Eliza David's Blog, page 23
October 26, 2015
Release Week Updates: Monday Surprise + Favorite Series Moments
Happy Monday, y’all! This is a week packed with fun for me – TCS drops on the first and NaNoWriMo begins the same day. The Cougarette was my first attempt at NaNo last year so this year’s got me all spooked. It’s awesome to end the series on the anniversary of the day it began.
So, yeah. I planned the Craziest Week Ever in advance and on purpose. This surprises no one that truly knows me.
To ease my writing anxiety, I decided to do something nice for those of you that haven’t read the Cougarette Series yet: all of the released books are 99 cents each on Amazon Kindle.
(RIGHT-CLICK the banner to grab your copies and share the link with a friend or two that need some CeeCee and Jay in their literary lives.)
As I prep for the release of the final book of the Series, I’ll also be looking for you to tell me your favorite moment of each book. In The Cougarette (Book #1), I’d have to say it was the night CeeCee partied with infamous hip-hop A-lister, Billy BadAss:
CeeCee slid the keycard into the slot marked 54th FLOOR – PENTHOUSE – Access Required. When the elevator doors opened, she was hit in the face with a thick cloud of marijuana smoke. Loud music boomed through the entryway, which was lined by various partygoers talking, drinking, kissing, smoking and taking hits of cocaine. When CeeCee reached the end of the main hallway, an energetic Billy appeared. He held a lit blunt between his teeth and was flanked by a naked woman on either side of his short muscular body.
“Welcome to the suite, Miss CeeCee. Ladies, won’t you two please excuse me while I give my event planner a quick tour?”
Both ladies gave CeeCee the stink eye as they were dismissed. CeeCee pointed to them as they slithered away. “I take it they realize they are butt naked while everyone else is clothed. Why exactly?”
Billy ignored her question and helped her take her coat off, handing it to a nearby bodyguard. “Four bedrooms, two baths. This living room is, like, the central area of the party. We got Niecy’s in the kitchen and, of course, lots of liquor and other party favors spread all over. Turn up!”
He took another hit of the blunt and passed it to CeeCee. “No, thank you. I haven’t had weed since I was about your age.”
Billy gave her the side eye and waved the blunt in her face. “Post event review. One hit ain’t gon’ hurt you none. C’mon, for me.”
CeeCee sighed. “This is blackmail, pure and simple.” Billy smiled as she snatched the blunt out of his grasp & took a generous inhale.
She coughed her lungs out, handing it back to Billy. “What the fuck are they putting in weed these days? Bug spray?”
Billy patted her on the back as she regained proper breathing. “This that hydro shit. Ain’t like it was in the 80s, huh?” He laughed and walked away as CeeCee yelled, “The NINETIES!”
What was your favorite moment of The Cougarette (Book #1)?
October 25, 2015
Your To-Do List: TCS EXCERPT + MONDAY SURPRISE
Okay…so the FINAL book in the Cougarette series (which you can start HERE) drops in seven days. Tiny Squeee! Big thanks to you, the fans, and the blogs for supporting me and the series! Lots of stuff going on this week before TCS drops on the first!
So, your official To Do List this week:
RSVP for the FB Release Party
Check me out TODAY at 2pm at Vices and Virtues
Keep your EYES and EARS open for my surprise tomorrow morning.
Check out the following excerpt from The Cougarette’s Secret:
Lionel set down his cell and continued. “Now, as for Jim’Lee. What’s really going on there?”
CeeCee stuffed her phone into her clutch. “Well, after the blowup at Metro, he’s keeping me at arm’s length.”
“Good. Should’ve never gotten involved with him in the first place, much less hired him. What were you thinking?”
CeeCee folded her arms. “What do you have against him?”
Lionel put a hand in the air to get the check. “Well, to begin with, he deflowered my underage daughter.”
“Daddy, honestly. That was almost thirty years ago and he was underage, too.”
Lionel curled his lip. “And? So what? You’ll understand when Miss Bri’s a teenager. Also, he’s a bum.”
“How so?”
“He pursued you when he knew you were spoken for. That goes against Bro Code.”
“‘Bro Code’? Who taught you that?” CeeCee asked as she picked up her salad fork.
