Maddy Barone's Blog, page 64

What's Happening In My Writing World?

Nothing terribly exciting at the moment.  I submitted Book 2 in the After the Crash series at the end of 2010, and am waiting to hear back on that. Probably won't hear anything until mid February. So I am writing the third book, which is about another of Taye's Clan cousins and another of the plane crash survivors. I'm about half way through the first draft. This one might be my favorite. The heroine Tami is a strong woman who knows how to take care of herself in the wilderness.  The hero Tracker is a very private man who seldom has anything to say. Most people think he's an emotionless, stone cold man who cares for nothing. But he cares for Tami.  He talks to her the way he's never talked to anyone before. Here is a quick excerpt. Let me set the scene up for you. Tami escaped from men who claimed her as their wife. When they can't find her they hire the Tracker to bring her back to them. She has managed to elude him for days, but after dark she's holed up in a hiding place and Tracker has found her general location, if not her exact hiding place.

"Ma'am?"

Tami woke with a silent gasp. The quiet murmur came out of the cold dark like a lover's whisper. She carefully dipped her face to her chest, so any steam from her breath wouldn't rise to give her away, and froze. She could just barely hear footsteps moving in the rain slick grass. Toward her?

"Ma'am? Don't be scared. I don't want to hurt you. Your husband hired me to find you and bring you back."

No way in hell was she going back. She might freeze to death or starve to death, but she wasn't going back to those assholes. Her hand went to the sharp rock she had found for a weapon. If he found her she would… Could she hit him? Hell, yes.

"Miz Leach?" The voice was a few steps nearer. "Come on out. If you're hungry, I got food."

Tami hoped her stomach wouldn't growl. Did he know where she was? The clouds had broken up and the sky was bright with stars, but she was tucked away in an excellent hidey hole. The rain should have washed away any tracks. He couldn't know where she was.

"Please, Miz Leach." The voice was further away now. Thank God. He must not know exactly where she was. "I'm fixing to build us a fire and put coffee on to boil. You'd best come on out and get warmed up."

A fire and hot coffee was tempting, almost tempting enough to put herself within his reach. But he would take her back to those men. She listened and heard sounds of a horse being unsaddled and a fire being started. It was sheer torture to sit still when she knew warmth and food were only twenty yards away. But she did it.

As he worked his voice continued to speak quietly. "I bet you're cold," he said conversationally. "Soaked through, what with that rain this afternoon. And now that it's clearing off it's dam—darned cold. The fire's caught, and it feels fine."

         Tami found herself liking his voice. It was quiet and smooth, with an old fashioned western drawl. His words reminded her of Dad Culpepper, an old cowboy who had worked for her uncle. He had always just caught himself in the middle of a swear word and choked it back because, he said, he didn't cuss in front of girls. Just like Blondie. She waited to hear him say more, but he was quiet for quite a while. Starting a fire in this wet couldn't be easy, but he had clearly managed it because the aroma of coffee came to her.  

I Am A Grieving American

I am not a political person. Everyone in my family votes in every election we can, from school board elections to presidential elections. I cast my vote carefully. I don't vote for a party and I don't base my vote on any one issue. I am pro-life, but I have voted for candidates who are pro choice because of their stand on other issues. I am sick to death of all the political wrangling in Washington. Democrats stand against Republicans. Republicans stonewall Democrats. Bills get voted for or against not based on the bill but on favor-trading. I hate it, I HATE politics. Hey, everyone, listen up: We are Americans! We should all be doing waht we can to help our contry and its people. Not our own party or ourselves.

Why is a romance writer who has just said she is not political writing a post that talks about politics? Well, because of Representative Gabrielle Giffords. I don't know her. I've never even heard her name until today. She was shot earlier today in Arizona and I grieve for her family and friends and the others who were shot with her. I don't know anything about her or what she stood for in government. But I know she didn't deserve to be shot.  I don't know why she was shot. I am just appalled that it happened. In my lifetime there have been many people shot while in office. I offer a moment of silence for their memory and the grief of those they left behind.

13 Things To Do On the Journey To Being Published

Here are my suggestions for new authors trying to write and sell their first story to an epublisher. These are things that I personally found helpful in the last year. Your mileage may vary.

