Procrastinating. Even if I’m excited about what I’m writing, I will still procrastinate to no end. I spend a ridiculous amount of time on Twitter, and if I check it first thing in the morning, I’m all done; I could spend hours just reading through people’s tweets, but if they link to an article or blog post, I just end up further down the rabbit hole. This is the primary reason I avoid Google Reader like the plague… and why I’m always so behind on your blogs.

Snacking. This probably isn’t too terrible of a habit, but the longer I sit in front of the computer, the more I want to snack. Those Flavor Blasted Goldfish: Xtra Cheddar things are my kryptonite.

Blogging. Sometimes, instead of writing the fiction I’m supposed to write, a lightning bolt of blogging inspiration will hit me and I’ll switch gears. I’ll tell myself I’m being productive because my blog could use a little love anyway, but I’m famous for scrapping an entire post after spending hours writing it (or leaving it to collect dust in my drafts). This kind of falls under procrastination, but it also falls under my next bad habit…

Enabling distractions. I am so, so easily distracted. I am that dog in Up.

Squirrel!

I read an article a while back that said many people these days are easily distracted, and equated it to the amount of multitasking we all do. I’ve since tried to decrease the amount of thing I do at the same time, but it’s not an easy habit to break; I spent years trying to get better at multitasking.

Over-thinking. Sometimes, while writing a scene, I’ll stop dead in the middle of it and stare at the screen. I’ll be thinking about it so hard that I’ll end up giving myself writers’ block. There are definitely benefits to writing in more of a stream of consciousness mode… though that often gives way to characters doing whatever they want.

Abandoning projects. I have a few unfinished novels and short stories that I’m not sure I’ll ever finish; any time I get a better idea, I play a mental tug-o-war game between the two. It’s really a miracle that I’ve ever finished anything.

Ignoring the world. This is only a bad habit when someone wants me to leave my house. I might as well physically chain myself to my desk, because when I’m in “the mode,” I am like a feral cat. Don’t even ask me to do anything, never mind go out somewhere. I need to get better at balancing work and life; most of the time, I’m more partial to my work, as sad as that might sound.

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What are your bad (writing) habits? Share them in the comments, and keep an eye out for a post on my good writing habits. (And, if you’re looking for more bad writing habits, check out 7 Bad Habits of Successful Authors. I feel a lot less guilty knowing that some of the best do the same things that I do.)

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If you’re interested in the writing process, Louis does a great job of writing detailed posts on his journey. He’s got some awesome stuff in there, so check out his blog!

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After I finished Catching Fire, I debated going on to Mockingjay for about two hours before giving in. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

Mockingjay is a completely different beast. We see Katniss in action in a whole new way. While the Hunger Games are very real in the first two books, the war between the Capitol and the districts bring the Games to a whole new level. The arena is the entire country of Panem instead of a contained area. The tributes are everyone Katniss has ever cared about and the entire rest of the country. And, the violence depicted in the first two books looks like nothing compared to the physical and psychological destruction in the third book.

This book sucked me under its tidal wave. Swell after swell pulled me under: Peeta’s capture and torture, the loss of life in District 12 (I so loved Madge), Peeta’s return and brainwash, and… the loss of Prim. This hit me like I imagine the house in The Wizard of Oz hit the witch. This series had already repeated pulled at my big sister heartstrings, but when Katniss lost the very person she’d been trying to protect all along, I lost it. There had already been times when I physically looked away from the book as if I could stop what was happening as I read, but when Prim died, I stopped reading, tears streaming down my cheeks. I think I even screamed. It was bad enough that countless numbers of children had been killed, but together it made me heartsick.

I cried on and off while reading the rest of the book. It hurt because like Katniss, I would do anything to protect my little sister. Even worse, the age difference between Prim and Katniss is the same age difference between my sister and I. When Suzanne Collins dropped the bomb that it may as well have been Gale who killed her, I lost it all over again. I hadn’t been able to decide whether I liked Gale or Peeta more, but by then it was clear that even if Peeta didn’t recover, Katniss wouldn’t end up with Gale.

