Way WAY Out of the Zone

Did you feel it?

In the last year or so, there’s been a cataclysmic shift in the world of publishing. Ereaders and electronic publishing have opened up a whole new world. Writers are taking advantage of these new options to bring their stories directly to readers without jumping through the restrictive hoops of traditional publishers. Plus, both readers and writers are embracing lower prices and higher royalty rates.

I like to think of myself as a fairly flexible person, one who is open to new and different ideas. However, I found myself openly resisting the electronic publishing and reading revolution. To me, there is nothing quite like the experience of holding a book in my hands. I love flipping the pages, the weight of it, the smoothness of the paper. Reading is a multi-senses experience for me that an electronic format simply could not duplicate. Then two things happened to change my mind.

First, two of my best friends received Kindles as Christmas gifts. When I heard the news from both of them, I thought, “What a waste!” These two women were just like me, die-hard book readers. But they both tried and loved their Kindles. In fact, neither of them has bought a print book since receiving their Kindle!

What the heck?!?! I thought. There might really be something to this e-book craze…

Then the second thing happened and made a believer out of me. On March 7th, either my publisher or Amazon (I was never told which) decided to offer the electronic version of my debut novel The Wild Sight free for one week. I wasn’t even aware of this promotion until I received a notice that The Wild Sight was #1 in the overall Kindle Top 100 of Free Reads. It was also #1 on the Amazon UK Top 100 of Free Reads.

In other words, thousands of readers were downloading my book! More than all the other “free” books (both fiction and non-fiction) offered on Amazon and Amazon UK! My work suddenly had thousands of new readers, a huge audience I never expected. Best of all, when the ‘free’ week ended, The Wild Sight continued to stay in the Kindle Top 100 Paid Sales for another two weeks. Plus, sales of my other two books, The Treasures of Venice and The Wild Irish Sea also surged. The latter even made it into the Top 100 for Romantic Suspense. Honestly, you could have knocked me over with a feather; I was so surprised by the sudden flurry.

Coincidentally, The Wild Sight hitting #1 happened just as I received my latest round of agent rejections. I would hope agents know which books and authors are hitting those Top 100 lists, but apparently it didn’t matter. None of them mentioned representing my new work, at least none that I queried. Since I had sworn I would not sign another publishing contract without an agent to help negotiate the terms, I started to investigate self-publishing electronically. I debated with myself for a long time on how I should go about it, and which of my works to use for this ‘experiment.’

Finally, I decided if I was going to step out of my comfort zone, I might as well step way, WAY out! Several months ago, I started posting hunks of a story strictly as a bonus for the members of my newsletter group. This dark and somewhat foreboding fairy tale about a tortured young girl and the wicked fae princess she must out wit, was kind of a prequel to The Wild Sight, but it was not a romance nor even a novel. Nevertheless, my newsletter readers liked it and I did too, so I polished it up with the intent of making this 14,000 word novelette my first foray into the self-publishing world.

I am thrilled to announce that The Sidhe Princess is now available on Amazon--after a lot more time and work than I expected. 


To do self-pubbing thing right, it's a helluva lot of work! But my philosophy is: if you want your work to be treated the same as a traditionally published book, you have to treat it as if it were.




 I am way, WAY out of my comfort zone and I hope readers will join me!

         

In the rural Northern Ireland of the 1960s, sixteen-year-old Moira Mullins is newly released from her second stay in a mental institution. Her problem is that she can’t seem to escape the notice of the other-worldly inhabitants of the wild lands bordering her family’s farm. Creatures nobody else can see or hear.

When one of these beings, a fairy princess called the Maid of Ulster, offers to foretell the future, Moira jumps at the chance. But the Maid has ulterior motives that could have tragic results for Moira, who learns the future is sometimes better unknown. EXCERPT


BUY: Amazon

Please help me celebrate the release of my novelette today. There’s plenty of cyber-champagne and chocolate, and maybe even a few of the cabana boys from the Romance Bandit Lair! I’ll even give away a $10 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky commenter.

