Maydays, Mayhem, and Maybes

You guys! Is it really May?

April and May are two of my favorite months of the year because I love Spring. I like the idea that things that have been lying dormant all winter, seemingly dead, start to bud and blossom and come back to life. Renewal and hope, new beginnings and fresh starts, are everywhere.

The connection is especially potent for me this year. A story I thought was long dead has started to bud, as have many other areas of my life which flatlined during the long winter months. I haven’t done a goals post in a while, but now seems like the perfect time to do so. I need to set some goals for my writing again and work hard toward achieving them.

The first week of May, I spent some time exploring a few options for writing goals, and now I’m ready to commit them to writing. Here are my May 2017 writing goals:

• Revise Always the Last to Know. I spent last week working on revisions to the first two chapters of this story and figuring out revisions to a few more chapters. I’m coming up with ways to make the writing stronger and work in some of the changes the Love Inspired editor suggested. I’m spending my days off and mornings working on this and enjoying the fruit of this labor.
• Find the perfect beta reader/critique buddy for ATLTK. I need to find the right beta reader/critique partner for this project–someone who loves the premise and the characters but is able to offer constructive criticism of my execution, especially with regard to the Love Inspired line. I have a couple people who have offered advice and help, but no beta reader lined up.
• Read GMC: Goal, Motivation, Conflict by Debra Dixon. This book has been suggested and recommended by countless authors I admire. I know I need a lot of help with internal and external conflict in my stories, and I think this book will help me better understand these areas.
• Make a decision on finding an agent. I’ve wrestled with whether or not to submit to an agent for a while now. I’ve only tried to catch an agent’s eye a couple times through #pitmad and a blind cupid contest. I know an agent will open me up to more submission opportunities (especially in the Christian market) and I can benefit from their expertise, but I’m not sure if an agent is for me. I plan to do more research and make a firm decision whether or not to submit this project to an agent for representation.

I’m not rushing through these revisions. I’m letting the story and characters lead me this go round. I’m not paying too much attention to the suggested revisions right now. I’m fixing what I see isn’t working, with some of the revision suggestions in mind. Since I had to cut over a third of the book, I’m focused on getting a workable draft before I look to fine tuning. I’m giving myself the same deadline I had to submit for Blurb to Book. By July 15, 2017, I will hit the submit button on revisions to Always the Last to Know. I believe this is a scary but attainable goal. This gives me two months and one week to craft a story I love. It will also stand me in good stead to hear back on my submission this year. I’ll also have plenty of time to start the next book in the series and put together a proposal for the series while I wait.

What writing goals are you working on this month?

Tentatively dipping a toe back in fiction waters

Erica

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Writing Wednesday: Kill Your Darlings, Darling

Please excuse me for being late posting, but I’ve been trying to figure out where to go next on this winding writing journey. After coming to grips with the receipt of an R&R, I decided it was time to go on and read my full manuscript. After all six weeks is a good amount of time to really get some distance between me and my writing. I was dreading getting to chapter four. Apparently, chapter four is where things really went to pot for this story. The editor said one solution she didn’t recommend was SCRAPPING THE ENTIRE CHAPTER. The one she suggested involves some major cutting and rewriting. Either way, I knew chapter four was going to be dreadful. What sort of awful things were waiting for me when I got to this much defamed chapter?

Here’s the thing, though: I LOVE chapter four. Actually, I’m pretty happy with everything up to chapter four. That doesn’t mean that I don’t see things to change, places to strengthen, etc. It means that I see what an awesome story with intriguing characters I set on those pages. And chapter four has some of the best prose I’ve ever written. The dialogue is good and fast moving. I love what it shows the reader about my hero’s character and the kind of person he is under all his bluster about duty and responsibility, and I love the kid he’s talking to in it. But some of that really great stuff has got to go on the cutting room floor, never to be seen again outside a blog post or newsletter post publication.

It’s very easy to get chuck awkward prose in the digital trash bin. It’s easy to rewrite an area that just isn’t working. But what about truly good writing that just doesn’t belong in the story. What do you do with your orphaned darlings? Do you save them in hopes of using them in another story? Do you relegate them to file thirteen? Do you give them new life as bonus content on WattPad, your website or in newsletters? Do you have any strategies to make it easier/more bearable to get rid of those creative gems that just don’t fit in your current masterpiece?

