The next big thing!

I have heard many times on different agent's blogs that they don't want writers to write what's popular, they want a writer to create the next best thing. Vampires have been a very popular subject of late. That means we shouldn't be writing about vampires.
A friend of mine who is published told me that Amish romance stories are the next big thing. What I wonder is, how do we know what that is? How do we create it? I was told that if you are writing, but the time you get signed, edited and published a year will have passed and the subject then will be outdated.
Agents and Editors are going to know as they watch the market and are able to see a broader picture of what's out there. As a unpublished writer, I would not have that ability. For me, I started writing what I enjoyed reading and that is paranormal historical romance. I have always been interested in Scotland. I love to read historical romance and have been intrigued by time travel. Obviously I wrote about what I knew and interested me.
I have many ideas for new books, I am sure we all have. But will the ideas that float through our heads be the next big thing? So what do you do? Are there trends that never go out of style? If you are writing about what's popular now, does that hurt you or help you get published?


What are you writing about and have you descovered the next big thing?

Exciting News

I woke up this morning, already in a good mood. The kids had a two hour delay and that meant that I got to sleep in. Who doesn't love a morning like that?

The day got even better when I opened my email. I received a letter from literary agent, Marisa Corvisiero of the L. Perkins Literary Agency. She has requested the full manuscript for Highland Dreams. SO what does that mean for me. Well, two things. ONE- she will enjoy the book enough that she will want to represent me. This is my dream. To be represented and published, but even more exciting to be represented by someone such as her. TWO- even though she may enjoy it, she has decided to not represent me.

So, I will take one more peek at it, making sure i have crossed my T's and dotted my i's. Then I will sit back and patiently wait for her to read it and send me an answer. I will keep you all posted as to what happens. I wish I had some Twizzlers. I work better with them...LOL!

On another note, I sent my novella, Heaven Sent, to The Wild Rose Press, and the editor, Fancis Sevilla, has asked for the full manuscript. That has been sent already and I also wait to hear back from her. The novella, if accepted, would be in e-book form only. I will keep you posted on this outcome also.

Here's to keeping my fingers crossed!! =)

Good reads!

THE SEASONS OF GRACE series by Beverly Lewis

In the seemingly ordinary Amish home of Grace Byler, secrets abound. Why does her mother weep and wander deep in the night? And why does her father refuse to admit something is dreadfully wrong? Then, in one startling moment, the quiet life Grace has known is irrevocably altered, leaving her to question all she has been taught about love, family, and commitment.

1. I really enjoyed this book and have already started on the second in this series. I hope you will give it a try. You may be more familiar with the most popular series by Beverly called, THE HERITAGE OF LANCASTER COUNTY. The book, THE SHUNNING, is being made into a musical.

Buy books to support boobs!

From my friend and Author, Kerri Nelson-

My October effort to raise money to help breast cancer research continues every day with more books listed. Some new, some used, and some collectibles (autographed). Get in on the action...bid and help spread the word!

NEW items listed daily, here's today's set of books (a dozen books for only .99):

http://bit.ly/bwBdhU.


The Day #5 Auction Book Lot closes tomorrow & no bidders! :-( Get 9 books for .99 & help breast cancer research!

http://bit.ly/9xGn0A.


Women, Authors, Readers Unite for a Cure!



Here are all the details and daily updates:

http://kerribookwriter.blogspot.com/2010/10/books-for-boobs-help-raise-money-for.html.

My interview with Author Nancy Lennea

Today I am interviewing Nancy Lennea. Her book, DESTINY’S MOUNTAIN, is a romantic suspense and was released on September 30th.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.

DESTINY’S MOUNTAIN is a romantic suspense, with a hint of gothic mystery, that uses scenery as a backdrop for both sexual attraction and intrigue. I placed my heroine, Destiny Blake, in a beautiful college town that happens to lie beside a lovely river and breathtakingly beautiful mountains. In fact, her cabin is on the side of the big mountain—Destiny’s mountain. When Jacob Oliver comes along, things go from bad to worse…to erotic. I weave in a couple of guys—stalkers, I’d call them—amidst a young woman’s search for love and an older man’s cynical views.

Did you have several manuscripts finished before you sold? If so, did you send them out yourself?

