I've been in a writing slump thanks to my car breaking down. Last night, I saw a tweet for help from the lovely manda903, aka Amanda Racette, saying she needed inspiration.

What sort of inspiration? She wanted to partake in a word war. Now, I've known of word wars for years, but have never taken part in one, other than the type where I'm working against the clock  like 750words.com and NaNoWriMo.org. In both situations, my war companion is myself. I'm fighting the clock alone.

But last night, I went for it. A thousand words in one hour, with Amanda as my war companion. We each had to report to one another how many words we wrote, during whatever time span.

I did 1100 words in 50 minutes. Amanda did 1400 in 60 minutes. Definitely worth the initial fear of failure.

Have you had similar situations where you just had to suck it up and go for it, risking failure?

All the best,

Belinda

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry. Join the @worderella conversation on Twitter!

This is the project I was talking about. Please tell your friends and family about it, I'm really excited to make this happen!

And so it begins!

All the best,

Belinda

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry. Join the @worderella conversation on Twitter!

Get advance release information and subscriber discounts by subscribing to Belinda's newsletter!

This has been a craptastic week. I've been having nightmares about being in a car accident, so I took my car into the shop just to check it out. The car needs major repairs. It's drivable, but only until the parts break off. The repairs cost the price of the car. So now I have no car, and there isn't public transportation to my job.

Dearest Reader, I try not to ask for much. Just your love and adoration.

Heh, kidding. Kind of.

Seriously though, I need your help. The money I'm spending on the replacement car is the money I would have spent to hire a copy editor and publish Haunting Miss Trentwood. Never fear, I have a plan. And you, Reader, are a part of it. If you wish to be, that is.

I submitted an application to Kickstarter. According to the website, Kickstarter is...

A new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors. We believe that a good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide. We believe that a large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement.

Kickstarter is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands.

Get this: I was accepted! This gives me thirty days (once I launch the project) to drum up some excitement and raise $1,200 (or more!). This is money that I intend to spend on hiring a professional copy editor ($$?), buying a pack of ISBNs ($500+), registering a sole proprietorship, buying marketing materials, etc.

My Kickstarter award system will be the following:

• Pledge $1 or more
  Do I shout how awesome you are to Facebook or Twitter?
• Pledge $3 or more
  Not only do you get to pick where I shout how awesome you are (Facebook or Twitter), but you also get a PDF copy of Haunting Miss Trentwood.
• Pledge $5 or more
  PDF of Haunting Miss Trentwood as well as a permanent place on my website stating how amazing you are.
• Pledge $10 or more
  PDFs of Haunting Miss Trentwood and Catching the Rose; a permanent place on my website stating how amazing you are; a handwritten note from moi.
• Pledge $15 or more
  Print copy of Haunting Miss Trentwood; PDF copy of Catching the Rose; a place in the acknowledgment section of the book; a handwritten note from moi. Canada + $3; Europe + $10.
• Pledge $25 or more
  Signed print copy of Haunting Miss Trentwood; PDF copy of Catching the Rose; a place in the acknowledgment section of the book; a handwritten note from moi; a surprise. Canada + $3; Europe + $10.
• Pledge $50 or more
  Signed print copy of Haunting Miss Trentwood; two extra books for your friends/library (you pick the combination of Haunting Miss Trentwood and/or Catching the Rose); a place in the acknowledgment section of the book; a handwritten note from moi; a surprise. Canada + $10; Europe + $20.

I'm not asking that you help me out by pledging. I'd rather you help me by spreading the word that I need help; that I am happy to accept the smallest pledge possible, one dollar.  Plus, how cool is it to say that you helped an author make her book happen?

Think of me as your resident artiste, and I'll think of you as my lovely, lovely patron(s).

I'll post more details once everything is up and ready to go. I have to post a video and make sure my bank account is verified, which takes time. Thanks so much for the help, whatever you're able to give.

In the meantime, would you mind helping me get a buzz going?

All the best,

Belinda

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry. Join the @worderella conversation on Twitter!

Get advance release information and subscriber discounts by subscribing to Belinda's newsletter!