XOXO,

Erica

Writing Wednesday: The R&R Roller Coaster

When I was a kid, I loved going to Cedar Point. I love the sights and sounds, buying $3 slices of pizza, spending $20 to win a small stuffed animal, running around thousands of acres of pavement with my friends. Here’s the thing, though: I had a heart murmur, a condition that prevented me from riding any but the most tame rides. Before I knew about that, I was just too short. But I could feel the excitement in the air, and I imagined what it would be like to get on a roller coaster every time I went to an amusement park.

I did eventually get to ride a couple coasters, and let me tell you, the experience was harrowing, to say the least. Aside from the actual iron monsters that hurtled me up and over and around peak after peak at breakneck speed while I held on for dear life and wished I’d never stepped foot on them, my pursuit of publication has been one long roller coaster ride, filled with ups and downs. I’m sure most writers can relate.

Today the specific coaster I want to talk about is the Revise and Resubmit, or R &R coaster. The R&R and its accompanying revision letter can feel like a blessing and a curse. Last Wednesday I received my first R&R on the full I submitted to Blurb to Book. It’s taken me this long to sort out all the feelings associated with it. Here’s how the roller coaster went for me:

A couple of fellow contest entrants and I were discussing the lack of news and speculating when another contestant announced privately that she had received an R&R. I was surprised but didn’t think much of it. The ladies and I were talking about the feedback we received from the previous round, and it was my turn to say what my feedback was. I went to my email to pull a quote and there it was: a new email from an editor with the name of my Blurb to Book entry on it. The roller coaster rolled downward and picked up speed along the way. The air whooshed out of me. Was this the end of the line?

I cast my eyes to the end of the subject line and saw the reassuring shape of a paper clip. There was something attached. So not a form rejection, and the very least. I read over the email quickly, my heart plummeting as I read that she was sorry that they weren’t making an offer on the book. HOWEVER–that shimmering beacon of hope of a word–if I was willing to CHANGE ALL THE THINGS, they would be happy to reconsider it or another manuscript.

OK, being honest, it didn’t say CHANGE ALL THE THINGS, and certainly not in all caps, but that’s what it felt like. Reading through the attached letter–pages and pages of single spaced, bullet pointed suggestions–was the part of the roller coaster where your heart is beating so fast and you’re being jerked around so many ways and pulled into so many loops you’re not sure which way is up but you ARE sure you should not have gotten on this ride.

ALL THE FEELS. Feelsville, population 1. You get feels and you get feels–everyone gets FEELS!

What are these feels, you ask?

The first feeling I had is “what in the world did they actually like about this story?” Getting a letter pointing out all the things that didn’t work can be overwhelming. It makes you wonder if they liked YOUR story at all. What had they seen in what I sent them that they didn’t want to change? How in the world did I get this second chance if this book is that terrible? Maybe I should just give up writing. I can sell all my stuff and sit around in a sweat lodge until I receive some sort of enlightenment on what I’m ACTUALLY supposed to be doing with my life. I’m a horrible writer. It’s all over. Lights. Growing. Dim…

The second feeling. How dare they? I sent them a masterpiece–literary perfection! So what if I thought that many of these same things weren’t working. I mean, really, some of these suggestions. Well, you can rest assured I’m not doing that. My character would never do that. This is just not going to work for me. They just don’t understand my genius. Self-publishing, here I come!

The third feeling–I’m a little too close to this. Maybe I should put this letter away for a while, send it to my critique buddies for a different perspective. In the meantime, I’ll just wander over to the store and buy ALL THE FOOD and eat ALL MY FEELINGS. SN: Feelings taste pretty good with caramel, y’all. Like salty sweet goodness.

Now that I’ve had time, second opinions, sugary goodness, and a change in perspective from the ever wise Mr. Perfect, I peeked at the letter again. Hmm…not as bad as I thought. Yes, I knew that wasn’t working like I wanted it to before I hit send. No, I don’t think my character would do that normally, but if I did it this way it could work…

If this were the stages of grief, grieving the loss of the book I thought I was writing, I think I’d finally be at acceptance. I wrote my heart out. The manuscript still needs work. But they like it. And it’s not impossible to fix.

How have you dealt with a revise and resubmit letter?

Writing Wednesday: Who’s Book Is It, Anyway?

It’s been one month since I turned in my Blurb to Book entry. With less than three weeks to go before the wrap up post and two authors already acquired, my comrades in arms are getting a little nervous. We are speculating on whose manuscript the editors are reading, which editor is reading it, how they are determining the order in which they read, and how they decide who gets the call. You know, all the things that makes a writer with a submission out go crazy.

