Monday, November 26, 2012

Start of Something New

So I was thinking about when I first started blogging. I used to write these reaally looong posts, and besides JRM (my husband) and a few close friends, there were only like five of us suffering through them. (LOL!)
You're on the sides;
I'm in the middle holding on. :o)

Hart appeared first, then Rayna/Natasha (b/c we all have the same birthday), then Carolyn, then Matt--b/c I asked him to comment on my boy books post (link)--then Vickie and Anne, Stina and Katie, Jessica, DL, you...

Some have stopped blogging; some are doing other things. I've cut back to once a week...

But this is how we found each other and started supporting each other and critiquing one another's work. Blogging became this amazing writers' circle that I love and miss so much when I'm swamped.

Back then I was so focused on finding an agent, and now... well, just LOOK at how much has changed!

Feb. 2010 Leigh would never have dreamed I'd be where I am today, doing what I'm doing. But one thing I would have predicted is how important you guys would remain to me.

SO I've decided to start something new!

The first Monday of every month, I'm going to spotlight a writer-friend! I don't have a model for how, but my goal is to make it funny and different--little-known facts revealed in an entertaining way--to catch up and see what everybody's doing now.

(I need a name. Ideas? You say I don't need a name?)

Kicking us off is my prolific writer-friend and amazing cover designer Jolene Perry (Because I sorta stole this idea from her "Friend Friday"s)! Let's see what Jo's been doing...

Jolene
(Her name is often sung
to her... don't.)
LTM: Shortly after we met, I learned you live in Wasilla (AK), which to me says your life is a mixture of "Northern Exposure," "The Proposal," and "Insomnia." How much of each? And are you raising Ryan Reynolds' secret family?

JBP: YES! My life is exactly like those, which is crazy since NONE of them were actually filmed here... My life is much more "Northern Exposure" than anything else, but Wasilla IS a little bigger than Sicily, Alaska - we have a Target ;-) And Ryan Reynolds. He's hot, but a little needy... I know, you wouldn't think that. But it's true. He's always asking me to pet his abs, and the first few times it was pretty hot, but it's getting old...

(LTM Note: JBP's a bit braggy about her secret husband. Sorry.)

LTM: Sarah Palin can see Russia from her house, so of course, you can, too. When you go ice fishing, do you spy on them? What are they doing in Russia? Which one of your books is most popular in the former Soviet Union?

JBP: Night Sky (link) is the most popular in Russia because the ebook cover is sparkly... :-/ Fishing with Sarah - you know, you'd think she couldn't be more annoying when she's not on TV, but I'm here to tell you that ain't true...

(LTM Note: JBP did not deny being a spy.)
I've read it; get it!

LTM: You've co-authored several books with writers like Steph Campbell (My Heart for Yours), Nyrae Dawn (Dizzy), and Janna Watts (10 Weeks). All but one of those is a pen name... Which of these authors is a fake person?

JBP: HA!! I'm going to throw you here, because they're ALL real people. One of them just happens to be a recluse. Her true identity will remain faithfully hidden...

LTM: (follow up ignoring previous answer) Since one of these authors is really your split personality, what makes her easy and hard to work with?

JBP: I'm assuming you're referring to my reclusive friend, and I will say that if she and I were smooshed together, we'd almost make a fully functioning person ;-) Honestly, she's not online much, but she's like a sister and made of awesome.

(LTM Note: Smooshed is not a real word.)

LTM: It has become evident you have a shoe full of book babies. Tell us about your newest baby! And why you love her more.

JBP: Last night I pulled up four manuscripts that I've started and have half mapped out but haven't had time to write. One of my girls was running through this hilarious monologue as the teacher at her private Christian school prayed to baby Jesus and I laughed so hard I woke up my husband.

Haven't read yet; get it!
And after reading through what I had of those four, and telling myself - WORK ON ONE OF THESE NEXT - I fell asleep thinking about a different book... Yeah.

BUT the elusive Janna Watts and I are working on a book that we've both (separately) wanted to do for a while, so when she mentioned her idea, and I was like - OH! I've totally had that same idea! We started to throw it together - 3 SIDES TO A CIRCLE - is the working title of our college-age romance, and maybe I'll slap it up on GR, just for fun :-)  Man. Ask me about my babies, and you're gonna get an earfull... Right now I'm so thrilled that people are loving Dizzy. I adore Dylan and Ziah - and we all know that Nyrae Dawn writes a great boy. They play off each other so well, and the only other book I've written that's made me laugh this hard is Misplaced, which Nyrae and I wrote together, and will come out with Entangled Teen in Fall 2013.

