a multimillion dollar business.  You should have heard this a million times by now if you are doing your job and putting in the research:  Money flows to the writer, not away from them.  Remember that.  If you are going the traditional publisher/agent route, you shouldn’t be spending money for their services.  Their income will come from a percentage of your book deal. (Should you acquire one.)

Now this becomes even stickier when you decide to skip traditional publishing and move on to self publishing.  You will find numerous companies who claim they can get you the quickest results in sales and quality product for the low cost of (a ridiculous amount of money.)  Some might actually be able to do what they claim.  Some. 

You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve been offered and what they wanted in return.  One ‘group’ (who I won’t name) claimed they could get my first novel (Birthright) not just ON Amazon’s top 100, but make it #1.  That’s right, they were going to make me a BEST SELLER!!!!!  And all they wanted in return was the distribution rights to my next 4 books.  Global distribution rights.  And because they were going to spend so much money on marketing, the royalty split would be 70/30.  (I got the 30.)  Well that doesn’t sound all that bad, does it?  I mean they’re doing all the work.  I’m just writing, paying an editor, and sending them books.  (Because they had full say so on cover art and pricing too.)  And then the catch comes in.  With these people there is ALWAYS  a catch.  Every dime spent for marketing would be taken out of my 30 percent.  (I know, I said the same thing.  Seriously????)  Doesn’t sound like I’ll be making much does it?  (And I forgot to mention it was a 10 year contract.  Fan-freaking-tastic, right?)

I had another offer from a group who has the audacity to bill themselves as a publisher.  They were going to give me 30 percent too.  In return for printing my books and taking 70 percent of the money I may or may not make, they offered: Book printing, cover design (for a small fee), editing (for a larger fee), and limited marketing.  (Which equates to them putting the book on their website and sending out a press release to the thousands of authors they’ve taken in.)  Oh, and let’s not forget!!!!  If I want copies of my books I have to purchase them, but I would get a 15 percent discount on the retail price. 

 I realize this probably sounds like a rant.  It’s not.  It is a warning!!!!  Pay attention to the fine print.  Whether you are traditionally or self publishing, there are sharks out there who will have you for a snack and NEVER feel a bit of regret for doing so.

When you are looking for editors, interview them.  Ask for a test edit. (Just a page or two.)  You are paying them for their services.  You NEED to know if they can deliver what you are paying them for.

The same goes for a cover designer.  Check out their work before you contract them.  Make sure they can give you what you want in a reasonable amount of time. 

I can honestly say I haven’t had any trouble with one of the ‘rogue’ agents.  I did my research and didn’t bother to submit to anyone who had a less than perfect reputation.  (Writer Beware, and Predators and Editors is the best place to start.)  But some of these so-called publishing companies, and dare I say marketing/PR companies...will run you through the ringer.  I’ve heard some horrendous stories from writers I know personally who’ve been sucked in.  I know how bad you want your book out there.  (Trust me, I totally get it.)  But in the long run, to have your baby kidnapped and held hostage by unscrupulous people is far worse than waiting, researching, and taking your time.

Good luck and be good to each other!!!!   ;)

Year End Recap

Year End Recap

            All in all I consider 2011 to be a successful year.  So many major things happened!  Not without hitches and setbacks here and there, but they happened nonetheless.  In March of 2011, I published my first book: The Dark Gifts: Birthright.  I was simultaneously deliriously happy and petrified. 

            Naive and deluded (because I can be very irrational at times), I believed that if it was any good at all, it would sell.  So I quickly got to work on Oceans of Red volume one and Inheritance.  Just before I’d completed Inheritance, I realized that A. Either Birthright wasn’t any good, OR, B. I didn’t quite ‘get’ the whole marketing thing.  (Consequently, I still don’t ‘get’ the whole marketing thing.) LOL

            Continuing to plug away, I kept busy writing Oceans 2.  In the fall of 2011 I had the extreme fortune of finding book club pages on facebook!  Who would have thought they’d have pages like that?  Not me!  I found Paranormal Reads, Paranormal Book Club, Paranormal Addicts, and Beneath the Cover.  Not only did I make some awesome friends through these pages, but many of them actually wanted to read my books!  Floored, humbled, ecstatic--were just a few of the wide range of emotions that flooded through me.

