Sara Violet Scully's Blog

I Finished Writing My Fourth Romance Novel!

Hi. Sara here.

I am ecstatic to announce that I finished writing my fourth romance novel, tentatively titled Searching for Your Song, early this morning.

It still hasn’t sunk in, how this project that I have relied on for comfort and stability since October of 2022 has finally reached its conclusion. I couldn’t even bring myself to type the words “The End” because truthfully, I am not emotionally prepared to say goodbye to these characters.

The novel is a second chance romance with a first-person, dual point-of-view narrative structure that follows two characters: Lola Marin, who is an intelligent but shy whale biologist, and her famous musician ex-boyfriend, Oscar Kelly. It deals with very serious and sensitive subjects, such as opioid addiction, while representing a marginalized group not often portrayed by the main character in romance novels. A late-diagnosed autistic woman, to be specific.

Writing this novel has not been easy. In fact, I almost gave up on it even though I was unbelievably close to the finish line. But something in the last week or so clicked, and I turned to my novel, which I had grown to consider a most trusted and reliable friend.

During the months that I worked on this book, I was working a full-time corporate copywriting gig that was draining me of any inspiration or life force. But somehow, through it all, I wrote something that is surprising even myself as I read through it. It turns out that even while under immense pressure, art can still prevail.

It is silly and probably ill-advised to get as excited as I am about this story. Maybe it will pay off. Maybe it won’t. Either way, I loved spending all of this time with Lola and Oscar.

As a thank you for your patience in reading this far, I want to offer you an excerpt from the first chapter. If that is of interest to you, follow this link and watch for the release of this novel, whenever that may be.

Cheers!

Announcing My Next Novel

I’m excited to announce that I hit a huge milestone with my current work-in-progress: I am officially halfway done with my upcoming contemporary romance novel, tentatively titled Searching for Your Song.

Intelligent but shy whale biologist, Lola Marin, must host a fundraiser to continue her research. When she is forced to team up with ex boyfriend and famous musician, Oscar Kelly, to plan the gala, she has no choice but to address their past so they can save not only the world’s whales, but also her career. But between Oscar’s conniving girlfriend and the secrets that he keeps, Lola isn’t sure if they can raise the funds she needs without their rekindled feelings getting in the way.

As you may gather from the teaser above, it is a second chance romance.

This book will also be much longer than my previous novels, compelling me to write a slower burn; no insta-love tropes here.

And the story is heavy. My hopes are that you will join me on this emotional rollercoaster and that you will love my characters, Lola and Oscar, as much as I do.

In terms of publishing, my plans for this novel are unknown. I would like to pursue traditional publishing again, but there is a temptation to do everything myself (again) if it means I don’t have to wait years to introduce this story to the world.

With that in mind, I suspect that it will be published late this year if I choose to publish, or in 2024 if all goes according to my master publishing plan.

What I would like to prioritize most of all is giving you a quality story with quality writing. So, this will take time - but I have a surplus of time for the foreseeable future.

Please interpret my radio silence as me just writing my ass off for the next month or two. More updates will follow after I hit the next milestone and finish writing this book.

That said, if you follow me on Goodreads, you may have noticed that I have been reading a lot of dark romance lately, and it has me wondering: how steamy do you like your romance novels? Should I spice things up or keep things tame? Your answers may influence my current project.

“The Christmas Script” is Now Available on Amazon

I have waited a full year for this day.

Last October, I had already started watching Hallmark holiday movies (because of course I had), and I wanted nothing more than to write a Christmas story of my own. I wanted it to be short, fast-paced, and sincere.

Over the last year, I have written the novella that I hope you now hold in your hands, whether it’s on your phone or tablet, because as of today – November 1, 2022 – it is available to purchase and download on Amazon.

Kirkus Reviews called it “a tale of warmth and honest love.”

I really hope that those themes come through for you and add a little comfort and joy to your holiday season.

The story follows Los Angeles-based TV writer, Holly Frost. Despite the challenges of her past, Holly is very content with her successful career as the head writer for a hit soap opera set in a small western town. But after receiving criticism from the studio about her script for the holiday special, she finds herself in a festive town situated right outside of Yellowstone National Park for the sole purpose of celebrating her most dreaded season. The studio hopes the town will give her the inspiration she needs to make her script rewrite a sensation - otherwise she may lose her job to her obsessive ex-boyfriend and fellow writer, Cole.

