Eleni Konstantine's Blog: Eleni's Taverna, page 17

Musa Monday: The Art of Saying No with Meggan Connors

Today on Musa Monday, I have the return of Meggan Connors. Take it away, Meggan. 


The Art of Saying No
As writers, especially in the beginning, we hear the word no a lot. I mean, a lot a lot. No, your book isn’t for me. No, we’re not accepting submissions in this category. No, we don’t think this book is right for our line.

No, no, no.

But what happens when we finally get that yes?

Like many writers, I have another job. I have small children, a husband and responsibilities. In short, I have a lot of stuff. (Very specific word there, “stuff.” It can describe anything—I could have an enormous collection of Regency-era pantaloons. I don’t, but I could).

In any case, when I got my first yes, I mistakenly thought the hard part was over. After all, someone had agreed to publish my book. All I had were edits and then I’d be a bestseller, right?

No. (There’s that dreaded word again!)

It’s not just edits. It’s edits and marketing and tweeting and blog posts and Facebook and keeping up with comments on the blog(s). Oh, and don’t forget to write the next book!

So, how does one do all of this and still have a job, a family and responsibilities?

By saying no, of course.

Now, I’m a people-pleaser by nature, and a teacher by profession, so of course I want to help.

Arrange the PTA dinner? Of course

Teach an extra course after school? Absolutely

Provide private therapy services during your off-time? Sure

Coach soccer (even though I never played)? Uh, okay.

In the end, the only thing I said no to was sleep.

But there is a tipping point, where something has to give. Where you can’t be all things to every person who requires something of you. Where, if you say yes to just one more thing, your head might explode.

This happened to me this fall, when, on top of trying to finish up both Jessie’s War and Wandering Heart , I was, indeed, coaching soccer, teaching a course after school, and trying to work the full time job on top of everything else. By November, I had reached my breaking point.  Stick a fork in me. I was done.

So, instead, the questions being asked and their answers sounded something like this:

Will you arrange for a parental shopping night for the PTA? No

Will you provide therapy during your track break? No.

Wife, will you please do the dishes? No.

Mom, will you feed us? .

Okay, being honest, I did do the dishes (but I learned to tolerate a few in the sink), and I did feed the children (but discovered sometimes pancakes for dinner are a big hit), and I wound up caving on the therapy services during the time I was off (but only one Saturday a month). As the title of this blog implies, saying no is an art, not a science. It takes practice and negotiation.

I, like the book I’m writing, am a Work-in-Progress. But at least this time, I’m learning to say no.

I find saying no is good if I want to stay sane.


