My publisher, New Concepts Publishing, has a new blog. You can find them at: http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/wordpress/ . They have contests, reader opinion polls, and excerpts of books. Most of the books are in the very steamy/erotic category, just FYI,
For those of you wondering how my poor ankle is doing, I'm healing right on schedule. After three weeks in splints and another 3 in a hard cast, I finally got a walking cast about 10 days ago and am experimenting with putting some weight on the injured side. Still using two crutches but definitely making progress. I went back to work last week. Some of you know that I work in a branch of our public library system. The job involves lots of customer service, checking books in and out, and all variety of jobs that require lots of standing, carrying, and pushing heavy carts. The doctor said I could go back to work but with restrictions that included only standing ten minutes out of every hour and since I have my hands full of crutches, no carrying. So my boss got creative and found a branch that can accommodate a shorter work day and a sit down behind the scenes job. The first day was exhausting but by the end of the week I was feeling fine. Good thing, too, I was out of sick leave and was two weeks away from using up all my vacation leave! I'll go back to the doctor right before Thanksgiving. Hopefully at that time he'll determine that I'm healed enough to use just one crutch or a cane so I can go back to my regular branch and hours. I never realized before what a process healing from a broken bone can be!
Showing posts with label New Concepts Publishing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Concepts Publishing. Show all posts
Monday, October 27, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
On fear ...
When I first started out as a writer, with the intent to finish and publish books, I felt exhilaration, excitement, a small measure of anxiety, but I scoffed at others who talked about fear. With the first book I ever sold, VIRTUAL HEART, going out of print and not having sold a new romance in over a year, fear is finally catching up with me.
It’s the fear that the three book series I’m working on will never sell. The middle grade children’s novel I’ve been submitting will never be enjoyed by the intended audience. Fear that the spark of exhilaration and joy when I sit down to write may be gone for good, not just gone for a little while.
I think writing should be joyous, it should be exciting. Writers should approach the page with equal amounts trepidation and delight. But too many times fear holds us hostage. So how am I handling this fear? Well, I’m still writing every day. I’m still committed to finishing the book that I started. I’m looking forward to finally writing that vampire mystery that’s been brewing in the back of my head for a couple of years. And I search for joy and try to find ways to push away the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that says I’m a “has been” even though I’ve never even been a best seller.
Being a creative person, I live with both ego and the fear that I’m just not good enough every day. I’m working to dilute that fear by writing from the heart. Writing stories I want to tell whether or not anyone wants to read them. The process, I tell myself, is the important part of the journey. Who am I kidding? I want my work to sell bunches so I can send my husband on the hunt of his life and we can finally go on that cruise to Tahiti. I’m afraid that my chance has passed me by but I’m stubborn and not a little rebellious. So I keep writing. The story has to come out one way or another, it’s what I do.
What do you do to conquer the fear that crops up in your creative life? Ignore it? Confront it? Whine about it? Please share with us. Oh, and go to the New Concepts Publishing site and take a chance on buying VIRTUAL HEART at a huge sale price. Last chance, you know.
It’s the fear that the three book series I’m working on will never sell. The middle grade children’s novel I’ve been submitting will never be enjoyed by the intended audience. Fear that the spark of exhilaration and joy when I sit down to write may be gone for good, not just gone for a little while.
I think writing should be joyous, it should be exciting. Writers should approach the page with equal amounts trepidation and delight. But too many times fear holds us hostage. So how am I handling this fear? Well, I’m still writing every day. I’m still committed to finishing the book that I started. I’m looking forward to finally writing that vampire mystery that’s been brewing in the back of my head for a couple of years. And I search for joy and try to find ways to push away the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that says I’m a “has been” even though I’ve never even been a best seller.
Being a creative person, I live with both ego and the fear that I’m just not good enough every day. I’m working to dilute that fear by writing from the heart. Writing stories I want to tell whether or not anyone wants to read them. The process, I tell myself, is the important part of the journey. Who am I kidding? I want my work to sell bunches so I can send my husband on the hunt of his life and we can finally go on that cruise to Tahiti. I’m afraid that my chance has passed me by but I’m stubborn and not a little rebellious. So I keep writing. The story has to come out one way or another, it’s what I do.
What do you do to conquer the fear that crops up in your creative life? Ignore it? Confront it? Whine about it? Please share with us. Oh, and go to the New Concepts Publishing site and take a chance on buying VIRTUAL HEART at a huge sale price. Last chance, you know.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
New Links and Procrastination
I've spent the past couple of weeks adding links from fellow romance authors to the space at the right. I hope you have a chance to visit the pages of some of these awesome authors. You'll also find links to New Concepts Publishing who publish my romance novels, my children's book site, and the home page of my children's book publisher Kittycat Books.
