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~ 

MOSAIC Writing Cave #Break!

Hey, reader-friends!

The good news, which I know you'll be glad to hear, is I'm in the writing cave working hard to finish Mosaic for June!

The bad news is I'm going to have to put the blog on a mini-break in the meantime until I finish.

I'll update with the cover reveal as soon as I have it, but in the meantime, all my writing energy is focused on getting this last book in the series out.

I know you understand, and trust me, I see your emails, Facebook posts, tweets, etc., asking me to hurry up--LOL!

I will say, since it's the last book in the series, I really want it to be "right." Also, I'm really loving grown up Julian, Anna, and Jack. Can't wait to share them with you.

While the blog is on a break, please visit my Facebook page (link), where I'll continue posting daily and giving status updates and teasers.

On May 24, you can Meet Me and a bunch of other fantastic authors at the Cincy Author Event (link)!

Click here for more info!

And if you would, please leave a short, sweet review for my books on Amazon (link) if you like them! Reviews help your favorite authors more than you know.

Link to ALL Leigh's Books on Amazon

Please also share the Dragonfly links with a friend you think might tike the series! It's a FREE book after all! *smile*

► Get DRAGONFLY FREE!!!
Amazon: http://amzn.to/11i1vrm
iTunes: http://bit.ly/13ixoDA
Nook: http://bit.ly/1fJJaLN
Google Play: http://bit.ly/NlB2cb
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1fLvTDX
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/dragonfly-8

Until I'm back--have a super week! Thinking of you~

MOSAIC Teaser Tuesday!

Yes, Alice, I'm a day late...

I was at the Louisville Authors Event in Kentucky this weekend, so yesterday was a foggy, dig-out day. But I wouldn't change a thing! LAE 2014 was a blast.

Compared to other events, it was relatively small. The turnout was moderate, but for me, the point was getting to spend time with author-friends I know and getting to meet author-friends I've only ever "known" online!

For writers out there trying to decide if they should do one of these things, I say a HUGE YES! This was my third event, and I'll only be able to do probably two more this year.

Still, even when it's small like LAE, I had plenty of sweet reader-friends come out to chat and get a signed copy of one of my books or have me sign their Kindle cases...

More than that, Friday and Saturday nights were spent talking shop, talking family, talking changes, and just getting to know other fellow writer-friends outside the cave. That is so important.

Writing is such an isolated job, and with the way everything is moving online, marketing books is also becoming pretty isolated. Being alone for long periods isn't good for anybody--just ask Elsa! *wink*

Author events are refreshing, rejuvenating, and we had so many good laughs. I think it's safe to say we all came back feeling bonded and great about our goals and aspirations and about each other. Nothing's better for squashing any feelings of isolation, loneliness, or competition than face time.

Here's a little photo collage of my time there...

Top, l-r: Me & Kate Roth, Denise Grover Swank, Kiki,
 Center: Aleatha Romig, Jennifer Laslie (organizer), my signed book haul,
Bottom: Me with Dawn Pendleton & Kate.

* * *

And now for that Mosaic Teaser!!!

Newsletter subscribers got this one last week. Not signed up for my New Release Newsletter? Here's the (link)!*

*Be sure to add leightmoore@gmail.com to your contacts so it doesn't bounce to spam! (Subscribers, be sure you've done this as well!)

Mosaic 

by Leigh Talbert Moore

*unedited draft, subject to change*

expected release May/June 2014

© 2014, Leigh Talbert Moore



Everywhere I went, I held my breath expecting to run into Jack. It was inevitable that we would see each other, and I wanted to get it over with. He knew Julian and I were together, but I wanted to see how I’d react to being confronted with him here, alone. I didn’t have to wait any longer because as I made my way past the tables, there he was, sitting by himself in a back corner booth.



“Jack.” I was incredibly nervous. I wasn’t sure how I would react to hearing his voice.



He looked up and saw me. His blue eyes widened almost imperceptibly, and then he laid his head back against the wooden panel of the booth. “Anna.” 



His voice was low and slightly loose, and I noticed a half-empty pitcher on the table in front of him. None of it mattered because he was so amazingly handsome in the dim yellow light. He was almost unchanged from our last meeting at homecoming—the night I left early and Julian sat with me while I cried. I still cringed at that memory.



The blue oxford he wore made his eyes seem to glow, but I was filled with relief.



I didn’t melt at the sight of him. I wasn’t that fragile little girl anymore. I had someone now who meant more to me than the infatuation that had defined almost a year of my life, and all I felt for the guy in front of me was friendship. I wanted us to be friends if that were possible. Julian was his half-brother, after all.



Jack’s eyebrows pulled together in a frown. “What are you doing here?”



“I… I didn’t expect to see you.”



“Well, it looks like you found me.” He was still frowning, and I was starting to feel a pain in my chest that I hadn’t felt in a long time. We could be friends at least, couldn’t we?



