Meka James's Blog, page 3

IWSG - The Road Ahead

Happy New Year. Man can’t believe it’s 2020! As you can see it’s not the first Wednesday of the month, but the second, however it is IWSGposting day. Last week was New Year’s day…a week already. So normally I try to prepare these posts the day before, but Santa gave me a nasty cold for Christmas that I’m still trying to return. LOL That means my time on my computer is limited on top of getting settled back in after the winter break so apologies for the delay. When I’ve done these first of the year posts before I’ve looked back at my goals from last year and then set new ones for the current year.     Let’s dig in.

I had four goals for last year and only managed to complete one. Publish one indie title. That’s it. I had three releases total for 2019, but two were with publishers and those books were written back in 2018 so I didn’t have a stellar writing year or anything. In fact I only completed the one indie title I published and it was a short novella at 20k. It’s a well-established fact that I am a #Turtlewriter, but even that was pretty bad for me.
As far as the marketing plan goes…I’m a pantser so planning is not my strong suit in any area. My marketing was to throw stuff out and see what stuck. I had nothing solid I did with each book. Though I did learn some things worked better than others and what NOT to try again, so maybe I can count that as a win.
Last point, the social media. Yeah. Some of my Squad gals and I had an idea for us each to take a platform and focus on that more to see if it had any impact. Made it about 2 months in before the idea was scrapped. But it could be something I revisit in the future.
That brings us to my plans for 2020

Yeah, yeah I know I just said I can’t plan, but I need to figure out a basic working model of some sort. That is starting with treating my writing like a business so I can hopefully start making a profit.
You’ll also see I basically want to complete THREE books this year. That is probably my most ambitious goal. Two indie, because that’s what I am at my core, but I like having a publisher in I get accepted to save me on editing and cover costs. Back to that treating it like a business thing, I need to not have as much going out if at all possible.
By trying to establish those writing days, I can hopefully get them done. We shall see.So what are your goals for 2020? Let me know. And best of luck with them.
January 8 question - What started you on your writing journey? Was it a particular book, movie, story, or series? Was it a teacher/coach/spouse/friend/parent? Did you just "know" suddenly you wanted to write?
I’ve made no secret of my path to being an author was probably a little unconventional. I mean sure, as a kid I used to love making up stories and all that, but never thought about it being my “job” so to speak.
Nope, it wasn’t until I started playing The Sims and got involved with the SimLit community. You can learn more about that HERE. And while the community as a whole help foster my love, it was one person that really pushed me to go in this direction, Jill Zakrajsek.  My first book Fiendish is dedicated to her in memory because she sadly passed away before I completed the process. Without her die-hard support and cheering, I’m not sure I’d be here doing this today.
Happy New YearUntil next time~Meka

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a home for writers in all stages; from unpublished to bestsellers. Our goal is to offer assistance and guidance. We want to help writers overcome their insecurities, and by offering encouragement we are creating a community of support.

The awesome co-hosts for the The awesome co-hosts for the January 8 posting of the IWSG are T. Powell Coltrin, Victoria Marie Lees, Stephen Tremp, Renee Scattergood, and J.H. Moncrieff!

