Resolutions and Goals

Did you make any resolutions or set any goals for yourself? This year I decided not to. What I did do is set up a new writing schedule, which includes some non-fiction too. January is over and how did I do?

Pretty damn good if I say so myself. The book I started at the beginning of the year is currently at 24K and will be completed and submitted next week.

I subbed another book and a series proposal to one publisher. In my non-fiction I subbed four short stories. I researched, wrote and subbed five queries. Overall I’d say 2013 is off to a great start.

I also decided 2013 is the year for me to reclaim my health and get back in shape. So, while I’m almost back to normal health, I’m taking the exercise slow. I’m walking a mile a few times a week. I have a surgery in March to help one of my health problems.

I’m taking the steps to find a new job and building a foundation to write full time.  

All in all this year is going to be a great year. I feel it.

How about you?

In My Writing Cave

I’m writing a themed book under a deadline of 2/15 so I’m busy. Wish I could post something thought provoking, but yeah, right. That’s not me. LOL

Resolutions? I got 'em.

An Italian man, wealthy, who cooks!

For 2012, I am into FUN and $$$.

To ensure the laughs and my fat wallet, I promise myself to:

1. GO AFTER PIRATES more often.  WEEKLY.

Hey, all these people are ripping me off to the tune of thousands of $$$. What if I came to their house and did that??? Besides, Congress--those folks who haven't done anything but dither all year but collected their $150,000 salaries--are debating Our Anti-Piracy Bill like it was an attack on business. SAY WHA? Yep. Google and their buddies are fighting this bill, saying it would "criminalize" their business. NEWS FLASH: Pirates have already criminalized it. Google needs to step back, THINK and get a new way to make a buck, not off my back!

2. ADVERTISE more.

Yeah. It costs. But people, time or money? I am only one people, have only a bit of time and some money (esp. if I kill these pirates, I'll have more)!

3. Love FACEBOOK and TWITTER more.  This stuff really works to get the old name out there.

Color me happy.

4. Stop cruising the net. 'nuf said.

5. Invite all of you to come to my blog to post! Often! Any time!

6. Go to the gym 3x a week.

I need it.

My office chair is wunderbar, but it does not ensure my a$$ is any skinnier.

7. My last Res. This I am offering a saying to you for your consideration as one of your resolutions. This one, I used as a kid when things were tough. And they often were, especially at holiday time.

What is it?

One I wish some of the HOUSEWIVES of X-city, the Kardiasians (sp.?) and Snooki, and all her generation would use, cuz they give me HIVES with their narcissism!

Don't criticize and Don't complain.

Use facts only.

And the pix at the top?

Shameless Self-promo.

My very first EC release about a lovely widow and a smokin' hot Italian stud.

My Sweet.

Mia Dolce! Go here for author page for all my EC books: www.jasminejade.com/m-560-cerise-deland.aspx

My series on self-pubbing my first book!

As you read this, I am really in Utah at a Shakespeare Festival and absorbing the cool evenings and sights of the glorious red canyons! BUT for those of you who started my series on self-pubbing my first digital book, I hope you did come to my blog last week for all the parts of that.
Where is that? http://cerisedeland.blogspot.com
AND I am NOT FINISHED YET.
As I do more, learn more, I will give you the blow by blow AND PUBLISH MORE IN THE SERIES. No holes in my/your knowledge left unfilled!
(FOR EXAMPLE: I still must put up the formats for Smashwords and ARe. Ah, yes. More adventures in publishing!)
And at the left, the beautiful artwork of LADY STARLING'S STOCKINGS!
Ciao, bella!

Part I: MY SELF-PUB LIFE or How I learned to love new aspects of publishing

Stepping into self-pubbed world!

Am I ready this week finally to put up a 99-center at Kindle? As a self-published author?

Oh, dear reader and author, I AM! Do come to my blog for Part One of My Journey into digital publishing!

http://cerisedeland.blogspot.com 

Just Do It!

