Chick Lit Goddess

...because every author wants to feel like a goddess!

Writing

Productivity at Home vs. Productivity at the Office

5 Comments

I’ve never had an office and have worked at home.  Whether it was while in my pajamas (the comfortable ones I might add) while sitting at the kitchen counter, on the couch or in bed, I somehow managed to write two books and start Chick Lit Goddess.  My husband would go  to work, I’d pick up around the house and maybe start dinner (thank goodness for Crock Pots), then get to work.  I’d work most of the day, with a few distracting episodes of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Friends” and of course, “Dr. Phil.”  My husband would come home, we’d have dinner, watch our TV shows – with the cat sprawled across our laps, then I’d work a bit more and then it would be time for bed.  The next day I would get up just to do it all over again.  I thought I was productive.  I thought I had it down.  I thought I did, I thought I did, I thought I did.  I thought wrong.

Since I’ve been in my office for about a month now, I’ve seen my productivity level increase a lot!  Now that I have to get out of bed, get dressed and look decent at the least, it makes it feel like I’m really someone, not just an upcoming Indie author.  I’m fortunate that my office is close to home, which makes for an easy drive into work, and I’m thankful that I’m not honking my horn at anyone or stuck on a freeway in stopped traffic.  You see, I’m not a morning person and have a tendency to be (a little)  grumpy.  Anyway, when I get in the office, I’m greeted by my new tea maker that my hubby bought me for Christmas.  Actually, he bought himself one too and plans to take his to work and wrapped mine, so I don’t get it until Christmas.  (I guess those are the joys of shopping together, right).

I’m digressing, so let me continue…

I’m not one who deals with silence well, though I’m not one who can be surrounded with a lot of noise either.  Pandora has become my best friend while working, specifically the sounds of symphony type music.  It’s because of this that I feel my fingers click, click, click  to the beat of the instruments.  See, it’s all about productivity.

Now, if you don’t have an office, but would like to be more productive, here are five tips that seemed to be help me back in the day when I needed to get stuff done:

  1. GET DRESSED – Yes, get out of those pajama or Yoga pants.  Believe me, I’d love to live in them too, but you’ve got a book to write and work to do.  Throw on a fancy (red) top and put on make-up.  Run a brush through that pretty hair of yours.  You’ve got a date with a Hero who is romancing you through your current WIP.
  2. TURN OFF THE TV – If you are one who can work with noise, that’s great, but I wouldn’t recommend it being TV.  Say your favorite show is “Friends” and you tell yourself that they’re all repeats and that you’ll be productive, you’re lying to yourself.  You know you’ll still watch it as if it’s the first time that Ross and Rachel take a “break?”  Take a break from them and get to work!
  3. SET HOURS FOR YOURSELF – Like for most, writing is a hard job and it’s not one that comes easy.  First you have to write the book and that can take a while, then you have to edit, then comes the publishing part that can take a long time as well, so it’s important to take being a writer seriously.  Whether it’s an hour or two a night, make the time you put into your book count for something!
  4. DETERMINE WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU – If you’re a partier and are one to go out a lot, your work might be slacking.  Am I right?  (It’s okay to nod if I am).  If you get a call from someone urging you to come out with them, make the smart choice and decide to work because it’ll pay off in the end.  Now, I’m not saying to ignore your friends, family or significant other, but I’m just saying to think about what’s really important in the big picture…
  5. THINK POSITIVE – I know that it’s a lot easier said than done, but thinking positive really can get you somewhere!  If you’re one to be hard on yourself, turn that thought pattern around.  There are thousands of positive quotes you can find online and in books.  When you stumble upon one that you like, read between the lines and think about what it’s really saying.  Most of the time it’s saying, “Yes you can!”

 

NaNoWriMo Books

4 Comments

This time last year I was still reeling with joy because I finished writing my second book, The Right Design.  You see, I participated in my first NaNoWriMo and I won, (this means that I wrote a book in 30 days!).  I was on a high, not believing I had done it.

