Meka James's Blog, page 4

Music Monday - Beyond

I know, shocker, after weeks of nothing I give you guys back-to-back Music Mondays. I've talked before that my 'day' job is working at a concert venue. It's an easy gig and I get to see acts I might not otherwise know about.


He was excellent! And sounded pretty much like his radio version which is always nice when the singers you love can actually sing live.

Besides getting to see him, I picked one of his songs this week because it's off the playlist for Being Hospitable. This novella releases tomorrow and is my first F/F (lesbian) romance. It's book two in my Desert Rose Hook-ups series, book one is Being Neighborly. That came out in March of this year with Carina press, but they have since shut down that particular line so I'm taking the others indie. There will be three total, as of now, unless I get ideas for more.

Being Hospitable is a best friend's siblings/friends-to-lovers tale that is fun, low angst, and kinda sexy. I chose "Beyond" because to me that song speaks on finding love when you're not looking for it and in the most unlikely of places.

Some houseguests are more enticing than others…

Kiki Jenkins knows that opening her home to her best friend’s younger sister means giving up some solitude. What she doesn’t expect is for her new roommate to become temptation in the form of novelty panties and flirty innuendos. But Charley is off limits…for several reasons.

Charley Graham wants to be seen as more than her brother’s little sister. And she wants Kiki to do the seeing. Her new internship provides the perfect opportunity. Plan in motion, she’s not going to let their close living quarters go to waste.

The arrangement is supposed to be temporary, but as they grow closer a permanent change of address might be in order.

GET THE BOOK

That's it for this week. I hope you have a great one, and let me know what you think of the song.

"Beyond" by Leon Bridges



Until next time
~Meka

IWSG - Reading Is Fundamental

So it's October. Can you believe we are so close to the end of the year? Man, it's been a long one. But we're back with a new month, and a new IWSG post.


October 2 question - It's been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and another author. On the other hand, how can you expect other people to want your writing, if you don't enjoy reading? What are your thoughts?

***I'm in the camp that you need to read in the genre you're writing. Each genre has it's own set of reader expectations, a set of guidelines your story needs to operate within to fit its label. A mystery must be solved at the end, a suspense needs to have the 'bad guy' caught, and a romance must have a HEA or HFN (happily ever after or happily for now) ending.

If you don't read in the genre you're writing, and thinking you are going to reinvent the wheel to be edgy and new, you are setting out to cheat readers of the expectations they have. Speaking as a romance writer, I see this sort of thinking surrounding my chosen genre a lot. People want to be revolutionary in questioning why a genre romance needs to HAVE the HEA or HFN ending. They want to tout it as being 'boring' or 'predictable' and not 'real life' and other such excuses.

When you read in the genre you want to write, especially if you're new to it, it's the best research you could have. There are countless authors who spin the basic ideas into something new and magical. How I handle a trope like friends-to-lovers will be vastly different from how my friend Amelia Foster might handle it. We both have varying writing styles, but we both know that the readers are expecting certain things out of the story. Ignoring what's out there with the thought you will be different is in a way thumbing your nose up at your audience.

And within a genre are various sub-genres. I'm a contemporary writer, but if I ever decided to branch out into say PNR (paranormal romance) I'd have to take up reading those books so I'd understand that while the romance aspect is generally the same, I know nearly nothing on the paranormal side. Research.

Reading what's out there teaches you what your audience is looking for. It's a way to respect their expectations and the money you hope they will spend on your story. Your author voice is yours and yours alone. How you weave the tale will be different from the stories you're reading and enjoying. And you'll learn things about yourself in the process. I'm terrible with making my words poetic. I'm a pretty linear thinker so my writing is the same. I have to work harder at finding ways to make things prettier as it were. Reading and taking in how others do it helps me get to that next level of digging deeper to pull out the emotion. Not full on purple prose, but some where in the middle that fits my voice.

That's it for this month. Reading is fundamental and it helps you be a better writer.

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 October 2nd posting of the IWSG are Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!

