Brita Addams's Blog, page 3
October 17, 2015
Storyville
New Orleans, Louisiana Also known as the District or the Tenderloin My new book, Beloved Unmasked, is set in the early 20th century, against the backdrop of one of most controversial social experiments ever. In 1897, Assemblyman Sidney Story promoted a solution to the growing proliferation of vice in the important port city of New Orleans, Louisiana by shrinking the boundaries of where such activities could be practiced. Mayor Martin Behrman delivered to the City Council an ordinance
October 16, 2015
Pre-Storyville Days - part two
Hattie Hamilton was the first most influential of the madams, possibly due to her relationship with Seneator James Beares, with whose help she built the palace at 21 South Basin Street, known locally as the Twenty-One. On February 7, 1869, a reporter for New Orleans Daily Picayune described the goings on: "The entrance was through a passageway adorned with a couple of statues representing some obscure divinities of light, and in whose hands were held lighted flambeaux. Beyond this lay the
October 15, 2015
Pre-Storyville Days - part 1
Music carries you as you make your way down any street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Throbbing jazz, ragtime, or blues pours from open doors, while hawkers stand at the doors to pull you into their establishments. Glasses clink, laughter rumbles, the air heavy with the smells of good Creole and Cajun food. The city has a charm like no other and the French Quarter is the heartbeat of the city. Not so in years past, a hundred and eighteen to be exact. Good or bad, 1897 was a banner
August 14, 2015
Beloved Unmasked
In mid-October, Dreamspinner Press will publish the third book in my Tarnished Series. Beloved Unmasked takes place in New Orleans, and while it doesn't feature any characters from the prior two books, it tells the tarnished story of a young man born to a Storyville prostitute. I'm very excited about this story and these characters. The next book, Charade, will feature Frankie and Gent from Tarnished Souls, and a character from Beloved Unmasked. Here is the blurb from Beloved Unmasked. 
July 8, 2014
Website and blog moved
I have moved my website and blog to WIX and they are found in the same place. The link is: http://britaaddams.net
Join me there and subscribe to my newsletter for all the news.
Join me there and subscribe to my newsletter for all the news.
April 20, 2014
My Radio Show - And the Rest Is History
Www.writersonlinenetwork.org This week the founders of Writers Online Network, in affiliation with Blog Talk Radio, did me a great honor and asked me to host an online radio show that focuses on historical fiction, romance and otherwise.
After some discussion, I agreed to do a once a month show entitled, And the Rest is History, whereon I will interview authors and publishers of historical fiction. We can take calls during the show as well, so I foresee a well rounded show.
On April 29th, William Prater, one of the founders of WON, will interview me as a way to introduce the show. From there, I'm on my own as the host.
Big news for historical romance lovers - my guest on June 24th is Pamela Clare, http://www.pamelaclare.com, author of the wonderful MacKinnon Rangers trilogy and the Blakewell/Kenleigh series. Pamela is one of my favorite authors and I'm thrilled that she agreed to be my guest.
I hope you'll join me on April 29th and every Tuesday afternoon at 2 central, for And the Rest is History on WON Radio, http://www.writersonlinenetwork.org.
March 6, 2014
Looking ahead
I've been quiet lately, online and in life. Many things are happening, mostly good, and I hate to jinx the goodness.
The time has been alternately productive and restful. I've done many hours of research for two books I'm writing simultaneously, as well as spent wonderful time reading and with my husband.
I'm rather disillusioned with social media these days, as I see friends harassed and hurt. I intensely dislike the political outbursts that are more frequent these days. While I don't reveal my political leanings, I most certainly have them. All too often, I see "anyone who believes this way is a moron" lead-ins to tirades by someone who thinks they aren't offending people by such behavior. I have unfriended friends left and right, and will continue to do so, before I finally give up and leave Facebook and Twitter all together.
The one thing I have no problem with is my writing. I love it. I'm working on the finality of Frankie and Gent's story, as well as writing about Mac and Gray. Mac and Gray's story is coming together nicely and promises to be a proper novel.
