Here comes Soul Mate Publishing!

Today’s a special day!

Soul Mate Publishing has officially launched!

Stop by and check out these amazing titles:

 Love’s Guardian

 Prince Charming, Inc.

 Blood and Kisses

That Carrington Magic

Trust of the Heart

 Hunted

 Legacy of Olympus

 Bizarre Life of Sydney Sedrick

And these are just the beginning. More great books are waiting in the wings!

Stop by and be sure to let them know – Casey sent you!

We are also having a Blog Hop. Click here to participate.

 

Let’s Go to the Hop!

Hey everyone!

Soul Mate Publishing is launching on October 12th! To celebrate, we’re having a blog hop.

Here is the link:

This is a Blog Hop!


 
 
 
 
 
 
You are next… Click here to enter
This list will close in 3 days, 15 hrs, 44 min (10/14/2011 12:59 AM CST)What is a blog hop?
Get the code here…

Mystic Ink – Sold!!

Happy Friday everyone! Please be sure to check out my Friday Scribe post – Go Graphic (Novel, that is). And thank you to everyone who left me condolences for my beloved Oreo.

Now to the big news. 

Mystic Ink has been sold to Soul Mate Publishing!!

I don’t have a release date yet. When I do I will be sure to share it with everyone.

Soul Mate is a new e-publisher and I would love your support in making them a success. Please be sure to “like” them on Facebook! and check the page often for news.

As can be expected, my focus is going to shift away from plotting and onto revisions for Mystic Ink. I’m very excited about this new venture. A big thanks to my critique partners and beta readers who helped me refine the book.

Stay tuned! And see you next week.

Welcome to the Broken Hearted Club

Hey everyone. Please be sure to visit me over at the Scribes for my post on Chocolate Cupcakes of Doom (and our new recipe page) . And Saturday, be sure to read part two of Lynn Kurland’s interview.

So you may have noticed, I’m not my usual cheerful self.

Another beloved pet has left our family. It’s been  hard to lose three pets in less than a year. Granted, they were all in their elder years.  My cat Ollie was almost 19 (see here)! And there was Sparky (almost 14 years) back in October 2010 (more on him later).

This time we lost Oreo. Our beautiful dalmatian. Our girlie! The love muffin.

The spotted love girl
 
We adopted her the day before Thanksgiving in 2003. My husband and I decided many years earlier to adopt all our Dalmatians. They are a mischievous breed and not for everyone, so many of them are given up for adoption. She came from New Jersey and was a little freaked out to be left behind by her former owners (who wanted the best for her). I’m glad they decided we would be her new family.
 
She was six years old at the time. Super lovie and naughty, naughty. Like all Dals, she loved to steal food. She once ate an entire bowl of apples. Later, a brand new loaf of rye bread from Panera was consumed in one sitting. 
 
Ah, good times. I could tell you more stories, but we don’t have all day.
 
Eventually, she chilled out. But we were always vigilant. Dalmatians never forget food and will forever swipe anything you’re dumb enough to leave at nose length.
 
She loved all of us, but her most favorite person was my husband. And he loved her right back. Sometimes, I teased him that he loved her more than me.
Her number one human buddy
 
In 2005, we adopted Sparky from a shelter. He had been abandoned and was a little loony. He really wanted me to be the only person in his family (I was his number one girl). We made the painful decision to put him to sleep last October, when his body just crapped out on him.
Sparky boy - big dog crammed on little chair.
 
 
We faced the same dilemma with Oreo. No matter how sick or decrepit, it never makes the decision any easier. 
 
I still have two cats left – a brother/sister pair and I know when their time comes, it will hurt just as much. Here’s hoping, I won’t be writing that post anytime soon.
 
Come visit me next week when I hope to have much better news to share. 
 
Feel free to leave me a comment your furry loved ones, past and present.
 
 
 

Lynn Kurland at the Scribes!

Hi everyone,

Please stop by the Scribes today. We have a very special guest – three time RITA Award winner and New York Times bestselling novelist, Lynn Kurland!!!

Click here to read her interview  – http://wp.me/p1wdXo-q4

Be sure to visit the Scribes on Saturday, when we post the second part of the interview.

Now the Fun Begins!

Happy Friday everyone.  Don’t forget to visit me at the Scribes today and say “hi” to our special guest – Frankie Robertson. She’s discussing her move to indie publishing and her new, traditionally published book – Veiled Mirror.

