Outlets for Talent

First, an apology. I totally forgot to post on Friday. As my 9th grade English teacher used to say “Mea culpa, mea culpa”.

Talent. Seems there are a lot of shows on television today about talent. I guess really there have always been shows like that. Growing up, we had Star Search and I’m sure there were others.

Anyway, my writers group was waiting for our last meeting to start and we started talking about music. We soon realized that four of us had and have our roots in music. One used to be in a band, one is in a band, another used to sing with a band and I’ve recorded a few songs and used to talk my way on stage with the local bands when I could. Ah back in the day. I’m shocked they let me do that, but back on topic.

It got me wondering just how many of us writers either tried other outlets for our talent before we found writing. Did we try other outlets before finding our passion? Or do we still pursue other outlets as a substitute outlet when the writing get tough or we need a break?

I used to work on crafts all the time. Crocheting, cross stitch, sewing, drawing (badly), wood working (very badly) and various other things that would pop up that I had to try. Since taking writing seriously as a future career, the only thing I’ve worked on craft-wise is a few scarves for the now defunct Special Olympics Scarf program and a few scarves for Christmas gifts. Other than that, I’ve hardly touched any of my other crafts. I’ll sit and look longingly at them when I’m stuck on something but as soon as I decide to try and work on something, an idea either comes to mind or I feel guilty for giving up on the writing.

It’s nice to have that passion toward writing, but sometimes I miss those other creations that I can see and hold while I’m making them. And it is a little frustrating having the stuff sitting around knowing that I’m not doing anything with it but having that feeling that I will someday when I need a break from writing.

So tell me. Have you noticed the phenomenon in yourself or others? And it doesn’t have to be writing. Did you or someone else bounce from thing to thing until they found their passion?

Let me know!

Melanie

I’ve been slacking…

Yep, it’s true. After three book reviews in a row and writing furiously during April and May, I got a little burned out. But I’m still trying to meet my self-imposed deadline, so my weekends and evenings will be filled with writing and editing. -you know its late. ‘evenings will’ was almost ‘evening swill’. Wow. Talk about two different meanings. I hope this post doesn’t come across as swill.

So, today I’m doing just a short post of observations I’ve recently made.

-Others will remember both good deeds and not so good deeds. Choose how you want to be remembered.

-You will have to sacrifice writing time for marketing. If you do it right, the connections you make could be priceless.

-It will hurt, but giving books away could help get reviews, which will help bring in more readers. More readers=more sales.

-Cleaning can sometimes wait. When it can’t, use the mindless activity to let your mind wander. Great ideas can come from mindless tasks.

-Don’t forget to go outside.  Sunshine is good for the soul and so is the proverbial breath of fresh air.

-Try something new. Getting stuck in a routine rut is bad for creativity and productivity.

-The Evil Day Job is still a necessity, but it’s the number one job in the pecking order. I need to keep doing a good job even though I’d rather be writing.

-Four-leggeds need attention and will not me sleep in on the weekends, no matter how late I feed them the night before.

-Never forget to say thank to anyone that helps. They may not remember what they helped with or why, but they will remember that you appreciated their effort.

Have a great week.

Melanie

You write so fast!

Well, sometimes, yes. Most times, not so much. Since I’ve published my trilogy, I hear those words quite often. What most people don’t know is how much work actually went into those three books.

The first book, I started writing when I was 21. It took me another 7 years to write about 3 chapters. Maybe 4 chapters, I really don’t remember. Everything was handwritten and I had a notebook full of scenes, then different scenes and the ending and a little bit of everything.

You have to realize, during those 7 years I got a divorce, lost my father, moved to a different state, got remarried and worked two jobs majority of the time.

It took another 6 years to get everything transcribed into the computer and write another 6 chapters or so. Then I started college. I wrote a little here and there, but never seriously for any length of time. When I finished school, I was bored and finished the book, polished it to the best of my ability at the time and started submitting to agents.

That’s when I started taking this whole thing seriously. Overall, it took me 14 years to finish the first novel. Then another four years to edit, revise, edit again, etc., etc., etc. until the novel only somewhat resembled the first idea I’d had. During one of the final rounds of edits, the idea for the second book came to life. I wrote that first draft in about two months.  I wrote the third book’s first draft in a little over a month.

So by the middle of last year, I seriously started looking at self publishing. The intention was to publish the first one in October. I held off after going to a conference and getting a full request for the first book. I polished up the draft (yet again) before sending. While waiting for a response, I finished editing the other two. In all, I spent the last four months of last year doing nothing but edits. I probably went through those books three times each in those four months. Did I miss typos? A few. So far my readers have been forgiving.

For the whole trilogy to come to life and out to the readers took a grand total of 19 years. Now hubby said that’s a little misleading because I wasn’t really seriously writing during a good chunk of that time. And he’s right. It took  5 years from seriously deciding to publish to actual publication.

And I had loads of help. Encouragement of a best selling author, a few critique partners who suffered through those earlier versions, tons of classes with writing assignments, contest entries, winning a 25 page critique. I think that last one is what helped the most. The author I won the critique from really took the time to point out what I was doing wrong and write and she even looked at my revisions to see if I was on the right track. I really think that was the major turning point.

I guess what this post is about is not giving up. But you also have to take that last giant leap in order to become an author. I made the choice of self-publishing not because I didn’t think I was good enough to get an agent, but because I got tired of those agents telling me my story wouldn’t sell. It seems to have done fairly well, at least in my eyes. Especially considering I’m about as far from a marketing genius as you could get.

So I have to thank Annette Blair for the encouragement, Donna K. Weaver for the help and cheer leading and for Kim Law for giving her time to a writer on the cusp but still needing help. You ladies have been fantastic and I appreciate all you’ve done for me.  BTW, love their books

Have a great weekend everyone!

