Billionaire Brides–An Interview With Ana E Ross

Hello, loves! Suze here. I’ve got an extra yummy treat for you–no, no more cookies like last week!  But something just as good, and not at all fattening. The fabulous Ana E Ross is with us today, and I can’t wait to introduce you if you’re not familiar with her work. The second book in her Billionaire Brides of Granite Falls series, THE MOGUL’S RELUCTANT BRIDE, just released and it is selling like crazy. I’ve read book 1 (THE DOCTOR’S SECRET BRIDE), and I’ve got THE MOGUL queued up on my Nook to read over the upcoming long weekend. 

I hear there might be a giveaway, so be sure to leave a comment! Here’s what Ana has to say:

Tell us a little about yourself.

Well, I was born and raised on the Caribbean island of Nevis—which also happens to be the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton.  I come from a large family of ten boys and two girls, so you can just imagine how crowded and loud it was on a daily basis.  Anyway, an aunt—with whom I lived for some time started me reading at a very early age—3 years to be exact—and I used reading as a way of escape from my rowdy brothers.  I grew up on Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey Twins, Hans Christian Andersen, and many of the other children’s story authors. When I was a teenager, I fell in love with romances.

More recently:  After teaching English Literature and Writing for several years, I quit teaching in January to write full-time. I felt as if it was something I needed to do.  I cashed in my retirement and that’s what I’ve been living off of for the past few months.  I had to take a chance on me.  If it turns out that writing is not as financially rewarding as I hope, I’ll return to the classroom.  Time will tell.  But at least when I lie on my deathbed, I will be able to say that I took a chance on me, followed my dream, and die without regrets.

What was the first romance novel you ever read?

Wow, I wish my memory extended that far back, but unfortunately it doesn’t.  However, the first romances I read were Regencies and Mills & Boons, Harlequins, Silhouettes, and a vast number of historicals.

Did you sneak it out of your mother’s underwear drawer, like I did (SHANNA, by Kathleen Woodiwiss, for me)? 

This question made me chuckle, because I know my mother never read a romance in her entire life.  My parents were very religious and the only material they read were the Holy Bible and Christian related material.  Actually, I had to hide my romances from my mother; my aunt didn’t care though, which was a blessing since I spent a lot of time at her house.

How long have you been writing?

I started writing in high school—short stories mostly, and then I transitioned into poems—many of them obviously on the theme of love.  I didn’t start writing romances until about twenty years ago. I’d just finished a romance and didn’t like the ending and thought I could write a story with a much happier ending.  And thus my writing career began with The Doctor’s Secret Bride.  The title has been changed several times over the years, but the premise of the story is the same.

Your newest release, THE MOGUL’S RELUCTANT BRIDE, is selling like hotcakes and has gone as high as number 245 on the Kindle paid list and is holding at number 1 on several sublists. As of today, it’s at number 341, and the first book in the series, THE DOCTOR’S SECRET BRIDE, is at number  924. Other than the fact that these are beautifully written, wonderfully hot reads, why do you think they are so popular?

I would like to think that those two titles are doing well because of the high level of sensuality and hot sex.  Seriously though, probably because of the themes of the stories—forgiveness, redemption, closure, healing, and definitely the strong bond of love and passion between the main characters.  Also, I love to torture my heroes, put them through the ringer—make them earn the heroines’ love.  The fact that they have to fight hard for their HEA make them more appealing it seems.  Readers have commented that they like the roller-coaster rides and that they feel the myriad of emotions the characters go through. They laugh, cry, scream, and cheer along with them.  So strong emotions must play an integral part in the success of the series.

How many books do you have planned for the Billionaire Brides of Granite Falls series?

There are four books in the series.  But since many readers have enquired about a story featuring Robert and Yasmine—Michelle’s brother and her best friend—I’m thinking of writing a spinoff of The Doctor’s Secret Bride where Robert goes off to investigate their father’s story.

Do you keep a series bible to keep the characters and the details straight?

Oh, yes, I definitely have to do that, especially since the characters make appearances in each other’s stories.  Granite Falls is a small town and they are bound to run into each other.  Also because of the bond of brotherhood between the heroes, I have to keep their physical and emotional characteristics straight.

What form is that in? (electronic, 3-ring notebook, index card box?) 