This year, however, I didn’t take part in NaNoWriMo because there was too much going on, but I’m proud to be sharing NaNo experiences of the below awesome ladies:

LauraChapmanPic

LAURA CHAPMAN, Change the Word

Tell us about your NaNoWriMo experience:  This was my third consecutive year participating in NaNoWriMo, and as much as I planned and prepared for it in advance, my schedule naturally went away. While my first two years I worked entirely on one project, this year I found myself in a slightly different position. I needed to add a few new chapters to the book I wrote for NaNoWriMo 2010 to prepare for (hopefully) publishing in 2013. I knew I needed to get them done before I could completely focus on my new book. That means, I participated as a NaNoWriMo rebel, and I’ll tell you it was not the same. Even though all of my friends told me to add that word count to my new novel, because it was new word count, I felt pretty guilty about it the whole time. It was definitely much more rewarding my first year, when I hit that 50K after spending Nov. 1-2 plotting the book and the rest of the month writing on airplanes, airports and if I was lucky enough my home.

What is the title of your book?  “Hard Hats and Doormats” and “Should Old Acquaintance” (Again, I was a rebel. Bad, Laura.)

What is your book about?  The first book is about a Midwestern girl transplanted in Texas to work in the big oil business. While trying to charm her way up the corporate ladder, she ends up missing a big promotion, because the bosses think she is too nice. Determined to change her ways, she stops playing by the rules professionally and personally. Both combine when she falls for one of her co-workers, which is against company policy. The MC ultimately learns that nice girls don’t always finish last.

The second is about a guy and girl who hook up at a New Year’s Eve party and decide to leave a little mystery in their night of fun by never exchanging last names, phone numbers or any way to contact each other. Five years later, they find themselves the best man and maid of honor in a holiday wedding. Stuck between wanting to support their loved ones and a rekindling of those feelings that drew them to each other in the first place, their reunion makes for an interesting December.

How many words did you write?  50,258… and counting!

Now that NaNoWriMo is over, what do you plan to do with you book?  Book one needs a few more edits, and I hope to publish in the first part of 2013. It will be my debut novel, which is super exciting. I’m plugging away at book two, which has added several thousand more words to my final NaNoWriMo tally. My goal is to finish draft one before the new year — it is a holiday book — then take some time to revise. It’d be great to publish next holiday season, but we will see.

SharonMoore

SHARON MOORE, Romance Righter

Tell us about your NaNoWriMo experience:  I was pleased and amazed at how many words I could write in a day’s time with a deadline of 30 days. It was great fun, and I was never seriously worried I wouldn’t make it. (Even though I logged 0 word count for seven days because of three out-of-state trips during the month.) What I was disappointed in was not meeting my personal goal of 65K words.

I learned a ton about which planning tools work best for me, and I’m going to apply them to my future books. I have tried bunches of tools over the years, but this combo kept me on track and writing even when I knew it wasn’t the best writing.

Never again will I let the saggy middle, or plot holes, or character inconsistencies stop my writing. Just keep writing, and it will all sort out when you revise. Some of those aspects that would have stopped me in the past, showed me another direction to go with the book because I kept writing!

Toward the end, I was seriously behind–and traveling again–but friends understood and we worked around carving writing time out for me. I found myself “downloading” (e.g., “writing”) scenes playing in my head no matter the order. Just get them down, I told myself. So now, though I have a complete novel, it is not completed. I am going into the last few thousand words and re-ordering the scenes and writing better transitions and linkers for them. THEN I can start revisions and edits.

All the warnings for NaNoWriMo say to just write and do no edits or revisions, but I found myself largely ignoring that advice. I went back into the book each session, fixing something or elaborating a scene that I had envisioned more for. I don’t think it is a problem at all to do those things as long as you continue to add to the story.

I have both “pantsed” and “plotted” past novels. For fast writing like NaNo, however, I was successful largely because of the massive planning I did in October. It was my most planful novel, and I know that’s the major reason for the writing coming so easily. I was “in the flow” more than with any other of my novels, save one. Flow writing is sooo much fun!

What is the title of your book?  The Quick and the Dedd.  It’s the first book in a series.

What is your book about?  I wrote a parnormal romantic suspense.

Isabella Quick, current owner of I.Q Security (“We take your intelligence seriously.”) misses the company of one of her best agents. Riley Dedd is, well, dead, murdered while on assignment for her. When his spirit turns up in her office, she thinks it might be other spirits–her single malt scotch perhaps–at work. Having convinced her he is real, a real ghost that is, they figure out how to work together to find his murderer, save her company from a takeover, and unmask a plot of national security proportions. And can they figure out the mechanics of making ethereal love corporeal? Throw in her petty crook ex-husband, a BFF ex-sister-in-law who’s her office receptionist along with assorted other co-workers, and you have a paranormal romantic suspense that is not as transparent as it seems.

How many words did you write?  50,115 validated. My counter showed a few more, but it was close.

