Writing Writing ... and Writing
Apr. 30th, 2017 02:16 pm
The title of this post, is WRITING!
I know what you're saying. Shar isn't your blog, taboos and perversions about WRITING? It sure is, but I wanted to chat more about what I'm working on.
For some reason I am feeling EXTREMELY chatty today. I've written three blog posts and this is the 4th. What can I say, I have a lot on my mind.
Ahem
Okay, so I'm working on Nola Nuptials and Immortals One Demon be Mine. If I can stop blogging and get back to these stories, I should have both finished by Monday. Demon is at the point where the MCs want to jump in bed. They're diggin each other, blah blah. And Nola was a request from a reader to see a wedding. Frankie and Kajika's wedding since they've been through so much. They are my most beloved characters so I'm giving them their HEA.
Once I'm done with these two, I will start PROTEKT 3. I have the title, I wrote the synopsis. My editor likes it so she is waiting for me to send her the damn book. I'm also starting Veronica's first short story. It will be very simple, sexy, erotica MF to get her going before I start writing longer works. This is to get her out there and hope she grabs some people along the way. When I finish one of those, I'll be working on Our Father Gren DuMont which is the twins PREQUEL. I'm also doing a story for Rawiya. It looks to be Sugar Daddy and I'll be making it simpler instead of the complex plot I'd already done.
By the time May is done, I'll be ready to pull on BL again and we'll start with UTG3 as well as Hirah 3. Hirah 3 is done first draft wise, but I plan on adding more and perhaps changing some things. BL and I also would like to do a new erotica series called Fender Benders which will be all metal erotica shorts. We'll see how that goes!
In this mosh of info, you're probably wondering what happened with Smoke. Well, Smoke is getting read by the betas and I already have 3 people who've gotten back to me. One wasn't okay with the 3 POV thing, so I separated it in chapters. When I get the others back, I'll begin going through chapter by chapter to see what can be cut or added. I'm sitting on 72 chapters. Some are long, some aren't. If I figure out that the chapter isn't needed it will get deleted.
Tempo was actually accepted by Evernight which gives me and Michael our first contract of 2017! *throws confetti* the plan was to have 10 submissions this year. *grimaces* Right now I'd settle for five but we'll see what happens. I'm also self-pubbing books and as you know that takes time and money. I need covers and editing done on these books, so we shall so how it all goes!
That's the update for now.
Oh and the muse? That is Mario Dapper. He is Veronica's first vic ... I mean, muse. *winks* A sexy MF IR with some heat. *winks*
Crossing the Reader Fic off my list!
Apr. 12th, 2017 12:12 pm
YASS!
I finally got the reader's request done. I know, I know, it wasn't a big deal, but it was to me because I didn't want to start any more stories until I'd finished one. I'm letting this sit for a while before I let someone look over it and post it here as well as Wattpad.
I have some stories over there if you'd like to have a look. Most are racy. If you're game, go on and click this link.
Oh and the cover I did myself. I used Canva since I am not proficient with photoshop.
:)
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With another WIP done, I can focus on finishing Smoke. It is very close as I said in my last post. I also have Immortals 1 which is now being pushed back until May, but it does have words at least. The next story I'm starting is Nola Nuptials which is also a reader's story but I'm putting that on sale. Look for that next month. Also, PROTEKT 3 will be started. Once I get done with Smoke or Nola Nuptials, I'll start on Gren Dumont's story which will wrap up the Brothers Durand series. And I still have my DDFics to finish. The one I've been writing for like a year as well as a Dave/JT crossover.
Oh and of course, I'll be doing a couple of het books for my new muses. I'll be starting one this week!
Damn Muses Part Two!
Mar. 12th, 2017 05:17 pm
Argh!
The dang muses from my book Smoke have struck again. Since I was on vacation the last week of February, I'm catching up with these men and oh wow, they did have a lot to say.
Then there was the vision I had on Friday night for a scene to write in the book. I can't tell you about it because it would ruin the story. Let's just say it has to do with death and sex.
Um...
I know that doesn't give you a lot to go on and no, I'm not talking about a snuff scene or necrophilia. LOL It's involving two of the characters from the book. That's all I'll say. I know, I know, I'm a tease, but if I tell you, you won't read the dang book!
*laughs*
This reminds me about one of my earlier posts about this book. How the plotline makes me anxious. And this scene only adds to that anxiety. I'm wondering how readers will feel when they read the scenarios these three men have gone through.
All so they can build something lasting together. Yes, they gotta go through some shit because I believe it will bring them closer.
Okay, now I've said way too damn much. I should be writing instead of telling you. I will! I have the WIP open and now I will stop blabbing and go write it!
And yes, that man above is one of the muses. Boris is my muse for jerk ass, Myles Greyson.
February is here!
Feb. 1st, 2017 09:28 am
Greetings folks.
It's February! OHEMGEE, can you believe it? January already flew by and now the second month of 2017 is upon us.
January was a busy month for me. I managed to write over 75k last month, mostly because I finished like 4 stories. *laughs* The one I'm doing with my co-author isn't done, but we're almost to the finish line. Currently we're clocking in at 56k and probably looking at 65-70k for our book.
This month I'm focusing on a new set of challenges. I've decided to let BL relax and won't be doing
Why you ask? Because I realized BL has over 30 books to her credit. Sure, 18 of those are for The Wretched alone which is a collection of novellas, but dang, my Michael muse is starving for more attention. Such is the reason why I've to stop writing with the Wicked Gal for now. No worries, she'll be back. I already have a lot for her to tackle once we start writing again.
Another series for her with my co-author, the first book is done. UTG3, a Wretched spinoff or two, the follow up to Odd Couple, the redo of My Lieutenant, and possibly Wild Horses will finally get a look over. AGAIN. So believe you me, she has a lot on her plate and I'll look to doing more with her after May.