“Junior. Also, Jim’Lee’s still pursuing you and you’re letting him get away with it,” he said as the waiter handed him the check folder. Lionel slipped his black American Express inside and handed it back in one smooth motion.
“He’s not that bad. If I had made different choices, I believe he and I could have had a happy life,” CeeCee replied before she ate another bite of her salad and pushed the plate to the side. The conversation was making her lose her appetite.
Lionel let out a cackle. “If you’d chosen him, you’d be in ‘Creek with a house full of high-yellow babies while he was off doing Lord knows what. Drugs, probably. Wasn’t he a crackhead once upon a time?”
CeeCee frowned. “He had a cocaine addiction and he is over twenty years clean.”
Lionel waved a hand at her. “Whatever. Face it. If you had married him, you’d be stuck down South, daydreaming about living the life you’re living right now. Mark my words, Peanut.”
(c) Eliza David
October 24, 2015
Release Week is Upon Us!
IT’S RELEASE WEEK!
The Cougarette’s Secret drops in EIGHT DAYS and I’ll be a couple of events tonight to celebrate early!
Sat. 10/24
5:30 pm CT – Base Instinct/Black Bliss Takeover: https://goo.gl/pCZEp1
6:00 pm CT – Helping Austin Takeover: https://goo.gl/a2l56W
Sun. 10/25
2 pm CT – Vices and Virtues Takeover: https://goo.gl/WnErcp
October 23, 2015
CeeCee and Jay and Zoe and Nick and Ben
When I began planning Confirmed, my project for #NaNo, a month ago, I had three semi-fleshed out characters and a veeeery loose plot in mind. I was also recovering from back-to-back book events and active querying to agents and publishers for The Cougarette. It was a busy month but all of my months are busy, right? No big deal.
As expected, the week after I solidified my plot points, chose my celebrity muses, and created my vision board on Pinterest for Confirmed – something hit me.
Something very good hit me.
I won’t go into specifics, but I’ve been asked by one of the agencies I queried to provide a longer version of The Cougarette. The contact said she loved the story and enjoyed the characters (YAY!) but that at 55K words, it was way too short for publication. I knew that I wanted to reply to her email immediately; I wanted to seize the possible opportunity of finally being published. I mean, she loved my baby. She was engaged. (That was an actual word she wrote – engaged.) She said she loved the book and that the only concern was length.
Word count? Pssssh. I can fix that, right?
Right.
I replied back that I would be happy to re-query (Is that a word? It is today.) with an additional 20K added to the manuscript. The minute I hit Send, dread filled me. 20,000 words is no small feat even when it’s just a fresh, unwritten concept. Adding 20K to a previously-assumed final manuscript without making it look like unnecessary filler and fluff was an entirely different beast.
Also, I still had the original #NaNo project all plotted out and characters selected. Visions of the cynical Zoe, the sexy Nick, and the playboy Ben danced in my head over the past two weeks. I was readying myself to finally be free of CeeCee and Jay’s drama.
But when opportunity comes knocking, you roll out the goddamn red carpet and let their happy asses in.
So now, goals have evolved and a change o’ plans must be implemented: My #NaNo focus has now become twofold.
I will split the 50K goal between the 20K words I need to add to The Cougarette and the first 30K words to begin Confirmed. With The Cougarette, I will need to rewrite my baby without changing the narrative and altering the future events that have already been documented in five additional books. With Confirmed, I’m starting from scratch so there is less risk – but will I really be able to give my all to my new characters if I am still working with my old ones?
Throughout the month of November, I envision myself drifting between two very different fictional worlds of my own creation. How do I function between the two literary worlds without driving myself clinically insane? Am I asking too much of my already overly-taxed life?
A part of me is excited about the duality of the task and another part is crazy scared of it.
But a bigger part of me is screaming, “Someone who sees literally thousands of manuscripts weekly saw something in yours. DO IT and shut up!”
(FYI: It sounds a lot like Samuel L. Jackson so I’m pretty sure that’s the part I need to listen to.)
So, in a week’s time, I will drop the final book of The Cougarette Series and begin the rewrite of the first book…while I also work on my new book.
