Category Archives: Blogging
Getting By With A Little Help From My Friends
With so much information out there on the internet, with so many websites to sift through, anyone wishing to get information to a targeted market is up against a lot of competition.
As writers, we look to our friends and family to spread the word and, of course, they always come through. And within our online community, we are fortunate enough to have other writers and readers who open their blogs freely to lend a hand as well.
I want to take this opportunity to thank those bloggers who helped me reveal my new cover of Souled this past week. Please support them by visiting their blogs. They really are awesome peeps!
And a huge thank you to everyone who shared on Facebook and Twitter!
Three Minutes Inside A Book Blogger’s Head
I’d gone through an apple, two yogurts, and a handful of pretzels (I think better when I snack) and still I can’t remember exactly how I stumbled upon Bookish Temptations. It could have been from any number of avenues. You know how it is, we’re hanging around Twitter, watching the tweets, something catches our eye, we follow it, which leads us down another vein then to another. But I do remember the blog post that originally caught my attention, and that was Sexy Sentence Saturday. I started following Bookish Temptations and looked forward to the day of the week when Bookish posted Book Blogger Confessions, which gave great insight into the workings of this particular book blogger’s mind.
This led me to some reverse thinking. As authors, we’re constantly looking for avenues through which we can pitch our novels and ways to get noticed. The book bloggers and reviewers are tremendously helpful in that regard. We all look to them to help us get the word out. They rock at what they do: Reading, reviewing, blogging their thoughts, interviewing us to get inside our head.
But… Have you ever wondered what goes on inside theirs?
This week I decided to turn the tables. Tamie, from Bookish Temptations, has graciously allowed me to put her in the hot seat and to answer a few of my own questions. So grab your favorite beverage and enjoy.
Thanks for being here, Tamie. To start off, what inspired you to start blogging in the first place?
An opportunity presented itself and it sounded both interesting and fun. I’ve been a bookaholic as long as I can remember, and I liked the idea of having a forum to share my passion with others.
Do you remember what your very first blog was about?
I reviewed the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. I was so nervous the day it published I thought I might throw up or pass out…Seriously.
That’s a huge series to review the first time out, Tamie. I loved that series. I’d like to see that review of yours! Perhaps you can send me a link? Okay, sorry for the diversion… So, now you have a “team.” Who are they and what are their special areas of interest?
Debb is the first person I asked to join Bookish. I’d left the blog I started with to begin my own, and after about a month I realized that Bookish needed something. I knew that Debb was an expert where FanFic is concerned, and that a lot of peeps read a lot of it. So I asked her and happily she said yes. She then added Annie and together they became a super team on Fridays.
Next I asked Morgan to do a guest post, and I loved it so much I asked him to join us permanently. He agreed to a once a month deal. He’s an author and gives great tips during his Wordslinger posts. He has a fabulous sense of humor too, which is what drew me to his writing in the 1st place.
Gina and Elena came next and at about the same time. I knew both of them were avid readers, and I was looking for 2 very specific things…more reviews on BT, and quite frankly…I needed a break from posting every day. They’re both excellent reviewers and sounding boards.
Our newest team member is Katiebird. Debb needed to take some time off, and Katiebird has guest hosted FanFic Friday in the past, so I was thrilled when she said yes. We’ve also discovered that we’re very alike in a lot of ways…kindred spirits if you will.
Having a team is a great approach! It definitely keeps the posts diverse. Do you get a lot of review requests? If so, which camp makes up the greatest percentage – indies or trads?
It seems to come in waves… a few a week and them BAM! A whole bunch at once. Right now there’s a fairly long waiting list, so I’m really limiting the yeses. Most of it is indie at the moment.
This next question will help me as well as other authors, I’m sure. Is there a “protocol” on your site that requesting authors should follow but sometimes don’t?
Yes… anytime an author or publisher/publicist requests a review from a book blog they need to be prepared to furnish a copy of the book. Most know this and offer to do so, but every once in a while a request comes in without mention of a book being provided. In my reply I always let them know what formats we accept and I remind them of our ratings policy. If the book doesn’t rate a 3 or above it won’t be reviewed.
Of all of the books you read, what genres do you prefer?
