Z.A. Maxfield's Blog, page 34

Welcome NaNoWriMo!

Hello, and welcome to November, the one month of the year when Sisyphus ceases to be a myth and becomes a way of life for thousands of people, all over the world.

As October (I am convinced it's NO coincidence October is also Marie Callender's any whole pie for 7.99 month) winds to a close and the goings on of early fall: soccer, back to school, and Halloween appear in the rearview, it's time to dust off that determination, power up that imagination, and buy an extra large thermal coffee carafe because NaNoWriMo is once again upon us.

Like all great holidays, Nano comes with a time of reflection, the promise of redemption, and total chaos. The outcome is uncertain, the reward less than promising, and it requires a great deal of dedication and work. Last year I got about six days into it and pffft. Nothing. I wrote not even a greeting card's worth of prose or poetry. I sailed into december late on deadlines and cranky as hell. Well for me.

This year, I plan to start out late on deadlines and cranky, and see if it goes any better. I've only got one contract left for the year, which I know I will have finished by the time that clock ticks midnight on October 31st. After that, who knows?

All I can say is, I've done it once, and I plan to do it again. Anyone who is doing Nano is more than welcome to email me, zamaxfield @ zamaxfield dot com, and play along. Come race me. Come cheer or jeer, whatever baby. Just don't be full of regret on December first because if you never play, you never win!

A little Nano Music Maestro if you please… Cause who doesn't like Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch. (And who doesn't need to kick off NaNoWriMo with the knowledge that even bad career choices have a logical end and a sometimes brighter future.)

As an experiment…A Free Read

I uploaded a free story, When Angels Fall, to Smashwords. The reason I did this is because it's a story I wrote for my friend Patric Michael, and it's meaningful to me. I've given this story away in a lot of different places, it's not new. It's only that I really feel that it deserved to be a single title with a great cover out there, free to anyone who wants to read it. Love is a funny thing. The more you give away, the more you have. You can download this title for free, here: When Angels Fall

In New Orleans Next Week…

Most everyone knows I'm heading for GRL next week, and

I'm hoping to have two new St. Nacho's Trading Cards 

to add to the set:



Here's Daniel!







And Here's Cam:







P.S. My thanks to Lex Valentine for making these for me

as always, Lex is a great graphic artist, and a terrific friend.

The Book Of Daniel

The Book Of Daniel, is now available for Kindle at Amazon, Here

and anywhere other fine ebooks are sold!

And The Winners Are:

The Book Of Daniel ebook winners are as follows:

Saga Jo, Maya (Bookbee), and Ashley Potts!

Thanks so much for staying tuned!

The Book Of Daniel Release Party

Available Exclusively at Loose Id
http://www.loose-id.com/St-Nachos-4-Book-of-Daniel.aspx
August 30, 2011

I'm giving away three copies of The Book Of Daniel to celebrate my new release! To be eligible for a copy, please send me an email with "TBOD contest" in the subject line. Don't forget to let me know what format you like.

My email address is zamaxfield @ Yahoo dot com (remove spaces and change the word dot to punctuation, of course) I'll be choosing my winners on Friday Night September 2, 2011 at midnight EST which is about 9:00 p.m. here in California.

Stay tuned, and for some other surprises, join my Yahoo group:

ZAMaxfieldsCyberCafe@yahoogroups.com

Follow me on Twitter: @zamaxfield

Or come climb the tree in my backyard where I sit quivering with fear waiting until all the hoopla has passed.

Thanks again for all your support!

With love and gratitude,

~ZAM~

The Book Of Daniel…Cover art squee!

Ready to return to St. Nacho's? Then get ready for The Book of Daniel as one man finds that the heart knows where home is.

Coming August 30, 2011

Daniel Livingston is finally free. He's come clean about his passionless marriage and moved to St. Nacho's where he can spend time with his brother. Now he's ready explore the endless sexual buffet being hot and rich and single has to offer.

The problem is a firefighter named Cameron Rooney who haunts his every waking thought and half his dreams. No doubt about it. Cam is going to require a level of honesty Dan has never before considered, and in order to achieve that, he will have to turn his life inside out. Coming clean to his ex-wife will cost him money, doing right by St. Nacho's will anger his business partner, and exploring a painful family secret will hurt the one person Dan has sworn to protect.

Cam's faith in Dan is tested and Dan's belief in himself is nearly non-existent. In the end, forging a new path could cost him everything or net him the most important score of his life in The Book Of Daniel.

Sneak Peek Excerpt:

"Here he is." Jake's smile went critical and flooded the area around us with happiness. "Hi, babe."

