Megan Morgan's Blog, page 54

So close, so far.

This post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog hop. The first Wednesday of every month is Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. The awesome co-hosts for the the September 2 posting of the IWSG will be Julie Flanders, Murees Dupé, Dolorah at Book Lover, Christine Rains, and Heather Gardner!

 

 

What’s worse than an outright rejection?

The almost acceptance.

I’ve experienced the almost acceptance a number of times in my life, and especially the past year I’ve had more than I would like. What’s the almost acceptance? When you send something off to an agent or editor, they seem intrigued and want to see more, so you send them the rest, and then wait…and chew off your fingernails…and go stir-crazy. You can picture a happy day in the future when they’ll tell you they love it and want it. You can smell success in the air. You’re so close you can almost taste it, almost there, allllmost…

And then they say no.

You can handle this one of two ways:

Scream. Curl up in a ball. Drink an entire bottle of wine. Weigh how much you want a career against writing to tell the agent/editor what a loathsome bucket of swine they are. Sober up and not do this. Sigh. Try, try again.
Give yourself a pat on the back for at least getting that far and getting their attention. Feel proud of how much you’ve improved. Sigh. Try, try again.

If you automatically do the second thing good for you, and also, I don’t believe you. Almost acceptance sucks. I’m currently in the hellish limbo of yet another one, hoping it goes the happy route this time. If not I’ll recover and try again, but I’ll drink that bottle of wine first.

Have you had an almost acceptance? What was your reaction?

Filed under: IWSG Tagged: blog hop, insecure writer's support group, writing

Productivity–tips and tricks

It’s ironic I picked this subject for a blog post, since I’ve been in a bit of a writing slump lately. Most of the writing I HAVE done has been slow and painful. So, perhaps this post is as much to remind myself to get my nose back to the grindstone as it is to offer up advice.

Normally, I’m a very productive writer. I write a lot of words in the average month, sometimes enough to boggle my own mind. My writing style is such that I usually write a huge amount in one session instead of a little day by day, but I know this doesn’t work for everyone. You have to find your own pace and go with it. I think I like writing in large chunks because it also gives me large chunks of not-writing time in which I can relax and slack off.

People have asked me how I manage to write so much (and I actually do have a day job and an active social life!) so I’ll share some of the things that work for me:

– Get really good at typing. Most of us do the majority of our writing on a keyboard. Typing is a skill that improves the more you do it. I was thrilled when my typing speed actually caught up with the speed of my thoughts. It’s amazing how much work you can get done when you’re able to relay thoughts to the monitor as fast as they pop into your head.

– Don’t edit as you write. This was a really, really hard habit to break–that compulsion to keep going back and fixing things. DON’T DO IT, or 90% of your writing time will be editing time. Save the rewriting and editing for after you get the entire story out. Don’t worry about how crappy it is in production. No one but you will see it.

– Don’t go back and look for details. This is a trick I recently started employing. If I forget a name or detail I used earlier in the story and suddenly find myself needing it on page 50 but unable to remember what I named a minor character or what color a house is, I don’t dig back through 49 pages of manuscript to find it. I just put a note at the spot where I need it and insert it later. Stopping and scrolling back breaks the writing flow.



– Do as much research as you can before you start writing. Sometimes you’ll need to stop and look something up, but doing this constantly will mess up your pace. If it’s not something you absolutely need to move forward, just put a note in to look it up later.

– Be invested in your story. The more passionate you are about the tale and the characters, the faster you’ll find yourself writing and the less you’ll want to stop, or get distracted.

– Seek out projects with deadlines. When something has to be completed by a certain time, it forces you to discipline yourself. I’m personally easily distracted by shiny things, so deadlines keep my eyes in front of me. Even if you’re making personal deadlines for yourself, it helps.

– Write every day, if possible. The more you write, the more of a habit it becomes.

These are just a few things I use to boost productivity. If you have any additional tips, I’d love to hear them!

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: advice, creativity, me, writing

Cats and authors

A very important leaf!