I tend to get very invested in characters as it is, but Collins may as well have taken people from my life and put them in these books — that’s how real they felt to me. Long after finishing Mockingjay, I couldn’t stop thinking about Prim. It was a couple of days before I really started thinking about the ending.

I hate books that end neatly. Real life isn’t neat and there aren’t always happy endings; even when things are good, your life could just as quickly be disrupted by bad things. I liked that the ending mixed positive and negative aspects: Katniss and Peeta fell in love all over again; Katniss had finally created a world that she felt was safe enough to bring children into; the loss of Prim and all that she’d been through in the Games and the war haunted her until the very end. I think that was truly the point of these books; throughout the entire time, Katniss kept saying that she would never have children because of the Games and the way things were, but by becoming the Mockingjay and assassinating Coin, she changed Panem for the better. Things weren’t perfect, but they were better.

A lot of people said they thought the ending was rushed, but I don’t think so. I think it could have felt abrupt because Collins slams the reader with Prim’s death and Gale’s involvement so close to the end that you have to really let your mind and heart settle before you can think about anything else. My only complaint about the ending is that I would have liked to know a little more about Haymitch later on, but then again, this was never his story.

There was quite a bit of symbolism in this book and the series, but I loved the Mockingjay and phoenix comparison the most. Katniss is quite a dynamic character; in The Hunger Games, she doesn’t really want to change anything — she just wants to protect and take care of her family — but by the time Prim is killed, she quite literally rises from the flames and takes initiative to change Panem. Things may not be better for her personally, but they are for the country and its people.

I also liked that Collins wasn’t at all afraid to kill and maim characters, especially since these books are for middle grade kids. I often felt shocked at the amount of violence in them, but doesn’t that violence only just mirror our world? I’m still not sure how I’ll feel about my own child reading these at twelve, thirteen years old, but I commend Collins for fearlessly tackling these issues. In the world we live in, children are often used to solve adults’ problems. Just look at the kids used to lure in soldiers from the other side, kids hiding bombs in their clothing.

I think these books impacted me so hard precisely because they so clearly reflect the violence we try so hard to ignore these days. And, of course, because the loss of Prim felt as real to me as if I’d lost my own sister.

Even though it hurt like hell, I appreciated that the loss of Prim echoed the loss of Rue in The Hunger Games. It seems kind of obvious now that both Rue and Prim had to die, otherwise Katniss wouldn’t have assassinated Coin.

I gave all of these books five out of five stars, and would rate the series as a whole the same. I recommend that parents read the series before handing them over to your children, and that you be prepared to discuss these difficult topics with your kids.

I think it’ll be a while before I read any of these books again. It all still feels so fresh, and I’m still quite heartbroken over Prim. I haven’t been this hurt by a book since Stephen King’s The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. However, you know a book is good if it makes you feel – and Mockingjay sliced me up in ways that no knife ever could.

Sell 30 copies of my short stories.

My sales have literally slammed to a halt. They were great in April — better than they ever were. I haven’t changed anything I’ve been doing, so I don’t know what happened. However, I did noticed that Amazon’s sales reports are off. The Month to Date report says I’ve only sold three copies this month, but the Prior Six Weeks’ Royalties report says I’ve sold five.

Which one do I trust? After obsessing over this for far too long — but you already knew I’m neurotic — I realized worrying about sales was keeping me from doing my job: writing. My new goal is to write 1,000 words a day.

I’ve made some progress on creating a plan for the year, but when I realized I was focusing on the wrong goals, it kind of killed what I came up with (which was a steady increment of monthly sales goals). Luckily, I kind of already have a plan: release one issue of Sandpaper Fidelity every month. I also want to release an additional short story every month… or dedicate some time to writing a novel. I need to ruminate. (That word has been turning around and around in my head lately; I’ve been waiting to use it. It’s a good, solid word.)

