M.J. Fredrick's Blog, page 54

Interview with Self-Published Bestseller Theresa Ragan #52weeksofindie #IRInk

Ladies, welcome fellow Wet Noodle Posse member Theresa Ragan, who has had astonishing success with her self-published novels. She, like Norah Wilson last week, is part of the reason I dipped my toe in the self-publishing waters.

Please comment for a chance to win her latest, Dead Weight, sequel to one of my favorite books last year, Abducted. OR you can tweet with the hashtag #52weeksofindie. I'll come look for you there

 

1)      What was the inspiration for this book?

Dead Weight is the #2 book in my very first thriller series. I wrote Abducted, #1 in the series, a few years ago.

2)      What's next for you?

I am making revisions to my next romantic comedy, Having My Baby. After that I plan to finish writing my third time travel romance and then #3 of the Lizzy Gardner series.

3)      Wow, busy! And not just writing one genre. I can get behind that  When you're procrastinating, what do you do?

Reading, playing the piano, searching the internet.

4)      How many books in your TBR pile?

Hundreds. Too many to count.

5)      Yeah, I'm with you there. Sadly, my Nook counts for me! What's your biggest guilty pleasure?

 

Traveling with my sisters. We've been to Nepal, Thailand, China and many other interesting places.

6)    WOW! Sounds adventurous! And neat.  Name 3 of your favorite things.

Family. Writing. Life.

7)      Where can readers find you? http://www.theresaragan.com

Real Love Stories Haven't Ended Yet

I read that quote on Twitter this weekend and thought it appropriate since today's my 25th anniversary.

I've been married longer than not, been a Fechter longer than a Barclay. We were poor and stupid and stubborn when people said it wouldn't last, especially the generation before us, all divorced. I never thought of marriage as work, like you hear so much. For us it's been a partnership, getting through problems together (unless they're at 3 AM and in my head, then I'm on my own.)

 

He's the reason I believe in happy ending s

Looking Forward in 2012

Things I'm looking forward to in 2012

1)      My 25th anniversary, and the trip we're going on to celebrate. My anniversary is January 3rd, and we were going to go to the Grand Canyon to celebrate, but that would mean taking off three days right after Christmas break, and that would include rushing back on the 4th to be at work on the 5th. No fun. So we're going in June, either to Mount Rushmore and Deadwood or Yellowstone, a part of the country neither of us has been to.

2)      A trip to see my dad in Minnesota. This time I'm taking my husband. Maybe my son, if he's still home.

3)      EpicCon—it's going to be here in San Antonio this year, and I'm up for romantic suspense with Don't Look Back. Also, it's during Spring Break!

4)      The possibility of holding Road Signs and Midnight Sun in my hands.

5)      This might sound weird, but rewriting my first book. I loved that book but it had a lot going on and not a lot of plot to hold it together. So knowing what I know now, I'm tackling it this summer. In fact, 2012 may be the year of small-town romance for me!

And I'm not usually a fan of January–it and August seem to be the longest months, but this month I have things to look forward to:

1) Justified finally on DVD

2) The Tivo filling up again–we haven't watched the Tivo in over a week! Have been catching up on Raising Hope on Netflix, though.

3) One for the Money (though who wants to bet I won't go see it in the theater?)

4) NO TESTING! January and May are the only months we won't test the rest of the school year. That means out of the 10 month school year, we test FIVE.

5) Being done with Bluestone, I hope. At least the big revisions. Then I get to write something brand new!

What are you looking forward to?

Happy New Year, and Goals for the Week of my 25th Anniversary

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe celebration. My husband and I stayed home, but the boy went to Austin for a concert. Talk about a sleepless night!

This week we'll be celebrating our 25th anniversary. We had hoped to go on a trip to celebrate, but I have to go back to work tomorrow and I hate taking off a chunk of time this time of year. So we'll head somewhere in the summer.

This week:

1) Breakfast duty

2) celebrate anniversary Tuesday

3) a teacher's baby shower Wednesday

4) revisions on Bluestone 3

5) work on formatting Midnight Sun for print

6) exercise

7) keep up the house/cook 3 nights

I think that's it! What's going on this week for you?

Goals for the New Year

 

Usually I do a list of books I'm looking forward to in the coming year, but I'm so far behind in reading it's not even funny! I haven't even BOUGHT the new Nora or new Meljean. I want to read the new Shalvis series. I don't even know what's coming up! Heck, I don't even have any books in 2012. Oh, wait, I think Trish has a bunch of books out this year, a trilogy from Harlequin American, a trilogy from Belle Books and a Nocturne.

