Z.L. Arkadie's Blog, page 6

Mid-week Author Update – 7-13-2022

So, I’m coming to you on Wednesday this week instead of Sunday because I have a clear plan of which project to start, well, tomorrow!   Boss On Notice is still in the editing phase. However, I’m pretty sure you’re going to want to read Max’s story next.    Since handing over my manuscript for editing, I’ve been in an incubation period. That means my brain has been in a constant state of working. It has been chasing possible stories and projects up avenues, and crossing grassy field to walkaway from one idea to get to the next. Until, finally, I have found Max’s story. I can’t wait to start beating it out.    And, so, that’s the announcement! I am writing Max’s story! I won’t put up a pre-order on Amazon though. I find the inflexibility of Amazon’s pre-order process problematic.    Anyway…   I would love to give you a taste of BON by providing a sneak peak of chapter one. But you see that’s the problem! I would like to have material edited and proofed before submitting to my small ARC team and publishuing snippets. Unedited material does have an effect on reception and perception.    Stay tuned for release updates. Know that this particular series, The Lords of Manhattan, does triple better in Amazon KU compared to the total of all other stores. I don’t even have to sink a lot of money into ads! That tells me that series has the content that Kindle Unlimited likes. And I’ll take being liked by Amazon Kinde Unlimited all day long. My goal is to be loved by the platform though! 😉    But I don’t know how BON or Boss On Notice will be received wide or on Amazon. So, I’ll play it by ear, regarding whether it will go into KU or not. The books in the series can solidly be read as standalones. So that’s a plus. However, the book will be released wide on day one.  But OMG, I love the flexibility of writing a standalone.   Okay… That’s all. I’m studying a TV show at the moment. It has been playing while I’ve been writing this so I have to go back a few episodes and start from the beginning. I’m studying Successioin. Gosh, watching the episodes back to back, those siblings are truly awful, but complex, extremely complex. I have no rooting interest… Well, I do. I’m rooting for Greg for the finish.However, last season ended with Tom betraying Shiv, but goodness, watching how she’s been treating him, I see why the writers did it. She deserved what she got. Learning a lot… I am learning a lot.   Alright. Good night! Much ❤️Z.L.        

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Author Update Wee Hours of July 7, 2022

Yesterday, around 9:30 P.M. I finished “Boss On Notice.” It has been sent to my new editor. I’m excited about that!  And now, I rest. Like, really rest. I binge some series on Hulu, Netflix, and Apple TV, if I really let myself do it.    Not easy…   You see, I have several projects I want to write at this very moment.  I can only do one at time. So, I’m just going to think about them all for a while and binge Stranger Things.   What a very interesting show. Hmm…   Good night or Good morning or Have a fantastic day! Your choice😊   The next time I come back, I’ll try to bring you a taste of Boss On Notice.   Much❤️Z.L.

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Sunday, June 12th Author Update!

