Tonya Burrows's Blog, page 2
March 9, 2021
How to Write a Book in 5 Not-So-Easy Steps
Seasoned writers and newbies alike are always looking for easier ways to write a novel. Well, I’m here today to share my method…and I don’t recommend it. Really. Don’t do this.
Step 1: “What if I Can’t Do This Again?” ProcrastinationMy least favorite part of the writing process is starting a new book. It’s terrifying, and I waste at least a week every time being too scared to start.
Step 2: Research Rabbit HoleI honestly love this step, but it’s a time suck to beat all time sucks. But it’s SO. MUCH. FUN! I mean, I definitely need to know how to perform battlefield surgery. And how to make a bomb… the most effective way to disperse a bioweapon…the ins & outs of kidnap and ransom insurance… suitcase nukes….
(Yes, my Google history has most definitely landed me on a government watch list.)
Step 3: Start book. Delete. Start over. Delete. Start over. Delete.This. Step. Is. Hell.
Step 4: The 40K Word Slump Netflix BingeAt about the halfway point, I run out of steam and end up doing everything in my power to avoid writing. This usually means Netflix binges. (Hello, The Great British Baking Show!) But it can also mean cleaning the house, the toilet, the litter box. The Boyfriend always knows when I hit this stage because the house is never cleaner and I spend most my time complaining about how much I hate the book.
Step 5: Frantic Typing To The EndThere are copious amounts of caffeine and candy involved in this stage. It usually lasts about a week and I probably write 30 to 40% of the book in that time.
So why do I put myself through this over and over again?
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March 1, 2021
Scarred Not Broken
If you’ve read my books, you know I love a scarred character. Sometimes the scars are on their body. Sometimes in their hearts. For a long time, I called my characters “broken.” Until last year, my author tag line was “even the broken deserve a happily ever after.”
But they’re not broken. Damaged, yes, but strong. Resilient.
However, my characters often see themselves as ruined beings. Seth in Honor Reclaimed wonders how anyone could love someone as damaged as him. Mara in Broken Honor comes from a troubled home and collects broken things: a three-legged dog, a one-eyed cat, a watch that doesn’t tick, and of course, Quinn, whose traumatic brain injury screws with his memory. And then there’s Bree Ives in Northern Escape. She’s completely withdrawn from society due to her scars
Do you wonder why I write these kinds of characters? I didn’t know why myself until recently.
Because they are me. I am them.
I’m scarred, too.
When I was 9 years old, I was diagnosed with generalized morphea, a.k.a. localized scleroderma. The same disease I gave to Bree in Northern Escape.
What is Morphea?Morphea (mor-fee-ah) is a rare autoimmune disease that affects only 3 out of every 100,000 people. The cause is unknown, but is thought to be an abnormal immune response triggered by infection, trauma, or possibly chemical exposure. A family history of autoimmune diseases may also make you more susceptible. Morphea causes skin to harden and discolor and can lead to deformities of the underlying tissue and bone. It’s most common in white women and usually appears in childhood but can also occur in the mid-40s to 50s. It is non-fatal but can lead to issues with self-esteem, joint and movement problems, hair loss, and eye damage.
In my case, nobody knew what was going on when the spots first appeared. I returned from a weekend visit at my dad’s house with what my mom first thought was dirt on my neck. When washing it off failed, she asked if Dad and I had been wrestling or anything that would cause my neck to bruise. When I told her no, she started to get concerned and took me to the doctor. My pediatrician was at a loss and sent me to a dermatologist. The local dermatologist sent me to a children’s hospital two hours away, where I was poked and prodded and studied by all the new residents in their white lab coats. Finally, a skin biopsy confirmed morphea.
Most of my neck is covered. (Pictured right.) I also have a spot on my lower back over my tailbone and a tiny patch over my lip. Morphea has a 5-ish year active cycle where it looks like bruises—purple, gray, and white splotches—then it burns out and leaves brownish gray scars. My lesions burned out in high school, leaving the dark brown-gray scars I have today.
Being different during your formative years sucks. Kids can be cruel. I was called names. I was asked why I never wash my neck. For a long time, I attempted to cover my scars with makeup, which didn’t usually work. Or, if it did work, it took a metric ton of expensive makeup I couldn’t afford. I even tried laser surgery to lighten the patches. It hurt and didn’t work. Explaining my scars to new people gets exhausting and, for that reason, I didn’t really date until college. I hated the look guys gave me when I told them I have a skin disease. Somewhere between “eww, she’s a leper” and “eww, can I catch it?”
Morphea on my neck and left check.
