2014 is nearly over and I've spent the last few weeks celebrating holidays, missing Pooh, and finishing (finally) Saint. In a few days, I'll publish my 7th book of the year and the final one in the Damaged series. Candy Girl, Sally, and my beta readers saved my ass with this one.
Let me get nostalgic and look back at the year. I had planned to blog less because of time constraints. The BBA blog took a lot of my time. Making those idiots seem funny ain't easy, you know? Fortunately, the main BBA imploded, turning on her allies. In her heyday, she posted private emails and group conversations. After she pissed off enough people, her emails and group conversations were posted. She threw whiny fits and played the victim, but no one was impressed. Especially not karma who is known to be a bitch.
Miranda and I were able to put the BBA blog on vacation after posting our payback (you know, for them posting our private info). STGRB stayed around for a while longer, running with paranoid accusations. All we had to do was not refute them and the dorks lost their minds. It was pretty funny.
Other bloggers now focus on the leftover BBAs since STGRB went silent. We share our info when someone asks for help, but otherwise the entire scene is old news.
Professionally, I had a weird year. Aiming for ten books, I was lucky to publish seven. Gator and Little Memphis expanded my Bijou brand. I enjoyed a productive late spring/early summer when I published three books in three months. This year, I also had long stretches when I didn't publish anything. Saint alone took over three months to finish. Not cool.
In 2015, I'm aiming for eight books since the last three years I've published seven. I plan to focus on both series and standalone novels. I'm also expanding my brand by working on a box set with a lot of really cool authors.
I tried a few different marketing avenues with varying success. I've never requested a spot on Bookbub, so it's something I'll try next year. I know it's tough to get approved, but I should have plenty of books to submit. Fingers crossed that one of them will make the grade.
Next year, I need to stay focused and keep doing what's worked. I also plan to try new things like marketing towards non-Amazon outlets and international markets. Finally, I'd like to get a few audio books out. If I had one major publishing problem this year, it was my lack of consistency. Even with the large gaps when I didn't publish, I earned $15,000 more than in 2013. The readership is out there, despite the naysayers. I just need to keep my fanbase while reaching new readers.
My resolutions aren't so different than last year's. Write more. Expand my marketing techniques. Focus on positive people. Ignore the negative ones. This year was full of stress and sadness along with peace and joy. I have a wonderful family, a great BFF, and awesome readers. With so many blessings, can I really complain?
Christmas is nearly here. Tree is up. Cards are mailed. Presents have been bought. Normally this would be a quiet time of year, yet nothing about this year has been normal.
Pooh remains in the hospital, but this should be his final last week there. He'll be in his new home by Christmas. Once he's settled, the rest of the family can begin to relax. One of my hopes for 2015 is for tranquility.
This year, Miranda and I transitioned away from blogging. We focused less on stupid people doing stupid things and more on smart people making smart moves. Miranda learned new tricks for sexy covers. I expanded my author brand by publishing standalone romances. Despite wishing I put out more books this year, I'd say we took many positive steps. Even with the asshat movement fractured and quiet, I do have a new BBA obsession. I'll call her Glenn Close because she has a Fatal Attraction kind of "love" for a special guy. Anyway, Glenn is fascinating, but she isn't really an author. Not even an "Author."
Glenn is just a troubled young woman with delusions of grandeur. Yet whenever I need a break from RL problems, I check out her Twitter feed and blog. The way she sees the world is pretty damn interesting. Though I pity the people she targets.
For my next post, I'll do the whole New Year's resolutions. Until then, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
God never gives us more than we can bear. I believe this with all my heart, but there are moments when I doubt I'm as strong as God thinks. This year has brought many of those moments as Pooh's health deteriorated. In the last few weeks, his troubles hit a peak and only prayers kept us afloat.
Again a glimmer of hope revealed itself. Now the pressure slowly begins to lift away. God really does know how much we can bear.
As Pooh finally gets the help he needs, the rest of my family adjusts to our new reality. Things haven't settled down quite yet. However, we're making strides to get into a more relaxed groove. Roo and I are even planning to have our first visit to Denny's in over a month. He'll do schoolwork while I write Saint.
