A Life in the Day

Having your a ha moment

2012-01-26T01:55:00.000-05:00

Tree of Life by Hartwig HKD

Oprah calls it an a-ha moment. That moment when you "get" something that makes you snap your fingers and say, oh my God, that's it! That's what I've been waiting for! I get it! I finally understand!

In his interview with Oprah for her new Next Chapter series, George Lucas said people are always asking him "how do you know what your passion is" and he said, "if you get up to do something in the morning and have breakfast at 7 AM [then look up again only to] realize it's 7 PM then THAT's your passion."

What do I wake up thinking about every morning? In Sister Act 2, when Whoopi Goldberg's character talks to Lauryn Hill's character about singing in the choir when her mother says it's not worth her time, Sister Mary Clarence says, "if you wake up every morning thinking about singing, then you're meant to be a singer, baby!" That quote has stayed with me since I first heard it. I've always struggled with identifying my passion, though. What do I get excited about doing every day? Am I doing it? It's not just what you're good at, but what your heart's desire leads you to do without thought or persuasion. I'm passionate about my clients, their talent and successes. I wake up thinking of ways to help them sell new projects, break into new markets and expand their reach. I lie awake at night thinking about the manuscript, I had to make myself put down so I could get a few hours' sleep and the editors I want to send the work to. I'm passionate about doing a good job for my clients.

Do your dreams and what you're passionate about, include your partner's hopes and dreams? Talking with my husband, I realized we hadn't talked about our hopes and dreams in a very long time and whether what I am excited about interferes with what he is passionate about. We both looked at each other and realized... And vocalized at the same time how we didn't have a unified, defined dream for our relationship and our family. THAT was my a-ha moment. That was the moment I realized I've always chased one dream or another but never really stopped to think if my dream was at odds with my husband's. Thankfully, my aspirations never got in the way of our relationship and we have been good about keeping the lines of communication open between us. Now, I'm more mindful to share my hopes and dreams with him. To vocalize them and ask him to do the same and soon we will sit down and talk about our hopes and dreams for our relationship and our family again.

So what happens when inevitably your head and heart won't agree. Now, I'm a firm believer in having and fulfilling your "heart's desire" but it's important to remember that when you allow your heart to guide you, your head will likely be at odds with it. Our heart is the free-loving, risk-taker that makes us see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow but our head is usually more conservative. Insecurities pop up, fears grow and the future starts to look grim. That's where balance comes in and for some, balance is not easy to come by on their own. If you have a partner, open up to them about your fears and your dreams. Share the good and the bad while bouncing ideas off of them to keep you off the ledge. Remember though, that no desire can become real without hard work, determination and above all, perseverance!

As I was typing this entry, Morgan Freeman's episode on Oprah's Master Class started and his interview couldn't have come at a better time. "It's not just about having a dream," Oprah Winfrey says at the start of the show, "it's about working to make your dream come true." Here's what I walked away with from his interview about making your dreams come true:

Let providence be your guide - Your fate lies in that. Even in the most dire of times, providence can show you the fork in the road where you're supposed to take the off ramp. Look at every apparent stumbling block as providence guiding you to where you're supposed to be.
Declare who you are - don't accept what those around you call you or "title" you to be. Be who you are! Declare it! Then live by that declaration! Don't just fake it, till you make it! You can't fake what you are! You can't fake authenticity! Be your most authentic self!
Be irreplaceable - make sure no one can do what you do better than you. Believe that no one can do what you do better than you.
Listen to learn - how can you learn if you can't listen? If you're spending more time shouting at the wind than you are experiencing its melodic sound, you're not learning anything! Spend more time listening to the universe all around you and LEARN from it... then make sure to leave a lesson behind for someone else to hear.

"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking too much space!" — Morgan Freeman

Judging a book by its cover

2012-01-10T00:13:00.000-05:00

We all do it, right? We scan the shelves at the bookstore, grocery store, or online bookstore and if we don't know the author, we make our decision about a book purchase solely on the cover of the book.

Publishers know how important good cover design is and those with a strong budget and staff, hire freelance cover artists whose works can help them sell books. Some have an entire Design department with a Design Manager overseeing the cover art requests and assigning the work to various cover designers. These folks take the time to not only ensure the cover design is aesthetically pleasing but also meets photo and digital rights requirements as well as marketing scopes which will help sell the book to the right demographic. Not all publishers have the budget or staff allocated to do this but those that do, I've found, tend to sell more books than those who don't.

Regardless of whether your publisher has one of these nifty Design department managers on staff or not, it's important to remember that as the author of the work, you should have approval of the design and a say-so in what will become the visual representation of the work you've spent years perfecting for public consumption. Don't "settle" for a cover you're not happy with simply because you're afraid to "rock the boat" with your publisher.

Make your opinion count and learn to pick your battles. Start with a strong cover art request. It should be distinctive and straight-forward. Cover designers do NOT read your book before designing your cover but it should look like they have. Best way to ensure your cover will reflect the message you're trying to convey is by avoiding "symbolism" or obtuse descriptions in your cover request. Keep it simple! Most authors do well with the character descriptions but when it comes time to explain the context of the book, their flare for the dramatic can be the detriment of their cover design.

