Free Short Stories, and Novel Release Date

A brief update on my publishing journey! I've been super busy. First, I've released a collection of five short stories so that anyone not familiar with my writing can get a feel for it. Best of all - the collection is FREE!  The five short stories explore romantic relationships of both the more tame and the more erotic varieties. One reviewer had this to say:

Mouthwateringly hot, insightful and emotionally revealing! Did I say HOT?

Consenting Adults is available at Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Amazon, Kobo and more.

Secondly, my "official" release date for my novel, Sorry's Not Enough, will be Monday, Memorial Day, 5/27/13. Check back here then for links to be able to purchase the ebook on various websites. And in case you forgot, here's the cover again, and a quick blurb:

Charlotte learned at an early age that people – including family – are capable of hurting you so bad "sorry” will never be enough. The obvious solution is not to let anyone close enough to do any damage, and she's doing just fine with that until a summer writing workshop brings Steven into her life. Seemingly immune to Charlotte's Stay the Hell Away from Me pheromones, he uses his wit and good looks – or what Charlotte would call his obnoxious ego and his stupid good looks – to win her over. The unexpected summer romance screeches to a halt when Steven's job creates an ethical dilemma for the couple. Sorry doesn't begin to cover the hurt feelings.

Despite the secrets Charlotte's keeping and the renewed passion with which she pushes him away, Steven can't let her go. And so the cycle of their relationship begins. Over the course of four years they share moments as passionate lovers, periods of warm friendship, as well as months of barely-civil tension.

When no amount of time or distance, and no number of men, can make her forget the comfort of Steven's arms, Charlotte must dig into her painful past and face the man whose betrayal destroyed her capacity for trust to begin with. And by the time she finds the courage to do so, will “sorry” be enough to get Steven back?

The Next Big Thing, and My Cover Reveal

Yes, I did just say MY cover reveal! Keep reading to find out more.

My friend Ty tagged me in The Next Big Thing blog hop whatchamacallit thingy that has been making the rounds. Please make sure to read his post, about his novel Flowers for Dionysus, which you should all be jealous to know I read an early draft of. And now onto the questions and my answers.

1. What is the working titled of one of your current stories?

I hate deciding on a title, so this novel was called a couple different things, including just "Charlotte" for a while, until I decided on the final title: SORRY'S NOT ENOUGH.

2. Where did the idea come from for the story?

Believe it or not, SNE grew out of the first novel I ever attempted in high school. Thinking back on that project, I have to thank my creative writing teacher for humoring me. I can't imagine how teenage-angsty and melodramatic and amateurish it all must have seemed. But through the years, there was still something about the two main characters that stuck with me. And as my writing grew and progressed, I revisited the characters and one aspect of that original story - a relationship between a high school student and her teacher - and wrote a new story. It took on a whole new life, and Sorry's Not Enough was born.

3. What genre does it fall under?

I struggled with this at first. I called it women's fiction, even though, in my mind, that term conjured an image of older characters and a different type of story. Because there's a relationship in the story, some early readers kept saying it was romance, but it's not. Because of the young age, some early readers insisted it was young adult, which it's not. Recently, the category of New Adult has become more recognized, and I think it fits SNE perfectly! Therefore, I am calling it Contemporary New Adult fiction.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I've never been one of those people who has a concrete idea of these things from the first word. I don't go searching for pictures for inspiration or anything like that. Which is probably why I've never joined Pinterest. There are only two actors I can think of off the top of my head who sort of look like how I imagine the male lead, but they're both a little too old to play 24-year-old Steven. Christopher Gorham and Matt Bomer both have the combination of charming and manly that I love about Steven's character. They'd have to wear contacts, though, because one of Steven's defining characteristics is his piercing green eyes.

As for actresses to play Charlotte... I'm not sure. I need to brush up on my pop culture, because I keep thinking of actresses out of age range! America Ferrera could work, but she's probably too old. Maybe Jennifer Lawrence.

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your story?

After being betrayed at a young age by the one man she should've been able to trust, Charlotte builds emotional walls to keep the world out, but Steven ignores the Keep Out signs and falls in love anyway.

(Um, or something like that... this has always been the hardest part!)

6. Will you be self-published or represented by an agency?

Well, this is it. The big announcement. I said once before that I would self publish SNE, then pulled back from that for various reasons that are less important now. I'm happy to announce that I will, once and for all, be self publishing Sorry's Not Enough next month (exact date TBD). With the help of Calista Taylor at Covers by Cali, I'm even happier to unveil the cover art. I hope you like it!

7. How long as the editing taken you?

Hoo boy... SNE has gone through about ten different revisions, and it has been several years since I first started writing it. There was quite a bit of down time between a couple revisions, as I was frustrated and worked on other things. I'd say overall, from when I finished the first draft until now, the amount if time I spent actively editing and revising had to be around three or four years. So this has been a long time coming.

8. What other stories would you compare it to within your genre?

This is where I come across looking like an illiterate schmuck, right? I'm really not sure what comparable titles are for my book, because I don't read as often as I'd like, and when I do, I mostly read outside my genre. Is that totally blasphemous, or what? Oh well. *sheepish grin*

9. Who or what inspired you to write this story?

See #2. :-) But also, I'd have to say the only creative writing class I took in college, during my senior year, helped rekindle my passion. It reminded me how much I loved to write, and my instructor gave us advice that has stuck with me to this day. I never could have known then how important his attitude of celebrating rejection letters would be.

10. What else about your story might pique the reader's interest?

It was a critique of a scene in this book, from a writer I admire immensely, that first started me thinking about writing erotica and embracing that aspect of my writing. (SNE is not erotica, but it does have some steamy sex scenes.) Here's an extended description of Sorry's Not Enough:

Charlotte learned at an early age that people – including family – are capable of hurting you so bad “sorry” will never be enough. The obvious solution is not to let anyone close enough to do any damage, and she's doing just fine with that until a summer writing workshop brings Steven into her life. Unfamiliar with Charlotte's Stay the Hell Away from Me memo to the world, he uses his wit and good looks – or what Charlotte would call his obnoxious ego and his really, really good looks – to win her over. The unexpected summer romance screeches to a halt when Steven's job creates an ethical dilemma for the couple. Sorry doesn't begin to cover the hurt feelings.

Despite the secrets she's keeping and the renewed passion with which she pushes him away, Steven can't let Charlotte go. And so the cycle of their relationship begins. Over the course of four years they share moments as passionate lovers, periods of warm friendship, as well as months of barely-civil tension. 

When no amount of time or distance, and no number of men can make her forget the comfort of Steven's arms, Charlotte must dig into her painful past and face the man whose betrayal destroyed her capacity for trust to begin with. And by the time she finds the courage to do so, will “sorry” be enough to get Steven back?

 Now I get to tag someone else to answer these questions! I choose Robert K. Lewis. Since his debut novel just released, what better time to answer some questions about the sequel?