• When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone?
• What did you do and how did it turn out? Would you do it again?

###

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy

A long-time reader of romances, Cindy discovered and joined Romance Writers of America in 2001. But her stressful career as the manager of a multi-million dollar State and Federally funded program prevented her from doing much writing or traveling. She still managed to squeeze in a little of both, but not enough of either to be truly satisfying. Finally, at the end of 2003 she decided to take an early retirement from her career to fully pursue her twin passions of travel and writing. Cindy likes to set her novels of romance and suspense in some of the fascinating places she has visited.

You can visit her on Facebook and her Website 

Interview With Nancy Parra

Good morning! My apologies for posting late!
Those looking for Insecure Writers Post it's HERE.

Nancy Parra is my guest OVER COFFEE. It's been awhile since you've visited on this side of the blog.


Hi, Sia, thanks for having me over coffee today. I like virtual coffee because I’m gluten-free (not by choice) and am limited in what I can have with my coffee. (But hey, I found this great recipe for gluten-free blueberry coffee cake…but that’s a discussion for next time.)


No problem, Nancy. I have to be mostly gluten free myself, which sucks at times. At least my coffee with half and half can be normal (since all those special flavored creamers tend to have gluten). I'd love to have your blueberry coffee cake recipe.  

Describe your writing space. Or, describe your DREAM writing space.

• I have an office at my house that overlooks the back yard. Beyond our backyard is a strip of woods that is a wildlife highway to the edge of a small lake. I’ve seen deer, coyotes, rabbits, opossums, skunks, etc. traveling through the woods. This time of year we get Canada geese that fly in around ten a.m. every morning for a twenty minute “coffee break.” They splash down and talk and eat and nap. Sometimes there are as many as a hundred on the lake. This is the fifth year I’ve had the privilege of watching them stop by and the craziest thing is you can set your clock by them every year.

With a view like that how do you get any writing done?

• Some days it is hard, but mostly my characters poke me. They want me to tell their story and they glare at me until I do what they want so I set myself a goal of five pages before I can get do any social media.

Lol! Glare at you? What characters are glaring at you right now?

• I have this really cute Sherriff that has shown up. He says I need to get writing so he can help that lovely new girl in town with the dead body in her utility room.

So wait- a dead body…that’s not romantic. Are you writing a mystery next? Why?
 

• Well, you see, I recently got a full time job working as a Marketing Communications Manager for a toxicology lab. So I have forensic testing on my mind. Toxicology lends itself more to mysteries than romance, but never fear there is plenty of romance going on in my mysteries. If you read my books you know that most of my romances include a mystery of some sort so it was a natural progression.

I've read all of your books and that's true, you have.

Wow, working full time. I’m curious, how is working full time and writing? Has it slowed you down any? Changed your routine?

• At first it did because my workplace was a two-hour in one direction drive through construction traffic. By the time I got home, I was exhausted. I’ve remedied that by taking a small apartment close to my work. Now the trip is twenty minutes. I do miss my room with a view but I go home weekends and get to see the view. In the meantime, there is no television at the apartment so I have quality time with my characters.

You write in the evening then? Is it hard to change what time you write?

• When I first started writing I wrote when my kids napped-so it was mid-morning/mid-afternoon. Then as the kids got older I took a part time job and wrote in the mornings before work. Now I work full time and write at night. What I’ve found is that it isn’t the time of day that matters. It really is all about getting my bum in a chair and staying there until something gets written

.

Still, working full time and writing, where do you find the time? Doesn’t something have to give?

• Sadly I had to cut back on some of my social networking. I love to interact with my friends on-line, but I love my characters more. My goal is to keep the quality of my writing up and squeeze in social networking. I use social networking as a reward. If I hit my personal goal then I get to get on-line. I’m well motivated. LOL

Well, I’ve chin wagged a bunch. It’s been great fun and I’m on my third cuppa.


