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Moon Watch

August 6, 2009 by in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston tagged as , , ,

Tonight is the night of the full moon.

How do I know? I looked it up. Finding out about the full moon is important to me these days, since I write a paranormal romance series for Silhouette Nocturne about Alpha Force–a covert ops military unit of shapeshifters!

Yes, my Nocturne ALPHA WOLF and the Nocturne Bites CLAWS OF THE LYNX, both published in January this year, will have sequels. Notice that the word “sequels” is plural! Already in the works is ALASKAN WOLF, which will be the next to be published. It now has a pub date: January 2011. Yes, that’s a long time away, but worth waiting for!

Meantime, I’ll be working on two more Alpha Force stories. Not to mention my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series and its spin-off Pet Rescue series. And practicing law. And–

Well, it’s fun to be busy. But tonight I may just howl at the moon!

Linda O. Johnston

http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/

Linda O. Johnston is the author of 16 romance novels and several novellas, including a Nocturne Bites, with more Nocturnes upcoming. She also writes the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime and will soon start working on the spin-off Pet Rescue

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A Fantasy Life

July 27, 2009 by in category A Fantasy Life by Janet Cornelow tagged as ,

By Janet Quinn Cornelow

I have spent most of the last six weeks on the couch watching reruns because I pinched a nerve in my back and couldn’t do much else.

It amazes me how many writers there are in different series. They all seem to write mysteries and make a great deal of money with their first books. Maybe that is where people get the idea if they write a book they are going to make enough money to quit their day jobs.

In Bones, Temperance Brenner’s publisher gave her a sports car and complete strangers ask her about her books. In NCIS, McGee wrote a book and now has money and can get into places that only let in the rich and famous. Both of them used their coworkers as characters in their books.

Then there is Castle. He’s on a permanent ride-along with the police. He has his own bulletproof vest that says Writer on it. Like the police would let a civilian into crime scenes or when they are about to arrest someone at gun point.

Being a writer on television seems to be better than being a writer in real life. A fantasy we would all like to be part of.

Unfortunately, I haven’t done much else than watch television. I have two chapters to finish Sam’s story. I did edits and read the galley on my next book. Hopefully the next month will be better as my back gets better.

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Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author

July 22, 2009 by in category Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author by Shauna Roberts tagged as ,

by Shauna Roberts
http://www.ShaunaRoberts.com
http://ShaunaRoberts.blogspot.com

Today’s Guest: Tanya Hanson

Tanya Hanson enjoys life near the beach with her firefighter husband. They’re busy getting ready for their daughter’s wedding this summer, and their son and daughter-in-law have given them a totally adorable two-year-old grandson—the ring bearer. Her newest book is Marrying Minda (Wild Rose Press), a Western tale of a mail-order bride and the wrong groom.

If you could travel back in time to before you were first published, what advice would you give yourself?

If I could go back in time to before I was first published . . . I’d definitely not wait until my kids went off to college to write and submit. Saying I was “too busy” was just an excuse and, I suppose, a fear of failure.

Some other things I learned:

1. Check your pen name early on. I didn’t and now share cyberspace with a porn star of the same name.

2. Remember that nobody dies from rejection. Gnash your teeth for a day, then move on.

3. Write what you love, not what’s trendy at the moment. If you don’t, writing’s a chore and what’s the point?

4. Enter contests. It’s such a feel-good thing when you do well, and the comments are helpful if you don’t. It might open some doors. And practically speaking, having to follow directions and prepare a perfect manuscript is great training. My current release, Marrying Minda, placed first in two RWA chapter fiction contests, and Outlaw Bride is a finalist in the Romance through the Ages Contest sponsored by the RWA online chapter Hearts Through History.

5. Ease up on e-loops, mySpace, Facebook, and twitter. All that can really get in the way of writing time. My editor encourages two full hours of writing before going online, although I must confess I’m not there yet.

6. Read! I got a recumbent bike both for exercise and for a dedicated time for reading. Reading good literature helps with such things as varying sentence beginnings and structures, increasing vocabulary, and improving your own grammar skills when you see our language done well. Can you tell I taught high school English forever?

7. Take advantage of workshops and online classes. The book I’m finishing now took an unexpected turn thanks to a plotting class I recently took.

8. And last but not least, forget about your mom and Great Aunt Edna reading your books when you write love scenes.

✥✥✥✥✥

To learn more about Tanya Hanson, please visit her Web page at http://www.TanyaHanson.com or read her blog posts at http://www.petticoatsandpistols.com. You can order Marrying Minda online at Amazon.com and the Wild Rose Press.

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e-maginings: Writing Again

July 17, 2009 by in category The Romance Journey by Linda Mclaughlin tagged as , ,

This week I started writing again after, literally, months of hibernation. That is, if you count a three-page synopsis and revisions as writing. I did spend a lot of time thinking about the project and tweaking the plot until I felt I had a complete story. I have to say, it felt good.

That’s the good news. The bad news is I was thinking about my story and not what I was going to blog about, so I have nothing. I don’t feel too bad about it though. You see, I started writing this week after a very long hiatus. 😀

Now if I can just keep up the momentum, maybe I’ll even finish the story. Wish me luck.

Linda McLaughlin
w/a Lyndi Lamont

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Networking

July 6, 2009 by in category Pets, Romance & Lots of Suspense by Linda O. Johnston, Writing: It's a Business tagged as , ,

There’s nothing like it!

Writers are a solitary lot. We have to be, at least to some extent. It’s not possible to be surrounded by people all the time and still create our stories. I, at least, can’t write with other people’s voices interrupting my thoughts.

But we need other people around sometimes–including other writers who understand what we’re going through during our creative process.

That’s why I’m really looking forward to our upcoming OCC meeting. The afternoon session of the meeting is all about networking with published authors. Whether you’re published or not, talk to us! Especially if you’re attending the upcoming RWA National Conference in Washington, D.C.

I’ll be at the National Conference. I hope to attend some workshops. But mostly, these days, I go there to network–with other writers, editors at the houses that publish my books, my agent… as many people as I can. It helps to inspire me.

How about you? Will you be at OCC? The RWA National Conference? Both? And what do you hope to get from them?

Linda O. Johnston
http://www.lindaojohnston.com/
http://www.killerhobbies.blogspot.com/

Linda O. Johnston is the author of 16 romance novels and several novellas, including a Nocturne Bites, with at least one more Nocturne upcoming. She also writes the Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime.

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