(4/13/13 Edit: You can now add SNE to your Goodreads bookshelf!)

#GUTGAA Meet and Greet!

If you've found me through GUTGAA, welcome!

If you think I've contracted some sort of terrible intestinal ailment, let me explain. GUTGAA stands for Gearing Up to Get an Agent. It's a bloghop/pitchfest/contest/fun time happening during the month of September. For the main sign up page, click HERE. For a schedule of events, see HERE.

Now, on to the meet and greet questions!


To learn a bit more about me: the person, as opposed to me: the writer, check out this fun little list I did for Scintilla in March.

Several of the meet and greet questions had to do with the when/where/how of your writing space and time. There aren't any clear cut answers there, for me, because of one factor: I still do all of my writing longhand. That's right. Pen and paper, baby. Editing and stuff I do on screen, but first drafts are always (with the occasional exception - usually short fiction) on paper.

So I write whenever my notebook is nearby and an idea strikes. Quite often it's sitting on the couch, but it has been in parks, on airplanes, in the car (not while driving, I assure you :-P) and in other people's houses. There isn't any particular time or place when I always write, or a usual process I have to go through. I just need paper and a pen. THAT is something that I am particular about. It has to be a pen, preferably black ink, very preferably NOT blue ink, but any other color is good.

-When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?

I usually do like some background noise while I write, whether it's the TV, music, or outdoor noises. I don't like it to be too quiet.

 

-What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?

I can't remember where the inspiration for my current WIP came from because it's been incubating in my brain for a few years ago. I'm not a plotter, so I don't do outlines. I wrote down very little as far as ideas, but I kept all the good little nuggets in my head as I thought of them over the years, until I got to a point where I felt I was ready to write.


I knew I wanted to write an erotic novel. (All of my erotica so far has been short stories.) And I had some character traits and plot aspects that I knew I wanted. Bi-racial, young, fashionista; elements of non-monogamy; safer sex and sex positive ideas; emotional depth, but a still a lot of FUN. And from there, my WIP was born.

-What's your most valuable writing tip?

Don't take writing tips to serious extremes.

So that's me, in a nutshell. Looking forward to meeting other GUTGAA participants and reading blogs!

Short Stories and the Novelist: A Marketing Tool

Most of us probably started off writing short stories, either on our own or as class assignments as kids. Some may still write short stories for our own enjoyment, or maybe to sell to magazines or for contests. But short stories are sort of the red-headed stepchild to the novelist, aren't they? Agents don't generally rep short story collections. They aren't the most lucrative market. (If you are looking for places to publish short stories, Duotrope is a great place to search.) I'm here to tell you that short stories may be more beneficial to you as a novelist than you think.

By now we all know that the digital side of publishing is a huge part of the market and that it's easier now than ever to put together your own eBook. Self-publishing is well within reach for all of us. (Agented authors with book deals may need to check with their publishers and read the fine print of their contracts before self-publishing anything, to avoid any fiasco like this one.) Any of us can self-publish a few singles, or a collection of short stories. This makes the short story a relatively quick and easy tool in your arsenal. Here are a few ways to use short stories to your advantage.

Pre-Launch

Are you an indie or self-publisher about to release your first novel? You've written a great book, have a nice cover, have carefully crafted your short blurb and product description, have been working on your social media presence and building a following, and have decided on a price you feel is both competitive and fair to you as the writer. But you might still be worried about how to better entice readers to buy your book–the one by an author they've never heard of—instead of, or in addition to, the latest release by one of their favorite, well-known authors. Readers can certainly "look inside" on Amazon and sample some of your writing that way. Or you could offer a little something else.

My FTWA buddy Pete Morin took this approach before the release of his novel, Diary of a Small Fish. The month before he published Fish he released a free short story on Smashwords. A free short story or collection of shorts gives potential readers a way to read something of yours, from start to finish, and get a feel for whether they'd like to read more. Hopefully the answer is yes! And once they know you can satisfy their imaginations through an entire story arc, they won't be as hesitant to spend money on your novel. You're no longer an unknown to them. Some authors will offer the first book of a series for free, then charge for the rest, banking on this same theory that the free book will lead to more sales for the others. If you aren't writing a series, consider writing a short story or two to offer for free prior to your book's release.

Between Books in a Series

YA author Elana Johnson's debut novel, Possession, was published in June of 2011. The sequel, Surrender, was released last month. During the year between the two books, Elana released two shorter stories related to the series. The first was an exclusive short story, available as a free download through her website, and the second was what she calls a "bridge story," which is an eBook exclusive. Both of these were her own ideas that she executed with her publisher's support. She explained to me via Twitter

The first one (Insider Information) was my idea. We needed their permission to use butterflies and ice on the cover. They liked what I was doing, and so we (me and agent) pitched the idea of a "bridge story" to them. They ran with that, and produced the second story (REGRET). So one is free (my self-pubbed one) and one is $1.99.It's hard to tell for sure, but she believes "it seems to have worked a bit" in terms of keeping readers interested in the series and keeping up the excitement prior to the release of the second book. 

Elana shows that using short stories to renew and sustain interest in a series isn't for self-publishers alone. You can make it work with traditional publishing as well.

Bonus Material

Do you ever watch the deleted scenes or alternate endings from movies when you get the DVD? I do, when it's a movie I really enjoyed. Have you ever read a book and wanted to read more about the character's lives after the book was finished? Maybe you wanted to know more about some of their back story, stuff that wasn't really related to the novel itself. Or maybe you wondered how it would've turned out if a character had made this choice instead of that one.

You've wondered about it with books you've read. So why don't you write it for your own books?

If you've gotten good feedback that readers love your characters and your story, it's not too far-fetched to think they might enjoy some bonus material. Maybe you had to delete some scenes you liked but that didn't suit the novel for whatever reason. Or perhaps you've been dying to write an alternate ending. Or a short story about one of your characters as a child. There are a lot of possibilities there. If you're self-publishing, there's really no limit to what you can do. If you have a contract with a publisher, you'll need to work out what you can and can't do on your own, and what they would or wouldn't be willing to work with you on.

You may be a novelist, but don't discount the value short stories could add to your career. They can help you entice readers if you're relatively unknown, sustain the enthusiasm for your writing and characters between releases, and help you continue to satisfy readers even after they reach THE END.

Have you used short stories to complement your novels in these, or other, ways? Do you have any tips for others looking to use this technique?

This post originally appeared on From the Write Angle, under the title Your Writing Repertoire: the Long and Short of It.

