Cindy Sutherland's Blog, page 4

Some thoughts on December 1st….World Aids Day, Writing stress and a fic rec!

So, the first thought on my mind? It’s World AIDS Day today so let’s do our part to spread awareness not only about the disease itself but also about the people who are working to stop it.

Here is the link to the World Aids Day Page

Number one on your list of things that you can do�� to protect yourself is know your status. Get tested. 25 percent of HIV positive people in Canada don’t know that they are infected. It’s your responsibility to take care of yourself and to do your part to protect the people you may become intimate with.

The second thing you can do is be safe. First and foremost,��use a condom. Unless you are in a committed, monogamous relationship, then there should always be a condom involved when you have sex. People are not always truthful, ladies and gents. They can claim to be negative all they want, but unless you were standing right there when they were tested, is it really worth the chance?

Not to mention the other reasons to be safe…STD’s and pregnancy. Do you know how many men are paying child support to women who didn’t realize that things like drinking and medicines can play havoc with their birth control pills? And you can’t tell just by looking at most people what kind of nasty bugs might be lurking around in their bloodstreams.

And ladies, if you are planning a night out, tuck a few of those little foil squares into your purse or jacket pockets so that there is no excuse for him to not suit up if you happen to find “Mr. Right Now” at your local watering hole.

HIV is a disease that doesn’t discriminate…men and women, gay or straight…we are all equally vulnerable so please,��protect yourselves.

I don’t know enough about PrEP to be for or against it yet, but I have included the link so you can look it up yourself.

Here are some facts about HIV in Canada

Spread the word, not the disease.

The second thing on my mind today is my Shifter story. I was looking back at some old blog posts and I have been struggling with this for so long. I still believe in this story so it’s frustrating that it’s taking me so long to get it out. I think because it’s so important to me, I keep getting hung up on getting it perfect and when it feels like it’s not, then it makes me stuck, like I’m wading through waist-deep mud.

I also have another story that’s started, but part of the problem is that when I’m working on it, I feel guilty about the Shifter story, like I’m neglecting a child or something.

Sigh, why did I ever decide I want to be a writer?��Lol, kidding…mostly. It’s been an amazing journey so far, even with all the stress and angst that comes along with it.

I really did want to get this story submitted this year, but unless a miracle happens, that’s not in the cards. Ah well, it’s something for my New Year’s resolutions list then isn’t it?

Now for my fic rec….

A Still, Small Voice by D.W. Marchwell is a delightful story about a man who comes to realize that the people who really love you stand by you and treat you with respect. This story had an added smile for me because it take’s place in the city I grew up in and so I could picture all the places the main characters visited as I read the story. Give Noah and Oscar a chance and I bet you will be as smitten with them as I was. Check it out here at Dreamspinner Press.

As always, I’m here at Dreamspinner and also on Amazon.

And as a treat, here’s a beautiful photograph by my photographer friend Anthony Aceto!

 

What’s a writer to do….and a fic rec….

So, I’ve been missing in action lately, mostly due to the fact that my writing mojo sort of deserted me but now I’m back!!

I’ve spent the summer running around like crazy and wondering how we ever managed to get anything done when I was working 7 days a week and my daughter was playing sports every weekend. There’s certainly not enough hours in our weekends to get everything done that we want to and it used to be crazier?

But now that summers over, and of course here in the Canadian prairie, winter can strike at anytime, so I’m hoping for some more relaxation time. I’m not a winter sport kind of girl, but more of a “sit in front of the fire drinking spiked hot chocolate” kind of girl.

I have been keeping up on the news but I’m not sure I should be. Ebola terrifies the hell out of me and that ISIS terrorist group makes me scared and angry in equal portions. And knowing there’s not a damn thing I can do about either one makes me think that maybe I should just avoid the news all together.

It was my birthday yesterday. I turned 45. I’m not one of those women who care about how old they are. My life isn’t really how I thought it would be when I think back to being 20, and while there are some things I would change (still working on that lotto win) all in all it’s not too bad. Back then I never would have even thought I could be a published writer, and pretty much anyone who knew me back then would have thought that I’d end up with about 6 kids instead of the one near-perfect girl I have. (Don’t let it go to your head Meg) I guess the herd of other people’s kids that goes through my house on a regular basis sort of makes up for it.

