Archive for December, 2009

Hurry up and wait….

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Still no offers on our house. What a pain in the pa-toot! We haven’t had anyone looking since before Christmas – no big surprise there. However, we have to keep the house immaculate, just in case. During the dead time, I’m still busy packing up, tossing and sprucing. Now that I’m caught up, I’m starting to promote all my books that are coming out in January!

MIND ECHOES is the story of a female house call detective who communicates with animals telepathically to help a police detective solve crimes. Check it out at: www.whiskeycreekpress.com

An Extra Pair of Eyes, Adventures of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department Senior Volunteer Patrol. The stories in this book will introduce you to a side of police work you’re never seen, and a group of heroes you’ve never met. www.writewordsinc.com

Finder! A suburban housewife delves into the disappearance of several women in town, while trying to solve the mystery of the dead body her husband discovered. www.wildchildpublishing.com

Mysterious Gift – With one touch, he knows your most intimate secrets. Erotic paranormal romantic suspense novella. www.cobblestone_press.

All those books will be out in January 2010. Questions? Comments? Keep them coming

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Woe is me…

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

It’s the holiday season. We’re in the process of selling our home. I have two novels, a non-fiction book and a novella coming out in January! Yipes, talk about being up to your ….. in alligators! I have the covers of some books but haven’t gotten the galleys yet – have the galleys on others but no cover and I have proofed the galleys and have the cover but no definite pub date on one book. What was I thinking! Well, it’s kind of fun and exciting.

I conducted my last Writing Workshop in  San Diego yesterday. We laughed a lot, teared up a bit (mostly) me and did some hugging. The one thing I will miss when I move is the wonderful friends I’ve made here in the last 23 years. Thank goodness for the Internet! I know most of them will keep in touch. How do I know? Because I still get emails from a writing buddy I left in Massachusetts – and I haven’t seen her in over 25 years.

Writers are the best!

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A new Thought for the Day

Friday, December 11th, 2009

“In truth, I never consider the audience for whom I’m writing. I just write what I want to write.”

J.K. Rowling

Are you guilty of trying to write for the market? Or like J.K. do you write what you bloody well want to and then hope to get it published? There is a certain logic to the idea of writing what will sell. You spend all that time and effort and you want at least a chance of seeing your words in print. However, one should never try and write what you think is popular in hopes of getting it published. For one thing, it will take you a while – a year perhaps, to finish, edit, rewrite and perfect that manuscript. Then you’ll try to find an agent. That can take up to another year – or longer! Once you have an agent, he or she will try to sell the book – more time. By then another genre might be hot and you’ve lost the slot.

Another reason not to write for the market. If you don’t read, say romance, how can you write it? I love mysteries (check out my mystery blog: www.themysterystartshere.com). I read mostly mysteries, watch TV mystery shows and movies so I write mysteries, humorous, erotic, romantic suspense – but basically mysteries. Yes, I try other genres (my sweet romance, Call Sign: Love was the number one best seller at Fictionwise for August 2009!) but basically stick to what I know and love.

So, be like J.K. write what you love and I’m willing to bet you’ll get that novel or short story published because the love of genre will shine through.

Happy writing!

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Writing goals – do you have one?

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

Here is today’s Thought
“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
Napoleon Hill

Do you set writing goals for yourself? Should you? No? How do you know where you’re going if you don’t have a road map, an idea? When I took those first baby steps toward being a writer, all I wanted was to see my name in print. I achieved that goal, but didn’t stop. Next I decided I really wanted to write fiction, so I wrote short stories. I wrote and submitted and got rejected and wrote something new, until I had some fiction published. Did I quite? Heavens no!

My husband and I moved across country and started a a business and I had to give up writing for ten long years. It was very hard but you do what you have to. When I finally had to the chance to write again I decided I had to try to finish a novel. I wrote that novel and then another and another, each time perfecting my craft a little more. Yes, I took classes, went to seminars and read books, but I kept on writing. I am firmly convinced that the best way to learn to write a novel is….to write on. All the instruction in the world won’t help until you put your fingers on the keyboard. So far I’ve written 12 novels and published seven. What next? I tried a new genre – erotica!

Yesterday I found out I’d sold an erotic paranormal romantic suspense novella! Yup, I’m thrilled. I’m going to have to change the title and once I do, I’ll let you know all about it. I’ve enjoyed writing full books but novellas a fun! Anything under 40,000 words is considered a novella and they are so much faster to write! In stead of writing and perfecting one books a year, I can write several novellas and I will.