Unrelated: I’m debating raising the prices of my short stories. I’d already planned on releasing my next short story at $1.99 instead of the usual $0.99, but I think if that goes well, I’ll raise the price all around. I’ll probably still keep Sandpaper Fidelity at $0.99, though. Louis Corsair brought up a great point in a recent post; many readers judge ebooks priced at $0.99 as lousy. It’s true, at least as far as I can tell. We writers are in a tough spot, though. I need to ruminate on this some more. (Man, do I love that word!)

The Google Maps car. (Photo Credit: SFCitizen.com)

Also unrelated: A Google Maps car drove by my house this morning. At first I just saw the strange, red, 360° camera sticking up off the roof of the car out of the corner of my eye. I whipped my head around as it turned into another street and that’s when I read the Google Maps decal on the door. I remember, not too long ago, someone saying it must be weird to Google your address and then, in the street level view, see yourself. “That’ll never happen to me,” I thought. I’ve been checking Google Maps obsessively all day to see if they’ve uploaded the new data yet. If they were taking shots, my sister, mom, and I will all be there. Weird!

How are your goals for May going?

I’m not an erotica reader. I also tend to stay far away from romance novels. But I can’t seem to go anywhere without hearing about The Fifty Shades Trilogy, so when Jess said she was reading it, I asked her to let me know what she thought… and if she could write a review for me. Thank you, Jess, for letting me read vicariously through you!

I’ve never written a book review before, and I’m pretty stoked for it.

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about Fifty Shades of Grey, written by E.L. James. I felt the entire trilogy was rushed and not written very well at all. I found it choppy, and as a result… frustrating. Wishy-washy. You see where I’m going with this, right?

I’m not a published author, nor do I claim to be a fantastic writer. However, I do feel that she rushed the entire thing, that it was published before it was ready. It could have been polished up a lot more.

Terrible, hurried writing aside… I did enjoy several parts to it. E.L. James kept me constantly entertained by Christian Grey. I read for him, to find out why he ticks the way he ticks. I’m pretty sure that was the intent, but regardless. E.L. James worked hard on making Christian an intriguing, remarkable character, and despite his “50 shades of fucked up”, I found him lovable. I found Anastasia Steele to be an easier character to swallow (puns aside) than Bella Swan ever was. She contradicted herself, a lot. There was several interesting dramas unfolding all at once, and I liked that too as they all seemed to unfold into one another.

Obviously, Christian Grey meets a lot of points on the abusive partner checklist, however he wants to change and that’s animate. I’m not sure I enjoy the idea it releases about how “your love can change a messed up man”, but then and again this novel isn’t directed at impressionable teens. I certainly wouldn’t allow my impressionable teen to read it.

I do think that E.L. James has re-opened the market for Erotica stories, a genre that was struggling before. I don’t want to keep writing and end up spoiling the fun for someone, but I will say that if you’re looking for an easy read then go ahead, you may enjoy it. If you’re going to be critical and knit pick everything that doesn’t make sense (and trust me, there is A LOT), you might want to skip this series all together. Erotica isn’t a genre that I’m familiar with, but from what I hear there are far better developed stories in the erotica genre.

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Jessica blogs at The Fevered Pen and enjoys family, reading, and writing.

You should ignore what she says about not being a good writer; aside from being a great mom, she’s very talented with words!

You should also like Jess on Facebook.

Other Guest Posts by Jessica

• Budgeting for Two, Part 1: Finding Your Balance in the Real World

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Have you read Fifty Shades of Grey? What did you think?

Tweet links to your ebooks. Create landing pages on your website*, then tweet a synopsis of your ebook and link to the landing page. I also like to add two hashtags: the ebook’s primary genre, and whether it’s a short story, novel, or whatever.