When I looked at the breakdown of books per author, they looked like this:
Michael 14
BL 31
Rawiya 7
Rawiya doesn't do a bunch, so I'm not really worried about her. She is supposed to be the opposite of BL anyway, so I'm not really concerned that she has a low amount. I would like to try getting her another book or 2 before the end of the year. Sugar Daddy is on tap to be re-done and I have a new one titled Love in the Slow Lane. We'll see how it goes.
In the meantime, wish me luck on my WIPs. As you can see I'll be hella busy. And I've decided to dip my toe in freelance writing as well. Hmm. We'll see how much I do. You can follow me there if you so desire. Sharita Lira
Oh and the muse is David Garrett. In my co-author story, he is Frederick Tremblay world famous violinist. <3
Back on Track!
Jan. 12th, 2017 10:37 am
Yassss!
*pumps fists*
So, here it is 10 days later and I feel better about myself. I am no longer behind as I was. Why you ask? I have finished the first draft of See No Evil and it is with the betas. Woot, woot, woot!
Okay, let me calm down. There have been some positive things to come out of the betas. I shuddered from what they might think, but all seem to enjoy the book and with a few more tweaks, hopefully I can give my editor a clean draft so she won't have to work so hard.
I also figured out what was going on with Hirah so now I believe I'm back on track with her too. The 2nd book is on its way to the editor so I will get her out by 1/31 at the latest. Also, UTG2 will be out. I'd like to do a free day on KU for it and hopefully draw up interest in the 2nd one. I'll be starting the third in a couple of days.
I did start a new story with my co-author. We're already at 18k! YIKES. It's a different kind of story for Michael. A love tale that has a few bumps in the road, but will eventually get to a happy ending. You know my guy muse likes complex shit, but because of the character, who is really quirky, long winded, I decided Michael should write him. We'll see how it goes, but I'm excited for the book. Its going well.
Once I finish Hirah 3, I'll be starting the Immortals series with Michael. I'm looking to get the first book out by April, with each book coming out every other month. What it looks like now is 5 books so we'll see what happens. To satisfy the characters Ryland and Valios, I'm doing a sexy short for them that I'll publish on Wattpad, as well as the Lit blog and Michael's. I already dreamed about what would happen, so it should be very easy to write. Damn muses!
I also have Smoke on the backburner and I need to get back to it. I won't pick it back up until Hirah 3 and UTG 3 are done however so it might be awhile. They are screaming in my head so it is NOT a dead story. It will be finished and go to a publisher in the next few months.
I'm still working on my DD fanfic, but I have to admit, it has taken a back seat to my published work. I hope to get it done soon. And there's the short I was doing with the guy above and three of my favorite characters but I scrapped it because I didn't like the way it was going. I'll post the sext scene on Wattpad and on Lit Blog in a bit in case you're interested. It's just a sexy scene! I have another fanfic to do as well, so I hope to get that on the blogs eventually.
So much to do, I can hardly keep up, but at least I'm back on track again. I finally see some positives coming out of all of my anxious moments and hopefully that will get me to where I want to be in my career!
Thanks for listening!
NaNoWriMo Dilemma
Oct. 19th, 2016 11:15 am
So, I'm sitting here on my first day off in over a week and trying to figure out what I want to write for Nano. At times, I've done it the unconventional way and wrote several stories to make up 50k, but this time, I thought about doing it traditional.
GRR
The only thing is, I have so many choices. I could rewrite a couple of books. One of which is Sugar Daddy. I could write the next book in PROTEKT which has no title. I have a new m/m story I just thought about or my first book by my muse, Veronica Bagbay which, no, I haven't done yet. Been wanting to write with her for years. AHH! What to do?
Then there is my urban fantasy I've been plotting with the above character. Ryland Durand. Or should it be my magical fantasy I've been researching and plotting. Ugh! the damn muses are running amuck in my brain and I don't know how to control them.
What to do?
Any thoughts?
Lost in books and Life
Oct. 15th, 2016 05:18 am
Yep, that's been me lately with a drink nearby as I trudge through the year. I can't believe my last entry on LJ was in 2013, or maybe I can since so much has gone on the last couple of years.
Oh, no worries. If you still follow me somewhere, I still write. Funny, I was just reading the last entry about writing over 500k. Phew, was I productive! Yeah, well, I haven't gotten close to that in the last year or so. More responsibilities, growing kids and sometimes, well ... I lost the love I once had for writing.
Why you ask?
Well, because I feel as though I could do better accomplishing wise. Sure I have books published, some of them have been out 2 or 3 times. *laughs* But, when you're not feeling the excitement because of lack of sales, notieriety or a combination of both, it zaps your resolve. Your love for the craft starts going down the proverbial drain of self doubt and anxiety. Why isn't my shit good enough? Why isn't anyone giving a damn about anything I do?
Then, something happens to give you a little spark. An email from the publisher, from a reader, a good review and you say, yeah, I am good enough. I might not be the best and I have a ton to still learn but, I am still a newbie. It's six years and counting that I've been writing professionally and though I'm not exactly where I want to be, I have done a lot in that span of time.
Since my last post, I believe I've put out like 20 books. lol I finished The Wretched Tales and now I'm working on a spinoff series for a new character, Hirah Blaze. I finished On the Run with Michael and it's sequel to the PROTEKT series, Closely Guarded releases in 2 weeks. I'm almost done with N'awlins Exotica. I'm on the final book, See No Evil and I love my characters. I also wrote a book with a co-author. It sold pretty well and is now being translated into French and Italian. I re-released Under the Gun, Smooth Like Latte, and Time to Make the Donuts. The last 2 as a duet with a new publisher. So yes, I've been hella busy. And all this with a teen, almost going to college and an 8 year old who is going on 25. *laughs* And of course, the dreaded EDJ which I have 2 of now because I thought we'd need the extra money for son to go to away to school. Now though, this extra money is to help my ailing mom and hopefully help us save some money for the family goals.