Anyway, I have two stories on the go these days. My shifter story that’s taking forever, but I am getting somewhere and MC #1 has just gotten furry for the first time! I also have this whole bodyguard and scientist story that popped into my head that is good for distracting me when I’m thinking too hard about the other story. I have high hopes for both of them. My pre-reader is bugging me for more of both so I think it’s a good sign.

GayRomLit is coming up in a week or so and I’m really disappointed that I don’t get to go. I think it would be awesome to meet all the wonderful writer I love and the few I’ve gotten to know a little. I think it would totally enhance my “author experience” don’t you? (Working on my sales pitch for next year) I hope all my fellow writers have an amazing time and I can’t wait for the reports to start pouring in from various social media sites.

Oh and to my Canadian readers, Happy Thanksgiving for this weekend. I can’t wait for turkey dinner and I’m looking forward to my sister and her fiancé and his kids coming to stay with me. Good food, great family, it should be a great weekend.

Well, that’s about it for right now. Oh yeah, the fic rec. Let me see….

Racing for the Sun by Amy Lane is a different kind of love story. It’s not all sweetness and light. Horrible things happen to good people and it’s not always easy to like the main characters. But by the time I was done, I love both Sonny and Ace and was rooting for their happy ending. This story put me through so many emotions I felt like I’d been put through the ringer, but there was never a dull moment and in a different (better) world, this could be turned into an excellent movie.

You can get it here at Dreamspinner Press: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3782

and it’s available on Amazon as well.

And of course, as always, you can find me here at Dreamspinner: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_454 and on Amazon.

PSA: Remember folks, when you buy from the publisher, the author gets to keep more of their royalties!

Here is a beautiful pic from a photographer friend of mine. Anthony, you’re amazing!

I’m an author behaving badly…

So, I have a couple of things to talk about today and let’s start with the less controversial one.

The death of actor/comedian Robin Williams hit me pretty hard. I’m one of those old enough to remember him on Mork and Mindy and he made me smile so many times over the years…only slightly more times than he made me cry.

The World According to Garp was a strange and wonderful movie that came out in 1982 and I realize now that I was probably too young the first time I watched it to appreciate everything it was about. Robin Williams performance as T.S. Garp was inspiring. I remember being horrified by all the ways life made things difficult for him but it wasn’t until I had dealt with a few of my own life issues that I understood a lot of went on in the movie. John Lithgow’s excellent portrayl of transexual Roberta Muldoon was my first introduction to a community of people who have become so important to me 30 years later.

Robin Williams movies kept everyone laughing and thinking and there’s no doubt that some of his characters, like Mrs. Doubtfire and Patch Adams and Armand Goldman (The Birdcage) are iconic and will never be forgotten. In fact, almost every role he played was unforgettable.

But after his death, the one role that jolted me, the reminder that brought me to tears, was when I remembered that he was Genie in Aladdin. I’m not sure why the first picture of Genie and Aladdin hugging was the one that broke my heart but I think it might be because it was one I enjoyed so often with the kids in my life. I watched it with my nieces and nephew, with all the children I’ve cared for over the years and of course, with my daughter and I’m still have a hard time reconciling that the man who brought Genie to life left this world by his own hand.

I’d heard all the stories of course. His troubles were always splashed across the newspapers and TV screens but when it’s not someone you know…someone who’s a part of your life on a daily basis, it’s had to grasp exactly what they’re going through. But I’ve often thought that it seems like people who are the most talented are also some of the most tormented.

I hope he’s at peace now.

And now on to the more inflammatory part of my blog.

Yesterday a story broke about a young girl in Arizona, nine years old, who accidentally shot and killed her shooting instructor while being taught to use an automatic weapon.

Now, anyone who knows me even a little knows how I feel about guns. If anti-gun talk pisses you off and will cause you to write long vitriolic emails to me, you’d best stop reading now.