Now that NaNoWriMo is over, what do you plan to do with you book?  I am sending the novel to Avon Impulse (deadline Dec. 10th). They solicited completed NaNoWriMo novels for their digital imprint (new title each week). I’m sure they know these are first drafts, so we’ll see if anything comes of it. (3-month response time.)

If that’s a no-go, there are lots of publishers to query re paranormal romantic suspense once it is revised and edited.

In the waiting time, I am going to revise/edit the novel and plot out three more Q&Ds to follow (Dedd on Arrival, Dedd to the World, and Dedd as a Doornail). In case Q&D gets published, I want to be ready to write the next ones.

Additionally, I am going to pitch a NaNoWriMo article to various in-flight magazines. The idea to do so came in this month’s issue of The Writer. So many people say they want to write a book, that this should appeal to a large number of flyers. I am researching flight magazines’ guidelines and timelines. I see this as an October article to give people time to sign up for NaNo next year.

MarthaReynoldsPic2

MARTHA REYNOLDS, MarthaReynoldsWrites

Tell us about your NaNoWriMo experience:  Last year I had hoped to participate in National Novel Writing Month; however, I’d already begun writing what would be “Chocolate for Breakfast,” my debut novel. I only wanted to join in with something new, so I decided to wait until this year. With my debut novel released in August, and my current work-in-progress at about 50,000 words, I was ready to devote the month of November to writing a sequel to “Chocolate for Breakfast.”

I signed up and added a few writing buddies. And although I didn’t participate in any of my local events, I did want to commit myself to this project, so during the last weekend in October, I drove to the Barnes & Noble bookstore, ordered a tall skinny latte and sat down with a notebook (the kind with actual paper in it) and a pen and began outlining the story that would become “Chocolate Fondue.” Mapping and outlining was essential, I knew. Although I’m more of a “pantser” kind of writer (writing by the seat of my pants, going where my muse takes me), I didn’t think that method would work within a thirty-day time frame.

I reached 50,011 words by Day 14, but I kept going. I “finished” the messy first draft on November 29 at 62,883 words. Now the editing begins. Whoever first said “Write fast, edit slow,” was right. Getting it all out there is important. Making every word count is more important.

What is the title of your book?  My book is called “Chocolate Fondue.” That’s the working title, but I’m happy with it as of now, and I envision the cover already, so I’m sticking with it. And because it’s a sequel to “Chocolate for Breakfast,” I think it works. Keeps the wonderful chocolate theme alive!

What is your book about?  Well, it’s a sequel to “Chocolate for Breakfast.” It’s certainly beneficial to the reader if he or she has read CFB, but I’m writing the book with enough informaiton in it so that if the reader hasn’t read CFB first, they won’t be lost. It picks up on the exact same day where CFB left off, as Bernadette and her aunt Joan are standing at the reception desk in the Hotel de la Rose (Switzerland), and Bernadette is string into the face of the young man she believes is the baby boy she gave up for adoption twenty-three years earlier.

How many words did you write?  I wrote over 61,000 words by November 27th! Now that’s not enough for a book, so I’d like to have at least another 20,000 words. But I don’t think that will be a problem. Then, of course, there’s all that editing.

Now that NaNoWriMo is over, what do you plan to do with you book?  I’m still working on it! More to write and lots to edit; after all, the idea behind NaNoWriMo is to get that messy first draft written. Ultimately, I’d like to have both “Chocolate for Breakfast” and “Chocolate Fondue” picked up together, but querying agents will come much later.

JenTuckerPic

JEN TUCKER, Jen Tucker

Tell us about your NaNoWriMo experience:  I really liked the discipline that has to come along with writing a book in one month.  The idea that there were a community of writers participating globally was encouraging to me.  I think for anyone who needs a kick in the pants to complete a novel that has been running through your head for an eon, this contest is for you!  *Jen included*

What is the title of your book?  Ashes to Ashes

What is your book about?  A woman dies and she has gathered three people from her youth to spread her ashes: the first boyfriend, the high school bestie, and the nemesis.  There are some secrets that they wish would remain buried, yet nothing shines a light on the truth like spending time with people from your past you’d rather forget.

It has humor and tender moments in the story, as well as people you’d love to punch and some you might just wanna hug.

How many words did you write?  50,877

Now that NaNoWriMo is over, what do you plan to do with you book?  I’m going to let it sit and rest for the month, then begin edits at the top of the year.  I’m not sure yet if I will shop it around for a publisher or go indie.  I’m really happy with the way the characters developed throughout the book and without me realizing it until the end, I think they gave me their blessing to make it a two or three book series.

