I Just Fall In Love Again

2015 is nearly over. What a long, winding, frustrating, and beautiful year.

The year began with everyone under so much stress, but it ends with the family in good health and spirits. We added to our family with Pixie. She's my sweetie pie and her affections have alleviated a lot of stress I deal with the last eleven months.

Finishing off the year, I was blessed with a rather successful Bookbub promo this month. Damaged and the Beast reached #11 in Amazon free. Nice to know my first romance still has a little life left.

After the promo, I received an amazing and heartfelt message from a reader who enjoyed Beast and Knight. I felt like a million bucks knowing my writing touched her in such a personal way. Real life can be ugly and harsh, yet also beautiful and redemptive. I love knowing readers can find both the light and dark in my writing.

I'm looking forward to starting fresh in 2016. I have ten projects planned. I doubt I'll get most completed, but better to aim high, right? I'm planning to create a new pen name for a few romance books that I want to write, but that won’t fit the Bijou brand. I'm unsure if I want to go with a name that has a 1970's vibe like Shawna or maybe use my brother Freckles’ nickname MJ. I guess I'll wait to pick a name once I have the book written. Also next year I have audio books in the works, and I'm finally putting together box sets for my three series. 

December is my favorite time of the year. The holidays. The decorations. The nostalgia of looking back at the last 12 months. Looking at mistakes made and goals reached. Planning for new adventures and challenges. Most of all, I love cuddling with my kids and enjoying all my blessings.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Thankful Time of Year

I’ve wanted to write this post about everything I’m thankful for, but I didn't know where to begin.

I’m most thankful this year for Pooh’s improved health. When I think of where he was at the start of 2015, I see God's hand guiding those caring for him. His every smile is a blessing.

I’m grateful for Tigger and Roo too. They matured a lot this year. They also learned to appreciate their home after the traveling we did.

I’m grateful for Sally’s continued health. She kicked butt while alone with the animals.

I’m grateful for my friendship with Miranda. She’s been at my side through the difficulties with Pooh. When I was stuck creatively, she helped me dig my way out.

I’m grateful for the many new friends I've made this year. Through some faded from my life quickly, others have formed deep bonds.

Finally, I’m grateful to be able to write. I struggled at times this year with my creativity, leading to only five books published. Call it growing pains or reclaiming my voice, but I lost my way this year. Since I started publishing in the summer of 2013, I’ve put out 26 books. I needed to stop and really consider where I was and what I wanted to do next. Now my writing is reinvigorated and I’m looking forward to where God leads me in 2016.

This year felt like a transitional one. Pooh’s improvements will lead to a new, and hopefully permanent, living situation. My family learned to adjust to not seeing Pooh every day. I’ve rediscovered my writing voice and become more outgoing by attending the signings. Tigger, Roo, and Sally are more independent since our trips. After a year of growth and many blessings, I’m thankful.

Happy Halloween

Anyone who knows me is quite aware of my love of horror movies. My oldest son Tigger loves them too. While he's more of a ghost and slasher fan, my preferred horror tastes lean towards zombies and aliens. With Halloween a few days away, I figured I'd post my favorite horror movies. 

10. Here Comes the Devil (2013)

This quietly disturbing movie bothered me for days after I watched it. The Mexican horror flick is raw and quiet. The evil's normalcy makes everything all too believable.

9. Aliens (1986)

The first one is a classic, but the second one scared me more. There were more aliens, Ripley being a bigger badass, a child in jeopardy, and a group of tough Marines. Even after all these years, Aliens remains an exciting action horror film.

8. Dawn of the Dead (1979)

The first horror movie my brother and I ever watched. The grittiness of the original still gets under my skin. Besides, when the zombie apocalypse happens, who wouldn't want to hang out at the mall?

7. Night of the Creeps (1986)

I enjoy campy horror. This one has sorority girls in danger, a crazy slasher, and zombies. Despite the humor, the idea of alien slugs flying into your mouth, laying eggs in your brain, and turning you into a zombie just freaks me out.

6. [REC] (2007)

Spanish horror movies always leave me happy. This one was a great twist on possession, zombies, and found footage. I really like how the outbreak was related to demon possession rather than a virus. The film's realistic acting and setup makes the movie more terrifying. [REC]2 was really good too while [REC]3 had fantastic gore. I found the final [REC] a disappointment though.