IWSG - Catching Stray Licks

It’s December. The final month of 2019 and boy has it been a freaking long ass year! I am getting this post out a little later than usual mainly because I struggled with what to write about for the final IWSG post of the year. The saying “catching stray licks” might not be known to everyone, but it’s something I hear a lot in my part of the south. In short it means getting in trouble by being close to someone else that is in trouble. Most notably in relation to back in the day when kids would get spankings and the belt or switch hit the other person that was the bystander. They caught a “stray lick.” But what does that have to do with writing insecurities? I’ll tell ya.
Being an indie author has a crap ton of challenges. It’s forever an uphill battle that one keeps waging for reasons only they know. As an indie you face a certain level of discrimination because of the still prevalent stigma that indie authors are less than. Our work is shotty, badly edited, riddled with errors, we self-published because we couldn’t make it as “real authors” so on and so forth.  And yes I know “not all” people think that way and it’s great, however it’s still an issue.
Whenever some random indie fucks up in some way, it’s inevitable that the “indie haters” come out to shit on us as a whole. This is why I don’t read indie…What’s wrong with indie authors…Why do indies authors act like this…you get the point. No one likes to be lumped in and generalized about but indies are catching stray licks whenever one acts up.
When the whole cockygate thing went down and it was discovered the author in question was an indie…woo boy. It didn’t matter that she was going after other indies and such, all indies were a problem in some circles. Bookstuffing…yup again indies were the problem because that’s mostly what you find in Amazon’s KU library. Again it didn’t matter that the honest indies were taking a loss from the frauds. It was an indie problem. More stray licks.
Don’t get me started on what happens when an indie goes rouge in relation to reviews. I wrote a post giving tips on how authors can deal with less than stellar reviews because I don’t agree with authors attacking reviewers. That shouldn’t be done. Ever. End of story.
The biggest difference I notice though is when it’s a rouge traditionally published author that goes out and shows their ass toward a reviewer folks aren’t “canceling” ALL trad authors, but…when it’s an indie well you can almost put money on folks saying it’s why they don’t read indie, or don’t review them, whatever. They are quick to brush off an entire set of people when it comes to rogue indie authors instead of just saying they won’t read THAT one person. Stray licks.
As an individual you want to be judged on your own merit, not based upon a group you identify with. However it seems like all indies are catching the stray licks when a rouge one acts up. It’s a double standard for sure. Can anything be done about it? Probably not. Double standards exist in life no matter how sad that fact is.
Yes, I can focus on me and my business of writing, but that doesn’t mean I can so easily ignore the crap that goes on around me. It factors in. This day and age it’s so easy for people to get labeled as behaving badly and it cultivates an atmosphere of sit in the corner and be quiet. Hell, this blog post could be considered me behaving badly for simply expressing how I personally feel.
At the end of the day it’s all very tiring to jump through all the hoops needed in general to put a book out in the world and have to deal with so many additional hurdles being thrown your way because you chose to do it independently instead of going with a publisher.
Are the tides turning, and indie authors gaining in some areas, yes, yes we are. But that doesn’t stop the fact it takes very little to push us backwards again.
That’s it for me for the year. So odd to say that. Anyway, hope you all have a wonderful holiday and I’ll see ya in 2020!
Until next time~Meka


The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a home for writers in all stages; from unpublished to bestsellers. Our goal is to offer assistance and guidance. We want to help writers overcome their insecurities, and by offering encouragement we are creating a community of support.

The awesome co-hosts for the December 4th posting of the IWSG are Tonja Drecker, Beverly Stowe McClure, Nicki Elson, Tyrean Martinson!

Books, Booze, & Bubbles: Love Repaired

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a great week so far. What do you think of the new graphic? If you remember from my last review, I’m changing up what I do here and I wanted something to fit. Thanks to Jess for doctoring the image for me so it fit better.


The wine: I picked a Cupcake wine because it’s a running theme in the story. Things kick off with Ben swiping one that Amee had left in her car. If you like smooth reds that aren’t too dry and lean a little sweet you’ll enjoy the Red Velvet. It’s not heavy and has a pleasant rich taste. It’s one of my favorites from this company.
The bath bomb: Keeping with the cupcake theme, I got a bomb to match. It was a vanilla scented cupcake with sprinkles. Cute right? Sadly once in the water the scent dissolved as the bath bomb did. There was no lingering fragrance to add to my overall relaxation. No link for this one as it was a set of four that I picked up at Marshall’s.
Now the book.
Attorney Amee sets aside her own needs to juggle the broken pieces of her life and family until mechanic Ben repairs her heart.
Divorce attorney Amee Benton—who has an ex of her own—is pretty sure she’s a #MomFail. Showing up late on a Friday night to retrieve her car from the shop and finding the pink frosted cupcakes she forgot to leave at her daughter’s ballet camp confirms it.
When mechanic Ben Mathis confesses to stealing one of the confections and asks who is taking care of Amee, she knows he’s a unicorn—a magical, beautiful beast who surely only exists in fantasies, so she tells him just that, with an F-bomb for good measure.
Amee has three things Ben finds irresistible in a woman—brains, a family and a serious potty mouth. During a chance run-in at Ben’s own personal hell, AKA the mall, he summons the courage to ask her out. Though Amee is leery of dating a younger man and Ben is more than aware of their social gap, the two take a chance.

But Amee’s life isn’t like his. And when her ex returns and the doubting divorcée blunders, all Ben’s insecurities are piqued anew. Now, Amee must prove to Ben that his worth is much more than stand-in dad and rebound boyfriend or she’ll watch her magical unicorn gallop off into the forest forever.