In what situation is it necessary for a 9-year-old to use an Uzi? Are we in the middle of the Zombie apocalypse? Or is this the “hunting” weapon of choice in Arizona? Seriously…this little girl now has to live with the consequences of the extreme stupidity of the adults in her life and in fact, unless she gets some pretty amazing help, this one accident had probably ended the life she might have had as effectively as the bullets ended the life of the man trying to teach her.

I hate guns with a passion. There is nothing redeeming about guns. They were created with one purpose and one purpose only. To take someones life. They are inanimate objects that are often in the hands of the worst people and that is the problem. People…we are not perfect by any means. Even the best of us. Some people suggest that lack of training is the reason for so many innocent people dying at the hands of those with a gun. I don’t care how much training you’ve had, it doesn’t stop you from snapping one day and doing something stupid that you can’t take back. Ask the dad in the movie theater who was shot by the ex-cop for texting his babysitter.

I have also heard “the only way to stop bad people with guns is with good people with guns”. I’m sorry, but when did we regress to the wild west? I have no desire to live in the middle of The Gunfight at the OK Corral. In Aurora, Colorado some folks suggested that if someone else would have had a gun, they could have stopped the lunatic who was shooting people. Or, more innocent people could have died caught in the crossfire between the good and the bad.

And that’s how it feels, like we are caught in the crossfire. I know that guns will never go away, but what bothers me is the attitude of those who insist that someone’s dead child doesn’t trump their right to own a gun because it’s this attitude that’s getting innocent people killed.

I don’t have a solution to this problem and I probably never will, but it doesn’t stop me from being outraged over the damage done to this child and so many others.

So bring it on gun lovers. Tell me how I’m wrong to feel the way I do. Hate me for thinking that my child’s right to not be gunned down in the street is way more important than your right to walk around with a gun in your hand. You will never change my mind and all you will do is prove in my mind that I’m right.

Okay, I’m stepping down off my soapbox now and get back to doing what any author should be doing…writing or you know, looking for ways to avoid it.

And to distract you from my ranting, have a beautiful picture by my photographer friend, Anthony Aceto.

Life runs away with me…and a fic rec

So, long time no blog, huh? Summer life is just too damn busy! I often wonder how I ever got anything accomplished when I was working seven days a week..

Had a little vacation last week. First one in five years. Took an extra long weekend, packed up the kid, her cousin, the dog and the hubby and drove to my sisters to hang out. It was still crazy, but it was fun.

Went to the Calgary Zoo on Sunday (bad idea on the August long weekend, btw) and spent the day NOT looking at animals that I paid a crap-load of money to see because they were smarter than me. While I spent hours walking around in 30C heat, frying on the pavement, most of the critters were hunkered down in somewhere much cooler and probably laughing their asses off at us.

Dinner at Nando’s that night was pretty damned good. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a Portuguese restaurant that specializes in fire-grilled chicken. Everything was damned tasty and the little custard filled tarts for dessert are now on my favorites list. We ended up there because my daughter, who is obsessed by 1D and 5SOS (Google if you’re confused), was dying to go because her favorite bands love the place. And of course it’s only in Calgary. It was well worth the driving through the crazy to get there.

Monday was the part I’d been dying for. We drove to Banff and spent the day walking the streets, checking out the shops and visiting the Banff Springs Hotel. The hotel is a gorgeous place to sight-see but I wouldn’t stay there for anything. Haunted venues are not for overnight stays.

I love the mountains. I could spend days there, just walking around and exploring. It was a wonderful time with my family and with all the jewelry stores my sister and her boyfriend visited in Banff, I wasn’t surprised that he became her fiance by the end of last week. I’m so happy for them!

So, that’s all that’s been up on the home front. Now, for the writing…it’s going slow. I managed to finish a fandom story for a challenge and I was pretty happy with it. I’m still slogging along on my wolfshifter story. I’m so proud of it and I want it done but it’s really hard this time and I’m not sure why.

But I’m pretty sure that when it’s done…and it will be done…that it will be the best thing I’ve ever written. I probably just jinxed myself but whatever.

