MONDAY’S MUSINGS: I DID IT MY WAY—A-Z REFLECTIONS

FYI. As Alex Cavanaugh mentioned: several sites were hit with malware warnings this past weekend. Some of us, because we were link to those sites, have also received warning flags—even after removing the links. Over Coffee is absolutely clean from all malware.  

REFLECTIONS: I DID IT MY WAY 

This was the second challenge I followed and while I didn’t participate officially, I did put up articles that corresponded to the letters when I could. I tweeted and Facebook articles where I could and visited as many blogs as I could. I met so many new people, read so many interesting articles and commented on them. There are so many fascinating people blogging these days.

What I noticed more this year was the camaraderie between most of the bloggers. That was cool. I also noticed this year, many had particular themes that were interesting to read. An enormous amount of work went into blogging everyday and making the articles interesting. I loved the humor. Face it, blogging every day, visiting blogs everyday is exhausting and many of the blogs I visited humorously alluded to scraping the barrel for both energy and creativity to put those articles up. Daily.

I loved the separate A-Z blog site. This year it was so much easier to follow the participants. The co-hosts worked together both in supporting the contributors and providing encouragement and help along the way. This on top of contributing their own articles.

Round of applause on a job well done host team!

I had people ask, what’s the purpose of such a challenge. It’s too much, too time consuming, and time that could be used for other things, like writing.

Here are my thoughts on doing blog challenges: 

• Creativity and presentation isn't limited to writing fiction. The whole purpose of writing blogs is the desire to share something with others. Whatever your something is, you have to capture and keep your readers’ attention.

Think of the teacher who has certain points students have to know. The teacher can make it fun and engage the class or just present the facts—cut and dried. Boom. They’ve done their job and probably lost half of the class to daydreams. There is a seminar you have to attend for work. Certain facts have to be relayed. You can make it interesting or a boring monologue. It’s up to you.

It’s all in the presentation.

So challenges like A-Z sharpen those skills. Challenges teach you to think outside the box about subjects that may or may not interest everyone.  It stretches you. If you think about it, you can make just about any subject interesting to your readers by knowing your audience and streamlining the subject matter to meet and capture the majority of that audience. Again presentation and playing to your strengths to get your thoughts across to that audience.

• The other lesson that comes from such challenges is discipline—for writers. You have a deadline. To meet it you have to write every day or regularly and you have to juggle life with that writing. Thought has to be given to what and how you’re going to write. It takes discipline to sit your butt in the chair and get it done.

• The third lesson that comes from such a challenge is learning how to promote you and your writing or blog. Promotion isn't always comfortable, is it? Regardless of whether we are introverted or extroverted, promotion is a necessary task. The challenge allowed each participant to strengthen those skills. Helped all to see we can promote and make connections. Making those connections weren't as difficult as many thought. Connections, networking, cyber friends.  All good things, and you learned could be yourself and accomplish good promotion for your name, your blog, and your writing.  You didn't have to be anyone but you.

As Frank Sinatra sings, “I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway. And more, much more than this, I did it my way. Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew when I bit off more than I could chew. But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way.”

Congratulations! 

OUT OF THE FIRES OF ADVERSITY COMES...LAUGHTER?

Please welcome romance author, Tawna Fenske, to OVER COFFEE. 

We all face adversities and in our lives which can truly impact on not only our life but our writing careers. I’ve always maintained that attitude is half the battle in solving the problems life throws at you, another quarter of it is a heavy-duty catchers mitt and a strong arm to either wrestle it into submission or throw it back. Tawna has perfected the cliché, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. I’m thinking she might want to follow the advice from gutsy Maxine, and add a bit of salt and tequila gold, too. 

Tawna shares how a comedy romance writer faces trouble. 

My thirty-second birthday left something to be desired. My cat died, my former publisher canceled the line scheduled to release my debut action/adventure novel, and my employer threatened to fire me for disobeying the company’s hosiery policy.

It’s OK if you laughed just now. I laughed, too, even while facing potential unemployment, a derailed writing career, and the challenge of burying a cat whose pronounced rigor mortis required me to dig a grave large enough for an NFL linebacker.

The fact that I could see the humor in what was arguably one of the lousiest days in my life is what nudged me toward writing romantic comedy. Well, that and a lot of wine.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that my ability to keep laughing was going to be tested again. And again. And again.

It took nearly three-and-a-half years after that point before my amazing agent landed me my current three-book deal with Sourcebooks for my romantic comedies. During that long and bumpy period before the deal happened, there were a lot of moments when my laughter was prompted mostly by the thrill of poking push-pins into the groin of my editor voodoo doll.

But after the book deal came through with Sourcebooks, my life was sure to be an endless stream of carefree laughter and cupcakes and puppies that never piddle on your flip-flops, right?

Right.

Over the course of the next twelve months, my marriage of thirteen years began a long, slow, painful swirl around the drain before finally being sucked into the crapper.

