Werk Werk Werk

Hey peeps! This week was crazy busy. It was my first full week back to work after being unplugged for two weeks. I definitely was not ready lol. I may have even cried about it for a bit (my husband was very amused). 

That being said, I’m pretty recharged and ready to jump back into the swing of things. On the writing front, I sent out my first newsletter of the year with some pretty exciting announcements for upcoming projects and a sneak peak into my next book, Taming the Succubus. 

I’ve been fleshing out the story’s outline and I have to admit I’m excited to write this book simply because the main character is so fun! Discovering characters is one of my favorite parts of being a writer.

I’ve also been filling my Pinterest board with inspiration pins. I find that plus listening to my favorite musicians really helps my creative muse. I have to be careful though. I can spend hours on Pinterest because it feels like a fantasy land full of fantastical images and portals to information. It’s truly a playground for the visual geeks like myself. :)

For next week, I’ll be focusing on continuing to draft Taming the Succubus and working on the next few episodes of my newest project. Stay tuned!

Excerpt: TRANSFERENCE, book 2 of the Two Worlds series

Hi peeps! Here's a little gift from me to you for your patience...an excerpt from the upcoming new installment of the Two Worlds series, TRANSFERENCE. Enjoy! :) 

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A small blue fairy flew up to us, notepad in hand. “What can I get for you?” she trilled.

“We’ll have the Narzel sampler and three glasses of ale please,” I ordered, not bothering to look at the menu. Since coming to Turgor, Molly's Tavern had been the staple and main supplier of my diet. Blue Fairy nodded and zoomed off, leaving behind a trail of fairy dust in the air.

Rena sneezed, causing her skin to grow bright orange. “I’ll tell you”—Rena sniffled—“working in the archives is ramping up my allergies.”

“Could be a lot worse, right?” I offered, sipping the cold glass of ale that had suddenly appeared on the table.

“Yeah,” Nia grumbled, “we could have to clean the Harpie nests on the top floors in Caldbeck.” We all shuddered in agreement.

The table began to sparkle and before I could blink, a large, piping-hot pizza surrounded by a few plates appeared. I grabbed a plate and dug in and the girls followed suit. The sounds of our chewing blended into the noisy ambiance of the small little hut. Rena and I locked eyes and she smiled briefly before her smile slid off her face. I tracked her gaze to a lanky figure advancing quickly over to our table. I swallowed my chunk of pizza and braced myself.

Erika Williams sneered as she approached, bumping into our table. I steadied the glasses of ale and matched her sneer.

“What do you want, Ericka?” Nia sighed, pushing her plate away. “I’m not up to arguing today.”

“Oh, I’m not here to argue,” Ericka replied sweetly. “I’m here to tell you that I know about your little dirty secret.”

My heartbeat began to speed up. Erika pushed her way in to our booth next to me, forcing me to slide over and give her room. She grabbed a slice of pizza and began chomping away.

“Do you mind?” Nia growled.

Erika gave her a smirk. “Not at all.”

“What dirty little secret do you think you know, Erika?” I demanded.

“Oh, you know. The one where you lie about Awakening Larius.”

I let out a shaky breath. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’m sure you don’t.” She laughed and grabbed another slice. “But I can be very persuasive. Larius didn’t mind telling me all about your little lie.”

“Is that before or after you destroyed his tombs in Giza Graveyard?” Rena asked.

Erika rolled her eyes. “All in the name of justice, I’m afraid. Besides, no one really cares about those dusty old tombstones. The Brozek Ledger is just looking for a story.”

“I’m sure.” I bit into my own slice of pizza that was now cold. “You better be careful whom you go around admitting that to.”

“My father will take care of the police.” Erika laughed. “Have you forgotten who I am?”

“A spoiled, bratty kid of a politician with too much money and far too much time on his hands?” Nia replied sweetly.

Erika snarled. “Watch what you say, Nia. You’ll need all the allies you can get.”