I'd like to introduce you to James M Turner, my guest from across the pond today at Worderella Writes.

Turner is an author, composer, musician and screenwriter. Having had a successful career as a highly paid professional musician, he now works in the film industry. His first television series screenplay 'The Taker' is currently in development and will hopefully move into production later in 2010.

About 'Beyond the Comfort Zone'

According to James, his newly released work Beyond the Comfort Zone is a memoir of a short period in the life of James M Turner. Having enjoyed a career as a professional musician for the rich and famous, in 2002 he moved to south east Asia where he eventually came into contact with the child trafficking trade.

Together with an acquaintance and the help of a US organization they attempt to gain the confidence of the traffickers and bring them to justice – saving the cargo in the process.

There is a little bit in there about James' hedonistic days of travelling the world as a high paid musician, but this is really just a foil to throw into stark contrast the subsequent adventure in Asia.

It's a tale that follows two young men trying to do the right thing and in the process nearly losing themselves as they spiral downwards into a shadowy world where human lives, at least their lives, are worth nothing. There is danger, intrigue, high emotion and a fragile love story woven together in what one reviewer called ' an exceptional journey ...the making of a Hollywood blockbuster, in short a Shantaram for South East Asia.'

I'm very pleased to have James here to interview. So let's get on with the questions!

How do you transform your passion into focused research?

Well, in the case of Beyond the Comfort Zone as it was a memoir there was very little research to be done, it was more a 'method' writing piece. I did a little historical research in the areas where I thought that people needed contextual help to understand the jeopardy, but again I was already fairly well read in that subject and it really was minimal internet verification.

However, when I was writing 'The Taker' my main research consisted of putting myself in the environment. I had a rough plot arc, stepping stones as I like to call them, but I wanted to feel the atmosphere.

This consisted of me sitting in downtown L.A. and soaking up the sights and sounds, making notes as I went. Also, as there is a technology component to the story, I researched cutting edge technology and then imagined how I could push it a bit farther.

Probably the longest gestation period in the development process in 'The Taker' was with the characters. I think I had between ten to twenty thousand words of back-story before they even set foot on page one of the script. That made for a fairly quick writing process as I had a very good idea how these people would react in certain situations.

How do you translate your research into an entertaining narrative?

As Beyond the Comfort Zone is a true story, the entertaining narrative really took care of itself. These were real people, very complex individuals. I had a location which was exotic (Thailand). Then the story itself was as dramatic as any fictional thriller.

I tried to make the writing as concise as I could which meant that if I didn't feel that something was moving the story along or there was some part that needed to be told in a more succinct manner – then out it would go.

One of the things that people have picked up on is the 'page-turner' aspect of Beyond the Comfort Zone most people tell me they have read it in 24-36 hrs. I think that is something that my cut throat editing approach has enhanced. If it isn't contributing to moving the story forward, then it has to go.

How do you sneak an underlying message into your entertaining narrative?

Well, there's an old quote from Don Maclean who wrote the song 'American Pie'. When they asked him what the lyrics and the song meant to him he replied 'It means I don't have to work again!' But, to be serious, I'm not sure sneak is the right word. I have however been amazed at how people take away all sorts of 'hidden' meanings and sub-plots from Beyond the Comfort Zone. Actually I'm quite happy for them to do that and very glad that the book lives on with people for quite some time after they have read it.

For 'The Taker' however hidden meanings are very much an integral part of the plot structure. I had a rough idea of interconnections between events and people, but just wrote the story down without expanding too much on any of those. Then, when the story was complete, I went back to those moments I had identified and dropped in little nuggets that at the time don't attract too much attention. By the end when the revelations appear there is a clear though (hopefully) surprising link.

However, as I said before, I am constantly surprised by the conclusions drawn by others as to what is sub-text and hidden meaning. Of course I'll take credit for that...even when it wasn't deliberate.

Thanks for joining us today! For more information about James, visit his website James M Turner.com and read reviews on Amazon (UK).

All the best,

Belinda

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry. Join the @worderella conversation on Twitter! She won't bite. Much.