I keep electronic bibles with timelines, first meetings, birthdays, marriages, dates of conception, births, etc.  The four books take place over a four-year period, so I have to pay attention to the details, or my readers will call me out on inconsistencies.  I also created a map—both electronically and poster-size—of the town of Granite Falls with specific landmarks, streets, etc., and since the heroes are billionaires, I make plans of their homes as well.  I keep the poster-size plans and maps on the wall over my desk and I consult them while writing.  They keep me focused and help me to bring my characters to life.  I can really see them interacting with each other.

What type of marketing and publicity have you done/are you doing for your books?

Other than enrolling Book One into Amazon’s Select program, I didn’t do any marketing or publicity when it was first released.  I was just blessed I guess, and I didn’t worry about it so much since I had a full-time job.  However because I had a lot to lose with Book Two, (my retirement was running out), I had to get a marketing plan in place.  I advertised on numerous promotion sites, some free, some paid.  In addition, I re-enrolled Book One into Amazon’s Select program and used my free days before, during, and after the release day of Book Two.  During 3 free days, I had 27k downloads of Book One, and it’s still selling well.  The freebies definitely helped with the blowout sale of Book Two.  I hope that most of the 27K downloads for the first book will generate into sales for the second.  Again, only time will tell.

Why did you decide to indie publish?  

After umpteen years of trying to sell these two titles the traditional way with the big six—well big five now, I finally decided that enough was enough.  I had to make my own dream come true.  I was inspired by Ruthie Cordello’s success as an indie publisher.  Ruth and I met in 2010 at another romance author’s summer garden party and we were in the same boat with trying to sell to Harlequin.  She went indie the next year and made the NY Times Bestseller List in months.  We wrote similar books, so I thought I’d try my own hand at indie publishing, as well.  I’m so happy for all those wonderful rejections from New York.

Other than the actual writing, what parts of the process do you do yourself, and what parts do you hire out?

I hire out the cover design, editing, and formatting portions.  But I just enlisted the help of my twenty-three-year-old daughter who just graduated from college and moved back home to help with finding free promotion sites and handling my newsletters.  She did a great newsletter to announce the launch of Book Two, so we entered a kind of quid pro quo—as long as she continues to help, I make her car payments until she finds a job.

How long does it take you to finish a book? 

It depends.  I’ve written a book in three months, but I think if I want a book to be great, I need about five to six months to fully develop the characters and strong emotions that a lot of readers say they love in my stories.

Do you reward yourself when you type “The End” or put a book up for sale?  Yes.  I take myself, and my daughter out to a nice dinner.  I do indulge with a nice bottle of wine and some chocolate, too.

What are you working on now?  When can we expect it?

I’m working on The Playboy’s Fugitive Bride  – Book Three in the series. I hope to have it on the selves in September 2013.

What’s your junk food of choice?

I love strawberry cheesecake and buffalo chicken wings.

Any pets?

No pets at the moment.  I used to have a cat, but she died of old age a few years ago.  I plan to get another in the future.  I love cats and watch “The Big Cat Dairies” over and over again.  Actually, Massimo, the hero in Book Three owns a big cat named Jabari.

You can connect with Ana here:

www.anaeross.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ana-E-Ross/221431434575148?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/anaeross: @anaeross

Here’s Ana’s Amazon page where you can buy her books: http://www.amazon.com/Ana-E-Ross/e/B006UNSSD2/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1369273073&sr=1-2-ent

Who’s got questions for Ana? She’s giving away copies of her book to 3 randomly chosen commenters, so don’t be shy!

Websites, tag lines, and titles, oh my!

PJ Sharon here today, and I’m asking for your help with some of my more immediately pressing concerns. First off, prioritizing my duties as an indie-published author and entrepreneur is challenging to say the least. There are many moving parts to this job and I wear more hats than guests at a royal wedding. While I await my second round of edits for WESTERN DESERT, I have time to work on my marketing strategy for the release next month. Priorities include scheduling a short blog tour, setting up an advertising budget for paid ads, a possible launch party of some sort, sending out press releases, and finishing my back cover copy and art. The list goes on, but sometimes, I just need to let my instincts take over and tell me what is most important for the day.

