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More Romance

Things got by me last month, and I didn’t post here on Slice of Orange. I thought about it when it was just a little late but decided I didn’t have anything as exciting to say as the posts already there, so I chose not to say anything.

But here I am. I’m back! And this is a special month.

Yes, it’s August–can you believe the year is going so fast?

August is the publication month of my latest Harlequin Romantic

Suspense, COVERT ALLIANCE. It’s part of my Identity Division mini-series about a non-witness protection program. As with the last story, the heroine has had her identity changed for her protection. But now there’s a critical reason for her to ignore her promises and return to the place she learned of criminal activity that resulted in threats to her life, but that she couldn’t help prove if the bad guys were arrested. Someone else from the Identity Division is now in town collecting evidence–and of course, the two of them meet. And clash. And are highly attracted to one another…

As you may know, these days I’ve been writing more cozy mysteries than romances, but that may be about to change. The book I’m working on now is one of my Harlequin Nocturnes, a paranormal romance about Alpha Force, a covert military unit of shapeshifters. Looks as if I may be writing another Alpha Force story, too. And a different Harlequin Romantic Suspense series as well. It’s not completely decided yet, but I’m excited.

Meanwhile, I had a great time at the RWA National Conference last month. Hope you did, too. And I’m planning on attending this month’s OCC meeting, and I hope to see you there as well!

Linda O. Johnston

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Coming Out of the Writing Closet

August 5, 2016 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz tagged as 2016 RWA National Conference, John Bucholtz, Kitty Bucholtz, middle-grade fiction, Tracy Reed

Hi OCC Family. I am still recuperating from my first RWA Conference last month. The conference reminded me of one of the trade shows I attend. Itâ€™s also like going to a place youâ€™ve always wanted to go. Youâ€™re exhausted, but want to see and do everything because itâ€™s your first time and you paid for it.

This month, I wanted to introduce you to a new writer, John Bucholtz. If the name sounds familiar, it should be, because itâ€™s Kitty Bucholtzâ€™s husband. John is new to writing, and I think youâ€™ll enjoy hearing from him.

Enjoy the post and Iâ€™ll update you next month on my 12 Titles project.

Tracy

Heeerrrreeeâ€™s Johnâ€¦

Coming Out of the Writing Closet

A couple weeks ago, I chose to come out of the writing closet.

No, Mom, I haven’t lost my mind.

No, my marriage to my wife is okay.

I have decided to come out and tell everyone â€“ I’m a writer. I have spent years hiding the fact that I write fiction from most of my friends and family. For some odd reason, I associated some sort of stigma to it. I always pictured stoop-shouldered figures bent over their computers writing for hours on end, finally emerging into the sunlight to scuttle off and toil away at their day jobs. People would look after them, shaking their heads and whispering to each other, “Oh, he says he’s a writer, but he still has a day job. He must not be serious.”

But I discovered I was completely wrong.

Writing is a passion. Writing is an art like painting or drawing that you want to share with the world. Writing isn’t just about trying to get published and make lots of money. (Well, okay, I would be lying to say I wouldn’t mind something like that.) It’s about sharing an adventure with someone else. It’s taking someone and showing them a world that you find interesting, amusing, and yes, maybe even scary. You write because there are these voices in your head that whisper to you to tell a story. (Please be careful what kind of voices they are â€“ some require therapy.)

But I guess writing is a type of therapy for many of us. We do it to quiet the voices in our heads. We do it to finally put words to the pictures and images we see that we think the world might find interesting, to situations that we find humorous, or to an adventure we want friends to undertake with us.

I went to the Romance Writers of America (RWA) National Conference in San Diego in July with my wife. It was my first ever writing conference, the first time I thought about trying to be taken seriously as a writer. This conference was good for me on so many levels. Not only did I meet seasoned veterans of the writing world, but I had the opportunity to meet a handful of literary agents and a smattering of book publishers.

I ran into a surprising number of wide-eyed and slightly frightened first-time attendees like me. It was comforting to see their mutual excitement and nervousness at being at a national conference attended by their peers. The classes not only catered to the romance crowd, but many of the classes could be applied to the writing of any genre. (For instance, I write books for junior high boys.) And the energy and plain helpful attitude of the more experienced attendees and staff quickly made me a little less nervous and more excited in attending the first of what I hope will be many writing conferences and seminars in the future.