My Review** 5 STARS **

In most May/December books the male is always the older of the two. He’s also the one settled in his career and making good money. Basically he is the one that has his life together when the younger, sexy lady comes along and falls in love. Folks, Deana Birch took that and flipped it on its ear! AND I LOVED IT.
Amee is a single mother and successful lawyer. She has the house, the fancy car and disposable income. Ben is a mechanic at her high end dealership. He lives in the basement of his uncle's house and is trying to make things better for himself, but it’s a struggle. In the age where “alpha male” seems to be king, Ben is a refreshing change.
And that’s not to say Amee isn’t without her own set of struggles. There is an ex whose name I won’t mention but wished for all the bad things to happen to him. LOL Plus being a single mom is freaking hard! Been there, done that. Dating as a single parent presents different challenges because there are the kids to consider. Amee stumbles during this process. She makes mistakes, there are communication issues as she stumbles her way into new love.
Ben and Amee complement each other in this regard. He’s a sweet guy that wants to do right, but he’s not without his faults. They have their ups and downs. And if you’ve read enough of my reviews you’ll know the biggest pet peeve I have is that age old miscommunication thing which tends to happen in romance. It adds tension, but boy oh boy does it make me what to shake the characters and scream at them to just spit it out already. LOL
Aside from that, I adore the well rounded-ness of the cast of characters. It’s not just Amee and Ben, but we get to see Amee’s girls. Her funny sister who I adored! Oh and yeah the ex. Ben shows his soft side when you see him with his nephew and even in how he covers for his sister who is having her own struggles with getting her life together after a devastating loss.
The romance is sweet and the sex scenes are hot. Don’t let the cover fool ya, there is some heat between these pages. Another thing Deana does well, showing sex positive and sexually confident women. If these things sound good to you, I recommend you picking up your copy today.


Where to buy:
AmazonBarnes & NobleKoboApple BooksTotally Bound

Release Day Blitz: Meant To Be Family

Happy Tuesday! I'm happy to be a part of my friend Amelia Foster's latest release! Today book 3 of her Meant To Be series is out in the world.


My dreams constantly haunt me, whether I’m asleep or awake. 

Six months ago, my life veered off course when my fiancée disappeared with no explanation. 

The partying lifestyle I'd adopted to cope, ended in an accident that left my body as broken as my heart. To make matters worse, I’ve managed to run off countless physical therapists in charge of the in-home rehabilitation I need to get me back on my feet. 

My last chance at staying in my own house is gift-wrapped in wavy, auburn hair and startling gray eyes. 

The woman that shattered my heart. 

Kelsey is the only one left to help heal my body. And her unexpected arrival brings with it the opportunity to ask the countless questions I thought I’d carry forever.

But her answers only create a new mountain to overcome, one I never imagined.

Now, more than ever, I need to prove to Kelsey that despite everything, we are meant to be a family...

Get the book
Check out the rest of the series (Click the pictures)

              As part of her release week celebrations, Amelia has an amazing giveaway. Be sure to enter!

Enter here
Excerpt:
KelseyPresent Day 
Pulling up in front of the brick ranch she once called home was harder than she’d prepared herself for. But knowing what lay on the other side of the door nearly killed Kelsey Donovan from the moment Connor’s file first crossed her desk.
Owning a rehabilitation and physical therapy practice in a “little big town” like Asheville meant that she knew many of her clients personally in addition to professionally. Especially when her fiancé happened to be a member of one of the most respected families in the area and well known to just about everyone. 
Ex-fiancé, she corrected herself.The sharp slice of pain that hadn’t dulled in the slightest over the past six months since she left pierced her heart once more. Connor Carlisle was the man she’d dream about when she was an eighty-year-old spinster adopting her fourth cat.She’d never stop loving him. That was an impossibility.The first night she’d snuck into the hospital to see him after his surgery had nearly destroyed her. More than the stitches across his forehead and the bandages bulging beneath the sheets, the frosted blond spikes that replaced the once medium brown hair that used to fall into his eyes and the ink peeking out from beneath his hospital gown attested to the fact he had changed. Moved on.That thing she wanted him to do when she packed her bags and left her diamond ring glittering on the kitchen counter. 
She sucked in a deep and stepped out of the SUV, rounding the hood to pull out her duffel bag packed with supplies and equipment. The icy January air stole her breath. Connor’s insurance covered exactly one at home physical therapy company, Donovan Rehabilitation. The very same one he had helped her design the layout for when she first opened her doors more than two years ago.Tears burned in the corners of her eyes. He’d been her rock and the best cheerleader she could have ever imagined. And he deserved the best. Everything he dreamed of. Which meant she had to leave, even though it shattered her own heart.The fingers holding her keys twitched as she stood in front of the etched glass of the oak door, the one that would open it long removed from the ring. Instead she reached over to press the doorbell. The light tinkling she heard echoing inside offered a fresh prick of pain remembering when they installed it and Connor’s teasing that it sounded like a fairy taking flight.Wheels rolling across the hardwood entry nearly unraveled the small measure of composure she managed to wrap around herself. Connor in a wheelchair was a sight she wasn’t sure she could handle. Reviewing his file had nearly destroyed her, knowing everything he’d gone through. The pain he was in.All of which culminated into him dismissing three other therapists and leaving her other two employees firmly refusing to even attempt to care for him based on the attitude described by the others. 
He was miserable. Grumpy. Angry. And taking it out on whoever he could find until the only one left to oversee his therapy regimen was her. 
The last person on earth she was sure he’d want to see. 
Her suspicion was confirmed when he swung the door open and barked out a laugh. He closed his eyes for what seemed like an eternity and opened them again, narrowing them into slits. “This is a joke, right?”
Just looking at him shredded her. His cheeks were pale. Dark circles rimmed his lower lids. The sapphire eyes that damn near hypnotized her from their first meeting were void of all their sparkle. Kelsey took a deep breath. “Afraid not. Your insurance only works with one facility for at home care and you managed to run off every employee I have.” She shrugged and held out a hand helplessly. “Now you have two options: me or in-patient rehab.”
Throughout their six year relationship Kelsey had come to expect a calm and composed Connor. He was tender hearted. Generous. Compassionate. And the exact opposite of the snarling man who spun his wheelchair around and rolled off uttering a string of curses far more colorful than she’d ever heard leave Connor’s mouth before. 
She stared after him for a moment before stepping inside and closing the door. This was on her. A fact she owned and one she could never reveal.
About The author
A simple girl born in the South, raised along the Eastern seaboard, now in the wintry North who loves books, coffee, and fluffy cuddles from all the fur babies whether they are hers or not.
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IWSG - Clear My Browser History