Mac is a "fixer" at Regency Films, the studio you will remember Jack and Wyatt from Tarnished Gold purchased after the 1929 Crash. A fixer was a guy who cleaned up after the behavior of actors, actresses, directors, and others. They went to great lengths to keep the positive in the papers, and the negative buried.
These men existed in the Golden Age of Hollywood, at a time when the press was willing to turn the other way, for a price. The studios owned policemen, lawyers, doctors, district attorneys, police chiefs, and everyone in between. I've often wished I knew what percentage of the studio's yearly intake went to payoffs.
Gray is a newspaper man, on the crime beat, who is at odds with Mac. In Tarnished Souls: Frankie and Gent, they were together. In Tarnished Souls: Mac and Gray, we learn that together they weren't as solid as Frankie thought.
Within pages, they call it quits. While their story is a through storyline, the book tells the story of Mac's new occupation and how he manages as head of a massive police force within the walls of Regency Films, and the cases that plunge him into the sordid side of Hollywood in 1834-1836. There is a strong connection with Gray throughout, though they struggle to find common ground.
I've read about such men who existed in Hollywood for decades. They were ruthless at times, and much like benevolent fathers at others. They did their jobs extremely well, saved some and lost others.
My research amazes me, in the 21st century, where nothing is kept a secret and incidents are revealed, worldwide, in seconds. Infidelities, drug use, and murder were regularly covered-up and often, those involved came out better.
This book has some twists and turns, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. I hope to finish and have it submitted by May. Then I'll wrap up Frankie and Gent.
Meanwhile, the weather is cold and rainy, with the promise of warmer days. Summer in Southern Louisiana should be here in April. Makes for a very long period of blazing heat.
The time has been alternately productive and restful. I've done many hours of research for two books I'm writing simultaneously, as well as spent wonderful time reading and with my husband.
I'm rather disillusioned with social media these days, as I see friends harassed and hurt. I intensely dislike the political outbursts that are more frequent these days. While I don't reveal my political leanings, I most certainly have them. All too often, I see "anyone who believes this way is a moron" lead-ins to tirades by someone who thinks they aren't offending people by such behavior. I have unfriended friends left and right, and will continue to do so, before I finally give up and leave Facebook and Twitter all together.
The one thing I have no problem with is my writing. I love it. I'm working on the finality of Frankie and Gent's story, as well as writing about Mac and Gray. Mac and Gray's story is coming together nicely and promises to be a proper novel.
Mac is a "fixer" at Regency Films, the studio you will remember Jack and Wyatt from Tarnished Gold purchased after the 1929 Crash. A fixer was a guy who cleaned up after the behavior of actors, actresses, directors, and others. They went to great lengths to keep the positive in the papers, and the negative buried.
These men existed in the Golden Age of Hollywood, at a time when the press was willing to turn the other way, for a price. The studios owned policemen, lawyers, doctors, district attorneys, police chiefs, and everyone in between. I've often wished I knew what percentage of the studio's yearly intake went to payoffs.
Gray is a newspaper man, on the crime beat, who is at odds with Mac. In Tarnished Souls: Frankie and Gent, they were together. In Tarnished Souls: Mac and Gray, we learn that together they weren't as solid as Frankie thought.
Within pages, they call it quits. While their story is a through storyline, the book tells the story of Mac's new occupation and how he manages as head of a massive police force within the walls of Regency Films, and the cases that plunge him into the sordid side of Hollywood in 1834-1836. There is a strong connection with Gray throughout, though they struggle to find common ground.
I've read about such men who existed in Hollywood for decades. They were ruthless at times, and much like benevolent fathers at others. They did their jobs extremely well, saved some and lost others.
My research amazes me, in the 21st century, where nothing is kept a secret and incidents are revealed, worldwide, in seconds. Infidelities, drug use, and murder were regularly covered-up and often, those involved came out better.
This book has some twists and turns, and I'm enjoying every minute of it. I hope to finish and have it submitted by May. Then I'll wrap up Frankie and Gent.
Meanwhile, the weather is cold and rainy, with the promise of warmer days. Summer in Southern Louisiana should be here in April. Makes for a very long period of blazing heat.
