Yeah, I'm a fangirl.

Last Saturday I attended a book signing at Murder by the Book for Hank Phillippi Ryan. Her new hardcover release, THE OTHER WOMAN, has gotten wonderful reviews and made several bestseller lists, but that’s not why I was there. I wanted to meet her because she has been so generous with her encouragement over the past few years after reading my entry in NWHRWA’s Lone Star contest.

For “civilians”—non-writers who have never entered a writing contest—let me clue you in here. Contest judges can be kind, helpful, constructive, encouraging and on occasion make a suggestion that takes the writing to a whole new level. Other judges can be picky, petty, hurtful and even downright nasty in their criticism. Unfortunately, my entry had gotten a more than its share of the latter in previous contests and I was getting discouraged.

Then I got back the entry Hank judged. It was a hardcopy back then and I still have it. She gave it a very high score, but not a perfect one, however, it was her comments that showed she “got it.”  She said she loved my writing and would like to read the rest of the story and gave her name and contact information—very unusual for a judge. I emailed her a thank you and got a lovely reply asking me to keep in touch and let her know how the submission was going. And I have.

When I introduced myself on Saturday, Hank immediately remembered DEYROLLE, the oringal title of the story, and told me again how much she loved my writing. I admitted that it hasn’t sold yet and I was getting a bit discouraged. Her reply? “You’ll sell and one day we’ll laugh about this.” And her sincerity made me believe her.

Hank is only one of the generous authors I’ve met on this writer’s journey. In what other industry do successful professionals give their time, knowledge and friendship to newcomers trying to break in? And yet, go to any RWA meeting and published authors do just that. Like Hank, so many author friends have gone out of their way to help me along the road to publication. Extraordinary women like Sophie Jordan, Tera Lynn Childs, Colleen Thompson, Shana Galen, Dee Gist—just to name a few—have given me and so many others the encouragement and tools to follow our dreams. What a priceless gift!

Give a shout out to someone in your life who has given you a lift when you needed it! 

SHARING THE RIDE

Last evening I drove with three writer friends, Sarah Andre, Jo Anne Banker and Kay Hudson to the release party for Shana Galen’s WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND. Hosted by Katy Budget Books, it was a wonderful event with champagne, cake, chocolate dipped strawberries and goodie bags filled with signed historical paperbacks, booksmarks, “real” diamond rings, body jewels and chocolate. 

I wish I could say we arrived promptly at 6:00 when Shana began her talk, but we didn’t get there until well into the Q&A. Given we’d driven an hour and a half in rush hour traffic, our tardiness was forgiven. Why, you may ask, did we drive that far and that long on a Monday night for a book signing? Because that’s what friends do. And many of the writers I’ve met through my local RWA chapters are indeed my friends.

And we weren’t the only chapter members to show up. Sophie Jordan, Ana Walker and Nicole Flockton were also there. After the signing, Sarah, Jo Anne and I took Kay out to dinner for her birthday. Sometime in the evening we remarked that if it wasn’t for writing and RWA, the four of us would never have crossed paths, and yet we’re sharing a journey non-writers find it hard to understand. Who in her right mind spends thousands of hours, years of her life in front of a keyboard pouring her heart and soul into a stories that may never be published? Yup, we do. Who subjects themselves to harsh criticism by contest judges, agents, editors and, if we’re lucky enough to get published, reviewers in pursuit of a career? We do.

Family and civilian friends support us, but after a couple of years with no books out on the shelves, they wonder if we’re crazy, lazy or delusional about our writing ability. Our writer friends understand the piles of rejections, the early manuscripts tucked under beds, the disappointment when our agent can’t sell a story we both love. They also share the triumphs of a contest win, a “full” request, an offer of representation from an agent, a book contract, and the release of a new book and a new series. One writer friend, Pat O'Dea Rosen, even agreed to be a part of this blog! 

My writer friends and I would never have met in our real lives for a thousand different reasons (age, geography, work, lifestyle, just to name a few) and yet they have become some of the most meaningful relationships in my life. In no other profession have I experienced the generosity, the willingness to help a newcomer along, the encouragement and empathy I have with these women. To all my writer friends I say—Thank you! You’re the best!

TWO NEW RELEASES YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS!!

I’m very excited that two of my favorite authors have releases this week.

Shana Galen’s historical romance WHEN YOU GIVE A DUKE A DIAMOND,  the first in her new Jewels of the Ton series. Shana’s books are always face-paced and original, and her characters never fail to be compelling. I also find her subtle wit especially entertaining. Can’t wait to read this one. Here’s the cover blurb:

HE HAD A PERFECTLY ORDERLY LIFE...

William, the sixth Duke of Pelham, enjoys his punctual. securely structured life. Orderly and predictable—that's the way he likes it. But he's in the public eye, and the scandal sheets will make up anything to sell papers. When the gossips link him to Juliette, one of the most beautiful and celebrated courtesans in London, chaos doesn't begin to describe what happens next...

UNTIL SHE CAME ALONG...