My wife told me something after my first day there that I quickly found true: “I think you’re going to find that these are your people.” I was surrounded by other people who heard the little voices in their heads, who created strange worlds and the many characters who inhabited them and the adventures they went on. My wife was one hundred percent correct.

So I’m here to say to the world: Hello, my name is John Bucholtz, and I am a writer.

John Bucholtz

Middle-grade author, husband, artist, funny guy but easily distracte…

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Books That Helped Me Start Writing Again #amwriting

July 17, 2016 by Linda McLaughlin in category The Romance Journey by Linda Mclaughlin tagged as #amwriting, Linda McLaughlin, Procrastination, writers block

I’m finally writing again after a long hiatus, thanks to the wonderful Speed Writing class I took this year, taught by M.M. Pollard. Here are three of the books that helped me to get back on track.

The 8-Minute Writing Habit: Create a Consistent Writing Habit That Works With Your Busy Lifestyle
(Growth Hacking For Storytellers)
by Monica Leonelle
Spaulding House, 2015

This book was recommended in the fabulous online Speed Writing class taught by M. M. Pollard for OCCRWA, and it’s the method that helped me break a long-standing writers block. I tried the 8 by 8 Challenge, which required me to write at least 8 minutes every day for 8 days. After the first couple of days, I was writing for more than 8 minutes. And now I have a first draft of my novel. Color me happy.

Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind
(The 99U Book Series)
by Jocelyn K. Glei
Amazon Publishing 2013
I’ve been listening to the audiobook in the car, and I am really loving this book/ I expect I will read/listen to it more than once. Glei includes lots of ideas from other people, to wit:

Featuring contributions from: Dan Ariely, Leo Babauta, Scott Belsky, Lori Deschene, Aaron Dignan, Erin Rooney Doland, Seth Godin,Todd Henry, Christian Jarrett, Scott McDowell, Mark McGuinness, Cal Newport, Steven Pressfield, Gretchen Rubin, Stefan Sagmeister, Elizabeth G. Saunders, Tony Schwartz, Tiffany Shlain, Linda Stone, and James Victore. Plus, a foreword from Behance founder & CEO Scott Belsky.

I’m not familiar with most of these people, but their ideas are thought-provoking and useful. For instance, setting time aside in your weekly schedule for those big projects, and if someone wants to do something else at that time, just tell them, “Sorry, I have an appointment.” It’s okay to make an appointment with yourself. Another compared time to a jar of rocks. If you put the big rocks in first, the little ones will squeeze in around them. If you fill the jar with little rocks, sand and water, there may not be any room for the big rocks.

A similar idea to that last one is…

Eat that Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
by Brian Tracy
Berrett-Koehler Publishers 2007

I’ve only read about 20% of the book, but am finding it quite interesting. The frog quote comes from Mark Twain, who said that if you have to eat a frog, do it first. If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first. In other words, tackle the big, important tasks first while you have the energy to deal with them. Good advice. Too bad I don’t take it more often. Guess I better finish reading the book!

But first it’s time to tackle those revisions!

I’m re-working a sensual Western historical romance called Lily and the Gambler. An abbreviated version of the story was published by Amber Quill Press as a mildly erotic romance. I’ve lengthened the book considerably, revised the plot, and plan to self-publish it some time this year. It really does feel good to be writing again.

Linda McLaughlin
aka Lyndi Lamont
website: http://lindalyndi.com

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Royal Magic and The Road to Monterra: Part 2 by Jina Bacarr

July 11, 2016 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat tagged as Amazon, Confessions of a Podcast Goddess, count, countess, gondola, Italian, Italy, Kindle, magic, New Adult, nobility, novel, pizza, romance, royal, silks, Venice, worlds

Is magic what we see or what we think we see?

Find out in ROYAL MAGIC, my next The Royals of Monterra Kindle Worlds story.

I had a time of it getting all the magic tricks down, making sure I walked the characters through the steps without giving it away to the reader. The real magic was creating a girl from South Philly with an ache in her heart to make something right in her family that caused so much pain years ago…and not give the surprise away!

I loved creating this world within Sariah Wilson’s world — I was inspired by what was magic to me when I attended La Biennale...here’s what happened:

I love it when art imitates life. When something so unexpected happens to you that you know someday it will become a story. The inspiration for Royal Magic, showed up in an email from the cultural arts committee in Venice, Italy.

Italy! Carnevale, gondolas, and pizza.