January 29, 2014
Can't please everyone
Writing is confusing and wonderful and people's reaction to it completely confounds me. Sometimes when I write something, I love it and people don't and then, thankfully, the converse is true.
The one thing writers have difficulty with is the fact that readers bring to the experience their own biases, opinions, loves, hates, and past troubles. Perhaps they dated or married a guy who cried a lot and deemed that unmanly. They might view main characters who dare to shed a tear with the same bias. This isn't the author's fault, the reader's fault, or doesn't mean anything is wrong with the story. We all have our own experiences and we carry them with us always.
Characters I love are sometimes misinterpreted. This happened with Freedom in His Arms. I did, however, write Bryan and Phil as I saw them.
I love narrative, if well done. Yes, it defies generally accepted writing "rules," but I love it. Descriptions are important to stories. I know some readers skim books--some for dialogue, some for sex scenes. But along with both those things, descriptions flesh out the story. Give details about people, events, places. Sometimes, these are interwoven in dialogue, but many times, narrative is needed.
As writers, we can't always write for commercial value alone. That is equivalent to "selling out," and I won't do it. For instance, I took a risk when I wrote Tarnished Souls: Frankie and Gent. The story came out of a paragraph in what I intended as the second in the Tarnished series, about a "fixer," hired by the studios to clean up actor's messes. My fixer is a cop. He figures heavily in Frankie and Gent in the character of Lieutenant Owen McGregor. He will also have his own book and a love interest.
While Frankie and Gent hasn't sold as well as I might have liked, I love the story, the characters, and the language required to bring these 1930s gangsters to life. Some people liked it, some didn't. While that isn't my first choice, readers not liking my work isn't as important as me staying true to the story and the characters. Gent and Frankie required what I wrote for them, slang, rough stuff and all.
Bryan and Phil from Freedom in His Arms remind me of people I've known. Many of my characters do. Many others are composites of various people. Reviewers have picked apart Bryan, assumed I did this or that for a reason that they can't know and got wrong 100% of the time.
As the book opens, Bryan wants out of a situation that is unhealthy. He wants more than what his lover offers. The lover refuses, thinks Bryan is somehow defective. Bryan has myriad feelings and acts in varying ways, but he is not weak, not for a moment. That is actually the theme of the book. We can want certain things in one aspect of our lives and yet something completely different in other parts. We live with indecision, act on things we shouldn't, wish we had acted another way or repeat the same mistakes. There isn't any pat way people act.
A reality in life is that men cry. While I don't like weepy men or main characters, I have deep respect for men who know themselves far better than men who hide behind bravado and machismo. A reader complained that Bryan blubbered throughout the book. In going over the manuscript again, I found no evidence that Bryan was weepy or overly emotional. When appropriate, he reacted as men sometimes do. I make no apologies for the conflicting decisions he made. No one is ever sure in this life.
Readers often assign motives to things we write. Again in Freedom, a reader commented that mentioning Aleksandr Voinov as Bryan's favorite author was maybe to make Bryan sound cool. Nothing could be further from the truth. In mentioning Aleks, I paid homage to my friend. I have known Aleks for several years and consider him a personal friend.
Several years ago, I made it a point to mention either Sapphire Club or something sapphire in every book, as an homage to my Sapphire Club series, which sold very well for several years. Paid for a car with the royalties on that now unavailable series. A reviewer made a remark about how I couldn't be bother changing the name of the club in one of my books. The comment shouldn't have appeared in a review on a purported "professional site."
If we, as writers, try to please everyone, we would never get anything written. If we write to satisfy ourselves, then we know we've told the story we intended to write. Only we know what the story requires. We determine the length, the number of sex scenes, the intensity of them. We craft the characters as we see them and how they speak to us. We live with them for months on end. They are, at the time of the writing, the most important thoughts we have each day, save for our families.
Each reader comes into a book with their own reasons, as well as their life experiences. Some things click with them while others don't. Writers aren't responsible for everyone's expectations. We do the best we can, stay true to ourselves, and hope that our babies are pretty enough to please. If not, the reader isn't our reader. Writing really is as simple as that.