“Thanks, but we have plenty of allies,” I snapped. My patience was wearing thin. Ericka gave off another laugh and this laugh was so chilly, I was surprised my ale didn’t freeze.

She slipped out of the booth, grabbed another slice of our pizza, and gave a small salute before sauntering off.

I let out a sigh of relief and turned back to my girls. “So what do you think?”

Nia scoffed. “I think she’s full of—”

“She might know something, Nia,” Rena said, interrupting. “Her father does have high connections in the Council.”

“Yeah, yeah. But so what? No one will believe her if she told. It’s her word against ours.”

“Still, we might want to be careful provoking her. She could cause more trouble than we can handle right now." Nia chomped on her pizza, silently conceding that Rena was right.  

On Seeing Color

In one of the writing communities I frequent today, a writer asked if there were any active groups for people of color. Folks immediately jumped on her, telling her it was a bad idea to segregate herself (one even reminding her that we've come so far from segregation, why continue it?).

I had to laugh. Some people are nuts.

Look, if you honestly believe that you go through life without seeing race, I've got an island in the Caribbean I'd like to sell for you at a great price. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging our cultural differences. There is nothing wrong with being different. I repeat. There is nothing wrong with being different.

Somewhere along the line, we confused acknowledging and celebrating racial / cultural differences with being reaping the benefits of privilege. And sweet baby Cupid, most folks don't even know what privilege is! In my opinion, it's far easier to say "Let's not talk about race" instead of saying "Let's talk about privilege and how we can change this system because yes it still exists just ask any minority on the street." Why wash your dirty laundry when you can just hide it under the bed?

One could hypothesize that the reason kids today struggle with rejection among peers is that we currently live in a society that touts political correctness to the point of homogeneity. So what happens if you don't fit in? It's not okay, right? Cue depression. Bullying. All of that nasty stuff.

I'm African American. I'm a woman. I'm able-bodied. I'm heterosexual. I'm middle-class. I'm college educated. All of these life experiences color (no pun intended) how I write. There's nothing wrong with that, either. If I was just like Tom, Dick, and Sally...well, my writing would be sad indeed.

There were quite a number of people who came to the original poster's defense, which I'm glad to see. But it still bothers me that she needed defending. I will continue to point out my cultural difference and celebrate my background because it is who I am. And I encourage all of you to do the same. 

*tosses glitter in the air* 

Now back to your regular programming.

May Updates

Hi there! I figured it was definitely time to update my fellow fans and authors on what I've been up to these past five months. :)

On New Year's Eve, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and then proceeded to be kicked into the deep end of the parenting pool. It's been a crazy wonderful experience and my husband and I are completely in love with our daughter. That being said, for the first three months I had no time to properly shower let alone write and so I was forced to take a break from writing.

In late March I returned back to work and a some what normal schedule. I completed the mystery novella I was working on before giving birth and began the first draft of the sequel to The Two Worlds. I also had to rework my production schedule for the rest of 2015.

Late last year I mentioned how I was fatigued of Kay and crew while writing The Two Worlds. Turns out, being on maternity leave was just what the doctor ordered! Now that I'm back at work, I find that I can't wait to tell more of their story. I've decided to keep them on my production schedule and finish up their tale this year. Here's what the rest of the year will look like:

July: The Two Worlds (revised and re-released)

July: The Two Worlds: On the Run 

August: The Two Worlds  #3

September: The Two Worlds #4

October: The Two Worlds #5

It's a lot of writing, but I'm determined to wrap up this series by the end of the year. And I think it will be a fun challenge.

Wish me luck and stay tuned for updates on my progress!

Writing the Dreaded Second Draft

There she was. A new story. A bare bones first draft of 47,000 words staring at me. I had a great time writing her. I flew through the story in thirty days last year and added a few more lines over the past week.

But now it was time to face the music.

The dreaded second draft.

I still haven't mastered revising a first draft. The Two Worlds was a nightmare because it was written over a long period of time and I learned so much while writing it. I used different techniques of writing, wrote different parts at various points in my life (and that always influences my writing) and wasn't organized at all. No outline, no clear vision, nada. Just a girl and her notepad.

