If I Could Start My Writing Career Over, I Would...

What would I change? Would you change anything?

I've often thought about all the time I wasted in the beginning of my writing career. I kinda jumped in without knowing exactly what I needed to do. I was so excited about wanting to write...and did little research in how to go about writing a romance book.

The main thing I would change? I would have started earlier. I always gave excuses as to why I couldn't write. Working. Four kids to take care of. Husband who traveled for his job. But, I think I was a tiny bit unsure of my ability to actually write, so procrastinated. Wrong thing to do. I should have been more confident and tried.

By the time I decided to write, I sat down at the computer and wrote an entire book in a few months. I'd been a voracious romance reader, and thought I had written a pretty good story.

Then, I went to a bookstore and bought a few books about romance writing, including "The Romance Writer's Pink Pages". Looked for agents and mailed off queries. I received rejections, but one agent was kind enough to point out that I needed dialogue...only 25% of the book had actual dialogue, otherwise, I narrated my story.

Thus began my journey to finding romance groups, learning the craft, going through rejections, and keeping that author-status goal in mind.

Writing is my second career. If I had started earlier, who knows where I'd be today!

JUST FOR FUN: What's wrong with this photo?

This is why editing is so important...I actually bought this metal vase at a craft show, and didn't notice the problem!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Photos: Flickr: Alan in Belfast, Girl with butterfly wings photostreams

Conceiving a series...and building a world

Sometimes a contemporary story world just happens. Other times it's inspired by a picture...a sense of place...a group of beloved characters. Courthouse Connection, my next planned series of erotic contemporary romances, draws from inspirations by all three of these factors.

A mental picture, of a courtroom in Tampa, Florida, of prosecutors and defense teams, defendants, witnesses and judges, sets the backdrop for me to move on, consider the surrounding countryside and its people. This part was easy, because I decided up front to spin this series off Lawyers in Love, one of my first series efforts for Ellora's Cave. (Voila! Not only do I have my visuals and sense of place, but I also have some well-developed secondary characters who starred in books in the previous series.)

I begin building my new series based on the sense of place I've developed and the already-made secondary characters who will bring color to the new series which, by the way, will go in an entirely different direction than its predecessor. My next step is to decide on a particular situation that will not only lend itself to an erotic romance story but also deliver a situation that will bring
unlikely lovers together.

Then, with a very sketchy framework in mind, I begin creating characters, the most important pieces of any erotic romance. One major character in each book must have a tight connection to the court, while the other (others if I'm writing a menage) needs to have a problem that's likely to have them dragged into court.

In FRAMED, the first of the series, the hero is a private investigator--a former cop who works for the law firm the heroine has hired to defend her on a charge of murdering her powerful husband. Not convinced at first that she is innocent, he tries to ignore the chemistry that has sizzled between them from the beginning.

TAMED pits a BDSM club owner and her submissive male partner against a state attorney determined to use the prosecution of them as a springboard to higher office. The hero defends them and is drawn into a BDSM menage that will shock his blue-blooded family.

The next book, SHAMED, brings together a betrayed wife with an ex-Navy Seal detective hired by her attorney to dig into her husband's underhanded dealings. At stake is the bar/cafe near the courthouse that the heroine has poured years of sweat and tears into--her livelihood.

REDEEMED--that's the way this hero feels. An upcoming attorney now, he has experienced the other side and clawed his way back. When he marries his childhood sweetheart, they're both on top of the world until a ghost from his past rears its head and threatens their marriage and his sanity.

By the time these books are written, a lot of the details now in my mind will change--they always do, because I tend to write by the seat of my pants instead of following detailed outlines. The series framework, though, will give me enough guidance that I can hopefully keep the series coherent, while each book will stand on its own.

My Favorite Books

I love books. In my personal library I have nearly 5,000 of them, so picking out a favorite is just impossible. Sometimes I browse my shelves, which line most of the rooms in my house, just to remind myself of what I’ve got, what I’ve read and what I’ve not yet read. I like cheap books, and love to buy them when they’re available, to read “someday.” Most of the unread ones are among those my father passed along to me when he decided to downsize his library. So many arrived at once, in box after cardboard box, that I’ve been swamped for about five years. It took me until just this year to organize them all, and catalogue them in my database, and now I can search on the computer and not spend all day in front of the book shelves searching for a volume I just know must be here somewhere...