Characterization: What do your characters look like? Don't say tan, blue-eyed, blond hero and brunette heroine if your hero is really Hispanic but blond and blue-eyed or you may end up with a very Nordic-looking hero that looks nothing like what you describe in the book. My biggest pet peeve (and my clients will attest to this) is misrepresentation on the cover of any book. It doesn't take much to describe your characters in your cover request. Include body build (gym rat muscle build, swimmer's body, marathon runner, tall and lanky, short and stout), hair color and length (long blond hair versus buzz cut, for example) and nationality if it's prevalent to the story.

Location and theme: Where does your book take place and what is it about? Is it a paranormal thriller set in present-day England or a contemporary romance set in the Caribbean? Knowing the setting and theme of the book will help the cover artist choose the right color palette. If it's a dark, erotic tale, make sure this is clear in your cover request or you could end up with a pastel color palette on your BDSM novel. If it's a contemporary romance set in Arizona, the color palette and setting should reflect the vibrant colors of the Tex-Mex region not the blues and grays of an urban are in Seattle.

Genre: Make sure your cover reflects your genre especially if writing in Sci-fi, high fantasy or paranormal subgenres. If your story takes place in space but your cover has a hilly countryside setting in the background it can be avoided by the readers you're trying to target simply because they don't know it's their type of book. If you're an unknown author or a brand new one, this is could hurt your initial sales.

If you're a self-published author, you know and may appreciate the value of a good cover more than traditionally-published (including dig pub) authors do. When you're the publisher, you have to hire your team and likely design the cover on your own. Unless you're a graphic designer at heart, artist or have some cover design experience, please don't attempt to design the cover on your own. If you have the funds, hire a professional and like any contractor you hire, do your research. Don't base your decision solely on their web portfolio, website or business card design. Send them a cover request for your book and try them out. Choose the graphic designer who conveys your vision on that cover best and for the best price.

As a published author you're part of a team and you need to be a team player, but remember you're the quarterback not the water boy. You call the plays and your team helps you to carry it through to score the winning goal: sales!

Submission Guidelines

2012-01-01T23:59:00.000-05:00

I'm now re-open to submissions and looking forward to seeing what 2012 brings! Please read through this post as a few things have changed.

So... what am I currently "shopping for" and how do you get those wonderful goodies in my little hands? By following the next steps:

What I AM looking for:

Novel-length romance only in the following subcategories:

Erotic Romance
- Male/Male
- Female/Male
- Menage (any combination though partial to m/m/f)
Paranormal Romance - Not YA
- Angels
- Demons
- Mythical Beasts (Dragons, Leviathans, Krakens)
- Ghosts
- Were-animals
- Vampires
- Zombies (yes, believe it or not)
Historical Erotic Romance
- Ancient Egypt
- Mayan Era
- Aztec Era
- 1920s through 1960s
Steampunk Erotic/Non-erotic Romance
Sci-Fi Erotic/Non-erotic Romance
- Cyberpunk Romance
- Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic Romance
BDSM-themed Erotic Romance
Contemporary Romance
- Urban Fantasy Romance
- Romantic Suspense
- Romantic Comedy

What I AM NOT looking for:

Literary Fiction
Christian Fiction
Contemporary Romance WITHOUT erotic elements
- Sensual Romance
Young Adult Fiction
Children's Books

How to Query Me:

All queries MUST come in via e-mail at sh@lperkinsagency.com. I work in the digital marketplace and will be submitting your work to digital publishers. While I seek to represent both traditional and digital publishing, I will not be accepting printed queries (evidenced also by the lack of mailing address to reach me). Make sure your query is in the body of the e-mail, not an attachment.
In the subject line of your e-mail please indicate "Query - [Title of your book]" (Please only send queries for completed manuscripts.)
Please address the e-mail to me personally. Ms. Hernandez, Dear Saritza, Mrs. Hernandez, All Mighty and Powerfully Benevolent Ruler of all Coffee Drinks will also work. Don't say "To whom it may concern" or "ePub Agent" it's not only tacky but shows very poor dedication as an author to not even know my name before asking me to take a look at your manuscript.
Start your query telling me about the book including the main character(s) names. What's the main plot point of your story?
Include a word count in your query letter. Yes, the manuscript MUST BE complete before you query. While I'm very interested in knowing what you're working on, I want to devote my time to helping you sell what you've finished.
Please attach a full summary or synopsis and the first five pages of your novel to your query. Be specific and extremely detailed in this summary and don't hold anything back. If the story has a surprise ending, I need to know that in the summary. I may not be a spoiler whore when it comes to my movies and TV shows, but if I'm going to sell your work, there can be no surprises. Tell me how it ends!

The turnaround time for replies to queries is running at 8-10 weeks. Please allow this time before contacting me again regarding your query. I respond to all queries received. If I do not contact you within the 8-10 week turnaround time, please nudge me with a quick email.