It's always fun chatting with you Nancy and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to be here! 




Thanks for having me, Sia. Your blog and your readers are always on my priority list. Cheers~

Counterfeit Bride (Avalon Romance) [Hardcover]

Lillian Picken discovers the perfect solution for the problem of being a female entrepreneur in the 1870s. She invents a husband, Donovan West, and convinces the townsfolk that he will return as soon as his army commission is up. The ruse works, until the day a man comes to town claiming to be Donovan West. Secret Service agent Patrick Donovan must ferret out a counterfeit ring in the Silverton area. Donovan's search for the perfect cover ends at the discovery of Lillian's secret. He takes the place of her pretend husband.

But the deep attraction he feels for her begins to complicate things. Not only has Donovan's mission put Lillian in danger, but he has vowed never to marry again and when the job is over, he will return to Washington D.C. for his next assignment. Lillian claims not to care where he goes, but will cracking the case leave them both with a broken heart? Excerpt

BUY: AMAZON, BARNES and NOBLE, BOOKS a MILLION

Nancy J. Parra is always writing something and happy to discover people like to read what she writes. Currently published in romantic suspense and sweet western historical romances, she holds an MA in Writing Popular Fiction and a BS in Journalism.

Nancy is currently at work on her next novel and loves to hear from readers. She lives in the Midwest with her little dog, "Booboo."

Nancy’s book, The Lovin' Kind, was named one of the top ten romances of 2006 by Booklist Magazine.
Her previous book, The Bettin’ Kind, received a starred review from Booklist Magazine. Cataromance.com said it was “… a wonderful story that thoroughly sucks you in and doesn’t let go until the last page is read.”

The first in the Morgan Family Series, The Marryin’ Kind, was heralded as “…another winner,” by Booklist Magazine, while  Wyoming Wedding won a Reviewer’s Choice award from Cataromance.com.  Labeled a rising star of 2002 by Booklist Magazine, Ms. Parra is proud that A Wanted Man received a starred review in the October 2002 edition of Booklist Magazine and Saving Samantha was featured on the chapter-a-day website.

MONDAY MUSINGS: Insecure Writers And Lessons Learned

"...the inability to fight self-doubts is one of the biggest things that prevent a writer from becoming published.  And it’s probably one of the reasons published writers stop writing." Christie Craig, How To Ward Off A Gremlin

I think anyone who creates has insecurities. It’s the nature of the beast. Creative works come from within the artist and are highly subjective because it’s our interpretation of what we see or feel. This is true whether we be actor, musician, artist, or writer. We create from our inner landscape and present it to others for their enjoyment, perhaps education, and for sure entertainment.

When we put our work on display we’re putting a piece of our inner self out there. It’s hard to detach your feelings from this labor of love and yet we must if we’re also to be objective enough to recognize whether something we’ve created is good, mediocre, or just plain sucks.

I’ve written for sometime. I’ve always told and written stories. Most of them sit in the hell no drawer. They satisfied what I wanted to say or do at the time. When I started writing for publication it was a whole different playing field. I know I tell a good story. I also know I’m a good writer. However, those two things don’t always coalesce into a viable story as I discovered with my first critiques—which happened to be from a contest.

I didn’t belong to a writing group then—in fact I had no contact with any other writers, and while I read voraciously but still didn’t *get it* as far as what was good writing in today’s market and what wasn’t. I’d never analyzed it. I should have.

The first public eyes that saw my story were judges in a contest. Oh. My. God. This was a first chapters contest. Other writers entered—something like fifteen hundred—and there were rounds of voting from fellow writers and professional judges. I thought what I wrote was good or I wouldn’t have entered it. I edited the manuscript several times, cut thirty thousand words, and then had a friend who was an award winning journalist proof it.

And then I started reading other entries and the critiques/comments attached to those entries.