At the same time. For thirty days.
Yep. No big deal.
October 22, 2015
RELEASE PARTY for The Cougarette's Secret
The release party for The Cougarette's Secret is scheduled for Sunday, November 1st!
Click HERE for the deets. I'll have some of my writing buddies joining me: Cree Storm, Siobhan Daiko, and more!
Stay tuned to my blog for more Release Week updates!
October 12, 2015
QUICK EXCERPT: The Cougarette’s Secret
[Lionel] looked around. “Where is the son of a bitch?”
“Chase said he told him to meet me here at five. I’ll text Chase again,” CeeCee replied. As she reached inside of her shoulder bag, she heard his familiar voice.
“Gold Star…”
(c) Eliza David
CLICK the BANNER to preorder The Cougarette’s Secret or any of the books in the series!
October 11, 2015
People Get Ready: My NaNo Prep Must-Haves
National Novel Writing Month. (Here’s the official shield and shiz…)
Or NaNoWriMo for the psychos who actually participate in this madness. Because you have to be just a little cray to attempt to write 50,000 words in 30 days.
I’m up for it. My debut novel, Cougarette, was borne from NaNo 2014 and I’ve been writing ever since. So yes, NaNo can be a good thing. However, I’m a Planner (as opposed to a Pantser): I go into November ready for battle.
Battle of the Lack of Sleep. Battle of the Writer’s Block. Battle of the Daily Word Count Goal (which has to be at least 1,667 words per day. That’s roughly a page and a half.)
Daily.
So, yeah. That’s why iPlan. My NaNo Prep Kit includes:
Tunes: I have a private playlist of tunes for my NaNo project, Confirmed. Music frees my mind and I hope that’s true for you. A playlist can help you bust through writer’s block or simply be good background music while you brainstorm plot ideas. Some of my favorite artists for this project’s playlist include Bruno Mars, Carly Simon, The Weeknd, Jon B., Aretha Franklin, and Jay Z.
Water: Most of my friends and family understand that I consist mainly of coffee and wine. I mean, it’s all water in the end, right? Right? No? Okay. So I suggest you drink a minimum of a gallon of water a day to keep the mind and body clearer. Clear mind, clear ideas, awesome plot bunnies!
Vision Board: When I wrote Cougarette, I filled out a questionnaire. It was a great experience to flesh out CeeCee and – after five books and a short story collection, I’ve been able to peel back all of the layers of Ms. Banks. With this new character, Zoe Taylor, I’m coming from a different angle because she and I have less in common than CeeCee and I. So I went visual – a Pinterest-engineered vision board. And, I must say: it’s really helping me get in touch with not only my MC Zoe, but also with the two men in her life. Juicy!
Exercise: I went to Jazzercise today for the first time in over two weeks. Then I went traipsing around an apple orchard with my hubbie and kids for two hours. I napped for an hour after that and woke up with fresh ideas about my NaNo characters. Like water, exercise can free up the mind to crucial plot details that you can always jot down on a notepad for later (if ever) use. Bringing a sandbox of information about your characters to NaNo when it starts in November can be extremely useful in the long haul when you’re trying to find…
Conflict: I told y’all I’m a Planner. That means I not only need my characters somewhat fleshed out, but I must also have a conflict (or basis for the narrative) ready before November First. In fact, I came up with my conflict during Jazzercise this AM. The second the routine was over, I ran to my gym bag, emailed myself the conflict plot point, and resumed the workout…which reminds me of something else you need:
Notepad/Email: I don’t always bring a notepad with me (although I keep one at my bedside – an all-around good rule of thumb for any writer). When I don’t, there’s always my iPhone. Just as I did today, I can always email myself ideas about my characters and plot as they come to me. I drop them in an email folder marked ‘NaNo’. I get back to them come the first.
I encourage anyone with a budding drive to write to do NaNo 2015. It drives you crazy, makes you cranky, and causes you to throw things – but it’s so much fun!
October 8, 2015
The Cougarette’s Secret (Book #5) – COVER REVEAL + EXCERPT
The Cougarette’s Secret (available now for preorder HERE) is the final chapter of the Cougarette Series, dropping November 1st. I am really excited about this one, although I feel bittersweet about ending the saga of CeeCee and Jay. But alas, it’s time to move on to new projects. Below is the Kindle cover and an excerpt from the book. Don’t forget to add it to your GoodReads WTR list. Enjoy!