As I said, two authors so far have been put out of this misery and into the stratosphere of happiness by receiving the call. Both are previously published. This has been a major area of discussion. Is that a coincidence? Is it just their previous experience has strengthened their writing to make them stand out or is it something else? It’s enough to drive a person crazy, the things unpublished authors find to focus on. Is it because they are agented? What is the magic potion?!

Everyone wants to know who will be next to sell. We are second and third guessing our manuscripts and choices, reading into every tweet, and vacillating between diving into the next book and feeling it might be better to hold off for feedback on this one, to make sure we are doing it right. We don’t quite know how to address the mix of accomplishment, nervousness, and loss of control that we’ve been battling for the past month.

Here’s what stuck out to me in that whole thing: there are some of us hesitating or procrastinating on the next book because we want to know how this one was received. I ask, in all seriousness and with the utmost of gentle love and kick-in-the-pants moxie: What is your problem? Why on earth are you waiting for validation on the previous thing to get deep into the next one?

Look, I get it: you want to know if you are on the right track, going in the direction the editors for a certain line/publisher want. But here’s the thing, though: until it’s contracted, it’s YOUR book. Who cares who will love it or want to buy it? No one’s going to buy the book you don’t write! You have to write the story you feel like is begging to be written. Once you have a draft, you can revise with a certain publisher or line in mind. But don’t keep interrupting your creative process waiting to see if you got the last thing right! This is your book, isn’t it? Well, write like it!

*she says to herself as much as to anyone else*

That’s my two cents, anyway. Where do you fall on the spectrum of writing while you wait? How much do you take a line/publisher/genre’s conventions into consideration while writing? Should you? Who else is waiting to hear on a submission and wants to encourage/commiserate with me?

Writing Wednesday: Reception

I’ve been fascinated by all the talk about what happened at RWA this year. So many people with so many strong feelings about so many things. Whenever you get a big group of writers (almost always synonymous with thinkers…almost) together, there are bound to be many of these. While I followed the discussion on diversity in romance pretty closely, the thing that stood out to me the most were all the strong feelings expressed about Kate Breslin’s double RITA nominated debut book For Such A Time. Whether writers and reviewers were expressing their outrage that a romance between a Nazi officer and a Jewish woman was nominated twice for one of the industry’s top honors (and many, many other prestigious awards besides the RITA), or arguing for more religions beside Christianity to be represented in the inspirational category of the RITA, it was clear people felt very strongly about this book, and by extension, this author and her publisher.

I don’t want to get into the specifics of any of that. I can debate the advisability of her hero and heroine choices, the agency of the heroine, the probability of it all happening with the best of them. I can say whether or not I feel that the fact that there’s a Christian slant to the story of a Jewish woman is displacing her identity or whether it’s authentic all day. But my current list of things to get all up in arms about (and my timeline) are full of too many other atrocities to give this the sensitivity and attention it would require, and it has next to nothing to do with writing. The reason I brought up the whole debate in the first place is to talk about something that all writers can relate to: reception.

When I read some of the reviews, letters to RWA and criticism of For Such A Time, my first thought was for Kate Breslin. I looked up her website and Facebook to see how she was coping with this onslaught of negative reviews and criticisms of a book she spent years trying to write. I can’t imagine my debut being nominated for every prestigious award in inspirational romance. Can you imagine the joy, the elation? Then to be hit with such severe backlash from your peers in the industry. Wow.

So I want to talk about that thing that most of us as writers usually don’t talk about. While we are happy to prognosticate and speculate on every other part of the publication process that we have no control over, the most I hear about reception is coping strategies. I see retweets of the best reviews from the most prestigious reviewers. One of the indie groups I am in on Facebook has members who share their funniest one star Amazon reviews. But what do you do when your industry is bestowing honors on you but your peers are calling for your book to be shunned?

I’ve always thought of romance writers as this warm and open community, but many others are coming out and sharing how it hasn’t been so welcoming of them (see: diversity in romance discussion referenced above). While some are calling for more inclusion, others are calling for certain kinds of stories to snubbed. The problem with any talk of inclusion, especially forcible inclusion, tries to neglect the fact that this is just as much coercion as exclusion. Mandating that a certain number of diverse books be included on lists of books that were judged and voted on by a large number of individuals, for example,  may force other deserving books off the list to maintain the quota. Championing the publication of diverse books is a horse of a different color. If there are readers there should be books But I’m getting off track. Right. Reception.

