Signing!

I had a great time at my first book signing on Saturday! Sincere heartfelt thanks to those of you who came and to those of you who didn't, perhaps you can make it to the next one!



By the end of the hour-long event, my stack had dwindled down to nothing!



My wonderfully talented sister-in-law, Laura, baked this celebratory cake. Isn't it amazing?!? Yes, that mock book is edible too! She's got mad skills...but I've mentioned that before.



I answered some great questions--including one from Husband that he'd never asked before. I wonder if he was waiting until this very moment to make me blush. He asked why I get most of my inspiration during church sermons. I don't have a clue, but it's the truth.



I read a bit from the book. I had to force myself to sloooow way down. It's a harder task than you realize...unless you've actually heard me read aloud (sooo sorry former students).



The one above isn't the greatest picture, but it caught the warm ambiance just right.



I signed books and had an absolute blast! Very surreal.






Afterwards, we went to lunch and I de-stressed with the ones I love the most. I don't post pictures of Husband and munchkins often. It's a writing blog about my writing journey, so I hardly feel pictures of my children apply...but none of this would have been possible without their support. So a family picture can fly here, I think.

Dark Tide Rising WINNERS!

I always love giveaway days, but today is super duper especially special. I get to announce the winners of the giveaway of MY book. *Sigh*. I'm a happy girl. I chose the winners by giving each commenter of the giveaway posts a number. Then I went to random.org and let the numbers roll.

The winners are...(drumroll, please!!!)

ADUB

and

AUBREE!

YAY! I'm super excited! I'll be contacting you both via email shortly to get your mailing addresses. Thanks for entering everyone!

Also, in other news, I'm having a signing, Q&A, and reading tomorrow morning at 10am at Main Street Cafe in Manteca, CA. I'll have books on hand (what an ordeal it was to get them delivered here through all the storms, let me tell you) and I would absolutely, positively love to see you there!

Rejection and American Idol

Rejection was a theme on television last night. At least that's what I picked up.

On America's Next Top Model, Tyra decided to trick the models into believing they were being sent home instead of invited on the show. As they were ready to tote their luggage down the empty hall of their dreams, Tyra (as OZ) dropped her big ass curtain, revealing their trendy LA apartment.

The girls fell apart. I'm talking panic attacks and Niagra tears.

Was the point of the cruelty to make them appreciate their blessed position? Was it to make sure they knew how fast Tyra could *snap* her fingers and make it all disappear?

I changed the channel. All those dog-howling screams during the first few episodes really got to me. I may be deaf.

I started watching American Idol instead. It didn't take long before I was crying my eyes out. I couldn't believe they cut Chris Medina. (What a man, right? Talk about a hero.) Then Jennifer Lopez went and said something that made me think about writing...and once again, Rejection. There I was in my flannel PJs, sitting on the couch with my legs curled beneath me, munching on some popcorn, my dog snoring atop my feet, and J.Lo literally stops me mid-munch.

While crushing singers' dreams as lightly as she could, the diva said (forgive the paraphrase), "Don't let this No discourage you. You'll get rejected a lot in this business. I did. A lot. Now if you want this...if you really want this...you'll learn what you've got to do to make it happen. And then you'll do it."

It was then I realized...some of those singers who got rejected will go home, decide they made it further than they ever thought possible, and be fine-and-dandy with that. They'll live perfectly happy lives knowing they gave American Idol the best shot they could...they got far...and they're proud. (As they should be!) They can sleep peacefully at night knowing they at least reached for their dreams. What makes me sad is that many of them had AMAZING talent. I'd buy a few of their songs, had they stuck to their guns and sealed a record deal. But it's what good enough for them, and not me, or America or the judges, that matters, right?

Some writers aspire to finish that one novel that's been hanging over their heads for years. Some writers finish that novel, then wait years to begin the agent hunt for fear of being rejected. Putting your heart and soul into something just to see it turned down is a hard pill to swallow. Some writers receive one rejection or ten or fifty and think Hey, I got this far. This was further than most people got. And they quit much too soon. Before they fully developed their craft. Before they really stretched themselves to the limit.

I think Jennifer Lopez was on to something. I think the people who make it...the ones who really make it...they're the ones who feel it's never good enough. They can always be better. Their work, their art, their drive, can never be strong enough. Look at the greats in any field and think about their determination, their sacrifice, their drive: Nora Roberts, James Patterson, Al Pacino, Anne Rice, Madonna, Cher, Michael Jackson, etc, etc, etc. I could seriously go on and on. Think about your favorite artist, in any form. Although there are insta-stars in any business, I'd be willing to bet they were faced with hurdle after hurdle before reaching their goal.

At least this is what I'm telling myself as I face rejection after rejection in my own journey.

For all you idol fans, my favorite this season is Tim Halperin. I'm not sure he'll win because he's not really the total package that American Idol looks for, but damn his voice is awesome.

Why Critique Partners are Important

1-They push you to be better.
They tell you when your work isn't good enough. Sometimes when I write, I have a tendency to think everything's great. I get the honeymoon period a lot. Me and my manuscript. Running off into the sunset holding hands. I become too familiar with the words and too in love with the characters. This is bad. Critique partners aren't afraid to tell you that your prose is murky and your characters are flat. They push you to dig deeper and write harder.

