A Good Critique Partner (CP)

So, this is not the first post I am writing about my awesome CP. After her last bout of awesomeness I decided we too have reached a level where we can actually tell people what it takes to have a good CP and be one.
I know as writers, we have "thick skin", but sometimes I wonder how thick our skin really is? Can we truly say we don't get a moment of self doubt (if not worse) when we get a rejection slip? A CP is supposed to be the next best thing we have to an editor, so why don't we always take their word as gospel truth?
There are two kinds of relationship you can have with a CP
Uber Professional - Here you are guided by rules, monthly or weekly meetings. The advantage here is you are more productive and structured  as a writer.
Uber buddies - Mostly anything goes, but you still get the job done. This is where I fall into. I dont have that 'the sky is falling' attitude in life, so it is very difficult for me to apply rules to something I consider fun and joy.
Somewhere in between - I bet most people fall in this category, it actually makes the most sense to me.

Now here is my argument for why being uber buddies with my CP works for me. It is easier to take criticism from a friend than anybody else. If I do a crit for anyone I find myself apologizing profusedly the first time in case I come across as condescending.
I can actually be snarky in my crit and she would know I am just kidding. She knows my weaknesses, and better yet we chat almost everyday. It's like we were made for each other in literary heaven.
Enough about me tho' what kind of CP works best for you. As usual, I always want to know what it's like on the other side.

xoxo

Joanna

Oh Embrace, How I love thee

Notice how I am skipping all of the sorry I've been away, thank you all for checking up on me, and am glad to be back? It's because I am so ecstatic about Embrace Books or Jane Holland to be specific. Most of you know I have been away for health reasons but the one thing I promised not to give up was my writing.

A couple of weeks ago I finished a baby I worked really hard on (I plotted). After two bouts of critiquing and heavy rehauling, I sent my top aces baby to Embrace Books.

Now here comes the good part I got feedback in an hour, actually it was 52 minutes – it took me 8 minutes to face my fear of rejection and open it.

I wish I could paste the email for you all to see. The editor – Jane Holland read it and liked, she thinks my writing is edgy, ME!

If you really want to know why I am so overwhelmed, go to her website and read her resume, she is all that and then some more.

Anyways she did point out something I knew I sucked at – Punctuation and Sentence Structure. When I saw that, I did a face-palm because I knew that was my weakness and I worked really hard on it.

Now this is how amazing she is, she went ahead to give me examples of what I did wrong and how I could fix them. I was really humbled by her email.

So guess what I am doing now? I have bought three no, four books The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, Eats, Leaves and Shoots by Lynne Truss, Woe is I by Cant remember the author's name and What a Westmoreland wants by Brenda Jackson.

I am hoping to learn from these books; Jane said I could study how other authors did it too so I am just going to be soaking up stuff. My amazing CP is reading Strunk and White with me. She is too amazing for words and is explaining stuff to me. Some awesome people from our blogging community have also offered to do some punctuation and sentence structure crits for me. I am so close to realizing my dream that I am taking all and any help I can get.

I also will share what I learn in my books in my blog posts in case there is someone out there who can learn something through me.

What have I learned from all of this? It is not enough to have talent or book ideas. You also have to work hard to hone your craft if you intend to make a career out of this. Watch out for the part two of my story, I am determined to get "the call" this year.



Xoxo

Joanna

Let the Characters Talk

Since I am vying for the horrible blogger of the new year award I decided to pull out one of the five writerly posts I have in my head and appease you all with it.
On a lighter note tho' I got the inspiration for this blog post yesterday. here we go

I am a control Freak, I have not learnt how to let my muse inspire me, and I definitely don't let my characters lead the way even tho' I am el Pantser Supremo.

In my current WIP my hero is Latino and yes I was inspired by Charlie Sheen and Enrique Iglesias, in a bid to make him into a character I really liked I was going to make him talk like George Lopez and use his popular catch phrases like es ta loca? or que la (pardon my spelling) but my hero staunchly refused to speak a word of spanish, everytime I went down that route, my brain froze up.

I eventually let him be and just wrote whatever et voila my latino hero showed me himself, he was raised in America, in the social security system and adopted by numerous families; the only time he speaks spanish is when he is in bed with his lady love and no he does not say te quiero or te amo he just calls her chica - if he ever has kids with her he would totally call their son mijo.

I like that! am cool with that! I know him inside out and I am pleased to be working with him since he looks like my longterm crush - Enrique Iglesias; but even better he so tattles on the heroine, he told me she is always on the defensive and she is disgusted by abused women- she thinks they are weak (this is a big flaw we might not be able to get over, but he is working on her).

Here is my advice for letting your characters do their own talking and not be influenced by your idea of who you think they are

oh la la!

