What Keeps Me Writing

"Those who write clearly have readers. Those who write obscurely have commentators." ~Albert Camus

OK, I'll admit it: posting my word count and my favorite sentences here every day has definitely kept me writing. When you're accountable to someone, even the "someones" in cyberworld, it's amazing how you'll find the time to write.

I am behind, though - I should be at 12,500 words by the end of today. We'll see how close I get; it's the weekend, which does mean that I should have more time. Theoretically. In the meantime, I also have to write a blog post for the Samhain Publishing Blog, which will be up around 3:00 EST today. Stop by and comment if you'd like!

Current Word Count for Entwined: 8,302

Yesterday's Fave Sentence: It complicates things more than a little, this child who holds Chase’s heartstrings.

I Hate These Phone Calls...

"Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly. " ~Author Unknown

Wow, I am SOOOO glad it is Friday! Been a crazy week here, partly because we got a telephone call Wednesday night that one of hubby's students was in a serious car accident, along with two of his friends..


I think teenagers shouldn't be allowed to drive until they're no longer teenagers. And they should only be allowed to drive the speed limit or under and without any kind of music and with no one else in the car. Well, maybe not really. But can you please remind the teens you know that even God's patience wears thin when they drive too fast and get distracted by their friends and TEXT MESSAGE WHILE THEY ARE DOING BOTH THOSE THINGS???


The word is still touch and go on the student. Sigh.


Current Word Count for Entwined: 7715

Yesterday's Fave Sentence: The coffee shop door opens, and Natasha Silverstone walks into his life for the third time in less than a day, a bolt of lightning that has singled him out from the heavens and struck him square through the soul.

Lots of Links to Share Today

"The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about." ~Oscar Wilde

It's been a busy week for me in cyberworld! You can read author interviews here:

Brenna Lyons' Blog
Janet Walters' Blog

Or you can also take a peek at the interview I did for WOW-Women on Writing about co-writers Stella and Audra Price.

While I'm mentioning links, there is some exciting news over at Samhain. Here's a preview: they've just signed an agreement with BooksonBoard, an ebook retailer that's going to make all their novels available on iPhones. Next generation, here we come!

Also, the new erotic e-publisher Ravenous Romance recently signed some NY Times bestsellers. Here's an excerpt from their latest press release:

[Boston, MA, November 19, 2008] –Ravenous Romance™, slated to launch December 1, 2008, has signed several best-selling and award-winning authors to their roster, many of whom have crossed genres and will appear on the company’s launch list in early December. New York Times best-selling author John Skipp has penned a novel called Opposite Sex for the company under the pseudonym Gina McQueen, and recently quipped: “Sometimes you just get tired of killing people, you know? I just wanted to write something sweet and funny and sexy and wild, where nobody gets hurt, and the worst thing that happens is your characters are probably going to have to stop kissing eventually!”

John Updike’s protégée Catherine Hiller’s novel Cybill in Between will publish in early December. Updike has provided a quote for the book cover that calls Hiller’s writing “brave and joyful.” Mimi Leahy, an Emmy-nominated writer for “All My Children” and “As the World Turns”, will write several books and short stories for the imprint...

Finally, my cyber colleague Devon Gray is celebrating the release of Playing with Keeps, so take a hop on over to her blog and tell her I sent you to say congrats!

Current Word Count for Entwined: 6,698

Yesterday's Fave Sentence: He cannot stop listening to her talk, cannot understand the way it squeezes his heart every time she pauses.

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Heather Stimmler-Hall

Welcome to Writers' Wednesday! I mentioned today's author a few weeks back, when I first read her book Naughty Paris. Now Heather Stimmler-Hall is here today to give us the skinny on this fascinating "travel" book:

Welcome to Allie's Musings, Heather! Can you tell us a little about your background?

I've been a writer as long as I can remember: plays, poetry, stories...when I was in high school I started taking journalism classes and we produced a weekly newspaper. From this I got an after school job as the Teen Correspondent for the big daily, Phoenix Gazette (absorbed by the Arizona Republic). It seemed like a more practical way to make a living as a writer, so that's the career path I chose. When I came to Paris in college, it seemed like travel writing was an obvious choice, and now I've been writing about France for American magazines and guidebooks since 1999. I also have a blog I write for fun called Secrets of Paris (http://www.secretsofparis.com/).

