M.C. Vaughan's Blog, page 2

It's Giveaway Time!

I'd meant to do a giveaway June 10 to celebrate a month since Casting Her Crush was released, but, well... life! It's been a busy few weeks around here amidst various children's promotion ceremonies, end-of-year exams, driver's ed, and (gulp!) college tour planning. Now that things have settled a bit, let's get on with the giveaway, shall we?

This giveaway includes a Kindle copy of Casting Her Crush, a 'kintsugi' magnet, and a mystery gift! (Open to U.S. only)

Click here to enter! giveaway

Terms & Conditions: U.S. entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days, then M.C. Vaughan reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will used only for fulfillment of the prize, after which time M.C. Vaughan will delete the data.

'Casting Her Crush' Is Almost Here!

The fourth and final in the Charm City Hearts series, Casting Her Crush, hits digital shelves on Monday, May 10, and I'm absolutely in love with the cover. Check it out for yourselves! 

I'm so proud of myself for making it to my desk, day after day after day, to write this tale. Melinda's & Max's story was the life preserver I needed in a difficult year. We've definitely all been through it this past year, but lump in a couple of family crises, and whew. 
But she's finally here and I couldn't be more pleased. I hope you enjoy this love story, set in my beloved background of theater, and that it carries you away on a tide of frothy, fun bickering-turned-crush-turned-love. To snag your copy, click here and select the sales channel of your choice.

How much do I love the cover for "Divorcing Mr. Right?"

SO MUCH!  Look at it in all of it's lush, tropey glory. And (eep!) it's out in less than a month (specfically, July 20, 2020)! This is Brooke's story (well, Brooke's and Luke's story). It's a bit of a departure for the series because it starts out in Las Vegas, but fear not! We return to Charm City with alacrity.


And here are the pre-order links for all you early bird shoppers:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble   
Kobo   
Apple Books   
Champagne Book Group    

Gather 'Round (But Please Stay Six Feet Away)--I Bring Entertainments!

More articulate, poetic people than I can describe the eerie, low-key terror we're all experiencing right now. I'll probably burp up a more eloquent post in the future, but right now, I feel like my little self, on the beach, seeing the enormous curl of a wave bearing down on me and knowing all I can do is hold my breath. It's coming, it'll knock me down, but hopefully the bucket of air I swallowed will tide me over until I can fight my way to the surface.

(me and my oldest brother, helping make sure I didn't succumb to the waves)
Entertainment is one of the life jackets I'm strapping on these days. Not just any entertainment, though--live shows. A shared, communal experience is balm for the soul these days. As goofy as some of the social media sites can be, I adore seeing the little hearts and thumbs up float over the screen. I know every other soul on this earth is in this with me--with you, too--but seeing it with my very own eyeballs eases my heart a little.

Whatever you can do to dip out of the worry for a bit is A-OK. You're doing amazing, and I hope some of these  help you pop back up from that bastard wave.

Now, the list of things I've indulged in lately...I might add as I discover new ones.


Art Smithsonian Online Exhibits Museums of the City of Paris
Baltimore/DC Tourist Spots Baltimore Inner Harbor National Mall Cherry Blossom BloomCam
Animals Baltimore Zoo Live Cams National Zoo Web Cams
Pop Entertainment The iHeart Living Room Concert for America (March 29 only) DJ Kopec’s Dance Parties Comedian Mike Birbiglia is streaming conversations with buddies to raise money for comedy clubs. And here’s a whole bundle of streams that’ve already happened, but are a pleasure to rewatch.
Fancy(er) Entertainment National Metropolitan Opera House Patrick Stewart reading Shakespeare
Exercise Blooming Breath Yoga for Kids & Teens <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073732485 9 0 511 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:#0563C1; mso-themecolor:hyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:#954F72; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}

Technology Tips for Those Who Are New to Remote-Working

Welcome to the Corona-pacolypse! It is a weird, strange, darkest-timeline kind of world in which we find ourselves. Many of our bosses, in a sign of heart-squishy solidarity, have benevolently given us the opportunity to work from home.


I exclusively worked from home for a couple of years, and honestly? Your mileage may vary. If you're an extrovert I predict you will hate working from home. Introverts (hey there! hi! I am your people) do better, but it's not like we won't be called into meetings, chats, etc.

So! On that note, I have advice... It's all tech-based, which is way more practical than how many different kinds of cookies you should have o hand (But the answer is three. I'm a Trinitarian.)

1) Unless you're speaking on a call, mute your device. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people loading the dishwasher...walking the dog...rolling through the drive-through at Starbucks...