This time around, I wrote with a clear focus. NaNoWriMo allowed me a clear deadline and I had an outline to work off of. Being organized allowed me to have fun with writing instead of stopping every few chapters to figure out my next move. I'm definitely NOT a pantser!

But I still have so much to learn about the writing process. And I find myself hesitant on how to approach this latest WIP.  I'm going to wait a few days and try to find a good book that touches on the subject (suggestions welcome!). Have you ever struggled with revising a raw draft?

What on Earth Happened to The Two Worlds Sequel?

Character fatigue. Plain and simple. I began writing The Two Worlds seven years ago, when my brother was eleven years old and totally interested in the wizarding world. The Harry Potter series was super popular and I wanted to write a book for him--so I did. Over the course of the seven years, I would email chapters to him and he loved it. The Two Worlds was definitely a labor of love and I used it as an entry way into the world of indie publishing and marketing.

It was on my schedule for three more sequels but I've fallen out of love with the characters. I still care about them, but not enough to write their stories right now. I found myself wanting something fresh after seven years of the same tale. It was why writing my current paranormal mystery was so fun.

That being said, when I write my next business plan I'm strongly considering leaving The Two Worlds series out of the production schedule. I might come back to it in 2016 as I have big plans for Kay and friends, but right now I want to focus on different things and I'm really excited to start a new journey with a new character. Stay tuned for more updates on my new book!

2014: Year in Review

My last post was quite awhile ago and I was writing about needing a business plan. I was right on target for following that business plan when BAM! things changed. You know the saying: Life happens while you're busy making plans.

In March, I was pulled in to be a project manager on an important proposal at my day job. That lasted for an entire month, and just when I was able to breathe again, BAM! I found out I was pregnant. That sent my husband and me into a tailspin and by the time I had wrapped my head around creating a new human being, I was dragged into another project as project manager and dealing with HORRIBLE first trimester symptoms.

The intensity of the first trimester plus the project left me with little room for having any kind of personal or writing life. And when the work project wrapped up mid second trimester, I was placed on bed rest for a pregnancy induced herniated disc. Once I came back from that, I finished up my role with the current project and that brings us up to mid August.

The rest of August, September and October where spent taking a breather. I was tired--mentally and physically. Not to mention, I had neglected my personal life and hadn't began doing anything baby related. Who knew being pregnant was such hard work? I took a much needed break to refocus. And I decided late October to do NaNoWriMo to get my creative juices flowing again.

The problem? November 1st came and went and I wasn't motivated to start the sequel to The Two Worlds. I actually felt bad about it and began to panic--what if I was losing my writing mojo? What was wrong with me? I scoured my writing vault (where all unfinished works live) and found a paranormal mystery I had written last year for NaNoWriMo and never touched again. So I brushed off the dust, added a few more thousand words and now I have a first draft of a story that I'm really excited about.

For the rest of the year, I will be finishing up prepping for the new kid and wrapping up things at the day job. I usually write a plan for the upcoming year, but since I have no idea what life is going to be like with a baby, I'm forcing myself to take it bit by bit until we get into a routine. Ideally, I would like to have a second draft of the paranormal mystery done by April 2015. And I'm currently working on that right now.

All in all, life happened. Lots of surprises, good and not so good, and lots of adjusting my schedule and my mentality. The most important lesson I learned in 2014 is that you can only take things day by day and you have to be flexible--especially as an indie author. I have to admit: I can't wait to see what 2015 brings! 

On Why I Need a Business Plan

Earlier this year, I decided that I didn’t want to do a business plan. And for the first time in years, I didn’t. I made a simple to-do list (write, edit, edit, release, rinse and repeat) and that was that. I figured that was all I needed to focus on. Easy peasy, right? 