A great many of my books are mysteries, and some of my favorites are among them. My dad handed over some complete series of Anne Perry, Ellis Peters, and some others. I have all the Janet Evanovich Numbers books, not because they’re great mysteries but because they make me laugh and everyone needs to laugh once in a while.

Most of my very favorite books were written by Stephen King or Clive Barker. One of my treasures is a signed first edition copy of “Weaveworld.” Another is a signed first edition of “Bag of Bones.” I adore King, and think the most frightening book I’ve ever read was “The Shining.” Those topiary animals scared the snot out of me, and since then I’ve read everything by King I could get my hands on. Several years after “The Shining” I once read “The Sun Dog” by flashlight during a lightning storm. I sure know how to have a good time.

I wasn’t always into being frightened and grossed-out. During the third grade I discovered Walter Farley and “The Black Stallion.” There was also the Island Stallion, but the Black was my dream. I must have read that book five or six times, and since I’m not a skimmer that’s saying something.

Later on, my reading slowed because of life getting in the way and my habit of reading slowly, which turned out to be a light sensitivity that made it difficult to see the page properly. I avoided thick books until high school when I picked up Michener’s “Hawaii” and discovered I was capable of finishing a long one. My parents wouldn’t let me go to “R” rated movies, but they would let me read the novels, so I read a lot of thick books which were mostly better than the movies based on them. The most fascinating of those was “The Godfather,” which I read several times and also saw the movie. It was my first glimpse of a culture other than my own, and I boggled at the whole “family” thing. I believe it was that fascination that helped me to understand the Scottish clans I learned about and wrote about much later on.

Aside from Stephen King, I’m more a fan of individual books rather than authors. I do like Hemingway, and enjoyed “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” I adore Oscar Wilde’s plays, and especially his creepy novel “A Picture of Dorian Gray.” A more recent selection that impressed me was “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger. I love time travel stories. Tim Powers’ “The Anubis Gates” is my bible for time travel, and I kept it well in mind when writing my own two time travel to historical Scotland series. Isaac Asimov’s “I Robot” is my favorite science fiction, and in fact the computer I’m writing this on is named “Speedy” after one of Asimov’s robots. M*A*S*H, speaking of needing to laugh.

So many books, so little time. There is no way for me to name a favorite book, but in my own library those are the highlights.

A Year of Publication (well, almost) - Ramblings from a Newbie

I can't believe it's November already. A year ago, I had just signed a contract for my first novel, Claiming the Evil Dead. The pub date was set for end of December. I was so excited, and stressed out. My mother had taken ill and I was running between hospitals, taking her to appointments, and looking for a nursing home. Then there was the matter of her house that needed attending to. Stressful times indeed.

Christmas drew near and so did the pub date. More stress. I was so busy, I didn't even put up the tree. I saw edits for the first time and thought, this isn't so bad, but very time consuming. I didn't have much to edit on my sex scene and I'd thought for sure I'd have to make major revisions. I was glad to see I was wrong. LOL.

New year. New opportunities. New hope.

I sign contracts for books 2 and 3 in the series, and they get published in Feb. and March. Edits were more difficult, more time consuming, and time was limited. My mom had major surgery and I moved her into a nursing home. I definitely added some gray hairs. The good news... mom gets better, much better. By April, I have her house cleaned and she moves back home. Hurray!!

With three books out, I spent a lot of time promoting in various yahoo groups and paying for advertising. By late spring, I realized the error of my ways. The advertising didn't pay off at all. I'm a newbie. An unknown author. What does one such as myself do?

I beef up my activity in Goodreads and blogs. No more advertising. I create a twitter account. (I love twitter now). I focus on writing too.

June comes and my family and I head to NYC for the RWA conference. That was a great vacation, and sadly, probably my last. Still, great time. On another note, my mother is doing well on her own, better than a year ago!

August, the 4th book, Love Conquers All Evil, comes out. Around that time, I got a contract for an urban fantasy novel, The Awakening, which comes out in Jan. 2012. Things are looking good.

As for promotion, I have more giveaways and contests. I started a blog for giveaways of print books. Am I making progress with my published books? The truth is, I'm still new and unknown. But I love writing, so I continue. And I'm making wonderful contacts.