What about you? Do you find yourself saying yes a little too often? And how do you maintain your sanity with all that life has to throw at you? (I ask because I really want to know!)

~~~Thanks, Meggan. 
Check out Meggan's latest release, Jessie's War (what a brilliant cover!)


She's about to become a pawn in a brutal game between nations...


The American Civil War has raged for more than ten years. The outcast daughter of a famous inventor, Jessica White has struggled to salvage what little remains of her life. Then, one cold winter night, the lover she'd give up for dead returns, claiming the Union Army bought the plans for her father's last invention. But he's not the only one who lays claim to the device, for the Confederacy wants the invention as well. Both sides will kill to have it.

...And only he can save her.

As an agent for the Union Army, Luke Bradshaw is a man who will use whomever and whatever is at his disposal in order to complete his mission. An attack by Confederate soldiers ensures that Jessie will turn to him for help, but Luke can't help but wonder about the secrets she keeps--and if those secrets will ultimately prove fatal.



Musa buy link

You can find Megan at megganconnors.wordpress.com


~yia~

Super Sunday News...contract and this week

Good news, my paranormal noir novelette, SNOOP,  has been contracted with Musa Publishing!

Source: How Stuff WorksHere's the unofficial blurb:

Daisy Luck is a  SNOOP - Sanctioned Nationalized Officer Of the Paranormal. Her latest case involving a vampire and a gremlin has her private eye senses in a spin. Throw in yummy Detective Maroney and her life couldn't get more complicated - or could it?

No news of a release date yet.


Also this week:

I'm on Clarissa Johal's blog talking reading feeding the soul.


I've got my 2013 reading challenges ready to go as well as what I'm currently reading over at Eleni's Library.


I had a blog spotlight over at the Australian Romance Readers Association blog.


Anna Hackett also mentioned Minion on her blog this week, which was way cool. In the same post as writing buddy, Mel Teshco. In great company there. 

~yia~

Shout Out Saturday: Wenches 2

Here are more releases by the Wenches of Words.....




Santa gets more than he bargains for in his marriage of convenience to the queen of snark.

All Gillian wanted was to pick up a third job so she could buy her preschool students Christmas gifts. She didn’t think she’d be the one getting picked up instead.

Her new boss, Nicholas Roth, is the big man in charge at Santa Incorporated—what Gillian thought was a seasonal staffing agency. But the sexy CEO has a holly jolly secret; he’s an equal opportunity employer and most of his staff are elves.

Santa has another secret. When he’s not delivering toys for his charity, he’s contending with political unease in the magic realm. To take his father’s throne as king of the elves, he has to get married…and only magic-proof Gillian will do. Gillian agrees thinking Nick will cut her loose after the busy Christmas rush, but he has other ideas.

Nick wants a permanent Mrs. Roth but Gillian doesn’t think she’s it.

Musa buy link

holleytrent.com



Mergers and negotiations are not just for the boardroom, especially when things heat up high over the Atlantic.

Travel agency owner Teddi Howard is Hell in high heels when she jumps a plane to Munich. Her goal—strangle the German tour operator who reneged on their exclusive contract.

German businessman David Stiefel well knows the feeling of being screwed over and is resolved to avoid emotional attachments. This strategy has served him well, until his chance encounter with the enticing Ms. Howard.

Musa buy link

sloanetaylor.com








Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil. But she is the only one who can see them. She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier. 
Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters. First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.

As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.


Musa buy link

dustycrabtree.wordpress.com



When life throws a widowed innkeeper and a world-famous movie star together they share an expected romance. But is their love strong enough to survive their real lives? 


Desperate to keep her ailing mother-in-law, Doreen, in the woman’s home, Carrie Gable agrees to board a handful of Hollywood’s most elite actors at the manor. Despite her resentment of the demands being placed upon her, she can’t help but be taken in by actor Will Walker.

Will, in a last-ditch effort to save his career, has agreed to a project he has no interest in. The more time he spends with his egotistical co-stars, the more drawn he is to Carrie. Long nights spent talking about the paths their lives have taken make him realize he’d rather have a simpler life, but his ties to L.A. aren’t as willing to let him go.

With the temptation of stardom pulling Will in one direction and the need to care for Doreen tugging Carrie in another, the couple struggle to hold onto the happiness they were missing until finding each other.
Musa buy link
marciboudreaux.com

Shot by a golden arrow, Apollo has only truly loved Daphne. He visits her each eclipse, and longs for reunion. He seeks the Fates’s advice and learns he may finally restore Daphne to her true water nymph form by enlisting other gods’ assistance.


If Apollo fails Daphne will be lost to him forever. To regain Daphne’s soul, Apollo must deal with the devil, King of the Underworld. Love-torn and treacherous, Hades would slay the pantheon to remain with his wife for the full year. Apollo’s quest might just give Hades the leverage he needs to do so.

Will Pheobus Apollo surrender the sun to try to reclaim love? Can he break Daphne’s curse or will his attempts destroy her forever? Will she still love him after millennia as a soulless tree? With the end of the quest see Apollo rising, or in sunset?



Buy link

nancydimauro.blogspot.com


For generations, the Frost family has run the Museum of Magical and Rare Artifacts, handing down guardianship from mother to daughter, always keeping their secrets to “family only.”


Gathered within museum’s walls is a collection dedicated to the Grimm fairy tales and to the rare items the family has acquired: Cinderella’s glass slipper, Snow White’s poisoned apple, the evil queen’s magic mirror, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel…