Of course, writing this blog is always on my Sunday to-do list—though it often falls over to Monday night at midnight—but today I was talking to my DH about a new website. Those of you who know me, know that I have talked about switching over to a WordPress site for my website and blog for at least the past year. Currently, I have a blog on Blogger and I have a website that I love, but it has some significant limitations. My Circle Pad site, which I pay the requisite $8.95 a month for hosting, has some quirks that make it not compatible with Apple products for one. Search engine optimization is lacking, and the interface, as user friendly as it is to work with, is antiquated and doesn’t stand up to today’s market equivalents. Even with all of that, I have resisted switching to WordPress because,

a.) I’m tech-phobic and,

b.) I can’t seem to make decisions about details such as colors, design, theme, or whether to go with .org or .com?

In a come-to-Jesus moment, I have decided to just suck it up and do it! No matter how overwhelmed I feel, the website change is a must-do. In forcing the issue, I have come to realize that part of what holds me back is that I still haven’t clearly identified my brand. I’ve gotten as far as to say, “I write romance fiction for teens and beyond,” but other than that I don’t really know what defines me as a writer these days.

This brings me to my second dilemma of the day:

Should I change my tag-line, and what should I change it to? My first three books, being contemporary YA romance with hopefully ever after endings fit fine with my “Extraordinary Stories of an Average Teenage Life” tag line. But now that I have added dystopian to my repertoire, “average” doesn’t seem suitable—not for genetically altered teens in a futuristic setting. There is still a romance, but the story clearly fits in the YA category of dystopian fiction rather than upper YA/NA stories. Romance readers are not necessarily sci-fi readers and vice versa, so I feel like maybe I need to change my image a bit to reach out to a broader audience. It occurs to me that maybe I’m having trouble pinpointing my target readership because I haven’t truly discovered my “hook”—that message in our style and voice that makes us unique and offers readers the promise of something different.

Once I understand what makes my stories extraordinary, and have narrowed down my tagline to who I am and what I write, then the web design should be easier. I also just finished taking an online web-design course to get me over my tech-fear, and DH has vowed to help me get set up on a WordPress site by the end of June when I launch Book Two in The Chronicles of Lily Carmichael, WESTERN DESERT.

This takes us to my third issue of the day, month, year…a title for the third book in the trilogy. Here are the parameters:

1) Title must be in adjective/noun format (Waning Moon, Western Desert)

2) It would be nice to keep with the “W” alliteration, but I’m not attached to that.

3) The title should reflect that Lily and Will are embarking on the final stage of their journey across a post-apocalyptic US. This time they are leaving Las Vegas and heading east along the southern route, which will take them through the Southern Swamps. (I already thought of that as a title but I think that would only work if there were a fourth book since this one will culminate in the final battle with the Industry and will take place in Chicago and then Vegas again. I do wish I had made it a series and not a trilogy…another lesson learned.)

4) Basically, I want a title that sounds catchy alongside the other two, is different enough to not be competing with a dozen other books by the same title, and one that metaphorically shows the shift to a hopeful ending rather than a title that focuses on gloom and doom.

These are a few of my ideas. I’d love to hear yours!

CHANGING/SHIFTING/RISING TIDES (you get the drift)
SHIFTING/RISING WINDS
STORM SURGE
HEALING WINDS

Thanks in advance for any help, advice, or suggestions!

Writer Beware (How much should you spend on learning your craft?)

Hi there, Sugar here.  So I have a secret. Before I sold DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD to St. Martin’s Press I never spent a dime on learning how to write. Oh I joined the RWA and my local chapter. I went to the monthly meetings, I read  a lot of the writers I admired. I found good critique partners and beta readers. But I never paid for a class, bought a book or shelled out hundreds of dollars on workshops. Am I that good of a writer? Well, I would like to think so, but the truth is, I’m not. I know I can be better. I know that there is always chance for growth. But do I want to pay thousands for a chance to grow. Absolutely not.

I don’t spend a ton of time surfing Twitter but when I do, it seems that somebody is always trying to sell writers something. Classes, books, retreats, all day workshops. They all promise to make your characters stronger, your dialogue wittier, your sex scenes filled with more… Umph. But with all that stuff out there how do you know what’s worthy of spending your hard earned cash on.

So I put together a little list of things you should think about before you shell out your money.