OMG it's November. I can't believe the end of the year is upon us. We'll blink and it'll be 2020. However before that, it's time for another IWSG post.


On an upside, I had a release last month, the book on the left side bar. I was nervous about this one as it's my first f/f but I got a sensitivity reader and that helped ease my nerves as I sent it out into the world. With no paid promotion, I have to say it was my best release so far. I am coming off my best overall month as an indie which I was excited about. The difference in how the numbers have dipped was expected, but at least I ended October on a high.

I would love to keep the momentum going, but I've put myself on a marketing spending restriction for the rest of the year. My hope is to figure out some sort of plan for next year with how I market so I work smarter, not harder. Fingers crossed things will go somewhat well.

Moving on to this month's question and it's a fun one.

November 6 question - What's the strangest thing you've ever googled in researching a story?

I really had to think about answering this one. Not because I didn't know the answer, but because of what the answers would be.

Fiendish is a dark and twisted retelling-ish of Beauty and The Beast. My twist was not making the "Beast" ugly on the outside for some reason and in need of learning the meaning of true love and all that jazz. Instead, Seth was handsome, rich, charismatic, but it was all a disguise because he was also a serial killer.

His acts are on page and variety is the spice of life right? That means I spent time researching various ways to dispose of bodies. Also learned how long a person could survive without food and/or water. I also learned that you can get a lot of interesting things on Amazon that could aid in your endeavors such as full body suits to cover your clothes so you aren't leaving behind trace evidence.

I think you get the picture. I was Googling a lot of things in relation to time Seth spent with his victims. Clearing my browser history was certainly an important wrap up after it was all said and done.



For Anything Once, I was again in need to clearing out my browser history when it was all said and done. But for a very different reason. The beginning of the blurb says it all:

Four letters, so simple and unassuming.

Four letters that change everything.

P.O.R.N.

LOL No, I wasn't watching a bunch of porn, but Quinn was curious about things and it was part of the learning/self discovery process of the book that she researched. Quinn Googled, which meant I Googled so I had an idea of what came up when you typed in certain things.

So, if you've read the book each of the articles and/or videos she referenced was a fictionalized account of something that actually popped up during my searching.

Research is important, even in writing an erotic romance. Though my sister did remind me of incognito mode so maybe I can start using that instead of having to keep dumping my search history, but eh...honestly I'm a writer, there's things I don't know which is why we have the world wide web to help fill in those blanks. hahaha

That's it for me. I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday. Stay warm!

Until next time
~Meka


The Insecure Writer’s Support Group is a home for writers in all stages; from unpublished to bestsellers. Our goal is to offer assistance and guidance. We want to help writers overcome their insecurities, and by offering encouragement we are creating a community of support.

The awesome co-hosts for the November 6th posting of the IWSG are Sadira Stone, Patricia Josephine, Lisa Buie-Collard, Erika Beebe, and C. Lee McKenzie!

Cover Reveal: Unwrapping Hanie

Happy Tuesday! What is this? Back to back posts? And both cover reveals? Shocking right, but I'm trying to do more to support other indies/small pubs on my blog. Every little bit helps in trying to get the word out.

Today I bring you a cover reveal for a holiday novel, because yes, it's that time of year. If you're a subscriber to my newsletter, you'll recognize this author's name. I gave away her book as a freebie gift for October.

Onwards to the goodies of the day...