As I aged, I grew to accept my scars. At least, I thought I had— until a new lesion appeared on my left cheek in 2019. And once again, at 30-some years old, I was the weird kid with the gray skin. That kid and her insecurities never left. She was always buried inside, waiting for a trigger.
En coupe de sabre photo via Wikipedia*
I wrote Bree in Northern Escape to deal with the reoccurrence of my morphea. I gave her a version called linear morphea or en coup de sabre (pictured left) which appears on the face and causes the skull underneath the morphea lesion to indent. When my new spot appeared on my face, the possibility of this version of the disease terrified me. So, of course, I wrote about it.
I gave Bree my trauma, my insecurities. The cruel nicknames she’s called in the book? Yup. I was called a lot of them, too.
But I also made her strong and tough. Stronger than I’ve ever been. And as tough as I wish I could be.
I gave her a happily ever after with a man who comes to love her for who she is, not what she looks like. Because heroines who look different deserve happiness just as much as the “perfect” heroine. Both in fiction and in real life.
Brielle Ives is me. I am her.
We’re scarred, but not broken.
Read for Free with Kindle Unlimited Brielle Ives prefers dogs to people, and who could blame her? Her sled dogs are loyal to a fault, trust her implicitly, and couldn’t care less about the scars that mar her face. The only human who’s never disappointed her is her mentor, Dr. William Hunter. When his plane goes missing in the remote Alaskan wilderness, Bree will do anything to find him . . . even if it means turning to a frustrating, irresponsible, and too-sexy-for-his-own-good California boy for help.
When Ellis Hunter enlisted in the Army at eighteen, he put Alaska—and his womanizing drunk of a father—in his rearview mirror. He promised himself he’d never return, but even he can’t resist Bree’s panicked plea for help. If she’s hell-bent on trekking into the bush to find his father, then he’s determined to go with her. But Ellis isn’t the only one shadowing Bree’s rescue attempt…
When the search for answers leaves Ellis and Bree trapped together in the wilds of Alaska, they’ll have to put aside their differences—and an attraction hot enough to melt glaciers—to survive the elements. Because someone dangerous lurks in that icy wilderness—a killer desperate to keep Dr. William Hunter’s secrets buried deep in the snow.
Read Now *En coup de sabre photo via Wikipedia by Gambichler et al. - Gambichler et al. BMC Dermatology 2001 1:9 doi:10.1186/1471-5945-1-9 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-594..., CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...The post Scarred Not Broken appeared first on Tonya Burrows.
February 27, 2021
New Release Celebration Giveaway!
To celebrate my newest release, NORTHERN ESCAPE, I’m doing a massive mystery box giveaway!
It will include:
$100 Amazon gift cardA Northern Rescue Tervis tumblerA signed paperback of Northern EscapeAnd more goodies!
You can enter the giveaway 4 different ways:
Share a picture of Northern Escape on social media, using the hashtags #northernescape and #tonyaburrows. You can share a graphic of a favorite quote or a picture of you reading it. Get creative! Each new post you share counts as an entry.Write a review of Northern Escape and post on Amazon, Goodreads, or Bookbub. Post to all three, get three entries!Follow me on Bookbub here.Join The Honeys (my reader group) on Facebook here.
Choose one of the above entry options or do them all. It’s up to you! Just make sure you fill out this form afterward so I can keep track of your entries. If you choose to post more than once to social media, be sure to include all the links on the form, so each post counts. (Or feel free to fill out a separate form for each new social media post–whichever is easiest!)
The giveaway will run for one month. Winner will be announced in my newsletter on March 23, 2021 and contacted via email.
Good luck!
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February 13, 2021
The Second First Date
In August 2015, I packed up and moved from Florida to Seattle, Washington essentially on a whim. I rented a house about 40 minutes north of the city with some grad school friends and promptly signed up for Match.com. I mean, I was 30 years old, had been single for several years, and was well on my way to becoming a crazy cat lady—but with dogs. Crazy dog lady? Doesn’t have the same ring, but you get my meaning. That old biological clock was starting to sound like Big Ben.
My first Match date in Seattle was a disaster. We met for coffee and chatted for a bit, then he abruptly stood up and said he was leaving.
Okay, dude. I’m gonna finish my coffee.
Ah, dating. This was why I’d been single for so long.
A couple months pass. No more dates for me. Then I matched with a seemingly nice guy. He’s Australian, loves dogs, loves movies, enjoys hiking and all of the nerdy stuff I like. We messaged back and forth for a week or so, then decided to meet at the “Starbucks on Pike.” Now, if you know anything about Seattle, you know there’s a Starbucks on every corner. You also know there’s a Pike Street and Pike Place Market.
However, I didn’t know very much about the city at the time.