A lot of newbie’s ask – how do you get over writer’s block? I’m usually quick to answer this question with Just Do It. Just Write. Write a grocery list, a journal entry or babble on your WIP. Eventually the words will come and you’ll want to write.
So why can’t I take my own advice? When I go weeks without writing I forget that sage advice. Instead I ignore my wip or open it and stare at it, never writing a word. LOL Am I a hypocrite?
In all reality I think we need breaks from time to time. You need a break from the norm and do something different. We need to recharge our brains and to do that we need to step away from routines.
On Sunday the DH and I had lunch on the bay. As I sat watching the boats on the water I realized how much I missed this view. It’d been so long since I’d been near the water. There’s something about the water, more so the ocean that soothes me. It recharges my brain. There are days when I can drive to the state park, sit on a bench or the rocks with my laptop and get lost. Sometimes I don’t even write. I just sit, watch and let time pass.
The lull of the water wading in and out or the rising waves is therapeutic for me. So next time you’re stuck and the motto Just Do It isn’t working – do something that makes you happy. Take a break and don’t stress about not writing.

A Brief Update

Sorry I’ve been a bad blogger as of late. I’ve had a few too many sicknesses and a lot of other stuff going on in my personal life. Hopefully the worst is behind me and I can resume my normal activities. I’m currently working on a tight deadline for a book for EC. They’re doing a Text Theme and I’m excited about the book I’m writing.
Yesterday was a bittersweet day for Americans. The death of Osama bin Laden after nearly 10 years in hiding surprised me really. I honestly didn’t think I’d see the day. I thought he’d continue to elude the military until his death of old age. I praise the men and women who have worked tirelessly to capture the terrorist and applaud the ones who put the bullet in him.
Okay, so like I said earlier I’m working on a tight deadline and must get back to writing.
Until Next Tuesday!

What do Readers get from E-books versus Print books? Hmmm.

As the controversy over e-pub sensation Amanda Hocking and her decision to go Print within (breathless?) moments of author Barry Eisler quitting the Land of Tradition for the new territory called Electronic Publishing, I thought I would put up a list of the good stuff about the growth of e-books.

Not from the Author's Perspective.

But from the Reader's.

Here are mine--and I hope you come back and put up yours. (And Yes, the pix at the left is shameless self promotion of my latest Regency E-book over at www.resplendencepublishing.com.)

And with all that disclaimed, here I go!

Positives of E-book reading:

1. Affordable: books cost less. Great in an economy struggling to get back up after the Wall Street Smackdown. (sorry. could not resist that crack at the Boys who Brought Us Low.)

2. Variety of reading material: True the e-publishers who have made a huge splash at the electronic side of publishing tended to open with erotica, the material few would publish. But now that opening affords other publishers with similar non-traditional tastes/views/ topics, the ability to publish. And they are making a great go of it. To the readers' benefit.

3. Increasing and encouraging literacy: By the abundant nature of the material available for a reasonable price, books--both fiction and non--are now published which Traditional Print Houses [TPH] would not handle. Sensitive political subjects and viewpoints come to mind. (T this moment, I write a non-fiction book of that nature myself.) But others which TPH did not consider worth handling included GLBT and graphic interactive novels. I'm certain you out there can think of more.

4. Portability: Being able to read any number of books, any place, any time certainly means less wear and tear on the arms, the luggage (wow, am I happy for this one!), and the problem of what to do when you've just finished your latest and you are 35,000 feet over the Atlantic with hours more to go and nothing to do but watch the movie you saw at home last week!

5. Versatility of works available in terms of length, type and price: Okay, so this is sort of relative to some of the points above but I thought I would list it separately. WHY? Because I am FED UP with established authors who write 60-70-80,000 word novels and either repeat the same old plot I've read years ago, or who come up with a really stupid one, or who have NONE at all and still the editor lets it pass.... Why? Oh, various reasons not pertinent to this blog.