            When I started my fan page (which I didn’t want to do and was strong armed into doing), I had 38 fans.  All personal friends and family.  Chelsea from PA and Sabrina from PR put out a call for volunteer reviewers.  WOW!!!!  The number of volunteers shocked me.  I was dumbfounded that so many people were interested in reading something I wrote. 

            Within a month or so Inheritance was released.  We hosted a huge release party that went on for 2 days.  Many other authors I’d met over the past year joined in with numerous facebook pages and we had a blast! 

            As of December 31st, 2011, I’ve had 6 releases this year.  Birthright and Inheritance (full length novels), Oceans of Red 1&2 (mini novella series), Haunted (a compilation of short true ghost stories), and the short story A Christmas Miracle.  Birthright even managed to place #4 in Paranormal Reads 2011 Best Indie Author/Books poll!!!!  (Blew my mind and I’m still giddy about that one!!! LOL)

            I no longer run the page alone.  And that’s awesome because I don’t think I could handle it all by myself!  I’ve added Amanda Wimer, Amanda Sheffer, Brittany Carrigan, and Katie Seco as administrators.  However, these girls are more than just admins on the page.  They are my friends, my think-tank, my go-to girls when I need ideas for marketing, or just need to bounce my own ideas off of someone.  I consider myself very lucky to have found and enlisted them!!!

            And then of course, last but not least, are the people on the fan page.  I really don’t like the idea of calling them fans.  (Well, calling you fans.)  That word seems so distant and alien to how I feel about them.  Many of you I’ve grown to know fairly well and I enjoy each chance we get to interact with each other.  Not long ago someone made a comment to me pertaining to the number of ‘fans’ on the page. (At the time there were roughly 600 likes on the page.)  I don’t remember it word for word, but it was something to the effect of: “What number of fans on your page will make you feel successful?”  My answer was, “The number I have.  I would rather have a smaller group of people that are there because they like me enough to care about my work, than to have thousands who could care less if I take another breath or write another word.”  And I mean that!!!!  You guys amaze me and humble me every day with your generosity, kindness, and support!!!!!

            In November, thanks to an idea Amanda Wimer gave me, I contacted Arkansas Children’s Hospital to see if they had a Kindle or ebook program for the children staying there.  When they informed me they didn’t have one in place, the gears started spinning, and I put out a call for YA, Children’s, and Middle Grade authors who might be willing to donate their ebooks to the hospital.  Within a matter of weeks we had 90 participants and the ebook program had been set into motion.  These authors donated generously!!!!  Some of them with every book they had published!!!!  Now we’ve decided to do it again.  Many more times actually.  The end goal is to get an ebook program in every Children’s Hospital that doesn’t already have one.  Having a child and grandchild that have spent a large amount of time in ACH, the program is very near and dear to my heart.  Of all the things I hope to accomplish in the coming year, this particular item is very high on my to-do list.

            So as I said earlier, I feel this past year has been a terribly successful year.  I’m not famous, I most certainly am not rolling in the dough, but I don’t need to be.  I’m doing what I love, have made many new friends, and I’m moving forward.  Thank you for giving a year I will remember for the rest of my life!!!!

Can you be yourself and network?

Good morning!  I hope the day finds you well and happy.

I’ve been having a bit of a personal dilemma.  Almost a multiple personality disorder or something along those lines.  I’ve been reading many articles and posts about maintaining a professional persona on the net (and of course in real life).

It makes perfect sense.  I certainly don’t want potential buyers to think I’m a raving lunatic.  Except, sometimes I am a raving lunatic.  Then what?  If I am all professional and keep everything neat and tidy, isn’t that just me putting on a mask to keep other people happy?  And there’s the rub.  I’m trying to figure out if I believe in that set-up or not.

What I know:

My writing comes from deep inside me.  My dreams, ideas, beliefs, and personality seep into every aspect of it.

I really truly don’t want to offend people.  It’s just bad form to be offensive for no reason.  (And I have a massive fear of burning crosses in the front yard.)

I definitely don’t want my readers to think I’m a blithering idiot.

What I don’t know:

If I am lucky enough to have readers fall in love with my books, am I being phony by pretending to be someone I’m not?  Am I letting them down?

(From Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary)  Professional:   characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession (2): exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace

Although I can be all business at times, how much fun is that?  I mean seriously…I am an exuberant person!!!  I LOVE exclamation points!!!  I love lol’s and omg’s.  Sharing my excitement over small and large events is so much fun.  Is that unprofessional? 