Tell us about your latest writing project or published title.

After years of writing for other publishers, I created my own independent publishing company in Paris, Fleur-de-Lire, and in September I published "Naughty Paris: A Lady's Guide to the Sexy City". It's a guidebook for the "Sex & the City" generation of women, very elegant, with over 200 photos and lots of fun advice and tips on everything from where to find the perfect corset to decoding French pickup lines and how to capture that elusive "femme fatale" allure of Parisian women.

As my regular readers know, I had the pleasure of checking out this book on its release...what an interesting work! So, what advice would you give to new writers just starting out?

Travel guide writing is very different from fiction writing. You really, really have to remember your audience, to keep your information informative, essential, and above all, evocative of the place you're writing about. Read a LOT. The biggest mistake all beginners make in all kinds of writing is using clichés and other hackneyed phrases. They really distinguish a professional writer from a hobby writer.

How do you balance writing with the rest of your life?

I'm not sure that I do! I have two small miniature pinschers, Pedro & Lena, who force me to get away from my desk at least three times a day for walkies and dinner, but it's a constant struggle to remain balanced, especially when you're a freelancer. I tend to have a better grasp of how long any given assignment will take me now, but I still end up procrastinating (I'm a Facebook addict) and then not sleeping for three days when a deadline approaches.

Do you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?

Some might think that travel writers don't get writer's block, but it happens. It's always hard to think of new and interesting ways to say the same things over and over. Or sometimes I'm just not in the mood to write, especially if life situations get in the way. To break through this, I just write the crappiest first draft I can, on purpose, full of clichés and bad puns. Then I can relax a little since I have something to work with besides a blank screen, and get to editing, rewriting, etc.6. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creatingyour book(s)?Naughty Paris is completely different from the other traditional travel guides I've done. And since I didn't have an editor telling me how to write it, I often agonized over the tone, the angle, the length, what to include or leave out...I must have changed it twenty times in the course of completing the manuscript. But I learned if I went with my gut and with what I knew *I* would be happy with in the end, then it would all come out okay. People can tell when you're writing with conviction from your heart.

Heather, thanks so much for being here today! Readers, you can find out more at http://www.naughtyparisguide.com/.

Happy Wednesday!

A Few Odds and Ends for Your Tuesday Viewing Pleasure

Some random thoughts this morning:

1. I saw the movie "300" over the weekend. It got rave reviews, but I didn't really like it. Lots of yelling and warriors fighting and blood and gore. Cool special effects, though.

2. I made Liz's Taco Pie for dinner last night and it was a hit with hubby (with me, too). Thanks for the recipe!

3. Last night was the first time all year I didn't bring home work from school. I had two whole hours in the evening in which to write - I didn't even know what to do with myself!!

4. Only 5 weeks until Christmas. 5 weeks! I haven't even started my shopping...

Current Word Count for Entwined: 3800

Yesterday's Fave Sentence: He bends over the playpen, enraptured by the way her tiny eyelashes fall against her cheeks, the way her tiny lips part with breath, the way nothing about this life has touched her yet, and he thinks he could spend a lifetime standing over her, watching her sleep.

Role Models

Hubby and I went to see the movie "Role Models" yesterday morning (10:30 am show for only $5.00!). It was more entertaining than I thought it would be, though it does have more than its fair share of raunchy jokes and language. But the acting is pretty good, along with the overall message. I did find it funny in a lot of places :)

Writing-wise, I'm doing OK. Of course, it's still the first week, so the bloom is on the rose. I still don't know where I'm going with this story, but the journey's fun so far...maybe because I have no expectations.

Current Word Count for Entwined: 2790

Yesterday's Fave Sentence: They slept together a few times last winter, until he realized she had neither the brilliance of her mother nor the charm of her father.