1. Write a story you care about. I mean, don't try to analyze the market and write something only because you think it will sell well. I wrote Sleeping With the Wolf because I liked my characters and wanted to tell a story about them. Of course, I have to admit that werewolves are pretty hot right now and I'm sure that helped me sell the story.

2. Find a professional writing group to be part of. This could be a local or online branch of Romance Writers of America, or another group like AbsoluteWrite, or a local writers group that might meet at a library or bookstore. There are also chat groups online like at www.writechat.net  For me, this is Romance Divas. A great, welcoming goup of romance writers who are amazingly supportive and helpful. I don't believe I would be published without them.

3. Let your friends be your cheerleaders. When I was writing Sleeping With the Wolf, I would write every night and then email what I had written to a couple gals at work. Their lavish praise and enthusiasm kept me writing even when I was tired. Since I didn't have a dedication for Sleeping With the Wolf, I'd like to take a minute to thank these two ladies now. Without Carla Busche and Lisa Hill that book would not have been written.

4. Find Beta readers. Lisa and Carla were cheerleaders, and they kept me writing because they wanted (loudly) to know what would happen next. But they didn't critique the story. For that I had Gayle Bitker and Megan Ramsett. They read the story and made helpful suggestions and corrections. They caught small plot holes and asked questions like "If there's no power, where do the people get their clothes? Can they wear Tshirts if there's no machinery to make the fabric?" So Gayle and Megan, thank you for helping me make my book better.

5. Research publishers before submitting. This is so important. I had a 40,000 novella that was on the sweeter side of romantica. It was futuristic, werewolf and time travel which is quite a mix. Since I've been reading the genre for a decade I was already familiar with publisher names and lines. Ellora's Cave, Samhain, Changeling, Liquid Silver, Loose id, Cobblestone, Freya's Bower, New Concepts and others are all publishers I have read. So i knew what kind of product they put out. I went to their websites to see which of these my story would fit and what their submissions guidelines were. Then I researched online at places like www.erecsite.com to find out what kind of reputation they have. That helped me choose www.LiquidSilverbooks.com.

6. Follow submission guidelines. This seems so obvious to me, but I understand many submissions completely ignore the guidelines provided.

7. When your story is accepted, read the contract carefully. My contract with Liquid Silver is short and sweet and easy to read, and I had no questions before signing it. But if you have any questions, you should ask. If you belong to a writers group you can ask there if you don't feel comfortable asking the publisher.

8. Rejoice in cover art. When I first saw my cover for Sleeping With the Wolf I loved the colors, the layout and the font but Iwasn't too sure about the guy. H didn't look like Taye. But in a week I loved it. Ishowed it off to everyone, even complete strangers Lyn Taylor is a wonderful artist and I hope she can design for me again.

9. Start working on another story. I fooled around too long before settling on the next story. I had several other stories planned, but I couldn't decide on a timeline and which story would  come next. It cost me three months of writing. So the second story in the series was just submitted a couple weeks ago. It should have been submitted in October.

10. Consider before rejecting edits. As a brand new author I was willing to accept almost all of the edits my editor suggested. I figure she is more experienced than I am, and she wants this book to sell well too. Distance yourself and pretend the suggestions aren't about your baby, but about a stranger's story. My editor Jean Cooper did a fantastic job and I hope to work with her again.

11. Be patient with the process. I signed my contract in early July. I didn't get my edits until September. I didn't get my final line edits until November. My book was released in late November. Since I had never been published before I had no idea what to expect and I wanted things to go faster. (I know that non-electronic books take much longer)

12. Don't change your writing just because of a review. I've gotten a few reviews. One reviewer said that Taye wasn't Alpha enough. One reviewer said Carla was pouty. After I read that I began to change the character of Wolf's Shadow. But a comment made by Stacia Kane made me realize that would be a mistake. A review is an opinion. Most of mine have been 4 stars, which is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. I would like a 5 star review, but now I have something to shoot for. o shoot for with the next book.

13. If your friends want to throw a release party, let them. I thought without a physical paper book it would be kind of weird to have a release party. But my friend Brandi Malarkey put together a fun evening and I had a blast.