When I turned forty, I acquired this massive desire to be myself.  Finally.  I’ve spent most of my adult life working in service industries.  Keeping a smile on my face and being ever-so congenial all of the time.  You have to, or you won’t make any money.  I understand it’s much the same for writers. (Another service industry)  I wouldn’t dream of getting on here and lodging complaints about politics, religion, or anything confrontational.  But I do want to be able to say on fb author page: OMG!!!! It’s sooooooooooo awesome!!!!  I’m really excited!!!!! Lol  Honestly, sometimes I feel like doing that on my blog too!!!  Is that unprofessional?

How do you guys feel about it?  Unless I’m mistaken, everyone following this blog is a writer of one sort or another.  Do you feel free to be yourself when you’re networking and blogging?  Are you constantly second guessing what you say?

Tell me about it.  Sign in as anonymous if you don’t want to go on record. Lol  I’d seriously like to know what you think.

Update

So we've established that I seriously suck at blogging on a regular basis, right?  I just can't seem to make time in my day for it.  Enough of the excuses and on with the updates. : )


The Dark Gifts: Birthright is now available at Amazon and Barns and Noble.  (and a bunch of other places.)  The first novella in my demon hunter series, Oceans of Red, will be released soon.  And (insert drum roll here) the second book in The Dark Gifts series, Inheritance, will be released the end of July.  SQEEEEEEEEE!!!!!


Right now I'm working on the last bits of loose ends with covers and edits as well as writing the third volume of The Dark Gifts series.  


I have to admit that I struggle with writing, the kids, and the ever present sun who constantly screams at me to come hang out.  It's evil.  It whispers in my ear, "You can come play.  What's an hour?  You need me!"


But an hour turns into an afternoon and the next thing you know, it's time to make dinner. 


I will be back soon to give you a rundown of Oceans of Red and Inheritance.  Probably not really soon, because....well you know.  Keep up the great work and have a wonderful Summer!!!




Oh, and if you happen to speak to the Sun, let him know that I could use a few rainy days to get some extra work done.  Not oodles and gobs, just a few.  Here and there.  Sporadic works well in this scenario.  


Thanks ; )

Who am I writing for?

I’ve spent the last several months wishing and hoping time would somehow miraculously arrive in large quantities. What with the kids, and the house (and life in general) my daily writing schedule has been completely flushed. However, it seems that things have sorted themselves out and (knock on wood) I’m on the cusp of retrieving said schedule. There’s only one little problem with that. The words won’t come. I’m not getting any story ideas for my current WIP. Zip, zilch, nada. It’s driving me crazy!

Yesterday I spent the day trying to come up with something. I did my usual—throwing myself into my main character’s mood. Trying to figure out where we’d go from here and what we’d do. Still nothing. Several of my writer friends outline their stories from beginning to end. They tell me that’s how they keep on track. I really don’t like the idea of being constricted to a storyline. I enjoy the way my novels unfold in their own way. Each time it is unique. Each day I enjoy new surprises as plots twist and unexpected things happen. I LOVE that about writing.

Yesterday was a doubt-filled day for me. That old saying about everyone having a book or two in them, kept coming to mind. What if I only had three books in me? What if the story isn’t progressing because there really is no story there? What if I’m washed up already????!!!!

Today however, is a little different. I think I’ve discovered the trouble. It’s not the story, it’s me. The new book has nothing to do with vampires, werewolves, witches, or ghosts. Why? Because I keep hearing the term ‘market saturation.’ It’s an ugly term. Seems there’s just too many of those kinds of stories out there right now. My problem is—that’s what I love to write. Those are the stories that turn me on and motivate me. I don’t mean to sound like a genre-ist, but that’s what I like reading too. If you check out my movie or book collections, you’ll see that they mostly consist of things that go bump in the night.

So today I have a huge decision to make. I have to decide who exactly I’m writing for, and what my motivations are. Do I write for me and enjoy every minute of it, or do I write with the intention of actually selling something? My vampire/werewolf series has at least two (if not three) more books before it is complete. I’m itching to get at it. I love those characters. They feel like family. What am I going to do? I have no clue, but I am making the decision today and I’ll let you know.

Happy Easter!!!!