Right now, as I type this post, I have a cat snuggled up to me. In a little while, I’ll be doing some editing, and said cat will probably move into my lap to wedge herself between me and my laptop. At least she makes a nice wrist-rest.

Cats and authors seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly, mashed potatoes and gravy, and chocolate and bacon. Every day on Facebook and Twitter I see authors talking about their cats. Said cats are usually very close at hand or at least lurking in the vicinity when the updates and tweets are being made. If there’s two things some authors can’t write, edit, or do promotion without, it’s a clingy cat and a cup full of caffeine.

What is this weird phenomenon? I have some theories:

– Cats are furry little vessels for our muses. They bring us all our inspiration and need to stay very close–say, actually resting on top our heads if they can physically manage it–so great ideas fly from our fingers to the screen.

– The government has genetically engineered cats to stay close and spy on us, so they can steal all our ideas for international bestsellers and take over the planet.

I’m just here for the laptop heat.

– Cats notice us just sitting there doing what looks like nothing and feel an immediate kinship. Laziness loves company!

– If you have multiple cats, chances are the one snuggled up to you is distracting you from one of the other ones tearing up all the toilet paper in the bathroom.

– By wedging themselves against you in uncomfortable ways so you have to work awkwardly over top them, cats are reminding us that things we really want are worth fighting for. They’re here to motivate us.

– Your cat actually owns you and insinuates themselves into everything you do because how dare you question your owner’s behavior?

– Cats like reading what you’re writing. They’re judging you, harshly.

– They’re waiting for their turn on Facebook.

My favorite little fuzzball is now inching her way into my lap. That must mean it’s time to get to work.

Filed under: Behind The Scenes Tagged: cats, me, personal life, pictures, writing

Waiting tables and writing books

Authors always hear “write what you know” though the reality is we also do a lot of research and also write about things we only know because we looked them up. I’m fond of listening to people talk about their jobs, especially jobs I’ve never done and/or never will. It doesn’t matter if someone works for NASA or at the corner bar, everyone has stories and the little details can be fascinating, intriguing, or just downright funny. It’s like taking a step out of your own daily drudgery to experience someone else’s life.

That being said, I’m going to tell you what it’s like to be a server and bartender, which I’ve been for the past eight (nearly nine) years. I know, you guys thought I was living off the millions of dollars I make writing, but I’m not! Bonus: if you’re currently writing a story about the service industry, you can ask me questions. I see a lot of waitresses in books. Sookie Stackhouse, anyone? Maybe a lot of other authors have toiled in restaurants…

First of all, let me preface by saying I love my job. I work in a lounge now instead of a restaurant so I only bartend, but I served exclusively a lot. I know being a waitress is usually depicted as misery and being at the bottom of the food chain, but I enjoyed being a server (for some reason calling us ‘waiters’ and ‘waitresses’ is considered somewhat un-PC now, but I use the terms interchangeably). I love my coworkers because we’re like a family, I like what I do, I like (most) of my guests, and I like taking home money every night instead of waiting for a paycheck.

Here’s some things you might not know about working in a bar/restaurant:

– Servers have a unique set of slang that is potentially confusing for anyone who hasn’t been in a professional kitchen before. Terms like 86, all day, weeded, on the fly, being cut, sat, and wearing, mean different things than they do in everyday life (being cut is actually a good thing for a server). Also, each restaurant has additional slang for things that are specific to that place.

– You can never plan your life around your schedule when you work in the service industry. Most of us don’t have set times we get out of work. Additionally, some days we may work 2 hours and some days 12, without knowing ahead of time.

– You can’t budget either, because you have no set amount of money you make. You do a lot of instinctive budgeting and mostly, praying.

– No two days are the same. I always loved that about the job, though. Your station, work, customers, and level of business changes every single shift. It’s never boring.

– You have to grow a thick skin, and quick, or you won’t stay around long in a restaurant. Customers and even your coworkers can be volatile and unpredictable. Your coworkers most definitely will have filthy mouths and crude, potentially offensive, senses of humor. Eventually, you will turn into one of them.

– There are tons of creative people in the service industry, because of the flexible hours and potential for making money. There’s also lots of alcoholics and drug addicts. And gay people.