Ironic, really, to think I was finally making a name for myself as an up-and-coming romantic comedy author while enduring the least funny, least romantic year of my life.

But I couldn’t spend much time mulling that irony or stopping to wallow in my misery. I had a blog that sometimes saw 1,000 unique visitors a day, most of whom were expecting me to be hilarious and entertaining. I suspected daily recaps of my marriage counseling sessions might miss the mark in both categories.

I also had a new novel to write – the third in my three-book contract. I cringe now to recall how terribly melancholy the early drafts must have been. If you write morose literary fiction, it’s high praise when a critique partner says a scene moved her to tears.

If you write romantic comedy, it’s a sign you need to print out your manuscript, douse it with lighter fluid, and set fire to it in the front yard.

But I persevered, and I learned a helluva lot about my own capacity to take whatever life throws and me and keep going. Those blog readers showing up to see me crack jokes every day turned out to love me just as much when I finally shared news of the divorce.

Their support – along with support from close friends, family, critique partners, beta readers, my agent, editor, and random strangers who offered tissues and penis jokes – helped keep me laughing and plowing forward even on days when I thought I might win an award for being the least funny romantic comedy author on the planet.

I’d like to tell you I’m through the worst of it, but I’m pretty sure that would result in a piano falling on my head or a pack of rabid wolverines tearing through my bedroom door and chewing off my eyelids while I sleep.

But the one thing I know for sure is that I can take it – whatever the hell life throws at me, I’m ready.

And you can be damn sure I’ll dance on the carcass of whatever bad luck has befallen me and I will laugh my fool head off.

That’s a promise.

MAKING WAVES BY TAWNA FENSKE – IN STORES AUGUST 2011

She always wanted to belong… Just not to a dysfunctional pirate crew… 

Juli has trouble fitting in, though she’d prefer to keep the reasons to herself. But when she mistakenly stows away on a ship of misfit corporate castoffs, her own secrets become the least of her concerns…

He knows plotting a diamond heist may be considered unusual behavior… 

But Alex isn’t feeling very normal when his unscrupulous boss kicks him to the curb. Meeting Juli doesn’t do much to restore normalcy to Alex’s life either, but it sure is exhilarating!As Alex and Juli bare their secrets—and a whole lot more—they find that while normal is nice, weird can be wonderful…Excerpt

BUY: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powells Books 
Available in print or eBook

Tawna Fenske traveled a career path that took her from newspaper reporter to English teacher in Venezuela to marketing geek. An avid globetrotter with a fondness for the sea, she shares her heroine’s violent allergy to seasickness medication (though, sadly, has never stowed away on a pirate ship).Tawna is the author of the popular daily blog “Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing” and lives in Central Oregon, where she is working on her next novel, Believe It or Not, in stores March 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.tawnafenske.com/ or follower her on Twitter @tawnafenske.


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AUTHOR INTERVIEWS: Stephanie Julian

Thanks so much for having me over for coffee, Sia, though I must admit I don’t drink it. So I’ve brought some hot chocolate. And Junior Mints.

I'm thrilled to have you visit Over Coffee again. I always have hot chocolate and teas. I remembered the Junior Mints from the last time you were here. :-) 

I’m really enjoyed reading What a Goddess Wants. You create such a fascinating world.

WHAT A GODDESS WANTS, the first book in my Forgotten Goddesses series.

This isn't your first book set in Etruscan mythology, though, is it?

When I first started writing WHAT A GODDESS WANTS, I was already deep into the two Etruscan series I've been writing for Ellora's Cave for the last three years. All of the books I've published, with the exception of SIZE MATTERS, have been set in this world. 


Actually, the world is the same one we live in; except there are whole communities of magic users normal people know nothing about.


The Etruscans are an ancient race of magic users including witches, werewolves, elves, fairies and deities. The first series I wrote, Magical Seduction, featured the elementals, the fairies and elves, and a witch. The second, Lucani Lovers, focuses on the lucani, the Etruscan werewolves.

Why Etruscans, rather than Greek or Roman?

I chose the Etruscans because there wasn't a lot of information known about this ancient race so I could play with the facts and twist them however I liked. I could take something that had a basis in fact and take it out of history and into the Twilight Zone.

But it also meant I was flying mostly blind. Unlike the Romans or the Greeks, I couldn’t look up a quick answer to anything.  Since I love to do research, this meant I ordered many, many, many books by Etruscan scholars, books not written for the casual reader. But in those 1,000-page tomes, I picked up lots of little tidbits that I could use in my stories.

Have you noticed that my goddesses wear red shoes most of the time? That’s one of those little bits I found in one of those books.

Most scholars believe that the Etruscans based their pantheon on the Greeks’ but, since none of those scholars can agree on where exactly the Etruscans came from or when, I chose to ignore that. Instead, I took what limited information I could find that didn’t mimic the Greek pantheon and expanded from there.

Let’s talk a bit about Tessa. Something I didn’t know and found intriguing is Tessa being a goddess with dual powers and duties.