1. When the words are not flowing easily to your fingertips that could be an indicator that you need to switch POVs or are not being true to your characters
2. It does not hurt to stare at images of Enrique Iglesias or Johnny Depp for a long time
3. The minute something unplanned for comes up, go with the flow and then take some time out to see how that could mesh with your preconceived ideas or original storyline.
4. Learn to fall in love with your characters, that way you would still be able to write them in a good light when they throw you a curve ball.
5.  Maybe because my deadlines are self imposed, I don't write like my stories have to be published so if my true to himself hero starts to look highly unpopular I chalk it down as a writing exercise and move on.
6. don't forget if all else fails go back and  repeat #2 over and over again, it has been tried tested and true.

xoxo
Joanna

The Rebel in Me

This writer can be a really nice girl when she sets out to be but just like the little girl with the curl in that nursery rhyme(I think I have a cowlick) I can also be very horrid.

By the way, lest i forget yesterday's story was pretty much Fact I left out most of the details tho'.
I am a natural rebel, i think I have been singing Bob Marley songs since I was born and now I like Muse (see the connection?) I won't tell you about how i flunked a grade in high school just to rebel or how I dropped all languages from my curriculum or switched majors after getting the best grade in my class just to irk my poor dad.

What I would like to tell you is that I am a rebel and I know there are a lot of you like me out there (if you are still in denial its okay too). I understand that rules, guidelines and all those do's and don'ts are really helpful but I still cannot help kicking against them when I see them. (I shall leave people like Jennifer Lane to analyze this behaviour)

I really appreciate someone telling me the do's and don'ts of twitter or blogging or anything else but at the same time the rebel in me says "so what? if  I don't follow your do's and don'ts will I be kicked out of your exclusive club?"

Some days i feel like yelling this is my blog - it says my name on it and I will pretty much do what i want - rules spoil all the fun right? dont tell me to put an excerpt of my work up; I don't want to be laughed into oblivion and don't tell me I have to post my blog schedule because I don't have one and I am not convinced it makes a difference.

And just to contradict myself in the folly of today's post you tell me your fave rule that is a no bender or breaker for you - here is mine. Learn the rules then break them

xoxo
Joanna
and I swear this is not a rant

Chances are

I am so excited I am writing this post and scheduling it a whole 8 hours b4 it goes live - I am all grown up! there might just be hope for me after all.

I am hanging out at the inlaws till the hubs gets back from this new round of travelling, problem is there are so many kids running up and down i cannot even hear myself think on the plus side tho' grabby toddler gets to hang out with his cousins and i can take him to childrens shows, the library and watch yo gabba gabba.

Okay so back to my post of the day Chances are .....
as helpful as the blogging community might be there might still be scammers amongst us (did I just hear you say duh? u are such a smart cookie)
There are loads of services being offered to help us writers online, and I won't really go into great detail about those services, but please please look before you leap.
Do your research! talk to your bloggy friends about their experiences, find out about their qualifications, ask them a billion questions and best of all follow your instinct.
Good Luck me hearties and if all else fails ask Writers Beware.

am off to send out a million batches of questions to some amazing folks, tomorrow I'll talk about google alert - it has me intrigued.

xoxo
Joanna

Pamper the Writer in you

Hello My Lovelies

Can you tell am awfully chirpy this morning?
I have had a week or more of bad news rolling in, you know how everything just seems to pile up on top of you when you are down? Well am over it now and the writer in me survived too, I am ready to start blog stalking too.
I could not take myself to a Spa or even a Cafe for some solitude, because lets face it when you have a child or even a pet they hardly understand the words "Mummy needs to take a time out now". So what I did was just give in and let my brain take a vacation (Sad I know), every night I made sure I wrote 50 words - 50 words that were sometimes spread over 2 WIPs, 50 words my mind told me was the worst thing ever written - a monkey with a typewriter could do a better job, but I still wrote something every night.

I had a rewrite for a chapter that I desperately wanted to send to the Harlequin fast track thingie but I just could not bring myself to do it. Now you know that thing inside every writer that just does not make you give up? it yelled at me yesterday. So after getting the toddler fed, cleaned and watered I cranked out 17 new pages in addition to my original one page, cranked out another 2 paged synopsis and sent it off to Harlequin with just 4 minutes to spare.

For once I did not feel like it was crap (it could still be to the editors) but the fact is - I DID IT! and I feel proud of myself, I got my mojo back and if you are in the dumps (blame the weather) you can get out of it too okay? just grab yourself a cup of coffee and tell yourself it will work out in the end - No Worries!

XOXO
Jo

The Five Oaks Gazette and a Worthy Cause

FIVE OAK’S GAZETTE

Author’s Choose Five Oaks!

By Paige Kenyon

There’s been some strange and exciting goings on in Five Oaks recently—not one, but four authors have based their Christmas stories in our fine town. And to find out just why these ladies selected Five Oaks, today I’m sitting down with two of those authors: Nina Croft and R.M. Gilbert, to ask them what brought them so far from home this Christmas.

Nina and R.M. have also agreed to answer questions submitted by the good people of our community. But first, one from me.