E-publishing houses have learned that works of all lengths can sell. Readers have flocked to these different lengths. (And authors? Well, I will joyfully exclaim for myself that some books are meant to be shorter. Some are more dynamic in the shorter versions. Traditional Publishing Houses found that their distribution systems demanded a conformity in size and type, ergo price as well. Ah, I am off topic here.)

6. Privacy: YES! As new e-readers hit the market and tablets abound, readers can sit comfortably ANYwhere and not proclaim to the world what the heck they wish to devour as intellectual fare. In a society that sadly sees some of its citizens more interested in condemning others for their lifestyles and their choices, than applauding our freedoms to choose the life we want, privacy of reading material is vital to preserving our democratic underpinnings. If many criticized the "bodice rippers" of old, imagine what they would say about the new-new covers and packaging of some works!

I know you must have more ideas about the benefits of electronic publishing to readers.

Come on and list them for us!

I don't usually critique, but...GAD, she said, sadly.

Today, I am going to discuss a book I recently bought by a NYT Top 10 best-selling author of Regencies.

The first thing that caught my eye and my mind was this phrase, "Blah Blah Blah," she said feelingly.

Later on, Our Heroine does things HOPEFULLY.

She wrings her hands. A LOT.

She likes Our Hero, yearns for him, finds him dangerous, always has, but feels attached to her dead fiance. Say What?

Where was this editor? Are all this author's books like this? Gad. She said. Hopefully. Feelingly. I hope not.

Too bad. I buy A Lot of books. Hundreds of dollars each year. I even spring for hardcovers. But write poorly and I am gone. Never to return.

The sub-plot of a ghost in the house (which did not serve the purpose of challenging the character of the heroine or hero) only added to my feeling that the author was adrift for how to make her 80,000 words and the use of adverbs made me feel as though I was reading a first draft.

I will never go back to her works.

Do you have pet peeves about how authors write?

Hello 2011!

I’m welcoming 2011 with open arms. Good riddance to 2010! So did any of you make resolutions? If so have you already broken them? ;) We’re only four days in, so I sincerely hope not!
I know myself too well. Had I made any they would’ve been broken by now. Sunday night as I prepped to return to work after a nine day vacation I was excited about the prospect of getting up early and writing. I’d started a new story over vacation. While I didn’t write much I felt refreshed. I’d spent most of my days on the couch reading great books.
I was waking up at 4am over the course of my vacation, which was a change from the month prior when I was crawling out of bed at 6. That didn’t leave much time for anything before the family woke for the day. Monday morning rolled around and guess what? It was 6am when I dragged my sorry butt out of bed.
I wasn’t discouraged though. I woke happy and a bit giddy. I wasn’t sure of the reason, but hey, who can fight a good mood.
After I caught up with my work stuff I set out to accomplish something on my to-do list. You see on Monday’s I normally make a list and try to keep my promise to complete it before the end of the week. I’m not foolish enough to say the end of the day! That’s just asking for me to rebel.
So when the end of the day arrived and I’d finished all but one item on my list I was pleasantly surprised.
Today I woke earlier and managed to get over 2k on my wip in before work. There’s no more sitting back and procrastinating, at least for now. I’m taking the bull by the horns and making things happen. No one else is going to write these books for me.
It’s only a few days into the New Year and I’ve added over 4k to my wip and finished an article I’d contracted for a non-fiction magazine. I’ve met that deadline.
I’m knee-deep in edits for my contracted book All or Nothing too. For once I’m happy I didn’t make any resolutions because there’s no pressure and no stress.
Hope everyone else is enjoying the start of the New Year!

