Can I get a "WOOT WOOT!" from the crowd? Yeah! baby. Finally!
But before those of you who have been crossing your fingers for the sequel to WLINE get your hopes up, the acceptance wasn't for TCOL. Sorry. My manuscript for My Roommate's A Jock? Well, Crap! was accepted and will come out with Dreamspinner Press around december. This is the comedy one I was working on February-April. I am excited. This is a fun story and I think it will go over well with people.
YES, I KNOW, I shouldn't have to give into the accepted popular HEA story and I didn't intend to when I wrote it. Really! I was just having fun! (ANd they said it showed.) So, I am going to work on projects for this one! I have an idea for a line of geeky science-related t-shirts that would fit perfect with the book and I'm going to look into getting a graphic done and maybe working through Cafe Press. I want to market this book better.
Side note: I HAVE and sequel in mind but it is not written. All I really did was take notes. There is a learning curve in writing that I am taking the hard way to realize. So, I am not writing the sequel unless MRJWC is a smash hit! (Or unless I hear the characters yacking in my head and I have to get them out of there!) I do have self-pub as an option for all the sequels that publishers just dismiss. But we will take it one book at a time.
So yeah, I signed a contract! YAY! Really thrilled about that! I spent yesterday texting people personally to let them know, but it got sort of depressing when there were only 6 people and add one two more via e-mail. Sad how very little friends I have. :( *sighs* But enough of that! I'm going to be published again!! *happy dance* I'm not sure what to say about this one that hasn't been said before. On my website I list the description as:
It’s easy to become cynical when life never goes your way.
Cole Reid, a college senior, has been a social recluse since the age of fifteen. His obsessive/compulsive behavior, and controlling, sarcastic nature have driven half the population away, where as the other half of humanity hates him because he’s gay. As he sees it, he’s bound to drive any prospective friend away, let alone find a boyfriend, so why bother?
After Cole’s roommate of three years graduates, the housing department assigns Ellis Montgomery to his campus apartment. Ellis’ presence is problematic at best. He’s messy for one thing, but he’s also gorgeous, straight, and represents everything Cole has tried to avoid since the tenth grade—he’s a jock!
Amid the chaos of frat buddies, camping expeditions, and meddling parents, Cole and Ellis develop a fast and firm friendship that goes against Cole’s glass-half-empty attitude. Is there more brewing below the surface of Ellis’ amazing blue eyes, or is it simply Cole’s reawakened libido that drives him to look past the fact that his roommate’s a jock and see there’s way more between them than camaraderie?
if any of you think this is not all that appealing as a lure to read it, tell me what you think. I'm a novice. I do loads wrong. Probably asking reader's opinions is wrong to some, but oh well. Readers are the ones who READ and I need readers! I want to make readers happy! I'll find out when I can post an excerpt and see how much I can reveal ahead of time.
I'll be honest with you, some of you MAY need tissues. (It is MY writing we are talking about here.) But for the most part it is comedy, not tragedy. You will like Cole and Ellis!!!
All for now.
Catch ya laterz,
Wade
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Word by Word by Bird by Bird
I'm reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and I find it interesting how accurate she is about writers. NOT that I know THAT many writers and even in knowing writers it doesn't mean I know the inner workings of their minds. BUT, in the case of ME, Anne Lamott seems to have hit the nail on the head as to the way I think and the things I go through in writing. I have not finished the book, but so far I find it fascinating and relieving. If she is writing things like this, then it means that I am not alone in thinking I write crap and I am not the only one that is paranoid and obsessive. I am one in a pond full of paranoid and self-doubting authors. AND she has that "I'm PUBLISHED" feeling down too!!
It IS what we all want--to be published! But it is NOT what it is all cracked up to be. Just because one book got published it does NOT guarantee the next. (Or guarantee the sequel in my case.) Writing is a mystery that seems to come on strong when I least expect it and disappear without warning.