The only thing I knew was Starbucks + Pike must mean the original Starbucks, the first ever built, at Pike Place Market. So that’s where I went. It was busy, so I texted him when I got there to let him know I’d arrived and what I was wearing. He messaged me back and said he couldn’t see me, but he was downstairs.
Um. Downstairs?
The original Starbucks is literally a hole in the wall. Tiny. No downstairs.
Confused, I texted him. He called me. My first ever non-text conversation with him was about how I went to the wrong place. I. Was. Mortified. He was understanding and sweet. Since he had to go to work that afternoon, we agreed to meet at the correct Starbucks on Pike Street the following week.
I went home, tail tucked between my legs, and told my roommate I could not possibly meet him for the second first date. How could I? I barely knew the guy and I’d already made a complete fool of myself. I usually hid my absurdity until at least the third date.
I was going to cancel. I had to cancel. I was going to cancel the date, my subscription to Match, and adopt myself another dog. I’d embrace the crazy dog lady I was destined to be. I could be satisfied with the HEAs I wrote. I didn’t need one for myself. It was fine.
My roommate convinced me not to adopt another dog and to give the guy a chance. If he was willing to try again after the failed first date, maybe he was patient enough to put up with my absurdity for the long haul.
She was right.
The Boyfriend and I have been together ever since that second first date. I got my HEA.
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January 17, 2021
FAQ: Will Northern Rescue Only be Available on Amazon?
Question: Will the Northern Rescue series be available on (insert retailer name here)?
Answer: To start, the Northern Rescue books will only be available on Amazon in KU. Since I’m new to self-publishing, I’m playing around with different release strategies to see what works best for my books.
But fear not! I do plan to release the series to other retailers for at least a short time later this year. And there’s a possibilty the paperbacks will be available sooner. (I’m told I can sell the paperbacks at other retailers while the ebooks are in KU, but I haven’t verified that yet. Once I do, I’ll let you know for sure!)
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January 1, 2021
2020. What a ride! Let’s not do that again. Time for a reset!
Happy New Year!
2020. Whew. Glad that’s over. Here’s hoping ’21 does us better.
Every year, I like to pick a word to try and focus my energies. Otherwise, I’m very much like the dogs on Up—SQUIRREL!
Though, if I’m completely honest, I can’t even remember what my word for 2020 was. It should’ve been “disaster.” Last year, I didn’t go to Portugal as planned. Didn’t road trip with my family to Yosemite. My beloved Writer Cat crossed the rainbow bridge after nearly 16 years as my best buddy. I broke my wrist badly enough to need surgery to fix it—and still can’t type normally! I gained a bazillion pounds. And somewhere in there, I completely lost the drive to write.
It was a ROUGH FUCKING YEAR that totally deserves a shout-y all-caps F bomb.
But…
Looking back, it wasn’t all completely horrible. I gave my ugly kitchen a facelift. I released two books, Fragmented Loyalty and Honor Avenged. Seal of Honor released in audiobook, which was a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to hear the HORNET guys in audio and the narrator did a fabulous job!
Since I’m looking at 2021 as a fresh start, I’ve decided my word will be RESET. My goal is to completely reset my health and my career.
Maybe it’s ambitious to tackle both, but my career is on life support and I’m so uncomfortable with how I look and feel right now. 2020 made me realize I’ve been hiding behind my fears for too long. Fear of rejection. Fear of failure. Fear of never achieving my goals. (I mean, how dumb is that? I was afraid I’d never reach my goals, so instead of, you know, reaching for them, I sat back and did nothing! And my career has suffered for it.) Time to exorcise my personal demons and exercise my growing ass.
Goals
Lose at least 30 lbs. Ideally, I’d like to lose the entire 50 I gained last year, but I’d be happy with 30.
Release 5 to 6 books in 2021.
CONSISTENCY! I know my readers never know when to expect a new book for me, and I want to change that this year.
The Career Plan
Write 10K words a week.
Write first thing in the morning, before I do anything else. (Except, obviously, make coffee!)
Set work hours for myself and keep them as if I have a job outside the house. (I’m really, really bad at this!)
Conquer my fear of self-publishing. (Already started this one— I’m putting the first book in my self-published trilogy up for pre-order today! Eep! *bites nails*)
Learn ads. (Mainly Facebook and Amazon.)
Blog and send newsletters regularly.
The Health Plan
Exercise 3 days at least, but ideally 5 days a week. (I can’t bear much weight on my wrist yet, so it will have to be mostly cardio to start. If anyone has cardio program recommendations, I’d love to hear them!)
Rejoin Weight Watchers. It’s the only program I’ve found that works for me.