Tessa in WHAT A GODDESS WANTS is the Etruscan Goddess of the Dawn. She used to lead the sun into the sky at the start of each day until that Roman bitch Aurora usurped her job. Tessa was pretty ticked off about that but she still had her duties as a Goddess of Childbirth. That’s another of those little tidbits I picked up.

Aurora cracks me up. I loved some of your secondary characters, like Sal, and I’d love to know more about him.

All of my Etruscan stories are linked; I was able to build a fairly large community with lots of characters who I love to revisit. For example, in WHAT A GODDESS WANTS, you’ll get to say hello to Salvatorus, who you might remember from SEDUCED BY MAGIC, SEDUCED BY TWO or EDGE OF MOONLIGHT.

You’ll also meet a new race of magical beings, the Cimmerians. Well, they’re not actually new. Robert E. Howard actually wrote about the Cimmerians in his Conan books. Yes, Conan was a Cimmerian, a fact Caligo, Tessa’s hero, grinds his teeth over constantly. Damn Arnold Schwarzenegger anyway.

I have so much fun playing in this world, creating a world within our world and revisiting characters throughout the stories.

And it shows in your stories, Stephanie. They’re fun to read. You said you have other series you’re writing. Anything new coming out in those series you’d like to tell us about?

As a matter of fact, I have another story in the Lucani Lovers series, GRACE IN MOONLIGHT, releasing July 20.

Thanks so much for having me over, Sia.

WHAT A GODDESS WANTS BY STEPHANIE JULIAN – IN STORES JULY 2011 

In his arms, her magic powers are on the rise…

Tessa, Etruscan Goddess of the Dawn, is desperately fighting off a malicious god, but her powers are weakening. She needs a hero and fast, because only sexual energy can give her strength. So she seeks out Caligo, whose sexual prowess is legendary…

 And she’s the only one who can bring him into the light…

Caligo is a fabled Cimmerian warrior determined to stay away from spoiled goddesses who trample heart after they've had their fun. But there’s something irresistibly hot and inviting about Tessa, and he knows he’s her only chance to escape the encroaching darkness…EXCERPT 

BUY: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, All Romance eBooks. 

My Review 

Stephanie Julian is the author of three erotic romance series with Ellora’s Cave. She is a member of RWA and Valley Forge Romance Writers and is a freelance entertainment and lifestyle feature writer. Stephanie lives in eastern Pennsylvania, where she is working on the next two books in the Forgotten Goddesses Series: How to Worship a Goddess (December 2011) and Goddess in the Middle (July 2012). For more information, please visit www.stephaniejulian.com.

Creating A Promotion Platform Through Blogging

Laurie Creasy continues her series in Using Social Media Strategy 

Part One:  Promote Your Writing
Part Two:  Blogging: Improving Your Visibility

Your book is being published! Great news!




But now you have to market it.






You’re in one of two positions (either Type A or Type B):

•  You have a blog and a presence on one or more social platforms (such as Twitter and Facebook)

•  You just said, “Huh?” and scratched your head.

If you’re Type A, as soon as you get The Call, make sure each one of your accounts is neat, clean, and up to date.

• If you've been slacking off on your blog, pick up the pace. Try a few new things – a contest, hotos from a writers conference, some video of your reaction to The Call.
• Recheck your privacy settings on your Facebook profile. If you have posts or photos that could embarrass you – especially if you’re writing under the same name as your profile – tighten up the settings.
• If you have a Facebook profile only, get yourself a Facebook page. A profile maxes out at 5,000 friends, and you probably don’t want to go through moving people to a fan page later.
• Delete any … erm … unwise tweets. Yes, people will be able to find them forever, but most people aren’t techie enough to care.
• If you have a presence on any other networks, make sure it’s all tidy. If you don’t want to put the work in to get it up to speed, then change the settings to private.

If you’re Type B, as soon as you get The Call, it’s time to think, and think hard.

• Brainstorm ideas for a blog. (Friends can help.) Choose an idea you can have fun with and that won’t bore you silly in a week. You can photo blog or video blog, too.
• At first, you’ll be spending at least an hour and a half a day (that’s if you write fast) writing a blog post and publishing it. Be honest with yourself and figure out exactly how often you’ll be able to do that – and it’s no shame to do it once a week only. (When you’re considering this, here’s a tip: People read thrice-weekly posts more often than they read daily posts. Save yourself some heartache.)
• Write six or seven evergreen blog posts that you can put up when things are tight. If you have friends who are published authors or editors, beg them for a few evergreen posts. These can include book reviews, author bios – anything that’s not going to yell, “Written two months ago!” to your readers.
• If you don’t have a Facebook page, start one. If you have no fans, bribe your friends and relatives to “like” your page.
• Don’t jump into every possible social media platform. Right now, a blog and a Facebook page will be enough.