Q: I know you come from all over the world, so can you tell me how you came together to write the anthology?

Nina: We’re all part of a fabulous online critique group, Passionate Critters (PC) , which gave us the name of the anthology: A Passionate Christmas. I’ve been a member for a year now and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made as a writer!

R.M: Ditto.

Q: The next question comes from my editor Larry Follock. He wondered how the idea for this series got started? And when.

R.M: Back in May of this year one of our fellow critters, Stephanie Taylor suggested we get together and write an anthology of Christmas stories.

Nina: We all loved the idea. That was followed by a few weeks of frenzied activity, where lots of us signed up, the town of Five Oaks was born and a whole load of characters and places came to life.

Q: A question from Maddy Glover, who recently returned from the big city.  So what appealed to you about Five Oaks? Why not New York, or Paris or, or well…anywhere?

Nina: Passionate Critters has members from all around the world, England, Germany, Finland, but the majority are American, and so it seemed natural to base Five Oaks in America. Silke came up with the name Five Oaks, also affectionately known as Five Stumps by the locals because… Well you’ll have to read Silke’s story, Smitten, to find out why.

Q: This next question was sent in by our very own Dr. Ash Delaney. He would like to know, at what point during the process did you want to burn the town to the ground?

RM: For me, the second I signed on I was beating my head against the wall. I’m not a short story teller. This book ended at approx. 23k words (though my original submission was only 15). It was the first book I’ve written under 90k. Yikes.

Nina: My urges towards arson didn’t really begin until close to the end of the process. I really enjoyed writing the story.  

Q: What was it like coordinating your stories with women who are in different countries?

RM: Since we couldn’t sit at a table together. Most of it happened within the group forums, e-mail and skype.  It was very difficult. No lie, there were times we were ready to pull our hair out. And each others.

Nina: Yeah—that’s about the time I started dreaming about fires.

Q: Is it safe to say you’re all still friends?

Nina: Definitely still friends!

Q: Our final question was sent in by a reader who asked to be called Dina, (though she looks a lot like Edna Carruthers to me). She wondered how you finished the stories on a time crunch and what’s next?

RM: Love this question. If it hadn’t been for my sister, Rebekah L Purdy taking me away for a few days, I never would have finished. (She too, is a writer and will celebrate her first release with Astraea Press in February).  As for what’s next, we’ll promo together. But I also write young adult fiction and will focus my efforts on submitting my current WIP in the next couple months.

Nina: I think because we were writing an anthology and were all relying on each other to do our bits, we had to just sit down and finish. None of us wanted to let the others down, and that’s a big motivation. As to what’s next—for me lots of witches and warlocks, there’s a werewolf waiting to come out, and of course a few vampires in the mix.

Q: Sounds like you’ll both be busy. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Nina: Only that we’ve joined together with Decadent Publishing to support the American Cancer Society in the Relay For Life.

RM: You can find the Decadent Team HERE.

I’ll be sure to check that out and donate. And from the people of Five Oaks I want to thank the ladies for sitting down with me. If anyone would like to know more about Nina and R.M. then pop over to their sites.

Nina Croft         R.M.Gilbert

           

Find Smitten by: Silke Juppenlatz, Snowy Encounters by: Clarissa Yip, as well as Nina’s and RM’s books at Decadent Publishing!

The floor is yours

Every Writer has a different path, to publication, every writer has a slightly different method to writing and every writer has a different voice.
Right now for reasons best known to me I am a bumble through to success kinda writer, and if there is anything you already know about me now - it is that I might try new things and I am never satisfied with my present writing skills. I know my own voice, I don't try to write like Nora Roberts or India Grey but I know there is always room for improvement.
So tell me good people of Bloggyland what do you do to improve your writing skills? Read Novels? Read writing books? attend online classes? join a writer's group? write everyday?

I got a copy of The Society Wife from India Grey
it was signed
To Joanna
with love from India
xoxo

call me a sap but I liked it, because she is one of those few authors who genuinely interacts with me online, so I believed her.

Interrogation Room and giveaways

I have been sitting on this suspect since October and it has not been easy. I finally got her to crack and tell me her name - She is none other than Michele Hauf, the woman editors have been indicating as the whodunnit in the paranormal world. She has signed her confession on a couple of books, which I shall pass on to you for your perusal. Michele has been writing for 19 years, France, musketeers, vampires and faeries populate her stories. And if she followed the adage 'write what you know', all her stories would have snow in them. Fortunately, she steps beyond her comfort zone and writes about countries she has never visited and of creatures she has never seen.