THANKS FOR HAVING ME LEIGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, my friend~

(LTM Note: Jo's books are seriously amazing. Every one I've read, I've LOVED.

Get FALLING: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Get DIZZY: Amazon * Barnes & Noble)

Up next month is the prolific, sci-fi indie superstar Susan Kaye Quinn! Mark it, Jan. 6. A Do Not Miss!
* * *

Finally, this week's my blog tour for ROUGE, which is 99 cents TODAY ONLY (link)! Here's where all I'll be (link). Wish me luck!

Click here for the schedule!

And have a great week, reader- and writer-friends~ <3


44 comments:

Jessica Bell said...

Sounds like a great idea! :) I miss blogging too. I wish I had time to be as into it as I used to. PS: Is it December already? ;-P

Let's see ... name ... Manic Monday? :-)

Hi Jolene!!!

Laura Pauling said...

We all miss it, but the great thing is...we're all focused on moving forward with our careers! :)

S.A. Larsenッ said...

This was great! I loved getting to know Jolene better, and the humor was spot on. Thanks for starting my morning out on a positive note.

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Hysterical interview! Loved it!

And I know what you mean about blogging. It has become harder and harder to keep up as things have gotten busier and busier. And yet, I MISS my blogging friends when I don't get around.

Old Kitty said...

Yay to lovely Jolene and no I am not singing The Song, honest. Ahem!!

:-)

Yay too for your fab bloggie ideas!! Wonderful! Take care
x

Anne Gallagher said...

This is such a great idea. Thanks for sharing Jolene's secrets.

Blogging is so hard sometimes. It's tough to keep abreast of who's doing what and to keep writing at the same time. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things myself after a hiatus.

Barbara Watson said...

Great idea, Leigh! I love learning about writers and their processes. Nice to hear a little about you, Jolene!

Pat Hatt said...

Great idea indeed and yeah never know who one will meet along the way, wonderful interview too.

Lydia Kang said...

Sorry the Palin comments were too funny!

I also got sidetracked staring at the FALLING cover--can you say "gorgeous"?

Unknown said...

Great interview, wish I had more time to visit.

Janet Johnson said...

You guys are CRAZY! And I love it. :) Lots of success to both of you!

Matthew MacNish said...

I do miss the good old days. It was so much fun in the beginning!

Patti said...

I miss the beginning too. A lot of people I started blogging with have dropped off the face of the map, so I feel like I'm starting from scratch with the whole building relationship thing. It's a shame blogging isn't what it used to be.

Jolene Perry said...

THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!
And I feel totally honored to be your first ;-0

THANK YOU LEIGH!!!!!!

Henrietta @ Leisure Reads said...

Thanks for sharing the interview. I'll have to check out Dizzy :)

And all the best with your Rouge blog tour!

Small Town Shelly Brown said...

Pet his abs. LOL!

I love Jolene books as well! This was a hoot of an interview :)

LTM said...

@Henrietta--Yes! Dizzy is supercute! And thank YOU for being my kick-off stop on the great blog tour! Best~ :o) <3

Theresa Milstein said...

Leigh, it sounds like we have the same blog beginnings and both pared down to once a week. I love your idea for a spotlight!

Hi, Jolene. Haven't seen you in a while. Your bits about Ryan and Sarah made me laugh.

Stina said...

Love this idea and I love that you started off with Jolene, Leigh.

This is such an amazing community. I'm so glad to be part of it. *grabs Kleenex from box and dabs eyes*

Gina Gao said...

This is a really great idea!

www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

J.L. Murphey said...

I'm actually going to increase my blogging presence next year. After my stroke I was blogging once a week, but now it's two or three times a week with special highlights each day. For me the increase is part of my therapy for cognitive skills lost with the stroke.

Leigh, I thought Jolene was an excellent choice also.

Ciara said...

I love this type of series. Anything to share other writers.

Anonymous said...

Great interview!

I like this new series, Leigh. Looking forward to the next one. :)

LTM said...

