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Featured Indie Chick - Melissa Smith

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:13:45 +0100

This week's fab Indie Chick is Melissa Smith! This is of last in the Indie Chicks stories featured in the anthology. I hope you've enjoyed them.

Writing Out the Grief

Melissa A. Smith

A common question people ask a writer is what made them decide to sit down and start writing in the first place. For me, it was grief.

While in high school, I wrote. I had taken journalism and the teacher loved my writings. Two pieces of my work had been published in two different school publications. I was also asked to join the staff for the school paper, but declined. I just didn’t like writing the things wanted for a paper. I liked creating stories to take you places. Inventing new worlds and people to live in them. I stopped writing after getting out of school and didn’t start again for several long years.

December 2008 had started like any other December before it. I was out shopping for those perfect gifts for each member of my family, and loving every minute of it. By my side was my shopping partner. My mom. My best friend. This year was a little different, as we made our rounds trying to get most of her shopping done earlier than her normal pace of slow (she was known to be out shopping as late as Christmas Eve), because she was set to have her final knee replacement surgery on the 19th. That day was also the last day of work I had before school let out for Christmas Break.

We had almost done everything she’d wanted to have done, done. But there were still a few things to gather, like stocking stuffers and things of that nature. She went in for her surgery and everything went great! The last time she’d been in the hospital, for the first knee 6 months prior, she’d contracted hospital-acquired pneumonia. Her doctor, wanting her to be healthy for the rigorous knee therapy that follows two days after surgery, released her the following day. The 20th.

Wanting to forgo giving you all the details, I received a phone call early on the 21st. A phone call no one wants to get. My father, who’d awoken to find his partner for the past 34 years gone, couldn’t make that call. The responding police officer had to do it for him. Pneumonia had taken her from us.

So started my decent into grief.

We were supposed to do some shopping before I took her to physical therapy that day. We were supposed to do a lot of things during my break, because she too had it off for recovery.

Instead, I had to help my dad organize a funeral.

During the year and a half that followed, I read over 230 books. All while working full time and tending to a family.

It was the start of summer vacation in 2010 when I’d run out of books to read. I dove into spending time with my boys and vegging at the pool daily. I thought it had been long enough, and maybe the grief wouldn’t be so sharp. I was wrong. Without having someplace for my mind to wander, to live in, I was a mess of tears.

It was then I’d woke up in the middle of the night, leaving a dream that made my brain buzz. I tried to shake it off, leave it where I found it. In my dreams. But it wanted to be let out. So I sat down in secret and started writing.

At first when my family noticed my switch from books to the computer and all my constant typing, they asked what I was doing. I lied. I told them I was writing to my sister who lives in Texas. At first they bought it, but as the typing went on, they were puzzled as to why I didn’t just call her and talk to her. Again, I lied. But this time I said she’d asked me to write down some things about our mom.

While they still were puzzled by all the clicking going on at the keyboard, they left me alone.

Three months later, I’d written and finished my first novel. Cloud Nine. During that time I also started on another story which I finished and released four months later.

While writing started out as therapy for a grieving soul, it is now something I must do to keep all the exciting characters quiet. I love it! I only wish it could have developed without such dark beginnings, but nonetheless, my mother would be proud.

This is one story from Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

for the wonderfully low price of Free! To read all of the stories, grab your copy today!

Also included are sneak peeks into 25 great novels!

My young adult paranormal romance, Cloud Nine is one of the novels featured.

Find Melissa on her blog and Facebook.

Happy Reading!

Sibel XX

Is Chick Lit worth lying for?

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:20:58 +0100

I've got the fab Lisa Cheney and Lisa Craig here on my blog today talking about their latest chick lit release, Worth Lying For. Take it away girls...

Our new indie novel, Worth Lying For is a big, fat slice out of the life of forty-year-old Mary Minke. When Mary stumbles upon a bag of drug money—and steals it—no one could be as surprised as our goody-two-shoes main character.

Speaking of shoes, our original working title was Will Steal for Shoes. We loved that title. Then we sent out query letters to agents and realized it screamed chick lit at a time when the publishing world had declared chick lit to be dead. "How could this happen?" we mourned. And why weren't we invited to the funeral? We have the perfect little black dresses and wedge heels for the occasion.

Still, the essence of our book is not exactly chick lit. It's more, as the British say, hen lit –featuring chicks all grown up and slightly dazed about how it happened. And we've dared to throw in yet another twist: Mary Minke is happily married. Well, as happily as any of us can be, working hard to make ends meet, facing parenting challenges, struggling to find a greater meaning to it all. And in Mary’s case, hiding a big bag of ill-gotten loot from her police captain husband.

Now not only are the publishing powers-that-be trying to bury chick lit, they've also started to question women's fiction in general. "Too nebulous," they say. "What does women's fiction really mean?" others ask. Chick lit, mum lit, humorous women's fiction, call it what you will, we believe readers know what they want and that the market is strong for our unique brand of American hen lit. We know our audience because we are our audience: a couple of Midwestern forty-something wives and mothers who crave a bit of light-hearted escapism from the daily grind.

How about it? Is there anything you can't get enough of or genres you can't find on bookshelves (virtual or in-store)?

Worth Lying For can be purchased at amazon.com amazon.com.uk and B&N

For more insight into Lisa and Lisa and their writing, check out their blog and follow them on twitter

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This sounds like a super fab read, ladies, thanks so much for sharing! Long Live Chick Lit - it's most definitely not dead.

Happy Reading!

Sibel XX

Featured Indie Chick - Michelle Muto

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 08:56:35 +0100

This week's featured Indie Chick is Michelle Muto...