“Were you hiding?” I tried to joke. “Wow, it's been what? Almost a year?”



“Six months.” His tone was sharp, and I decided the answer to friendship was No.



“Well, I’d better go. I’m sure we’ll see each other around. I’m at Loyola now. Full scholarship. It was the best offer I got, so I took it.” The way he was acting, I was hoping he didn’t remember how much he’d had to do with my decision to apply here.



“You were always very smart. Speaking of smarts, how’s Julian?”



“He’s at Savannah now.”



Was this about Julian? He slid to the side of the booth and stood to face me. I’d forgotten how tall he was as he leaned forward to close the space between us.



“Tell me, was Julian on the pass-fail system as well, or did you grade him on a curve?” His voice was low and sarcastic, and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. My pulse ticked up a notch. This was not the friendly reunion I’d envisioned.



“I don’t understand.”



“You were so good at riding the fence. After I left, did you run straight to Julian or did you wait a day or two for appearances?”



“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You broke up with me.”



“Right. No discussion. No argument.”



“Do you have a head injury?” My voice rose as my tension built. “You were determined... You said…  You told me you needed to end it. Jack, I waited for you.”



“You waited? Why?” He leaned back and the look in his eyes immediately called up the first night I’d encountered his father. It could have been the same man standing in front of me now.



“I don’t know. I don’t even recognize you anymore.”



“I’m me,” he smiled holding out his arms, slightly wobbly.



“You’re not Jack. Not my Jack.”



“I never was your Jack.” The smile left his face, and the cold withdrawal returned.



“Right. You told me many times, but I wanted…” I wouldn't finish that sentence. It was all in the past, and I wasn't going back there. Still, my whole body was tight, every muscle on alert.



“Wanted what?”



“What’s happened to you?”



He looked as if he would sit back in the booth, but after a pause, he turned back and grabbed my arm roughly, pulling me into his embrace. His kiss was hard and aggressive, and I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed myself free.



“Stop it! What are you doing?”



“Just trying to remember what I’ve been missing.”



“If you’re missing anything, it’s your own fault. You could have called me at any time. I’d have waited forever if you’d only asked me to.”



“I didn’t know you needed to be asked.”



“That’s not fair.” A tear spilled down my cheek, and I was leaving then. This was crazy, and why the hell was I crying anyway? He was the one rewriting history, clearly still trying to mess with my head. 

I was so angry and hurt, I could barely see where I was going, but I stopped as I opened the door to leave. Looking back through the center window, I saw him slump back down in the booth, head back against the wall, eyes closed. He might be messing with my head, but one thing was certain--something was very wrong. The question I faced was whether to walk away from it or try and help him.

* * *

And on that note, I'm headed back into the cave, reader-friends!

Have a super week~ 

Writing for Tears - The Onion Approach

Sorry, this post is not about The Onion (link)--the satirical newspaper. Instead, I was thinking this morning about craft and writing and my own evolution as a writer.

Coming from a journalism background, my biggest challenge as a novelist was slowing down. I'd been trained to get to the point fast. Give the most important point first. Don't bury the lede! No extraneous details, no side-trips into smells or tastes...

I know. Some feature writers flower their prose a bit, and tempering that is part of the craft of feature writing, but for the most part, news reporting is bare bones. Just the facts, ma'am.

Then I started writing books, and I was all, "This person has to get from Point A to Point B to Resolution C after Shocking Revelation D."

I'd sit down and pound it all out, and while it was entertaining, my early readers were all, "I've got a whiplash this happened so fast!"

I wasn't giving anybody time to think or feel about what was happening, to process. I wasn't peeling back the layers slow enough. I wasn't giving my readers time to cry. (Get the onion part now? I made that up, fyi.)

I have some writer friends with the exact opposite problem. They write too many words, and their biggest task is going back and cut cut cutting all the fat so they're  not boring you to death or filling your head with a lot of unnecessary details.

Going on Year 4 as an author, my second as a full-time novelist, my first drafts still often come out with "fast patches"--parts that need to slow down to provide the full emotional effect.

I'm still learning to think like a symphony conductor. Have the Big Fast Loud part followed by a quiet, thoughtful spot.

The good news is now when I read back through that first draft, I'm much better at spotting these places and adding thoughts, feelings, sights, sounds, etc., to spread out the moment.

I think The Truth About Letting Go was the first time I truly felt satisfied I'd mastered the process. To this day, I can't read Chapter 17 without crying... but that's another story.

I'm headed back into the cave, reader-friends! Just popping out to say Hi! and share my thoughts.

Remember to check out IndieReCon starting tomorrow! (link) It's a FREE online writers conference filled with tons of useful information about business, craft, working with readers, marketing, etc.

And since last week I posted the Valentine's Day "Love Notes" for the Dragonfly series, this week, I'll post the ones for the "Truth" books.

