How important is a cover?

How important is a cover? I’ve seen different opinions on this – anything from it can make or break you, to it doesn’t really matter. To be honest, I’ve had really good sales with covers t hat didn’t thrill me, and absolutely awful sales with covers that I adored.

It’s really a mystery to me. I’m hoping that with my next release, my gut instinct proves to be correct, because I think the cover is gorgeous. It was designed by Marteeka Karland, who is both an author and an artist. A really good artist. She took a pose that I liked, and produced this incredible cover that conveys the substance of the book, right down to the mountains that you can see through the window in the background. Not all covers pay such amazing attention to detail.

So what do you think? Does a good cover lure you into buying the book? Does a bad cover make you keep on browsing? I know a good cover can make me pause long enough to read the back cover blurb, which might entice me to part with some hard-earned cash. In that way, a cover could be said to sell the book. I guess I’m just going to have to wait and see what happens on release day, which is May 8th. (Just in case you find the cover irresistible, LOL!)

What A Week!

WHAT A WEEK! by Maree Anderson (for Writers Gone Wild)

Y'all remember me whining about being in Synopsis Hell last week? If you don't, then feel free to click the link. Anyway, that post was a direct result of having to fill out cover and marketing info forms for From The Ashes, the space-opera I recently sold to Red Sage.

BTW, I did manage to suck it up and knuckle down, and complete the forms (full synopsis, brief synopsis, 4-sentence long summary, "About the book" blog post, "About the author" paragraph, "Red Sage author musings" etc etc. Can we all say, Whew?

Breathing a huuuuuge sigh of utter relief and slumping in my chair much?

Hell, yeah! LOL.

But would you believe that last Saturday, I got another set of CIF and CAF forms through to complete? And why, do you think, might that be?

No, I didn't stuff up the first lot! It's because.....

I sold another manuscript!

And guess what? It's the story I was referring to in my Eating Humble Pie post about plotting, a fortnight ago. (That's two weeks ago, for you non-Kiwis, LOL.)

So now I can quit with the pussy-footing 'round and tell you that Kat On A Hot Tin Roof, my first effort at pre-plotting an entire manuscript, has been contracted for Red Sage's Secrets Volume 30 anthology. I believe it's being released in December. And it'll be a dream come true in more ways that one, because not only is it Secrets (OMG, SECRETS!!!! Excuse me while I recover from the vapors) but it'll go to print.

And I was thrilled to bits and freaking beyond to learn that I'm joining our very own Wild Writer, Anne Kane! Can this get any better or what?

Not that I've overly excited or anything, but Yeeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaa!

I've literally just sent off the synopses and marketing stuff for it. Dare I say, it's getting easier? Almost too scared to mention it for fear of jinxing myself, LOL.

So now I get to relax for a bit, right?

Wrong. Because it's nearly May. And on May 1st, Let Sleeping Demons Lie is releasing, so it's promo time. Happy joy. Today has been spent Facebooking and Tweeting and checking a guest blog post for comments and generally being a cyberspace whore. You gotta love this aspect of being an author.... riiiiight, LOL.

Here's the blurb:

Naamah’s been stripped of her everything—her memories, her demonic powers, and her clothes!—and dumped in a savage wilderness. She believes she is human and has no idea that non-humans even exist—just as well, considering that she’s got a phobic fear of Lycans and the man who finds her is a Lion shape shifter!

Brennan is a Prime, that most alpha of alphas, and he has no time for demon females—not when he can crook a claw and any Lycan female he chooses will come running. Even though he suspects the woman he’s named “Kitten” is not what she appears to be, he lays claim to her body… and her heart.

When they’re ambushed by sadistic Hyenas and Brennan is severely injured, Kitten’s only chance of saving them both is to reclaim her Demonic heritage—even if it means revealing her true self and losing Brennan’s love.

Kitty vs lion.... watch the fur fly in Let Sleeping Demons Lie!

And along with all this guest blogging, there'll be plenty of chances for readers to win a copy of Let Sleeping Demons Lie. (I love putting all the names in a hat and getting my kids to draw a winning commenter!) So if you miss out on entering my website contest (which ends April 30th, BTW) and you think Let Sleeping Demons Lie might just be your cup of tea, head on over to my website and check out the list of scheduled guest blogs on the My Books page.

Currently, I'm Author Of The Day (gee, doesn't that sound good!) over at Erotic Romantic Crush Junkies, so I'd love you pop on by if you have a spare moment.

That's it from me this week.

My apologies for a link-heavy post. And my apologies for the blatant self-promotion, too. But hey, someone has to do it, right?

;-)

M

Hangin' in The Lone Star State

After weeks of pre-flight jitters, I've finally arrived safely here in Austin. I loathe flying, so even though I planned this trip a year ago, it wasn't any easier getting on board the plane.