Yeah, uh...I was wrong. J

The thing is (and I’ve always known this), being an indie author is the same as owning a small business. Writing is only half the battle. The other half involves marketing, financing, and of course publishing. You’re the CEO, the low pez employee, and the intern all in the same day. So it helps to have a plan of action to reflect back on throughout the year.

As I did my own year reflection, I saw how much money, blood and sweat I put into publishing The Two Worlds, learning about the industry, adding publishers, freelance graphic designers and editors to my contacts, establishing an email distro list, etc.

And I realized I have a lot more to do this year than just write and release. Oh, sure, that’s the foundation of my business. But for it to be successful, there are a lot more pieces of the puzzle involved.

So! What I’m trying to tell you is this: make a business plan. It can be as simple or as complex as 

you’d like. And if you need help, check out these great posts for more information:

http://www.molly-greene.com/business-plan-basics-for-authors-bloggers/

http://janefriedman.com/2013/12/03/business-plans-for-writers/

Ok, your turn: Do you have a business plan? Why or why not? If so, what spurred you to make one? 

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Pen?

I am. *raises hand*

I've been writing stories since I was eight years old. I still have diaries full of fantastic tales of mystery and adventure. When I was a teenager, I would spend nights writing short stories of characters that each held a piece of me some way. I would write them, and then reread them for pleasure over and over again. As much as I enjoy others getting entertainment from my work, I ultimately write because I'm looking for a good story to read.

Why am I afraid? 

Because I'm now bound by rules and expectations (or so I feel). I now have to worry about beta readers and editors and marketing. I now need to understand story acts and arches. I now outline instead of just letting the words flow from my fingertips. The process has turned technical in the name of being a better writer. It feels like 10% imagination and 90% everything else. But is it working?

I've always been in the camp that the only way to be a great writer is to keep writing. All the technical books in the world can not help if you do not practice. This goes for writing, painting or playing an instrument. Like Nike reminds us, you have to just do it.

I think what my fear is telling me is that I'm allowing myself to get caught up in the wrong thing. Instead of focusing solely on the final, polished result, I should be enjoying the process of telling a story and introducing characters. I should be finding pleasure in the act of writing.

What about you? Do you have moments of fear while writing? What is your fear telling you? 

What Should an Author Blog About?

I've been absent since my last post because I've been struggling. Struggling with what to write about on this blog. You know, I've been blogging on and off since 2006. I originally started a blog because I was being tormented by my college roommates and wanted an outlet. It turned into a gossip blog and I had a great time logging in every day to update my fellow bloggy friends. It was also very therapeutic. I found my voice and a 'niche' before I even knew what that meant without realizing it.

When I first decided that I was going to take my writing seriously, I began to research. Everyone said that authors (especially indie/self-published authors) should have a blog. But no one could really answer the question of what to blog about. "Find your niche," they said. "Be unique." But what did that mean?

For the last week, I've been looking at my 'to-do' list, my eyes skittering past the Add a post on blog in shame. My mind was blank. Because I'm new, I don't have a ton of stuff to say about the world of self-publishing. And I definitely don't have a lot to say about the mechanics of writing. I'm not formally educated enough to explain to you the structure of a sentence.

I write because I love to tell a story that the common person can understand and enjoy.

While still researching on what to blog about, I came across a guest post on Jane Friedman's blog entitled 'It’s Time for (Many) Experienced Writers to Stop Blogging'.  The post was engaging, but the comments were even more captivating.  I encourage you guys to check it out.

As I read, I realized that I didn't want to blog solely about how to be a better writer from a mechanical standpoint or how to get a book published. Are these things important to me? Yep. Are they all that I have to offer? Nope.

I have a new puppy. And a new husband. And coincidentally a new car. I work a job in the entertainment industry full of wonderful yet quirky people. What I'm trying to say is I have a LIFE. A life that I constantly drawn upon for my writing. So why can't I do the same for blogging?

From this point forward, I give myself permission to write about anything I want on my 'author's blog'.

And I encourage all you newbie writers out there to do the same.