Charlie the cat has a secret that could change history. #short #free bit.ly/IBImbA

— Liz (@elizabethbarone) May 6, 2012

Tweet excerpts of people’s reviews. This isn’t always easy to do, especially if you’re just starting out or people are only leaving quick reviews saying, “I liked it.” You can, however, tweet the number of stars your ebook has so far on, say, Amazon, so even if people are being short and sweet, potential readers see that you still have a rating of 4.5 or whatever.

Tweets excerpts of your ebook. If the first sentence of your story is particularly good, you can use that. Sometimes the first sentence is too long for 140 characters, though, so you can go with something within the first page (so you don’t give anything major away).

They found me to be strange, less exotic than Aarya... #literary #short bit.ly/w3XkYK

— Liz (@elizabethbarone) May 2, 2012

Post pictures of your cover art. There’s nothing that will garner more interest (if your cover image is good). Link to that landing page you’ve created, and add a couple of hashtags.

Tweet free coupon codes. While you want to make sales and make money, sometimes you need to give stuff away in order to do that. Smashwords allows you to generate coupon codes. Create one for just a few days and make it a Twitter-only promotion. Hopefully, it will get you more followers who will be interested in your other stuff (or your future projects, if you only have one ebook out).

Download my #short, "Outlaw Love Story," for free from now until May 9th! Use coupon code GT46V. smashwords.com/books/view/156… #modernwestern

— Liz (@elizabethbarone) May 6, 2012

Ask people to review your ebook. Every time someone tweets you and gives you good feedback on one of your ebooks, reply to them and ask them to leave a review. You don’t want to just post tweet after tweet saying, “Please review my story!” Most people will ignore those tweets, anyway. But those who already appreciate your work will be happy to help you out, if you ask nicely.

Retweet positive feedback. Even if they’ve agreed to leave a review for you, make sure you retweet their original tweet praising your ebook! If possible, add a link to the landing page for your ebook (and don’t forget to give the person credit for their tweet).

Make all of your ebook related tweets retweetable. Twitter added a nice retweet button a while back, but some people still retweet the old-fashioned way. It’s not always possible to leave a few extra characters, but the more you leave, the more likely people will be to retweet you.

You should also switch up your tweets; don’t keep tweeting the same thing, or people will be less likely to retweet them, and may even unfollow you. I do tweet the same links almost every day, but I try to change the wording. Sometimes I use excerpts, sometimes I use the synopsis, and sometimes I tweet a related question.

Can timid thief Jack kill again to save his wife? #modernwestern #short bit.ly/IoiH8W

— Liz (@elizabethbarone) May 5, 2012

I see a lot of indie authors tweeting the same exact thing over and over, and while it’s important to promote the face off of your stuff, it’s also very annoying to your followers. You have to put yourself in your followers’ shoes and ask yourself, “Is this too similar to what I tweeted yesterday? Is this fun? Is this going to annoy people?”

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How do you use Twitter to promote your ebooks? Is there a tweeting service you like to use? What would you recommend to new indie authors, or to those who are struggling?

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*If you don’t have a website, you need to get one — and I don’t mean on WordPress.com or Tumblr. You need to buy your own domain, like deannaknippling.com, and set up a home base. If you’re using WordPress.com or Tumblr or something like that, you’re not serious — or at least, people aren’t going to take you seriously.

Squirt and Me, 04/26/2012

I can’t believe it’s already May. Where in the world did April go?!

I spent the last few days reading, writing, editing, thinking, and playing some video games. I also worked; I’ve been getting a lot of hours since I started working in the jewelry department, and I worked overnight this past weekend. Throughout it all, I’ve mostly been thinking. I went through one of those “I suck, I shouldn’t be writing, I suck” phases but then came out of it swinging. As I tried to fall asleep a couple nights ago, I had a major brainstorm and woke up feeling refreshed and full of not only ideas but a new determination to make this writing thing happen, dammit.