As a writer with a book under consideration with an editor, I’m now having nightmares about what the possible reception could be if the book made it to print. I tackle an issue I have no personal experience with and try to portray it well, but I don’t know how actual women dealing with it will receive the book. In another story, the hero is responsible for the death of someone related to the heroine. I wrestled back and forth with having it turn out to be someone else’s fault or somehow absolving him of guilt to make it easier for a reader to accept him and them as a couple, but that wasn’t true to the story. I imagine that Ms. Breslin may have struggled with the proper context and framework for her story as well. As a writer, I understand that you have to be true to the story and write without as much thought to the reception.

So how do you balance both of these considerations? How do you deal with backlash or poor reception, particularly from writing peers/readers you admire? How should we critique work we find offensive (or should we critique it at all?)

Writing Wednesday: Starting Something New

 The above graphic is the result of several painstaking minutes playing around with Picmonkey. Look on it and be amazed!

It’s been a while, people. I suffered from mental exhaustion and a bout of laziness following Blurb to Book that seeped into posting. I’m super sorry, and hopefully I’ll be able to produce some quality content in the near future. Now that the excitement of Blurb to Book is behind me, let’s talk about starting something new.

I have a problem settling on a new project once I complete something. I was listening to Cheryl Strayed and Elizabeth Gilbert on Ms. Gilbert’s podcast, Big Magic, where they talked about how when you finish a project you feel like you have nothing left to give another project. You put everything you had into the last one. You’ll never have any more to put into anything else. That’s it; you’re done. Finis!

Dani Shapiro talks about the shimmer or little spark of something that she sees that gets a new project started. She also talked about that drained feeling and the despair that accompanies finishing a project, but then she will see or hear or remember something and the ideas will start to come.

I put all the romantic stuff in me into the book I turned in two weeks ago today. Do I have any more romantic stuff in me? Of course! I have at least twelve ideas tied to the one I just finished. I also haven’t the faintest clue what to do with any of them. I’ve researched and made generic sketches of ideas, but nothing was really grabbing me and not letting go. I know I have to let the ideas percolate until the story is ready to come out. But in the meantime, I need to keep writing something. So what?

I had an idea for something completely different. It’s not romance, not Christian non-fiction, and not literary. It’s kind of creepy, actually. It’s a silly idea, at least it feels silly, and so far it’s a little too like Stephen King fanfic (even though it’s totally NOT), but I’m having fun writing it. It’s just plain fun, which is a nice palate cleanser.

I know you’re dying to know what it’s about, right? What I can share: There’s a group of kids who meet in In-School Suspension in high school who make a pact with each other that impacts the rest of their lives. They are brought back together by the death of one of the group, which sets off a chain of events that may be supernatural in nature or may just be some sort of self-fulfilling prophecy based on a pact that they really didn’t take seriously. I don’t want to say what the pact is, who the friends are, what the consequences are, how the friend dies, or anything like that (and yes, I do know the answers to those questions) because I don’t know what I’ll do with it yet. Maybe I’ll put up a bit on WattPad? I don’t know.

So my question for the writers out there: What do you do when you finish a project? How long do you wait to start something else? How do you get back into the writing groove?

XOXO,

Erica

Writing Wednesday: 10 Things You Might Not Have Known About my Blurb to Book Entry

Getting a late start this morning. Please excuse my post tardiness!

I’ve been reflecting on my Blurb to Book journey as I’ve been busy selling my self-published book at a conference and getting back into revisions for my manuscript. It’s been a wild ride thus far. I thought it would be interesting to share a few things about my Blurb to Book manuscript and journey thus far.

1. Always the Last to Know is part of a series. This is the…4th story in the series that I’ve started. I entered the second story I attempted in the series into So You Think You Can Write last year as Love Thy Enemy. Set in a fictional small town in northern Georgia, the Always books (as I’ve been calling them) are deeply emotional stories about God’s forgiveness and love and how He truly is a God of second chances. I’m hoping that Love Thy Enemy, and the many other stories I have set here, will eventually be published along with Always the Last to Know.

2. I started Always the Last to Know a couple days before I entered Blurb to Book…along with the 5th story in the Always series. I was torn between entering my 3rd story, or starting fresh with one of my other Always ideas. I whipped up blurbs and first pages for Always the Last to Know and book 5 and a blurb for story 3 and sent them to my critique buddies. My critique buddies both picked Always the Last to Know.

3. My main characters are Cordelia Adams and Winston St. James. My inspiration for Cordelia is January Jones from Mad Men and Winston’s is a hot tan guy I found in a Google search for men with hazel eyes. I used pictures for each on previous Writing Wednesday posts.