My personal favorites are Romance, Erotica, Paranormal, and Historical. I also enjoy Mystery/Suspense…just not as much as I used to.
There’s always something going on at Bookish Temptations. Do you find it difficult to find a balance between your extensive blogging and your personal life?
Hmmm… While I do spend a huge amount of time every day doing something in conjunction with the blog I really enjoy it, and let’s face it… I’m not being forced to do it… it’s a choice. I went on a 10 day vacation to Canada in April and I kept in touch every day, but I didn’t spend hours on it, and it didn’t interfere with the fabulous time I had. So for now at least I’m ok with the balance…or lack thereof.
Your blogging is so diverse. What is your favorite topic to blog about?
O…that’s a tough one. I really love trying to find unique ways to spotlight my favorite authors and their book(s) for example: when I asked several authors to contribute a character Valentine during V-day week, or when I did the Gabriel’s Inferno tour. I’m doing a fun one again this Wednesday with Gabriel’s Rapture which will be published before this is, and the Sexy Sentence Saturday. Also, I love writing the Observations posts…they’re usually based on something personal, but I try to bring in something literary based as well. My favorite meme is the Book Blogger Confessions every other week. Yeah…that was way more than one 
On the topic of author availability, how important is that to a blogger?
I think to have a really great book blog you need to have some good relationships with the authors you feature. So far I’ve been incredibly lucky in that respect. (Crosses fingers and toes having said that).
What is your take on the move from trad published to indie published and the overall quality of novels that are put out?
Since most of what I read comes from indie authors/publishers I would say it’s terrific. Just because an author doesn’t have a “powerhouse’ publishing company behind them doesn’t mean they aren’t amazingly gifted writers. I’ve seen some peeps complain about horrible editing and lots of errors in indie books, but I just haven’t found that to be true for the most part. Are there some? Of course, but I’ve seen books put out by the “big boys” that had them as well. I have seen that more with self-published authors, but most of the time it isn’t so bad that I just want to throw the book away. Yes, it can be distracting, but maybe I have a higher tolerance for it than others do.
Do you have a reading preference between trad and indie?
For me… I’m really liking all the indie books I’ve read in the past year. I like trying to bring attention to authors that others might overlook, and in all honesty they’ve been some of the best written and have become personal favorites…so I’m quite happy to be an indie girl.
~ ~ ~
I’m thrilled to hear you say that, Tamie, but then again, I’m a bit biased on the indie movement.
Thanks again, Tamie for stopping by and putting on a different hat for awhile. It’s good to know what goes on inside a book blogger’s mind.
Bookish Temptations is one of the many great book bloggers out there and they have so much to say, and then some! So swing by Tamie’s blog or hook up with her and her crew on Twitter. You’ll be glad you did.
I’m Lucky I Came Up For Air When I Did!
So there I was, keeping my head under the social media radar for the last few weeks, focusing solely on my manuscript, Souled, when what do I find waiting for me when I come up for air? My WANA sista, Angela Orlowski-Peart, awarded me the Lucky 7 Meme! Just the thing I needed to lighten up the mood around here.
I’ve always loved Angela’s blog because her topics are diverse, light-hearted, and always fascinating. I’m positive you’ll love the way her personality shines through each word she puts to page.
So here are the rules to the Lucky 7 Meme:
1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them
as they’re written.
4. Tag 7 authors.
5. Let them know.
Simple enough. I decided to go with the seven-ish paragraphs. So, here is a look at part of my soon-to-be-released manuscript, Souled:
~ ~ ~
Silence yourself. Feel, rather than think.
I tried for a couple minutes. I really did. In fact, my focus was so intense that I think I’d developed a permanent crease between my brows. The battering kept up, pelting me with shots of emotion, but finally walls began building up around my mind, blocking out one emotion after another, until there was only one feeling left – elation. I dropped my hands to my sides and my eyes slowly opened, expectant. Then my gaze tore through the crowd like a predator sensing its prey. The source was close. Very close.
Ah, there it was behind me. At a cash register stood a boy, 12 years old maybe, his face dominated by a toothy smile. On the other side of the counter, a clerk slapped a receipt onto a brand new Xbox.