The Difficult Decision NOT To Publish

I've been talking about, and working toward, self-publishing my first novel, Sorry's Not Enough, this fall. I've done a lot of research, learned a whole lot of things, tried my hand at creating an ebook cover, put my novel through several beta readers, and agonized over every word. My plan was to put together a few short stories as a collection to release for free a few weeks before publishing the novel, as a sort of teaser for people new to my writing. While doing all this, I was going to continue working on my WIP, Confessions of a Non-Believer, a commercial women's fiction story with a bit of religious debate. And THEN, when that was done, I would start writing my erotica series during the time it took to seek representation for Confessions, while hopefully making decent self-pub sales with Sorry's Not Enough. That was the plan, and I've put in a lot of work, so this post may come as a surprise.

I will not be self-publishing Sorry's Not Enough.

And no, it's not because I got an agent or anything like that. I will also not continue working on Confessions right now. I may tinker with it here and there, but it won't be my priority. This is a hard thing to say, because on some level I feel like I'm abandoning the love of my life. I love both of these stories, and it does hurt a little bit to say "Sorry, but I have to set you aside."

Anatomy of a decision

I'm not dropping out of the writing game. What I am doing is carefully selecting my career path. It has been in the back of my mind for a while that I have two separate audiences for my work. The dream would be that my fans would be my fans no matter my genre, but realistically I know that the audience for my women's fiction and the audience for my erotica are two separate market segments. There will be some overlap in the customer base, but sustaining a career in one or both genres means different marketing plans and, most importantly, a steady supply of new material for fans of EACH genre. My FTWA colleague Sophie Perinot wrote about author branding and genre in a post last August that really spoke to me. I think I've been mulling this over on a subconscious level ever since.

The bottom line in Sophie's post, and the reality of publishing, is that you will most likely mold your writing career around the genre you debut in. At least for a while. I'm sure you've all heard the saying by now that the best marketing for one book is to write (and publish) your next book. A solid career track depends on a writer being able to deliver a steady supply of writing that the readers are eager to gobble up. So it doesn't make sense to debut in one genre, then switch to another. Like I said, you might get some readers who follow you from one genre to another, but you'll essentially have to re-market and re-brand yourself to a new readership in the new genre. Career-wise, it just isn't a smart move. At least not for me.

Which is why my commercial women's fiction projects have to take a back seat while I focus on erotica.

I've had this idea for my erotica series for a couple years now, but I've always been waiting to finish (and hopefully land an agent/publishing deal) with the women's fiction first. Probably because that was the order in which the ideas came to me. If I am truly honest with myself, though, trying to break into the publishing world with my women's fiction is a BAD idea. Why? Because SNE and Confessions are the only two women's fiction manuscripts I have, and I don't currently have any ideas for more. Nor has any viable idea come to me in the past two years. All of the other awesome ideas I have are for erotic stories, starting with this series. The series idea was just a nebulous collection of scenarios in my head at first, nothing too concrete, so I kept working on Confessions. But now the idea is more fully formed and screaming to be written.

There's also another reason I'm shifting my focus to erotica: timing. I have a sense that right now - like, YESTERDAY! - is a prime time to launch my career as an erotic novelist. No matter how much I, or anyone, may dislike Fifty Shades of Grey for whatever reason, it has thrust erotica into the mainstream limelight. Do I think there's better erotica out there? Of course. I hope that mine can be counted in the better quality category. We'll have to wait and see on that. But there's a buzz around the genre right now, and it seems like there's no better time to step onto the stage and try to make a name for myself. The fact that this is happening now, and that my series concept has finally gelled into something I'm finally prepared to write, now, is immense stroke of luck. I mean honestly... the timing! I feel if I put it off any longer, I'll miss out on a great opportunity.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not hopping on a bandwagon. I've been interested in erotica for a long time now, and I've written short stories, and the idea for the novel came to me a couple years ago. Erotica has also been a very healthy genre, sales-wise, way before the 50 Shades explosion, especially in the indie and self-publishing realm. But now is just the right time for me. How can I say no?

But can't you just use a pen name for one genre and do both at the same time? Or even if you don't use a pen name, can't you STILL self-publish like you were planning to and also write erotica?

As I already mentioned, it just doesn't make career sense for me. Even if I use a pen name to keep the marketing/genre stuff separate, I'll still only have two viable women's fiction manuscripts. Why self-publish one, seek representation for another (or self-pub both), and then have nothing else in the pipeline? I feel I'd be doing a disservice not only to my readers, but to myself and those two stories. If I (fingers crossed!) build a readership and fan base with my erotica and it doesn't look like I'll have any more women's fiction stuff to offer down the line, maybe then I'd consider self-publishing SNE and Confessions as a little something extra to offer my readers. I think I'd have better luck getting fans of my erotica to read my non-erotic titles than vice versa. Not sure why. Just a hunch I have.

Even disregarding all of the above, I still couldn't do both. I. Just. Can't. Recently I did an interview for Matt Sinclair at The Elephant's Bookshelf (publisher of the Spring Fevers anthology) and he asked whether I tend to work on multiple projects, or one at a time. In hindsight I realized just how much my answer foreshadowed this very decision:

I attempt multiple projects, but usually I end up not making much progress on any. For several weeks now, I've been stuck in the "thinking and scheming" frame of mind for about three different projects. I have to buckle down soon and start focusing on one first, then another, so I can actually get something accomplished.

I simply don't have it in me to write this erotica novel in a timely manner while also trying to focus on self-publishing my first novel and all that comes with that - marketing, blog tours, monitoring sales, etc. And forget about trying to write the erotica, self-publish SNE, AND keep working on Confessions.  I get anxious just thinking about it.

I'm indecisive. It's one of my flaws. I'm paralyzed by choice. Having to consider and manage all aspects of writing two projects and publishing a third is just too much. In discussing this decision with a friend yesterday, I told him I have this thing where I have a hard time problem-solving by just taking things one step at a time. I see things in a very interconnected way, and when I consider even one option, I can't help but also see the myriad possibilities branching out from it, like a choose-your-own adventure on crack. While this ability is actually an immense bonus to me working in retail environments, it is crippling in my writing life. If I let it get the best of me, I'll end up doing what I've been doing for the past three months: wasting time on Facebook and Twitter or staring at mindless drivel on TV because the magnitude of so many choices, so many potential actions, results, and consequences is overwhelming.

This has been a gut-wrenchingly difficult decision. Partially because I've been saying I'm going to self-publish this book for a good while now, and seemingly at the last minute I'm pulling the plug. I don't like saying I'm going to do something and then not doing it, no matter the reason. Makes me feel like a flake. (Thank you to all my Twitter friends and the #goatposse for assuring me I am not a flake.) I'm not sure what else has made it so difficult for me... probably a little soul-searching and psychological analysis to be done there, but I won't bore you with that. :-)

I hope that by sharing my decision with you, maybe someone else who feels like they're floundering without direction or struggling with a decision that's been eating at them for a while will find the courage to really examine themselves and their goals. Writing is art, and I want to write the stories that I want to write. But I also want this to be a career, which means making tough calls about what I should be writing at any given moment. And sometimes it means going with your gut, even when you aren't sure, like me.