So I'm thinking about Easter Sunday. I'm Thinking about God and all his infinate wisdom. Here are my thoughts (for what they are worth.) God is. He always has been, and always will be. Nothing we've been taught is original thinking. It's all training. Your heart, soul, or consciousness tells you what's right and what's wrong. You feel it. When you do something that goes against 'the right', you feel it. So don't look to man for answers. Look to God. He's the only one that knows the truth. Your favorite Sunday morning evangilist isn't going to be able to tell you what's right for you. His generalizations will cover some, but not all. Trust your heart. He is here. He is with you. In all things know that the glory of the lord will shine through. (No it's not an exact bible verse, however, He is always faithful. Trust and believe upon that.) Life is tough people, but that's why we're here. To learn. To grow. Everything else is just icing. Eat your cake and be glad. There are always others out there that have it worse than you!!!! Happy Easter, and God bless!!!!!!!

Update on pub contract

Has anyone noticed that I sort of suck at updating my blog? As usual, life took over and time for writing, reading, and even breathing is almost nonexistent. I am inundated with grandchildren and household chores. Not that I’m complaining. Here’s a quick rundown on how things are going.

I turned down the publishing contract. I know it sounds insane, but there are some issues I just won’t budge on. Taking a deal, just for the sake of being able to say I’ve published a book just seemed like a cop out to me. In the end I’d be making next to nothing and there was no advance whatsoever. I can self publish an eBook and make 40% in royalties. No free author copies. (I’d have to buy those.) If I’m going to buy my own books, I might as well self publish at least then I’d still own the rights to my work. (See how this is working out? Lol) So in the interest of not screwing myself over, I turned them down. For now, I have no plans to self publish, but I am seriously thinking it over.

In the mean time, I am still querying the first and second books, and working on two others. Now I say working in the loosest sense of the word. I’ve started two more would be more appropriate I suppose. Both are at a standstill right now due to the inconvenient interruptions of my ‘real’ life. However, I’m itching to get back at it and get moving. Both books have taken over my dreams. It’s crazy how that happens. Today and tomorrow are mapped out for writing. If the chaos gods aren’t against me, maybe the words I’m dreaming will make it to paper. Maybe….. I hope you all are well! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Rebuttal to Esquire article (of sorts)

I took a break from work to look over cutie, and agent extraordinaire Nathan Bransford’s blog. In his post, he referenced Esquire’s post about vampires and gay men. Of course, I had to click over and read it. Gotta say, I'm not agreeing with this man’s opinion.

Why do so many want to turn genre fiction into a platform for religious or economic crisis? Can't we just like scary stories for the sake of a good scare? I'm curious what those of you who are interested think. (I’ll wait while you read………)

Okay ready?

I really get frustrated when people turn everything into a platform with religious connotations. Now, I’m not saying that he’s doing that per say. What I am saying is that many people do. Stating that woman like vampire stories because most secretly desire to have sex with gay men, is ridiculously equivalent to saying Men play sports because they’re in the closet and like the physical contact with other men. I’d bet money that several large, professional football players would kick your ass if you mentioned that to their faces. Anyone game to try it? (Not this girl!)

So many things are continuously taken out of context. The article implies that fascination with vampires is a result of another round of sexual revolution. Maybe so. But then again, aren’t we in a perpetual state of sexual revolution? In the last several decades, we’ve gone from do anything and anyone, to abstinence, and back again. Do I like gay men? I have several good friends that are. Do I want to sleep with them? Well I have enough lost causes going on, adding one more seems a bit masochistic.

In addition, the article discusses the rise and fall of vampire fiction coinciding with the rise of Aids and other socioeconomic events. My take? The world is a messy, scary place. To see that, all you have to do is turn on the news. Any station, any channel. It’s terrifying. I’d much rather go to sleep worrying about, "What if a vampire showed up?" Instead of, "What if I wake up and all the banks are shut down?" (I'm not nearly as worried about the vampire.)

I think most people want to escape from reality. Sci-fi/fantasy provides it. Not everything has to equate to sex or god. Sometimes a tomato is a nice, plump--wait for it--tomato. End of story.

What do you think? I’m curious to read your comments and hear your ideas. Are people looking in the wrong places for answers to unnecessary questions?

Writing Purgatory

Your first novel is finished and with several publishers waiting to be read. One is showing great interest! Your second novel is finished, and is in the revision/editing process. A third and fourth novel are in the early stages, but you’re optimistic they’ll both be good. So how does it feel?