UNWRAPPING HANIE

Release Date: November 19th Genre: Contemporary RomanceHeat Level: SteamyCover Designer: Jaycee DeLorenzo, Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs

Add to Goodreads


Blurb:

Hanie Morrision has either completely lost her mind, or she’s finally taken charge of her love life when she starts a liaison with a man she meets online. Their friendship fast becomes more, and she’s having the best (cyber) sex of her life.

When her internet lover decides to travel halfway across the world to see her, she must make a decision of her own—book a one-way ticket back to reality or risk her heart and find love one orgasm at a time.

About The Author:

I’m an author of sweet and sensual African, multicultural and interracial romance, which happens to be my favourite genre of romance to read. I have two novels out: Most Eligible Bachelor, from Evernight Publishing, and Chancing Faith, an interracial romance from Black Opal Books. 
My interest in writing started around the age of thirteen after I stumbled upon a YA story my sister had started. The story fascinated me so much that, when I found out it was unfinished, I knew I had to complete it. Somehow the rest of the story began to take shape in my mind and I’ve been writing ever since. 
I live in Accra, Ghana, with my husband and our two lovely kids.
I love to hear from readers and aspiring authors.
In addition to my website, you can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook & BookBub!

Music Monday-Cover Reveal Special: Pinky Promises

Happy Monday! Are you enjoying the fall weather? Hopefully you enjoyed your weekend. I'm here to kick your week off right with a new song and a fun cover reveal for an upcoming release by one of my RChat buddies, Deana Birch.


Deana's new release, Pink Promises is a contemporary romance releasing November 18th. You an add it to your TBR by clicking here: bit.ly/TBRPinkyPromises

The song I chose for this week to go along with the story kinda, sorta fits since Leyla and Adam's relationship starts out as a rebound fling. Something Leyla is very aware of since she suggests it to help Adam get over his heartbreak.

Ready for the goodies?


BLURB:
When her long-distance teaching buddy goes on maternity leave, New York City native Leyla Harraq, temporarily transplants to a sleepy beach town on the West Coast to manage her friend’s Hot Yoga studio. But the yogini’s brash spunk leads to an immediate social gaffe when she insults her new landlord, carpenter Adam Fields, and must backpedal to save face.

Watching her hottie landlord wallow in solitary confinement after a brutal break-up will never do. Motivated by her own need for physical contact, Leyla happily offers herself as the perfect rebound. She’ll be gone in a couple of months, no one has to know, and she can wipe his ex right out of his mind…and body. After all, if anyone knows how to turn up the heat, it’s her.

But when the studio owner realizes she can’t return to teaching full-time and asks Leyla to stay, the fish-out-of-water must make a choice. Can she abandon her commitment-free lifestyle for small town drama and a chance at love with a hunky hammer wielding man?



ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in the Midwest, Contemporary Romance and Erotica writer, Deana Birch, now lives with her family in Europe. She can be found teaching yoga, ruining her children’s French homework, cleaning up dog vomit, writing her next book, or reading someone else’s.

Follow Deana on Amazon
Join Deana’s FB Reader Group

Until next time~Meka
"Break Up With Your Girlfriend" by Ariana Grande (NSFW lyrics)

Book Review: Meant To Be Different

Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week and are enjoying the cooler fall temperatures. I'm kicking off the weekend with a new book review. This isn't the first time I've reviewed Amelia Foster, you can read up on that one here. But she's back, so let's get to it shall we.You'll notice that the image I used this time is different, well that's because on Instagram I do a thing called #BooksBoozeAndBubbles. I'm combing my love of reading, with my love of bath time, and my love of wine. 
I pair up the books with a bath bomb and drink that fit the story. For Meant To Be Different I picked the Black Rose from Lush because Wyatt calls Georgia his dark angel and I thought it fit. The wine is the actual blend that Georgia and her friend drink in the story to drown their sorrows. I wasn't a fan of the bath bomb too much because it left behind a mess. Took a lot of scrubbing of my tub to get rid of the black residue. 
The wine, well it was surprising. It was a little bubbly with was different and it snuck up on you with giving you that tipsy feeling. One glass and I'm like okay not bad, this isn't as in your face as a red, two sips into the second glass and I caught the case of the giggles. Overall it's a thumbs up and I'd buy it again. 
On to the actual review, that's what you're really here for. 
As a teen, I had my life figured out: graduate and make my dream of being a bull riding champion a reality. That is right up until the goth girl transferred to my school. Georgia laid the snark on as thick as her eyeliner, but I saw through the toughened façade and fell for her. Hard.

She was willing to give up her own dream to follow me as I pursued my passion, but I couldn’t let her do that. So, I made the hardest decision of my life…and walked away.

It’s been twelve years since I left home without her and the all-grown-up Georgia is just as feisty and fiery as she was back then. It’s clear she has no intention of making redemption easy for me. Thankfully, I’m a patient man who knows what he wants. I’ve never stopped loving her, and I know she feels the same.