Even as far behind as I am on my books, I feel like a few solid weeks of writing is all I need to finish Saint and complete the main edit. Once I get the book into the hands of Miranda and Sally (with Sarah, Patty, and Stacie after them), I'll be able to focus on Broken Memphis.
Next year is pretty booked. I'll attend two signings (which is nothing compared to the schedule of most midlist authors). I'm working on my first contribution to a box set. I also plan to look into audio books. My main goal for next year though is to publish a lot.
Since Broken Memphis won't be out in 2014, it'll be added to the list of books for next year. I have a ton of them. Yet even with planned series and standalone books, I plain to try my hand at erotica shorts. Why? Think of it as doinking for dummies.
I started my writing career with Christian fiction. The love scenes were all fade-to-black. In one case, Sally wasn't certain a newly married couple even had sex because of how vague the scene was written. So when I began writing urban fantasy, I needed to be more specific. With romance, the scenes became even more graphic. While I worked to be more creative, Miranda still teases me about my wording for each doinking scene.
So I've been doing research and now want to have a little fun. I've come up with a few contemporary erotica ideas along with a few paranormal ones. Clearly, I can't focus on them currently since I'm behind with my must write projects. Next year, I'll give it a try. I'm even thinking up pen names.
Next year will bring new opportunities, yet 2014 isn't quite over. In fact, Thanksgiving is only days away then Tigger's birthday and Christmas. To prepare for the holidays, I'll finish my post with a list of what I'm most thankful for:
The Lord
Sally, Tigger, Pooh, and Roo
Miranda and my warmhearted friends
My patient and loyal readers
My two kitties and Sally's stinky dog
The roof over my head, food in the fridge, money in the bank, and stories in my head.
Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy a lovely song from the lovely Christina Perri.
Life in limbo sucks. I like a forward momentum to my days, but for the last week especially, I feel stuck. Pooh's health remains poor and finding him the proper care has proven difficult. We can only wait to hear back from those with the power to help him.
I can't really write. Sure, I churn out a paragraph or two, but there's no flow. I'm so stalled that Sally suggested I work on editing Wounded Soul for my Dakota Shepherd pen name. Whatever I'm able to finish now will be less I'll need to work on later.
The end of the year is always a time for reflection. I look back at the books I've published and the marketing I tried. I ask myself what I want to focus on in the upcoming year. What projects do I personally love, but might not sell well? What is the market like? What's hot? What genres are saturated?
The one project I know I'll write next year is the novella for the box set. It's a lighter second chance romance. Besides Rebound Biker, I have a few darker ideas for standalone books. There are also a few spin-off series in the works.
In reality, I have too many ideas to complete in 2015. Even if I published a book a month (which I've never managed before), I wouldn't have enough time for all the books and series I have lined up. So I'll spend the rest of this year attempting to finish Damaged and the Saint and Broken Memphis while also making tough choices about which books are front burner ideas and which ones will need to wait.
Despite the stress of the last weeks, I've been blessed with very understanding readers. When I explained why Saint wasn't published and Broken Memphis might not be completed this year, their warm responses brought me to tears. One mother of a child with autism sent me a beautiful heartfelt message that improved my mood after an especially gloomy day. Candy Girl remains my sounding board. Even though she doesn't have children, she understands what I need to hear. She pushes me when I'm lazy and backs off when I'm stressed. I know Miranda won't kiss my ass if I have a bad idea. She tells me the truth because she wants me to succeed. Let's be honest, some of my ideas are f'ing stupid. If she won't tell me the truth, who will?
Right now, I'm overflowing with ideas, but lacking the attention span to make any of them come alive. So I watch crappy TV and movies with Tigger. I also spend way too much time on Listverse. Oh, and in a random thought, I love those DirecTV commercials with Rob Lowe. The Creepy Rob Lowe one makes me laugh every time.
