Time Warp

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.

Happy Halloween!

Change

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 really don’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.

Knock 'Em Out

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.

Until next time, be sure to smile...

Redneck Friend

What a wild week! When I last posted on the blog, I'd just published Little Memphis. I was really worried many of my readers wouldn't be interested in LM because they were focused on the final Damaged book. I was thrilled to have so many tell me they enjoyed the new series and looked forward to more. That was Friday the 19th.

The next morning, my son Pooh was taken to the hospital. We waited in the ER for nearly twelve hours before he was released. Fortunately, he's shown improvements over the week. With Pooh, life is always a struggle.

Once my boy was home and safe, I was able to work on Damaged and the Saint. I expected LM to perform like the last few Damaged books with a strong few days before tapering off over the week. At first, the sales were on par for what I expected. Then I ran a promo on Sunday. Within days, I reached the highest ranking of my writing career.

What's exciting is how many new readers have been introduced to my books. They're also itching for the next Memphis book. The feedback has been so positive that I decided to make Little Memphis MC a trilogy. This will add a new book to my already booked 2015 scheduled.

Along with the final Memphis book, I plan to start a biker trilogy next year. What's funny is how the series started as my subject line in an email to Miranda. I wrote how a bad mood was rising. She responded that Bad Men Rising would make a cool title for a book or series. Next thing we knew, ideas were brewing and an entire new world was born.

So it was a wild week because of Pooh's health, but can I really complain? As a midlist author, I'm blessed to hit such a ranking and sell thousands of books in the first week. Whether I do as well in the future is always up in the air, but writing books rather than this blog would probably help. :P

I'll leave you with one of my favorite country songs ever...

Yes, I Am

High five for book six in 2014! Little Memphis went live yesterday as scheduled. So far, feedback is positive, sales are solid, and I'm already focused on my next project ~ Damaged and the Saint. As a midlist author, I can never slows down. Certainly not in the competitive indie market.

Once again, Candy Girl helped me put together the book. She designed the cover and teasers too. For the first time, she read the book in parts while I wrote it. Her feedback was helpful especially for the character of Bebe.

I'm excited to have a signing on the schedule for 2015. There's an incredible amount of competition in the romance world, so grabbing a spot at a cool signing is always a boon. I've never been to Savannah, Georgia. Neither have my boys and the signing will be on Roo's 12th birthday. Talk about a fun trip.

I'd love to travel more and my family's rather bohemian lifestyle allows for trips. Unfortunately, Pooh's chronic health issues make leaving often difficult. We're currently looking for additional help, so Sally won't be on her own when I'm out of town.

October is one of my favorite months. Both Roo and Sally have birthdays. It's Fall Break, so we have two weeks off from school. Plus Halloween is fun. My boys are no longer interested in trick or treating, so we watch horror comedies (Scary Movie or This Is the End) and order pizza.

Well it's been a weird month. Better than August, but still a lot of ups and downs. Things are beginning to settle and I'm looking forward to writing Saint. I'm adding a little color to the lily-white town of Ellsberg. I'll also introduce characters from future series. 

Well I should probably get back to writing since my next deadline is right around the corner. I'll end with a little more Melissa Etheridge.

All About That Bass

It's been awhile since I blogged. August is always a funky month for me. Roo starts school, meaning I need to create his coursework. Tigger and I had dental issues last month. He bounced back faster than I did. Ah, to be young.

This month is already proving to be better. I finished writing Little Memphis. The first book in my new romance series is now in the hands of my beta readers. No doubt it'll need tweaking and proofing, but the toughest part is over. Best of all, I'm not scrambling at the very last minute as usual.

In September 2013, I gave up my teaching work to write full-time. I can't believe I'm able to pay my bills doing what I love. Professionally writing is a dream I've had since I was a kid, but I'd nearly given up on it until the indie publishing revolution.

There's no rest for the wickedly happy. As soon as Little Memphis is published, I'll start on the final Damaged book. Saint might prove to be a starting point for a spin-off series. As Candy Girl pointed out though, I have so many projects lined up that I'll probably publish the books in 2020.

For this year, the plan is to publish the two Little Memphis books and Saint. I've also been invited to contribute to a box set coming out next year. I can't get into the details, but I'm psyched for my novella to be sold alongside those by such cool authors.

I hoped to attend a few signings in Houston in November. Unfortunately, those opportunities fell through. While I love traveling and meeting readers, focusing on writing and family in November makes sense. I also want a little time to edit the next Dakota book.

Before I sign off, I'm sending praying to all those lost in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

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.