The one thing writers have difficulty with is the fact that readers bring to the experience their own biases, opinions, loves, hates, and past troubles. Perhaps they dated or married a guy who cried a lot and deemed that unmanly. They might view main characters who dare to shed a tear with the same bias. This isn't the author's fault, the reader's fault, or doesn't mean anything is wrong with the story. We all have our own experiences and we carry them with us always.
Characters I love are sometimes misinterpreted. This happened with Freedom in His Arms. I did, however, write Bryan and Phil as I saw them.
I love narrative, if well done. Yes, it defies generally accepted writing "rules," but I love it. Descriptions are important to stories. I know some readers skim books--some for dialogue, some for sex scenes. But along with both those things, descriptions flesh out the story. Give details about people, events, places. Sometimes, these are interwoven in dialogue, but many times, narrative is needed.
As writers, we can't always write for commercial value alone. That is equivalent to "selling out," and I won't do it. For instance, I took a risk when I wrote Tarnished Souls: Frankie and Gent. The story came out of a paragraph in what I intended as the second in the Tarnished series, about a "fixer," hired by the studios to clean up actor's messes. My fixer is a cop. He figures heavily in Frankie and Gent in the character of Lieutenant Owen McGregor. He will also have his own book and a love interest.
While Frankie and Gent hasn't sold as well as I might have liked, I love the story, the characters, and the language required to bring these 1930s gangsters to life. Some people liked it, some didn't. While that isn't my first choice, readers not liking my work isn't as important as me staying true to the story and the characters. Gent and Frankie required what I wrote for them, slang, rough stuff and all.
Bryan and Phil from Freedom in His Arms remind me of people I've known. Many of my characters do. Many others are composites of various people. Reviewers have picked apart Bryan, assumed I did this or that for a reason that they can't know and got wrong 100% of the time.
As the book opens, Bryan wants out of a situation that is unhealthy. He wants more than what his lover offers. The lover refuses, thinks Bryan is somehow defective. Bryan has myriad feelings and acts in varying ways, but he is not weak, not for a moment. That is actually the theme of the book. We can want certain things in one aspect of our lives and yet something completely different in other parts. We live with indecision, act on things we shouldn't, wish we had acted another way or repeat the same mistakes. There isn't any pat way people act.
A reality in life is that men cry. While I don't like weepy men or main characters, I have deep respect for men who know themselves far better than men who hide behind bravado and machismo. A reader complained that Bryan blubbered throughout the book. In going over the manuscript again, I found no evidence that Bryan was weepy or overly emotional. When appropriate, he reacted as men sometimes do. I make no apologies for the conflicting decisions he made. No one is ever sure in this life.
Readers often assign motives to things we write. Again in Freedom, a reader commented that mentioning Aleksandr Voinov as Bryan's favorite author was maybe to make Bryan sound cool. Nothing could be further from the truth. In mentioning Aleks, I paid homage to my friend. I have known Aleks for several years and consider him a personal friend.
Several years ago, I made it a point to mention either Sapphire Club or something sapphire in every book, as an homage to my Sapphire Club series, which sold very well for several years. Paid for a car with the royalties on that now unavailable series. A reviewer made a remark about how I couldn't be bother changing the name of the club in one of my books. The comment shouldn't have appeared in a review on a purported "professional site."
If we, as writers, try to please everyone, we would never get anything written. If we write to satisfy ourselves, then we know we've told the story we intended to write. Only we know what the story requires. We determine the length, the number of sex scenes, the intensity of them. We craft the characters as we see them and how they speak to us. We live with them for months on end. They are, at the time of the writing, the most important thoughts we have each day, save for our families.
Each reader comes into a book with their own reasons, as well as their life experiences. Some things click with them while others don't. Writers aren't responsible for everyone's expectations. We do the best we can, stay true to ourselves, and hope that our babies are pretty enough to please. If not, the reader isn't our reader. Writing really is as simple as that.
