Roll with the Changes

What was I saying a week ago about my plans? Oh well, I'm rolling with the changes now. Blue (oh, poor sweet sacrificial Blue) is again on the back burner. I am focusing on Bijou books again. Little Memphis to be specific with Saint as my backup. What changed?

Pooh's health continues to improve, so I plan to travel to Houston for a book signing. Possibly two, if all goes well with the organizer. Assuming everything comes together, November will be a wild month. Two weeks away from Pooh and Sally will be emotionally tough, but I'm looking forward to the trip.

Ideally, I would love to promote both the Damaged and Memphis series at the signings. To make that happen, I need to finish them both. Three books in three months. It'll be tricky, but a girl's gotta dream.

So Blue waits again for her HEA. Gigi's final book will also be an end of the year project. I have too many ideas. Standalone books for Bijou plus I'm beginning two (possibly three) series next year. I need to write faster, dammit!!!

Last weekend, I ran a promotion for Damaged and the Beast which is permafree. I saw a big increase in free downloads and the book was ranked in the 50's in Amazon's free store. Of course, the hope is a large number of the readers who download Beast for free will enjoy it enough to buy Knight, Cobra, etc. There's already been an uptick in sales for the follow-up books along with several positive reviews for Beast. Once again, Miranda found me a marketing avenue that paid off. Would it be a blog post without a shout out for Candy Girl?

Writing Bulldog was tricky for me. There's no loser parent to show up and create tension at the end. Winnie and Dylan aren't the most dramatic or funniest characters in the series. The book simply comes down to a damaged girl, a man struggling to be worthy, and how they build a life together. I admit I was nervous readers wouldn't click with the book, but all the feedback has been positive so far. Now I need to give the series a strong send off with Saint. However it looks like I'll also write one more Damaged book next year for Sawyer and Jace.

In personal news, school just began around here. Not for Roo, but the kids in the neighborhood are already up early to catch the buses. Roo starts Monday since I saw no reason for his first day to be on a Wednesday. Homeschooling definitely has its perks.

I really enjoyed my summer break. Pooh's health improved. Roo and Tigger were my assistants, always running errands with me. We got a Netflix subscription and watched movies for the first time in years. Our favorites so far have been comedies like "This Is The End" and "Heat."

The only downside is I haven't been visiting Denny's often. I miss Zaby ~ my favorite waitress. She's kinda like a muse since I always do solid writing when she's around. My new plan is to take Roo to Denny's a few days a week. I'll work while he does school assignments. Changing the location can make a kid more excited about learning. I know it makes me happier.

This week's songs are by REO Speedwagon. Yeah, they're classics for a reason.

Only Human

Ahhh...feels good to publish another book. Three Bijou books in three months. I never could have done it without the help of Sally, Candy Girl, and Sarah. I can't seem to get organized this year, so every book is a last minute scramble to make my publishing deadline. Despite a lazy July, I am thrilled Damaged and the Bulldog is completed. High five for book five in 2014.

While I won't hit my "publish 20 books in 2 years" goal like I hoped, nineteen books ain't so shabby. Indie publishing isn't like the traditional big guys. Someone like Karen Marie Moning took two years between Iced and Burned in her super popular Fever series. TWO YEARS!!! That's an eternity in indie publishing. Even a book a year won't cut it. Successful indies churn out several books a year. Some manage a book or two a month! No way am I organized enough for that level, but I'm working on it.

I'm already focusing on Blue Awakening. I need to finish it quickly, so I can get back to my Bijou books. You know, the novels that feed my family. However I'm itching to start the Memphis series. The idea came to me during my drive to Texas in January. Now I need to bring the idea alive.

Finally, I sometimes feel like I've betrayed my Angela books. A few of the potential series have been dropped. Shadow Sisters, McCormick Sisters, and Sub Sami will never enjoy their followups. Or at least not anytime soon. Even though I've abandoned them in many ways, I dedicate this song to them...

Gimme Gimme

Delays and dynamite news!

Let's start with the good stuff. As I've written in the past, Pooh is showing improvement on his new meds. I am thrilled to share  he's back to the sweetheart we all know and love. It's like a switch was flipped back on and our Pooh returned. He's even eating solids again. We'll never likely know why he stopped, but it's great to see him trying his old favorite foods. Plus, eating solids means we'll worry less about counting calories to ensure he's getting enough from liquids alone.

Though Pooh is doing great, I won't be attending the book signing in Houston next month. We really wanted to visit Texas during the summer and face the heat everyone warns us about, but things are only now settling down at home. Leaving Sally and Pooh to drive to Houston for a week doesn't make sense.

