Oh, today is Thursday?

My apologies! Because I work at home doing things I love, it often takes me awhile to figure out what day it is. However, I usually surface long enough to make my commitments--I'm a bit slow in doing that today. So this blog post is late. 

Adding to my usual offhand attitude about the day and time is the stunner of one of my dogs dying suddenly on Monday afternoon. I consider myself pretty intuitive and am an animal communicator, so I knew his passing would be connected to his seizures and he wouldn't be in that physical body very long. Still, this took me totally by surprise. 

Interestingly, his presence is stronger than ever and, after some intense grieving, I am at peace with what happened. And my beloved Stewart is pushing me even stronger to pursue my dreams. 

So I am! I've made great progress on the last contracted story of my Halo Legacy Series; have a draft cover that is different enough from others I've designed that I'm not sure it will be the final one. So I'm sharing it with you here for comments. I'm not going to tell you what the story is about, because I want to have your honest comments--what does this cover say to you about the story?

Thank you in advance!

P.S. If you looked at the draft cover earlier and think this one looks different, it is! As I'm working on this story, I also had thoughts about the cover, so changed it. I like this one much better, but would still like comments. :)

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Digging Deeper

I had the good fortune last Saturday to attend the Donald Maass Workshop, Writing 21st Century Fiction, put on by the Rose City Romance Writers (see Meggan's post from Tuesday). If you're a writer and ever have the chance to attend one of his workshops or lectures—do it. You won't be sorry.

A lot of the information was familiar, but it was presented in a way that it struck a new chord (for me, anyway). Here are the highlights that resonated the most with me.

"Don't write what is safe."

Writing what's easy, expected, common, familiar, will not touch readers. You need to dig deeper into the story—and into your own experiences—and write what you're afraid to write.

We—and by extension, our characters—never feel just one emotion at a time. Use those secondary emotions, instead of "skimming the surface" by writing the primary (expected) emotion in a scene, to create a visceral connection to the reader.

"Write the unexpected."

What is the one thing your character would never do? Write that. Now what happens?

Yes, this is a variation on "don't write what is safe," but I can't tell you the epiphany I had as I thought about this question. I'd done all the usual things while plotting and writing The Lazarus Gambit — escalated the conflict, made the bad moments worse, and, and, and...I realized I'd played it safe, for my heroine and for myself. Well, not any more!

"Stories are inherently bigger than life."

Don't be afraid of the fromage! Just be sure to set the context before you deliver the cheese. In other words, don't be afraid of writing "over the top." Readers are engaged with and want stories that are bigger than life.

"Story is an infinite well."

Don't save things. Series writers have a tendency to hold things back/save things up for future books in the series. Don't! Put them in — you'll find more later! Story is an infinite well, and the more you write, the more the ideas will come. If you hold back, out of the fear that you won't be able to think of something later, you'll short-change what you're writing now — and it will show.

These are a few of the things that stood out to me in a workshop packed with great information. I've already planned serious changes to The Lazarus Gambit, and I know I'll apply these to future books, as well.

Deborah Wright
Website: www.Deborah-Wright.com
Twitter: @DeborahBWright
Facebook: Deborah.Wright.Author

 

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Free Books Driving Series Sales

Hi, all.

I just did a cover reveal for the fourth novella in my "Deeds of the Ariane" fantasy series:

I wasn't sure I'd be writing the fourth story, since the first three didn't sell much at all in 2012. (My Pajaro Bay series has been turning a nice profit but this series was just sitting there like a bump on a log doing nothin'.)

So after Tina Folsom visited my local chapter and mentioned that she made the first books in her series free in order to drive sales to the rest of the series, I decided to try it. I had nothing to lose, so why not?

It took a while, but after Lark's Quest: The Search had been free on Barnes & Noble and iTunes for a while, Amazon.com price-matched it to $0.

So did it work? Well, the cover above is the answer. The fourth book is now a *much* higher priority for me, and will get completed this year, since the first three are now selling almost as well as my other series.