Back then I was a rhinestone cowboy, and she was a dark angel, complete opposites, yet we fell in love anyway. We weren’t meant to be like every other cookie cutter couple, we were meant to be different.

My Review** 5 STARS **
Meant To Be Different is book 2 in Amelia Foster’s Meant To Be series. This time we are getting to know Wyatt, the second of four sons in the Carlisle family. We met Wyatt a little in Meant To Be Kept and he was painted as the partying cowboy who lived off the admiration of “Buckle Bunnies.” In his own story, we find out how much of it is persona and how much of it is real.
Now don’t get him wrong, Wyatt is very much a mouthy, cocky cowboy who loves to have women inflate his ego and to get under his older brother’s skin as younger brothers do. But, beneath it all is a sweet guy putting on a big personality to hide his own insecurities. More importantly, the only woman he really wanted stroking his ego, and other things *wink, wink* was his high school sweetheart Georgia. The woman he walked away from in a moment of stupid teenage chivalry.
Georgia is not the same girl he walked away from 12 years prior and I love how she was not willing to just fall back into his arms and pick up where they left off. He didn’t grovel as much as Tanner from Meant To Be Kept, but that man is the gold standard, however Wyatt had his own way which fit him perfectly. He knew he messed up, and each year that he stayed silent with no contact added to his mistake. He knew he had to work for it to prove to Georgia he was the man she deserved. And that woman deserved a good man! One that was going to stand by her and support her because she went through some things during those years and still had a lot on her shoulders.
Not gonna lie, I wasn’t as quick to fall for his charms as Georgia, but I’ve been known to be a little tough on characters. Hahaha something I’m working on. What helped his cause with me was the way Ms. Foster weaves the story between past and present. We got to see how Wyatt and Georgia were as teens and how well they worked together to bring out the best in each other even though they were complete opposites.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for a feel good second chance romance with fun banter then you’ll enjoy Meant To Be Different.


BUY NOWor read in Kindle Unlimited

#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop - Let's Talk About Sex

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on UnsplashWelcome to spooky season, aka October. Can you believe it, the end of the year is upon us. But a new month means another new #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop. These are harder for me some months more than others. This month was one of them.
I’ve said it before that I don’t particularly think I’m one to give out advice and such but since these posts are about trying to help, I keep at it. Doing them are a benefit for me as writing them up makes me stop and think, but I tend to follow the sage advice of “write what you know.”

Now, hopefully you weren’t scared off from the title. I am a romance writer and a steamy/erotic one at that, which means all the sexy times are typically on page. No close door for this gal. My writing friends are wonderful at inflating my ego in regards to the sexy times I’ve written and have commented I should give lessons on writing those scenes. My imposter syndrome keeps me firmly in the belief my love scenes aren’t anything super special, but regardless this post is for them.

In May I wrote a post giving tips on how to include a romance into your story, if you wanted one. This is a continuation of sorts if you want to take it step farther and showcase some on screen loving. Just like a not every story needs a romance, even if there is one, not every romance needs to have sex on page.

If you’re going that route, ask yourself whyIs the sex only there to be gratuitous? Are you wanting to add some “edge” to your story with a little on page boning but it doesn’t otherwise factor into the story or the characters? If that is the case, don’t do it. I mean everyone is free to write what they want, but we’ve all seen those movies where things are going along and they’ve not only forced a romance for some reason, but they’ve added a sex scene normally so they can show some boobs or something.I’m not saying all sex scenes need to be deep and meaningful, but it should at the very least fit the tone of the story. It should not be shoehorned in.

It’s not as easy as you’d think
Romance gets looked down on a lot. The genre takes a lot of heat for being “predictable” due to the HEA/HFN endings. And it’s often referred to as “mommy porn” which is total BS since not all romances feature sex. Humans are messy complicated individuals and writing about that isn’t simple or straight forward. In that same vain, writing sex—good sex—isn’t simple either.
There is more to sex than a boob squeeze here, an ass slap there, and putting body part A into body part B. Sex is more than penetration, hell sometimes there isn’t any. There is a lot you have to think about and orchestrate when crafting a love scene. What was the lead up to it for the characters? How are they feeling? What is going on in their head before, during, and after the act?Even with a quickie hook-up that is hot and heavy, these things need to be considered. Sex is an emotional act, even if that emotion is just the happiness and satisfaction of doing it. That sort of life needs to be brought into the scene so that it adds to the story and to the characters involved.
When you’re crafting a sex scene it can’t all be about the mechanics. Don’t make it read like a how to manual. No one wants that. Talk about how they feel, NOT just how the sex feels though that is also very important, but how the characters feel. Are they nervous in the lead up to the act? What are they thinking about their partner or partners?Remember to add in the sights, sounds, and smells. And yes, I know the smells can be a bit clichéd LOL. We have all heard the jokes of the man (if there is one in the scene) smelling of sandlewood, or musk, or simply like a man but still it adds depth. How does their skin taste? Sounds weird, but it also adds a level. How does it feel? Soft, do they have calloused hands? A sex scene is a well-choreographed mix of tantalizing, emotion, maybe some humor, and well-versed visual aids to help pull the reader into the moment. It should be given as much thought and care as any other scene you craft for your story.