I’m in publishing purgatory. Now I’ve been here for a while, but some days (like today) are worse than others. Many days, you wonder what in the heck you’re doing and why. Why did I decide at 39 yrs old, I wanted to become a writer? I honestly don’t know. Someone put me on a path, and the story happened. Why did I think it needed published? Well…wouldn’t it be a waste of time, not to mention completely self-indulgent, to make no attempt to profit from all the time and work invested? Don’t I owe my family that?

There are mornings I wake up, plagued with doubts and questions. I religiously scan blogs from other writers and agents, always in the hope that I’ll find another soul with similar misgivings. Many say, “We write because we must.” I agree with that. Writing became an addiction for me within three days of starting the first novel. How healthy can that be? If there is one thing you do (addictively) that interferes with real life, can it really be good for you?

A cardinal rule of writing is: Do not trust the opinions of friends and family when it comes to your writing. I comprehend the concept of this, but how likely are you to send writing samples to people you don’t know? How likely is it that they’d want to read them? Where do you find said people? “Writing critique groups,” says those in the know. Really? Wow! We don’t have any real life writing groups here. I live in small town Arkansas for Pete’s sake.

In the few writing forums I go to online, there is constant repetition of one phrase to new writers asking for critiques: “You just want someone to tell you how great you are.” I have a two-word response for that---WELL DUH!!! Who doesn’t want to be told how great they are? Some will venture to say the writing shows promise, but they never say exactly what is wrong with it. Oh, you’ll hear things like punctuation and grammar, that’s easy. I only know of one person that I consider the grammar police. (And she knows who she is.)

Much doubt, work, and even denial is involved in writing a book that might not make it to bookshelves. In the mean time, you have moments of mild freak outs, you constantly second guess your motives and abilities, and most importantly--you keep doing what you’re doing and strive to master the craft. Why? Who knows!

I could be in the next room holding my new grandson. I did that a lot last week and can tell you it was wonderful. Closets could be organized, floors could be scrubbed, toilets always need cleaning, but I’m here. Right here in front of the computer. Drinking coffee, preparing my mind for surreal locations, and planning once again, to write a story that very few may ever read. I can’t say why anyone, including myself, keeps trying. Validation? An extreme belief you have something to contribute? Money? I write because it makes me happy. It thrills me. Allowing my thoughts to spill out in type, gives me a sense of wholeness. After all of this, the doubts have settled. Paranoia has receded. I’m not wasting my time. I write because I must.

Where are you right now? Are you in your own brand of purgatory? Are you still plugging away at a dream? Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up! ‘They’ might not come when you build it, but YOU built it. At the very least, you can take pride in that. When you quit, you fail.

Day 348

Day 348

Okay where were we? Oh yeah, the hard part…

I can look back on this now and laugh, but at the time I did not find it even slightly amusing. Like many who know nothing about the publishing world, I assumed that editing was combing a manuscript for spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors. (Like that’s not hard enough to do. Especially when you aren’t the grammar police. Just for clarification…I‘m not.) The day after I finished The Bright Side of Darkness, I began my quest to edit and rid my story of mistakes.

Now I took this task quite seriously. I did a quick search online about editing and one of the noble advice givers claimed that you needed 6 people to help you edit. After those 6 had returned said manuscript, and mistakes repaired, you needed 6 more. (Yep. That’s what I thought too! Where in the heck am I going to find 12 people to read this?) Regardless of my trepidation, I set out to find 6 people I knew would be honest with me, no matter what. Lucky for me, I had 6 willing and able people to help me on my journey.

I promptly sent them copies and they picked the manuscript apart. (You can’t imagine how many spelling and punctuation errors there were. And I have and USE spell check!) For two weeks straight, I read, fixed, re-read, fixed, and so on. At the end of that two week period, I knew my book so well that my ‘editors’ could send me the page number and sentence and I knew exactly where to find it.

(Side note: At this point, I seriously started disliking my book. We began to have a strained relationship. You see, I wanted it to be good and behave. And it…well it wanted to be stubborn.)

I have actually dreamed of sitting at the computer combing line upon line of my story. Sometimes, I even woke up exhausted from working in my sleep all night. But that’s not even the hard part. We still aren’t even close to the really really hard part.