We wish you a Happy New Year!

2011-12-26T23:35:00.000-05:00

As we get ready to say good-bye to 2011 and welcome the new year, I'm grateful for the many new experiences and life lessons learned this year. Most of all, I'm grateful to welcome 2012 with these three gorgeous people in my life. Hubby and I could not be more proud of the young men and woman they are growing up to be. They are the reason we smile (and pull our hair out every day) and the motivating factor to be better people every day.

We wish you all a avery happy and prosperous new year!

Book releases, awards and reviews, oh my!

2011-12-20T14:46:00.001-05:00

So many great things going on today and this week in general as the holiday fast approaches and I do my best to close out the last projects in my inbox so I can enjoy it with the family without work interruptions. I'm the queen of lists so here we go:

New Releases from Clients Today: Click on covers to purchase books
- Battered Hearts: Defying the Odds Book 1 - by Kele Moon is available for purchase today. This steamy holiday tale will certainly keep you warm throughout the holiday and is features a sinfully delicious UFC fighter with a heart of gold and a body that won't quit!
  
  Book blurb: When struggling waitress Melody Dylan gives a handsome, lonely stranger a simple gift she has no clue her life is about to take a drastic turn.
  
  The stranger ends up being Clay Powers, a famous UFC heavyweight fighter. Clay’s large build and dangerous fists have always intimidated. People in his hometown keep their distance and Clay is fine with that. Everything changes when a new waitress at the local diner buys him a piece of pie on Thanksgiving. Touched by the gesture when it’s obvious she can barely afford to survive, her warm smile and lush body churn up powerful feelings that leave Clay wanting more from her than pie.
  
  Melody is running from her past and the small, country town of Garnet is the perfect hiding place. With an ex-husband after her and scars from her abusive marriage etched deep, the last thing she expects is to fall for a man who makes a living with his fists, but she can’t resist Clay or the tender connection they share.
  
  Finding love in the most unlikely of places, the passion is undeniable, but Clay and Melody know their haunted pasts and unpredictable futures leave the odds stacked against them.
- The Vampire and the Werewolf by Louisa Bacio is also available for purchase today. This prequel to her very successful The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf series features her gorgeous and darkly delicious vampire and werewolf before their lives were forever changed by the enigmatic Lily made them a family.
  
  Book blurb: Vampires and werewolves don't mix ... or do they?
  Before there were three, there were two. When a vampire swoops in to save Trevor from a rogue gang's blood sport, the werewolf must fight his own inhibitions. The magic of New Orleans and the holiday season bring together these two unlikely lovers.
Awards and Accolades:
- Rainbow Awards - So proud of client Heidi Cullinan for her THREE awards:
  - Nowhere Ranch: First Place, Best Gay Erotic Contemporary
  - Dance With Me: Honorable Mention, Best Gay Contemporary Romance
  - Nowhere Ranch: Third Place, Best Character Development
- So excited to see that The Rainbow Awards made history this year and were featured on the Advocate.com website. Love to see these authors getting the recognition they deserve!
Reviews Are In:
- Valiant One by Jay E. Hughes gets 4 hearts from The Romance Studio. This Historical M/M Romance, dubbed the Gay Braveheart, is one you do not want to miss!
  
  Valiant One surprised me. I do not know what I expected but what I found was better than any expectations I have.
- The Chameleon Goggles by Maureen O. Betita gets 5 stars from The Romance Reviews and awards it a Top Pick!
  
  THE CHAMELEON GOGGLES was unlike anything I've ever read before. With a combination of steampunk and pirates, [piratepunk] it was full of adventure and fantasy, [with] an underlying love story.
- Finding Eden by Kele Moon gets 5 hearts from MM Good Bok Reviews.
  
  "Highly recommend to anyone who wants an intense love story between two young men, trying to find themselves and each other."

Career Paths: Livejournal Writer's Block

2011-12-19T11:50:00.000-05:00

If you could have any job in the world, what would it be?

I'm almost in the career path I've always wanted. I love working with authors and working in the publishing industry so being an agent has certainly been the right step for me. I love public speaking though so I'd love to be one of those folks that travel across the country talking and teaching about some of the things I'm passionate about: writing, family and GLBT issues.

Originally posted on here

Queries Update

2011-12-13T00:53:00.002-05:00

Have finally gone through all of my queries. If you have not received a reply from me, please resubmit the work after the new year when I re-open to submissions. I tried to reply to all queries received but I'm sure I missed a few so forgive me if your work was not acknowledged or replied to. A few folks have been gracious enough to poke me nicely about their submissions and I truly appreciate it.

I hope to re-open to submissions in a few weeks (mid-January) and will update this blog with new submission requirements and what I will be shopping for at the time so keep watching this space. Lots of great stuff coming up in 2012!

Go vote for Damon Suede!

2011-11-28T14:29:00.001-05:00

Did you know Damon Suede's made it to the finals in the Goodreads Best of 2011 contest? Did you know he's the ONLY M/M author in the romance category to reach this feat? Go vote! It's time the romance category got some real diversity, don't you think?