Holy shitake mushrooms. What an education. Brutal even.

I knew the first day my story wouldn’t place in the top five (I finished in the top twenty-five percent and didn’t make it to the round three). Not that my two chapters were bad—it wasn’t, but based on what I was reading I knew the manuscript wasn’t good enough and I didn’t have the social network to succeed even had it been.

I knew I had a lot to learn before I would be published. I’m not one to back away from a challenge—and believe me, it was a major challenge.

Lessons learned on my writing journey:

• Writing is a business. You have to learn and apply the most current information. As with any business, you have to be constantly perfecting your basic skill set to get ahead.

• You need objective critiques of your work and that excludes your mother who thinks anything you create is wonderful. You need constructive critiques from someone who knows the business and writing.

• When receiving a critique, you need to be willing to listen and learn.
  The first one I received from a friend, who is also a traditionally published writer, I thought it was bleeding to death from all the red marks—but that’s a story I'll tell another time.

• You really do need to associate with other writers. You need a good support system in place. After the above-mentioned contest, I—who has never been much of a joiner—became part of a wonderful group (my Writing Wombats). I get support, current info, and a good kick in the ass when I need it.

• You need a social network and name recognition long before you query your first book.

• You need tough Rhino skin and a strong will to succeed.

It hurts like hell when you fall off one of these horses. If you never get back on you'll never get hurt like that again but you'll never win the coveted prize, either. Only you can decide if the pain is worth the gain.

• Believe in yourself. If this is what you want to do—don’t give up. If you get knocked down get back up and fight off the self-doubts.

   

 

Darcy and Elizabeth: In A Future World Far Away

My guest is Aussie author, Enid Wilson. 

Enid writes Austen fanfiction but with a sci-fi bent. I’m rather impressed the premise and I have to say I love the plucky Jane in the tale. Darcy, as with the original Pride and Prejudice, thinks for himself. He’s a bit more forthcoming on his opinions and his actions in this futuristic tale.

Enid creates a complete and fun futuristic world, with plenty of romance and hot sex, interplanetary war, and space travel. 

Enid Wilson wrote this story in a somewhat unorthodox method with direct feedback from readers. But I’ll let her tell you all about that. J  

Thank you, Sia for hosting me today.

I’m a tea drinker so I’ve brought along my own Fair Trade tea from Oxfam. I hope the mixed aroma of coffee and tea will keep everyone inspired. Talking about inspiration, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to my latest novel, Every Savage Can Reproduce, a Pride and Prejudice-inspired science fiction.

I started off writing P&P fan fiction in 2007, just as a way to amuse myself in my spare time. I posted the stories in several free online forums and was amazed that many readers loved my crazy stories. A year later, my sister suffered a sudden illness and made me rethink about my life.  Life is too short to waste away (my sister has fully recovered now). So I followed the footsteps of other fellow fan fiction writers and was happy to have several of my stories published.

Every Savage Can Reproduce was written in 2007 as a choose-your-own adventure. It took me four years to complete it.  After each chapter was posted online, I put out a poll for readers to vote and then wrote the next chapter based on the option with most votes. In the published novel which has been revised substantially, I wanted to retain the original ‘interactive’ style and therefore the voting options were also featured.

Here is an adapted excerpt, of Prince Wickham’s televised address to Planet Earth, showing one of the polls at the end of a chapter:

“Our country men and women,I am sorry to bring grievous news to you.

We have received the alarming news that Mr. Darcy has returned to Earth, under mind control by the people of Hartfield, per the instruction of the rebellious Gentry.

He was seen with a vicious clone of Sir Lewis de Bourgh, Queen Immortal Catherine de Bourgh’s dead husband, and with his cousin, the fugitive ex-General Richard Fitzwilliam, his sister, Georgiana Darcy, and his whore, Elizabeth Bennet. Darcy’s friend Charles Bingley and Elizabeth’s eldest sister, Jane Bennet, are both still on the run, but have not been seen with them.

