Stepping Out of the Comfort Zone

The other day I was preparing a blog for a guest appearance spot over at Nine Naughty Novelists. I was writing about adding real life to your stories. It got me thinking of the old adage, write what you know.I’ll admit I’ve written many stories based off of things I know.

Body Shots has a hero who is a singer. Music is my first love. Back in high school thru my early twenties I dated musicians. I know more about drums than I possibly need to. I’ve spent summer nights just attending concerts. When I was growing up in Upstate New York, every teen spent the summer at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. This was where all the good concerts took place. In 2003 when I was sowing my royal oats (I was celebrating my freedom from my ex), my best friend and I traveled all over to see concerts. In fact once at 5pm on a Saturday night we drove from Albany NY to the Comcast Center in MA (it was the Tweeter Center back then) to see Disturbed and Korn. A three hour drive one way AND we drove back home after the concert. Okay, so we were a little crazy what can I say.

Splashing Good Time the hero owns his own pool company. I’ve been in the business in the past and again in my present, someone close to me owns a few pool stores.

Gettin’ Lucky my heroine owns her own grocery store. My ex-husband and I owned a corner grocery store for almost ten years. And like Marcy, my heroine, the store was in a poor section of town.

Another story that will be published under my real name is about a woman’s journey to motherhood. She’s not taking the conventional way. After finding herself single, because her ex-fiancé doesn’t want children, Hailey decides to take out an ad for a sperm donor.

Granted I’ve never taken out an ad, but I’ve journeyed through the fertility process – more times than I’d like to admit. So I can add those little details to my story that make it that much more believable. Obviously my heroine will get a HEA, but the bottom line is I KNOW fertility.

But should we always write what we know? I say NO. Eventually you’ll come to a point where you want to diversify and move in a new direction. To do this you’ll have to learn something new and experiment. That’s what I plan to do.

I’m embarking on a new chapter or journey in my writing career. I’m taking on a subject and genre that is relatively foreign to me. But guess what? I’m excited about it. I may stumble along the way and I may suck at it, but I won’t know unless I try.

I’ll be honest – I’m scared witless. But that’s the thrill. That’s how I know it’s the right time to do it.

I’ve become too comfortable in my writing. I haven’t challenged myself in a very long time. A friend has thrown down the gauntlet and I’ve accepted the challenge!

Do you only write what you know? If not, how do you step out of your comfort zone?

PS...If you get a chance please stop by Nine Naughty Novelists. I could use some support! Thanks.

Amber's Ramblings

Okay, so I don’t have a HOT topic to talk about today. I spent the weekend celebrating my grand daughter's 1st birthday (today) and my youngest daughter's 13th birthday (tomorrow). Two parties, tons of family in town, non stop running.

I DID write THE END on Spend The Night With Me, book two in the Freedom Fantasies series. I know I need to add one scene, before sending it off to my editor. Hoping by Friday the latest.
Play With Me, book three, will be submitted at the same time.

Still waiting to hear about Submit With Me. It’s a short-short 7k. It’s a role playing story like the others in my series.

I did receive a few good reviews over the weekend I’d like to share:

Body Shots:
http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/reviews/Apr10/bodyshots.as.html

Title: Wild Lickins
Author: Amber Skyze
Genres: GLBTQ
Site Date: Feb 23, 2010
Online Link: http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.aspx?daoid=6184
Score: 3.25 / 5


Off to edit! Have a fun week.