2011 Goodreads Choice Awards: Best Romance

Vote now for your favorite books!

Are you an active listener?

2011-11-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

Active listening is a communication technique that requires the listener to understand, interpret, and evaluate what they hear. - Wikipedia

Image by highersights via FlickrIf you've ever wanted to learn how to communicate effectively, sit among a group of teenagers. If your words can get through all of the noise around them (literally not just metaphorically as they're usually listening to music while texting and updating their Facebook page) then you may just be an effective communicator.

I'm surrounded by teens at least once a week, if not more, as my kids are notorious for bringing their friends over, using my house as a hang-out place or just a place they can come and be "themselves". Hubby and I are very open-minded and encouraging of our kids to look at all of the sides of a situation before accepting anything they hear or see as "fact" and their friends tend to enjoy that about being in our company. Doesn't hurt we have HD TV, high-speed Internet, a Wii and XBox 360, but I digress! Teenagers like to come over mainly because they can act and say what they feel without worry their parents, family members are going to judge them for their words.

Listen twice as much as you speak. It's crucial to be an active listener before you can be an effective communicator. Active listening means you don't just pay attention to the words thrown at you. It means you can listen without judgment. You take in the information presented and store it for future interpretation and evaluation but at the moment the words are received, you simply absorb. Become a sponge for the words and allow the person "venting" to really get their thoughts off their chest.

Active listening also means you don't offer opinion or rebuttal without asking if it's expected. When I talk to my teenagers, I always tell them "I'm going to listen as a Mother and a friend but I'm always going to respond to you as a Mother. Do you want a response or do you just want to vent?" Everyone deserves to be heard but not everyone expects a response. Part of being an effective communicator is making sure the other person knows what is expected of the verbal exchange.

Know your audience and speak to the audience. If a response is expected, if the person venting says, "yes, I want to hear your thoughts" then take a moment to gather your own thoughts and sift through the responses before vocalizing them. Having diarrhea of the mouth is never pretty. Take the information you've received and provide your opinion without malice. You may not agree with their viewpoint or thought process but saying "you're an idiot for thinking that" is not really going to help move the conversation forward. Instead, think about the person receiving your feedback and how they may interpret it. If you're unsure about that, simply ASK them! "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

My grandmother used to tell me people speak with their mouths but listen with their hearts. Is what you're saying touching their heart or skewering it?

What do you mean I have to edit my manuscript? It's perfect!

2011-10-13T12:04:00.000-04:00

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Findler

I don't usually create a formal editorial letter for my clients' works but I tend to make comments throughout the manuscript with both constructive criticism as well as praise for things I've loved. Before sending your manuscript to agents, editors, publishers, give it a quick once-over for these common editorial missteps:

That and Which - I despise these words. I use them sparingly in my own writing and speech as I consider them unnecessary most of the time. If you're trying to tighten your manuscript, removing these words is a great first step. Read the next sentence and tell me if you need the word.

Sara knew that she would get more from Adam if she softened her words.
Now re-read the sentence without the word: Sara knew she would get more from Adam if she softened her words. Did you even notice the word was gone? Probably not. Before submitting your manuscript, go through and remove these superfluous words.

Repetitive Words are Repetitive - Remove and/or change similar words in a paragraph if they appear more than once. Definitely remove them when repeating in a sentence (unless it's necessary for dialogue, inflection or characterization).

Example: Carmela was lost in thought watching the waves roll in, her weapon tucked safely against her thigh. The pounding of the rolling waves made a soundtrack to the rolling memories of the previous night. Are your eyes rolling yet? If I read one more "roll" in this paragraph, I'd roll someone's head off their shoulders!
Rephrase: Watching the waves roll in, Carmela was lost in thought. With her weapon tucked safely against her thigh, she let her mind drift to thoughts of the previous night, finding the sound of the waves pounding the rocks below her a fitting soundtrack. Or something along those lines. I just threw these sentences together but you get the idea.

Passive Voice is Not your Friend - Don't use it. Period. If your character is always getting ready to perhaps do something, maybe... you're going to anger your reader and annoy your agent/editor. Passive voice also leads to "telling" and "telling" leads to the Dark Side of the force.

Example: The enormous picture window was broken in the struggle. (Thanks @ashlynkane who provided the example.)
Rephrase: The enormous picture window broke in the struggle. This is probably a poor example of a rephrase as the context of the paragraph may lend to rewriting the sentence altogether: In the struggle for control of the weapon, a single shot pierced the glass of the enormous picture window in the corner.

To Prologue or Not to Prologue - It doesn't matter to me whether you have a prologue or not. I know some editors and agents prefer to either have or not have them (most I know prefer NOT to have them) but it really doesn't matter to me if it works with the context of the story. Don't call your first chapter a prologue if it doesn't give necessary insight into a character's past, for example. Don't label your prologue, Chapter 1 if it's really the start of the story.
Hook, hook, where's the hook? - If your hook is as buried in your manuscript as this section in this blog post, you're doing it wrong. Your hook should capture the reader and "hook" them in. Your story should engage the reader and keep them turning those pages from the first. If your hook is buried in the second chapter, you've lost the opportunity to keep the reader reading. In some instances, if your hook is not on the first page, you've already lost me.