They are a dangerous group of people, and Sir Lewis’s clone has been seen to perform harmful mind control against our soldiers.

In order to protect the good citizens on Earth, the government is willing to grant them leniency if they surrender themselves.

We will give them 10 days, until the 26th of November, to give themselves up. If they do not, the government will have no choice but to execute the following people now in dissident camps in London for aiding and abetting the rebels. They are family members of the fugitives, including former Lord and Lady Matlock, Thomas Bennet, Fanny Bennet, Mary and Catherine Bennet.

Our dear countrymen and women, you are urged to provide information about this dangerous group of people. We will reward those who come forward with useful clues as to their whereabouts.

You are also encouraged to attend the execution, should this be required, to witness the end of an era for the bad elements on Earth.

In this difficult time of struggle, we must be strong for each other.

As you can see, our Queen is still gravely ill. We have spent tremendous manpower and resources in the battle with Hartfield. We hope you will give generous emotional and material support to the army.

After we remove this bad element, our planet will be cleansed, and life will be happy and peaceful again. May the Lord bless you all!”

Poll

1) Sir Lewis de Bourgh surrenders to the government

2) Darcy and Elizabeth’s baby creates havocs

3) Charles Bingley’s reappearance thickens the plot

Which way will you vote? Do you like the idea that you can decide how a story will pan out? I sometimes was quite frustrated with the progress of the story because I could never predict what the readers would vote for. But I think that was the fun of it as well.

I’m delighted to give out a pdf copy of Every Savage Can Reproduce and some souvenir from Down Under to a lucky reader of Sia’s blog. It’s open to worldwide readers.Just comment below and contest will end: 

• State-side,Saturday, October 1st @midnight central time.  
• For those across the pond, it will be Sunday, October 2nd @ Midnight.

Every Savage Can Reproduce Blurb

In the futuristic society on Planet Earth, Elizabeth Bennet is accused of luring Fitzwilliam Darcy to an illegal establishment, which leads to their exile deep in the centre of a rebel planet. The subsequent galactic war exposes dark secrets regarding the autocratic Queen Immortal. Will Elizabeth and Darcy discover their love for one another and find their way back to Earth?

Set in the 39th Century, this novel is a tale of Pride and Prejudice-inspired science fiction, where Jane Austen’s characters take on new lives but still face the barrier of class distinction and seek to overcome their faults, as in the original classic.

Buy: Amazon, Smashwords, Indiebound

For more information about the book, please visit www.enidwilson.com The book contains explicit adult content. It’s not for the faint-hearted Jane Austen purists.

Thank you again, Sia and happy commenting!!

Enid, it's my pleasure. I'll have the Review up this weekend on Goodreads and Amazon.

Enid Wilson is the author of Chemical Fusion, Fire and Cross, My Darcy Mutates, Really Angelic, Bargain with the Devil and In Quest of Theta Magic. She writes sexy romance in modern, historical, paranormal and science fiction genres. 

Enid's novels have received several top reviews. Bargain with the Devil has been ranked in the top 50 best-selling historical romances on Amazon USA, Really Angelic in the top 30 best-selling Regency romances on Amazon Canada and My Darcy Mutates in the top 21 romantic short stories on Amazon UK, Fire and Cross in the top 30 British detective stories.

Enid loves food, Pride and Prejudice, travel and tennis. She has a Masters degree in Arts. She works in advertising and lives in beautiful Sydney. Sounds too tame? You can read her wild stories at www.enidwilson.com

WITH TIME ON MY HANDS—Isabel Cooper

My guest is debut author, Isabel Cooper. She writes historical paranormal romance. 


I warn you, her article cracked me up. I love her sense of humor. I'll also tell you I read the excerpt and promptly bought the book.


Isabel shares with us how she came to write this story and The Call. My understanding is Leah suffered no lasting hearing loss. 