The boy’s scrawny arms wrapped around the box and pulled it off the counter. He sprinted, the box crowding his arms, and headed straight towards me, his mother trailing behind. I ignored the woman and instead focused on the boy.
My energy tapped into his and sucked it in like a vacuum. To me, it felt wondrous and exciting; he didn’t feel the same way. He looked as though he’d smacked into a wall. He froze, his eyes latched onto mine, his mouth dropped open, and for a moment his head cocked to one side as if he were reading something he didn’t quite understand.
I smiled.
The boy forced his eyes shut, for a minute covering them with his arm as if the darkness alone wasn’t enough. Then grabbing his mother’s sleeve, still struggling with the box, he ran in the opposite direction.
Ha! That was freakin’ awesome.
~ ~ ~
There you have it. Look for the release of Souled this spring!
Who’s next on the list to give us a sneak peak at their upcoming work of art? I hope you take a moment to check out their blogs as well!
1. Krystal Wade
6. Naomi Bulger
Naomi Bulger – The Author From Down Under
The beautiful Naomi Bulger
“Naomi Bulger is an Australian journalist who moved to New York City for adventure, and found love instead. She now lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her new family.”
So starts her official author biography, but it’s not that cut and dry. There is so much more to this talented writer than meets the eye. I’ve known Naomi for the last nine months (another one of my WANA sisters) and have gotten to know her through her incredibly colorful and feel-good blogs, but I never knew how much about her I didn’t know. Here’s what I found out about this special woman.
Naomi grew up in the Blue Mountains, north-west of Sydney. She and her family lived in the countryside, deep in the Australian bush, in a home without electricity, running water, or a telephone. She was fortunate to be able to spend her teen years exploring the rain forest and bracken fields that made up her homeland.
At the age of 19 she moved to Sydney, and later lived in New York, where she worked as a foreign correspondent. After graduating from college, she began her professional writing career. She has been a professional journalist and copywriter for more than 15 years, specializing in magazine feature writing and online publishing. She was the editor of one national and one international print magazine, and wrote feature stories for several others. Naomi has been published in several magazines in Australia and the US. She was editor of two magazines, and broadcast to more than 100 radio stations while senior journalist at Le Gras News.
She is the author of two nonfiction books, Talk Without Being Interrupted and Seventeen Summers (both out of print), and her poetry was included in the Australian Poetry Encouragement Award anthology in 2002.
Hmm…all of a sudden my cookie baking for the senior citizen home doesn’t seem so monumental.
Seriously, though, Naomi is awesome, isn’t she? Now here are some more questions she was generous enough to answer for us.
Naomi, you are a journalist, using facts to create your stories. Does some of that bleed into your fiction writing?
Hmm, I’m not sure if this is because of journalism, but I do use facts within my fiction. Not just places and names and world events, but real-life happenings. For example, there are a lot of ‘stories within stories’ in Airmail, and many of those stories are true. They are my stories, or stories that belong to my friends. Where the fiction comes in is that I gave those stories to my character, Anouk, and her reactions and responses to those experiences in her life were completely different to my or my friends’ reactions. So those stories took on a life of their own, and you could no longer call them facts.
Who came first, the journalist or the writer?
Definitely the writer. I was writing ‘books’ at the age of six: scribbling stories in stapled-together note-pads, illustrating them, and making cardboard book covers. I never wanted to be a journalist, in fact I think I was quite a snob about it. At university, I saw “journalism versus novel-writing” as akin to “graphic design versus fine art.” I fell into journalism later, because all I seemed to do in any job I had was write, and I was lucky enough to have a wonderful editor who took me under his wing and mentored me throughout my early career. Nowadays, I recognize how the one profession supports the other, and I believe (I hope) that the practice of straight-talking, authentic, plain English journalism has helped me improve my fiction writing.
What do you like best about being an indie writer?
I never intended to be an indie writer. Airmail was first accepted for publication by a small publisher here in Australia. It was a university publishing house, and when our federal government cut funding (almost all universities in Australia are public, not private), the publishers had to close down and all contracts including mine were cancelled. We were part of the way through editing at that stage. I let the book sit on the backburner for a while, because I knew it would never be a mainstream seller: a novella… in the magic realism genre… by an unknown author? Fat chance!