Anyways, writing is very few and far between these days. I got an email from my co-author and told her since I've been working so hard outside the home, I don't want to commit to co-writing again until the new year. We have several other projects on the docket, but with my schedule which is not as flexible anymore, I don't want to say I'll be availaible when I'm not sure I will be. All this makes me antsy. I still love to write and my muses are bursting with ideas, but dammit, it's hard when I barely have time to eat, sleep, and breathe. Hubs has bene supportive. He told me to keep pushing and not worry, but it's hard not to when so many doubts creeep in the back of your mind. Same thing with BFF who urges me to keep trucking, whch is good.
However, what's most helpful is gettng my thoughts here on LJ. When I checked into this a couple of days ago, it reminded me of my zeal to write and how much I pushed to do it regardless of what was going on. How I managed to finish Nano even with a horrid EDJ. I changed the EDJ since then, but it's still a PITA. *laughs* Reading my old entries and what I was working on has lit a little fire under me that I sorely needed.
So I'm thinking, I'll start filling in this journal again with my thoughts because I need this as part of therapy. I need to actually write down what's going on in my brain to make sense out of the mess up there and to clear my head of my anxieties and doubts. I believe this will help, just as it did back then. Maybe, some will follow, some will not. Its cool either way, because as I said, it really is like a couch session for me. *laughs*
BTW, that's my new muse above. Isn't he the cutest? He's the male MC in Hirah Blaze's story. Chad Stevenson. I'm hoping to get Hirah up and going by the end of next week. Until next time! You can check out all my available books on Pinterest
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Works in progress
Free story Wanting part 3 BL
See No Evil Book 6 N'awlins Exotica Michael/Rawiya
Hirah Blaze Book 3 BL
Under the Gun 3 BL
Immortals Series Book 1 Michael
DD Fanfic An Unexplainable Predictament
A New Year - GOODBYE 2013
Jan. 1st, 2014 08:18 pmGreetings folks. So another year is gone. Wha? Are you kidding me? I really cannot believe that 2013 is gone but hey, its 2014 so let's go!
Anyways, what did I manage to accomplish? I released 18 books, only two were novels. I also did a couple of shorts for anthologies too. What I noticed when I did my video for covers only 3 were released through pubs. A Special After Christmas Gift, Queer Fables, and Candyman. That brings me to my goal of subbing to other pubs. I was supposed to do 10. :/ I only subbed 3 and just one was a new pub I haven't been pubbed by. So that one still stands. The breakdown is 5 from Michael, 3 from Rawiya, and 2 from BL.
Writing wise I passed my 500k goal. Just barely too. 501K plus and only because I suffered writer's block in December. I didn't really think it could happen to me but after finishing I Love it Rough I did. My brain was exhausted, I was stressed from the EDJ and Christmas and it sent the muses into hiding. For nearly 2 weeks I didn't write anything. *grimaces* I started a short on 12/30 just to get out the kinks and I hope that works since I have a few things I want to write this month. Mainly some revisions and rewrites. There are stories that need to be revised for me to submit in the coming months. And I have some new stories I'd like to write this year.
I'll continue to write the Wretched for BL since its gaining some popularity. Someone asked me today when I was continuing. ;D Made me pretty happy. Also, edits on I Love it Rough this month for the 2/17 release. I have the twins story and I'd like to do a baseball anthology between the muses.
This year the writing goal is 325k. Why? Well, I figured 11 months at 25k a month = 275k plus Nano at 50k. That gives me more time to edit, revise, read, learn, research and promo. I'm pretty sure I'll pass that easily with the novels I have planned but I left it low so the daily pressure wouldn't be so high.
We shall see what happens especially when my 4th muse begins writing. I'm looking forward to the challenges and the new year.
Anyways, what did I manage to accomplish? I released 18 books, only two were novels. I also did a couple of shorts for anthologies too. What I noticed when I did my video for covers only 3 were released through pubs. A Special After Christmas Gift, Queer Fables, and Candyman. That brings me to my goal of subbing to other pubs. I was supposed to do 10. :/ I only subbed 3 and just one was a new pub I haven't been pubbed by. So that one still stands. The breakdown is 5 from Michael, 3 from Rawiya, and 2 from BL.
Writing wise I passed my 500k goal. Just barely too. 501K plus and only because I suffered writer's block in December. I didn't really think it could happen to me but after finishing I Love it Rough I did. My brain was exhausted, I was stressed from the EDJ and Christmas and it sent the muses into hiding. For nearly 2 weeks I didn't write anything. *grimaces* I started a short on 12/30 just to get out the kinks and I hope that works since I have a few things I want to write this month. Mainly some revisions and rewrites. There are stories that need to be revised for me to submit in the coming months. And I have some new stories I'd like to write this year.
I'll continue to write the Wretched for BL since its gaining some popularity. Someone asked me today when I was continuing. ;D Made me pretty happy. Also, edits on I Love it Rough this month for the 2/17 release. I have the twins story and I'd like to do a baseball anthology between the muses.
This year the writing goal is 325k. Why? Well, I figured 11 months at 25k a month = 275k plus Nano at 50k. That gives me more time to edit, revise, read, learn, research and promo. I'm pretty sure I'll pass that easily with the novels I have planned but I left it low so the daily pressure wouldn't be so high.
We shall see what happens especially when my 4th muse begins writing. I'm looking forward to the challenges and the new year.