Music Monday: Broken Frame & Book Review: King Unveiled

Happy Monday. I know, I know. What is this? A new Music Monday finally? Yeah. I do these posts when I feel like I truly have something to share. The last few weeks that has not been my mood. I’ve not been listening to a lot of music so had nothing to make a post about. But…I’m back.I am again combining my Monday post with a book review because this author is like me in that they use music to help set the mood of their writing. More even, she plots by music whereas I only use it to give me an overall feeling of the story and/or scene. Her playlists sorta acts like her outline in a way, it’s even arranged to progress through the story from start to finish. Way cool!
Now I’ve mentioned Tara Moore’s book before when it was still a work in progress. She was the first of my critique group that I featured on Music Monday. I’m thrilled the book is now out in the world.
On to the review!

Three hearts.Two loves.Unending lies.
Bria has no idea her life is a carefully woven tapestry of design and predestination. Until a helicopter, a quiet beach cove, and the pull of piano chords usher in the unraveling of her world.
And David.
His music sparked her spirit, long before she knew him, before she knew herself. Now, with love and lives on the line, they can’t escape their fated connection or the family company that owns them and their hearts.
Jon has been her constant companion. Her rock. Her anchor. But when the perfect outcome of their parental set-up turns out to be a cover, her protected existence begins to fall apart, and so does their relationship and its foundation of necessary lies.
All three must unite, must fight, for family, for freedom, with a bond so strong even torn hearts can’t tear them apart.
Let sweeping descriptions, heated action scenes, and quiet romantic moments keep you on a pinwheel of emotions you won't soon forget.

My Review
** 5 STARS **

You’ve been around my blog enough to know that YA isn’t normally my thing. I am into romance with characters that aren’t even remotely close to the age of my children LOL. That being said, King Unveiled was able to make me forget about the ages of the characters until I got frustrated with our lead Bria and I had to remind myself she’s only 18.
Ms. Moore has weaved a story that is a loose King David inspired tale, but it’s NOT heavy on any religious tones. At. All. In case you have concerns there. What we have is this sort of genre undefined sci-fi, corporate espionage-ish, action, women’s fiction, romance. Yes, that is a mouthful, but honestly there isn’t an easy way to describe the story we’re given and that’s the beauty of it.
Bria’s life has never really been her own. She’s pretty much been told who her friends should be, who she should date, how she’s supposed to act. The only time she can breathe and just be her is when she’s in Mexico. So, it was fitting that Mexico is where the tightly wound threads of her life start to unravel.
From the blurb you know this story will involve a love triangle. Something else I’m not a fan of because someone will always end up losing. Bria has been with Jon for nearly three years. Their relationship pretty much an arrangement between their parents, but then David walks into her life and he is that first tug.
The story is told entirely from Bria’s point of view, and I have to say it’s a testament to Ms. Moore’s writing that she could have me feeling so many deep emotions surrounding a party whose head we’re never in. Jon. He’s reserved, some may say rigid, but as the story unfolds the reasons are slowly explained and man it’s hard when you see how much both men care for her and in turn how much she cares for them.
It’s hard to write this review without giving spoilers because the design of it means you’re supposed to uncover the secrets that Bria has been fed all her life as she does. King Unveiled is not just one thing, it’s many plots and subplots beautifully woven in emotional and poetic pose that pulls you into the story.
When I reached out to Tara about a song selection, she sent me plenty and all of them in relation to Bria and Jon because I am #teamJonforever LOL The one I picked to go with the review is special because it encompasses their friendship/relationship. No matter the ups and downs and no matter how much he may be hurting as she works through things while finally coming into her own person, Jon is there for her no question. This book is the first in a series, so while it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, you know their stories aren’t over yet.

BUY THE BOOK **available at all online retailers**
"Broken Frame" by Alex & Sierra

Until next time~Meka

Adventures in KU - Round Two

Hello folks. This write up is a little delayed (well a lot delayed) and I’m sorry about that. I realized that I was much better about this when I was doing the breakdowns each month. That being said, this will be a summary post of how I did in my second round of KU.
Month 1 (May 19- June 18) Sales
“Sale” wise 831, but you’ll notice that’s in quotes reason being most of those were FREE downloads. I ran a free promotion on The Lists from May 22-May 26 the majority of those numbers reflect what was given away. Because I didn’t want to sink a lot of money into promoting giving away my book, I did low cost options. Ran a promo on Love Kissed Book Bargains ($15) BUT if you’re part of their Facebook group, they have coupon codes so I only paid $5. The day it ran netted me the biggest download day (596). My other promotions were simply on my social media. I had a second smaller reach one ($10) and the day it ran I only had 20 downloads, the lowest day across the board.
Now, I realize that The Lists probably wasn’t going to generate a lot of ‘read through’ as people would have to go backwards, but still I hoped. My total paid sales for the month totaled 7.
Fiendish: 5Not Broken: 2 The Lists: “824” Page reads
1804 for the time period.
Not Broken: 1418The Lists: 386
Royalties (US payouts only): April pay out $41.79 with $7.62 coming from page reads. That was for 15 sales (1 paperback) and 1632 page reads.