Eventually, when I returned to Australia from New York, I decided to think again. Exploring the indie route for this book was a direct response to my assessment of Airmail’s limited potential for mainstream sales. I chose iUniverse because they work with commercial editors and I was willing to pay a little more to have a truly professional product at the end. I am not vain enough to think I know everything about what it takes to have a good published book, just because I’m the author. I wanted this little story to get the well-rounded treatment and be the best I could make it. It was professionally edited, professionally sub-edited, professionally proofed and professionally designed. The ‘indie’ part meant I had power of veto against these recommendations if I wanted to use it, but I rarely did.
I do still struggle with being attached to the stigma of indie writing. And I don’t have the flexibility that some indie authors have of managing their own price-points or fully controlling their own edits or cover design. I wish I could say “Airmail is only 0.99 on Amazon for Mother’s Day,” but I don’t get any say in that. What has surprised me, most pleasantly, about taking this route is the community of other indie authors, editors and book bloggers I discovered online. I’d never even heard of ‘indie publishing’ before Airmail was already on the shelves. Now, I am part of a groundswell movement. That’s fun.
What do you do when you are not writing?
When I’m not writing fiction, I’m writing journalism, or copywriting, or writing my blog. But when I do manage to tear myself away from the computer, I am much more of a homebody than I used to be. I’ve been learning to cook recently, and discovered I love it. I try to walk as much as I can, which is a great way to explore my new neighborhood (we have moved around a lot in the past few years). I find a lot of pleasure digging in the garden, exploring unique markets, and of course losing myself in a book – I read every day. When it’s possible to get out of Australia, I find energy in travel. It renews me. But right now, I have a big new challenge on my hands: I have a baby due in four months, so I think if you ask me the same question in a little while my answer will be “nappies, nappies and nappies.”
Do you have another project in the making?
Yes, I’ve been working for a long time (longer than I care to admit) on a novel about a sommelier who is on a quest for an ancient and glorious wine. It’s a little bit dark, because my hero is really an antihero who will do anything it takes to gain his prize, in the belief that he is the only one truly worthy. I guess it’s a bit like Perfume: the Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind, although not that dark. This book is a lot of fun to write, because it combines so many things I love: a mystery, a love story, wine, art, archaeology and travel. I hope to have finished the first draft by the time the baby arrives, but who knows how that will go.
You live in Australia, a place that many people would love to visit. Where would you love to visit (somewhere you have never been)?
How long have you got? Greece has been on my bucket list since high school, I want to visit the Delphic Oracle. The aurora borealis is something I have always wanted to see, and I’ve never been to Iceland, so a northern trip could be on the cards. I want to travel through Cambodia, and one day when things calm down in Africa, I will visit Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and so many other countries. Same goes for Egypt and Jordan. Basically, name the place I haven’t been, I want to go there!
Before I let you go, where can your readers find you?
My blog: www.naomibulger.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/airmailthebook
Twitter: @naomi_bulger
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Airmail-Naomi-Bulger/dp/1450235492
One more bit of unfinished business…I put all of your names into a box and had my son, Jesse, draw a name. And…the winner of a paperback of Airmail is….Angela Peart! Congratulations, Angela! Thank you so much, everyone, for your support! I’m sure we’ll do it again when Naomi’s next novel is released!
A Few More Deets on Souled…
Image: businessnewsdaily.com
This has been such a great week for me and I owe it all to my WANA sista, Bridgette Booth!
She helped me pry my fingers off my closely-held WIP and held it up to the light for all to see.
For me, and probably most writers, that’s a big step. After eating, drinking, and sleeping with the characters for many, many moons, the act of talking about the novel in public and acknowledging its upcoming release, makes it all so very real. Knowing that months of hard work will soon draw to an end is, quite frankly, a little scary. It is probably similar to watching our children leave home for the first time. We push them out of the nest, hoping we’ve given them enough love and nurturing to fly on their own. We’ll still be there for them, cheering them on, but ultimately we have to let them go and move on.
Sadness and elation – two emotions that are creeping up on me as I write this. But, it’s part of the writer’s life, a life I fully embrace.
