Why Being Independent #ROCKS

If you've kept up with this blog since the beginning, you know I'm a crazy movie-buff.

My maternal grandmother, who we called "Bobie," loved movies, and she got me started watching them with the old noir detective films.

These old movie posters are amazing.

My best memory is of watching The Big Sleep with her, and I've seen it so many times since, I can practically quote the whole thing.

It's also cool that William Faulkner was one of the screenwriters. (Yes, that William Faulkner.)

It's a crazy, twisty super-fun movie with fantastic, unforgettable characters doing unexpected things.


And you really have to watch it about five times to understand what all's happening...

After watching it several times, you might get more insight into my own characterization and plot twists. (JRM points to Footloose as being, "everything you ever write"--LOL! That's not so true anymore.)

So what does all this have to do with being an Independent Author? I'll tell ya!

I was reading an article about Roger Ebert in Entertainment Weekly (link), and it had a listing of his "Movies of the Year," going all the way back to 1967's Bonnie & Clyde. (I totally agree with his assessment of that film, btw.)

In the listing were JFK, Malcolm X, and Schindler's List. About Schindler's List, Ebert says, "The movie is 184 minutes long, and like all great films, it feels too short." Spot on.

That got me thinking about the battle Spike Lee had over the length of Malcolm X was, and how the Big Studios wanted him to cut it.

Oliver Stone had managed to get away with 188 minutes for JFK the year before, and as expected, Lee had some choice words about that. But at the time the Controlling Powers had established "norms" about "what audiences wanted," and long films about controversial black icons were not it.

The next year, Big Fish Steven Spielberg made a 184-minute, black and white film, no sweat.

Flash Forward many years, and I'm thinking about how all of this relates to Independent Publishing v. Traditional Publishing.

Film, like music, and now books, went through a revolutionary "independent" period that played out differently in each medium. (I should say "is playing out" with regard to books.)

Personally, I just wrapped a series of books that I can't even imagine trying to get through the Traditional process.

The Dragonfly Series starts with Book 1, Dragonfly, which is written in the standard mature-YA manner: first-person, female POV. (It's how you wrote books like this in 2009.)

The next book Undertow takes a completely different turn. The bulk of the story is told through three journals, but regular journal-style felt inhibiting to my process... so I didn't follow the rules. I wrote it like a narrative, but unfolding it epistolary-style.

It's told in three different POVs--Meg, Lexy, and Bill's--and it's the story of an affair that led to a birth and a death. It does not have a happy ending... and most readers seem to love it.

It's a layer to the series that goes to the heart of everything happening, of Anna and Julian's relationship, of all the secrets and lies, and readers really, really need to know that story. The style fits into the overall series arc, and it was how I chose to write it.

The content of Undertow is also decidedly New Adult to Adult--one of my beta readers even said, "This reads more like women's fiction." Another said, "You should write more adult fiction."--LOL!

It makes sense, and I think my readers of all ages get it. I trusted them to get it.

Watercolor (#3) is back to the present, it's Anna and Julian's love story, first-person POV, female lead and more strict NA, a'la Jessica Sorensen, Colleen Hoover, or Katja Millay books. (I.e., the main characters are seniors in high school.)

Then we get to Mosaic... 

It's the end of the series, and I really wanted to tie the whole thing together both from a story perspective and a stylistic one. So right slap in the middle of that book, sandwiched between the present--which is 20 years after Watercolor ends--is Anna's "private blog."

It's her journal (told Undertow-style), and it follows her and the gang through college all the way to the break... where it stops, and we see what happens next.

When I started writing this series in 2009, there was no "Independent Publishing." Amazon hadn't truly launched the Kindle yet, and at that time, self-publishing meant Vanity Publishing.

Vanity Publishing is bad, reader-friends. It means you pay thousands of dollars to jerks like Author Solutions (now owned by Random-Penguin) and they take you for a ride that ends with them dumping a pile of paperbacks on your doorstep for you to figure out how to sell.

It isn't legitimate in any sense of the word. It's a racket that many well-meaning authors got sucked into because they didn't want their stories to die in a drawer. (And they didn't have Thelma Toole, Walker Percy, or LSU Press, link. Geaux, Tigers.)

Of course, I'm sure Traditional Publishing doesn't consider Independent Publishing legitimate to this day--unless you start banking Amanda Hocking, Hugh Howey, E.L. James, Colleen Hoover, Jasinda Wilder, Abbi Glines... the list goes on... dollars. Then suddenly you're very legitimate.

(I hope you're catching my sarcasm. I drank the "not legitimate" Kool-Aid for way too long before I jumped off that merry-go-round.)

I feel like I'm losing my point--my point is, to me, the greatest thing about being an independent author is I can write my books the way I want to write them, the way that makes sense to me. I don't have to worry about established norms or "what readers want" when I sit down to write.

Okay, being a smart businesswoman, I do consider "what readers want" when I'm looking at which projects to focus the most time and energy on. (Hint: The ones that are selling!)

But take for example a book I've been sitting on since 2012. It's another NA contemporary romance, but it's an action-adventure story set in the woods of south Mississippi.

I loved this movie when I was a kid.

Since it's written by me, it's fer sure a romance, but the focus is on the transformation of this incredible character I love named Prentiss Puckett from everyday-country girl to a Red-Dawn-meets-L O S T-style action-hero.

Being trapped in a prison camp during what seems (to her) to be a Russian invasion of the U.S. will do that to a person.

This book, which is currently titled 21 Days, was with a literary agent for a year. He shopped it around, and we got the usual compliments on my "strong writing" followed by the reasons it "wouldn't work."