January 16, 2014
Submission, new plots, and a cruise
January has proven a busy month, mostly self-induced as I'm trying to get things done before we leave on the 18th for a Caribbean cruise. The lingering cough I have, left over from whatever post-Christmas crud we caught, has slowed me down a bit, but not too much. The cough is lessening each day, but it's there, driving me crazy.
I finished rewriting one of my het titles, Demands of the Heart, and submitted it. I'm taking a leap of faith on this one. I love the story and want to see the book do well. I'm told three months and I'll know something - fingers crossed because I really want this publisher to accept it.
I had part one of a huge historical content edit (not one of my books,) and finished that three days before the deadline. Phew! I do love those edits, but being the diligent person I am, I throw myself into them, to the exclusion of everything else. When we get back, I'll get part two, and then sometime after that, part three. Interesting stories.
Hubby has pulled out the suitcases and we've done the cosmetic check, made sure we had all we need and made a list of things we need to buy.
I have worked out a story arc for the next Tarnished book, the finish to Frankie and Gent's story. It will be somewhat different than I had originally planned, as I won't combine it with Mac and Gray's. Though the stories, in my mind, are more than connected, what I have planned for Frankie and Gent is much bigger than I what I thought. I like it a lot and I think readers will be satisfied. If I can swing it with the publisher, I'd like Mac and Gray's story to come out at the same time. We'll see how it goes.
Freedom in His Arms is doing very well. It falls in and out of the Amazon top 100, depending upon the hour. No great indicator there. I'm pleased it's sold well on the Dreamspinner Press site. The story is contemporary and apparently they sell well. I'm glad people enjoy the story.
In my "spare" time, I will finish rewriting Her Timeless Obsession and submit that one, then rewrite The Rogue's Salvation. I think at this point, I will hold onto the Sapphire Club series. Though they have always sold well, I'm not sure I want them out there anymore. I'll have to think about it more.
I am more focused on what writing projects I'm going to tackle. Last year overwhelmed me a little with the reversion of the rights to twelve of my prior publications, from three different publishers. Some of them will remain buried - the Romeo Club shorts for two. I think my vamps have had their day in the sun, pardon the pun. The Noble books all require a complete rewrite and better editing, so they are a slow, but possible venture.
And that brings us to today. Suitcases are open on the guest bed and much packing awaits. I am looking forward to our cruise - going to Roatan, Honduras; Cozumel, Belize, and Costa Maya, Mexico. We've been to these places several times before, but we love cruising and leaving from New Orleans is very convenient for us. I always get some writing done and lots of reading on cruises, so it's a win all the way around. I actually wrote part of Freedom in His Arms on our last cruise.
The day after we get back from the cruise, our grandson Sebastian turns 15. I can honestly say, I can't believe it. Where have those years gone? What a joy he is and always has been.
We'll see our granddaughter, Victoria, when we go to New Orleans on Saturday. We'll have a nice visit and finally see her "for Christmas." We were going the Sunday after Christmas, with Sebastian, but we all got sick at the same time and didn't want to infect the NOLA contingent of the family.
So while I'm freezing (we do get cold weather here in Southern Louisiana,) I am going to get out my summer clothes and start packing.
Until next time,
Hugs,
Brita
I finished rewriting one of my het titles, Demands of the Heart, and submitted it. I'm taking a leap of faith on this one. I love the story and want to see the book do well. I'm told three months and I'll know something - fingers crossed because I really want this publisher to accept it.
I had part one of a huge historical content edit (not one of my books,) and finished that three days before the deadline. Phew! I do love those edits, but being the diligent person I am, I throw myself into them, to the exclusion of everything else. When we get back, I'll get part two, and then sometime after that, part three. Interesting stories.
Hubby has pulled out the suitcases and we've done the cosmetic check, made sure we had all we need and made a list of things we need to buy.
I have worked out a story arc for the next Tarnished book, the finish to Frankie and Gent's story. It will be somewhat different than I had originally planned, as I won't combine it with Mac and Gray's. Though the stories, in my mind, are more than connected, what I have planned for Frankie and Gent is much bigger than I what I thought. I like it a lot and I think readers will be satisfied. If I can swing it with the publisher, I'd like Mac and Gray's story to come out at the same time. We'll see how it goes.