What's the hardest writing career decision you've had to make? How did you know you were making the right choice?

Short Stories Published!

You may already know, but I had two short stories accepted into an anthology put together by some fellow writers at Agent Query Connect. I'm pleased to tell you that Spring Fevers is now available! Even better, it's free! Download from Smashwords, B&N, or Amazon. Fair warning, though, it's NOT free on Amazon, as they haven't price matched it. Any money from Amazon purchases will be given to charity, so if you want to spend the $0.99, go right ahead. If you read and love it, we hope you'll leave a review! You do NOT need an ereader to read the book, either! If you don't have one, there are free Kindle and Nook apps for your computer and smartphone, as well as Calibre, which will read all ebook formats.

About the anthology

An anthology of short stories, Spring Fevers is an exploration of relationships in their varied states: love -- requited and unrequited -- friendships discovered and lost, family in its many guises, and the myriad places in between. Created by Cat Woods and Matt Sinclair, Spring Fevers arose from their work with the Agent Query Connect online writing community, and while membership in the free site was not necessary for inclusion in the anthology, the ten writers whose stories appear are all members. Authors include MarcyKate Connolly, S.Q. Eries, Robb Grindstaff, J. Lea Lopez, Mindy McGinnis, R.S. Mellette, Yvonne Osborne, Matt Sinclair, A.M. Supinger, and Cat Woods. The debut publication of Elephant’s Bookshelf Press, Spring Fevers was edited by the team of Robb Grindstaff, Matt Sinclair, and Cat Woods, with cover design by Calista Taylor, and book design by R.C. Lewis. A new anthology is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2012. 

The beautiful cover was designed by Calista Taylor, who has been a great friend/beta reader/coach and taught me a lot about creating ebook covers, though my skill is amateur to say the least. If you're in the market for a book cover, check out her website Covers by Cali to learn about her incredibly affordable options and to check out the gallery of other covers she has done.

About my stories

I have two stories in this anthology.

The Adventures of Sasquatch is the story of a single mom's desire to assert her fun-loving nature despite the opinions of her coworkers, and maybe even find love in the process. It all starts, and ends, with the most unlikely catalyst: her big feet.

The Haricots Verts is flash fiction, capturing a moment of uncertainty between two potential lovers.

Yes, I am a Judgmental Bitch

Whoa, what? Where'd that come from, you ask? Well, New Year, New Me! Okay, not exactly. And I'm not exactly a judgmental bitch... not all the time, at least. This post has been brewing in my head for some time now, and I figured what better way to open the new year than with a bit of spunk? The post title is fair warning to you all: I'm not about to be nice, and you might disagree with me, but I don't care.

Let's talk about erotica, shall we? A year and a half ago I first wrote my little Erotica Writer's Manifesto. It was partially serious, and partially facetious. One line in particular is especially important to me:  

I will not write trash.

I feel the need to reiterate this, and expand upon it. I know what some of you may be thinking: How do you define trash? One man's trash is another man's treasure. Or in the case of erotica, one person's squick may be another person's kink. I get that, I do. I like a good spanking scene now and then (as you can probably tell from my new short story), but that might totally turn off other people. That's fine. But for me, there is a line.

I joined a group of erotica writers late last year, excited to be in a group of like-minded people who write the same sort of stories I write. I love Agent Query Connect, and they aren't prudes by any stretch of the imagination, but I thought a forum specifically for erotica writers would be perfect for me. Well, I didn't stay long. I poked around for a couple weeks, interacted a bit, but then I deleted my account. I couldn't get anything more there than I do from AQC and my network of writing friends on Facebook and Twitter. That, and I didn't like some of the conversation taking place there.

I'll bring this back around to the issue of writing "trash" in a second, just bear with me here. Anyone who knows me in real life, or who's interacted with me frequently enough in any online forum, Twitter, etc. knows I'm generally very middle-of-the-road, don't like taking "sides", hesitate to make any sort of value or judgment statement whatsoever (because I don't want to offend anyone, and don't want to have to retract a statement later if I change my mind and decide I'm wrong). I have to feel pretty strongly to draw any sort of line in the sand. But here I am, drawing one.

There's a particular type of erotica that is immensely popular and sells very well. I happen to find it slightly morally repugnant. I won't buy it. And if it's not something I'd buy to read myself, I won't write it, either. The question came up on this other forum about jumping on the bandwagon, so to speak, and publishing these types of stories because they're a hot seller. Some said sure, it's a little squicky but I write them and they make me good money. Some said no, I wouldn't do it. There was plenty of "don't do it if it's not right for you" but also plenty of "set aside your own objections and go for it! It's a hot seller! You can do it!" I made a comment similar to what I just said above: I wouldn't read it, and find the subject matter morally questionable, and therefore you won't catch me writing it to make a few bucks. Someone came back with a gentle nudge to tell me I might not want to offend my fellow writers who are trying to make a living, just because they chose to do it writing stories that aren't necessarily what I would write.

Well, whatever. That pissed me off a bit, I'll admit. It made me laugh a little bit, too. I thought it was interesting that someone chose to single me out for my opinion, but not any of the people encouraging others to swallow their own objections and drink the Kool-Aid. But that's all really beside the point.

The point is this: I won't write trash, and I consider those types of stories to be trash. I've hesitated to name the particular theme in case... well, I guess I'm still worried about offending any of my potential readers (old habits die hard) but here it is: pseudo-incest stories. The ones with step-parent/step-child sex, or step-siblings, etc. Daddy/daughter stuff especially. (I'm sure there are other subsets and themes that I disagree with, but this is the biggest.) You wouldn't believe how well they sell. It makes me shudder.

But the fact that these stories are popular isn't the only thing that astounds me. The seemingly nonchalant attitude of some of the writers about the moral "grey area" they inhabit with such writing was pretty stunning. There are discussions among writers about how well some of these different stories sell, how to "get over it" and write this type of story ("it" being your own mental blocks/objections), how to toe the line of legality, etc. Of course the arguments against me go something like this: You don't assume a murder mystery author is encouraging murder, do you? You don't think an author who writes about serial rapists or baby-killers is endorsing that behavior, do you? No, of course I don't. But this is different. I'm sorry, but it just is. 

That's what I would qualify as trash. Subject matter that is morally reprehensible. And authors who pander to that market regardless. And without even bothering to write a good story. Because let me tell you, I followed the Amazon links and read some free samples, and in 99.9% of the cases, I found the writing quality to be sorely lacking.