1. Look carefully at who is giving the workshop/ writing the book/ selling the product. Do they have any credibility?  If they are teaching about craft, have they ever sold a book to a major publisher? Have they taught before? Have you heard good things about them?
2. For self pubbers. If they are claiming that they are successful and can teach you how to be, can they prove it? Are they willing to share numbers? Secrets?
3. Can you get what they are selling else where for free? There are a lot of blogs out, A LOT, for writers by writers where you can get good info for free. Read them.
4. Can you use your friends?  Just before I was about to submit my manuscript I thought about paying to have a professional critique it, but then I saw the prices. They ranged anywhere from $300-$800. Way too rich for my blood. Plus it’s only one person’s opinion. What one person might love another might hate. So use your friends when you can. They are readers too.
5. Have you checked out writer’s forums like Absolute Water Cooler or Query Tracker. You can learn much from reading the posts on there. 

Sure there are classes and books out there that are well worth it. But the best way to get better at writing is to get your butt in the chair and write. The more you write the better you get. I promise. It works. I’m proof.

Now it’s your turn. What do you think about before spending your money on craft? And if I was going to spend some money, what books/ workshops/classes would you recommend?”

The Final Countdown (A Book Launch Story)

Hi there, Sugar here. And I have got a twitchy eye. Why? Because I’m stressed out. Forget about the multiple deadlines and the difficult day job, I’ve got a book coming out in a little over four months. And while I am over the moon excited, am I ready? Absolutely not. 

Saturday I spent the day with my CTRWA peeps and listened to Kristan Higgins give a great talk about how to prepare for a book launch. I listened to every word which is hard for me because I have severe case of self diagnosed ADD but I had trouble absorbing everything because the entire time I kept thinking oh S#@t I’m not ready. I’m never going to be ready. Book seller letters, and authors assistants and giveaways and swag and book signings and public speaking and workshops and blog tours and Facebook and Twitter and Goodreads and websites and newsletters and put me out of my misery.

I went home that night sobbing with all of that stuff swimming in my head. I think I feel the way all writers feel. If I can just get my book into the public’s hand they’ll like it, some will hate it, but a lot will like it. But how can I do that? I know realistically I can’t do it all. I don’t have money to hire an author’s assistant or to buy really cute swag.  There is no way in hell I’m going to be able to put together and manage a street team. I have no back list to give away, no legion of fans that I can ask to spread the word about me.

But instead of thinking about all the things I can’t do I started to think about the things I can do.

I can continue to write good books. Before anything else I will focus on this. I write because  I feel compelled to not because I need or want to.

I can update my Facebook fan page and Twitter daily. I sometimes have trouble with this. I can’t talk about my day job, or bitch about my mother. I don’t have any kids to tell cute stories about. I don’t have a cute boxing trainer that I can pant over. Hell, I don’t even have a pet, so I sometimes wonder if what I have to say is good enough. (I don’t mean to toot my own horn but I think I’m pretty damn engaging.) Check me out here.

I can spend my limited advertising money wisely. In DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD my heroine is a wicked funny, ultra curvy fashion blogger/designer/shop owner. And if she were a real person she would be all over Full Figured Fashion week which is taking place in NYC June 17-21st.( PS I’m looking for some women to hit the sample sale with, if anybody is interested.) I’m researching taking out an ad in their program. Even if it doesn’t reflect in direct sales, I can get my name out there and let girls like me know I write books about girls like them. I can also take out targeted ads on Facebook and GoodReads without having to spend much of my hard earned cash.

I can look like the super sexy successful author I want to be. I’m shedding some of this extra coat of winter fat. (9 pounds and counting). This also includes buying new outfits which is no real hardship for me.

I can attend conferences. Look out Atlanta here I come!

I can take care of myself. I can eat healthier. Sleep better. Drink more water and try to not let the stress take anymore of my hair out. Because without me there are no books to launch. We ALL need to take care of ourselves!

So what do you do? What do you think I should do to help with this book launch? Any and all comments are welcome. 

Interview with Author Laura Bradford/Elizabeth Lynn Casey

Hey, Scribelings! Welcome! I have another special treat in store for you today: an interview with cozy mystery/romance author Laura Bradford/Elizabeth Lynn Casey. I recently asked her a buggy full–or should I say a sewing box full?–of questions, and she was kind enough to answer all of them. Here’s what Laura had to say:

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m one of those folks who knew what she wanted to be since she was a little girl. I was officially bitten by the writing bug while playing at a friend’s house in 4^th grade. It was raining and we’d had our fill of Barbies. So out came the paper, the crayons, and we started writing and illustrating stories. I was hooked.

