Until January 8, 2012 you can use the following coupon codes to download my books for FREE from Smashwords.com (where, by the way, there are thousands of other great books).
Better with You use code RC67V
Cass Gets Her Kicks use code QX84Y
The Cowboy Next Door use code MB63Y
Please, Sir use code XY84S
Looking for more bargain books? How about checking out my ebook posts Where To Buy Books For Your E-Reader and Free Books!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
SitRep Saturday: One Good Cowboy
The new cowboy WIP has been drafted, the editing process has begun, and it now has a short title I'm very pleased with: One Good Cowboy. I have an email in to a professional photographer to ask about his stock photo rates because I think I found the perfect image for a book cover. If that doesn't work out, though, I'll find something else.
How about a sneak preview?
Justin Youngblood had a perfect ass.
Through darkness pierced by the glow of neon beer signs hung on the walls and the dance of colored light from the system set into the rafters over the dance floor, Heather Wild kept her eyes riveted on the curve of that perfect ass. Viewing it was a rare and special treat. She admired the shape of it under the slight sag of his designer jeans. Her eyes moved down the length of his thick, muscular thighs and then back up, over the nicely rounded contours of his buttocks and the fluid lines of his back as he bent over the edge of the pool table. His polo shirt rode up when he made his shot, exposing the pale skin and the dimples just above his low-riding belt. She sighed happily.
A skinny man in painted-on work jeans wandered through her line of sight. Heather wished for a dangerous, fleeting moment that Justin was more like the other men in the room. If he was a cowboy, he would wear the same Levi's or Wranglers as the rest of them. They would be skin tight. They would better show off that ass in all of its perfect glory.
And she wouldn't give a damn about it or him.
It was better that his jeans had come from an urban clothing store in the mall, that his shoes were clean sneakers and not dirty boots, and that his shirt was a textured cotton blend with a popped collar and three tiny open buttons that exposed the base of his throat. It made him different. She liked different. Different excited her.
Her eyes lingered on his biceps, where the snug sleeve only accentuated the bulge of gym-built muscle. Her fingers flexed. Justin was top-heavy, bulky from lifting weights; his strength was for show, not for work. He didn't rope cattle or bale hay or mend fences. He never had and his new MBA ensured that he never would.
She wanted him.
Justin Youngblood had a perfect ass.
Through darkness pierced by the glow of neon beer signs hung on the walls and the dance of colored light from the system set into the rafters over the dance floor, Heather Wild kept her eyes riveted on the curve of that perfect ass. Viewing it was a rare and special treat. She admired the shape of it under the slight sag of his designer jeans. Her eyes moved down the length of his thick, muscular thighs and then back up, over the nicely rounded contours of his buttocks and the fluid lines of his back as he bent over the edge of the pool table. His polo shirt rode up when he made his shot, exposing the pale skin and the dimples just above his low-riding belt. She sighed happily.
A skinny man in painted-on work jeans wandered through her line of sight. Heather wished for a dangerous, fleeting moment that Justin was more like the other men in the room. If he was a cowboy, he would wear the same Levi's or Wranglers as the rest of them. They would be skin tight. They would better show off that ass in all of its perfect glory.
And she wouldn't give a damn about it or him.
It was better that his jeans had come from an urban clothing store in the mall, that his shoes were clean sneakers and not dirty boots, and that his shirt was a textured cotton blend with a popped collar and three tiny open buttons that exposed the base of his throat. It made him different. She liked different. Different excited her.
Her eyes lingered on his biceps, where the snug sleeve only accentuated the bulge of gym-built muscle. Her fingers flexed. Justin was top-heavy, bulky from lifting weights; his strength was for show, not for work. He didn't rope cattle or bale hay or mend fences. He never had and his new MBA ensured that he never would.
She wanted him.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Resources: Publishing Part 2: Self-Publishing
Yesterday, we looked at traditional publishing and I pointed you in the direction of some resources you could use to learn about it. Even if you've already decided to self-publish, I strongly suggest learning everything you can about the traditional publishing industry. It affects self-publishing.
The Wildly Successful
The Nitty Gritty
Distribution
When I decided to self-publish, I read a lot. I read blogs and articles on and from traditional publishers and authors, and I read blogs and articles on and from self-published authors and independent presses. Just about everyone had something useful to share, some bit of information or advice I was able to add to what I'd already learned to deepen my understanding and better help me define my goals and set reasonable expectations.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: goals and reasonable expectations are musts if you go this route.