I'm not sure making a book free would be worth it if it's a stand-alone. That used to work (I did it with my first book in the KDP Select program last year, and it drove the book up on the bestseller lists for a while last spring).  Amazon seems to have changed the way they calculate free "sales", so making a book temporarily free doesn't seem to have as much impact long-term as it used to.

But if you have a series, and would like to raise visibility, making the first one free for a long time (not the KDP Select 1-5 day limit, but weeks or months at a time) seems to work, at least for me.

So that's my little tip for the day--sometimes giving something away can make potential readers aware of you, and then, if you're lucky, they'll check out the rest of your books.

Happy writing, all.

~Barb

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Catching Meara

I'm a little slow with the post. I thought I was the last Friday of the month so wasn't really paying too much attention. Yesterday was a crazy day and I was babysitting a sick granddaughter. Then it was hubby's birthday. We went out to dinner then stopped at Joanne's Fabrics and saw Meggan. (but I don't know how to spell her name.) hmm... I should go look it up.

This month I'm looking forward to the release of Catching Meara the first in The McKenna Clan series.
I will have a two day prerelease sale at Rogue Phoenix Press. Catching Meara will be $0.99 on March 8th and March 9th. More about that later.

Catching Meara will have a review tour with Goddessfish, starting March 18th.

BLURB:

CATCHING MEARA

Meara Thorton was a feisty, world-class computer hacker—cornered by the FBI and shockingly given the chance to be their newly acquired technical analyst.  Brilliant and intuitive, yet aching with the loss of everyone she has cared about, her restless heart led her to discover a love she fought and a world she didn't know could possibly exist.

Jace McKenna was an enigma, a loner, impossibly handsome, sincere and committed. The Apache shapeshifter blood running through his veins burned hotter than the blistering Sierra Madre sun. Jace knew the moment he caught Meara's scent she was his for eternity.

EXCERPT:

EXCERPT:

Meara had been seconds from revelation, mere seconds. Now quivering with terror, she huddled in the corner of her electrified office while lights flashed and popped all around her, knowing there was no where to run. Monitors flashed and burst, exploding and sending shards of liquid fire into the air. A cop entered the small room, his arms stretched forward, gun in both hands and a flashlight on top of his gun.

Three more cops followed behind. No, they were government agents. The logo printed in white across their chest announced their profession.

Bright lights swept the room in a slow steady arc, searching for her. Finally resting on her face, she shielded her eyes. Smoke from the crucified computers filled the cubicle, making the agents choke. Sweat from fear beaded on her forehead, and her heart lurched to her throat. She closed her hands over her heart as if she could slow the furious beating.

"Hewitt, check this out. There might be more than this one. Barrister go search through the other rooms."

"Right, McKenna."

"My name is Jace McKenna," the man said as he approached cautiously, kicking debris from under foot until he stood above her. "Put your hands in the air."

His voice held so much authority and sounded so calm. For a moment she thought he meant to reassure then she remembered she was his prisoner. Well, she would be as soon as she complied with his demands.

Jace, appeared dark, dangerous, handsome and tall, she noted at first. Very tall, which was hard to miss, since she was skinny and short. His eyes were an amber color with a hint of green. He towered over her. Beneath the deceiving bulkiness of his bulletproof vest, she observed next, his shoulders were very broad, and though his hips were lean, his thighs, tightly hugged by his jeans, were muscled and powerful.

His hair was blacker than the midnight sky, nearly indigo with its sheen, his amber eyes were cast into a rugged face that appeared naturally tanned. He was probably somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties. He seemed fierce, alive with a striking tension and a volatile energy that seemed to exude from him.

Shaking, sweat dripping down her face, Meara slowly raised her trembling arms. "D-don't shoot--me, please" She heard the pathetic whimper in her voice as she blinked the stinging sweat from her eyes where it melded with her mascara. Her heart pounded so hard against her chest she was sure it would burst through her ribs.

"Stand up, slowly."