 
2) Earbuds with a microphone are the best option for cutting down on ambient background noise (dogs, kids, doorbells, etc.). Side note: Cell phone speakerphones are AWFUL on conference calls. Don't use them.

3) If you join a web conference or call via computer and use your laptop's audio, do NOT type while your mic is unmuted. Why? Because your delicate, nimble typing sounds like King Kong pounding on the keyboard.

 
4) Cover your laptop camera. Some web conference software automatically launches the camera (Surprise! Everyone can see you pulling your hair up into a ponytail...and down again...and up again...). If the little light by the camera is on, we can see you.

5) Dress appropriately for whatever the camera can see, just in case you need to jump on a video call. Translation: pants are optional.

A Peek Inside My Writing Space (Part 2)

Almost four years ago, I wrote this tell-all on my writing space. My youngest had officially graduated to his permanent room, opening up the nursery. I swooped in like a vulture. Mostly, I evicted his crib and moved in a desk, a chair, a filing cabinet, and a printer. Voila! Insta-office.

But...

Over the past four years, crept into the space. Clutter abounded. I don't know about you, but it's tough for me to create alternate worlds when I'm in a swirl of junk. Think I'm exaggerating? I'm not. Pinky swear. Take a look...

What? You don't store things in piles on any available surface?


The elephant curtains were still hanging tough.


I have no excuse for this. But do you see why I declared enough was enough? Framed art on the floor. Stacks of boxes. Stacks of books. Yeesh.


Luckily, the holidays rolled around and I had some time off. I cashed in one of them to deal with this *waves hands* nonsense. But, I didn't want to spend a bucket of money. Outside of a splurge on curtains. I purchased nothing. The only new items are a new filing cabinet (a Christmas gift), a camera pillow (also a Christmas gift), and an aromatherapy diffuser at the Maryland Romance Writers' holiday party White Elephant exchange. Well, and a lot of sweat equity.

Want to see if I was successful?


Here we go!


Oh yeah, I went panoramic. You can't see some of the details, though... This is a crazy comfy reading nook. Wondering about that record? My husband and I celebrated our platinum anniversary, so he bought a pressing of my favorite album's--George Michael's Listen Without Prejudice, Volume I--platinum pressing. And the camera pillow? Was from my sister to celebrate the release of Pictures of You.


Here's my desk, where the magic happens. Wondering about that Superman album over my desk? Welp, you'll have to pick up the third installment in the Charm City Hearts Series, Divorcing Mr. Right.

Now, when you're wondering what it looks like as I'm weaving my words, you have a view. YES, there's still a child's bookcase. But maybe for the third edition of the Peek at My Writing Space, that will change.

'Pictures of You' Has Officially Released!

What a whirlwind of a week!

As of November 25th, Pictures of You, the second book in my Charm City Hearts series, is officially out in the world. This novel focuses on our favorite Baltimore socialite, Grier Cushman.

When her parents push her out of their diamond-studded nest, she scrambles to land on her stilletoed feet. She could take the job her mogul mom dangles in front of her, but Grier’s stomach cramps just thinking about Mom’s micro managerial tendencies. Instead, she’ll focus on flipping her photography into a legit career. Because there are two things Grier knows inside and out—her camera and how to make everyone look flawless. After all, she learned to project perfect when her ex-high school crush shredded her heart eight years ago.

Cocky investment banker Quint Kincaid is back in town. He thought he’d left this city behind forever, but fate dealt his family a bad break, and now he’s on a mission to earn buckets of cash for his father’s medical expenses. When he runs into the one person he misses from back in the day, all grown up and sexy as hell, it brings up all the old powerful feelings he’d hidden as a teenager. He wants more, even if he hasn’t quite gotten over how she ghosted him.

Despite their hesitations, the two former friends agree to help each other out—Grier reintroduces him to the moneyed social circles in Baltimore, and Quint guides her through setting up her business. As they fall into old patterns and rediscover what drew them to each other in the first place, they confront the secrets that snuffed their teenaged romance before it could even begin.

Be sure to pick yours up today!

That should be enough for one week, right? Except last week was Thanksgiving! My day started with a Turkey Trot 5k* and capped off with dinner with my oldest sister's family. Luckily, I was only tasked with supplying an appetizer. I chose my trusty Maryland Crab Dip, and there was nary a scoop left at the end of the evening.

Friday saw me trekking to one of my brother's homes, where we indulged in a potluck of leftovers, a fire pit, and family memories. There was also some hot family gossip shared over the flames, but I'll keep that to myself.