So I have been moving from one house to another since June 2nd. It has been an arduous move, but I’m finally settled. Yay!   I’m finishing up Boss On Notice, but this post mainly concerns what happens next. So there are two Grove men stories, Lynx and Max, left to tell. In Boss On Notice, you’ll get to know Lynx Grove a bit better. Of course, they will not be in the Lords of Manhattan series because they’re Groves. Also, I’ll take about this “series” thing below. But, I want to get a feeling for which book to write first. I’ve had several ideas about Max’s story. There’s a trope I’ve wanted to tackle for a LONG time–the amnesia trope!    I think Lynx’s book will be easier to write because I’m strongly leaning toward the friends-to-lovers trope. I’m working out the story in my mind. So far, I like it. I like it a lot. I think the best thing to do is close out with Max and ****. I won’t write her name just in case someone reads this post before reading the books. However, the hard part of planning this story has been to get the two characters in each other’s lives daily. But I’m working it out. Or better yet, fate is working it out. 😉   I’ll be making a few posts in the future. I want to explain Zoey and Z.L. a bit more. The two names are one atom on the verge of separating, especially now that I’m changing my writing style and hopefully venturing successfully into T.V. There’s a lot I know about being a writer, important stuff like branding, tropes, and audience expectations that I didn’t know before starting my career as a book author. But I know two names on my recent work can be confusing, especially to new fans. I’m not sure that was the right thing to do; I strongly feel like it was. And I’m not even done with the more significant project I have in mind of making some Z.L. books into Zoey. As I said, I’ll be blogging about it soon. I think you’ll find it quite exciting and promising. You’ll know that I’m in this for the long run. I’m refining my career and work by putting out fewer and more quality books a year. I can write for television and still write romance (I’ll blog on my new style of romance soon as well.) if I’m not breaking my neck trying to finish a series. I do my own ads and one of my most successful targets is Colleen Hoover; go figure. It was like the ad platform algorithm revealed that to me. So I took a look at her work and saw that we have similar writing styles. However, my branding is different than hers, which tells me that buyers open and read my book in preview then recognize the similarities in our writing and buy either Crossing the Line or Making It While Faking It. I would have to put those books into K.U. to learn if they go the distance by finishing the books. For the brief time I had my books in K.U., I saw that most readers finished them. Yay! IDK… K.U. is a BEAST I have yet to figure out sooner rather than later. The fact that Crossing the Line had stickability when I made it free is an indication that I’m the right track. I might have to pay a specialist to rebrand the covers for The Lords of Manhattan series soon.   But listen… No more series after I finish with the Grove men. I’ll blog what I mean when I say that too. I’m kicking my career up a notch. I want you to come back for more of my books because you like how I tell a story.   And finally, I was serious when I said I’m working on a TV series package based on The Playing With Fire series. But… Like a big BUT, I might go in a different direction. I’ve been binging my favorite TV series as well—The Affair and Succession for two. I’m also catching every episode of The Time Travelers Wife. I’m paying more attention to the narrative techniques applied to build each episode. Although in the end, I will make my series my own. One thing I’ve learned is that the story has to be something that production companies will be like oh, your show is like this show or this show or that show. Like, this audience or that audience will like this show too. And that show had this many viewers and so forth. Afterall… This is business. So basically, the show won’t be romance. It’ll be drama and include romantic elements simply because romance and love are vital to the human experience, isn’t it? I understand this to my core now, especially after going through proufound life changes with family members; LOVE is like blood. We need both to stay alive, which makes humans extremely volatile.  Hmm… My package definitely will be based on Play ng with Fire. I’ve already writte  the opening scene. Although, I can’t really get in to it until Boss on Notice is complete.    Also, a total rebranding is on the way. But again, I must finish this book before tackling it.    And now… I’ve reached the end of this LONG post. Making up for lost time, I guess! LOL!    I’ll be in touch soon.    Much❤️Z.L.  

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Monday, May 30 Author Update!