First, I was told it was "too dated." The problem is Prentiss fears it's the Russians holding them captive. It made sense to me in 2012, given where she lives and the persistent fear of "Russians" in certain pockets of the deep south.

I was told "nobody cares about Russia anymore" and given the "how very 1950s of you" treatment. (Oops! Ukraine just called.)

Second, after being kidnapped, *something* is happening to Prentiss, and it's causing her to have very vivid flashback-style dreams, which taper off as the plot unfolds. I won't spoil it here, but I was told "readers won't like that"--jumping back and forth.

It's funny because all six of my beta readers--all six of them--said that was their favorite part. One even wanted more!

Guess what I'm going to do?

I'm going to polish that baby up, add a few ideas that I've had since I finished it 2.5 years ago, and put it out there for you all.

And that's why I love being an Independent Author.

Now, I'm not going to go all *banging my fist on the table* insisting I'll "never go traditional." There are very legitimate reasons for plugging in and using that established book-selling machine--for example, none of my indie books will ever be reviewed in Entertainment Weekly.

I have managed to get into some high school libraries through NetGalley, which is amazing. But I won't be in any Scholastic Book Fairs at schools. (Scholastic is a traditional publisher, fyi. Those are all their books.)

It's incredibly difficult for independently published authors to get into places like Target or Sam's Club or Costco. (I won't say impossible b/c my indie-author friend Cindy Hogan does it all the time.)

This post has gotten very long. I apologize. I haven't blogged in a while...

One last thing that I love about being an Independent Author: As my one-degree-of-separation buddy Hugh Howey explains in detail here (link), being independent means for the first time in history, authors can make a living--an actual living that includes paying bills, feeding children, buying clothes, paying for college--through writing books alone.

Many, many authors are doing just that, and it has never been the case in all of book publishing recorded time... until now. Only a handful of "stars" have ever been able to make that claim.

So yanno. Vive la Revolution... or whatever.

I'm just so lucky and blessed to be living in this time. I'm not knocking anybody's choice or the path they follow. Whatever path you chose, traditional or independent, whatever books you read, do it because you love it. Otherwise, what's the point?

Thanks for being such FAB reader-friends. Love you guys~ 

I Had a Publishing Dream...

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., day! He had a dream--I wrote a post about it here (link)!

Today, I'm thinking about something that was on my mind last week, but "life and being a mom" kind of knocked me off my schedule.

So you're getting it now. Ready?

In 2009, I had a dream of being a traditionally published author, having my books on bookstore shelves, being reviewed in Entertainment Weekly, maybe having a movie or a TV series made from one of them...

In 2011, when many of my closest, most trusted author-friends were jumping ship and heading into the world of independent publishing, I landed an agent for my book Rouge (link).

Eventually that agent secured me a basic contract with a Big Six publisher (there were still six in 2011).

Sometimes I wish I'd been brave enough to walk away from that situation in 2011, but it took me until 2012 to see what was happening in traditional publishing and to understand that if I wasn't getting a SUPERSTAR contract, I needed to high-tail it out of there. Fast.

I've been an independent/self-published author since September 2012, and my first book The Truth About Faking (link) has sold almost 50,000 copies worldwide.

That sounds like a lot. That is a lot! But I actually have independent-author friends who sell that much in a month. Some sell twice that much in a month.

So I'm kind of a mid-list independent author.

What's the point?

Two weeks ago I was flipping through my Entertainment Weekly for the week ending Jan. 16, 2014. Usually I skip over the "Books" section, but on this day I stopped to check out the Fiction Top 10 list.

Ready for the names?

#1-John Grisham
#2-James Patterson
#3-Tom Clancy
#4-Stephen King
#5-Mitch Albom
#6-Janet Evanovich....

Are you seeing my point now?

I have no intention of going on a rant about traditional publishing, But Gah! They really make it difficult sometimes. John Grisham? Tom Clancy???

As a former editor and a college grad with a Master's in mass communication, who started out focused on book publishing, I understand the business of making money.

But jeez louise, could that list demonstrate any more clearly how nothing has changed?

I have a second-degree author-friend (a friend of a friend), and a few weeks ago, she was brave enough to write a blog post about how less than broke she is as a mid-list selling author with a Big Five publisher.

She's pretty well-known. You would know her name if I put it here. But I won't. Why?

Because in less than one hour after she posted, it went viral. And in less than fifteen minutes of me reading it, it was GONE.

I don't know if her publisher muzzled her or her agent... or if she really did decide (as she said) it probably was tacky to put actual numbers online for the world to see.

You know what I think is tacky? The continued treatment of new authors with interesting stories to tell, new voices, as less than second-class citizens in favor of the same old boring lineup of guaranteed freight movers.

A few of my indie-author friends are discouraged about how hard it is to rise above the noise right now.

Some of them are returning to the traditional merry-go-round because they're tired, and it's not so easy to throw a title up there and make a million dollars any more. (Not that this little black duck ever did.) The word is out!

But this Entertainment Weekly list only demonstrated to me what I felt in my gut: Going back is just setting yourself up for the same old treatment.

Yes, I understand your exhaustion and frustration, author-friends. I feel it, too.

But rather than whopping myself over the head anymore for not being daredevil enough to jump into the indie pool when the rest of you did, I'm going to be thankful right now.

I'm thankful I got that first book deal with the Big Six publisher. Why? Because it was the same deal my second-degree friend got, and I heard in her post the heartbreak and the loss I'd be feeling over being overlooked and earning less than a paperboy for my work. I have children to feed and send to college, too.

Self-publishing is hard work.

Yes, it is. But guess what else it is? It's freedom.

I can give away copies of my books--as many as I like!--and I can decide what comes next. I often chat with my reader-friends about what they like, and if I want to promote one of my titles, I can hold a contest and/or modify my prices and/or change my covers...

