M.J. Pullen's Blog, page 7

Want Signed Books for the Holidays?

So, I’m not sure how this happened, because it was seriously July about 20 seconds ago, BUT… Thanksgiving is less than a week away!

Y’all. Seriously. How is it possible?

If you’re looking for a special way to say, “I know you like funny, romantic Women’s Fiction, and can also spell your name” to someone in your life this holiday, consider the gift of a signed book!

One option is to meet me at Bookmiser in Roswell on December 7th and get a hug with your purchase. OR, you can order directly from me and have your signed books delivered through the magic of the United States Postal Service. I have a limited supply of all three Marriage Pact books in very shelf-worthy hardback, as well as Every Other Saturday in paperback. If you would like to order books for the holidays, complete the Google form below (I know, we can talk about my luddite, technophobe shopping system later), I’ll send you a PayPal invoice, and viola! Bookish magic!

Orders placed by December 12 should arrive in the contiguous U.S. by December 24th. Rush orders (December 13 – 18) will cost you a little extra. And there’s a 50/50 chance I will call you to chat while I’m waiting in line at the post office!

I also can’t guarantee how long supplies of each title will last, so order today and make someone’s holiday a little funnier. A little sexier. A little more Jake/Dylan/Alex/Dave…

Wait. What were we talking about?

Ho, Ho, Ho!!

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Atlanta Area Readers – Join me December 9th!

 

Shop the Shelves with Author Elves!

If you are in the Atlanta area and hate mall shopping as much as I do, please join me and three amazing fellow authors on December 9th from 7:00 to 9:00 at Bookmiser in Roswell (Sandy Plains & 92). We’ll be signing our own books and recommending other favorites, to suit all the readers on your holiday list!

For more information or to RSVP, you can visit the Facebook event page or get the details here on my events page.

Hope to see you there!

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Distracted Writer Video: Why Do NaNoWriMo?

Hi, writing friends —

If you’re busy starting on NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this week, close this browser and go get to work! You can watch this in December!

If you’re not currently doing NaNoWriMo, have you considered it? Maybe heard the fuss and wondered whether it would really help you with your writing? Check out my take on NaNo and other intense, aggressive short-term writing sprints. [Spoiler alert: I’m in favor of them, for many reasons].

I’m not participating in NaNoWriMo this year; my writing schedule has me mid-project at the moment. But I am in the middle of drafting a 90,000 word novel in a short period (seven weeks and change), so you could say I’m getting into the spirit.

This is the first of what I hope will be semi-regular DW videos, in which I share my take on how to power through obstacles and take your writing to the next level. That sounds like an ad for fitness equipment, doesn’t it?

Okay: in which I explain the many, many ways I have fallen on my face while pursuing this career, and a little of what I am learning in the process. I hope you’ll find these videos helpful – my goal is to keep them fun, informative, and (most importantly) under 10 minutes.

If you have suggestions for topics you’d like me to address, or questions you want me to attempt to answer while you point and laugh from the comfort of your living room, hit me up with them in the comments or contact me at mj AT mjpullen DOT com.

Thanks for watching. Enjoy!

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City of Yes: The New Novella and My Love Affair with San Francisco

[image error][image error]If you’re one of the many readers who follows my Facebook page, you probably already know that I have a new novella coming out on Tuesday, October 10, called City of Yes. (It’s already available for pre-order in some formats – just $1.99 – follow the link to grab yours!)

What is a Novella?

Novellas are longer than short stories, but shorter than full length novels (generally between 7500 and 40,000 words). City of Yes is about 32,000 words, compared to the usual 85-90,000 for each full-length novel I’ve written so far. I hope you’ll find it a welcome distraction from these hard times, and that it will allow you to escape for an evening, or a couple of relaxing lunch breaks (we all need those!).