Make it realistic
Look, I get it, romance is fiction so if the scene includes a cis male he’s probably gonna be working with porn star level inches and will have Energizer Bunny level of stamia. And that is all well and good, but don’t go too overboard. I’m not scientific by any means, but some things are common knowledge and biology and physics only allow for so much. There is a blogger that I follow on Twitter that has read some pretty epic and gravity defying sex scenes and they are good for a giggle while asking what was the author thinking.
Think about what you’re writing. Stop and visualize where all the body parts are, and how likely it is that a regular human could do this. Think about the location you have your characters. Certain things aren’t as possible in the backseat of say a compact car as it would be on a bed. These are the little things you need to keep in mind so your readers aren’t scratching their head and wondering what the heck is happening.There is more, but I try to keep these posts from getting too long, so this is a good starter. For those of you that don’t write romance and/or sex scenes at all or on a regular basis these pointers will hopefully give you some basics to set you on the right path.

Stay true to what you want for the world you’re creating and don’t try and force something that doesn’t fit. And remember consent is key!

That’s it for this month. And well for 2019 actually as this hop takes November and December off. Guess I'll see you next year if it continues.

Until next time
~Meka

Don't Self Edit- Guest Blog Post by Christina Kaye

Happy Hump Day! Today I bring you something I've not done before, a guest post. Nothing against them, I've been a guest on other blogs before, I just never thought about offering up space to do the same. Something that I should probably change, but until then, let's get on with today's topic.Christina Kaye is the co-owner and editor of Top Shelf Editing.
Now through Oct. 31st, they are offering up 3 prizes to any new clients!
1) FREE book evaluation (first 5 pages)2) 20% off editing services3) FREE social media blast by HEA Book Promoters (courtesy of Lydia Harbaugh)
Go to their website: www.topshelfedits.com and authors interested in the 3 gifts should email them at info@topshelfedits.com with "3PRIZES" in the subject line.
As writers, we'd like to pretend that what we produce is amazing from the moment it's an idea in our heads clear through it being a completed draft. Christina is here to tell us why we may be a little wrong in that and why we need the help of outside parties.
Writerly Friends,
Today, we’re going to talk about why authors should never try to publish their books without having an unbiased third party review/edit it first. Who am I to have such an opinion you ask? I’m an award-winning author and the co-owner/editor of Top Shelf Editing, an elite editing service created for author by authors. We’ve been on both sides of the publishing world and we know how tempting it can be to self-edit to save time and money. But we also know firsthand the pitfalls an author faces when doing so. Let’s discuss.
So you’ve finished your novel after weeks, months, or even years of hovering over your laptop and ignoring everyone and everything else in your life outside of your fictional world and the characters you dropped into it. Great. You’re ready to upload it to Amazon. Right? Wrong. You need to have it professionally edited first.
But, wait! I’m this, like, awesome, amazingly talented writer! I’m really good at comma placement and catching typos. I have a good eye for mistakes. And better yet…I have Grammarly! Why on earth would I pay someone I don’t know to edit my work for me when I can do it myself for free?
Slow your roll. Pump the breaks. Hold your horses.
I have heard this rebuttal more times than I can count. In fact, if I had a dollar for every time I heard something along these lines, I could quit editing altogether, and Stephen King and I could be sipping mimosas on the Maine coastline, burning our money on the beach for the fun of it.
So…I did some research and I’ve gathered some facts, statistics, and other useful information to prove to you that you absolutely, unequivocally, irrefutably CANNOT edit your own book.
Reason #1 – Your brain literally cannot process your own mistakes.
Ever heard of the phrase, “can’t see the forest for the trees?” You’ve written these words, and if you’re a smart, dedicated author, you’ve been over the entire manuscript at least once. The more you sit and stare at words you created on your own, your brain will quite literally zone out, and your eyes will gloss over the mistakes and even fill in/auto-correct the errors the longer you stare. It’s like one of those optical illusion paintings where, the more you sit and stare at it, you begin to see shapes and patterns forming that weren’t there before…or maybe aren’t even really there to begin with! The reason you struggle to spot your own typos is because what you’re seeing on the computer is competing with the version already formulated in your head.
Reason #2 – You aren’t trained/experienced/practiced at editing.