EXCERPT:

"I can't--sleep. I can't close my eyes."

"Why ever not?"

"I'm afraid that cat will show up again. Any suggestions? Any besides keep all the doors and windows closed?" Like a drill sergeant, she marched through his open front door.

She didn't hear footsteps behind her, but she did hear the door close. He was always as silent as cat stalking a mouse. She didn't sense his presence until his hands were on her and he was spinning her around. Surprised, she cried out. The spinning sensations caused her to stumble. She fell down to the floor and he followed.

She was beneath him and he was sprawled over her, taut, tense, his chest naked and the muscles rippling. She wanted to trace the rosettes on his body. They were everywhere and she'd never noticed how many he had. His eyes seemed to blaze, searing, into her. "Meara," he began. "Dear god, Meara." Then he fell silent. He groaned as his fingers moved into her hair...and he was kissing her...really kissing her.

Not as he had kissed her earlier. Not lightly, but with hunger, raw and animalistic. Openmouthed, his lips moved upon hers, wet, hot, enticing a response from her. His tongue swept her mouth, thrust inside and demanded she respond equally. Then he drew away, kissing her face, the tip of her nose, her closed eyelids. His tongue rimmed her lips before slipping inside her mouth again, so deeply the inferno raced throughout her body. She needed to touch him if only to reassure herself this too was not a dream.

She wanted to feel the warmth of his body and explore the contours that were all male animal, sleek and hard. And in turn she felt an overwhelming urge, the fire, and the desperation to have him at any cost.

His lips rose above hers just a fraction of an inch. She touched them delicately with her tongue, encircling them, nipping lightly. He held still to her gentle assault then swept his arms around her. Once again their mouth melded and the tasting and sweeping and hunger were shared. When they broke apart again, his hold on her eased, but the tension in him seemed greater, explosive. His breath fanning her cheeks, he whispered. "Meara, I'm sorry. I understand it's too soon. It's just..."

Beneath him she lay still, wondering what on earth was happening to her. It wasn't too soon. Yet maybe he had the right of it. Perhaps he didn't want her in that way. She had teased and taunted him, shown up at his door and practically begged for the kiss--for sex. Still she wondered how he could just walk away. It seemed to him the kiss was a mistake, but she'd live with the mistake and cherish the moment.

He was on his feet, one hand holding tight to his towel, the other reaching down to her, helping her to stand. She gazed at him, her fingers still entwined with his, her lips swollen and soft and wet from the kiss.

"Jace," she whispered his name. He didn't speak, and his eyes focused with hers. "I'm not what you want. I know I'm not the kind of girl..." Her voice trailed away miserably. She barely knew him, and she had imposed herself after long days at work. But she wondered if his desire was great enough, if she could seduce him.

"Meara, hush, you are exactly the kind of girl I would want." His voice was a low growl, his words fraught with tension, his eyes blazing.

EXCERPT:

The gunshots woke Meara from a sound sleep. She sat up in bed, sweat dripping from her forehead. She thought she saw a strange animal-like figure staring at her from outside--a wolf perhaps. But it wasn't the jaguar. Then it vanished.

"Jace!"

She was shivering, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She felt numb and so very empty. Jace was out there. He had gone outside to protect her, looking for a killer, so it seemed. He shouldn't have done that. He should have stayed where it was safe. Terror ripped through her.

Nowhere was safe.

He could get himself killed.

She knew Jace. He would tell himself he was trained. He would have to do it. He couldn't leave this to the men patrolling the house. And she knew he would never sit still while someone took crack shots at him. He would never wait this thing out. He could never live that way.

They couldn't live that way.

She sat on the bed and leaned her head against the headboard. It was solid and soothing. She realized Jace was going to stay out there until he caught the man. She also knew he wasn't going to stay around forever. She wasn't pretty enough, cute enough. She didn't have any curves, so to speak. It would be all over before she could blink.

And he was out there...

Risking his life for her...