So I'll do my goals for the new year. I prefer goals to resolutions, anyway. Actionable.

Goals for 2012

1)      Write 3 books and 3 novellas. I only did two and two last year, but I also had terrible writer's block, and a new sewing machine.

2)      Read 80 books. I read 80 in 2011, so I should be able to match it.

3)      Exercise 30 minutes a day during the week. I know that's not a lot but it's more than I'm doing. I have an exercise bike and the Wii, and when the weather is nice, I can go for a walk.

4)      Be better about saving money. I spent like crazy this year, happy to have it, but I have more STUFF than I know what to do with. I'll never be able to be a full-time writer if I don't pay off my house, and then there's the boy's college. I'd love to help him as long as I can so he's not swamped in debt when he gets out of grad school.

5)      Have a better attitude. Things are good for me—no need to complain!

 

And since I finished revisions on Bluestone 2 this morning (YAY!) I'll start Bluestone 3 revisions, and that means ALEX!

Winner of Norah's Book #52weeksofindie

 

I had to use that picture because of all the annoying commercials on this time of year! I don't usually watch, but I've been staying up late watching Friends reruns

And the winner of Norah's book is…..Leslie Garcia, commenter #3! Leslie, you know how to find me!

Next week my guest will be Theresa Ragan, author of Abducted, Finding Kate Huntley, A Knight in Central Park and more. She has a new book, out, too! Come back Wednesday to find out all about it!

This Week in #52weeksofindie Meet Norah Wilson

Norah is the reason I've dipped my toe in the indie waters–she's had some success, and most of all, has been so excited about writing again!

Remember, to be entered in a drawing for her book Guarding Suzannah, comment here, or tweet about it, using the hashtag #52weeksofindie!

Without further ado, Norah Wilson!

 

1)      What was the inspiration for this book?

I actually wrote Saving Grace first, but after I introduced John Quigley as a secondary character (Ray Morgan's sergeant), I knew I had to write his story, too. Quigg was just so solid and loyal and unshakeable, I figured he deserved his own book (not to mention a little shaking up!). But as it happens, the storyline I devised for Quigg necessitated that he still be a regular detective, which meant that chronologically, his story had to come before Saving Grace. Thus Guarding Suzannah became Book 1 of the series.

2)      What's next for you?

Well, I recently sold a romantic suspense with paranormal elements (Lauren's Eyes) to Montlake, Amazon's romance imprint, so I am hoping I can continue writing in that vein for them. Right now, I'm working on a proposal or two to send off to my agent. Of course, I'm also working on getting some of my ebooks into print, writing the Dix Dodd funny mystery series with my writing partner, Heather Doherty (under the pseudonym N.L. Wilson), and also gearing up to write another project with Heather, possibly another YA under the Wilson Doherty pseudonym, or potentially a fantasy. Yes, I like changing it up! Keeps everything fresh.

3)   Hey, I'm with you! But your list makes me tired!  When you're procrastinating, what do you do?

One word. Twitter.

4)    I am right there with you. It's been a book budget killer for me.  How many books in your TBR pile?

Oh, wow. Too many! I would KILL for more reading time. I have about ten physical books in my TBR pile, and another shocking 90 or so on my Kindle.

5)   Trish and I are not shocked. 90. We laugh at your 90! When you're not reading, what's your biggest guilty pleasure?

Sneaking off to take in a movie by myself. There's nothing more glorious! Because I have so many demands on my time, so many responsibilities and relationships to manage, it really feels like I'm playing hooky. Not that I don't also take in movies with my family or my writing partner, but sometimes I want it to be just between me and Daniel Craig … er, I mean, me and the screen.

6)      You know, I've done that like twice. I wish I'd done it for The Immortals, so I could have happily drooled over Henry Cavill. Speaking of Henry, name 3 of your favorite things.

Rambling through woods trails with my dog, Chloe. It's good for the soul.

Getting into the zone when I'm writing. You know, when the characters take over and the words flow, and when you finally look up, hours have passed.

Great TV! I know we share some of the same tastes in TV. Justified, for example. Mmmm. Also Friday Night Lights – that's one show I wouldn't have tried if you hadn't raved about it, and it turned out to be one of the best series I've ever watched, though I would still put it behind The Wire and The Shield. Actually, I take most of my recommendations for TV shows from writer friends, because writers understand story. I'm sure it was Trish Milburn's comments that turned me on to Firefly and Veronica Mars, two fabulous shows. Lina Gardiner gave me a gentle push towards Dexter. BTW, M.J., I'm paying attention to your analysis of this year's crop, but holding off to see if they survive. I hate falling in love with a show only to have it cancelled.

