Ellison James's Blog, page 9

Getting the Groove Back

I must admit I've been neglecting everything lately. I've been neglecting my website, facebook, twitter, and even my writing. Truth is, I've been stalled on a current WIP and could not figure out why.

Then, last night I had an epiphany. I was stalled on chapter three where I introduced a new character, Joseph Johnson, to the story. For those that have read my novel, Lovestruck Succubus, you may already know Joe Johnson as the male half of the hunter team chasing Raif Lungren as he pursues Azra Barsonus. This WIP is the story of how they met.

I realized last night, the reason I was having such a difficult time introducing Joe to the story was due to a lack of background for him. He was just kind of making an appearance - not good for a main character. So, I gave Joe a background of his own, and this accomplished two things for the story.

First, It provided some motivation for Joe to move into the story. His background now includes a short career in the military in some unit that exists echelons above consequence. We're talking super top secret, underground, black ops, hero kind of stuff. I thought I could provide more background and explain why he is not still there by adding in that his mother was in ill health and he had to leave the military to care for her. She was his last living relative. Although she lost her battle with cancer, Joe was still left with the bills, so he took a job at the Hyundai plant as a security guard and supplemented his income rounding up bail jumpers for a local bail bondsman. I will begin the scene with him being called into his supervisor's office and told that they are letting him go because of cutbacks. He simply does not have enough seniority in his current job.

Now, I've added some immediacy in his decision to take on more risky skips. This action will put him on a path to meet Lexi. Also, I think that this will provide Joe with his own subplot within the story.

I'm considering posting portions of this story on my website as I write with some notes to provide insight into my thinking. What say you? Would you like to read this new story in small bits, or would you rather wait until it is completed and read the whole thing?

Mary and Her Dragon

I dug this poem out of my files and thought this would be a good time to post. It is important to be careful what you say about others. Just remember that there are some crazy people out there that may overreact, and burn down your house.

So, remember, in the spirit of the season, be careful who you associate with. And, be careful who you talk about, because sweet little Mary may just have a fire-breathing dragon supporting her, no matter how insane people think she is.

Mary had a little dragon
Its teeth were sharp and white
The dragon followed everywhere
It was quite a sight

So, Mary one day went to work
Her dragon close in tow
The boss said, like an insolent jerk
"That dragon's gotta go"

With Mary this did not sit well
In fact, it pissed her off
So, she said to her little dragon, "sit"
And took its collar off

Its collar gone, up it came
And pounced upon the boss
Snapping teeth and spitting flame
It gave the man's head a toss

In smoke and flames, the building went
From dragon's fiery breath
And when the dragon's lungs were spent
There was not a damn thing left

The moral of this tale, I thinkIt should be easy enough.You might call a woman a dragonladyBut just try not to piss her off.

Celebration!

I know this does not make me a bestselling author or anything, but it does give me the positive feeling that there are people out there actually interested in reading my work.

My latest FREE read, Fantasy League has climbed the charts at All Romance eBooks all the way to the first page! Yes, it's made it all the way up to number twenty in the erotica listing.
Here's the link: Fanasy League .

The timing is great because I'm preparing to release the next storyin this series, Tight End, soon. And, remember that Fantasy League is also available free on smashwords.

I certainly hope you enjoy this free read. I am also offering my short historical fantasy, The Fifth Beauty, free everywhere. If you enjoy these stories, feel free to read my other stories as well.

Let Me Thank You

Today I met a kind of milestone in independent writing and publishing. One of my erotic stories sold more than thirty copies in less than thirty days on Amazon. I know this may not seem like such a wonderful milestone to more established writers, but this particular story was just kind of sitting around collecting up a couple of sales once in awhile, until someone left a favorable review. It was then that sales started slowly increasing.

So, I would like to thank those that frequent my website and buy my stories with a freebie. I would like to offer everyone that found this, a coupon for a free download of my story, All the Right Places, from the Smashwords website.
Just follow this link to Smashwords and use the special code: TH65N (not case specific) at checkout.
Also, remember that I am offering the first story in my new Sporty Sex series, Fantasy League FREE at Smashwords and at All Romance eBooks, so get your copy today!

Please feel free to leave a review of my work or contact me for specific issues. I'm alway happy to accept criticism and make changes to insure my work is the best I can make it.

Wall Flowers

We've all seen them. Those poor souls that sit in the background, while the rest of us dance. Those sullen, downtrodden, often overlooked wallflowers that hang out in the shadows.

Well, I've noticed something recently. Sometimes those wallflowers perform wonderful feats supporting those around them. This same thing is true in fiction.

No matter what kind of story I write, I always have others to support my main character. In my opinion, these supporting characters act as a kind of scaffolding for the main character's journey, or decisions. But sometimes, those supporting characters step out of the shadows and demand their rightful place.

This is true with one of my own story lines, and is the reason for the delay of my sequel to Lovestruck Succubus. Oh, it's still in the works and moving along, but two minor characters from that novel have since stepped up and demanded their own story.