NANO Post Four I DID IT
Nov. 29th, 2013 09:57 pm
Greetings folks! WHEW I almost didn't make it. Remember the last post were I was like 8k behind? Well last weekend I kicked ass, writing over 10k and then finishing by Wednesday as I wanted. Wednesday was my day off so I was able to stay up late, write for the majority of the morn after the kiddies went to school and make the 50k by nightfall!
Woot. *waves pom poms*
I'm damn proud of myself. The book is almost done too, currently sitting at 43k plus, it shall be done between 50-55k. Yay. You don't know how happy this makes me. In the midst of stress over real life, your job, kids, etc, its great to feel good about something you care about. I love to write and I love my characters so I'm pleased to have completed Nano and seeing it published next year. I'm looking to 2/17/14 which is my 8th Wedding anniversary. I plan on being in New Orleans again so I hope to make this happen.
Nano is truly a test, especially when you have kids, an EDJ, a significant other. It's hard enough with the distractions, even harder with the aforementioned important things. The EDJ almost killed me but I made it and I'm very happy that it didn't completely stop me from making my goal!
So, I plan on completing by Sunday. *crosses fingers* I'd like to move on to other stories and get ready to promote my Xmas release. To all those who attempted, wtg, even if you didn't win. The idea is you tried it. You're still a winner!
* * * *
Contracts signed for ML3 and Rawiya's Special After Xmas Gift
Finish date for ILIR Sunday 12/1 if not 12/2
Short story for Nathan and Bryant Amazon Exclusive
Wretched to come out by 2nd week of December
Sub Call for MLR Next Up
Edits on Jayden to finish b4 subbing
NANO POST THREE ERGH!
Nov. 20th, 2013 08:47 amGreetings. The title of this blogpost is... well no title, just ERGH or UGH
That's the sound i'm making after a few of those, "I don' t feel like writing cause i'm too damn tired..." days.
The EDJ is getting to me and now i'm fighting a bug! Grrrr
Currently I'm about 8k behind and Nano says I have to do 2300 a day to catch up
Yes I can do that but next week is Thanksgiving and Black Friday sooooo it would behoove me to get most of this done before then.
Unfortunately I work in retail so that means I'll be in the thick of it. Thankfully only part time. Still, i have a family, I have cooking to do... Gah, How will I get this done
Though I am pissed about being so behind, I'm not giving up. This weekend I'll be shooting for 8-10k so I can get the brunt of the story finished before the holiday. Please cheer me on!
* * *
Just signed the contract for Rawiya's tale
Contract for ML3 is in the works
Edits on Jayden looming to send it before next week.
That's the sound i'm making after a few of those, "I don' t feel like writing cause i'm too damn tired..." days.
The EDJ is getting to me and now i'm fighting a bug! Grrrr
Currently I'm about 8k behind and Nano says I have to do 2300 a day to catch up
Yes I can do that but next week is Thanksgiving and Black Friday sooooo it would behoove me to get most of this done before then.
Unfortunately I work in retail so that means I'll be in the thick of it. Thankfully only part time. Still, i have a family, I have cooking to do... Gah, How will I get this done
Though I am pissed about being so behind, I'm not giving up. This weekend I'll be shooting for 8-10k so I can get the brunt of the story finished before the holiday. Please cheer me on!
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Just signed the contract for Rawiya's tale
Contract for ML3 is in the works
Edits on Jayden looming to send it before next week.
Why did I decide to do this for the 4th time? I have no idea. Yeah I do, because I love competition, and even though the camaraderie is great throughout the author community for the whole year, it really comes together for Nano. The fellowship, the sprints, sharing each other's successes and joys or their troubles over plot and writer's block.
And I'm doing this with the stress of the horrid EDJ and my wonderful family. How am I going to do it? Well, I have a plan that I'll share with you in a moment.
Amazingly, I've wrote a little over 423k for the year. That is quite astonishing since I've taken several days off, especially this past October when I took almost half the month off due to the job and the same in Feb when I was on vacation. I'vetrudged soldiered on, writing the Wretched, the Nawlins Exotica/Paranormal, shorts for Rawiya as well as her latest novel, Something Like Jayden. I've done plenty of fanfic too which has gotten me through some rough patches as well as some shorts for Wednesday Briefs.
For Nano, I'll be tackling I Love it Rough, the sequel to I Like Em Pretty by Michael as well as finishing up the novella for Rawiya's Xmas tale, a sequel to Comet. My goal is to get at least 45k out of ILIR and the rest from the novella. That equals 50k plus. I need to finish Rawiya's novella by Monday and as I write this, I've finally hit my stride with the story. Thank goodness too, since I was about to scratch it and move on to my novel.
Oh yeah, did I mention I changed my mind again? The story was supposed to beOn the Run by BLMorticia but instead, because of my EDJ which made my muses go into hiding for that story, I went with the stronger and more complex plot, the familiar characters but a harder story. This is an erotica romance with murder and suspense. I'm reading a crime novel right now and have been doing more research on homicide detectives and CSIs. I'm about to introduce 4 new characters and actually plotting this story by chapter, making changes as I go along. Oh boy, really stressful. I hope it works too but in all honesty, I don't see the book getting out until January after I've sent it to betas and done the edits. Due to the complexity and amount of research on this tale, I must push back the release date. The goal is to get the story as close to fact and reality as possible and that will take some time.
My NANO plan? To write at 12am and try getting the required 1667 or at least 1000 before I go back to sleep to head into work. My EDJ does allow me to pretty much work my own schedule so I wont be heading into until almost 930 on most days. When I get home, I shall see if I can push out more words or I'll take the time to blog, read, and or do research.
Will this work, I don't know but I have the goal in mind to complete this NANO despite the odds stacked against me! So please, cheer me on! I'm needing some encouragement and to those of you who are also doing the NANO, enjoy, and good luck!