You know what else?

Do self-publishing well enough, and contrary to what they were all telling us in 2011, you will end up right there beside the John Grishams, etc.--if that's what you choose to do.

Self-publishing doesn't close any doors. It only opens a whole world of new ones.

Have a super week, reader friends! Fight the power--read a new author for a change. *wink* 

So You Want the Truth? Can You Handle It?

Streamline...
Write more...
Get more out there...
Market more... 
Market smarter...
Indie's saturated, go back to traditional...
No, join an author group...
Author groups don't market enough...
Author groups shouldn't market...
What should author groups do?

...Hang on... where is everybody???

It's a new year, reader-friends! 

I bet all you guys are making plans, setting reading goals, maybe exercising more, possibly making resolutions...

Behind this little indie-writer's scenes, a lot of talk is going on about how publishing is changing (again!), author support groups, what we should be doing heading into the new year.

Personally, I've also been looking at what's coming next, what's working and what isn't. Many of you have asked about Mosaic, and Yes! That is up next on the agenda!

Once we get un-snowed-in and the little ladies back in school. Snow Day #2 starts tomorrow~

In other news, would you LOOK at this blog? What a mess. *smh*

That's another thing everybody's talking about--Author Websites and Branding. (They've actually been talking about that one a while... I'm still talking.)

When I started this blog in Feb. 2010, it looked almost exactly how it looks now. Okay, my photos have changed.

I started out looking like this:

2009-2011

Then I looked like this:

LTM avatar

Now you see me as I am up there. (I actually look like all of these pictures... Just depends on if my hair's straight.)

I was also very much a traditionalist. I was querying agents, working, and waiting... waiting... waiting... write while you wait... quietly go insane...

Until I started this blog.

And lo and behold, this amazing tribe of writer-friends formed!

We would send each other little "awards"--which were actually networking-style greeting cards. You'd get one and then you'd pass it along and tag each other and tag the person who sent it to you... and the tribe grew.

It was how we met new friends before Facebook took over.

All those little awards still line this blog as you can see... (that's what you did when you got one--put them in the sidebar.)

Then some of us started getting deals. I can't remember who hit it big first. Maybe it was Sarah Fine, maybe it was Elana Johnson, maybe it was Lydia Kang...

Somebody can remind me.

The awards started moving to separate pages under tabs on the different blogs. The different blogs started looking more professional. The ones who'd gotten those big deals started getting too busy to blog... They had to write, y'all!

Totally understandable.

Then the revolution started. Jolene went indie... Susan went indie... Elle went indie... RaShelle blew up the indie scene with Blood & Snow...

I started editing for hire and when I did, I really saw how many of our friends had left the traditional game--AND how successful they were on their own.

Some days I still feel like a Major Dummy for waiting so long to join them, but I'm catching up. The only thing I haven't done is changed this blog.

It's hard because when I come here, I'm reminded of all those days we bonded over how hard this business is. How much those rejection letters hurt. How close we were to giving up. How we didn't think we could keep going any more. How we weren't even sure if we even had what it took to be a published author any more. How we wondered why we even started doing this to begin with...

This page has so much history.

I have an "official" web page that's pretty professional-looking---leightmoore.com.

Go there if you want to see me all spit and polished and looking like a Real Author.

But if you want the True Story, if you want to see behind the curtain, the journey, well, you've come to the right place.

Maybe one day I'll sit down and clean this blog up a bit. Make it look like a True Author Website...

*shrugs* I don't know.

Maybe instead, I'll pull down one of those awards and try circulating it again. See if anybody's still out there. If anybody else misses those old days.

Have a great week, reader-friends! Stay warm! I'll be heading back into the cave soon~ 

All I Want for Christmas, #SWAG, and a #WIN!

Just fyi, reader-friends, I have both a cement truck and a table saw going outside my window right now, so this one's bound to be a bit rambly...

Perhaps my Christmas Wish List should start with #1-A nice, quiet writing space. (LOL!)

No, all the noise is from the construction on the house next door--I should be wishing for awesome new neighbors. (Or at least ones I get along with!)

I'm a writer in case you haven't noticed, so I'm always chasing trains of thought in my head, thinking about how humans interact with each other, contemplating how one different decision might change the outcome of any given situation.

It's fun! And I hope it's what keeps my characters and stories authentic. That's what I'm going for anyway.

I've been observing my interactions with the workers next door these last several weeks, imagining what they might think of the mole-lady who is often irritable when she has to ask them to move their equipment and crap so she can get out of the driveway to fetch her children from all their activities.

Lately, I've also been thinking a lot about how much has changed in publishing since this time last year. Back then, the type of romance stories I write were easy to market. Bloggers were excited to read them and schedules weren't so full.

Two things have changed--schedules are very full, and sensational eroticism seems to be the order of the day. It's prompted me to consider lying low until the pendulum swings back again.

If you're here, you've probably read at least one of my novels. They're all a bit different, some are much steamier than others, but some things are constants: I don't enjoy stories where the lovers are mean to each other or humiliate each other. I don't think abuse is sexy. I don't care for my heroes to call their lovers "sluts" and/or worse, I hope to make you smile and/or laugh at least once while reading...

It's kind of got me sitting and thinking a lot... just thinking. Nothing more.

You see, I prefer strong women--even if it takes them the course of the story to get there (Anna), it's coming. Stay with me.

Perhaps that's #2 on my Wish List--A reading majority who feels the same way... LOL! I bet every writer would ask for that. I'm probably just struggling with growing pains.

Pay no attention to the mole-lady behind the curtain. So other types of stories are enjoying the spotlight right now. What's a gal writer to do? Well, I'll tell ya...