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Frost wants none of it, dreaming instead of a career in art or photography or…well, anything except working in the family’s museum. She knows the items in the glass display cases are fakes because, of course, magic doesn’t really exist.

She’s about to find out how wrong she is.


Musa buy link

lizdejesus.webs.com






Hetty’s desperate gamble to avoid an odious match lands her all at sea. Can an overbearing ship’s physician really be the hero she needs to escape her treacherous family?

Marriage to a cruel dandy is not how Hetty Avebury envisions spending the rest of her life. Determined to raise funds to escape the match she earns money the only way she knows how—gambling. Her plans go astray and she finds herself onboard a man-of-war under the care of its stern physician. But Hetty soon realizes that the disapproving Doctor Withington is not at all the man she had first imagined.

If it wasn’t bad enough declaring one of the pressed men as a woman, Robert has been tasked with the tiresome job of returning her safely back to her dysfunctional family. It was ten years ago when his father gambled away his inheritance, home, and any chance of marrying the woman he loved. So when Robert discovers Hetty gambling he takes drastic action to cure her of the habit.


Musa buy link

susanlodge.com


She believes she is only a blacksmith's daughter, but he must discover the truth or risk losing his land---and his life.


Acwellen Lex'Magen rules as liege lord of a small country bounded by forbidding mountains and powerful neighbors. When the neighboring baron, allied with a powerful wizard, attempts to take over his land, first by political, then by covert means, Acwellen finds an ally of his own in Enith Roweson, an unassuming blacksmith who possesses powers he's only known of in legends. As he attempts to unravel both the plots against him----including the nature of the monsters sent to assassinate him----and the mysterious powers Enith is only beginning to understand she has, he also finds himself falling in love with the blacksmith's daughter.


Musa buy link

arleycole.blogspot.com





Can Kyle and Jenna find each other again in the midst of the devastation? Or will their jobs pull them apart and leave not only their homes but their hearts shattered?


In the aftermath of a series of tornadoes, Kyle Mathis just wants to guide his linemen to restore power to the devastated town of Milton. When reinforcements in the form of corporate deskjockeys come to work storm duty, he’s glad for the extra bodies to help serve food and support the crews working eighteen hour days.

But Kyle is not prepared to face one of the latest arrivals, his ex-wife Jenna. Jenna left him years ago, choosing her career over their marriage. However, being back together in their home town brings back memories and desire—for both Kyle and Jenna.


Musa buy link

leighdaleywrites.blogspot.com




More shout outs are scheduled for the future. Keep an eye out.


~yia~

Writing Buddy Wednesday: Mel Teshco

This week I have as my special guest, DarkSider, Mel Teshco. Mel is the author of erotic paranormal and contemporary tales. If you want your stories hawt, look no further. And to top if it off, she's good people. 




Welcome to the Taverna, Mel!




Your latest release is Lusting the Enemypublished by Ellora’s Cave (congratulations!).  Can you describe this book for us?


Thanks Eleni! This is a 26k shape shifter novella set in a dystopian world. The hero is king to his desert nation and the heroine is a shape shifter willing to use her body to seduce him and ultimately try to save her people. Many of the king’s human subjects are murdering the last of her almost extinct race.


You’re such a busy woman. What is your typical writing day like?
Takes one to know one *wink* — I basically squeeze writing in when and where I can. I’m a big believer in writing every day, but not beating oneself up about it if it doesn’t happen. Life sometimes gets in the way. I count my blessings though that I don’t work outside the home, so any spare moment I have goes into my writing or procrastinating with social media and/or stat and rankings checking LOL


Are you a plotter? Pantser? Or somewhere in between?
Pantser. I nearly always start out with a scene in my mind and when I start writing I have no real idea where the story will end up. But there are times when I’m trying to get a story done, where I’ll sit down and do a lot of freehand writing, then once the story peters out I’ll do a basic outline of the next scene, which can help a lot in going forward. So I guess I do sometimes do a vague plot.


You have written many short stories and novellas. What is the attraction of the shorter form?
I don’t have a rambling type of story style, I naturally write short and concise and to the point, so it’s actually harder for me to write longer novels. Mostly though I did short because I had a young child (whose not so young anymore lol!) and it was much easier to cope with short spurts of writing and not have to remember big major plots. I will continue to write novella length for EC and some longer ones too (Galactic Flame, book 3 of Alien Hunger, is a novel at just over 50k), and hope to start writing some single titles as well if a well-paying publisher will have me *g*


What are you working on now?
I’m working on a couple of different manuscripts. Lusting the Enemy is book one and I’ll be working on book 2 soon for my looming deadline lol! But in the meantime I’m scrambling to write another 10k of my single title, Dimensional while trying not to think of another book I’m itching to write.


What or who inspired you to write?
I don’t really have any idea on that one. I just loved reading and I guess that carried over into my need to write. Plus I found it a brilliant outlet for when I had a lot of stress in my life a long time ago, I guess now it’s become my creative outlet =)

What are you currently reading?
I’ve got four on the go right now, depending on my mood. Angels Fall by Nora Roberts, Trinity by Lauren Dane, Destined to Play by Indigo Bloome and on my kindle, Price of Pleasure by Joanna Wylde. 
~~~Thanks for joining me, Mel. You can find Mel on her website, blog, Twitter and FB.
You can buy Lusting The Enemy from Ellora's Cave and  Amazon. 
Here's the blurb:
Akeisha is on a mission to be chosen as part of a harem for the desert king, Judas. She’ll use her body to entice and beguile, do anything it takes to save the near-extinct larakytes, her shape-shifting silver panther tribe, from Judas’ human subjects, who are trying to eradicate them.