I'm staying with my step-sister and her family for another day, then tomorrow I'm meeting up with Rhonda Penders, editor-in-chief of The Wild Rose Press, and she'll drive me down to the dude ranch outside of Bandera. We're spending the weekend at a writer's retreat there, and I get to meet my own editor so I'm really excited. She's promised to save me a trail ride, too.

We plan to visit a gun range and have a few writing workshops, but basically the weekend is about networking and getting in some quality writing time. Yay! Then on Sunday I'm leaving for L.A., where my DH and weasels will be waiting for me in Anaheim to spend the week at Disneyland. Not much writing time there, so I'd best get the lion's share done this weekend.

If they have Internet access out at the ranch I hope to post some entries on my blog, so if you're interested come by and see what's going on.

Have a great weekend!

Catching Up

Lots going on in the world of the Amazon Goddess. Unfortunately, I will not be at RT. I was so looking forward to meeting many of you and having a grand old time. I had a family emergency and was unable to go. I'll be in LA next year with bells on, though. Hugs and good wishes to all of you who do get to go.

Have you guys seen my awesome cover done by the goddess who is Anne Cain? She's amazing. I think she did a great job of capturing the essence that is Caspian. Um... is it wrong that I noticed he is totally packing? I mean, my god. And his shoes, he's very well-dressed and suave, but he looks tough and dangerous too. YUM. *squee* (Scroll below big cover)

Okay, now back down to the topic at hand. Which was... I forgot. Oh, that's it. When you finish a book after a writing binge, do you ever forget simple things, like your name? Or easy words you've known since you were four, like "cat"? Hey, go feed that...um... fuzzy thing. The one that makes me sneeze. Yeah, that one.

I've only got a finite number of words I am allowed to use in a day and I think my cutoff is somewhere around nine thousand. Anything after that and I'm a space cadet. It's much worse when I finish a novel. My brain dribbles out of my ear like steel cut Irish oats. Hey, that was a good description, maybe I'm not all used up and tired after all!

Synopis hell

Synopsis Hell by Maree Anderson (for Writers Gone Wild)

I'm in synopsis hell.

Started out with an 11 page, double-spaced synopsis. Got it down to 5 pages. Yay me.

Managed to write an okay blurb this afternoon. Yay me, again.

But now I'm trying to summarise a 56,000 word novel in 4 sentences. And I'm failing dismally.

As someone told me in an email today: "The business end of writing sucks."

Amen to that.

Anyways, here's the blurb I've come up with for FROM THE ASHES:

Calista’s a freelance space courier recovering from a disastrous marriage during which her ex tried to sell her as a slave. Sure, she’s emotionally damaged, but you should see the state of her ex! She’s also an expert pilot who can illegally reprogram and augment all manner of tech. She's been ripping off the system and flying under the radar her entire life.... Until now.

Asher’s her “cargo”, the mouthwateringly gorgeous Phoenixae alien who accidentally hatched from the egg she was transporting, and bonded with her. He’s been bred as a sex slave and he can read her mind. Which wouldn’t be so bad if 1) she didn't abhor slavery and everything it represents, 2) she wasn't horny as hell, and 3) he wasn't doubly tempting because of his extra er, male parts! Oh, and then there’s the small issue that if Asher is killed and his body burnt, he can be resurrected. He’s one hot commodity that illegals will kill to possess.

One sexually frustrated female who's risking everything to free a slave. One sexy alien slave who knows her deepest desires, feels her pain, and lives to please her in every way. A ruthless ex-husband intent on vengeance. And a sadistic Libertine noble who will do anything at all to get his hands on a Phoenixae.

From the ashes a hero will rise....

That's all from me this week, folks--back to the four-sentence summary. Sigh....

:-)

Maree
(Who is considering blowing off dancing for the 3rd week in a row, in favor of getting this bloody summary done and dusted!)

Waxing and Writing

Being a woman is awesome. Sometimes it’s also painful. Shaving, waxing, plucking. Fun stuff. Usually when I get waxed I’ll do one thing at a time. If I’m getting my eyebrows done, I won’t get my upper lip area done at the same time. It takes me long enough to psych myself up for the one area to be waxed. I don’t know why either because I’ve got a tattoo and I plan to get another one this year. The first was semi-painful but not so bad. There’s just something about hot wax on my face that freaks me out I guess.

I do the same thing when I’m writing though. I’ll psych myself out and completely avoid writing a synopsis. Anything to get out of it. Wash my car, wax my car, dust the house. Hell, I’ll even wash the dog…okay I won’t go that far. That’s the hubby’s area of expertise. When I’m finished though, and it’s edited to death, I’m usually pretty impressed that I managed to condense an entire story to somewhere between two and six pages, depending on the length of the manuscript. Just like waxing, the end result is worth the pain. Though, I still don’t think I could ever do a Brazilian wax. The thought of it makes me break out in a cold sweat. I have friends who swear by them, but uh, no thanks. That's a little too far south for wax to go.

What do you hate doing or at least dislike doing, but love the end result?

Parable of the Flying Doubt Monkeys: Part 1

Before I get started, I have a confession. I have, brace yourself now, a mascot. She's a beaver, actually, she's the Eager Beaver, Eva Amelia Pelt and she is, without a doubt the worst mascot EVER!

Gee, way to warm up the crowd, boss lady.

*Sigh* See what I mean? Normally Eva is on location, scouting out areas where I set my books.

Giving you the beaver-eye vantage point.

Right... Anyhow, now that I've almost finished Who Needs A Hero ? Eva is back at my side, with no where else to go. I mean, I can't actually drop kick her fifty years into the future for the Stellarverse, so she's here....with me.

Can we get this show on the road, already? I've got dams to inspect.

Eva, you said you'd behave.

This is me behaving.

I wish she were kidding. Anyhow, on with today's story.

Once there lived a maiden. *snort* Isn’t it always a maiden?

Knock it off, Eva.

At the day of her birth the powers that be graced her with a gift. She was bestowed with the ability to spin tales and entrance people with her vivid imagination, weaving a world with her words which brought joy and hope to those around her.

At the close of each day the maiden would sit before the grand fireplace in the tavern and wait for a crowd to form, ready to hear what adventure she had in store for them that eve. She told of battles and dragons, evil mages and true love until her golden cadence worked its way into the hearts and minds of the people, bring them comfort and much joy.

Word spread, as it always tends to do with all things miraculous, to the Lord of the land. Bored of his jugglers and fools, the great lord mounted his noble steed and rode through the driving rain to reach the tavern where the maiden told her tales. Her dulcet tones welcomed him and he was already half in love with her before even gazing upon her face. He sat with the crowd, entranced until her last word was carried away on the breeze.

As the maiden packed her belongings the nobleman approached her. “You have a great gift,” He said. “I wish to marry you so that I alone shall enjoy your stories.

Startled, she turned to face him. He was quiet handsome, but there was something in his manner which unnerved her. “I thank you for your offer, kind Sir, but my tales were meant to be shared with many.”

For weeks, the nobleman stayed in a room at the inn, neglecting his business so he could be the first in line to hear the storyteller. Every evening he repeated his offer and every evening she refused him, stating that her gift was meant to be shared. They might have gone on this way for some time but the lord was called away to attend to an urgent matter.

When he returned he found to his great rage that the maiden storyteller had married a peddler and set of to travel with her new husband throughout the land. Consumed by madness at the loss, the lord went to a witch and paid her to cast a spell upon the woman who’d spurned him for another.

“What sort of curse do you desire?” The sly witch asked.

“The worst you can imagine,” fumed the lord. “I want her to suffer, and her children and her children’s children for all of time.”

“The price is dear,” the witch cautioned. “And once it is unleashed, there is no turning back.”

“Do it,” commanded the lord.

*******

Kay, that's all for this installment, folks.

Are you kidding me? You vicious trollop! You're just gonna leave us hanging?

Don't give me any ideas, Eva.

I'm eating humble pie -- yum!

I'm Eating Humble Pie -- yum! By Maree Anderson (for Writers Gone Wild)

Hi y'all,

I'm in the throes of editor revisions (not too many -- yay!) and upping the word-count (aaargh!) for From The Ashes, the manuscript Red Sage made me an offer on. So Judith, if you're reading this: 3,500 words down and 1,500 words to go. Sure hope you're gonna like the completely new scenes I added!

Hoping to have it finished by the weekend...because I still have those CIF and CAF forms to fill in. Gee. Writing multiple synopses in various lengths, my favorite thing in the entire world!

Anyway, the pending horror of multiple synopses aside, one of Kaylea's comments after her interview with Susan Lyons, made me chuckle.

Kaylea commented, "I need a road map--a good one--before I can sit down to start a draft. I can change things as I go, but I need that initial direction to have the main things figured out. I kind of envy you pantsers, but that doesn't mean I understand you."

And yanno, I've always considered myself to be one of those incomprehensible pantsers. At least, until a couple of weeks ago.

You see, I decided that I was going to have a go at this plotting business. Loads of writers do it. I've had an agent tell me over drinks that she wouldn't be keen on representing an author who couldn't outline--how would she be able to sell a manuscript or series on proposal only? And even my lovely editor has done *insert really scary number here* page story treatments before doing any actual writing.

So there I was, dedicated pantser, staring at a blank Word page, trying to get my head around character summaries and an outline.

Painful, much?

Oh. My. God. YES! Like pulling actual teeth with a pair of fricking pliers. I want to howl and whack my head on the desk just thinking about it, LOL.

I managed a paragraph of background and basic GMC for my two main characters. And then it took me two excruciating weeks to write a scene-by-scene outline for a 55-60,000 word manuscript. I hated every single minute of that process. It was a chore--a punishment, even!--to plant my butt in that chair and open up that document every day. Did I mention how much I hated it???

But I grit my teeth and stuck with it, because I figured that one day, I might benefit from learning how to do this.

And then I got to the fun part, the actual writing. And bugger me days (as we say in New Zealand), if the heroine didn't flip me the bird and decide she wanted to be an interior decorator instead of a lawyer.

Oh come on! Don't do this to me! I mean, let's stick to the blimmin' outline, please!

Okay. Not to panic. It's not the end of the world. Just go with it.

So I did.

And then, about five-thousand words into this story, my editor asked me if I had a novella just about ready, because they might want one. Like, asap. And I thought, shit-oh-dear, what do I tell her? "Are you kidding me?" isn't exactly professional.

So I told her I might have something in the works, and since it was already fully plotted (there's that evil word again!) I might just go for it and see if the story could be scaled back and work as a novella.

Ah, what the heck, we thought. Let's go for it, Maree. And if it isn't gonna work as a shorter book, it'll soon become painfully obvious to both of us.

Two weeks later, I had a 30,000 word novella. Better still, even though I had all my usual doubts--compounded to the nth degree by thinking this story probably sucked a big freaking kumara, considering how quickly I'd managed to write the dang thing--my editor loved the story. In fact, she gave me the best feedback I could ever ask for: "I absolutely loved it. Made a bad day go by fast! And to me, the ultimate recommendation for a story is that it gets the reader through a bad day."

So, there you go. Even if this story ultimately isn't suitable, this ultimate pantser is eating humble pie. Because I truly believe that I would not have been able to write this story so quickly, if I hadn't plotted it out first. Sure, some major things changed--especially the intended word length! But I'm convinced that this plotting business has some merit. Okay, okay, a shitfuckton of merit. Happy?

BTW, that humble pie I'm eating?

It's apple. My favorite ;-)

Maree

Interview With Susan Lyons/Fox

Please welcome the incredible Susan Lyons (AKA Susan Fox), writer of toe-curling, scorching romance, and a fellow Vancouverite (woo-hoo!). Not only is Susan a fabulously talented writer, she's the most professional author I've ever met and generously gives her "spare" time to a large network of authors (published and unpublished), including the rest of us in the Greater Vancouver RWA chapter. I feel so grateful to be able to run things past her about the writing business, and she's been an invaluable help and resource. And did I mention she's freaking smart? Seriously, the woman has a law degree on top of being a multi-published author, for crying out loud.

Because she's so awesome, Susan is going to choose one lucky commenter to receive a print copy of her latest release, Love, Unexpectedly . Now without further ado, here she is.

Tell us about your new Wild Ride series.
It’s a sexy “planes, trains, automobiles, and a cruise ship” series, in which the three older Fallon sisters come home from Sydney, Montreal, and Santa Cruz for their baby sister’s wedding. Each uses a different mode of transportation, and when each sister meets a very special man, her journey turns into a wild ride to love!

Each book is mainly about the romance, but there’s also a theme about family relations. Though the Fallon sisters love each other, they aren’t the best of friends – but each learns new things about herself and about her sisters, and the bond between them strengthens throughout the series.

The first in the series, Sex Drive, is Cosmo magazine's red hot read. Tell us that story.
It’s so exciting! Publishers send their sexy romances to Cosmo, and the magazine chooses one book each month to excerpt as a “red hot read.” It’s a thrill to be chosen. I got the news when I was in Mexico, and promptly went to the bar and ordered myself a cosmo to celebrate. And just so everyone knows, Cosmo doesn’t simply copy an excerpt from the author’s book, they do a lot of rewriting, to make the scene fit their size and audience. I sort of recognize it as kind of like something I wrote. LOL. Anyhow, hopefully it will encourage some new readers to check out my books.

I'm sure it will. Now tell us, what inspired you to write Love, Unexpectedly (I'd hoped to finish it before posting this article, but due to unforeseen events--AKA kids--I'm only part way through. *hangs head in shame*)?I’ve always been intrigued by the “friends to lovers” kind of romance – where one kind of love turns into another, with a person you already like, trust, and respect.

Because I was writing a series, I already knew from Sex Drive that my next heroine would be Kat, the second sister. I knew she lived in Montreal and had a disastrous dating history. Though she longed for love and a happily ever after, she had poor judgment and luck in all her relationships. Except for one, with her best friend and neighbor, Nav Bharani. I loved the idea of writing a story where the hero’s secretly in love with the heroine, but she refuses to see his “love potential” because she’s afraid to risk the friendship.

I set Nav a real challenge in breaking out of the buddy trap and winning Kat. When she told him she was traveling to Vancouver by train, and said how exciting train travel is and how much fun it is to meet strangers, he hatched a plan. He’d reinvent himself as the sexy “stranger on the train,” a man she knew deep down was Nav but could pretend wasn’t really him, so they could explore the smoldering chemistry between them without risking their friendship.

So, Nav – who’d been the perfect friend who would feed her pizza, rub her feet, and watch an old movie with her after a crappy day – showed her a whole new side. A passionate, exciting, romantic, utterly sexy man. And she discovered that the whole package was one she couldn’t help falling in love with!

Yummy, and I love a book series that lets us follow the characters we've fallen in love with. Since inquiring minds want to know, why did you decide to become a writer, and why smokin' hot romance?
I was a drifter who studied lots of things and had different jobs but never found the thing that felt right. I was always a voracious reader of fiction, but it never occurred to me to try writing it until a friend gave me a book on writing. Once I began, I knew I’d found my special thing.

I started out writing mysteries, but realized I cared way more about the characters’ relationship than solving the crime, so naturally gravitated to romance. I like writing deep point of view, where the reader is really drawn into the heroine’s and hero’s minds and hearts. So, when they do something as intimate as kiss or make love, I don’t want to shut the reader out of what they’re thinking and feeling. Those closed bedroom doors always frustrate me. I wonder, was it tender and gentle, was it passionate and intense, did they laugh, did they cry? The way two characters relate together during their most intimate interactions reveal so much about each of their personalities and about their developing relationship.
(I hate closed doors too! I'm so glad I'm not the only one.)
As it happened, after writing a bunch of manuscripts and collecting rejections, the first book that sold was the sexiest one I’d written. And once a publisher buys one book from you, they generally want more of the same, and that’s a good thing for your career because it helps you build a name and a readership. So, that’s what I’ve been writing since I first sold in 2005.

I also love other kinds of relationships, and those are often a significant theme in my books, along with the romance. The Awesome Foursome series features four best friends, along the lines of Sex And The City, who support each other through romances, work problems, family issues, and so on. Each girl has her own book and her own romance (Champagne Rules, Hot in Here, Touch Me, She’s on Top), but all four are in every book. With my Wild Ride to Love series, as I mentioned above, sisters and family are significant themes.
(Sorry to interrupt again, but I have to mention her Awesome Foursome series is set in spectacular Vancouver--and I also want to point out that Touch Me features a meltingly-hot massage therapist hero. What can I say? I guess I'm biased.) Sorry Susan, carry on.
I love reading women’s fiction and one day I hope to be published in that genre too. In fact, I’m working on a book right now, in my very few slow moments.

How long does it generally take you to plot, write, and get a book ready for submission? Just so the rest of us know whether we should jump off a bridge or not :)
We are all so different about this. Not only because of our personal writing process (which I truly believe we have to discover over time, and then respect), but because of our personal circumstances. Two years ago, I took a leap of faith and pretty much gave up the day job, so am living mostly off writing income and savings. Basically, I took the approach that I’m starting a small business and I want to fully invest myself in it, with fingers crossed I’ll actually be able to make a living. I’m healthy, I don’t have kids or other major commitments, and my guy is incredibly self-sufficient and patient. I do have volunteer commitments, and I spend a fair bit of time on promo and writing-related business stuff, but really, I’m pretty much a full time writer.

Having said that, it takes me about 4 months to produce a book. I mull it over ahead of time, then spend maybe a week doing some focused brainstorming and research, and making notes (I’m not a plotter, but I do think about characters and story ahead of time). Then I write pretty solidly for 11 weeks, sending sections for critique during that time and making revisions. At the 3-month point, a pretty clean draft goes to my second critique group. They have it for 2 weeks, and during that time I catch up on admin, promo, and life, and brainstorm the next book. Once I get critique feedback, I spend 2 weeks on final revisions.

This is pushing it, for me. During that time, I’m also doing promo, maybe preparing and presenting a workshop, maybe going to a conference, and that all takes a fair bit of time. I’d be really comfortable taking 6 months for a book – it would allow for some R&R time! – but right now it’s important to me to build my name, brand, and career so I’m working harder.

What do you wish you'd know at the beginning of your writing career?
I’m kind of glad I didn’t know very much! If someone had told me how long it was going to take me to get published, I might have been discouraged. Instead, I just focused on the goal and kept working toward it, and learned what I needed to learn along the way.

Can you give some tips/advice on writing that you find really helpful?
One is that there are no right or wrong ways to do this (except, obviously, that being professional is a good thing). But in terms of process, we each have to find our own. It’s great to read writing books and take workshops, to try things out and see what resonates, but you should never think that because Wendy Writer does it this way and she’s successful, you have to do it the same way.

The second is that becoming published and staying published takes a combination of things: hard work (e.g., learning, practicing, producing), being businesslike (e.g., researching the market, finishing manuscripts, polishing them, submitting them), believing in yourself, persevering, and being lucky. We can control all of those factors except the last one, and it’s the ultimate determining factor. Just because Ann sold and Betty didn’t, that doesn’t mean Ann’s writing is better. It means Ann had the right project that reached the right editor on the right day.

That's great advice, because the publishing industry is a tough nut to crack. And on that note, how can we as writers toughen our hides for this business?
An excellent question, because we really have to. I think people in the arts have the most amazing mix of personality attributes. We have the sheer ego to believe that the art we produce is something others will want to pay for. Yet we’re also very sensitive – it’s that sensitivity, in part, that gives the emotional connection that makes for great art. It also means, our egos are terribly fragile when it comes to rejection and criticism. And we’re going to get it, because appreciation of the arts is such a subjective thing; of course some people won’t like our work.