Just keep swimming. Isn't that what we've been saying for years? It's still the truth.

And what's all this about Swag???

Well, I've created an Online Swag Store filled with fun book-cover stuff like posters, iPhone covers, etc.

Here's the link if you'd like to check it out (link)!

And if there's an item you'd like included, let me know! It only takes a day to whip it up and have it available.

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Also, the HUGE Black Friday Giveaway is still going on... You can WIN FOUR $50 Amazon Gift cards!

Go here to enter (link)!

And Dragonfly is still on Sale for 99 Cents!

Enjoy the season, reader-friends! I know it's stressful at times, but remember what it's all about. Good friends, good food, and good times~

Have a SUPER week! I'm trying to find a quiet spot...

Reflecting, Catching Up, and a Sweet #SALE

Over the weekend, I was thinking about my publishing career.

I met with some Indiana writers about a month ago to plan an author event here in Fall 2014, and I mentioned several writer-friends we could invite.

One of the ladies present said, "How do you know all these authors?" 

My answer was, "Blogging."

On Amazon

I started this little blog began back in Feb. 2010 and had no idea what to do here.

Since then I've met and gotten to know hundreds of amazing readers and writers. Some are traditional, some are Indie, some are a mix. 

Sept 2012-Today has been a whirlwind for me. 

March 2013-Today were particularly hard--between keeping up with my schedule and keeping up with my family.

But I still love what I do!

Yesterday, I looked at all the books on the market, and I wondered, "How did I ever find my readers? What shiny stars they are in my little journey!"

More and more books are making their way into "print," and finding ways to reach readers is getting more and more interesting. 

I'm glad I found you! 

I'm glad I started when I did--maybe not so glad I held out for traditional as long as I did. (At times maybe wondering if my Big 6 publisher was right about the direction I "should" have taken with my books.) 

The Truth About Faking was my first "hit." I hope many more will follow. 

I'm still proud of its funny, sweet little story, and now that my own daughters are tweens, I'm hoping to write another book like it for them. 

In honor of that book's amazing success, it's on Sale for 99 cents this week. (Already read it? Give it as a gift!)

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | ARe

It's still a great time to be a writer, friends. 

And I can't say enough how glad I am to know you! Thanks for sticking with me on this journey. 

Have a great week~

Dreams, Changes, and #FUN stuff!

Dragonfly was the first book I ever wrote and tried to sell to agents back in 2009.

Back then, it wasn't perfect, my novel-writing skills were poor. I'd only been a journalist, an editor, and a former English major and teacher. 

But I got a lot of full requests, and polite rejections. I think 15 was the final number before I put it away in 2010. Some pretty big names, too (Paige Wheeler, Kevan Lyons, Kelly Sonnack, etc.) 

I loved the story, the characters, the journey. I loved writing it, and I couldn't wait for everyone to read it. In the year I'd spent waiting to hear back from those guys, I'd written Undertow (#2), Watercolor (#3), and started Mosaic (#4)...

...and then I read Nathan Bransford's advice: If you can't sell the first book in a series, why are you still writing it? (Basically, stop and write something new.)

He was right. And it hurt so bad. 

But I put my dream books in the virtual drawer, dusted myself off, and wrote The Truth About Faking. Then, while I was shopping it, I wrote Rouge. And I got a literary agent. And in 2011, I got an offer for a book deal with a Big 6 publisher.

In the meantime, several of the lovely critique partners, advice sharers, and friends I'd made through this blog had started self-publishing. It was still early in the indie game, and it was still considered a huge risk. 

We were told that if you self-published, you could kiss any traditional dreams goodbye. We were told, the traditional guys wouldn't touch an idie book with a 10-foot pole. We were told you instantly became a pariah. 

But my friends were risk-takers. One--Susan Kaye Quinn--had gone the small press route with her first book, a YA romance, and after that experience, she took the reins and went independent with her very successful science fiction book Open Minds.

And after my agent couldn't sell The Truth About Faking, I decided to self-publish it. In Sept. 2011 it came out, and it's still selling very well today.

Why am I tell you all this?

Because it broke my heart when I put Dragonfly in the drawer. I believed that book was dead, and I'd never have the joy of sharing it with readers... and I was wrong.

Granted, in February when I decided to pull it out again, it still had all those first novel problems. I had to take a sledgehammer to it, break it apart, put it back together, remove all the boring parts, beef up the tension, polish out the dialogue...

But my dream came true last week. And every time someone emails me that they love the story or they can't wait for July 18, I get a little misty. So much is changing in publishing, and it's a wonderful time to be a writer. 

Follow the path that's right for you, traditional or indie, but no matter what, hold onto your dream. Be persistent. Don't listen to what "they" say. And for goodness sake, just keep swimming!

Full Tour List

The Dragonfly tour continues!

• Burning questions for main character Anna? WHY did she go back? WILL she choose Julian? WHAT will she do with the secret? Roxy Cade (link) has your answers.
• Still on the fence? Fern Curry with Whirlwindbooks calls Dragonfly, "The ideal book" for "the beach or pool, to enjoy with an iced drink." Yay! See her full review here (link).

Finally, looking for #FUN? Romance Reviews is doing a Sizzling Summer Reads ginormous book giveaway and Dragonfly is a part!

Check it out!

Visit The Romance Reviews site (link) for all the fun, but watch out! That game's addicting... (The Dragonfly Q&A is #19.)

Have a super week, reader- and writer-friends! I'm in final edits for Undertow, but I'll be back with more tour stops tomorrow~

The (awful) Good Ole Days & #New Books!

I would never want a fellow writer or writer-friend to suffer.