JosephineAndDadPic

JOSEPHINE THOMAS, eBook Addict

Tell us about your NaNoWriMo experience:  NaNoWirMo was an experience that I had never experienced before. For starters, I didn’t even think it was possible to write 50,000 words in 30 days. When the challenge first began, I was super excited, but as the excitement wore off, the pressure grew and as well as the fear; my word count began lagging immensely! When I first signed on to do NaNoWriMo, I never factored in things such as:  blog tours that I had signed up for, novels that I had promised authors I’d read (which I will get to eventually), final exams for college, and last but certainly not least, the unexpected things. Taking care of my grandmother while working on my novel for NaNoWriMo was a lot harder than I expected, but I was able to manage. All in all, this was an experience of a lifetime; NaNoWriMo definitely gave me the push that I needed to kick-start my wanting to be an author.

What is the Title of your book?  Sliding into Love

What is your book about?  As I was working on my novel for NaNoWriMo, a lot changed with the synopsis and everything, but a few things stayed the same. For example, when I went into this experience, I knew I wanted to have both of my main characters on dialysis. So basically the story is about a girl, Emma, who has been on dialysis for ten years and is tired of living the same old boring life; she is definitely ready for excitement. Then she meets a guy, Bradley, who is the star pitcher for their hometown baseball team. Bradley also ends up getting sick and has to be on dialysis. The story was inspired by my father’s diagnosis with renal failure, which he has been dealing with for almost two years now. Renal failure is an illness that runs in my family, so I thought it would be a great idea to bring awareness to the disease while exploring the aspects of a relationship between two ill people as well.

How many words did you write?  Shockingly enough, I was able to write 50,156 words! I just made the word count goal by the skin of my teeth!!

Now that NaNoWriMo is over, what do you plan to do with your book?  First and foremost, I plan on doing some heavy duty editing; it was pure torture not being able to edit my book during the month of November! Once I’ve completed my editing and things of that nature, I plan on publishing my book through KDP and if my book does well, I’d love to have a portion of my royalties go to the American Kidney Foundation.

SaraHitchcockAuthorPic

SARAH HITCHCOCK, Wattpad

Tell us about your NaNoWriMo experience
:  This was not my first time, and as I enjoyed writing my book last year, I was more prepared this time around. I did try and do two books, but for me, it did not pan out. I mainly wrote one, and added a little over 10,000 words on the other.

What is the title of your book?
  Torn between two brothers

What is your book about?  
From the title you may guess, but my MC, Megan, is set up on a blind date, and although he is not her type, she finds herself liking this short bald headed man. Until one day, she is invited to the families home for Christmas, and she meets Callum’s brother, who she had thought had been hired help. She had caught him looking at her, and found she was attracted to him. While at the families home for Christmas, she pops out to the stables for some fresh air, their Liam catches her of guard and kisses her. After that she cannot help but think about the brother, but as she is with Callum, she would not cheat on him, even though she has no idea where there relationship is going. She is confused about her feelings, how will this story unfold?

How many words did you write?  
I manged just under 51K on this novel, and just over 10,000 on the YA one I started.

Now that NaNoWriMo is over, what do you plan to do with you book?
  For now I plan to leave it, I still have a few books which I have been writing for a while now, to finish and edit, and last years Nano book to edit. So many to do, and not enough time.

PaulaPhillipsPic

PAULA PHILLIPS, The Phantom Paragrapher

Tell us about your NaNoWriMo experience:  This is my first year that I have done NanoWriMo and I started out great and then November ended up being a Crazy month so it took a little bit of a backburner, but will pick it up again when things start to show signs of settling.

What is the title of your book ?  A Teenage Girl’s Literary Guide to Life

What is your book about?  It is a set of 52 diary entries , each one taking on the theme of a book at the moment it has a Pride and Prejudice Theme to the novel.

How Many words did you write ?  10,567

NaNoWriMo is over, what do you plan to do with you book?  I plan to continue writing it and eventually who knows, I might get it published. I also had a cover made by Boo Savage Creations.

Random Sunday Ramblings

2 Comments

Happy Sunday, y’all!  I not supposed to be working on the weekends, but I wanted to share a few random thoughts with you.  In a way, I guess it’s just me venting because I’m a little stressed about the holidays coming up.  Speaking of holidays, why is everyone putting up their Christmas tree this weekend?  It’s not even Thanksgiving!