***
Month 2 (June 19- July 18)
Sales
I had 15 sales during this month.
Fiendish: 6 Not Broken: 8 The Lists: 1
On the surface those look like great numbers for me. I did run a Kindle countdown for Not Broken @ $1.99 from June 21-June 28 which is where 6 of 8 of the sales came from. Again with keeping with the low cost promotion, I did social media boosting and paid $5 to run another Love Kissed Books ad in their newsletter.
Page reads
Those went down from the previous time period with me getting only 1550.
Not Broken: 1304The Lists: 246
Royalties (US payouts only) : May payout $25.00 with $6.10 being from page reads. 9 sales and 1362 page reads.

***
Final month (July 19- August 18)
Sales
I sold 12 books total for the final month. It honestly still surprises me that Fiendish, the non-KU book in this grouping continues to be my ‘big’ seller even though I don’t do any promoting for it. I do wonder what would happen if I actually did, but that’s a thought process for another post. This being the final month, I didn’t sink any funds into promoting the books. I did sporadic social media posting, but that was it.
Fiendish: 9 (including 1 paperback)Not Broken: 2The Lists: 1
Page reads
Those went up from the previous month, BUT they were all for Not Broken. 1785 total. I don’t know if that was carry over from the promotion I ran during the Kindle Countdown, or what, but it is what it is.
What I decided from this however was to pull The Lists from KU as it consistently under performed. I boosted it as much as Not Broken, but it never really got any traction. Not even read through from those that read Not Broken, despite it being linked in the back of the book.
Royalties (US payouts only) : June payout $28.75 with $8.96 coming from page reads. 17 sales and 1936 page reads.



Not Broken remains as of now for a third round, but I’m uncertain on if I will keep it for a fourth. I’ve gone weeks with no pages reads and only recently had a spike because I’m trying a freebie promotion through Story Origin. If not for that, I’m fairly certain my reads would have still been at zero which they had been since about August 18ththrough September 4th when the promo kicked in.
This current round of KU will lead me into mid-October so I’ll do another write up at that point with my determination on if I stay or go. I have an upcoming release, another novella and I’m on the fence if I want to attempt KU with a ‘fresh’ book or just take it wide and figure out more ways to increase sales on the other platforms.
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Until next time~Meka

IWSG - Show Me The Money

Happy September. I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day weekend. I spent it doing "family bonding" by watching all the Marvel Universe movies. My sister was/is majorly offended that I hadn't seen Infinity Wars or End Game among others.

But you guys aren't here to read about my weekend, so let's move on to the reason. It's the first Wednesday of the month, so that means it's time for another IWSG post. I've been not sharing a ton of my issues in the last months because I didn't want to be Debbie Downer, or seem like a whiner, but this group is about sharing our ups and downs.

You remember those old cartoons where the character would have an angel version of them on one shoulder and the devil on the other? I feel like that a lot these days, but I have two devils, self-doubt, and the Why Bother Monster’. Both are happy and cozy perched up and seemingly not going anywhere anytime soon.

I’ve tried to move passed it. To keep forging on, but man it gets harder each day. And it’s not just one thing, it’s a collective of issues/stresses that pile on and make me question my sanity oh why I keep on this path. I seriously must have some sort of masochistic traits to keep willingly putting myself through this much stress, and heartache.

So, what’s with the title? Well, at the end of the day, no matter how much I enjoy the writing aspect (some days) enjoyment doesn’t pay the bills. And honestly I’m not expecting my royalties to, but it would be nice if they could buy me a cup of coffee or treat the family to dinner. There is so much behind the scenes that goes into the business. I’ve heard it before, to make money you have to spend money. However the reality of the situation is not everyone can.