The First Day of a New Book

"There are so many different kinds of writing and so many ways to work that the only rule is this: do what works. Almost everything has been tried and found to succeed for somebody. The methods, even the ideas of successful writers contradict each other in a most heartening way, and the only element I find common to all successful writers is persistence-an overwhelming determination to succeed." ~Sophy Burnham

Ah, the first day of tackling a brand new writing project. You might recall that, though I wanted to do NaNoWriMo, November 1st was a TERRIBLE time for me to start a new book, so I put it off until yesterday, figuring I'd do my own Book-in-a-Month from November 15 - December 14.

And so it began. However, this project is an experimental trainwreck, I fear. It's unlike anything I've ever attempted before, a sort of conglomeration of romance and literary and first-person and third-person and present tense and past tense all at once. I'm breaking every writing "rule" that probably exists, and I have a sneaking suspicion at the end of this month that I will have a big pile of words with no clear framework to hold them up.

But that's OK. I figure one month of experimental writing can't be a bad thing. At the very least, I might free up my brain from the same kind of writing I've been doing for the past 6+ years. Maybe I'll end up with something worth editing someday. Maybe not. But it will only be 30 days of writing.

Anyway, I decided I'd post my word count here each day, along with my favorite sentence from the previous day's work. I'm doing my best not to look back, just bulldoze forward and get words on the page. In fact, that's what I'm off to do right now, 'cause I just realized that 1600+ words each day is an awful lot to produce!

Current Word Count for Entwined: 1451

Fave Sentence: "Now Natasha stands in the center of a room that was her mother’s, her father’s, a room that should be hers but feels wrong, too big, too awkward, a shoe that will never curve around her heel and toes the way it should."

I Hate Making my Students Cry

"I made a difference for that one." ~Loren Eisley

I hate making my students cry.

Really.

And I'm not talking about the crying that takes place when they get a bad grade, or feel overwhelmed and can't get their work done, or don't get into their first-choice college, though there are always tears in those cases too.

But I hate this one day of the year when I talk about bullying with my education students/future teachers, because I know it's going to upset them and I know it's something we have to talk about anyway.

See, the talking itself wouldn't be bad. But I have this episode of "Without a Trace" that I show, and it centers on bullying and in fact leads one middle school boy to attempt suicide. It's a pretty intense episode, and I always warn my students ahead of time and tell them they can leave if they want to.

But they always think they're going to be fine -- then the end scene hits. The episode does have a relatively happy ending, in case you're wondering, but the bullying/suicide portrayal itself is pretty disturbing, and it always affects a couple of my students pretty hard.

Yesterday a full half of them ending up in the bathroom, crying. And yeah, I felt pretty lousy about it. I mean, it's not that I'm trying to torture them. I think very carefully every year about whether I should show it, and I always end up deciding "yes," because I think the ways it makes them think is important.

We can't always talk about the good things, can we? We have to address the problems and look at the heartbreak in order to fix it. And I think on some level they know that. They're seniors, after all, a scant few months from graduation and the real world. We -- or, rather, they - have to be the difference in the way the future will unfold. They have to know that they can do something, even one thing, as individuals, to stop hurtful behavior, and it will make a difference.

Do you know the starfish story? It's a classic among educators:

The Starfish Story

Original Story by: Loren Eisley

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said…”I made a difference for that one.”

Gin the Dancing Dog

It's the end of the week, I have a stack of papers to grade, I'm gearing up to start my own Book-in-a-Month project (tomorrow!), and so I leave you with this smile for today:

What Do You Do When...

"Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it." ~Truman Capote

I'm in a funny place right now: between projects. (Well, between writing projects, that is. I have more than enough projects from all other aspects of my life going on. But writing?) I finished the revision of One Night in Napa a few days ago and haven't looked at it since. I'm still mulling over what to do with Summer's Song. I have no articles due for ezines at the moment. I'm done judging the EPPIES, and I haven't taken on any other books to review right now. I'm gearing up for my NaNo project, but I haven't done much in the way of thinking or planning for it.

So...I haven't done any kind of writing in close to 4 days. And I gotta say, it's a little bit of a weird feeling. I have some ideas of future stories rattling around in my head, but I haven't even given them much time to speak of.