Books you would have loved to author

There are those books that stay with me in my heart. Most are fiction, some non. But what have they given me?
Anya Seton gave me a love of well-written romance mixed with superbly wrought history. Katherine, especially, was definitive for me. I recently gave a copy of all her books to my daughter who is a devotee of all things Anne Boleyn and English queens and mistresses who conquer, mostly themselves.
Jacqueline Winspear writes a beautifully wrought series about a British nurse in World War I who becomes a detective and savant. Maisie Dobbs is every woman who survives tragedy and makes herself a better person for it. This interest in Winspear's World War I series complements my own fascination with it. Foremost among the non-fiction I prize is Niall Ferguson's The Pity of War and the memoir by VAD nurse Vera Brittain, Testament of Youth.
An author of mysteries myself, I prize those authors who give the reader the best of their talents and their research into forensics and procedurals for the period. Minette Walters, also British, writes complex mysteries. And Elizabeth George, an American who writes startlingly accurate mysteries set in Britain, always gives me a rush of excitement with her finely drawn characterizations. Do let's add Ariana Franklin, also British (am I on a kick here?) who pens a marvelous medieval mystery series set in Henry II's reign about a Spanish woman trained in medicine at Salamanca--and who becomes Henry's Mistress in the Art of Death. I am into her third in the series as I write...and applauding both women's talents!

What books do you treasure?

And why?

I would love to hear.

OMG! Forgot again!

SORRY!

That's me - what an airhead! Okay, lots to do, a little to tell. Daughters of Persephone, Exile and Return, will be released on July 21 - had in hand - if I can get the darn final edits done. Half-way there!!!

The release date for Books three and four in the series, Reborn and The Red Demon, has been pushed back to September 8.

Okay...back from Montana, which was an amazing experience as usual.

M/M - F/M/M/M/M writer Mia Watts is visiting...yay! It is so great to meet an online friend in person! Anny Cook and I met last fall and we had a blast! One day I hope to meet all my online friends! Who knows? My husband says we should set up an erotic writers' commune and just sit around typing on our laptops, which is what Mia and I are doing right now!

So...off to shower and then some wine tasting and later, oysters on the half-shell. Yum!

So how many jobs do you do?

I'm a cooker a baker a candlestick maker...

At least that's how it feels some days. When I pull up the list of things I do every day, even I'm impressed! Really and truly, how much time do you actually have to write? I'd like to know.
I've heard some writers claim they can bang out 30,000 words in a few days. No way can I do that! A great, exceptional, outstanding day for me is 5000 words. Usually it's more like 500-2500 per day.
Anyway, the day job has been a major emotional drain lately and after going back and forth for several months, I made the decision to quit while I'm ahead. This will be my last weekend until mid-May, when I've volunteered for a three day weekend and after that, I'm done.
I'm going to write full-time...well, I will do other things, but writing will be my profession. Let's hope it pays off!

Happy Dance

I woke up REALLY early this morning. I’m working on a story called Dante’s Desire for a themed series for EC. The deadline is the 31st and I just started the story a few days ago. It’s going to be a quickie, probably around 12K. I’m at 5k as of this morning. I should be working on book two of my Shea Manor series, (seeing as book one and three are written), but this story was calling to me – BIG TIME. So I put aside the other story to work on this. I wanted to spend more time writing today, but I promised to baby sit for my grand daughter while my daughter goes to work. I’m happy that I added over 2k today. If I keep this up I can submit it before the 31st.
The BIG news that has me doing the snoopy dance is the contract in my inbox this morning for Research Required. I resubmitted it to my editor Saturday and received the contract today. It needed a little tweaking which I did and much to my editor’s satisfaction, obviously. :o)
So while this New Year started off on a low note, the last week has been a huge turnaround for me.
Happy Tuesday everyone. Next Tuesday is the release of my latest ménage from EC called Ignited. I’ll be posting the blurb and excerpt along with a contest, so make sure to stop back!

The boring post or the raunchy post?

Ah hell, the raunchy post!

I hooked up with a friend of mine who was in town for two days. She is all about sex. I do mean, all about sex. She talks about her relationships, in great detail, and she wants to know about my sex life. Because, as she says, "You're married to a stud muffin!"
Well, my stud muffin and I don't talk about our sex life, at least not to anyone who can put a name to a face. Thank God for internet anonymity!
Does she want me to share my muffin? Ya think? Uh...no...I do not share.
So why are we friends? Because beneath her oversexed and very beautiful exterior, is buried an insecure little girl who has problems with intimacy. Sex, no. Intimacy, yes. But I will tell you, boy oh boy, does she give me material to work with.