The writing quality may even be what pisses me off the most. I have a message for these types of authors (and let me make it painfully clear, I am NOT referring to any and every member of that online forum I joined and then left, because they do not all fall into this category. I'm directing this toward any writer, anywhere, who writes these types of trashy storylines, especially if they also write trashily. No, trashily is probably not a word, but it fits here anyway.) Here's what I have to say:

You're giving erotica a bad name. You're the reason that people keep telling me I should use a pseudonym if I want to publish erotica. You're flooding the market with these books that I not only find disgusting, but that are also poorly written. Erotica can be so much more than just trashy sex. I'm tired of your predictable characterizations and plots. It makes me sick that many of these pseudo-incest stories feature a father figure who "teaches" the young woman about her sexuality. Or a mother figure who is a frigid bitch, leaving it up to the daughter to give the step-father the sexual attention he craves. I mean, seriously? WTF? Can't you at least think of something a little more imaginative? And hey, maybe a little less misogynistic?

Jump on the trashy bandwagon if you want, but you won't find me there. Not now. Not ever. You'll see all of my erotica published as J. Lea Lopez because I like what I write, and even if I touch on subjects or situations that some people may be uncomfortable with, I'll do it responsibly, and with some class. And talent. If I'm not willing to put my name on it, I'm not going to write it at all.

The Reluctant Exhibitionist

EDIT: Since Oysters & Chocolate has been out of print for a while but this page still gets a lot of views, please go here instead to read this sexy little short story, along with four others.

The long wait is finally over!  My erotica short story, The Reluctant Exhibitionist, is now available to read on the Oysters & Chocolate website!  It's probably obvious from the title, but I'll say it anyway: this story is sexually explicit in nature, and is intended for mature viewers only.  That said, click here to read the story, comment, and give a rating.  Enjoy!




On a completely unrelated note, I will be enabling comment moderation because of the ridiculous amounts of comment spam I've been getting.  Sorry for the inconvenience of not being able to see your comments immediately after posting.

A Few Updates

Hello fellow jello-lovers!  It's been a few weeks since my last post, so I thought I'd at least post a few random updates.

*  You have to check out the brand new look of Divine Dirt Quarterly!  The new site layout is nice.  They'll now be able to publish new pieces upon acceptance, instead of putting out one "issue" every 3 months.  AND they're now accepting music, film, and non-fiction!  If you haven't already, check the archives for my story, On a Trans-Atlantic Flight, in Issue 1.1 Fiction, and my poem, Unsuspecting Bodies, in Issue 2.1 Poetry.

*  I've finally done it - found myself a part time job!  I have two weeks left in my current full time position, but after that, I'll have loads more time to write and write and write and write and.....

* Oysters&Chocolate has accepted an erotic short story of mine for publication on their website!  It's not live yet, but I'm expecting to get the email any day now.  As soon as it's up, I'll have the link for you!

* You can now read some sample chapters on my Facebook Author Page!  I have one chapter each from Sorry's Not Enough and Confessions of a Non-Believer.  Make sure to click the "like" button while you're there!

Pre-Marketing Your Book

I'm still a relative newbie when it comes to marketing and promotion, but it's an important part of being a writer these days. So today's post comes courtesy of a guest blogger,  Cheri Lasota, who is much wiser than I when it comes to.....

Pre-Marketing Your Book

Most writers are beginning to understand that writing is only a small part of the equation when it comes to publishing success. It is no longer enough to be a good writer. One must be a good marketer as well. However, marketing can be learned and practiced. The key is to start early, and use what techniques you know you can master based on your skill set. It is never to early to start forming a marketing plan for your writing career. You may be in the revision stages of draft three or four or already out there submitting your finished manuscript to agents. It doesn’t matter. Every day can be an opportunity to spend five to ten minutes on building a marketing plan. How do you go about it? Read on . . .

Start the wave

According to literary agent Lily Ghahremani, a publishing house will be happy to support and fuel a marketing wave you’ve already started. It is not all that rare for publishers to supply secondary funding pushes based on an author’s own efforts at increasing readership. If you already have a sizable network of possible readers, publishers do take notice, and in the negotiation phase, it can make a difference between signing on or receiving another rejection letter.

Begin with who you know

Buzz begins with a core market and expands. You know more people than you think you do. Take a pen and paper and write down a list of as many friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintences as you can think of. All done? Now think of all the authors, organizations, bookstores, libraries you hope to make contact with when you’ve published your book. Don’t forget to include local newspapers and magazines as well as online e-zines. Keep this list. You’ll need it when you go about marketing before and after publication.

For a few minutes each week, work on researching or recording contact information for these sources. These are the people and groups you will want to reach first when your first book comes out in stores. Easy enough, huh? This is something you can start doing today. As an addendum to this list, think through the major elements that make up your novel or nonfiction book. Does a mother in your novel have to deal with a child who suffers from autism? Then research autism groups on the Net. Here’s another example: my novel is set in the Azores Islands. I have and will continue to research all sites related to the Azores, whether they are travel sites or sites run by Azorean geneology enthusiasts, etc. These are possible avenues for selling books, interviews, and perhaps speaking engagements.

Target your readers

Describe your target reader to yourself, and be as specific as you can. Here is my target audience for my first novel: Women 18-35 who love romance, mythology, and history. Within that target, I will need to create a marketing plan that focuses on each element. Those who love mythology might frequent mythology sites on the Web. Could these be possible avenues for trading links or getting the word out about my novel? Do these groups have links to other groups that could be avenues to explore as well?

Identify competitors

Identify competition, but don’t fear it. Competition indicates there is already a market for you to sell your books to. Read books in the same genre or about the same topic: can you tap those readerships? How do those authors market their work? Read other author Web sites to gather ideas, then see if you can put a new twist on those ideas.

When working on your book marketing, specifically, brainstorm several differentiation statements. These statements are often used in query letters to compare an author’s book to another’s to aid the agent in placing your novel in the marketplace. For example, you could say your horror novel is in the vein of Stephen King’s “Carrie”, or that your mainstream novel is a cross between Michael Crichton and Michael Connelly.

One caveat: don’t make claims you can’t back up. Saying your book would outsell the “Harry Potter” series would merely illicit raised eyebrows and snickers from agents or editors. They’ve heard it all before, ad nauseam. Use the differentiation statement as a quick way to let the agent know what kind of book you are selling, not to make claims of greatness.

You can work on all the above ideas immediately, no matter what stage of writing you are in. Working on your marketing plan, may only take a few minutes of your day or week, but you won’t regret the invaluable lessons you’ll learn, nor the expertise you’ll have once your deep into selling your published book.
---------------------------
Cheri is a freelance editor specializing in fiction.  She is also an author, and has recently signed with literary agent Bernadette Baker-Baughman of Baker's Mark.  Her YA novel, Artemis Rising, is an excellent read and I can't wait until I can see it in print.  Visit Cheri's author website to read excerpts, learn more, and view her book trailer.

Divine Dirt Quarterly 2.1

The second issue of DDQ is live!  And yours truly (that's me!) has a poem there.  Click here to read Unsuspecting Bodies.  Thanks to Kate Dixon, poetry editor, for finding me worthy.