It's a little like working out or running, to be honest. Some days it's a joy to do; other days it's more like torture; but when you don't do it for a while, you feel as though something's missing.

So for all my fellow writers out there: what do you do when you're not writing? Or are you always, somehow, someway, writing?

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with Jeff Rivera

Welcome to Writers' Wednesday! I'm especially excited about today's featured author, since his story is one of those "literary lotteries" that happen once in a blue moon. Jeff Rivera is the author of Forever my Lady. Here's the scoop on its remarkable journey to publication:

"Originally independently published, Jeff Rivera's debut novel, Forever My Lady went on to be acquired by Warner Books/Grand Central. It tells the award-winning passionate story of a juvenile delinquent named Dio who is sentenced to prison boot camp. Everyone who he has ever trusted has given up on him except one special girl that promises to stay by his side no matter what, the love of his life, Jennifer. He promises he will to turn his life around for her and she promises will never leave him. In fact, they plan to marry one day. But when Dio is released from boot camp he discovers Jennifer is about to marry someone else.

"Forever My Lady was featured in national magazines, on national television and radio including: The Boston Globe, Miami Herald, Rotarian Magazine, Urban Latino Magazine, VOY, Right On! Magazine, NPR, American Latino TV, SITV and was awarded Best New Author Award and the Best Urban Fiction Award and by the Mahogany Media Review. His first novel, Forever My Lady (published by Warner Books/Grand Central Publishing) became a critical media darling having received over 45 reviews on Amazon, over 30 reviews on BarnesandNoble.com and was given 5 stars by Amazon.com's #1 Book Reviewer Ms. Harriet Klausner. Rivera is fast at work on his next novel as well as the sequel to Forever My Lady and anticipates its independent release in 2008. "

Jeff stopped by today to answer a few questions about his work. Let's find out a little bit more..

You have a lot of controversial topics in your book, prostitution, gang warfare, child abuse yet you somehow were able to turn it into a heart-wrenching love story. Why did you find it necessary to include such topics?

I think as an artist, it's important to realize the responsibility you have in affecting the world around you. Those are all topics that realy happen in the world along with love issues as well. So, I knew that if I was given the gift of this story and I had an opportunity to really move people with this story what a great opportunity to ground this almost fantastical love story with real life issues.

You were born in Utah, raised in Oregon but have lived everywhere in the United States from Las Vegas to New York. How has the affected your writing style?

That's a good question. I think one thing it really did, Allie, was it helped me see people's perspectives on life easier. Had I been raised only in Oregon and still lived there, I never would have seen or experienced the shifts in personalities that each city has. Each city as a whole has a very distinct personality almost as if they're one gigantic entity. At the same time one thing it really helped me realize is that truly wherever you are from the same common issues that we all face are with each person. This is why I chose to write about love. We all know what it's like to experience the desire for someone so much so that we cannot breathe and the feeling of heartache as if we had our heart ripped out and stomped on by the one person we hoped to be forever with.

The love interest in the book's name is Jennifer. Why did you choose to make one of the only Latina characters a prostitute?

I was so worried about that. But I chose that as her "profession" because both Dio, the main character and Jennifer are victims of child abuse and you really get to see how it affects both of them in different ways. I hope that it is a warning in some way for anyone who is thinking about abusing their children how it can affect them. Also, I hope that it will connect with others who are lost in that world that somehow they can find their own self-worth just like Jennifer eventually does.

You seem to have a passion for writing about love. Would you say you're a romantic at heart?

Very much so. I'm a total sap when it comes to love. Some friends might say I fall to hard too easily. But it's such a great feeling and I really do believe in souls destined for each other and all that sort of thing. I really do, however, I have learned that there's more than just one choice. There could be several soul mates or twin flames out there for you.

Jeff, thanks so much for being here today, and good luck with the sales of your book! Readers, you can find out more by visiting his website here.

Romance and Chocolate for Valentine's Day!