Juliette is nicknamed the Duchess of Dalliance, and has the cream of the nobility at her beck and call. It's seriously disruptive to have the duke who's the biggest catch on the Marriage Mart scaring her other suitors away. Then she discovers William's darkest secret and decides what he needs in his life is the kind of excitement only she can provide...

 

The second book is RELENTLESS PROTECTOR by master of romantic suspense, Colleen Thompson.  Colleen’s books take the writing advice “Torture your hero early and often” to a whole new level. Her books always keep me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Here’s the blurb:

Former army ranger Cole Sawyer reacts on instinct when he sees beautiful young widow Lisa Meador pull a gun at the bank. He foils the robbery, but when Lisa screams as the real robbers take off with her son, he realizes that things aren't what they seem. Driven by a painful secret, Cole makes the split-second decision to join forces with Lisa and trail the criminals across Texas.

Haunted by his failure to save Lisa's husband in Afghanistan, Cole is determined to help her rescue her son. But he's even more determined not to give in to his growing attraction to her. As they untangle clues and face the potentially devastating loss of their quarry, they soon realize that the kidnappers' motives run deeper—and darker—than they ever expected.…

Both of these authors will be signing at West Houston RWA this Saturday and Katy Budget Books is throwing a huge release party for Shana's new series! 

Can't wait to dive into these stories! Are there any new releases you want to recommend? 

 

EXHAUSTED, ENERGIZED AND INSPIRED

Romance Writers of American National Conference in Anaheim ended Saturday night and most of us flew home on Sunday--exhausted, energized, inspired, and in some rare cases a little hungover. For me, this was a time to get away from my day-job identity and be a full time writer.

My two wonderful roommates, historical author Shana Galen and YA author Tera Lynn Childs, both had book deadlines looming (okay, Tera’s was stalking and ready to pounce) and needed to spend time working during the conference. Nevertheless, they took the time to attend workshops, greet readers, participate in signings and meet with their agents and editors. And we all did a bit of partying, especially at the Saturday night awards ceremony where we cheered on our friends and favorite authors.

What impresses me most about RWA is the generosity of published authors in helping those of us still on the journey to publication. These women—for almost all of them are women—share their knowledge through workshops on craft, career and the business of publishing. No other group in this industry or any other I know of offers the kind of in depth support and education for a newcomer who wants to learn the ropes. Seeing the hopeful faces of the people in line for agent and editor appointments, I remembered the nervous terror of my first pitch several years ago (a semi-disaster kindly endured by an agent who sent my partial a gentle pass letter) and was grateful to have passed that milestone in signing with my wonderful agent, Becca.

There’s always gossip, of course--who signed with whom, new imprints and e-publishers, what editors have moved/retired/been promoted, movie deals and encounters of the fangirl variety. There’s always some book buzz—this year’s star seemed to be the suspenseful GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn so I downloaded it in the airport. The first few pages grabbed me but since I couldn’t read on my Kindle during takeoff, I opened THE TAKER by Alma Katsu  (it was in our goodie bag) and have been engrossed in it since. Alma presented a workshop I attended on making unlikable characters sympathetic—she did exactly what she was talking about in her book and I was hooked.

Kay Hudson, Sarah Andre & Dee Gist

As for the awards fete—once again it was a sparkling evening. Imagine a room full of a couple thousand women dressed to the nines in formal and cocktail attire waiting to hear whether they or their friends would go home with a Golden Heart or Rita. (According to Keiran Kramer's FB posts, five woman wore the exact same dress!!) Even the yummy desserts were overlooked in the excitement.

There were plenty of nominees and finalists from West Houston to cheer as their names were announced. Tera (previous Rita winner) presented the Best First Book Rita to one of my favorite authors, Darynda Jones for her debut FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT. And nobody was surprised when J. D. Robb took the suspense Rita.  Here’s a list of all the winners…check it out!

It was an inspiring, fun-filled week--seeing old friends and making new. And now it’s time to apply what I learned, get back to finishing my almost complete WIP and get it to my agent to send out in the world, knowing I’m not on this journey alone.

Anyone want to share you conference experiences, remark on past conferences or just comment about anything writing related in general?

RWA 2012 - Thursday Report

Live from Anaheim

I'm at RWA, sitting in my hotel room listening to Sophie Jordan and Tera Lynn Childs talk about their presentation on writing YA trilogies tomorrow. This is such a marvelous conference--so many talented writers, agents and editors in one place!

I'll admit, I have fangirl moments. Today I was trying to ride the elevator to the 30th floor, only to stop at the 17th where Nora Roberts and friends got on. Her friend asked if I was just riding the elevator. I told her I was looking for room 3042 and La Nora in her gravelly voice told me, "Too bad. There are only seventeen floors, dear." And then she and her posse proceeded to good-naturedly bust my chops all the way to the lobby. Loved it!!!

So that's my celeb story so far. Then there was the vodka party, my agency luncheon with some wonderful writers, and inspiring workshops with Shana Galen, Sophie Jordan and Dee Gist, and others. All in all a great day in Anaheim.

Wish you were here!

If you could hang with any living author who would it be?