Ideas to help Type As:

• If you've done a number of blog posts that can be combined – for example, how to choose a laptop, reviews of laptops, tips about programs that help writers plot, combine them into a PDF (you’ll want to do some polishing), and e-pub it for free or for a minimal fee to get your name out there.
• Figure out a way to meet up with some of your fans – ice cream socials, tea parties, chocolate tastings. Keep it small and keep it simple. Hold some kind of contest so your fans can “win” invitations. Take photos and post them to your blog.
• Have fun! It’s your first book – celebrate, and invite your fans to celebrate with you.

Ideas to help Type Bs:

• Do a white paper – a brief report – on something you’re expert at. Include photos or links to videos if you want. These don’t need to be serious, professional three-piece-suit things. If you’re an expert at making seashell flowers, go for it. Are you expert at knowing who’s who among fallen angels? Write it up.
• Go to a conference armed with a small tape recorder and an inexpensive video camera (take the tape recorder, because inexpensive video recorders have terrible microphones) and get a few quick soundbites from published authors. Ask each one the same question, then edit the answers together and post the video – complete with your name as producer, director, and interviewer.
• Have fun! It’s your first book, and all published authors have been where you are now. Don’t be afraid to ask for their help, as long as you keep things short and sweet and don’t shove the camera at them under the bathroom stall.

Don’t just get fans. Figure out how you’re going to keep them. Be creative, be imaginative, and take a few risks.

I want to thank Laurie for sharing her professional knowledge of Promotion and Marketing with us this week.


Next week we'll be back to our normally scheduled authors.

Blogging: Improving Your Visibility

Laurie Creasy continues her series in promoting your writing through social media. This installment talks about how to improve your visibility and cement your presence through blogging.
You can find her first article here: Part One: Using Social Media

OK, you’re no longer a newbie. You’ve written enough to query an agent or editor; maybe you’ve even e-published something.

And yet … and yet … the mojo just ain’t there. You’re getting a few hits on your blog – and of course you have a blog – but it’s nothing to write home about. No one’s breaking down your doors and demanding more, and you’re not the overnight success you always dreamed you’d be.

Here are four steps you can take to improve your visibility and cement your presence:

Analyze. (Just start every list of things to do with this word – it makes things much simpler.) Yes, yes, every the, a, an, and that is deathless prose. You couldn’t possibly change a word.

Here’s a checklist to help you analyze your blog:

n      Which posts got the most hits?
n      Which got the fewest hits?
n      What do the popular/least popular posts have in common? Length? Topic? Tone?
n      Are you using tags and categories to improve your search engine rankings? If you aren’t, read up on why search engine optimization matters.
n      Are you getting linkbacks and pingbacks? If you aren’t, you need to begin linking to helpful articles.

Once you figure out what your audience wants from you (i.e., the popular posts), give them more.

This doesn’t mean every post has to be a breathless monologue about, for example, the hot embroidery details on Regency gowns year by year, but maybe two out of three or three out of four should be.

Your posts showcase your writing. Don’t stint on the time and effort you put into them. It may be the first introduction others have to you.

You plan on writing stories aimed at certain audiences or publisher’s lines, right? So why would you want to flit all over cyberspace with topics on your blog?

Separate personal from professional. Not everyone agrees on this, and in the end it’s your call. But do you really want your editor or agent to see into every corner of your life?

Yes, people should accept you the way you are … but if you worked in an office, rather than at home in your PJs, how much would you tell your boss about your problems with hubs leaving the seat up? How much would your co-workers want to know about your sexual preferences?

Let’s face it – you aren’t selling your real self on the Internet. You’re selling a persona. No one wants to read about Jane Doe, housewife up to her eyeballs in dirty jock straps. But they may want to read about Desiree Divine, author of the steamiest sex scenes romance readers ever panted over. And Desiree Divine does not deal in dirty jock straps.

Think before you post.  And before you e-mail, tweet, Tumbl, Pinterest, or anything else on the Internet.

If it’s on the Internet, it lives forever, even if you take it down. So go ahead and type that rant about Nora Roberts not paying her dues or that acerbically brilliant response to a bad review … and then delete it.

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever (are you seeing a pattern here?), ever snark on the Internet. To anyone, at any time, anywhere.

Believe me, your sins will find you out. Ask the guy who got his whole agency fired from a job with Chrysler for tweeting improperly. Ask the guy who lost his job at Columbia for making snide remarks about the CNN reporter who was sexually assaulted in Egypt.

Help and share. Support other writers. Support other bloggers. Help newbies navigate the labyrinth of the publishing world. Encourage new and old writers. Give positive, constructive feedback.

In short, spend time building your reputation as a go-to person on certain topics, as a professional who can set and keep boundaries, as someone who can stay silent at the right time, and as someone who’s generous and kind.

Yeah, it’s kind of old fashioned.

Then again, maybe everything old really is new again.