"If you come to fame not understanding who you are, it will define who you are." ~Oprah Winfrey

I know it's still a few months away, but I wanted to mention the AWESOME book signing event I'll be participating in on February 7th, 2009: Romance and Chocolate at the Farmington, CT Borders. Check it out (just posted on Stella Price's blog):

Romance and Chocolate Event: Feb 7th 2009 at the Farmington CT Borders

13 authors will be on hand for a fun and romantic event called the Romance and Chocolate Event. Authors of different kinds of romance will be on hand selling and signing books, and attendees will be treated to refreshments, snacks, goodies and lots of free stuff and will also have the opportunity to win one of 6 romance inspired gift baskets. What authors?

Stella Price
Tilly Greene
Jessica Andersen
Cat Johnson
Allie Boniface
Isabelle Santiago
Toni Andrews
Marie Force
Kristan Higgins
Denise Egan
Emily Bryan
Kathryn Smith
Annette Blair

Hope to see you there!

I'm particularly excited because some of those authors are fairly well-established, NY authors (I've linked to a couple of their websites, just for kicks).

So if you're anywhere in the area, mark February 7th, 2009 on your calendars and come on out and join us!

I Love Your Blog

Diane gave me this "award" last week, and then Brenna did...and then Marianne did. So wow - thanks, guys! That makes me feel really loved in blogger world. The rules are that I'm supposed to pass it on to 7 other blogs I enjoy reading, but I have a terrible confession to make: I don't think I have 7 other blogs I read regularly enough to make that call! I visit Marianne and Liz almost every day; I drop by Diane and Dru and Chandler during the week if I can, and I pop into Pub Rants or BookEnds when I remember to.

But otherwise, I don't have enough time in my day to blog hop. Sigh. Sometimes I wish I did - it would be easier than this dratted writing thing. The good news is that I finished my second revision of One Night in Napa, which is a huge relief and accomplishment. I've sent it out to a handful of agents, just to see if I get any bites. If not, I'll submit it to Samhain with fingers crossed.

And yes, I have every intention of starting my NaNo project this-coming Saturday: a literary/romance/paranormal effort tentatively titled Entwined.

Happy Monday!

Good News for a Sunday

"I never read a book before reviewing it - it prejudices a man so." ~Sydney Smith

My Sunday Good News:

One Night in Memphis received a 5-Heart review from The Romance Studio! In part, the reviewer (the same one who gave One Night in Boston 5 Hearts last year) wrote,

"I highly recommend this book. It is well written, highly suspenseful and one great read. And just wait for the sensual parts. There’s just nothing I don’t like about this book and that includes the unexpected ending..."

You can read the whole review here.

Happy Sunday!

Another Contest for All You Authors Out There!

"I'll take any trophy. I don't care what it says on it." ~Mary Louise Parker

First, I'd like to throw out a big THANKS to Diane, who awarded me the "I Love Your Blog" award this past week. I haven't felt too inspiring or interesting lately, so I'm not feeling really worthy of such a kind award, but perhaps that will change soon.

Perhaps.

Second, here's an interesting sort of contest for all you writers out there: Miss Snark's Secret Agent Contest. How does it work? Well, when she puts out the call (next one is Monday Nov. 10th), submit the first 250 words of your completed ms. She'll post the first 75 on her blog, where critiquers can fire away with likes and dislikes. The catch? One of the critiquers is actually a literary agent - whose identity is revealed later on.

Want to know more? Click here for all the details.

And now I'm off to give a presentation on promotion and marketing to my local RWA chapter. Have a great Saturday!

A Friday Joke

I'm still feeling rather lousy, so instead of any brilliant blog post today, I'll just share with you this (PG13-rated) joke that an author friend forwarded to me. I'm supposed to forward it to 5 other people, but you know what? I'm pretty sure at least 5 will stop by and visit my blog today, so here you go...

Miss Beatrice

The church organist,

Was in her eighties

And had never been married.

She was admired for her sweetness

And kindness to all.

One afternoon the pastor

Came to call on her and she showed him into her quaint sitting room.

She invited him to have a seat while she prepared tea.