7)      Where can readers find you?

They can visit my website at http://norahwilsonwrites.com.

Follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/norah_wilson

Friend me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1053773212

 

Thanks for having me, M.J. This was fun!

Thanks for being here! Please y'all, comment for a chance to win her book Guarding Suzannah, one of my favorite books of 2011!

 

 

Movies I'm Looking Forward to in 2012

 

I remembered I'd also seen Super 8 in the theaters, so that was 3 for 2011. I doubt I'll do better in 2012, but with these offerings, I might! These are in no particular order, btw.

1) Hunger Games

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2) One for the Money–Jason O'Mara sold me on that

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3) The Avengers!

4) The Lorax–I love this movie! Also, same creators as Despicable Me.

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5) Hansel and Gretel, Witch Hunters

6) Snow White and the Huntsman

7) Dark Shadows

8) Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 ) The Great Gatsby

10) The Hobbit!

What movies are you looking forward to?

How Lyrical Is Your Romance Contest

This is me today. I so didn't sleep well

Lyrical Press, the publisher of Something to Talk About and Guarded Hearts is having a contest.

Forwarding permission granted:

The First Annual Lyrical Press How Lyrical is Your Romance? Contest opens on Monday, January 16th. This contest is open to both published and unpublished authors.

Entries must be complete works, ranging in word count between 15,000-100,000 words, any heat level, and fit into one of the following subgenre categories:

Contemporary romance
Historical romance
Paranormal or urban fantasy romance
Romantic steampunk
Romantic Suspense

 

Prizes:

 

1st Place: $200 advance and digital publishing contract (advance payable as $100 upon finalized contract and $100 upon publication).

2nd Place: $100 advance and digital publishing contract (advance payable as $50 upon finalized contract and $50 upon publication).

3rd Place: Top-scoring contestant in each genre category will receive an acquiring editor's critique of synopsis and first 50 pages of manuscript.

 

Guidelines:

File type: .rtf, .doc, or .docx only
12pt black font (Times New Roman, Cambria, Courier or Georgia preferred)
Line spacing: 1.5
Margins: 1″ all
Page-breaks between chapters

Please include a title page listing the following information:

Legal name
Pen name
Email address
Contact phone
Working title (include series name and details if applicable)
Word count
Genre/category

 

Entries will be accepted from January 16, 2012 through February 5, 2012, and must be emailed to contest@lyricalpress.com. Entries sent to an email other than the aforementioned will be ignored. Please include book title and contest in subject line thusly: Booktitle – How Lyrical Is Your Romance?. Attach full manuscript, and 2-5 page synopsis in .rtf, .doc, or .docx format (Booktitle_MS and Booktitle_SYN as file names–your book title replaces "Booktitle"). After February 5, the contest will close, but we'll still be accepting submissions as always at our submissions@lyricalpress.com address.

No entry fee required. Judges reserve the right to Decline to Judge any entry if it does not fit our lines, level of writing is not acceptable, or submission guidelines are not followed.

Entries will be judged on the following criteria: Hook, Pacing/Plot, Characterization, Dialogue, Mechanics, and Author Voice.

Winners will be announced on March 12, 2012 via our bloghttp://lyricalpress.blogspot.com/ and direct emails to winners.

AND I'm back working on Bluestone 2. So here's some Tim O.

Merry Christmas, and Goals for the Week After

 

All the Whos are still a-snooze here. I'm watching A Christmas Story and wondering why my plotting brain ruined a perfectly good reunion story that I was planning to write. Dude. It was going to be so nice and simple. Now the conflict is ginormous.

I hope everyone is enjoying a lovely holiday. We did a big party at Mom's last night, where we ate tons and opened presents, and will have a bigger party today at my brother's. This morning, my guys and I will open presents and have a big lovely breakfast at home–something we only do twice a year.

I read four novellas this weekend, and started a fifth. Honestly, I need to close this computer more often to put a dent in that giant TBR!

Tomorrow, back to work–writing, anyway.

1)      Finish Bluestone 2 and send it to Trish to read.

2)      Put away Christmas. I'm ready to have the space back.

3)      More promo

4)      Take Baby Brother shopping for his Christmas present—we decided to go after to get more for my money J

5)      Go to Castroville for a morning

6)      Keep up house and MAYBE get to work in the yard—it's supposed to warm up this week.

What are you up to this week?