She really couldn't bear it if he died. No matter what happened, she didn't want him hurt. She did love him, very much, and she needed to know he was alive somewhere.

A loud roar startled her.

At the harsh sound, she jumped alert. Scooting back on her bead as far as she could go, she cowered against the headboard for a brief second. Slowly she unpeeled herself from the bed and walked into her living room then toward the balcony.

The cat was covered with dirt, his eyes bright against the blackness of his fur. She opened the balcony doors and let the jaguar walk inside.

He let out a few whimpers then settled down on the rug, his tail moving up and down. He sounded as if he was in pain.

She arched her brows, staring at the cat and wondering if she should go to him. If it was safe. Good lord, Jace would have her hide if she approached the cat. But it wasn't one of the rules. She'd done everything just as he'd asked. Well, except for letting the cat inside her house. But the big black jaguar looked as if he needed her and he was wounded. Heck, she was more exhausted, but strangely she wasn't as terrified.

"Easy boy," she cooed as she slowly stepped toward the animal. She gritted her teeth against the creak and groan of the floorboards.

Start at the Beginning...

Website Design for Writers on a Budget, part 2

You've decided it's time to create a website, or perhaps you want to update the site you already have. Good for you! The natural inclination is to want to jump right in and start making changes — maybe you have new graphics you think you want to use, or you're tired of the colors on your site — or to start customizing that template you found online.

Whoa! Hold up, Skippy!

Take a deep breath and step away from your editor. You've missed a few crucial steps and jumped right to the end of the story. Before you ever look at a line of code — heck, before we can even talk about color palettes and graphics and all that good stuff — you need to start at the beginning. Because, you see, a website isn't just a pretty face.

What's the purpose of a writer's website?

Unfortunately, there isn't one answer to that question. The purpose may change depending on where you are in your career. If you're pre-published — i.e. a writer who hasn't sold or self-published your work yet — then your website may have a slightly different purpose than the website of an established author.

Just remember, a good website will look professional, will be easy to navigate, and will convey its information in a clear, easy to understand manner. Before you start building your website, you need to decide what information you want your site to convey. Don't worry about HOW the site will look, just make a list of WHAT will be on it.

Here are some of the things a writer's website might do.

Your website will be an invitation to readers:

• A place to find reliable information about your books (including your backlist, if you have one)
• An easy place to find links to buy your books
• A place where you blog (regularly!)
• A place where you post your twitter feed
• A place where you post news about books releases, book signings, conferences, etc.
• A place where you talk about your current work-in-progress
• A place to sign up for your newsletter (if you have one) and/or contact you via a form

Your website will be a professional platform:

• Expect Agents (business associates) and Editors (business partners) to visit your site
• A place for publicity stills (if you have them) and professional contact information
• A place for a short biography

Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? Don't let it overwhelm you. Many of those things overlap, and not all of them are a requirement for every writer. Think about it. Make your list. Don't be afraid to add things that aren't listed above and don't be afraid to cross things off that don't apply to you.

Pro Tip: Knowing what information you want your site to convey is a crucial first step, even if you ultimately decide to hire a professional web designer. With this knowledge in hand, you'll be able to communicate your needs clearly and succinctly.

Next time, I'll talk a bit about taking your list and starting to create the blueprint for your website. I'll use the list I made for my website as an example. In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions!

REFERENCES

Head First Web Design: A solid, if quirky, take on web design that's worth checking out.

Deborah Wright
Website: www.Deborah-Wright.com
Twitter: @DeborahBWright
Facebook: Deborah.Wright.Author

 

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Reality VS Real TV

Oops! I'm almost late putting this up. Thank you Deb for making the reminders that pop up!

I spent eight days with my dad helping him as he recovers from heart surgery. During that time I managed to make some progress on my mystery book. I also had to watch such shows as Pawn Stars, Swamp People, and  Pickers. While I know these are "made up" reality TV shows there was a portion of them that showed some great and not so great human characteristics.