Joanna: Why did you choose the paranormal route?
Michele: I don't think it was a decision, it just happened.  The first book I wrote was a vampire romance (Dark Rapture '97), and I had just seen the remake of Dark Shadows starring Ben Cross, and it occurred to me that a vampire could be a romantic figure.  The next thing I know, I had a story in mind, and started to explore that.  And now I write paranormal because non-paranormal just doesn't feel as interesting to me.  I need that added weirdness.  :-) 

Joanna: How do you decide what works for you when you are examining your legends(otherworldlies)?
Michelle: I start with the basics, like with vampires: they must have fangs, must drink human blood, etc., and then I alter some of the mythology to suit my needs and also make up my own stuff.  I like that vampires are hurt by holy objects, but decided in my world that if the vampire has never been baptized then holy objects have no effect on him.  I think I created the 'shimmer', which is what occurs when two vampires touch.  A shimmery sort of feeling, which is the only way they know they have touched a vampire (unless of course, they see fangs).  And I do like that a vampire must drink from a human to survive, as opposed to bags of blood (which would have no soul).  I need that dilemma of having to use human life to survive.

Joanna: How dark would you go with a paranormal so as not to alienate the fainthearted?

Michele: I think I get pretty dark, but on a scale of 1 - 10 I'm probably about a 7.  I've read some paranormal romances that go all the way to 10 and it puts me off.  You lose the romance.  Yes, we're dealing with paranormal creatures who do not follow human rules and may be accustomed to committing vulgar acts, but these are romances, so I keep that in mind when writing.
 
Joanna: Are you all for the good guy vampire or the dangerous vampire who wont change his nature but falls in love all the same?
Michele: I'm not sure what a good guy vampire is?  To me that might be the kind who refuses to drink human blood, and that sort of turns me off.  I like my heroes to have a quality of danger about them, and that danger must be tied to their survival.  And I really love it when the bad boy doesn't want to change his nature, yet love softens him a bit.

Joanna: What are you thoughts on the sudden influx of paranormal romance authors on the scene lately?

Michele: Well, paranormal is hot right now, and it is what editors are buying.  I think a lot of authors who have always wanted to write paranormal, now have their chance.  Others, who are just jumping on the bandwagon, hmm...   But I hope the quantity of paranormal reading choices remains.  I love that my favorite genre is finally so hot!  More choices for me when I go to the bookstore! 

Joanna: Does writing ever get any easier, once you have had some experience?
Michele: You would think it would, but some days it just feels impossible.  Every story can be easy and hard.  When you have the initial idea and start to draft out the story and everything is new, it's like love when you are under the influence of romance and the whole world is right.  But after working on one project for months and reading over the chapters again and again, it is bound to get a little boring, and maybe even difficult.  Most of my books go through that stage, and I tend to forget, that after the difficult part usually comes the 'falling in love' stage again.  (Hmm, can you tell I'm in the 'difficult' stage of a story right now?)  :-)  What is easy is you learn your process over the years and how you do research and you don't stumble over trying to develop a system because you've got it down.

Joanna: Any advice on handling book reviews?

Michele: Well, there's good reviews and bad reviews.  Some reviewers really know what they are doing, and whether or not they liked the book, they can succinctly synopsize it and explain to the reader exactly what appeals (or didn't appeal) to them.  Other reviewers, it seems, just want to let others know they hated the story, and because they did, you should too.  As a writer, I know not everyone is going to like what I write, and wouldn't that be weird if everyone did?  I think the most interesting books are the ones that reviewers both love and hate, with very little middle ground.  That book caused some very strong feelings, one way or another, so how cool is that?  Much better than getting mushy, middle of the scale reviews, I'd say.
 
Joanna: What advice would you give the up and comers like me?
Michele: Is that writers hoping to become published?  Write.  Every day.  Read, watch movies, do creative things to keep your creativity sparked.  Always write.  Hone your craft by reading 'how to write' books (I still do).  Go to workshops and listen to how other writers do it, then take away from it what works for you, and ignore what you know won't work for you.  Learn the 'rules', then break the rules.  Again, write.




Now check out this really cool place, its called Club Scarlet and its where Michele's otherworldlies go to hang out - you can hang out with them too (but you have to be careful).



Michele will be giving out 2 of her books SEDUCING THE VAMPIRE and ROGUE ANGEL: THE BONE CONJURER to one winner (international), if you are like me and love paranormal stories or would like to give the genre a try leave a "me please" comment and you will be in the running - winners will be announced next week and the winners of my Five Oaks giveaway will be announced tomorrow.



The Ninja Vampire's Girl - out now
Coco Stevens was looking for an angel's halo to help out her sister, who is a muse. She found the halo, and an angry angel—and a sexy man weilding a deadly blade and make-her-weak-in-the-knees kisses. He may not exactly be what she thinks he is, but he's got the ninja moves—and fangs.

Seducing The Vampire - out in January
He was mesmerizing, a vampire like none other...but the fire between Viviane LaMourette and Rhys Hawkes would begin a centuries-long clash between two powerful vampire brothers.

In Marie Antoinette's Paris, the beautiful vampire Viviane seeks a male patron who will allow her to live on her own terms. Courted by two feuding brothers, Viviane succumbs to the handsome rebel, Rhys. She's unaware that Rhys has other, darker, motives. He seeks vengeance against his brother, Constantine—by stealing Viviane and tainting her with his blood.

