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Jan 9 2015

How Do You Market A Story That Straddles Two Different Ends Of The Spectrum?

SkyWoman

When I first wrote “Sky Woman,” I had a really, really hard time pitching this book through traditional channels. Oh, don’t get me wrong – every editor I sent it to loved the damn book. They loved the characters, they loved the steam, they loved the science fiction, and most of all, they loved the way they were completely gobsmacked by one of the plot hooks.

And therein lies the rub…

That very plot hook is what makes my story “not your usual steamy sci-fi romance” material. By the same token, despite the interesting and adventurous direction the plot takes, this is very much a story about love and relationship and commitment within the romance.

I can’t really explain in detail why that is (so as not to spoil the book) but suffice it to say, after each editor waxed poetic about how amazing this book was, it was almost always followed by “I just really don’t know where I’m going to put it.”

So they wanted me to change it, make it more mainstream. Or they wanted me to add in some extra scenes, things that involved more swinging-type behaviors, group scenes, intense BDSM, etc.

I couldn’t do it.

And it’s not because I don’t like those things – they just weren’t this book. There’s more than enough going on here, and due to the nature of Miri and her situation, those things wouldn’t necessarily make sense within the framework of the story. All they’d do is give the publisher the page fodder they need to put the book more comfortably into their pre-arranged category.

So after turning down two different editors (one at a pretty big online erotica site), I decided to go it alone, and I’m glad I did. Sky Woman turned out to be a story that I’m fiercely proud of.

Now if I could just figure out how to talk about the story without giving too much away…

So buy my book. It’s got a really unique premise, lots of hot sex (and I mean LOTS), humor, science fiction, and fun.

Jan 6 2015

Cover Art Is In For Book 3 Of The Seeder Saga: Changeling!

Changeling

It’s awesome, isn’t it? My cover artist, the amazing Colleen Kennedy of Mystique Book Designs has really hit it out of the park for me. This girl is Lizzie. And the cover tells you this girl is nobody’s fool. Unlike the other two stories in the series, Changeling will not be a one-world story, so we’re going to have one hell of an adventure, and of course, we’ll be checking in with our old friends, Miri and Rain, and the men that go with them.

I am so excited for this one. I promise, it’s worth the wait I put you through.

Jan 1 2015

She Says It Better Than I Do

What can be said in New Year rhymes,
That’s not been said a thousand times?
The new years come, the old years go,
We know we dream, we dream we know.
We rise up laughing with the light,
We lie down weeping with the night.
We hug the world until it stings,
We curse it then and sigh for wings.
We live, we love, we woo, we wed,
We wreathe our prides, we sheet our dead.
We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,
And that’s the burden of a year.

-Ella Wilcox

Dec 31 2014

My Writing Goals For 2015

heart

2014 was the year I really started trying to do more of the things that make me happy. Specifically, I decided to really, really give this writing thing a go.

  • I pitched a fully realized YA novel to a group of editors in New York and came away with three requests for the full manuscript.
  • I published seven fanfics, three adult novels, one adult novella and two short stories.Total word count – somewhere well above 500,000. Go me!
  • I blogged five days a week on two different platforms. I Tweeted, I Facebooked. I Tumblred, but not as much as I probably should have. I social media-d myself like crazy.
  • I had four blog posts go seriously viral (on another platform, not this one) and got featured on a nationally syndicated site over a dozen times.

All in all, it was a pretty good year, writing-wise.

For 2015, I’m hoping to accomplish the following:

  • Publish book 3 of the Seeder Saga. That will be happening shortly.
  • Write a contemporary adult romance. This one will be partly set in Samoa, and yes, he’ll be a hot islander guy and she’ll be steaming up the sand and surf with him. Yeah, baby.
  • Publish book one of my next trilogy, a wild fantasy tale about a girl with a very special gift, and the man who can’t get her out of his mind.
  • Publish a novella about a girl who takes a get-away-from-it-all trip to Ireland. I plan to research this personally. 🙂
  • Publish at least three more of my short stories as free reads.
  • Finish my YA trilogy. Books two and three are screaming to get out. I need to rework book one a bit, too – and then I’ll be pitching it again and again. If I don’t hit paydirt via the traditional route by year’s end, I’m publishing it myself.

And between all that, I’ll be freelancing and trying to work a day job and take care of my kids and maybe, somehow, actually have a social life. I’m not holding my breath on that last one.

So that’s the plan for the year, so far. Let’s hope I can hold to it.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Dec 30 2014

How Do You Get Through Writer’s Block?

I have  two very important, very ENORMOUS deadlines staring me right in the face, and I’m coming off the holidays, just said goodbye to my Dad who was visiting, and my brainmeats are completely and utterly fried. I mean, just fried.

But I have to write. I have to write now. A lot. I’ve made promises, signed contracts, and this is where the discipline part of the job needs to kick in and I just have to get this done.

Ugh.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am not a blockbuster author. I have the talent, I’m sure of that. I’ve been told that. I’m not JK Rowling. Stephen King or Ray Bradbury, here, but hell, I’m a decent read. Certainly better than a lot of crap out there. What I’m not, however, is disciplined, and that’s what makes the difference between a working writer and somebody who just likes to write.

I like to write. I love to write. I can’t not write. Except when I really have to, apparently.

Ugh.

I’ll be over here, pounding my head against this giant concrete block.

block

Dec 29 2014

So Christina Perri Wrote A Song For Hook And Emma…And I Am GREEN With Envy

Mainly because she drafted Colin O’Donoghue to appear in the video for her song. She posted this pic to Twitter:

That man is a GOD. No one can look that good all the time. Seriously.

And she is one lucky, lucky girl. Have you heard the song? Apparently, Christina Perri is a huge Once Upon A Time fan and wrote the song after being inspired by the growing relationship between Hook and Emma. Here’s a tease of it (fan-made video):

I can’t wait for the official video – I only wish they’d landed Jen Morrison for it, too!