But looking back, I'm almost a tiny bit glad I suffered through the experience of Query Purg(-atory). And I almost wish all writers did.

What is wrong with me, and why would I ever say such a thing?

Well, let me break it down for those who might not know (or remember)...

Query Purg used to be the only way to get published. It was a long slog of sending a query letter to a literary agent and then having to wait, in horrible radio-silence for six weeks (or more!) ...

To see if you made it to the next round: A request for more or all of your manuscript! (Yay!!!)

And then it started all over again. Waiting... as much as another two months--sometimes longer.

The bad news I learned was once you did land an agent, it just started all over again. The agent sends it to editors, and another round of waiting begins.

It's possible the query process is the most sophisticated method of torture ever invented.

BUT! if it weren't for Query Purg, I would never have ventured online to find support. I would never have found Janet Reid, I would never have started this blog, we would never have found each other!

Or maybe we would've? Now I'm thinking of that Sliding Doors post I did a while back.

Anyway, my whole point is that while I'm so happy the self-publishing revolution has (almost) made Query Purgatory a mere (horrible) memory, I feel sorry for these new writer-friends who'll never have that great bonding experience that brought so many of us together.

Hmm... or maybe I'm just looking for the bright side of life. Who knows? All I know is I'm glad to know you guys, and I'm glad something wonderful came out of a super-difficult time in my life.

Now for the new books!

First is a new Craft book by an experienced Editor and one of my first writer-friends, Jessica Bell. Jessica is the co-publishing editor of Vine Leaves Literary Journal, and the director of the Homeric Writers’ Retreat & Workshop on the Greek island of Ithaca.

She's SUPER qualified--here's the scoop: Too many adverbs and clichés in your writing? I've got just the fix for you.

On Amazon

Writers constantly have rules thrown at them left, right, and center. Show, don’t tell! Stop using so many dialogue tags! More sensory detail! More tension! Speed up the pace!

I used to feel overwhelmed by it all too. In fact, I still do sometimes. It’s hard enough to get the words on the page, let alone consider how to put them there.

My name’s Jessica Bell, and my own struggles with feeling overwhelmed inspired me to write the Writing in a Nutshell Series of pocket-sized writing guides. So you can learn to hone your craft in bite-sized, manageable pieces.

In the first book of the series, I focused on demonstrating how to transition “telling” into “showing.”

In Adverbs & Clichés in a Nutshell: Demonstrated Subversions of Adverbs & Clichés into Gourmet Imagery, you will find thirty-four examples of prose which clearly demonstrate how to turn those pesky adverbs and clichés into vivid and unique imagery.

LTM: This book is fantastic, and Jessica's a SUPER teacher. Get it today, and get writing!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Ca | Kobo

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Next up, super-sweet and talented writer-friend Cassie Mae has a contemporary New Adult novel coming out this July, and I'm participating in the gorgeous Cover Reveal!

Drum Roll please.....

Get me

Is that gorgeous or what? Here's the blurb...

In the wealthy town of Sundale, Kelli Pinkins has hatched the perfect plan to capitalize on her sweet reputation. For a generous fee, she will be every trust-fund baby’s dream: a Friday-night alibi, the “girlfriend” or “BFF” parents dream about. 

With college approaching in the fall, Kelli’s services are in demand more than ever, which means that her social life is nonexistent. But Kelli is A-okay with that. She’s raking in cash for school. Besides, relationships are tricky, and sometimes very messy. She’d rather be at home on Xbox LIVE, anyway. 

Then the unexpected happens: She meets college stud Chase Maroney.

Chase isn’t like the preppy, privileged guys Kelli usually meets in Sundale. For starters, he’s twentysomething, always wears black, and he shoots back one-liners as fast as she can dish them out. But Kelli’s attempts to drive Chase away falter when she realizes that he treats her like he really knows her, like he cares about knowing her. 

When Kelli finally gives in to the delicious kiss she’s been fighting for so long, she faces a tough decision: make Chase a real-life boyfriend and risk her heart . . . or keep her clients and lose her first true love.

LTM: Squee!!! I absolutely loved Cassie's first book Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend (link), and this one promises to be just as great!

It's available for pre-order today--CLICK HERE!

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Last, but in no way least, fellow Indelibles sister GP Ching has released the latest in her SoulKeepers series!

I love the sound of this installment as well as the cover, and as your reward for hanging to the end here, enter to #WIN a $100 Amazon Gift Card (link)!

On Amazon

Dane Michaels has been to Hell and back and isn't interested in repeating the experience. 

But as a human caught up in the Soulkeeper's world, his life isn't exactly his own. No one can explain why Dane was allowed through the gates of Eden, but it has changed everything. Now, the only one who can make him feel safe is Ethan, the telekinetic Soulkeeper with a dark past and a heart of gold.

When Malini asks Dane to be part of a mission to find the last Soulkeeper, Cheveyo, more than one team member thinks she's tempting Fate. 

But Malini suspects Fate has had a hand in Dane's life for some time and that he could be the key to unraveling Lucifer's latest plan of attack.

Amazon |  iTunes | Nook | Kobo | Smashwords

* * *

That's it for me, reader- and writer-friends! I'm out of the cave, Dragonfly is on GoodReads (click here to add it!) and starting tomorrow, I'll be sharing excerpts and teasers leading up to the June 6 release date! SO exciting.

Have a super week~ <3

Me on Publishing and Some Cover Love

[Note: I've got a short post over on the Indelibles blog (link) today. But it's not about me! It's about my good writer-friend Ali Cross and her new Writer's Dojo! Check it out~]

Now for this post... Because lord knows, we all need another opinion on what's happening in publishing.

Get me!

I stumbled into self-publishing with a little book the traditional guys all rejected (The Truth About Faking, link), and had a shockingly good experience.

