Cate Lawley's Blog, page 5

The Goode Witch Gets a Facelift

Not that she needed it – Glenda’s pretty cute

Naked, Necklace, and a New Series or My Writing Schedule Update

I’m a little overdue on this post…because I’ve been writing! Best excuse ever, right? Here’s the lowdown for both Cate & Kate.

Cate Lawley

The next Vegan Vamp, The Nefarious Necklace, is on preorder! Pending how quickly my hunt and peck fingers can type, I’m planning two more Vegan Vamp stories for 2017. More on those later…

Check out the cover for the new Goode Witch spinoff series! Shooting for Spring/Summer 2017. So far, I only have one story planned for 2017, but that could change.

I have a new series in the works. I know, I know… So many series, so little time. But here’s the thing, once a story is burbling in my head, it sits there, poking at me, until I write it. It interferes with my productivity and makes me cranky. No one wants a cranky Cate, right? (I’m assuming a “no” response…because you guys are nice folks, right?)

So, again, I have a new series

Saving the Goode Witch

I’m very fond of my characters…some more than others. Some are simply more cooperative. (We won’t discuss those stubborn, uncooperative characters. Shame on them!) Glenda from the Goode Witch Matchmaker series is a lovely character. She likes to be written. Unfortunately, I planted her in a series of stories of that don’t sell particularly well. (Shame on me.) I have some fans for that series (you know who you are – and thank you!!!), but the appeal of the series seems to be very narrow.

Since writing is my job, that means food & shelter for me and the four-legged furries has to be at least one consideration when I’m deciding what to write. So, I tossed this all around in my head, chatted with my developmental editor, chatted with a few writer buddies, tossed it around some more…and now I have a plan to save the Goode Witch: The Goode Witch Mysteries!

Glenda and Bedivere will be teaming up to address disturbances in the force. Okay, not really. (Give me a break; I just saw Rogue One.) But they will be teaming up to set right what goes amiss in the paranormal world. =) Evil forces are at work, shoving nasty claws into the cogs of the natural paranormal order. And if you’ve been following the Goode Witch Matchmaker series, then you won’t be surprised by the first wrong that Glenda and Bedivere attempt to right. Book one, The Case of the Naked Reaper, should be making an appearance mid-2017.

For now, I have a little taste of the new series. This isn’t an excerpt from the first book, but rather bonus material. I hope you enjoy: A Diet of Worms!

~Cate

For the Aspiring Writer

This is a repost of my response to the Goodreads question: What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

Since my blog is for readers and not writers, why repost it here? Because I think most of us are writers–or at least creators–in some part of our lives. And i think it’s easy to forget that. So for the reader/writer/creators, my two cents of advice for the month of November follows.

(From Goodreads) What is an “aspiring” writer? If you write, you’re a writer. If you aspire to write…and make a living wage, that’s a different question. If you aspire to write…and win awards, entertain as many people as possible, tell your story, or teach people, then those are all different questions.

So I say, decide what kind of writer you’d like to be. In other words, set goals for yourself that reflect your underlying wants and needs. The clearer your goals, the easier it is for you to tackle them.

Finally, if you aspire to write and you don’t write, well, you should consider starting

Cate or Kate or Cate?

To be Cate, or to be Kate? That is the question. Or at least it’s one of my questions when planning my schedule.

Vegan Vamp Release: Why Vegan?

About Adventures of a Vegan Vamp… Can’t lie, I fell in love with the cover. I’m not a huge vampire fan. (Bite my tongue, I know.) I mean, Jeanine Frost is a woman unto herself, and her work is completely excluded from my general feelings about vampire books. ( I Night Huntress Series.) And there are a few others , but, generally, I can take or leave vamps on the page.

You see my problem. I have a cover concept I like, a story I was sure I wanted to write…but wasn’t entirely sure where that story would take me, since vamps weren’t really my thing. I started typing, let a little alliteration take over, and the Vegan Vamp series was born.

So if you’re not married to the traditional vampire tropes (I do know them and I definitely break them,) and you’re not finicky about your vampires staying inside the lines of horror and dark fantasy…then the Vegan Vamp books might be for you. There’s some humor, some action, some mystery…well, they have a dash of a lot of things. Book goulash, vamp-style?

One thing I can tell you, I’ve had a fabulous time writing these stories. And I like to think that bleeds over onto the page. Check it out and let me know =)

 

Writerly Words of Wisdom on Motivation

Or perhaps just words…without the wisdom. But if your goal is to write a sweet paranormal romance or paranormal cozy mysteries or your journal entry for the day or your grocery list, you do have to actually sit down and write it. Sometimes that’s hard. A fact Goodreads in all it’s wisdom has recognized, because it’s one of their standard questions for GR authors.