– Being a server teaches you some unexpected skills. After eight years I have a memory as sharp as a tack (I almost never write anything down), I’m a master multitask-er (you have to be when you’re waiting on 20 people at once), and I have amazing balance and can carry multiple plates and glasses in ways that defy physics. I also have arms of steel from lifting trays, buckets of ice, and chafing dishes filled with gallons of water. I have great legs too, because I do so much walking! It’s an extremely physical job.

– I also have lots of lulls and downtime to plot stories.

– Bar fights and rude customers aren’t as prevalent as fiction would have you believe. These things happen rarely (at least to me) and when you’ve been serving for a while, you even know how to handle it (or you call security).

Does this mean I’m going to write a novel about a waitress because I know the industry inside and out? Well….maybe.

What about you? What’s your job like and would you ever create a character that has it (or you already have)?

Filed under: About Me, Behind The Scenes Tagged: creativity, inspiration, me, personal life

Shit Romance Authors Say

I’m sure by now you’ve seen them floating around the internet: those videos that depict “Shit (demographic/race/people/gender) Say.” If not, allow me to direct you to YouTube (some of those videos may contain offensive material, so watch at your own risk!).

I have zero video making skills, so I thought I’d do one of these presentations in blog form. Here is Shit Romance Authors Say:

– It’s not smut, it’s erotica.

– What’s another word for ‘throbbing?’

– Just because he’s a werewolf doesn’t mean he’s not lovable.

– So you’re telling me you don’t see fireworks every time you kiss someone?

– He’s a billionaire…she’s a billionaire…what if everyone is just billionaires?

– Can you make a Wendigo sexy? What about a zombie?

– Is it considered HEA if she leaves him chained to the bed–but he likes it?

– I need to find an anthology for my leather daddy/tax accountant story!

– Sexy, sizzling, scorching…it’s okay to put all those words in the blurb, right?

– The publisher wants a 300 word synopsis for my 80,000 word novel? You have got to be kidding me.

–  Whoops, I used ‘turgid’ twice in three paragraphs–glad my editor caught that!

– If the FBI ever gets their hands my Google search history…

– Follow Friday!

–  Cat: check. Coffee: check. Now I can write.

– I need a new blog post idea. But I think I already wrote about 101 Practical Uses For Handcuffs.

– I don’t know where to take this story next. Time for a sex scene!

– Got a bad review: reviewers are just jerks shouting their opinions to the masses!

– Got a good review: reviewers are so wise and awesome!

– Did Amazon do anything evil this week?

– I hate Facebook’s new timeline.

– These two characters just met. I think the most practical decision is for them to have sex.

– I think I should add some sex here.

– What holiday is coming up next? I need to write a story about people having sex on that holiday.

– Hey, writing sex is hard. Heh heh, hard…

Do you have any to add to the list? Come on down!

By the way, today I’m part of Long and Short Reviews 8th Anniversary Party! Come on over and enter to win TONS of stuff, including $100 Amazon/B&N gift cards!

Filed under: Giveaways, Monday Funday Tagged: funny, romance

The impact of cover art

They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, and while that’s true, many people do. Have you ever bought a book because the cover caught your eye? How many times have you seen a well put together cover and felt the urge to read the book based on the cover artist’s prowess? Advertising has a strong influence on all of us, whether we want to believe it or not. And book covers are just that–advertising. A beautiful, compelling, dynamic cover attracts our attention, because that’s the point.

This is by no means a pronouncement that only books with amazing covers are worth reading. You can’t judge a book by its cover. A less-than-amazing cover may house an incredible, compelling story. All I’m saying is you can’t deny the power of advertising and artistry.

I’ve had covers I nearly wept over (in a good way), actually feeling my story was inferior to such an amazing cover. If you’re not an author, you should know: authors get very little say in what their covers look like. Some publishers allow input and ask for suggestions but the publisher has the last say in any disputes (this is often written into the contract).

I’ve been blessed so far, my covers have been created by some amazing artists (click on the covers to see them in their full size detailed glory):

The Wicked City (and the sequels) are done by the amazing Fiona Jayde. I nearly did backflips when I found out she was my cover artist, as she’s one of the best in the business!