Pawn Stars is a family run pawn store in Las Vegas that has one of the dumbest employees. I'm surprised he's alive he is so unintelligent. It makes me wonder if he is that way in real life or a put-on for the show. I don't believe anyone can be that dimwitted. And his name...Chumley. What do you think? Is that character a completely made up character just to keep the show from being boring?

Swamp People. They have(can't think of the word) what people say written at the bottom of the TV screen. My dad said because they are Cajun and no one can understand them. I say it's because they don't have any teeth and no one can understand them. ;) And just like all shows they have the good gator hunters and the not so nice gator hunters. After all you have to have a villain or two to make the story/show interesting. What I found interesting was the team of two women is the easiest to understand(they have teeth) and the neatest dressed other than the father and son Native American team(who also have teeth). And of course the bully team are big burly guys who pull in the wimpiest gators.

I like Pickers.  It was interesting to see what the "pickers" deemed good finds and what they deemed junk and to see all the stuff some people collect. Again, great character studies of the people who collected. Why a certain item and how they lived.

While I'm not a huge TV or movie watcher, I did find my evenings watching theses shows at my dad's an interesting way to enhance my writing.

Do you watch a certain show or shows to help you gain insight into a character or an idea for a book?

As a reader do you like when characters have motivations for the way they act or do you take their actions for granted?

IN BETWEEN...

Posted by: Genie Gabriel

I'm in the process of reading through the previous books of my Halo Legacy Series to be sure I find the loose ends and tie them up in the last contracted book of the series, which I'm currently working on. 

Yes, I have databases to track these threads, but I also like to reread the book so I get a better sense of what the heck I thought I was doing when I started the original plot line. Sometimes it's a surprise. :)

I also drafted a cover I like, but it's not going to be clear at the small sizes generally shown on the Internet. So I need to come up with something different. 

It's a bit odd wrapping up this series.It's been a big part of my life for well over a year, and I'm already feeling kinda lost. However, I'm sure I'll find plenty of things to keep me busy. I might even have time to play with my doggie herd again. I know I definitely have a big collection of books to read, which I didn't do.

What do you do when you're between books? Are there things you catch up on? New projects to dig into? Are these things related to writing? Or totally different? 

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Is It Still Paradise If You're Sick?

I thought about titling this post, The Vacation from Hell, but I realized that wasn't really true.

Here's what happened. Last week, the Spousal Unit and I had a week in Hawaii. We'd planned it several months ago, using the SU's Hilton points to book a stay at the Hilton Waikoloa Village, just north of Kona on the Big Island (Hawaii). We figured a little warmth and sunshine in February would be a pleasant break from the winter weather. Everything was going fine, right up until the night before we were supposed to leave — when I woke up feeling like crap.

I wasn't sure what I had — food poisoning? a stomach bug? — and I honestly still don't know (though I suspect a bug, since it lasted so long). Since we had an early morning flight, we'd booked a room at a hotel near the airport (one that has a stay & fly package, so we could leave our car there). I couldn't eat and all I felt like doing was sleep, so I just crawled into bed and hoped I'd feel better before getting on the plane.

I didn't.

I'd managed to get up in the middle of the night and eat an apple and a slice of bread with some turkey that the SU had brought along in case I actually got hungry. Since I kept the food down, I had hopes that the worst was over even though I still felt lousy. Alas, that was false hope. The only saving grace for the flight was that we had first class seats (gotta love those companion tickets). If I had to feel bad on an airplane, at least I had plenty of room and a toilet close by (and boy did I need it).

The warm weather and sunshine were very welcome when we landed in Kona. The taxi to the resort and checking in remains a blur. I did manage to walk around the resort a bit, and I have to say, it's a beautiful place. But mostly, I slept that first day away. And the second. By the third, I insisted the SU go on the Circle-the-Island tour we'd booked and paid for before we left home. I was feeling marginally better, but not well enough to sit on a tour bus for 12 hours. I'm glad he went — he saw pretty much the entire island, including the volcano, and I got to sleep some more (in between forcing myself outside for some sunshine every once in a while).