The Industry
- Self-Publishing Resources
- Cnet: Self-Publishing a Book: 25 Things You Need to Know
- The Shared Self-Publishing Experience
- Self-Publishing Review
- Writing.com: Self-Publishing Information and Links
- eHow: How to Self-Publish a Book
- Inc.com: How to Self-Publish Your Book
- Seeking the Write Life: Self Publishing IMO tag
- Terrible Minds: "self publishing" search results
- Writer's Helper: Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing
These links are by no means comprehensive (and neither is yesterday's list), but they're all good places to start.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Resources: Publishing Part 1: Traditional Publishing
Chances are that if you write--and especially if you've come to this blog by way of search engines or Twitter--you want to be read and that means being published. If you're anything like I was eight months ago, your understanding of the publishing industry goes something like "write, submit to publisher, profit." There are a lot more question marks than that.
Traditional publishing, it can be argued, offers the best quality control and the highest prestige. Whenever I think about traditional publishing, I think about the Big Six, big box bookstores, and well-known periodicals. I think about agents, editors, lawyers, public relations managers, bestsellers, movie options, and merchandising rights.
When I started doing research into the possibility of self-publishing, I first did all the research I could on traditional publishing. That meant reading up on the largest publishing houses, on agents, on query letters, on copyright laws, on everything I could think of. I read blogs, I read Writer's Market, I read through publishers' websites.
If you're thinking about (or ready to start thinking about) publishing, the following list of links is for you. It's not complete, not by any means, but for me, the links were good places to start.
The Life of a Book
The Industry
The Big Six
Agents
Query Letters
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday Miscellany: A Mouthful of Title & Things To Do
Is Take a Chance on the Cowboy too long a title for a novelette-length story? It's the title that keeps popping up as "best," the title I keep circling in my notebook, the title that most efficiently captures the spirit of the story... but I hesitate because it seems like such a mouthful.
This week, I have a to-do list that fills an entire average-sized notebook page. I almost wish I could take a picture of it. Among things I need to take care of are blog posts on publishing resources and sales figures, finding a widget to help me track sales, and generating a tag cloud for this blog. So look for all of those things this week!
This week, I have a to-do list that fills an entire average-sized notebook page. I almost wish I could take a picture of it. Among things I need to take care of are blog posts on publishing resources and sales figures, finding a widget to help me track sales, and generating a tag cloud for this blog. So look for all of those things this week!
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Blog Roundup: December 12 - 18, 2011
The Precarious Portentious Perils of Self-Publishing is a must-read for anyone considering taking this route. Chuck also posted 25 Things Writers Should Know About Rejection.
Imran Siddiq of Imran Writes posted What's in a Title? this week.
Aimee Salter asked: Are You Getting to the Heart of Your Characters?
Stella Deleuze shared a spam email she received. If you blog, it's worth reading so that you don't fall prey to the scam.
...and that's it. Wow, slow week. Most blogs are doing giveaways and Christmas-themed posts, which is cool, but not really relevant to my blog roundup posts.
Imran Siddiq of Imran Writes posted What's in a Title? this week.
Aimee Salter asked: Are You Getting to the Heart of Your Characters?
Stella Deleuze shared a spam email she received. If you blog, it's worth reading so that you don't fall prey to the scam.
...and that's it. Wow, slow week. Most blogs are doing giveaways and Christmas-themed posts, which is cool, but not really relevant to my blog roundup posts.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
SitRep Saturday: Cowboys and Titles
The good news is that the new cowboy WIP is action-drafted. I'm cleaning it up in the other window and working out things like awkward conversations and characterization. I managed to finish it yesterday morning and I feel pretty good about it.
The bad news is that I spent most of the time writing it asking my muse and characters, "What the hell?" Originally, this story was supposed to be a relatively short one-shot featuring some psychological sadism and some awkward interpersonal interaction. While it still has those things, it has become a romance rather than the erotica I had planned. This is okay because I wanted to alternate erotica and romance, but... seriously, what? After the first fifteen hundred words, my plot went to hell and I was left with characters who decided that they ran the show. I had two choices: follow them, or scrap the whole thing. I chose to follow the characters.
As a result, it may (read: probably will) be getting a title change. It may also end up with a new book cover. I'm sure I'll have more to report on Monday and next Saturday.