Although she is eager to get to work and return home to Los Angeles, her annoying neighbor, Kristopher, poses a serious distraction - and not just from his incessant noise. Extending an olive branch, Kristopher offers to show her what makes Christmas in St. Nicholas so magical so she can experience the holiday like she never has before.

With the deadline for the script deadline rapidly approaching, will Kristopher impede her progress or will he help her salvage her career?

Buy your copy of “The Christmas Script” to find out.

And as always, please remember to rate and review. It's immensely helpful to authors like me.

Happy Holiday, everyone!

Enter the Giveaway for My Upcoming Holiday Romance Novella!

Anyone that knows me is aware that I am too ambitious for my own good. In fact, last November, I had the goal of writing a holiday romance novella in two weeks and publishing it before Thanksgiving. Needless to say, I did not achieve this goal.

Instead, for the following ten months, I slowly wrote the first draft, often writing only 500 words in a given week. Sometimes, I wouldn’t write for weeks at a time. But in the end, I exercised more discipline and finally finished the project. Now, I present this project to you.

On November 1st, 2022, I will be publishing my first novella, The Christmas Script. And as of this morning, I am giving away 100 advanced reader copies on Goodreads. (Head over to the romance giveaways to enter!)

I’ve learned a lot since the publication of my last novel, and I am so happy with the end result. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do.

After being in St. Nicholas, Idaho for about an hour, Holly is pretty sure she gets the gist: small town, log cabin, snow, lake, Christmas, blah, blah, blah. It’s not that she’s a cynic; it’s simply that the holidays have always been difficult.

Despite the challenges of her past, Holly is very content with her successful career as the head writer for a hit soap opera set in a small western town. But after receiving criticism from the studio about her script for the holiday special, she finds herself in a festive town situated right outside of Yellowstone National Park for the sole purpose of celebrating her most dreaded season. The studio hopes the town will give her the inspiration she needs to make her script rewrite a sensation - otherwise she may lose her job to her obsessive ex-boyfriend and fellow writer, Cole.

Although she is eager to get to work and return home to Los Angeles, her annoying neighbor, Kristopher, poses a serious distraction - and not just from his incessant noise. Extending an olive branch, Kristopher offers to show her what makes Christmas in St. Nicholas so magical so she can experience the holiday like she never has before.

With the deadline for the script deadline rapidly approaching, will Kristopher impede her progress or will he help her salvage her career?

"The Golden Girl" Wins Gold in the 2022 IPPY Awards!

In August of last year, I submitted my debut novel, "The Golden Girl," for consideration in the 2022 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY Awards). I didn't think anything of it. They get thousands of submissions each year. How could a new, unknown writer like me win? Within weeks, I honestly forgot all about it.

Last week, they announced the winners. Reluctantly, I looked at the erotica category only to discover that I didn't just place - I won a GOLD MEDAL! How can this be!?

This is all to say I am very surprised and very proud of my book. Thank you to everyone that has supported my work and read "The Golden Girl" despite its eroticism. If you haven't read it yet, hold off on purchasing it. I am going to take this opportunity to fix some things, redesign the cover, and add the gold medal seal. I'd love for you to have the new "gold" edition. I will let you know when that is available. In the meantime, I hope you will join me in celebrating this incredible honor.

You can see the complete list of winners here: https://ippyawards.com/164/2022-medal...

Do What You Love

Everyone has heard the phrase, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” And if you are a writer, you are probably already familiar with the saying, “I hate writing, I love having written.”

These words have been buzzing in my brain all week, and I am having trouble identifying my feelings about it.

In my last blog post, I talked about rediscovering my creative spark. Unfortunately, that spark never truly ignited and I’ve been doing everything I can to avoid working on my novella.

It’s strange. I really do love writing. It’s been the one constant my entire life. It’s the reason I don’t mind (and actually kind of like) my job. It’s the reason I continue to devote myself to large projects like writing novels. I love daydreaming. I love plotting and planning. I love reading, writing, and talking about the craft. But for whatever reason, when I even consider sitting down and working on any creative writing project, I get anxious. Not just slightly. It’s full-on panic. My fight or flight response fully engages and I am left feeling guilty for choosing flight.

I don’t know what is causing this visceral reaction to creative writing. It’s always been there, more or less. But before I had this job, my free time allowed me to develop discipline, and I would force myself to meet specific word counts every day. When I would finish, I felt like I had just finished a really good workout. But just like exercise, I don’t ever want to do it, but I know I would feel better if I did anyway.