Greetings! It’s in the wee hours of Monday morning and it occurred to me that I do have an author update that I’m excited about.  Remember my Playing with Fire series which started as Hercules Valentine and I? Well, it’s the bedrock of the Lords of Manhattan series. I still see the Lords as the Valentines. I changed the Valentines to the Lords because was advised to do it because of that ugly thing called the algorithms. But for the next stage of this story, I won’t have to worry about algorithms.   Stay with me… When I first started writing the first book of that series, I told myself that I was going to take my time and create a deep story, not missing a beat. I’ve seen reviews of book 1 where readers have said it was too slow. I know what I had done wrong though. It came to me yesterday, on Sunday when I usually write this post.    I’ve been wanting to tighten that series for a while now. But more than that… Let me explain what keeps me turning to that series and saying, hmm… I promise you, wherever I look, The Deception, the second book in that series has 5 stars or close to it. And I think Soul Mates would have the same star rating if I hadn’t ended it the way I had. Because there was so much more to write. That story could’ve turned into another five books, and it seemed that book one didn’t have enough steam to carry the series.    But now–I got it!   However,  I don’t know if that series will work as a book series. I think the world I built is too rich for romance that sells. It’s not tropey at all. And I don’t want it to be tropey at all.  I’ve learned something since writing those first three books about keeping the story, keeping the characters with their feet on the ground.    Long story short. I’m going to fix Tempting Fate. I now know what the big mistake I made is. And it’s finally time to fix it.   It’s also time to go back to my roots with this series. I’m a trained screenwriter. I mean, the futuristic aspect of the story, the feuding families, the transgressions… I could get deeper with the Playing with Fire series if I write it as a TV series with my feet on the ground. I think I can make it great and extremely entertaining.    Here’s what I mean about writing with my feet on the ground. I think I said once that I will explain what I meant by that. And I will one day.  I have to be consistent in showing you first. So bear with me, stay with me, and you’ll see what I mean.    And how is Boss On Notice going? Swimmingly! I’m at the point where I must go back and write more of the story. Even I want to see “what next.”    Some other things I might consider doing in the future. I read where an author published a serialized story for her newsletter. I thought that was fun. I’ve been thinking about doing that. I’ll let you know if I do. The thing is, I’m going to be busy after Boss On Notice writing the episode for Playing with Fire and putting together a packet to shop the series. It’s not going to be so hard because I already know how this story is going to play out. I have the feel of it, the pace of it, the mise en scéne.    And then that leaves the books about Max Grove and Lynx Grove, who you’ll meet more in Boss On Notice. I figured I’ll let you show me if you want more. Also, I don’t want to jump the gun and start writing Max’s book without completing the one I’m writing now or the Playing with Fire fix. Again, reader reception will guide me. So, from this day forward and for the next year I’ll be working on three projects–all dealing with the same family! Yay!    I feel good about the TV series though. I think I’ll pull it off and it’ll get picked up. Of course, for me, the HBO is the PRIZE. We’ll see. We’re talking about network that gave us Westworld and True Blood. I know their brand. I know what they like. And I’m keeping that in mind while writing.    Play… It’s 3:20 a.m. Time to go night-night.  I’ve been up late studying TV shows on HBO Max. Tonight it was The Baby and The Time Travelers Wife. This week it’ll be more.   And so… Please excuse any typos. I’m too tired to fix them.   Good night! Much❤️Z

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Sunday May 22, 2022 Author Updates