Being an indie author means I have more costs on my shoulders before the book even sees the light of day. There’s editing, proofreading, and cover design. That on top of shelling out cash on ads, tours, and whatever other marketing idea I try. All of it means, that with five books out, even with two being through a publisher, I’m still very much in the red.

Technically I’ve been published since 2014, though I took three years off so have been at it again actively since 2017. And it’s been a lot of disappointment. Three years, five books, and never a royalty check to even get close to hitting three digits. Seriously, I’m not asking for millions, or hell even thousands. But when the statements are ten, maybe fifteen dollars it doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies about keeping on.

Admittedly I’m not the best at marketing. I’ve worked to improve, but it’s still a struggle. I have tried to invest in myself as the “experts” say to do. However when the return is little to none, another tally goes on the disappoint board. And I know this is a marathon and not a sprint, but man...I’m tired all the same.

Being no better off than when I first started makes me question so many things. It’s one of those “it’s not you, it’s me” type of deals. Self-doubt tells me my writing isn’t up to par or I’m not producing stories people want to read. That they aren’t memorable, and the reading experience becomes a one and done, they aren’t pulled in enough to see what else I’ve put out there. Word of mouth is the best advertisement, especially for an indie, but you don’t get that if your stories are easily forgettable, which self-doubt tells me they are.

Then I see stories with what I consider questionable story-lines whose rankings are better than mine and the Why Bother Monster pipes up whispering in my ear. I can tell myself not to compare myself to others, but it’s easier said than done. More-so when I’m already feeling down and questioning so much about my future in this business.

Then there was a Tweet I made a few months back, the original topic had something to do with marketing, but I don't recall exactly. What did stick with me was another author commenting and basically telling me that unless I wrote a series it's pointless to advertise and/or expect read through of the books I had to offer. I mean ouch! The Why Bother Monster did a little happy jig to that.

I’m feeling more and more these days that my writing career is a lemon. I keep sinking money into it and more falls apart. It’s never ending. So, where do I go from here? I honestly don’t know. I have ideas, I want to write, but all the other bullshit seriously weighs me down thanks to my constant unwanted companions taking up residence on my shoulders.

That's it for this month. Hopefully I find some clarity on what comes next, but I'm doubtful.

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 September 4th posting of the IWSG are Gwen Gardner, Doreen McGettigan, Tyrean Martinson, Chemist Ken, and Cathrina Constantiner!

#AuthorToolBoxBlogHop - Being A Good Beta

Image courtesy of Pixaby  Hey y’all and welcome back to another month of the #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop. I took off last month because of room make-overs and traveling, but I’m back and ready for another attempt at peddling some ‘advice’.
Most of us on this hop probably already know what a beta reader is, but in case you don’t,  according to Wikipedia:

A beta reader is usually an unpaid test reader of an unreleased work of literature or other writing (similar to beta testing in software), who gives feedback from the point of view of an average reader to the author.
Pretty simple right? But not really. Beta reading can be nerve wracking (or maybe it’s just me) because someone has entrusted their story and opened themselves up to hearing outside opinions. That’s a heavy responsibility. And an important one. This post will give you some starter tips on how you can be a more effective reader should you find yourself in that role.

Discuss expectations
This is a must. Find out what the author is wanting in terms of feedback. Do they want comments left in the document or are they looking for overall summaries? This can save you time and energy to know up front. Leaving in doc comments slows down the reading process and if they don’t want that sort of thing, why do it?

Also in those expectations, what is the timeline. That is important for both parties. If the author is on a deadline and you are backed up with other things, don’t take it on. It only leads to frustration all around.

Ask about trigger/content warnings if you have them. The author may tell you up front if they know they have subjects that could be sensitive for some readers, but they may not. It’s okay to ask because that protects you as the beta from being surprised by content you didn’t expect and it can save you both some time if you aren’t able to read because of said content.

Work within your strengths
I’m not a grammar person, so you won’t find me doing much commenting in the way of missing or misplaced commas and things like that. And as a beta, that’s not really your job. The author will be hiring an editor for that. If you see something glaring, sure point it out, but you are there to give impressions of the overall story.

If you know you’re not someone that reads/knows a lot of history, but you end up reading a historical, you probably aren’t the best person to point or correct their facts.

Remember it’s not your story
Each of us has a different author voice. When you are beta reading, you should not be doing line edits/corrections on things based on how ‘you’ would have written it. Any feedback that you give should fit with how the author chose to present their story based on the world they built.