I know I’ve said this before, but it’s really not easy. I guess I kind of expected to sit down every day and do that writing thing, that it would all come naturally. While I have marketing experience and have been writing since I was a little kid, it’s not coming naturally. There are many days when I feel like giving up and getting a “real” job. There have been more than several occasions when I wondered, “What the hell do I think I’m doing?” I also tend to keep comparing myself to other indie authors. I know this is a pretty normal and human thing to do, but I’m making myself crazy. Wondering why I’m not making the same sales as so-and-so or why I can’t crank out ten stories a month like so-and-so is not going to help me achieve my goals.

Speaking of goals… I rocked April.

How I Did on My April 2012 Goals

• Submit to two markets. I didn’t submit to even one market. Here’s the thing: I write really weird shit. Like, I can’t just package it into one genre and send it off to a magazine. A perfect example is “Outlaw Love Story.” It’s part modern western, part crime, part thriller, part romance, and there’s a little dash of horror. Where in the world does a story like that fit in? What’s funny is, my novels are more cut-and-dry, but none of them — not even Sade on the Wall – are ready for submission. I’m not too sure what to do about the stories I currently have that are “ready.” I love self-publishing, but I’d also like the honor of being published by someone else. I may have to really buckle down and write a little more to the genre… but that’s not really me. Thoughts?
• Sell five copies of each ebook short. I realized pretty quickly that selling a specific number of each story wasn’t going to work; “How Lon Got Screwed by a Terrorist” is my most popular story by far, while “Moon Prayer” is my least popular story. So I decided that I would be happy with selling fifteen copies altogether. I struggled with this in March; I sold four out of my goal of fifteen — only 26%. However, I discovered in the process that by tweeting links to my stories daily, sales went up. Unfortunately, I discovered this kind of late in the month, so in April, I really ramped it up. I tweeted all day, every day (except on weekends), and leveraged Facebook and Google+. And… I sold twelve out of my goal of fifteen — 80%.
• Read more books and watch more TV. I did really well with this; the whole point was to better balance work and play so that I don’t feel so stressed all of the time. It’s really not good to do nothing but work all of the time. I read White Heat by Paul D. Marks, and am still working on A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. My The Hunger Games trilogy finally came in the mail, and I have a novel on my iPhone that I will be reviewing, so I’ll be reading well into summer. (I plan on reading more of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. It’s excellent!)
• Read more blogs. I didn’t do so well with this. I feel so out of touch with everyone still, but if I open Google Reader first thing in the morning, I tend to procrastinate further, and if I open Google Reader at night, I’m too tired to read and comment. I think part of the problem, to be honest, is that my Google Reader has way too many subscriptions. I love them all, though, so I’m going to have to figure this out.

On a whole, April was a pretty good month.

May 2012 Goals

May is going to be a super busy month. The weather is getting warmer, we have several upcoming birthdays in my family, and I’m also getting ready to launch Sandpaper Fidelity. (The SF website is ready, by the way, so go check it out!)

• Sell 30 copies of my short stories. This may be ambitious, since I didn’t quite make my April sales goal… but I’ve been paying attention to the goals they set at the store I work at, and it seems like reaching higher is a good thing. I’m hoping that the special Facebook-only sale I’ve launched will help me accomplish that.
• Create a plan for the rest of the year. Up until now, I’ve kind of been winging it. Oh, I’ve created plans but only temporary ones. We’re now almost halfway through the year, and I’d like something a little more permanent to follow.
• ??? I wanted to include something not related to writing, but I can’t seem to focus enough to choose something fun. Honestly, I have a lot on my mind at the moment.

There you have it.

What are your goals this month? You should leave a comment and tell me!

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*For those of you who are new-ish, I live in a one-bedroom apartment with my parents, sister, fiance, and our two cats. The dining room is mostly mine, since my sister is dorming. It’s not as bad as it sounds, now that I have the room set up more to my personality.

Angry reader is not amused.