Enjoy~

The Truth About Faking

And talk about layers~

The Truth About Letting Go

Have a super week, reader-friends! Love ya~

Friend News & Fun Stuff (you can #WIN!)

Superfun announcements today!

First off, my good writer-friend Elle/Lee Strauss's book Sun & Moon (link) is LIVE!

It's a really great New Adult/Contemporary love story. I read an early draft of it, and fell in love. It's very clean--no coarse language or sex.

Sun & Moon is about a girl living in Germany, who is a struggling musician. She falls on hard times, is robbed, and is forced to make a tough decision until she meets a really great guy who helps her out. The only problem is he's hiding some issues himself...

Elle is a fantastic storyteller, and I recommend checking this one out!

Here's the scoop and your chance to WIN!

If you’re a fan of the movie Inside Llewyn Davis or ABC television’s Nashville, the Minstrel Series is for you!

The Minstrel Series is a collection of contemporary romance novels set in the singer/songwriter world. The books are companion novels, with shared settings and characters, but each are complete standalone stories with a HEA (happily ever after) and no cliffhangers!

She has a past. He has a secret.

Katja Stoltz is a risk-taking singer-songwriter hoping to make it in the indie music scene in Dresden, Germany. Micah Sturm's a brooding uptown banker on a quest.

Driven to the streets, Katja is picked up by Micah - but he doesn't want what she thinks he does.

There’s an undeniable attraction between them, a gravitational pull they both struggle to resist. Katja knows she mustn’t fall in love with this handsome enigma. There’s something dark lurking beneath the surface. He could be dangerous.

And even if her life isn’t on the line, her heart most definitely is.

 *not erotica - no explicit sex or coarse language

Get your copy today!

 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Here's how you can #WIN!!!

Enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card, MP3s of all four songs featured on Sun & Moon, and a 12-month calendar from Dresden, Germany, featuring many of the settings found in Sun & Moon.

Dresden, Germany

Click here to enter (link)!

* * *

Free Books! Free Books!!!

We're still snowed in where I live and dealing with sub-zero temperatures and two-hour school delays...

But I'm doing my best to get back into my Mosaic notes. It's been a while since I looked at all of these, but I am so excited about the direction of this final installment of the Dragonfly series.

So what's all this about Free Books???

If you purchase the print copy of The Truth About Faking or Dragonfly on Amazon, you can get the Kindle version for FREE! It's true!

So you can get a copy for you (or a friend) and keep a copy... or gift it... or have both versions... or whatever you want!

ALL of my books are in the Kindle Matchbook Program--the others are buy the print version on Amazon, get the Kindle version for only 99 cents!

Here's the link to my Amazon Author page (link), where you can find a list of all my books in their different formats.

Thanks for being so awesome, reader-friends! Stay warm, and have a great week~

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~ 

Merry Christmas! Go to Greece! #WIN stuff! And a mini-break~

It's the most wonderful time of the year, reader-friends!

Merry Christmas!!! 

I hope all of you are getting ready for the holidays. My little brood and I certainly are... see how excited we've gotten --->

Since the girls will be off until after the new year, I've got a few announcements, and then I'll be calling it a Blog Break until 2014!

Here we go:

#1-Fabulous writer-friend Jessica Bell is organizing her amazing Homeric Writer Retreat again in Ithaca, Greece!

I swear, this is a dream getaway. Writing, talking shop, and meeting with literary agents! Please go here for all the details (link)!

#2-Amazing writer-friend Susan Kaye Quinn is still hosting a Fab Giveaway for the release of her new BollyPunk novel Third Daughter (link)! Go here to enter (link)!

#3-ALL of my books are in the Kindle Matchbook program (link)! This means if you buy the print version of any of my books on Amazon, you can get the ebook for Free or 99 cents! Check it out (link)!

#4-You still have time to WIN a SIGNED SET of the Dragonfly series! Go here to enter (link).

That's all I can think of... LOL!

I'll still be updating my Author Facebook Page (link) through the holidays. Please follow along and keep in touch!

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday season, my friends. Thinking of you all and sending warmest wishes and ((huge hugs))~

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

* * *

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!

* * *

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

Updates and a Break... #NoFooling

Happy April 1!

I always want to do funny April Fool's jokes, but *blerg*... My jokes are either way obvious, or I start laughing and give the whole thing away.

Have any of you guys fallen for funny April Fool's jokes? Played any?

Well, no fooling, last week was intense...

First, I traveled 850 miles south to my old hometown for spring break. While I was there visiting family and friends, I met with librarians in Daphne and Fairhope, AND I discovered a new writer-friend living in the area!

Many of you are fans of NYT bestselling author Abbi Glines. I discovered she lives in Fairhope, and after a few email chats, we decided to do a book signing together. It was loads of fun.