Fast forward through my post-college days as a reporter and then the birth of my two daughters and I decided to tackle my love for fiction-writing. It took me five years to write that first book (twenty minutes here, twenty minutes there while my youngest was occupied with a toy). I sold it to a small press. The book released (with a horrible cover) and was soon nominated for an Agatha (it didn’t win) and picked up for Worldwide Mystery’s book club (which meant new life with a big publisher and a far bigger audience).

Today, I have sixteen books out and another six under contract.

Tell us about your latest book, Assaulted Pretzel. (I love this series, by the way!)

ASSAULTED PRETZEL is the 2^nd book in my new Amish Mysteries with Berkley Prime Crime. The protagonist of the series—Claire Weatherly—owns a specialty gift shop in Amish country. The local detective—Jakob Fisher—is former Amish. His ex-communicated status makes him the last people the Amish want to talk to. So when crime happens, and they have to talk, they prefer to talk to Claire.

This particular book has the head of a large toy manufacturer coming to Heavenly, Pa, to hire the Amish to build a new line of toys for his company. When he reneges on the deal and is found murdered, a number of people—Amish included—are viable suspects.

You write romances as Laura Bradford and mysteries as Laura Bradford and Elizabeth Lynn Casey. How many books a year do you write?

There was a year or two there when I was writing four books a year. That has slowed somewhat with the Berkley Prime Crime titles being moved out to a 12 month model.

So, at this time, two a year…unless I add in a romance…or a thriller…or a women’s fiction.

Do you have any advice on how writers can increase their productivity?

Just write. Set a word count goal for yourself and keep track. Seeing those numbers growing really helps motivate me.

How do you keep your various projects organized?

Since I’m writing two cozy series, I have an index card box for each. Inside, are cards for each character—what they look like, issues, background, etc.  It helps tremendously when I switch from writing one world and more onto another.

What kind of marketing do you do for your books? Do you have any marketing advice?

• I send out postcards (my mailing list grows every time I do a signing/event).
• I send out an e-newsletter to the people who have signed up via my website.
• I keep up on my FB pages—one for each name.
• I try to tweet but I don’t find it as effective.I do a daily blog on my Elizabeth Lynn Casey website.
• I do contests on my FB pages as we’re closing in on a book’s release.
• I guest blog on various sites (maybe 3 or 4) during the lead up/first month of a book’s life.

How do you battle the Doubt Monster? We define the Doubt Monster as: the nagging feeling that your prose is terrible, your plot is silly, your characters are insipid, and no one in her right mind would read this drivel, let alone buy it.

I just keep going.  Or I pout and then I keep going.

Do you have any pets?

Angus is the family pet. He’s a black cat. With seven toes/6 nails per foot.

What’s your junk food of choice?

I think just about any of my fans (at least the ones who frequent my FB pages) could answer this for me.

Chocolate.

Unless I’m on deadline. Then it’s candy corn (with milk).

When will your next book be out? What’s it about?

My next book release will be August 6^th and that’s for the 8^th book in my Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries Series (Berkley Prime Crime) written under my pen name, Elizabeth Lynn Casey.

In this book, one member of the Sweet Briar crew is convinced the death of an elderly local man is not what it seems…

You can keep up with Laura/Elizabeth here:

www.laurabradford.com

www.elizabethlynncasey.com

Laura Bradford AUTHOR page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Laura-Bradford/316744455035472?ref=hl

Elizabeth Lynn Casey AUTHOR page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elizabeth-Lynn-Casey/286853572181?ref=hl

The Greatest Love Story (And Why I Write Romance) by Katy Lee

Happy Easter! Katy Lee here, hoping you are all having a blessed Resurrection Sunday with your loved ones…and speaking of love, let me just say it is my favorite topic to talk about. So it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that I write romance. I write it, I read it, and I love to hear about it. Hearing how a couple met always intrigues me. I love weddings and seeing two people make a lifetime vow of devotion to each other, and I love witnessing the victorious connection of an old married couple as they walk hand-in-hand. I say victorious because I’m not so naïve that I don’t know they fought battles to get to where they are. Battles that tried to tear them apart. Battles their love overcame.

Just imagining those conflicts is making my fingers itch to write about them now. To turn them into words on a page, characters that the world can see, and maybe even fall a little in love with as well.

Many people say romances have no value in the world of literature, but I say they’re wrong. I think seeing examples of what love looks like shows us how to demonstrate it. I think witnessing a person, real or not, offer a selfless act of kindness empowers us to do the same. I think watching two people overcome odds that should tear them apart inspires those facing their own battles to persevere. I think romances remind us that love exists and it starts with us.