This book is the first in a series called Occupational Hazards, shorter romances in which the story stems from, or takes place in, the heroine’s workplace. You’ll be able to read these books in any order you like, knowing you’ll get a fun, slightly-steamy story you can consume in one or two sittings.

The Story & Setting
This is one of my favorites of the Hearts in San Francisco sculptures. Pictured here in the spring of 2016 in Union Square.

City of Yes follows the story of Charlotte Bates, a top-notch marriage proposal planner–yes, that is a real job!–when she finds out that her newest client is Jared Kunitz, a close college friend she hasn’t seen since she rejected him seven years earlier. Needless to say, hilarity, awkwardness and romantic sparks ensue…

As you may be able to guess from the title and the cover image, the city of San Francisco is more than a setting in the book – it’s a secondary character. You’ll get to see a few of the sights that make SFO such a unique and beautiful city as you read.

A Note from Me

The passage copied here is actually from the Author’s Note/Acknowledgements section of the new book. I thought you might be interested in a little of what I’ve been working on lately, and about my history with San Francisco.

Those of you who follow this blog and Facebook page will already know that the past couple of years have brought me adventures, a few trials, and one or two small triumphs. Since the publication of Every Other Saturday in August 2015, I’ve been juggling transitions in and out of the full-time work force, the re-publication of The Marriage Pact series by St. Martin’s Press, and the ordinary hassles and joys of raising two small kids in a busy, messy house. Believe it or not, I have also been working on a couple of bigger (read: more ambitious) projects that I hope will one day see the light of… well, day. In the meantime, my friends and fans who have been kind enough to tell me they enjoy my work and would like to hear more from me have been patiently waiting and re-reading. (And sometimes emailing to remind me how patiently you are waiting and re-reading.) I love you guys. You inspire me not only to work hard, but to try to make every story I write better than the ones that came before.

During my adventures of the last few years, I’ve been lucky enough to make it out to San Francisco a few times, and to be reminded that while I only lived there for half a minute (two months, to be precise, in my early 20s), there’s a reason it always feels like a second home to me. Despite being a girl with deep Southern roots, I was born in San Jose, California, while my parents lived there in the mid-1970s. Even though we were back in Georgia before I was five, I like to think there’s a little West Coast in my DNA. Whatever it is, the air in San Francisco feels right in my lungs. Know what I mean? It’s a beautiful city with amazing culture and public art (look for the Hearts in San Francisco sculptures and other landmarks in this story). Of course, I haven’t remotely done the city justice in this little novella, and I took a bit of artistic license where necessary. (I’m sorry to report that the Little Blue Shack is entirely made up, as is the hillside hiker’s restaurant on the IHRT). But I hope the story transports you there for a few minutes as you follow Charlotte and Jared around the City by the Bay. Whoa-oooh-oh-oh-oh…

As always, thanks so much for reading. If you do buy and read City of Yes, and you enjoy it, I’d be very grateful if you took a few minutes to post a review on the City of Yes Amazon product page[image error] or Goodreads. Thank you!

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City of Yes: The New Novella and My Love Affair with San Francisco

[image error][image error]If you’re one of the many readers who follows my Facebook page, you probably already know that I have a new novella coming out on Tuesday, October 10, called City of Yes. (It’s already available for pre-order in some formats – just $1.99 – follow the link to grab yours!)

What is a Novella?

Novellas are longer than short stories, but shorter than full length novels (generally between 7500 and 40,000 words). City of Yes is about 32,000 words, compared to the usual 85-90,000 for each full-length novel I’ve written so far. I hope you’ll find it a welcome distraction from these hard times, and that it will allow you to escape for an evening, or a couple of relaxing lunch breaks (we all need those!).

This book is the first in a series called Occupational Hazards, shorter romances in which the story stems from, or takes place in, the heroine’s workplace. You’ll be able to read these books in any order you like, knowing you’ll get a fun, slightly-steamy story you can consume in one or two sittings.