I haven't written anything of mention in weeks! WEEKS!!!! The dry spell is daunting and dreadful and killing me! I was trying to write a story about myself. I have loads of material, right? Well, the story isn't forming. it is all just boring facts that don't jump off the computer screen. I re read the sentences and think, "No one will find this interesting at all!" So I stopped.
I started reading a different book. Bird by Bird. I feel like I am not alone in my struggle. It is normal. I need to think and then NOT THINK. I need to open my mind to whatever is willing to pour out!
Last night, or this morning I should say, I had a thought. It's a book I've been kicking around but I didn't have a shape. Just a couple characters that I made notes on my smart phone about. It doesn't have a title yet. BUT I did see the first kiss. I felt this strong sense of what the one character is like. What he wants, and what he is afraid of. I could also see my other character. What he used to be and what he doesn't know he wants. I could see their connection and I visualized some of the kinky things they might do together. Kinky? Did I say that? YES, yes I did!
So this may not be what I INTENDED to write next but it is the story that wants to come out! So far I've taken notes. We shall see where this goes!!
lol
*snickering*
It IS what we all want--to be published! But it is NOT what it is all cracked up to be. Just because one book got published it does NOT guarantee the next. (Or guarantee the sequel in my case.) Writing is a mystery that seems to come on strong when I least expect it and disappear without warning.
I haven't written anything of mention in weeks! WEEKS!!!! The dry spell is daunting and dreadful and killing me! I was trying to write a story about myself. I have loads of material, right? Well, the story isn't forming. it is all just boring facts that don't jump off the computer screen. I re read the sentences and think, "No one will find this interesting at all!" So I stopped.
I started reading a different book. Bird by Bird. I feel like I am not alone in my struggle. It is normal. I need to think and then NOT THINK. I need to open my mind to whatever is willing to pour out!
Last night, or this morning I should say, I had a thought. It's a book I've been kicking around but I didn't have a shape. Just a couple characters that I made notes on my smart phone about. It doesn't have a title yet. BUT I did see the first kiss. I felt this strong sense of what the one character is like. What he wants, and what he is afraid of. I could also see my other character. What he used to be and what he doesn't know he wants. I could see their connection and I visualized some of the kinky things they might do together. Kinky? Did I say that? YES, yes I did!
So this may not be what I INTENDED to write next but it is the story that wants to come out! So far I've taken notes. We shall see where this goes!!
lol
*snickering*
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
You Never Cared
So I’m reading this short story by Michele L. Montgomery.
First impression (because I’m not finished): Damn Good! As with my normal
routine when reading anything, I didn’t read reviews and I didn’t look at the
blurb on the back. (Although she has an explanation in the beginning of the
story.) I didn’t know it was about suicide. If you have read MY BOOK, then you
know I write about the topic too! But Ms. Montgomery takes a different point of
view. The Bullier!!! I think this is great.
I haven’t read on from this POV and I think it is a good
thing to explore. Often, tales are told from the pov of the bulliee and how
hard it is to deal and the circumstances that push them to the edge. This isn’t
like that and I find it a refreshing change! Plus, I thought it was going to be
over gay bullying, it is but it seemed there was more to it than that. (AND the things they did to this kid.) I thoroughly enjoy
reading things that I can’t predict! If you are a writer, I hope you can
understand what I am saying. Predicting plots make the reading very difficult
for me. I almost feel like why bother? But You Never Cared was surprisingly
different than I expected and I am very glad for it. Actually, as I read I
thought, “Everyone should read this!”
It is good to see things from the other person’s view point.
Even people who seem like the party in the wrong often have feelings that get
over looked because maybe the other person’s are seen as way worse or more
painful. I would not have thought of a “bully” as this remorseful. Thank you
Michele for delivering something that expands my thinking!! I need it
sometimes! Reading the same old-same old gets boring.
Also, maybe reading has nudged me in the right direction. I
am thinking clearer. I’m going to finish reading You Never Cared and then I
might try writing again.
I’ve also been in a “bad place” because of personal reasons.