After giving you a taste of Haunting Miss Trentwood, I thought it would be nice if I showed you one of the many ways I keep track of who I'm writing about, how they relate to one another, etc.

I love pen and paper, and could probably buy out any office supply store in the blink of an eye (that is, if I had unlimited funds, which, thankfully, I do not).

That said, I'm sure it wouldn't surprise you to hear that I adore Post-it notes. The image in this post shows how I visualize the love triangle(s) from Haunting Miss Trentwood. I would make the image bigger but then it might spoil some of the plot twists!

You see, dear Reader, this is a sort of map for me. I use this to remind me where tensions occur between characters. I'm color code so I know which character is part of which plot or subplot, and then I draw arrows with visuals to tell me the generics about the relationships.

I was thrilled to read Deanna Raybourn's blog when she said she does something similar: a collage of images that help inspire her current work-in-progress. I love learning other types of writing exercises that don't—shock!—require you to write. I need to make things because I am a Maker. I need to use my hands while I'm figuring something out, even something as cerebral as a plot twist. And then after I've made the thing, I want to share how I did it. Like this.

How to make a Character Map

1. Have a crummy day at work.
2. Have an awesome conversation on Facebook.
3. Grab a tabloid-sized sheet of paper, multiple colors of small sticky notes, a pen, and a pencil.
4. Write the names of the main characters on different colors of the sticky notes. Try to group the characters based on their primary plot lines.
5. Play around with the configuration of the character sticky notes on the page until you can get them to fit, and represent the relationships.
6. Draw arrows from one sticky note to the other to show direct connections.
   • Use dotted lines to show indirect connections.
7. Use a pencil because you might make a mistake and try to draw one arrow over another.
8. To keep the character map legible, try to arrange the stick notes so you won't have to cross arrows.
9. Have fun with it! I drew a funny angry face to show antagonists, hearts to show love interests, and broken hearts to show tragedy.
10. Put the character map somewhere you can glance at when you need inspiration.

I had so much fun with this, I might do it for the relationships I have in my life, and use it as a sort of art piece in my apartment. Or as a way for me to remember who is who at work. Learning the organizational scheme of a new workplace is always so stressful...

All the best,

Belinda

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry. Join the @worderella conversation on Twitter! She won't bite. Much.

I am ashamed to admit it has been, according to 750words.com, five days since I last wrote a word for Haunting Miss Trentwood. Thank goodness for blogfests! I almost forgot I agreed to be a part of the Rainy Day blogfest, held by The Writer's Hole.

Below is my submission, a first-draft snippet of Chapter 24 from my work-in-progress, Haunting Miss Trentwood. To give you an idea of the story, it is set in 1887 England, and the tagline is "Father knows best... even after death." Enjoy!

By the time they reached Wayland's Smithy, it had begun to rain. It was the kind of loud rain which spoke of the end of winter and the coming of spring. Mary had been forced to jog that last one hundred yards to the black opening of the Saxon tomb. She had slid on the slick rock floor covered with decaying leaves. Trentwood's tight grasp on her arm righted her. She jerked away from his unnatural touch.

Mary huddled beneath the sheltering rocks of the sarsen stones that made the ceiling, her arms wrapped tightly around her waist. I haven't anything left to vomit. "Tell me what happened back there."

Trentwood stood in the shadows beside her. She could feel his white eyes watching her, and fought the wave of nausea that shuddered through her body. Those white eyes had, for a brief moment, looked at her through Hartwell's eyes. Certainly she hadn't imagined that? Trentwood had, for a time, stepped into Hartwell's body so he could land a devastating punch to Sedgwick's jaw. One couldn't imagine that. Just as one couldn't imagine one's father haunting one.

I'm not mad. Please, tell me I'm not mad.

Outside, the rain plummeted to the ground more furiously than Mary had ever seen. It was as if the sky vomited on her behalf. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead into the moss that clung to the vertical stone walls. She sighed as the cool rock soothed the pounding at her temples.

"What would you like to know?"

She wasn't sure where to begin. "How did you do it?"