[Dr. Leslie Okilo] continued. “Tell me, CeeCee: was there ever a time during your affair with Jay that he mentioned that he wanted to get back together? Take things to the next level?”
“Yes, several times.”
“And what was your response?”
CeeCee bit her lip as she walked beside Leslie. “I’d tell him I wasn’t ready and…”
“And continued having sex with him?”
CeeCee scoffed. “Well, it takes two to tango.”
“You are correct,” Leslie said as she pointed in the air. “But you engaged in sex with a man you knew wanted more than you were willing to give.”
CeeCee felt grains of sands spill into her flip-flops as they stepped onto the beach. “So I’m the bad guy, even though he had sex with me knowing I wasn’t ready to take it to the next level? Oh, and yeah – he had a girlfriend.”
“No one’s the bad guy, CeeCee,” Leslie answered. “You both engaged in an illicit affair with different projected outcomes. He wanted a relationship and you? Well, what did you want?”
CeeCee stopped walking and looked off at the waves of the oceans splashing against the shore. She placed her hands on her hips. “You know what I wanted? I wanted to be free of a label for once in my life, no matter how fleeting the moment. I’ve always been something to a man: His Peanut. His Ceese. His Sweetness. His Gold Star. Never just CeeCee. I wanted something that would be just for me – no strings sex with the best lover my body had ever known. Yes, I love Jay and I knew that one day, I’d want him back. But I had just broken up with Bryce and I didn’t want to be in another relationship. I just…I just wanted hot sex! There. That’s what I wanted.”
(c) Eliza David
October 7, 2015
The Passion Plan
(Originally posted on The Real Moms of Eastern Iowa blog on October 7, 2015.)
Finding the balance between doing what you have to do and what you want to do is one of the biggest challenges of adulthood, especially when you’re raising kids. For example, my husband and I have to work forty hours a week each to afford the lifestyle we live – and, though I don’t feel like it some days, it’s totally worth it. We have a beautiful home in a quiet neighborhood. Our children go to good schools. We both receive fulfillment from our day jobs and contribute to the betterment of our respective organizations.
But let’s talk about the word ‘fulfillment’ for just a sec, m’kay? Because there are levels to it.
On one hand, I take great pride in what I do for a living. It pays the bills and gives me a chance to interact with adults on a daily basis (a double-edged sword, I’ll admit). It fulfills me to know my work helps to sustain my family unit. So there’s that level.
On another plane is the type of fulfillment that feeds your soul – passion. For me, that passion is writing (although lazing away with my Kindle is a close second). When I first started self-publishing less than a year ago, I never imagined it would become such a vital part of me. It was just me, banging out words on a laptop (much like I’m doing right now). But now, I rarely go a day without writing something: a chapter for a current project, a logline for a future one, a plot revision, a blog entry. If I’m not writing, I’m reading about writing. I’m learning about the technique of writing fiction or how to create effective marketing prose to push my book sales. Whether it’s an hour or five minutes, I try to jot down something that will later become something bigger (fingers crossed). It’s ingrained in me.
A question I get often is, ‘Where do you find the time?’ or I get the ‘You are so busy!’ exclamation. I am just as busy as any other mother shifting through life and I have just as many hours in the day. Somedays, I have to forgo writing for larger obligations but I can count on less than one hand the aspects of my life that are more important than writing. That’s what passion does; it forces you to reassess your priorities. Of course, my health, my family, and my income take precedence (yeah, I’m not one of those people who doesn’t appreciate the value of a hard-earned dollar – run me my money!). My passion follows – the need, the urgency to write compels me. Thus, I’ve been forced to create a Passion Plan.