The Story & Setting
This is one of my favorites of the Hearts in San Francisco sculptures. Pictured here in the spring of 2016 in Union Square.

City of Yes follows the story of Charlotte Bates, a top-notch marriage proposal planner–yes, that is a real job!–when she finds out that her newest client is Jared Kunitz, a close college friend she hasn’t seen since she rejected him seven years earlier. Needless to say, hilarity, awkwardness and romantic sparks ensue…

As you may be able to guess from the title and the cover image, the city of San Francisco is more than a setting in the book – it’s a secondary character. You’ll get to see a few of the sights that make SFO such a unique and beautiful city as you read.

A Note from Me

The passage copied here is actually from the Author’s Note/Acknowledgements section of the new book. I thought you might be interested in a little of what I’ve been working on lately, and about my history with San Francisco.

Those of you who follow this blog and Facebook page will already know that the past couple of years have brought me adventures, a few trials, and one or two small triumphs. Since the publication of Every Other Saturday in August 2015, I’ve been juggling transitions in and out of the full-time work force, the re-publication of The Marriage Pact series by St. Martin’s Press, and the ordinary hassles and joys of raising two small kids in a busy, messy house. Believe it or not, I have also been working on a couple of bigger (read: more ambitious) projects that I hope will one day see the light of… well, day. In the meantime, my friends and fans who have been kind enough to tell me they enjoy my work and would like to hear more from me have been patiently waiting and re-reading. (And sometimes emailing to remind me how patiently you are waiting and re-reading.) I love you guys. You inspire me not only to work hard, but to try to make every story I write better than the ones that came before.

During my adventures of the last few years, I’ve been lucky enough to make it out to San Francisco a few times, and to be reminded that while I only lived there for half a minute (two months, to be precise, in my early 20s), there’s a reason it always feels like a second home to me. Despite being a girl with deep Southern roots, I was born in San Jose, California, while my parents lived there in the mid-1970s. Even though we were back in Georgia before I was five, I like to think there’s a little West Coast in my DNA. Whatever it is, the air in San Francisco feels right in my lungs. Know what I mean? It’s a beautiful city with amazing culture and public art (look for the Hearts in San Francisco sculptures and other landmarks in this story). Of course, I haven’t remotely done the city justice in this little novella, and I took a bit of artistic license where necessary. (I’m sorry to report that the Little Blue Shack is entirely made up, as is the hillside hiker’s restaurant on the IHRT). But I hope the story transports you there for a few minutes as you follow Charlotte and Jared around the City by the Bay. Whoa-oooh-oh-oh-oh…

As always, thanks so much for reading. If you do buy and read City of Yes, and you enjoy it, I’d be very grateful if you took a few minutes to post a review on the City of Yes Amazon product page[image error] or Goodreads. Thank you!

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Good Morning, Sunshine: Distracted Writer Habit #1

My electric kettle, my friend

Any other early risers out there? Can I get a shout out? (Or maybe a whisper so we don’t wake everyone else)?

Last year, when I had a full-time day job, I got up every morning around 4:30 a.m. to start my writing day (okay, sometimes it was more like 4:38 after the snooze button). I’d work until 6:00, when I would get ready for work while my husband tried to pry the kids out of bed for school.

It was a tough gig, I’m not going to lie, especially at first. But I eventually mastered the art of going to bed (read: collapsing) before 10 p.m. so I could peel myself out of bed before 5 a.m. I put a kettle and instant coffee in my office, and I have a small light on a timer, so that I’m not blindly bumbling into everything and waking the whole household.

After a couple of weeks of staring blankly at the screen and drooling until time for work, I began to find that the quiet hour-plus before my family woke up was a very productive time for me. I often got 800-1200 words written in the quiet of the morning. Eventually, the hardest part became stopping at six to get ready!


When I lost my job in January, I thought maybe I’d try to keep the habit of rising early, even though I had more hours to myself while the kids were at school. But within a few weeks, especially once I decided not to look for another day job right away, human nature kicked in. I found that I’d lost my motivation to get up earlier than necessary.