5. Evil Dead 2 (1987)

I still remember driving around Los Angeles when this movie was about to be released and hearing the commercial on the radio. The mother's evil voice scared the shit out of me. The movie was even scarier, plus campy as hell. Evil Dead 2 contains an outstanding performance by Bruce Campbell.

4. Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Campy horror is still horror and this movie gave me the creeps. Zombies that can't be killed are bad enough, but these zombies are extra gooey gross. The sequel was even more awesome for taking place in suburbia. Plus the kid with braces made for a terrifying zombie.

3. The Thing (1982)

Halloween is a great slasher film, but for me John Carpenter's most frightening flick is this alien themed horror. Kurt Russell is immensely likable as he faces paranoia in a camp in Antarctica where anyone might be the monster. The special effects are truly gross and far superior to the CGI used today.

2. Evil Dead (1981)

I saw this movie in junior high with my best buddy Quasar. She thought it was campy fun. I was scared shitless. The OTT effects still creep me out. The 2014 remake was bloody gross, but not nearly as scary. I also missed Ash.

1. Exorcist (1973)

Everyone knows this movie, so there's no need explaining why it's terrifying. I had nightmares from the TV commercials with Regan crab walking down the stairs.

Memorable mentions:

You're Next (2011) - a slasher flick that surprised me in a good way.

Shaun of the Dead (2004) - it's both zombie gross and genuinely funny.

It Follows (2014) - a slow burning and scarily creative movie.

Fulci's Zombie (1979) - despite the horrible acting and writing, the movie is brutally entertaining.

Sinister (2012) - Going into this movie without knowing if the bad guy was a slasher or something supernatural, I was shocked by the effective film.

The Dead (2010) - a low budget zombie flick set in an African country that left me thinking about the outcome for days.

Event Horizon (1997) - a great haunted spaceship flick.

Tremors (1990) - campy fun with the hippy dad from Family Ties packing heat.

Lost Boys (1987) - a teen fave of mine that still holds up after over 25 years.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - paranoia is a powerful tool in horror movies and this one uses the technique just right.

Poltergeist (1982) - the normalcy of the family made the horror so much more effective.

Right or Wrong

I'm back from my fifth signing this year. Sassy in Savannah had a huge reader turnout with so many great authors. I spent half of my time playing fangirl. I finally met Aurora Rose Reynolds and TM Frazier and now have signed copies from them. I didn't get as many pictures as usual, but the place was a madhouse. The organizers did an outstanding job bringing readers out, even during poor weather.

On the way to Savannah, we encountered car trouble. What started as a pain turned into a blessing. I met two wonderful people who helped me with the car. The wife Wanda is a retired journalist and aspiring writer. She's also a woman of Christ, so I was immediately comforted by their help.

The boys enjoyed the trip, but they're happy to be nearly done with traveling. I don't know what I was thinking by agreeing to three signings in a six week period. Fortunately, the last one is in nearby Cincinnati. Plus, my tablemate is Aimie Grey and we'll hook up with Shyla Colt for dinner.

For 2016, I'm planning fewer signings. While I enjoy traveling and meeting authors and readers, the signings take a lot of time and focus away from writing. This year, I'll likely only publish seven books. Since my goal is to write more books each year, something has to give. So far, I've signed up for three signings and I'm on the waiting list for a fourth. It's always possible I might be lured to attend something additional especially if the location is nearby and I have friends signed up.

With all the traveling, I'm behind on Live Wire. Luckily, the last week I've hit a writing groove. I likely won't make the late October release date, but it shouldn't be too much longer. I still plan to get another Bijou book out this year and one from Dakota.

Roo turned 12 in Savannah. My baby is nearly as tall as Sally and me. He has a ways to go before he'll catch up to his big bros though.

Pooh continues to do well at the residential facility. He's currently being prepped to move into a house with one of his roommates. I know this will be a big transition for him, but we hope the move will be his last for a long time.

My faith has been bolstered by the last two years as Pooh struggled then improved. I realized I'd neglected my Christian fantasy books, but finally focused a little money on marketing them. While Angelic Redemption will never be my moneymaking series, I've gained a few fans for the books. I can't express how exciting it is to have people asking when the next Dakota book will be released. Yes, I feel more pressure now, but I love all my books from all my pen names. Though Sally and Miranda enjoy the Dakota books, I'm thrilled to share the AR series will new people.