Freedom in His Arms is doing very well. It falls in and out of the Amazon top 100, depending upon the hour. No great indicator there. I'm pleased it's sold well on the Dreamspinner Press site. The story is contemporary and apparently they sell well. I'm glad people enjoy the story.
In my "spare" time, I will finish rewriting Her Timeless Obsession and submit that one, then rewrite The Rogue's Salvation. I think at this point, I will hold onto the Sapphire Club series. Though they have always sold well, I'm not sure I want them out there anymore. I'll have to think about it more.
I am more focused on what writing projects I'm going to tackle. Last year overwhelmed me a little with the reversion of the rights to twelve of my prior publications, from three different publishers. Some of them will remain buried - the Romeo Club shorts for two. I think my vamps have had their day in the sun, pardon the pun. The Noble books all require a complete rewrite and better editing, so they are a slow, but possible venture.
And that brings us to today. Suitcases are open on the guest bed and much packing awaits. I am looking forward to our cruise - going to Roatan, Honduras; Cozumel, Belize, and Costa Maya, Mexico. We've been to these places several times before, but we love cruising and leaving from New Orleans is very convenient for us. I always get some writing done and lots of reading on cruises, so it's a win all the way around. I actually wrote part of Freedom in His Arms on our last cruise.
The day after we get back from the cruise, our grandson Sebastian turns 15. I can honestly say, I can't believe it. Where have those years gone? What a joy he is and always has been.
We'll see our granddaughter, Victoria, when we go to New Orleans on Saturday. We'll have a nice visit and finally see her "for Christmas." We were going the Sunday after Christmas, with Sebastian, but we all got sick at the same time and didn't want to infect the NOLA contingent of the family.
So while I'm freezing (we do get cold weather here in Southern Louisiana,) I am going to get out my summer clothes and start packing.
Until next time,
Hugs,
Brita
December 31, 2013
Late night ruminations lead to resolution
Seems that everyone is doing 2013 favorites lists, so I won’t. I never list my favorite books or least favorites for that matter. I read a lot this year and I didn’t keep an organized list. I will say that my DNF file on my Kindle grew bigger than my Read file. I have gotten pickier about quality. Mainly it’s my lack of patience for passive voice, something that is too easy to correct.
On the personal side of my life, my husband has a chronic health issue that disturbs us. He continues his doctor visits and with good fortune, his tremors will not increase. We also know they won’t diminish either. Already his left hand is of little use to him. I’m trying to do more for him, he resists, then gives in because my help saves him lots of time. Putting on a simple pullover shirt can take fifteen frustrating minutes. No need for that.
His dad lost his arm in a car accident before my love was born and he made his living as a one-armed barber. That fact has always awed Clint so he struggles to do as much as he can. I’m there and always will be. He’s my heart, my soul, and my life.
The kids are all well and happy. Illness prevented us from seeing our son and granddaughter, but we will soon. We did see the girls and their families and had many laughs. Then the lot of us got sick!
I’ve been sick since two days after Christmas, having difficulty sleeping, and with that, comes many too many thoughts. Last night, I made some decisions about the course my writing will take in 2014 and beyond. I’ll have difficulty implementing a couple of them, but I must if I’m to keep myself in the game. I see no other way.
Here’s but a few of my late night ruminations:
I’ll learn from reviews, but I won’t allow reviews to dictate what I write. I’ve had some doozies this year. From someone not liking For Men Like Us because they didn’t like my take on Regency-speak (they did that in times gone by. People didn’t always speak as though they were in the neighborhood pub,) to someone “reviewing” by saying that certain aspects of Tarnished Gold should have been cut out and that the book could have been half the length. I’m the author and I say no to the presumption. Such comments make me scratch my head. I also want to answer, but alas, that is not allowed.
Often reviews misinterpret an author’s intention or miss important facts in the book and swear the author left them out. (That comes, every time, from the reader skipping over description and exposition and going straight for the “good parts.”) Tarnished Gold was reviewed by one site and given a good rating, with the title of the review that said it was basically conflict free. My answer – the entire period in which the book took place was rife with conflict. I chose to use external rather than internal conflict, the “us against the world” trope, rather than filling the text with needless breakups and misunderstandings. No worries, the book was a winner in the Rainbow Awards.