2-They lend an ear and a shoulder when you get rejected.
I don't know of a writer who hasn't faced rejection. (And by all means, if you're out there reading this and you haven't been rejected on your writing journey and your walls are full of shiny book-lovin awards...don't mention it here. You will be stoned.) It's easy to feel down when someone in the industry says your work won't be picked up. It's easy to take it as a personal attack on you instead of a simple decision on your work. Critique partners keep things in perspective. They remind you that you're not the only one struggling to make it. It's not personal. Have a drink. Or a donut. It'll all be better in the morning.

3-They celebrate in your victories.
I had a little victory when Dark Tide Rising got a five star review from The Romance Reviews. (Love the shameless plug.) I was jumping up and down. I was ecstatic. I read it a dozen times. I cried. Seriously. But there was no greater feeling than my writing friends congratulating me. I could hear the excitement in their emails. (OMG! WOW! CONGRATS!!!!! GO YOU!!) Victories, even little ones like starred reviews, are better celebrated together.

4-They GET IT like no one else in the non-writing world gets it.
It's hard to explain to a non-writer how important the Golden Heart awards are for romance writers. It's hard to explain why I enter the Daphne Contest. (I enter both every year.) The first thing a non-writer asks after seeing me toil over the submissions is "what do you win?" The answer is simple: A necklace. It's the most simple necklace infused with honor, respect, and writing glory. Truth be told, I don't even want the necklace. The necklace isn't what it's about. It's about knowing my work means something. It's about my work getting the stamp of approval from my peers. Writers get it. We gather year after year at RWA National, get all spiffed-out for the red-carpet award ceremony the final night of the conference and watch as our friends, colleagues and FAMILY take the stage to claim that simple necklace. Not so simple after all.

3-They plot!
I had originally planned my paranormal series to be three books. Enemy, Beloved is about a shape-shifter and a vampire (and a bunch of other cool fight stuff). Immortal, Beloved is about a human and a vampire (and a bunch of reincarnated lover, death all around stuff). The third in the series (Untitled) was going to be about a fallen angel and a vampire elder (and a bunch of other totally awesome stuff I haven't really figured out yet).

But...after a recent development which I can't share yet, I've put the third book on hold. Not for good. I'm still going to write it should a publishing house pick up the first two. (PLEASE PLEASE THEY'RE GOOD I PROMISE) Now, though, I've decided it's probably a better career move if I write something in a new direction. If I build a new world. If I stay in paranormal romance but write new characters in a new and equally exciting world.

Why, you ask?

Because I have to prove that I can write something other than the series I've already started. It'd be great to say I have The Crimson Bay Series and yet another coming down the chute that's the same, but different.

But I have no freaking clue what that book is going to be about. I have a general premise. I know I want to write angels or ghosts. I know I don't want to write demons. I know I don't want to write any book about people/monsters/otherworldly things rising up against God. Period. All the other details still need to be worked out. That's where my awesome critique partners come in. I talked with one last night while giving my kids a bath (Side note: NEVER attempt to plot while giving small children baths. Your bathroom will flood. Just sayin'.) Even though I felt like I had nothing to go on--a blank canvas that needed something beautiful painted on it, my critique partner started chucking globs of literary paint onto my blank slate. We mashed around colors. We smeared ideas right and left. Although my canvas now looks more like mess than art, it's a START. And I have my critique partner to thank.

4-And lastly (too long a post, although I could go on and on), they balance you out.
During the above plotting session last night, my critique partner and I realized that we write books the EXACT OPPOSITE way. I come up with a premise. I figure out the major conflict. I figure out who my hero will be in that conflict--major role, obviously. I then determine who would challenge him most in that world. There's my heroine. She, on the other and very interesting hand, develops characters first, then throws them into complex situations. She's a great writer. I'm honored to read and critique her work. I stand to learn a lot. But that's why I think we work. Without the balance we'd never learn, right? Yin is nothing but a funky crescent moon lookin' thing without Yang.

And I think that philosophical gem is a great place to stop.

Thank your critique partners today. They're your lifeline on this crazy journey toward publication.

Dark Tide Rising Giveaway!

I'm giving away two signed copies of Dark Tide Rising! I'll also be throwing in a few Dark Tide Rising bookmarks courtesy of Brenda Pandos.

Rules to enter:

~Contest open to US Residents only
~Be a Follower of my blog (All you've got to do is click Follow on the right sidebar and enter your email address. I'll never spam you--promise.)
~Comment this post answering the following question:

In Dark Tide Rising, police sergeant Mark Thurgood is deathly afraid of the ocean. What are you deathly afraid of?

~Winner will be selected using Random.org
~Contest ends one month from today: February 24th at 9pm. Winner to be contacted via email then announced through a subsequent blog post.


Also, today's Monday! Know what that means? It's time to meet other authors and writers!

It's Meet an Author Monday!



READERS:

Follow as many authors as you like. Just follow the Linky list and hop from author to author. The idea is to find as many "new to you" authors as you can, and hopefully some great new reading material as well. Leave a comment as you hop from blog to blog! We'd love to chat with you!

AUTHORS:

Follow the Meet an author Monday host (Cali Cheer Mom) along with any of the wonderfully talented authors on the list.
You will need to enter your name and blog url into the Linky tool.
Grab our super cute button and place it in a post. (THIS IS IMPORTANT!) If you don't create a post for the hop, your readers won't have a place to comment, and the hop will stop with you. So create a post, paste in the Linky code and start hopping!
The purpose of the hop is to meet "new to you" authors and discover great new reads. Follow as many authors as you can. Leave a comment and introduce yourself!
If you'd like to share the Linky list in a post on your blog ( Please do!) just follow the link and grab the code.