So I wrote this novel: No Proper Lady. 


It was the first romance novel I’d written, and perhaps not-so-coincidentally the first novel I’d written that actually stood up to a second reading. (I’d written a couple in college, since I needed something to think about during class, but going back to all of them was less “hey, I can fix this” and more “what was I thinking?”) I had a lot of fun in the process, since I got to write about weird dystopian futures and fancy dresses and really cute guys, and I kept myself occupied on a number of vacations and train trips. As I’d read you should do, I put the manuscript away, or at least closed the file, and waited six months to start revisions.

Six months later, it was January of 2008. My day job, reasonably enough, decided that “editorial assistant” was not exactly an essential position, considering the impending societal collapse and transition into Mad Max-style chaos. 

I had some time on my hands, is what I’m saying.

Some of this time, I used to look for another job—the endless train of hate that is pantyhose, interview skirts, and cover letters. Everyone knows it; nobody likes it. I facilitated communications! I synergized win-win situations! I got my nails done and then had to get them done again, because my lifestyle is not compatible with manicures that last more than an hour. I did some temp work, which mostly took place in tunnels under Harvard Business School, and pretended to be a Morlock. I spent a lot of time hating the weather, the T, everyone on the T, and everything in general.

But I also spent a lot of time writing. I think every friend who expressed any tangential interest in No Proper Lady got a look at the manuscript, and then had me pestering them about it a day later. (“What do you think?” “Well, my house was on fire, and a spider’s eating my face right now—“ “Yeah, but did you like the book?”) I put in scenes. I took out scenes; I actually took out a lot of scenes, since the first draft was something like a hundred and three thousand words. A background in fantasy had convinced me that a novel had to be long enough that you could use the hardback version to kill large insects, and I hadn’t researched length requirements in romance nearly enough before I first wrote.

I realized that I’d spelled the heroine’s name—or at least her alias--two different ways throughout the book, and hated everything. My computer broke, and I hated that too. My boyfriend let me use his computer, so I didn’t hate him so much.

I revised. I wrote cover letters. I wrote other cover letters. I realized that my job application cover letters were bleeding into my romance cover letters and vice versa. “Dear Ms. Jones: I am applying for a position as a heroine with nothing to lose in a world she never made.” “As passion grows between them, they will become valuable team players with an eye for customer satisfaction.”

I played a lot of music, fairly loudly, and tried to pretend that this was just a montage of hardship and would be over soon. I prayed that I wouldn’t get cavities or appendicitis.

I went on interviews, and more interviews, and developed a nervous tic any time someone asked me what my greatest weakness was. (I seriously considered answering “Kryptonite” or “the color yellow” later on. As far as I could tell, it would probably have worked out the same either way.) I started going out to lunch with friends after the interviews, because why not?

I had to get a new cell phone, because my old one succumbed to a deluge.

And then I came home from a post-interview lunch and found an email from Leah Hultenschmidt asking me to call her about No Proper Lady.

The first thing I did was make myself some tea. This seemed important. This didn’t keep me in any way from squealing like an anime schoolgirl when Leah offered to buy the book. She was very nice about the hearing damage and everything.

In the time since, I’ve gotten a new day job, written the sequel to No Proper Lady, and gotten to meet some incredible people in the romance field. It’s been awesome—and it totally makes those months in 2008 worth it.

Though I would still have preferred a montage.

NO PROPER LADY BY ISABEL COOPER – IN STORES SEPTEMBER 2011

It’s Terminator meets My Fair Lady in this fascinating debut of black magic and brilliant ball gowns, martial arts, and mysticism.

England, 1888. The trees are green, the birds are singing, and in 200 years demons will destroy it all. Unless Joan, a rough-around-the-edges assassin from the future, can take out the dark magician responsible. But to get close to her target she’ll need help learning how to fit into polite Victorian society to get close to her target.