* * * *
PROGRESS
Jayden is loved by betas, need author beta now to send to pub
ML3 was accepted, waiting on contract
No word on UTG yet
Mon Frere, Plus One the 3rd book with Ryland/Ryder is finished and should be out today or tomorrow
The Wretched Volume 2.1 will be started after ILIR is done
Xmas Story for Denny and Preston from Comet is almost done. Will send to beta when finished.
And I'm doing this with the stress of the horrid EDJ and my wonderful family. How am I going to do it? Well, I have a plan that I'll share with you in a moment.
Amazingly, I've wrote a little over 423k for the year. That is quite astonishing since I've taken several days off, especially this past October when I took almost half the month off due to the job and the same in Feb when I was on vacation. I've
For Nano, I'll be tackling I Love it Rough, the sequel to I Like Em Pretty by Michael as well as finishing up the novella for Rawiya's Xmas tale, a sequel to Comet. My goal is to get at least 45k out of ILIR and the rest from the novella. That equals 50k plus. I need to finish Rawiya's novella by Monday and as I write this, I've finally hit my stride with the story. Thank goodness too, since I was about to scratch it and move on to my novel.
Oh yeah, did I mention I changed my mind again? The story was supposed to be
My NANO plan? To write at 12am and try getting the required 1667 or at least 1000 before I go back to sleep to head into work. My EDJ does allow me to pretty much work my own schedule so I wont be heading into until almost 930 on most days. When I get home, I shall see if I can push out more words or I'll take the time to blog, read, and or do research.
Will this work, I don't know but I have the goal in mind to complete this NANO despite the odds stacked against me! So please, cheer me on! I'm needing some encouragement and to those of you who are also doing the NANO, enjoy, and good luck!
* * * *
PROGRESS
Jayden is loved by betas, need author beta now to send to pub
ML3 was accepted, waiting on contract
No word on UTG yet
Mon Frere, Plus One the 3rd book with Ryland/Ryder is finished and should be out today or tomorrow
The Wretched Volume 2.1 will be started after ILIR is done
Xmas Story for Denny and Preston from Comet is almost done. Will send to beta when finished.
Running in place...
Sep. 29th, 2013 08:22 pm
Greetings again...
And yes, I have another hot man up there to begin my post. Don't I always? Yeah well, I did it to not only catch your attention but illustrate how I feel right now. All wet... sweaty... even though that ain't sweat on this hottie... *winks*
Anyways, I feel pressured to produce. Why? I haven't subbed ANYTHING until the last couple of days. I've been busy learning, reading books on writing, taking classes and doing the freebie stories for BL's The Wretched. I did manage to finish Jayden for Rawiya which I'm rather excited about but until I subbed ML3 and UTG the new version by BL, I hadn't sent anything into publishers since like, oh I dunno, the first of the year?
Well, not counting the sub I just did for the charity anthology anyway. Seems like I'm running in place as far as my writing is concerned. I'm keeping up with word count, reading, learning but right now, I have no new releases to come out for the year.
So very different from last year when I think I had like 15 books come out with pubs as well as self pub. The royalties started rolling in and I even ended the year with a couple of best selling books on Amazon. This year it's been all about the Wretched, keeping up the monthly bit with Corey and company while I try fitting Michael and Rawiya around BL's rigorous schedule. The number of downloads say we should continue to do the freebies since they all have at least 2-300 downloads at Smashwords where I hardly make any money. Someone's paying attention there and so, I continue to churn out the Wretched Tales.
But even with those stories, I still feel like I've hit a wall. With the debacle at NBP, the pub that went down the tubes as well as troubles with another over moneys and statements, it makes me weary to sub anywhere. Sure I still want to see in work to publishers but I'd rather deal with those that have a good track record. No more small presses for me. I need to go bigger and ask my peers more questions. Although this is my plan, I'm also feeling a sense of self-doubt. Am I good enough to be with some of the bigger pubs? Can I produce a story that people will pick up when I sub to say Dreamspinner or LooseID? That theory was tested when I tried doing the subcall for MLR and because I didn;t feel the story was ready I nixed subbing to them.
Despite this, I still want to sub Jayden before the end of this year. It will most likely be my last sub of the year. On the Run won't be ready for subbing until January most likely and other that I Love it Rough, The Wretched Tales, and a possible Xmas Tale, I don't see myself with many new stories for this year.
It may seem like i'm panicking a little and well that's because I am. I recall when I first started how I was so prolific. I subbed short stories to pubs and they were accepted in anthologies. Then my first couple of stories came out for Michael, then BL, then Rawiya with NNP. Wow, I was on a roll but this year its the exact opposite. I sincerely hope that changes. I blame it on stress, the day job for one, takes a lot of my time and well, I have a family so a lot of my brain power goes there.
I wonder how people are able to juggle all of it. Working FT, writing, family, etc. I guess I'm just not that strong. At least not yet but I hope to be stronger as I continue to strive to be the best author I can be!
* * * * *
Progress
Sent Something Like Jayden to the betas
Subbed UTG by BL and ML3, editing UTG2
Writing Ryland and Ryder's third book and about to do I Love it Rough
Thinking about a possible print or full volume for the Wretched
Halloween short for the Wretched and or Nathan/Bryant
Christmas story... not sure what characters
Muses fight for attention!
Aug. 29th, 2013 01:08 am
Greetings again...
Oh yeah the man above? Oh he's just a guy... not a muse... NOT NOW ANYWAY... ahem... *rapidly blinks and clears throat* I feel like I'm being suffocated by my muses. All of them want their story now and they're fighting one another for position in my brain.