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Readers you might also like:
Spunk On A Stick's Tips
Discussion - Length of Blog Posts

Living With Imaginary Friends

My guest is the delightful Linda Wisdom. She writes paranormal romance, among other things, and I find her witches irresistible. I’ve read quite a few of Linda’s books and have enjoyed her realistic characters and her sense of humor in writing those characters.


I love the comfortable office she has inhabited with all her imaginary friends. She explains a bit of how she gets the friends to migrate from their 3D form in her mind (I’m sure it gets quite crowded in there) to the pages of her books.


I’m so glad she could visit with us Over Coffee!




First off, thank you so much, Sia, for having me here today!






A kickass witch walks into a bar one night.


Yes, it sounds like the beginning of the typical joke, but what can I say? That’s how Demons Are a Girl’s Best Friend begins with Hellion Guard Maggie O’Malley walking into the underground club, Damnation Alley, looking for a Bloater that’s been a bad creature and needs to be taken in. If she knew that would begin a crazy path in her life, she might have stayed in and let her team take care of the Bloater.


Writing is a challenge. Every day I sit down at my computer with the intention of coming up with ideas that I hope my fans will love or at the very least, not hate.


I’m what you call a pantser writer. Namely, I write by the seat of my pants. For me, it’s all about the characters. They make the story work, so no surprise they’re pretty much formed in 3D inside my head and tend to hang out with me while I write. I like it like that. I want my readers to believe the unbelievable. That there’s nothing unusual about a witch sporting a black widow spider tat that speaks in a French accent and can put a perp down with barely a hiss. Where the local messenger service is made up of over-caffeinated ferrets and the librarian is a stiff-necked wizard who believes in rules with a capital R.


And who wouldn’t want to hang out with a witch who shares your mocha latte addiction and be a shopping buddy? She might even make sure that dress you want so badly is there in your size or at least fits you perfectly. And if your ex-boyfriend is giving you trouble, she just might have the perfect solution to get him to back off or end turned into a warthog.


No wonder I believe my characters live in the house. I was the shy little girl who lived in her own little world populated with imaginary friends. I wrote about them back then and now I have a whole new cast of characters and creatures that I like to think are as quirky as I am.


All you’d have to do is see my office to see just how offbeat I am. You’d see a variety of dragon figurines, witch and faeries, my collection of Halloween Barbie dolls that increase every October, and wonderful magick candles to inspire creativity. I have a plush panda bear my dad gave me when I was three years old, a few plush wolves in sheep’s clothing. Hm, isn’t that how we see some men? And other plush critters that I’ve added over the years. Not to mention my own hellhound, Barney, my white mini-Schnauzer who’s waiting for his turn in one of my books. Between all of that, my DVDs, and a variety of reference books I feel at home in my very own imagination space.


That’s the kind of place I like to play with my ‘what if’ scenarios. I have two large windows where I see trees, rabbits, and birds. Sometimes I’ll even catch a cat on the prowl. Don’t worry, thanks to Barney doing his part to warn the cats off, the birds and rabbits always get away.


The way I see it, my space is perfect for a pantser writer. Nothing is super organized, my favorite figurines that offer inspiration are at hand when I need it, and coffee is always within reach. It’s cluttered and comfortable and I’d say very me. And I’m sure that a tidy minded person would have a heart attack if they walked in. If there’s dust I’m sure it’s faery created. My bunny slippers sneak around looking for licorice root and chocolate and there’s a gargoyle I have to make sure stays away from Pay Per View TV.


Just like my childhood, my characters and creatures don’t just live inside my imagination. They’re as real to me as the animals living outside. The witches tag along to Starbucks or if I window shop at the mall. There’s a vampire who’s with me when I drive at night. Could I have a better bodyguard? A wizard attorney who whispers “are you sure you should write that?” in my ear and now a very sexy half fire demon who just inspires all these sexy thoughts.


What can I say? This shy kid found a way to give life to the people inside her head. I just hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

• Now let me ask you something. Were you a shy kid with imaginary friends? And did they help you? Or did you wish you had a pair of fangy bunny slippers?

DEMONS ARE A GIRL’S BEST FRIEND

A Bewitching Woman on a Mission…


Feisty witch Maggie enjoys her work as a paranormal law enforcement officer—that is, until she’s assigned to protect a teenager with major attitude and plenty of Mayan enemies. Maggie’s never going to survive this assignment without the help of a half-fire demon who makes her smolder…


A Hotter-Than-Sin Hero with an Agenda…


Declan is a proprietor of an underground club and busy demon portal. No way he’ll allow his demon race to be blamed for the malicious acts of some crazy evil Mayans. But he’s already got his hands full when the sexy witch offers him a challenge he can’t refuse…5 star review

I apologize. I don't have a direct link to an excerpt, but both Amazon and Barnes and Noble will give you a preview.

Buy: Books a Million, IndieBound, ChaptersIndigo

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Linda Wisdom has published more than 70 novels with 13 million copies sold worldwide. Her bestselling books have been nominated for RT Book Reviews awards and the RWA RITA Award. She recently won the RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award for Hex in High Heels. Linda lives with her husband in Murrieta, California, where she is working on her next book, A Demon Does it Better, set to release in January 2012. For more information, please visit http://www.lindawisdom.com/.