The bad news is that I spent most of the time writing it asking my muse and characters, "What the hell?" Originally, this story was supposed to be a relatively short one-shot featuring some psychological sadism and some awkward interpersonal interaction. While it still has those things, it has become a romance rather than the erotica I had planned. This is okay because I wanted to alternate erotica and romance, but... seriously, what? After the first fifteen hundred words, my plot went to hell and I was left with characters who decided that they ran the show. I had two choices: follow them, or scrap the whole thing. I chose to follow the characters.
As a result, it may (read: probably will) be getting a title change. It may also end up with a new book cover. I'm sure I'll have more to report on Monday and next Saturday.
Friday, December 16, 2011
For Readers: Three Reasons to Support Indie Authors
The other day, my husband came home from work and, after surveying the perpetual mess that is our kitchen, suggested that once "this writing thing works out" I should hire a housekeeper. I laughed. I had not already told him that it was my plan to do that as soon as we can afford it, partly because I hate cleaning the kitchen and partly because cleaning up after myself, our toddler, and him takes up so much of my time that writing sometimes takes a backseat. It got me thinking. I don't plan to give up writing anytime soon, and the very moderate success Cowboy has achieved has given me the hope that I could do this for real, I can be a solid midlister and make a living from home doing what I love. Like any author, I'd love to churn out bestsellers--but my real goals are just to offer readers solid entertainment and to do well enough to make the same salary I left behind at my receptionist job almost two years ago.
I've seen a lot of hate for indie authors and I've seen a lot of love for them. This post isn't about loving or hating. I'm looking at three top reasons to support independent (self-published and small publisher) authors.
We're creating a job out of nothing.
Most of us have been writing for years and some of us have been sharing our writing for free for almost as many years. I'm not doing anything--blogging, writing, designing book covers, Tweeting, reading, or reviewing--that I wouldn't be doing anyway. For fun. I have quite literally created a job for myself. Admittedly, it doesn't pay all that well... yet. But it has the potential to pay comfortably.
Supporting us creates more jobs.
As I mentioned up there, I plan to hire a housekeeper. I also plan to hire an editor, a book cover designer, a web designer, and--possibly--a part-time nanny. That's five jobs right there. If I meet my goal, if I start to make my old salary, I will have the income to do that, and that's what I want to do. So for the relatively lower prices of indie books (at the moment, mine are all $0.99 due to their length), consumers create more job opportunities.
We're small business.
Obviously, I'm not talking about retailers. I mean the authors themselves. Many of us are DIYers all the way. For several years, I worked for a small business owner. She had five small businesses and up to about twenty-five employees, but she did most of the work on her own (well, she and her husband). It was a lot of work. Even as her bookkeeper/personal assistant, there were months I ran myself ragged for her. Over this past summer, while I was writing and getting my blog going and making those first tenuous network connections, I barely slept. I did it all myself and I'm still doing it all myself. Being self-published is small business. We're writers, yes, but we have to be business managers, PR managers, salespeople... We do it all, with determination, because we want to be successful.
I've seen a lot of hate for indie authors and I've seen a lot of love for them. This post isn't about loving or hating. I'm looking at three top reasons to support independent (self-published and small publisher) authors.
We're creating a job out of nothing.
Most of us have been writing for years and some of us have been sharing our writing for free for almost as many years. I'm not doing anything--blogging, writing, designing book covers, Tweeting, reading, or reviewing--that I wouldn't be doing anyway. For fun. I have quite literally created a job for myself. Admittedly, it doesn't pay all that well... yet. But it has the potential to pay comfortably.
Supporting us creates more jobs.
As I mentioned up there, I plan to hire a housekeeper. I also plan to hire an editor, a book cover designer, a web designer, and--possibly--a part-time nanny. That's five jobs right there. If I meet my goal, if I start to make my old salary, I will have the income to do that, and that's what I want to do. So for the relatively lower prices of indie books (at the moment, mine are all $0.99 due to their length), consumers create more job opportunities.
We're small business.