Then I followed it up with a book the traditional guys wanted (Rouge, link), and had what I think is the typical self-publishing experience.

So I don't consider myself expert on all this. (If you want an expert, see my good writer-friend Susan Quinn, link). But I listen a lot. And I observe a lot. And I tend to be excessively analytical at times.

Some observers have noted that self-publishing seems to be the new query letter. I think there's validity in that argument.

I disagree with observers who think traditional publishing is going away. When I interviewed Tammara Webber here last summer (link), she made a great point: Traditional publishers haven't been doing this for as long as they have to not know what they're doing. (I paraphrased--she said it better. LOL!)

Gigantic bookstores are probably going away, which is a little scary. But if it means smaller bookstores will begin to thrive, I like it. I just hope they'll be open to indies...

When I was offered my traditional ebook only deal Spring 2012, it was identical to a "nice" traditional print deal. Now, advances and royalty rates coming off of indie sales are way more writer-friendly.

You even have successful indies like Hugh Howey or Coleen Hoover keeping their ebook rights altogether and signing traditional print-only deals. (Which I say is brilliant!)

I do know a ton of writer-friends are embracing self-publishing, and it's lost almost all of its former stigma. Even with once-anti-self-publishing curmudgeons like myself.

When I put TTAF out there, I thought of it like a little paper boat floating down this fast-moving stream, rounding curves, hitting rapids, wobbling, and I was just standing on the bank watching it, holding my breath, waiting to see if it would stay afloat.

That's kind of how I feel about what's going on in publishing right now. We're in a hugely transitional time in the business, and I don't think anybody can predict what will happen next. I think it's good to stay flexible, try different things, do what works for you, and hold on!

And good luck to all my writer-friends, traditional, indie, or some weird hybrid mix like me. I'd love to hear what you guys think!

Now, bring on the covers!

First, my great Indelible writer-friend G.P. Ching (link) has a gorgeous new installment coming in her Soulkeepers series (#4). I agreed to share the word on it--and just look at the cover (below)...

Soul Catcher, Soulkeepers #4 description:

Add me!

Dane Michaels has been to Hell and back and isn't interested in repeating the experience. But as a human caught up in the Soulkeeper's world, his life isn't exactly his own. 

No one can explain why Dane was allowed through the gates of Eden, but it's changed everything. Now, the only one who can make him feel safe is Ethan, the telekinetic Soulkeeper with a dark past and a heart of gold.

When Malini asks Dane to be part of a mission to find the last Soulkeeper, Cheveyo, more than one team member thinks she's tempting Fate. But Malini suspects Fate has had a hand in Dane's life for some time and that he could be the key to unraveling Lucifer's latest plan of attack.

Add it on Goodreads (link)!


Finally, the ebook version of Rouge (link) has a new look. You can see it on the sidebar and below.

Get me!

I'm also highlighting the romantic suspense and coming of age elements of the story more to reader-friends.

What do you think?

[Note: The original cover will remain on the print version of Rouge (link), so don't despair fans of that look.]

My brilliant cover-designer and writer-friend Jolene Perry (link) had the idea for this new one, and since she's my covergirl, we're giving it a go, trying something new for fun!

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

Not Resolutions

Happy New Year's Eve, guys!

Resolutions? I don't do 'em. Not because I think I'm so great or I don't need to change. And not because I don't think resolutions are good. I think whatever motivates people to change is valuable.

It's just if I identify something in my life that needs to change, or something I need to do, I don't wait. I change it right then.

Okay, sometimes I'll wait for a Monday if it's like an exercise program... or an "eat less chocolate" program. (I need a last hurrah. I'm from the land of Mardi Gras, after all.)

Last January, Sheri Larsen (link) challenged some writer-friends (me included) to make a 2012 "Rebel Writer's Pledge." (It wasn't called a resolution, but, yeah, it was the same thing.)

I pledged to take my writing career more seriously. To treat it like a business.

One year ago, I'd written four books and had three works in progress (WIPs). I had an agent who was sending my book Rouge (link) to publishers, I had The Truth About Faking (link) waiting in the wings to be subbed next.

By outward appearances, I was taking my writing career seriously. Right?

Actually, I was being passive. I was letting other people make the big decisions for me. I wasn't doing my own homework. I wasn't researching how the marketplace was changing or reading the "weather report" of what was coming.

In 2012, Fifty Shades of Grey changed everything. Some argue Hugh Howie really changed everything... From where I'm sitting, I think the two can be rolled into one big change: Traditional publishers lost their domination of the marketplace.

I haven't read FSoG. I know I'm the last person on the planet, and I could give you a whole bunch of reasons why... I'm a slow reader. There are so many books I really want to read. Honestly, I just don't care enough about it.

When my former, Big 6 publisher bought Rouge, however, I kept hearing how "in this post-Fifty Shades of Grey reading environment..." I seriously needed to consider making big changes to my book. As in big, sexy changes. And lots of them.

I disagreed.

Get me

We had a friendly rapport, but we disagreed about several things, and ultimately when I asked to be released from my contract pre-publication, they agreed to let me go.

Several months before, I had parted ways with my agent.

September changed everything for me. I self-published The Truth About Faking not expecting much to happen. Every traditional publisher passed on it. One said it was "too Christian" for their imprint.

I don't write Christian books, but TTAF is a story about characters living in a small town, some of whom have religious beliefs about which they feel strongly... I just think that's reality.

Anyway, in two months, it sold five thousand copies. At this point, it's sold more than 10K.

Rouge is not Christian. It's dark, and terrible stuff happens. It's about survival and being brave and making hard choices. Choices I probably couldn't make. I'd like to think I could make them, but I don't know.