*Fran Lee, focus your dirty mind, here!*

So here's what I heard - She's dumped the boy toy, her 21 year old pool boy, and she's currently juggling two forty-something men at one time, neither knows about the other. Man-toy number one spends half the year in Europe and half the year in South America. His naughty bits are of adequate size, not huge, but he knows how to use them and he likes to use them often. And he has a mole on his...and he does this with his tongue and - Oh Gawd...don't tell me any more!!!

Man-toy number two has a bit of a pot belly, not her usual type, but he's domestic, loves wine, cooking, city life and, most important, she says he's huge, the biggest she's ever had, and her orgasms are to die for and he can go for hours and hours and hours and I'm getting tired just hearing it.

Of course, sitting in a public coffee shop, trying hard to keep from sticking my fingers in my ears, while saying, "Ew! Ew! Ew!", because I kinda sorta don't want to know all the positions she's tried...thanks to yoga and all that...I'm thinking stupid things, like, how's their hygiene? Are they circumcized? Do their balls hang low...do they wobble to and fro - these are the things I'm thinking while trying not to laugh and avoid answering her questions about my own sex life.
A lady never tells. A smile, a nod, a slight wince in the nether regions...

It's funny how I can write a very descriptive sex scene in a book, but try to talk to me about it IRL - unless you are my stud muffin - and my face turns red, I totally clam up, cover my ears and sing - lalalalalala.

Oh yeah, almost forgot - join me over at Erotic Romantic Crush Junkies and maybe win a copy of one of my romance/suspense books! http://erjunkiesreviewsblogspot.com/
See ya!

Did you buy a romance novel for Christmas?

*Posting from my other site because I think this is important - romance writers get a bad rap and it is unmerited!!!

Romance Novel Sales are Booming

in this tough economy. While other genres are down somewhere between 14% and 17%, Romance has seen an increase in sales - some studies sight an increase of 2.5% over last year, while other information indicates an increase in sales upwards of 34%!

What do we want for Christmas around here? I guess we want a happy ending, by gum, by golly! This economy - while perhaps stabilizing and even improving in some sectors, it sure sucks around here...where I live. My very intelligent, very capable son has been out of work for a year and a half, and despite his endless applications, he's had nary a nibble.

FYI, the nurses I work with have been forced to accept 1-2 days a week of unpaid furlough, thus my on-call hours have been cut because my co-workers who need the income to support their families vie for the extra shifts I would normally get. It's the trickle-down effect.

What do I want to read in these economic times? Oh, honey, save the depressing angst for pundits! Every day I spot my neighbor's pickup in his driveway, I know he still doesn't have construction work. Every morning I see the guy across the street head out for a run instead of a job, it means he's still looking for an accounting position. Every time I glance at the empty shell of a house that was home to our best friends until a year ago, tears fill my eyes. Enough already! Bathe me in love, romance, passion, mind-altering sex!

Romance is affordable and you know you can count on an HEA. Sentimental sap that I am, I'll take an HEA any day.

Happy New Year!