Just so those out there who worry about me know, I am thinking clearer now. I
will be okay! (You know who you are!!) I am glad for people who care and the
couple who e-mailed me personally –THANK YOU!! It means a lot to know there are
those around the world who notice even a change in the tone of my voice through
BLOGGING and contact me to see if I’m okay. WOW! My circumstances are
straightening themselves out and I am not zombie-like any longer.
So… off I go to read. And then maybe write. I HOPE. Writing
has always been what relaxes me and NOT writing makes the tension grow—emotionally
and physically. I become a not-so-nice person to be around when I don’t write
for a long period of time. Hopefully this is a good turn for the week. Talk to
ya’all later!
BTW, When Love is Not Enough I think fell of the radar scope. NO ONE is reading it/rating it. I sure hope another book of mine gets picked for publication soon! People will forget who I am!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Writer's Block?
Yes, I think I have writer's block. A grand total of 10 days after I wrote a blog about WRITING again and I get stuck. Yay me!! I'm not even sure what causes it. Confusion, brain-fry, laziness, worry, tension, or stress etc...? Whatever it is, it has me good. There is NOTHING going on in my head.
I was writing my other book (the one I just started) and then nothing. NOTHING! My mind has gone completely blank as to direction, theme, characters, content etc. I'm seriously stuck. I'm not sure I've felt like this before. Normally I have someone talking to me in my head. Darian, Matt, Cole etc... Somebody begging to be written and shout at the world who they are and what they want to say. But there is complete silence in my mind. I suppose there are people somewhere who enjoy the silence. There are probably people who have "voices" they wish were quiet. Not me. My voices carry me. The people in my head are inspiration to form a tangible person that leaps off a page (hopefully) to a reader so that THEY can hear the voice too!
This feeling of absolute dead silence is disturbing. I know I'll get it back eventually, but for now this is what I am going through.
So what do other author's do to get back the MOJO? I really don't know. I guess I could read. Sometimes that helps. This week has just been really busy for me personally so I haven't had time but I hope to get some reading in next week. I need to do something! I HATE not being able to write. I guess the part that bothers me most is the emptiness in my imagination. Normally it is finding TIME to write that keeps me from it, not WHAT to write. I'm scribbling notes in a notebook. I'm trying to think of content. It is just so hard. This is the most difficult time I've had.
In the past, I have been known to reread a story and then get inspired to write the continuation. When I wrote The Cost of Loving I reread WLINE and started writing where that left off. I suppose I could do that and write the continuation of Darian's tale. (I need to write that anyway.) I was also writing some details for the sequel of My Roommate's a Jock. A sequel to that would be nice to write too. BUT, these are both books that are NOT published. I really wanted to write another novel that I could submit! (Because we all know that having a "sequel" written does not equate to another publication.)
Somehow this is turning into a long rambler of an explanation of my inability to write anything. Probably because I can't even think of what to write in a BLOG. Very sad. :( Words, words, everywhere and not a sentence to form....
Whoa is me.
Wade
I was writing my other book (the one I just started) and then nothing. NOTHING! My mind has gone completely blank as to direction, theme, characters, content etc. I'm seriously stuck. I'm not sure I've felt like this before. Normally I have someone talking to me in my head. Darian, Matt, Cole etc... Somebody begging to be written and shout at the world who they are and what they want to say. But there is complete silence in my mind. I suppose there are people somewhere who enjoy the silence. There are probably people who have "voices" they wish were quiet. Not me. My voices carry me. The people in my head are inspiration to form a tangible person that leaps off a page (hopefully) to a reader so that THEY can hear the voice too!
This feeling of absolute dead silence is disturbing. I know I'll get it back eventually, but for now this is what I am going through.
So what do other author's do to get back the MOJO? I really don't know. I guess I could read. Sometimes that helps. This week has just been really busy for me personally so I haven't had time but I hope to get some reading in next week. I need to do something! I HATE not being able to write. I guess the part that bothers me most is the emptiness in my imagination. Normally it is finding TIME to write that keeps me from it, not WHAT to write. I'm scribbling notes in a notebook. I'm trying to think of content. It is just so hard. This is the most difficult time I've had.