What have you done or are you doing in your pursuit to be published?

Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray

At last, it's out!!! Stephanie Dray has written a book that I've been looking forward to getting my hands on ever since I heard about it.  If you, like me, enjoy history brought to life in an easy to read format, get this book.  I have already downloaded it for my nook and I have to be firm with myself to stop reading now. I have to work at 6:30am tomorrow and I have to get to bed!

Based on the true life story of Cleopatra's daughter.

With her parents dead, the daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Antony is left at the mercy of her Roman captors. Heir to one empire and prisoner of another, it falls to Princess Selene to save her brothers and reclaim what is rightfully hers…

In the aftermath of Alexandria's tragic fall, Princess Selene is taken from Egypt, the only home she's ever known. Along with her two surviving brothers, she's put on display as a war trophy in Rome. Selene's captors mock her royalty and drag her through the streets in chains, but on the brink of death, the children are spared as a favor to the emperor's sister, who takes them to live as hostages in the so-called lamentable embassy of royal orphans…

Now trapped in a Roman court of intrigue that reviles her heritage and suspects her faith, Selene can't hide the hieroglyphics that carve themselves into her flesh. Nor can she stop the emperor from using her for his own political ends. But faced with a new and ruthless Caesar who is obsessed with having a Cleopatra of his very own, Selene is determined honor her mother's lost legacy. The magic of Egypt and Isis remain within her. But can she succeed where her mother failed? And what will it cost her in a political game where the only rule is win or die?

Berkley Trade January 2011 (Trade Paperback, 430 pages)

# ISBN-10: 0425238555

# ISBN-13: 978-0425238554

Buy Lily of the Nile:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Constellation Books

Borders

Indiebound

Powell's

Learn more at STEPHANIEDRAY.COM!

Sorted To Slytherin!

Over on Ravelry I've re-joined the Harry Potter Knitting & Crochet House Cup. This is a knitting/crochet/spinning/weaving forum that sorts the participants into the 4 Hogwarts Houses. For the first time ever in my life I have been sorted to Slytherin. Before I've been a Hufflepuff, a Ravenclaw and (once) a Gryffindor. I think it will be a lot of fun. Each House is subdivided into smaller groups called "nests" and i am a Black Adder. Love it!

Each month a new set of classes are set up and the participants can sign up for as many as they like. These aren't actual classes. They are assignments that can be completed by creating something. For instance, for my Defense Against the Dark Arts class I am knitting a pair of socks. For my Broomstick Flying class I'm knitting a balaclava.

This will be challenging as I am working a TON of overtime and also trying to work on Book 3 of the After the Crash series.  Wish me luck!

A New Year

At this time of the year it is common to make a list of accomplishments of the prior year and a list of goals for the new year. Well, I've been dragging my feet about it, but here goes.

2010 Accomplishments:

My main goal in 2010 was to become an author. Hopefully a published author, but at least a writer who was actively trying to get published. I have written stories for decades without ever trying to get them published. I was partly scared of rejection, and partly struggling to finish stories. I always write like gangbusters for the first 50 pages, and then I have to find a way to make happily Ever After work. Which isn't always easy.

Back in February/March I decided it was time to take my writing seriously. I finished up the story I was writing for the gals at work and began polishing it. I wasn't sure if I submit it to more than one place at a time, so I decided to submit to Liquid Silver. I had always liked their stories, so I thought I would start there. My goal was to have it submitted before the end of May, and I did that. I sent in a query letter, synopsis and the first three chapter of Sleeping With the Wolf. I was certainly hoping that it would be accepted, but my goal was to submit. A rejection notice would be proof that I was trying to become a published author. But LSB first requested the full manuscript and then made me an offer to publish it.

Holidays must be my lucky time. I submitted Sleeping With the Wolf on Memorial Day Weekend, received my acceptance on the 4th of July Weekend, it was published the week of Thanksgiving, and I submitted The Wolf's Glory close to New Year's Eve.  Let's see … What holiday is coming up in about 6 weeks' time? Valentine's Day? Perhaps I'll receive an acceptance for The Wolf's Glory around then? If Liquid Silver accepts it. There is no guarantee.