But just as Rhys is realizing the depth of his love for Viviane, his brother take his revenge. By casting a spell on the woman they both desire, he condemns her to a living death inside a glass coffin.

Two centuries later, Rhys hears the urban legend of the Vampire Snow White, imprisoned deep in the tunnels under Paris. He must find her and set her free, but will he be able to save her from the evil still intent on destroying them?

Rules for Anthology

If I can't read my christmas stories at christmas time then I don't feel like a happy bunny. I love today's post so much, I wish I had written it. Let me introduce you to the Evil Overlord better known as Silke Juppenlatz on book covers. All I did was ask her for tips on how to write an anthology and do it internationally nonetheless, the following genius tips are her idea.

Evil Overlord Rules for Anthology Writers

Way back in May, someone said "Let's write a Christmas Anthology."
Uh-huh. You know what they say about all the best laid plans, right?
Since then, my life has been in turmoil and I have found myself cast in the role of:

Evil Anthology Overlord

*cackles madly, strokes bald cat and tries to control the twitch in her right eye* 

Naturally, there are rules your minions have to adhere to. Virtual bloodshed isn't pretty, so make the minions behave themselves. (I know it's difficult, but try. Buy a whip, if required.)
I have accomplished my goal. The anthology stories are out. Mission accomplished.
It is time to train my successors, whoever they may be. I shall share the steps with you.

1. Allow your minions to brainstorm wildly. It makes them feel like you're not watching.
2. Encourage cross pollination and ignore genres. Tell everyone "It will work out in the end." (Do this without cackling, or they get suspicious.)
3. Steal someone's secondary character and make it your heroine. It ensures chaos across the board, in someone else's story. Perfect.
4. Let your minions slack for several months. Don't mention time is passing and they should be writing. (The longer you leave it, the greater the panic.)
5. When the deadline looms large in the window—ask how everyone is doing. Let them sit, simmer and procrastinate another four weeks.
6. Three months before the actual release date, raise hell. Loudly. Make them freak, realizing they don't have a story. Tie their left hand to their back, to stop those infernal paper aeroplanes hitting you in the back of the head while you're not watching. (The "One Finger Eagle Seek and Destroy" typing system works well enough, at the rate they are going.)
7. Attempt to disguise your panic as well meant encouragement, when nothing happens. Chastise the minion who untangled the rope for throwing paper aeroplanes at fellow incapacitated minions. They should be writing, dammit.
8. Panic. Threaten everyone with sharpened pencils (red, to camoflage the blood when you stab them with it.) until they install Skype. Congregate there every night. Send Skype conference call requests if they happen to fall asleep on the job. BURN all paper aeroplanes.
9. Start writing. Change entire plotlines affecting others, just for the fun of it. Do it at the last minute. They can handle it.
10. Keep them awake until at least 3am to ensure compliance and completion. Reward with paper for building the aeroplanes, and get the HELL out of Dodge before they build bombers instead.

There you have it. Those are tried and tested steps, use them as you see fit.
Of course, once you have completed, submitted and got everything accepted, you need to change tactics.
Your new target is The Publisher. *insert evil dum-dum-dum-dummmmmmm and trumpet*

An Evil Anthology Overlord's work never ends.

You can find out for yourself if the rules worked, by checking out the following:
Smitten by Silke Juppenlatz  |   Midwinter Magic by Nina Croft
Holiday Headlines by R.M. Gilbert   |   Snowy Encounters by Clarissa Yip

I love this book cover

Smitten:Reserved and shy Jo Button is tired of being the talk of the town. Enough is enough. Time to put her plans in motion, but a mishap forces her to seek out veterinarian Ash Delaney-the one man she has always wanted.
Ex-Guardian Angel Ashriel isn't too happy when the reason for his de-haloed state shows up and requests his help. He has avoided Jo Button for ten years, and could quite happily go another ten without seeing her-until he realizes her battered reputation was his fault.
Can Ashriel save Jo, even if it means redemption is beyond his grasp, or will he lose his halo permanently along with the woman he's come to care for? 

About Silke

Silke was born in Germany and now lives in leafy Surrey(UK) with her partner.

Growing up in a house that’s older than dirt, she is used to things going bump a O'Dawn Thirty, but these days the only thing going bump after midnight is her -- attempting to navigate to the kitchen in near darkness to score another cup of coffee.

When she isn't writing, she can be found on the back of a black cob mare, getting hopelessly lost in the woods. (Apparently horses don't have GPS or homing devices.)
Although her books are predominantly about demons, angels and vampires, aliens and elves have been known to make an appearance in her WIP folder.

