Lara Ward Cosio's Blog, page 2
January 5, 2017
Calling all Rogue Street Rockers!
I'm calling upon you now to see if you might join this newly formedStreet Team:
Rogue Street Rockers!
This group has been formed with the wonderful assistance of
Kathy and Sandy - my dynamic duo!
It's a closed (private) Facebook group that will support the Rogue Series Novels (and me) by posting on Facebook and Twitter whenever and wherever you can - as frequently (daily, if possible!) as you can.
In return for this support you will be part of a group that tries to have a little fun each day. You'll also receive an advanced copy of the next book in the series and the occasional merch.
Sweet deal, right?
Just fill out the form (link) below and be sure to connect with me on Facebook at Lara Ward Cosio
December 2, 2016
Reader feedback
Writing is amazing. I love it (obviously). But there are lonely moments when you wish you could pick the brains of readers to find out exactly what it is they like about your stories and characters. It might help sort out whether you are on the right road or if there's something else that might be worthy of more attention.
So, if anyone feels like sharing their thoughts, I'm listening . . .
October 26, 2016
Happy "birthday" to Playing At Love
On October 29, it will have been one year since Playing At Love was published.
Happy birthday to my book "baby!"
October 18, 2016
And then there were three
It's so exciting to have the cover for the next in the Rogue Series. I think these triplets look great together:
Hitting That Sweet Spot isn't quite ready for release yet, but the pieces are falling into place. Here's the synopsis:
Shay Donnelly has always been the support player. Whether it’s taking care of his irresponsible brother or being the drummer in his band, he’s always there for others—even at the expense of his own wants and needs.
Jessica Hall only ever wanted to dance. Dancing was the one place where she felt at ease, where she belonged. After one too many times of being told she wasn’t quite good enough, however, she set her sights on a more mundane career. Just when she thought her life’s plan was made, the drummer for the biggest rock band in the world upended it.
Together, Shay and Jessica found a sweet spot of happiness. But when Shay’s split allegiance costs him the love of his life, he ends up at a breaking point. It’s the point at which he must finally find his own life’s rhythm.
September 23, 2016
Visual stimulus vs. imagination
I'm always hesitant to apply too literal a visual interpretation of my books - both in covers and in the teasers/promos I put together. I don't like the idea of assigning an idea of what a character looks like when it should be up to the reader to fill in those blanks.
This hesitation seems to be completely contradicted by the wealth of material out there suggesting this doesn't matter. The vast majority of book covers in the romance area feature photos to give you no doubt as to how the author sees their character(s). Those books obviously sell and don't seem to hinder the reader's acceptance of that visual.
Given that, maybe I'm just someone who prefers to tease . . .
September 18, 2016
E-book piracy sucks!
And as I recently found out, they're also almost impossible to stop. Hope karma takes a big bite out of those e-book pirates' butts one day!
The above image was copied from: https://twitter.com/antiebookpiracy
Unfortunately, their webpage and Facebook page no longer seem to be active - perhaps the battle became too cumbersome.
August 30, 2016
When your heart and soul aren't enough
Being an indie author is exhausting. It means that everything is on you. Not just the writing and the editing and the rewriting, but the packaging and marketing, and oh don't forget that you have to write the next book.
I spend almost every free moment I have trying to figure out ways to connect with readers.
All that is part of the deal. That's what I signed on for when I decided to stop my search for an agent and go out on my own.
The workload is enough to be tiring but the thing that really takes a toll is the cost of putting all that heart and soul into these efforts with not a lot of payoff.
As an indie author with a day job, I have the luxury of not relying on my writing to pay the bills. The point of how hard it can be to pour everything you've got into something without seeing the return you'd like was echoed in a Facebook post I saw today from a chef/restaurateur lamenting the end of her business. I teared up reading it because I identified a lot with the sentiments about just wanting to do the work (cooking for her/writing for me) instead of all the constant hustling and marketing that goes with it because the passion is so clear and so pure. It made me wish we could all not just honor each of our passions, but be rewarded for it. And the sad reality is that the vast majority of people don't get either of those things.
So, what to take away from this? Well, to always focus on the work when the other things start to drag you down - that is where the passion and joy lives. And as far as hoping to see some return on the work, as an indie author the best thing is to just keep your head down and keep at it. Every so often, it seems like I need to remind myself of this message. I need that "reset" button. I think everyone probably does to some degree. That chef was feeling relief from admitting that it had all become too much. She wasn't ready to quit cooking or pursuing some type of restaurant but she was aware of needing that clean break in order to start again.