Balancing The Unknown With The Familiar

It’s my pleasure to have Sci-Fi adventure debut author, Alex J. Cavanaugh, as my guest.

My first contact with Alex was seeing this really cool trailer of his book a blogger friend had on her blog (Helen Ginger, Straight From Hel). I asked her to pass on my compliments to Alex. I *met* Alex a bit later, read his blog when I had the chance and then read the preview of his book and being a Sci-Fi fan, I knew I wanted him to be a guest on Over Coffee. I was curious, you see, how he handled promoting a debut book and juggled life. Especially so when I found out that before he had a book out he had no internet presence. I don’t hear that very often. So Alex agreed to visit and tell us how all of this came about.   

Sia, thanks again for allowing me to visit and amuse your readers. I have to confess, I don’t drink coffee, but a Dr. Pepper would be great! Now, where to begin…

I’m the type of person who enjoys normalcy and a daily routine, but writing forced me out of my comfort zone and into a new world of blogging, promoting, and other opportunities. Forcing those two worlds to co-exist is like blending oil and vinegar. Not impossible (keep shaking) but it’s a big challenge for me.

Most people know I’m a private person who relishes stability. I don’t like disruptions in my world. My wife moves a piece of furniture and I’m instantly annoyed. I had to accept changes would occur, though. Life as I knew it would be turned upside down.

I never intended for writing to replace my day job. I certainly never anticipated a sequel! (I’m working on one right now, but progress is slow. Maybe after CassaStar’s release I’ll have time to complete it.) I just decided to tackle a story I’d begun as a teen and see what happened. Little did I know that I would be on this author path, doing my best to promote my book.

Unlike most writers, I had no web presence until after signing the contract for my book. Again, I just never expected it to happen! I envy writers who already blog and socialize. I had to hit the ground running hard.

I started blogging first, and it was such a new experience. I had no idea what I was doing and floundered through the first few months. By some miracle, I started to pick up followers, and through the course of a few challenges and blogfests, I gained a lot of followers. My time online went from fifteen minutes to two-three hours a day. I’m fortunate that I can blog from work, (multiple computers on my desk are a blessing), but it still takes time – time from my family and my writing.

Of course, it’s had incredible benefits. I used to think it was silly – how could I be friends with someone I’ve never met? But, I’ve made some really great friends online. Bloggers are so supportive of each other – it’s just amazing. They keep me going, especially on days when I’m dragging.

Yeah, I won’t lie to anyone. Promoting a book is time-consuming and stressful. There are days when I think back to my life before all this and wonder… what the heck was I thinking?

It all comes back to balancing those two worlds.

Free moments are rare now. There’s always some detail or promotional item that requires my attention. However, I’ve learned when to just shut it down and take some time for me.

Sometimes I’ll chill with a movie or TV show. Those who follow my blog know I’m a NetFlix and Hulu junkie. It’s my chance to escape. I often listen to music, too. And play music! I own three guitars and practice every single night. Nothing relaxes me more than thirty minutes strumming some tunes. (Well. almost nothing!)

And that reminds me of the one person I didn’t want my author status to affect – my wife. Some days it really sucks, too. I know she’s sacrificed so much. With little or no complaint, I might add. Makes me feel like a schmuck. But if it weren’t for her encouragement, I wouldn’t be on this path. I wouldn’t have written this story or pursued it past my own satisfaction.

Balancing the unknown with the familiar? It’s tough some days. But, I think if writers keep it in perspective and understand that things will be out of balance for a while, it’ll be all right.

After all, we didn’t get into this to drive ourselves insane, did we?

We started writing because we had a story to tell!

CassStar Blurb:

To pilot the fleet’s finest ship…

Few options remain for Byron. A talented but stubborn young man with a troubled past and rebellious attitude, his cockpit skills are his only hope. Slated to train as a Cosbolt fighter pilot, Byron is determined to prove his worth and begin a new life as he sets off for the moon base of Guaard.

Much to Byron’s chagrin, the toughest instructor in the fleet takes notice of the young pilot. Haunted by a past tragedy, Bassa eventually sees through Byron's tough exterior and insolence. When a secret talent is revealed during training, Bassa feels compelled to help Byron achieve his full potential.


As war brews on the edge of space, time is running short. Byron requires a navigator of exceptional quality to survive, and Bassa must make a decision that could well decide the fate of both men. Will their skills be enough as they embark on a mission that may stretch their abilities to the limit? Trailer Excerpt

“…calls to mind the youthful focus of Robert Heinlein’s early military sf, as well as the excitement of space opera epitomized by the many Star Wars novels. Fast-paced military action and a youthful protagonist make this a good choice for both young adult and adult fans of space wars.” - Library Journal



Buy: Amazon, BARNES & NOBLE,  Books A Million.  Also available in eBook format for iPad, Nook, and others

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Alex J. Cavanaugh has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and works in web design and graphics. He’s experienced in technical editing and worked with an adult literacy program for several years. A fan of all things science fiction, his interests range from books and movies to music and games. Currently he lives in the Carolinas with his wife.

http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

WHEN THE WORDS WON'T COME

“There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.”

