M.Q. Barber's Blog, page 12

Day trip: Henry, Alice, and Jay conduct their own interview

In an attempt to finish up my current WIP, I’ve sent Henry, Alice, and Jay off to Brynna Curry’s 31 Days of Halloween event. If you have a few minutes to play with the trio, stop by and say howdy.

Presumably Henry will keep his pets well in hand. Unless he’s feeling indulgent.

Hmm. Maybe I should drop in to check on them, too. Just in case.

Two Neighborly Affection stories almost here

It’s an exciting week for Henry, Alice, and Jay. Crossing the Lines (Neighborly Affection #2) is through line edits and headed for the galley stage, which means I’ll have ARCs (advance reader copies) available for reviewers soon. If you’re interested in getting an early copy of Crossing the Lines, please send an email with “Crossing the Lines ARC” in the subject line to mqb@mqbarber.com and let me know which ebook file format you need and where you post reviews.

But that’s not the only excitem...

First look: Crossing the Lines (Neighborly Affection #2) excerpt

Henry, Alice, and Jay are getting antsy waiting for Crossing the Lines (Neighborly Affection #2) to leave the editing nursery and venture out into the real world — and when those three are antsy, I can’t sleep. The only thing to do is let them off the leash for a little fun.

So here’s the deal: I promised exclusives to newsletter subscribers, and they’re going to get ‘em. If you’re signed up for the M.Q. Barber author newsletter before Tuesday, Oct. 15, you’ll get the first look at Crossing th...

Win a Kindle and a baker’s dozen books with Sizzle and Sass

I’m the first to admit I’m not so great at marketing. Saleswoman, I am not. Mostly, I keep my head down and write. So I’m thankful my fellow Lyrical Press authors (who are way smarter than I am) decided to launch Sizzle and Sass, a Facebook page for romance authors and readers to socialize, hang out, find new reads and — most importantly for this launch month — win prizes.

The giveaway

Clicking on the banner above will take you to the Sizzle and Sass page. Facebook users who “like” the page can...

First peek at a Neighborly Affection short story

If you spend any time over on Facebook, the new Sizzle and Sass page is a good way to keep up with me and a dozen other romance authors. Today we’re sharing snippets from works in progress. I’ve shared the one from the Neighborly Affection short story below (first look!), but hop over to Sizzle and Sass to see a whole bunch more from a range of romance subgenres.

Here’s a peek at the short story coming out as part of a free anthology in November:

Alice fingered the sleeves of Henry’s suit coat....

Crossing the Lines (Neighborly Affection #2) update

Just a quickie update today — Crossing the Lines (Neighborly Affection #2) is back in my editor’s hands. That’s the second round of edits, and the end of the big stuff, aka the part where I shuffle things around and dither over whether something sounds better this way or that way.

All that’s left now is the small stuff, like reading through the manuscript for the 100th time with a magnifying glass and uncovering the boneheaded errors I missed the last 99 times.

The good news is that the book...

Labor, value, and a Neighborly Affection freebie on the way

Howdy, reader-folk. If your personal space boundaries are sufficiently relaxed, c’mon in for a hug. It’s really just a big thank-you, but there’s so much thankfulness that it’s leaking around the edges of the letters.

See, it’s Labor Day weekend, and I received my first-ever royalty statement. That’s a crazy-weird sentence that doesn’t make sense to me yet. I write oodles of fiction because I enjoy writing, but the idea of getting paid for it is still novel, if you’ll pardon the pun. (Or not —...

Day trip: A little character dissection

Henry, Jay, and Alice are going under the knife today. Fellow romance author and geek girl D.B. Sieders has the scientific know-how to slice them open and see what makes them tick.

D.B. gets to the bottom of the balance in the three leads of Playing the Game (Neighborly Affection #1), how the contradictions complement one another, and the psychology of sex. It’s a tall order, but she’s up for the challenge. She even drags some details about Crossing the Lines (Neighborly Affection #2) out of m...

Day trip: Henry, Jay, and Alice escape

It’s finally happened. Henry, Jay, and Alice have abandoned me. Apparently they feel that since Playing the Game is already out and Crossing the Lines is under their editor’s care, they don’t need to be present. Scoundrels.

Action-romance author Jennifer Lowery invited them over for a Meet the Characters day, and off they went. I’ll have to reward their desertion with some fiendish stumbling block in their next story. I hope they’re at least behaving themselves.

Stop by and check in on them her...

Day trip: Skipping stones, writing novels, and trusting your instincts

This week I have the pleasure of being Monday’s Friend at the website of author Sara Jayne Townsend.

A handful of stories waiting to be told. (Photo by roundedbygravity)

The fun thing about being one of Sara’s Monday guests is that the topic is wide open. Anything related to writing is fair game. I decided to talk — a little obliquely — about the fear that held me back from finishing a novel for too many years.

If you’re an aspiring writer, this post is for you. If you’re a voyeur who likes to p...