Obviously, I'm not talking about retailers. I mean the authors themselves. Many of us are DIYers all the way. For several years, I worked for a small business owner. She had five small businesses and up to about twenty-five employees, but she did most of the work on her own (well, she and her husband). It was a lot of work. Even as her bookkeeper/personal assistant, there were months I ran myself ragged for her. Over this past summer, while I was writing and getting my blog going and making those first tenuous network connections, I barely slept. I did it all myself and I'm still doing it all myself. Being self-published is small business. We're writers, yes, but we have to be business managers, PR managers, salespeople... We do it all, with determination, because we want to be successful.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
On Writing: Blog Recs For Writers
The Internet is a great thing. It's just full of writers who are willing to share their advice, knowledge, and tips. Today's short post is all about some of my favorite blogs for writers.
Chuck Wendig: Terrible Minds
I love his voice and I love his style. His "25 Things" lists are neat, well-organized, interesting presentations of information all writers can use (or discard at will, because that's what you do with advice).
Words By Stella Deleuze
Stella is an editor in addition to being a writer and so she offers tips from both perspectives. My favorite posts of hers so far have been Tip of the Week posts, which go up on Sundays.
Sirra
Like Stella, Sirra is an editor and a writer. Sirra uses the #stabbylove hashtag on Twitter and her advice tends toward the brutally honest and sometimes even the small things that are easy to overlook.
Only True Magic
The self-publishing tips and tricks posts on this blog are particularly useful. A recent article on the KDP Select program really examined the pros and cons of placing Kindle books into the Select lending program.
Rob On Writing
With articles on everything from specific advice and tips to suggested writing exercises, this is a must-have on my blogroll. The humor that touches every post certainly doesn't hurt, either.
Aimee Salter: Seeking the Write Life
Advice, tips, and editorializing from a writer who "never gave up." I appreciate the message of persistence.
The Bookshelf Muse
Specific elements of storytelling are identified, explained, and examples from the "bookshelf" are discussed. This is a really great blog, particularly if you're stuck on how to "show" something rather than tell it.
What about you? Do you have a blog for writers? Do you have any favorites?
Chuck Wendig: Terrible Minds
I love his voice and I love his style. His "25 Things" lists are neat, well-organized, interesting presentations of information all writers can use (or discard at will, because that's what you do with advice).
Words By Stella Deleuze
Stella is an editor in addition to being a writer and so she offers tips from both perspectives. My favorite posts of hers so far have been Tip of the Week posts, which go up on Sundays.
Sirra
Like Stella, Sirra is an editor and a writer. Sirra uses the #stabbylove hashtag on Twitter and her advice tends toward the brutally honest and sometimes even the small things that are easy to overlook.
Only True Magic
The self-publishing tips and tricks posts on this blog are particularly useful. A recent article on the KDP Select program really examined the pros and cons of placing Kindle books into the Select lending program.
Rob On Writing
With articles on everything from specific advice and tips to suggested writing exercises, this is a must-have on my blogroll. The humor that touches every post certainly doesn't hurt, either.
Aimee Salter: Seeking the Write Life
Advice, tips, and editorializing from a writer who "never gave up." I appreciate the message of persistence.
The Bookshelf Muse
Specific elements of storytelling are identified, explained, and examples from the "bookshelf" are discussed. This is a really great blog, particularly if you're stuck on how to "show" something rather than tell it.
What about you? Do you have a blog for writers? Do you have any favorites?
Monday, December 12, 2011
Monday Miscellany: On Seeing Family, Christmas & WIPs
My sister's flight got in at 8:00 this morning. I haven't seen her in 22 months, so this is a huge treat for both of us. She's here for at least three months and, if we can get the paperwork in order, maybe six months. It's wonderful. My daughter is being her cautious little self and my sister has crashed (jet lag), but it's already just wonderful to have her here and have them together.
Before I had my daughter, I wasn't a big fan of the Christmas. It was all right, and I have many wonderful childhood Christmas memories, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Now that she's here, however, I have a whole new appreciation for it. I am ready. I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning when she wakes up to her new Cozy Coupe and dolls.
Hard to Hold has undergone a few changes, and I've padded the action draft by a few hundred words. I'm still on track to finish the first draft by the end of next week or so. Did I mention that I think I even have a book cover?
Before I had my daughter, I wasn't a big fan of the Christmas. It was all right, and I have many wonderful childhood Christmas memories, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. Now that she's here, however, I have a whole new appreciation for it. I am ready. I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning when she wakes up to her new Cozy Coupe and dolls.
Hard to Hold has undergone a few changes, and I've padded the action draft by a few hundred words. I'm still on track to finish the first draft by the end of next week or so. Did I mention that I think I even have a book cover?
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