Case in point, I'm writing Something Like Jayden for Rawiya right now and figured I'd follow up with a new story that's been bugging me as of late, tentatively titled On the Run for BLMorticia. But I also have I Love it Rough the sequel to ILEP and Ryland and Ryder's third story Mon... whatever to come up for Michael. I'd originally thought On the Run would be next but now, seems like Michael wants to get his two stories done first since they are sequels.
o.0
What? I know, I know he really does want to get back to the twins and Frankie and Kajika but he literally took over my head space and swayed my thoughts in his favor. "Oh you're writing the Wretched for her every month. The least you can do is give me my sequels now and do her story for NanoWriMo." Michael speaks to me in a pissed off voice. *blinks* Damn Michael, I didn't think you had it in you but you do I suppose. You wanted your stories next and you'll get them. Now BL's pouting and Rawiya's busy finishing her latest story.
Ah well, you can't please them all but at least I intend to get these books written by the end of the year. I actually made a small list of books I wanted to see done by the 31st of December and where they might be subbed or self pubbed. 12 stories are on that list including the ones mentioned above. We shall see if I actually get all these done. A couple are already finished, they just need to go to the publishers.
This puts back many
* * * *
WIPS Something Like Jayden - about 75% of the way done and The Wretched 1.5 will be released over the weekend.
Editing, Editing and MORE EDITING!
Aug. 9th, 2013 12:11 am
*sitting at my computer and going through stories instead of writing. A necessary evil*
Ahem, that's not me, instead just a model by the name of Fernando Sippel. You know I always like to feature pretty mens in my posts!
Yeah, okay, back to the posts.
Authors, you know the word edits well. You do it yourself, you send it to an editor, you send it back to them, you go through it again. If you have betas, they go through it, and then you do a final edit to see if the book is ready to publish. Gah? Yeah at times you add more words, you cut some too. You might change the name of a character. You catch your silly mistakes and you obsess over the amount of pink balloons on the side from your editor. But as you know, it is necessary if you're going to put out a good book.
I've been doing a slew of these and well putting them off too. Err... I'm still sitting on Closely Guarded but its got a week b4 I submit. I've put Wild Horses and Trois in Treble as well as Vertigo 2 to the side. My editor is editing ML3, I'm editing Under the Gun to be re-submitted to my other pub, oh and dont forget my epic African Sun I've been sitting on for like a year and a half.
:P
Oh man, the edits! I haven't written much in the novel department, more short stories than ever just to keep up word count. Now I'm ready to start my next 3 books. Not all at once but Jayden for Rawiya, On the Run for BL, and the sequel to I Like Em Pretty for Michael, await my attention. Once they're done, they'll need edits too.
Oh the mind numbing horror but as I said very necessary. I do enjoy the edits but at times I wish the plot bunnies would edit themselves!
Wish me luck!
Lights... Camera... Action!
Jul. 18th, 2013 11:25 am
Morning!
Today i'm talking about the similarities of an author to a director. How you say? Oh wait a minute, you wanna know who the hottie is first? Oh, just my newest muse Bryan Marczewski who is a hot young model from Brazil. More Brazilian men. Yes I know, I need to move there.
Anyways, what do I mean about similarities between an author and a director of a movie, TV show or play? Well lets see. We both want our characters to portray certain emotions. When things aren't right, we yell CUT and yeah, we as authors actually cut out scenes. When we get the desired result, we let the cameras roll until its a wrap. Yep, and then we edit and edit until we're satisfied.
There are more but what I want to focus on is the characters which as you know, drive the story. Sure the plot does too but what do readers often say about some books they didn't enjoy? I just couldn't connect with the characters.
It's already hard to write a story, get facts straight, and throw in the fact you need to be as close as you can to correct punctuation and grammar. All important, but what seems to be the main concern is your characters. Are your making your characters stand out for the reader?
In I Like Em Pretty under Michael Mandrake, the character Kenina got on EVERYONE's nerves. They couldn't understand why I wrote her to be such a bitch. Well, truthfully, I changed the plot line and to make up for some mistakes, I made Kenina a very unlikeable character. Well, I love the girl. You can't have happy go lucky cheerful characters all the time. On the other hand, a couple of reviews said they couldn't connect with Frankie or Kajika. I couldn't figure out why because I thought I did a good job at world building, however there was still one thing missing. Their emotions. I didn't fully tap into their emotions, their inner voices like I should've. That meant really SHOWING the emotions, showing how mad Frankie was when Vance looked at his man and so forth.
IN the end, I figured Kenina was memorable because through her actions, she showed herself to be a bitch and well, in that instance I might've did my job. However, I still need to work on fleshing out Frankie and Kajika as they move on to their second book. So, as an author, I am yelling from the director's chair saying, Kajika... give me more emotion. Show me what you're feeling. Yep, I need to work on that. I'm up for the challenge and through my latest set of beta reads I picked up some very valuable knowledge. Hopefully I can apply this to the next book and the complaints won't be focus on the "actors." I'm working on it but as you can see, it's a easier said than done.
* * * *
So an update?
Well, I'm finishing the sequel to Guardian Angel, my personal piece which just released last Friday. Rawiya is writing it and of course, she'd into it. Next on the docket is the Wretched. BL and I are looking forward to doing that this weekend. Next, Something Like Jayden by Rawiya. A little different book from her. Not the fluffy stuff you're used to with her. And then onto my novels: On the Run with BL and I Love it Rough with Michael.
:D
And I'm on pace to do the 500k thing. I'm over the halfway point! Woot
Thanks for listening!
New Month, New Challenges Ahead
Jul. 1st, 2013 07:53 pm
Greetings again to anyone following.
The muses and I have quite a lot of work ahead, mostly edits since I keep writing stories and hanging on to them for weeks.
LOL
Usually I have something I've learned to say in these posts but I'm actually saving that for a blog.
Just updates today. Woot! What are we, me and the muses working on now?