It’s hard finding a balance; I think my previous approach was a little harsh. But doing nothing… that seems so much worse. I think it’s important to be kind to ourselves and give ourselves rest, but I don’t know what to do when that rest becomes indefinite. When your calling demands that you be productive, it’s important to have both a firm and gentle hand. You need to know when to push and when to pull. In other words, I need to force myself to do things when I don’t want to, but I also need to be able to tell when I truly need a break. The same goes for any job or creative endeavor. We need to be able to get some shit done, but we don’t need to hustle. We need realistic expectations of ourselves so that we don’t burn out, which is what has been happening to me.

From 2020 to 2021, I think I went too hard. I wrote and published two books while casually writing short stories for competitions and earning my graduate degree. Then I got a full-time job and tried to keep the same routines, which it turns out is impossible - at least for me.

I still want to finish my novella and release it before October. I even want to start brainstorming and working on a new full-length romance novel. But in order to do that, I need to make time to do it. I need to overcome the emotions I feel when I want to do something creative, but can’t. I need to win the war with my anxiety so that I can continue to do what I love.

My word count doesn’t need to be thousands of words a day. I would settle for 250. I want to move mountains by doing the bare minimum. And so, starting this week, that is what I am going to try to do. The time for rest has concluded. Now, I want to write.

Rediscovering my Creative Spark

So, it has been a few weeks since I released my second book, Brush Strokes. The reception has been mixed, and I’ve been trying to disguise the fact that I have had a series of meltdowns these past few weeks. It’s hard when you are so proud of something, but it fails to connect with everyone. But that’s unreasonable, isn’t it? To expect everyone to resonate with your work?

Book release aside, I have been neglecting my writing practice for months now, ever since I returned to the workforce full-time as a copywriter. I have a holiday romance novella on the back burner, and despite being psyched out of my mind about it, I find I have little energy to create. These past few weeks haven’t helped. In fact, there was a day or two there that I vowed to never write again.

However, for whatever reason, I was compelled to return to my work in progress today. Maybe it’s the cannabis or the mimosas I had, but I walked away from my writing session feeling really fucking good–about myself and my writing. I want to feel that way all of the time, and it’s apparent to me that the only way to do that is to pick myself up off of the ground, dust off my knees, and get back on that bicycle.

I feel so good about what I have written, and care so little about how it is received, that I wanted to share an excerpt from my upcoming holiday romance novella, tentatively titled “The Christmas Script”:

My eyes widen when he reaches across the table and holds my hands in his. They are large and rough, dwarfing mine completely in his grasp. I look up and he is straining to catch my eye.

“Is this about last night?” he says. The corner of his mouth curls into a smirk.

I feel blood rushing to my cheeks. “Am I that transparent?”

“Kind of,” he laughs. “But that’s not a bad thing. I promise.”

I remove my hands from his and cup my blushing face. “I’m sorry if that was a mistake.” I let my words linger, but I don’t want there to be any confusion about what I mean, so I whisper, “You know… The kiss.”

I can tell his cheeks are turning red at the very mention of our lips touching, even underneath that pitch dark beard. He retreats into his seat a little bit and looks at me, horrified.

“You think it was a mistake?”

“No,” I say quickly. “Not a mistake. I just thought you–”

“I what?” he asks.

He waits patiently for me to answer. I take a deep breath and spit out the words I am too afraid to hear. “You don’t like me. You hardly know me. We just got caught up in the moment.”

Kristopher leans back into his seat and thoughtfully strokes his throat, his fingers scratching the stubble. I can see the veins beneath his skin and I suddenly have the urge to leap across the table and bite at his neck like a vampire. But then my eyes shift to his and I can tell he is visibly hurt.

“I guess you’re right, I don’t know you that well,” he pauses. Then he looks me in the eye, a sincerity in his gaze. “But I would like to.”

On Being Mediocre and Defeated

Look. I don’t see myself as this great artist. I’m a perfectionist, albeit a lazy one, and my work will never reach my standards. Not a great way to live, but at least it is my choice.

What I will not stand for is the audacity of gatekeepers to determine my path, or derail that path altogether by treating me like the scum of the earth because I’m not represented by an agent. Would having an agent be nice? Absolutely. But I don’t think it’s the only measure of success.

Yesterday, I had a conversation with a publicist that broke me. I was shamed for not having a large social media following. I was shamed for even attempting to promote my book. I was shamed for not pursuing traditional publishing. She insinuated that if I don’t play the traditional publishing game, my writing career is dead in the water. She said I wouldn’t sell more than 100 books. I was not worthy of anyone’s time.