What I learned from attending these signings is how to mellow out and roll with each experience. I also met so many different authors writing so many different books. Indie publishing has opened the door to such a great variety of voices. In Savannah alone, I met several authors who write in my sub-genre that I'd never heard of and now I'm checking out their books. Even enjoying a large number of author friends, I've barely scratched the surface of the indie publishing revolution.

I better get back to Live Wire, so I'll sign up with the legendary George Strait singing one of my fave country songs.

Gold

Four signings down, two more to go in 2015!

Tigger, Roo, and I enjoyed our time in Louisville. We arrived on Thursday to allow us an extra day with the hotel pool and hot tub. Tigger especially loves swimming.

The Kentuckiana Authors Book Blitz signing took place at a grand theater in downtown Louisville. I wish I'd had more time to explore, but what I did see was quite beautiful. The boys and I set up on the second-floor lounge.

The author at the next table was Cate Peace, a super fun chick. Her friend was really interesting too. Towards the end of the signing, they asked for marketing tips. Cate is with a small publisher. Like most authors, she has trouble finding readers in a crowded market. I shared what I've tried and what's worked for my author friends. I also suggested she try indie publishing. Too many small publishers leave all the work to the authors while taking a chunk of the profits. For an author with the right work ethic and motivations, indie publishing really is the best way to go.

During lunch, I watched Cate's table while she and her friend went to eat. She did the same for the boys and me. She also suggested trying Sicilian Pizza & Pasta a few doors down from the theater. The pizza was delicious and the crust was the best I've ever eaten.

When we returned to the theater, I stopped by the erotica room to see Shyla Colt while my poor boys ended up watching my table. Shyla is simply one of the coolest people I've met. The way she thinks about writing and marketing is so dead on that I had to pry myself away from her table. I can't wait to see her again at the Queen of the West signing next month.

Once everyone packed up at the theater, we headed back to the hotel after a quick stop at Chipotle for dinner. I enjoyed Louisville and might return next year. A lot will depend on my signing schedule by the time author/organizer Atty Eve posts the details for her next book blitz. I have three signings already set and I'm on a few waiting lists. No doubt, God will lead me down the right path.

I meet so many interesting people when I do signings. Authors share their war stories and battle wounds. At the Kentuckiana signing, an author walked up to my table, checked out my books, and asked if I did audio books. I said I hadn't gotten around to it yet. She suggested I give it a try since my books were the type to sell well. After explaining how she put hers together and the way they sold, she returned to her table. This casual sharing of insight is difficult when authors are always behind their computers writing.

Despite the fun of traveling, I was happy to get home to Sally and the pets. Pixie especially missed me. Sally did so well on her own that she's cool with Tigger traveling to Georgia with Roo and me. Normally, I hate leaving her for so long with four animals and their drama. She insists she can keep the pets in line and survive all the whining they do. :)

I need to make the most of the next week and a half before we leave for the Sassy in Savannah signing. I'm still writing two Bijou novels and editing the fourth Angelic Redemption book. Sometimes, I feel like I'll never get ahead by working on three projects simultaneously. Other times, I feel super productive. We'll see how everything turns out in October.

Country Roads

The Carolina Book Fest is over, and I've returned to Indy with Roo. I had a blast meeting readers. I also met top shelf authors including Tabatha Vargo, Beth Flynn, LP Dover, Alyssa Rose Ivy, and Tara Brown. I enjoyed hanging out with my tablemate Valerie Twombly who writes paranormal romance. During quiet times, we discussed marketing. She shared a few ideas she'd seen online while I told her a few tricks I use to increase my ranking with new releases.

At the table next to mine was Kelly Walker who writes YA romance. She was super sweet, even though I kept bumping her table with my big butt every time I got up to rearrange something. An author I nearly missed meeting is Inger Iversen who writes contemporary romance. I met her during in the last hour when I was looking for signatures for a giveaway I'm planning.

The signing was well organized and a lot of readers showed up, so I can't complain about a single thing. In fact, I'll likely sign up for next year even though I've already hit my four signing maximum for 2016.

