Happy Christmas Adam!

Happy Christmas Adam! (If the 24^th is Eve, our kids decided long ago the 23^rd was Adam)

I thought about writing something profound for today, reflecting on the season. Instead, I found myself looking back at an astonishing year and forward into the Great Unknown.

Mostly I thought about our mountain property.

I wrote my very first blog post (ever) almost exactly two years ago - I Didn't Get a Tractor for Christmas.

Since then, I've shared bits and pieces about our adjustment to rural life. My husband and I actually enjoyed clearing the property (for a while there, we were in a close personal relationship with the guy at the county dump!) and loved watching the birds and critters who showed up on the new paths through the woods or at the pond and river. We've met most of the people in our valley and enjoy the genuine friendships that aren't looking to further a career or do anything other than get to know you.

This fall, we've begun working on house plans. Sure, we have a small weekend place that will one day be a guest house (fabulous for the two of us). It'll be interesting to have both kids, spouse, and multiple dogs here for several days. Let's just say the sleeping arrangements will get creative. :)

The further we got into the planning process, the more the reality of the transition took hold. In order for us to live here full-time, my husband has to take early retirement. With my day job, I can work anywhere, as long as I can access the internet. Not possible with my husband's career.

That Next Great Transition is what taps at the back of my head as I wrap the last presents, grocery shop and plan meals. Part of me leaps at the opportunity for travel, for not being tied to his work schedule. Another part worries, have we saved enough money. And another part thinks, Oh my (fill in your own blank), he'll be home All The Time.

So, what transforming events do you see on your planning horizon?

Writing news update – the MysteryThriller Horror Box Set is still on the Amazon Top Ten in its category and For Love or Money will be included in Entangled Publishing's Valentine's Day.

Boxed Set, releasing January 27,


Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

I’ll Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

For years the South Carolina Lowcountry RWA chapter has hosted a Masterclass at an Isle of Palms mansion. I’ve come home from previous weeks re-energized, my head bursting with new craft knowledge and insights, renewed after spending time with friends who share a passion for writing.

This year, the focus of the week was on the business of writing. Sometimes as authors we get caught up in our love of words and fail to acknowledge that what we do is also a small business, just like a company producing widgets or a bakery making the most beautiful, custom wedding cakes.

Most of the participants in this year’s Masterclass are published, many are multi-published, some New York Times Best Selling authors. And every one generously shared her experience, from developing a business plan to sitting with me, surrounding by a Nook, Kindle and Kindle Fire, patiently determining if one of the conversion programs would get rid of the annoying tab addition to the dedication page of my novella.

The theme of the week, as you might have guessed, was summed up by CJ Lyon: you are the CEO of You, Inc. In short, CJ said you, and only you, decide what is the correct path for your writing career: Traditional, Digital, Small Press or Indie—or a combination of the above. But you also bear the responsibility for your decision.

With the encouragement of this group of friends, I made the first toe-dipping foray into Indie publishing with a novella. HONOR CODE officially releases on Friday, November 9, 2012. While I’m excited about the story’s theme—honor and personal integrity—and characters, I still initially hesitated to publish the story. While I think my editor at Carina is terrific and learned a lot through a traditional, digital press with my first book, I made the “CEO” decision to go Indie with this story. I want to thank all the friends who made that happen. You know who you are. J

In anticipation of HONOR CODE’s release, I’ll give away an ARC of the novella to a commenter. The Blurb: In a small southern town where everyone knows each other’s business, veteran detective Larry Robbins must solve the disappearance of eighty-year-old widower George Beason.

When evidence arises that Beason may have left town on his own, it would be easy for Robbins to close the case, but his gut instinct tells him more’s at stake. As he uncovers clues about Beason’s deceased wife and his estranged daughter, Robbins must untangle conflicting motives and hidden agendas to bring Beason home alive.

Amazon

So what about you? Have you accepted the position of CEO in your career? Set up a business plan? Are there friends who reached back or pushed you up to give you a little help?

 

 

 

Beginnings

For my inaugural post on Not Your Usual Suspects, I thought long and hard about what to write. After all, I wish to please. I’m a people-pleaser by nature. And I’m so excited to be a member of this fabulous group of authors. Thus, part of my preparation for this post involved several moments of panic. But once the panic cleared, thinking about this as a “first” had me thinking of other firsts…my first foray into writing, completing my first manuscript, the first time I felt comfortable calling myself a writer.

First steps. They can be such big steps to take. Sometimes the biggest. Sometimes so daunting that a potential writer never begins the journey.

But I’m glad I took those steps. The impetus to write has always been with me. I finally listened to the voices in my head right around the turn of the millennium. I remember picking up the January 2000 issue of Writer’s Digest and feeling like I’d finally found people who “got” me. I didn’t discover RWA until a couple years later (and then I found people who REALLY got me). Until then, my writing “career” involved much babbling and stumbling about, much like a toddler finding her voice and balance.

The kernel that eventually bloomed into my first manuscript came from a thought I had upon awakening one morning. (This was before I had kids, when I could lay in bed thinking for a few precious minutes before I had to rush to meet someone else’s needs.) Of course, that scene ended up buried in the second chapter rather than opening the book, but it gave me a clear look at the characters who’d been talking in my head for a few months now. I still remember that moment. That “ah-ha!” that motivated me to sit down and write my first scene. It was both a thrilling and a daunting task.

I still get a thrill when I sit down to start a new story. That blank paper or screen is full of possibilities. There’s nothing like starting fresh, getting to know my hero and heroine (and villain), and discovering a new plot. Okay, so maybe typing “The End” is a close second.

The beginning of my idea for Only Fear, my fifth manuscript and my first book due out from Carina Press on September 5, 2011, came from a documentary I watched about the Vidocq Society, a group of specialists who meet once a month in Philadelphia to solve crimes. I was fascinated by this concept, and thus my SSAM organization was born. (SSAM is short for Society for the Study of Aberrant Minds, a group of professionals with various specialties who hunt serial killers.)

Beginnings are tough, but so exciting, too. They can be stressful and stimulating. But getting past that first step in the journey is so rewarding.

What beginnings stand out for you and why? Do you remember the first time you had a story idea, or what became of that initial story? What was a memorable first step in your journey?