Quick shout out to Finnegan Flawnt, whose short story Taciturn is also in this issue, and whom I've read over at Fictionaut.  And who undoubtedly has the coolest name ever.

I haven't had a chance to read the rest of the issue, so I don't have any favorites to share with you just yet.

Focus

Bye-bye, Authonomy.  I'll be taking down my books and deleting my Authonomy account.  It's getting a bit ridiculous over there.  Maybe after a bit, it will settle down again and regain some semblance of order, but I can't wait around for that.  I keep getting distracted by all the petty arguments - some shocking, some hilarious - in the forums, the begging for backings, the spam messages.  I did meet some awesome people there, and got some good feedback, but I think it's run its course for me.  I have to focus on other things.  My life, for instance haha.  And writing.  Editing.  Submitting.

So my last sort of cryptic post was about me looking for a new job.  I was thisclose, but the job fell through.  I'm looking to cut back to a part time job to make more time for writing.  I had something lined up, a part time assistant manager position, but then the store manager stepped down a week after interviewing me and took the position herself.  Go figure.  So I'm still looking.  Meanwhile, I'm still doing the 40 hour a week gig and trying to fit in the writing stuff around that.

I had my first short story published in Divine Dirt Quarterly a few months ago, and I have a poem forthcoming with them.  I also finished an erotic short story that I'll be submitting this weekend to Oysters&Chocolate for their print anthology.  Keep your fingers crossed for me on that one.  I also have another short story I want to polish and find the right venue for, plus a couple ideas for more erotic short stories.  Hopefully I can acquire some more publishing credits to put in my query letters, once I start querying again.  Sorry's Not Enough is simmering on the back burner, awaiting some major revisions.  I want to up the pace on Confessions of a Non-Believer and get that finished and out to agents.  Then I can delve right into my erotica series.

It's time to focus.  Quitting Authonomy cold-turkey is the first of many steps to do that.

Change, it is a-comin'

Or so I hope.  I don't want to get ahead of myself, so my lips remain sealed on one of those changes.  *locks lips and throws away the key*

But for this new year, I want to renew and refresh my focus on writing (and yes, I realize my first post of the new year comes nearly a month in.  That will be something I hope to change, too.)  I think I'm going to try this newfangled thing called..... scheduling!  I'm not very good at rigid structure, so it might be a loose schedule, but I will be organized!

I still have some Aspiring Author Profiles saved up that I can use, and I'll have to solicit more from my writer friends (any volunteers?).  They'll come in handy for times when I either have nothing interesting to say, or don't have the time to say it.  I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but I'm going to start picking one day each week to write all of my blog posts for the week.  I haven't decided on a specific number per week, but we'll see.  Maybe just 2 or 3.  That's still more regular than I've been in the past!

I want to carve out time on specific days each week for my other activities and responsibilities.  That would include doing laundry, dishes, cleaning the house, etc. in addition to writing.  If I can get those mundane tasks taken care of, it'll leave me more time for writing.

And as for writing, I want to get Confessions finished as quickly as possible and start querying with that.  I still have to work out a timeline, but that will be based on this thing I can't talk about just yet.  I've barely scratched the surface with my latest round of major editing on Sorry's Not Enough.  And Marisol continues to give me bits and pieces of her story.  That one will have to go on the back burner for now, I think.  I need to do some more research for it, and I think I may have to take the unusual (for me) step of outlining and planning, since I want to turn that into a series.

On top of all that, I'd like to return to my poetic roots a bit.  I want to write (or at least try to write) poetry again, as well as trying my hand at some short stories.  Being published in Divine Dirt Quarterly definitely boosted my confidence, and I plan to continue submitting to literary magazines while I work on my novels.

Oh yeah, one last thing.  In addition to this blog, it's not a bad idea for me to expand my fiction platform and start marketing myself more aggressively.  What does that mean?  Well, I'm not entirely sure yet, but it will likely manifest in the form of a Facebook author fan page - maybe even separate pages for each of my books - and possibly new blogs to complement my books as well.  We shall see.

Sound like a lot?  Yeah, I think so too.  Then I read Elana's latest post about how she manages it all and I'm reminded of why she's so freaking awesome.  She makes it seem effortless.  I have to have faith in myself, though.  Maybe soon I'll be as adept at the balancing act as she is.

I think this will be a good year for me, writing-wise.  I plan on making the best of it, no matter what life hands me this year.

Divine Dirt Quarterly, Issue 1

..... is live!  Check it out here.  It's a great collection and I'm honored to be among those chosen for the inaugural issue.  If you really want, you can go straight to my story here.   But I encourage you to read everything else too!  A couple I especially enjoyed were Persephone's Day by Nikki Loftin (poem) and Cinnabar and Catalpa by Kyle Hemmings (fiction).

Go have a read and let me know what you think.  :-)

Flash Fiction to be Published

As in - MINE! 

I've been digging around Duotrope's Digest, which lists magazines, journals, publishers, etc. of fiction and poetry.  It's a great resource for finding places to submit short stories and poems.  I figured I should try to break into some magazines with small pieces as a way to gain publishing credits I can use in my query letters.  Plus, I have a couple older pieces that I really love and felt were good enough to be published somewhere.  It can be difficult to find just the right outlet for your short stories/poetry because you have to read the actual journals/magazines to see what their tastes are, and not every one offers archives or samples on their websites.  And I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to spend $10 per back issue, or $20 or more per yearly subscription just to find out if that publication would be a good fit for me.

So anyway, I started looking for outlets under the theme of religious/spiritual, because the two pieces I was looking to submit are spiritual in nature.  Unfortunately, they're not particularly Christian, or Jewish, or about the nature of Christ, or related to Scripture, or...... you get the idea.  Lots of the publications were overtly religious, and my pieces are not.  They're more skeptical and questioning of religion.  Finally, I came across Divine Dirt Quarterly, a brand new e-publication that describes themselves as "theology's tabloid, here to spread the dirt on the divine."  And I thought - perfect!

So at one o'clock this morning, I was sitting with my laptop, doing one last fine-toothed edit on my two pieces (one poem, and one long-poem-turned-flash-fiction-story) and emailing them off to their respective editors.  I was all prepared to sit back and wait for a few weeks for a response, because the website said the slots for the inaugural issue were full and they were currently reading for the second issue.  Imagine my surprise, when I checked my email and saw a response from the fiction editor - he wants to publish my flash fiction in Divine Dirt Quarterly's inagural issue - which will be out later this month!

I'm so freaking excited I can't even express it properly on screen!

Aside from my high school literary magazine, I've never had anything published!  While searching for potential publications, I found myself giving preference to print publications (I mean come on, who doesn't want the satisfaction of holding pages in their hands??) but Divine Dirt Quarterly is online only.  And that's okay, because I felt it was such a great fit for what I'd written that it didn't matter.  Not only that, but the subject matter is something I would enjoy reading, and that I could write more about and possibly submit to them again in the future.  How awesome is that?