So…  I thought I wouldn’t have an update for this Sunday but I actually do!    I’ve decided to republish the original of Desire and Claimed. I should’ve stuck to my instincts and trusted the data and never changed the books. Listen, apparently readers seem to prefer the originals of Desire and Claimed. I sort of felt it in my bones. Sure, the newer versions are tighter but the originals have sort of a crazy kind of oomph to them. LOL! That’s the best way I can describe them. Also, their sexier–so much sexier. Back are those hot, hot, OMG, way too hot sex scenes. LOL! So…as of very early this morning, the originals are back live and won’t be changed. The name of the Christmas family’s corporation will be slightly different in Intrigued than in the other books, but that’s all. I’m sure the name of the family’s company is of minor consequence.    What a waste of time and money though. It took me a few months to revise Desire and Claimed. My instincts told me to leave them alone but I didn’t listen to my instincts yet again. The last time I didn’t listen to my instincts I put my best-selling series in Kindle Unlimited and that nearly broke me. It was before Intrigued and Enthrall were rewritten though. But still… Kindle Unlimited requires true tropey kind of material for success and that series was not tropey at all.    Sigh… Anyway… I’m getting through Boss On Notice, which is actually on trope,  just fine. After writing the first chapters, I know I said this before, but this book, I feel is going to be my best yet. I can feel it in my bones. I’m challenging myself in a different way.   OMG… I want to spill the beans but I won’t. Let me finish my complete first draft first and then I’ll figure out how to share portions of the story with you!    Crossing the Line is still free. But I’m about to slap a price tag back on the book very soon. It’s been free for so long because on Amazon it’s getting that tropey love. What I mean by that is that I don’t have to sink a lot of money into ads to give away a good amount of books. Crossing the Line is sticking in the ranking on its own. I’m a little excited about that actually. It’s been so long since that happened that I hate to let it go. However, it’s time to make the book “paid” again. I was trying standalone with the Lord of Manhattan series and frankly, I’m not sure I like writing standalones. They feel limiting. Like… I would’ve loved to kick it up a notch and have thrown a monkey wrench into Paisley and Hercules’s perfect relationship by writing a book two at least. And boy, I wanted to do the same with Making It While Faking it. Book two would’ve started after Leo and Xander made their final move against the Lords. I felt a great book two was on the horizon after that. Didn’t you???     So… I’m not sure if I’m going to limit my stories in that way again. I’ll keep you in the loop regarding Boss On Notice. I’m writing the story as I feel it, but if  I feel I don’t want to wrap it up in one book, and the story is begging for more, then I’ll let you.    Okay…   I think this is the last update I’ll have for several weeks.    Oh… I had given a narrator Crossing The Line but I hadn’t heard back from her in months. I guess she’s busy and frankly so am I. I think I’ve been focusing on the wrong projects with the Desire and Claim revisions. Sigh… Enthrall, however, was rightfully revised.  It’s so much better. So. Much. Better. I’ll figure out audiobooks for either the Lords of Manhattan or A Dark Billionaire Family Romance Series soon. I need to find a new narrator and that takes time. Sigh… I wish I could have a narrator with an English/British accent because I’m telling you, Lisa Jewell’s top narrator is top-notch. Also, the narrator for Within These Wicked Walls was superior too, also English/British. IDK, who says my character have to have an American accent? I think the Obannon brothers will be Americans raised in London! Hmm…🤔 I’ll figure it out. Wish me luck!   And now, I shall leave you to your Sunday.    Toodles for now!  Much❤️Z.L.  

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Jasper Chrimstas Trilogy

My apologies. This post was made in error.  I hope you’re having a wonderful day or night! Much❤️Z

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Sunday May 15th Author Update

Greetings All! I meant to write this earlier today, but I’ve been pretty lazy this weekend. I don’t know… I didn’t feel like doing much this weekend. Significant changes have happened in my life recently; maybe that’s why. It’s so interesting how bad habits survive. I figure out an issue with this one thing–and then voila, that resolves this and this and this and that.  Even when I wasn’t directly figuring out this and this and this and that. Interesting… Anyway,  getting to my author updates. I’ve finished updating Intrigued, Desire, Claimed, and Enthrall. They were the first books in the series about the Christmas family, and because they were the first, they had suffered the most. The books are now more focused and are no longer such arduous reads. I will ask Amazon to push Enthrall through to readers who’ve already purchased or downloaded the book, but I feel I don’t have to do the same for Desire and Claimed. Claimed ends differently, though. Desire doesn’t have a bunch of plot points to wade through–talk about overwritten. I wish I hadn’t written those books so fast. The read-through has improved dramatically. If only they were as strong as I’ve made them now in the beginning. There’s a beauty in crafting a story at a steady pace, allowing the story to come to me. But as far as the other stores: Google Play, Apple Books, Nook, and Kobo, you should be able to update your previous version and get the new version.    Also, I’ve completed the first chapter of Boss On Notice. I figure I could write a chapter a day and try not to work on the weekends. I need my weekends back. I feel I’ve been missing out on spending more time with friends. It’s time to reach out to them and make plans to see them. Recently, one of my friends posted a picture of her twenty-year-old son that I used to babysit!!!! I was like, who is this person? He was still a little boy when I last saw him. This is crazy. We have friends for a reason so yeah…I have to take breaks and nurture those relationships. Shoot. I came downstairs to make myself a mocha. It’s almost eight p.m. Dang it. The caffeine might keep me up late. Sigh… I’ll make one anyway. I’ll do a workout, and maybe I can sweat it out. If not, then I’ll just start my Monday chapter writing during the wee hours of the morning. All right… Making that mocha. Those are my updates. Peace, Much ❤️Z.L. 