I've been in procrastination mode this past week. Guess I'm dawdling over revising a manuscript. Here's what's going on. I've started writing the first draft of the last book in a three book series. I got to a point where I realized I'd forgotten little details from the two earlier books. So I went back and read the first story, which is a completed manuscript that my agent is shopping around, and started taking notes. You know, hair color, eye color, names, places, and stuff like that. The second book in the series is finished in draft form but instead of taking the time to edit/revise when the first draft was done, I just started in on the third book. Big mistake. I started having trouble with who did what and when, the timing of everything was off. So now I'm reading the second manuscript and doing some revision work at the same time and taking notes, of course. It's kind of tedious work. Okay, necessary because rarely does an author get it completely right on a first draft. And I always learn a lot about my own writing when I revise and edit a manuscript. But I really am itching to get back to the third story. So I'm finding ways to keep from doing the revision.
With that in mind, here's my list for today.
5 ways to procrastinate when you should be writing:
1. Write a blog post. :)
2. Online catalogs are great, I spent way too much time today "shopping" for things I don't need and will never buy.
3. Check my email over and over and over again.
4. Staring out the window. I could say that I'm brainstorming or my right brain is working something out, but mostly I'm just staring out the window.
5. Making a list of all the things I should be accomplishing and are not.
How do you procrastinate? Do you convince yourself it's all part of the creative process or allow a little guilt to seep through. Please write something. Reading it will give me something to do when I should be writing!
I've been in procrastination mode this past week. Guess I'm dawdling over revising a manuscript. Here's what's going on. I've started writing the first draft of the last book in a three book series. I got to a point where I realized I'd forgotten little details from the two earlier books. So I went back and read the first story, which is a completed manuscript that my agent is shopping around, and started taking notes. You know, hair color, eye color, names, places, and stuff like that. The second book in the series is finished in draft form but instead of taking the time to edit/revise when the first draft was done, I just started in on the third book. Big mistake. I started having trouble with who did what and when, the timing of everything was off. So now I'm reading the second manuscript and doing some revision work at the same time and taking notes, of course. It's kind of tedious work. Okay, necessary because rarely does an author get it completely right on a first draft. And I always learn a lot about my own writing when I revise and edit a manuscript. But I really am itching to get back to the third story. So I'm finding ways to keep from doing the revision.
With that in mind, here's my list for today.
5 ways to procrastinate when you should be writing:
1. Write a blog post. :)
2. Online catalogs are great, I spent way too much time today "shopping" for things I don't need and will never buy.
3. Check my email over and over and over again.
4. Staring out the window. I could say that I'm brainstorming or my right brain is working something out, but mostly I'm just staring out the window.
5. Making a list of all the things I should be accomplishing and are not.
How do you procrastinate? Do you convince yourself it's all part of the creative process or allow a little guilt to seep through. Please write something. Reading it will give me something to do when I should be writing!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Time Travel Theme Day
The authors at my publisher, New Concepts Publishing, are hosting a Time Travel Theme day this Sunday, April 6, 2008, from noon to 9 pm Eastern Daylight Time. This will be the place to be if you love time travel romance novels. NCP authors, including yours truly, will be hopping in and out all day providing free excertps, conversation, answering questions, you name it. This is a Yahoo group, so a Yahoo! ID is required. To sign up, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/new_concepts_pub/join and I hope to "see" you there.
5 Reasons to Participate in an NCP Author Theme Day:
1. You get to read free excerpts from romance novels in a subgenre you love.
2. You might discover a great new author.
3. Many authors give out prizes, you could be the lucky one!
4. Many of these excerpts are from books that haven't been released yet, you're getting a sneak peak!
5. Make new friends of authors and other readers who enjoy the same kinds of books you do.
New Concepts Publishing (http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/) is a small press that publishes romance and erotic romance in electronic and paperback formats. They've been innovative in bringing the hottest new fiction to fans. I hope you'll check them out.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/new_concepts_pub/join and I hope to "see" you there.
5 Reasons to Participate in an NCP Author Theme Day:
1. You get to read free excerpts from romance novels in a subgenre you love.
2. You might discover a great new author.
3. Many authors give out prizes, you could be the lucky one!
4. Many of these excerpts are from books that haven't been released yet, you're getting a sneak peak!
5. Make new friends of authors and other readers who enjoy the same kinds of books you do.
New Concepts Publishing (http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/) is a small press that publishes romance and erotic romance in electronic and paperback formats. They've been innovative in bringing the hottest new fiction to fans. I hope you'll check them out.
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