Newsletter Contest Winners

Happy October!

I ran a contest for my newsletter subscribers, and 

sent notifications to the winners via email this morning!

Here are the lucky winners. 
Each of them will be getting a copy of my new audiobook!

Lynda O.

Alfreda

Michelle F.

Dorothy B.

and "BookLady"

Check your email, ladies!

Didn’t win? You can still get your copy here 

Writing is hard work

I finished the latest draft of my next novel! Yay! and I'm setting it aside to percolate before I go at it one more time. While I'm gathering some distance, I picked up my Christmas story to see that it's in good shape and I discovered a time warp.

I want to sit back and cry.

I shopped the Christmas story in March, and when the rejections came in, I moved on, figuring I'd share it with my newsletter subscribers as a bonus. Well, now I can see more clearly why it was rejected! I'd been working on a very tight deadline and rushed it through. This is what distance does from the works in progress. Gives you a fresh perspective to catch what you missed on the first go round. Like a major time warp.

Whattya gonna do about it Karla?

This is when I, as the author, have to kick myself in the pants, pick myself up, dust myself off, and put my nose to the grindstone. There is work to be done here, and I need to get at it! Crying isn't going to solve anything. "There's no crying in baseball!" (okay, so this isn't baseball, but the same principle applies.)

The market I'd originally targeted wanted a higher word count than I'd written. What I ended up with was a novella. I've made the corrections, and now I'm wondering if I can't hit that word count with a few more revisions. I did leave an open thread...

In the meantime, I've been chatting with my editor and the schedule could potentially slide into next year for the new release. I'd really hoped to be able to share the new book with you before then, but these things can't be rushed, I suppose. My editor (bless her heart!) says she's anxious to read it and is diligently trying to get to it sooner rather than later (the benefits of a good working relationship with your editor!). In the meantime, I'm diligently sitting at my computer, creating new worlds, writing new words, developing new characters. I may be behind, but I'm still in the race!

Where did you get your love of reading?

I’ve been thinking a lot about my mom lately. She was the one who read to me, who handed me my first Victoria Holt novel. From there, I spent hours in the library.

Before that, my godfather used to send my sisters and me records that contained everything from classical music to folks tales to showtunes. One of my favorites was Danny Kaye's Tales From Faraway Lands. "Oo-wunga-lame-a" (what's the name of the tree!). Another of my favorites was Victor Borge reciting Hans Christian Andersen while he played background music on the piano. I used to listen to those records for hours, especially when I was home sick and couldn't do anything else. I spent so much time listening, in fact, that my sisters and I could ALL tell you the name of the tree.

As I've gotten older, I have a hard time concentrating on listening, or maybe audiobooks are longer than short little fairy/folk tales. With that being said, I know there are lots of people who like to listen to books, and for that reason, I have broken into the audiobook market. I'm very excited to announce that COOKIE THERAPY is now available on audio! While I was hesitant at first, the fabulous Vicki Pierce did an excellent job narrating it, and I've fallen in love with the story all over again!

If you love audiobooks, and if you love a great story, I hope you'll give it a listen!

Audible | iTunes

When Life Hits the Pause Button

Just when you think you have everything figured out...

The good news: The audio book for COOKIE THERAPY is completed and in the final production phases. If you haven't signed up for my newsletter, now's a good time! I'll be sending out news as soon as it's available, along with fun exclusively for subscribers.

The other good news: The Big Guy is still working on clearing out his infection, and it seems to be getting better. We're making daily trips to the procedure clinic so they can continue to shoot him full of antibiotics. Hopefully he can put this behind him early next week (trust me when I tell you he's had enough fun).

The not so good news: I haven't had dedicated writing time. However, with the first draft completed, I'm mainly working on making sure it all makes sense and adding in missing details, etc. I'm one of those backward writers (any other ones out there?) who writes a sparse first draft and goes back to fill in the missing stuff later. Most authors I know write too much detail on their first draft and end up cutting copious amounts of words. What can I say? I've always done things a little differently. I HAVE been spending time with the story, and while I'd love to tell you all about it, because my thoughts are scattered all about these days, I'd hate to tell you one thing and have it end up to be something altogether different! Still wondering what the title will be, and I may post something over at my Facebook page for your input once I get some ideas to toss around.

My "to do" list is being addressed. With things settling down just a little bit, I'm concentrating on getting this new book ready for editing.

Back in the groove next week (or so I hope!). Keep on reading!

Have a cookie...

The last week has been an interesting one. The Big Guy developed an infection and ultimately ended up in the hospital to get antibiotics mainlined. Have a cookie, it'll make everything better.

Needless to say, writing has been difficult. I'm about two thirds through the rewrites on the new book, and in the absence of writing, I've been listening to the audio files for the audio book each morning before I run to the hospital to keep my honey company. Have a cookie, it'll make you feel better.