Digital Publishing Does Not Equal Sub-par Quality

2011-09-13T23:32:00.001-04:00

A lot of what I do involves editing works from my clients. If the work is not clean when I get it, I have no qualms about sending it back to them for a quick polish and reserve line editing manuscripts to those works I know need just a little extra push to make them submission-worthy. After all, I don’t want my name or my client’s name attached to a sub-par manuscript. Sometimes, editing takes a little longer than my client is willing to wait. Believe me, it’s worth the wait!

Now, I’m going to say something here some folks may not like but… *shrugs* It’s the truth.

Digital Publishing does not equal sub-par quality publishing any more than Traditional Publishing equals quality publishing. I’ve read crappy books in both and even more in the Self Publishing arena but I’ve also read some fantastic gems as well. Just because your digital publisher can publish your work in less than 12 months (in some instances) it does not mean the quality of the work published has to suffer. The story has to be good. Period. If your agent, critique partner, editor say “it’s not ready”, don’t take it as an affront. Gird those loins with a bigger set of draw’rs and clean up the work. We’re doing it for your own good… and for our own as well.

The Aging Process

2011-09-06T12:14:00.000-04:00

This weekend I realized I'm crossing another milestone in my life. I'm approaching the middle-aged years and while these may seem scary years for some, I welcome this new stage in my life as I have every other stage I've come across. As a child, I couldn't wait to grow up and every year, I'm more excited about the coming experiences. I even get excited when new white hair sprout on my head. I don't dye my hair and don't plan to. I look forward to the day I have the crown of white hair my grandmother had. I'm not eager to be a grandmother and my children are well-aware of this fact but I don't fear aging. I truly welcome it.

Christmas 2009

The thing about aging is... others age just as fast. This weekend, for the first time, I noticed how much my parents have truly aged. They're 61 and both look fantastic and have always looked young, not just to me but to others too. When people would look at pictures of my father, they couldn't believe he was in his fifties in the photos. Yesterday, he came over to take my daughter with him to the shooting range and for the first time, I realized... he's old. It wasn't just what he was wearing, he's starting to thin out in places like his legs and arms. Arms and legs that have done martial arts for 45 years shouldn't start to look frail, should they? My brain tells my heart to stop being melodramatic and accept that aging is a part of life but seeing it in my parents... it's tougher than I thought it would be.

Mom & I, 1974

Then last night, after coming home from the ER with daughter who slammed her fingers in the garage door, I stopped in to check on my mom (my parents live next door to me) and she was anxious. Wringing her hands and just worried, not just about her granddaughter but because she cracked the stovetop after leaving a burner on, she didn't remember turning on. She's been having these little episodes where she forgets things and I know her mind takes her to seeing her own parents' and mother-in-law long road with Alzheimer's. I don't think she's getting senile yet but seeing that fear in her eyes... it was rough.

I'm now becoming the parent... already am to my children and now moving into that role for my own parents.

The Weekend Update

2011-09-05T13:12:00.000-04:00

Talk about having a day full of anything and everything.

I've had to get on the kids and husband about cleaning and keeping up with their chores. This weekend, I made sure to lead by example. This weekend, I washed 10 loads of laundry, cleared out mine and hubby's closets and dresser, cleaned my bathroom, kitchen and made dinner three nights. I didn't get any of the reading I wanted to get done but still managed to submit 2 manuscripts and talk 2 authors down. Did I mention my sister also came over for dinner? Yeah, lots done! Was awesome!

Today, I slept in for a bit and decided to just manage email for the agency but devote rest of the day to really relaxing. Unfortunately, my kids and my knee thought otherwise. The kids woke coughing and sneezing and i had mild body aches--summer cold. Nooooo! Gave everyone some cough meds and sat down to work with my coffee and bowl of cereal. Around noon, Hubby woke and went to the store to pick up some sandwich stuff. As I went to stand up from the table after lunch, I turned one way while my knee turned the other. I haven't twisted my knee like this in a year so the pain felt stronger than I remember it.

A few hours later, as hubby left for work, daughter went to close the garage door and the door fell on her hands. She came in crying out in that silent scream babies do when they're really hurt and the pain chokes the sound out of their scream. I thought she'd broken her hands. Quick trip to Centra Care found she just had contusions in 2 of the fingers on her left hand which a splint helped. She's excused from physical activity until Friday but she's upset because this week is the try-out for the ROTC drill team and she may not be able to twirl the rifle correctly with her left hand.

So... That's the highlights of my weekend. Back to work tomorrow so I suppose I should get to bed.

Change to Submission Guidelines

2011-07-13T07:00:00.011-04:00

In order to get through all of the queries received to date and be able to continue to serve my current clientele, I will need to close my submission queue.

I will be closed to queries starting July 15, 2011 through end of the year.