5. This story deals with some heavy issues–infidelity, fertility issues, custody disputes, etc. The original idea for the story called for a widow trying to adopt a child to be faced with a soft hearted cop who has to tell her she may not be able to adopt the baby she’s come to love. The infertility angle evolved from a combination of influences. One was a study I was doing on barrenness in the bible for a non-fiction project. The other were the comments on a blog I like. The blog’s author asked people to write down things they wanted her to pray for them about. I was so shocked at how many of these women were struggling with infertilityAs I began to research the topic, I found that miscarriage and infertility were a lot more common than I knew. The next thing I knew, Cordelia’s character started opening up to me about how fertility issues played a part in her decision to adopt.

6. I had to change a *major* plot element to the book which meant adding a *villain.* In my original synopsis and ending of chapter three, I had my hero doing something that has repercussions for later in the story (in other words, it bites him hard in the butt). The editors thought that it made him look bad to have him do it. But it had to be incorporated somehow because what he uncovered had to come out in order for the black moment to be as black as can be. So I pulled out my cast of characters for the series and found a minor character who wouldn’t mind getting his hands dirty in order to win. It turns out having another character do the dirty work gave me another angle I could exploit. It’s different than what I planned, and exactly right for this story (and maybe a future one).

7. Speaking of the editors’ advice, another suggestion of the editors really strengthened the story. They thought the characters were too antagonistic in the beginning. I knew I needed to keep the tension high and show that they were on different sides, but being able to add in some attraction and connection. Figuring out how to soften them helped me to dig a little deeper into Winston’s character. I originally wanted him to be more laid back, the type to crack jokes, but that didn’t fit with the book or who Winston turned out to be. By really examining his motivation as well as the goal, I found that Winston wouldn’t be so antagonistic toward her or as threatened by her claim to the baby. This allowed his character to be more calm and levelheaded in the situation (and a little of his humor peaked through to try and diffuse a tense situation).

8. I cut a scene–then used it anyway. This time around, I’ve decided to do a Cutting Room Floor document that houses all the parts I cut out of the original manuscript. I had a scene in chapter two where Winston is working that I cut because I knew it was important to keep th two main characters on the page at the same time as much as possible in the beginning. I wasn’t going to use it, but then I realized that it revealed a lot about Winston’s past and why raising his niece is so important to him. He sees a lot of himself in a character he encounters in that scene. Moreover, I found a way to use that encounter to help Winston resolve some of his emotional conflict later. So I put it back in a couple chapters later.

9. I keep having characters that run to think about things and sort out their issues. This is the second book it’s come up in. This is especially funny because I’m not a runner. I used to run all the time in high school. Give me my Nikes and my headphones and I was golden. But now you can’t pay me to run. I think my subconscious is trying to tell me something.

10. I saved a confession for last. I stopped writing after every deadline. EVERY. DEADLINE. It was fear. I entered my first page and I wrote for a few days but then stopped. I didn’t have a lot of hope that I’d make the next round. I hadn’t made it past round one of a contest since high school (which were apparently my glory days–a sad commentary). There were over 300 entries and only 75 spots. The last few days before the Round 2 announcement, I started writing again. I was thrilled to see my name in with others moving to the next round. After that, I wrote and rewrote until I had three chapters and an acceptable synopsis to turn in at the 11th hour. Then I stopped writing. Again. There was no way I would make the top 30 and be invited to submit the full manuscript. My target goal was to get to the round with feedback and I had done that. Again, a few days before the announcement, I started writing again. I really liked the story and I wanted to know what happened next. Then I found out I made the final round. After celebrating, it suddenly sank in that I had to finish a book in two months–two busy months. Between ladies days, a singles’ conference, finding out I need to move at the end of this month, finding a new place, busy season at my job, and other turmoil and upheaval, time has moved swiftly. I’m still scribbling away, making sure I’m putting my best work on the page. I’m ecstatic to have made it this far, and I can’t wait to see what happens next. I do know that by August 30th, I should know the fate of Always the Last to Know. Either way, it’s been a fun ride and I’ve learned so much about myself and my writing process.

Friday Feature: Interview with Jackie Ashenden (& Giveaway)!

Erica here! I’m so honored to bring you a new author each week through the Friday Feature! I’ve reached out to some of my favorite authors and asked them to do an interview, provide an excerpt, or guest post here to introduce you to their work or to speak on some aspect of writing. This week, I interviewed Jackie Ashenden. Jackie writes dark, emotional romances with alpha heroes and kick butt heroines who aren’t afraid to stand up to them. I hope you enjoy this interview, and pick up a copy of Jackie’s newest release, Never Refuse A Sheikh, out today. You could win a copy and a $10 Amazon gift card by leaving a comment. 