Melanie

Book Review – A Change of Plans

Book Blurb:

When twenty-five-year-old Lyn sets off on her cruise vacation, all she wants is to forget that her dead fiancé was a cheating scumbag. What she plans is a diversion uncomplicated by romance. What she gets is Braedon, an intriguing young surgeon. He’s everything her fiancé wasn’t, and against the backdrop of the ship’s make-believe world, her emotions come alive.

Unaware of the sensitive waters he navigates, Braedon moves to take their relationship beyond friendship—on the very anniversary Lyn came on the cruise to forget. Lyn’s painful memories are too powerful, and she runs off in a panic.

But it’s hard to get away from someone when you’re stuck on the same ship. Things are bad enough when the pair finds themselves on one of the cruise’s snorkeling excursions. Then paradise turns to piracy when their party is kidnapped, and Lyn’s fear of a fairy tale turns grim.

Find it: Amazon | B&N | Goodreads | Rhemalda Store

Want to see a little more about the book? Check out A Change of Plans book trailer.

My Review:

I had the privilege of being a beta reader for this story about two years ago. I have to say, I love Donna’s writing. And I love this story. It’s steamy enough to satisfy most romance readers cravings yet clean enough for the sensitive reader. Lyn and Braedon are two of my favorite characters.  The story is told from Lyn’s point of view as she and her best friend Elle embark on a month long cruise in the Pacific. I have to say not hearing things from Braedon’s point of view would be my only complaint – put that’s just a personal preference. And because Braedon is completely swoon worthy and almost too good to be true. A perfect romantic hero!

It took me a few chapters to get into it because I had to get out of the “hey, that changed” mode. The story sucked me in and even though I knew what was coming, I still cried…in several places (darn you Donna!).  I love Elle and their new friend Jori. BTW, Jori is getting his own story *clapshands* I would definitely recommend this book to, well, everyone. The characters will pull you in, make you care, and there are a few twists included just to keep the reader on their toes.  A great first book from Donna. Can’t wait to read the next one!

Donna is on ‘tour’ this week. You can catch the other stops here if you want to see what others have to say about A Change of Plans.

There’s also a Rafflecopter giveaway during the tour. As per usual, you’ll have to follow the link since Rafflecopter and WordPress don’t play well together.

About Donna K. Weaver:

Donna K. Weaver is a Navy brat who joined the Army and has lived in Asia and Europe.

Because she sailed the Pacific three times as a child, she loves cruising and wishes she could accrue enough vacation time to do more of it with her husband.

Donna and her husband have six children and eight grandchildren who live all over the world.
At fifty, Donna decided to study karate and earned her black belt in Shorei Kempo.

After recording city council minutes for twenty years, Donna decided to write something a little longer and with a lot more emotion–and kissing.

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Blog tour hosted by:

Book Review – Where The Four Winds Collide by Hildie McQueen

 

“Where the Four Winds Collide”

Book Blurb:

Adeline Buckley escapes her abusive father only to find herself in a brothel, on a stagecoach to the untamed west and married to a stranger, all in that order. Plotting another escape becomes harder, the more she gets to know her new husband.

Jackson Pruitt didn’t expect a secretive mail order bride to show up the same week cattle wrestlers absconded with a large part of his herd. The bigger surprise was the loveliness of the woman. Why would a beauty like her need to travel so far to marry?

Jackson and Adeline learn that secrets and marriage do not go hand-in-hand when both of their pasts comes knocking and both have to come to grips with the reality, that sometimes trust comes only after you lose it all.

My Review:

It’s been a while since I’ve read an historical romance in a Western setting. I’m really glad I gave this one a read. It’s got just enough romance to keep me interested, just enough of the historical Old West to remind me why I loved these type of books in the first place and characters that are well developed and easy to care for. Adeline and Jackson are believable, and flawed just enough to make them real. My only “complaint” is that I wish Heath and Jessica would have had their own, more developed story.

I enjoyed the fact that the author kept true to the fact that women didn’t have many choices available to them during this time in history but still gave the main character a chance to be strong. Adeline discovers that she’s stronger than she thought she was. When she marries Jackson, they both discover that there’s more to marriage than duty. As the blurb says, sometimes you have to lose it all to find out what truly matters. I can’t wait to see if Hildie McQueen writes another story in this subgenre. I really enjoyed it.

Where the Four Winds Collide can be purchased through these links: Amazon: Barnes & Noble:

This is the last stop on the Where the Four Winds Collide Blog Tour, so make sure you enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for a chance at one of the two following prizes from Hildie.
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•  1 e-copy of “Where      the Four Winds Collide”
• 1 $25 Gift Amazon      Certificate

 Unfortunately, you’ll have to follow the link in order to enter. Link:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MTZiNzNiMjQ3MWVmNDY3N2ZlM2NlOWRkN2M4NjE4Ojc=/

Readers can catch up on the previous stops on the blog tour by going to the host’s site - 
http://www.enchantressofbooksblogtours.com/p/hidie.html

About Hildie:

Hildie McQueen loves storytelling and unusual settings, pair that with humor and you’ve got an idea of what her writing is like.

She makes sure action, intrigue, and sizzling romance add up to a story, her readers won’t soon forget. Her favorite past-times are traveling, shopping and reading. She resides in beautiful small town Georgia with her super-hero husband Kurt and two unruly Chihuahuas.

You can find Hildie online in the following locations:

Website/Blog:  www.hildiemcqueen.com

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/HildieMcQueen

FB Author Page:
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorHildieMcQueen?fref=ts

Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14290310-where-the-four-winds-collide

Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/hildiebm/

Blog Tour brought to you by: