If there’s one thing Southern gals know how to do, it’s gab. Silly or serious, all it takes is a glass of iced tea and time. Pull up a chair, kick off your shoes, and make yourself comfy…get ready to dish!
Release Day!
Today’s the day! The Billionaire’s Deception is being released by Tule Publishing’s Holiday Books. I’m really excited about this book because not only is it my first publisher release, but it is also one of a series of five books by fellow authors and friends Katherine Garbera, Nancy Robards Thompson, Kathleen O’Brien, and Eve Gaddy. I had a ball planning this book with these women. Writing is always an individual effort, but having other voices and ideas boosts your own creativity and also keeps you on your...
read moreShoot Me Now
So I had to get head shots. Let me just say that the idea of head shots appeals to me about as much as a root canal, since most of the time I look at pictures of myself and wonder how long that puffer fish has been stealing from my closet. Seriously, ugh. But a book is coming out and I have to be serious about the writing and promo and although Mr. Man is wonderful and fabulous, it’s not fair to expect him to take amazing head shots. Too much pressure. He’s artistically and technically capable, but that’s just not something...
read moreSearching for Shemar
For the last week or so, I’ve been working alongside my fellow Amalfi Nights authors to design the covers for the series. The fabulous team at Tule Publishing consistently produces gorgeous covers, so I wasn’t worried about the final result. The process has proved to be quite interesting. Lots goes into an appealing cover design: typefaces, positioning, size, arrangement, color scheme, mood, and, of course, image. You’d think finding the perfect cover image would be easy–but then you’d be wrong. When you’re...
read moreRWA National: So You’ve Written a Book – What’s Next?
In this session, authors Jennifer Blackwood, Brenda St. John Brown, Chanel Cleeton, Megan Erickson, AJ Pine, and Lia Riley discussed ways to increase and enhance their online profiles through social media. I was taking notes as fast as I could, so I’ll just clean them up a bit. TWITTER Create a profile for author you, interact as author self. Streamline everything. Make banners, etc. that apply across all social media. Interact as author you. Follow authors in your genre and favorite authors and see who they follow. Follow agents,...
read moreRWA National: Finding Your Voice and Making It Yours
Friends and critique partners Jeannie Lin and Bria Quinlan led this session on identifying the elements of your writer voice and how to develop it. True voice is unique to each writer; you know you’ve found your distinctive voice when people either love it or hate it. Consider the following non-romance authors John Grisham, Jon Krakauer, and Stephen King—there’s no way you would mistake a book by one of them for anyone else. That’s what to aim for. Your voice can be your best friend and your worst enemy. A strong voice will...
read moreRWA National: Putting the Real You into Your Author Brand
Kaira Rouda has spent most of her professional career in business, marketing, and advertising. The founder of the real estate magazine Real Living, she considers herself a woman entrepreneur, especially now that she’s a full-time writer. She has published four titles with Tule Publishing, with more in the pipeline. In this workshop, Kaira focused on the principles found in her independently-published business book Turn Your Passion into Profit, which she has adapted for writers. To Kaira’s thinking, presenting yourself as...
read moreRWA National: Not So Fast–Finding Success While Writing in the Slow Lane
Apparently I have a theme lately, and that’s how to function as a writer in a publishing world that seems to value speed over all. What happens when your natural process doesn’t seem to match the demands of the market? Bestselling authors Meredith Duran, Julie James, Sherry Thomas, and Lauren Willig discussed how being a slower writer affects their process and their careers. The overall takeaway: Your process is what it is. Whether you’re a day-to-day perfectionist who produces a very few pages in a daily session or someone...
read moreFeeling Like a 900-Year-Old Woman
As a good friend of mine says, anything worth doing is worth overdoing. In my case, that means I went from what I thought was really impressive heartburn (something totally normal for teacher types with too much to do and too little time to do it in) to an inflamed gall bladder. There’s nothing like “gall bladder surgery” to make you feel like a 900-year-old woman. Seriously, who gets their gall bladder out? Isn’t this what you picture when you hear “gall bladder surgery”? And really–that’s all...
read moreSucker for Romance
This is the most adorable thing. Maroon 5 drove around LA for an entire weekend crashing weddings to film the video for “Sugar.” Obviously nothing goes off this easily at first crack. Apparently the band talked to the grooms in question and worked with the venues and DJs to get permission for the surprise and set up the curtain and equipment. They also performed the whole song twice to get the shots they needed, then they played an acoustic version of “She Will Be Loved” as a gift to the bride and groom before heading...
read moreLife in Three Words
Ah, New Year’s Day—that one day of the year designed for self-flagellation and list-making and vows and whatnot designed to make us all 21st-century Bionic Men and Women (“We can rebuild her…we have the technology…”). It’s exhausting. It’s demoralizing. It’s abusive in its own twisted way. Is it any wonder so many resolutions fail before January sees itself out? This year, I’m not making a list. And although I do need to write down some goals for myself, since visualization aids with...
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