She likes to hear from her readers, and you can contact her via her blog: http://www.evilauthor.com

Interrogation Room with Editor/Author Clarissa Yip

I am so excited! I have decided to go nuts with exclamation points. I have an author/editor in the house and she has agreed to answer our questions all day . Its not everyday we get a willing participant in the interrogation room, so without further ado I give you Clarissa Yip and one of the finest covers I have seen in a while.
Two weeks ago I asked you to send in your questions to get Clarissa warmed up, and she did not disappoint

1. Karen: I would love to ask Clarissa, what are some of the things you look for in the opening pages to signal that you will continue to read?

Opening pages are very important. Like any story, there should always be a hook that draws the reader in in the first paragraph. Depending on who you sub to, the first page is significant as it will immediately show what a writer is capable of as an author in forms of diction, grammar, punctuation and writing ability. Usually for me though, I will read a submission from beginning to end. I find that most stories always have a rough start and an author doesn't show their true potential until after the third chapter in my experience, but I understand most pub houses are different. I always look for a strong hook and how the first page is set up based on how much white space, if there is dialogue or action. If you throw me a first page with passive voice, and I start seeing Zzzzzz, that might be an issue. I also don't like stories that start off with lots of info dumping or if the characters are looking, sighing...just doing nothing. Start the story off with a big bang, put me in the middle of the action! Draw me in! The first page does make an important first impression, so definitely brush up on those hook skills. 

2. Sondrae: I would love to ask, what one mistake is an automatic rejection for you, no matter how good the rest of the story is?

Head hopping. As much as most authors think they can pull off being someone like Nora Roberts or Julie Garwood, I can't handle the head hopping. I don't mind one or two POV changes in one scene, but if I'm hopping from one paragraph to another in different character POV's and my head is spinning to follow what's going on, I have to put the story down. And we don't want that. I wouldn't out right reject anyone if the idea or plot of the book has potential. If an author is willing to fix it, then I would definitely love to work with them, but if they believe that head hopping is a style or writer's right of expression...then I might not be so eager. LOL.

3. Michelle Teacress: Paranormal is popular now. Any idea what's coming next?

Paranormal is still kind of hot even though the whole wave is starting to slow down. I'm starting to see a lot of Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Steampunk and Space Opera. But I think the best advice would be to write what you know. If you write Paranormal, then stick with it. Throw in your own twist and make it awesome!

4. L’aussie Most of the submissions you read must fall short of the mark. Do you get a *bling blang* moment when you read a mss that has 'winner' written all over it? What would most likely rock your boat?

LOL. I've yet to find the perfect story that will sweep me off my feet or actually rock my boat. No story is perfect and it takes so many drafts and rounds of edits for any story to be at its full potential. But when I do see a story that has 'winner' written all over it, I know I'd have to have it. It becomes my baby and I want to watch it grow to it's fullest and make that best seller's list. But seriously, I've yet to see the perfect story. I don't believe such thing exists. And if I did find one that I didn't have to do any editing for, I think I'd be scared. I love all genre's of romance. I'm an emotional editor/writer. If I see one that will give me the rollercoaster ride of my life, then I'm definitely bought. Why, do you have something to show me?

5. Maria:  What would you be doing if you weren't editing for a living?

Wow, that's a good question. I've been editing for a while and studying this industry for the past few years and watching trends. I've learned so much about the e-publishing industry and it's affect. It's really interesting with the rise of so many e-publishers and the demand for digital books. If I weren't editing, I think I would be writing all day long and probably running around with my muse. I do miss writing when I'm in full editor mode. Instead of working on my own writing career, I'm helping my authors grow and become best sellers, but I seriously love it. I seriously don't know what else I would do. Maybe become a famous scrapbooker or some sort of translator. I love languages.

6. Myne: What is your opinion on POV?

Well...POV is important as any element of a story, but the only type of book that will draw me in is one that knows how to utilize Deep POV and keep me in the character's mind. I'm not a big fan of First person present, but I know a lot of writers find that to be the easiest to write. I'm seriously all about the emotions and character developments. I highly discourage head hopping and having multiple POV's in one scene. That drives me crazy. Not a big fan of narration. If you know how to use POV to your advantage, then it should truly bring out your author voice.

7. Erica & Christy: How do you feel about selling a "quiet" book with excellent writing or does everything these days needs to be HUGE HOOK/HIGH CONCEPT!!!

That is an interesting question. I think it depends on what you're aiming for and who you want to buy your story. It seriously is all about the whole plot line, characters, ideas, and how well an author can execute an idea along with how well their writing is. There's nothing wrong with a 'quiet' book as long the writing is excellent, but will the plot line, idea of the story, the layering, and characters keep the reader engrossed enough to keep turning the page? The market is competitive and so many authors use the same plots. It's how well a writer can spin their story from those old cliches and make it stand out from the rest. There seriously are so many publishers out there and if one doesn't like the whole 'quiet' book, then there will be another who will think differently. Publication is seriously so subjective.