So, what do we do? We remember that it’s impossible for every reader (or editor or agent) to love our work. We hoard words of praise and refer to them whenever something negative happens. We hang onto our belief in ourselves, and find ourselves a support group of writers and friends. We remind ourselves that every single writer in the world has suffered setbacks. We focus on the positive things and the things we have control over, and we celebrate every small triumph, and also celebrate the setbacks like rejection letters because they, too, are part of the process and the life that makes us writers. We cry, debrief, whine – but only with close friends, and not in public forums – and then we move on. We make way too much use of bubble baths, wine, and chocolate!

Yes! Lots of chocolate and support, and it's so important to stay professional in this shrinking publishing industry. When you do get that contract and have a new release, what sort of promo do you do?
I always put an excerpt, behind-the-scenes notes, a discussion guide, and recipes on my website, promote the book in my monthly e-newsletter (which goes to over 2500 people), and blog about it. In addition, I do some or all of the following: ARCs to key stores, reader groups, and review sites; excerpt booklets and bookmarks to stores, reader groups, conferences, reader luncheons; ads in RT BookReviews, Romance Writers Report, Romance Sells); produce a book video.

What's next for you, and what are you working on right now?
It’s been kind of a crazy winter with releases in November (“Too Hot to Handle” in Men on Fire from Kensington), December (Sex Drive from Kensington), January (Sex on the Beach from Berkley and Erotique: Carrie from Harlequin), February (Erotique: Jillian from Harlequin), March (“Private Eyes” in Some Like It Rough from Kensington and Erotique: Alex from Harlequin), and April (Love, Unexpectedly from Kensington). I’m also attending the RT Booklovers Convention later this month.

My next releases will be “Tattoos and Mistletoe” in the Brava Christmas anthology, The Naughty List (October), and a single title, Sex on the Slopes (in December, from Berkley). At the moment I have copy-edits to do on both of those, plus the third Wild Ride to Love book is due April 30. Its working title is His, Unexpectedly, and it’s tentatively scheduled for February 2011. After that, I’ll be working on another book for Berkley (working title Sex on the Sea), then the 4th and final Wild Ride to Love book. It’s a busy year!

Holy hell... Busy? I'd call that exhausting. I'm in awe of you. Seriously. Thanks for visiting us today, especially when you have so much on your plate already!

Are the rest of you impressed yet? I thought you would be. And aside from the hot titles mentioned, Susan also has a collection of sweet romances with The Wild Rose Press, called Calendar of Love.

For more information on Susan and all her other fabulous books, please visit her website.

Manna for the Muse (Liane Gets Down with her Inner Nerd)

I'm a nerd. Yeah, physics turns me on in a serious kind of way. Sick, right? But also exciting for those of us who yearn to hop dimensions and explore alternate universes.

Some scientists--quantum physicists, to be specific--out in California accidentally proved that parallel universes *do* exist and that time travel is theoretically possible. Not just to the future, as Einstein posited, but to the past as well. Not only that, but yes, Virginia, you really can be in two places at once.

Wow.

Seriously, just wow.

I have to tell you, the implications of this experiment make me quiver--in a good way. It also makes me wonder if this new knowledge will stimulate sales of time travel romances and alternate histories. I certainly hope so. I cut my romance loving teeth on Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Nothing fascinates me quite so much as the idea that we could travel back in time, or into alternate versions of both past and present times.

But it also opens up some interesting questions. Regret is a powerful emotion. So is the thirst for control over our own destinies.

If you could travel back into time and tweak your life, would you? What would you change? Do you really believe it would lead you to a different, better outcome?

What if the new outcome wasn't so rosy as you anticipated. Then what? Go back and try again? Venture to the future to fix the damagge? Hmmm...what of the impact on the lives of those around you? Seriously, who's to say that people from our future aren't already hopping timelines in an effort to control their own reality?

Then there are the alternate versions of our current reality to consider. Dude. If there's a world where I'm Keanu Reeves' babe, I'm so there. But maybe the price I'd pay for mastering my own destiny would be high. After all, for every reaction there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Seems to me every leap would bring a price with it. The dystopian possibilities of such an idea are endless. Secrets society theories abound. And yes, my muse is on fire.

Or maybe that's just the toast.

**some of you may have noticed I've been absent from blogging for a while. A family crisis of epic proportions kept me away from both my blogs and my writing. I appreciate your support for Writers Gone Wild, and just wanted to say how much I've missed each and every one of you! Let the ribaldry resume!

Win a copy of Let Sleeping Demons Lie!

Win a copy of LET SLEEPING DEMONS LIE! by Maree Anderson (for Writers Gone Wild)

Hi y'all,

Well, checking up on the subject matter this week from my fellow Wild Women, it's tempting to crawl downstairs, pour myself a gin and tonic, and forget all about doing a post. Thought-provoking much? You guys are putting me to shame!