I'm hoping to attend a signing in November if spots remain open. It'll be nice to see my cousin and her family again. Also Stephanie who is preparing to publish her next book.

Speaking of publishing, I had to push back Bulldog's release date by a week. The book wasn't strong enough especially the first part. I'm working with Candy Girl and Sally to improve the book. As much as I hate missing deadlines, I couldn't shortchange readers simply to make an arbitrary date.

The last book in the series will be tricky. While the heroine was introduced in book four, the hero is an enigma. A badass assassin known only as Saint, he took out most of the Devils MC in Damaged and the Outlaw. Otherwise, he's an unknown. This could be a great thing or a disappointment if readers don't warm up to him. Only time will tell.

I'm currently sketching out the final plot for Blue Awakening. After Bulldog is out, I'll spend the rest of July finishing the YA paranormal book for my Angela series. I also have Cooper's POV on the agenda.

August will bring Little Memphis to the forefront while I also work on Saint. Likely Memphis#1 will be released first with Broken Memphis after Saint. I don't know how long the three books will take to complete. It's my hope to work on the final Gigi Monroe book after Memphis#2. If so, I'll finish two Angela and two Bijou series in 2014.

So that's  my work schedule for the rest of the year. Besides writing, I'm enjoying the summer with my boys. Tigger is obsessed with a Chinese buffet close to our house, so we're there a couple times a week. Roo spends most of his time on the computer (like his mom) and is not looking forward to starting school in a few weeks.

This week should be busy with Bulldog and family errands, but the weather is expected to be lovely. I look forward to both productivity and playing. I hope everyone else enjoys a pretty July.

This week's great songs are made better by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.

All Fired Up

The summer is here. The bugs are out. The yard needs love (to the tune of 2 grand). The new romance releases are arriving fast and furious. June is turning out to be quite a boon for readers.

In personal news, Pooh continues to show improvement on his medication. He smiles easier and is more alert.  We're seeing more of the child he was before his troubles began in March.

Pooh and I had the flu last week, though I was much whinier about this fact. Finally I was writing Bulldog again. As I type this post, I have less than a month until the book's release. Eek!!! While I'm behind again (shock), these characters are super easy to write. So much dysfunction and angst. Plus, I have a whole new family to focus on.

Candy Girl redesigned the cover for The Bite. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much to design for me this summer. The Bulldog cover has been in the bag since winter and Blue is pretty much set. Once I work on Little Memphis, Miranda can get creative again.

Roo is loving his summer break while Tigger enjoys the warmer weather. Tinker doesn't love the season though. All the thunderstorms terrify the little furball and she hides under the couch most of the time.

Well that's a quick update until I have something more concrete to share. Enjoy your weekend plus two great songs by Pat Benatar.

Happy Birthday, Candy Girl!!!

Today is a very special day. No, not because of the high five for book four in 2014. Even better! Candy Girl a.k.a Agent M a.k.a Thunderkitten a.k.a Marvelous Miranda is celebrating her birthday!!!!

We "met" a little over a year ago and have never spoken except online, but she's still my BFF. After Sally, Miranda is the first person to know what's happening in my RL. She's always willing to give me pep talks (even the tough love ones). Creative and quirky, Candy Girl shows me things I would never see on my own. There's no way to express how blessed I feel to know her.

Used is her "baby" too because she found the guy's picture and took it in a completely different direction than I would have. The consensus is the cover is smoking hot. Aces, CG!!!

More proof of Miranda's awesomeness is the thank you she got in Emilia Winters's new romance Electric. Yep, everyone cool loves Candy Girl.

This week has been great and it's only Tuesday! Used is out. Miranda is celebrating her sweet birthday. Pooh is showing real signs of improvement after only a week on the new medicine. Roo is out of school. With the little man on summer break, I'm also on vacation since I'm his teacher. More time to write!

With Sally and Miranda's help, I made my deadlines for both Damaged and the Dragon and Used. Planning to stay in my writing groove, I've already begun working on Damaged and the Bulldog and my side project of Blue Awakening (yes, I've said that before). My goal is to release twenty books by the two-year anniversary of the first book I published. I seriously doubt I'll make two more books before the end of July, but one can dream.

With so many great books coming out in June, Miranda will keep her Kindle busy. Just this week, there are new books from Emilia, S.N. Garza (my girl Stephanie), Amity Cross, and Jo Wylde.

Speaking of awesome authors, I will publish the interview with Sera Bright this week. Yep, I'm finally getting caught up. I do think there's a Deadly Dee review I need to post too, but that's for another day.