The two characters I write of are the two members that make up the hunter/seeker team chasing after Raif Lungren as he chases after Azra. Yes, Joe and Lexi Johnson are going to have their own story.

I'm currently drafting a story explaining how the two met, and how Joseph was turned from normal man, into shape shifting werewolf. I've had numerous readers tell me that they would love to learn more about these minor characters.

Well, I was beginning another story not long ago, and it just kind of started developing into a meeting/romance/suspense story involving how Joe and Lexi managed to meet, get themselves into mortal danger, and find a way out together, developing a life-long love of each other in the process.

So, you see. Sometimes the wallflowers do get their day in the sun.

If you would like to know more, and have insider access to this story as it develops, please sign up for my mailing list by submitting your email address in the upper right-hand corner. Who knows, I might even be looking for beta readers or give away advance reader copies for review.

Why buy the Cow?

We've all heard the expression, "why buy the cow, when you get the milk for free?" And it makes sense when speaking to a teenager about dating and moral integrity. In fact, this saying may apply to many things in life, along with its counterpart, "there's no such thing as a free lunch."
But I submit that this is not always the case - especially when it comes to stories given away.
Recently, someone chastised me for offering some of my works free to all those interested in reading them. This person told me that "no serious writer should ever give their work away." They went on to tell me how giving one's creative efforts away with no expectation of compensation cheapens the work, and the author. Basically, they just kept talking until I was made to feel like an idiot for ever giving anything away.

Instead of cowering to this person's harsh words and unfounded opinions, I fought back with confidence and reasoning. I told them why I choose to offer samples of my creative efforts free of charge.

I believe that allowing readers to sample my work, and decide for themselves if they like it enough to buy other things I've written, is a great thing. I've found many new writers, and still enjoy their stories because of a simple free offering. These are authors I might not ever have read if they did not offer something free.

Readers response well to freebies. Why? Our economy, the flush of material out there since the onset of the eBook revolution, uncertainty of something new and untried. I could go on, but most of you understand full well, the reasoning for accepting someones offer of freebies.

From a writer's perspective, offering freebies gives my work a wider audience - and for someone like me, relatively unknown, this wider audience is invaluable. Plus, I believe it is the right thing to do. I feel offering a sample of my work free to the public is an honorable way to advertise my work.

So, for all of you out there that take full advantage of a free offering, I commend you. So, to show my gratitude to those few who frequent my website, I will relay this little tidbit of super secret information. From now on, in addition to my regular sales, I will occasionally offer one or more of my stories FREE for a limited time (usually one day) at All Romance eBooks. These offering will be completely random, so you'll have to keep looking for the offers.

In addition to this offering, remember that I still have a couple of items offered free at both Smashwords and All Romance eBooks now, and always.

Those stories are: The Fifth Beauty at Smashwords, ARe, and Fantasy League at Smashwords, ARe.

Enjoy.

A Special Offer

Hey everyone, I just wanted to let those of you visiting my website that I am offering the first book in my new Sport Sex series FREE. That's right, FREE.

You can download the book free at All Romance eBooks
or at Smashwords.

I'm hoping to be able to offer it free on Barnes and Noble and Amazon soon.

Meantime, be on the lookout for the next book in the series, Tight End . If you enjoyed Fantasy League, Pleasure Doing Business, Window Treatment, or All the Right Places , I'm sure you will enjoy the rest of the Sport Sex series.

Birth of a Series

I would like to announce the birth of a new series. This is going to be a lighter, fun-filled series with some short relationships and downright nastiness involved. This series will follow a central sports theme. I'm calling it the Sporty Sex series.

My First story in The series is available now at amazon and is called Fantasy League.

Charlene is frustrated with her husband's addiction to fantasy sports games. She comes up with a brilliant plan involving his laptop computer, and a video of her exercising-naked, to make her his fantasy.
Here's a sneak peak at book 2 through 5, which will be published about once a week.



Stay tuned for more news.

Changes

We are entering a season of change. With the onset of Fall comes Labor Day, the Autumnal Equinox, Sabbat of Mabon, the Harvest Moon, and Thanksgiving. I'm particularly fond of this time of year because it brings the cusp of Libra.

Okay, so maybe I'm not really that much into astrology, but I do like the sound of all these things this time of year. By the way, Keep your ears and eyes open for a new anthology published soon that will feature a story of mine called "The Cusp of Libra."

Why I really wanted to post is to spread the news of my new cover for my story "On the Cross-town Bus." This story will be renamed "All the Right Moves" with a new sexy cover.



So, please, take heart and worry not when the old story suddenly dissapears from the marketplace. It's still there, just better.

I'm Now a Dot Com!

I've recently made a very important change to this blog. In the next few days, my blog will mature into a full-fledged author website!

Also, notice the new button on the right that allows you to join my email list. Please, if you would like to receive special newsletters and advance notice of new books, click on the Join Email button and leave your email address. I love to interact with readers, and look forward to your input/comments or anything else.