All queries received prior to Friday, July 15th will be responded to but all received on and after July 15th, will be auto-deleted.

Call me Spin Master Fresh, yo!

2011-07-09T13:31:00.000-04:00

Image by fonso via Flickr
I was talking with one of my clients this weekend about the importance of time management in our lives and how it's not just about managing your time but the quality of that time. I'm usually pretty good about managing to keep all of the plates spinning or balls in the air but today it's felt like a daunting task. I think it's harder to stick to my routine when anyone is sick at home. This week, I have 2 of the kids down with a cold and hubby too. The kids being sick is not as bad considering they spend most of the day sleeping and playing their handheld video games but when hubby is sick... well, that just throws all kinds of monkey wrenches into my schedule.

Those of you who have gotten to know me a little better know that I have schedules for everything. My schedules even have schedules and I truly live by my Google Calendar. I keep tasks and deadlines on it, jot down birthdays and events and since my iPad is a permanent fixture in everything I do, I'm always aware of my schedule and what I need to get done. I wouldn't be able to get anything done if I didn't.

So what's the difference between time management and quality of that time management? Simple, when you look at your schedule does it make you feel bogged down? Are you dedicating enough time to your well-being in that schedule as you are to your obligations? If not, then the quality of your time management sucks and needs to change. In my schedule I add things like "Read for fun", "Stand up", "Date Night". The quality of my time needs to be as important as the things that get done during that time.

Authors forget to schedule times like these for themselves and I often find myself reminding my clients to take things in stride. Yes, you want to have all six of those manuscripts out to your editors today but have you thought about how you will manage edits, marketing/publicity, and writing projects into the crazy schedule you just committed yourself to? When are you going to have time for your family, for yourself? You'll find yourself burnt out very quickly and suddenly, the career you've mapped for yourself feels like a job you don't want to get up to go to.

If you suddenly feel like you're constantly having to keep the plates spinning in your life, ask yourself if you're doing too much and then check to see where the quality of your time management needs to improve. Don't forget that in managing your time, you should have support to keep the plates spinning. If you don't have someone who can help you do that... make that a priority in your schedule.

Lust After Death - Client Book

2011-07-08T12:20:00.000-04:00

This was one of those manuscripts that after reading the first draft I knew wasn't ready for submission but held great promise with a bit of guidance. Having an author who is open to constructive criticism and patient with edits made it a fun collaboration. We worked together to improve the story. In fact, Daisy rewrote most of it and when it was ready for submission, I was so excited about it, my pitch to the editor practically wrote itself!

Go buy the book... yes I'm biased about how great it is, but who cares? It's awesome and everyone should buy it! :D

Book Blurb:
In the Pacific Northwest, where life hurries to keep pace with technology, a re-animated bride named Josie struggles to escape her creator and to find her identity in the half-erased circuitry of her mind and body.

Assassin Bane Connor just wants to get the girl to the Zombie Underground and receive his payoff—a mental reset that will erase his memories as well as his guilt. But an attack by a rival faction derails his rescue, and the wide-eyed female whose circuitry requires a husband tears at his hardened heart and ignites desire like he’s never known.

Acting as Josie’s spouse-substitute is tougher than Bane expected. The newborn stein needs touch to live, and wanting her is a complication he doesn’t need. To make matters worse, she sees into the darkest recesses of his mind. The last thing a killer wants is for his lover to read his thoughts, but if Josie can love him the way he’s programmed, perhaps Bane can find a way to heal his past.

It's all... subjective!

2011-06-25T23:36:00.000-04:00

Image via WikipediaNo one likes to be rejected. It's not a good feeling to be told your work is not as good as you thought it was. As I go through query letters and manuscripts, I remind myself that a human being who took great courage to draft their query letter, write their manuscript and send it into me will be reading it.

Now, there are a TON of resources on the Net on how to write your query letter, research your agent/editor/publisher and how to submit your work to them but very little on how to cope with a "this is going to be a pass for me" comment from any of those individuals. Short of a Rejection Support Group at your local bar with heavy doses of liquid courage to continue on the journey of manuscript submissions, there just doesn't seem to be much out there to help authors cope with the high probability that your work will be rejected.

So what do you do? What CAN you do to get back on the proverbial horse? Remember that the opinion of one in the publishing industry is not the opinion of ALL. What may not work for me could be just the thing another agent has been dying to read and sell! I make sure to include this in my rejection letters to authors because it's very true. I've acquired and sold manuscripts others rejected and have rejected ones others have taken. That's the beauty of the publishing industry. It's completely subjective.

Keep sending out that work and don't let one or a few "nos" keep you from achieving your goal of being a published author!

Gals, Sun & Surf

2011-05-27T13:09:00.000-04:00

So what are you guys doing this weekend? Any big plans for Memorial Day?

I get to spend some time with my gals connecting, relaxing and enjoying each other's company as we also celebrate our birthdays together. Four of us celebrate birthdays in May-June so we're getting together and spending the night being ourselves! We get to leave the labels behind for one night and just be gals. I think women forget to do that from time to time: to just be women! That's a topic for another day though.