The signing was held at the Hilton hotel, and I was able to upgrade my room. The view from our 11th floor bay window was so impressive that even Mr. Nonchalant Roo was impressed.

Despite all the fun, I had a stressful week. I'm rushing as always to get another book out. Thunderstruck took longer than I planned (heard that before) but thanks to Candy Girl (again I've said this before), I'll make the Thursday release date.

I planned to contribute a novella to a box set later in the year. Unfortunately, this plan fell through, and now I'll publish the story myself. The upside is I can flesh out the romance without worrying about word counts.

The rest of the year should be busy. I have three more signings scheduled along with three books to publish after Thunderstruck. I'd love to get a fourth book out, but with the change in the box set situation, I don't see that happening.

During the drive to Charlotte, I came up with a new idea. I'm thinking the two or three book series could be written next year. I'm allowing my gut to dictate what to write next rather than forcing stories.

My next project is to clean up Wounded Soul (FINALLY) and publish the fourth Angelic Redemption novel next month for my Dakota pen name. I'm giving myself a week to edit the book before I start my new Bijou story.

My next signing is the Kentuckiana Authors Book Blitz in Louisville. I'm excited about this one for several reasons. One is I'm able to do a little pimping for Dakota. I figured since this signing has such a wide range of genres represented, I could show off the new covers Miranda created for the AR series. This is the first signing where I'm able to give my Christian fantasy series any attention.

Another reason I'm excited is that Tigger and Roo will join me for the day. The theater where the signing takes place is quite beautiful and I knew they'd enjoy looking around. Most romance signings would bore them, yet the various genres at the KABB should keep them entertained.

Finally, I decided to join the signing when I saw one particular woman on the author list. I admit I fangirl Shyla Colt, but can anyone blame me? She's desperately cool and charming. We'll be at the same signing next year in Mississippi, but I'm hoping we get a chance to chat next month too.

I can't believe August is nearly over. I still have plenty of work to do. Hope everyone is enjoying the end of their summer (or winter if you live on the other side of the equator).

Cacapoopoopeepeeshire

How is July over? The month flew by, as it tends to do every summer.

I spent the month decluttering the house and collecting things for a charity pickup. Like most families, we keep things we don't need. I still have clothes and toys from when the boys were babies. It's my hope to move to a new house in a few years. Downsizing the amount of belongings we have now will gives us fewer things to move later.

July marked the eleventh year we've lived in Indianapolis. This is the longest I've stayed in one home. As a kid, we tended to move every five years.

Moving from California to Indiana remains a great decision. The cost of living is better and we enjoy four seasons. I had no idea how much better the schools were or how easily the state allow parents to home school. I never saw myself homeschooling, to be honest. Yet this will be my third year doing just that with Roo.

He begins 6th grade this Monday. Like many kids, he isn't thrilled to start school. He'd rather spend all day playing Xbox or Roblox. Oh, well, he'll survive a few hours of schoolwork a day.

Pooh's health remains improved, but it'll always be a struggle. He's doing well at the residential facility, playing softball on the weekends and visiting the zoo last week. Soon, he'll be moved to a home for his adult care. My hope is Pooh will be settled into a more permanent location by the holidays.

Writing-wise, I'm still working on Thunderstruck. A few times during this book, I've lost my way and had to step back. In fact, I've been rather stuck creatively this year, publishing only three books. I had expected to be farther ahead in 2015. Despite the slow start, I still hope to have eight books out by the end of the year including one for Dakota. Considering August is here and I'm still working on Thunder, eight books out by December 31st feels like a foolish dream, but I'm all about aiming high and falling short.

I remind myself that since July 2012 I've published 24 books (Angela - 8, Dakota - 3, Bijou - 13) True, many of them are now unpublished since I don't have the time or focus to finish the Angela series. One day, I'll clean them up and republish. First, I need to finish my Dakota series, which should be completed in 2017.

On the 25th, I joined a fellow author, Aimie Grey, for lunch in Richmond, Indiana (halfway between her home in Ohio and mine in Indy). We enjoyed pizza at a quirky place and talked about writing for hours. It's always fun to discuss the creative process. I'll see Aimie again in October when we attend the Queen of the West signing.

August will be a busy month. I'm publishing Thunderstruck on the 20th. I have the Carolina Book Fest on the 15th. I'm also hoping to finish the edits on Wounded this month. Oh, and I need to get started on the novelette I'm writing for a box set due in mid-September.