Candy Girl deserves the best birthday imaginable. She's a great friend, co-blogger, beta reader, illustrator, BBA Whisperer (makes those whiners wet themselves), and all around awesome chick. I hope everyone enjoys the songs on this week's post. They're two of Miranda's favorites. :)

Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' Open Arms

La La is on a roll so forgive me for bragging. I just published Dragon a week ago and now I'm nearly finished with Used. Aces, baby. At this rate, I can start Bulldog next week. Heck, I might finally get started on Blue Awakening after a year of saying I would.

While I'm still behind on my publishing schedule, I should hit my goal of ten books for the year. This is what I must write this year:

1) Used (next week)

2) Bulldog (July)

3) Blue Awakening

4) Little Memphis

5) Saint (final Damaged book)

6) Broken Memphis

7) The Moon Burns

I'm also hoping to begin the new Bijou series Lush Gardens and Coliseum by the end of the year. Might even get a few standalone novellas published too. My hope is to finish at least two of the open Angela series ~ Blue Davison and Gigi Monroe. That'll leave Vivi Rios's final book. I also have the three books for the Dakota Shepherd Angelic Redemption series, but it'll likely take two years to finish them.

Dragon has sold well and readers seem happy with the book that took me forever to give them. I also had a pretty successful free weekend for Gator a.k.a. the little novella that could.

In more good news, the day Dragon went live, Ammy agreed to make Beast permafree in the US. I'm already seeing an uptick in the sales for Knight and it's been less than a week. I'm planning to set up The Fallen as permafree, assuming Ammy is willing. Making the first book free for these longer series is a great marketing tool that many authors on Kboards have talked up. Miranda was a godsend by pointing me to the awesome threads there.

Speaking of Candy Girl, she's turning her creativity towards writing a book. Oh, it's a doozy too. Here's the link to her GR page. How badass is she? Blogger, Whisperer, illustrator, she's now working on adding author to her resume. I'm not worthy...

Unfortunately, Pooh remains ill. In the last week, we've changed his medications and hope to see an improvement soon. I'm also happy to report Lil Sis learned her son's tumor was benign! What a blessing for Marcy's family.

In BBA news, STGRB decided to institute a new commenting policy on May 24th. This respectful version of the hate site lasted until May 27th when they posted comments like this one. Charming, huh?

 

In happier news, June 2014 looks to be an exciting month in indie publishing. Books by S.N. Garza, C.M. Lema, Ember Casey, and Laramie Briscoe will be released. Oh, and those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. Even though summer is known for slower sales, many great authors will soon deliver awesome reads. I'm excited to read them all.

 

In honor of the great Steve Perry's first public performance in decades, my songs are Journey classics.

Tuesday's Gone

High five for book three in 2014! Damaged and the Dragon is also my seventeenth release since I first published  2012. Hot damn! Cool beans! Fan-fudging-tastic!!! Too much?

There were many times during the last few months when I believed I would never ever in a million years finish Dragon. I last published a Damaged book in late November. Six frigging months passed and I just couldn’t seem to get Dragon written. Then wham bam thank you Candy Girl and Mustang Sally, I finished. Sarah and Patty were great beta readers as always.

Today, I'm already focused on the next project. Pooh’s health issues and my short attention span (squirrel) have put me behind on my publishing schedule. I had hoped the books set for May releases would be Damaged and the Bulldog and Blue Awakening. Nope.

Used is the next book I’m planning to publish. The standalone novella is scheduled for release on lovely Miranda’s birthday. Even though June 3^rd is right around the corner, the book is already half written. As soon as it’s published, I am on to Bulldog, Blue, and the Cooper novelette.

As busy as I’ll be with Used, I have two interviews I need to post on Indie Angie. One is with new romance author and super sweet chickadee Sera Bright. The other is with Trevor Tomlin who I interviewed on When Zombies Come to Read. These days, he’s writing urban fantasy using a second pen name. We all know how I love authors who cross genres.

The BBA continue to be butthurt. No big shock. Nothing new to report besides they continue to suck. However, there's no denying the dorks are entertaining when I’m bored.

Pooh remains in poor health, but we keep chugging along and hoping for him to make a turnaround. Faith is a big part of my life and I trust in God’s plan.

My Lil Sis Marcy has struggled this month too. Her ten year old was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Henrik’s already gone through two surgeries. The kid is a trooper, still enjoying his life even through the fear and pain. Marcy is an amazing mommy and her family remains strong with the help of family, friends, and prayers.

The songs this week are by Skynyrd. In Dragon, I added the Free Bird shout out as a tribute to sweet Candy Girl. Using a quote from the book, she created the cool bear teaser above. The other song is perfect since it mirrors my mood. Oh, and I’m posting this on a Tuesday and everything…