So, I have been getting some reading done and I recently read BAMF by SJD Peterson and I loved it. Nothing like strong men trying so hard to take care of each other and discovering something new about themselves. I highly recommend it! You can get it here from Dreamspinner as well as from Amazon and ARE.

And of course you can get all my stuff from Dreamspinner here.

And here’s a couple of beautiful pictures by a friend of mine who’s on a journey to become a photographer. Thanks Anthony Aceto!

Coming Out

Originally posted on AJ Rose Books:

A few years ago, I wasn’t out. Anywhere. I followed the rules, did what I was supposed to, what was expected of me, behaved myself. And was fucking miserable. So I had to do it. Had to say, “Hey, this is who I am, and let’s talk about what this means for how we interact.” Most people reading this would say, that’s brave. That’s awesome. Be yourself!

Okay, so I need to come out again. As a woman writing with a male persona in the m/m romance genre.

I’m not going to presume your reactions, only hope that those of you still reading this will consider my explanation.

You know, I’ve written all my life, in some form or another. Even when I was in a relationship where my writing anything more than a résumé or a grocery list was frowned upon unless it was helpful to him, I still managed…

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Embracing My Life and Myself

Originally posted on Theo Fenraven:

You know me as Fen: male, thirtiesh, dark hair, primarily attracted to men but also love women. I’m politically inclined (liberal), generous to friends (and sometimes to strangers), sarcastic, and have a wicked sense of humor. I love my dog, Suki, live in Florida (dream come true!), write books, edit for a living, and take photographs of my world.

Not all of the above is true, and I have lately had an epiphany that prompts me to come out in a way I never have before. To borrow from Edmond Manning’s beautiful series of books, I’m going to king myself. I have the power, and I’m not waiting for Vin to show up and do it. I am a found king.

The tagline on the blog says “Let me tell you a story….” It’s the internet, folks, where no one knows you’re a cat. Everyone thinks they know me, but arguably, they don’t know…

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Pride history, NHTD and all the news that is the news and a fic rec.

So, I’m trying to get better at blogging more so here I go.

First things first. South of me, in the US it’s National HIV Testing Day. It’s one of many ideas put into place to encourage everyone to know their status. I would like to point out that this is something that everyone should be aware of, not just the members of the gay community.

I know too many straight men and women who still think after 30 years of horror and education that they can’t get infected because they aren’t gay. It’s a stupid and arrogant way of thinking and it terrifies me that my daughter is growing up in a world where this kind of thinking still exists.

If you’re sexually active, it’s your responsibility to make sure you know your status and seriously people, it takes so little time to find out. There is a wealth of information out there on the internet about where to get checked and where to find help if the worst outcome is revealed. Show yourself and the people you care about some respect.

A couple more things while I’m on my soapbox. 45 years ago, on June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Riots broke out in NYC. People pushed too far finally pushed back and it was the very violent beginning of a whole community of people finally standing up for themselves. Today Pride is a time for celebrating how far we’ve come with equal rights, remembering those people who have fought for the rights of the LGTBQ community in the past and thinking about how far there still is to go. This weekend there are huge Pride events going on in NYC as well as many other cities across the country. In Toronto they are celebrating with World Pride and I wish I was there! If you’ve never been to Pride, go and check it out for yourself. It’s an amazing journey and if you let yourself see all the joy and love there, it will make you a different person. You can check out more on the Stonewall Riots here: http://www.thestonewallinnnyc.com/StonewallInnNYC/HISTORY.html

And if you’re still wondering why the issue of equality is important to me, I’d like to draw your attention to another, darker anniversary this week. On June 24th 1973, 32 members of the gay community lost their lives in the Upstairs Lounge in New Orleans. While the best suspect was a patron who’d been thrown out earlier in the night, no one was ever charged and authorities made it perfectly clear that no one was really interested in solving the case. After all, no one important died. Yes, that was the attitude. It’s horrific and I’d like to think that it would be so different today but there is places where it wouldn’t be. Check out this article here for more information: http://www.back2stonewall.com/2014/06/june-24th-1973-orleans-upstairs-lounge-arson-attack-kills-32-people.html

So,I’m done with my soapbox now. If you’re still reading then here’s some more news that’s just all about me!