"Hey." JT embraced my brother warmly and gave him a kiss.

"Dan." JT turned to me and offered his hand. I took it with my bionic dexter and noticed he was gentle when he held it in his. He'd been the EMT to triage and treat me when they pulled me from the car after the accident, and while he'd seen a thousand injuries like mine — and far worse — he'd taken his time and been genuinely compassionate. I'd always be grateful for that. "Good to see you."

"You too," I answered. Gzzzzzzt. The lie detector in my head mocked me only minutes after I'd declared myself prevarication-free.

I looked behind JT and saw Cam Rooney walk in. I glanced up at him in some surprise. Both JT and Cam? To what did we owe the pleasure?

Cam raised a supercilious eyebrow — something you don't expect from a brute like him — and stayed silent. It was no secret that Cam and I hadn't exactly become BFFs. That was odd, really, and I'm sure he attributed it to sour grapes, since he was on the crew that cut my Lexus in half with the Jaws of Life, and I'd teased him about it. Not so. My gratitude for the men of the St. Nacho's fire department was genuine; it was only Cam that chapped my ass. I had the feeling he didn't think too much of me either.

The thing is, I was on constant alert around the man because he did something to my gut — something that made me go all boneless and vulnerable — and I knew if I didn't protect myself, I'd fall into his blue eyes and drown. I might have let myself do just that if it weren't for the fact that once I sank to the bottom, I'd only be one of hundreds, thousands maybe who'd done the very same thing.

"Well if it isn't the abominable fireman."

Cam's smile didn't fool me for a second. "That just never gets old."

"Cut it out, you two." Jake buffeted me with his shoulder. "You're like toddlers."

"But he cut my car in half." I am not above making a bad situation worse. "I want it back."

"I suppose you'd like the use of your hand back too." Cam pulled out his chair and sat down, startling me. "Must get pretty lonely without it."

"You would know." Jake always invited me, and JT always invited Cam. I assumed they'd given up any matchmaking aspirations because it seemed clear we couldn't thaw out, but maybe they just did it because it added a weird kind of tension, like sweet and sour. Like every party needed contrast, and we were it.

I finally opened up the menu and glanced at the selections, although it was perfectly obvious what I would order. I always ordered the same thing when the four of us went to Nacho's together — anything with shrimp in it — because Cam was allergic to shellfish. Why I did that, I don't know, except he looked at my shrimp with longing, and I liked to get his goat.

St. Nacho's was a small town, and there wasn't a lot to do. Certainly nothing much more fun than finding myself the object of Cam Rooney's undivided attention, even if it wasn't the good kind. Jake argued that I spent too much time on things like that, but from the moment we met, and especially after he saved my life, I've had an unholy jones for the big blond fireman. Maybe the thing I liked was his corny fresh-faced charm. Maybe it was the fact that we were the two biggest players in St. Nacho's.

Maybe it was because he looked at me like he knew exactly who I was and he found it disappointing. Even so, I shivered whenever he caught my gaze across the table.

 

On The Glam In Philadelphia

Happy Friday. You never get too old to glam it up. At least that's what I say. I'm living proof that inside the heart of every aging femme fatale there's a six year old girl who just cant WAIT until she's tall enough to see over the makeup counter.

To that end, I've endured some facials, some deforestation, some exfoliation, some dyeing and cutting and fluffing and the foolishness of makeup I would ordinarily never wear to a cockfight. I will either look like um… a well-groomed romance writer or a worst celebrity mug shot. And the best part is… if you're in Philadelphia next weekend, you can find out which!

I'm going to be with a lot of my fellow authors and friends in Philadelphia — Aug 11 through the 13 — for the Author's After Dark conference. I'll be reconnecting with some old friends, writers and readers alike, and I hope to be meeting up with new ones. If anyone is going to be in the area, the authors of MLR Press will be at Giovanni's Room on Friday, August 12, 2011, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

I'm going to be signing, giving out swag, going on a ghost tour, and checking out The City of Brotherly Love, and I hope I get the chance to see you there!

If you're attending, be sure to come and say hello ~

~ZAM~

Sneak Peek… An Awkward Moment With Dan and Cam

Just a little sneak peek of Book Of Daniel, St. Nacho's 4. Due out August 30th, 2011:

"Here he is." Jake's smile went critical and flooded the area around us with happiness. "Hi, babe."

"Hey." JT embraced my brother warmly and gave him a kiss.