I came across a post today by Kirkus MacGowan that really bothered me. I tried leaving a comment several times, but Disqus is evil and I eventually gave up. (I hate, hate Disqus. It needs to die a fiery death.)

In MacGowan’s post, “Sexy & I Know It — Garnering Attention,” he gives a couple of tips on how indie authors can gain attention for their books. I know just as well as the next indie author that selling ebooks and POD is hard. There are thousands of other indie authors out there, all clamoring for the reader’s dollar, and it’s tough to stand out. So I get how frustrating it can be. I also don’t mean any disrespect toward MacGowan; we’re all on the same team here. However, I think his post is a shining example of what not to do.

Think about what’s big in the news right now. Here in the United States, President Obama is on most of our minds at some point or another. Imagine this… Are you ready?

Flight of the Obama.

What do you think? There’s a bit of a ring to it. Okay, not really. But can you imagine how much attention you’d get? You’d be better off stating first in the book description that your book had nothing to do with the president of the United States. By that point, it wouldn’t even matter. Think of how many people would check it out based simply on such a title.

This is false advertising, no matter how you look at it. It’s shabby to tell readers they are getting one thing, but when they open the cover, they are actually getting something completely different. (Disclaimer: I’m not calling MacGowan shabby. I’m calling the act itself shabby.) Using something current and relevant to garner attention is only going to piss off your readers in the long run. People really do not take it well when they buy a book because the title said one thing and they find something completely different between the covers.

I learned this the hard way, completely accidentally. My short story, “How Lon Got Screwed by a Terrorist,” is about a thug who gets cheated by his terrorist boss. It’s a thriller, not erotica, but a few people have bought it thinking Lon was going to get some action. (I know there is a huge market for erotica on Amazon, so I’m guessing that’s what happened here.) They were pretty disappointed when they found out that Lon doesn’t get any, and I’ve gotten a couple of bad reviews between Amazon and Goodreads. I’m thinking about changing the title*; although the title has driven sales because it’s interesting, it’s also potentially misleading, and pissing people off. I want people to read my stories, but I don’t want to piss them off.

I think a better way to put this concept into action is to put as much effort into your title as you do into writing the piece — if not more. I like making lists of potential titles and seeing which one stands out to me the most. I would have never thought in a million years that people would misconstrue the word “screwed” in my title (and I have a pretty dirty mind, sigh). Admittedly, titles have never been my strong point; I always have a hard time coming up with a good one.

…the cover is just another way to do that. The same things apply here as with the title. Putting a beautiful woman or painting on the front will gain attention. Using a woman or painting people already love and adore would be better.

Have you ever seen one of John Locke’s covers? Most (maybe all) are pasted with a physically attractive woman clad in too-tight clothing. His books certainly have their share of attractive women but they are rarely the focus.

I think that it’s unscrupulous to purposely put something on the cover like a scantily clad woman when the novel’s focus isn’t a sexy woman. As indies, we do have to work harder to have our work read, but we also need to be careful how we are presenting ourselves. If time and time again an indie author is “caught out” for basically falsely advertising their books, he or she is going to lose readers.

I think, as indie authors, we’re a lot more responsible for how our readers perceive us and how we treat them. We have to constantly put ourselves in the readers’ shoes: “How would I feel if a writer did this to me?”

I know it’s not always easy to create strong titles and startling cover images (like I said, I pretty much loathe the titling process), but we’re lucky as indies to have vibrant communities where we can ask our readers what they think before we publish. “Do you like this cover image?” “What do you think of this title?” These are things we can post to our Facebook pages and send out in email newsletters. We’re very lucky.

And I truly don’t mean to attack MacGowan here; it’s all trial and error when you’re an indie author. I just strongly believe that it’s better to have slow sales than to intentionally or even unintentionally trick your readers.

What do you think? Is it ethical to use controversial titles and cover images that aren’t necessarily relevant to your novel to drive sales?

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*Look out for a more in-depth post on this soon; I’ve been really struggling with this.