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Sunday April 24th Author Update

Happy Sunday! I hope you’re enjoying the final day of the weekend.   Earlier this week I thought I wouldn’t be making a post today because really I have no new developments. But I have a few new developments!   First, Crossing the Line and Making It While Faking It are in Kindle Unlimited.    It looks like The Lords of Manhattan is favored by the KU gods! I’ll keep an eye on the books but so far, VERY GOOD. People who actually borrow the books, READ the full books. The KU likes that.    Yesterday, I finished the revision of Claimed and sent it to the proofer. I’m still trying to figure out how I’ll release the new version. It is remarkably different than the first version. The plot is tighter–much tighter.   I’m working on the revision of Enthrall, starting today. It shouldn’t take as long as Desire and Claimed had. Again, I had to wipe extraneous plot points that really slowed down the main story.  For instance, why did Jada have to go to the “atrium” and meet this girl, who shouldn’t have been on the estate anyway? Especially if Spencer is hiding out. The fewer people who know he’s there the better–right? It didn’t make much sense for her to be there. So, I’ve been cleaning up those kinds of plot errors.   So… I’ll probably skip a few Sundays because I won’t have an update until I make the updated versions of Desire, Claimed, and Enthrall available. I think they’ll all need to be published at the same time. I predict the new versions of Desire and Claimed are going to excite more readers to want to read more about the Christmases so they’ll move on to the other books. And Jada will be more palatable in Enthrall.    Okay…   That’s all for today folks! See you in a few weeks!   Much❤️Z.L.

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A Memory That Makes It Worth It All

Recently and often, I’ve gotten misty-eyed thinking about the “what if.” What if I knew then what I know now, say at eighteen?   Last night, I really pulled apart the thought. I put it on a table like a frog on a plate in my high school biology class, and it waited for me to dissect it. I bet they don’t do that anymore. I mean, with the digital age and all. I’m sure they can find another way to teach the same lesson.   Anyway, I traveled up and down several avenues and arrived at the same conclusion–I would have to be reborn to different people to have a different outcome. Because we start before we can do anything about who we become, before we realize who we are.    Get it?   If not, read that last sentence again, very slowly.    So, last night I went to bed after 2:00 a.m. listening to Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell. Like, I’m on this Lisa Jewell kick right now. I respect her work. So…emotionally intelligent. The slow grinding process of getting humanity. I call it feet-on-the-ground authoring.     At the end of the book, the heroine of modern days and the hero of modern days simply kiss. And when it happens, it sets off the fireworks in my heart and tears in my eyes. Because I have seen him be so afraid to fall in love and to believe that he’s not worthy. And I have seen her pull from the good stuff within to make the right decision. I’m ordering the book so that I can read the written version. I must see this beautiful story, consume its words.   Anyway, for some reason, that story led me to a memory. I was eighteen, and he was nineteen, tall, gorgeous, just beautiful. He had long lashes and eyes that seemed to fall in love with me anew whenever he looked at me. And oh my God, could he smirk. I’ve never seen a smirk like his, ever. I had never been so in love. And it was more than youth; it was him.    One night, the Commodores came to our post in Korea. I remember what I had on–ripped, faded, bleached spotted jeans and a white turtleneck cotton shirt. I loved the turtlenecks back then.  Anyway, a song started up. I had never heard the song before, but he had. We were in the crowd, in front of the stage, having a good time dancing and just being glassy-eyed happy. But then, that song started, and he took me by the hand, quickly guiding me past all of those bodies until we were far beyond them. Standing in a field of grass, he gathered me in his arms. I still remember what he smelled like, felt like. I used to love to put my ear on his chest and listen to him talk, laugh, and even breathe.   And he said, this is for you, or something like that as the Commodores sang, “Your once, twice, three times a lady, and I love you…”    I don’t know…   That memory never leaves. It guides me when I write romance. Because I have been loved thoroughly and beautifully and admirably. Memories of him guide me when I write romance. He was pure. Unsullied by bad relationships. When he was trusting. Once, he saved a girl from getting raped. True story… He was on CQ duty, and he and I were sitting at the desk. The girl came in drunk with a guy she had never hung out with–they weren’t in each other circles. I remember him asking, “What’s X doing with Y?” And I was like, “I don’t know.” I didn’t see it. But he had. He had street smarts that I didn’t possess–this maturity.  He went upstairs and caught X trying to take off Y’s blouse. (I remember their names, but I won’t speak them because of the sensitive nature of what almost occurred. But I will never forget their names. I will always see their faces. I will never forget that night.)   So, he was a hero too.   And so today, it occurred to me that I wouldn’t want to live a different life than the one I have lived because that experience with him wouldn’t exist. And I want my memories of him to exist. I want him to exist just as he was then–in all his beautiful glory.   I’ve learned that we become stained by true love. If you experienced it, like really experienced it, then it’s on you. It can’t be washed or scrubbed off–it’s beautiful staining.  Noting or no one has ever beat that beautiful boy-man that I met so long ago, who sat with great posture, made smoking a cigarette look sexy, and cursing poetic.   Hmm…   And so I will never ponder “What if” ever again!    Much ❤️Z.L.    