I finished five manuscripts over three years before I got ‘the call’. Actually, it was an e-mail from Wendi Felter, the owner of Red Rose Publishing. That was for my 3rd manuscript, SECRET LOVE MATCH which was released June 25th of this year. DESTINY’S MOUNTAIN was my first ever manuscript. Yep, and it was rejected left and right. I sent it out to agents on my own. When those rejections came in, I sent it to Harlequin, who requested the full. Nope. They decided it wasn’t for them. I put it away, and kept writing. I took it out and looked it over years later with a fresh eye. I immediately cut out the first seventy-seven pages, used all I had learned at workshops and on-line courses, and polished it into an action-packed love-story filled with stalking, murder, incorrect assumptions, sexual tension, mountain rescue, ghostly voices, and love. THEN I sent it to Red Rose Publishing.

What is your writing routine like?

I am fortunate in that I retired from my job as a 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Dispatcher for the state of New Hampshire when my husband and I moved to North Carolina. My writing day is figured around my marvelous hubby. Sometimes he leaves for work at 9 a.m, and sometimes not until 2 p.m. so I vary what I do. Sometimes I go to bed early, sometimes late. It all depends. Sometimes I go pick up my sister’s dog because I babysit. Normally, I check e-mails first and respond to anything timely or important. I check my calendar to make sure I am aware of any interviews or blogposts coming up. If my plate is clear, I plug a flashdrive into either the desktop or laptop computer (depending on what room I wish to write in that day) and write. Must have backup! Very important.

What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?

An e-book sale is so much different from a print sale to a large, New York publisher. My publishers send the book out to review sites. They make the books available on other bookseller sites such as Amazon and Fictionwise. They post my book, blurb, and an excerpt on their own website. Me? I do the rest. I have two websites and two blogs because I write in different genres under two different names. When I wanted a book trailer for SECRET LOVE MATCH, I went to the very talented Kerri Nelson at www.thebookboost.blogspot.com. When I wanted bookmarks, I was lucky to find Florina Craven at http://www.thinkflowdesign.com/. She and I choose a suitable size and she used my covers to make lovely bookmarks. Check out her website and see them for yourself. She is making me a book trailer for DESTINY’S MOUNTAIN. I also contacted different blog owners—blogs I read and who post interesting subjects—and scheduled an interview with them or wrote an article for them. I am on Facebook and various romance-related Yahoo groups and I keep busy by spreading the news.

Are you a member of any writing organizations and have they helped?

The first thing I did once we signed a contract to sell our New Hampshire home was to join Romance Writers of America and the local chapter in my new home town. The Heart of Carolina Romance writers are a wonderful mix of new writers, newly published writers, and ‘old hats’. Everyone helps you whenever you have a question and our monthly meetings are full of valuable craft and industry insight. Check out the calendar at http://www.heartofcarolina.org/.
The point I’m making is that no one should do this alone. Writing is a very solitary profession. Can’t make meetings or there isn’t a chapter close by? There are dozens of on-line chapters as well. Just do it!

What’s next for you?

I just sold a short story to Whispers Publishing called UNWRAPPING CHRIS. It is a contemporary romance and takes place mostly on an army base then at a Christmas wedding. It will be released this holiday season. I also just sold what I would loosely call the sequel to DESTINY’S MOUNTAIN. I found that my secondary characters were so engaging that they needed a story of their own. Since they are both paramedic-firefighters, I used my history as a volunteer EMT and firefighter in my local community as inspiration. LOVE TO THE RESCUE is also a romantic suspense and Red Rose Publishing will release it in 2011.

BOOK BLURB

In a quirky college town surrounded by the mountains of New Hampshire, new art history professor Jacob Oliver hikes a trail on a crisp September morning. He contemplates his life. Divorced, and forced out of his job with the Boston Police due to a horrific accident, he spots a naked woman beneath a majestic waterfall. Escaping, he falls and re-injures his knee.
Destiny Blake heard a noise. Someone is on her mountain. She finds a handsome man sitting in the mud. Love blooms and lust consumes them after she helps him to the safety of her cabin. Soon assumptions tear them apart, leaving her vulnerable to the unwanted attentions of other men.
When Jacob decides he cannot live without her, he must save her from a madman who chases her up her mountain through the cold, snowy darkness of a November night. Ghostly voices push Jacob onward, while another spirit’s voice urges Destiny to fight back. Pain, hypothermia, and death threaten as the sun rises. Can Destiny and Jacob make it off Destiny’s Mountain…alive?