Present day. Thanksgiving and Christmas coming soon. I'm almost done with a PNR book in a new series. I have a novella under a pen name needing revision, and the sequel to the Awakening needing major edits. As for the tree, I am putting it up! Christmas will be extremely different this year, but I am determined to make it a pleasant one.

I look back from my first publication in December and realize writing is the easy part. Revisions are time consuming and dreaded, but I will admit that when they are done, they are well worth it! Advertising is so not worth it. I focus on writing and blog a couple times a month. I've found Goodreads and twitter are good tools. Live chats are fun too. I always enjoy those! I have seen a lot of self-published works that do well and I am encouraged to pursue that route. Maybe with the new year...

Authors: what have you found that has worked for you and not worked? How was your first year of publication?

Mary Abshire is the author of the Soul Catcher series (Claiming the Evil Dead, Catching an Evil Tail, Fighting Evil, Love Conquers All Evil)

The Awakening, an urban fantasy novel, comes out January 2012 from Lyrical Press.

For more information about Mary's books, visit www.maryabshire.com

http://www.facebook.com/mary.abshire
http://www.goodreads.com/maryabshire
http://twitter.com/maryabshire

http://www.linkedin.com/in/maryabshire

http://www.maryabshire.wordpress.com

Yuletide thoughts so soon?

I have heard more than one person say that this year has flown. I cannot believe it's November all ready, and I bet you can't either. Didn't we just send the kids back to school and start to ease into the fall schedule of practices, recitals, and busy, busy moms and kids?

I know I about fainted when I saw holiday decorations as early as September. Sheesh! Talk about put away the back to school displays and bring out the jingle bells. And secretly, my favorite holiday is Halloween, or Samhain in the pagan faith. I like the solemn night when the veil is the thinnest to take time to remember those who passed on. This year was particularly poignant for me because I'd had a senior kitty put to sleep just a couple of weeks prior, and I have to admit, I'm not taking his loss well, even though we had two more years than we'd expected with him. But I digress...

So today for the first time this fall/winter season, we had something not-rain falling from the skies. I know, I know, the northeast had their big storm; I saw it on the Weather Channel. And like them, I thought "isn't this early"?

But, you got to admit, when the white stuff (or the "s" word as it's known around here) starts falling from the sky, it puts you in a certain mood. November is the month when the Halloween decorations come down and it's still kind of early to break out the tree. (In my case, the fiber optic fake one, because the kitty mentioned above, dashed all my hopes for a big tree in my own home fourteen years ago when he thought it was a riot to swing from the 6' tall fake fir and bat my perfect little apple ornaments all around the apartment.) I'm kind of getting in the mood for the holidays though. We might not have big presents, but I am all about the joy, and the happiness, and the giving. My guy already knows I'm redoing his website for his gift, and he's mighty thankful. My mom, well, I told her she was still with us, and doing well, getting clean bills of health from her doctors -- what more could I ask for? (Okay, some tickets to the rodeo that's going to be in town on my birthday would be nice.... LOL!)

But yeah, I'll admit my little secret. I'm having yuletide thoughts. And you know, that's okay. Just don't forget to pass the turkey in a few weeks, and I prefer pumpkin pie, thank you.

(If you, too, are in a yuletide mood, then check out my holiday book, This Divine Night.)

Road Blocks and Giving Up

   

  It's almost Halloween, and I have a scary story to share. It's scary because it's true, and it's about me, and it's happening right now. 


  
I have an incurable chronic illness.  It's autoimmune in nature, which means my own body is attacking itself because it does not recognize me as "self".  My predicament does not surprise me as my mother's illness was similar in nature, and I inevitably inherited it from her.  So, in order to deal with this issue, I consume plenty of anti-inflammatory medications.  As with many sufferers of autoimmune illnesses, I seem fine outwardly, but inwardly a terrible battle rages. 

  
  I still get up and go to work and return to keep house. I also have a few "extra curricular activities", such as functioning as the state president of my professional society, secretary of my local RWA chapter, and writing my own book.  However, the reality is that pain is a constant in my life and everyday it chooses how much wrath it will leash upon me. Some days are more merciful than others, but I am almost always exhausted by the time I return home from work.  With the day only half-over, I still face dinner and the cleanup, after which precious little time is left for personal interests. 
  However, there are a few things my disorder has NOT taken from me, such as my drive and determination.  Writing my book is second-highest on the list, the first is to take back my health.