In the past, I have been known to reread a story and then get inspired to write the continuation. When I wrote The Cost of Loving I reread WLINE and started writing where that left off. I suppose I could do that and write the continuation of Darian's tale. (I need to write that anyway.) I was also writing some details for the sequel of My Roommate's a Jock. A sequel to that would be nice to write too. BUT, these are both books that are NOT published. I really wanted to write another novel that I could submit! (Because we all know that having a "sequel" written does not equate to another publication.)
Somehow this is turning into a long rambler of an explanation of my inability to write anything. Probably because I can't even think of what to write in a BLOG. Very sad. :( Words, words, everywhere and not a sentence to form....
Whoa is me.
Wade
Friday, June 1, 2012
50 Shades of Grey
...and NO, I haven't read it.
I've been pondering the phenomenon that IS this book. I watched the video of Ellen Degenerous reading from it and thought it was hilarious! From her reading alone I MIGHT be temped. (Might.) Although I doubt my reaction would be as comical. A friend of mine has it and said, "You have to read this!" I replied, "SERIOUSLY?!?" I do not really see myself doing that. However, I CAN understand the need to keep up with current societal trends and KNOW what the populace is reading. So maybe.
But the point of this blog is my thoughts on the book itself and not the writing of it. This is not a review.
I was in Walmart yesterday buying toilet paper. (the #1 needed household item besides air) While walking passed the books and magazines (did I use that word correctly? passed/ past? I really never know)... I noticed the display of books by E.L. James. Nice covers. I thought they were well done. But the thought occurred to me that the content might be inappropriate for a setting where any ole child could walk up and read it. So I open the book randomly to page 117 and read, "'I'm going to f*** you now Miss Steele,' he murmurs as he positions the head of his erection at the entrance of my sex. 'Hard,' he whispers, and he slams into me."
Why do I quote this? Why do I care? Because this is Walmart, family central, and this type of material is ON THE SHELF!
I'm not balking about that. I'm irritated because they can put a sexually explicit book on their shelves because it is HETERO! Where are the LGBT romance novels? Some lgbt novels I've read don't even contain sex at all but they aren't present! WHY? Because it might corrupt the values of people? It might corrupt the youth of America? (I am conjecturing here, I DID NOT call Walmart to confirm.) So instead of putting ANY books on its shelves that might promote homosexual activity amongst that masses, we'd rather just promote SEX in general.
I GET the fact that 50 Shades is a Best Seller. Ok. But wasn't Hot Head by Damon Suede a HUGE hit? It has THOUSANDS of reviews on Goodreads.com! Why isn't Hot Head on the shelves of Walmart? Oh, yeah, because it's ... gay! *gasp* AND what about the famous Something Like Summer? This book is going to be a MOVIE for crying out loud!
I have to add that I HAVE seen LGBT books on the shelves of Barns and Noble (Are they still open? Or are they out of business?) But that shelf was VERY small! Maybe 100 different titles in a monstrous store of thousands of books! I even had to ASK where to find it because it as so small of a section it got lost.
Societal trends need to change! If I can find 50 Shades of Grey at my local Library and Walmart, I SHOULD be able to find the current top 10 best selling LGBT novels as well! How does this happen? Do we solicit Walmart? I guess so. How do I do that? I don't know. I guess I will have to look up Walmart corporate e-mail and come up with a petition-letter or something.
These are just some of my thoughts along the lines of INequality that goes on. It would be FINE is Walmart said it was because of "family" values. Whatever! I get that. I don't agree with hetero's being the only ones with "family" values but I see the point where reading material is concerned. But if it is over "family" values, then I DO NOT see that 50 shades of Grey is any more healthy for people to read than Hot Head. Hot Head was an awesome book! It was popular, well written, and covered relationships between friends on a very deep level. I think that is pretty "family" oriented! (Plus is had reference to 9/11 which makes it a good "American" novel!) If Hot Head, and Something Like Summer(and other books like them), can not represent the best selling LGBT fiction on the shelves of Walmart, then why does the explicit 50 Shades of Grey get 8 shelves worth?