THE MAGIC WITHIN AND THE LITTLE BOOK THAT COULD

That's what I've been calling The Book of Lost Souls, the book that started my path to publication. I’ve always loved to write. I’ve always loved the way imagination and words blend on a page, the way they transport a reader to faraway worlds, or right next door, where witches live. From the time I was very young, books were an amazing world to me. There was no greater joy than going to the library with my mother whose love of books knew no measure. When I was very young, my mother read to me every night. As I grew older, we’d talk about the books we were reading.

Even as a young child, I knew I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. But, writing wasn’t what paid the bills. I got a regular job and life went on, although I still dreamed of writing. My father always told me to believe in myself and to never give up on what I firmly believed in. A few years after his death, I took up writing again. My mother, who was now ill and who had moved in with my husband and me, was happy to read what I wrote, or to set the table in order to give me a few more minutes of writing time.

And so I wrote and edited and revised. Just before the book was ready to send to agents, my mother died. I set the book aside. Writing was too painful, too full of memories.

But, the stories in my head wouldn’t let up, and so after a few years I started writing again. This time, I wrote about a teen witch named Ivy and her life in a small town, and I quickly fell in love with the story and the eclectic group of characters. I think of it as Buffy meets Harry Potter. When I typed the last line, I actually felt a pang of sorrow—I didn't want to say goodbye. Ivy and her story became The Book of Lost Souls, and after polishing it up, I sent it off to agents. Plenty were interested and requested the full manuscript. Unfortunately, most of them thought the book was too light. Too cute. Too Disney. They offered to read whatever else I had, as long as it was darker. Darker sells! Or so they said.

So, after two revisions for two separate agents that eventually didn't pan out (they said the book still had a lighthearted feel to it that wouldn't appeal to publishing houses), I set The Book of Lost Souls aside and started working on an outline for a much darker book.

It was around this time that the economy began to collapse—hard—and I was given the pink slip on Friday the 13th, right after I had completed a project that saved the company $400,000 annually. Say goodbye to eighteen years of loyal service! Suddenly, writing a darker, more dystopian book about the afterlife on top of losing my job seemed too much to take. Still, I recalled my father’s wisdom of believing in myself even when no one else did. I wrote and finished the next book, Don’t Fear the Reaper, in about seven months.

Still unemployed despite literally hundreds of applications, I began to worry we would lose our home or deplete our savings before I found a job. My career in IT was gone—off shored as they call it. I also wondered if I’d ever see any of my books published. I was so close to getting an agent so many times. Agents wrote back: You’re a strong writer. Or, The Book of Lost Souls is a great story and is well-written, but it’s not for me.

Nearly every morning, my inbox was filled with rejection letters from jobs and agents, yet I tried to stay positive. I kept repeating my father’s words to believe, to never give up. For every rejection, I sent out twice as many applications, twice as many query letters. I just tried harder.

I had been querying Reaper for about three months when I got an editorial letter from one of New York’s biggest literary agencies who'd had The Book of Lost Souls for nearly a year. A year! But, the letter was so enthusiastic about the story and my writing that I sat down and made every last revision they suggested. I turned it in and waited. Months went by. In the end, they rejected the story—not because they didn't love it, but because in the year and change they’d had the manuscript, another client had submitted a proposal for a story about a teen witch. Conflict of interest, they called it.

And that was that. My novel, the book that was finished, was dumped for someone else’s book that hadn't yet been written. Somewhat angry and depressed, I set The Book of Lost Souls aside. Again. By now, I was at the end of my rope. I was still unemployed and out of unemployment benefits. The only work I could find was the occasional short-term computer job, some tech writing gigs, or dog-sitting. Nothing full-time, and certainly nothing we could count on.

If the near-miss with Super Agency wasn’t enough, I found myself running into similar situations with Don't Fear the Reaper. Now, agents were saying, Too dark! But, you're a talented writer and we'd love to see other work. Or, You’re capable of incredibly incisive scenes—the opener is still one of the best things I read all year. And, my personal favorite, In this economy...

It was then that I learned about self-published authors such as Karen McQuestion and Amanda Hocking. I decided to go indie as well, starting with The Book of Lost Souls. What did I have to lose? A lot if I didn’t figure out a way for our household to stop hemorrhaging money. The only problem? I had no idea where to start. I sent an email to Ms. McQuestion, in the hopes she could point me in the right direction. She was so incredibly kind! Not only did she reply, she sent me a wealth of information on self-publishing. Today, she shares all that information on her blog. I’m incredibly grateful to her.

I got a cover I could afford with the help of another indie, Sam Torode. Two editor friends went over my work. Finally, I formatted the book and the rest is history. I uploaded The Book of Lost Souls in early March, and it’s been getting consistently great reviews ever since. As for being too lighthearted? I receive emails all the time from people who love that the book is funny, upbeat, and clean.

Within my first five weeks of self-publishing, I hit three best seller lists on Amazon. Me. An indie author without a publicist or a big agency or publisher behind them. Just me, my computer, my loving husband, and the devotion of two dogs at my feet.

I’ve been asked if there will be a sequel to The Book of Lost Souls. The answer is yes. Two more books, maybe a third. I just haven't thought that far out yet.

And the other, darker book? After some revisions, Don't Fear the Reaper debuted in late September 2011. On its first day, the book reached lucky #13 on Amazon’s Hot New Releases, Children’s Fiction, Spine-Tingling Horror.

I’m only sorry that my parents aren’t here to see this. I took my father’s advice and my mother’s faith and reinvented myself. I still dog-sit and take on small computer jobs and tech writing gigs to help keep us afloat financially. But one day, I hope that my hard work will pay even more of the bills. Until then, I’m at peace with the way things are.

Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” Great advice. And so, The Book of Lost Souls, the book that nearly wasn’t, became the little book that could. I’m a firm believer that hopes and dreams are something to hold onto and fight for. Believe in the magic that is you. Keep your dreams close, and set your imagination free.

I’d like to dedicate my section of this anthology to readers everywhere—words alone cannot express how much I appreciate you believing in me. You’re every bit as much a part of the magic as Ivy herself.

So, thank you, Dear Reader. Sincerely. Because, every author with a story to tell writes with you in mind.

Come connect with me. I’d love to hear from you:

Blog

FaceBook

Twitter

Where to find Michelle's books:

This is one story from Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. To read all of the stories, buy your copy today.

Also included are sneak peeks into 25 novels!

My young adult drama, Damaged: Natalie’s Story,

is one of the novels featured.

Happy Reading!

Sibel XX

Featured Indie Chick - Talia Jager

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 09:21:33 +0100

This week's featured Indie Chick is Talia Jager!

PAPER, PEN, AND CHOCOLATE

“Mom!” a voice yelled from the other room. “Make her stop!”

“I didn’t do anything!” another voice yelled before I could even get up to see what was going on.

I sighed and struggled to get off the couch where I had just started writing a scene. Four months pregnant with our sixth child and the varicose veins were already causing problems for me. I wondered where my husband was hiding that he couldn’t handle this.

Fortunately, the yelling quieted down. Instead of checking on them, I made an Executive Decision. I snuck into my closet, grabbed some Hershey’s chocolate from my stash, and slipped into the bathroom where I ate it with the lights turned off. Nobody would find me there.

Flicking on my flashlight, I took out the notepad and pen I had stashed in the magazine rack and wrote down some thoughts on the scene I had been writing.

The quiet lasted 3.5 minutes. Then my time in the bathroom was up. I crept back out to the living room where I settled a new argument, secretly wishing I could go back to the bathroom.

Now, you may ask…Married with how many kids? And you write books? WHY? HOW? Let me tell you.

From the time I was a little girl, I have had two dreams. One: To have a large family. Two: To be an author. There was a time not long ago when it seemed neither would come true.

Maybe it was being an only child that allowed my imagination to run wild and my mind to create stories; it definitely made me wish for a big family of my own. It’s lonely to grow up without a sibling.

In school, writing was my passion. I wrote constantly. I’d slip my story under a notebook in class and when I was supposed to be taking notes, I’d really be writing my story. At night when I was supposed to be asleep, I’d hide under the covers in bed with a flashlight, pen, and paper.

Time went on, and although I had many stories written, I was too chicken to do anything with them. So, they sat. When I fell in love and started a family, writing got pushed to the side. Sure, I still loved it, but I never had time. Deep down, I was mad at myself for not at least trying to do something with them. But, at the time, I felt I couldn’t. Family came first.

My dream of having a large family wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, but it had begun to come true. We had two beautiful little girls and wanted more. Unfortunately, I suffered through many miscarriages over the years. After having a number of tests done, I was diagnosed with a blood disorder so complicated that I have no idea what it actually is except that it can cause miscarriages. Getting pregnant had never been an issue; staying pregnant was. When I didn’t get and stay pregnant for over a year, the depression got worse.

Losing a baby is a devastating thing to go through; losing six is downright depressing. There’s no amount of crying, begging, negotiating, or praying that brings them back. Believe me, I tried it all. It didn’t matter how many people told me it wasn’t my fault–I blamed myself anyway. Finding out that it was due to a blood disorder made my guilt that much worse. It was my fault. My body’s fault anyway. Then I started asking myself: Why do some of my babies live and others don’t? What did I do different? I had children before I started medication for the disorder, and I’ve had miscarriages since getting on the medication. None of it makes sense and it’s still something I struggle to understand. I was in such a deep depression; it was like my creative button had been turned off. I had no desire to write.

When we finally “gave up” and decided that we’d be a family of six, we found out I was pregnant again with our fifth daughter.

This pregnancy was much harder on my body than the others. I found myself on the couch most of the day with my legs up. It was around this time that some online friends found out that I loved to write and encouraged me to share my stories. I did so nervously and they loved them! I reached deep down and found the courage to start submitting queries to agents. Each time my hopes were smashed to pieces.

My husband started talking about eBooks and self-publishing. I wasn’t too sure about going that route. I wanted to see my books in print, so I could hold them in front of my face. I wanted to smell my book. But, as time went on, eReaders became more popular and I figured…why not?

So, here I am, with five children, trying to find the time to write, while juggling mom-duty, wife-duty, household chores, errands, and more. During the earlier part of this year, you could find me up until the wee hours of the morning writing. You see, that is the only time it’s quiet enough to get anything done. Three a.m. is the time when all little girls are sleeping, the husband is snoring away, and my mind is clear. I can throw myself into a character’s psyche and let my imagination flow. Everything was going perfectly. I was getting a lot of writing done and then we got a surprise. Baby #6 was on the way.

As happy as we were, this put a serious damper on staying up until three a.m. I just couldn’t do it. My one-year-old is at the age where she needs to be followed around and supervised constantly. If I don’t, I find my computer monitor has become a coloring book.

My four-year-old is in between the “play with me” stage and the “playing alone” stage. The older three are in school, which provides a break for me, but since my four year old adores her older sisters, it makes it hard. She’s constantly whining for them to come home.

It’s hard enough juggling the four younger ones, but throw in a hormonal teenager and chaos ensues. Dealing with her has made me positive that my mother cursed me for acting out as a teenager. Not a week goes by that I don’t find myself in tears over something she does or says. Like the time recently when I told her I was pregnant again, she made nasty comments accusing me of ruining her life. Or the time I had to punish her for kicking her sister, and she informed us that she could run away and be adopted by her friend’s parents.