On the second to last day, I felt marginally better. Enough to walk all around the resort (all 62 acres!), so long as we took rest breaks.

I finally felt mostly human on the last day - enough so that I even went swimming! Yay! We enjoyed our last day of paradise, and I didn't dread the flight home. It took a few more days before I really felt like my stomach had settled down. I still feel a bit woozy every once in a while.

Even though this last trip wasn't what I was expecting, I ended up having an OK time — and I had a lot of time to think about backstory for the next book. Most of that time was just daydreaming about the characters, but I did write up those notes on the flight home.

Deborah Wright
Website: www.Deborah-Wright.com
Twitter: @DeborahBWright
Facebook: Deborah.Wright.Author

 

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I'M COMIN' OUT--MORE STORY THAN SEX

by Genie Gabriel

Yes, two blogs from me back to back! I'm obviously between stories and have too much time on my hands--and have been doing too much thinking. LOL!

This week has been a series of epiphanies for me. One of those epiphanies is around how I have struggled to "label" what I write. 

I finally realized why struggle? Just tell is like it is--I mean, like they are. 

My books are more story than sex. 

If you want hot sex in what you're reading, I know many wonderful writers who can deliver that. If you want sweet romances, those also abound.

While my books may not be scorch-your-eyeballs hot, neither are they sweet romances. I was scanning back through LEGACY OF ANGELS, book #2 of my Halo Legacy Series, for a PG excerpt between the two main characters--a former priest and a former prostitute. That was a challenge! 

Yet there was no consummated love scene in that book. The story ends shortly after their first kiss. 

On the other hand, the first love scene in LIVING THE LEGACY comes less than halfway through the book, when the two main characters are on their honeymoon. Their physical attraction for each other is part of what binds them together when they realize how different they are after they marry. Yet the second half of the book isn't one sex scene after another. They resolve their conflicts AND continue to appreciate each other through love-making. 

So my epiphany was the realization I didn't need to struggle to "label" my stories. The ground between sweet, chaste romances and fiery, burn-up-the-pages sex offers an incredible world of sensual, emotional stories exploring real life issues--and a few fantasies. Oh, and sometimes mystery and humor. :)

Do you struggle to label the stories you write or read? Or are you smarter than me and simply enjoy the story?

PROMO/SHARING + NOT DOING IT ALL MYSELF

ONE OF MY NEW COVERS!

First I want to share some wonderful news--all my Halo Legacy Series books have new covers! I am so excited to share these! I'm posting just the first one here so I'm not a total blog hog. However, if you want to see all of them, please visit my Web site at <www.GenieGabriel.com>. I've laid all of them out on a wonderful Valentine's Day background that I found at an online photo site.

Which brings me to the NOT doing it all myself part of this post.

I'm not a total control freak, but almost. In addition to a lot of intense writing over the past year or so to produce enough books that can be released every two months, I design my book covers, design and maintain my Web site and my blog, and coordinate most of my own promotion. 

I've discovered a couple things: (1) I can be very productive; and (2) I don't want to exhaust myself being productive.

That means deciding where it's cost effective to pay someone else to help produce and sell my books. Or doing the things I like to do and letting someone else do what's not so fun for me. :)

Though I design my own covers, I rely heavily on a number of online photo sites for pictures and graphics to make up the pieces of those covers. I gladly pay a reasonable price so I don't have to set up my own photo shoots or draw complex graphics from scratch.

Yes, I could self-publish, but I prefer having a publisher to format my books and upload them to e-tailers--and switch the covers. (Woo-hoo!) 

My publisher also carries some of the load of promotion, and I've purchased ad space at online sites as well as paid for someone else to set up blog tours for me. 

This list only touches on some of the things involved in producing a book that an author can do--or NOT--for herself. If you're published, how do you decide what you do or don't do in producing your books? If you're not yet published, do you have a plan on what you want to do yourself or let others do?