The cover for Her Darkest Secret was done by the equally amazing Celairen.

 

 

And the cover One Night In Chicago (and all the City Nights series covers) was done by the extremely talented Cora Graphics.

 

 

 

How about you readers out there–do you judge books by their covers? And if you’re an author, how do you deal with covers you hate and covers you love? Does it fill you with anxiety waiting for the cover art, or are you happy just to have a cover at all? Let’s hear your thoughts!

Filed under: City Nights, Her Darkest Secret, One Night In Chicago, Publications, Siren Song, The Wicked City, Works Tagged: book covers, creativity, technology, tirgearr publishing

Guest Blog: Cecilia Dominic

Today, Cecilia Dominic is visiting my blog to talk about her upcoming Steampunk romance, Eros Element. I will be joining Cecilia and other guests on Facebook on August 25th for the Eros Element Release Party, where we’ll be having lots of fun and giving away prizes. Make sure you RSVP to join us!

Take it away, Cecilia!

GUEST BLOG – Cecilia Dominic

Thank you for hosting me today, Megan!

One of the more popular features on my Random Writings blog is Characters on the Couch, which is a way for writers to get help with unpublished characters and/or introduce their published characters to readers in a unique way. Since Eros Element is coming out next Tuesday, I thought it would be fun to bring Edward and Iris in for a session.

1. If your character were to go to a psychologist – willingly or unwillingly – what would bring them in? Yes, a court order is a valid answer.

Edward, looking at Iris: Why are we here? I have work to do.

Iris, patting his hand: We’re here to talk to the doctor. Your chairman thought it would be a good idea.

Edward: About what? I’m not ill. What kind of doctor is she? And why is she wearing trousers? (whispering) I can see her arms and her ankles, and I don’t think she’s wearing a corset. It’s quite shocking, but I bet Johann would like her.

Iris: She’s a doctor of the mind, and she’s probably more comfortable in those clothes. Have you noticed how hot Atlanta is? They’d probably work better on a dig, too.

2. Is the presenting problem one of the main internal or external conflicts in your book? If so, how does it present itself?

Edward, frowning: There’s nothing wrong with my mind. I’ve solved my problems by living according to scientific principles of order and predictability. Being here isn’t part of my schedule, and it’s time for my morning tea. Do you have any tea, doctor?

CD: I have teabags and an electric kettle.

Edward, brightening: Oh, an electric kettle! How fascinating. And why is your tea in bags?

Iris, flexing her hands: It must be hard to listen to people’s secrets all day and know so much about them. Doesn’t it make you uncomfortable?

3. It’s always interesting to see how people act when they first enter my office. Do they immediately go for my chair, hesitate before sitting anywhere, flop on the couch, etc.? What would your character do?

Edward would immediately look out of the window, fascinated by how high up my tenth floor office is. Iris would look at the knick knacks on my shelves, perhaps tracing my jade dragon with a finger, before sitting primly on the sofa.

4. Does your character talk to the therapist? How open/revealing will your character be? What will he or she say first?

Edward: If I’m here because Chairman Kluge wants me to be, then I’m not saying anything. Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with me that I haven’t already fixed. It’s not my fault that people don’t realize how my method is the best one for maximizing productive thought. Doctor, are you interested in knowing how I came to this conclusion?

CD: Yes, very.

Edward: I tried to court a woman once, and she lied to me, thought I was my older brother the duke. I indulged in the silly emotion of heartbreak and got myself back to normal through science. That’s the only way to live.

Iris: I thought you weren’t going to say anything.

Edward: Well, it might help her other patients. I can’t imagine she really knows what she’s doing. A doctor of the mind? Have you ever heard of such a thing?

Iris, looking at CD, tears welling in her eyes: Well, she might be able to help me. I’ve had to keep my father’s death a secret, and it’s eating away at me. I can see why there’s a period of mourning, but what do you do when you can’t have it?

5. Your character walks into the bar down the street after his/her first therapy session. What does he/she order? What happens next?