As you may know, I'm a cookie-holic, which attribute I gave to the main character in COOKIE THERAPY. When life throws you a curve ball, have a cookie. Fortunately for me, that's the only attribute I share with Elizabeth Lambert in COOKIE THERAPY! (Oh, wait, except for my talent for tripping on air...)

As I've been listening to the audio book files, I've been struck with the familiar, "I wrote that??" feeling. Yes, I know I wrote that, and it's one of my prouder moments. Nope, I don't need a cookie. I AM trying to kick my addiction, after all.

I've listened to the whole audio book now, brilliantly narrated by Vicki Pierce. She has two last, very minor, changes to make and the production process will be complete. I'm pretty excited! A bright spot in a week of crazy, and then I have to try to concentrate enough to create more magic with the new book (and there's a deliberate pun in that line, which you'll understand when you read the new story!).

I think I'll have to have a cookie to celebrate! It might be an addiction, but sometimes we deserve to treat ourselves, after all.

Watch for my newsletter, which will go out as soon as the production process is complete and the audio book is available. If you can't wait for the audiobook, you can always buy the paperback or ebook!

Buy it here!

Chasing Butterflies

Here, I thought I'd have SO MUCH free time on my hands, and that isn't the case.

In the past month, we've had lots going on, and I figured this week was going to be a "what do I do now?" week. Funny how things keep showing up on my calendar. And if that isn't enough, the chapters for the audio book are populating for me to approve, and I'm caught up in listening to COOKIE THERAPY all over again. Still one of my favorites! (although all my books are my favorites, but I do have a soft spot for this one...) Hopefully, I can make an announcement next week, and if you're a newsletter subscriber, watch your inbox for news!

LEGO exhibit, Morton Arboretum 

Then, there’s the matter of the book I'm currently working on. Having decided to steer back into my lane, I have work to do on that one, but with guests and audio and whatnot, I've been distracted. And then a friend suggested a movie/book to watch/read for ideas. So I've been reading. I've already got my groundwork laid, however, and although I'm enjoying the "reference" book, I tend to take a more subtle approach in my writing. It is, however, sparking my creative processes. Now, I just need to apply myself to the story I'm writing! Instead, I'm chasing butterflies. With all the distractions, every time I go to open my file and start in, something else pops up to distract me. Fortunately for me, I'm not on a deadline. Yet.

Digging my heels in, preparing the new book for you, but the audio book will release first. Can't wait for you to hear it!

Write what you know

Every author is hammered with the concept of "write what you know." What exactly does that mean?

For years, I thought it meant don't write about topics you aren't familiar with. Welp, I threw that out the window with my very first book. I wrote about Pompeii without ever having visited Italy, much less the famous site, but I have to tell you I spent MANY weekends in the library reading and looking at travel brochures - even learning Italian. And I interviewed people who had been there, including one woman who said "you absolutely can NOT write about it without having seen it." This is where I tell you she was impressed with my research when she actually DID read the book I refused to not write.

Recently, this warning has taken on a new meaning for me. I’ve been toying in a new genre, something I’ve always wanted to try. This wasn’t my first attempt, but this felt like my best shot. What I learned: write what you know means more than writing about your areas of knowledge. It means writing in your own voice. Sticking with the way you are geared. The genuine you.

The genuine me knows what goes into the genre I wanted to cross into, was raised in such a way as to understand and embrace what I needed to write, but my inner voice, my genuine me, doesn't write that way. I can slap in the "this goes here and that goes there," but that doesn't make the story relate-able, it makes it forced, at least for me.

Having finished the first draft, I sent out some queries to shop agents in my new market. One of them pointed out to me that what I'd written would be a tough sell. As written, there isn't really a market for it, in the first place. Interesting. I didn't realize the genre was that restrictive! Then I had a friend who writes in that genre check me, and beyond the market issue, she pointed out genre issues. Can I fix it? Yes, but this is where I'm going back to write what you know.

I've read books in this new-to-my-writing genre and enjoyed them, but that isn't how I write. In this experience, write what you know translates to "write in your voice, the genuine you." Not as a doctor writing medical romances or as a lawyer writing a legal thriller, but those are great examples. I'm not a doctor. I wouldn't be good at writing a medical romance. I'm not a lawyer. I wouldn't do well with a legal thriller. I'm just me, a hopeful romantic who looks for rainbows and personal connections and sometimes likes to search out the ghosts hiding in the corners.

Where does that leave me? The good news is I can work on my first draft and steer it back into my lane. That also means more brainstorming as I consider which of those things that drive my writing I want to incorporate.

Beep beep! Lane change! Time to write what I know.