I have all day, I’d think as I pounded the alarm clock with my fist for the seventh or eighth time. What difference does this hour make? So I did the sensible thing and quit setting an alarm to go off when I was NOT going to get up anyway, and went back to what most people would think of as a normal, human schedule. It gave me more time to watch TV with my husband in the evenings and made getting up in the morning far less painful.

But then something else happened. In the same way that water always finds its level, when your days are “free,” the universe will fill them for you. Without my steady paycheck, we no longer had the budget to hire a housekeeper,* and we cut back on the kids’ after school care. Where my husband and I had been scrambling together to accomplish household chores, pay bills, and make administrative phone calls with our matching workdays — these things fell back into my court more and more often.

*Let’s be clear: our house is NOWHERE near as clean as it was when we had help keeping it that way. I don’t clean regularly. But when things get to a particular level of grossness, it’s usually me who finally whips out the bleach and scrub brush to keep our house from becoming a giant petri dish.

It makes sense, too. I am at home. Technically, I have time. I don’t have to find an empty conference room to make a private phone call or pay a medical bill. When the kids get sick, it’s far more sensible for the person who works on her laptop, with long-ranging and generally flexible deadlines, to stay home with them. I don’t have to worry that my boss will judge me for cutting out early to pick up the kids. I am the boss, and I judge myself for lots of other stuff instead.

Over time, however, all these little things add up and began to eat away at my workday. When you add that writing is a profession about wrangling creative energy, little household and family tasks can be big procrastination tools, too. If I’m not careful, the wide open space of a day at home can sometimes produce less than I used to write for 30 minutes on my lunch break.

So this week I decided to re-start my early morning habit. Like it or not, I work best when my writing is the first thing I think about every morning — before the conversations and complications of the day begin. Before I’ve checked Facebook or listened to the radio or fought with anyone about whether their shirt and shorts match or if they absolutely have to wear socks to school today. [Answers: no and yes. Giving in on the first one, standing firm against foot fungus.]

For me, it’s not just about the hours I have available to write. It’s about making my writing a priority, and that sometimes starts before I do!

This is the first post in a series of my personal tips for other writers and creative professionals who have trouble keeping their busy brains focused (and those who don’t).

Stay tuned for more! And, if you would like to be notified whenever I post a new blog for writers, simply subscribe to my newsletter and check the box for “I’m a… WRITER.”

Happy creating!

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Redhead Wars

Or, Why the Neighbors are Questioning My Mental Health
What? Normal. Everything is normal. I mean, fine. How are you?

When we bought our current home four years ago, I loved so much about it: the roomy floor plan, open spaces… The “happy medium” hardwood floors (meaning: in good enough shape that we didn’t have to fix them upon moving in, but scratched and worn enough that we don’t stress about them either). I loved that it was in a big neighborhood with sidewalks and lots of families. I loved that our house (a) is on a cul-de-sac and (b) backs up to a heavily wooded recreation area. I didn’t love the fact that our house is stucco, mostly because it’s just not my favorite; but all in all, we decided we could live with it.

All that was before I met my new arch nemesis, Mr. Woodpecker. (My old arch nemesis, Señor Exercise Ball, has been donated to Goodwill. And no, I don’t want to talk about it.)

Looking back, I’m almost positive the home’s previous owners had a crazed look in their eyes across the closing table when they sold us the home. I chalked it up to moving day jitters, simply assuming that, like me, they had been up all the previous night packing the boxes they should’ve packed weeks before; and that they were also surviving on caffeine and adrenalin and an overwhelming desire to go sleep in the U-haul outside. In retrospect, the fact that they were grinning gleefully at one another and muttering, “we’re free, we’re finally free,” with each blue ink signature should’ve been a red flag.