Don’t be ‘red pen’ happy
What I mean by that, is it’s not all about corrections. Don’t go into a beta read thinking you’re only looking for errors and/or things to be fixed. If you have issues, point them out, but you should also point out what works well. Did you laugh at a certain part? Do you love a particular phrase they used? Did the story make you cry? Telling the author the highlights is just as important on any low points. It’s all about balance.

Some people use the ‘sandwich’ method, which is nice-issue-nice. I don’t read like that because I’m scattered, but I set that expectation (see what I did there) up front when I take on a project. I let the author know what sort of reader I am and how they can expect to get my feedback. If I’m working with a new author, I only take on one chapter so I can see if I’ll be able to get into the story, and so they can get a feel of how I roll.

Wanting to help is a given, but not everyone meshes and that’s okay. It goes back to knowing your strengths. Neither party is a failure if a beta relationship doesn’t work out. Believe me I kissed a lot of frogs before I found my beta princesses.

 ***On the flip side, if someone is betaing for you, and you get back feedback that is hard, remember two little words: thank you. I’ve also been there, because let’s face it, no matter how much we think our stories are perfect, they aren’t and that’s why we seek out betas to begin with. In *most* cases the person is not being harsh just to be a pain, at least they shouldn’t be. Any and all feedback should be given with the intent to help the author see things they may not have thought about. But at the end of the day, this person took time away from what they were doing to read for you. Appreciate them!

Final tip read what they send you!
Now you’re probably going what? Isn’t that the point? Yes, that is, but way back in the day, as I was kissing those frogs, I’d have betas that questioned things that were in fact answered. Them asking about it signaled to me that they skim read and didn’t give it their full attention. That's not a good feeling.

When you take on a beta, you are making an agreement to give them honest and true feedback. They are counting on you to do that. If you can’t, then you shouldn’t take on the project.

That’s it. I hope these tips help you if you are thinking about becoming a beta, or wanted to figure out ways you can be a more effective one.

Until next time
~Meka

Release Blitz: Beauregard And The Beast

Today is an exciting day! Why? Well, because it's the debut release day for my good friend Evie Drae!!! **cue wild screaming and cheering**


Book one in her Once Upon A Vegas Tale series which will all be fairytale inspired stories.

His greatest prize can’t be won in the octagon.

Champion MMA fighter Adam Littrell needs no distractions as he prepares for the fight that will determine whether he retires. But when he opens the door of his swanky Las Vegas home to his new personal assistant, Bo Wilkins, staying focused becomes a struggle.
Aware of Adam’s surly reputation, Bo doesn't expect to like his new employer, let alone fall for him. But Bo is pleasantly surprised when a shared love of books leads them to study for their GEDs together and plan for a life after their current careers. Adam won't be able to fight forever, and Bo wants a relationship on equal footing.
But just as their relationship is getting off the ground, the sister Bo raised needs his help, and he drops everything. With Adam’s final match looming and Bo in a different city, reuniting will be the real challenge.
Get the book!
Amazon KoboGoogle PlayBarnes & NobleDreamspinner PressGoodreads
Check out her epic trailer:

But wait there's more. 

RELEASE WEEK GIVE AWAY (ENTER BY AUGUST 26th, WINNERS ANNOUNCED AUGUST 27th, 2019):
The GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive a personalized signed copy of Beauregard and the Beast, a $100 Amazon Gift Card, and an assortment of author swag! The RUNNER-UP will receive a personalized signed copy of Beauregard and the Beast and an assortment of author swag! Your followers can enter by clicking the following link: https://promosimple.com/ps/e886/b
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Evie Drae has won first place in seven Romance Writers of America® competitions and is a double finalist in the 2019 Golden Heart®. She landed her literary agent Eva Scalzo from Speilburg Literary following a dual win in the 2018 RWA® Heart to Heart.
She loves encouraging her fellow writers and started the #writeLGBTQ and #promoLGBTQ hashtags on Twitter to support LGBTQ+ authors and allies. She is married to the love of her life, is the mother of three fur babies, and runs almost entirely on coffee and good vibes.
WHERE TO FIND EVIE:
Website/BlogTwitterFacebookGoodreadsInstagramPinterestNEWSLETTER SIGN-UP
Until next time
~Meka

Music Monday - Good To Be Alive

It's Monday! Happens every week for some reason. LOL Anyway I hope you had a better weekend than I did.


