Suzanne Rock's Blog

I don’t know about anyone else, but the Spring has always been one of the busiest times of year for me. The kids are wrapping up school, which means final exams. Then there are the school musicals, dance recitals, sports games and other end-of-the-year activities. With all of these things going on in our personal life, how the heck are we supposed to find time to write?



The answer is surprisingly simple – make writing a priority. Notice I didn’t say marketing, or web surfing, or any of the other million-and-one things authors are expected to do today. Writers write, plain and simple. If you have no new fresh content, then you’ll have nothing to give your readers. Marketing is great, but after your book has been out for a while, readers will be looking for something new. It’s up to you to provide it for them.







Saying that writing is a priority is easy. It’s difficult to put in practice, however. Here’s how you do it. Carve out small chunks of time to get in a few hundred words. Knowing that you have 2,000 words to write can be daunting. Setting an timer for 10 minutes and trying to get at least 300 words out is more realistic. Ten minutes here, ten minutes there, and before you know it, you’ve written a chapter. Setting small goals also gives you a sense of achievement and helps keep you motivated as well.



So what do you say? Try setting an timer for 10 minutes and see how many words you can get down. Drafting new stories rejuvenates the soul and helps you stay focused. After all, isn’t that why we became writers in the first place? To write?



Give the ten minute plan a try and tell me in the comments how many words you managed to write. Let’s motivate each other!

I’m really excited about this Deal of the Week. Did you know that June first is National Doughnut day? To celebrate, Krispy creme is giving away free doughnuts! Pretty cool, eh?







Go here for details. Then come back and tell me your favorite type of doughnut in the comments section.

Once again, it’s new book discovery weekend. Like werewolves? Well, this weekend I have a treat for you. I’d like to introduce you to Up on the Housetop, the first book in my Kyron Pack Series.



This series is about a werewolf pack that is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here, they have become rich off the local humans and developed an empire that draws the attention of a rival pack on the east coast of the United States. Soon a turf war develops, and the Kyron pack leader is captured. The pack members scatter. They soon realize that they’ll need help from outside if they wish to overcome the threat to their lands. How these wolves find help — and fall in love — is the focus of these stories.

 



To read more information and get buy links, go here.

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Desperate to escape her controlling family, Chloe Bradford scrambles up to the housetop of her Texas home on Christmas Eve. There she discovers a sexy stranger cloaked in shadow. He convinces her to shed her good-girl image and give into her most secret desires. The man’s low, miracle, or some figment of her imagination? When he tries to leave, she follows him, eager to learn his identity.

Zach can’t stop thinking about Chloe, or their reunion on the roof. His wolf-half urges him to reveal his identity and claim her, but he doesn’t dare. For both their sakes, he must remain in the shadows until he can control his inner beast’s bursts of rage. After a decade he thought he could handle his curse, but Chloe’s presence causes his control to slip. As the moon-rages become more frequent, he knows he’s slipping toward the insanity that claims many of his kind. Only Chloe can save him, but will she want to after he reveals his identity and the reason he broke her heart over a decade ago?



 

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Book Trailer

 

Today’s tip on creating romance on the cheap is all about using a little creativity.

Where did you go on your first date? What did you wear? what were you feeling? Try to recreate the event. Get all dressed up in something that makes you feel sexy. Make reservations at that little restaurant or try to find that movie on Netflix. Often while reliving the events of the past, old feelings will rise to the surface and you’ll see your partner as you saw him or her on your first date. Do you remember what you talked about? What you ordered?

I had planned to do this with my husband and was surprised to learn just how much he remembered about our first date. I’m ashamed to say that he remembered more than I did. We were only eighteen when we met, and neither one of us had a car. He took me to see the only movie playing on campus, Under Siege. We still laugh about it to this day.

He doesn’t really count that as our first date. He counts the time, one month later, when he walked me three blocks to a very expensive seafood restaurant for Valentine’s Day. He remembers what we ordered, right down to the dessert. I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say it was fun walking through that college campus and eating dinner in that restaurant. The students looked so much younger and the prices in the restaurant were a little higher, but the food and the company was just as good.

So tell me about your first date with your significant other in the comments section of this post. Then talk to your partner and try to recreate it. I promise, you won’t regret it.

If you are an author serious about your craft, then you need business cards. Not only are they great at conferences when meeting other professionals, but they are useful in every day life for when the question of what you do for a living comes up. Handing out business cards is a great way to look like a professional. An attractive card will stick with a potential reader long after you leave.



Today’s Deal of the Week is a way for you to get 250 free business cards through Vistaprint. All you have to pay for is shipping. They also offer other swag for free, so their website is worth checking out. I’ve used them before and have had a wonderful experience. I recommend them!

This weekend I’d like to showcase a book by one of my critique partners. She’s also a close friend. I had the privilege of reading Lauren Hawkeye’s new m/m/f historical as a beta reader and I have to tell you, this book is fantastic! If you like sexy gladiators and hot m/m/f sex scenes, then this story is for you.



The cover is pretty hot, too.







Buy it here.



Alba has spent her entire life pleasing others.



As an upper-class woman in Ancient Rome, that is her place in life. But when her husband, Lucius, the owner of a prestigious gladiatorial school, uses her body as a bargaining tool to increase his fortunes, she is faced with doing as he demands—or finding herself on the street.