Here's hoping August is a fun and productive month for everyone!

 

FYI, the post title comes from an episode of Family Guy. This joke had Roo and me in stitches.

The Pants

June is nearly over and what a month it proved to be. Two book signings, a book release, and a lot of family fun. As much as I enjoyed traveling, I'm looking forward to spending July close to home. Besides writing, I plan to spend the next few weeks enjoying the movies, bowling, and miniature golf.

Tigger and Roo joined me at the Crowne Plaza in Louisville during the last signing. They swam and enjoyed room service. Tigger got a chance to try Zaxby's (don't ask me why Roo loves it so much). I didn't get to spend much time with them since I attended the meet & greet and the after party.

At the Louisville signing, I met cool authors like Scarlet Wolfe, JM Madden, Atty Eve, Emma Shade, and Jessie Lane. I was super lucky when Julia Sykes was sweet enough to give me a signed copy of her newest book. Plus, Laramie Briscoe, Seraphina Donavan, and Chelsea Camaron donated swag and books for a giveaway on Nic's Novel Idea. Finally, I was able to spend time with Aimie Gray at the after party where we learned about a signing scheduled for October. Now we'll be tablemates in Cincinnati.

Writing-wise, I'm working on Thunderstruck. While it's technically the first book in the Ramsey series, I plan to write the books as standalones. After finishing two series in the last six months, I crave the freedom of a standalone romances. After Thunderstruck, I'll work on my novella for a box set.

I'm also inching along in the edit of Wounded Soul for my Dakota pen name. Creatively, I want to work on Thunder, so Wounded keeps being pushed to the back burner. I do plan to get it finished this summer, so the book will be ready to showcase at the Kentuckiana Authors Book Blitz in September. I'm hoping to pimp both Bijou and Dakota at that particular signing. Roo and Tigger will also be with me, so it should be a relaxed and fun occasion.

Here's hoping July is relaxed and fun for everyone!

50 Ways to Say Goodbye

Naughty in the South 2015 was great! Sure, there was some drama with the organizer, but none of it affected me. Being a midlister has its benefits. I just kept my head down and focused on my table.

Instead of trying to micromanage everything, I allowed God to take the lead during the trip. Roo and I arrived in Birmingham safely. We were assigned a room on the 14th floor, and Roo loved looking down at the hotel's Atrium restaurant.

On Friday, I skipped the Meet & Greet. Instead, I met the super cool Shyla Colt. We talked for over an hour, and I was thrilled to learn she's not only attending the Kentuckiana Authors Book Blitz in Sept. She's also going to the Outlaw Biker signing in 2016. That one should be phenomenal with Shyla, Laramie Briscoe, Jordan Marie, Sapphire Knight, Nicole James (who asked me to attend...eep!), and plenty more of the coolest MC romance authors.

Back to Birmingham, I was thrilled when a reader named Tiffany showed up. Having read Beast not long after it was published, she was one of my first "fangirls." Tiffany proved to be as great in person as online. I felt really blessed to see her there.

I had no idea how many books to bring to the signing, so I went with a handful of each of my 12 books (Wind's paperbacks weren't ready yet). I ended up selling all but two.

During the signing, I met Chelsea Camaron who worked on the Blue Colla box set. At the table next to mine was Tia Louise. She's also from the Indy area, so it was great meeting another Hoosier author. I'll see Chelsea again at the Louisville Authors Event and Tia at Sassy in Savannah in October.

I ended up skipping the after party. I wasn't feeling great and decided to hang with Roo instead. My little man was an amazing travel partner. He loves hotels and eating out. He even helped me set up my signing table. Roo made his mama proud.

Now that I'm back home, I need to prep for the Louisville Authors Event. I'm also editing Wounded Soul for my Dakota pen name. Yesterday, I started writing Thunderstruck for Bijou.

Well I had better get back to work if I want to make all my upcoming release dates. These books won't write (or edit) themselves.

Happy Birthday, Candy Girl!

Happy birthday to the awesome Candy Girl! My PA, cover illustrator, and BFF is too badass for words. I don't want to get all sappy, but the chick is both wise and creative. She keeps me on my toes and has saved my ass more than once. I have no idea where I'd be today if I hadn't met her back in 2013.