Trentwood shrugged. "One minute I was watching you thrash about in bed, and I heard you scream that terrifying scream of yours, and the next minute, I was in your dream. I haven't the slightest clue how it happened."

Mary blinked. Wait, what? Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. "I was talking about when you possessed Mr. Hartwell, Father."

Again, Trentwood shrugged. "I'm as new to this being dead folderol as you are in watching it."

Wiping beads of sweat from her brow, Mary whispered, "You will limit such... jaunts... in the future, I hope?"

"Indeed," he said with a short laugh. "It pains me to do it as much as it seems to pain you to watch it. Do you know how difficult it is to be dead, hopping around from one mind or body to the next, not knowing how you got there, or how you'll get out?" He stepped closer, and she could smell his death-stench.

"No, I don't. I never thought it was a skill I would need to learn."

He grunted. "Inherited your mother's morbid sense of humor, I see."

"Given the circumstances, I think I'm glad of it."

Suddenly seeming sheepish, Trentwood took yet another step closer. "Mary, we must talk about your dream. We must talk about your mother's death."

Definitely make sure you check out the other submissions. Thanks for reading!

All the best,

Belinda

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry. Join the @worderella conversation on Twitter! She won't bite. Much.

You would not believe what I saw at my local used bookstore the other day. I had chosen to block it from my memory, but the following tweet from @jennIRL brought it to the forefront of my mind:

what is it about bookstores that bring out the PDA in couples? I AM SITTING RIGHT. FREAKING. HERE. #notok

Oh God. That's right. I saw some wicked PDA (public display of affection). The kind that scars for life if you realize what is happening.

So get this.

My mother and I were birthday shopping for my brother. He wanted the first couple of Artemis Fowl books, and Flatland. I wandered into the fantasy/mystery section, thinking, well, that was as good a place to start as any.

There were a couple of people in the aisle, each reading a book. He stood at a protective angle, and she leaned into him. The way they were standing, the man and woman, I realized they were probably not a couple of people, but a romantic couple.

It took me half a second to realize his hand was lower than her waist. And it wasn't at her back.

The other half a second was all it took to realize his hand was moving in a circular, caressing motion.

Yes.

Oh yes.

He was caressing her lower special bits. As if they weren't in a bookstore, of all places.

I blinked. Yup, the hand was still there. ZOOM I focused my attention on a book, any book, it didn't matter the book I just needed to not be looking at that hand rubbing and patting her baby-maker as if it were a puppy.

From the corner of my eye I saw that he saw me, and stopped. But it was too late. Oh so too late. The damage was done. I am scarred for life.

For the first time ever, I wish I wrote steamier romances so I could put that scene into a book. Someone want to do it for me?

All the best,

Belinda

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry. Join the @worderella conversation on Twitter! She won't bite. Much.

No, I am not talking about synchronized swimming. Rather, I am talking about the attempt to synchronize my on-line goings-on. You see, I can be reached at a number of places on-line, including…

• Goodreads
• Scribd
• Twitter
• Website
• Facebook
• Smashwords
• Amazon
• Delicious

That is a lot of places on which to keep tally. I'm certain I've forgotten a couple, too.

How do I keep up with all these profiles?

Luckily, applications like Google's Feedburner allows me to automatically tweet when I post a blog topic or add links to my Delicious account. It also provides you, dear Reader, multiple options to subscribe. You can choose the RSS reader of your choice, or you can receive an e-mail digest of this blog, Worderella Writes.

Facebook allows me to import my blog posts as notes, so those of you keeping up with me there have the opportunity to stay involved. Facebook also automatically forwards all of my tweets from Twitter to be a Facebook status update.

I am trying a new WordPress plugin that should allow Facebook comments on my notes to be ported back to the blog and vice versa, so everyone can be a part of the conversation.

Goodreads allows me to import my blog posts as well.

I embed my Scribd documents on my website. When I read something on Scribd, I can "readcast it," which is like broadcasting, to my Twitter and Facebook accounts. Likewise, when I upload a new document, I can broadcast it to Twitter and Facebook.

I keep up with the  Twitter and Facebook statuses of friends through a Firefox plugin called Yoono.