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The second draft of SADE ON THE WALL

By now you’ve probably heard that Sade on the Wall and I didn’t make it to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinals. I’m not gonna lie: I’m sad. I’m also relieved. Ever since February, I’ve been preparing for the final round, which is essentially a popularity contest (the winner is chosen by readers’ votes). This means that I’ve been trying to get eyeballs for “Sade,” on top of promoting my short stories for sale, editing new stuff, and other things. I’ve been spread much too thin, and while I’m grateful for my experience in ABNA, I’m also grateful for the respite.

I’m also sad, though. While I’m really proud of how well I did in my very first ABNA, this is it… for now. I still plan on getting “Sade” published. I got a lot of great feedback from the judges and people who read the excerpt. My Publishers Weekly review was pretty scathing; it’s hard for me to tell whether I need to address all of it (but I do know that I need to heed some of it).

An overreliance on dialogue, an abundance of description, and a secondary plotline that seems to serve no purpose drag down this story of deadly drug dependency and its strain on a friendship. Sade and Jackie have been friends since childhood, but Jackie’s interest in wild partying leads to arguments. Jackie tries to persuade Sade to go to raves; Sade reluctantly acquiesces, and becomes even more alarmed when Jackie experiences a frightening reaction Ecstasy. Jackie goes missing after yet another rave and the story spirals downward when Jackie’s aunt waits 24 hours to file a missing persons report. Bizarre statements stop the story cold and younger brother Corey’s sudden interest in the Nation of Islam is not fully developed and doesn’t really serve the story. Although the ending is effective and sadly realistic, plodding dialogue and little action bog down its power. (Publishers Weekly, April 2012)

It’s hard for me to tell because the feedback I got from the judges was really good. (You can see all of that on the Sade on the Wall page.) Someone pointed out in the ABNA forums though that while the judges treat novels as an unfinished product and offer feedback, PW treats them as finished products and offers no feedback, only a brief synopsis and their opinion. So… I’m not as upset by this as I was when I first read it. The last couple of days have given me some perspective.

At first I wasn’t sure what my Plan B would be, but now I know: I’m sending it to some beta readers, creating a third draft, and then sending it out to agents. I’ve got the itch to edit. The extra eyes will help me decide whether my dialogue really is “plodding” and full of “bizarre statements.” (I wish I knew specifically which “bizarre statements” the PW reviewer is referring to. Oh well.)

I learned a lot from my run in this year’s ABNA — mainly that I don’t suck. After all, I made it to the quarterfinals. I think that’s pretty damn good. I also learned that I still have a bad habit of spreading myself way too thin. I will probably never stop doing this. Sigh. And I learned that I really love being a writer, and want it as my career more than anything.

I already knew that I have a great support system and group of readers, but you guys made me feel so special throughout these last few months. You rooted for me as I made it through each round, and then cheered me up on Tuesday when I announced the sad news. Thank you. Thank you for keeping me going and being there for me.

I have some upcoming releases planned, so make sure you are signed up for my (free) email newsletter. I’m also putting together a special Facebook-only sale, so make sure you like me on Facebook so you can snag that deal.

How was your week? What do you have planned for this weekend? I’m working overnight, but I plan on trying to do some reading and Simming. I need some R&R!

White Heat sucked me in right away with its noir style. You get to know Duke right away, and even though he’s a self-professed fuckup, I liked him instantly. Part of me wondered the entire time whether he killed Teddie Matson himself without remembering it, but I still liked him. Duke’s voice is very strong in the narration. Usually, I hate slang and dialect in prose because it frequently overpowers the story, but Duke’s way of talking made this story.

The plot was interesting, and full of twists and turns. Duke’s investigation felt realistic, even when he was chasing down people like a cop. The characters’ interactions, mannerisms, and dialogue also felt realistic. I fell in love with Duke, Jack, and Rita. I also loved Teddie, even though we never met her alive.