She never expects to succumb to the wild ecstasy in his arms, a pleasure that threatens to expose her inner cat even as it transcends anything she’s ever felt from one of her own kind.

Falling in love with a human enemy was never part of the plan, but maybe there’s more to Judas than meets the eye.


Also look out for Mel's other releases:










~yia~

Musa Monday: Wench Clarissa Johal

Today on Musa Monday, I welcome fellow Wench, Clarissa Johal. 
Welcome, Clarissa!




Your Musa debut release is Between (congratulations!).  Can you describe this book for us?
BETWEEN is a paranormal with ghosts, guardians and death spirits. It has strong themes of redemption and laced with historical aspects from the 1349 black plague of Ireland.
Blurb:
As a young girl, Lucinda was able to see spirits, a gift that didn't come without its problems. Now, a dedicated young veterinarian, she is committed to the idea that every life can be saved.
After a devastating accident, Lucinda tries to escape her past by moving to a small town. There, she meets a newcomer and feels an immediate connection with him. But there is another mysterious stranger to the small town, one that stirs within her a mixture of unease and desire.
As Lucinda is drawn into a bitter tug-a-war from the forces around her, she is likewise pulled into a dangerous twist of past and present events. Forced to make difficult choices, she finds that the two men are locked in not only a battle for her life...but a battle for their salvation.

Please tell us a little about your road to publication.
I've always written stories, ever since I was a kid. I was lucky enough to have teachers along the way that encouraged me. In high school, I wrote a one-act horror play that won first place in the Alberta High School Drama Festival. In college, I had two short stories, PIGEONS and THE ROPE, published in the literary magazine, Susurrus. My non-fiction piece, A WAY OF LIFE, was published in the Sacramento Bee newspaper. After the birth of my first child, I pulled out a short story I had written in one of my mythology classes and started to build on it. Ten years later, because raising children takes precedence, I published my fantasy, PRADEE. It’s been an interesting journey.



What attracted you to the paranormal genre? 
I was working on the second book in my PRADEE fantasy series and was hit with two characters that definitely didn't fit. I kept setting them aside but they wouldn't leave me alone. Eventually, I gave up what I was working on and started writing BETWEEN. I had the rough draft in a month, the finished novel a year later, and it was accepted for publication two months after that.    
 