Downton Abbey and the Power of Familiarity

My local chapter mates convinced me to give Downton Abbey a try. So now we've just been through a marathon of Downton Abbey-watching: one episode a day from the very first one up to the most recent one.

And it has been making me think about series. What is it that makes us so addicted? Why do millions of people get so excited to watch the latest escapades of a fictional family who lived far away and long ago?

There's the fun of the settings, the costumes, the hairstyles, and the slang, of course. The fun of taking a peek into a world far removed from our own. But that kind of curiosity wears thin quickly, I think.

I think it's not the distance from our own lives that keeps us coming back week after week. I think it's the recognition of ourselves in the people: haven't we all known an Edith, who struggles to find a place for herself in the world while being overlooked by most around her? Haven't we all met a stalwart Mrs. Hughes, or a gentle but a bit out-of-touch Cora, or a crusading Isobel? Do we recognize the bitterness and rejection behind Thomas's nasty actions? And I hope we all have been lucky enough to know someone as quietly heroic as Mr. Bates.

I think the power of a series like Downton is in the links the audience builds with the characters over time. We argue over the choices they make, we root for them, we cheer and we boo at every new development in their lives.

It's a powerful thing for an audience to be invested in the happiness of fictional characters.

How can we bring that power to our own writing? How do we get readers so invested in the characters' lives that they boo when something goes wrong and cheer when it goes right?

I'm still learning, myself, but I think Downton Abbey shows that the flaws in the characters, their foibles, their little triumphs and losses, are at least as important as the main plot of the story.

I think a scene where Anna and Mr. Bates are kept apart is only powerful because we know of their long struggles. And watching Thomas cry real tears for the loss of another person is much more moving because we know how rarely he allows himself to care about another. It's the history we share with the characters that gives meaning to those small moments.

How do you build a connection between the reader and your characters? If you have the luxury of writing a series, and revisiting the same characters over time, how do you try to keep the reader invested in the lives of your story people?

~Barb

http://www.BarbaraCoolLee.com

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/ZptSs5

Pinterest:  http://bit.ly/12FqCXq

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/UjgvFK

Twitter: http://bit.ly/VhG1Xz

On my own blog this month I'll be profiling the "People of Pajaro Bay" on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and highlighting joyful things in life in my "Good Fridays" feature. You can follow the posts through any of the links above.

Weekly Progress Check-In

Welcome! This is the Mid-Willamette Valley Romance Writers weekly progress check-in. We want to hear from you.

Did you meet your writing goals last week? What do you plan to accomplish this week?

Chris' Rules To Write By

Spring Is Coming

Cleaning house, cleaning up the work place and finding the time, it seems we all have issues. When my characters come to life, putting them on paper is sometimes easy but often difficult. Thinking about them does not create the words. So I have made up Chris’s rules to write by. These are things I need to do to get the work finished.

Rules to write by:

1.    Derrière in chair.

2. Manuscript up, waiting for words of wisdom.

3. Get rid of all and I mean all distractions.

4.If you’re a gamer, don’t forget to lose them too.

5. Set a goal and stick by it. (unless there is a fire or some catastrophe

6. Workout after finishing designated writing assignment…ah the teacher in me.

7. If  you research well… you can ask too many questions and receive more answers than you have time to use.

8.    

What are your rules?

I struggled for some time to find the seconds, minutes and even hours to write. I find I am happiest when I’m creating stories and the characters are taking prevalent places in my head and on my computer. My rules of course are working for me. Writing more than I have since before my full time job in the school district. In present times I now have a record four pages in one day. Alas in my past I could write ten to twenty pages a date.

I am having so much fun with my McKenna Clan series. Catching Meara’s release date is March 10, 2013. The second book in this series is Sweet Sexy Sadie. It’s release date is August 20, 2013. Woo hoo…

And an FYI, I’m celebrating a new cover for Star Crossed. This is my novella, which is part of the Angels St. Patrick’s Day anthology. I am so happy to have this cover. 

Star Crossed is free today at Amazon.