Moral of the story? Start poking around your on-line profiles. See which ones will link automatically to the other so you don't lose your hair trying to keep up with all of the trends. It makes life so much easier.

What are your methods of dealing with on-line profile management and marketing? I'm always looking for new tricks.

All the best,

Belinda

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry. Join the @worderella conversation on Twitter! She won't bite. Much.

The amazing thing about the internet is how it is able to connect you to people who care about your work. Tomorrow, Critique This WIP is interviewing me on their blog.

We will be talking about everything from why I began writing to how I defeat the Dreaded Writer's Block. Definitely check it out, because Critique This WIP is a great group of ladies who talk about the publishing world.

In terms of my progress with Catching the Rose, I'm applying to be a seller on Amazon so I can submit the interior of the book for the Search Inside functionality.

As a reader, I love it when I can browse the interior of the book. In fact, if given the choice, I will always choose the book that allows me to search inside vs the one that won't. Are you the same way? Do you prefer to read a little of the book before you buy it?

Are you like me, a cheater who reads the ending before I decide I'll spend the money? I like to know if I'll like the ending... if so, I'll probably enjoy the journey. But then, that's me.

All the best,

Belinda

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry. Join the @worderella conversation on Twitter! She won't bite. Much.

In case you didn't know, today is my birthday, and two years ago I put my writing aside to get a masters degree.

Now that I've graduated, I feel a bit like Mr. van Winkle after his twenty-year slumber.

Two years ago, Smashwords was a fledgling idea I didn't trust. ISBNs were only sold in groups of ten. Good luck getting distribution, because no one would distribute a self-published work… oh wait, we have Amazon CreateSpace now?

Two years ago, Twitter was for nerds. Well, it still kind of is for nerds, but now it's for super cool super social nerds, like me. Blogs were starting to become passé for those who couldn't maintain steam. But us writers, I'm happy to find, are chugging along with these cool things called blogfests.

What is a blogfest?

I asked this very question not three days ago. I'd never heard of one, and I couldn't find any examples. Lo and behold, following my usual six-degrees-of-Twitter, I joined a bloghop for romance writers. From there, I learned about a blogfest that I could join.

The idea is to have a bunch of bloggers write toward a particular theme on a particular day. The blogger hosting the blogfest links to the other blogs and vice versa, and everyone hops around reading the submissions.

It's like an online writer's group, or something. It sounds awesome.

This blogfest I've joined will be on August 25. The theme is "rainy day."

Since Haunting Miss Trentwood is set in England, I need a rain scene. I've already had one, but it's been a couple days in the time line, so I think we're due for another. I'm excited.

Are you in the middle of a project? Are you feeling stuck? Maybe you need to throw your characters in the middle of a rainstorm. You should join the blogfest!

All the best,

Belinda

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry. Join the @worderella conversation on Twitter! She won't bite. Much.

I've gotta say, it's been pretty tough tracking you down. I've done it to myself, I know, writing such a particular genre (paranormal historical romance). But the thing is, this is the genre that is spilling onto the page, so this is the genre it seems I must write.

So first, I'd like to list what I know about you. I know you are probably a young-to-middle-aged-or-older woman. I suspect you are probably interested in historical fiction, romance, and the paranormal. Some combination of all three, if preferable. I know you are interested in relationships, particularly father/adult-daughter relationships and romantic relationships. I know you probably like...

• Amanda Quick's Arcane Series
• Susan Carroll's The Bride Finder
• Erica Ridley's Too Wicked To Kiss
• Susan Carroll's The Dark Queen trilogy
• Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julie Grey mysteries
• Mary Jo Putney's Stolen Magic, from the Guardian Council series

What I don't know is where you're hiding yourself. I assume you are busy reading, living life, enjoying food, drink, and the company of excellent companions. I applaud these activities and encourage you to indulge them more often.

Our lives are far too hectic these days; we don't know when to take a break or how to know when we should take a break. Even when we recognize when to take a break from the everyday doldrums, we don't know how to.

Those of us who are lucky know to lose ourselves in a good book. The sort of good book I'm in the middle of writing, just for you.