On Amazon

Author Steph Campbell joined us--you might remember how much I loved her book My Heart For Yours (link), which she co-wrote with my close friend, cover designer, and author Jolene Perry. (I raved over it in this post, link. It's a must read.)

Last week, I started the process of making an audiobook for The Truth About Faking. I'll keep you posted on that new project. Very exciting.

But most importantly, my sweet hubs JRM was hit by a car while jogging. Yes. Majorly scared us all.

His right tibia was broken, which is painful and means he'll be on crutches for three months, but we are so thankful he wasn't hurt worse.

That break news brings me to MY break news--it's time for my annual April blogging break. I have a few promotional posts for friends going up, but otherwise, I'll be offline.

I'm so excited, though... I've decided to revise my very first book Dragonfly and its sequel for late-May/early-June release. It's a contemporary romance that I think you'll really like. I'll have to postpone Rouge #2 and 21 Days until later in the year, but my hope is you'll be happy with the result...

I will be keeping up on Facebook, and I'll def. post some teaser-excerpts as possible while I'm in the cave, although taking care of my sweet, invalid husband is going to make my schedule interesting.

It's A-Z month! Many of you are participating, so have fun with it! I'll be around, I'll be thinking of you guys, and I plan to be back with something great.

Have a super month, reader- and writer-friends~ <3

Why I Hate Writing & FOUND

(Y'all realize ^ ^ ^ that's me being intentionally provocative, right?) I know, what??? 

Here's the deal, and I'll keep it short. I love being a writer. I couldn't do anything else, and it's all I've done professionally for almost 20 years.

But it wasn't until 2009 that I started writing novels.

When I did that, it was a lot like when I went from being a full-time professional, career gal in a bustling, busy office surrounded by fast-moving people... 

...to being a full-time, professional Mom, in a quiet home, alone with a beautiful little baby girl who didn't smile at me for three months.

(If they smile before three months, it's gas. Read the book, people. #nerdmom)

Flower says, "What, I'm
not lively enough for you?"

Writing novels is awesome! I love it! And it is looonely.

Spoiler Alert: I'm a pretty social person.

In the past, I've had jobs in public relations and marketing. I was a journalist, which requires you to talk to people...

Writing novels is not like that. And some of you like it that way!

But what about the rest of us?

Well, it helps to get connected, of course. I'm not intimidated about reaching out to other writers (I blame my past work experience), but even for me, that isn't always successful.

For one, writers need to write.

Social media and writers' groups are FAB, but to do this job (write novels), one has to be alone for a good amount of time. And writers don't always coordinate their schedules with each other. (Read: never.)

Some writers are grumpy, mole-type people, who really don't want to make friends. I get that. Sometimes I feel like a grumpy mole-type person, too! And I hate to say it, but outside the group here, I've bumped into some writers... who aren't very nice for whatever reason.

I'm a Cancerian, and I'm sure writer-friend Tami Hart Johnson (link) can tell you better than me why that makes me scamper back into my shell quicker than... something really fast.

Luckily, none of you guys are like that. ((hugs))

So I'm just thinking out loud over here, coming off a new book release. It's quiet. And I actually have promos to do for the publicity blitz coming...

Y'all know I've joined a few writer's groups, The Indelibles (who are fantastic!), Indies Ignite (who are up and coming!), and most recently YA Confidential (who are hilariously helpful!).

We'll see if I can balance this. And of course, YOU, my bloggy reader- and writer-friends, supporting each other since Feb. 2010.

I guess, what do you guys think? And if anybody's looking for a group or if there's a group that needs a member(s), you can put it in the comments. I encourage you to team up! Don't be scared off by grumps or meanies. We've got to have friends in this tough business.

I'm so thankful for mine~

Now what's this FOUND?

From Stacey Wallace Benefiel, the author of the Zellie Wells trilogy, comes a New Adult trilogy set in the Society world.

Penny Black hasn’t had it easy. Just about everything you’d expect to happen to a harassed foster-kid turned junkie has happened to Penny. 

Add in the mysterious power to rewind time, conducting events around her, and it’s a wonder she held up on the streets for so many years. 

Now, at seventeen, the New Society has found her. Finally, Penny is where she belongs. But that doesn’t stop the visions, or the need to protect the victims shown to her.

*The Penny Black trilogy is a companion to the Zellie Wells trilogy and not a continuation of the series. (It's set 18 years in the future with a new cast of characters.)

*Due to language and sexuality, FOUND is recommended for older teens. (Most of the characters are out of high school and preparing for college.)

Purchase links:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Smashwords

Coming soon to the Apple iBook store and in paperback!

Haven't read the Zellie Wells trilogy yet? Pick up all three novels together for $6.99 at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, and iTunes. Or get the first novel, Glimpse, for FREE at all ebook retailers.

And have a great week-end, reader- and writer-friends! <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