My next Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mystery, NEVER SAY STY, is officially published tomorrow! Yes, its lay-down date is April 7. A few stores put it out on the shelves before the official date, but all the ones that will carry it will most likely have it out tomorrow.
This is the seventh book in my Kendra series. NEVER SAY STY will be my twenty-second published novel. I’m also looking forward to my next Silhouette Nocturne, BACK TO LIFE, which will be published in June.
Do I ever get blasé about the publication of a new book? Never!
So… as of tomorrow, welcome to NEVER SAY STY!
What exciting event are you currently anticipating?
Linda O. Johnston
http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/
Linda O. Johnston is the author of 15 romance novels and several novellas, including a current Nocturne Bites, with 2 more Nocturnes upcoming. She also writes the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime.
0 0 Read more
[Notice to Readers: Unintentional as it was, this post could also be called “PASIC Conference, Part II” to Deb’s post yesterday. However, if you keep reading, you will understand why it ties into The Artist’s Way.]
I just returned from my first Published Authors Special Interest Chapter (PASIC), held every two years in New York City. Wow-oh-wow, what an experience. I’ll never miss another one! My roomie Debra Mullins was a long-time New Jersey RWA member before moving to OC in 2007. She couldn’t believe I hadn’t been to PASIC, and insisted I join her. I’m so glad I did. Everyone seems to know Deb from her stints as conference coordinator for NJRW, which means editors and agents are always stopping to say hello.
Our other roommate was OCC’s January speaker, Susan Meier, who had flown in from western Pennsylvania for her first-time PASIC, too. So we were the newbies, and Deb was more than happy to introduce us around. (Oh, and an added perk — Deb knows the best places for Italian, NY Pizza, barbecue, and Irish food! )
Former OCC member Faye Hughes and an OCC guest speaker last year, Christie Craig were the conference coordinators, and did a fantastic job. You have got to read Christie’s take on New York City…it’s too funny…. “A Southern Gal Goes To New York.“
What does all of this have to do with The Artist’s Way, you might ask? Because, throughout the conference, I found myself thinking of this book, and the workshop that I attended a few months ago. I have been a published author for 20 years now, and it is easy to fall into the “What ifs” and “If Onlys” when there are long dry spells. I have been to many conferences where there is a sense of despair in the air around me because I was in a bad place, a place where I doubted my talent, my commitment . . . my “calling”.
But I had to take my own path that did not include publishing year after year. And it’s okay! Everyone is different. For me, I have known for a very long time that my life is about overcoming the demons (not literally) and following a deep need to explore and understand my spiritual Self. I realize this is not everyone’s “thing” so I don’t talk about it. But the Artist’s Way does. Author Julia Cameron writes about the yearning to fulfill a sense of obligation to the Great Creator to be creative ourselves. A divine directive, as it were. If this creativity doesn’t come out in one way, it comes out in another. And if it is stifled, we suffer from depression that can lead to physical health problems.
Julia writes on page 64: “Life is what we make of it. Whether we conceive of an inner god force or an other, outer God, doesn’t matter. Relying on that force does.”
She talks of how we discount answered prayers, calling them coincidences or just plain luck. “We call it anything but what it is — the hand of God, or good, activated by our own hand when we act in behalf of our truest dreams, when we commit to our own soul.”
And when we pursue that dream, amazing things begin to happen. Synchronicity. Serendipity. That’s what has been happening to me in these past several months. Despite family emergencies that pull me away from writing, I have been kept on my path with the help of friends like Deb, and now Susan. I made new friends at PASIC. I’m renewed. Fired up. And in love with this career again.
One last thing before I close…. At PASIC I finally met a new author whose unpubbed entry I had judged a few years ago. I absolutely LOVED this story, and I am delighted that she sold it. It’s an historical YA with a twist of magic called THE BEWITCHING SEASON by Marissa Doyle. The sequel will be out this Fall.
Until next month….
– Gillian Doyle
www.gilliandoyle.com
By Janet Quinn Cornelow
Linda McLaughlin and I went to EPICon at the beginning of March. It was at
Linda and I went to a workshop on
One of the speakers, Marilyn Meredith, talked about the world she had built for the mysteries she had written. It has heavy Native American tones to it. Her detective lives between that world and the outer world.
That made me think about the fact that we build worlds for all of our stories. The world doesn’t have to have any magical elements to it. We create worlds in which our characters live. In Betrayals, I created the town of
Usually when writing a non-fantasy story, I don’t think about the fact that I am building a world to surround my characters, but I am. The Irish Countess needed a convent and a large farm. The Kilted Governess needed several sheep farms, a village, and an abandoned hut. So, all of those things just appeared.
It is usually called setting, but it is also world building. We have to put our characters into a world that is believable so our readers are anchored in the story.
Of course building worlds with magic and monsters is so much more fun. I bought a journal so I can start building my world for my urban fantasy. I can’t write on paper, but I like to be able to set my notes next to me while I do write. Journals are just so handy for all of that.
I can’t really start on the urban fantasy until Sam gets to where he needs to be. He is off hunting the slave hunters. He, Cooper and Arnou are angry, armed and dangerous. At least he’s moving again.
0 0 Read moreAt the last OCC meeting, I received two roses for selling two more books in the Wing Slayer Hunter Series. When I went up to get the roses, I just gave a brief line about the next book and got off the stage.
My friends were annoyed with me. They said I should have talked more about all the books, and the series, and the sexy hunters…but that isn’t exactly what I would have wanted to say.