Working at the Urinalysis bench

  That is not to say however that I don't have my black moments, as well as your basic crisises of faith.  There are days when I want to just lie down and give up.  In fact, I have given up much lately, such as taking advantage of conferences and educational classes that would enhance both my writing and profession, all in the name of keeping my stress levels down and getting more rest.  But let me tell you this, the book WILL be written.  Maybe not this year OR the next, but it WILL be written.  It will be written because it's the only strategy that has not yet been attempted to interest young people into entering a profession where the number of practitioners are dwindling down to a critical level.  I'm talking about my profession, medical technology.  If we don't get those numbers up, then sophisticated laboratory testing will one day be performed by high school graduates.  (worst-case scenario here!)
  But for now, I am forced to pace myself and take many rest breaks because my immunity is still more of a whack-job than a Lady Gaga presidency would prove to be!  I fully expect that for the time being I will take two steps forward and one back.  In fact, I have become the queen of beginning projects that never seem to be completed.  But at least there is forward motion, and that still counts as progress.

  So here's my question, when you are in the darkest pits of despair and/or impossible deadlines are racing toward you at light speed, what is your coping mechanism?  To put it another way, how do you get past all the perpetual roadblocks  and just "git'er done"?  
  For an eye-opening insight into the daily life of a person with an autoimmune disorder, please read "The Spoon Theory" by Christine Miserandino at:
http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory-written-by-christine-miserandino/

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween...yaaay! Oops, did I say that out loud? I don’t remember if the ‘evil’ celebration of the dead is currently considered politically correct or not. I never can keep up with that type of thing, but Halloween has been nothing but good to me.

It was a time of fun and family when I grew up. We got to dress up, drop in on neighbors and get sweet treats, all under the watchful eyes of my parents. We never catered to the vandalism or meanness. I feel warmth at the remembrances.

Of course, that was before my parents divorced. Since I had already left home by then, I don’t know how my siblings’ holidays were affected, but after my divorce, I suddenly realized how much the American family had changed.

Unlike during my mother’s time, it’s hard to properly cultivate the traditions a kid used to grow up expecting. In my childhood, birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Halloween were the big productions they were meant to be and they were all orchestrated from a single home. But divorce fosters lots of changes as an overabundance of grandparents, mothers, fathers and others vie for the holidays.

After my Ex and I each remarried, I came to realize how diverse my children’s holidays were becoming. Too much traveling to other place for my taste but with so many relatives wanting to host a holiday, no single home or set of customs would do.

Eventually we decided to all gather at my Ex’s house for Christmas, and I claimed Halloween.(Let’s face it; nobody really acknowledged it as a major holiday anyway so I found no one in contention for it. Hence every year I held a party. Everyone wore costumes and we went trick or treating and we rallied together in celebration of our family while all other monsters and beasties roamed the night.

As the kids grew, Halloween remained a big production here. I decorated the house, helped them, and soon their friends, costume up. Then they started to invite girlfriends and the party grew. Girl friend’s little brothers needed costumes. Friends of friends, then children of friends all joined in. The party took on a life of its own and continues to this day I will probably forever be remembered as the crazy lady who puts webs on the fences and decorates to excess every single year.

Now my full grown sons bring their families and friends and over the years, anyone who has ever heard of it is invited. Friends and family drop by, pass through, or stay and play. Everyone brings something for the table. They bring games. They take the little ones trick or treating around the neighborhood and we party the night away.

Last year I posted a three part article containing all kinds of decorating tips &recipes, things to do online on MuseItUp Publishing’s blog at:
http://museituppublishing.blogspot.com/2010/10/hosting-halloween-party-by-mary.html if anyone’s interested in checking it out. Fun stuff.

So I hope everyone has a good one this year. Now I need to go web my fence and plant the tombstones while the weather’s a little sunny. Decorating this year’s been a little tricky since the weather’s become such a factor but I’ll adapt. I’m on a mission. *grin*

Here’s a couple of my favorite treats for you:

Recipe for Pumpkin Pie Spice
(take that money grubbing seasonal spice availability)
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
+ 2 Tbsp ground ginger
+ 2 tsp ground cloves
+ 2 tsp ground nutmeg.
Combine all ingredients in a small jar and shake to combine thoroughly. Store covered.


And, for atmosphere: THE RAVEN BY OMNIA
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQyGWZWqKT8 )