On July 1st my novel, All the Things I Didn’t See is being released in Italian by Dreamspinner Press. I am so excited about this! It’s already out in Spanish and I love that this is opening up my story to a whole new audience. I’m getting some amazing feedback already and I’m in a little bit of shock over the whole thing. If you’re interested, you can pre-order it here: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5234 I love the translated title Tutto quello che non vedevo. I wanna hear someone say it in Italian….

Other than that, my shifter story is coming along and I’m very happy about it. My inspiration seems to have found me again and I can’t wait to get this finished.

Now, for a fic rec…

This time I’m reccing The Colors of Romance by Ashavan Doyon. It’s a wonderful story about a young man who’s decided that love isn’t for him…only to have his world turned upside down by a secret admirer. I loved the romance of this story and the determination of the secret admirer to make Theo happy. If you’re looking for a story that will keep you guessing and make you smile you need to check this out. It’s available here at Dreamspinner: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4670 I encourage you to buy it there if you can because we authors get the most royalties from our publishers. Of course it’s available at Amazon and ARE as well.

And of course, you can get all my books at Dreamspinner here: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_454

They are available at Amazon and ARE as well.

And here’s a photograph taken by a friend of mine. His sunsets are amazing and they always take me to another place….

I Took My Girl to Pride and this is what I learned….

So, I’m sitting here in the middle of Pride Week, at least here in Edmonton and I realized I had some things to say and if you know me at all, you know I say what’s on my mind, lol.

Saturday was the Pride parade in Edmonton and we all got up early in the morning and made our way into the city. Hubby went with my nephew to some sports thing while my daughter and I hopped on the LRT (our subway of sorts) and rode to Churchill Square, just outside City Hall.

It was a beautiful day and people were just starting to arrive and we took advantage of the lack of crowds to walk around and look at every booth. At the biggest booth selling Pride merchandise, her eyes got wide and happy and I knew I was about to spend some money. The girl ended up covered in rainbows and she was so enthusiastic and silly that all the people working loved her and I couldn’t blame them in the least.

At 13 this amazing young lady is the center of my world and her father’s. She’s not perfect and we don’t expect her to be. She’s got the teenage attitude thing going on and boys are starting to take notice and some days I want to lock her in Rapunzel’s tower to keep her safe.

But she’s fierce and independent and way smarter than I could ever hope to be and watching her on Saturday was a revelation that took my breath away.

When I went to Pride for the first time last year I was blown away by it all. The joy and feeling of freedom that everyone was sharing was almost overwhelming for me and I found myself close to tears several times at how wonderful it all was and at how much I wished it could be like that every day. I never heard one cruel word the whole time I was there and so many people stopped to talk to me and asked if I was having a good time and wish me a Happy Pride. I was alone but I’m glad of it because I met some amazing people and I think the experience would have been different if I would have had people with me.

But as I watch my girl on Saturday I kept waiting for her to show some kind of big emotion. I waited for questions that never came and at first I was concerned that she was missing something, but then as I listened to her chat with the people around us, I realized that for her, this was just how it was. Everyone was the same in her eyes, from the adorable young gay couple standing on one side of us to the mom and dad and their three kids on the other side and the grandparents who had complimented her on something a few minutes before.

In her eyes, everyone is equal because that’s what I’ve taught her.

For her, the party was great and the people were fun, but she wasn’t quite getting the big deal because for her this is how it’s supposed to be.

I grew up in a different world than she did in so many ways. Some of the things are worse now. She will never leave the house in the morning and not come home until dark in the summer without checking in because it’s not safe and that’s why she has a phone. Things are scarier now in lots of ways but there are issues that are a good kind of different too.

She knows that the LGBTQ community is still fighting for equality in so many ways but in her mind, it’s a forgone conclusion. Equality is coming and it will happen and she just doesn’t understand why it’s taking so long.

