A Few Exciting #Writing Months! #AmWriting #Romance #Suspense

Being a writer can be rewarding and fun, but it can also be very difficult and lonely.  Rejections are painful, and those are a given in this business.  A negative review can ruin a day.  The isolation of this profession sometimes wears on even the most stalwart of introverts.  And yet, writers have to write.  There's little choice.  Anyone driven by the storylines and characters in their heads knows we must bow to their demands, sometimes at the expense of our own.

Right now, my fourth manuscript, HAUNTED SOULS, is with my agent, out on submission.  The query process is very tough and requires superhuman patience, which is not one of my strongpoints.  You writers know that the very best thing to do while waiting is WRITE MORE!  But unfortunately, I do most of the initial preparation for a book in my head...it's just the way I work.  I type up notes and Goal, Motivation, Conflict charts, as well as character descriptions and plot timelines, but I don't usually sit down to type "Chapter 1" until I'm confident I have a solid outline with viable conflicts and resolutions.  Yep, I'm a Planner.  So I'm going a little stir crazy as I let the ideas percolate, but I know I have to allow the process to happen within my imagination so I can bring the characters to life before I put their story on the page.

So, some exciting news about all three of my previous novels in the past few months was a fantastic reminder that my process works if I just sit back and allow it.  Yes, it takes time, and I will never be able to write as fast as some of my author friends.  But I have to let the scenes form in my head...and I also find I have to fit in things like carpools, soccer games, dinner, grocery shopping, etc.  What I wouldn't give for an assistant!

Revenge, Romance, and
a Rogue Fallen Angel...

I usually release one book a year, and my 2014 release, DIVINE FALL, was a bit of a departure from my previous two books.  Yes, it's still paranormal romance, but instead of my steamier books for the over-18 crowd, I wrote a Young Adult novel with a 16-year-old protagonist.  

I saw on twitter that BTS Book Reviews had posted a list of books nominated by their reviewers for their Red Carpet Book Award.  Now, I had received a fabulous review for Divine Fall in their magazine, so I held my breath and clicked on the list.  And my book was there!  Titles will be added throughout 2015, so I certainly don't expect a win, but it is truly a honor to be on the list.

A few weeks later, it occurred to me that RomCon (Romance Convention) was coming up.  Every June, books nominated via their Reader Rating Program compete in genre-specific categories for the coveted Reader's Crown Award.  Silver Lake made the nomination list in 2013, and Gull Harbor made the nominations list in 2014, both in Paranormal Romance.  Neither book won, but I was thrilled they were Finalists in what is usually a huge category with about 25 titles nominated.

But this year, apparently the rules had changed.  Now only 5 titles were going to be allowed in each category, unless there was a case of two books receiving the exact same initial score from the judges...then the category might grow to 6 or 7.  Still, quite small compared to years past! This year, my book Divine Fall had been entered into the Young Adult category...and it made the list of Finalists!  Again, there are some great books on the list of Finalists, and I'm honored to be there.  I'll keep my fingers crossed when the winner is announced over the weekend of June 15th.

I think I'll write about the exciting news about my other titles in another post, because right now the book I'm reading is beckoning, and it's late, and inspiration often hits me when I'm involved in a fictional world another author has created.  Right now I'm reading a horror novel, and while that's not the genre I write in, I do enjoy spooky suspense.  And a trip into the creepy woods of my book will certainly encourage the ghost story piece of my WIP to come forward.  Maybe I'll sleep with the lights on tonight...