I came out of this conversation feeling extremely defeated, like I should give up my lifelong dream of being an author because one self-important person said I should. But despite all of the doubt I now feel as the launch of my second book, “Brush Strokes,” draws nearer, I know I’m going to keep writing (eventually–I need time to heal). No matter how book sales turn out, whether someone asks for it or not, I will keep writing and publishing stories. I truly believe it is my purpose in this life to write and that purpose is not up for debate.

No matter where you are in your journey, no matter how many people have doubted your success, I hope you will keep pushing. How you live is not for someone else to decide. In a world with so many influencers, actors, musicians, and models, it is easy to feel mediocre and defeated because there will always be someone else out there with more than you do. But if we continue to chase fame, we will burn out.

Don’t let other people determine your worth. Don’t discredit your accomplishments. Don’t become more palatable for more likes on social media. Be authentic, even if that is flawed. Anoint yourself with the love and respect that you deserve. You are special, even if other people haven’t noticed.

Why Romance and Erotica Are Valid Genres of Literature

So, you’re not one for romance novels, huh? You might not hold the genre in as high regard as the classics, hard-hitting nonfiction, or contemporary literary fiction. Perhaps you majored in English when you were in college and were taught that romance is somehow “less than” the existential angst of a bunch of dead white guys. Or that for a story to have literary merit, it must have a sad or uncertain ending.

I was like you once. I majored in English, too, and for a really long time, I was a pretentious reader (and writer). I thought Fitzgerald and Hemingway were gods, and I wished I had the skills necessary to craft a meaningful poem. But then I graduated and, without a syllabus chock full of ~literary~ fiction, I felt free to expand my tastes.

I started with the Song of Ice and Fire series, as Game of Thrones was really starting to gain popularity and I’m the type of person that insists on reading something before watching the film adaptation. Wow, I thought, these are really good. I had forgotten what it had been like to read for pleasure, to become immersed in a story, and all the while, I still appreciated the talent and craft of writing genre literature like fantasy, sci-fi, and as I later came to discover, romance.

I didn’t plan on becoming a romance writer. When I was earning my MFA, I studied creative nonfiction because part of me still clung to this belief that ~literary~ fiction was somehow superior to other genres. I thought writing erotica and romance was somehow easier to write than ~literary~ fiction, and so when I found myself unemployed and desperate for a source of income, I turned to erotic romance because of two things: 1) I believe romance required less skill and time to write than other genres, and 2) I knew romance was the most lucrative genre to write. Only one of these things was true.

When I wrote my first draft of my first novel, The Golden Girl, during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), I felt like I had nailed it. But after I hired an editor and began querying, I discovered I didn’t have all the answers. Writing romance, it turns out, has a lot more to it than a happy-ever-after. Things that I learned in my MFA fiction classes became even more critical. Sure, I had an interesting plot, but I needed multidimensional characters with complex histories and emotions that drove the story. I needed more poetic language and subtle symbolism. I needed all the things that ~literary~ fiction requires and more. So, I tried my best, but still fell short of my expectations for the novel.

What I discovered, and what I think most writers with an ounce of talent would also find, is that writing romance is really complicated. You really have to have a firm understanding of the human condition and how people relate to one another.

Now, I’m sure you’ve been screaming at me, “But romance is so cliche!” Some might call it cliche. I see it as tropes that are bent and borrowed to tell specific stories because they work. All genres have tropes, including literary fiction. Forgive me, but I don’t roll my eyes every time I pick up a book about a dysfunctional family or someone dying or childhood memories influencing the present. These tropes exist in literary fiction and some people EAT. THAT. SHIT. UP. The same is true for romance. Readers are not oblivious to the tropes. They take comfort in them, which is why romance is indeed the most lucrative genre to write. Romance readers buy more books than anyone else.

So, I'll step off my soapbox. But keep these things in mind the next time you want to dismiss romance as a genre or think that writing romance requires less skill than literary fiction. Not all books of literary merit must reflect the grim reality of their time. Literature can also inspire and provide pleasure and escapism to its readers. That doesn’t make it any less creative.

Let’s not forget that Jane Austen wrote romance and her books are held in the highest regard as literary classics. And while we are accepting hard truths, let’s all admit that a lot of the stuff we had to read written by old dead white men wasn’t actually all that good. Ask yourself: did I enjoy reading this book? That is the only question that matters.