The rest of the weekend involved raking about a thousand pounds of leaves, re-raking them after my youngest jumped into them Charlie Brown-style, deep-cleaning the house, the decorating. As I type this, I'm surrounded by thousands of twinkly Christmas lights, breathing in the sweet scent of a pumpkin spice Yankee Candle, indulging in a glass of Prosecco, and am infused with a deep feeling of contentment.

Next week will contain loads more whirlwindy swirl, but for now, I'm pausing and sitting with my gratitude for my friends, my family, and my readers.

*We are not a 5k family. Well, not really. My middle sister undertook a weight loss journey six years ago, and the 5k has become our way to pregame before an enormous meal. OMG, this was our 5th Turkey Trot. Maybe we ARE a 5k family? I need to sit with that...

Recent Contest Judge Thoughts

I try to judge a couple of writing contests per year. If you've never volunteered, I highly recommend it. I've found it helps hone my editorial eye, and forces me to research various rules to explain why a certain sentence construction is clunky, or doesn't flow. Lots and lots of reading preference is subjective, so I try to focus on the mechanics.

On that note!

My most recent judging experienced surfaced a couple of patterns in construction issues, so I thought it might be helpful to share them with you. If you can eliminate these issues from your drafts, they will rise to the top of the contests to which you submit them.

Dialogue Structure & Tags

Dialogue tags are typically presented as follows:
OK: "Here's your coffee," she said.
Not: "Here's your coffee." She said.

Action tags are typically presented as follows:
OK: "Your coffee's over there." She wiped down the counter.
Also OK: "Your coffee's over there," she said, wiping down the counter.
Not: "Your coffee's over there," she wiped down the counter.

Dialogue for two or more different characters should not be bundled into the same paragraph.
OK: "Double espresso, coming right up," she said.
The customer stopped her. "No, I want a latte."
Not: "Double espresso, coming right up," she said, and the customer stopped her. "No, I want a latte."

Wandering Body Parts
People move their own body parts (she raked her hands through her hair), their body parts don't have agency (her hand raked through her hair). This is a fabulous article on correcting the issue...
https://romanceuniversity.org/2010/07...- 

Filler Words
Are exactly what you think they are. Empty-calorie words that do nothing to paint a picture, advance the plot, or  elicit emotion. 'Just,' 'very,' 'really,' etc. This article will guide you on cutting the filler loose.
https://wordvice.com/avoid-fillers-po...

Filter Words
No matter what your preferred tense, you want to connect your reader to your main characters as much as possible. Filter words distance your reader by telling them what your main character is thinking, or feeling, or sensing, without the readers experiencing it first hand. What do I mean? Which of the following is more powerful to you?

Example 1: Billy smelled the sweet scent of apples and cinnamon from Mom's fresh-baked pie.
Example 2: Billy entered the house. Sweet apples and sharp cinnamon hung heavy in the air. Mom must've baked a pie.

For further reading, I love this article: https://writeitsideways.com/are-these...

Hope this helps, and I'll let you know if I suss out any other patterns in future contests!

I'm So Fancy NFReads.com Interviewed Me!

Hey look! That's an interview with yours truly up on NFReads.com! Enjoy my hot takes on creative process, sources of inspiration, and the things I try desperately not to do when writing.    

RWA National Conference 2019 Re-Cap

This is not a traditional re-cap of events and parties and people I met. Nope! We're going to go back in time a little bit and kinda re-cap a whole sitch stretching from 2015 to now.

My first Romance Writers of America Conference was in 2015. My husband, to his everlasting credit, encouraged me to join my local chapter the previous year. Absorbing all the feedback and fun from the Maryland Romance Writers authors who'd gone in 2014 sealed the deal--I needed to go to this conference.

2015 was amazing. And overwhelming. But mostly amazing? If I had to describe the vibe, it's this... I felt like I'd transferred to a super cool high school stuffed with really nice people who maybe, someday, would become my pals.

Why yes, libraries ARE my party jam.
Surrounded by a dense concentration of like-minded people, I developed a "why the hell not?" attitude toward my writing and diving into the writing community. Take that online workshop? Sure! Volunteer for that committee? Absolutely. Enter #PitchWars? Absolutely, wouldn't miss it. Engage on Twitter? Done and done.

Psst. I'm a RAGING introvert, but I fake it well, because my need to belong and connect overwhelmed my over-analysis of that bad joke I made a the bar that one time.


Slowly, surely, I built my network of friends. And you know what happened in 2019? Friends in every workshop. Award dinners for chapter contests. Chit-chat in the hallways. Catch-ups at the bar, and dinners with pals. It takes time to seed and feed these relationships, but oh my, when they bloom, it is a wonder.

So if you're anxious about reaching out...just go for it. Our peers are numerous, and lovely, and welcoming. You can always hit me up!