For the second year, I managed to publish on Miranda's birthday. I plan to make it a tradition. Last year was Used and this time around is In the Wind.

When readers first asked if I planned to write a book for Sawyer Johansson, I thought, "nope." A book set in the future felt tricky, and I didn't want to keep writing the same series forever. In the back of my mind though, I played with ideas for Sawyer while interest increased with every Damaged book.

Her book proved to be tricky, but not because it's set in the future. Maybe I jumped into the story too soon after finishing Broken Memphis. All I know is I had trouble getting into the heads of Sawyer and Jace. The side characters began taking over the story, and the romance felt lacking. A romance without chemistry isn't a romance no matter how much I say so.

The fix to the story came to me AFTER I finished the first draft and announced the release date. Thanks to Miranda, I got my ass in gear, fixed what needed fixing, and smoothed the rougher parts of the story. Only with her help did the book make its June 3 release date. Yeah, she's that good.

To give my Bijou brain a rest, this week I'm editing Wounded Soul for my Christian series. Miranda recently designed new covers for the three earlier books. I don't give my Dakota pen name much love since it doesn't pay the bills. Even so, I write those books out of a personal desire to tell the story. At this rate, I'll likely finish the series in 2017 since I'm publishing one book a year. They'll be finished though, which is more than I can say for my Angela books. One day, I do hope to give them proper endings.

This week, I'm driving to Birmingham, Alabama for my first signing since Houston in Jan. '14. I'll also attend the Louisville Authors Event two weeks later. During my author lunch last month, Laramie and Seraphina suggested I join the Louisville signing they're both attending. They called the organizer who said a spot was open. Voila! I'm now attending four signings this year.

June will be a busy month. Besides publishing and book signings, I'm taking Tigger and Roo to Holiday World. We've lived in Indiana for over a decade, yet never visited the amusement park. Finally, we can go. If we enjoy it, I'd love to visit often. When we lived in California, I took Tigger and Pooh to Disneyland at least once a month.

Roo is done with 5th grade and enjoying his reward - a video game. I'll start his summer school work after we return from Holiday World. I can already hear the whining.

After I go through the edit of Wounded Soul and get it to Miranda and Sally, I'll start on a new Bijou book. I'm looking forward to writing something different. I want to step away from motorcycle club romances for the next few books. In 2016, I have two MC series planned and at least one MC themed signing scheduled. I won't forget my tattooed biker boys and their tough chicks, but for the rest of the year, I'm shaking things up a bit.

As you all know, I met Miranda through my blog about a BBA. We don't blog anymore, so someone asked me if the BBA still cause trouble. Of course. Creating drama is a hobby for those people. Just recently, I discovered the sock of the more obsessive ones. She's manage to friend all of the "bullies and trolls." Now I admit she's pretty clever with her sock, and I'd seen this account more than once on BookLikes without giving it a second thought. Of course, everyone has their tells, and her arrogance gave her away. Once I figured out who was the behind the sock, I was able to figure out another one of this BBA's secret pen names. 

Why not out the sock? She's not harming anyone. If she wants to pal around with people she hates, so be it. She's not paling around with Miranda or me. No one who is buddies with her seems to be bothered by her and she isn't accessing private info. Sure, she's pimping her own books, even writing reviews for them, but whatever. She always pulls that shit and she always will. Outing her sock will just mean the end to that particular sock. She'll be back with another one or two or ten. Plus once I out her, she'd become more obsessed with me. She's always been one of the least entertaining BBA focused on me. I prefer her more as her sock than as the real person. I say let her play her games. If she gets a few sales (a handful at most) with her lies, the readers scammed are smart enough to return the books if they don't like them. If they enjoy the books, no harm is done.

Miranda and I occasionally check into the BBA activity, but everything is too nasty. Negative behavior has escalated. Outing people's addresses. Calling their homes. Showing up at their houses. Attacking them physically. Their current nastiness makes the good old days of calling their enemies crazy fat sluts seem quaint. Turning our backs on the crap freed up a lot of time to write and read. The BBA always wanted us to focus on things that made us happy (and stop pointing out their lies). Well, they got their wish. Miranda now receives a lot of ARCs because more and more people are realizing what a cool chick she is. Somehow she manages to handle ARCs, my madness, and a fulltime job. Yep, she's that good.

