Virtual promotion

Questions about the business side of writing crop up and I ponder the choices, usually wishing it would all go away. Since I don’t know the difference between an effective marketing move and a waste of time and money, I’d rather write or putter in the garden.

Lucky for me, the writer’s first job is to write. There are examples of clever promotion overcoming a lack of talent, but joining that group isn’t appealing.

Nevertheless, publishing is a business. Readers are the customers and writing is the product, simple enough. And yet, like any other commercial venture, without distribution, packaging, and promotion nothing happens.

Writers are encouraged and expected to take part in the promotion of their work. There is a ton of information and advice on how to build readership. Separating what works, specifically what would be effective for me, from the plethora of information is overwhelming.

I’m considering upgrading this blog to professionally designed site. Please tell me your thoughts, what brings you back to a blog--content, design, or a combination? Which are your favorite blogs and why? What would you like to see included in this blog?

If I’ve failed to include the right questions, please feel free to improvise. I promise to listen.

Romantic Times Review of Dangerous Surrender

Quoting from the tasteful reviewer...

"Mystery, intrigue, and extortion set the scene in this riveting story. There's plenty of sexual tension between the main couple, and when they make love, they burn up the pages."

I'm so pleased...

Sold! Dangerously sexy explores new worlds

Sold, earlier this week Dalila’s Choice, an erotic futuristic novella, to New Concepts Publishing.

Here’s the blurb--

Dalila Theron arrives in orbit around Enyo with orders to conquer the hostile warriors by any means necessary. But, warriors shoot first and ask no questions. Blasted out the sky, her damaged ship plunges into a stormy sea. Rescued by intimidating twin brothers, she is stranded on a remote island. Her weapon training, hand-to-hand combat skills, and sketchy mind control instructions didn’t prepare her for dealing with the overwhelmingly male warriors. In desperation, she wields a dangerous new weapon, sex appeal.

The attraction between the three of them is a two-edged blade, slicing her as deeply as it does the men. She’s instantly drawn to Kelvar, who saved her from drowning. His raw male instincts, strength, and honor fail to hide a tender heart. His twin, Dexon secured her damaged spacecraft, incurring serious injury. When she tends his wound, she awakens a potent desire. Now, she’s caught between two men. Their law demands she chose. She has only three days to decide. One twin will be her mate for life. The other will die. But, how can she choose between the two fierce warriors, when both have captured her heart?

The experience factor

The longer I write, the easier writing gets. This is not an implication that writing is easy--just easier than it used to be. The change has been so gradual that I didn't notice it happening right away.

The adage about practice definitely applies. I write faster than I used to and the copy is cleaner. The drawback to this happy trend is that right along with becoming a better writer my standards rise.

Perhaps, if I live long enough I'll become one of those productive authors, who I'm so impressed with--the ones who knock out thirty thousand words in a week. And those words are well-crafted and entertainingly arranged.

Heck, slower is fine for me--say fifteen thousand words a week....

Writing Life

I’m just creeping past the halfway point of the third dangerous book. By this point, I’m totally immersed in the story. The characters are as real as any of the 3D people I interact with--actually, they’re more real--because story people share their every thought and their deepest secrets. With them, there’s no holding back. I don’t find much of that in day-to-day life.

Then too, the characters lead a much more exciting life than I do. My job is simply to get everything that’s happening in my head etched onto the hard drive.

Before I began writing fiction, stories ran in my head for as long as I can remember. I didn’t record them. And I never finished them. In fact, if one cast played for too long, I deliberately replaced them with a new ensemble--worried that they might become too real.

Now, I complete every story I commit to writing and I work hard to portray the characters as authentically as possible.

Life is not only stranger than fiction--it is populated with incomprehensible natives. When people ask me where I get the ideas for the stories I write, I want to seem sane. Therefore, I try to say something sensible. But the fact is, I have no idea.

Trivia

The other day a woman asked me about a necklace I was wearing (because I'm shy, I love ice breaker jewelry). In this instance the pendant was my Chinese horoscope animal, accompanied by some suitable fetishes.

She told me her birth year and asked if I knew what animal she was. Of course, I didn't. I know mine and few family members and that's it--though the horoscope is based on twelve so if you know a year for each animal then you can work out anybody's Chinese horoscope sign.

If you're too young for your birth year to be listed, you're too young to be reading this blog. There's no telling when I'll post something dangerously sexy.


Rat 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984
Ox 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985
Tiger 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986
Rabbit 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987
Dragon 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988
Snake 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989
Horse 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990
Sheep 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991
Monkey 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992
Rooster 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993
Dog 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994
Pig 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995

So do you know your Chinese sign? Do you care?

Garden Life

August has been unrelentingly hot and humid, which is usual. But neverthless, makes the whole out of doors a sweaty experience, except in the early morning and early evening hours when I venture out to tend and water.

When I do brave the heat and saunter out the front door on even the most mundane chores, I pass by a Stargazer lily that wafts her seductive perfume and lifts my spirit before I scurry back into air conditioned comfort of the house.

Dangerous Rescue Coming Soon!

Just got the cover, which makes it all seem more real...