Today's snow flurries made me realize how soon the holidays will be here. My Amazon shopping cart is full of items for Christmas and Tigger's upcoming birthday. As usual, Roo wants a million things. All I want for the holidays (besides a happy family) is to finish Saint and Broken Memphis.
In both 2012 and 2013, I published seven books. I was really hoping to beat that number this year, but seven isn't too shabby. I know a few authors who didn't published a single book this year while others managed that book a month magic trick. I hope in my next post will be less gloomy babbling and more happy babbling. I might even be all full of myself because I'm writing again and ready to publish. Yeah, that would be sweet.
One reason I love Halloween isn't simply because I’m a horror movie fanatic. It's also the start of the holiday season and I love this time of year.
Sure the weather gives me constant sinus headaches. On the plus side, we experienced a really wet spring and summer, so the trees in the yard and neighborhood grew tall and healthy this year. All of those changing colors have never looked as lovely as they do right now. I don’t know if I’ll actually move to Texas before the next autumn (seems unlikely), but I’m feeling nostalgic the last few weeks. Autumn around here is rather picturesque even on gloomy days such as this one.
Overall, the month's had its share of ups and downs. Tigger and Pooh are still adjusting to their med changes, so they've had good and bad days. My allergies have been smacking me around a whole lot which slowed me down with writing. It’s difficult to concentrate when you’re sporting a headache or doped up on sinus meds.
I was hoping to have Saint done by now. I think on a deep level my fears of ending the series has held me back. True, I've found success with non-Damaged books. My readers are hella loyal too, yet I've dealt with a lot of uncertainties regarding Saint that I’m only now getting over. Saying goodbye is tough to do especially for a long series. I’ll avoid such closure issues in the future since I’m planning to keep upcoming series to three books tops.
October a great month income-wise which is a good thing since I have a new obsession. It started innocently when I bought a Halloween Hello Kitty at CVS. I normally buy a new Beanie Boo when I pick up the kids’ prescriptions. This time, I also bought the Hello Kitty doll and my obsession began. It’s in the early stages, but I’m already eyeing a few super cute Christmas dolls.
I completed the redo of the Whisperer website, but still have work to do on the Bijou one. Mainly, setting up the store. I also want to change up the template once I have a cover reveal for Saint and can add a new banner. I’m not a super visual person and usually leave the design stuff to Miranda. Since Candy Girl is iffy about messing with the websites, I do my best with my limited artistic talents.
Halloween is so much more relaxed now that my boys are older. Roo is only eleven, but this is the second year he's decided not to go trick or treating. He’d much rather kill zombies on the computer than dress up like one. Pooh has never really understood Halloween, doesn't enjoy candy, and isn't a horror movie buff. He’d prefer to stay safe and warm in the house. Tigger and I do love horror movies, so we’re spending Halloween watching a few. I’m typing this while we watch Sinister and it’s a creepy gem. We plan to finish off the night with one of my new favorite movies This Is The End.
I’ll finish up this post with a song that always reminds me of one of my best days as a sub teacher. It was just before Halloween and I took over in a music class. The assignment was listening to popular Halloween songs. The kids danced (even the too cool 5th graders). It was a fun day especially when this song played.
Springtime is when most people do their cleaning. Since I was busy in the spring and summer, I'm finally getting organized now in the autumn.
One of things I've finally gotten around to doing was creating a specific Bijou website where I can sell books and swag. In the past money was tight, so I shoved all of my pen names along with my BBA forum onto the single bbawhisperer.com site. Finally, I accepted I have the money to create a second website specifically for Bijou. I’m still designing BijouHunterBooks.com while also setting up the Whisperer site with only BBA info.
Now I admit I haven’t been paying much attention to the BBA stuff lately. Miranda and I stopped posting on the Whisperer blog back in Feb. We had a few posts on secondary blogs, detailing private information we received from inside sources.
Yet back in early summer, STGRB went quiet and we saw no need to blog at all anymore. There are plenty of talented bloggers who can handle people like Kathleen Hale. Back in the day, few were willing to challenge STGRB directly, instead pretending to ignore the hate site. You know, except when they were babbling about it in private groups.