Simon Grenville has his own reasons for wanting to destroy Alex Reynell. The man used to be his best friend—until his practice of the dark arts almost killed Simon’s sister. The beautiful half-naked stranger Simon meets in the woods may be the perfect instrument for his revenge. It will just take a little time to teach her the necessary etiquette and assemble a proper wardrobe. But as each day passes, Simon is less sure he wants Joan anywhere near Reynell. Because no spell in the world will save his future if she isn't in it.EXCERPT

Buy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Indie Bound 

Debut author Isabel Cooper lives in Boston and maintains her guise as a mild-mannered project manager working in legal publishing. She only travels through time the normal way and has never fought a demon, but she can waltz. Her next book, No Honest Woman, will be in stores in April 2011. For more information, please visit http://isabelcooper.wordpress.com.

MONDAY'S MUSINGS: Laughter Is Good For You

My sense of ridiculous is easily amused these days. I look for things that make me laugh whether its unusual stories, books, or videos.

This past week I got lots of giggles out of the story of the idea of walking out your backdoor because you’ve heard an unusual bellow and of course you’ve looked in the livingroom and see, no, it isn’t hubs—he’s sitting peacefully in his recliner. So you walk outside to investigate and find an elk. Problem is this elk isn’t at all where you expect it to be nor is she in the condition you expect an elk to be. She’s drunk and she’s up in your apple tree. As in stuck, can’t get up or down. Can you just imagine standing there trying to take that picture in from your back porch? Obviously, your eyes are lying, because there can’t possibly be an elk in a tree!  Try calling that one in to the fire department used to rescuing kids or cats from trees—unless you’re in Sweden where they’re used to strange antics by the local elk that munch fermented apples every fall.

Book blurb

Then there is the book (Judi Fennell’s Genie Knows Best) I just finished reading. Now, you expect some unusual antics when there is a genie involved. Hey, I remember I Dream of Jeanie and she did some really bizarre things (and didn’t you just love the reaction from Larry Hagman and his best friend to those happenings?). But the magical creatures in this book boggle the mind. First off, Aladdin and Abu have nothing on this genie and his fennec fox (who truly cracks me up with his activities). Then there is the Russian nesting doll sort of leprechauns popping out everywhere. No wonder the heroine is wondering if she’s having a nervous breakdown or having a psychotic episode. I had to read that passage twice and cackled each time. Then there are the arguing Dragon couple which both cracked me up and made me wish for duct tape. What really had me rolling was the mental picture of a baby dragon  with Ginsu knife teeth latching onto the villains finger as he kidnaps it. The whole sequence is hilarious as is picturing the villain trying to shake off a baby dragon dangling from his finger. Four star read! No one writes magic and mayhem and fun comedic chaos like Judi Fennell!

A video that made me laugh out loud was Julie Ann Long’s comments on the last 72 hours of insanity meeting her writing deadlines—and the *supplies* required to meet them (anyone else channel Joan Wilder in Romancing The Stone?).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2GkDNG1GKc&list=FLuRs-CkuctcA4iKBpwRhWPg&index=8

Laughter is good for you and a medicine I’ve been indulging in a lot of late. As my mind clears from the depressive fog and I can contemplate writing again, I think of ways to employ some of the unusual in scenes. Truth is stranger the fiction and there is a lot of fodder out there to use.

• Do you read or see something unusual, funny, or bizarre, and think about how to use it in your writing?

• Any funny stories or videos you'd like to share?

The Kitten Files

     

Writing With Jennifer Estep

Writers usually are pantsers or plotters.There is no right or wrong way only the way that works for you, the writer. 


My guest urban fantasy author, Jennifer Estep. She writes both an adult Elemental Assassin series and  Mythos Academy series for young adults.


Jennifer talks about how she writes her stories.

Greetings and salutations! First of all, I want to say thanks to Sia for having me on the blog again today. Thanks so much, Sia!