I can see Edward and Iris going into JavaMonkey, the coffee shop where I’ll be having my physical release party on August 29 (link for more info and RSVP). They’ll probably order tea, although Iris might eye the wine list.

6. When you’re building characters, do you have any tricks you use to really get into their psyches, like a character interview or personality system (e.g., Myers-Briggs types)?

For this series, I typed the characters by taking the Myers-Briggs type indicator as each one and then went through an interview for each of them. It really helped to do that all at the beginning so I could know how their development fit the story and series arc. Consequently, although each book ends with a resolution and not a cliffhanger, they continue to grow throughout the series.

Eros Element will be released on August 25. If you’re not in the Atlanta area and can’t make the physical tea party on August 29, I’ll be celebrating the release virtually on August 25 on my Facebook page. Megan and other authors will be helping me celebrate and give away prizes. Here’s the link with more info and the author appearance schedule (subject to change).

BLURB:

If love is the ivy, secrets are the poison.

Aether Psychics, Book 1

After enduring heartbreak at the hands of a dishonest woman, Edward Bailey lives according to scientific principles of structure and predictability. Just the thought of stepping outside his strict routine raises his anxiety.

Adding to his discomfort is Iris McTavish, who appears at his school’s faculty meeting in place of her world-famous archeologist father. Worse, the two of them are to pose as Grand Tourists while they search for an element that will help harness the power of aether.

Iris jumps at the opportunity to prove her worth as a scholar—and avoid an unwanted marriage proposal—while hiding the truth of her father’s whereabouts. If her secret gets out, the house of McTavish will fall into ruin.

Quite unexpectedly, Edward and Iris discover a growing attraction as their journey takes them to Paris and Rome, where betrayal, blackmail and outright theft threaten to destroy what could be a revolutionary discovery—and break their hearts.

Warning: Allergen alert! This book was produced in a facility that handles copious amounts of wine, tea and baked goods. May contain one or more of the following: a spirited heroine, a quirky hero, clever banter, interesting facts both made-up and historical, and lots of secrets. It is, however, gluten free.

PREORDER LINKS:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Element-Aether-Psychics-Cecilia-Dominic-ebook/dp/B00Y05TWDC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436139642&sr=1-1&keywords=eros+element

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eros-element-cecilia-dominic/1121969555?ean=9781619230002

Google Books: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Cecilia_Dominic_Eros_Element?id=hR51CQAAQBAJ

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/eros-element

Samhain Publishing: https://www.samhainpublishing.com/book/5545/eros-element

AUTHOR BIO:

Cecilia Dominic wrote her first story when she was two years old and has always had a much more interesting life inside her head than outside of it. She became a clinical psychologist because she’s fascinated by people and their stories, but she couldn’t stop writing fiction. The first draft of her dissertation, while not fiction, was still criticized by her major professor for being written in too entertaining a style. She made it through graduate school and got her PhD, started her own practice, and by day, she helps people cure their insomnia without using medication. By night, she blogs about wine and writes fiction she hopes will keep her readers turning the pages all night. Yes, she recognizes the conflict of interest between her two careers, so she writes and blogs under a pen name. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with one husband and two cats, which, she’s been told, is a good number of each. She also enjoys putting her psychological expertise to use helping other authors through her Characters on the Couch blog post series.

You can find her at:

Web page: http://www.ceciliadominic.com

Wine blog: http://www.randomoenophile.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CeciliaDominicAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/RandomOenophile

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5011217.Cecilia_Dominic

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ceciliadominic/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/randomoenophile/

Filed under: Guest Posts, Interviews, Promotion Tagged: guests

Atypical writer’s tools

Certain online writer’s tools many of us already know and love: Google and Wikipedia for research, thesaurus.com, The Chicago Manual of Style online, Amazon’s Author Central for keeping your details up to date, Yahoo! groups for keeping in the loop, Google Docs for storing and collaborating. All are valuable resources and places to research, store, promote, and enhance our writing.