I'm trying everything I can think of to reach you. I want you to know that I care about you, I'm fighting to make a quality, personalized product just for you. And I think I'm making headway, thanks to social media.

You see, I've been a part of social media for years. I had a Facebook page under a different name, and learned the ropes of the system. I deleted that page because, well, it was getting spammed by every robot and its mother. But I started a Facebook page under the name Belinda Kroll because I wanted to get to know my potential readers. I want to know what you find interesting, funny, weird, touching, etc.

I want to get to know you. And I'd like you, in the process, to get to know me.

But in the meantime, I seem to be getting a lot of fellow writers friending me on Facebook. Which is totally fine, and I'm loving the idea of garnering a small community of writer friends. But the point of my attempt at social media was to get to know you, and not necessarily my friendly competition.

Today, however, I feel as though I've stumbled onto a landmine. You see, I've been part of Twitter for over a year, but just recently set up a Twitter account dedicated to my writing. This Twitter account is where I keep up with the big writing and publishing news. I follow my blog friends, I follow agents and publishers, and I follow you, if I'm able to find you.

Which leads me to my landmine: the Twitter Search functionality. It's taken me a while to discover how to utilize social media successfully. But I realized today that I can search for the terms that pertain to my writing, and therefore pertain to your interests.

I use this cool Firefox browser plug-in called Yoono, which allows me to log into multiple social media accounts. At any given time, I get real-time updates from Twitter and Facebook. This allows me to continue writing and researching, while taking pulse of the writing and publishing community.

Yoono is also cool because it saves my searches for me. Each search for Twitter becomes a sort of specialized list which I can access at any time. I've used the following terms to get closer to you, to discover if these terms pertain to you and your interests the way I hope they do...

• "susan carroll"
• #followreader
• "amanda quick"
• #dearpublisher
• historical fiction
• "deanna raybourn"
• historical romance
• paranormal historical romance

I think I'm on the right track. The tweets I receive when I click on these search topics are from you. The content is that you're reading these books and you're suggesting them to friends and fellow readers.

Don't take this the wrong way. I don't want to spam you by advertising my work. Instead, I want to hear what you have to say about these amazing writers. After all, I'm a fan of Amanda Quick, Deanna Raybourn, Susan Carroll, et al,  just like you. I hope to learn from their books and from your comments about their books.

But mainly, I just want to get to know you. So if you could, send me a line sometime.

All the best,

Belinda Kroll
(@worderella)

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Belinda Kroll is an independently published author under multiple names, focusing on historical romance. Visit her at http://worderella.com to read free samples of her writing, including essays, short fiction, and poetry.

You might wonder why I'm publishing a second edition of my first book while in the middle of writing my second book. You wouldn't be alone in wondering this. My mother has asked why I bother in looking to the past when I'm also planning for the future.

It's a good question, and one I thought I'd answer here at Worderella Writes. You see, Catching the Rose was my learning book. When I say that I mean this was the book I wrote in which I learned how to:

1. write a novel.
2. edit a novel.
3. ensure my book was the only one with that particular title.
4. look for a reputable vanity/subsidy publisher.
5. deal with a vanity publisher.
6. make a cover sketch so my cover designer would know what I'm looking for.
7. twiddle my thumbs while I waited for the proof to arrive.
8. scream with excitement as I held my book in my hands.
9. gain local buzz for writing a 384 page novel as a high school student.
10. set up a professional writing website.
11. set up a professional writing blog.
12. compare my cover to other covers in the genre.
13. recognize my back cover copy was sadly lacking.
14. recognize my marketing plan sucked, because I didn't have one.
15. accept compliments and criticisms with the same smile.
16. swallow my pride.

I learned a great many more things, but there's no need to list them all. The point is, I love Catching the Rose, and a great number of my readers do as well. Almost seven years later, I'm still hearing about how a friend of a friend of a friend of my mother picked up my book, and liked it so much that they asked my mother when my next one was coming out.

If you've ever had this happen to you, you know the quiet joy that spreads within your chest, blossoms in your heart, and makes your eyes shine.