@Gina--Thanks! :o) <3

@JL--First, I'm so glad to hear you're in recovery. ((hugs)) Second, yes, Jolene's a hoot. :o) Thanks for visiting! <3

@Ciara--I know, right? I was thinking this would be a fun thing. :o)

@LBD--Thanks! And thanks! Next up, Dr. Q! :D <3

Amy Jarecki said...

Hi Leigh - I know what you mean about long posts. I try to keep mine short...and weekly. To answer your question, the RNC convention is not a RWA sponsored event. It is being put on by Jimmy Thomas and Romance Covers (the most photographed romance cover model). If you're looking for a cover, there are some good ones on the romance covers web site.

So good to meet Jolene here!

erica and christy said...

Love the idea of spotlighting blogger friends! We've wanted to do something like that for a while...but well, we're lucky we post at all! I hope everybody knows how much they mean to us even though we haven't been around much this past year. Life. It's busy! And, nuh uh, smooshed is totally a word! Both of you have books that sound amazing. I can't wait to read them! I love your covers too. :) Christy

PK HREZO said...

What a nice thing to do, Leigh. Wow, living in small town AK just blows my mind. I'd love to try it, but being a FLA girl I don't think I could handle the sub zero winters.

Jolene is multi-talented as is most of our bloggers. Kudos to her!
You know, Leigh, you were one of the first bloggers I met when I started out, so I'll always appreciate your welcoming me with genuine friendship. (Mentioned you in a post the other day too. ;))

PS just downloaded Rouge! Let me know if you need any help on the blog tour. Cheers! :D

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's a great new feature! Funny how we all find each other on this giant Web.
And how does one write with an alter-ego?

LTM said...

@Amy--I guess it's a rookie mistake (the looong posts). And WOW! First, that's hilarious that a cover model's doing a conference. Is he hot? (Of course he's hot! What a question.) Now I'm running over to check out that site~ Thanks! :o) <3

Mark Murata said...

Patricia C. Wrede still does long blog posts that are extremely helpful.

http://pcwrede.com/blog/

Coleen Patrick said...

Thanks for the smiles today--and more books for my to read list. Yay! And got my copy of Rouge. Thanks Leigh. :)

Kelly Polark said...

Very fun interview! Great to meet Jolene (how can I not sing that?!)

I used to blog 3 times a week! I don't know how I had the time because I blog about 4 times a month now between TWO blogs. Oh well. I do love catching up with my bloggy friends!

Carolyn Abiad said...

You are just full of awesome, aren't you, Leigh? This is a great idea! And so much fun. :)

Anita said...

I wonder if there's a new group of bloggers taking over for the oldy pants, or is it just slowly dying? Anyway, I like the way you're picking it up, and your friend is great!

LTM said...

@Carolyn--well, I don't know about the awesome, but I do have some *awesome friends* ;p And you'd better get ready b/c you're on my list~ :D <3

Talli Roland said...

The blogging community is amazing - it's been great seeing how everyone has grown and changed!

Megan Hand said...

What a cute post! Looking forward to reading them all :)

M Pax said...

The blogosphere is an amazing circle of writers and talent and friendship. I'm terrible at titles, so will refrain from suggesting any. I think Boomtown Craze is the only one I came up with on my own. lol

Julie Musil said...

Loooooove our blogging community, and looooove your cover art. So of course I looooooved this interview. Thanks for the smiles!

Unknown said...

Hilarious interview, you two! I especially love the part about Jolene stroking Ryan's abs. FUN times, thanks for sharing. Excited to see what the Queen of Romance (a/k/a JP) comes out with next. :)

Kittie Howard said...

Forgot to tell ya -- have Rouge. Love how it turned out. Great job! We'll be in Ascension during Christmas!

LTM said...

@Megan--Yay! Jolene is hilarious, and I love all her books. I bet you will, too! :o) <3

@Jen--LOL! Yes, she's the queen. ;o) And hey, thank YOU so much for the great review of TTAF! Yay for new friendies! :o) <3 ((hugs))

@Kitty--Thanks so much! And I appreciate your early encouragement and tips on NOLA at that time period! Have a great trip~ :o) <3

Angela Ackerman said...

What a great way to give other writers some love. And it is always nice to get to know someone on a more personal level!!

Love these covers, especially dizzy.makes me want to flip it over to read the back. :)

Congrats on all you have achieved!!

Angela

Charmaine Clancy said...

Got a great chuckle out of your interview. Awesome.