Anyway, back to my rambling…

I got up to write this post to avoid watching the Cowboy game.  I could no longer watch a train wreck, nor could I stand to listen to the announcers bash a team I grew up with.  I grew up and live in Dallas, so the Cowboys will always be my home team, but there comes a point where I just shake my head, wondering how much more of this we can take.  Cowboys Stadium (a.k.a Jerry’s World) is huge, so we should have a great team, right?  Oh, that’s right because we all live in Jerry’s World, which consists of being obsessed by the unreliable and unqualified quarterback, Tony Romo.  Speaking of Romo, why is it that everyone (even some announcers) think he’s so good and talented, and that the real problem is not having enough or good protection?  Well, Tony can’t throw good, and when he makes a great pass, it’s usually to another player — on a different team!  Just today, I heard that he’s thrown more interceptions than any other active QB in the NFL.  Not surprising!  But back to Jerry, the owner of the team…he needs to fire himself from being the GM of the team and bring someone in to help bring this organization back to what it was when Jimmy Johnson was coach!  And people wonder why I’m a Green Bay Packer fan…GO PACK, GO!  Oh, did I mention that I own that team?
Like I’ve mentioned before, and that I’m still so excited about, I have a new office!  Tomorrow will be my second full week to actually get up to go to work.  I’m loving it!  Another blog post will be up tomorrow about how it’s changed my productivity, but for now, here are a few positives and negatives about not working during the weekend:

Positives

  • More free time to spend with my family and friends
  • More time to spend on household duties, mainly laundry and dishes
  • Giving myself a well-deserved break
  • Finding new hobbies and TV shows, (like Dr. Who, for example!)  **Thank you to my awesome hubby for introducing me to this great show, and to Netflix who provides hours upon hours of great episodes!
  • The peace and quite
  • Not drinking as much the night before, so that I can be productive the following day!  (Okay, this might seem like a negative, but it’s not)

Negatives

  • Waking up early
  • Not being able to wear my pajamas all day
  • Deciding what to wear!  I’m not a clothes lover and HATE shopping! 
  • I miss my writing companion — my cat
  • Not drinking as much the night before!  I guess I should start drinking more SmartWater!  Hmm, that might just be a New Year’s resolution!
  • The peace and quiet — sometimes quiet, is a little too quiet!

Okay, I guess that’s enough rambling for today!  Thanks for letting me vent…

Oh, and here are the final scores:  20-23, Cowboys won!  (Maybe Jason Garret, the head coach, is pleading to keep his job!)  Also, the Packers won, with a final score of 24-20!

What Will That First Day Be Like?

Leave a Comment

I’ll be moving into my new office this coming week and I’m ecstatic!  It’s the color I want, everything is ready to go — a new desk, a new desktop and printer, and now all I have to do is move in, but now comes exciting part — working!

This has all led me to thinking about what the first day will be like.  I imagine it similar to the first day of school.  I remember my sister having her online status up (a quote she got from Finding Nemo), “First day of school, first day of school,” every term.  That’s how I feel about going to work!  I can’t wait to set my office up, the way I want it – with books, dry erase boards and  wall hangings, all surrounding me as I create!  I’m sure I won’t sleep a wink the night before I go into an office to work (editing to begin my journey as a self-published author).

Tell me about your first day of work as an author, or do you have any tips on creating a productive work environment?

Why I’ve Decided To Self-Publish

21 Comments

On my blog post yesterday (click HERE to read it), I happily announced that I’ve decided to self-publish my books.  I’m very excited about this journey and know it will be hard work, but the end will be worth it because I will be a published author!

While Indie/Self-published authors sometimes get a bad wrap because of bad editing, bad formatting, cheesy book covers…the list could go on, I support them because they’ve made their dreams come true of becoming an author.  However, those who do follow the rules of self-publishing seem to have a greater chance of becoming a #1 Bestseller on Amazon, for example.  (I have a friend who has a screen shot of her book being at #1, which is right beside Stephen King).  I’ve had the pleasure of reading and reviewing quite a few self-published books and while there’s been a lot of wonderful stories with great characters, it’s how the book was formatted that I paid most attention to, only because I have a tendency to be OCD about layouts, (here’s to hoping that when my books are published there won’t be any formatting issues).

Some might even say that they decide to self-publish because they’re afraid of rejection.  Am I afraid of rejection?  Yes, but in a good way.  I think being rejected (in any form) is just another sign of getting to where your meant to be.  Isn’t like breaking up with someone (rejection), only to find “the one” (published)?  My fear of rejection has nothing  to do with rejection.

