Book in A Month

There's a certain publisher that I'm determined to get contracted by, to the point where I've become borderline obsessed with coming up with as perfect a story as I can for them. So, tomorrow, I'm plan to start seriously working on another piece to send in to them. I've already got it plotted out for the most part and, turns out, it's not a very long piece, but it's not really a short either.

So my goal is this: draft this entire manuscript within the next month. No days off, no "Oh, I'm not in the mood to write right now, I'll do it later" no excuses. By July 17, I will have this book done. Or, at least I'll have the final chapter off to beta readers.

A twitter friend recently did a May50k event (for lack of a better term) in which she wrote an entire 50,000 word book during the month of May and the results were amazing. I may try to enlist her assistance just to make sure I'm not slacking off when I should be writing. And if any of my followers are reading this, I'd appreciate it if you'd do the same, if you don't mind. So unless something happens so ridiculous it just HAS to be shared, there will be no tweeting until daily word count goal is achieved.

I've got a title already, but don't want to share it just yet in case it decides it wants to change in the middle of writing. I will however say that whether this gets accepted by editor X for publisher Y or not, this will be the first book in a trilogy titled "Born This Way". Yes, it's Gaga, but it's paranormal Gaga. And I think it'll be interesting.

Wish me luck people.

Scary Love

Since about the age of ten (big whoop, I'm only twenty-one, now) I've had a borderline unhealthy obsession with all things horror. So much so that before I ever ventured down this path that is erotica/erotic romance, pretty much the only thing I ever wrote was horror.
My first two attempts to break out of the horror genre were wonderful, and I love the stories themselves, but I found that before long, I started getting bored and itching to get back to that pulse-pounding fear. Which is one of the things that led me to my recently contracted novella Sparks Fly.
The book itself is far more horror than it is either erotic or romance, but the point is that while writing it, I realized that I don't have to choose. Almost immediately following Sparks Fly, I started writing another novella that was actually originally supposed to be titled Sparks Fly (more on that in a later blog) and that one had it all: a healthy combination of terror and sexxin. Or at least I think it's a healthy combination.
I don't think I'll be able to turn my back on writing a good love story anytime soon. But the good thing is: now I know I don't have to. I can throw everything I love right into one manuscript. My poor characters may hate me afterwords. But I think it'll make us all stronger in the long run.

Ramblings

I wish someone would have told me at the outset that the road to actually becoming a published Author rather than an unpublished Writer would be so difficult. I mean, I've loved writing since about the sixth grade, but I didn't start thinking about seriously publishing until high school. See that book to the right of the screen? Yup. The one with the wonky cover called A Boy Named Joe? That was my first attempt at publishing. Self-publishing, granted, but publishing nonetheless. I plan on revising it someday, and maybe trying to submit it to a more traditional publisher (be it print or E) but the time for that isn't now.

For some reason, I was devoured by the publishing bug last year and I've been trying like mad to make the leap from unpubbed to pubbed ever since. I've done everything I can think of, from crafting stories specifically for certain publishers, to writing pieces for their submission/anthology calls. I've never dealt well with rejection, but for some reason I keep going back. Keep putting myself out there for the editors to reject for one reason or another.

Just last weekend, I sent subs out to three different publishers on a whim. Three days later, I get an email from one of the editors. There I am, thinking to myself: "Damn. Was it that bad?" But then I opened the email only to see that the editor loved my manuscript and was offering me a contract. Two days and lots of excited screaming later, I'm laying in my bed, still feeling the giddiness from that email, but I've still got story ideas running rampant through my brain.

There are those pesky submissions calls for those oh-so-alluring publishers (I won't mention that I just found another one not too long ago and the idea is already forming) that I just can't seem to resist. At the moment, I've got plans to write three different manuscripts, for three different calls, for three different publishers. And they're all due within twenty-four hours of each other. It's madness to attempt, but I know I'm going to. Because there's just something about the process of writing a book that I can't stay away from. But there's an even greater something about sending that book to someone else to read who could either (unintentionally, of course)tear away all your confidence, or elate you like you never thought possible.

Even now as I lay here, listening to Lady Gaga's new album, I'm about to go back to plotting the story for one of these calls. I wonder if other writers go through this. I can't be the only one. Can I?

Coming soon

Up All Night (Getting Spanked By Santa)-Christmas

Little Dreamer-Spring

Peacock-Summer


*This list in no way implies publication; just the story title, and the season in which they take place.

Explanation of the Title

Dance In The Dark is orignally a song by Lady Gaga. According to her, "the record is about a girl who likes to have sex with the lights off because she is embarrassed about her body." I love the song and I love the meaning behind it. I'd been thinking of a story for months about a guy who likes to have sex with guys, but he's ashamed of liking it and is terrified of people finding out. So I sat down to write the first chapter, and when I went through my iPod, looking for a title (most of my stories share a title with my favorite songs) I compiled a list of songs titles that I could potentially use. But as soon as I heard the opening chords of Dance In The Dark, I knew that that was it. It fit better than any of the others possibly could. Like the girl in Gaga's song, Dylan will do anything for Sean. He'll do anything that Sean wants him to do, so long as no one knows about it. They can dance, (or fuck, Whichever word you prefer,) but only in the darkness of secrecy.

Thank you Gaga. You're amazing. I'm a Little Monster for life.

Official Playlist for Dance In The Dark

This is the first novel I've ever set up a specific playlist for. Well, two playlists, actually: one for Sean and one for Dylan. I've compiled the songs that stuck with me the most while writing and that go best with each chapter's theme. All songs are in chronological order according to the chapter they go with. The three at the very end are songs that fit with the arc of the story overall and I think that they tell it pretty well by themselves. Have a listen to the songs; they're all on Youtube. See if they grab you enough to convince you to read the book once its published.

Dance In The Dark

1. Criminal by Alexz Johnson
2. Push You Away by P!nk
3. Bad Romance by Lady Gaga
4. Sex For Breakfast by Christina Aguilera
5. Misery by P!nk featuring Steven Tyler
6. It's All Your Fault by P!nk
7. Contagious by Avril Lavigne
8. Shut It Down by Drake featuring The Dream
9. How Strong Do You Think I Am? by Alexz Johnson
10. Temporary Insanity by Alexz Johnson
11. Thinking of You by Katy Perry
12. The Two of Us by *Nsync
13. Long Way to Happy by P!nk
14. Dance In The Dark by Lady Gaga*
15. Don't You Dare by Alexz Johnson*
16. It's You by Michelle Branch*

Blurb for Dance In The Dark

Finished the first draft of the new book today. I may be biased, but I think its bloody awesome. Not looking forward to editing, but publication is a must... Wanna know what it's about? Read below.

Sean Summers and Dylan Mack are opposites in every way. Dylan is the school’s star athlete while Sean is the most dedicated worker the school has ever seen; Dylan spends his weekends partying while Sean spends his studying; Dylan prefers to use his fists to solve problems, while Sean tries to use his words; Dylan is straight, while Sean is gay. Dylan and Sean have been best friends since the second grade. What starts off as a joke on Dylan’s eighteenth birthday spirals out of control into an affair that drives both boys to the heights of passion and the depths of heartbreak. Will they ever be able to be what they were again? Will they even still be friends? Or perhaps something more?