Today, Bridgette has once again generously opened the door to her blog, this time to ask a few questions about me, my writing, and my upcoming novel, Souled. Are you ready for some answers? Then please join me over at Bridgette Booth’s digs for a little conversation.
In the upcoming weeks, be sure to come back, because I’ll be posting excerpts from the novel, interesting information on soul attachments, the making of the book cover (a huge thank you to Crystalyn Abercrombie, artist and tattoo expert!), and other fun stuff!
Thank you so much for stopping by!
Stepping Out For Some Fresh Air
Photo: mandylifeafter30.com
You may or may not have noticed, but I’ve been less active here on my blog and in the Twitterverse. I know that I feel the difference. Not posting my blogs and connecting with you feels like something is missing, but it has been for a very good reason.
You see, my next novel is almost ready to be released.
In the beginning of the novel writing process, at least for me anyway, the first couple weeks are dedicated to feverishly writing down ideas and scenes that play out in my head. The fever then dissipates and the intensity lets up. As words on the pages get cut and rearranged, as holes get filled in, and copy editors and beta readers help tighten up the loose ends, the fever kicks in again. So over the last month or so, I’ve been focused solely on the last phase of my second novel. The more detailed oriented I need to be, the more I need to go into hiding.
Photo by Thinkstock
So who brings me out of this self-imposed social lockdown? My wonderful friend and WANA sister, Bridgette Booth! Bridgette is diligently working on her own manuscript, is an avid reader, AND a homeschool mom. Whew! In between her writing, reading, and teaching, in addition to all of the stuff life throws at her, she is very generously sharing her blog space with me to talk about my soon-to-be released novel.
I’m thrilled that she has read my manuscript and will be talking about it today! Then on Wednesday I’ll be answering her questions!
So jump over to her blog today and see what has been consuming my spare time! I’m really excited about this novel and I’m certain you’ll see why!
A Nasty That Can’t Be Cured With Penicillin
You know what it is. Sometimes it’s hereditary, sometimes it’s picked up from the environment we’re in. It can be in the air, easily passed along from one person to another. A lot of the time we’re scratching our head wondering where the hell it came from. And it’s not gender specific. Both male and female can be afflicted.
Though there are a few people in the human population who are immune to this, like, say Mother Teresa, most of us are able to steer clear of it, but even the toughest ones can fall prey.
Like me, for example. I contracted a bout of this many years ago after being around someone with a similar affliction. It was short-lived, fortunately, but from that day on, I’ve been diligent about keeping myself free and clear.
What is this Nasty? Pure, undiluted Meanness.
The day it hit me, I had a slap-in-the-face reality check. After some particularly choice words from my ex over the subject of laundry, of all things, I came back at him with a line so vile, so below the belt, both of our jaws dropped. Neither of us could believe that I, one of the nicest people I know (okay, I’m in the top 100 of those I know), could have actually said what I did. It was so out of character, so…so…not me. All I could do was close my mouth and slink away. I couldn’t even say I was sorry. Because I had meant it at the time. That was the part that shocked me – that I was even capable of saying something so hurtful. Since that day I have kept my mind and mouth in check, because the look on my ex’s face will burn forever in my brain.
But what about others who do this on a constant basis? Earlier this week some friends, including “T” from Give Me A Valium With My Latte, and I were talking and the conversation turned to women who were nasty, bitchy, and just plain mean. We’re not talking about comments in the privacy of our own homes or amongst friends, but out-in-public mean – words intending to hurt, words that travel with such high velocity, they embed in others, compelling the receiver to “pay it forward,” or at least shoot it right back at the originator with intent to maim. It has a ripple effect and unless we’re skilled at dodging that bullet (which few of us are), many of us tend to get defensive, ball up our fists, and get ready to throw the insults right back.
That is an example of a short-lived case, sort of like the flu or a cold. As soon as the offending person leaves our orbit, we’re back to our sweet selves.
I see that situation on a daily basis with my boys. Separated, they are angels. Together, I’m packing my bags, ready for a Tijuana run just to avoid their energy. My oldest asked me once, “Mom, why is he so mean?” I wanted to shake him into next week and ask, “What do you expect when you treat him the same way?” But I didn’t. We’d had that same conversation at least one hundred times. There was no need to repeat it. My words obviously weren’t going to be sinking in anytime soon.