Back to why I want to self-publish…I want to be in charge!  From formatting, cover design, and marketing, I want it all!  I want to learn the self-publishing business (yes, it’s a business within itself), so isn’t self-publishing a book the best way to do it?  Yes!

How do I plan on going about it?  I’ve purchased books (the “Self-Publishing for Dummies” book is a great resource that I will probably read at least five times), and I have huge support from my Twitter and Facebook friends, especially those in my Chick Lit Goddesses group.

Will this be a tough task, absolutely!  I know that I’ll be so OCD that I’ll probably have my husband look over it a hundred times before the release date, just to make sure that I did it right.  I know that I’ll be stressed, won’t sleep, and will have butterflies in my stomach through the process, but there is a positive side to all of this.

While I’ve had a wonderful life (a delightful and happy childhood, my family is supportive of everything that I do, I’m married to the love of my life, and I have true friends), I can’t remember being happier with this decision to self-publish.  And, with everything I’ve been through (I won’t bore you with the ups and downs), I was meant to be a writer, no, make that an author.  I was meant to be an author.

Pop open the Veuve Cliquot, because it’s time to celebrate!

Why I’m Not Participating In NaNoWriMo!

8 Comments

Happy November!

The past few months have had their ups and downs, but beginning today, things will be back to normal…thank goodness!

This is my favorite month – the cool weather (not cold because I live in Texas), snuggling with my hubby and cat, Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday), and usually a good football game, though the Cowboys aren’t doing so well…but that’s for another blog post – I love it all!

For writers all across the world, November 1st is the beginning of National Novel Writing Month, (NaNoNoWriMo).  This is where one writes a complete book in 30 days.  To find out more about my first experience with NaNoWriMo, click HERE.

Anyway, while I want desperately to take part in NaNo, I know I can write a book – in fact, I’ve written two of them – it’s time for me to focus on my next step, becoming a published author.  This means that I need to focus on the editing process, which at times can be very tedious, but there’s good news!  As of next week, I will have an office – one I’ll have to drive to – and will be able to center my complete attention on work.  My goal is to have edits finished with at least one book by the end of the year!  Wish me luck!

**Now, for a little announcement:  I’ve decided to self-publish!

**Why?  Come back for a new blog post tomorrow morning!

The Next Big Thing: Authors Tagging Authors!

18 Comments

Happy Friday, everyone!  Whew!  It’s been a long time since I’ve really blogged and I’ve missed it, and my followers!  Thank you for being patient with me the last few weeks, but it’s been quite a busy time in my work and personal life.  The good thing is that my office is almost finished, so I’ll be a lot more focused hopefully by the end of this month, (YAY!).

And now for something exciting…

Last Friday I was tagged by Jackie Bouchard of Pooch Smooches as part of a blog going around, called “The Next Big Thing.”  It was a pleasure being tagged along with other wonderful authors.  Below are the questions that are given to each other, along with my answers.  While some of them were difficult to answer because I’m (very) shy and don’t like to talk about myself or my books, I had wonderful advice given to me by the ladies of a Facebook group that I started, Chick Lit Goddesses.  We’d love to have you!

What is the working title of your book?  Right now I’m working on edits for my books, “Redefined Dreams” and “The Right Design.”

Where did the idea come from for the book?  I began writing “Redefined Dreams” while taking a creative writing class at Gotham Writers’ Workshop.  One assignment was to start a story with “The window…”  I had no direction at first for it, but I was a newlywed and still had wedding stuff on my mind, so the beginning story was easy, but then the characters started to “speak” to me and soon my characters came to life, as well as a story!

“The Right Design,” it was the beginning of October when I decided that I would participate in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  When I sat down to write this book on that first day of November, I knew I wanted my Heroine to be very different from the MC in my first book, but had no clue whatsoever what this book would be about, but that changed very quickly.  I wrote this book as if I were the main character, so I guess you could say that I wrote the book about a life I have/had/wish I had and in some ways, want.  For those of you that know me, I bet you’d be surprised, though only three people have read this book, (one of my closest male friends, my mom and my editor)!