Or does it?

1 John 4:19 says we love because God loved us first. He loved us before we were even created. He loves us regardless of anything we have done, and will still love us regardless of anything we do. His love is unconditional and was offered long before we knew how to love.

But like a good romance, there was a conflict. Our sinful natures kept us from being with Him. We couldn’t be together as He had wanted. But, also like the perfect hero, that didn’t stop Him, and He set out to fight the battle for our hearts, even if that meant His death.

In John 15:13, Jesus tells us that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for his friends. He told us what love looks like. And then he proceeded to do just that. He fought the battle for us and on the third day, He reigned victorious.

But unlike a novel, our story doesn’t end there. We get a happily-ever-after that will last for an eternity because of His victory. Jesus is truly the hero of my heart and my inspiration in writing the perfect romance.

The Unlocked Secret: I think we read, and in my case write, romances because we were created with a desire to be loved, and we want to see love demonstrated over and over again in all different ways. But Jesus said something else. He said to love one another as I have loved you. In a good romance, we see two people who don’t just receive love. They also learn to give it just as He says. So, I say, go ahead, read those romances, and be reminded of what love looks like. And then, go forth and express it to the loved ones, and not-so-loved ones, around you.

And remember who it all started with.

Happy Easter!

(This has been a re-post from last year, but it means just as much to me as it did then!)

Regroup and Relax

I had a crummy week last week. Work stuff. Family stuff, combined with two deadlines and the start of a new diet had me wanting to bite somebody’s head off by Friday. But I knew I had to hold it together. Girls like me don’t do well in prison. But fear of prison aside, I held it together because I knew I was FINALLY be able to relax this weekend.

I grabbed my two besties, piled them into the Sugar Mobile and headed to Saratoga Springs, New York. Why Saratoga Springs you ask? Have I suddenly developed a love of horse races and gambling? No, but Saratoga is a cool place to go if you’re into that kind of stuff.  We went for the mineral baths. Back in the day when people preferred natural remedies over pill popping, they flocked to these brown water fizzy hot baths to cure everything from constipation to skin diseases. So I figured what better way to relax than to float in some brown mineral water.

Cool, right? The entrance to the baths and spas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to the Roosevelt Bath and Spa which in all honesty is a little creepy when you pull up. It’s in the middle of a state park and the old brick buildings on the grounds resemble a deserted college campus. You can feel the history there and maybe a ghost or two if you believe in that stuff.

I think my friends and I were nervous walking through the door( it was kind of creepy), but when we got inside we were greeted warmly by the staff and  shown to the locker rooms where we promptly got naked and into the the comfiest white robes on the planet.

After the bath and massage. See how happy I am!

We were then shown to the relaxation room, which is filled lounge chairs and water features and soothing music and other naked people who were also waiting for their appointments.When we were called I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Even with all the modernization, the building still has that sanitarium feel, with the original tiles and tubs from the days of Roosevelt, but once you get past that, once you get past the the idea that you are about to spend the next half hour submerged in brown fizzy water you realize how cool the place is.

The bath itself is unusual. I should stress that while the water is brown it is not dirty. It comes in clear and once the air hits it, the minerals oxidize and turn the  water brown, but the water is clear. It’s not like any bath you would take at home. You float. The water kind of bubbles around you as the minerals soften your skin. The attendant told us that there was natural lithium in the water that elevates your mood. I was like ‘yeah right’ when I heard that but it was true. I did feel a little happier, a little more energized. And for the first time in a long time I thought about happy things. I didn’t think about work or (gasp) writing. For the first time in a long time I was totally disconnected from the world. No phone. No internet. No computer. Not even a clock to stress me out about time. I was forced to relax. We followed the baths with hour long massages,where the therapist told me I had tension in my jaw and tightness in my mid back. Who would’ve thunk it? She was amazing too.

Walkway to the hotel.

We stayed at the Gideon Putnam Hotel and resort which is on the same grounds as the spa.It’s a beautiful historic hotel with a very attentive, friendly staff. Normally we couldn’t afford such an extravagant weekend but we booked the Gideon’s Girls Escape package which made everything right in our price range. They have a bunch of packages, even a romance one if you want to take your honey and do some smooching. I normally don’t recommend places but I encourage you to head there if you ever get a chance. It’s an experience you won’t have any place else.