I’m sure you find yourself wanting to ask how I get a minute to myself. Or how do I deal with no time alone? Or what if I get an idea during the day?

Remember that stash of chocolate in the closet? I simply get some, slip into the bathroom, and take a few minutes. Sometimes I just think. Sometimes I jot down a few ideas on that hidden notepad.

As crazy and chaotic my life is, I wouldn’t change a thing. And it sure gives me plenty of things to write about.

So, when life hands you lemons…toss them out, grab your stash of chocolate, your writing materials, and head for the bathroom. You may just end up writing a book.

Find out more about Talia and her books:

http://taliajager.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/taliajager

http://www.twitter.com/taliajager

http://amazon.com/author/taliajager

This is one story from Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. To read all of the stories, buy your copy today.

Also included are sneak peeks into 25 novels!

My young adult drama, Damaged: Natalie’s Story,

is one of the novels featured.

Amazon

Happy Reading!

Sibel XX

Featured Indie Chick - Julia Crane

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:21:45 +0100

This weeks' fab inspirational Indie Chick story comes from Julia Crane...

MOVING TO THE MIDDLE EAST

Separation was normal in my marriage. My husband was in the military, and usually gone six months a year. We had adapted quite well to the schedule. Of course, we had the normal period of adjustment when he would return, but that was part of the lifestyle. We were looking forward to his retirement, and being able to spend more time together as a family. That didn’t work out quite as we expected. My husband was offered a job in Afghanistan that would set us up to really retire. The kicker? It would last a year. We thought the sacrifice would be worth it, so off he went. One year became a year and a half.

While he was gone I took care of our small business, running a gym. I loved it. It was very time-consuming, but it was also very rewarding. It started to wear on me only when my pre-teen children complained that I was always at the gym, and never had time for them. Finally, I told my husband that it was time for him to come home.

He put in his notice and started a stateside job. Though the new job still required him to be gone for six months of the year, the absences were in manageable blocks of two weeks. When he was home, he would take care of the gym and I would have time off. It was perfect.

Then he got a call from a friend, with a job offer that was just too good to turn down…in Dubai. We discussed it, and decided he should take the job, even though we had a new one-year-old.

Not long after my husband left for Dubai, I was at the breaking point. I felt trapped with the business, our teens, and a one-year-old always needing my attention. I had no personal space, and I’m a person that requires time alone, or else I get cranky.

As luck would have it, the new job offered to bring family members over to live in Dubai. My first thought about moving to the Middle East? “Yeah, right.” However, I researched Dubai and was surprised at what I found. The country seemed very modern, and the schools sounded good.

So I told my husband, “Ok, we’re coming.” While I was both nervous and excited, I was ready for a change, and moving to the Middle East sounded like just the adventure I needed.

When we got off the plane in October, the hot air hit my face and it felt like I had walked into a sauna. I thought, “Uh oh, what have I agreed to?” Yes, the heat is hard to handle, but you learn to live your life around it. We do most things early in the morning or after the sun sets. It is very much a nighttime culture. The city is beautiful and the Arabian Sea is breathtaking. I have grown comfortable living here, and easily call it my home. Though I can now see myself here for a few years, there are of course many things that I miss about America, and most of them involve food. Some things are just impossible to find: I’ve searched high and low for a Butterfinger, with no luck.

After a couple of months of enjoying my newfound free time, I eventually started to twiddle my thumbs. I was used to being busy, and with all the free time I needed to find something to fill the void. I saw an article that went into detail about how e-books had flung open many doors for writers. I thought that was interesting, and I mentioned it to my husband and he said he had also seen many articles saying much the same thing. I jokingly said that I was going to write a novel. My husband, who believes I can do anything, thought it was a great idea. I have always enjoyed writing even though I had not written much since having children. As a teen, I used to mail short stories to magazines and such, and like most avid readers, I always dreamed of someday writing a novel. Now I had my chance.

That same night I sat down to write, and the story quickly formed in my mind. I knew I wanted to write a young adult novel that would involve my Irish roots. The story just seemed to form itself: I would get ideas at random times and rush to write them down. It was frustrating at times, because I need relative quiet to focus. As you can imagine, with two teens and a two-year-old, finding quiet time is not easy. I wrote most of “Coexist” late at night when everyone was asleep. It took approximately three months to write the first draft, while the revision and editing process lasted longer than the initial writing.

A great part of the writing process for me has been interacting with other writers. I have met some amazing people from online writing groups and chat rooms. I learned a great deal in a short amount of time. I don’t think this undertaking would have been nearly as fun without the community I have found. Moving halfway across the world has allowed me to have both more time with family, and the ability to pursue a dream I’ve had since a child.

This is one story from Indie Chicks: 25 Women 25 Personal Stories available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. To read all of the stories, buy your copy today.

Also included are sneak peeks into 25 novels!

My paranormal romance novel, Coexist: Keegan’s Chronicles #1,

is one of the novels featured.

All proceeds go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer.

COEXIST: KEEGAN’S CHRONICLES #1

Happy Reading!

Sibel XX

Featured Indie Chick - Carol Davis Luce

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 12:28:02 +0100

This week's featured Indie Chick is Carol Davis Luce. You can now get the Indie Chicks Anthology -- FREE on Kindle, Smashwords, and Nook.

