Man, I’m more nervous about this one than I’ve ever been. I guess the free books were low-risk. If someone didn’t like one, well, they hadn’t lost any money on it. And Life Lessons was just a total unknown. (That didn’t keep me from having an anxiety attack over the page proofs and all the things I could no longer fix, but it limited the fall-out.) This book seems to have more expectations attached. I … Read more
I was browsing All Romance Ebooks for a couple things on my TBR list and I came across my book Life Lessons. (Okay, so I had my eye out for it; it’s my firstborn and I’m still mother-henning it a bit.) I was surprised as I scrolled the book list to see LL had a two-star rating! Since a couple of weeks ago when I last checked it had 5 stars based on at least … Read more
I’m in a great mood right now. I got a contract from MLR Press to publish the first book in my werewolf series. The book title is Unacceptable Risk and it is the first of four I’ve written so far. I’m aiming for characters whom readers will enjoy, with hopefully a somewhat different take on how a pack of werewolves fit into the human society around them. I’m going to enjoy working on it with … Read more
I’m breathing a sigh of get-that-thing-away-from-me relief right now. I just sent the manuscript for Breaking Cover back to proofing and formatting. By this point in the process I’m thoroughly tired of rereading my own words, but hopefully publication is getting close. My editor thinks we may get the e-book out by the end of July. I saw the mock-up for the cover. There’s a nicely pensive picture of Tony on it, and Mac in … Read more
Look for the free Life Lessons short story And to All a Good Night by clicking on the page link above in the page bar, or on the cover image at right. (Hey, I think I made it work!) I would love comments. Breaking Cover, the sequel to Life Lessons, is now in editing and I’ve got maybe one more go-round to make it right. So tell me what you think.
I have a Mac & Tony short story (And to All a Good Night – M & T # 1 1/2) which falls between Life Lessons and Breaking Cover that I’m going to post for a free read soon. It’s about 10,000 words. I’ll put it on this website at WordPress, and probably on my author site at Goodreads too. But that will be for reading online not download. Does anyone hate reading on their … Read more
So I’m a woman, and I write m/m romance. Now that my writing is out in the public eye, I have to wonder, is that…okay? Humans all share the same emotions, the same love and fear and lust and embarrassment and anger and excitement. Is it egotistical to think that I can successfully create believable gay men in my fiction out of that shared human experience? And even if I can, is it exploitative … Read more
I’ve been thinking about covers a lot. As a new author, the big first hurdle is getting people to pick up your book and try it. When I saw the gorgeous layout Winterheart Design did on Life Lessons I did a little happy dance, because I knew that would be a big factor in making people stop for a second look. I owe the art folks a huge thank-you for that one. (And thank-you, thank-you … Read more
I just got the contract in and signed for the sequel to my book, Life Lessons. The next one, Breaking Cover, has been completed for a while, but now I can start the editing and publishing process. And a third adventure for Mac & Tony is in first-draft form. At the same time I was reading Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb, which is the 32nd book in that series. And it got me thinking … Read more
From Goodreads, May 15,2011: My editor tells me that it is essential for a writer to have a website. If I’m reading her correctly, the biggest impetus is to give readers a chance to contact the author with questions and comments. Obviously, it also serves as advertising. So I spent a while browsing other authors’ sites and blogs. They varied from pretty basic to very professional with buttons and videos and direct channels to where … Read more