Miranda and I don’t hear much about BBA anymore unless it’s a big deal like the Maggie Spence clusterfuck over the summer. Otherwise, we’re focused on books and covers. Miranda spends a lot of time designing teasers for me. She’s also given advice to a few other indie authors. Agent M isn't officially retired from tracking asshats, but she rarely gives them much attention these days.
As for our other blogs like Indie Angie and Where Zombies Come to Read, they’ve run out of steam. I post about new releases and book sales on BookLikes. I reallydon’t need to duplicate the info on the Indie Angie blog. I’m also not currently working on my Angela books, so there’s nothing really to post.
At home, I’m organizing my office and looking to declutter. I have a lot of books from the Damaged series sitting around which sounds great except next year will bring new books and series. Until we move, I need to make room, so I plan to do several paperback giveaways during the holidays.
Next year will be crazy busy. I only have two signings on the schedule, but lots of books to publish. I honestly can’t say which ones will be written in 2015. I do have the novella for the box set and the new Bad Men Rising series. Spin-offs from Damaged and Little Memphis MC might happen, but only time will tell. Poor Miranda deals with me telling and retelling her about all of my ideas. She never knows if I’ll actually produce the books I’m bugging her about either.
The last six months or so, I've become spoiled with an income I didn't enjoy even as an IT specialist at a California beach city. However, I’m not at Aurora Rose Reynolds level of successful. No legion of fans or best seller lists. For a midlist author, the way to keep a steady income is to publish, publish, and publish again. No more six month lags like I had between Outlaw and Dragon. Even my holidays will be spent writing. Good thing I love it.
For November, I’m hoping to publish Saint the same week I have a FB blog page takeover along with a sale for Gator. Speaking of my standalone books, Kindle Unlimited has been a boon for both novellas. They get hundreds of borrows each month, keeping their rankings strong.
The rest of October should continue to be drama filled. Both Tigger and Pooh are switching medications. Meanwhile, Roo is “enjoying” that big push students get before the holidays when they learn a lot of new concepts. After Thanksgiving, we review those concepts and things will settle down.
I really should post this message and get back to writing. Yeah, being organized isn’t my favorite thing, but I’m on my way.
Oh, how I love October! Sure, the weather can be a pain and I remain defiant towards wearing a jacket even when it's raining. Yet, it's still a lovely time of year.
Two birthdays in my family land this month. My youngest boy Roo turned eleven. Today is Sally's birthday. She likes the simple things ~ the first draft of what I've completed with Damaged and the Saint, books from the library, and takeout from the Chinese buffet.
Saint was slow going, but I finally have a groove going. I figure I can finish the main draft by Halloween. Then it's editing before the book is handed off to my beta readers. While they're fixing my goofs with Saint, I'll work on Broken Memphis.
After the success of Little Memphis, I thought about turning the series into a trilogy, but the tone of the third book wouldn't fit. I've decided to use the third book idea for a spin-off trilogy with a darker tone. Of course, this throws off my plans for 2015.
My main series ideas were the Bad Men Rising trilogy and a trilogy following Saint and Harlow in their new life (the books will focus on their colleagues finding love). Now I'm uncertain what second series I'll write next year. Rising is definitely on my schedule. Miranda even has the covers sketched up. The three Rising men are introduced in Damaged and the Saint. They don't play big roles, but I'm ready to write their books.
Besides writing and enjoying birthdays, I've been gorging myself on horror movies. Most suck balls, but a girl can dream of finding a solid mix of intelligent heroes and menacing monsters. Here Comes the Devil was creepy, though Tigger wasn't a fan. He prefers the found footage sub-genre. Most of those movies are crap, but he loves them anyway.
This month has been really cool with new readers friending me on FB and I even got a shout-out in an article about romances based in Kentucky. I've also signed up for a second signing for 2015. This one is in Alabama with another great lineup of authors. 2015 will be busy, but I'm excited about more new adventures.