Well, there will be a lot of writing that isn't published to keep up the WC.
Edits, edits edits
Edits for BL on ML3 and Wild Horses. Actually a revise on the latter since I hated the story once first draft was done.
Edits on Guardian Angel, now by Michael Mandrake since it has a sequel. BTW sequel due August 1
Edits on Closely Guarded. Its due for a subcall 8/15
And edits on Under the Gun since BL is subbing for publication.
Somewhere in there I'll try writing Something Like Jayden from Rawiya and another Wretched as well as Fangirl, the next Reluctant Groupie!
Then at end the month, I Love it Rough, the sequel to I Like Em Pretty for Michael!
Really excited about that one. Lots of research to do in the midst of the edits.
I'm very much looking forward to it.
So far, I've wrote 252K this year of fiction and looking forward to doing Nano in Nov!
I'll return sometime this month with a learning post but for now, we'll just do the general update
Thanks for listening!
Dreaming... Muses disturbing my Sleep
Jun. 10th, 2013 03:59 pm
Whew this is good right? 2 posts in like 3 weeks? Is anyone still listening? Hope so...
Anyways, the unique thing about characters is when they disturb you form doing things. Might be reading, writing, working at the day job *groans* and SLEEPING! Yes sleeping.
Something about a muse that gets you up in the middle of the night but even more special is the one that plays out like movie in your head. WOW. Yeah that happened to me last night. I was sleeping and Channing Tatum knocked on my head and climbed in bringing the last posts' hottie, Pedro Perestello with him. What did he say? Write me a story, Shar where I'm falling in love with this hot man with beautiful eyes. Make it tense, make us break apart for a bit, get back together for one night then break apart again. Then, have Chris Helmsworth as my man and make him leave me for a bit too, only to return and fight with Pedro over me.
And my head obliged. And I had a lovely, angsty, m/m military story. OOH YUM!!!!!
Yep, that doesn't happen too often. I recall Masquerade was another story that played out like a movie in my brain. Also Something Like Jayden, That Thing. And I Like Em Pretty did as well.
Oh and this... wow, is it speaking to me. No character names, 3 hot men with tempers, different backgrounds, military men who are looking for happy endings. Yep, this really is a BL kind of story since its military men but Michael is writing it. I do love when the muses can wake me up and give me a clear idea of what they want. No question, this plot bunny has wings that definitely will turn into a story before the year is out!
* * * *
Whats up now? Well I'm on pace to do my 500k. Im ahead for the month.
Im working on shorts, ML3, and edits for Mon Amour as well as Closely Guarded. I'll also be finally doing Something Like Jayden
Thanks for listening!
Wow, haven't been here in a minute...
May. 22nd, 2013 06:24 pm
Wow, I haven't been writing in this journal since January! *sighs* I've been in FB land, on the blogs for the three muses, releasing books almost every month and haven't been here to update on progress. I will TRY to be better, I promise.
I also been busy collecting new muses. See this man up here? His name is Pedro Perestello. OMG is he hot! Those eyes, that hair, that bod. GOOD LORD.
Anyway, that's not what the update is about. Wanting to try catching up for anyone that just might be paying attention to me. I just looked at the last entry back in January where i recall talking about my novel, I Like Em Pretty. Well, it's been edited, released, and in about a month and a half on the market, it's done well. Not like bestseller or anything but hey, any book sale is a good one, isn't it? i do love this series and will be even happier when people catch on to what me and the muses are trying to accomplish.
By the way, this book became a full scale series called N'awlins Exotica. It's set in New Orleans, tapping into the taboos of Det Frankie Choteau, his lover Kajika Fortier as well as others in the very vibrant city known as the Big Easy.
If you'd like to learn more, visit the FB page.
Now, besides that, I was also able to do a story for a reader as requested. This became part of the series, a twincest story called Mon Frere, My True Love. It was a best seller on All Romance and did well on Amazon too. That surprised the heck out of me since I wasn't expecting many people to want to read that kind of story. Now, I'm working on book 2 of the Ryland Twins books with a story called, Mon Amour, Forever More as well as I Love It Rough, the sequel to I Like EM Pretty.
What else? BL's been busy with the Wretched. Queer Fables is coming out next month and her metal tales are on book 3 called Deep Dark Secret. Rawiya released One Shot as part of the Reluctant Groupie series and we're about to start a novel together next month called Love in the Slow Lane.
During this time period, there is more plot bunnies that have jumped into my brain. Plenty of them including a plan for a 4th muse later on in the year. Yes I said four but she'll only be doing het and it will be temporary.
The idea, I have is to do only het for women in their 40's. She'll have a best friend who's a gay man who tried to be straight for her years back. It's interracial and she'll have the same amount of snark if not more than BL. I'm looking to launch her later in the year under her own imprint. Look for more from me on this as the months roll along.
So what's next? Besides what I've already mention, other stories are in queue. More learning, some promoing, and re-doing of my website. I try making myself pretty accessible to readers, interacting on FB mostly, a little Twitter, as well as the blogs. It does take time away from writing but how else will people know about your books.
How am I doing on goals? I'm on point with the 500k but as far as subs, I might not make it. 5 seems more doable even though I have plenty of time left in the year. However, the subs also take weeks to be looked at by pubs, they also take time to be beta'd properly, so 10 is too high. 5 I think I'll make.
More than that, I just want to continue to improve on what I'm doing, reading, taking classes, learning from peers so I can become a more successful storyteller. I really do enjoy writing and can't imagine doing anything else at this stage in my life right now.
:D
* * * *
May is edit month. Editing Closely Guarded, Wild Horses revise, The Wretched 3 and Guardian Angel, my only story under Sharita Lira
Like I said, I'll try to be here more often
Thanks for listening!
Lessons Learned!