Reviews sometimes get personal and that you can’t take seriously. But they hurt. You’ve put months into the work and to have a reviewer compare it to a prior work and on the basis of that, give it a negative review, somehow takes credibility away from the review process.
As a result of the above and more, I’ve decided these people aren’t my readers. Authors should take risks, which I did with Tarnished Souls. I knew before publication that it wouldn’t be accepted with the same openness as Tarnished Gold. TS has gotten some very nice reviews, but some people had problems with the gangster slag I used. 1930s gangsters spoke slang amongst themselves. I depicted that as well as I could, with the help of my friend Damon Suede, who is, for some reason, an expert in gangster slang. TS isn’t a fluff piece, and is difficult to read in places, even for me. It does, however, give a glimpse into gangster life in Hollywood and I think it’s my best writing yet.
I won’t read reviews in 2014. Reviews are opinions and everyone’s got one, including me.
I will write the story, without regard for the aftereffects.Tarnished Gold, over the course of a year, flowed for me, because I determined to write the story and not write to some preconceived word count. I will no longer write to word count. TG was the most satisfying writing experience I’ve ever had.
Tarnished Souls played out as I planned as well, because I didn’t limit myself .
I will fall back into my writing regimen.Since GRL, I’ve had difficulty settling into writing. I will remedy that starting January 6th.
I’ll study my craft. This I do anyway, but I will step it up. I want to improve with each book. I’m not a book-a-month machine and don’t want to be. Which brings me to volume.In 2013, one of my publishers folded, giving me the rights to the bulk of my backlist. These are hets and my bestsellers to date and I want to see them back out on the market, but I have to find time to rewrite/reedit before I submit to another publisher.
In 2014, I won’t care about volume. I’d rather have solid stories than tons of books.
I will stick to historical romance.When I started writing, I knew that historical romance was not a huge seller. My Sapphire Club books surprised the publisher by selling hugely over the course of three years. We’ve taken vacations with those royalties and they have regularly paid our car note, house note, and food bill. We’ve taken a hit with them out of circulation, but I will give them proper treatment before I send them from the nest again.
I enjoy reading historical romance, gay romance as well as het. I love research, and honestly, I’m good at it. I dig and immerse myself in the period. Can’t hurt, right?
I’m going to avoid social media significantly, as well as conventions With regard to conventions, the expense isn’t borne out by book sales, and with us retired, we have to look at the bottom line. Also, with twelve of my past publications out of print, (I got rights back to four others, beside the eight from Noble Romance,) the monthly royalites aren’t what they were.
For me, social media is a double-edged sword. It sucks time from writing and some parts of it create an unsavory, adversarial atmosphere.
While I’ve endured for three years, in 2014, I will unfriend anyone posting political or religious rants, or insults directed toward one party, race, religion, or sexual orientation. I want to live positively and while, in my real life, I am politically and religiously conscious, Brita Addams has no particular affiliation either way.
While I keep my views to myself, others don’t and I’m honestly not interested. I’ve never understood why some feel it necessary to put their personal views out there for all to see. Obviously, not everyone agrees. The name-calling has reached gargantuan proportions and I choose not to be a part of it.
I plan to travel some in 2014, while our old selves can manage it. England half killed us last year, but we’re resilient. We’ll start with an old favorite, a Caribbean cruise in mid-January. Clint can’t go much more than year without putting his feet on a cruise ship. He feels terribly deprived otherwise. We’ve been on many and hope to do them every year.My writing plan is to write a novel and perhaps a novella a year. My concentration is the Tarnished series, but I will also find time to revamp my hets. Lots of work and that takes time. I’m going to put the time into what is most productive for me.I always love hearing from readers and my email isn’t a secret. More than anything, as far as my writing life goes, I want to write the stories that live in my heart.
With much love and many hugs, I wish you all a wonderful New Year and I do hope you achieve your heartfelt goals in the new year.