"Dan." JT turned to me and offered his hand. I took it with my bionic dexter and noticed he was gentle when he held it in his. He'd been the EMT to triage and treat me when they pulled me from the car after the accident, and while he'd seen a thousand injuries like mine — and far worse — he'd taken his time and been genuinely compassionate. I'd always be grateful for that. "Good to see you."

"You too," I answered. Gzzzzzzt. The lie detector in my head mocked me only minutes after I'd declared myself prevarication-free.

I looked behind JT and saw Cam Rooney walk in. I glanced up at him in some surprise. Both JT and Cam? To what did we owe the pleasure?

Cam raised a supercilious eyebrow — something you don't expect from a brute like him — and stayed silent. It was no secret that Cam and I hadn't exactly become BFFs. That was odd, really, and I'm sure he attributed it to sour grapes, since he was on the crew that cut my Lexus in half with the Jaws of Life, and I'd teased him about it. Not so. My gratitude for the men of the St. Nacho's fire department was genuine; it was only Cam that chapped my ass. I had the feeling he didn't think too much of me either.

The thing is, I was on constant alert around the man because he did something to my gut — something that made me go all boneless and vulnerable — and I knew if I didn't protect myself, I'd fall into his blue eyes and drown. I might have let myself do just that if it weren't for the fact that once I sank to the bottom, I'd only be one of hundreds, thousands maybe who'd done the very same thing.

"Well if it isn't the abominable fireman."

Cam's smile didn't fool me for a second. "That just never gets old."

"Cut it out, you two." Jake buffeted me with his shoulder. "You're like toddlers."

"But he cut my car in half." I am not above making a bad situation worse. "I want it back."

"I suppose you'd like the use of your hand back too." Cam pulled out his chair and sat down, startling me. "Must get pretty lonely without it."

"You would know." Jake always invited me, and JT always invited Cam. I assumed they'd given up any matchmaking aspirations because it seemed clear we couldn't thaw out, but maybe they just did it because it added a weird kind of tension, like sweet and sour. Like every party needed contrast, and we were it.

I finally opened up the menu and glanced at the selections, although it was perfectly obvious what I would order. I always ordered the same thing when the four of us went to Nacho's together — anything with shrimp in it — because Cam was allergic to shellfish. Why I did that, I don't know, except he looked at my shrimp with longing, and I liked to get his goat.

St. Nacho's was a small town, and there wasn't a lot to do. Certainly nothing much more fun than finding myself the object of Cam Rooney's undivided attention, even if it wasn't the good kind. Jake argued that I spent too much time on things like that, but from the moment we met, and especially after he saved my life, I've had an unholy jones for the big blond fireman. Maybe the thing I liked was his corny fresh-faced charm. Maybe it was the fact that we were the two biggest players in St. Nacho's.

Maybe it was because he looked at me like he knew exactly who I was and he found it disappointing. Even so, I shivered whenever he caught my gaze across the table.

The waiter brought appetizers and with them beer for all of us. I shoved a lime into the neck of my bottle and sipped it slowly because I was already enjoying a really good buzz. Since JT and Cam arrived, smoking was out, but that was okay. Once the platter of nachos, taquitos, and chips with homemade guacamole came, there wasn't much need for the emotional camouflage of tobacco.

JT and Jake lived in a happy world all their own. Cam and I might as well be furniture for all we mattered.

 

Terrific review for Rhapsody…

Any time Dr. Sarah from Dear Author even LOOKS at one of my books, I color myself thrilled. I enjoy her reviews, and she's articulate about what she likes and what she doesn't. I'm a fan. So when her review started out:

Dear Ms. Maxfield:

This was a fascinating novel. I'm still not sure what to make of it, but I couldn't put it down and enjoyed reading it.

I'm like… YEAH! Put me down for a big win. Anytime I can make ANY reader turn pages and enjoy something, I'm good. And even though as I read the review I realized she had some questions and some concerns, I thought to myself, well…in a screwball comedy, if you give a reader a good time, if they enjoyed it… That's a BIG WIN.

She also said:

It wasn't as confusing when I was reading it. You have a gift for writing that makes me just dive into and float with the current of the narrative. It works in the story itself and makes me want to keep reading.

(*sighs* so kind) For the rest of the review, go HERE

Thanks, Dr. Sarah. I'm delighted that you had a good time reading the book. And I'm thrilled by what you said and the grade I got,

B-

I wish I'd done as well in Algebra and Trig back in the day…

And if we ever meet, I'm buying you a pint and thanking you personally for all your reviews, not just mine.

Thanks for taking the time,

~ZAM~