8. Joanna: What is your writing process like? do you use Critique partners and betas like the rest of us?

My writing process? I'm a half plotter, half pantser. I get ideas when I'm driving or walking or just watching TV. Usually in forms of images and I'll stem my stories off of them. But I usually have to spend some time to get to know my characters before I can actually start writing. I have a wonderful group of critique partners. You gals should check them out. Passionate Critters. (http://www.passionatecritters.org/) I don't know what I would do without them. They've been so supportive through my whole career and they're great! I couldn't have found a better group of women to share my successes and my failures with.  I'm pretty normal as an author. I do everything like most people. I go through the same writing process, same crit process, and submission process. I seriously don't get any special treatment because I'm an editor. Maybe I'm a little better at editing my own stuff at times, but it's hard to look at your own work and not miss things.

Tell us about your book and Five Oaks

My new release is actually one of four from the anthology that was put together with a few of my other critique partners. A Passionate Christmas is dedication to our crit group and Decadent Publishing was crazy enough to take on all of us girls, but it's been a great experience for all of us. We've gone through many ups and downs together to get this anthology written and its only made our group closer. I'm sure there were times that they've wanted to strangle each other (maybe me..) a few times, but we've worked pretty well together. Definitely check it out. We have on-probation angels, assassin witches, paranormal investigators, and the normal city girl running away from home, all stories revolving around the same town of Five Oaks. I'm the only contemporary writer in this group (I claim the normal one.), but it's truly been fun.

Thank you so much for having me. If anyone has ANY questions please ask. I'll be giving away two copies of my new release, Snowy Encounters to any commenters. If you're curious about me, I'm blogging also at http://decadentpublishing.blogspot.com/ today. You can learn all my bad habits and win a copy of my book if you don't get one here. AND I'm also at http://30daysofdecadence.blogspot.com/. I stole something of Santa's and wrote him a...spiteful letter. I have prizes over there too. Yes, I'm everywhere. This was seriously fun! Thanks!

Lets put it another way

Okay so this post was inspired by Nathalie Whipple, if you missed her blog yesterday you can still go and read it today. It was all the rage yesterday because of its raw honesty and relatability.
It was not so much the post that moved (have I ever mentioned that my heart can turn to ice when I face too much emotion) , anyways while I was reading her post my heart did turn to stone to protect me from bawling and shaking in fear.
By the time I left her blog, she had 124 comments even agents were retweeting her link and I found one strong line of reasoning in all the comments she received; not all of our stories will thrill everybody.
This morning I was watching a Nelly video and I could see his new album was going to do well,  if only he could put his flopped single with Fergie on this new album it would be perfect, because I liked the song.

In a way we writers are like these singers (or entertainers), not all the books we write are going to get published or become #1 singles but each book we write does something for us, it adds to our value and knowledge, it helps us discover ourselves as writers.

Obviously since I am still a newbie writer (with a whole bunch of talent IMHO) I still tell myself all of my works have to be loved by acquisitions and marketing, I don't know what I would do if a book I spent so much time and flagging energy into did not get published.

What I do know is that whichever one of my books get published will not be my end all, the goal is to keep on writing and not be a one-trick pony, the goal is to be several stories ahead of the curve so that if one gets rejected(because the market is not right for it) I have others waiting in line while I get over my sulk or self induced hiatus.

I hope this makes sense, i did not feel qualified or experienced enough to comment on her blog but since this is chez moi I can at least tell you what ideas are running about in my head, don't get hung up on one story there are loads more waiting to be told.

P.S this post is really for me, but I hope someone else can identify with it.

Thanx for turning out for Talli yesterday she got up to #24 on Amazon UK, and tomorrow we have Editor/Author in the interrogation room, she will come prepared to answer questions from all of us, so don't miss out on this huge opportunity.

fancy going to work dressed like this?

On CPs and Plotting a story

Okay so I totally had a different blog post to do today, but last night I had one of the most amazing brainstorming sessions online with my CP who is a complete plotter.

You all remember the husband is out of time again right? so in addition to one cranky wrist, I am back to single motherdom and a child who has forgotten how to sleep in (I might have to retrain him). So here I am writing the odd 250 words on my NaNo project whenever I can, when I get this gem of an idea start to float about in my brain.
I let the idea stew a bit more, I tell myself then as per usual I would write it down in my lil idea book and continue with my loosely defined writing schedule. The first inkling I had that something was not normal was when my idea started to form in my head and the 1st person I could form was my main character - a girl and she kept on growing in my mind.
I told myself "no biggie" I just have to find her an amazing dude to compliment her, so I started thinking and I got nothing, that was when I panicked.
You see odd duck that I am, I always know my hero more than anyone else, my story always starts with him - if I had my way I would write hero's POV in the whole book, so when I could not find our hero and my heroine assured me her bi-curious stage ended long ago I knew we had big trouble.
So I turned to my CP last night and said hey when you've got a minute I need to brainstorm, I have a heroine but I can't find my Hero - she being the fuzzy scarfed saint that she is jumped on my back immediately and dragged me into Plottersville.
She asked me psychedelic questions like what are his goals, conflict and motivation and me being the prettiest bubble brain in town said Hunh?
so she asked me all about the heroine and made me know her even more, we killed her dad in the process to get her motivated and then moved on to her hero, we started with jobs, what kind of jobs will fit her goal? and even talked about Samuel Adams beer, eventually after some Richard Head jokes, he took shape in my head and he came alive.
In 3 hours I got 10 single spaced outline pages and the beginnings of a migraine yesterday (skating in plottersville was hard but fun) and we have only just scratched the surface, I love this journey and now am off to research body shots and tattoos.
Ever had a WIP change your style to suit its needs?