Today, I’ll share with you a few other websites and apps I use to help my writing, as well as keep my social networking manageable:

– Dropbox – The best online storage site. Even the free version has lots of space. I use it to back up my writing from my computer. I can access anything I have stored in it, anywhere. This makes transferring stuff between my laptop and netbook extra easy. When I’m working on something I like to save the updated versions of the manuscript to Dropbox as I go–just in case! You can download an app for your computer, tablet, and smartphone and connect everything.

– Google Street View – Writing about someplace you’ve never been? Need to know what a street, building, or area looks like? This is the most incredible resource ever created for visiting far-off places and getting information you might not be able to glean from text. I use it quite often. Great for absorbing the sights and atmosphere of the places you’re writing about, too.

– My Writing Spot – A place to write and store your work online, complete with a word count tracker. Very simple and easy to use. There’s probably a lot of other places online you can do the same thing, but I really like this one.

– Grammar Girl – An invaluable source for looking up those pesky grammar questions that gnaw at your brain, explained in a way that makes them easy to absorb and remember! I visit this site a lot.

– Spotify – If you’re like me, music enhances your writing experience. Personally, I love to have good mood music relevant to what I’m writing at the time. With Spotify, you can listen to very nearly any song ever made, whenever you want to. You can also create playlists and experience new artists without any monetary commitment. You might find the soundtrack to your next novel or the perfect song for one of your characters! The free version is just as awesome as the paid version, though it has ads. I have the paid version–super cheap, by the way–and it’s a worthwhile investment.

– Tweetdeck – Awesome app for keeping track of your social networking. You can make multiple columns for twitter lists and sync your Facebook with it as well. I’m sure a lot of you out there already use it, but if you don’t–try it out!

– VistaPrint – Need swag? Need it to be cheap and highly customizable? Want a huge selection of products you can make for your fans? This is a great service!

PDF to Word Converter – Sometimes you need to switch your files up. This is 100% free and does it perfectly.

How about you? Do you have any sites or apps that help your writing, either directly or indirectly?

Filed under: Behind The Scenes Tagged: creativity, editing, information, technology, tirgearr publishing, tools, writing

Who are these people?

One could hardly argue when it comes to writing fiction one of the most important elements of the story is the characters. After all, most fiction isn’t about sedentary rocks and the inanimate lives of trees. We need people–or aliens, vampires, or whatever you happen to be writing about, but someone or something has to have a personality.

And the author has to create that personality.

There are tons of methods for creating characters. Ask a hundred different authors how they build characters and they’ll give you a hundred different techniques, tailor made to their brand of thinking and writing. Some authors like to plan characters out down to the most meticulous details, including what their favorite color is and where they went on vacation with their family when they were ten. They might fill an entire notebook with details of a character, fully knowing most of those details will never make it into the story, just to have a well-rounded comprehension of that character. Other authors (like myself) enjoy finding out details about their characters as they write. The author may start with a rough sketch of the character and gradually flesh them out as the story develops.

We’re under intense pressure to make the character interesting too, but I argue this is subjective because readers are diverse. What qualifies as ‘interesting’ to one reader might be boring to another, or too much, or just doesn’t do it for them. Creating an old lady that likes to knit and has six cats may sound boring, but some people might love reading about a little old lady who knits sweaters for her cats. This is more an argument of readership and audience though, so I won’t go too deep into it.

I say what makes a character interesting is if they’re interesting to the author. When an author is interested in their characters and enjoys writing them it comes through on the page. Whether the character is an international spy, an overworked tax account, or a sheep herder on the side of a remote mountain, if the author is enjoying the character the character is going to come across as interesting.

But how do you make up these imaginary people?



For me, most of my characters start as a concept. A feeling. A lot of times I hear them having conversations with other people before I get a clear view of what they look like or what their deal is. Often they come packaged as amorphous blobs along with the overall idea of the story, ready to be shaped and formed to fit the circumstances. Sometimes I do a little fleshing out beforehand, but I never make full blown character sketches, mostly because I enjoy letting the character tell me who they are as we frolic through the story together. Like the author who has pages of character details they’ll never use, this means I’ll have huge chunks of story I later cut out, but it turns out the same in the end.

