Joely Sue Burkhart's Blog, page 77

Victor is Coming Tomorrow

*throws confetti*

Tomorrow is Victor's day!  I've got several interviews and reviews that I'll link to tomorrow.  I haven't settled my mind on the right promo item (whether charm or necklace yet), so that'll come in the next week or two.  I'll plan to give away a copy of HMSG tomorrow here on the blog to celebrate.

We had a full weekend that I haven't even had the chance to tweet or blog about, including a bonfire at my Dad's Friday night.  The kids spent the weekend riding Papa's horses, while we cleaned the garage and went through some storage items.  Fun huh?  * insert sarcasm*  I didn't even get a bottle of wine out of the detail.

Meanwhile, I'm still working on Vicki *dies* and I'm beta reading for a friend.  Oct feels like it's already slipping through my fingers.

These Books Need a Home

I'm cleaning out my bookshelves, and as most bibliophiles, I've realized I have way more books than I will ever read (or read again).  I thought who better to offer these books to than my friends and blog readers! 

These books are all either new or gently used.  Media mail postage is pretty cheap in the US.  If my international friends see some they'd like, I ask that you bundle a few together and I'll get prices to ship them.  If it's extremely expensive, I may have to hold off a while before sending them.

I'll keep adding books to this post and cross off the ones that are taken.  You can drop me an e-mail (joelysueburkhart AT gmail DOT com) or comment here if any book strikes your fancy.

In no particular order:

Captive of the Beast, Lisa Renee Jones, Nocturne

Goddess of the Hunt, Tessa Dare, Ballantine

Beyond the Edge, Susan Kearney, Extreme Blaze

Pure Princess, Bartered Bride, Caitlin Crews, HQ Presents

The Lost City of Z, David Grann, hardcover, Double Day

The Stepsister Scheme, Jim C, Hines, DAW

Unclean Spirits, M.L.N. Hanover, Pocket

The Satin Sash, Red Garnier, Penquin Heat

Close Encounters and Close Contact, Katherine Allred, EOS

What Angels Fear, CS Harris, Signet

Moonstruck, Susan Grant, HQN

On Basilisk Station, David Weber, Baen

Melusine, Sarah Monette, Ace

Last of the Ravens, Linda Winstead Jones, Nocturne

Da Silva's Mistress, Tina Duncan, HQ Presents

The Mediterranean's Wife by Contract, Kathryn Ross, HQ Presents

The Italian Billionaire's Secretary Mistress, Sharon Kendrick, HQ Presents

Kyriakis's Innocent Mistress, Diana Hamilton, HQ Presents

More to come!

Review: Hurt Me So Good

Sherri Meyer writes a lovely review for Victor:

Joely Sue Burkhart is a master, and I do mean MASTER, at character development. I always feel like I might be able to meet one of her characters in real life. They have hopes and dreams, fears and worries, had highs and lows. They are human. I love a great character.

In a nice twist for a romance this really is Victor's story because he has the most to lose. I loved watching him struggle with who he is. On the surface Victor is powerful, seemingly on top of the world. But he has flaws both real and imagined. Shiloh knows what she wants, sets out to get it, and knocks poor Victor's world on its axis.

I have to give Sherri full credit for helping me tie up a subplot so neatly and wonderfully that it has become a favorite of several people who've read it since and loved it.  The acknowledgements say it all:

Sherri, Brandon is forever in your debt.

Thank you so much, Sherri!

Dark & Early

I'm ever so slowly getting back in the groove of Dark & Early writing.  It's hard, don't get me wrong, and it never gets easier.  But the only sure way to guarantee I can get at least 500-1000 words a day is to get them BEFORE anyone else is up and demanding my time.

There are a few key things I have to remind myself each and every day to make that precious hour productive.

1. Roll out of bed WITH the alarm, instead of turning it off and staying in bed "just a few more minutes."  Because pretty soon I'll have convinced myself that I'm too tired to get up and I'll let my backup alarm (when everyone else needs to get up) take effect.  No thinking.  Just get UP.

2. Set up the coffee pot the night before, so all I have to do is hit the button.  I'll take the dogs out and come back to fresh hot coffee.  (I don't use the timer just in case I do go back to sleep — no sense in wasting my good Caribou coffee!)