2011 Goals:

My main goal is to have three more books published in 2011. Hopefully The Wolf's Glory will be accepted and published, and I'm currently working on Tracking Tami, the story about another of Taye's cousins and a crash survivor.  Another story I have an idea for is a Christmas short story. It would be contemporary, with a military hero who is home for christmas visiting his parents who run a lock and key service, and a woman who locks herself out of her running car early in the morning on Christmas Eve.

I have no idea if I will make the goal of three more books published in 2011. But I'm going to try.

The Wolf's Glory Submitted!

I just sent the manuscript for Book 2 of the After The Crash series in. I hope they'll like it and want to publish it. Here is a teaser:

How can a comfort-loving goth girl ever learn to fit in with a clan of werewolves who live like their Lakota ancestors did? Her idea of camping involves a luxury RV and a microwave. They live in tents on the prairie. Thrown into a future where 21st century technology is only a distant memory for the elderly, and women are precious and few, Glory Peterson finds herself mated to a possessive, arrogant Alpha werewolf.

Loud mouthed goth GLORY PETERSON boards a plane in the year 2014, heading to a face-to-face interview for her dream job at an oceanic study center. The plus-sized free spirit wants this job so much she stripped the purple streaks from her hair and dyed it pale pink instead. She even bought a sedate business suit and left her nose and eyebrow rings at home. But none of that matters when the plane crashes in rural Nebraska and the survivors find that their cell phones and laptops aren't working properly. With medical aid desperately needed for the injured, six of the hardiest survivors, including Glory, are paired up and sent in different directions to find help.

Native American WOLF'S SHADOW is in line to be the Clan's next Alpha. Nothing matters to him more than the wellbeing and happiness of his Clan. Centuries ago the Wolf Clan of the Lakota produced two dozen shape-shifters in each generation. With the coming of the Europeans the Clan lost the ability to shift. Only after the nuclear attacks and natural disasters of the 21st century did the Clan regain its gift. He and his cousins are out hunting when he first catches the luscious scent of his mate. She is more beautiful than any woman he has seen before, and he falls in love with her at first glance. Glory tells them of the plane crash and the need for medical help. Shadow sends his cousins off to find the crash site and takes Glory with him back to the Clan camp.

Glory doesn't know why this gorgeous hunk is dressed like an extra from a Dances With Wolves movie, but damn, he can kiss. She can hardly wait to get to some place private so she can get to know him better while she waits for transportation back to civilization. She'll let him kiss her bruises and anything else he likes until it's time for her to continue on to her interview.

You can imagine that Glory doesn't get to her interview, since the plane actually travelled 50 years into the future. When she finds out she's stuck in 2064 with a madman who claims he's a wolf and she's his mate, sparks fly. Carla was a sensible woman who accepted the inevitable. But Glory fights Shadow every inch of the way. I hope readers will enjoy Shadow and Glory's story.

Christmas is Over

Christmas is over. I spent the first 10 hours of Christmas Eve cleaning like a maniac. I even went thru all my knitting projects (who knew I had so many!) and either put them into bags or frogged them. The sewing/guest room  is tidy and organized! Just don't look in the closet. In fact, please don't open the closet door. It might not ever be able to be closed again. The few things I didn't get to was de-cat-hairing the furniture and dusting. I can't remember the last time I could walk into the sewing room and not cringe because of the mess. 

My brother got to my place around suppertime and I had homemade chicken soup going. My brother (an excellent cook who used to write a monthlycooking/entertaining article for a Twin Cities magazine) said it was really good. We had a great time together. We spent almost the entire day at mom's for christmas. It was good times, but my 7 year old niece was so hopped up on sugar that I had to take a little nap. She tired me out just watching TV with her. My brother left yesterday and I miss him, although it's good to have a day to myself before going back to work.

I have today off. I am planning to finish going through the suggestion and corrections for Book 2 in the After the Crash series from my beta readers. The Wolf's Glory must be submitted by Dec 30. I have a goal and by golly I'm going to do it!  I would also like to do a little post Christmas shopping. I want some bubble bath. And chocolate.