As he sat facing her old Hammond organ,

The young minister

Noticed a
cute glass bowl

Sitting on top of it.
The bowl was filled

With water,

And in the water

Floated, of all things, a condom!

When she returned

With tea and scones,

They began to chat. The pastor tried to stifle his curiosity

About the bowl of water and its strange floater, but soon it got the better of him and he could no longer resist.

'Miss Beatrice', he said, 'I wonder if you would tell me about this?'

He pointed to the bowl.

'Oh, yes,' she replied, 'Isn't it wonderful? I was walking through

The park a few months ago

And I found this little package

On the ground.

The directions said

To place it on the organ,

Keep it wet and that it would prevent the spread of disease.

Do you know I haven't had the flu

All winter.'

A New Romance Writing Site

Just a quick news flash today, as I'm feeling rather under the weather:

A new erotic romance e-publisher is launching on December 1 at www.RavenousRomance.com. You can find out more information at their Press Release too.

Here's some info on their pre-launch contest:

The TwittErotica Contest is online now and we’re looking for as many submissions as possible. Here are the guidelines:

Ravenous Romance™ TwittErotica Contest

Are u the Twitter Master? Can u get ur message out in 140 characters or less? If so, then prove it. We challenge u to put ur fingers to ur twit & send us ur hot, erotic short, but remember, short is the key... it has 2 fit in2 140 chrctrs...or less! Check back on Dec 1 to read all entries + the winning Tweet!

Winner receives a $15 gift certificate to Ravenous Romance = 3 novels or 15 shorts!
Submissions: Twitterotica@RavenousRomance.com

Ready, set...tweet!

If that's your thing, give it a try. Remember, contest wins boost name recognition, so especially if you're an unpubbed writer, it might be fun to see how you do.

Finally, it looks as though they're giving away an iPod too. Contest rules are here. Good luck!

And now I'm off to consume lots of tea, zinc, and Vitamin C, in the efforts to stave off this cold that is quickly wearing me down.

Oh, and I'm celebrating the historic election, too: no matter which candidate you voted for, I hope everyone can appreciate the momentous cultural milestone that November 4, 2008 now represents. Pretty amazing.

Writers' Wednesday: An Interview with J.K. Coi

Welcome to Writers' Wednesday! Today's feature d author is a lovely woman I had the pleasure to meet at the NJRW Conference a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy your peek into the writing world of J.K. Coi!

Nice to see you here in virtual world, J.K.! Can you tell readers a little about your background?

Well, I’m a Canadian who’s not that big on hockey, but don’t shoot me for that. I like soccer and I like skiing and snowboarding. I work full time in a busy law firm looking at patent and trademark applications all day. Which is cool. I get the skinny on all the interesting new inventions that are coming into the market, lol.

Wow, sounds cool. So wen did you first begin writing? Was there an event or moment in your life that triggered your desire to write?

I’ve been writing seriously for about three years now, but I wrote poetry before that. It wasn’t really until my son was old enough to be sleeping through the night that I felt I had some time on my hands and the ideas started flowing.

Tell us about your latest writing project or published title.

My new release is called The Trouble With Destiny. Writing Trouble was quite a departure for me. I started it at a time when I needed to take a break from my current series, so I wrote something a little different. My other books are part of an urban fantasy romance series called The Immortals, and compared to Trouble they are darker and edgier, whereas Trouble is a little bit lighter, with a definitely saucy, sarcastic twist of humour. Sarah is just an average university student right up until the moment she discovers that destiny has other plans for her. She’s forced to learn the hard way that keeping the world safe from daemons may mean she won’t ever make it to calculus on time again, and to top it all off there’s Dorian to deal with—a mysterious, stubborn, dictator of a man with a dark past, who’s sexy as hell and impossible to resist.

Here’s the summary:

Mild-mannered Sarah McInnes just wants to be left alone. She’s looking forward to finishing graduate school and then working a nice, normal nine-to-five job as an accountant. But when fate interferes with her carefully laid plans in the form of the mysterious and sexy Dorian, her life takes an unexpected detour.Dorian is a take-no-prisoners kind of guy. For him, duty comes first. So when he intervenes one night to save Sarah from the murderous hands of a daemon and discovers she has the innate ability to fight them, he of course steps in and offers to train her.