But hey, I've been writing up an absolute storm the past two weeks, trying to get a manuscript ready to submit. Is it any wonder my brain is mush and I'm blogged out?

This afternoon at exactly 4.30pm, I finally got to type The End on the first draft. Well, come to think about it, I think I was so damned shocked to be at the end, I actually forgot to type the words, LOL. Anyway, this is the first time I've plotted a story from start to finish, so it's been educational. And it's a pretty clean draft--if you don't count the copious swearing ;-) -- so now I've got two days to polish it up and get it off, and see what happens.

And then I can start on something really exciting. You see, I've sold another manuscript to Red Sage. But my editor reckons it would be even more fantastic as a bigger book, so she wants me to write a chunk more and explore the characters in even more detail. And I've been holding off starting on the rewrite until I finished the wip, so I'm almost ready to dive right in. Almost.... Can't wait!

And in the hour I had spare before I rushed off to karate, I figured I'd better update my website because (drumroll please) I just received a 5 star Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews for my first demons novella, Even Demons Get The Blues. Woot!

I also had to organise something I've been promising my website followers and subscribers for ages: run a competition.

So the website updates are done, the contest is live, and here's the skinny:

Want to win a copy of my May 1st Red Sage Presents release, LET SLEEPING DEMONS LIE?

Here's what you do: visit my website and follow the instructions. The contest runs from now till the end of April, so there's heaps of time.

(Amended to add: thanks for pointing out I'd forgotten my website link, Kylie! Duh....)

And on that note, I have to go change out of my karate gear into something a bit warmer and a bit less scary. I'm not going to dance class tonight -- gonna have dinner with my family, be a couch potato and have an early night for a change *cue serial yawning*

Take care, everyone!

:-)

Maree

Things to do Before I'm 30

Yesterday I turned 29 and I have it on very good authority that my thirties will be even better so while I'm still in my twenties, I'd like to wring out one more year of goodness! I like to think I've done a lot of cool stuff like swimming along the Great Barrier Reef, riding a (very tame, lol) elephant, and backpacking through a foreign country, but there are a ton of things I still want to do. Years ago I started a journal of sorts. It's full of random musings, pictures, letters from when hubby was overseas, stuff like that. It's also got a list of things I want to do before I die and I was going to pull it out and see what I've done so far. Sadly it's packed and I'm not digging through a dozen taped boxes to find it. Soooooo, I decided to do a new list. And if I've actually written it down, I'm much more likely to do it. Here are some things I'd like to do before I turn 30. In a year I'm going to check back and see what I've actually done.


1. Learn how to make 3 new dishes from different nationalities other than my own.
2. Visit Scotland.
3. Go Skydiving. Skydiving? Just kidding. I think I'd wet my pants and seriously why would I jump out of a perfectly good plane? No thanks.
3. Work up to biking 20 miles without keeling over.
4. Start taking either a kickboxing or belly dancing class. Something to mix it up.
5. Meet my Canadian CP in person!
6. Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Since I'll be living semi-close to there by then, I better cross this one off my list!
7. Get another tattoo.


And that's my list! Anyone have anything cool and doable they think would be fun to add? Or do you have a list of your own? Stuff you'd like to do before you die or turn a certain age? Please share!

What the @#$% did you say?

Swearing. Everyone has a different view on foul language, including writers. We play with words for a living after all, so we better understand the basic tool of the trade. While I try and elevate vulgarity to an art form, many romance novelists are hesitant to dip too far into that pool, either due to her own value system or because of the readers spin on it.

Someone once told me that cursing was the crutch for an unenlightened mind. I told her where to stick her sanctimonious drivel and traipsed off into the sunset, not worrying overly much about that particular school of thought.

Let me clarify—I do not enjoy having someone cuss at me directly and outside of telemarketers or people who talk at the movie theater I don’t go around shouting profanity at the general population. But if some one cuts me off at an intersection, I break a glass or it’s raining when I was due to go for a walk, well, I’m not known to mince words.

A few months ago my eight-year-old was helping me load groceries into the car. He said, and this is a direct quote, “Frigging shit, that’s heavy.” I cringed a little but didn’t make a big deal out of it, since getting all over his case would only make him repeat it. And he hasn’t. And if he uses it at school, well frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.

One of my favorite lines comes from Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. Every time someone mentions the cable company a random character would walk by and say “Those f@%&ers.” Classic because it’s how everyone I know feels the same way about the cable company.


To me, curse words in fiction need to be tailored to the characters. I am not able to write my navy heroes sans swearing. I’ve seen it done “watered down,” and it has the same effect on me like when a cable station bleeps profanity out of an R rated movie. I know what is supposed to go there, and it just feels wrong.

The closer my characters get to the emotional climax of the book, the more intense the swear words. The splinter on page two warrants a “shoot,” but the explosion on page two forty five, well, let’s just say it’s unrepeatable and leave it there.