On Monday, with the kids being off from school, we're heading to the beach and I'm actually looking forward to it. Those of you who know me well are likely gasping, shaking your heads and looking to see when I was replaced by the borg as I'm not fond of the outdoors. But... there's just something about being able to sit by the sea and enjoy the magnificence of that great power. The great eye candy doesn't hurt either!

So how are you spending your holiday weekend?

Happy Belated Mother's Day

2011-05-09T15:54:00.000-04:00

Hernandez Family at Mr. Sisters outdoor patio

Being a Mom has not been easy but it has certainly been the most rewarding experience of my life. I have three kids who remind me every day the importance of tolerance, patience and acceptance.

Yesterday was both relaxing yet event-filled. We started the day out at my favorite restaurant/nightclub Mr. Sisters for their Mother's Day Brunch and enjoyed a great meal and fantastic atmosphere with our teens. They laughed with us, requested songs from the piano man to play and had a fantastic time with their parents... in a public medium! I know! Be still my heart! :)

Later that afternoon, we went to see Thor with my parents and completely geeked out talking about the upcoming Captain America and The Avengers movies. I love having geeky kids! When we got home, they played Mortal Kombat with their dad while I got to play with my Sims 3 game. I've missed lazy Sundays like these so it was great to just be laid back and carefree for one day of the year.

Hope everyone got to enjoy the day as well!

Favorite First Lines

2011-04-21T17:13:00.002-04:00

Here are some of my favorite first lines in books I've loved.

In the deserted men's restroom at the back of Middleton Community College, Sam Keller knelt on the tile, braced his hands against Keith Jameson's thighs, and broke his mother's heart. - Special Delivery, Heidi Cullinan
I'll write you every day. - Beyond Eden, Kele Moon
I, Amanda Wilkinson, hereby give the instructors of San Francisco Sex University permission to fuck me in the ass. - Sex University: Physical Education, Louisa Bacio
Jason Carrillo walked around the block a third time, working up his courage to go into the brownstone. - Rainbow Boys, Alex Sanchez
The bomb detonated while Grier was still two blocks away. - State of Mind, Libby Drew
From the second he set foot in my classroom, I knew he was trouble. - Allegro Vivace, Cat Grant
You're going to want to split those bitches up. - Belle Starr, Belinda McBride
You have to understand, Max, this has nothing to do with you." - A Little Harmless Sex, Mel Schroeder
Satira would have been on a horse and halfway into the sunset by now if the lift from the laboratory hadn't broken. - Wilder's Mate, Moira Rogers
The land of my people was surrounded on three sides by mountains as dark as my skin. - Captive Spirit, Liz Fichera
Keith's alpha rocked back in his chair and watched the harried-looking man and his young daughter walk out the back door of the bar. - Cry Sanctuary, Moira Rogers
Oh God, I'm drowning. - Dreaming in Color, Cameron Dane
The wiry kid almost got away with it. - Coming Home, Cameron Dane
On the night it began, I bounded up the stairs to my two-hundred-year-old colonial town house in the heart of Philadelphia. - Menage, Emma Holly
My name is Monroe Davis, and this is the story of how I found home. - Nowhere Ranch, Heidi Cullinan
I sat at a table in my shadowy kitchen, staring down a bottle of Boone's Farm Hard Lemonade, when a magic fluctuation hit. - Magic Bites, Ilona Andrews
Father Weston Scott wasn’t sure if this was his fourth or fifth pint. - No Fear In Love, Jamie Craig
Micah Ferguson had counted three vineyards, two herds of sheep, a Roman aqueduct and five churches as the train sped from Calais to Paris when his boyfriend said, "We have to talk." - Something Beautiful, Jenna Jones
The tall mahogany clock made the customary ominous tick as Ian waited in front of the equally foreboding desk. - An Improper Holiday, K.A. Mitchell
Ryan didn't do random hookups. - Custom Ride, K.A. Mitchell
The smaller man clawed at the leather as Leland Hawkes wrapped it tight around his throat. - Blood Slave, Kim Dare
Ryan has a thing about one-night stands. - Resistance, LM Turner

Writing to market?

2011-04-20T16:11:00.000-04:00

Photo courtesy of Beauty in Everything

I think all of us, at one point or another, can remember a book we could not put down. That story whose characters beckoned you to keep reading and whose plot was so intriguing you could NOT look away. You lose yourself in the story and when it's over feel a little sad about putting the book down and walking away from it.

While reading queries and submissions by my clients over the past few weeks, I've realized that the stories I want to sell are the ones I feel saddened by walking away from after reading them. The stories whose message resonates with me and makes me physically ache for more. I've found that these stories are usually the ones the authors did not intend to write in the first place but the stories their characters wanted to tell. They're not always written for a specific market or genre (often times they straddle genres and break all kinds of "rules" in the genres they want to sell them in) but they're always compelling.