What genre does your book fall under?  Both of my books are a mix of Chick Lit/Romance

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?  I love this question!  My dream is to write a book and have it turned into a movie, even if it’s on Lifetime, (only without Leann Rimes and Eddie Cibrian — if you don’t know the story, HERE is a summary).  For “Redefined Dreams,” I’d have to say that Ashley Williams or Gennifer Goodwin would play Lucy, Eric Dane would play Jackson, and Nathan would played by Channing Tatum.  For “The Right Design,” I would have Katherine Heigl play Carrie, Sandra Bullock to play Sara, Harry Connic Jr. would play Roger, and either Matt Bomer or Colin Egglesfield would play Brad.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?  What a great question!  “Redefined Dreams” — Have you ever been engaged to a man who turns out to be gay, but you get over it by falling in love with your ex-wedding coordinator’s son, only to end up pregnant with his baby?  “The Right Design” — What’s a better way to get over your cheating ex-boyfrind than to move to new city, only to be tempted by your client and not able to act on it because of the rules you’ve set for yourself, until he makes the first move?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?  I’m still deciding.  There are both positives and negatives about each choice, but there is one I’m leaning towards and that’s to self-publish!

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?  “Redefined Dreams” took me a full year, March of 2010 to March of 2011.  “The Right Design” took me 30 days in November of 2011!  (Participating in NaNoWriMo was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made).

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?  I’d love for my books to be compared to Emily Giffin’s “Something Blue” and “Something Borrowed.”  Those books are why I wanted to be an author in the first place.  She’s an inspiration!  I think that Emily is the most talented and beloved author in the Chick Lit genre.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?  Like I mentioned before, Emily Giffin is an inspiration, but my husband inspired me write books one and two.  He’s a constant motivator and pushes me to achieve what I think I can’t do, but knows I can.  (Thank you, hubby!)

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?  My books aren’t just to entertain, but I want my readers to feel like they can relate to my main Heroine and/or the struggle she’s in.  While I write for pleasure, I love to write for others who can finish my book and say, “Wow, that was great,” and the character and/or story sticks with them.

I was only supposed to tag 5, but I have so many awesome author friends that I wanted to include, so I tagged 6.  Next Friday, the 26th, they will have answered the questions and tagged  more authors, and so on.  Be sure to check stay tuned and see who they tag!

Wendy Ely

Elke Feuer

Kristina Knight

Francine LaSala

Sharon Moore

Samantha Robey

Nikki Jefford

4 Comments

Author Bio:

Nikki Jefford is a third generation Alaskan who loves fictional bad boys and heroines who kick butt. She is the author of the Spellbound Trilogy and upcoming Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter series.

Nikki married the love of her life, Sebastien, while working as a teaching assistant in France. They now reside in the not-so-tropical San Juan Islands, 70 miles northeast of Forks, Washington.

GUEST POST

Taking Risks in Young Adult Romance

I don’t know about you, but when I was in high school I was super interested in boys and curious about kissing and sex. I gathered what information I could from magazines like YM, Seventeen, and Cosmopolitan; and TV series like Beverly Hills 90210.

I’ve always loved reading, but by the time I was a teen, teen novels didn’t have enough heat in them so I switched to reading historical romance.

One of my favorite things about being an indie YA author, is having the freedom to write and release the kind of book I would have loved reading when I was growing up.

There’s a prank scene in the first book of my Spellbound Trilogy, Entangled, where the main character wakes up in a boy’s bed instead of her sister’s after “The Switch” (they’re sharing a body every 24 hours). This disturbed a couple of readers who sent me emails, but the majority loved being surprised throughout the book and appreciated an author who took risks.

If this went through New York, I know they would have made me take it out because they don’t want to offend readers or, more likely, parents. In my opinion, if you’re not offending anyone, you’re being boring.

At the same time, if you self-publish, you have to watch that you don’t get too carried away. My copy editors make minimal comments as to things that could cause problems, but ultimately I make the final call.

I’m releasing the first in a new vampire slayer series, Aurora Sky, this winter and have struggled with the sexual content for over a year and whether it’s appropriate or not. I ended up removing a sex scene before sending it off to my copy editor. I feel much better about that. It took place in an already heated situation and overall I think it detracted from the scene and relationship.

There is another sex scene I’m leaving in and I am very curious (and nervous!) to see how it will be received. It’s awkward and comical. The safer bet would be to remove it, but I can’t bring myself to cut it. It reminds me of a scene in the 1992 comedy This Is My Life, starring Julie Kavner and Dan Aykroyd, when one of the daughters has sex with her boyfriend and it’s the ultimate letdown. I was cracking up during the scene. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since.

But it was great! I saw that as a teen and was like, “Oh my God, that’s probably what the first time is truly like.”