Jan. 30th, 2013 11:30 am
Good morning and welcome to yet another edition of the writing journal. Let's see, Jan 30th, 41771 words of fiction written for the month as of today, an anthology from the muses for Valentines Day almost ready to go. 2 novels and 1 novella waiting to be edited, more stories to write. 2 deadlines.
Sooo, you recall when I last posted about how I can't schedule books? Well other than serials and or shorts I cannot. I did also sign another contract with Rebel for a series of shorts called Queer Fables. They will be by BLMorticia of course and released on every even month opposite The Wretched Tales. Yes I'm excited but cautious about overworking myself
While writing, of course more of the annoying plot bunnies have popped up. I have 2 more new stories to add to the ever growing folder of plot ideas since we last chatted. And of course, while all this is going on, I'm trying to edit my stories and pick up new techniques to make my stories deeper and vivid.
Today, I got a lesson on dialogue. In I Like Em' Pretty m/m, the characters are from the south and I showed their speech in the story by showing it exactly the way it sounded. My good friend and editor who is also an author, let me know this was very distracting. I didn't take offense at all but I needed to see what others said about this topic. So, I typed in southern dialogue in fiction writing into Goggle.
This link came up.
http://lmmartin.hubpages.com/hub/Good-Writing-Is7-10-common-mistakes-new-writers-make-in-writing-dialogue
Point number nine states that writing to show a dialect such as a Southern dialogue is AMATEURISH. EEK! Wow, I didn't know that. I can think of a particular book I did that had this kind of speech throughout. When that book was edited, that editor said NOTHING. I let the contract on the book run out and requested it to be pulled off the shelves. I'm re-writing it to be expanded and re-released later on in the year.
Thank goodness. Although jarring, it doesn't deter me from doing what I love. As authors, we always look for new ways to make our books stand out. By no means do I want to put put a book that looks amateurish and even though I'm still a newbie, I cannot let that slide ever again.
Now, you may ask, does that mean I didn't want to listen to my editor? No, I just wanted to seek other opinions. I did ask another author who also said, as long as it isn't overdone which I'm sure I did. lol Its all through out the book.
So what is the lesson learned today? Make sure to listen to your editors and betas when they offer the help and even though it is ultimately your decision on what to put in your book, ask others if you're unsure. Look up books and or articles on fiction writing. There is a wealth of them out there and most are spot on.
I suppose I could compare this to my own thinking. Case in point, people have always said Chicagoans have a specific accent. Recall the skit off Saturday Night Live called Superfans? That skit always bothered me, in fact annoyed me when I saw it. I often said, I don't talk like that. So in theory, why should I leave off the g's as in leavin' wantin' etc? Not every Southern person has the drawl or talks in that manner. They would be annoyed reading a book with that kind of speech. Why should I write it?
DUH!
Like I said, lessons learned.
So here is where I am my goals:
41771 words written as of today 500k is the goal
10 novels subbed and contracted? Not sure it will be done but I'm going to try.
More importantly I just want to get better at my craft. The more I learn, the easier it will be to make my career as an author a true success!
Sooo, you recall when I last posted about how I can't schedule books? Well other than serials and or shorts I cannot. I did also sign another contract with Rebel for a series of shorts called Queer Fables. They will be by BLMorticia of course and released on every even month opposite The Wretched Tales. Yes I'm excited but cautious about overworking myself
While writing, of course more of the annoying plot bunnies have popped up. I have 2 more new stories to add to the ever growing folder of plot ideas since we last chatted. And of course, while all this is going on, I'm trying to edit my stories and pick up new techniques to make my stories deeper and vivid.
Today, I got a lesson on dialogue. In I Like Em' Pretty m/m, the characters are from the south and I showed their speech in the story by showing it exactly the way it sounded. My good friend and editor who is also an author, let me know this was very distracting. I didn't take offense at all but I needed to see what others said about this topic. So, I typed in southern dialogue in fiction writing into Goggle.
This link came up.
http://lmmartin.hubpages.com/hub/Good-Writing-Is7-10-common-mistakes-new-writers-make-in-writing-dialogue
Point number nine states that writing to show a dialect such as a Southern dialogue is AMATEURISH. EEK! Wow, I didn't know that. I can think of a particular book I did that had this kind of speech throughout. When that book was edited, that editor said NOTHING. I let the contract on the book run out and requested it to be pulled off the shelves. I'm re-writing it to be expanded and re-released later on in the year.
Thank goodness. Although jarring, it doesn't deter me from doing what I love. As authors, we always look for new ways to make our books stand out. By no means do I want to put put a book that looks amateurish and even though I'm still a newbie, I cannot let that slide ever again.
Now, you may ask, does that mean I didn't want to listen to my editor? No, I just wanted to seek other opinions. I did ask another author who also said, as long as it isn't overdone which I'm sure I did. lol Its all through out the book.
So what is the lesson learned today? Make sure to listen to your editors and betas when they offer the help and even though it is ultimately your decision on what to put in your book, ask others if you're unsure. Look up books and or articles on fiction writing. There is a wealth of them out there and most are spot on.
I suppose I could compare this to my own thinking. Case in point, people have always said Chicagoans have a specific accent. Recall the skit off Saturday Night Live called Superfans? That skit always bothered me, in fact annoyed me when I saw it. I often said, I don't talk like that. So in theory, why should I leave off the g's as in leavin' wantin' etc? Not every Southern person has the drawl or talks in that manner. They would be annoyed reading a book with that kind of speech. Why should I write it?
DUH!
Like I said, lessons learned.
So here is where I am my goals:
41771 words written as of today 500k is the goal
10 novels subbed and contracted? Not sure it will be done but I'm going to try.
More importantly I just want to get better at my craft. The more I learn, the easier it will be to make my career as an author a true success!