So, here's to starting again - in ways big and small - and never really giving up!
August 7, 2016
Tom Petty was right
The waiting is the hardest part*
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part
*omitted the next line to suit my own purposes
The part about being a writer that isn't talked about very much is that craving to be rewarded with feedback from readers. You want a tiny bit of validation that you've crafted something that people connect with.
But not only is publishing the ultimate long game, getting a review or other contact from a reader is very hard to come by. I'm not sure what the correlation is of buyers to reviewers but I think it has to be quite striking. That is, I think only a very small percentage of buyers actually post a review.
So, until another one comes in, Tom Petty was right . . .
The waiting is the hardest part!
July 28, 2016
The soundtrack to Tangled Up In You
In my mind, certain chapters or sections of Tangled Up In You are connected deeply to specific music, none more so than Kodaline's "Love Like This." The song is upbeat and joyful despite its main refrain:
A love like this won't last forever
I know that a love like this won't last forever
But I, I don't really mind, I don't really mind at all
And it fits so perfectly with the bittersweet section late in Tangled Up In You where Sophie and Conor finally connect. I wonder if readers will agree with me that this song is the perfect match for all the emotions that go into that relationship.
July 24, 2016
Bonus chapters from Playing At Love
This is actually two chapters that I pulled from what could have been the start to Playing At Love. I cut them so that I could get more quickly to the crux of Conor's journey of trying to find some way to repair his relationship with Gavin, the friend he betrayed. But I still enjoy looking back at these scenes where Conor rushes blindly down the wrong road, stubbornly trying to convince himself that Colette is the one he should be with, the one who will help him fix his mistakes. It also illuminates how it is that he backed into a second engagement with Colette. Hope you enjoy this extra bit from the Rogue Series Novels!
* * *
The thrust of it was out there now. Conor Quinn, book smart but love dumb had made his confession to his ex, certain on the surface of things that it was the way to start anew. It would take him longer than he’d like to admit to realize the whole exercise had been a continuation of what he had done all his life: let his reckless heart lead the way.
When Colette’s lack of a response stretched out, he rushed to sum up. “So, it happened once,” he said. “Just once. And there’s nothing more there.”
Then he dropped his eyes from hers and looked down at his hands. The irritation on the thumb of his fret hand was beginning to turn into a callous. With the band on indefinite hiatus, there wasn’t much else to do besides work on new music by himself.
“I don’t think I understand,” she said slowly. “How did this happen? When?”
Conor took a deep breath and held it as he watched a pigeon flit by outside the living room window. The bird held its own as it trailed a bicyclist down Barrow Street. He watched both until they slid by and out of sight. The afternoon light had faded into twilight and shadows blanketed the room, but she hadn’t made a move to turn on a lamp.
Finally, he let out his breath and answered, “A couple months ago, after we broke up—”
“You mean, after you ended our engagement.”
“I, em . . . yeah.”
She nodded sharply at the validation. “Go ahead. Explain.”
He nodded, opened his mouth, and then shut it. After two months of stewing over the mess he had made of things, he had concocted this grand gesture of showing up unannounced at Colette’s New York City apartment to win her back.
“Well? Speak. That’s what you came here for, right?”
He forced himself to meet her eyes. “Yes. So, the explanation is this: I stopped by to see Gavin but he was in LA and Sophie was at a loss for what to do about their marriage, what with him lost to cocaine and MIA in general. We . . . it just happened.”
Colette narrowed her eyes at him. “Why are you telling me?”
Because it’s gonna come out one way or another. Because I need you on my side as I try to fix all this. And I don’t want to lose you for not saying anything at the start.
“Listen,” he said instead. He pulled his sunglasses off his head and shifted in his seat on the red fabric sofa they shared. “I want you back. I want to make a real go of it, with nothing in our way this time. You always thought Sophie and I had a history. I thought you deserved to know all that it amounted to. It was a one-time thing that is one hundred percent over and will never happen again.”
“Because?” When he hesitated too long, she added, “Here’s where you say because you love me, not her.”
Fuck. This wasn’t going exactly as he’d envisioned . . . read more