But we loved the house and it was a bargain, so…

[Wait, isn’t that the opening to every horror movie ever? We loved the house and it was a bargain. Maybe if I wrote horror instead of romance I’d have been more ready for what was coming.]

A Homeowner Horror Story… (and why I’m sticking to romance)

Here’s where I own up to my obliviousness: I did hear the knocking. An infrequent, soft, rattling tap on the chimneys (one at either end of the house), followed by the occasional resonating metal clang. You could only hear it if you were in the room where it was happening and everything else was quiet. Did I mention I have two little boys? Nothing is quiet. When I did hear the knocking, I chalked it up to “new house” noises, the wind, or the tapping of tree branches against the house — which TOTALLY happens, for the record.

Yes, I should have gone outside to investigate. Yes, an entire family of raccoons could take up residence in my attic and I wouldn’t notice until they started taking the ice cream out of the freezer. (Or drinking the wine. Little thieving bastards.) But I had too much going on, okay? And sometimes, you know, when you don’t have time — or money — to deal with something, it’s much more pleasant to simply pretend it isn’t there. Don’t you agree?

Well. Within a couple of years of us moving in, there were at least two dozen holes in each chimney. They looked like giant suburban towers of Swiss cheese. The woodpeckers had not just created summer homes for themselves, but they’d listed them on Airbnb. Birds from all over the country were coming to stay in our chimneys whenever they wanted to catch a game in Atlanta. Hawks. Falcons. You get it.

Finally, I broke down and called a stucco repair guy to come out and fix the holes. He also installed concrete panels at the top part of the chimney (previously made of a special non-stucco material, which I believe is known by the industry term of “Woodpecker Appetizer.”)

This actually worked for almost a year. It was really expensive, however, and there was some drama involved. [Long story — our stucco guy did more work than we asked for, insisted that we pay for it and refused our check for the correct amount. He sued us for the full amount, lost, and a year later we paid the amount we’d tried to pay in the first place. Sigh.]

In the meantime, we were so relieved that the problem was fixed, and caught up in the legal drama, we became complacent. We thought maybe Sir Pecks-A-Lot came by, bent his  beak on the concrete panels, and went on his merry way. Ha!

Two days before our resolution in small claims court, the first new hole appeared right below the concrete panels. Double sigh. He was back. And this time, sitting in my office in a quiet house, I could hear the little pecker. It took me a while to schedule a new stucco repair, partly because they charge a huge minimum fee even if they’re just fixing one little hole. So I waited to see if Lord Peckington would make more holes before I called someone out again. He didn’t. All was quiet for several weeks, so I made the call.

It took another two months to get the next stucco repair scheduled, and during that time there seemed to be no woodpecker activity.  Just in case, we decided to get some deterrents – fake owls, shiny disks, whatever – as soon as the repair was done. But you know, he hasn’t been around lately so there’s no real rush… Little did I know that Peckmaster Funk was just lying in wait. Less than a week after the last repair, a new hole appeared right where the other one had just been sealed.

So I’m kicking myself, obviously. And I’ve now ordered the stuff that’s supposed to keep them away. In the meantime, every time I go to write in my office I hear this:

via GIPHY

And I am like this:

via GIPHY

Okay, I don’t really want to kill the woodpecker. I’m not that kind of girl. Also I’ve looked into it, and apparently it’s “illegal” and “environmentally irresponsible.” In my extensive Googling, however, I read that loud noises can startle woodpeckers away. And, if you time it right, a well-placed loud noise can create a negative association with the place they are pecking so that they decide not to return. (This seems a solid theory — I have a girlfriend with this same negative association to a certain bar in Kennesaw.)

So, until we can get some other deterrent in place… every time I hear the mother pecker, I’m running down two flights of stairs with a metal spoon and pot, banging away like a woman possessed. Sometimes I’ve gone out the basement door, which I think startles him away before I can start banging. I’ve also tried from inside the chimney by the fireplace, and that has no impact at all. A couple of times I have run in my flip flops and messy hair down the hill in my front yard, with a look of wild-eyed determination and my shiny pot and spoon.