My guest is women's fiction author, Leanna Ellis. Her forte is handling subjects and emotion with humor.

We all hit different forms of writer's block. I think it comes with the territory. How we deal with it is also individualist. I'm a firm believer that God never allows us to face an obstacle alone. He always makes the way out for us. The secret is to see the path provided and then have enough trust to follow it, especially given the fact that humans tend to have *eye* problems. You know what I mean;  I think, I feel, I want?

I love Leanna's article of running out of words, dealing with grief and grayness of spirit. It resonated with me as I have faced similar issues this year. Leanna was provided an unlikely hero, Hilo. But I'll let her tell you all about that.


What happens when you run out of words? Recently I came back from a writer’s conference, and I was frankly all talked out. Usually I sit in the quiet (or near quiet, except for my barking dogs, meowing cat and children coming and going, okay not-so-quiet) of my house and write my books. But what happens when an author runs out of words?


This happened to me not too long ago. Right when I was supposed to begin writing my book, FACELIFT. No words. They just wouldn’t come. You see, my father had just passed away. To make matters worse, I write books with a big dose of humor and I frankly didn’t feel very humorous. Erma Bombeck once said, “There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.” Those words are so true, and actually describe my writing pretty well. I write about deep subjects, difficult subjects, deep in the heart subjects, and package it all up in humor. But after my father died, humor was hard to come by. And the well of words I’d been drawing from for almost twenty years was dry.

What’s an author to do? First of all, I tried to be patient with myself. When I could only write ‘Chapter Five’ one day, not the chapter, just those two words: chapter five, I breathed deeply, tried not to panic, and said, “Maybe tomorrow.” Cue in the music from Annie here, right?

The words still didn’t come. Day after day I had no words to put on the page. But I was busy helping my children through their grief and as they finished up the school year. There were lots of activities to keep us busy and kept me moving even when there were days that I didn’t want to get out of bed.

But the one thing that really got me moving was my crazy labradoodle, Hilo, named after our favorite vacation spot on the big island of Hawaii. She was a puppy, not quite one year old, and she had more energy than all of my other animals and children combined. I’d raised several animals in my time but never had I experienced a dog like this. Think Marley and Me…but worse! She could jump in one bound onto my dining room table. And she did regularly. She also ate everything in sight, including ten pairs of eyeglasses. She ate half a turkey, a pound of butter, a bunch of grapes, nine spicy chicken wings (bones included), numerous boxes of tissues, rolls of toilet paper, shoes and who knows what else. So to start each day, in my pathetic effort to wear her out (at least for a while) I would take her for a walk. But I soon realized that the blue sky, sun, and soft breeze blew away the gloom I often woke with in the mornings. Now, walking wasn’t an easy task, Hilo liked to bark and lunge at anyone and any dog or cat she saw. She reminded me a bit of Tramp in Lady and the Tramp, the way Tramp could stir up those chickens was the way Hilo liked to stir up the neighborhood. She also loved to go after cars and school buses. But those exhausting walks (more so for me than her) took my mind off my sorrow for a few minutes at least.

I began writing about Hilo’s antics on my Facebook page (still do!). Then one day, I thought maybe I would write her into a scene in my novel, Facelift, just for the fun of it. Of course, I had to change her name to protect the not-so-innocent. So she became Cousin It. And soon words were flowing more easily. Suddenly scenes were coming together for me.

Through the humor of Hilo, I was able to face the heartache in my own heart but also in my characters’. I don’t think it was a coincidence that FACELIFT was about finding hope and joy in spite of painful circumstances and situations.

FACELIFT Blurb:


A ‘can do’ kind of woman runs her own business, raises her teenage daughter, and takes care of her ex-mother-in-law after a botched facelift. But Kaye learns a facelift is more than skin deep. Joy is more than tacking on a happy face. It's relying on her sovereign God who has a plan for her life. Download first chapter excerpt. Trailer

BUY:  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million, Borders, IndieBound 

• In Facelift, Kaye feels like her life is out of control. Have you ever felt that way?

I’ll be happy to provide a book for a giveaway. Please limit to the U.S. Thanks!

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Winner of the National Readers Choice Award, Leanna Ellis writes women’s fiction and is known for her quirky characters and wacky plots as in her current novel, FACELIFT. But don’t let the quirkiness fool you, Ellis probes the heart and plucks at the heart strings. Next year will debut FORSAKEN, the first of an Amish/vampire series. Now that is wacky!

You can find Leanna: Website, Blog, Facebook 

The Goldilocks Zone

Win a copy a new erotic series of sexy warriors and magical heroines.