Merry Christmas!

Over on Romance Divas we did a Secret Santa exchange.  I just picked up my package from my secret santa today and look what lovely things I got! I collect tea cups and I enjoy drinking tea, so this package is a big hit with me. I don't know where to start listing my gifts. There is a beautiful teacup and saucer, three yummy teas (should I try the Chocolate Chili Chai first or the Santa's Helper black tea … or, no, the Coco Chai Rooibos! And the filters are great! I love loose tea, but even the best strainers leave some debris behind, but these don't. Those things alone would have been a generous gift, but I also have a cute kitty book mark, a lined blank book and coordinating pen. Everything in the box was color coordinated, too, in lovely blues. My secret santa included a card, but simply signed it "Secret Santa". If you prefer to remain anonymous, that's fine. Please accept my thanks for this wonderful gift. But feel free to own this so I can thank you properly. I simply couldn't wait til tomorrow to open it and I'm glad I didn't wait. Now I am enjoying a quiet cup of the Rooibos. It's the perfect tea for Christmas Eve, sweet and a little spicy.

Thank you dear Secret Santa for a terrific package.

Locked Out!

Well, I've had a fun morning. This is my last day of work before my 4 day holiday, and I was set. Christmas sweater, check. Jingle bells on a bow in my hair, check. Long dangly ribbon earrings, check. Christmas cds in my purse to listen to, check. I was in a Merry Christmas sort of mood and it was going to be fun day! I was running a little late so I decided to drive to work instead of walking like I usually do. Besides, wearing my Arctic Explorer hat would crush the jingle bells in my hair. I pulled the car out of the garage and put it in park to go close the garage door. I ran back to the car, jingling merrily at every step and … The car door was locked. Damn those auto-lock doors. Well, I had an emergency key hidden in the garage. I'd get that and … No. The garage door was locked and the key to the garage was on the ring which was in the car, which was locked and running in the parking lot. Curse it all! The garage was a STUPID place to keep a spare key. Crap. Well, I had a spare set of car keys in the apartment. I'd just run up there and get them … No. The apartment was locked and my apartment keys were on the ring which was in the car, which was locked and running in the parking lot. Dammit. Why didn't we have an apartment manager on site? Hey! I know! My friend Jill had a spare set of keys to my apartment. I'd give her a call … No. The phone was in my purse, which was in the car, which was locked and running in the parking lot. After several fruitless minutes of cursing and kicking the car, I walked to work. My hat and mittens were in the car which was locked, so it was a bit of a nippy walk, but I walked briskly (jingling all the way) and got to work –and my telephone—in less than 15 minutes. Thank God it wasn't very cold this morning. I call Jill up on my desk phone and ask her to come to my apartment with my spare keys on her way in to work. She sounds surprised because oh, yeah, I got those keys from her on Monday so that my brother could have them and be able to come and go while he stayed with me for Christmas. Those keys are in my purse, which is in the car which is locked and running in the parking lot.

Okay, so now I'm wheezing like a tea kettle from my asthma (can you say "Stress Induced?") and wishing like heck that I had my inhaler, but no! It's in my purse, which is locked in my car, which is still running in the parking lot of my apartment building. With no other options, I call the local locksmith. Sure, he could get my door open, but since it was before office hours he would have to charge me extra. Fine. I rip those damned bells out of my hair and begin to stomp back home, still wheezing but thankfully not jingling.  My neighbors, whose cars I have neatly blocked in, are a tad unhappy with me. I thought I'd heard all the four letter words there are while I was in the military, but I think they've invented some new ones since then. The locksmith meets me 30 minutes later. I time how long it takes him to get my car open. From the moment he opened his door until he opens my door is 64 seconds. Yay! $75.00 later I have a car that I can get into! And neighbors who may decide to let me live!

This day hasn't turned out like I thought it would, but it could have bee nworse. Right? It could have. And it gave me an idea for a short story for Christmas 2011.  To a woman who is locked out of her still-running car a locksmith can be a knight in shining armor. And, hey, they can be hunky, right? I think a romantic comedy plot bunny is thumping me with his hind feet.

Merry Christmas everyone!