Happy birthday, Candy Girl!!! The two videos are Miranda's choices. No one can say the chick doesn't have great taste! :)

The Big Time

Happy birthday to my middle son! Pooh is eighteen today. Each week, his health improves. We visited him yesterday and he smiled so much. A year ago, we couldn't get him to eat anything solid. During our visit though, he chowed down on fresh fruit plus cupcakes. Pooh loves cupcakes.

This week was wild publishing-wise. I had everything planned perfectly until Amazon decided I might not own the copyright for Rebound Biker.

I really should have prepared for this issue since Miranda pointed out such problems can arise from box sets. I admit I was freaking out a bit on Thursday evening and Friday morning. Fortunately, Laramie Briscoe followed up my messages to Amazon with one of her own since she was the account holder for the box set. Once she sent her message, Amazon quickly published Rebound Biker and I was able to get everything in order for my free promo.

With Rebound Biker's short length (just under 20,000 words) and so many of my regular readers already owning a copy from the box set, I figured I'd use free days to reach new readers. Also for those core readers who missed the box set and subscribe to my mailing list, I sent them a copy. Hopefully, the new readers who grab a free copy will like RB enough to try out a few of my other books. 

Broken Memphis has sold well even at a 3.99 price point. I'm always nervous about going that high since romance buyers tend to be voracious readers. Budget becomes a concern for them and I don't want to price myself out of top of the to-read pile. One reason Broken has solid numbers was through the help of a blogger who is a member of a lot of romance groups. I kept seeing her posts coming up (I get FB notices when my name is tagged) and I got to thinking she'd be perfect to help me.

I always lag with marketing. While I'm getting the hang of using promos, I still only utilize a few sites (BookBub, Romance Reads, and Bknights). I need help getting the word out. So I asked Nicole if she would like to be my Virtual Assistant. I'm super thrilled she agreed. Now I'll have help with organizing ARCs and other marketing avenues. I suspect one reason most of my books only rank as high as the 800's is from a lack of marketing. I have my core group of readers. If I want to reach 500 and below on Amazon, I need to expand my core group. Now I have Nicole to help me get organized.

In totally random news, an author I was chatting with on FB mentioned how she was lunching with an editor from Harlequin and they talked about MY writing. This is a best selling author and an editor who regularly works with top notch YA romance authors saying how they love my books and my unique voice. Talk about a boost for the ego.

I have met so many positive people on FB. The reality is when I was interviewing authors and pimping them on my blog I just didn't have enough reach to make a difference. On FB though, I know of readers of mine who've tried the books of authors I've pimped. They're now fans of those authors. Contrary to what many authors (usually unsuccessful ones) believe, there is a great amount of harmony and cooperation in the indie author world.

It's been a year since I put aside my blogs (besides this one and Bijou's). At first, I really missed blogging, but I lacked the time to keep up with the work involved. Now I love using FB and BookLikes to share info about sales and new releases. The interviews were a lot of work too and often I'd never hear from the authors again. Some of them seem to have even quit writing. So while blogging was fun, I prefer the kind of interactions I have now with authors and readers.

May will be a busy month. I need to finish writing In the Wind and begin editing. I'm also preparing for the Alabama signing on June 6. I ordered a new banner designed by Kari Ayasha. Meanwhile, Miranda is working on the bookmark designs. She's completed the Damaged bookmark and is trying to work with the picture I want for the Memphis series. I'm also ordering other swag for the signing.

In two weeks, I'll head to Louisville, Kentucky for another author lunch. This time, I'll travel alone. Even Moms with awesome kids need private time. I haven't been on my own for more than a few hours in a very long time, so this will be a new adventure for me. During the weekend visit, I'm meeting one of my beta readers for lunch too.

May is also Roo's last month of school. He's thrilled summer is nearly here. I'm pretty damn excited too. I like homeschooling, but everyone enjoys a bit of a break. He'll finish school the week before we travel to Alabama. Tigger will remain home with Sally for this trip. Let's hope those two don't throw any wild parties while we're gone. :P

Well I should return to writing Sawyer and Jace if I want to make my planned release date. June is just around the corner after all.

Enjoy a few new songs by my fave singer Dwight Yoakam!