So I'm releasing a second edition of this book, giving it a real chance this time because it deserves it. I know so much more now about the book industry, though I have a lot more to learn. I know how to do page layout and cover design; I did both for this second edition. I removed a number of my glaring rookie mistakes, such as

1. spelling out accents ("Why how dayah you, Mistah Williams, foah speakin' to me in such a mannah!")
2. allowing widows and orphans to mess up the visual harmony of the typographical page.
3. adverbs run rampant.

I didn't catch everything, but like I said, I'm still learning. Catching the Rose is my baby. I spent six years writing it during the developmental stage of life. I poured in all of my teenage confusion and angst, edited out the worst of it, and made an entertaining and engaging read for women of all ages. And a few men, too.

Even as I was re-doing the page layout last night, I caught myself reading passages and chuckling at the characters, or wondering what was going to happen next. Isn't that odd? I mean, I wrote the book. Shouldn't I know what's going to happen?

I do, because I did write the book. But for me, it's always been about the journey. I'm that jerk who reads the end of the book before I read the entire thing, because I don't want to read it if I won't like the ending. That doesn't mean I only like happy endings, because I don't. I like well-written endings. And a well-written bittersweet ending is clutch.

So I'm re-releasing Catching the Rose because:

1. It was, and still is, my learning book.
2. As per #1, I'm learning how to truly self-publish so when I self-publish Haunting Miss Trentwood, I'll have worked out the kinks.
3. I love this book.
4. I love the characters, and I love their issues.
5. My readers ask me, years after reading the book, what happened to Veronica and Brad.
6. While formatting the pages, I got lost in my own story.
7. I am a writer, and I must write.
8. I am a storyteller, and I must tell this story.

So what do you think? Am I being dumb? Am I being greedy? Or something else entirely?

I've made a book trailer for Catching the Rose, and let me tell you, it's exhausting. But oh so fun, if you know what you're doing. I downloaded CamStudio to screen capture what I was doing, but for some reason, it didn't take properly.

Which really annoys me, because I was looking forward to watching a time lapse of the three hours it took me to do the actual work, after hours of looking for the perfect images/music.

Anyway, I'm going to try to do it again. I'm going to replicate the process, and capture my actions on screen so you can see what goes into a book trailer. Or, at least a book trailer of my making.

In the meantime, enjoy my trailer, and let me know what you think about it. There are some sixty of you following this blog, and I'm getting a bit lonely!

Forgive me as I go on a happy rant. Today was a fairly good day, as I lived today. Living, as opposed to what, you ask? Well, reading and writing about living. I think it's very important that we writers know when to stop and take a break, and man, I needed a break. This week was a bit stressful at work because I'm still learning the ropes. I was invited out last night by friends and co-workers, but since the bar scene isn't really my scene, I stayed home and finished reading Almost a Gentleman by Pam Rosenthal. I'm hoping to write one of my old book reviews about it because I enjoyed it so much.

Get on with it, Belinda, is this your happy rant?

No. It is not.

This is.

Libraries are AWESOME

I ran a number of errands this morning, and visiting the library was one of them. I encourage all writers to be regulars at their local library. I go there when I want a fix of Writer's Digest, The Writer, and Poets & Writers magazines.

I'm blessed to have a library that is always buying new books, so I make it a point to check out the new historical romances to discover trends. You know, like cover imagery, blurbs, topics, etc.

On my way to the new books section, however, I glanced at the mini-book shop they have in the library. This shop is really just a book shelf with a desk in front of it with a donation box. The books are donated by people in my community, and the library sells them for a profit.

Wait for it, this is where my happy rant really picks up.

I found the entire Little House on the Prairie books for $2! TWO DOLLARS. That's eight books. EIGHT BOOKS for TWO DOLLARS.

I remember wanting these books when I was young. I grew up reading these books. These books are what turned me on to historical fiction.

I picked up the boxed collection and walked it over to the sweet old lady who was reading a letter from 1966. She seemed very shocked by what she was reading, and didn't notice I was hugging a box of books to my chest as if I knew there was a bandit around the corner waiting to snatch them from me.