 When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I think probably when I was twelve, when I decided to write my own story – it was a fantasy heavily based on the Lord of the Rings and it was awful.  But I loved writing it. Admittedly I stopped after the first five pages, but it was great when I started! 🙂

What is your tagline for your brand of stories?

Ah taglines… On my website it says sexy, dirty love. So I guess that’s what I write. Sexy, dirty and dark love stories.

What sort of reader would enjoy your books?

A reader who likes hot sexytimes and heavy doses of angst. Who isn’t afraid of strong emotion.  Who also like alphas heroes and strong heroines. 🙂

What publishers are you currently writing for?

St Martin’s Press, Tule Publishing, Kensington and Random House. Quite a list!

 What writers have influenced your writing the most to this point?

Well, definitely my critique partner and friend Maisey Yates. I also find Megan Crane/Caitlin Crews’ writing wonderfully inspiring.

 Thank a teacher/mentor (because I heart teachers and think they need more thanks)

I would like to thank my 4^th form English teacher (I was 14) for loving my creative writing and encouraging me. Because basically she was the first teacher I ever had who told me I was good at something.

What advice do you have for writers just starting their journey to publication?

Write. Keep writing. Then write some more. Don’t stop. Oh and if you’re after a publication contract, never, ever give up.

Do you write full-time or do you also have a “day job”?

I’m lucky enough to be able to write full time.  I used to be a librarian though!

How do you balance your writing/release schedule? 

It’s a tough one, especially when you have a lot of releases scheduled. To keep myself from freaking out, I work out my deadlines and how many words I need to do each day to meet them. Everything else to do with writing (marketing, social media etc,) comes second to making my word count.

What led you to write such “dark, emotional stories featuring alpha heroes?

Good question! I guess it’s because I really enjoy the psychology of it, plus I think everyone deserves a happy ending no matter how broken they think they are.

You write mostly series books, whether your own or as part of a continuity. What draws you to writing linked stories?

I think most writers are doing this these days and that’s because series sell better than stand alone stories. Publishers tend to want linked books for that reason. I like it because it gives you a wider range of stories and characters to explore.

How did you get involved with the International Bad Boys Series from Tule Publishing?

Oh that’s an interesting story. I wrote a sheikh book that I wanted to send to Harlequin Presents, but it didn’t end up being right for them so I shelved it. And then when I was at RWA in San Antonio last year I met the lovely Jane Porter.  We were talking about sheikhs and I said I’d written one that wasn’t right for Harlequin and she said she’d love to see it. So I sent it to her and she ended up putting it on the Tule schedule! I was thrilled!

Which type of hero do you prefer writing the most–sheikhs, tycoons, bikers, or others?

Wow, hard question. I don’t have a favorite type when it comes down to it, I love them all. They all have their different strengths and weaknesses. I just like writing guys, period.

How do you make your heroines so kick butt and so vulnerable at the same time?

Well, the trick is to giving the heroine layers. For example, on the outside she’s a kick butt chick who stands up to the hero and doesn’t take any crap. But on the inside, she’s vulnerable and the vulnerable side comes out gradually the more she begins to fall for the hero. She’s like all of us really. We’re never strong all the time, just like we’re not vulnerable all the time.

We don’t want our vulnerabilities on the outside so we keep them hidden, only showing them to our loved ones. That’s my typical heroine basically.

You also contributed a book to The Deacons of Bourbon Street Series with writer friends/critique buddies Maisey Yates and Megan Crane. How did the idea for that come about, and how did you sell the series?

And not forgetting Rachael Johns too!  (Erica: Sorry Rachael!) Yeah, they were all at RT in NOLA last year and I didn’t go because I’m in NZ and it was too far. But they got on really well and wanted to write this biker series. Maisey asked me if I wanted to join in because I write those kind of heroes anyway and I said of course! So we all wrote a pitch and a first chapter and our agents shopped it around. Yay Random House and Loveswept for buying it!

Who’s your favorite couple that you’ve written thus far?

Oh, that’s tough!!!  I loved writing Vin and Kara from Having Her. I could have written them forever. (Erica prefers Hunter and Ellie from linked book Taking Him) I really liked Zac and Eva, my 3^rd Nine Circles book, and writing a biker dude and a biker chick for the Deacons series was pretty great too.