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Sunday NIGHT Update!

Okay, so I’ve been working on revising Claimed all day long.  Gosh, I’ve chased so many plot points in that book. There are way too many. Same with Desire. So here’s my plan. After I finish Claimed, which includes getting it re-proofed, I think it’ll be best to combine Desire and Claimed and make the trilogy a duet. The books are going to be shorter apart but the perfect length together. I’ll also retitle it.    You’re going to have a way better reading experience. I’ll keep the original versions on sale for at least a year; they’ll be separate from the series. I’m keeping them up because some readers will read Intrigued after I publish the combined version of Desire and Claimed, and I want their back-matter to take them to an active book. I’ll just put a note on page one of Chapter one, letting them know that a new version of the story is available.    Listen, the reviews of Desire and Claimed as they are now are really good. But, I feel the story could have more focus. And there’s so much sex and not enough love/relationship, and I’m fixing that too. Also, I think the first-person present-tense is the POV where I shine. I’ve mentioned that before.   I’ve also been building Boss On Notice. I’ve written out some very exciting chapters this week. OMG, I can’t wait to get the books in the Christmas Family series fixed so that I can move on to Boss On Notice. I’m figuring out Delilah O’Shay too. I don’t want to give anything away. Two weeks and I’ll be done. I thought I would soar through Claimed, but it’s taking me longer to zap the BS plot points.   My final book in the series to fix is Enthrall. Once that book is together, the entire series will be a phenomenal reading experience. The first three and Enthrall, I feel, are/were my weakest. A few weeks ago, I had correspondence with an Amazon rep and the rep mentioned that lots of people were actively reading the new version of Intrigued. Yay! That was a GOOD sign. And I see the difference in the read-through. However, I don’t want Desire and Claimed to exhaust them. With so many plot points to rundown, some readers are through reading about the Christmases by the time the trilogy’s over. I’m fixing that!   Well…   I fixed that. And of course, Spencer’s love interest, Jada, comes off sort of unlikable in Enthrall, book 1, but she’s much better in books 2 and 3. I was trying too hard to make her “plucky.” LOL   Then, I’m done fixing that series. I’ll be moving onward. Pretty soon, I’ll be moving too! Yay! It’s about time.    So… I’m going to step away from my computer for the rest of the night. Tomorrow, I’m back at it.    I hope you all had a lovely weekend. Let’s not forget Ukrainians tonight, and let’s keep them and their homeland in our prayers.    Much❤️Z.L.

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