It's sold less than 500 copies. Maybe my old publisher was right, and I should've made it erotica. Sex sells, right? Maybe it's just a slow starter, and the buzz is still building for it.

I don't know.

What I do know is it's mine, and I can take my time with it. Decide what to focus on next, and keep my stories true to the way they come to me.

So here we are, going into 2013, I've got four big things on tap:

#1-I've agreed to work with literary agent Eric Myers on my YA science fiction novel 21 Days. He'll be subbing it starting this month.

#2-I'm finishing up revisions to The Truth About Letting Go and plan to release it in February.

Get me

Letting Go is a companion novel to Faking. I started writing it in 2010 and never finished it. But after several requests for a sequel to Faking, I pulled it out of the drawer. Early feedback is very positive, and I'm excited to share it with you guys!

#3-Amazon has taken over their Breakthrough Novel Award competition. I'm going to enter. Let me know if you're doing the same, and we can cheer each other along!

#4-I'll be finishing the sequel to Rouge. My goal is to have it out in May.

So there you go. Not resolutions, necessarily. More of me taking this writing career seriously.

What are you guys doing? Making resolutions? Pledges? Maybe just planning like me?

Whatever you do, here's wishing you all the best of luck in 2013, reader- and writer-friends! Have a super week and an even better year~ <3
.

EASY Review & interview with Tammara Webber

Awesome writer-friend Jolene Perry (link) told me about Tammara Webber (link)'s mature YA/New Adult novel EASY back in July, and I ran and got it at once. I knew Jolene and I share a similar taste in books and a crazy-love of contemporary YA.

Get it!

What I didn't know is that EASY is an indie book, and since July it has become a New York Times bestseller! Rock On, Tammara!

It's well-deserved. Not even a pending beach trip could tear me away from this book. JRM arrived ready to load up the car, and I looked like the cat who'd eaten the canary. I'd spent the entire morning clicking at lightening speed and hadn't packed a thing. I couldn't stop reading!

EASY is exciting, romantic, H-O-T!, heartbreaking, it has a great message... It's so good, I sent a silly, fan-girl email to Tammara, and she's just as cool as you'd expect.

Here's the Brief Summary: Jacqueline follows her high school boyfriend to the college of his choice, and then he dumps her, basically so he'll be free to bang coeds. (Loved that line!) Then leaving a frat party one night, she's attacked and almost raped until a mystery guy shows up and beats up her attacker. (Nice.) She's pretty shook up, then she realizes her "hero" Lucas is in one of her classes. Ultimately, they start talking, then they run into each other out, then they swap telephone numbers...

But Lucas has a few secrets of his own that could seriously throw a wrench in their budding romance.

I'll say no more. Except here are the links where you can buy it for $3.99 (a steal!):

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iBookstore ~ Kobo ~ Book Depository

And I'm so excited to have Tammara here today. Now for our Interview!

1-So I discovered EASY via word of mouth, but this is not your first book! Tell us a little bit about how long you've been writing and your other books.

I've been writing forever, but I didn't attempt a novel until age 19. I wrote three "shelf novels" (including that first, not-quite-finished novel) before I wrote Between the Lines (link). I went the typical querying/pitching at conferences route with that manuscript, and was unsuccessful.

In the meantime, I wrote a second book in the series. At that point, I decided I didn't have anything to lose by self-pubbing through Amazon, which I was urged (read: nagged endlessly) to do by my best friend, who isn't a writer. Eventually, I added Barnes & Noble, then iBookstore, and most recently, Kobo. There are three books in the Between the Lines series, and I'm writing a fourth (final) book that should be out in spring 2013.

2-EASY deals with a tough topic--rape, or in this case, attempted rape--and the story incorporates teaching girls to protect themselves through the main character's search for ways to protect herself. What made you decide to tackle this subject?

I've spent most of my adult life on a college campus, so I'm more aware than the general public seems to be about how prevalent this type of rape is. It is seldom reported, and when it is reported, it seldom makes it to prosecution. Of the instances I know of, not a single person reported. In every case, this was because the victim believed that she was at fault, when really, at most, there was faulty judgment.

There is no excuse, ever. I want girls and women to stop blaming themselves (and worse, each other) for something that is the fault of the perpetrator alone.

3-With EASY, you've become a New York Times bestselling indie author. And I say Super-congrats to you! I know you have an agent now to handle your foreign and subsidiary rights, but tell us about going independent. Would you recommend it? Any big tip(s) for those considering it? 

The reasons for indie publishing vary from author to author. What works for one might not work for another. I used Amanda Hocking's experience as a sort of guide, but the landscape of indie publishing has changed a lot in the 2.5 years since she began publishing her books online. I had to tailor what had worked for her to the different landscape I encountered a little over a year after she'd done it, and authors now can use what I did loosely, but it has changed since then, and is constantly changing.

Tammara

There's luck and timing involved, too, and those are difficult or impossible to nail, even with careful planning. I would say be prepared to work hard, to change what doesn't work for your book/books, and to invest what you can to produce a professional product. Don't assume that because you don't have the same resources as traditionally published authors or because you charge less, you can get away with a lesser product. Readers don't care. They just want good books.

4-There's been heaps of debate recently over the changing face of publishing. Commentators like to note how bestselling indies like Amanda Hocking end up signing traditional contracts once they "make it." What are your thoughts on all this and that? Do you see yourself going traditional now or in the future?

As for traditional v. indie, I seriously doubt that Amanda Hocking was the first to accept a traditional contract after self-pubbing. She's just the first to get a major publishing contract. I've never, ever been on one side of this debate or the other. The point is to create a career for yourself as an author however you see fit and in whatever way is comfortable for you. For me, that means any and all combinations as I see fit. Standing staunchly on one side or the other is shooting yourself in the foot, in my opinion. The key is that there are now options -- and how cool is that?