On Saturday, roughly twenty minutes after he texted me to say he was heading home from baseball practice he calls me. A call is NEVER a good thing. Last time he had to call me it was because his transmission went out on him with his younger brother also in the car. This time it was an accident.

              


He got rear ended less than 5 minutes from home. He was waiting to turn into our subdivision and another teen driver didn't brake in time and that is the result. All parties involved were fine thank goodness, but it's not a call you want to get as a parent. 
Now comes the not so fun part of dealing with insurance and hopefully being able to get it repaired because we do not want to car shop again. But it's a material thing so in the grand scheme of things, it's minor.
This week's selection I needed something upbeat and that just celebrates life in general. Bring on Andy Grammer. LOL
Stay safe out there folks and hug those close to you.
Until next time,~Meka
"Good To Be Alive" by Andy Grammer

Music Monday - I Got You

Happy Monday folks! I hope you all had a good weekend. We spent most of ours just recuperating from the first week of school. However I did manage one thing writer-ly related.


I put out an epilogue to my new year release, Anything Once. Why would I do that nearly 8 months later? Well, even though reading reviews is supposed to be a no-no, occasionally I still do. Yes, bad Meka. But...something good came of it. I noticed in some of the early reviews that while people seemed to like the story, it felt 'unfinished' to them.

This was repeated in more than one review, so something I took notice of. I talked with my publisher about adding to the story and they agreed I could. The bonus was sent out on Friday to my newsletter subscribers and on Sunday I made it public to everyone. It was good to revisit Ian and Quinn and I hope those that read the story and the new epilogue feel like it ties everything up nice and neat-ish.

In honor of the epi, I've chosen a song that sorta represents the theme of the chapter and the journey my characters took to get there.

If you've read Anything Once, and missed the chatter about the bonus, you can read it at my other blog. It is a password protected post.

EpiloguePASSWORD: bonus
Drop me some comments on what you think of it.

Have a great week!

Until next time
~Meka

"I Got You" by Ciara

IWSG - Anybody's Guess

 Happy August! I can't believe it's August already. This year is flying by. My boys are back in school. I have quiet again. AND a new month, means new IWSG posting day.


Getting more words out into the world is great and all, but if no one is buying those words it starts to weigh you down. Being indie isn't cheap. All costs are up front and after a while you realize you're digging a bigger hole and it makes you question things.

I've been doing a test run of Kindle Unlimited. I'm currently on round two and will do a write up on it soon. But the overall mood I have on going forward will be a post for another day when I've had a chance to get my thoughts together more and aren't quiet so cynical like I am now.

Like last month, this post will be answering the optional question posed on the IWSG website.

August 7 question - Has your writing ever taken you by surprise? For example, a positive and belated response to a submission you'd forgotten about or an ending you never saw coming?

I haven't done much in the way of doing submissions, so other than the fact I had two publishers actually say yes to me, I don't have any other surprises there.

As for my actual writing, I'll have to say everything is typically a surprise.


I'm a pantser!

When I start a story, I only begin with the most basic idea. Everything that comes next is dictated by the characters and events that come up and take place.

Example: In Not Broken, there's a scene that moves from a very light going, they'd taken a giant step forward in their relationship, to a fight. Seriously, as I was writing the events I kept asking "what the hell is happening" because I didn't even realize how they got to that point. But it worked. There were still some unresolved issues between the two that came to surface during that scene.

For Anything Once, that story was supposed to be light and fluffy. Just a hot and sexy erotic romance and it's still that, but it totally morphed into more. Ian and Quinn were dealing with communication issues in their marriage, plus the infertility subplot sort of materialized which brought another layer.

Each of my books have taken surprise turns, some bigger than others, but that's part of the fun. I do get ideas for plot points and sometimes they make it into the story, other times my characters laugh at me daring to attempt to give them direction.

Sometimes it can be frustrating trying to figure out what comes next, but I can't plan. I never liked outlining, even way, way, back in high school. It doesn't work for me. My process is a roller coaster and I'm always looking for the thrill of what comes next.

That's it for me.

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 July 3 posting of the IWSG are Renee Scattergood, Sadira Stone, Jacqui Murray, Tamara Narayan, and LG Keltner!