Are you a plotter? Pantser? Or somewhere in between?
Panster all the way. I've tried to plan/plot things out, but I find that it silences my characters and stops the story from flowing.

What are you working on now? And what’s in the near future for Clarissa Johal?
 I'm working on my next novel titled, STRUCK. It's a paranormal horror and came to me as a single character and scene that kept replaying in my head over and over. I built on it from there. The characters are very quirky but the premise is a bit darker than BETWEEN. I love writing the paranormal genre--I have so many ideas that come to me, I can't get them down fast enough.
  

What is your favourite part of the process of writing?
Making readers happy.
  
 What are you currently reading?
I'm reading six different books right now. I can't read in my genre while I'm writing, because I find it's too distracting for some reason, so I'm reading everything from a sci-fi, Captive by the Fog by Laura Hardgrave, to a folklore and mythology book, Walking with the Green Man by Bob Curran. Last night I picked up The History of Magic by Kurt Seligmann and started reading that too. This morning I started re-reading one of my primatology text books from university. Too many books.

~~~Thanks, Clarissa. Here is a little bit more about Clarissa and her web hangouts.

Bio:
Clarissa Johal has worked as a veterinary assistant, zoo-keeper aide and vegetarian chef. Writing has always been her passion. When she’s not listening to the ghosts in her head, she’s dancing or taking photographs of gargoyles. Clarissa shares her life with her husband, two daughters and every stray animal that darkens the doorstep. One day, she expects that a wayward troll will wander into her yard, but that hasn’t happened yet.
Author website:  http://clarissajohal.com/
Author Blog:  http://clarissajohal.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/ClarissaJohal
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/clarissa.johal.9
BETWEEN buy links:
Amazon.com: http://tinyurl.com/bp74a64
Barnesandnoble.com: http://tinyurl.com/cc3bjfr
Musa Publishing: http://tinyurl.com/avnxerk

Super Sunday

And some fun stuff -
Author Nicole E Sheridan received some Games of Thrones dolls 


And here is some Hobbit fun....



Have a great week.

~yia~

Flash Fiction: Minion

My flash fiction story, Minion, is now up on the Antipodean SF site.

I had such fun writing this. You'll see why....

http://antisf.com/index.php/the-stories/minion.html



At the end of the month, the stories are archived by the National Library of Australia. You should find it listed  here:
http://pandora.nla.gov.au/tep/10063

Enjoy!

~yia~

Happy New Year!!!

I wanted to wish you all a very amazing new year. May 2013 be full of only good things...


I've been busy with the silly season and have had quite a bit of brain fog, so I haven't been at the computer lately. Thank goodness for scheduled blog posts, which is how those cover posts came to you.

One thing that I have been doing to keep my brain active and not go into a complete funk is Words with Friends. I never really played scrabble as a kid, so it's new thing to me. Shocking, I know.

I'm hoping to continue bringing you Musa Mondays and Writing Buddy Wednesdays throughout the year and do the other posts too but probably less regular on those Tuesday Tunes, Trailer Thursdays, Stunning Saturdays. Really, it will be a matter of what I happen to find during the week and then see if I'll do a post.

While I'm here - is there anything you would like to see more of on the blog? Or even less of?


Thanks heaps for all your support, folks. I hope you continue to follow in 2013.

~yia~

Mega Cover Mania

Are you sick of all the covers? Well this is the last one for the year. LOL.

Why the covers? Visually they are stunning. But also they're inspirational and I learn so much of design by studying them.


 
 
 


 

 
 





 










   






 

 





 Phew what a mega post, right? But what a way to end the year, but checking out some lovely designs.

See you in 2013!!! Be safe and well.

~yia~

Stunning Saturday... Covers Galore

And as promised, here are more covers....

 


 


 
 












  

 


Okay that's it for today....and I still have more to show you. 
Have you had a favourite so far? It's too hard for me to choose. There are so many that are sheer brilliance, and others that are close but have a couple of things that mark it down a little.

~yia~