And to think I almost deleted it. What fools we authors be. They were asking me to speak and then perform at La Biennale, a celebration of art, music, dance, film, and architecture begun in 1895.

I had written a nonfiction book and a novel about Japanese culture and they wanted me to be on the panel with a performance artist and dancers from Japan.

Before I could say, Mama mia, I was on my way to Venice. The festival committee treated me like a princess, arranging my airfare on Air France and setting up my accommodations in a century-old hotel near Piazza San Marco with all the trappings of a grand palazzo. They even assigned me a bodyguard to make sure I got to my hotel okay.

Iâ€™ll never forget wandering the cobblestone streets of Venice, checking out the gondolas, the exquisite shops, and so many bookstores I lost count! It soothed my romantic soul, while the people of Venice warmed my heart.

And I had the best pizza ever.

My trip to La Biennale inspired me to create my own festival in Monterra. Magic, music, and Monterran cuisine seemed a natural fit for a kingdom located so close to Italy. And so my series within The Royals of Monterra Kindle Worlds, â€œFairy Tales & Magic,â€ was born.

In the first book, Royal Magic, youâ€™ll meet Afton, who performs on the aerial silks, and her sister Emma. Sparks fly when Afton meets a handsome magician who isnâ€™t what he seems. We also meet four other American girls who come to Monterra to perform at the festival . . . each hoping to find her prince and live her own fairy tale!

I hope you enjoy Royal Magic. Ciao!

Jina

Royal Magic is available on Amazon Kindle

PS — here’s a video I made about my trip to La Biennale in Venice, Italy!

Royal Magic inspired by La Biennale, Venice, Italy from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.

Website: www.jinabacarr.com
Blog: www.jinabacarr.wordpress.com
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https://twitter.com/JinaBacarr
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Cool Apps For Writers by Kitty Bucholtz

July 9, 2016 by Kitty Bucholtz in category It's Worth It by Kitty Bucholtz tagged as app, It's Worth It, Kitty Bucholtz, organization, self publishing, self-publishing, Software Programs

Some of my favorite apps and SaaS (software as a service) software for writers are well-known to many, but just in case you haven’t heard of some of them, I thought I’d share.

Evernote – great for organizing and storing information. I have separate “notebooks” for self-publishing, teaching, business, and more. Within each notebook, I also have dozens of tags that I can use in lieu of filing information in multiple locations. You can use it on your computer as well as your smart phone. Add “Evernote Clipper” to your browser and you can save anything on the Internet with a single click (websites, PDFs, whatever).

BookFunnel – great for giving away your ebook(s) to beta readers, reviewers, giveaway winners, and more. What I love most about this service is that the user answers a couple of short questions about how they want to get their free ebook, and then they get a short video explaining how to get the book onto the appropriate device. No more emails from readers asking how to put the file I emailed them onto their Kindle or Nook.

BookPlanner – great for giving you a step-by-step timeline of all the steps to bring your book to publication. There are several timelines to choose from depending on your needs.

Vellum – amazing for quickly and easily creating all ebook formats. It automatically creates Nook links in the back of the Nook file for all your other books on B&N, Amazon links for all the books you have on Amazon in your Amazon file, etc. Several choices for fonts, flourishes to separate scenes, and much more. Only downside – Mac only.

MyFitnessPal – strange addition to the list? This app is directly responsible for helping me lose 24 pounds in 24 weeks. It will tell you what your daily calorie limit should be based on your age, height, and weight, and the amount of weight you want to lose per week. Hundreds of thousands of foods are in the database so you know not only how many calories you’re ingesting, but fat, protein, carbohydrates, sodium, and sugar as well. Even if you don’t need to lose weight, it’s good to know what you’re really eating. Want to track your exercise as well? Use MapMyRun for your walks, runs, bike rides, and more. Both are available for smart phones and computers, and free to use at the standard level.

Kitty Bucholtz

Kitty Bucholtz decided to combine her undergraduate degree in business, her years of experience in accounting and finance, and her graduate degree in creative writing to become a writer-turned-independent-publisher. Her novels, Little Miss Lovesick, A Very Merry Superhero Wedding, and Unexpected Superhero are currently available on Amazon. The free short story “Superhero in Disguise” and the new short story “Welcome to Loon Lake” are available wherever ebooks are sold. You can find out about her courses on self-publishing, marketing, and time management for writers at her website Writer Entrepreneur Guides.