This is Lavasina, a beautiful Corsican town with clear waters

Short Stories Anyone

What good is a short story? and why do you read or write them?

I have read my share of tomes, I have read my share of 600 paged books, I have even read my share of 800 paged textbooks per week for a class at uni not to talk of grading seniors at the same uni, but I guess you get the point I am a reader and a fast one at that.

I love short stories, the last book I read was  mistletoe and the lost stiletto by Liz Fielding around 50k words, I finished it in 2hrs (during nap time) and if you want to quiz me on it am sure I will ace it.

Me + Books of this length = Perfect Match

As a writer we are always told to know out target audience, I am my target audience, I love to read and will probably wither if i don't read but I have no time to read. Don't worry blogger friends I will read your 800 paged book when it comes out even if I have to hire a Nanny but unless you are a blogger friend or Tim Robbins (Nora, Steph, Dan or Steven) and the like I won't buy your humongous book at the store(no offense).

Writing short stories is also good practice for writers, have you ever started a WIP just to realize it has fizzled out at chapter 3 and nothing you do will resurrect it? is that story meant to be a short, is there a magazine or publisher out there wishing they had a manuscript like the one you have abandoned? lets talk about Ether books  for a second have you heard about them? you can read more here they publish short stories - 2k words on your IPhone.
In other news today I won $10 Breathless Press gift card from Jessica Lee and a $5 Wild Rose gift card from Sally Clements - I tweeted these competitions.
Finally I got an author/editor for the interrogation room, what questions would you like to ask the editor side of her? I need suggestions.
Have a beautiful day now.

Promenade des anglais - Nice

The Pesky Writing Demons

Random thought of the day: What genre would you classify X-Men as?
Which is healthier eating a sugared donut for breakfast or skipping breakfast altogether?
Does your writing suffer at the expense of your blog?
Why do we always get distracted when we are about to write?
Why Isn't everybody raving about James Blunt new song "Stay the Night"?
and for all you Harry Potter Fans, what would you do if your cinema owner decides to make it a whole red tape and scissors affair and at nidnight he decides to cut it with his teeth?

Okay lets get serious, did you know that every single person regardless of their age, marital status or job are taxed to their individual limits. Even the hubs who has to be the most chilled out dude ever, still gets stressed.
Someone once told me when I said I am a SAHM who blogs and writes that I had an easy gig, my reply to this was a big "I dont think so" and I bet all you SAHMs would agree with me. Even celebs say they dont have it easy.
That said lets all take some time to chill out, keep our bodies healthy and face each day with a happy smile, if other people can do it, so can we.

P.S if you know the answer to my random thoughts today I will be grateful to know, its really bugging my brain.

Facing the truth

Thank you to Jessica our guest last friday, she had some pretty amazing advice didn't she? and now as picked by grabby toddler2; grabby toddler1's girlfriend and my french teacher. Here are the recipients of Jessica's book.
Liz Fichera
Lia Bal
Jami Gold
Jennifer Shirk
Kelley Vitollo

Quinn
Nas
Kath
Clarissa D
L'aussie
Please remember to send me your American adresses and email adresses - Quinn, Nas and L'aussie I have your email addresses so don't worry, Liz I have yours too (looks like the lego system works for you).

Congratulations my winners, I have learnt today that all toddlers are just grabby, they don't ever pick one at a time.
Today I shall be talking about a counter advice and facing the truth.
1. Write from the heart - I agree but just like we all know that being in love is not the only thing that makes a relationship, I also have to realize that loving to write one genre does not guarantee I can write in that genre. What do I love to write and often tries to sneak into my manuscripts even though its been banned? Paranormal romance, I have written a few and even when I picked up my pen again in June I penned a Paranormal which I sent off to Carina Press and got a big fat R in 6 weeks. I still believe my manuscript prompted Angela James to tweet about the 20 reasons why manuscripts get rejected.
I have since told my cps to hit me over the head if I ever give them a paranormal to crit for me,  at this stage in my life I simply don't have the knack for it.
I shall keep up this topic for the rest of the week, what about you? Are there any truths we need to face regardless of what we are told? or am I just a grabby toddler writer who will soon be able to write all genres that I fancy soon?