So what’s your take on cursing in novels? Yes, no, depends on the book? Tell all, I promise to bite my tongue ;-)

Crack The Whip!

Tambra Kemdall for Writers Gone Wild

I'm missed a few Monday's so I'd like to start off by apologizing.

I've got quite a bit of school work but I finish mid-may and then I can get back to writing.

I really hope when I get the chance to start writing again, my muses will be there with all those pent up ideas and story lines ready to go! I have a list of projects to finish before the year is up. Crack the whip!

Any suggestions on how I can organize myself to get this all done?

I thought about making a list and putting it beside my computer, checking items off as I go.

What do y'all think?

Hugs,
Tambra

Nothing...

So what do you blog about when you have nothing to say? Work (you know – the evil day job) has sucked back so much of my time for the past two weeks, I didn’t even realize it was my turn to blog until late yesterday. I looked in my folder of ideas, and found that I’d used them all up the last few times this happened, and apparently inspiration hasn’t been raining down from the heavens lately.

As I contemplated the nothing that I have to offer you today, I had to go look it up in the dictionary, because, well, that’s what just the way I am.

Nothing, as defined by the free online dicrtionary:

1. No thing; not anything: The box contained nothing. I've heard nothing about it.
2. No part; no portion: Nothing remains of the old house but the cellar hole.
3. One of no consequence, significance, or interest: The new nonsmoking policy is nothing to me.
n.
1. Something that has no existence.
2. Something that has no quantitative value; zero: a score of two to nothing.
3. One that has no substance or importance; a nonentity: "A nothing is a dreadful thing to hold onto" (Edna O'Brien).
adj.
Insignificant or worthless: "the utterly nothing role of a wealthy suitor" (Bosley Crowther).
adv.
In no way or degree; not at all: She looks nothing like her sister.

And so, I leave you to ponder the fact that I have absolutely nothing to say today!

Happy Easter!

Anne Kane

www.AnneKane.com

Happy Easter and a calorie-free treat!

HAPPY EASTER and a calorie-free treat! by Maree Anderson (for Writers Gone Wild)

Hi y'all.

Ah, the joys of Autumn (what you guys call Fall), when the weather goes from summery to wintery at the drop of a hat, and whatever you wear is always gonna end up be the wrong thing. This morning it was chilly enough to dig out a cardigan and socks, and feel sorry for my son, who's stuck in Summer uniform and still has to wear sandals. At 5pm this afternoon, it's muggy and warm enough that I've ditched the cardigan and a tee-shirt suffices. Little wonder we Aucklanders find ourselves suddenly hit by colds and bouts of the flu that run rampant throughout the officeblocks and schools.

And speaking of offices: for various reasons I won't go into, we middle-class working Kiwis have a dumbass culture where you drag your sorry ass in to work unless you're too darn sick to get out of bed. Which means that you cough and sneeze all over your keyboard, your phone, and your cringing colleagues, and if you're really clever, manage to spread your germs around the entire open-plan office.

DH put up with the aforementioned scenario all last week, and held out until the weekend before developing flu symptoms and starting to feel like crap. Which meant at the nth hour, I had to go to a fancy party on my own -- not exactly what I'd planned for Saturday night. And of course, what were the chances that he wouldn't eventually pass these symptoms on to his family? Uh.... No freaking chance at all, of course.

So Monday, I had son and DH home, and daughter lasted half a day at school before she succumbed. Today (Thursday), I have DH still home sick, daughter sick--again--and oh happy joy, I'm now incubating whatever they've got. This, despite taking all possible precautions, even to the point of sleeping in the spare room so DH doesn't cough all over me during the night.

Do you get the sense I'm not impressed?

At least son has now got over his flu, so one of us is okay. And at least I had the forethought to stock up on convenience food this morning when I didn't feel too bad, so I don't have to worry too much about cooking. Otherwise it'd be Hot Cross Buns, Easter Eggs and toasted sandwiches for the next couple of days. Actually.... That sounds damn good to me, LOL.

I was seriously considering not posting anything, because by the time I got round to it, the Lemsip Max was starting to wear off, and I noticed my fingers were beginning to type real weird characters that didn't make much sense. But I think I've managed to correct all the wierdness. Ooops. That doesn't look right. Make that "weirdness".

So while I have feeling under-the-weather as a valid excuse to say stuff I normally wouldn't....

To the half-dozen people who coughed and sneezed and hacked all over DH last week when they should have been in bed, THANKS FOR NOTHING, dudes! You are full-time employees. You get paid sick-leave. DH is a contractor. When he gets sick, he doesn't get paid. And he's been off work for four days now, and hasn't been paid for those four days, all thanks to you lot choosing to come to work when you were sick, rather than stay home.

'K, thnx.

And without further ado, to the rest of you lovely people, Happy Easter!

I hope the Easter Bunny leaves you a huge stash of chocolate eggs, but if you're not a fan of chocolate, here's a calorie-free treat just for you:



Enjoy,

M