Unless you’re a trained editor, it’s doubtful you’ve taken courses or studied all those intricate little writing rules that no author ever learns until someone teaches them. I want you to close your eyes. No, wait. Open them. You can’t read if your eyes are closed. Anyway, just think back to when you first starting writing novels. Remember how you were just typing away words that sounded great together and weaving together this beautiful story you just knew the whole world needed to hear? Now…think back to the first time you learned that there are actual RULES to writing that go beyond what you learn in high school and college English courses. Most new authors have never heard of writing techniques such as “show, don’t tell,” etc. And that’s just one of dozens of “rules” we must follow. You may be a wonderfully creative storyteller. Hell, you may even be a natural born “grammar Nazi.” But let’s face it. Learning all those pesky rules, techniques, and devices takes YEARS of research, practice, and training. But even the most highly skilled book editors never edit their own work.
Here’s a fact/statistic to put things in perspective (if you’re a numbers kind of person). According to industry standards, even the very best of editors may still miss about 5% - 15% of errors in a given project. So if people who have spent many years of their lives and spent God knows how much time, effort, and money to train to be the best they can be in their field STILL miss things, how on earth is the average writer ever supposed to catch ALL of their own mistakes? They can’t. That’s how. It’s absolutely impossible.
Reason #3 – Bad Editing and/or Lack of Editing Leads to Bad Reviews and Low Sales
If you’re a published author, odds are, you’ve been there. You’ve published your book (or your publisher has) and you sit there anxiously refreshing your internet browser every day, waiting for those amazing 5-star reviews to start rolling in. And you get them! But then…then, you get that first dreaded less-than-four-star review. (Side note, I consider anything less than four stars a “negative” review). Your heart sinks to your knees. You break out into hives. You fight the urge to throw up on your computer. You also fight the urge to cyberstalk said reviewer and give them a piece of your mind! It’s true, there will ALWAYS be a Negative Nancy. Someone who finds fault in even the best of literary masterpieces. Hell, Stephen King gets bad reviews from people who think they could do better, while they sit in their mom’s basement all alone, unemployed, in their underwear, staring at the blank notebook, which should contain that next best seller they’ve been telling all their friends they’re writing. There is absolutely no way to avoid ever getting ANY negative reviews. Get used to it. Deal with it. Talk to your therapist about it.
However! There is one sure-fire way to guarantee you will get negative reviews and slow or no sales. Don’t hire an editor. Just write your book, type THE END, have your best friend/mom/brother/mailman “edit” your book, then slap it up on Amazon. Just sit back and watch the three, two, one-star reviews roll in and try not to jump off a bridge as you read all those scathing remarks about how poorly written/edited your book is. Because it WILL happen. 
Don’t believe me? Here is just ONE example of a scathing review for a poorly written/unedited book:Don’t take any of this to mean that you are incapable of writing a brilliant and lovely book. Of course you can. But the bottom line is simply this. You cannot edit your own writing well enough that you will catch all possible mistakes, typos, and errors. And we haven’t even touched on content and developmental issues in this post. Hiring a trained professional to work with you and help make your book baby shine is the only logical route to take for any author who desires to not just write and publish books but to have them reach the masses and satisfy readers and keep them coming back for more.
Okay, great, Christina. You’ve talked me into not self-editing and hiring a trained professional like you to edit my manuscript before I publish it. Now what? How do I find the right editor? How do I know if an editor is for real or a wannabe? How much should I pay? How does it work?
Well, my friend, stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog series where I will next answer all those questions and more.
In the meantime, be sure you’ve taken a minute to browse our pretty website. You can read all about us, our mission/goals, our success stories, our services and rates, and read testimonials. You can even check out our Author Resources Page, where we list ONLY the best and most affordable service providers which we have personally vetted and guarantee are among the best in their field. We only list a few of each kind of service provider (cover designer, formatters, promoters, PAs, etc.) because who wants to scroll through a really long list? And besides, we don’t trust our clients and their books to just anyone. Those listed on this page are providers we have worked with directly in the past, and we GUARANTEE they offer the best combination of skill and affordability.
And, finally, if anything I’ve said here has resonated with you, and you’d like to talk to use about what we can do to help make your book the absolute best it can be, visit our Contact Us page, where you can reach out to us by email. Simply say, “Hey, Top Shelf! I want to learn more!” And we’ll take it from there. Every interested author gets a completely free, no-obligation evaluation of the first 5 pages of your manuscript. Within 24 hours, you’ll get back a complete content and line edit of those pages, along with a professional quote for our services and an estimated turnaround time.
Talk Soon,Christina Kaye(Co-Owner/Editor of Top Shelf Editing)