So as soon as I have details - like a publication date - I'll post it here!

Author Interview: T. L. Gould, Part Two

Here we are with Part Two of my interview with Terry L. Gould, self-published author of How Can You Mend This Purple Heart?  Last time we talked a bit about Terry's background and the story behind Purple Heart.  Now Terry shares some insight into the self-publishing process.

JLL: Why did you decide to self-publish?

TLG: In one word—impatience. I studied dozens of websites and learned as much as I could about the publishing industry and the publishing process. I followed that with an intense study of all the how-to advice on finding an agent, writing a great query letter, writing a powerful synopsis, the why’s of following agent submission guidelines and the dos and don’ts of just about every rule that should never be broken—and then what rules should be broken.

To make a long story short, after twenty-some queries (very targeted to the genre), followed by nine rejections and the remaining no responses, I lost patience.

I did as much research on self-publishing as I had on traditional publishing and decided it was the best option for “Purple Heart”.

JLL: What can you tell us about the self-publishing process?

TLG: If your writing is the ultimate goal—not the act of getting published—then self-publishing is worth a look. The best advice I can give is to do your homework. Research as many self-publishing firms as you can. Compare everything. Compare rates, options, marketing add-ons, design costs and copyright ownership clauses. Read every contract thoroughly. It’s time consuming, but every contract I looked at had some amazing obligations required by the author and some even more amazing “rights” given to the publisher. And don’t just visit the firms’ websites. Scroll down Google and look for any news about each firm. There are a lot of bad apples and thankfully there are a lot of dedicated people to point them out to you and tell you just which apples have worms.

Access to the internet deprives anyone of an excuse not to know everything needed to make a sound decision.

JLL:  How long did it take?

TLG: The research process took about three weeks. Once I had decided on the publisher, it took approximately three weeks to see a printed book.

JLL: Where/how did you find out about the service you used?

TLG: Other than the internet search, the company came very highly recommended from a member of a writer’s group.

JLL: Has there been a lot of out-of-pocket expense for you?

TLG: The company I am working with, Published by Westview, charges $1,089 to format, change font throughout the book, set up table of contents, obtain ISBN for both paperback and hardcover and create a design cover. Two opportunities for review and revisions is included. The cost also includes the first five paperback and hardcover copies.

JLL: Do you make a decent profit on the books you sell?

TLG: The printing costs for Print On Demand, are very high compared to volume printing. A single paperback, 235 pages, black and white is $6.00. The “retail” price must be set at the time the ISBN is assigned and that dollar figure must be able to compete in the “big box” market, should the writer decide to go with full distribution. (Westview offers two options for the author; full distribution through Ingram, or “publisher distribution only” which is restricted access. The books are only available through the publisher’s or the author’s websites. The publisher must sell the books at the retail price, however, the author can set his/her selling price that is lower than the ISBN retail price).

So, if an author sells the book for $15.00 on the website, and the book costs $6.00, the author’s gross profit is $9.00. However, if the author decides to sell the book on his/her website for $8.95 the gross profit is $2.95. Shipping and handling costs from the printer are additional and depend on the number of books being shipped.

Self-published writers need to be very cautious not to price the book too high. As an “unknown” writer it is very unlikely anyone is willing to pay the same as they would for an established author.

JLL: Are you your own editor, or are those services provided?

TLG: This is the one area where I wish I would have/could have had a real editor (you Jen!). Self-editing is like asking a politician to watch your wife for a couple of days. (JLL: HAHA!)  I literally re-read, re-wrote and revised the story nine times. EVERY time I found mistakes. I was too close to the story itself to separate the emotional attachment from the technical requirements. I’m pretty good with English, grammar, quotation rules and sentence structure, but not good enough.

I don’t care if you think you’re Webster, every book needs an independent, qualified, sincere and talented editor. If I’ve learned one thing it’s this; the editor is just as important as the author.

JLL: What about cover art?

TLG: The cover art was provided by the publisher, however, with “Purple Heart” I knew what I wanted on the cover and they obtained the photos and provided the electronic art.

JLL: Would you self-publish again? As a last-resort option, or a first- or second-choice?

TLG: I’ve been kicking around a book concept for some time. It’s a full-length memoir that chronicles the shenanigans of me and my two older brothers. It’s more of a family history story than anything else. That I might self-publish.

As for the other stories I’m working on, well, I can only say I hope I have gained a little more patience as I’ve gotten older.

JLL: I know you’ve been pursuing some marketing/publicity opportunities. Would I be right in assuming that you’re also solely responsible for marketing your book, or do you receive any help?

TLG: The marketing falls squarely on the writer. If a self-published writer wants to sell lots of books, he/she better know the audience they want to reach. A lot of time and money can be wasted chasing the wrong group of readers. In the world of traditional publishing, not many newspaper editors will even consider reviewing a self-published book. It’s a closed community at this time, although I have read articles where that is changing a little.

Marketing is very time-consuming and frustratingly slow. You have to make it fun, make it a game. The best thing I’ve learned is to be creative with ideas on how to gain awareness for the book—and don’t expect too much. (You know, it’s that low pay ego thing).

JLL: Any advice for other authors considering self-publishing?

TLG: Just like your writing, do it because you enjoy it. Don’t go into it thinking you’re going to be the next Tom Clancy or Steven King. Remember, 50,000 new book titles are printed in the U.S. every year. If you self-publish, do it because you love your story and you’re proud of your accomplishment.

JLL: Terry, thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions!  I hope you have great success with Purple Heart and the rest of your writing endeavors.  And if you have acquired a bit more patience with the traditional publishing process, I'm sure it won't be long before you see success there.

If you'd like your own copy of Purple Heart, please visit http://www.purplescribe.com/ .  Don't forget, not only will your purchase support an independent author, but also Veterans Airlift Command.

Letting Go.... um, maybe... not yet.... i don't wanna....

I had a thought the other day... I might shelve Charlotte and Sorry's Not Enough for good.  Just set it aside and move on.  I'm still as in love with the story as I was from when I wrote the very first word.  But I'm thinking Charlotte may not be the one to launch my career.  I'm really excited about Confessions and Marisol's story, and I feel like one of those would be more likely to be picked up by an agent than Sorry's Not Enough.  They have stronger hooks.  A young woman grieving the death of her fiance, exploring her faith (or lack thereof), and falling in love with her dead fiance's brother.  Yeah, I'd say that packs more punch than Charlotte's story, which I can barely even sum  up in one succint sentence.