EXCERPT

She turned to leave. She had to leave. An injured man deserved privacy, not a drooling voyeur.
A large hand landed on her arm and stopped her cold. His tendons trembled under his skin as he curled his long fingers around her bicep. She glanced down at his hand, amazed at the light dusting of golden-brown hairs that trailed across his wrist, then up a muscular forearm.
“Wait,” he pleaded. His words sounded forced, as if his lungs struggled for air.
Destiny returned her attention to his eyes. She couldn’t read him. Did this signify lust or more? A brief memory featuring Marcus Benton and Pete Thayer crossed her mind, hindering her from acting on her first impulse.
“Do you need help showering?” An innocent question. So, why had a smile broken out across his full, luscious lips? With a jolt, she realized what she’d said and how it sounded.
“I wouldn’t want you to fall, of course,” she explained.
Deep brown eyes stared right through her. Was the man laughing because she’d said something inappropriate? Or was his smile an invitation?
“It seems a sin to waste all this hot water when there’s plenty of room for two.”
Was the man daft? Her shower was small. Really small. His voice sounded steady. He certainly didn’t look steady. She, herself, suddenly wavered. If he fell inside her shower, she’d be in a pickle.
“I promise I won’t look or touch unless you want me to.” He held her widening gaze half a minute more, then opened the shower door and hopped inside.
Panic bubbled up inside Destiny. Standing stock still, she watched as the water cascaded over his head and down to his toes. Her eyes must have spelled out her sudden shock at his words, because he closed the shower door with a definite click…and broke the spell.


AUTHOR BIO

Nancy grew up on New York’s Long Island then attended college in the beautiful mountains of New Hampshire. She worked during college in their dining hall while earning a degree in art education. After meeting her husband there, they raised her family in a small, nearby town. She volunteered as an EMT/firefighter on their small fire department then worked for the State of New Hampshire as a 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Dispatcher. Retired from public service, Nancy now writes full time, lives in North Carolina, and is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, Celtic Heart Romance Writers, and Sisters-in-Crime. She also writes paranormal romance, such as her recent release, DRAGON’S CURSE, as Nancy Lee Badger, at http://www.nancyleebadger.com/.


How can my readers buy your book?

DESTINY’S MOUNTAIN is available for download from Red Rose Publishing.
The buy link is: http://bit.ly/a4NOHE.
Visit my website at: http://www.nancylennea.com/.
Visit my blog at: http://www.nancylennea-inlove.blogspot.com/.

Where's Rebecca?

Ever play the game, Where's Waldo? Well, I want to know "Where's Rebecca?"

I received in the mail a book. It is Veronica Wolff's, "Lord of the Highlands" and it is signed by Veronica herself but it was autographed to a Rebecca. I called the lady who sent it to me and we squared away the confusion. This still left me with the book.

I already have my own autographed copy of this book from Veronica, so I wondered what could I do with this extra book? Veronica suggested I have a "Where's Rebecca?" contest. So here we are.

If you know of anyone who is named Rebecca or you are named Rebecca, please leave me a comment. Who ever can guess my middle name will win. I will let this run for a few days and at the end of Thursday, I will pick a winner.

So, go out there and tell your friends. Help me find Rebecca!

Good Reads!

Have you ever read one of Monica McCarty's books? If you haven't you are missing out on a good read. She has started a new series called "The Highland Guard" series. Book one is "The Chief" and book two just came out Aug 31 and it is called "The Hawk."

I have read The Chief and I enjoyed it very much; as I have all of Monica's books. Please go to her website and check out all of her books and any information she has put out. www.monicamccarty.com

My first on-line class

Monday started my first class. It is given by author Kerri Nelson and it is about managing your time and staying focused so that a person can do multiple projects at a time. I am very excited about the class. I am already pretty good about managing my time between my fictional world and my non-fictional world. I just want a better strategy so that I can make all things in my fictional world work together.

What do I mean by my fictional world? Well, I consider that anything having to do with my writing. At the moment I am making revisions on book #1, I am writing book #2 and I am taking an on-line class. Don't forget the competitions, querying agents, and promoting myself on my blog and Facebook. Now, if I was a published author, then I could have things like, revisions, writing, contracts, book signings or anything promotional. I am sure there is a lot more going for them then that also, and I hope to one day find out what else there is. LOL!

Good luck to those of you who are taking a class. I hope you enjoy it. I know Jena is taking it with me. To those of you who are not taking one, I highly recommend it.

Now, get back to writing! ; )