Sometimes characters end up cut too, because they weren’t chatty enough to make it through the story. Sometimes you think you’re building a person and you realize it’s just an automaton, so you have to launch them back into space.

What are your thoughts on character building? What do you find makes a character ‘interesting?’

Filed under: Behind The Scenes Tagged: advice, creativity, inspiration, writing

My #PitchWars Mentee Bio

Well, I’ve gone and done it–I’ve thrown my hat in the ring for PitchWars 2015. I have a manuscript I’ve been polishing and polishing and have started looking for a home for, so it seems like the fates aligned that PitchWars should occur at the same time I have a hot little manuscript ready to go in my hands. Will I get in? Will I find a mentor? Will I go all the way? Stay tuned!

This post is my mentee bio for the #PimpMyBio blog hop and for any curious mentors to stop by and find out who I am. So without further ado:

About Me (the non-writing stuff):

I’m from Cleveland, Ohio, the home of Rock and Roll. Except no one really says that anymore and we’re known for a lot of other stuff now, like Lebron James. And, like…Lebron James. (Seriously though, we’re becoming a pretty kickass cultural center of the Midwest.)
I just turned 40. I don’t recommend it. (Just kidding, have as many birthdays as you can!)
I’m a bartender in real life. I’ve been in the service industry bartending/serving for a long time. In my pretend life I’m a wealthy heiress married to Travis Fimmel.
I have an adult son and a cat. Both of them shed everywhere.
My favorite seasons are summer and fall, probably because I live in Cleveland and the only other season we have is winter and it lasts eight months.
I’m reading Stephen King’s Dark Tower series right now.
I love the TV show Penny Dreadful and if anything encompasses all my interests in one tidy package, it’s that show.
I love Hello Kitty, seahorses (I typed ‘seahores’ first–I like ye olde salty sea hores too, I suppose), windchimes, anything pink, baking, and collecting candles. *shrug* You can’t always be surrounded by dark morbid Victorian gothy-ness. This tweet about sums me up:

About My Writing:

I’m an urban fantasy/paranormal romance/erotica author. At first glance those things might seem like they don’t go together, but if you read the genre you’ll see how often they cross-pollinate (and how!).
I have an urban fantasy series contracted with Kensington. The series is called Siren Song and it’s about, you guessed it, a modern-day siren. The first book, The Wicked City , was released on March 3, 2015. The sequel, The Bloody City , will be released November 10, 2015. The third, The Burning City, will be released in May 2016. Will there be more? Well, I wanted to make it a trilogy and leave it at that, but the characters didn’t quite cooperate so…yes?
I also have a paranormal erotic romance, Her Darkest Secret , published with Muse It Up publishing. It’s historical as well and has lots of sex and werewolves in it. Do I have your attention yet?
I have a contemporary erotic romance,  One Night In Chicago , published with Tirgearr Publishing as part of their City Nights series. One Night In Cleveland, which I also wrote, will be published November 18, 2015. I had to rep my city! (Lebron James is not in it, btw.)
I also have several short stories in House of Erotica anthologies Smut By the Sea Vol. 3 , Landing Strip , and Play It Safe .
Next year: EVEN MORE???
FYI: I am published but unagented. Since that’s an important requirement of the contest!

Why You Should Pick Me. PICK MEEE!:

I’m eager to learn. I love writing and I love getting better at it and learning new things. I don’t believe that any writer, no matter how famous they get or how many books they publish, is ever done learning.
I’m easy to work with. I don’t argue. I don’t clutch my manuscripts to my chest and cry HOW DARE YOU! when you tell me something needs to be changed. I’m receptive to feedback and criticism. I like to have productive discussions, not arguments.
I’ve worked with professional editors and understand the process and technicalities of working on a manuscript together.
I have an enthusiasm for writing and I’m absolutely serious about making it my career.
I bake. I will send you cupcakes.
I’m friendly and I love meeting new people.
This is my cat, look at her. Even she likes to write.

Yes that’s a Hello Kitty blanket on my bed. You got something to say?

Other Places To Find Me:

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Amazon
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