Goodreads Question: How do you get inspired to write?

My incredibly wisdom-filled response…

Sit down and do it = ) If I waited for inspiration, I’d write less. A lot less. When inspiration strikes–in the form of conversation snips, character names, story ideas, or series concepts–I write them down, but mostly I write based on a schedule.

When I’m not feeling the sweetness of writerly love, I plant my bum and make myself write for a certain period of time. If I’m not on a roll after the allocated time has elapsed, I stop and do something else. And then rinse and repeat.

But I’ve spoken with a lot of writers, and many have different recommendations. You have to find what works for you. A few that have worked for myself and others:

-Pick your most productive hours in the day and always schedule time to write at that time of day. If you don’t have the luxury of setting your own schedule, then at least schedule the time–preferably when the fewest distractions are present.

-Write to a deadline. Some people work better under pressure.

-Create a “starting to write” ritual. Prepare coffee, clean off desk, retrieve laptop from recesses of house, dance a lucky jig, write. Or, you know, whatever works. But do the same thing over and over so your writer brain starts to kick in when you follow those steps. I have a blog post on this somewhere where I compare writing to running a trailing dog. Will link if I can find it. (Written by my other pen Kate Baray.)

-Pick stories you actually want to tell.

Most importantly, don’t wait for inspiration. Hunt it down, sucker punch it, and then sit on it so it doesn’t run away.

And that was basically my Goodreads response. Like how I switched inspiration to motivation? Because really, if we all sat around waiting for inspiration…hm, no books? fewer books? less awesome books? I’m not sure, but I am sure it wouldn’t be good.

Till next time! ~Cate

Clickety Clack

Cause that’s the sound at my house these days. Two reasons:

1. I got a new laptop. This is huge. My K key hasn’t worked for ages. It sticks. Not lying. I tried blowing it out with that can of stuff that gets really cold; no luck. Yes, I am indeed overdue a new laptop = ) And unlike my netbook, the keys on my new laptop make this great click noise. It makes me feel so virtuously productive to type on it! Hey – whatever keeps me rolling, I embrace. Caffeine, clicky typing noises…

2. I’m typing like mad. Vegan Vamp (AKA Adventures of a Vegan Vampire), my paranormal cozy mystery is due out soon. The Client’s Conundrum is soon to follow after. And the third, The Elvis Enigma, well – we shall see, but I’m hopeful. (I’d promise, but I’ve gotten in trouble before promising when I’m this early in the project.) The series is a little silly, a little humorous, and tons of fun to write. You’ll have to let me know what you think. (Hint: I fb comments.)

3. I haven’t forgotten you Goode Witch folk. I have a story planned for 2017. Definitely Tara’s story!

Other stuff? In my Kate Baray Spirelli world, I wrote this fantastically silly story that I adore called Bob vs. the Cat. My editor was rather pleased with it, as well – so I hope you’ll find it entertaining. No idea on the pub date. I’m waiting to find out if it’s going to make an anthology or not. Will let you know, because I think Cate folks will like this one.

And that would be the project update for this month, written after a very small (and unintentional) reminder from a buddy who blogs a heck of a lot more than me.

As always, happy reading! ~Cate

PS: I totally did the graphic. Contacting my cover guy to make my bookmarks, promise.

Bad Eggs & Project Updates

I had CE this last weekend, aka a writerly event. I used to be licensed in a variety of things (attorney, dog trainer – basically the same thing, right?), so everything is “continuing education” in my mind = )

What I learned? I am a bad egg. For shame, naughty me. I’m supposed to post to my blog at least once a month. First…oops. Second, apologies! So I’m here to tell you what I’m doing, and to tell you that I might actually post once a month. Because someone said so, and I’m a good kid that way.

Projects?

Yes. I have projects! Book 4 in The Goode Witch Matchmaker series,  Forgotten Love, is currently in one of it’s several rounds of editing. It’s with the lovely Melanie right now and soon to be shipped off to the industriously creative Steve Statham for proofing. That’s right, folks, my proofer is a sci-fi, tech-thriller, auto-expert, nerd guy.  And if you’re finding typos, it’s all me. (I’m all thumbs on the computer)…or the work predates Steve. If you’re into both sweet romance (which is why you’re here) and also find cars OR sci-fi OR tech-thrillers to be appealing, go check out my very cool proofer guy at the above Amazon author link. Note: blog post not proofed by Steve.

Protected: Ghostly Love Bonus Chapter

Password Protected

To view this protected post, enter the password below:

Password:

Submit