You may think I'm exaggerating. Sadly, I am not.

After a couple of minutes she noticed I was standing there, waiting for her to finish reading. Which, by the way, it was fascinating to watch her. She reads letters line-by-line. The handwriting on the page was large, with constrained flourishes, and healthy spaces between each line. The paper was yellowed, but didn't look fragile. I wanted to smell it—I'm that weirdo who smells old books for fun. I wish I had thrown my camera into my purse because she really made such a lovely photo with her white hair and white cardigan draped over her shoulders.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't even see you there," she said, flustered, when I placed the box of books on the little desk. She fluttered her hands and tucked the letter in its envelope. "I was just reading an old letter I found, it's from 1966, and I was just shocked at what I was reading, I couldn't believe it…"

She didn't continue, and I felt it would be rude to press for more, but can't you imagine a wonderful story springing from that one little interaction? What do you think she was reading? Why did it shock her so much, reading it almost fifty years later? Where did she find it and why was she reading it in such a public place like a library?

"Oh, that's okay," I said, smiling. "I didn't want to disturb you." I motioned to the box. "Is this priced right? It must be wrong."

She adjusted her glasses and peered at the little white price tag. "Why, it says it's only two dollars!"

"I know! It's got to be wrong."

"Well," she said with a little frown, "if it's marked two dollars, it must be two dollars."

I shook my head. That was just outrageous. I wanted that boxed set my entire childhood and never received it. I managed to collect all the books over the years, but deep in my heart, I still wanted the boxed set. That boxed set. It was imperative that I owned that set.

"Well, I don't care. I'm going to give you ten for it."

"Oh no, you can't do that, the price is for two dollars."

I have to admit my mouth sagged open a little. "I saw one of the books, a hardcover version, priced at two dollars by itself. Someone mislabeled this."

"Well, then that's their fault, isn't it? We get such nice discounts in the general stores these days, and you don't apologize for that, do you?"

A smile was starting to creep back onto my face. "Well, no."

"Take it and run with it. And enjoy it! That's a treasure you found there." She accepted my cash, and as she tucked it into the cashier's box, asked, "Are you a teacher?"

My smile turned sheepish. These were children's books. It made sense that she thought I was a school teacher. I was young enough to seem right out of college and looking for books for my students. I was far too excited to not be a teacher looking for a cheap boxed set of books.

"No, but I grew up on these books."

She nodded, understanding me. "Today is your lucky day, sweetie."

I grinned. Yeah, it was. And I couldn't have had it if I'd stared at my computer screen all day.

I've spent most of this week adjusting to all the responsibilities of my new job, as well as calming down a bit with this whole self-publishing thing. I'm the sort of person who sets her mind on something and will work until she collapses to achieve her goal.

But that isn't healthy, smart, or sustainable if you're seriously planning on going into a new business venture, which is what I consider this self-publishing journey. I am determined to become a micro-business owner, which I contend is different from a small business owner.

#amwriting

And, I've been writing. After I complained about how I hadn't written in two weeks, I am now on a four day streak of writing at least 750 words a day. Go me! It turns out that once I get past 600 words, I get into the flow of things and my characters stop being characters and start being people.

Online marketing as an author

I felt so good about finishing chapter twelve of Haunting Miss Trentwood tonight that I thought I'd dabble in some marketing.I've uploaded the first section of my book, Catching the Rose, on Scribd. I've also uploaded an essay I wrote about how English accents are undeniably hot to American women, and my theory why. All tongue-in-cheek, of course.

I'm maintaining a spreadsheet so I know exactly what I've spent, where I've marketed, what I've uploaded, etc. I'm sharing this spreadsheet because I believe in iteration. I'm certain there are many of you who are better marketers than me. You've been at it longer, or it's closer to your day job responsibilities, or you're just not as shy as I am from the get-go.

Paying it forward

I'm also collecting useful links with my Delicious bookmarks. It's a small list right now. With your help, we could make an awesome collection of links for authors trying to self-publish, market, etc. Whenever you see something I should link, send me a tweet or leave a comment.

And now, it's time for Miss Worderella to go to sleep.