Simply put, a Passion Plan helps me to balance my real-life duties (the have-tos) with my calling (my only want-to). It’s never written in stone, as the demands of life cause it to ebb and flow. Instead, I rely on three rules of thumb to keep my Passion Plan afloat – no matter what variation it manifests itself in:
• Don’t find the time – make the time: Think about your passion. Got it? Good. Now tell me why you aren’t pursuing it. It’s normal to make excuses for not pursuing our passions: We’re tired. We’re busy. There’s no time. There is time – but what are you willing to sacrifice to make it? Let’s say your passion is knitting. You may not be able to find the time to go to a two-hour knitting circle after work, but can you make the time to email a few stitch-loving coworkers and ask them to meet for a knitting lunch once a week? If your passion is yoga, can you set your alarm fifteen minutes earlier to start your day with a few sun salutations? The time is there. Make it.
• Embrace your village: The great thing about having a passion is that the VIPs in your life want to help you support it. Your loved ones want you to be happy so tell them what would make you happy. Maybe it’s leaving the kids in your husband’s hands while you take an evening course on vegan cuisine or asking your kids to pitch in on chores to allow you time to train for an upcoming 5K. Let people help you. We refuse the assistance of others in our lives habitually. There’s no shame in asking for space and time to pursue a greater version of yourself. Those that love you will even offer it – don’t reject it!
• Run your race: I run (and by ‘run’, I mean barely keep pace with a half-dead snail) from time to time and one thing I had to teach myself was to run my own race. Be where you are with your passion. Don’t compare your Chapter One with someone else’s Chapter Twelve. It’s important to remember this, especially if your passion is measurable. For instance, your passion for fitness may be shared by another health-conscious friend who has managed to make greater gains (or losses, depending on your goal) than you. The second you begin to feel jealous, turn that envy into motivation. Remember what your targets are and why you set them. Re-center yourself; own your goals, not someone else’s.
So, here’s to you finding your passion and having the courage to pursue it. If there’s a spark flickering inside of you, let it burn. I believe in your passion as much as I believe in my own (and I’m convinced about mine). Set your Passion Plan in motion today!
September 29, 2015
How Writers Write Fiction 2015: The Nightstand’s Blues
Author’s Note: I am enrolled in the University of Iowa’s How Writers Write Fiction online course (because I need just one more thing to do in life). Below is my first free-form writing assignment. As I progress in the course, I’ll post them every once in a while to keep myself motivated to complete the eight-week term and earn my certification.
This first assignment asked that we describe an inanimate object we love. I chose first person narrative since that’s the POV in which I need the most practice. Enjoy my scribbles.
*THUMP*
Ugh! Yet another stack of books. Another collection of bound pages she’ll never have the time nor the inclination to read. Can’t she see that my flimsy shelf is beginning to bow under the weight of Rainbow Rowell, Judy Blume, and F. Scott Fitzgerald? Yes, my owner enjoys quite the collection of fiction. What woman pushing forty admits to reading Superfudge whenever the spirit moves her?
She should really upgrade to a real bookcase. I’m just a pile of scrap wood, bound together and stuffed in a box. In fact, the box I lived in for months on that shelf is sturdier than the plywood that is me. One day, this shelf of mine will buckle under the weight of Candace Bushnell novels and I’ll be no more. I’ll be out of the master bedroom and down in the basement to die a lonely décor-related death.
Not only is her literary collection becoming an issue, but her children. Oh, her precious babies – climbing me, knocking into me by accident as they knock into each other on purpose. One of them…I think it was the littlest one. She banged her head on my corner, silly girl. Her scalp bled for a moment and she resumed her play. Her climbing, her bumping. Her.
It’s not all bad, I suppose. I could live in a worse house. I could still be on that shelf at WalMart until the lady in the blue vest marked me down to nothing in value. I am nothing in value, the more I think of it.
But she loves me.
For some reason, she seeks my surface when she arises in the morning and tends to the books I hold in the evening. My favorite part of the week is when I feel the flourish of her mesh rag across my top on Sunday afternoons, cleaning off the dust that’s collected over the lonely week. And I suppose her books aren’t that heavy. Some of them are quite fascinating and entertaining reads, I’m certain. She laughs around me while she reads and the sound of her giggle makes me feel good. it makes me feel useful. I mean, I’ the holder of her humor. The bearer of her books. It warms my heart when she touches me before reaching for her lamp and turning off the light.
But seriously – she needs to get a bookcase.