What about you guys? What other cool places should I head to?

Writer on a Deadline

Hi folks, Sugar here. I’m on a deadline. Book three in The Perfect Fit series is due April first and copy edits for DANGEROUS CURVES AHEAD are due Friday.  I’m writing like a mad woman.

© Andylim | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

For those of you who have been on a deadline before you know how harrowing they be. I can barely think about anything else. Must write. Must get the words out. Can’t screw this up.

This is how my last few days have been.

Thursday- Manage to squeak out 1000 words after work before I collapsed. But I got a quote from a New York Times Bestselling author.

“Sugar Jamison’s Dangerous Curves Ahead is a funny, sexy, and touching debut — just delightful!” —Susan Donovan, New York Times bestselling author. (Very happy about that.)

Friday- Snow day! Woot Woot! Dug out my car and wrote 3,450 words. Not too shabby, but started writing things like urned instead of earned. And fisrt, firts and frust instead of first. No bueno.

Saturday- Wrote a whopping three words. Yeah, I know. I should have done more but I had my local RWA chapter’s monthly meeting to attend so I got very little done. But I did manage to get through thirty pages of copy edits.

Sunday- Went grocery shopping at 7 AM which was previously 6 AM due to day light savings time and then spent the WHOLE day writing. Got out 7,308 words and then my brain melted. I’ve never written that much in one day, and I might never write that much again, but I’ve got a lot of work still ahead of me.

Monday- Back to work. Hopefully when the day is over I can go home and write till I drop.

How about you? How do you handle deadlines?

Where Do You Get Your Story Ideas? Alison Stone Wants to Know

As writers, that has to be one of the biggest questions we get. Ah, I hate to sound cliché, but ideas are everywhere.

 
For my book Random Acts, I read an article about a young girl who had been pulled over for speeding. The police took her into the station and bullied her into signing an agreement to be a drug informant. A drug informant! This college student had never been involved with drugs. But in exchange for leniency for her speeding ticket, she was pressured to be an informant. Fortunately for her, her father was a lawyer. He not only went to the police, but to the media.

 
I then searched the Internet and learned this wasn’t an isolated incident. In 2008, a woman in Florida was killed when she was forced to purchase drugs undercover after being caught with a small amount of cannabis.

By now, my wheels were turning.

For my second book, Too Close to Home, I used an idea that had been bouncing around in my head for years—longer than I had been writing. I used to be a manufacturing engineer for an automotive parts supplier. As a twenty-some-year-old female engineer, I was well aware the guys on the floor liked to yank my chain. One guy told me that once someone drowned in one of the large tanks used in the manufacturing process. He claimed he was murdered in retaliation for a drug deal gone bad. I have no idea if “his” story was true or not, but in my story,Too Close to Home, drugs are smuggled through a manufacturing facility and into Canada.

 
Ideas can also be generated by thinking, “What if.” When I learned Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense was looking for more Amish stories, I started brainstorming. The Amish generally shun technology. How could technology wreak havoc in their Plain world? Then it hit me: What if a plane crashed in an Amish field? What if the heroine’s brother was killed in a single-engine plane crash in an Amish field and she has to go there to claim his body? What if while she’s there, the FBI hero starts asking a lot of questions?

This idea became Plain Pursuit which will be released by Harlequin in June 2013.

Here’s the blurb: When her brother is killed in a small Amish town, Anna Quinn discovers she’s an unwelcome outsider. But the FBI agent investigating the case is right at home–because Eli Miller was born and raised in Apple Creek’s Plain community. Eli left his Amish faith behind long ago, but his heart is rooted in a local cold case he can’t forget–a mystery with strange connections to Anna’s loss. Desperate to uncover the truth, Anna and Eli are faced with stony silences and secrets…secrets that someone wants to keep buried in the past.

 
It’s fun to see an idea grow into a book, then be summarized in a few-sentence blurb.
Once I was outside chatting with neighbors and one of them stopped, looked at me and said (in all sincerity), “This isn’t going to appear in a book, is it?”
I smiled and said nothing. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.

 
So tell me, If you’re a writer, where do you get your ideas?

Also, Random Acts, originally released in eBook format, is now available in print.