 Who’s your favorite fictional couple of all time?

Another hard question! I don’t really have one favorite. I do like Lizzie and Darcy. And Jane and Rochester. Phillippa and Francis Crawford from Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond series.

Any upcoming projects readers should be on the lookout for?

I have Never Refuse A Sheikh, which comes out on the 5^th – today! So if you like a sheikh fantasy, you may like that one. If sheikhs aren’t your bag then I have the 3^rd Nine Circles book, You Are Mine, which comes out October 6^th.

What’s next to cross of your writing bucket list?

Ooooh….I thought I might try writing something in first person. I’m not a huge fan of it as a reader but it’s good to try new things as a writer. Whenever I get time…

Every writer needs a good…

Cup of coffee, chocolate, massage and finally, a large glass of wine. 😉

 

 When the sheikh claims a wife, she cannot refuse …

Altair is a man perfectly in control both of himself and the power he wields as regent of  Al Harah. Yet in order to retain his stronghold on the country he loves, he must wed a  princess wilder than the Bedouin tribe she was raised in. A princess who only has one  word for him: no.

Princess Safira knows what freedom means and it isn’t a palace or a crown. Neither  does it mean being told what to do by a man with more ice in his veins than blood.  Safira is innocent in the ways of men, but the heat in Altair’s gaze calls to a deep,  unclaimed part of her soul she cannot deny. Altair seems hellbent on civilizing her, but  she’s not so easily tamed. Especially not when she can sense the wildness that lives in  him….

Available for Kindle on Amazon here.

 

 Jackie has been writing fiction since she was eleven years old. Mild  mannered fantasy/SF/pseudo-literary writer by day, obsessive romance  writer by night, she used to balance her writing with the more serious job of  librarianship until a chance meeting with another romance writer prompted  her to throw off the shackles of her day job and devote herself to the true  love of her heart – writing romance. She particularly likes to write dark,  emotional stories with alpha heroes who’ve just got the world to their liking  only to have it blown wide apart by their kick-ass heroines.

She lives in Auckland, New Zealand with her husband, the inimitable Dr Jax,  two kids, two cats and a couple of curious rats. When she’s not torturing  alpha males and their stroppy heroines, she can be found drinking chocolate  martinis, reading anything she can lay her hands on, posting random crap on Twitter, or being forced to go mountain biking with her husband.

www.jackieashenden.com

@JackieAshenden

https://www.facebook.com/jackie.ashenden

Writing Wednesday: Destroying Doubt & Soldiering On with Your Manuscript

The official doubt crow, courtesy of @doubt_crow

With a little more than a month and half a manuscript left to go before my Book to Blurb final is turned in, I’ve found myself in a strange place. I’m getting to my word count goal (though now I think I need to up it a bit to give myself a better cushion) and finding that I have great revision plans for the manuscript that will make it even stronger (I’m not revising much while getting the first draft to take shape). I’ve been really consistent with my writing, getting up when I don’t feel like it and always getting something on the page. Yet, something has been dogging my every step: doubt.

Writers tend to be very familiar with doubt, particularly those who seek publication. There’s always something you can second guess. Second guessing and trying things a different way isn’t bad; it’s when our questioning of our choices renders us unable to move forward, meet deadlines, or even submit our work that it becomes troublesome.

At the moment, I have a myriad of doubts that are difficult to combat:

• deadline doubt. Sometimes it seems as if the deadline is coming faster and my word count is climbing slower. It seems like I’ll never have the first draft done in time, let alone have time to revise and send in my best quality work. Many other participants have told me about family vacations, births, conferences, and other events standing between them and the deadline that causes them to feel as if they aren’t getting enough done now to compensate for losing that time. No one wants to miss the deadline or feel like they didn’t turn in their best book.
• balance doubt. Is there enough conflict? Have I shown enough of their budding romance? Is the faith element present enough? Is there enough plot to this story? Did I show enough emotion? Will readers like/relate to/fall in love with my hero & heroine? I always feel as if I haven’t done enough somewhere.
• word choice doubt. How many times did I say gaze in two paragraphs? Five. Seriously. And I had both my characters think “No, this isn’t happening” ON THE SAME PAGE.If my characters don’t stop looking, staring, gazing, flicking glances, or locking eyes, someone may be arrested for stalking. Finding fresh ways to say things can get stale if you let it, and it will drive you crazy trying to find just the right word all the time.
• revision doubt. Did I change this enough to address the editor’s concerns? Will changing the hero’s motivation from this to that strengthen or hurt the story? I know I said I was cutting this scene, but maybe I should keep it? Is this scene really advancing the romance like I want it to? Is this subplot adding to things or detracting from them? Should I dial back the faith element here? How do I tie this subplot into the main plot to make it all make sense?
• doubt scrapping. Maybe I should chuck the whole darn thing and start over.