Take a daily walk with the dogs. Doesn’t have to be a long one! Just get out of the house and walk for 10 minutes, even if the weather sucks. (I’m notorious for using the weather as an excuse!) If nothing else, it will make the puppers happy.
Accountability
I’m going to rely on this blog to keep myself accountable. I’m going to be honest about my triumphs and my failures. It’s probably going to hurt but I hope announcing everything publicly will help keep me on the right path. So expect a mix of self-publishing and weight loss posts from me this year! And if you want to join me on either journey, I’d love to have you along!
After all, misery loves company.
(I’m joking. Kinda.)
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November 21, 2020
Writing with a Cast
In high school and early college, I used to fill notebook upon notebook with my writing, but it has been a long, long time since I wrote a book longhand. But since I have plans to self-publish in February, I have to get the last little bit of this book done and off to my editor. I can’t type with my cast, so needs must. Longhand it is! It feels both alien and nostalgic.
Only now, instead of notebooks, I’m hoping to save myself a step by writing on my iPad. I found this Notes Plus app that turns my nearly illegible scribbles into text.
It’s not perfect. I’ll have to clean it up before I dump it into Scrivener. But, so far, it’s working better than expected and I’d recommend it for any writer who finds themself in a cast while on deadline.
Next thing to try: dictation. I’ve dabbled with it in the past and haven’t had much success, but, to be fair, I haven’t given it a serious try either. Typing was always easier. I’m hoping my current need for an alternative will prod me to work at it. We’ll see how it goes. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: I discovered yesterday I don’t even need the Notes Plus app. I can scribble directly in Scrivener iOS with the Apple pencil and it converts to text! Even after using it for nearly 10 years, Scrivener is always finding ways to surprise me.
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November 20, 2020
SEAL OF HONOR now available in audiobook!
The SEAL OF HONOR audiobook finally released this week on Audible and I’m hearing it for the first time. The narrator, Stephen Borne, has done an excellent job and this book… man. I laughed out loud at Jean-Luc’s introduction and can’t stop smiling. It’s thrilling to hear the guys come to life.
I wrote SEAL OF HONOR while in grad school in 2011. It was (and still is) the easiest book I’ve even written. Gabe Bristow is the only character to ever come to me fully formed and demand I write his story. I forgot how much I actually love this book. And, honestly, for a while there, I forgot how much I love the series.
Somewhere between 2011 and now, I not only forgot my love for this series but I even grew to… well, not hate it. That’s too strong a word. But maybe dread? I’ve dreaded having to write another HORNET book, which is why I’ve been struggling with Ian’s book for the better part of this year. This audiobook couldn’t have come at a better time. I needed the reminder that I love this series and the HumInt world. Most of all, I still love all of my flawed, broken characters despite how stubborn and uncooperative they can be. Ian’s not as easy as Gabe, but I love him just as much and he deserves his story, too. Now I just need my wrist to heal so I can get back to work!
Here’s hoping the rest of the series makes it to audio!
SEAL OF HONOR is an Audible exclusive. You can find it here.
Are you an audiobook fan? Leave a comment telling me what you love about audiobooks, then share this post. On Sunday, I’ll choose 3 commenters to receive SEAL OF HONOR on audiobook.*
* Note: SEAL OF HONOR is an Audible exclusive audiobook. You’ll need an Audible account to recieve giveaway.
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November 12, 2020
Update
Hi, all. I’ve been getting some questions about my next release(s), so I wanted to pop in and let you know what’s going on.
Last week, in my infinite clumsiness, I slipped in the driveway while taking out the trash and broke my wrist. I’m having surgery tomorrow, so all of my writing has been put on hold for at least the rest of November. I’m hopeful that surgery will go well and I can get back to work by the beginning of next month.
As of right now, I’m still planning to release the first book in my self-published trilogy, Northern Escape, in February. You should see the preorder go up mid-December. If that needs to change, I’ll post another update here.
Audible keeps pushing back the release for Seal of Honor’s audiobook. I have no control over if/when they release it and I’m just as annoyed by it as you are!
Edge of Honor, unfortunately, has been a bear of a book to write and is still in progress. (Ian’s being stubborn. Is anyone surprised?) If all goes to plan, I’m aiming to have it finished by early January.
Thanks so much for your patience while I deal with this mishap!
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October 30, 2020
Meet the Heroine: Lanie Delcambre
Full Name: Elena Delcambre
Age: 32
Birthday: August 15
Height: 5’10”, athletic
Eyes: dark brown
Hair: dark brown
Hometown: El Paso, TX
Former Career: Texas Ranger
Random Fact: Lanie has been Mara Escareno‘s best friend since high school.
Her Book: Code of Honor
The Man Who Holds Her Heart: Jesse Warrick
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