In the process of all this editing, I decided it was time for me to research this publishing thing and figure out how I was going to get this book from my home to Barns & Noble. Let me tell you, if I had done that before writing the novel--it would never have been written. I’m not even catholic and I crossed my chest after finding out what I needed to do to become a published author.

If you watch much TV or movies, you’d think that selling a book is fairly simple as long as it’s a good book. WRONG! The ‘simple’ part is sitting in a chair for hours working up a good case of carpal tunnel and restless leg syndrome. Everything after that is insanity!

It was at this time that I discovered a thing called ‘show don’t tell,’ and that revising and editing are no where close to the same monster.

Editing: Searching for mistakes in sentence structure, spelling, grammar, and extra words.

Revising: Ripping your manuscript to the bones and making it salable.

And guess what? There’s more. (I know, that’s what I said too! More? Are you freaking kidding me?) If you really want to get a good book deal, you need to have an agent. If you want to get an agent, you need to know how to write a killer query.

Query: A one-page letter written to an agent in which you personalize a greeting to each agent. Tell them the genre, word count, and title of your book. And then the biggie…In one small paragraph, give them an interesting, compelling synopsis of your story. Oh yeah, and you have to have a ton of double spaced lines between items so it can easily be read.

“Just awesome. No really, it‘s great. Someone just shoot me,” I mumbled as I beat my head against wall.

I almost quit right there. In fact, I made several tearful phone calls to Vanessa justifying why I just couldn’t do this.

“I don’t think I can do this, it’s too hard.”

“Of course you can, hun. Don’t be ridiculous. This is a great story. You’ll get it figured out,” she said.

A few of those turned into this: “Get a grip, girl. You can do this.”

I’d have been lost without my friends. They nudged me at the right times in the right places to keep going. She‘s never steered me wrong, so I listened.

By the middle of February, I was sending out queries. My first rejection didn’t shock me at all. I’m a new writer; I didn’t expect everyone to want my story. When the tenth rejection came--well--that one kind of hurt my feelings. I mean really! This is a great story. Vampires, and ghosts, and witches and a druid sorcerer? Sword fights, demon battles, magic…Who the heck wouldn’t love that?

I’m digressing because in the middle of all this mess, I was revising my book. Holy crap! Talk about work. You know all those freaky English rules you had to learn in high school? Remember senior comp or American Lit? Or better, the School House Rock songs? Conjunction junction and Lolly get your adverb? Does not even remotely prepare you for writing/editing/revising a novel.

Believe it or not, after all this yammering, I’ve finally gotten to the hard part. But unfortunately, that will have to wait till next time again. Because as usual, I’ve been long winded and I don’t want to get blamed for bottoms going numb and headaches.

Day 347 in my writing career.

Day 347 in my writing career.

I began this whole writing thing nearly a year ago. I showed a friend a short story I’d written and she said, “This is really good! So why don’t you make it a book?”

I laughed. “A book? I don’t have time to write a book!”

She smiled and shook her head. “Hun, you sit at the computer and clean your house. What do you mean you don’t have time?”

For three days, I pondered her statement. I really did have time to write a book, but holy cow…a book? That’s a ton of work and I’m not creative or overly intelligent. I’m just me. Writers are really smart people! Aren’t they?

On the fourth day, I sat down with my two-page short story and decided to give it a whirl. It was just one day after all, what could it hurt to try? I re-read what I’d written and suddenly words poured out of me. I’m talking tons of words. Those two pages became an entire chapter that day. When the kids got home from school, I put it up and did my normal after school thing with them.

All that night I had an intense feeling of satisfaction. My laundry didn’t get washed that day, and the living room needed vacuumed, but I felt like I’d really accomplished something.

The next morning I woke up at 5:30 like usual. (I know it’s an ungodly time, but my body is just used to it.) I made my coffee, checked my emails, read my horoscope, and opened my story. The kids almost missed the buss because I lost track of time and forgot to wake them up. After I got them off to school, I went at it again and wrote all day.

That was all it took, two exquisite days of bliss. I was completely hooked. I didn’t know if it was any good at all, but I couldn’t stop. It was my drug of choice. I worked like that everyday. Some days I’d write until nearly midnight. I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want too! (Can you say obsession?) In January, I finished. I sat here typing out those last few paragraphs and cried like a baby. It was over. I had given birth to a thing that had taken on a life of its own.

And that was when the really hard part began…