Share the Blog Love

Months ago, fiction writer/blogger Sally Driscoll honored me with the Liebster Award. Although I was thrilled, I was afraid it came with tough-to-follow rules like tell ten deep, dark secrets on your blog, write twelve pages of fan fiction about a character in your work-in-progress, and rearrange your writing space according to feng shui principles. I should have trusted Sally. When I looked up the award's background, I found it's given to bloggers who inspired the giver in some way and who have fewer than 200 followers. Liebster comes from the German word meaning "beloved, dearest, or favorite." Danke, Sally!

Here are the only rules I found:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you and thank them.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers that you appreciate and value.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have received this award.

In other words, the award is a way for me to alert others to blogs I find meaningful Since many blogs speak to me, the 200-followers stipulation came in handy. I was able to rule out blogs that post total numbers of followers. The blogs I cite here may have many more than 200 followers but don't post numbers, or only post numbers of e-mail subscribers. I'm happy to play dumb.

By the way, even small blogs like this one have long reaches. Lark Howard's post on her visit to Lourdes, France has been viewed more than 2000 times.

My first two Liebster nominees are fellow members of RWA's Women's Fiction Chapter

Florence Fois grew up, raised a family, and worked in NYC. Her blog, FoIS in the City celebrates
the food, landmarks, street games, and people of the five boroughs.

Rosemary DiBattista is a Jersey Girl with a love of Shakespeare, good food, and the shore. Murder Marinara, the first in her Casa Lido mystery series, will be published by Penguin/NAL in early 2014.

Eden Mabee recently joined my WANA group. WANA stands for We Are Not Alone. The acronym has nothing to do with Roswell or alien sightings; it expresses social-media expert Kristen Lamb's view that writers must band together to help one another promote blogs/market books/encourage creativity. Eden's blog, Many Worlds from Many Minds, offers musings on writing, motherhood, and other topics as well as snippets from Eden's older works.

Reetta Raitanen has been an important part of my WANA group from the beginning, but she took her sweet time launching her blog. (One look at it, and you'll know why; she's a perfectionist.) The Dark Side Has Chocolate offers lots of links for writers as well as posts on whatever captures Reetta's fantasy/urban fantasy-loving heart. By the way, she's a Finn but blogs in English. Impressive, huh?

Sally Driscoll, who set this Liebster Award post in motion, recently published two short stories, Sleep and Rage, in a genre she dubs "Mommy Noir." I find that term evocative--and it reminds me of the dark moments I experienced when raising my kids. Alas, mommy-blogs didn't exist then, and I could have used the virtual support, laughs, and wisdom.

My fifth nomination for the Liebster Award goes to a group of young writer moms, including Houston's own Shana Galen, who blog at Peanut Butter on the Keyboard. They tackle a range of topics with humor, honesty and smarts. How I wish that blog had been around in the 80's.

I hope you enjoy reading the blogs of my Liebster nominees, and I hope they don't wait as long as I did to share the love. Thanks, again, Sally!

MAKING HEADWAY--WRITE OR DIE!

A couple years ago one of my favorite historical romance writers, Shana Galen, talked at a WestHouston RWA  meeting about the writing life and making it work. She mentioned a writing productivity application from Dr. Wicked called WRITE OR DIE that forces you to write by providing consequences for distraction and procrastination. In short, slow down or stop typing and screen turns red and your computer starts yelling and making rude noises at you. 

I love this software! Not everyone does. 

At one time I was national marketing director for commercial architecture and interior design firms.  Much of my job was generating multiple, complex proposals on very short deadlines. Simultaneously. Without adequate staff. Many a night I cranked out page after page of persuasive prose in the interest of landing highly competitive, multi-million dollar contracts projects. I learned a secret about myself—I’m at my most creative late at night and under intense pressure. During the day with plenty of time  think, re-think, strategize and consider, I could produce a darn good product. Eleven o’clock at night with one day left to Fed-Ex that sucker off—my mind came alive and the results were brilliant. Those were the times, we rarely lost. 

I’ve tried to analyze why turning to WRITE OR DIE works for me. Most of the time I’m a fairly slow writer, considering every word and sentence, every nuance of character and scene as I go. As soon as I click the Write icon on the WRITE OR DIE screen, my conscious brain checks out in protest and my subconscious kicks in. Words pour out, stampeding in typo-ridden lines across the screen to keep the dreaded shift to red at bay. Every time the flow falters, panic inspires a desperate effort to drive on and up my game. Another twist, a hook, a character rebellion that proves my subconscious does indeed have a clue about how this writing thing works. And when the time is finally up or my word goal achieved, I cut and paste the lines into the WIP and begin to edit. 

Oddly enough, most of this writing is surprising good. Editing is required, but not as much as I’d expect. And if I’m stuck, WRITE OR DIE is always the kick my butt needs to get back on track. Maybe NaNoWriMo works the same way for some people. I’ve never had the time or motivation to attempt the grueling schedule, nor could I sustain the pace over so many weeks. Instead, I love the adrenaline rush of kamikaze writing one productive hour at a time. 

When are you your most creative? Do you have any tools or secrets that take your writing to a next level?