SELF-TAUGHT LATE BLOOMER

Carol Davis Luce

My motto is, “If I can do it, anyone can do it.” I wasn’t born to write. I didn’t aspire to be a writer from the time I could hold a Crayon. I could, however, draw, and make things take shape through form and color on paper and canvas, and that’s the path I traveled well into midlife. The artist’s life opened up my eyes and mind to expression and sometimes stories through composition on that blank eighteen by twenty-four inch stretched canvas. Then one day it changed.

As a voracious reader, I was content to read what others wrote. I admired those writers who had mastered the craft. I was happy to dwell in their world for 300 pages, to laugh, cry, and be enlightened and surprised. Until one day when I closed a book by my favorite author and felt something was missing. The novel was a mystery/suspense with elements of romance. The suspense was killer. The romance, however, was lacking, missing those subtleties that resonated with me. I wanted more. The promise of romance was there, but fizzled somewhere along the way. For me, it wasn’t about graphic sex. It was about sexual tension, passion, love. After searching unsuccessfully for novels to satisfy my romantic suspense fixation, looking for just the right balance, I realized I had to write the book myself.

Only I knew nothing about writing a novel, let alone a genre book with a sub-genre. So I went to the library and checked out a reference book titled, HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL. Easy enough, right? If dedication is easy, then it was easy because I was driven. My artist’s passion shifted to focus on the writer’s canvas. That canvas was structure, words, emotion, and truth. And the rest is history.

Well, almost.

I burned up two electric typewriters before investing in a computer. I checked out every book on the “book writing” reference shelf, and many grammar and stylebooks, and two years later, my 800-page opus, NIGHT STALKER, was finished—

Almost.

I learned about the important shaping process, without which most stories would be unreadable. Editing. The passion and pain of cutting and revising. Finding the jewels that lie buried in too many, or misguided, words. Three years and a dozen revisions later, 400 pages lighter, it found a home with a traditional publisher. Within the first few months of release, it went into three printings and became the flagship for the sub-genre "Woman in Jeopardy/Romantic Suspense" at Kensington Publishing.

Where it started. . .

I left school at sixteen to marry my high school sweetheart. Six years later, as a housewife and mother, I channeled my artistic talent into sketching and painting, selling my work at a local art gallery. A quarter century later, I traded in my paints and brushes to hit the keyboard. Our three sons, not much for novel reading, are waiting for my books to be made into movies. That childhood sweetheart I married a lifetime ago is now my soul mate of 50 plus years. His encouragement fueled me, and his support allowed me to pursue my goals.

Going back to my motto of, “if I can do it, anyone can.” There has never been a more opportunistic time to try your hand at writing a book. Or taking the plunge and self-publishing. My decision to self-publish my upcoming suspense novels came about when I hit the proverbial brick wall after five published books. With a stalled career, I had a choice. Teach, or see my stories in print again. I chose the latter. My first self-published book is the short story trilogy, BROKEN JUSTICE, followed by my suspense novel, NIGHT WIDOW.

Agents and editors think they know what readers want. They don’t always know. Readers know what readers want, and they’re expressing their wants by buying books written by indie authors. Give yourself a hardy pat on the back if you’ve completed a manuscript, but the big applause goes to our devoted fans and readers. Without them, we would be nothing.

***

Please check out Carol's books. Here's a link to her Amazon Author Page.

Happy reading!

Sibel XX

Featured Indie Chick - Christine Kersey

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 16:27:37 +0100

This week's featured Indie Chick is the fab Christine Kersey...

NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS

I love to read and lose myself in a good story – forget all that is going on around me and be in the story with the characters. One day in 1997 I finished reading a novel by Joy Fielding and realized she hadn’t needed to be an expert in a particular field, like medicine or law, to write a good suspense story. This fact inspired me to try my hand at writing. It also didn’t hurt that we’d just gotten our first computer and I can type much faster than I can write longhand.
At this time in my life I was thirty-two and my youngest child was three. I also had three other children who were in elementary school. A stay-at-home mom, I was able to carve out some time to work on this project. At first I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing. What if I couldn’t complete it? What if I failed? After a short time I told my husband, mother, and sister and they were supportive.
I kept working at it, day by day, until after about four weeks I’d finished a complete novel. At that point it was nowhere near ready to be published, but I’d proven to myself that I could write a novel with a beginning, middle, and end. I continued working on the story, then put it aside and began working on another.
I gathered the courage to have a few friends read it and they all said they loved it. Encouraged, I decided to attend a conference called Bouchercon , which is for fans of mysteries. At the conference I mingled with published writers and talked to an agent or two. Afterwards I sent queries to several agents, but none of them were interested in my completed novel.
Shortly afterwards I started working part-time and didn’t spend as much time writing as I had before. When my youngest child started first grade I decided to go back to college full-time and earn my degree. Over the next four years I did very little fiction writing and focused on getting my education.
As I approached my final semester my schedule wasn’t quite as heavy and I decided to do some revisions on one of my two completed novels. When I felt the story was ready, I submitted it to a small, regional publisher. In April, 2004 I graduated with a B.S. in Information Technology. That same week the publisher got back to me and said they were interested in publishing my book, but first they wanted me to do revisions. Though they hadn’t offered a contract yet, I did the revisions and resubmitted the manuscript. They were pleased, but wanted yet more revisions. In 2004 the job market was down and I was spending a lot of time job-hunting, but I did the revisions as requested.
In October of that year I finally found a full-time position and within two weeks of starting my new job, the publisher got back to me and offered a contract. Needless to say, I was thrilled. Seven and a half years after I’d written my first book and I was finally getting published!
I was assigned an editor and worked closely with her. The book hit bookstores in July, 2005. I thought I was on my way. I had one book published with a real publisher, so now I was set, right?
The book sold reasonably well, but when I submitted another manuscript, my publisher decided not to publish it. Discouraged, I focused on my family and my job and didn’t spend very much time writing. However, I still read as much as ever. In fact, when the nook eReader became available I bought one and started loading dozens of books onto it. I was in reader heaven.
I’d had my nook for nearly a year before I caught on to the possibilities indie publishing presented. The book I’d published with a traditional publisher had gone out of print and I was able to get the rights back. That book, No Way Out, was the first book I made available as an indie publisher. The first month it was available I sold exactly one copy. But that one sale was very exciting. Since then I’ve published three more novels and have sold thousands of copies. I love that I have complete control over what I publish. I also love to read the work of other indie authors. There are so many talented people that are now able to publish their work.
I’m glad I didn’t give up on my dream to be published and am so excited at the endless opportunities that are now available. One thing I’ve learned is that if you persist in following your dreams, eventually you will be able to accomplish what you’ve set out to do, whatever it may be.
That three-year-old child that sat near me as I began my writing career is now a senior in high school. Whether or not I had chosen to continue writing, time inexorably moved forward. It’s never too late to follow your dreams, but why wait?
Visit my blog
No Way Out, about a woman whose husband disappears, is available at Amazon and Barnes & Nobl
He Loves Me Not is currently only available at Amazon , although if you have a nook, email me and I’ll send you a free epub copy.
Don’t Look Back is the sequel to He Loves Me Not and is available at Amazon as well as Barnes & Noble .