In all cases, I think our neighbors may be beginning to question their decisions to move onto the quiet cul-de-sac near the woods…

Happy Friday, y’all. May your weekend be peaceful, and the juicy bugs in your favorite chimney plentiful.

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The Official End of Summer (According to Me)

Just a quick note to say thank you to everyone who joined me on Facebook last night to wrap up the Summer Beach Read giveaways! Thank you for all your sweet comments and for sharing part of your evening with me. If you missed out but would like to see the video (in which I also read from EVERY OTHER SATURDAY), simply visit this link.

I am also donating all the proceeds from the sale of EOS for all of August and through the holiday weekend to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Harvey relief in Texas. As you may know, I worked for the Red Cross in Austin in my early 20’s and I can say firsthand what a dedicated and efficient disaster relief organization they are. If you’d prefer to donate directly, you can do so here: .

If you don’t already like my Facebook page and want to make sure you get notified when I have other fun stuff going on, just visit facebook.com/mjpullenbooks/ and click “Like” and then “Notify.” I’ll have some fun announcements coming soon!

For now, it’s officially September (somebody cue Earth, Wind and Fire…) and I am headed out into the woods with my family this weekend. It’s the first Labor Day weekend in a while that I haven’t been in Atlanta for the Dragon*con parade and the Decatur Book Festival. It will be a little strange, but nice to have a new adventure — and Hubs and I will be celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary in the woods with our kids, so…

Wherever you are this weekend, have a spectacular time and stay safe!

 

 

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What are You Reading? Beach Read Giveaway Week #4

The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

Congratulations to Caroline Christie, who won this week’s Beach Read Giveaway of THE ROSIE PROJECT. Caroline is on my newsletter list, and you should be, too, if you want a chance to win some of the great stuff I’m giving away weekly, now through August.

I adore this book, a romance told from the perspective of a narrator with Asperger’s Syndrome. It’s funny and beautiful and insightfully written by Graeme Simsion. This book and I are so attuned to one another that I have recommended it to several friends, AND not one, but two of my friends have given it to me as a gift because they thought I would love it. Which I do!

What are you reading on the beach this summer?

We’re staying close to home this year, so my toes will have to live vicariously through the sandy experiences of others…

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Beach Read Giveaway Week #3: WINNER

AUTOGRAPHED copy of The Weight of Lies

Congratulations to Xandra B., who also happens to be my childhood neighbor (yay randomness!!).  Xandra is on my newsletter list, and she won an autographed copy of THE WEIGHT OF LIES by the extraordinary Emily Carpenter as part of my Summer Beach Reads giveaway.

The Weight of Lies is a gripping Southern suspense/family drama with a nice little romantic storyline as well. I love this book, love its author, and I’m so delighted to share it with you. Emily is my friend, critique partner, and co-conspirator at The Draft House; and I couldn’t be more thrilled to see this book baby successfully launched into the world.

If you are not Xandra B., but would still like to get a copy of the book, you can click The Weight of Lies, or the picture of the cover.

There are twelve weeks left of my fabulous summer giveaway, so if you’re not already signed up for my newsletter, take a moment to do that now. As a Reader, you’ll generally receive one announcement/newsletter and one blog roundup per month. You can specify “writer” if you’d also like to be notified when my writing blogs post. You can also select “book release announcements only,” if you prefer.

All subscribers are eligible for the giveaways. You can also improve your chances of winning by liking, sharing, and commenting on the giveaway posts.

Good luck and make sure you put sunscreen on those toes while they’re in the sand!

xoxox,

M.J.

PS – Anyone else got the Grease soundtrack stuck in their head for Miss Xandra B.? No? Just me?

PPS – This post contains affiliate links. Thanks!

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