3. Check in with my accountability partner, Jenna.  Usually she's up before me, but every once in a while I beat her to the punch.  We e-mail each other every day.  "I'm up and I'm going to work on Vicki today."  Or "Man, it sucks, I got a rejection yesterday, but I'm going to write anyway."  "Or damn, I overslept!  Sorry!"  Those suck but happen.  Knowing that she's waiting for my morning e-mail definitely encourages me to get up when that alarm goes off the first time and not the "normal" alarm.

4. Other than e-mailing my friend, no other e-mail, Google Reader, or Lord forbid, Twitter.  It's way too easy to get sucked in.  There's absolutely nothing worse than sacrificing an hour of precious sleep, only to realize you've wasted it online instead of writing.

Why all this push?  A couple of reasons.  I'm in the final third of Vicki.  Maybe the final fourth (first draft).  I have momentum and I'm not going to let her stall on me again, no matter how tough and emotional these scenes get.  Finish. The. Damned. Book.

NaNoWriMo is just around the corner.  I need Vicki done so I can start the next project, and I still need to decide which one, finish plotting, etc.  Getting up D&E is the only way I'll be able to win NaNoWriMo unless I take all my remaining vacation.  Christmas?  Who needs days off at the holidays when I'm behind on word count?

After a week or two, I'm hoping the routine will be solidified and I can double up on projects.  I'll get new words in the morning, and worldbuild/plot at night.  In a perfect world, I'll finish an erotic novella in October and work on the post-apoc in November, but I have a feeling I might be doing both in Nov.  Or something else entirely, since I don't have either of them fully plotted! 

(A side effect of this productivity:  my blogging mojo is slowly coming back too!)

Do you have any routines that help you set aside dedicated writing time?

Guest Post and First Victor Review

I'm at Kait Nolan's today blogging about When the Well Runs Dry.  Comment on the post to win an early copy of HURT ME SO GOOD, which doesn't release until 10/5!

Soleil of Black Sun Reviews is the first to review Victor:

Nobody makes my reader's heart sting like Joely Sue Burkhart. I'm not usually one to enjoy contemporaries but with Joely's quirky sense of humor and passion for the forbidden or the politically incorrect, I get lost in the magic every time.

Hurt Me So Good is a sweltering hot...

General Updates & Apple Escapades

First up, let me cover the business.  The free read prequel that I posted as Friday Snippets is now ready to be downloaded in a pdf:  Lie to You.  I have an epub version but WordPress isn't liking it — and I can't find where to change the security rules to allow it to be updated.  If you'd rather have epub, just drop me a note and I'll e-mail it to you.

I've also posted Chapter One of HURT ME SO GOOD.  As we get closer to release date, I'll probably post a few more teaser excerpts, so stay...

Friday Snippet: Mama Connagher

I'm going to finish Vicki if she kills me! 

I'm finally, almost, at LAST!!  Ready to break 40K.  I've been stuck in the 30Ks for months.  Ugh.  But this morning Dark & Early, I finally hit the emotional candy bar scene that I'd been dreading and looking forward to.  Mama and Vicki on the same page.  Here's just a tiny snippet, first draft only.

"Vicki."  Mama smiled and held out her arms.  Her face felt frozen and brittle, but Vicki hugged her and gave her a dutiful peck on the cheek.  "How's...

Possible Victor prizes

Taking the idea of personalized charm for necklaces or bracelets, I wandered over to Etsy and found these wax seal silver stamps on a charm bracelet.   Is that something any of you would like to win from Victor?  Edited to add:  I also like this pendant.

I'm also thinking about ordering ink pens instead of bookmarks this time.  According to some survey I read a while ago, readers go to conferences and get tons of bookmarks, and they really prefer ink pens, mirrors, etc.   Useable things.  If a...

Review: The Road to Shanhasson

Susi from The Geeky Bookworm says:

The Road to Shanhasson is a wonderful Fantasy Romance which does everything right. I loved the story, the characters and the wonderful narration. This book broke my heart and put the pieces back together and left me with a warm feeling deep inside. I can't say often enough how wonderful Joely's books are and again I'm sitting here craving more. Highly recommended to all romance readers.

The Road to Shanhasson is a wonderful and unique Fantasy Romance with...

Pedigree: Adopt a Dog

Both of our dogs were adopted, one from a vet clinic and the other from a shelter and I can't imagine life without either of them.

We've had Pepper the longest.  My SIL used to work at a vet clinic, and she called us one day because a dog had come in that was going to be put down if they couldn't find a home for him.  His elderly owner had passed away and the family couldn't take care of him.  He's such a sweet, tolerant dog.  As soon as I sit down in my chair, he jumps up in my lap.  It's...