Yes, Amanda Hocking got a seven-figure advance (and her agent got a cut of that). Everyone seems to forget that at the beginning of her career, she obviously wanted to see her books on a bookstore shelf. She queried like crazy, and like most writers, she couldn't get a taker. But she was smart enough to compromise when it looked like it was self-publish or nothing. The first "compromise" she made WAS self-publishing. The best part is that before she got that big contract with St. Martin's, she'd already made an amount of money equal to that contract all by herself! THAT is her biggest success. It's awesome that she was able to say to a Big Six publisher, "Oh, now you want to pay me seven figures to give me what I wanted a couple of years ago? Okay."

Publishers haven't survived as long as they have without gaining enough market savvy to figure out the value of a writer who is capable of finding a willing, paying market without the backing of a publisher. What they do after finding and retaining that someone is the do-or-die point. Successful indie authors play with all sorts of factors. We change covers, descriptions, price. We know that what sells books is word of mouth. We use those factors, along with good writing and good presentation, to our best selling advantage, hopefully.

When publishers take over the product, they must be careful of messing too much with what is working. If they change the cover, revise the story, and increase the price too much, all the product recognition the author has worked for -- successfully -- is tossed out the window.

Very awesome information, and great advice. Thanks so much for stopping by, Tammara! And best to you in your continued writing career!

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

So This Thing Happened

I was all ready to tell you this, and now I'm feeling all weird about it.

The first time I told three of my girlfriends in person, sitting at a table in a restaurant, I felt my face get all red. My palms were sweaty, and I was seriously nauseated.

Tooting one's own horn is really funny to say (I'm doing what?), but it's actually awkward to do... 

I have a book deal.

I'm getting better at believing it (and saying it out loud), though. And seeing it in Publisher's Marketplace helped. Here's what those guys said:

It's actually a three-book deal, with Simon & Schuster's new Pocket Star imprint. Pocket Star does primarily ebooks. There's an option for print, but it's going to be an ebook first and foremost.

The reason I'm telling you that part is because it means I'm about to be crazy-busy. Here's the timetable we've discussed:

• ROUGE (Book #1) is due out Nov/Dec 2012
• Book #2 is due out Spring 2013
• Book #3, Nov/Dec 2013

They have an option on a Book #4, but at the moment I'm trying to get my head around A-That I have a book deal (!); and B-That I ... huh? What was A?

Seriously, though, I can't help thinking I'm just so GRATEFUL for you guys. I would not have made it this far without my family and friends.

From my first blogging buddies, who kept me encouraged through the agent search; to my critique partners, who still help me make my books better; to Authoress (link), who ran the "Miss Snark's First Victim" contest that this book won; to all of YOU, who've been excited and encouraging and told me you can't wait to read my books.

That's just the nicest thing you could ever say. ((hugs))

Sometimes it feels like my publishing journey has more downs than ups, so for a moment, I'm enjoying this up. It could only be better if you were here to enjoy it with me. Cheers!

Thank you, reader- and writer-friends! I can't wait to share my books with you~ <3

(Note: I'm out of town 7/25, so there'll be no new post. But I'll be back on Thursday, Aug. 2, with a great author-friend interview, J. Anderson Coates (link), who is also a MSFV winner. See you then!)

TKP, Faith & the Farm

So when bloggy friend Carol Miller (link) invited me to join The Kindness Project, naturally I declined. "I don't post on Wednesdays," I said.

Then I got to thinking about it, and I decided I'm not that old. I can be a little more flexible. And here I am.

I'm a week late because I wanted to see what everybody else did before I posted. But I'm still a little stumped about what to say... Kindness is one of those things I feel like I should do.

The Kindness Project is supposed to be inspirational. It's to remind us that even when we're feeling unkind, still be kind. That alone can make a significant difference in the world both for us and for others.

That's really cool. And really hard.

Last week, members posted about all sorts of things, and they were all good. The most meaningful to me, however, was by our fearless leader. Carol took the day to quote from Mother Teresa. Here's the part I liked best: 

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. 
Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. 
It was never between you and them anyway.

Powerful stuff.

It's a good day for me to try TKP. I've had an interesting thing come my way recently, and I can't wait to tell you all about it. I have to wait, but you'll understand soon.

So it's cool, but at the same time, I'm still feeling weighed down and Anxious.

I'm second-guessing my decisions, and I feel like I'm always looking over my shoulder. The old timers tell us not to be suckers. Don't be so eager to get published that you give away the farm.

At the same time, I wonder, "Didn't those old timers have to give away part of the farm to get to the point of being able to say things like 'Don't give away the farm'?" Is it possible to get where you want to be without sacrificing anything?

I've never been very good at leaps of faith. I'm super Type A. I like all my ducks behaving just like I expect them to behave, and if I tell you I'll have something for you tomorrow, well, you'll probably get it today.

I'm rambling, but my point is I do have faith. And I do make thoughtful decisions and not foolish ones, and when I'm at that point where I've done all I can do, I... struggle very hard with letting it go. So I try to remind myself of that faith part again. 

Source

Perhaps I've drifted from the kindness, but in the final analysis, it is between you and God.

Are you doing your best? Doing good work? Keeping in touch... (Wait, that's Garrison Keillor--!)

I'm sorry, Carol. I'm screwing this all up. Somebody make a goofy sound effect or talk in a funny voice...

Maybe we can just keep on encouraging each other. I know you do that for me all the time. Thank you~

Have a great week, reader- and writer-friends. I'll do better next time. <3