So what do you do to combat doubt? I keep writing. I skip scenes that aren’t working to work on a scene where the words are coming fast and furious. I type things I know I’m not saying write but also know I can change later if I get the general gist down. I keep myself accountable by posting my word counts each day. I reach out to my critique buddies and writer friends when only a kick in the pants or a good brainstorming session will do. I make revision notes while they are fresh in my mind and plan out how I will address them. And I pray. A LOT.

Your two cents: How do you deal with doubt, in writing or any area of life?

Writing Wednesday: The Whole She-Bang!

Bernardo Velasco–my hero inspiration for Always the Last to Know

As many of you already know, I was one of the thirty people lucky enough to move on to stage 3, the final stage, in the Blurb to Book contest sponsored by Harlequin’s Love Inspired line editors. To say that I’m gobsmacked and “chuffed” as my friends across the pond say is an understatement. To say that I’m terrified of messing up such a golden opportunity also goes without saying. When I entered, I had a vague notion that this could lead to “the call,” but that seemed ludicrous since I hadn’t made it past the first stage of a contest before (though I came close with the Valerie Parv Award contest). My only conscious goal was to make stage 2 and get that most precious and rare golden egg in publishing–feedback. I knew no matter what, if I made stage 2, I’d finally know what’s not working. So when stage 3 was announced and Always the Last to Know was there, yes, chuffed, gobsmacked, deliriously happy…but also paralyzed with fear and petrified off “stuffing up” a golden opportunity. I should also mention here that while I’m a zealous writer, I’ve only finished *mumbles*…fine…I’ve only finished one manuscript before. So now I’ve got to finish my second manuscript in about two months. How am I going to get from a proposal to the whole shebang?

*Synopsis. The best thing about submitting a proposal was the synopsis. (You will never hear me say THAT again, so take a screenshot of this). It forced me to think about the story as a whole and come up with a framework for the story. I now have more than a vague notion of where I’m going. I know what the black moment is and how it’s resolved. Now I just have to write it.

*Feedback. That promised feedback? It. Was. GOLDEN. The editors zeroed in on a few things for me to consider going forward that have already made the story much stronger. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to address everything in the feedback, but the suggestions flow well with the story and there aren’t many of them. I know I can use what the editors said to make the story better. And the editors also pop in on the boards to answer questions.

* The Harlequin Boards. Speaking of the boards, there has been a craft discussion on motivation that I’ve gotten a lot of useful information out of, and there’s a back to basics bootcamp coming up through the SOLD! blog. Harlequin has a lot of resources for writers to help us write our best books, and I’m going to utilize them.

*My awesome co-workers/resources. I’ve already tapped coworkers for baby knowledge and advice on all the legal stuff I need to incorporate in this story, and everyone is still willing to be pumped for information.

*Writing routine. The way I completed my other romance was simple: I wrote in the morning, I edited at lunch (and maybe added some words if I was in the zone) and reread the previous days work in the morning before going at it again. I made no major revisions during the first draft. I had fun with the story. I tried not to worry too much about what I was putting on the page in the morning so long as I got something on the page. When I finished the first draft, I read it through once like a reader and just made notes. The second time through I revise. If I was successful using this approach, I can be successful using it again. Right? Right!

*Critique Buddies. Having someone to send pages to and get an honest opinion is something I don’t take for granted. Turning over my writing daily to a co-worker was a big part of what made me accountable during the writing of DJ. Not only that, but it made it fun. Seeing how invested someone was in the story and the characters was great motivation to finish the story (and start the next one).

Lastly,

*the story. This is a story I really want to tell, and I feel like I’m at a place in life where I can tell it. There’s just something about this fictitious town and its cast of characters that has just grown on me. I have a few of the other stories started on my computer, and I will finish them, even if I don’t sell Always the Last to Know. I’m writing the kind of stories I want to read, with characters I care about. I want other people to get to read these stories, too. They can’t do that if they remain buried on my hard drive. As I’ve said repeatedly, I’ve never had an opportunity like this before; far be it from me to waste it being too scared to try.

What tricks and tips do you have for writing until you reach The End? Share your advice and stories in the comments section.