SO NOT FAIR!!!
this is me ranting for now.
Wade
And notice how I didn't mention how When Love is Not Enough should be on the shelves!! ;p
I've been pondering the phenomenon that IS this book. I watched the video of Ellen Degenerous reading from it and thought it was hilarious! From her reading alone I MIGHT be temped. (Might.) Although I doubt my reaction would be as comical. A friend of mine has it and said, "You have to read this!" I replied, "SERIOUSLY?!?" I do not really see myself doing that. However, I CAN understand the need to keep up with current societal trends and KNOW what the populace is reading. So maybe.
But the point of this blog is my thoughts on the book itself and not the writing of it. This is not a review.
I was in Walmart yesterday buying toilet paper. (the #1 needed household item besides air) While walking passed the books and magazines (did I use that word correctly? passed/ past? I really never know)... I noticed the display of books by E.L. James. Nice covers. I thought they were well done. But the thought occurred to me that the content might be inappropriate for a setting where any ole child could walk up and read it. So I open the book randomly to page 117 and read, "'I'm going to f*** you now Miss Steele,' he murmurs as he positions the head of his erection at the entrance of my sex. 'Hard,' he whispers, and he slams into me."
Why do I quote this? Why do I care? Because this is Walmart, family central, and this type of material is ON THE SHELF!
I'm not balking about that. I'm irritated because they can put a sexually explicit book on their shelves because it is HETERO! Where are the LGBT romance novels? Some lgbt novels I've read don't even contain sex at all but they aren't present! WHY? Because it might corrupt the values of people? It might corrupt the youth of America? (I am conjecturing here, I DID NOT call Walmart to confirm.) So instead of putting ANY books on its shelves that might promote homosexual activity amongst that masses, we'd rather just promote SEX in general.
I GET the fact that 50 Shades is a Best Seller. Ok. But wasn't Hot Head by Damon Suede a HUGE hit? It has THOUSANDS of reviews on Goodreads.com! Why isn't Hot Head on the shelves of Walmart? Oh, yeah, because it's ... gay! *gasp* AND what about the famous Something Like Summer? This book is going to be a MOVIE for crying out loud!
I have to add that I HAVE seen LGBT books on the shelves of Barns and Noble (Are they still open? Or are they out of business?) But that shelf was VERY small! Maybe 100 different titles in a monstrous store of thousands of books! I even had to ASK where to find it because it as so small of a section it got lost.
Societal trends need to change! If I can find 50 Shades of Grey at my local Library and Walmart, I SHOULD be able to find the current top 10 best selling LGBT novels as well! How does this happen? Do we solicit Walmart? I guess so. How do I do that? I don't know. I guess I will have to look up Walmart corporate e-mail and come up with a petition-letter or something.
These are just some of my thoughts along the lines of INequality that goes on. It would be FINE is Walmart said it was because of "family" values. Whatever! I get that. I don't agree with hetero's being the only ones with "family" values but I see the point where reading material is concerned. But if it is over "family" values, then I DO NOT see that 50 shades of Grey is any more healthy for people to read than Hot Head. Hot Head was an awesome book! It was popular, well written, and covered relationships between friends on a very deep level. I think that is pretty "family" oriented! (Plus is had reference to 9/11 which makes it a good "American" novel!) If Hot Head, and Something Like Summer(and other books like them), can not represent the best selling LGBT fiction on the shelves of Walmart, then why does the explicit 50 Shades of Grey get 8 shelves worth?
SO NOT FAIR!!!
this is me ranting for now.
Wade
And notice how I didn't mention how When Love is Not Enough should be on the shelves!! ;p
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