Blurb:Bitter experience left Danielle hesitant to open her heart. When a family crisis brings her home, the hard-nosed attorney is forced to face the man that let her get away. And that her sister’s accident was staged to mask a beating.
Though Patrick guards his heart, seeing Danielle again reignites their old flame. But no way will he bring her into his daughter’s life, not when her values on faith and family are so different from his own. Yet they must work together to bring a criminal to justice before everything is destroyed—including their second chance at forever.

Links for Random Acts:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Random-Acts-ebook/dp/B00795G1X4/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1362254466&sr=8-2
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/random-acts-alison-stone/1108890294?ean=9781609289386

ALISON STONE writes romantic suspense for Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense and Samhain Publishing. Her debut novel, Random Acts, was a finalist for the prestigious Daphne du Maurier Award in the unpublished inspirational category. Alison lives in Western New York with her husband of over twenty years and their four children where the summers are absolutely gorgeous and the winters are perfect for curling up with a good book—or writing one. Besides writing, Alison keeps busy volunteering at her children’s schools, driving her girls to dance, and watching her boys race motocross.
Website:www.AlisonStone.com.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alison_Stone or @Alison_Stone
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonStoneAuthor
Blog: http://alisonstone.wordpress.com/

Things Bestselling Authors Do…

In my search to find out what makes a bestselling an author and how to become one I’ve been reading articles, cruising Goodreads, liking Facebook fan pages and generally just being a writer stalker. And in my search I’ve learned a few things about successful authors. They all seem to have a few things in common.

1. They write great books. I’ve read 14 of Elizabeth Hoyt’s books before I had ever even thought about checking out her Facebook page. Why? The strength of her words not her presence in social media kept me coming back. My take away- always make sure the writing comes first. ALWAYS.

2. They tend to write in series, keeping characters connected even in a loose way seems to keep readers coming back. Jill Shalvis has her Lucky Harbor. Julia Quinn has her Bridgertons. Susan Mallery scores with Fool’s Gold. Robyn Carr has been sailing down Virgin River for as long as I remember. And then there are writers like Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Mary Balogh that hardly have any books at all that aren’t connected in someway. I know this because I have read EVERYTHING they have in print.

3. They keep connected with their fans. Julia Quinn has over 78,000 fans on her Facebook page which she updates daily. That’s the most of any romance writer I could find. I love to follow Jill Shalvis and Kristan Higgins. Separately they both post charming updates about their families, their day to day lives, their lack of social graces. But they also interact with each other. Twitter chats and mans wars. Fans like to see their friendship. They seem like real people to us and I think that’s why people keep coming back to them.

4. They don’t spam.  (They keep things interesting.) Out of all the bestselling authors I’ve studied I couldn’t find a single one with the BUY MY BOOK, BUY MY BOOK message. Facebook doesn’t sell books. Twitter doesn’t sell books. Building a relationship with your readers and fostering loyalty does.

5. They keep politics out of it. (Mostly) A few romance writers break these rules and some of them pay for it in readers. There is one writer whose politics I so greatly disagree with I stopped liking their fan page and now I think twice before I pick up one of her books. But most bestselling authors keep their politics to themselves. Think of  your author life like a cocktail party. No talk of religion or politics.  Are you a hard core conservative? Great! Keep it to yourself. A liberal? Fantastic! But nobody cares. Romance readers want one thing from their romance writers and that’s romance. So bring on the pictures of sexy men. Talk up a storm about the Bachelor. Post pics of that stupid grumpy cat, but keep your personal beliefs to yourself.

6. They know their market and they stick to it. Best selling author don’t write to trend. They write what they know best. 50 Shades was a hit but don’t plan on seeing Nora Roberts breaking out the kinky bondage stuff anytime soon.

7. They keep writing. They’ve got a book coming out every six- nine months for the most part. Whether it’s a novella or full length. They don’t let you forget about them.

So now it’s time I give myself a little check up. You can all do this too. Published or aspiring it’s important to see where you are.

Am I writing great books? Gee, I sure hope so. Series? Check. The girls of the Perfect Fit series are coming your way at the end of August. Keeping connected? I’m trying. And you can help me out by liking my Facebook page. It’s only got 45 very sad likes. http://www.facebook.com/sugarjamisonbooks I promise I’ll be engaging. Heck, I’ll even give stuff away from time to time.Spam? Nope. Not from me. Not ever. Politics? Just call me Switzerland. Know my market? Hmm… I think I do. Women who love sexy men and like to laugh. Writing? Always.Even when publication was a far off dream I kept writing.

So how did you do? Do you have the traits of a bestselling author?