People from my generation (if they thought about it at all) hoped for a brighter future for the LGBTQ community but weren’t sure it would ever happen. When I think about how I was her age when I first started hearing about AIDS and HIV and that was probably my first introduction to the gay community. And even back then, I knew that the horrible things that I was hearing on TV weren’t right and it was then that I started to realize how much injustice had been done to a whole community of people. I’m floored at how far we’ve come…and how far there still is to go.

But watching my girl dance and smile as the parade went by, I figured out that she was the biggest and best thing I had ever done to fight against that injustice and that she is going to be one of the reasons that equality for everyone will happen.

I took her to Pride because I wanted her to see that I didn’t just say I believed in equality, but that I actually meant it and would do my part to support it. I wanted her to learn something and I suppose she did, but in the end, it turns out that I learned even more.

Pride, small towns and random thoughts….and a fic rec

Did you ever feel like your brain is running away without you? I have so much to think about these days but can’t seem to concentrate on anything and some days I’m honestly sure I’m losing my mind. But I haven’t blogged in too long so lets see if I can come up with something that makes sense.

I’m still overwhelmed with the success of Wrapped Up in Chains and I keep going and checking the sales just to make sure I didn’t imagine it all. I keep thinking that if you would have told me 5 years ago when I wrote my first fanfiction that one day I would not only be a published author but that I would have this kind of success, I would have though YOU were the crazy one.

I’m still working on my Shifter story. I need to come up with a name for the damn thing. I’ve been bouncing some ideas off some very patient friends of mine (thanks Ash and Lisa)but so far nothing has really stuck for me.

I am the worst at coming up with titles and character names. My daughter actually came up with the names of the main characters in Wrapped and I couldn’t have been more grateful. For me it’s sort of like chosing a present for someone. It has to jump out at me and say “yeah, this is meant to be” before I’m happy with it. I will keep thinking about it I guess, but I’d really like a title. I think it makes it more real for me and inspires me to finish the story more.

Hey, I never claimed to be the most logical thinker in the world.

What else is new? Well, Pride is coming up in a few weeks. As some of you know, I went to my first Pride last year and I was completely overwhelmed by the whole thing. I will hold those memories in my heart forever. I have never been anyplace where I was surrounded by such a feeling of joy and goodwill in my life. Strangers stopped me on the street to ask if I was having a good time, their smiles brighter than the sun and it was so amazing to see everyone’s happiness.

I’m hoping to take Meghan with me this year. The parade in Edmonton is family friendly and I think it’s something she will enjoy. With the help of her dad, Scott, I’m raising my girl to believe in equality for everyone and I’m proud to say she’s off to an excellent start. I want her to experience those feelings that I had last year, surrounded by the LGBT community and their friends, family and supporters. I want her to live in a different world than I grew up in when it comes to equality and I’m hoping she will be one of the people who helps change it.

Someday I’d like to attend Pride in San Francisco or New York…one of those bucket list kind of dreams…

Other than that, there’s nothing too exciting going on around here. It’s Devon Days this weekend and I’m looking forward to fireworks, a small town parade (I always cry when the bagpipers go by) and mini-donuts. Devon Days is something I’ve rarely missed since my first one in the mid-80′s, even when I didn’t live here. The fireworks are Friday night and you can be guaranteed that we all spend the day wondering if it’s going to rain or not because Mother Nature seems to love to mess with our little celebration.

Saturday morning is the parade and my family has had the same spot on main street staked out for the past 15 years. We all gather there with our coffees and lawn chairs to cheer on whichever kids are participating in the parade that year. At the end of the parade we all make sure we have money to drop into the boots the volunteer firefighters are walking around with, raising money for Muscular Dystrophy before wandering through the fair, watching the kids on the rides and enjoying our yearly treat of mini-donuts.

Except for 3 years ago when it snowed…but that made it memorable too.

It’s about as small town as it comes and some of my best memories of this place I live in revolve around Devon Days.

So there you go. The place I live is about 20 minutes from Edmonton, so I get to enjoy the safety and comfort of living somewhere I’m not afraid to let my daughter walk around on her own, but I’m close enough to partake of some of the best parts of the city as well.