This story is part of the Indie Chick anthology.

You can purchase your copy here.

Amazon USA

Amazon UK

All proceeds are going to a breast cancer charity.

Happy Reading!

Sibel XX

Featured Indie Chick - Mel Comley

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 08:21:28 +0100

This week's featured Indie Chick is the super fab Mel Comley...

French Fancies

By Mel Comley

In 1993 I walked out on my sad and abusive marriage, one that I had stuck with for seven years. At the time I jointly owned a shop with my ex-husband and my Mother, so we had to sell the business when the marriage broke down.

If I thought that was hard it was nothing to what I had to endure the following six years. To make ends meet, I had to work two jobs for 70-80 hours a week over 6½ days. Take my word when I say it wasn’t fun.

But onwards and upwards, when Mum retired we made a spur of the moment decision to leave England and move to France. We’d never set foot in the country before we came out here to house hunt, I know, we’re either brave or stupid. I like to think we’re the former, but I sometimes wonder if that’s the case!

We bought a farmhouse and barns that needed total renovation. In 6 months I decorated 22 rooms while a local builder created a gîte (a holiday home) out of a couple of the barns. After the renovations were completed I grew bored with my ‘early retirement’ and enrolled in a creative writing course. I threw myself into it and over the next 4-5 years I sat down and wrote three romances and two thrillers.

In October 2009, I discovered the writing site run by Harper Collins called Authonomy where I uploaded the first 10,000 words of my thriller Impeding Justice. It took me 8 months to reach the editor’s desk where I received a favourable review from a Harper Collins editor. The trouble was they weren’t taking on any thriller writers at that time, they were only interested in printing Celebrity Autobiographies!

Therefore, in October 2010 I decided to upload Impeding Justice as an ebook. It took a while to take off but in January 2011 sales really started gathering momentum, but it wasn’t until I released the second book in the series, Final Justice that sales really took off.

After selling over 30,000 books in April, I was in the fortunate position of having several agents knocking on my virtual door. I finally agreed terms and signed a contract with top New York agent, Richard Curtis. I sent him Cruel Justice the third book in the thriller series and he tried for 4 months to get me a traditional publishing contract, but at the moment he admits he’s finding it difficult to place any books with publishers because of the Indie revolution, which I’m extremely proud to be part of.

During last Summer, I edited the romances I wrote at the beginning of my journey. I uploaded A Time To Heal towards the end of August and immediately received a couple of 5 star reviews (no they weren’t from my family, they don’t know I write!) some of them were from my thriller fans who were equally impressed by my romance endeavours.

At the beginning of September I uploaded A Time For Change, another romance which is actually a TRUE story of how my dear friends met and fell in love. Obviously they’re names have been changed, the story has a mystery element to it too.

In October 2011, I uploaded the third book in my thriller series, Cruel Justice, which is actually the prequel to my best-seller Impeding Justice. It’s been very well received and has even reached #2 in the Police Procedural chart on Amazon.

I’m very fortunate to be able to write full-time (it’s addictive, don’t you know!) and have several more projects outlined that I intend tackling over the coming winter months.

This is how my day pans out, first thing, providing it isn’t raining, I take my two dogs for a walk, actually they tend to drag me round our small village. Then I sit down to answer any emails and facebook messages I’ve received overnight from fans (yes I do have them) I then set out to write a minimum of 2-3000 words per day, before I dip into hours of necessary promoting. That’s the hardest part of being an Indie writer, the fact that we have to promote ourselves long and hard. I used to be quite a shy person, but I’ve had to overcome that quickly. I think deep down, every writer would love to be a recluse and be able to focus full-time on their creations, unfortunately that’s unrealistic in an Indie world.

Do I ever think about my life back in England? No, never, but my ex features heavily in my books. When I need to think up a baddie character it’s his image I picture in my mind. As for my murder scenes, I find them VERY easy to write. LOL.

Find out more about Mel...

http://melcomley.blogspot.com/
http://melcomleyromances.blogspot.com/

You can purchase my books in ebook format or paperback from my website.http://www.melcomleybooks.com/

Or follow me on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mel-Comley/264745836884860

My twitter id is @melcom1

You can find out about me and my books at the following blogs.http://melcomley.blogspot.com/ http://melcomleyromances.blogspot.com/

Happy Reading!