Daemons notwithstanding, the job would be much easier and their relationship less complicated if Dorian didn’t also happen to be the hottest thing this side of hell.Now instead of spending her nights in the library Sarah spends them with Dorian, keeping the city safe from monsters and sending them back where they belong. Whether she wants to or not, Sarah has to face the facts: daemons exist, she possesses the power to kill them, and she may never make it to Calculus on time again.That’s the Trouble with Destiny...

What a fun read! OK, what advice would you give to new writers just starting out?

It’s been said often, but I think that the most important thing is to keep writing. A lot. Also, I'd have to say that some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten was to ignore the rules and write what was in my head. Everything can be fixed afterward, but at first, when you're learning, the process of training yourself to get the work out on the page is way more important. As you go along, the other lessons will start to come more naturally, as long as you’re writing!

What do you find most difficult about writing? What do you find most exciting or rewarding?

I’ve found that the most difficult part of writing, for me, is staying focused. Besides the writing, there’s so much to do, that you can get lost in all the blogging, interviews, and other promotional stuff—which all needs to get done—and if you’re not careful, the writing ends up suffering. So my advice would be to stick to a schedule, if you can.

How do you balance writing with the rest of your life?

A brutal schedule. I work full time (although I have Mondays off), so I write on Mondays and in the evenings during the week. Every evening, without fail. If I’m not frantically trying to meet a deadline, then the weekends I will try and set aside for my family, but sometimes even that has to be compromised, although they understand and I always make it up to them.

It sounds as though you've mastered the art of self-discipline. But do you ever suffer from writer's block? If so, what do you do about it?

I hate writer's block because I'm the kind of person who has to write linearly. I can’t jump around from scene to scene until something starts flowing again. When I’m stuck I just have to stop and take a break until something kick starts in my brain again.

When you write, do you use the computer or compose by hand, oral dictation, or some other method?

I use the computer. I used to write longhand and then type it up later, but that was a LONG time ago. I do, however, keep a notebook handy at all times to jot things down as they come to me when my computer isn’t handy. It bugs my husband to no end when I whip it out at the movie theatre waiting for the show to start, or when we’re out to dinner.

Thanks for sharing your journey with us today, J.K. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

I just want to say thank you for the opportunity to be here today!

Please visit me at my website for more information about upcoming books, chats, interviews, reviews, and all things Immortal. I’m also on MySpace and I blog at http://www.jkcoi.blogspot.com/.

Books 1 and 2 of the Immortal Series are also available. Get My Immortal and Immortal Kiss from Linden Bay Romance and other major e-retailers online. You can also buy print copies of the books from your local stores.

J.K. Coi

Immortals to Die For
http://www.jkcoi.com/

Go Forth and Vote

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." ~John Quincy Adams

To all my American citizen friends, have you voted yet today? You're going to, right?

***

In other exciting news, you can ALSO vote for moi today, if you'd like: turns out I'm nominated in three different categories over in the Romance Erotica Connection Yahoo Group, for Best Sweet Contemporary Author of the Year, Best Sweet Romance of the Year (One Night in Boston) and Best Sweet Cover of the Year (Lost in Paradise).

How cool is that?

So if you'd like to help my cause, you can join the REC group and then click on "Polls" to vote (on the left sidebar). [Warning: it's a little convoluted to join the group, if you're not a Yahoo Group/ Internet savvy person, so no worries if you choose to abstain - in this election, anyway - not the Presidential one!]. But if you make it over there, or if you're already a member, there are a lot of categories, so scan through and see whom else you might like to vote for!

A Special Author Interview with Linda Wisniewski

Today I'm happy to share another featured author interview, with debut author Linda Wisniewski. This is Linda's first stop on her virtual blog tour, sponsored by WOW-Women on Writing.