Wow, I’m kinda random today, huh? I told you my brain is on overdrive.

Anyway, be on the lookout for a more focused blog a little closer to Pride. I’m gonna be reminding you all of the reasons I support equality and how you can do your part as well.

And now for my fic rec.

It’s actually a series that I want to rec to you today. The Guards of Folsom series by SJD Peterson is one I’ve fallen totally in love with. There are 4 books and a short side story in the series and I’m hoping for at least a few more. This author’s characters are smart, well-developed and compelling, drawing you in and never letting you go from beginning to end. Be warned if you’re considering it though, it revolves around the sub/Dom world and won’t be for everyone. But the books are brilliantly written and I’m betting you fall in love with every single character.

You can find it here at Dreamspinner: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=796 and you can also find them at Amazon, although I encourage you to buy from Dreamspinner as that means more money for authors.

And of course, you can find Wrapped Up in Chains and all my stories at Dreamspinner here: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_454 and at Amazon as well.

Where did I go and how do I find me?

It’s been forever it seems since I’ve blogged. I know I say that every time, but it’s more true than usual today. I’ve been trying to find something to write about and I’m still not sure what’s gonna end up coming out.

The release of Wrapped Up in Chains has gone so much better than I ever hoped or dreamed of. I’ve gotten amazing reviews and the sales have been fantastic. Got to number one twice on Amazon.ca in all three of my categories and did almost as well on Amazon.com. I was blown away by it all. Good reviews AND good sales? A writer’s dream come true I think.

The people I’ve heard from who’ve read it have made me laugh and made me cry and hearing from people who have been touched by my story is absolutely the best part of doing this, so thank you to all the people who have taken the time to contact me and let me know how much you liked it.

Now for the hard part…THE NEXT BOOK.

Yeah, that’s how it looks in my brain…like it’s shouting at me to stop being such and idiot and write already.

I know where I want this story (I haven’t got a title for it yet. I suck at titles) to go, I just haven’t figured out yet how I’m going to get it there. And in a story, it really is all about the journey.

I’m feeling a lot of pressure to get this one perfect, but it’s mostly coming from myself. After how well Wrapped has done, it feels like this obligation to do something even more amazing to follow-up on it and you wanna know a secret? I’m never sure that I can.

I love the premise of the story and the reactions of my pre-readers have all been very positive but as usual, I’m my own worst critic. It’s one of those things that only I can fix and I’m not quite sure how to do it.

I’ll get there eventually. I need to stop procrastinating and just sit down and write. It’s as simple as that…and as complicated. It’s kind of like when you can’t sleep and you lay there telling yourself to just close your eyes and the harder you try to sleep, the more you can’t. It’s frustrating and pisses me off like you wouldn’t believe. But like not being able to sleep, at some point, you do just drift off and do what you need to do and this story will get there too.

I think I need to stop and go back to my roots…write something for the fandom I started in and hopefully kick-start my brain back into gear. The thing about writing fanfiction is, you have a whole universe that’s already built for you and a whole group of people who already know the characters you’re writing about and all you have to do is tell another story or another version of their story. It’s sort of like talking to an old friend. Old friends already know everything about you and you don’t have to explain every little detail to them. They just get it.

Anyway, that’s where my brain is at…at least the writer part of it. I’ll try to not go so long without blogging again. I never shut up in real life so you think it wouldn’t be so hard to come up with a subject to talk about!

Okay, I’m gonna rec one of the first m/m novels that I ever read.

Crying for the Moon by Sarah Madison is a wonderful story about a Vampire who moves to a remote town with a group of friends who just happen to be werewolves. The first day he’s there, he meets a man who is everything he ever wanted but is terrified to have. The story made me laugh and made me cry and I was hooked from beginning to end. The supernatural world is my favorite genre and this story didn’t let me down for one second.

You can get it here at Dreamspinner: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=2422 and also at Amazon.com.

I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you to buy your ebooks from the publisher if you can as this means more money going to the authors and less going for third-party fees.

As always, you can find all my stuff here at Dreamspinners: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_454 as well as at Amazon.