Sibel XX

Meet Jennifer Chase

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 07:14:36 +0100

Author Jennifer Chase.

Jennifer Chase holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master’s in criminology. She’s a member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists. She is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and a criminologist. She has authored four crime fiction, thriller novels and a non-fiction book screenwriting book. Currently, she resides in California where she is at work on her next book.

Today, Jennifer Case discusses her book, 'Dark Mind'.

What is the main premise of this book?

Dark Mind takes readers on a crime adventure with vigilante detective Emily Stone who hunts serial killers and child abductors covertly under the radar. She shadows police investigations and secretly submits all of her carefully compiled evidence to the detective(s) in charge via an untraceable email. The newest case takes her to the beautiful island of Kauai where she’s put to the ultimate test of her profiling and investigative skills of tracking a brutal, sadistic serial killer deep into the jungles.

How long did it take you to write it?

I spent one to two months creating an outline, which ultimately becomes my first choppy draft. From that point, it took another two to four months of writing and rewrites to complete the book. It takes an average of six months to write one of my crime thrillers.

Who’s your favorite character in it?

That’s easy! I enjoyed creating the main character of Emily Stone for an ongoing series. It was a writing process for quite some time before I decided to introduce her to readers. She’s definitely tougher and smarter than I am, but I wanted to make her wonderfully flawed with her mission to find serial killers.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

I write mostly in my home office. It’s quiet and I find that I can get more writing done in my scheduled blocks of time rather than in a public place like a coffee bar. In the summer months, sometimes I take my laptop or notebook outdoors for fresh air and writing.

When reading, do you prefer eBook or paperback?

A year ago, I would have definitely said paperback. For the most part, I still prefer them. I bought an Amazon Kindle last year and I really love the ease and less clutter of it. So I’m torn at times, but for reading entertainment I choose an ebook and for my more technical and non-fiction books I prefer paper.

Do you ever write in your PJ’s?

Who told you? You bet I write in my PJs in the mornings when I don’t have appointments or important errands to run. Barefoot and in my PJs is like the comfort food of writing. The more comfortable, flannel with silly prints on them the better. Anyone have a line on adult flannel SpongeBob pajamas?

So do you like to cook?

I’ve never really enjoyed cooking as a daily task, but recently I’ve found out that I don’t tolerate wheat or gluten well. I’m not diagnosed with the related disease, but now without it I’m feeling better with more energy. Without pastas and breads I’d go completely crazy, so I’ve been in the kitchen cooking more and I’ve found that I do enjoy it once I’ve made peace with it.

What’s your favorite ice cream?

Ice cream is my sweet vice. My favorite flavors are chocolate chip and butter pecan tied in first place.

Do you have pets? Do you have a picture of them you can share?

Yes, my life wouldn’t be complete without my four-legged buddies. I have two Labrador retrievers (would love more) and two cats. My labs keep me balanced and make sure that I take plenty of much needed writing breaks. Since writing about serial killers can be dark at times, my dogs lighten things up with fun and high energy.

If your book was made into a TV series or Movie, what actors would you like to see playing your characters?

I love this question! There are so many wonderful actors out there, but my dream players would be…

Angelina Jolie as Emily Stone

Johnny Depp as Rick Lopez

Matthew McConaughey as Jordan Smith

Hey, remember I did say dream actors.

If you were to attend a St. Patrick’s Day Party, which one thing would you never leave behind and why?

A green derby

A walking stick

A pot of gold

A mug of green beer

A Rainbow

Luck O the Irish

A Leprechaun

First, I was going to say a walking stick for protection against bad guys on the way home from the party, but I’d have to say a rainbow because everything in life gets better with a rainbow. Bless the Irish!

Where can your readers stalk you?

I welcome questions and comments!

Author Blog

Twitter

Facebook

Win prizes with The Romance Reviews Anniversary Party!

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 08:56:12 +0100

The Romance Reviews are having a fab 1st Year Anniversary Party this month with lots of great prizes!

More than 300 participating authors and publishers!!!

PARTICIPATING PUBLISHERS

Dreamspinner Press Musa Publishing Samhain Publishing Evernight Publishing Riptide Publishing Decadent Publishing