This is…
This series is about magic, and the witches and witch hunters who wield the magic to fight against evil. The first book, BLOOD MAGIC, is truly the book I always wanted to write and, interestingly enough, it was the hardest book I’ve written. I drew on everything I had, and when that wasn’t enough, I drew on friends: Marianne Donley, Laura Wright, Michele Cwiertny, Maureen Child, Kate Carlisle, Mindy Neff, Michelle Thorne, Sandy Chvostal and some that I’m sure I’m forgetting. They never let me lose faith in the book or myself, and they stepped in when I was in a panic. During revisions when I was so lost I couldn’t eat or sleep, Marianne said, “Send it to me right now.” And they got right back to me with suggestions that were dead on.
Friends like that? Priceless.
And my ace in the hole? I love my editor. I clicked with her from the first time I talked to her. She worked hard on that book, pushing me to do major revisions, always there to answer questions or brainstorm. We have a genuine respect for each others talents, and a trust that we each will do exactly what we say we will. She made BLOOD MAGIC a better book, and me a better writer.
Then the economy tanked. My publisher restructured and laid off employees.
I was trying not to panic.
My editor called to assure me that my place at Random House was secure. Oh good! My editor still had her job! The book was still on track to publish. I turned in the second book and wrote the proposal to sell more books in the series and was feeling pretty good.
Six weeks later, my agent let me know my editor had been laid off.
I was devastated. Losing an editor who believes in our work at such a critical time, particularly when publishers are tightening and cutting, meant the series could be dead before it even got started. My agent swore it was okay. I tried to believe her. (My agent and I were both very sad for my editor, who was simply a victim of the economy as a last hire.)
The weeks of waiting were endless. I did revisions on the second book, and kept trying to believe that they would buy more books.
It was getting harder.
Then I got the call from my agent that the publisher had offered for two more books.
Selling two more books under these circumstances is amazing, incredible and makes me feel very lucky. In spite of the tough economy, BLOOD MAGIC is doing well and the series is starting off strong.
So the one thing I want to get across is that this business of publishing—it’s always a struggle. But doesn’t that make success so much sweeter?
And the friends we make along the way? Priceless!
Jennifer Lyon always wanted to be a witch. When her witch-powers didn’t materialize, she turned to creating magic in her books. BLOOD MAGIC is the first book in an enchanting, passionate and supernatural series. Visit Jennifer Lyon at www.jenniferlyonbooks.com
by Shauna Roberts
http://ShaunaRoberts.blogspot.com
Today’s Guest: Linda Wisdom
Linda Wisdom was born and raised in Huntington Beach, California. She majored in Journalism in college then switched her major to Fashion Merchandising when she was told there was no future for her in fiction writing. She held many positions ranging from retail sales to executive secretary in advertising and office manager for a personnel agency.
Her career began when she sold her first two novels to Silhouette Romance on her wedding anniversary in 1979. Since then, she has sold more than seventy novels and one novella to four different publishers. Her books have appeared on various romance and mass market bestseller lists and have been nominated for several Romantic Times awards and Romance Writers of America Rita Award.
She lives with her husband, her spoiled rotten Chihuahua-Yorkie, and an equally spoiled parrot in Murrieta, California.
Several of Linda’s books, including her Hex paranormal series, has been optioned for film and television. Her newest book is Wicked By Any Other Name (Sourcebooks Casablanca), part of the Hex series.
Linda, if you could travel back in time to before you were first published, what advice would you give yourself?
Yes, I would hope I’d listen to my own advice, but that doesn’t always happen. So easy to go your own way and make your own mistakes, even if there’s a chance you won’t have to.
So what would I do?
Of course, when I sold my first two books there was very little information out there for authors. There was no RWA, and you relied heavily on your agent and editor.
I would make sure to have an agent who would look out for my interests and if that person weren’t doing so, then I’d be on the hunt for someone who did.
Learning about the creativity side of writing can be easy and talking to other authors can even help there. But the business side is just as important if not more at times. Back then I could read and understand a contract, but I still didn’t know the ins and outs of publishing contracts. If you don’t understand a clause, ask questions.
The best piece of advice I’ve carried with me since high school is “If you don’t understand something, don’t pretend you do. Ask questions.†And after all these years, I still do.
I would tell myself back then that change is good even if it means venturing into new territory. That I can’t be afraid of the prospect. That I should embrace that new territory as a challenge and just go for it.
I would sit myself down with the talk, “Foremost, this is a business, even if you’re doing what you love. But if you keep on learning and doing what it takes, you’ll have the experience of a lifetime.â€
✥✥✥✥✥
To learn more about Linda, please visit her Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/lindawisdombooks and and her blog at http://wickedlyromantic.blogspot.com. You can purchase her newest book, Wicked By Any Other Name (Sourcebooks Casablanca), at your local bookstore as well as at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.
0 0 Read moreA Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
Can a series of wildfires lead to true love under a midnight sun?
More info →One October morning in 1932, Vicente Sorolla entered the white house on the hill and was never seen again. Now, Detective Dori Orihuela witnesses his brutal murder in her nightmares.
More info →She knows in her blood and in her bones that her Destiny is a member of the Clan. She must reject him as an enemy. But can she?
More info →Southern California 1955: the summer Disneyland opened, but even "The Happiest Place on Earth" couldn't hide the smell of dirty cops, corruption and murder.
More info →A Slice of Orange is an affiliate with some of the booksellers listed on this website, including Barnes & Nobel, Books A Million, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords. This means A Slice of Orange may earn a small advertising fee from sales made through the links used on this website. There are reminders of these affiliate links on the pages for individual books.
Copyright ©2017 A Slice of Orange. All Rights Reserved. ~PROUDLY POWERED BY WORDPRESS ~ CREATED BY ISHYOBOY.COM