Lots of News to Share

I’m back! Sorry for not posting last week, but frankly the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 was a whirlwind. I’m still trying to piece together all the things that happened in a ten day span.
BUT, through all the unhappiness there has been some good news in my life that I want to share with all my friends, fans and readers of SSS.
1. My editor at Noble Romance gave me an extension on the January 1st deadline for the Valentine’s Day submission. I’m happy to say that I finally submitted it yesterday. It’s an M/M short called Naughty Cupid.
2. I received my first contract of the New Year from Aspen Mountain Press, along with the edits!!! Wild Lickins is the first M/M I wrote about a year ago. It’s tentatively scheduled for a February 19th release.
3. I also received my first non-fiction assignment for 2010. An article on Car Surfing for a teen magazine I write for. She also hinted that a few of my other ideas might be assigned in the coming weeks.
4. Body Shots received its first review from NOR. Ms. Skyze has written an interesting page-turner that has intelligent, believable characters and a plot that holds your attention from beginning to end. To read the review in full visit this link! http://www.nightowlreviews.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.aspx?daoid=5468
So, needless to say I’m keeping busy and thankful for the distractions. I have enough work to get me thru the month of January. Now if only I could do some actual writing! I have a ton of story ideas brewing, but can’t seem to get them on paper. I guess that’s for another day.

Body Shots Available Today

Today is my seventh release this year! YAY! To celebrate I'm giving away a copy of Body Shots to one lucky commenter.

ENJOY!

Blurb:
Got Tequila?
Sierra does and Reed isn’t afraid to use it. He’s determined to do shots on every inch of her skin, but Sierra has insecurities preventing him from exploring intimate areas. Her insecurities won't stop her from lavishing his body with the heady liquor.
Ten years ago an accident tore Sierra Allen and Reed Walker apart. Now a chance encounter has them burning for each other. A bottle of liquor and a pool table has this duo ready to quench their thirsts with one night of Body Shots.
Will one night be enough to fan the flames of desire?

Excerpt:
Reed Walker leaned his massive frame against the wall. His leg bent, his boot-clad foot tapped against the wall to the rhythm of the bass drum. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, as his eyes gazed upon the singer crooning the soft rock ballad. She was gorgeous by every standard of the word. Long flowing black hair, dark mysterious eyes, her arms sleeved in tattoos. Dressed only in black leather pants and a matching leather bra, her rock-hard stomach revealed she worshiped the gym but Reed wasn’t here for the singer. She wasn’t his type any longer. Another time, another place maybe. Not tonight. Tonight, he was here for the owner of the bar.
Looking to make some extra cash doing something they loved, Reed and his fellow band mates decided to reunite after a ten year hiatus. Reed having always been the businessman of the group took on the task of going around to different bars and clubs to see if they were interested in adding his band Foul Play to the line up.
When he walked into Crimson Nights he thought he was walking into a dream. Never in his wildest imagination had he thought he’d come face to face with the only true love of his life—Sierra Allen.
The look on her face when he walked up to the bar and asked to speak to the owner was one of shock. Like seeing a ghost. And that’s how he felt. Oh, she’d cut off most of her long red hair but she couldn’t deny the scar on her right cheek. It had faded some over the years and she tried covering it with her hand most of the time they spoke but he knew it was her. She told him her name was Laura but Reed knew better. Those haunting green eyes couldn’t be mistaken.
He went along with her charade, though it killed him deep inside. She had run away from him after the car accident without so much as an explanation. The weeks he spent by her side, holding her while she cried over what she felt was a deformed face. The painful recovery from the shards of glass that cut her, when the windshield shattered. He stood by her side, loving her, wishing he could take away her pain. Wishing it was him who suffered instead of her, only to have her up and vanish when she was released from the hospital.
Now she was pretending she didn’t know him. It didn’t make sense. He’d let her go a long time ago but this time he wasn’t going to leave without finding out why. It was the least she could do. She owed him an explanation.
She shocked him when she agreed to let his band play. He fully expected a flat-out “no”. Why would she want his band playing there if she was hiding her identity? Was it a ploy to make him believe she was this Laura she pretended to be? Or was she feeling the connection too? If it was to prove her charade, she was sadly mistaken. Reed wasn’t stupid enough to be fooled by a haircut or name change.
Reed would wait until the night was done and the bar empty before he confronted her but he would and when he did, Sierra had some explaining to do.