Forced to lie with masked gladiators chosen by Lucius, Alba is surprised to discover pleasure in being powerless. Only in the forbidden arms of Caius and Marcus does she find comfort, however temporary it may be.



But with Lucius’ demands looming and the threat of death for her gladiators ever present, will Alba’s fleeting pleasures be enough? Or will she finally grab hold of her own desires, no matter the consequences?

Those of you who follow the blog know that I try to post ways that will save you money with either your writing business, your romantic life, or your daily routine. IN the spirit of the theme, I’m going to talk about a fast, inexpensive meal ideas that answer that age-old question – what’s for dinner?

Crock Pot Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

2 lb chicken breast

1 medium sweet onion (optional)

1/2 cup shredded carrot (optional)

1 bottle Barbecue Sauce (18oz)

1 head of romaine lettuce

1 pkg Hamburger buns

If using onion, slice it into rings.

Place thawed chicken in crock pot.

Place onion rings over chicken and add barbecue sauce.

Turn crock pot on low and cook for eight hours.

When finished, shred chicken with fork.

Add carrots and stir.

Place mixture on a hamburger bun.

Top with lettuce and top half of bun.

Serve warm.

Easy, right? not only does it take minutes to prepare, but it’s tasty and easy on the wallet. Enjoy!

Written by Em Petrova



Summer is writing conference time. Whether you’re hitting a big RWA conference or going to your local chapter’s dinner, all travel and events cost money. That leaves even less in the budget for swag.



What’s swag? The little goodies authors pass out. Business cards, lanyards, book marks, key chains, mugs, lip balm, t-shirts, pens, pencils, notepads, post-it notes… the possibilities are endless. Some authors prefer to personalize an object that has meaning to their book. For instance, a charm for a bracelet that the heroine wears.



Today I’m going to give you a few tips on creating your own excerpt booklets to send to conferences or pass out.



You’ll need:

1. Printer paper

2. Printer ink

3. Markers in the colors that complement your cover

4. Card stock in colors that contrast and/or complement your cover

5. Heavy-duty stapler or paper fasteners

6. Hole punch or ice pick (yes, I’m serious)



Step 1: define the length of your excerpt. You don’t want it short enough to fit on a postcard, but so long that you’re spending a ton of cash on printing. Somewhere along the lines of 1000 words to an entire chapter works well

Step 2: set up a document with the excerpt, using a font that’s concise and large enough to read. Don’t want to give your potential readers eye strain!

Step 3: Set your margins to create several smaller columns, so your excerpt will span several pages. Think about thickness. If your end product is too thick, you’ll have difficulty fastening it together. I prefer to use 2 columns per sheet, so it looks like this:



XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO



Step 4: print

Step 5: While printing, prepare your card stock. Cut each sheet large enough to have a ¼ inch border around the right and left sides, and also ¼ inch at the bottom. Leave ½ inch extra at the top so you can fold it over to fasten sheets into place. It looks like this:







Step 6: Trim all your excerpt sheets to fit inside the decorative card stock.

Step 7: print a cover sheet with your book cover, publisher’s name, buy links, web pages, etc.

Step 8: To fasten, you can use a very small hole punch. Two holes at the top, through the entire booklet will allow you to use those paper fasteners with a butterfly back to hold it together. But a large hole punch is too big and your pages will shift. This is where an ice pick might be handier. Punch a couple holes so they’re spaced evenly. Just be certain not to punch through your counter, desk, leg, or hand.

Here’s a photo indicating the placement of the paper fasteners (red dots)







Step 9: put it all together. Make sure your pages are in the correct order.

Step 10: take your marker and sign it! Everyone likes a personalized item! You could also bedazzle it or use stickers that work with your story. Just don’t overdo it! It will be more readable if you keep it simple.



I hope to see some of these homemade excerpt books at conferences. Overall, you can make them for about .50 or less apiece. The card stock and your printer ink will be your investments, but you can often find sales on card stock, or even purchase pre-made wedding invitation kits!



Good luck!

Hi everyone!



As you can tell by the banner, I’m participating in the Sinful Siren Blog Hop. I’ll be giving away a free copy of my contemporary erotic romance, Quick Fix. This is open to everyone – that includes you international fans! You can read more about Quick Fix and the rest of the books in the Ecstasy Spa series here.



To enter my give away, just hop on over and “like” Facebook Fan Page (1 point), follow me on Twitter (1 point), join my Goodreads Group (1 point). Then leave a comment in the comment section below telling me exactly what you did so I can verify (1 point).



Good luck! A winner will be chosen on May 21st and his/her name will be announced in this comment section by May 22nd.



To find other cool blogs participating in this event, visit Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews or go here:











Note: I need to approve comments in order for them to appear on the blog. I’m going to be away during most of this blog hop so if you comment and don’t see your post right away – don’t worry! I’ll have a list and I’ll approve them when I get back. Thanks!

I was in the store the other day and saw a bride getting her makeup done for her wedding day. How romantic! It reminded me to tell you all about the new freebie I found. Go to any Estee Lauder counter in your area and ask for the New Invisible Fluid Makeup. They’ll give you a 10 day supply in your shade. No coupons, hoops to jump through, or other purchase necessary. How cool is that?







For more information, like them on facebook here.

Enjoy!