So today I thought I would talk a little about my writing process since that always seems to be a popular question with readers, authors, and everyone else. How do you go about taking the characters and stories in your head, getting them down on paper (or in the computer), and turning them into a cohesive book? Everyone’s process is a little different. Some people like to plot out what will happen in every single chapter. Other folks just take an idea and run with it. There’s no right or wrong way to write a book. All that really matters at the end of the day is getting the words down and finishing that first rough draft.

I have to admit that I’m a total panster when it comes to writing. I don’t do detailed outlines, character descriptions, storyboards, or anything like that. I just think about my heroine, her magic, and how she can use it to defeat the bad guys. Once I have that in mind, along with some of the major turning points of the story, I just sit down and start writing.

Sometimes, it works out well, and the story just flows. Other times … not so much. It’s not pretty, but it’s the method that works for me. I find that if I outline a story too much that I sort of get impatient and even a little bored writing it, since I know what’s going to happen next. I guess part of me likes my characters to surprise me a little bit as I write them.

When I do start writing that first rough draft, I try to write at least 2,000 to 3,000 words a day (or more) until I have a rough draft of about 50,000 or 60,000 words or so. I find that working on the draft every day helps me keep the story flowing and the words pouring out. Then, when I’m finished with the rough draft, I let the story sit for a few weeks before going back to it, reading through, and seeing what changes might need to be made and what needs to be added to the story.

Then, I start my second draft, where I layer in more emotion, description, and dialogue. With my second draft, I usually aim to have about 90,000 words by the time I finish it. Then, I let that draft sit for a few weeks before going back to it and layering in even more emotion, description, and dialogue. I usually do this a couple of times until I have a draft of about 95,000 words or so and the book is the best that I can make it.

So there you have it – a little bit about my writing process.

• What about you guys? What’s your writing process like? Are you a plotter or a panster? What books are you enjoying right now?

Spider's Revenge Available 9/27/11 

Old habits die hard for assassins.

And I plan on murdering someone before the night is through.

Killing used to be my regular gig, after all. Gin Blanco, aka the Spider, assassin-for-hire. And I was very, very good at it. Now, I’m ready to make the one hit that truly matters: Mab Monroe, the dangerous Fire elemental who murdered my family when I was thirteen.

Oh, I don’t think the mission will be easy, but turns out it’s a bit more problematic than expected. The bitch knows I’m coming for her. So now I’m up against the army of lethal bounty hunters Mab hired to track me down. She also put a price on my baby sister’s head. Keeping Bria safe is my first priority. Taking Mab out is a close second. 

Good thing I’ve got my powerful Ice and Stone magic—and my irresistible lover, Owen Grayson—to watch my back. This battle has been years in the making, and there’s a good chance I won’t survive. But if I’m going down, then Mab’s coming with me . . . no matter what I have to do to make that happen. Excerpt

Buy: AMAZON, BARNES and NOBLE, BOOKS a MILLION,

USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep writes the Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series for Pocket Books. The books focus on Gin Blanco, an assas­sin code­named the Spi­der who can con­trol the ele­ments of Ice and Stone. When she’s not busy killing peo­ple and right­ing wrongs, Gin runs a bar­be­cue restau­rant called the Pork Pit in the fic­tional South­ern metrop­o­lis of Ash­land. The city is also home to giants, dwarves, vam­pires, and ele­men­tals – Air, Fire, Ice, and Stone.

Books in the series are Spider’s Bite, Web of Lies, Venom, and Tangled Threads. Spider’s Revenge, the fifth book in the series, will be released on Sept. 27.

Jennifer also writes the Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series for Kensington. Touch of Frost, the first book in the series, was released in August. First Frost, a prequel e-story to the series, is available as a 99-cent download. Kiss of Frost, the second book, will be released on Nov. 29.

For more information, excerpts, and more, visit Jennifer’s website at http://www.jenniferestep.com/.

You can also find Jennifer:  FACEBOOK, GOODREADS, TWITTER