My only complaint about this novel was its lack of dialogue tags. For the most part, I could tell who was speaking on their way of talking alone, but sometimes it got quite confusing and interrupted the flow of the story; I kept having to go back and reread those long strings of dialogue to determine who said what.

White Heat is set during the days of the Rodney King riots. I liked that it had a strong historical element that heavily impacted how the characters acted toward each other, as well as impeding the investigation at times because of the involved characters’ innate prejudices. The novel explored cultural bias based on skin color, and did an excellent job depicting different cultures’ attitudes toward each other.

I can’t say whether it properly captured LA, as I’ve never lived there, but I trust Marks’s judgment, as he’s lived there his entire life. I did, however, like that the setting shifted between California and Nevada, giving readers a taste of what lay beyond Duke’s hometown.

The scenes between Duke and Rita were steamy, without really being overly descriptive. Marks has a knack for language and description. It was a refreshing change from novelists who try to make sex scenes so sexy that it reads like erotica.

I had a lot of fun with White Heat. It was riveting, sexy, and provocative. The best part of this novel? There’s a sequel (due out in November 2012).

White Heat is now available on Amazon and Smashwords in all digital formats, and in paperback. Read an excerpt, and check out the novel’s official blog.

♦♦

Disclaimer Thingy: I was provided an ARC in exchange for a written review.

I found out last spring that working forty hours a week wreaks havoc on my body, and while the job I have now is considerably much lower in stress than ones I’ve had in the past, I still have days and weeks when the long hours start to take their toll: my joints ache and swell, and my body is exhausted beyond a normal person’s level of fatigue. For that reason alone, I will probably never work a nine to five again. For some reason, working more than twenty-five or thirty hours makes me feel like microwaved zombie.

So there’s that… but there’s also the part where working a forty-hour week would leave me no time to do any writing. There was a time when I worked three jobs at a time; I didn’t do any writing when I got home, even though I wanted to, even when I promised myself I would. There was a time when I worked one freelance job that probably added up to fifty or more hours a week; I didn’t do any writing. And then there was a time when I had a full-time, forty-hour week job; I didn’t do any writing then, either. Altogether, that’s a period of about three years that I didn’t do much writing at all. As soon as I made the conscious decision to focus completely on my writing, it improved dramatically. While I can’t say that I write every single day, I do devote most of the time I’m not at the store to my writing in some way.

I could easily find another full-time job and start raking in the cash; we all know I’m sick of being broke. If I did that, though, I wouldn’t be able to focus on my writing. Aside from being ridden with fatigue and pain, I’d also more than likely still be in “work mode” and unable to completely devote my attention to editing a story or writing something new. While working part-time has its drawbacks, at least when I punch out, I’m done for the day. I don’t have to think about what happened at work until my next shift. I noticed that, even while employed for a company doing their internet marketing, I rarely left work at the office.

You could, of course, just argue that I could go back to school for something less stressful than web design and more fruitful than writing… but I can easily stomp out that argument.

I’m happy.

For the first time in years, I’m really and truly happy. Less than six months ago, I couldn’t honestly say so. I still have my struggles, of course. But on the whole, I’m really, disgustingly happy. Every time I tried to pick out a practical career — good money, something I like — I ended up either running into a wall, or my mind drifted back to thoughts of What if I became a writer? A lot of people think I’m crazy, but that’s okay. I’m finally learning to do me.

That being said, this writing shit is hard. Sometimes I wonder if I should just get a nine to five! In all seriousness, though, I’m not going anywhere. I stepped back, spent some time doing anything and everything but writing, and then regrouped. I have a solid plan in place now… and I’m once again excited and ready to take on this journey.

Just as I start falling down
I turned this around

This song may be kind of cheesy, but it’s sort of my theme song right now. You can thank work for that. I get all of those songs stuck in my head, all the time. (Related: I know I totally dropped the ball on the mix tape. Um… What can I say? You know I’m bad with sticking to these things. Sigh.)