Signs of Spring

The signs of Spring for me are birds singing, sun shining, and characters talking. There is nothing worse (for a writer) than silence, yet that is precisely what I had been facing in February. Silence. Cold. Snow. Depression. I don't like it. No one does. But the fact it that sometimes the voices in my head, or yours, stop for whatever reason and they take their own sweet time coming back around for a visit. Or, even better, an extended stay. I need my voices. I need my characters chattering away in my brain, screaming at me to write them. I do not handle the silence well.

In February I don't think I wrote a word. IDK. I know it felt empty and sad, so I don't think I wrote anything. March was almost as equally dismal. I do not know how much I wrote, but it was minimal. I DID have enough energy to take Misaplaced Affection out and ponder over its flow. I then took it apart, separated it into three documents and proceeded to rearrange and restructure it. Readers seem to like easy rather than hard. Readers seem to like chronological rather than time-jumps and flashbacks. Readers seem to like one point of view. (POV) I LIKE readers to like me and my writing.

BUT, I am me and I can't change myself to be "popular". I need to stay true to writing what I love and writing what I think has meaning, and hope that people will like it. Although, having said that, I DO want to try to keep in mind what readers like because if you all constantly get lost because of POV changes and time jumps then more than likely you may stop reading my writing all together. I can't have that! So give me feedback. I appreciate it. Even if it is, "I really could not relate to the character,"  or "You lost me with all the flashbacks." I take into consideration everything people say. Some of it I can change. Some of it I will NOT change. I have my own style. I have my own "brand", as it were. I call it the "Wade Kelly" style.

What do you think of if you hear that? "Wade Kelly Style"

Do you think:
1. POV shifts
2. Flash backs / time-jumps
3. controversy
4. layers & subplots
5. events or situations that cause you to stop and think
6. unpredictability
7. memorable characters
8. stories worth waiting for
9. Oh, I'll need tissues for this one
10. (fill in the blank)

I hope some of those I listed come to mind when you think of me. These are some of my goals as a writer. I want to include these as I write. There are other writers to go to for carefree, easy reads. Others you can auto-buy for fluffy weekend reads. My goal is to reach deeper than that. I am learning how to write better. I am learning how to write deeper. I WANT to be the author you go to when you want to think. HELP ME! Help me become a better writer. E-mail me your thoughts. I love that. writerwadekelly@gmail.com  Tell me what works, what doesn't. I know that the things I write are not for everyone. It happens. There are books I have read that I just didn't like. It happens. But my goal is to provide a quality product.

I love and appreciate all of you out there who take the time to write a review on Goodreads, and Amazon, and ARe, and Dreamspinner. Reviews are important, but they take time to write so thank you if you have done that. And thank you to all those who buy direct from the publisher. DREAMSPINNER. Buying direct gives me more royalties. More royalties means I eat. Writing is my job, basically. I am a mother, and a wife, and spend most of my day taking care of my family's needs. Writing has become my job now that I get paid. And getting paid from writing insures that I do not need to go get a job else where. As long as I have an income I can continue to do this. The term "Starving Artist" has meaning to me now because artists do not make much. I am an artist. I paint words. If I had to live on writing I would probably starve. LOL. But as my readership and fan base grows, so does my ability to do this as if it was a full-time job.

I went to the Rainbow Book Fair. That was neat. And in less than 2 weeks I will be in Tampa for Rainbow Con. If you can join me, please do! Authors, not just me, need the love and support of readers. There are a bunch of writers gathering for this event with panel discussions, readings , and Q&A. I have never done a Q&A so come on down to Florida and sock it to me. (But be kind. I cry easily.)

I have been writing as much as I can. I wrote some this morning. I have just under 50,000 words for Misplaced Affection. It seems to be shaping up well, but I will warn you I think it is going to be more of an emotional ride than previously anticipated. IDk. When it is done I will get a beta reader to tell me how it stands. (Tina? You up for that?) My word count though is probably going to be 110k so as you see I am only about half way done.

Names Can Never Hurt Me…. This one I am dying to hear your feedback on. I want it released already! I personally think it is a great story. It is long. Around 118k right now. I should get the first edits soon. They were supposed to get some to me weeks ago, but the editors are backed up. Dreamspinner is super busy and I guess that is good for me because my publisher will not be going out of business any time soon. They are rocking busy! Cool. But you all, and I, have to wait longer. Last year when I was editing The Cost of Loving, it took about 16 weeks from the start of "edits" to the publication date. Once the finial edit is done (there are normally three) then I get a "galley proof" about a week or two later and a pub date about a week after that. It will appear on the Dreamspinner "coming soon" page about a month before it is released. That said… I MIGHT get a galley proof by the end of May/ early June and have a pub date for you by the middle of June. It seems like forever, but it is already April. June is two months away! July therefore is only three months away and most likely NAMES will be out in THREE months. OMG! That isn't long at all! Not really. We can do it. We can wait. Right? So… when I get that cover, do you want to see it right away, r should I hold it back until early June? I will probably get it this month because i wanted to use it on PROMO stuff at Rainbow Con and RT. Is thee months too long to tease you with a cover and an excerpt? I hope not.

Anyway… thanks for stopping by. Thanks for taking time to read my posts. I hope you enjoy Spring! I think it is here to stay. IDK. Maryland weather is unpredictable and often we get crap out of the blue. I don't know about you, but i want the blue to stay!

hugs,

Wade