***Prayers for our friend Amber and her new baby. Just got the news so please send her your thoughts. julia

Up to my Eyeballs

I'm very busy this week. I'm under tight deadline for a Valentine's short due the 1st. Working on revisions to resubmit to my editor and editing my three book series Shea Manor to submit. Last week I wasn't able to do ANY writing. I thought being on vacation would provide lots of time - HA!!!! I hadn't accounted for the lack of shopping I'd done to that point. DH and I were out all day and night, every day until Christmas Eve.
We've been reflecting on how poorly we managed our preparations this year. We're usually very organized. The kids had an enjoyable holiday, as did my mom. She travels to our house every year and spends about a week here. Being her only child she misses having me and her grandchildren close by. I'm trying to talk her into moving here in the spring. My FIL even jumped on the bandwagon. He provided her with a ton of information for places to live. Gotta love the man! :)
This year I'm not making any New Year's Resolutions. I never stick to them. 2009 was good to me and I'm hoping 2010 is better. While I hoped to see 10 contracts, I only reached 8. LOL I know that's terrific as far as I'm concerned. I'm shooting a little higher this year and hoping for 12 and while I'm at it I'm aiming for an agent and/or publishing contract from a "print" publisher. Those are my only 2 writing hopes for 2010.
Other than that I'm wishing for health and happiness for all my family and friends, especially my online friends who have supported me this past year. I adore you all!

Happy New Year!!!!

The Rains Have Returned

My Favorite Time of Year...
Optimal for Writing!

Every year I wait for the rains, because once the rains stop in California, you can be pretty certain they won't begin again for six months....So basically, you have six months of glorious weather. Sometimes it becomes a bit too glorious because who wants to sit still when the birds are singing, the sun is shining and there are any number of amazing places to visit, sit, drink an espresso, hike, bike, ride....
To me, the rains are life-giving, rejuvenating, invigorating. Just like the re-emergence of the sun, once they start, they don't really stop for six months and I hope that's the case this year because last year, the rains were late and ended early and we've suffered through a drought this summer.

Such is weather. I'm a big fan of weather. When I lived in the Midwest, it was tornadoes, hail, marvelous thunderstorms, blizzards, ice, wind. In Utah, I experienced the greatest snow on earth, in Texas, where everything is bigger...bigger hail and louder thunderstorms and hurricanes. In Arizona, monsoon season. In California I've known feast or famine. Too much rain and flooding or too little rain and drought. Fires, earthquakes - which aren't exactly weather, Santa Ana winds - It's been fascinating.

So now that the rains have begun, I don't have to feel guilty about staying inside to write. Oh...I'll still hike. I've hiked in the rains for nineteen years. I was even washed away in a flash flood one time along with my dog, but we survived.

Back to the WIP!

Back in time? What's the best erotic fantasy?

As I add to my contemporary romantica with my new medieval romantica in 1207 England in the reign of King John, I want to have a show of hands on when you find the most delicious erotica fantasies? Now or earlier?
I am finding that I can move easily--and have enjoyed the diversity. It is that old major in English (and Oriental) history in college and grad school. But the beliefs and practices don't always translate as equally well.
Language is one example. A lot of those 4-letter words we use as authors to provide drama and reality to our contemporary novels, just did not exist in 1207. I had to find powerful synonyms. NOT EASY!
Then, too, birth control for responsible sex was not a practice. Withdrawing was the only cure for that, sweetie. Sure, the Chinese used lemon rinds and juice from about 200 B.C.E. But condoms? Not until the 16th century in Europe do we have use of goat skin as French Letters.
Another aspect of medieval beliefs that I know you will smile over is that those who lived in those centuries thought that a woman who got pregnant showed the proof of her enjoyment of sex.
And as we all know, only men were considered the ones who could be virile and potent.
Woman, sigh and alas, was only the vessel.
THANK GOODNESS, times have changed!
Hope you have read HER THREE-WAY MERGER from EC and will look for the first of my medieval series, Swords of Passion, titled AT HER SERVICE out Nov. 30 from TOTAL-E-BOUND. (P.S. Off to a week of family fun as we head up to Chicago for a family wedding! Writing here again Oct.11!!!!)

Can you handle 2 partners at once? 3? 4?

Oh, yum. Could I actually handle 3 men at once?

I am working on it.

Literally.

All those hands and mouths, fingers, eyes and other accoutrement. Delish.

But what kills me when I write it is the choreography. And which man has what special talent so that you needn't quote his name, rank and serial number every time that fine man moves or speaks or...does other interesting things.

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR MEN/Partners separate in your mind?

I would love to hear about this one!

Join me! Tell all!