Coming Back to the Writing World

These months since my wedding have flown by! We are now settled in and have adopted a puppy since then. We now have two cats and a dog, so my life has been very interesting! I can never say that I don't have any inspiration. ;)

I've started working on my new paranormal romance book and I'm very excited. I've also pulled The Two Worlds and have decided that I am going to have a professional editor look at the ms, revise and then republish. I'll also have a professional graphic designer work on the cover for me. I love my readers and want only the very best versions of my work out there for their enjoyment.

I hope to be done with the romance book by the end of this year. I'm rejoining my year round NaNoWriMo writing group that meets on Sundays in hopes of blocking off chunks of time to crank it out. I've updated the bar on the right so you guys can track my progress.

 That's all for now! I can't tell you how happy I am to have a fresh story to write!

Procrastination and the Fear of Failure

I'm a huge procrastinator. As in, I'll sit down dutifully to write and then become distracted by a minuscule piece of dust....on the ceiling...that must be cleaned at that very moment! Heck, I'm struggling right now to write this post and I keep stopping to fix spelling errors instead of just getting the words out!

Over the past years, I've come to realize that my procrastination is directly tied to fear. And I have a lot of it. I'm a perfectionist and a researcher which is a deadly combination. If you give me a task without a very specific set of instructions, I'll research every way possible to get that task completed. For something like writing a book (the topic has tons of advice out there on how to do it), this research can take years. Because of that, it took me seven years to write 35,000 words and be ok with the outcome.

Atychiphobia (or fear of failure) is common among most newbie writers. You don't know what to expect and you feel as though the whole world is watching you with a smirk on its face as if to say, 'See? I told you you'd fail.' Everyone but yourself becomes an expert and you must follow all of their advice. When those little voices of doubt pop up in my head, everything comes to a screeching halt and I suddenly find myself tackling those household chores I'd been ignoring or surfing Facebook and getting wrapped up in kitty memes. 

So how do you get over it? 

I wish I could tell you a 100% guaranteed method. The final push for The Two Worlds was knowing that I was holding myself up from other projects and knowing that it didn't have to be perfect. My family was still proud of me when I self-published it, I still felt a sense of accomplishment and the world didn't stop spinning when I didn't make any sales. The work was out there, it was completed and I had learned a heck of a lot along the way. What more could I ask for? 

As I start my second book, I feel that fear gripping me again ('You don't know what you're doing!', 'You'll have all this work to do and you won't have a life!', 'It'll be a horrible experience just like the last!') and procrastination rearing its ugly head despite my first accomplishment. But this time I'm a bit wiser. I know how long it should take me to write a book. I know how fast I can type. I know how to edit my work and how to create a book cover. I know how to begin marketing myself. And I have a new way of thinking.  

What's the worst that could happen? 

In the book How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Dale Carnegie tells us that when fear grips our consciousness and we start to worry, ask ourselves a simple question: What's the worst that could happen?

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon—instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. Why are we such fools—such tragic fools?

“How strange it is, our little procession of life!” wrote Stephen Leacock. “The child says, ‘When I am a big boy.’ But what is that? The big boy says, ‘When I grow up.’ And then, grown up, he says, ‘When I get married.’ But to be married, what is that after all? The thought changes to ‘When I’m able to retire.’ And then, when retirement comes, he looks back over the landscape traversed; a cold wind seems to sweep over it; somehow he has missed it all, and it is gone. Life, we learn too late, is in the living, in the tissue of every day and hour.” 

When I ask myself that question, the only thing that comes to mind is that people will not like my work and not take me seriously as a writer. If that happens, my feelings would be hurt, but my income is not tied to writing fiction so I wouldn't go homeless and perhaps that criticism would force me to be a better writer. If folks aren't receptive of my work, that's ok! 

Keeping that in mind has helped me tremendously. Even though I still procrastinate, the instances where I let it derail me are becoming less frequent. 

After all, this post has been written hasn't it? :)

Your turn: Do you find yourself procrastinating on big projects, even if it's your dream work? How do you overcome it?