Linda was born and raised during the 1950s and 60s in a Polish Catholic neighborhood in upstate New York, the setting for most of her memoir, Off Kilter. She attended college in Buffalo, NY and grad school in Pennsylvania for library science. She was a librarian and independent information researcher in the pharmaceutical industry before turning to writing full time.

Linda, I'm so glad I can be part of your blog tour! When did you first begin writing? Was there an event or moment in your life that triggered your desire to write?

When I was little, I had a blue diary with a lock and key. In elementary school, I won a loaf of bread in an essay contest! That was enough incentive for me to keep writing, but up until about ten years ago, only in my journal. Around 1998, I discovered two wonderful books: "Writing from Life" by Susan Wittig Albert, and "Writing as a Way of Healing" by Louise DeSalvo. Filled with exercises and ideas I could use to understand my past through writing, they set me on the path to memoir, the genre I most love to write (and read!)

Memoirs hold a special fascination for me as well. Tell us about your latest writing project or published title.

Off Kilter, which came out this year, is my first book. It started from an essay I wrote called 'My Body, My Self,' which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2003. In it, I compared my scoliosis, or curvature of the spine, to the other 'off kilter' elements of my life. Like most women, my body image is one of the issues I've faced. The second is my relationship with my mother, who was emotionally abused and despite my best efforts throughout the 1970s and '80s, refused to be 'liberated.' Finally, my Polish American heritage, with its embarrassing Polish jokes and anti-Semitic history, is balanced out by a rich musical and literary culture, most notably for me, the Nobel prize winning poet, Wislawa Szymborska. I started out examining these three areas where I felt my life was 'off kilter' and through writing about them, learned what to accept and what to change to create a full, balanced life.

This sounds like a wonderfully complex, rich story. I can't wait to read it! What kinds of books do you like to read? Do you have a favorite author?

Memoir, of course, are my favorites, followed by 'cozy' mysteries and contemporary novels. Some of my favorite memoirists are Patricia Hampl, Louise DeSalvo and Nancy Mairs, and I discover new ones almost every week.In the mystery genre, I read everything by Susan Wittig Albert, Kathy Reichs (okay, not so 'cozy' - her books are the basis for the Bones TV show), Maggie Sefton, Elizabeth George and Julia Spencer Fleming, who writes about the Adirondack Mountains where I was born.

What do you find most difficult about writing? What do you find most exciting or rewarding?

Deciding where to start is probably the most difficult for anyone, professional writer or not. Just getting my seat in the chair, my fingers on the keyboard or pencil, is the hardest part by far. Perhaps it's what one of my teachers calls 'fear of the unknown,' that terror that maybe we really have nothing to say. In less than an hour, the words fly from my head to the page, and I wonder why I spent all that time checking emails and news sites instead of writing! As I speak at conferences and in classes, I am thrilled by the people who are every day deciding to put their own stories on paper, whether for themselves, their grandchildren or for publication. It's great to be a part of such a great creative movement. Their questions and comments energize me to keep doing what I love - writing about life.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

A long walk in the park recharges me every day. I also love to practice yoga; it's great for my scoliosis and my anxiety level! And I'm a new and avid quilter. So far, I've made four baby quilts for my nephews' kids. Oh...and traveling with my retired scientist husband, now that our son is a college freshman.

Well, it sounds as though you definitely have enough to keep you busy! When you write, do you use the computer or compose by hand, oral dictation, or some other method?

I always start a first draft in longhand. Call me superstitious, but I believe there is something mystical and magical about moving that pen across the page that kicks my left brain into gear. Ideas that seem to come 'through' me rather than 'from' me arrive most often in longhand. A day or a week later, when I'm ready to revise, I type that first draft into the computer, often editing as I go.

Linda, thanks so much for being here today. Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

I'd like to invite everyone to my website, http://www.lindawis.com/, and my publisher's site, www.pearlsong.com/offkilter.htm, for more about me and Off Kilter. And I'd like to add that I'm co-editor of the net's largest book review site by, for and about women, Story Circle Book Reviews, http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org/. Come give us a look!

Thanks, Allie!

And thanks to both Linda and WOW for arranging this blog tour visit. Enjoy the rest of your Monday!