After a few weeks of waiting, I’ve received critique for The Undead Space Initiative. The overall reception has been positive. The book isn’t perfect (nothing ever is) and I have a bunch of questions, comments and “things that may need more explaining” to sift through.

To my beta readers and critique partners – thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to read and comment on my book. The book will only be better because of you.

How should a writer deal with feedback? Gracefully is always a good place to start. Try not to stress about it or take it personally.

But, practically, you also can’t please everyone. Nor can you re-make the book is someone else’s image. Balance is necessary. Take what works for you and discard the rest. But don’t toss it completely away (more on this at the end of the post).

One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn is what should be changed or not changed based on critique. Monday’s Scribe – Jamie Pope- has done a great blog post on critique and I urge you to read it!

The two questions I always ask myself – Do I agree? Will the change make the book better?

Notice, I didn’t ask, “Do I like it?” It doesn’t matter if I like the feedback or not. It doesn’t matter whether I want to hear that I might need to change something.  If I agree, I suck it up, start evaluating, and make the changes.

Also, notice I said,  “If I agree.”

And I always try to apply the unused, technique-related feedback to my next novel. That way I can grow and improve as a writer.

Besides, I’m still the Author Goddess. And what I say goes.

Evil Plotting

Yay! Another Friday. Don’t forget to check out my post over at the Scribes – I’m late, I’m late…for what exactly? and meet the Naggy Bunny.

Another week has come and gone. And I’m sad to say, not much plotting has happened for Devil’s Advocate.

I spent most of the week helping my fellow writers. I’ve been honored to read their works in progress and provide my feedback. I’ve read some sci-fi, paranormal romance, middle grade adventure and contemporary. I have such talented friends!!

I’ve received feedback on The Undead Space Initiative. So far, no one has told me the story is bad. I’ve gotten mostly high marks, which is always nice. Still, I’m not resting on my laurels. There will be edits. I’m not sure what form they will take yet.

I’ve been mostly reflective this week. Thinking about my new characters. What do they want? How will they achieve their goals?What happens next (my favorite question to answer).  Not all that different from talking to my sons (what do you want to do with your life?).

Just thinking about the word “plotting” brings to mind a different word – scheming. When you think about it, as a writer, you really are contriving an entire story out of thin air – creating a whole new world that didn’t previously exist. Totally cool and frightening at the same time. And once the story is published, then that world is shared with your readers. They bring their own expectations and realities. Your world isn’t only in your head anymore.

It’s a big responsibility, which is why I spend more time on plotting, character creation, etc. than I do writing. I’ve learned the hard way that planning ahead works best for me. In a few weeks NaNo WriMo will begin and I plan to be prepared (like a good Boy Scout mother).

It’s hard to believe Fall is almost here. I’ll leave you with a photograph I took last October at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. If you live in the area and you’ve never been – plan a trip. Right now.

Here comes Autumn

All’s Quiet on the Writer Front

Happy Friday everyone. Please remember to visit the 7 Scribes today – I am the Author Goddess.

Here’s how I’ve been keeping busy while I wait for feedback on The Undead Space Intiative.

  • A few days ago I received some awesome news – I finished first place in another contest. While it’s excellent news to receive, winning contests hasn’t really brought any offers from the editor judges. But that’s okay. As I reported last week, I have actually submitted to more publishers and plan to continue to do so.
  • I have spent most of this week working on the synopsis for The Undead Space Initiative. And I use the term “working” loosely! For some reason, writing an entire novel is easier than a two page synopsis. I’m down to the basic information and now all I need to do is polish it up.
  • Completing the synopsis (and, drat, I need to do a query letter -groan!) frees my mind to work on Devil’s Advocate. I have the main characters but not a fully formed plot. The plot is stewing in the back of my mind this week.
  • And I am taking two classes with a third one starting next week.

None of the aforementioned activities includes my full time job, family (also a full time job) or time spent doing other things like reading, Scribes stuff, Twitter. etc.

And speaking of  the Scribes – we have been very busy booking guest bloggers including: Frankie Roberston, Sandra Orchard, Julia Rachel Barrett, Kinley Baker, Jennifer Fusco, and Kristan Higgins.

I hope to see you all next week. Until then – happy writing!

Celtic Hearts – First Place!

Hi everyone!

Ascension won first place in the FF&P category in Celtic Hearts Romance Writer’s Golden Claddagh Contest!

It’s nice to hear a “yes”once in a while! Yay!