One of my top priorities when writing is to surprise people as much as possible and give them a truly enjoyable reading experience. I’m not out to write an award-winning novel or brilliant prose. The best compliment I can receive is a reader telling me they couldn’t put my book down until they knew how it ended.

That’s how I know it’s worth taking risks.

**Contact Nikki at the below link:

Nikki Jefford

Cat Lavoie

3 Comments

About the author:  Cat Lavoie was born in the small town of Jonquière in Québec, Canada. At the age of nineteen, she packed up her things (mostly books) and moved to the big city of Montreal where she currently lives with her tempestuous cat Abbie—who is both adorable and quite possibly evil.

An incurable Anglophile since her university days where she studied English Literature, she can often be found daydreaming about her next trip to London. Since she’s an expert at the art of procrastination, Cat is easily distracted by cooking and home improvement shows—even though she’s not particularly good at either.

Cat grew up watching soap operas and legal dramas and—had she not decided to be a claims analyst by day and write chick lit by night—she would have probably become a designer suit-wearing lawyer. Or a character on All My Children (which is what she really wanted to be when she was twelve).

Cat is not sure whether she’s a geek or a nerd—and is afraid she might be both. Breaking the Rules is her first novel.

Interview with Cat Lavoie

You’re an author! How does it feel to have your book published?  It feels so awesome! These last few months working on edits and getting everything ready for Breaking the Rules’ release have been really exciting.

Facebook or Twitter?  Both. I left Facebook for a few years and—for the longest time—my only social media outlets were Twitter and my blog. But now I’m back on Facebook and I love how I’ve connected with readers and other writers in such a short time… so now I’m trying to balance both.

Did you always want to be a writer?  As far as I can remember, I’ve loved stories and books. When I was in grade school, I used to beg my teacher to let me stay inside during recess so I could read at my desk. Being a writer was definitely one of my dreams when I was growing up.

What is your snack and/or drink of choice when writing?  Oh no. This is the part of the interview where I reveal my crippling addiction to Lays Salt & Vinegar potato chips and Cadbury’s Dairy Milk chocolate bars! But I also drink a lot of water (with tons of ice cubes) when I’m writing. So it’s not all bad!

Where did you get the idea for “Breaking the Rules?”  I was having a conversation with a male friend about the age-old question: can a man and a woman really be just friends? Then I started asking myself: what if a lifelong platonic relationship got really complicated, really fast? The characters and the rest of the story just grew from there.

How long did it take to write it?  I worked on it on and off for a few years, taking notes, doing research and outlining. But once I decided to focus on completing my first draft (i.e. stop working on the outline and actually write the story) it took me a little under a year.

What was your writing/experience like?  Painfully slow. I tend to edit as I write and I have trouble moving on with the story until I feel the sentence/paragraph/chapter I’m working on is ‘perfect.’ It was definitely a challenge to silence my inner editor long enough to finish writing the first draft.

When your book was published, how did you celebrate?  I seem to recall a horribly uncoordinated happy dance in the middle of my living room that scared Abbie (my cat) and sent her hiding for cover. Then I had a celebratory dinner with my best friend. (Followed by another happy dance when I got back home.)

Paperback or eBook?  Why?  Mostly eBooks. As a tech geek and a shopaholic, I love the fact that I can carry all my books with me everywhere I go and that I can go from wanting a book to owning that book in just a few simple clicks.  But I still love the look and feel of a physical book, though. When I really love a novel, I usually end up buying a copy for my bookshelf.

What authors inspire you?  That’s a tough one because there are so many! I’d have to say my main inspiration is Sophie Kinsella. Reading “Confessions of a Shopaholic” helped me find my voice. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to write chick lit. And I love authors like Marian Keyes who combine humor with more serious issues.

What’s the best advice you’ve been given?  The best writing advice I’ve ever been given is: “write the book you want to read” and “write.” For the longest time, I was talking about writing, thinking about writing and even writing about writing… but I wasn’t really writing. So that advice really hit home.

Are you working on anything now?  If so, would you like to share anything?  I’m currently working on the first draft of my second novel called Zoey & the Moment of Zen. It’s the story of a woman who gets sent to an island resort by her friends and family to help her get over an ex-boyfriend. Hopefully, hilarity will ensue.

**Contact Cat!:  Cat blogs about the writing life and posts adorable pictures of Abbie over at the Catenabi Chronicles.  You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter!

**Click HERE to read my 5 star review of Cat’s debut novel, Breaking the Rules!