So, what’s my next goal? First I have to got those three books and one novella up and running then I’ll decide and believe me, you’ll be the first to know!

 

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Sold an erotic paranormal mystery!!!

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

I don’t have a thought for today – I don’t have a thought in my head – I’m reeling. I found out this morning that I sold another book, well a novella. That’s number four in two months; three books and a novella!

How did I accomplish this feat? Well, I keep writing, keep submitting my work and never give up. While I’m trying to sell something, I start a new project so I always have product ready to go. I also publish in a variety of genres. I was very lucky because my first writing teacher told me, “If you can write, you can write anything!” He was right.

I’ve published hard news, features, and humorous essays for newspapers. I sold short stories in the horror, confession, mystery and religious markets. My books are romance, romantic suspense, mystery, humorous mystery, paranormal romantic suspense and now my novella is an an erotic paranormal mystery! I titled it, “The Gift,” but that’s going to have to change as the publisher already has a book under contract with that title. I’ll post the new title here – and everywhere else!

Check out my books:
Call Sign: Love – www.writewordsinc.com
The Colors of Death – www.writewordsinc.com
An Extra Pair of Eyes – www.writewordsinc.com – Jan, 2010
Stormy Love- www.whiskeycreekpress.com
The Worst Evil- www.whiskeycreekpress.com
Mind Echoes – www.whiskeycreekpress.com – Jan, 2010
FINDER! – www.wildchildpublishing.com – Jan 2010
The Gift – working title – TBA

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Music and Writing – a great combination

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

I don’t know about you, but I like to listen to music while I write, but the genre of music depends on what I’m writing. Love scene? Sexy instrumental jazz. Fight scene? Thunderous pop-rock. Background for general writing, probably some light classical. It’s amazing to me how much music helps put me in different moods for writing. Try it – it works.

Music inspires me to write, too. For instance, if I ever hear a Johnny Mathis song on the radio, I’m instantly in Chicago in the 60’s. Okay, okay I know I’m dating myself here. Jack Jones? Miami. I can almost feel the soft ocean breeze blowing through my hair and hear the roar of the Pan Am jets being worked on across the highway from my apartment.

When a song sparks a memory in you, stop what you’re doing and write. Capture that feeling, good or bad. You may never use it but once captured, it’s yours forever. I have paper and pencils sitting everywhere in my house. If I get an idea or hear a snatch of song that creates a memory, I write it down.

That’s how I came to create my mystery novel, THE WORST EVIL,  www.whiskeycreekpress.com. I was listening to an oldies station and Johnny Mathis started singing, Chances Are. Bam, I was back standing on an El station in Chicago in the dead of winter, with the cold wind blowing off lake Michigan freezing my butt off. The glimmer of an idea wiggled into my brain and before I knew it, I had a plot, characters and eventually a book!

So, if you’re looking for inspiration, flip on the radio or fire up one of your Cd’s. You never know what will pop into you brain.

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Don’t have time to write? Neither do I!

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

I hear it over and over again. The minute I tell people I’m a published author, nine of of ten will say, “Oh, I want to write some day too, but….I don’t have time.” Well, I tell them the truth. I don’t have time to write either.  I MAKE the time! I then ask these wanna be writers, how much time do you spend watching television? Reading. Golfing. Playing with your kids, grand kids or dogs? Lunching with friends? Navel gazing? It’s really just a matter of priorities. If you REALLY want to write, you’ll find the time.

I have a friend who publishes four to six romance novels a year. She’s one of the few writers I know who actually makes money in this game. She will freely admit that she’s missed holidays, family gatherings and her own kid’s birthday parties because she had deadlines to make! She made up her mind that she was going to be a published author and she let nothing stand in her way.

It’s not easy to be a published author or writer of any kind. You have to find the time to not only study the markets, write the article or story or book, and then submit your work. But it doesn’t stop there. Especially with novels, you wil have galleys to read and proof, a cover to choose and then the real work. You have to publicize the heck out of your book or no one will buy it!

With all that in mind, here’s the Thought for the Day

“Do not wait; the time will never be ”just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along. “   Napoleon Hil l  

So, what do you say. Are you a writer? Or do you just want to talk about being a writer, “some day.” Writers write. Have you written today?

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