Some people, unfortunately, are raised in that nasty kind of environment, so when they step out their front door, they are ready to face the world with a frown and a bad attitude. They are the ones who suffer with chronic meanness. They are the ones who have no intention of entering rehab. They are the ones my friends and I were having a “discussion” about this week.
It’s sad, really. Friends and family are alienated from our lives because of the words they choose to utter. (My big brother and I, for example.) Cultures are separated because of the inability to reach for a positive or grateful thought.
I’ve never understood the concept of being mean to one another, to purposely set out to dig under another’s skin until they bleed. Perhaps it feeds the need to feel superior. I don’t know. Like I said. I don’t get it. “T” and I, along with many of my friends, prefer to live in a “no drama zone,” and I think that’s where I’m going to set up house. Not only is it easier on the body, but just think how much money we’ll save in Botox injections. Sheesh.
Digging The Skeletons Out Of The Closet
My mind is still abuzz with the editing and book cover design for my soon-to-be-released YA paranormal (the book cover, by the way, is being created by Crystalyn Abercrombie, natural-born artist and expert inker, who should be known the world over - OMG, OMG, OMG – it is fabulous!!!), so for today’s post, I decided to clean out the mental closet – a nice break from the routine.
Following in the footsteps of my fellow bloggers, August McLaughlin, Amber West, Tim O’Brien, Natalie Hartford, and Tameri Etherton, each who have done posts similar to this, I thought it would be fun to do a little Q & A session with you all, at Tameri’s urging, to see if you knew how much of a Goody-Goody I was/am (or not).
Here’s how this works: I’ll list some things that I may or may not have done. Your challenge is to let me know in the comments section which items you think are true or false. In a couple of days, I’ll give you the answers.
This should be interesting. I wonder what impression you have of me, given the previous soul-revealing posts I’ve written.
So, let’s get started:
1. In high school, I was a forgery expert.
2. In the 1980s I made Tijuana runs and snuck bottles of Everclear grain alcohol back across the border.
3. I helped organize a relief effort for Hurricane Katrina survivors in 2005.
4. I snuck backstage at a UFO concert back in the 1980s.
5. In college I cut my hair within inches of my scalp as a dare from my sorority sisters.
6. I slept in the gutter outside of my college dorm after a particularly wild night.
7. While working in the Security Department in college, I was a model employee.
8. I stole a moped.
9. I used to make cookies and distribute them to residents in retirement homes.
10. My college roommates and I had were very thrifty and furnished our apartment with stolen furniture.
"Did she or didn't she?" Photo: prevention.com
There you have it. How well do you think you know me? Educated guesses and stabs in the dark are totally allowed.
The End Is Only The Beginning
photo: twistsandtales.wordpress.com
The End was penned a couple of months ago, but those two words only signaled the beginning. After 14 months of writing, the words that had been pouring out of my imagination had finally solidified into the 70,000+ manuscript that is now going through the fluff and fold and nip and tuck process.
For me, editing this YA Paranormal has been all-consuming, taking up enough space in my brain to push a few things out. As input from my betas keep coming in, my mind is continuously working out the possibilities and changes my novel could take. I’ve forgotten to pay bills on time, left the market with only half of what I’ve gone in for, and lost a lot of time from work because I’m running through scenes in my head instead of typing medical reports. I get through my days only half there and it’s a struggle to bring myself to the moment and focus on the task at hand.
I’ve got the attention span of blade of grass and if a point is not made within five seconds from the beginning of a conversation or whatever it is that I’m reading, you can be pretty sure I’ve checked out and moved on to something else. Oftentimes I wake up that way, breathing in the adrenaline of the home stretch.
With my tattoo artist now sketching out the cover of the novel – which, by the way, will be one of the next images of art to be inked on my body – the actual completion of my second novel is quickly becoming a reality…and I can’t wait!
So forgive me as I deviate from my usual blog path, because quite honestly, I can’t think of much else. You may not see me much in the blogosphere or in Twitterverse in the next few weeks, but I’ll be around – sort of.
photo: mostphotos.com