PARTICIPATING AUTHORS

Lucinda Brant Layla Hunter Lisa Scott Gabrielle Evans Nya Rayne Wendy Soliman Sharon Buchbinder Daryl Devore Theresa Ragan Tonya Kinzer Brenda Woody and Steve Tindle Carrie Pulkinen Rayka Mennen Kristine Cayne Leanna Renee Hieber Dorothy St. James Eden Bradley DC Juris Alexandra O’Hurley Regan Walsh Juliet Chastain Lindsay Townsend Jessica Lee David Russell Kacey Hammell Carole Bellacera Teresa Thomas Bohannon Christy Hayes Lou Harper May Williams Jennifer Zane Emma Holly Joya Fields Zrinka Jelic Cathryn Cade Jan Graham Shannon Donnelly Alison Henderson Lexi Blake Tracy Sumner Natalie-Nicole Bates Dakota Dawn Casey Wyatt Aleksandr Voinov Lisa Kumar Heather Long Ann Montclair Kathryn R. Blake Danica St. Como Jennifer Bray-Weber Krista Kedrick Amie Louellen Dianne Duvall Lissa Matthews Sandy James Shelly Bell Larry Benjamin Cat Schield Bronwen Evans K.E. Saxon Debbie Christiana Declan Sands Sam Cheever CJ Snyder Raine Miller Maria-Claire Payne Dana Delamar Sylvain Reynard Brenda Novak Amanda Bonilla Ingrid Michaels Cindy Huefner Cromer Gale Stanley Josie Dennis Barbara White Daille Amber Skyze Christa Paige Elisabeth Naughton Kate Allan Liana Laverentz Gabrielle Bisset Nancy J. Cohen CJ Snyder Dorota Skrzypek Cara Covington Sandra Bunino Alix Rickloff Sable Hunter Cindy A. Christiansen	Gretchen Craig Margay Leah Justice Hannah Downing Marguerite Labbe Jana Downs Grace Wen Michelle M. Pillow Myne Whitman Karen Mercury Savannah Chase Jocelyn Modo Shabbu Sarah Grimm Tina Donahue Heather Wardell Victoria Blisse Toni LoTempio Blair McDowell Patricia Yager Delagrange Skhye Moncrief Sibel Hodge Frances Pauli Stephanie St James Faye Robertson Susan Frances Anna Campbell Raven McAllan Rachel Haimowitz Fiona McGier Rynne Raines Rebecca Heflin CaSondra Poulsen Shannon Albright Cassandra Dean Jana Richards Desiree Holt Kerri Williams Diane Escalera Sienna Matthews Stephanie Beck Melanie Harvey Rhi Etzweiler Damon Suede Bryl R. Tyne Meg Mims Charlie Cochet Sophie Oak Ingela F. Hyatt Lauren Fraser Jennifer Estep Diane Craver Belinda McBride Brynna Curry Phillip Thomas Duck Elizabeth Marchat Mary Eason Lorhainne Eckhart Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy Jennifer Ann Coffeen Natasha Blackthorne Marie Rochelle Paty Jager Kathryn R. Blake Jeffe Kennedy Laura Browning Patricia Bates Ciara Lake Stacy Juba Erin McCarthy Ruth J. Hartman Tanya Stowe Eden Baylee Hope Welsh Miss Mae Lisa Kessler Gillian Archer Opal Carew Stacey Kennedy Theresa Stillwagon Alison Chambers Viki Lyn Dev Bentham Penny Estelle Tara Kingston L.H. Cosway Chris Lange Lucy Monroe Bev Pettersen Sarina Wilde Krista Ames	Christine DePetrillo Jennifer Labelle Traci Hall BJ Scott Becca Dale Tara Lain Christina Freeburn Anne Seaton Marie Astor Kiru Taye Avril Ashton Kai Andersen Rick R. Reed Catherine Kean Lucy Felthouse Katheryn Lane Eliza Knight Natalie J Damschroder Coral Moore Sylvia Hubbard Lily Harlem Michael Davis Candace Morehouse Rebecca Leigh C. Jayee Cohen Anne Patrick Rhys Astason Amelia James Ella Jade Naomi Bellina Lila Munro Maeve Greyson Velda Brotherton J.J. Keller Kharisma Rhayne Stacey Coverstone Stephanie Haefner Sara Daniel E.A. West Storm Grant B.J. McCall Glynnis Campbell Peter Hansen Jami Gray Cate Masters Lorelei Confer Sondra Allan Carr Nona Raines Sommer Marsden Cassandra Carr Nicole Morgan Mary Campisi Felicia Rogers T.C. Archer Logan Belle Mary Calmes Silvia Violet Carol Cassada Tierney O’Malley Elise Whyles Kalayna Price S.G. Rogers Jane Leopold Quinn Adelle Laudan S.J. Clarke Zoe Archer Adriana Ryan J.A. Rock Shewanda Pugh Tara Fox Hall P. Kirby Elyzabeth M. VaLey Brita Addams Carla Angela Tamara Morgan Juliana Ross Nico Rosso Rebecca E. Grant Hope Tarr Brenda Williamson Vicki Batman J.R. Loveless Rebecca S. Foote Vanessa Devereaux Jezebel Jorge Alena Stuart Dominique Eastwick Susanna Ives	Ednah Walters Jianne Carlo Erica Pike Jenna Rose Ellis Clare Revell Jasmine Aherne Beverley Oakley Linda Banche Madison Blake Allie Ritch Xavier Axelson Evelyn Shepherd Beth Trissel Seye Oke Emery Lee Anne Gracie Jaye Frances Kristine Cayne Blair McDowell Loretta Chase Michelle Clay Anne Brooke Nova Chalmers Victoria Vane Dany Sirene Lynne King Anne Barwell Christina Wolfer Kate Austin Josee Renard Charlie Cochrane Dianne Hartsock Becky Moore Jenny Twist Jocelyn Vaughn Verna Clay Empi Baryeh Karen Mueller Bryson Sorcha Mowbray Sara Lindsey Tory Richards Andrea Speed Kari Gregg L.A. Witt Cat Grant Brita Addams Lynn Tyler Deb Sanders Carly Fall Christina Phillips Gail Pallotta Camelia Miron Skiba Judy Bagshaw Lecia Cornwall S.J. Frost Barry Brennessel Mary Martinez Andy Dunn Dana Delamar Kelly Boyce Tarah Scott C.J. Black Jessica Freely Sally Royer-Derr Kate Kelly Dianne Venetta Regan Summers Cheryl Yeko Norah Wilson Rachel Randall Jory Strong Cate Lord Andrea Speed W. Lynn Chantale Seleste deLaney Mari Fee Gail Koger Rhonda L. Print Xakara Debra St. John Julie Rowe Trinity Blacio Maggi Andersen Michelle Franklin D. McEntire J.P. Bowie Cari Quinn S. Durham Mary Campisi

Head on over to The Romance Reviews to participate! You need to join the site and log in but it only takes a moment.

Happy Reading!

Sibel XX