Once authors are published the demands to continue to sell grow to a point where they can be all-consuming. They may choose to write to a specific market because they "hear" it's where all the sales are or write to a genre simply because it's "known" to make more money. These authors soon find themselves burned out or suffering from writer's block as they struggle to make money because the book they thought was going to get them money in the market they wrote to is not doing so well. Why? Readers can spot a fake a mile away and when an author is not true to their characters and to themselves, it's evident in their work.

The Love of Books

2011-03-25T17:20:00.000-04:00

Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

Have you ever saved a book for your children to read at the right age? I've done that with books like the Harry Potter, Percy Jackson series thinking they would enjoy these books as much as I did. When my daughter fell in love with the Twilight books, I feared for my sanity. I'm not a fan of the books but I thank the author for helping my daughter discover her love of reading. Soon after reading those, she went on a reading binge and thankfully chose better books. While she didn't get into the Harry Potter series like I'd hoped, she fell in love with the Elizabeth Chandler books instead. She would spend hours talking to me about the characters and even wrote several book reports on them. Seeing her excited about a book was fantastic! She even started writing stories featuring angels, vampires and demons with her friends.

After reading Alex Sanchez's Rainbow Boys in 2009, I knew I would be saving this trilogy for my youngest son. Living in "the barrio" as I call our neighborhood and being gay is not exactly easy. I knew this book would help him and hoped he would actually want to read this book. I'd tossed several books his way for his reading logs and aside from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and Pokemon books, I didn't see him reading much.

He and I had a heart-to-heart a few days ago while laying in bed staring at the ceiling after a week of receiving nothing but bad news in our family. He started talking about how hard it is to be out at school even with the no tolerance policies in place. Kids are just cruel and teens even more so. I went to my bookshelf, dusted off the jacket of the book I'd saved for him and handed it to him. That night he started reading and while he's a slow reader, he's enjoyed it so much we are now in a race to finish it. I'm re-reading it on my iPad while he reads the print version. He talks to everyone about the book and when I told him today that it's actually a trilogy, he practically fell out of his chair.

How do you share your passion for reading with your kids? Are there books that after reading them you just know your kids have to read? Share them in the comments.

Raise Your Glass My Freaks

2011-03-16T15:53:00.000-04:00

I love P!nk! I own every album and single she's released and when this song came out earlier this year, I made it mine and my family's anthem. We've always been the underdogs, the freaks in the family and the community with our open-minded way of thinking and liberal views on the world. My friends in high school were a ragtag group of misfits you'd see in a John Hughes film and I was proud to "run with" them. Band geeks, metal heads, closeted emo bois, pot heads, nerds mixed in with a few cheerleaders, the drum majors and a few Bible thumpers. I have always believed in liberty and justice and for all and my choice of friends reflect that. Hubby and I have raised our children the same way.

So when in last night's Glee episode, Kurt and Blaine shared their first kiss, all of my little freaks at home (we're damn proud to call ourselves as such) whooped and hollered! My youngest even had a little tear in his eye. He sees himself in Kurt, I think and it was just a beautiful moment.

So join us in our anthem bitches and RAISE! YOUR! GLASS!

"So Raise Your Glass if you are wrong in all the right ways, all my underdogs! We will never be, never be anything but LOUD and nitty gritty, dirty little freaks!"

A Meme Before Bed

2011-03-14T23:41:00.000-04:00

Thought this was pretty cool so thought I'd do it...

You were born during a First Quarter moon

- what it says about you -

You like to make up your own mind. You may find it hard to relate to mainstream opinions on issues, and you definitely don't always like what's popular. You can work out solutions and give birth to big ideas when left to yourself, and other people will be impressed with your conclusions even if they're not sure how you arrived at them.

What phase was the moon at on your birthday? Find out at Spacefem.com

The Way of the Publishing Dodo

2011-03-09T17:31:00.001-05:00

Reclaimed By Nature

There are those who say the printed word will go the way of the Dodo; that books will end up like vinyl albums, cassettes and VHS tapes. I think ebooks will continue to evolve in the digital sphere but we will keep printed books as our perpetual back-up system.

Perhaps that's just my sci-fi/urban fantasy-loving mind fictionalizing the future of an industry I love but I truly see an immediate future where both digital assets and printed resources are available for all. Will this mean a decrease in the production of printed material? Yes, but not their complete eradication. At least, not in this decade.

I suppose this picture is what most people see when they hear about the evolution of the publishing industry. I've never been a supporter of that mentality though. Digital is where I believe we are headed, but print is far from annihilation. For every supporter of the digital evolution I come across, I find one fervent advocate for traditional print publishing. The fight between what the best method of publication is will likely to continue for several years but neither side is really "right" or "wrong". The preferred method of content delivery for one person can be vastly different from another. For example, I prefer to purchase my eBooks via my Kindle app and get very frustrated when the book I want is not available on the Kindle. While I don't mind going to the publisher's website, purchasing the PDF and uploading it to my iBooks app on my iPad, I like how the books "look" on the Kindle. Fonts and formatting are a huge part of the enjoyment of the book for me. I know others who only purchase their eBooks directly from the publisher website. Different strokes for different folks. But I suppose that's a topic for another day.