My guest is historical romance author, Christina Phillips. She hails from Western Australia (by way of the UK) and writes about sexy Romans and Druids.

The road to being published is not an easy one. Somehow there is the thought of you write a book, query it, and it's published. The reality is much different. It's fraught with many rejections, perfecting your writing, and finding a story that excites both you and publishers. 

Christina tells us a bit about her road.


Thank you, Sia, for inviting me to Over Coffee today!

I was very excited to read the other day that a possibly habitable planet has been found orbiting a nearby star. Well, nearby in astronomical terms – twenty light years or roughly 190 trillion kilometers away from Earth. So I don’t think we’ll be visiting any time soon!

The scientists had been observing the red dwarf star Gilese 581 for eleven years before they discovered this planet in the system, which they’ve called Gilese 581g. With a hundred billion stars in our galaxy, and having studied in detail a couple of thousand stars, I can only imagine the excitement when a planet was discovered with the capability of having water on its surface – a prerequisite for life as we know it.

Two other planets had already been discovered in this system – one too near the sun so it was too hot to sustain life and one so far away it was way too cold. Gilese 581g is just the right distance away from its sun – in the so-called Goldilocks Zone.

Eleven years. That got me thinking. It was eleven years ago that, after immigrating to Australia from the UK, I decided to get serious about my writing. I started off without a clue about the craft, my efforts boomeranging into deep space (aka the slush pile and form rejections). After a few years I graduated to personal rejections on my work and then onto revisions. The black hole receded. I was finally entering a solar system!

But like so many solar systems in this breathtaking galaxy, just because it looks right and feels right doesn’t necessarily mean it is right. My efforts at writing contemporary romance hovered in the cold zone. My paranormal romances caught the attention of several agents, but ultimately none led to representation. I like to think of these as incinerating in the too hot Zone!

Eventually, after nine years, I sold two erotic novelettes to a small e-press. I had written them as an experiment to stretch my writing muscles, but it was as if a mini-supernova illuminated my muse. I discovered I loved writing the darker, erotic stories. I would write a full length erotic romance with the aim of hooking an agent!

Vampires, demons and bad-ass angels were hot. I would write an erotic paranormal romance. And into my imagination stormed a Roman warrior searching for his Druid princess lover.

Uh, what? No, that would never fall into the Goldilocks Zone! But it was no good. My hero, Maximus, refused to leave. And within five minutes I didn’t want him to leave, because who on earth was this Roman Centurion and why would a princess – a Druid and, as such, one of Rome’s bitterest enemies – have fallen in love with him?

It took me nine months to write FORBIDDEN, my debut ancient historical romance and a genre I hadn’t written about since high school. There was an honorable warrior, a brave princess and an insane villain, and threaded throughout a fantasy element involving vindictive gods and goddesses.

I loved writing this book. I knew it was a long-shot because of its unusual time period – AD 50 – its protagonists – a Druid princess and Roman Centurion – and even its setting – ancient Wales.

But within a month of first querying agents, I was offered representation. And while I know signing with your dream agent and discovering a possibly habitable planet are hardly comparable, I’m not convinced the scientists who found Gilese 581g could have been much more excited than I was the night I realized I had finally found my very own Goldilocks Zone :-)

• What about you? Have you had an idea storm into your imagination and not want to leave?

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Forbidden Blurb


He was a master of seduction - but no match for the magical allure of the woman he wanted most...


Carys knew from the moment she first spied on Maximus in his naked barbarian glory that he was a dangerous Roman centurion - his taut, battle-scarred flesh marking him as a fearless warrior. But her desire for him was as undeniable as it was illicit.


Charged by his emperor to eliminate a clan of powerful Druids in Britain, Maximus never expects his mission to be thwarted by the clan's ethereal princess, Carys, his daring voyeur. Falling under her spell, he doesn't realize her true heritage - until he captures her heart as well as her body.


As Carys's loyalties are twisted, and freedom is no longer her single-minded obsession, an avenging former lover threatens to crush Maximus's people into oblivion. Now Carys and Maximus must overcome the devastation of war and face the ultimate sacrifice if their forbidden love is to survive. EXCERPT

"Set in the time of the Roman Empire, Phillips' wonderful story of the romance between a Roman soldier and a Celt is more than entertaining"

Romantic Times Review, 4 Stars

BUY:  Amazon , The Book Depository,  Borders, Barnes & Noble, Rendezvous The Romance Bookstore  

Christina Phillips has always loved writing, and while her efforts in eighth grade usually involved space ships, time travel and unfortunate endings, as soon as she discovered romance novels a whole new world opened up. She now writes ancient historical romances about strong heroines and gorgeous warrior heroes who, no matter how torturous the journey, are guaranteed their happily-ever-after. Christina was born in the United Kingdom, but now lives in sunny Western Australia with her real-life hero and their three children.


Visit Christine:  Blog, Facebook, Website