Then there's Marisol.  I think Marisol could be my big ticket.  I was sitting down to gather my thoughts the other day (I need to sort out my ideas and figure out which book they belong to.  I'm thinking there will be at least 3 books in the series!) and wrote a nice little blurb to sum up the first book.  It goes something like this:

With her sexy roommate Zane knocking on her bedroom door, a boss who likes a bit on the side, and the rest of Philadelphia's men to conquer, Marisol is having too much fun to worry about climbing the fashion industry's ladder.  But when her boss's philandering ways cost him his co-designer and fashion show coordinator, under-achieving Mari must rise to the occasion.  While pressures mount at work, Zane tests her boundaries in bed with an endless supply of techniques, locations, and partners.

Sounds like fun, right?  Besides, show me another erotica novel with a bilingual, half Puerto Rican, sexy size 14 main character who enjoys porn, fashion, football, ice hockey, and safe sex?  And oh yeah, to top it off, she loves all things British (especially Dr. Who), blogs about sex, and will try just about anything once.  Mari is crazy.  CRAZY, I tell you!  If she doesn't land me an agent somehow, somewhere, I might as well stop writing.

So anyway.  Back to Charlotte and whether to put her away.  I'm reluctant to do it.  That's my baby.  Plus, I'm not sure if my newfound "acceptance" of her non-publishability is just me being honest and market-savvy, or if it's just me being scared to go for it.  Because let's face it, I haven't exactly been querying my pants off.  Less than 10 queries, pretty much all form rejections.  But I know writers who have queried 20, 40, 50 or more agents for one project, and keep on trucking.  Am I just backing out because I'm afraid?  Could be.  It's a bit of a tendency of mine.  All bravado in words, but coward in action.

Is it that whole fear of failure thing?  Or fear of success?  Fear of owning up to who and what I am and really living it every day, out loud, and not just in cyberspace?  I don't know.  I like to think I'm being smart and unemotional by looking at the black and white facts.  I find that as I continue writing and starting new projects, the quality of writing is getting better and better.   And no amount of revision can really bring Charlotte up to that level.  Or can it?  It could be that I'm just afraid of all that hard work.  Or impatient.  I want to move on and really immerse myself in these new projects, but a big part of my time is being spent worrying about whether Sorry's Not Enough is in the best possible shape.  Is my revising really finished?  Is there something I could do better?  I've even toyed with the idea of splitting it up into two books again, which would require major overhauling, and writing about 50,000 new words to make the second half long enough for its own book. 

I've been working on it for so long now, maybe it just needs a long rest while I work on something else.  I tried to set it down - and managed to do that - for a while.  But it was only a few weeks.  Maybe it should be a few months or more.

Am I just being a lazy coward?  My crit group likes it, and the few friends who've read it like it also.  But that doesn't mean an agent will love it enough to rep it.  Maybe I should stop rambling about it on my blog and make a decision.  I'll let you know as soon as I make it.

A Self-Published Book

Not mine.  :-)  I became acquainted with Terry through a critique group on Agent Query Connect.  He started showing us chapters from his book, How Can You Mend This Purple Heart.  I immediately fell in love with the characters.  When Terry left the group, I was sad that I wouldn't be able to read the rest of the story.  We kept in touch via email, and he recently sent me a message saying he'd self-published Purple Heart!  He'd done some querying but hadn't gotten any takers, so he decided to do it himself.  I'm almost finished reading it, and I'll have a review in a few days.  Signed copies of the book are available through http://www.purplescribe.com/ so I urge you to pick up a copy and support the efforts of a fellow writer.

In other news, I made some significant revisions to the beginning of Sorry's Not Enough, revamped my query, and as soon as I go out and buy more stamps, I'll be sending out more queries!  I have a couple agents on my list who accept sample chapters with a snail mail query, so I'll be sending those out.  The insecure side of me hopes that if my query letter doesn't completely blow them away, then hopefully they'll take a look at the first chapter or so and decide they have to read more.

So later this week, in addition to the book review, I'll be posting some erotic poetry.  What?  Erotic poetry?  Scandalous!  Two poems, one of mine and one by a guest poet, Maxwell Cynn.  We also met through AQ Connect and he posted his poem first, then asked for a female counterpart.  I took a stab at it, and I think it turned out pretty well.  Stay tuned for that this week!

Rejection Time!

I sent out three e-mail queries yesterday.  Before I even got a chance to post my super-excited blog about it today, I got my first rejection!  It was just a simple form rejection, but don't worry, I'm not all torn up over it.  I pretty much expected it.  Even for writers way better than myself, it's a long and hard process.  I'm just excited to finally get into the game. 

Speaking of writers way better than me, my husband hates when I mention them haha.  He told me one of the most irritating things about me is when I downplay my talent, or rave on and on about other people's talent like they're so much better than me.  He loves me anyway, so of course he think's I'm just the best.  But I think he's been sneaking peeks at my manuscripts on the computer too.  Which is flattering, since I don't think anything I write is the kind of stuff he'd usually be interested in reading.  It's not that I think I'm no good....  I just think a little humility goes a long way.  No sense getting all big-headed and acting like an ass.  But just for my wonderful hubby, here's me in a rare moment of self-appreciation:

You know, sometimes I see it.  When a reader comments that something I wrote had exactly the impact I intended it to have, I see it.  During those times when I sit down to edit my manuscript and end up getting caught up in my own story all over again, I see it.  The flash of genius.  The Am I any good? meeting the Yes, I am.  I think I'm pretty talented, if I do say so myself.

Now c'mon, agents, do you see it too?

Charlotte, Confessions, and Disney World

My my my!  It's been quite a while since my last post.  To Call Home is complete, as I already told you.  I've compiled a list of agents to query.  I've got a query letter ready.  I went to Disney World last week on vacation, and now that I'm back, I'll be sending out my first query this week!  I'm so excited to get my first rejection haha.  I hope I get more than a bunch of rejections, of course, but I'm realistic.  It takes better writers than me lots of time and lots of query letters to land an agent and a deal, so I'm hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

During the two-hour plane ride to Orlando, I actually got a little bit of writing done on Confessions of a Non-Believer.  But even as I'm writing that one, I'm bombarded by scene ideas for my erotica novel, which as of yet has almost no plot, no working title, no nothing except a main character named Marisol.  But still, I'm even thinking Marisol's story could turn into a series.  Me, write an erotica series? haha.  Never thought I'd be able to say that with a straight face.

I think I might start writing the erotica one even as I'm working on Confessions.  I found that hard to do while finishing up To Call Home, but I think that was more to do with the fact that one is third person POV, past tense, and the other is first person POV, present tense (why, why, why am I writing first-person present when I've heard so many times that agents hate it??? haha).  But Confessions and Marisol's story will both be first person, one present and one past tense.  I think I can do it without too much difficulty.  Besides, Marisol won't quit giving me crazy ideas about who she wants to sleep with and where.....

But anyway, for your reading pleasure, To Call Home is posted on Authonomy in its entirety.  Confessions of a Non-Believer is still in progress, obviously, but the first 5 chapters are also on Authonomy.  Search for them by title, or search for me as J. Lea Lopez or live2write.